From worldvisualized.com #Iran #map #ignorance #geography

Everything is stupid forever now.

*long drag on cigarette* Kid, this is Mastodon. We're all the algorithm here. You. Me. Everybody. Now get out there and boost somebody's bullshit.

@Lazarou I'm interested in learning more about the UK Greens, as the US Greens, tbh, feel like they're often just bigmouths and grifters who surface every four years to soak up third party donations and TV time.

If the US Greens were a functional party that wasn't just for show, I'd be all aboard.

I don't have actually much beef with people who come up against "Russia employs and provides resources for a division of state-directed hackers to influence foreign elections" and think that sounds insane.

It *does* sound insane. But it doesn't mean it isn't true.

It also sounds insane to say that "North Korea bought ultra high-end currency printing equipment and uses it to print US $100 bills to fund itself" or "Syria manufactures and distributes the party drug Captagon to raise revenue." But those things are also true.

They just fall into a weird category of large scale crimes governments are widely known to be committing that there is no simple way to accuse them of doing, so countries just... don't.

The current age of my musical tastes is: Pitchfork was launched to review bands like the ones I love, but no longer reviews any of those bands.

It is 222 A.D. You are the transgender Empress Elagabalus, "call me not a man for I am a woman". Transitioning is new and experimental.

It is 1776. You are "Public Universal Friend", a transmasculine nonbinary Quaker. Transitioning is new and experimental.

It is 1906. You are Karl M. Baer, a trans man undergoing sex reassignment. Transitioning is new and experimental.

It is 1930. You are Lili Elbe. Transitioning is new and experimental. (to be fair you did get a uterus transplant.)

It is 1966. You are in Compton's Cafeteria with a bunch of other trans people when the owners call the cops to throw you all out. You riot. Transitioning is new and experimental.

It is 1969. You are Marsha "pay it no mind" Johnson. You are in a mob-run gay bar when the cops attack. You throw a brick. There is a bit of a scuffle. Transitioning is new and experimental.

It is 2026. You are a transgender adult or child listening to the NYT and British Guardian claim this is the first generation anyone has tried transitioning in. Transitioning is new and experimental.

I have been looking for a hobby to keep me from doomscrolling. This was half done and in an op shop so I modified and finished it. #embroidery #crossstitch

Boring office hot take I am nevertheless serious about:

Taking your conference calls on speaker in a cubicle is a crappy thing to do to your cubicle neighbors.

I think #MLB #baseball teams should carry a 28 player active roster, *BUT* with only 23 of those players active on a given day, designated in advance.

There are at least 3 SP on a given day who cannot be used, realistically, usually 1 or 2 relievers who are spent, and often 1 or 2 hitters who are day-to-day.

Stop dinking around with their health and just create the roster flexibility that's needed for this era.

This would also create the flexibility needed to tighten the rules on demotions/promotions/options so that we'd cut down on roster shenanigans.

We might even get more professional pinch runners, which is fun.

Someday, my dog Rango will be gone. But I will always remember how when I get sick, he will lay next to me and hold my hand. #DogsOfMastodon

Why can't he just fucking die and then we all gather round the campfire and sing "Yub Nub"?

@the_etrain There was one modded to angrily scream out in pain (and occasionally swear) when it hit things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvz3LRK263E

the whole ai-bro shtick about "ai democritizes art/programming/writing/etc" seemed always so bs to me, but i couldn't put it into words, but i think i now know how.

ai didn't democritize any of these things. People did. The internet did. if all these things weren't democritized and freely available on the internet before, there wouldn't have been any training data available in the first place.

the one single amazing thing that today's day and age brought us is, that you can learn anything at any time for free at your own pace.

like, you can just sit down, and learn sketching, drawing, programming, writing, basics in electronics, pcb design, singing, instruments, whatever your heart desires and apply and practice these skills. fuck, most devs on fedi are self taught.

the most human thing there is is learning and creativity. the least human thing there is is trying to automate that away.

(not to mention said tech failing at it miserably)

My fellow parents: Jesus fucking Christ just call kids by their preferred pronouns.

Ugh, the ubiquity of the 3 day long, 6 email exchange to avoid a 5 minute phone call.

Everyone in this world has one person they would trade everything for to get them to think they're cool. Mine is my older brother and I will never get there.

@clarissawam Because I do still love my annoying, disinterested, passive aggressive mother. And I want my kid to see her. (He hasn't in 3 years.)

We're going to drive six hours to the nothingburger town where my mom lives. Once there, we will be paying to stay in a hotel because my youngest brother and his kid are living with my mom (broke, divorce) so there's no room there for us to sleep there, though we'll spend all day every day at her house anyway. And once we're there, there's going to be nothing planned beyond a few meals, my mom isn't going to want to leave the house, and my older brother will stop by for a total of 90 minutes, if at all. I will also probably be expected to make various household repairs, despite said brother being a grown-ass man who lives there and does not pay rent.

My mom already started this morning by asking if she could make chili during our visit. "Sure, that would be fine" was a suggested autoreply on my text app, so I went with that, as I was hopping in the car. Then she started in about how it sounded like I didn't really want chili, so what was she supposed to do now, was I mad about the chili...