Chebucto Regional Softball Club

IDK it's just really neat to me that something that started out seeming like a chore I had to do for other people ended up benefiting *me* so much. Even informing the rest of my work.

I think things work like this more often than we think.

@Da_Gut

I can always count on the fedi to enable my worst habits.

The other thing I worry about is that my attention and excitement for crafting "The Best Possible Image Description" may intimidate people from just slapping on some alt text ... it's not that big of a deal. It's important that you do it more than doing it perfectly. And often I'm tired and just write something very basic. Because, otherwise the post is a mess and would make no sense. You don't want that do you?

I'm just saying, don't get uptight and intimidated and NOT do the alt text at all.

I worry that when we say "nothing can be objective" some people take it to mean "it's not worth trying to be objective"

Taking the best objective stance you can is massively useful. It forces you to not just think about what you are thinking and seeing but what other people may think and see. And to look for, in the intersection of all of those perspectives, what is really *there.*

It's because nothing can ever be perfectly objective that's it's all the more important to make this effort.

For my students and when trying to write alt text online I try to be objective. I think this is important even though it's also important to recognize that it's impossible to be perfectly objective.

All descriptions say something about the perspective of the person writing the text. But, the challenge is to write descriptions that will meet with wide agreement from many different kinds of viewers. So, it's a very useful critical process.

I may ask older students to do this for each other.

My grade 5 students make animations and we have a "showcase" where we watch them all together. I write descriptions of each animation and read the description before we watch it. For some reason they LOVE this. Once I skipped reading the description and there was nearly a riot.

The descriptions are very literal. I want the students to know what parts of their idea were clearly communicated in their animations. I didn't expect them to be so popular, though!

If you really love an artwork or drawing or cartoon writing an image description of it is an excellent way to connect with it more. You could just say "I love this it's amazing" but if you describe it so that someone else can see exactly why you like it so much?

I don't know you really "see" it then in a way that's deeper.

@ratfactor @KarinWanderer
Reminds me of one of my favorite bird comics by @falseknees

The sheer joy of waterfowl and the creepy strange sounds they make.

@fgbjr

courtship???? Do... could ... how could a fungi even do that???

OK. The guilt for posting this flat out LIE is eating me up. I do not "need more blank notebooks" I have so many blank notebooks, lovely bound notebooks... but I did promise myself that if I fill up *two* with notes I may buy a new *one*

But, "need" is being abused here. I can come clean about that.

I have two whole bookshelves of blank notebooks. Although, I do often use them as graduation gifts for my students and that's coming up soon...

@wakame

LAMO they WOULD. (also I would, this is all very plausible.)

@llewelly

That is a *metal* name for a molecule!

I need to buy some more blank notebooks, and I was just gonna go on etsy but it'd be more fun to find it on here.

@Lily_and_frog

It's partly a type of person, but also about getting people when they are in a state of vulnerability. I make fun of cults a lot, but I like to remember that anyone can be susceptible. They target people who are desperate for guidance, people who feel lost.

Frankly, there may be many fertile minds for cults in the US with the way things are at the moment. It's worth checking in with people you care about just in case.

Very smart savvy people aren't exempt.

@llewelly

Here is what gave me chills: some mushrooms glow, but not bright enough for the human eye to notice... but if you use a photon detector it's there. So we don't really even know how many mushrooms are ... communicating? Processing chemicals? signaling aliens? in this way.

@llewelly

It's the mushrooms themselves. It could be a simple by product of the way they process wood. But it could also be for insects, to attract them to disperse spores. Except... "insects dispersing spores" isn't really a huge thing generally.

It's also probably multiple reasons.

@toni

That's odd. The thread was broken. I may well have botched the reply.

https://sauropods.win/@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org/114010771514497929

Many mushrooms glow in the dark and no one really knows exactly why.

If you were looking for something mysterious in this world to wonder about and try to solve there is that.

@frankashwood

I recently got a book on "The Ants of New Zealand" It's very short, but the information on cold adaptation and the strange ways the ants came to those remote islands is fascinating.

I've come to love the southern ant.

@murbs

My brother is 10 years older than me... I need to stock up on some of these heh heh heh