#and stop using this account

[10001gecs]

one 100 word email written with ai costs roughly one bottle of water to produce. the discussion of whether or not using ai for work is lazy becomes a non issue when you understand there is no ethical way to use it regardless of your intentions or your personal capabilities for the task at hand

with all due respect, this isnt true. *training* generative ai takes a ton of power, but actually using it takes about as much energy as a google search (with image generation being slightly more expensive). we can talk about resource costs when averaged over the amount of work that any model does, but its unhelpful to put a smokescreen over that fact. when you approach it like an issue of scale (i.e. "training ai is bad for the environment, we should think better about where we deploy it/boycott it/otherwise organize abt this) it has power as a movement. but otherwise it becomes a personal choice, moralizing "you personally are harming the environment by using chatgpt" which is not really effective messaging. and that in turn drives the sort of "you are stupid/evil for using ai" rhetoric that i hate. my point is not whether or not using ai is immoral (i mean, i dont think it is, but beyond that). its that the most common arguments against it from ostensible progressives end up just being reactionary

i like this quote a little more- its perfectly fine to have reservations about the current state of gen ai, but its not just going to go away.

[odinsblog]

The crew of a massive container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday warned of power issues before the collision, which caused the bridge to collapse into the frigid Patapsco River, officials said.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the warning from the ship’s crew likely saved lives.

“We’re thankful that between the mayday and the collapse, that we had officials who were able to begin to stop the flow of traffic so more cars were not on the bridge,” Moore said. He called those officials heroes.

Moore noted that the bridge was up to code at the time of the collapse. He said the collapse was a “shocking and heartbreaking” event for the people of Maryland who have used the bridge for 47 years.

(continue reading)

[lazylittledragon]

so uhhhhhhhh. not to be cryptic and bitchy on main but congratulations to everyone in my messages for like 5 months on being right i guess

[purplepirate123]

Time for Citizens to Hit Elon with a Privacy Act Violation

Email Template

To: privacy@treasury.gov

Subject Line: Civil Liberties Complaint

Hello,

I am making a civil liberties complaint under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a. It has been brought to my attention that Elon Musk and his associates, under the guise of a directive of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) (an IT office in the White House), have acquired access to Treasury Department Records in Systems of Records as defined in the Act. As an individual covered by the Act, I believe that there may be records about me in these Treasury Department systems, and I am concerned for the following reasons:

Elon Musk is not an elected official.

Even if Musk were an elected official, the System of Records Notices (SORNs) governing the Treasury Department Privacy Act systems do not allow for disclosure to Musk and his associates per the Routine Uses.

Disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) and sensitive personally identifiable information (SPII) to Musk and his associates would be an unauthorized disclosure and therefore breach of information.

The Treasury Department must (1) quickly investigate what Privacy Act records that Musk and his associates have unlawfully accessed, (2) reveal to the public what unauthorized disclosures were made, (3) stop further access, (4) force any files acquired by Musk and his associates to be returned and/or permanently destroyed, and (5) seek criminal penalties against Musk and his associates for violations of the Act.

Sincerely,

[INSERT NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION]

Privacy Act of 1974

The spirit of this law is rooted in presidential drama and corruption. It was passed as a direct result of the Watergate Scandal which uncovered the federal government’s scheme of illegally investigating and maintaining records about individuals. So in an effort to provide transparency to the public and an assurance that the government would not misuse records about us all, the Privacy Act of 1974 was born.

Multiple unions have now filed a lawsuit against the Department of the Treasury and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service under the Privacy Act as well as other privacy laws. They are seeking a civil remedy in the form of a restraining order to prevent DOGE from accessing records. But the Act also allows for criminal penalties to be assessed. The two that could apply to Musk and his associates include:

“Any person who knowingly and willfully requests or obtains any record concerning an individual from an agency under false pretenses shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than $5,000.” 5 U.S.C. § 552a(i)(3).”

“Any officer or employee of any agency who willfully maintains a system of records without meeting the notice requirements of subsection (e)(4) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than $5,000.” 5 U.S.C. § 552a(i)(2).”

The first applies to Musk accessing Privacy Act records from the Treasury Department under false pretenses of carrying out official government duties.

The second could apply if Musk creates a system of records in the DOGE office without complying with the law. For example, if he began using his IT office role to create records about individuals in the government or who receive government assistance, that would be a violation. It is very likely we will need to demand an investigation into DOGE and what they have on US citizens, too.

Email the Treasury Department today with the template up above. We deserve to have our privacy protected, and some loser who isn’t even from this country shouldn’t be allowed to stomp all over our rights.

ELON MUSK IS STAGING A COUP AT THE US TREASURY!!! He has not right to be there, no authorization for what he's doing, no oversight. AND THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS INSTEAD FOCUSING ON DICKFACE'S INSANE GAZA COMMENTS.

Write emails. Call your senators. ALSO, TODAY, MARCH. Every Us capital city in every state. And if you can get to DC or are in DC, hit the streets.

[buzzingroyalty]

im so pissed off at that episode ending bc why the FUCK didnt he just

[siffrinscreamkng]

battle (click for better quality)

[dear-ao3]

to the person who reads wwe fanfiction on ao3/reading yaoi manga/listening to music in conspiracy theories class:

if you follow us, can you a) shut the fuck up and stop interrupting our professor, and b) maybe read a book on english monarchs in context with the british empire and c) stop yassifying queen elizabeth i? thanks!

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Mammalia - Dasyuromorphia

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

As marsupials finally made their way into Australia they began to diversify even further. The order Dasyuromorphia represents the vast majority of “carnivorous marsupials”, marsupials which fill the niches of the placental carnivorans. This order contains the living families Dasyuridae (mulgaras, Kaluta, Kowari, quolls, dasyures, Dibbler, marsupial shrews, antechinuses, phascogales, planigales, Kultarr, ningauis, dunnarts, and the Tasmanian Devil) and Myrmecobiidae (the Numbat). Famously, this order also contained the extinct Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus).

Most Dasyuromorphs are small and mouse or shrew-like, though the group also contains the cat-sized quolls and Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) (image 2). They have many features considered primitive to marsupials, such as seperate toes (in many other marsupials, the second and third toes are fused) and some lack a full pouch. Instead, many species have a simple fold of skin surrounding the teats, to provide some protection to the developing young. Dasyuromorphs are primarily insectivorous, but they will also eat small lizards, birds, frogs, mammals, fruit, nectar, and flowers. One of the few exceptions to this rule is the Tasmanian Devil, which subsists mainly on carrion but can feesibly take on prey up to the size of a small kangaroo. Adult dasyuromorphs are typically solitary, or travel in small groups of two to three individuals.

As in other marsupials, dasyuromorph joeys are born as relatively undeveloped “jellybeans” and must crawl their way from the vagina to the pouch or teat and latch on. Once the young makes contact with the nipple, it expands, locking the joey in place and ensuring it doesn’t fall off the mother or out of the pouch while they finish their development. Smaller dasyuromorphs generally reproduce at least twice a year, but the larger Numbat, quolls, and Tasmanian Devil generally only have one litter a year.

Dasyuromorphs have existed since the Late Oligocene, 33 to 23 million years ago.

Propaganda under the cut:

Quolls (image 1 and gif) are sometimes referred to as "native cats" and occasionally "marsupial cats" or "tiger cats", due to their cat-like size and behavior.

Although they are nocturnal, the New Guinean Quoll (Dasyurus albopunctatus) is known to spend its daylight hours basking in the sun.

The Paucident Planigale (Planigale gilesi) is also nocturnal and enters a state of torpor in unfavourable conditions to reduce energy expenditure in times of inactivity. However, it also exhibits basking or sunning behavior as an energy-conserving strategy. The Paucident Planigale is the smallest mammal to display basking behavior in the wild in order to reduce energy requirements, particularly in winter.

The Western Quoll (Dasyurus geoffroii) is at the top of the food chain in Western Australia, and eats lizards, birds and their eggs, frogs, spiders, insects, and small mammals, even bandicoots, parrots, and invasive rabbits.

The current major threat to the endangered Northern Quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) is the spread of the Cane Toad (Rhinella marina). Native to South and mainland Central America, the Cane Toad was introduced by European colonists as biological control of agricultural pests in 1935. The toad was unsuccessful at controlling the targeted cane beetles, but was successful at spreading across Australia and poisoning many of its native predators, who had not evolved alongside the toad to develop a resistance to its toxins or aversion to its taste, and did not recognize it as poisonous. Like many other native Australian predators , Northern Quolls are poisoned after eating or mouthing cane toads. Immediately after the Cane Toad invasion of Kakadu National Park, Northern Quolls became extinct at one study site and declined from 45 individuals to 5 at another site. The Northern Quoll may cease to exist in most areas in the Top End once the Cane Toad population completely overlaps the Northern Quoll's range. Scientists sought to reintroduce quolls who had been trained to avoid the toads, and released them into the park. This was at first successful, however, the quolls had lost their ability to recognise and avoid both feral dogs (dingo) and cats due to being raised in human care, and the population was lost again. Some Northern Quolls persist in Queensland, and seem to naturally be “toad averse,” as well as on islands where the toads have not reached.

The smallest dasyuromorph is the Pilbara Ningaui (Ningaui timealeyi), which is also the smallest of all marsupials, and one of the smallest mammals, averaging 4.5 to 5.8 cm (1.8 to 2.3 in) in body length.

Another tiny dasyuromorph is the Long-tailed Planigale (Planigale ingrami), which averages 5.9 cm in body length and weighs 4-6g. Despite this, it is an active and fearless hunter, preying mostly on insects and their larvae, small lizards, and young mammals almost as large as itself. With larger prey like grasshoppers, an initial pounce is often insufficient and the planigale bites repeatedly until the prey stops struggling.

Following the extinction of the Thylacine in 1936, the Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world.

The Tasmanian Devil's large head and neck allow it to generate among the strongest bites per unit body mass of any living predatory land mammal, with a Bite Force Quotient of 181 and exerting a canine bite force of 553 N (124 lbf). The jaw can open to 75–80 degrees, allowing the devil to generate a large amount of power to tear meat and crush bones; sufficient force allows it to bite through thick metal wire. The teeth and jaws of Tasmanian Devils resemble those of hyenas, an example of convergent evolution.

The first European Tasmanian settlers ate Tasmanian Devil, which they described as tasting like veal. As it was believed devils would hunt and kill livestock, a bounty scheme to remove the devil from rural properties was introduced as early as 1830. In areas where devils were eradicated, poultry continued to be hunted by quolls. Over the next 100 years, trapping and poisoning brought Tasmanian Devils to the brink of extinction. More than 900,000 Tasmanian Devils were hunted in 1923—and this resulted in a continuation of bounty hunting of devils as they were thought to be a major threat to the fur industry, even though quolls were more adept at hunting the wallabies and possums typically hunted for fur. After the death of the last Thylacine in 1936, a conservation wake-up call, the Tasmanian Devil was finally protected by law in June 1941 and the population slowly recovered.

Since the late 1990s, devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) has drastically reduced the population of Tasmanian Devils and again threatens the survival of the species, which in 2008 was declared to be endangered. This aggressive, non-viral, clonally transmissible cancer manifests itself as lumps of soft and ulcerating tissue around the mouth, which may invade surrounding organs and metastasise to other parts of the body. DFTD is most often spread by bites, when teeth come into contact with cancer cells. It can also be spread by ingesting of infected carcasses and sharing of food. Adult Tasmanian devils who are otherwise the fittest are most susceptible to the disease. Starting in 2013, Tasmanian Devils are being sent to zoos around the world as part of a Tasmanian Devil conservation and breeding program.

Tasmanian Devils are fully grown at two years of age, and few devils live longer than five years in the wild. Possibly the longest-lived Tasmanian Devil recorded was Coolah, a male devil which lived in human care for more than 7 years. Born in January 1997 at the Cincinnati Zoo, Coolah died in May 2004 at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.

Male Little Red Kalutas (Dasykaluta rosamondae), all antechinuses, and many other small dasyurid species die shortly after a frenzied breeding season, probably due to stress or exhaustion. In human care, males can live from 2 to 5 years, but will no longer be able to reproduce after their first year.

The Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) was once widespread across southern Australia, but after the deliberate release of Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) by European colonists for sport hunting, the entire Numbat population in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory, and almost all Numbats in Western Australia were wiped out. It is now restricted to several small colonies in Western Australia. By the late 1970s, the population was well under 1,000 individuals. An intensive research and conservation program since 1980 has succeeded in increasing the Numbat population substantially, and reintroductions to fox-free areas have begun. Perth Zoo is very closely involved in breeding this native species in captivity for release into the wild.

As an adaptation to a diet consisting almost entirely of termites, the Numbat has a long, sticky anteater-like tongue which it uses to catch its prey. Although the Numbat finds termite mounds primarily using scent, it has the highest visual acuity of any marsupial, and, unusually for marsupials, has a high proportion of cone cells in the retina.

Every night the Fat-tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata) consumes approximately its own body weight in food. During periods of food shortage it decreases its duration of activity while also increasing its intensity of feeding. It uses specialized, sharp teeth to grind its prey into fine pieces.

The Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was the last of the Thylacinids, a family of dasyuromorph marsupials. It lived from the Pleistocene to the Holocene in Australia and New Guinea, driven to extinction in the 1930s by hunting, human encroachment, disease, and feral dogs (dingos). The Thylacine was already extinct on the Australian mainland and New Guinea by the time European settlers arrived, with the island of Tasmania being its last stronghold. Settlers feared the marsupial would attack them and their livestock, demonizing it as a “blood drinker”, and bounties were put in place that drove the Thylacine to be overhunted. As they became rarer, there was a push to capture Thylacines and keep them alive in captivity, but unfortunately it was too little, too late. Conservation and animal welfare was not at the level it is today, not much was known about their behavior in the wild, and there was only one successful birth in captivity. Studies show that with continued successful breeding, a campaign to change public perception, and protections put into place much earlier, the Thylacine could have been saved. But the last captive Thylacine died in 1936, and official protection was not put in place until that year, 59 days before his death. Sightings continued into the 1980s, and even today some claim to see them, but all of these sightings are unconfirmed and unlikely. The Thylacine is definitively extinct. Today, carnivores such as wolves and coyotes are demonized in the same way the Thylacine was, and there are some who wish to also wipe them out entirely, even having succeeded in many places. While some of the Thylacine’s closest relatives, like the Numbat and Tasmanian Devil, survived the European persecution which killed off the Thylacines, they are still endangered today due to introduced predators and disease. Instead of continuing to search for, or trying to resurrect the lost Thylacine, perhaps it is best we channel that attention, love, and regret onto the species we still have. Extinction is forever, and it is easier to save those who are still alive.

(source)

[mariana-oconnor]

Me: trying to access the AO3_Status twitter to see what's going on

Twitter: Ahem, excuse me, do you have an account.

Me: Guess there's just no way of ever finding out.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[tuttle-did-it]

If you are a UK resident or citizen, please consider filling out this form for the government. The corrupt,bastard billionaires in our government continue to cut and make life incredibly difficult for disabled and unwell people. They are making DRASTIC cuts to benefits for people who are in need and unable to work.

I guess they think we will be less trouble if they just kill us all with these cuts.

This does take a little time, but please consider offering support if you are able to help push back against this.

[stellar-collective]

I simply adore your ghost hunter au. Can we please see Phoenix and/or Reginald interacting with the ghost of Fabricator? She's my fav ghost design!

Phoenix should probably start running before the Fabricator unleashes her 5 million pins and needles attack

[triviallytrue]

Last discoursepost for the time being: having looked through the blogs of several GFM vetters, I am increasingly convinced that they are almost all who they say they are, and I regret implying that any of them are run by scammers. I've deleted or turned off reblogs on 3 posts that do so.

I still think it's clear that their vetting process is fallible and has resulted in money going to scammers, but I think this is because they are attempting a task that is too big for the resources they can throw at it and mistakes are inevitable. They are working through a desperate situation doing the best they can, and while I don't think this means you should blindly trust their judgements, it does mean they deserve more grace than I initially gave them.

I wrote out my overall opinion on the situation here and I stand by it.

[badninken]

Mood

[batcavescolony]

I hate AI. You wanna see your favorite character say something? Here

Dick Grayson: Hi, Don't use AI to make me say things. I'm literally a fictional character, just think.

Look at that Nightwing himself told you not to! Want another?

Dean Winchester: AI is fuckin' stupid, nothing can fake being a human on my watch.

Wow, amazing!

Support the actual humans in your fandom.

[1980shorrorfilm]

ellie and joel

[warmfuzzyanimal]

i have always rlly disliked twitter and will probably Never stop posting here, but. if anyone else joined bluesky post Elon Musk Event i'm there now also