Greater glider,

wikipedia has a truly wonderful image of one of these guys right at the top of the article:

Person in my gas station talking to someone on the phone: ...We're in Ohio...

Me, knowing we're in Utah: ????

Thank you for the map for context. It makes this 1,000 times funnier and intriguing.

If you want or need to approach a stranger for a conversation, first always start by greeting them, and then state your intentions and/or what you wish to talk about.

Especially in online spaces, in this day and age online spaces are so flooded with spam bots, most people assume anyone who just messages them with "Hi" or "Hello" is a spam bot, so most people are prone to ignoring or even blocking those who just message "hi" or "hello" without anything else.

If you would like your message to actually lead anywhere, it's still important to begin with some sort of greeting such as hi or hello, but give the other party more to work with. State your intentions, or what you'd like to talk to them about (I saw in your post x and I wanted to ___), otherwise many people may assume you're a spam bot and either ignore you or block you.

Likewise in real life scenarios, in many places and cultures if you just approach a stranger and say "hi" or "hello" and stand there looking at them and expecting a conversation to follow, many people will find this unnerving, invasive, and in many instances downright creepy.

This is because when you're a total stranger it's harder to know if you have good intentions or not, and many people naturally feel more guarded with a stranger. Therefor, if you really want to strike up a conversation with a stranger, you need to lead with something besides "hi" or "hello", if nothing else to signal good intentions. Something such as "Hello, I saw your t-shirt and just wanted to say I really like that band too!" or "Hi, so sorry to bother you, but I noticed the pins on your bag and that's my favorite show!".

It's not just about signaling that you're not a spam bot, or signaling good intentions on your end, it's also not considerate to initiate a conversation but expect the other party to do all the work with finding something to talk about. It's inconsiderate to start something, then throw all of the work onto someone else to make it happen or keep it going. You started the conversation, so it's your responsibility to give them something to talk to you about.

I cannot stress enough how important this is in a workplace scenario as well. Sending a Teams message that just says "hi" is irritating, because now the recipient has to spend time and effort figuring out if what you want is important, time sensitive, or even if they're the right person to take care of it.

For this reason, I always send Teams messages that specify what I need, so the recipient can reply and plan accordingly without any extra steps.

"Hi Caitlin! Would you have five mins for a quick call sometime this afternoon to confirm numbers on the latest project invoice? I'm free for the next half hour, or any time after 2:15."

It really makes everything so much easier to deal with, and makes you look so much more competent, if you give some contextual information in your message.

You can't be a transfeminist if you believe in gender essentialism. Gender essentialism is inherently transphobic and cannot be rehabilitated into a "trans inclusive" state.

For those of you looking for these recipes, they're from Cooking for Engineers. Which should shock nobody. But it's a great site. Sadly seems to be defunct, but I can personally vouch for the recipes being presented in a foolproof* manner. Not only is the card layout great (honestly, just having the oven temperature right there instead of having to keep trying to find it in the recipe is a game changer), but every step has a photo. None of this "until done" rubbish, it'll have a photo of "yeah, here's how it should look, and no, this photo isn't overly produced".

And unlike most cooking blogs, the commentariat substitutions are generally competent!

If you're still not sold on the site, may I add that he once took a pair of calipers to Chili's to test their claim that "their new Smokehouse Bacon Burgers [...] have 'the thickest bacon you've ever seen'."

Unsurprisingly, his verdict was:

So yeah, definitely check out his website, whether you're a novice or experienced cook, whether you're an engineer or someone who didn't even know what a caliper was before you started reading this. I highly recommend starting with the shepherd's pie (yes, it's the same one from Joy of Cooking), and either the creme brulee or the biscotti for dessert. The recipe image OP used was for espresso brownies. Presumably roasting your own beans is optional, though.

———

*It's me. I'm the fool. I'm proof that even a fool can follow the recipes.

I don’t think people truly understand the scope of the damage Sony is about to do to physical media. They literally invented the compact disc. They are the reason why Blu-ray as a format won the HD wars over HD-DVD. They have gargantuan influence over manufacturing disc-based media. If Sony as a company stops making physical media for their next gen gaming consoles, this is going to affect movies and music as well. If you buy CDs, DVDs, or Blu-rays, those are next on the chopping block.

I do want to point out that about 10 years ago, there was one manufacturer still pressing vinyl records left in the U.S. But since the resurgence of this format, multiple pressing facilities have opened, or reopened, and now vinyl is the most common form of physical music on the market. CDs and cassettes are also making a comeback.

Sony claims it’s using sales trends as a reason to phase out physical games. Corporations do actually care about making money. They follow these trends. I’m not saying panic buy all the physical media right now, but when it comes to owning things you can hold in your hand, you have to actually buy them.

i have a better suggestion

i feel like it's important to point out that a major reason physical game sales have declined is because games manufacturers intentionally hold back the physical releases of new games for months after the digital releases, thus leveraging FOMO and spoilers to force gamers into buying digital copies instead. And it's not just Sony. "Family-friendly" Nintendo has done this for many new games too, if they even bother to release a physical copy at all.

this "trend" of consumers "not buying" physical games is not a trend: it's a manipulation of numbers and consumers in order to give game companies what they want: your data.

they want you to have a digital copy that you have to play with a cloud save on an internet connected console. because, if you do this, they can see which of their games log the most hours/engagement after purchase, they can see which profile/account on your console plays which games, how and when you play in relation to your console's set timezone (is this an after-work or late night game for grownups? an after school game for kids?), they can see who you game with, what other games you play, what you favourite in the game store, what game/store pages you look at or come back to most, etc.

whereas if you did what was possible in the 90s/00s and buy a physical game with cash at a local game store and plug it into your non-internet connected console, they don't have any of that data. and they want it. badly. because it means they don't need to rely on their customers answering consumer surveys and providing them with that data. they can just have it, automatically. every time you log on.

they can also sell that data

He Really IS Stark-Raving Mad https://robertreich.substack.com/p/he-really-is-stark-raving-mad

And, irrigation canals.

Saves 82% of water evaporation. 💧

Actually, do cover the fields as well (in some areas at least).

The problem with putting solar panels over fields is that most farm machinery is big and so you can't get it through the panels unless the rows of panels are too far apart to get most of the benefit from the shade. So most of the cultivation has to be done by hand ... and the panels are usually low enough to make it a lot harder on the workers because you spend more time stooping over and at odd angles. So yeah, you do get greater yields per acre with this method!

... you also are spending a lot more on labor costs and your workers are getting hurt more to do it.

So in most cases, OP is right. Don't cover fields. Cover parking lots and canals.

Depends on what kind of fields you're putting them in. Grazing fields don't require farm machinery running through them, and the solar panels allow places for sheep and cattle to rest in the shade. This makes a huge difference to the comfort of the animals here in Australia; there are farms that have already incorporated solar panels for that reason.

The linked article in the earlier reblog is talking about crops like zucchini and eggplant, which afaik are generally harvested by hand. I don't know if such crops are usually planted by machine the way that wheat is, but considering there's an apparent increase in yield while also reducing the water use, the inconvenience would likely be worth it for at least some farms even if it changes the sowing technique. (Or alternately, you only cover part of the field, allowing for space between the rows of panels for machinery to be driven. Now that some tractors can be driven by GPS with minimal control by the farmer, that also reduces the chance of collisions and damage to the panels.)

Additionally, if there was wide uptake, I would expect that solar panels could be placed on higher supports, reducing the amount of stooping required. That's a potentially solvable problem. And with some parts of the world – including Australia – becoming drier as the climate changes, the fact that crops can be grown under solar panels with less water is no small matter. It could mean that more of the dwindling supply of irrigation water could be saved for crops like wheat, which are currently impractical to grow under solar panels.

But even if it isn't practicable for large-scale farming operations to put solar panels over crops, there's still millions of hectares of grazing land that could have solar panels put over it perfectly happily. We don't have to limit ourselves to car parks and canals.

I think the lesson is “ put solar panels where they would maximize benefit, and don’t assume you know where that is until you research it.”

A decade is the average. Unreal...

One guy's 11 year journey to getting the right diagnosis, from a case study I'm reading.

Going to the urgent care seems to be the way to go (that's also how I got diagnosed & prescribed the right meds).

If there's anything I've learned from having potentially multiple different rare neurological disorders (one I still don't have a diagnosis for) is that if you have a headache that is not going away or getting better with any meds you have at home, go get emergency care. They can give you IV painkillers (those tend to work better) AND they will also document the visits, your symptoms and what worked or didn't work. Which will help immensely in getting a diagnosis.

It sucks to have to sit in a crowded waiting room with a headache but it's extremely useful for getting a proper diagnosis.

Persistent headache that won't respond to anything you have at home or can get OTC is a good enough reason to go. But also go if you get a new type of headache you've never had before or it's much worse than usual. Even if it goes away on its own, you should still get checked out.

you fucked up.

Vaelus!!!!!

she’s my favorite. i cannot lie

Wildest Dreams: Dream Contest Winners

Our winners this week are @helloijustreadyourpost, @izzet-always-r-versus-u, and @real-aspen-hours.

Running In Place by @helloijustreadyourpost

In essence, this is just a common lockdown removal spell that can become a kill spell if your creatures are large enough. However, the specific way it achieves that is through a unique combination of effects that is both incredibly fun to think of unique use cases for, as well as super flavorful. No notes.

Chased by a Monster by @izzet-always-r-versus-u

Cleave was certainly an interesting mechanic. While its execution had definite flaws, I do think there was a great concept at the center of it regarding the different parts of a spell's text, and this card knocks it out of the park in that regard. The way it's specifically a fusion of cleave and flashback also gives it very interesting play patterns, allowing it to serve various roles all at once. Calling the keyword "partial recall" is also excellent flavor that ties the whole thing together.

Nightmare Stalker by @real-aspen-hours

When I first saw this card, the first thing that came to mind was simply the question: "Does this even work?" While there's no precedent for a card with this effect exactly, Masako the Humorless does mean there's precedent for a card blocking while tapped, albeit with different wording. Besides that, though, this is an incredibly interesting card that creates a super interesting play pattern that's perfectly supported by the flavor. Normally, leaving up blockers means they stay alert, hence the keyword that lets attackers stay untapped being vigilance. But this flips it on its head, with the tired, sleeping, "tapped" creatures now your only line of defense.

Good news: if you’re currently laying around and not producing anything, you are a credit to your species.

It’s recently been found that even hive insects rest. Bees will play with colorful toys. Ants sleep for about 1 minute but they do it so frequently it amounts to a few hours per day. Even trees take breaks.

The only things that work without rest are machines; literally everything that lives requires rest.

EVERYTHING THAT LIVES REQUIRES REST. STOP JUDGING YOURSELF FOR NOT BEING A ROBOT.

robots require very frequent breaks! welding machines generally have it programmed in that they can’t run so long they melt themselves. ive overseen two different manufacturing robots now and each of them were fragile, finicky idiots that require constant maintenance and repair. they pause in between moves, in between jobs. you’re always keeping an eye on programming errors, on coolant levels, on heat. you’re always pulling bits of scrap out of joints, sweeping up debris, washing off nozzles and untangling hoses. and even then it snaps a chain and takes a whole morning’s vacation.

even robots need downtime.

[Image: X/Twitter post by David Hogg ( @/davidhogg111 ): Democrats should introduce national paid sick and parental leave and call it the MITCH Act. If you can be missing from your job for months as a U.S. Senator and still collect your full paycheck, working Americans should get the same deal. End ID.]

tshirt that says I <3 BIG SCARY ROBOTS

Did you know researchers tested crows’ memories and found they can recall activities from 17 years earlier?

If you have a 3D printer, you can print flock camera bird feeders in only 4 pieces at printables.com. Crows love unsalted peanuts and pet kibble btw.