#But i get it

[tomato-puppy]

as a truck mechanic and someone who's spent a lot of time talking to truckers and small business owners, i have to add a note here:

California is beloathed in the transport/trucking industry because of the strict emissions regulations they impose on trucks that enter their borders. for financial and political reasons, truck manufacturers will tune their engines and implement de-polluting systems in the exhaust piping to make their vehicles sellable in California and then progressively roll out these technologies to everyone else. this is why trucks in Canada have anti-pollution systems compliant with California regulations even though canada doesn't have NEARLY as strict of exhaust control laws (and we often tear these systems out of our trucks' exhausts and engines, bypass sensors and reprogram the ECU to function without).

these de-pollution systems are very fragile, extremely expensive and limit performance. causes a lot of extra fees and downtime. and because there's a shiny fat sticker in the truck cab stating that this vehicle complies with Californian emissions regs, designed to look like an official seal with the outline of the state in the middle, anyone who knows a trucker or works in or around ground transport, has heard many words of unkindness directed at the state.

this is why people who wouldn't even be in the know about this kind of stuff and do not care the slightest about the plight of truck drivers, will parrot this line to bolster their criticism of "commiefornia" and their unrealistic leftist policies.

but yo. these newer pollution control systems reduce the amount of soot, microscopic particles and carbon monoxide to levels that are BELOW WHAT YOU'D FIND IN THE AIR IN MOST BIG CITIES. when i was studying to be a truck mechanic, we had a new Cummins engine and exhaust system on a bench in the classroom, and the teacher turned it on and ran the engine a bit, and we'd stick our face in front of the exhaust pipe and ... it's just like ... humid and warm air with a weird smell slightly reminiscent of piss*. he told us that they wouldn't be allowed to do this just for shits and giggles, but that we could close all the doors in the room and let that thing idle for the whole 2 hours of class and nobody would get a headache or anything. because it WORKS. modern day diesels, compliant with European or "Californian" emissions regs, are very very very "clean" and much more eco friendly than a gasoline engine of comparable power.

Californian emission regs is what dragged the north American trucking industry (manufacturers especially) out of the stone age of combustion engine technology when trucks used to roll coal like a fucking steam engine. in the last 10 years, for the first time ever, an American made diesel engine (the detroit diesel DD15 if i remember correctly) was finally "good enough" to pass very strict European pollution regulations tests and is now sold in European countries.

if California didn't "bitch and moan" about pollution from trucks, this wouldn't have happened. truckers don't hate the environment, they are pissed off because they're under paid and losing cash and work because of a broken de-pollution syste. and it is obviously very frustrating to them, and the bigass "California emissions compliant" sticker is a quick and easy target for blame. but when politicians pick up on this, they're just doing that thing where they seem like "they know how things are" and are sympathetic to the burden on the working class. they just want to use this as an example of how "caring about the environment" is fantasy at the expense of efficiency and reliability, at the expense of the poor workers.

but it's a lie. if truckers weren't underpaid, they wouldn't be as mad about it. and if the truck manufacturers weren't greedy, they'd improve the systems and their reliability further without passing the cost down to the consumers. and in no fucking sane world would anyone be doing EPA-mandated exhaust system testing ON A FUCKING FIRE TRUCK DURING A CATASTROPHIC FIRE.

And this is exactly why they hate fact checking.

[mirorouu]

DRAWINGS FROM THE SPECIAL (while i try to get out of artblock) 🎉🎉

also style

[northirish]

Obsessed with military nerds who are willing to risk a court-martial at best and accused of treason at worst because their favourite tank/aeroplane is ever so slightly wrong (often to the degree that 99% of regular people wouldn't even notice) in a video game

[goodobservationshirley]

En otra vida (edit by @iibelonghere x)

[twistcmyk]

please just go outside if you wanna vape during a con. i have a chronic respiratory illness and even masked up (N95 or KN95) i can barely go near booths who have been vaping or smoking, let alone the designated smoking spots outside. have some courtesy and respect for others please and thank you

for sure! that comic happened about a year and a half ago, and i recognized pretty much immediately that it was too careless, even for the sake of the bit; i didn't know there would be as much vapor as there was, and i was being negligent by actually believing the little plastic cup might contain it all

i'm usually really careful about where i vape and/or smoke, i don't even like vaping in designated smoking areas unless nobody's near me!

[fangurldayandnight]

Rare LOST reference in 2024- the Emmys had Ben on the big screen lineup of iconic TV villains and I screeched.

Edit

Finally found a screenshot of it

[creative-hanyou-girl]

PJO SPOILERS!!!!!

I think the way Rick and the PJO writers handled the Medusa decapitation was really clever considering Disney would've flagged them on the spot if they actually did try to show Percy cutting off a person's head. And it still stayed true to the book where Medusa was the 1st monster Percy and Annabeth took down TOGETHER.

[420jimmyuso]

31 seconds of damian not letting go of finn… relax man no ones takin him from YOU!

[auntie-venom]

Musings of a certified Tech Girlie™:

You know, the more I think about it the more I realize that any of The Bad Batch dying in the series finale doesn’t make sense.

Tech enacted plan 99, one sacrifice to ensure the safety of the rest of the squad. To let any of them die after that point would be a disservice to his death.

Everyone had to live.

[knight-princess]

Kit’s attitude with Elora all episode seven is so funny and so beautiful like she’s all. hey I have noticed you have been slightly out of character today. No I’m not asking because I care about you shut the fuck up I’m just curious. I’m being deeply introspective about the fact you saved me and I’ve been using you as a scapegoat and a target for all my feelings of abandonment and inadequacy but I’m not ready to say any of this yet but I’m marinating. I’m still mad at you btw. I’ll find you under the stars and we’ll talk and it’ll be a balm to the soul. I’ll watch you as you pour your soul out into training. You’ll collapse at the edge of the world and your need for me will be fuel on the fire I’ve been preparing this whole episode and I’ll embrace you to me and assure you that my sword will ever be yours and if you tell me you’re afraid I’ll press our foreheads together tenderly and tell you that I’ve been afraid too and “my fear, it doesn’t get to decide. I’m not giving it the power. I’m giving it to you” and promise that whatever we face we’ll face it together. we’ll go over the edge holding each other

[magerites]

really appreciating all the veilguard positivity on my dash. glad to see my mutuals appreciating the game we did get and enjoying it rather than moaning about what could have been.

it definitely has issues, as does the AAA industry as a whole. of course I'm sad about the lack of depth and continuity.

but also like. it has its own charm and and im fond of it as a game set in the world that I love. the characters are interesting and compelling (on par or more so than dai imo) and the actual gameplay is great.

maybe it wasn't the game you waited ten years for, I get it. it wasn't for me either, but I'm not exactly disappointed

bc it could have been (and almost was several times) nothing. so I'm just gonna hang out and enjoy it for what it is and make fix it mods for the things I can change and just be positive about the experience overall.

[badasserywomen]

thank you for buff dimitrescu

I always find it amusing when people think i draw her buff when i just draw her more broad. I'm more a thicc lady d enjoyer.

[thatswhatilikebruh]

Eddie: nah its totally cool, this does not change antything between us

Also Eddie when he sees them together: oh so you actually brought him here???

[bestoldmanyaoi]

Aziraphale and Crowley don't look thirty lol their actors are in their 50's

Yeah I was mostly talking about Louis and Lestat and like stucky (who aren’t immortal but still fall into the technically old but don’t look old category)

[getvalentined]

"Nashi I completely forgot about Nero"

WELL

I

FUCKING

DIDN'T