#but it's still progress

[blech]

When Bigger Isn't Better

There's a tendency in science fiction (and more generally futurism) to project bigness into the future. For example, here's a screen capture from the 1995 Ghost in the Shell, set in the far distant future of (looks) 2029.

Apparently inspired by the 747s and other jets looming over Kowloon as they arrived at Hong Kong's airport, a huge jet with six engines is silhouetted over a cityscape.

In the 2024 that actually happened, though, most transoceanic jets look like this.

That's a Boeing 787. It has two engines, not six. It turns out that what actually happened is that jet engines got reliable. Really reliable. So much so, in fact, that global regulators increased the distance that two-engined planes could be from the nearest airport, increasing from 60 minutes flight time, to 90, then 180, and now four hours is allowed (admittedly under some fairly stringent conditions).

There's still a small number of three and four engined jets flying, but they are mostly now either very long haul A-380s or freighters. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's airport was moved in 1998, removing a thrilling but potentially disastrous spectacle. It's probably for the best.

(I could go on about how Lockheed and Douglas bickered over the tri-jet market in the 1970s while Airbus got their foothold developing the twin-engined A-300, but maybe that's a bit too nerdy.)

[eridan-ampora]

i love it when characters are codependent. i love it when losing someone feels like losing a limb. i love it when two people "complete" each other so wholly and terribly that one can barely function without the other. i love it when the fear of losing the only person who understands them is so all-consuming they'll destroy anything to stay together, including themselves.

[reasonsforhope]

Sometimes you just have one of those moments where the progress we've made as a culture get thrown into stark relief. You look at something and go "Holy shit, that would never have happened when I was a kid."

Today, I had one of those moments when I realized that the teenage boys I'm working with are just. genuinely, openly enthusiastic about going to Build-a-Bear for their outing.

These are sixteen and seventeen year old boys! They just had a whole conversation about what to name their "cute", mostly new squishmallows! They're genuinely excited that they're going to Build-a-Bear this weekend and asking other kids to pick up specific accessories for them!!

Holy shit, that never would've happened when I was 16. None of the boys would have dared to be visibly interested - and neither would most of the girls! There would have been a million gay jokes and "Haha, you're a girl" jokes and "What are you, a baby?" jokes. Teenagers weren't even supposed to care about anything back then!

Less than 15 years later, and I'm watching three 17 year old boys treat all that as not even worthy of comment.

So let's call that a reason for hope. Even when the kids aren't alright, in some ways apparently they are alright. Go Gen Z, honestly. It's so lovely to watch you guys just openly doing and saying stuff that, when I was a teen, would've been a social death sentence.

[lightbulb-warning]

(You make a grand gesture towards Mirabelle as if presenting a marvelous art piece.)

[lokh]

filtering including a separate tap, an on tap device or any other filter (eg jug, bottle)

bonus: where are you from and/or what is your cultural background

[vacueye]

looking through old tf2 stuff again + felt like reuploading some of my favorite (mostly spy) art throughout the years

[mothwingwritings]

I know a lot of people like to hone in on Sylus' more dominant and teasing side, and while I do love those aspects of him what I really really love is the softer side of Sylus that he only shows to you. ♡

The Sylus that avidly listens to everything you say, drinking you in with with a dopey little grin on his face as you fill him in on everything and anything happening in your life. The Sylus that lets you decorate his chic and mature office with all the plushies you have won together from the claw machine, looking at them fondly as if they were great treasures you have scored. The Sylus that will gladly wear stupid matching kigurumi's with you in public and have fun doing it, reputation be damned. The Sylus who absentmindedly plays with your hair while you are sitting together on the couch watching a movie, sighing in contentment as his long fingers massage your scalp. The Sylus who has memorized all your favorite foods and works hard to come up with new recipes to delight you based of what he already knows you love. The Sylus who's hugs completely engulf you, squeezing and holding you like a lifeline, almost as if he's afraid to let go. The Sylus who stays glued to your side until you fall asleep each night, even though you know his day has hardly begun and he has more important things to be attending to-you always take precedence. The Sylus that wants nothing more than to see you happy and thriving, and will do whatever it takes to make that a reality.

He truly makes me weak. (╥﹏╥)

[onionninjasstuff]

[nocek]

Miguel is the plan guy in this triad (however useless it is with a chaos incarnate in it) and he'll make sure of it one bad fashion statement at a time.

[anbaisai]

It's not even actually their birthday

(Based on a conversation I had with a friend + Jamil's 2024 birthday present to the player)

[wardingshout]

Zelda goes mushroom girl

[bamsara]

Absolutely hilarious how nearly 10 years of FNAF couldnt get me to improve at drawing furries but one year of Cult of the Lamb did. insane

[egophiliac]

SHE'S DONE! after a thousand years, she's finally done! ...or at least I'm done with her! (tumblr please don't absolutely destroy my gifs, I am begging you)

(this is not an edit, I drew her from scratch! please do not tag or treat as an edit!)

now you know the real reason I haven't been obsessively drawing Meleanor, which is that I was in fact obsessively drawing Meleanor but in secret. plus a little background just for fun!

I am. not super happy with her rig; parts of her proved way more difficult than I expected and I very quickly hit the point of "okay, this is a silly fan project and not something that I'm being paid for or has to be really functional, time to MANUALLY KEY ALL THE VERTICES FOREVER". I think the end result came out pretty okay though! just...don't look too close. :')

I recorded some of the drawing part, so I might put that up later! in the meantime I am going to make her do stupid poses for my own enjoyment!

[reasonsforhope]

100% have been perusing your climate change masterpost, and understand you're probably swamped so feel free to delete of course. But if you can find the time, is there any kind of hope to give in fighting climate change now? Can we save ourselves against the oncoming steamroll?

You hang in there too. Thanks for finding the hope among everything else. It feels so bad rn but I have to believe it can change. I hope it can.

Yeah actually I do think there is hope.

Things are going to get rough. Things are going to get worse before they get better, both for the climate and for people living in the US (and for people living in lots and lots of other countries that will be affected by the US election results/the ways the climate will worsen as aa result).

I haven't posted about this yet because I didn't want it to come to this, but now that it has, here's something that people have been quietly saying/research has been showing for months:

-via Reuters, November 6, 2024

Renewables, especially solar, are just too powerful to be stopped. They just too much cheaper and too much better, and that's only going to become more true, not less.

Also, I think (and hope) it's actually inevitable that at some point, we'll get to net negative carbon emissions. I think it's like solar: the technology, cost, and planet all make it feel like an inevitable technological trajectory, the same way solar tech is on an exponential trajectory. (IF WE WORK FOR IT, OBVIOUSLY, but also so, so many people ARE working for it, have dedicated their lives to working for it)

I sure fucking hope that's the case, anyway.

(You can find my masterpost on going net negative on what that actually means here)

It is gonna happen more slowly and shittily than I hoped, but I do think it's going to happen.

And if we can get to net negative emissions in time to save ourselves (which I think we will, the rates of advancement in many of these areas are very impressive), then we'll be able to slowly start to undo and heal lot of the damage.

[purble-sarah]

remember that work in progress i shared?

its complete now, also i changed the harley bike for a ducati cuz i think that would make more sense for jason to have

[glassrooibos]

JUNIOR YEAR HERE WE COME