#general resource

[unforth]

Y'all I know that when so-called AI generates ridiculous results it's hilarious and I find it as funny as the next guy but I NEED y'all to remember that every single time an AI answer is generated it uses 5x as much energy as a conventional websearch and burns through 10 ml of water. FOR EVERY ANSWER. Each big llm is equal to 300,000 kiligrams of carbon dioxide emissions.

LLMs are killing the environment, and when we generate answers for the lolz we're still contributing to it.

Stop using it. Stop using it for a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. We need to kill it.

Sources:

[fallisl1fe]

Ever needed a reference sheet for Jazz's alt mode? Well fear not, because I found his exact car

BEHOLD! The OG, the first, and the highly esteemed Porsche 935 chassis 935-001! First used for racing in 1976, this car is a legend just like Jazz >:D

Pls research it, I think it's cool :3

[homura-simpson]

Some textures, frames, pngs ect that I found off of free png sites and pintrest ( part 7 )

free to use, do not credit me, reblogs are appreciated so this can reach more people for them to use 👍 I will remove any of these or give full credit if asked

[haxxydraws]

🍉 Arab.org - Click Daily 🍉 eSims for Gaza 🍉 UNRWA.org 🍉 Gaza Funds 🍉 Vetted fundraiser masterpost 🍉 Commissions for Aid

please consider checking out the above links!

[inbabylontheywept]

Soviet Birds.

The secret facility that I work in has holes in the ceiling. We don't know how to get them fixed.

We tried asking the government to fix it, once. We told them that the holes in the older parts of the facility had gotten large enough to fit birds through, and that birds were getting through, and that, perhaps, a Soviet Spy could fit through as well.

After all, it is well known that Soviet Spies and pigeons are approximately the same diameter.

Our hope was that that this vague and nonsensical threat would put a little fire under Uncle Sam's feet. If the fed couldn't be bothered to give a shit about the giant gaping holes in the roof of our facility, perhaps they could be persuaded to give a shit about... Soviet Spies.

This attempt at manipulation 100% blew up in our faces.

See, the government does not need to be persuaded to give a shit about Soviet Spies. It still wakes up most nights, drenched in cold sweat, terrified and confident that a Soviet Spy is hiding in their nightstand. If it sees a rock on the ground, it flips it over, pistol drawn, ready to shoot the Soviet Spy it fully expects to slither out from underneath. Which is to say: The government is crazy. So when we dropped those two words - inflitration risk - in the repair request, they came in guns-a-blazin'.

Does that mean that they fixed the roof? Of course not. Don't be stupid. No, instead of performing basic maintenance, they installed a state of the art alarm system throughout the facility - lasers, sonar, the works - and told us to always be on the guard. Because of the roof holes.

Then they left.

So now we had an extremely good alarm system... and birds. Which have combined in incredibly obvious and predictable ways to produce an unending fountain of problems.

For Example: About once a month, someone gets called in by the local airforce dispatch because AAAAAAAAAAA a Spy is in the Rad Lab! We're all gonna die! Except every time, it's a bird. And I get why we have to check, but every time, the dispatcher is panicked and the person going out has to be like listen, listen: It's a bird. It's always a bird. It's been a bird every month for the last fifteen years. It will be a bird next month. All this stress? Bad for your heart.

Second Example: Sometimes, birds get in while we're actually working. And when it's in the morning, you know, it's a nuisance, and it stops testing (we are not going to risk irradiating a bird) but it's not an all-hands-on-deck situation because it doesn't take ten hours to get a bird out. But surprisingly often, the bird gets in riiiiight at closing time, and in that situation, everyone goes feral because nobody can leave until the alarm is set, and we cannot set the alarm while the bird is there, because the bird would immediately trigger it and then we'd have to stay another 4 hours to confirm that it was not a Soviet Bird.

So in order to go home, everyone's top priority is Get That Bird. And we have a system for it.

Step 1: The test stands tend to be located in rooms with 30+ foot ceilings. We can't catch birds in places like that - so we have to lure the bird into the relatively low ceilinged (8 feet only) upper offices.

We do this by turning all the lights off in the test rooms, then putting floodlights by the exits. I don't know why this works - some kind of evolutionary brain fragment shared by both Bugs and Birds - but work it does. The birds almost always follow after the lights. From there, it’s just two guys moving the floodlight and a third guy to turn off the lights.

Step 2: Everyone else has been waiting for this step. There is this long stairway up from the basement level into the offices, and in the final stage, the floodlights are brought to the base of the stairwell to bring the bird up. At the top of the steps there will be a group of tennish people, waiting for the signal. The light guys will set up the final transfer, everyone will tense, and then, swish...a bird will flit up the stairs and into the offices.

It's like watching werewolves on a full moon. Before the bird cometh, we are engineers. Nerds. Pale and skinny things, trembling under the fluorescent lights. After the bird, we are beasts. Feral, gnawing things, glowing under the orange sunrise of the 70's halogen floodlights.

And like all beasts, we cannot help but give chase.

Step 3: The were-engineers begin the hunt. The goal at the start is not really to catch the bird - just exhaust it. So the pack simply does not relent. Because the stakes are going home on time, the group is basically given free reign to go anywhere in the building. If someone's door is open, and the bird goes inside, they're going to have to deal with ten sweaty panting maniacs leaping around their office. They don't get to say that they're busy, or remark on how all this movement is a terrible distraction. They are allowed to sit in silence during the chaos, and perhaps thank the war party for chasing the bird while they sat comfortably on their ass. This has been explained several times, and it will continue to be explained until cooperation is achieved.

Anyway.

The chase can go on for quite some time. Sometimes, the bird will get tired and find a crevice to hide in, where it can then be reached through standard cornered-bird catching techniques.

Other times, it will slow down enough that someone can actually yoink it out of the air. But this will go on until someone catches the bird and triggers Step 4.

Step 4: The Finale. This is the get-the-bird-out-of-the-building stage, and it requires someone to adopt a specific role: To Become the Sacrificial Vessel of Bird Removal.

This job is both coveted and feared. It's coveted, because holding a wild bird in one's hands is a precious thing. To feel how small, and fragile, and scared it is, only to free it from the building? That is what it's like to be a benevolent God. But the cost! Oh, the cost. The entire time the Vessel is in motion, the bird will be biting the hell out of their fingers. And I cannot emphasize enough just how painful bird bites are. Their entire face is a set of needle posed pliers, and they know tricks the even the cartels haven't figured out yet. So there's always a little hubbub about who shall be The Vessel while onlookers, stranded outside The Office of Bird Capture, can only look on. Quiet arguments and pleas are heard, little fragments of fear and pride and glory trickling out of room like the silver dust left behind in a bag of well shook quarters. The sound of concensus is silence, and the argument will go on until that's all that's left. And then, from the darkness of the final office, the chosen sacrifice will step forward: Hands gently cupped, tears streaming down their face, fingers trembling from the pain of the ongoing bird chomps.

And this scene is what organizes people. Not leadership, not truly. No one can think and coordinate a crowd while their fingers are being attacked with a combination nutcracker/ear piercer. But the crowd sees the suffering of their annointed, and it is driven to do everything poossible to make the process flow. People instinctively flair out, finding the fastest path outside. Doors are held open. Paths are cleared. Someone, somehow, always knows the way forward and can describe it to the sufferer. Left, left, forward. Corner closet. Yep, there's a hall in there. Forward. Two-hundred more feet man, you're doing great. Just hold it together a little longer. You're killing it.

Then the final door swings open, and the bird flees out into what remains of daylight. And yet, even here, the deed is not yet done. I cannot explain it in words, but the crowd that helped is never content until they can see and speak on the Bird Vessel's wounds. They all have to pull the fingers back and see what was given. Estimate the price: One day to get better - No, three - No, a week! Are you blind? Do you see that blood blister? -Yeah, that's not going away anytime soon - Damn, can you believe how feisty those things are? Like wolves without teeth.

(They cannot help but touch as they go. It has always been this way. Even Thomas was not content until he felt the wounds in Christ's hands.)

Only when the last of the helpers has seen, and commented, and commended, will the engineers scatter. It is their return from the underworld that announces to the sun living surface dwellers that they too can go home. (@somerunner tolja it needed to be a post.)

[legomaniaisbored]

God the XFA-36A is so peak

[q-kanbas]

If you are a voter in Georgia, please check your registration consistently as the election approaches.

The Secretary of State has launched a program that allows people to cancel registrations. Including other people's registrations. They can do so with only your name, date of birth, and county.

In Georgia, you have until 29 days before the election to register or re-register if you were purged.

[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.

[vhstown]

please stop scrolling and take the time to read this.

i don't think people understand the extent of the horror happening in palestine right now. "death" means nothing to people because of desensitisation so let me just tell you what white phosphorus is. it's being used in israeli munitions and has been and will continue to be fired across gaza and the palestinian borders.

white phosphorus burns when it comes into contact with oxygen (at nearly 800°C or 1500°F. the human body can withstand ~50°C for reference.) the air you breathe in ignites and it is near impossible extinguish. it sticks to clothing and skin and is very difficult to remove because it will continue to ignite in air. it burns flesh up to the bone and even past the bone because it penetrates tissue and is absorbed VERY easily. if you inhale it it'll destroy your respiratory tract and lungs. it can cause failure in multiple organs including the liver, kidneys and heart. it is being released in one of the most densely populated places on earth.

the only way to treat someone exposed to white phosphorus is to submerge them in saline or water and to pick out the substance with forceps, and when you undress a wound the substance can re-ignite. this is just ONE weapon that is being used to kill palestinian people right now. palestine does not have access to medical care, humanitarian aid, power, or internet. their hospitals are being bombed. gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world with over 50% of the population being children. many children are the sole survivors of their families. there are videos of children experiencing panic attacks and symptoms of ptsd. the fact that israel has committed war crimes in plain sight means that we can only imagine what will happen to the palestinians in complete darkness.

israel has and will continue to deny this. your interests and fandom will still be here, you will wake up tomorrow morning and see your friends and family, but an entire nation of people are being wiped off the map. being silent is being complacent. reblog, spread information, tell people in real life, attend protests, sign petitions, call your government offices, at the very least be angry and upset and horrified because once you become numb and indifferent and hopeless the oppressors will have already won.

what's happening right now is more than a genocide and once it becomes a part of history we'll wonder how the world let this happen. genocides have been part of all nations. just because it is far away does not mean you don't have to be concerned. the fact that YOUR governments and YOUR idols and the people around YOU are supporting the mass eradication of an entire group of people should scare you. it shouldn't make you feel anything less than sick and angry and disgusted. DO something about it, no matter how small you feel your voice is, because palestinians no longer have one.

[edit] links to some helpful reblogs: one & two

post on how you can help palestine

learn about palestine with this masterlist of info

+ a further reblog of mine

[edit 2] about palestinians "not having a voice" at the time i wrote this post internet connection was cut off entirely and even journalists weren't able to report for a period of time — that is all i meant by that. they of course have a voice and i never meant to undermine how people are risking their lives in gaza to get information out there and i apologise if thats what people took from it, it was not my intention but it is entirely my bad. please continue to spread information and updates from gaza as they come.

[bunnelbaby]

Here’s a list of My Little Pony specials, movies and shows for you to enjoy while regressing or dreaming!

𐐪𐑂 My Little Pony (1986)

𐐪𐑂 My Little Pony Tales

𐐪𐑂 My Little Pony Generation 3

𐐪𐑂 My Little Pony Live: The World’s Biggest Tea Party

𐐪𐑂 My Little Pony Generation 3.5

𐐪𐑂 My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

𐐪𐑂 Equestria Girls

𐐪𐑂 Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

𐐪𐑂 Equestria Girls: Friendship Games

𐐪𐑂 Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree

𐐪𐑂 Equestria Girls: Better Together (S1)

𐐪𐑂 Equestria Girls: Better Together (S2)

𐐪𐑂 Equestria Girls: Tales of Canterlot High

𐐪𐑂 My Little Pony: The Movie

𐐪𐑂 My Little Pony: Rainbow Roadtrip

𐐪𐑂 My Little Pony: Pony Life

𐐪𐑂 My Little Pony: A New Generation

𐐪𐑂 My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale

(Divider Credit)

[oflights]

helpful sites for writers

i have a little collection of websites i tend to use for coming up with ideas, naming people or places, keeping clear visuals or logistics, writing basics about places i've never been to, and so on. i tend to do a lot of research, but sometimes you just need quick references, right? so i thought i'd share some of them!

Behind the Name; good for name meanings but also just random name ideas, regardless of meanings.

Fantasy Name Generator; this link goes to the town name generator, which i use most, but there are lots of silly/fun/good inspo generators on there!

Age Calculator; for remembering how old characters are in Y month in Z year. i use this constantly.

Height Comparison; i love this for the height visuals; does character A come up to character B's shoulder? are they a head taller? what does that look like, height-wise? the chart feature is great!

Child Development Guide; what can a (neurotypical, average) 5-year-old do at that age? this is a super handy quickguide for that, with the obviously huge caveat that children develop at different paces and this is not comprehensive or accurate for every child ever. i like it as a starting point, though!

Weather Spark; good for average temperatures and weather checking!

Green's Dictionary of Slang; good for looking up "would x say this?" or "what does this phrase mean in this context?" i love the timeline because it shows when the phrase was historically in use. this is english only, though; i dig a little harder for resources like this in other languages.

[cake-emu]

The UK has just experienced its warmest and sunniest spring on record, and the driest in more than 130 years.

Per press release, England's Environment Agency convened a National Drought Group meeting on 5th June 2025 - following the driest March, April, and May since 1893 - to discuss the latest outlook and hear from water companies about steps they are taking to prepare for the summer.

Water Minister Emma Hardy: "We face a water shortage in the next decade."

Dr Will Lang, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office: "Looking further ahead, the chance of a hot summer is higher than normal with an associated increased risk of heatwaves and related impacts."

Sarah Keith-Lucas, the BBC's Lead Weather Presenter explains the impact of extreme heat on drought: "extreme heat increases evaporation of moisture from the ground leading to drier ground. Drier ground heats up more quickly, which in turn pushes the temperature of the air above it even higher."

The area of the UK burnt by wildfires this year (as of 27th April, so not including wildfires that have occured since then) is already higher than the total for any year in more than a decade, a result of prolonged dry, sunny weather, and lack of rainfall in March and April.

And now, the Guardian reports this week that the Environment Agency cannot accurately predict how much water England will be short of in future decades, due to the boom in AI usage.

AI datacentres, which use vast quantities of water to cool their servers - preventing them from overheating and shutting down - are not required to report how much water they use. As a result, the EA cannot model for how much water - which largely comes from the public water supply - these datacentres may require in the years to come.

"The regulator added that the majority of datacentres were using the public water supply rather than alternative sources, and that they did not want this to stop, or [want] transparency over their figures."

Meanwhile, Keir Starmer, looking to boost the UK's AI infrastructure, has pledged £1bn of extra funding for AI compute – the microchips, processing units, and cabling that make AI systems function. 💩🙃

TL;DR - as temperatures rise and Spring months become increasingly drier, the UK is facing a water shortage, and the Environment Agency cannot even accurately predict how much water we will be short of because AI datacentres - which notoriously use a lot of water to cool their servers - do not have to report how much they use.

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

thinking about the effects of Kira being raised in a refugee camp and never (as far as we know) having a formal education never being addressed on the show properly. she's obviously not a scientist or an engineer but her position as first officer still means that she has to supervise all of the engineers and scientists on ds9 to some degree. and as much as the Starfleet characters are uncomfortable with roughing it and the terrorist tactics Kira still needs to use every once in awhile, i think it's a really underrated idea for Kira to be just as uncomfortable with a lot of the high-concept science thrown around between the Starfleet people. she knows all of the practical stuff she needs to – how to repair essential technology, how to fly ships, how to use weaponry – but i could imagine her being really insecure about not fully understanding the underlying concepts the way everyone in Starfleet does.

anyways, i think Jadzia would pick up on Kira's insecurity eventually and would start giving her secret math lessons to get her up to speed so she can join in on all the Science Talk.

[homura-simpson]

Some textures, frames, pngs ect that I found off of free png sites and pintrest ( part 10 )

free to use, do not credit me, reblogs are appreciated so this can reach more people for them to use 👍 I will remove any of these or give full credit if asked

The apple was made by Jessica Roux

[doesloves]

[jakeperalta]

‼️ if you live in the UK please vote in the general election (4th july) ‼️

when can I vote? 7am to 10pm

where can I vote? check your poll card or visit wheredoivote.co.uk (if you're a student registered at your home and term time addresses, you can vote at either but not both)

who should I vote for? visit getvoting.org for your candidates and tactical voting info

what do I need to take with me? just photo id is required (list of valid id here), your poll card is NOT required

what if I can't make it? you can register for an emergency proxy vote until 5pm