Chebucto Regional Softball Club

@FediThing I sincerely think if we took a quiz on "international political facts" most people on the fedi could beat him. Just on the basics like "what is the population of X country?" and "how is the leader of Y determined?" or "what is the primary economic engine of Z?"

@bradr Lost cause Russians? One of them did show up in a CCCP sweater. Not helping to dispel that notion, that.

@apophis @johnzajac @richpuchalsky Oh! I forgot the biggest one!Do not be a part of the system of oppression. Do not write code for them, do not make dinner for them. Do not work for them. Do not join a police force or army.

@futurebird The important thing about bullies/fascists is that they can’t stand being mocked. Look how they reacted last year to being called weirdos. I think it’s a much better approach than sitting around and uselessly talking about norms being violated.

@richpuchalsky @DavidM_yeg Why does this apply to the genocide but not the other harm?Some people had the opportunity to have a small amount of influence in a choice between bad options. The camps on my doorstep, the calls for "mass deportation now" seemed worse to me than a likely similar foreign policy and NOT having that operation in our country with the goal. It's not an easy choice. It's not glamorous. I don't even know if I am doing the best thing.

@futurebird I definitely had math, physics, and cs profs who said "tee zero" for "T₀", and others that said "tee null" for "T₀" To me these two seemed each about as common as "tee naught".

@JeffreySmith @bicmay @fullyabstract Do we need to start naming kids "Gulf of Mexico" is it that bad yet?Darren Gulf of Mexico Williams.

@graydon Totally agree. I do think, however, that mild symptoms of urban disorder can make less politically tuned in people susceptible to this kind of propaganda. Which is why now is a great time for mayors of big cities to put a little focus on sanitation. The right talks about sanitation a lot in connection with this issue as if persecuting people will make the trash go away. But we could actually make cities cleaner and everyone would like it.

@futurebird One of my cats basically quietly says "meh" when she meows because she is afraid to be too loud. (She can meow normally. I've heard it before. I don't know why she whispers.)My parents used to have a cat that had a voice like someone who had smoked all their life (no the cat didn't smoke!) The worst thing was, she wasn't satisfied just to gravel-meow. She'd stand in the hallway and shout as loud as she could because it was important that everyone hear.

@futurebird the advertising industry has normalized abusive deceit, creating an environment in which everyting sold is sold with insultingly dishonest claimes about how everyone needs the thing now, and it will make the buyer successful and free beyond all their wildest dreams. But good craftwork requires honesty both about the limits of your abilities and the needs of your customers.

Since I miss all three of those false markers, but still have been in unions and ... you know work, I've experienced endless dissonance when political conversations talk about "concerns of working class Americans" then pointedly exclude people like me. As if I am not riding the bus to work everyday. I'm sick of it.

@dalias I've worked with "AI" before it meant "LLMs." I've worked with Machine Learning and MCMC far longer than the Attention is All You Need paper existed.This use of "AI" is far, far older than LLMs, and has been used as a marketing term in this general direction since at _least_ the 1980s. Ceding everything and criticizing everything under the label just because of LLMs strikes me as not a productive use of time.@adamhotep @raven667 @Nazani @futurebird

I delivered the letter in person at his office which was closed and mailed it to him signed. I guess it's time to get serious about finding a new democrat for the primary. He's too far gone.

Probolomyrmex longinodus are a species of ant that nests in snail shells filled with soil. The entire genus is cryptic. Alex Wild has one of the few photos of a living ant:https://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/Taxonomic-List-of-Ant-Genera/Probolomyrmex/i-LLNndCn/AThey are eyeless, and live in leaf litter, or in the previously mentioned shells.Hard to study, hard to find, tricky to ID when you do find them. Absolute legends. Ants with secrets. #ants #rareAnt

@futurebird My pleasure. Prior to finding your account, I'd never really given ants much thought. But your continual posting about your relentless and unapologetic fascination in the wonder of ants has brought me much joy and opened my eyes somewhat.So ... thanks for that!