F
I'm watching a video about "the crown of St Wenceslas" which is from 1346 in Prague. All these comments and the guy in the video keeps saying how 'beautiful' it is and I'm just not seeing it? Ugliest thing I've ever seen in my life.
I guess it's "beautiful" that it's from 1346 and so well preserved. And naturally it's not made for the "modern eye". But... good lord. It's like someone broke a stain glass window and cleaned it up with tape.
Am I being unfair?
mmmm I should write a little "chain pharmacy" themed level for the #backrooms wiki. I've never contributed before but this might just motivate me.
(But only AFTER I complete "the short story I'm not allowed to talk about until it's done")
NYC chain pharmacies have always felt like portals to purgatory, but ever since the lockdown days there has been something wrong with “Duane Rede” on a deeper level. They feel like those stores in Cuba that have no product and no customers but are open for obscure tax reasons or something. It’s really noticeable since they are huge, and always the most run down thing on the block even in the most gentrified hoods.
Ant mimics look like AI generated ants. Both of the following photos made my "is that AI" sense twitch, but these are both real photos of ants along side a rove beetle mimic in the first and a spider mimic in the second.
Maybe the way that AI is adjacent to mimicry is part of what makes it creep me out so much.
*angry old lady noises*
Replacing every search engine with a 30s paper boy who doesn't really listen to what you ask for, runs off to get it before you get done explaining, and always gets waylaid by flimflam men who pay him a nickel to bring back something other than what you asked for along the way.
"Bugsey said yous might like to read this paper better miss, aw wontcha least take a look miss??"
Time to take a closer look at the textures of #ants (and some other insects) and the fantastic variation of the exoskeleton.
It'd be so neat to model these & 3D print them at a larger scale. These textures are all optimized through millions of years of #evolution to make insects strong, hygienic, stealthy, hard to attack... and who knows what else. So much to learn from them!
(Thanks to cnestus at tumblr for showing me this paper! https://www.tumblr.com/cnestus/742527231977455616/source-harris-1979-a-glossary-of-surface?source=share)
Ants could also be used for pest control in enclosed spaces. Army ants sweep over the forest killing most arthropods in a region. What if they could sweep over your apartment, or restaurant every few weeks and eliminate unwanted guests?
Larger ants could be used for search and rescue. Equipped with small trackers or cameras (The larger ants could wear the cameras) they could sweep over a destabilized building and find missing people.
4/
Some species of ants grow fungus gardens and practice weeding to keep the gardens free of inedible fungi and plants. Ants that live in mutualistic relationships with trees and gourds meticulously trim and kill all unwanted plants that grow near their host plant. Domesticated herbicidal ants could collect seeds from weeds and clip seedlings.
3/
They would be excellent for agriculture.
Weaver ants are already used for pest control in orchards, farmers place silk cocoons to attract queens & connect branches of adjacent trees to help ants expand their territory.
The weaver ants naturally attack most arthropods that enter the tree.
But what if ants could also help with tasks like controlling unwanted weeds? 2/
The Case for Domesticated Ants:
Domesticated bees are useful. They pollinate crops & produce honey. But, what could domesticated ants do?
Ants are stronger than bees & come in a wide range of sizes. They can be kept healthy on an inexpensive a diet of feeder insects & plant sugars. Ants are fastidious & pay attention to details. 1/
Waiting for the moment when I share my cool 40% #keyboard and someone pops up out of nowhere and is like "a full alphabet? You are like a little baby to me." #MechanicalKeyboards #MechanicalKeyboard #keyboards
To see a higher res version of the video go to the link-- they are honeybees.
I kinda wish they were yellow jackets since those poor girls could use a cute video that people like.
Yellow jackets get so much hate... although they can be annoying.
Over on tiktok user @nomadicpancakes has observed a group of #bees that have learned to turn on the sensor on a water bottle filling station by walking over the target.
This is just the kind of thing bees are made to learn, they love targets and need to follow them when dealing with flowers all the time.
The interesting thing is that the bee who hits the target produces water for her sisters, herself less so. But these #eusocial girls seem to have that worked out!