#they've been coming out of the woodwork lately

[catskullery]

[prosocialbehavior]

UNIT, self-preservation, and the Doctor

so UNIT is sus, right, we know this, they're getting too powerful for their own good and I feel like everyone is expecting them to get infiltrated or corrupted or something for a season finale plot twist in the near future. but lately I've been thinking about the weird and impossible position they're in.

so! you're in charge of the planet's main (only? idk what torchwood is up to these days) line of defense against alien attack, and your species has been adopted by a sort of alien trickster god.

this eccentric, erratic alien with apparently godlike power has decided to attach themself to you. The Doctor is benevolent and willing to sacrifice almost anything up to and including their own life for the good of the human race, but they're also unpredictable, unreliable, egotistical. you know what happened the last time a human authority crossed a moral line they decided was unforgivable:

so your organization is technically independent, but there are certain decisions you can't make, otherwise the Doctor might decide the weeds need trimming. you're in theory the highest military authority when it comes to alien conflicts, but if you decide to shoot those guys attacking you with your giant ray gun, there's every chance this guy could crawl out of the woodwork to burn your house down. you can't take any action without also taking the Doctor into consideration.

so what do you do?

maybe when they show up, you take them under your power. they're humanity's strongest asset and you need to make sure you have at least some measure of control over their actions.

but now that you've got them, how do you keep them from wandering off on a whim? how do you keep them inclined to work with you?

you formally grant them the power that is de facto already theirs. you rely on them, blatantly and obviously, making it clear that you need their help and their presence to have any hope of survival. you flatter their ego and encourage their attachment to you.

but in the end, it's been proven that nothing will keep the Doctor anywhere they don't want to be, and nothing will stay their hand when they've decided something needs to be destroyed for the greater good. so how do you make sure your organization stays on the safe side of that line? how do you sway the Doctor's judgment?

you employ their weak spot.

the people the your alien protector trusts, loves, has chosen, you bring them into the fold, and so you bring yourself into their fold. the Doctor can't attack you without attacking them, and their trust will rub off on you and your organization. you find what they value most in the world and keep it close.

so you end up with this defense organization which is semi-independent, but also built up totally around this one individual.

the Doctor is the most passionate defender you could hope for, but they also cut off your own ability to defend yourself. a good amount of your defense protocols center around hoping this guy happens to turn up. you HAVE to rely on their support, and you also have to fawn, flatter, and appease them if you want your organization to go on existing. if you want to get away with anything they might seriously disapprove of, your only option is to dazzle and flatter them, collect their friends, and hope they won't look close enough to find your secrets.

I'm not saying Kate Lethbridge-Stewart is some kind of Machiavelli spending all her time finding ways to manipulate the Doctor. but I am saying that UNIT probably has a protocol somewhere saying that in times of absolute crisis, if the Doctor shows up, the first thing you should do is dangle candy in front of their face by means of having someone they like give them a great big hug.

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

🎵 None.

Again, there is a sort of *constant low drone* here.

4 "Whatever it is, it's definitely real. Something odd is happening around us."

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant doesn't reply, but you can sense him tense up next to you.

4. Look up into the bell tower.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - The orderly rows of ceiling panels become barely visible, then disappear completely in the darkness of the tower overhead.

[Perception (Sight) - Challenging 12] Try to see beyond the shadows.

What if I don't *want* to know what's up there?

PERCEPTION (HEARING) - The silence, the darkness -- they've enveloped you, as in a cocoon. You cannot move anymore.

VOLITION [Easy: Success] - Relax. It'll be okay.

[Perception (Sight) - Challenging 12] Try to see beyond the shadows.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Challenging: Failure] - Just darkness without end -- it makes your head spin.

What's the darkness like?

Try to make out something -- anything.

(Blink.)

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - Filled with vague shapes of woodwork. The sense of a great height.

INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success] - It's like you see your own face reflected back at you in the vanishing geometry -- a strange, alien image that's supposed to be you.

2. Try to make out something -- anything.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - There's nothing. You're dizzy and disoriented as you see dark and more dark -- rising...

KIM KITSURAGI - "Officer, what are you looking at?" He follows your gaze, attempting to see whatever it is that you are seeing.

3. (Blink.)

TIAGO - You see something hanging from the rafters, looking straight at you with dark eyes.

Maybe it's possible to... talk to it?

🎵 Church

TIAGO - Is that... a man? Looks more like part of the carpentry of the building came alive and is now studying you intently.

REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success] - The crab-man!

"Hey, who's there?"

"This is the police. Show yourself!"

Say nothing. Be quiet for now.

"Uhm... are you the crab-man?"

TIAGO - The man leans forward a little, fixing you with a steady, unreadable gaze, then speaks...

"Habitual alcohol use has made you into a scared little pussy, homes. But don't worry, everything's gonna be alright -- you've come to the right place."

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - That accent is Villalobos -- a peninsula in Mesque *and* a district in Jamrock. There's a sizable contingent of Villalobos-speaking mesques in Revachol.

RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - Hold on, stop it right there. "Pussy"? What's with this?

"I'm not scared. I just don't understand why the female sexual organs have to be associated with weakness."

Hold your peace.

+1 Moralism

TIAGO - "You've really got a case of frayed nerves. *Pussy* in this usage comes from *pusillanimous*. Everybody knows that."

RHETORIC - Uhm.... oops?

TIAGO - "Chill out, man. Here you can receive the Mother's love, and, when you're ready, she will take your hand and lift you out of the despair at the bottom of the bottle."

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant whispers to you, quietly. "This man is obviously a habitual narcotics user. Do we really need to question him?"

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - I'm put off by this religious stuff, he thinks -- and maybe the ceiling-climbing, too. It's all very hard to square with the lieutenant's own view of reality.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - Hey and what was that about *the bottle* again? You haven't even drank that much lately! Lay off it already. Sheesh.

"Yeah, I guess I have a bit of a problem, and it's been getting out of hand lately, but..."

"I'm a police man. I need to talk to you about police things. I don't know anything about 'alcohol use.'"

"Oh, hell no!" [Run away.]

TIAGO - "Oh yeah, sure." His eyes remain fixed on yours. "You don't know anything about alcohol use. You've got it *all under control*, wey. I can smell the control all the way over here."

"I'm doing just fine, thank you!"

"Okay, fine, I'm struggling. But you don't need to lecture me -- I know what I need to do."

"You don't know me! You don't know what it's like! There's something... something white pursuing me! White and very sad..."

"This conversation is making me uncomfortable. Let's talk about something else."

TIAGO - "Not all of it. I was like you once. You don't know all the havoc *el vino* is wreaking on your mind and your spirit. Necesitas parar, homie."

KIM KITSURAGI - "You know, actually, since we're here -- you may want to pay attention to what the ceiling climber is saying."

VOLITION [Medium: Success]- If the lieutenant agrees, then maybe, just maybe -- you should pay attention?

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - Look at these crazies. What is this, a fucking intervention?

HORRIFIC NECKTIE - Fuck you, crab-man, you don't tell us what to do. Tell him.

[jannwrites]

movie ask meme : JACOB'S LADDER (1990) directed by BRUCE JOEL RUBIN.

a selection of lines from the 1990 film jacob's ladder. modified slightly for rp purposes.

don't leave me.

yeah, you and everyone else.

fuck off! mind your own business!

i didn't want to wake you.

it is tomorrow. four a.m. how come you're so late?

why can't you remember their names?

they're biblical. they were prophets.

i don't let anybody call me that.

you're a real heathen, you know that, [name]?

you sold your soul, remember? that's what you told me.

is that the one who died?

sorry. it just took me by surprise. i didn't expect to see him this morning. god, what i wouldn't ...

he was the cutest little guy. like an angel, you know. he had this smile ...

i don't like things that make you cry.

it's amazing, huh [name]? your whole life, right in front of you.

they're gonna get me. they'll tear me to pieces.

i never hurt anybody when i was alive.

i don't understand you philosophers.

she said you were a son of a bitch and she regrets the day she set eyes on you.

i think she still loves you.

my brain is too small an organ to comprehend this chaos.

you know, you look like an angel, [name], an overgrown cherub. anyone ever tell you that?

this city is filled with creatures. everywhere.

they're like demons, [name].

it's the pressure, honey. that's all it is.

those guys tried to kill me tonight. they were aiming right at me.

says here the world's comin' to an end. the battle of heaven and hell they call it.

listen to me. i'm going out of my fucking mind here.

let me look at your hand.

according to this, you're already dead.

you are out of your mind, man. out of your fuckin' mind.

[name], you little devil. you never told me you could dance like that.

i wanna leave. get me out of here.

go to hell! go to hell, goddamn you!

if you go crazy on me you're goin' crazy by yourself. you understand?

there were all these demons and i was on fire.

i thought you said it was a nightmare?

i'm not going anywhere. i'm right here, [name].

come on, go back to sleep. you can still get a couple of hours.

you must have friends in high places, that's all i can say.

it's not worth it. you'll never win.

how many times can you die, huh?

god i hate this area. makes me nervous.

i'm not sure where i can talk anymore.

something's wrong, [name]. i don't know what it is but i can't talk to anybody about it.

you always used to listen, you know?

they've been followin' me. they're comin' outta the walls.

sometimes i think i'm just gonna jump outta my skin.

i don't know who they are, or what they are. but they're gonna get me and i'm scared, [name].

it's like i was coming apart at the seams.

they keep telling me i'm already dead, that they're gonna tear me apart, piece by piece, and throw me into the fire.

it's like they're crawling out of my brain.

he saw these creatures coming out of the woodwork. they were tryin' to get him, he said.

it's not worth goin' over again and again. whatever happened, happened. it's over.

i'm gettin' a headache just listenin' to you.

so tell me. am i still an angel?

this is your home. you're dead.

i'm not dead. i am not dead.

this is not a dream! this is my life.

i was in hell. i've been there. it's horrible. i don't want to die, [name].

you're a regular basket case, you know that?

you know what eckart said? the only thing that burns in hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. they burn 'em all away.

they're not punishing you. they're freeing your soul.

i'm not here. you haven't seen me.

the truth can kill, my friend.

hey, i'm not the problem. you've got bigger problems than me.

don't fight it. it's your own mind. it's your own fears.

it's hard to believe that the world could be so hellish on day and like heaven the next.

i love you when you're angry.

hello, [name]. i knew you'd come here in the end.

your capacity for self-delusion is remarkable.

you're a real dreamer, you know that? only it's time to wake up.

if you're frightened of dying you'll see devils tearing you apart. if you've made your peace then they're angels freeing you from the world.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Gender-Locking

Apparently, the vocal minority of neckbeard assholes in the gaming community is grumping over Star Wars: Outlaws. Sure, some of it is "it looks bland", and a lot of it is because of Denuvo, but ... that's the normal people. The neckbeard assholes are giving us the following:

"I don't want to be stuck playing a woman; I should be able to decide!"

Now. Does that sound familiar to anyone else?

I remember when every time a new game came out, and someone so much as asked if there was a character creation menu, these jackasses came out of the woodwork yelling, "If you want that, go play Sims and stop pretending to be a REAL GAMER!!!" I remember ten years ago when they rebooted Tomb Raider, and the fucking devs were talking about, "Well, it's a hard sell to get people to play a female character, so we dealt with it as the players aren't identifying with her, but trying to protect her from all the awful things that will happen to her in this game". Most of all, I remember every single Yagwood (YAGWD - Yet Another Grizzled White Dude) game that has come out since games stopped being about, like, Pac-Man.

I also remember my first experience with Mass Effect. I was a latecomer to Mass Effect, for some very relevant reasons. Y'see, I got into Dragon Age around about when Origins first came out, and I got interested in seeing what other games might be out there for me. I did look at Mass Effect, but at that point, I had no idea that you could customise your Shepard. Because I was very hesitant to get into the fandom space (I had some ... unfortunate issues in a previous fandom space, y'see), all I saw was the marketing stuff, and the marketing stuff all said Sheploo, so I just ... took one look at the box art and went, "...Nah." And when I did get into the Dragon Age fandom, and I saw and read all the stuff about Mass Effect because of the Bioware-Overlap thing, I went, "Wait, you can have a woman Shepard?!?" and basically pounced on the thing.

It just pisses me off that these neckbeard assholes are sitting there going, "Ugh; I don't want to play as a guuuuuuuuuurl! Why can't I play what gender I want?!?" when they've spent literal decades yelling at everyone else for ... wanting to play what gender they want? Hell, it was only last fucking year that they were yelling about TEH PRONOUNZ OMG or whatever, and now? Pfft.

Though I will say one thing - I'm glad of their narcissism, in a way. They've skipped straight to, "It's not catering to me so I won't buy it" - partly because they're so self-absorbed that they think that their few quid will DESTROY THE COMPANY FOR THEIR WOKENESS or whatever the fuck ... but I think also partly because they know they're going to have to face the rest of us meeting their, "Why can't I play as my own gender?!?" with the same shit we've been getting from them for decades now. They've been getting a whole lot of their own medicine lately. I guess they don't like the taste.

Then again, they're in the Black Wukong space right now anyway, crowing about how the developers refused to use Sweet Baby Inc and such. I swear, these guys need to do way more than touch grass.

[roxannarambles]

Today's been a superb day for Julinemo shippers! Can't wait to see what you plan on writing next! Great Luck!

It has been a FEAST when we are used to famine, it's truly been a wild ride. Tbh I had resigned myself to the idea that Julinemo would remain a very, very niche pairing but not only is there all this official content that's incredibly fluffy/sweet (and very easily interpreted as romantic) but I'm finding out there's way more Julinemo fans than I realized. They've all come out of the woodwork.

Also, thank you anon! I do have another story in the works, although I've been v. slow as of late due to some of my chronic health issues acting up. Still, I'll peck away at it bit by bit.

[the-takosader]

Well, it's done!

It took most of the month, but it's done!

Please note: it is not finished. Projects have 1 rule: they're never done, they've merely escaped the first development stage. Same goes for this: it's escaped dev phase 1, but it's not finished, not by a long shot. To be finished requires more work than I can get done right now.

So anyway, how did we get here? After 6 months, several finger injuries and lots of swearing later, how is this the specific result?

Well, let me take you back to December last year, where I got the body and kit as a semi-late Crimble present.

Look at it. No modifications to the body, the kit's barely touched, and I'm taking the photo at almost 9pm.

Anyway, Jan 5th, I took the body, kit and a nut blank (a surprise tool that will help us for another project) up to my aunt's house, and we measured up the body to make it compatible with the neck from the kit.

There, we found a problem: the neck heel was too wide for the neck pocket in the body, by all of 3mm. I know, doesn't sound big, does it? Well, 3mm can mean a hell of a lot when it comes to woodwork and lutherie, because it can be the difference between a snug fit, and too big to fit in.

So how do we fix the problem? We decided to rout out the neck pocket, in order to make the heel fit in. However, doing that freehand is what we in the business call a Bad Idea. So we made a jig to guide the router. That just so happened to be on February 9th of this year, the 60th anniversary of the first Ed Sullivan broadcast which struck Beatlemania in the States.

Yeah, that's a side tangent all to itself. Now, returning readers with remember that I've mentioned February 9th before. Yeah, that incident where I got 3 new cuts on my index finger. To quote me from February: "Ouch."

Following a 3 week break to heal, I made up for lost time well. How, you may ask? By modding the body to fit most of the parts from the kit (I'd placed the pencil there to hide the nut):

I was very busy during the month of March, as these 3 photos can prove:

Yes, all 3 show effectively the same thing, but they mark a good point of progression in the completeness of the thing: not only had we designed, cut out and fitted a scratchplate to the body (well, test fitted. We didn't have the neck on yet, and we hadn't actually drilled any of the holes in either).

Apparently I just... didn't take any photos during April, so I have no record of when the headstock was carved out to make the cresting wave. It was either the 12th or the 26th, because I had a 2 week system for this thing, but when it got carved, I can't recall.

Anyway, I have a photo for May:

This is literally the only photo I took of it during May. As you can quite visibly see, we stained the top of the guitar. I did owe peoples another photo, though, so I got a couple more photos of it the time after:

Photos not only of it having been stained front and back (it was either that or try and get any dyes that got past the binding out - with sandpaper.), but also it in the final stages of assembly and setup.

However, I got it from my aunt today. So, you may be wondering, why did it take another week to finish?

The short version? Miscalculations.

So what about the long version?

Back when I got the body, it had a neck pocket size and depth meant for a standard Telecaster guitar neck, meaning that it had to be routed out to 59mm to fit the stupid thing in.

Notice how I mentioned both size and depth. That meant that not only was the neck heel too wide to fit it in, but it also sat too proud of the surface of the guitar. What that meant was that it created a neck angle that should not have existed whatsoever - the back of the fretboard was too far up in comparison to the headstock.

I took a photo of it on Monday, when I learned about all this:

Notice how it's missing a string. That's because the saddle for the A octave was sharp, meaning when the string was put under a little tension (seriously), it snapped off at the saddle, and pinged off.

So for this entire week, I've been wondering if it's going to be ready soon or not. Obviously, though, the answer turned out to be yes. On Wednesday, I received this photo:

If you're confused at what it's showing, it's the neck pocket's old depth (marked by it still being that depth), in comparison to the depth which it should be (marked by a chinagraph pencil). That got carved away, and now the strings sit much lower and actually ring out.

I got another photo yesterday too.

This one is the nut slots being cleaned up so the strings don't go sharp when fretted near the nut. You'd be surprised how common a problem that is.

And, of course, I got the guitar today. To end off this post, have a couple photos taken with natural light:

[ezraxmp]

Déjà Vu

With @benji-mp

The day was coming to an end and the streets of New Orleans started to fill up with people leaving their 9-to-5s, their retails and their services. Going home to their partners, their kids, their pets.

Some only now coming out of the woodworks, going to their graveyards and their sides.

Though not going home, nor having anyone to come home to, Ezra unfortunately belonged to the first group.

9 to 5. Not coming in a minute earlier, not leaving a minute late. They left at five on the dot, not wanting to subject themselves to any more sirs, my mans or attaboys.

Socially and emotionally drained, the demigod walked to the nearest park on autopilot. To unwind with a good book in a gorgeous area.

With the way the Egyptian wandered absent-mindedly, it was almost a miracle they hadn't bumped int--

.·:¨༺….::::•°✾⋆★⋆✾°•::::….༻¨:·.

"I'm sorry!"

Ezra locked their eyes with the man they just bumped into for a second, blinking as the gears in their brain ran a million tours a second to figure out where they've seen this man before. It must've been a brief encounter such as this one, since they only vaguely recognized the him.

It clicked, right when the stranger turned away again to go on his merry way.

"Wait! Excuse me!" they called for the other's attention. "I'm sorry, this might be a strange question, but have you ever been to New Orleans before?"

[beardedmrbean]

Years after the death of George Floyd shined a spotlight on societal inequities, diversity professionals say some companies are turning their backs on the progress that's been made to address them.

Madison Butler is one of the many diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) professionals that companies previously brought on their payroll to ensure their business is equitable and accessible for people of all backgrounds.

But in recent months, Butler said she has found it increasingly hard to find work -- and she's not alone.

DEI positions have been disproportionately hit by layoffs across industries, but particularly at tech companies, which have faced financial challenges as sales slowed from the blistering pace attained during the pandemic.

When Butler reached out to DEI professionals who planned to hire her for consulting, she said companies have told her: "'Oh, this person is no longer with the company.' 'Oh, this person has been laid off.' 'Oh, this person no longer works here effective last month.'

Melody, who is using only her first name for privacy reasons, is also a DEI professional and said she was laid off along with others on her DEI team within just a few months of their hiring.MORE: DEI: What does it mean and what is its purpose?

"It's difficult to be somewhere for a brief period of time and feel like you didn't even have the time to make the impact you wanted to make," Melody told ABC News.

"The workplace is so full of human beings and we're not robots," she added. "We definitely need people at work who can help us feel like we belong there."

Nationwide call to action

George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020 during an arrest. His death prompted a nationwide movement in which protesters demanded individuals and organizations alike take action in addressing societal injustices that impact historically marginalized groups.

To do this, some companies sought out the expertise of DEI professionals like Butler and Melody.

"We suddenly saw everyone coming out of the woodwork wanting to hire a lot of them, hiring inaugural DEI folks," Melody said. "And you had to wonder, like, are people actually ready for this? Or is this a trend that we're seeing?"

DEI initiatives are often intended to address workplace culture and conditions, such as inaccessibility in the workplace for disabled people, poor retention rates for workers of color and other inequalities faced by marginalized groups.MORE: Rise in anti-LGBTQ hate and extremism captured in new reports

From September 2019 to September 2020, job postings for diversity, inclusion and belonging positions on the hiring website Indeed rose by 56.3%, the company said.

A LinkedIn study found that chief diversity and inclusion officer positions grew by 168.9% from 2019 to 2022.

The rapid organizational movement toward addressing inequalities was initially exciting for DEI professionals. But in just a couple of years, that excitement wavered as growth rapidly fell apart.

"The honeymoon is over," Cecil Howard, a DEI consultant and former chief diversity officer at the University of South Florida, told ABC News.

"Right after George Floyd's killing, everybody who didn't have a diversity office quickly created a diversity office," he added. "A few years later, they started realizing, 'We checked the box and things are a little quieter now.'"

DEI begins to disappear

Starting in late 2020 -- months after the killing of Floyd set off a racial reckoning -- a host of companies escalated cuts of DEI professionals, a survey of more than 600 companies from data firm Revelio Labs found.

Last year, the layoffs accelerated significantly, the study found.MORE: Where guaranteed income programs are growing in the US

One in three DEI professionals lost their roles over a one-year period ending in December, the survey said. Over that period, the study added, non-DEI workers experienced a relatively lower attrition rate of 21%.

The job losses owe to several trends: a sluggish economy that prompted cost cuts, a softening of the scrutiny that held corporations to account over racial justice and a rise of conservative backlash against DEI, some DEI professionals told ABC News.

"In 2020 a lot of organizations reacted to the market, reacted to social events taking place without really having a clear understanding of what DEI is and how it should be enabled in business," Christie Lindor, a diversity strategist and CEO of Tessi Consulting, told ABC News.

"When things get rough, these are the areas that go," Lindor added.

Speaking to laid-off DEI professionals, Howard noticed job losses concentrated among individuals who criticized an employer's diversity-related policies or offered ambitious ideas for reform, he said.

"The separations weren't coming from organizations that were really serious about enhancing their culture," he said, describing a chilling effect for DEI professionals: "We don't need you to be a voice; we need you to be a face."

At the same time, conservative elected officials such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began to target DEI initiatives.

DeSantis last month signed into law a bill that prohibits state or federal spending on DEI programs at public universities in Florida.

The acronym, DeSantis said, should be reinterpreted as "discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination."

In February, Abbott's office ordered state agencies to stop using diversity, equity and inclusion programs in hiring, calling them "illegal."

Abbott's chief of staff, Gardner Pate claimed these programs "proactively encourage discrimination in the workplace," and do the opposite of what they claim to do.

And in June, Abbott signed a ban on diversity offices in state-funded higher education institutions.

In a statement, a spokesperson from Abbott's office told ABC News that "the issue is not diversity – the issue is that equity is not equality, and DEI practices conflate the two."

The statement continued, "Some universities and woke professors have been using DEI to advance political agendas and exclude conservative viewpoints on college campuses. These efforts adversely affect our students, limit exposure to diverse thought, and destroy our education system."

DeSantis' office did not respond to ABC News' requests for comment.

Lindor accused elected officials like Abbott and DeSantis of "weaponizing" DEI for political purposes, calling conservative political attacks one of the "driving forces" behind cuts in the field.

Butler and Melody believe that anti-DEI policies intend to turn back progress made by marginalized groups toward equality.

"People fear losing power," said Butler. "So much of this work has to be centered around deconstructing things like white supremacy, deconstructing status quos. And those status quos and white supremacy protect people in positions of power."

Without these DEI policies, professionals fear that organizations may fall back into patterns that create unhealthy or exclusive work cultures that drive away diverse candidates, employees and customers alike.

"If we don't have employees that understand people of different cultures, different backgrounds – companies are going to find themselves losing good employees to discriminatory practices," said Brit Levy, a former DEI employee who was laid off from Meta.MORE: How Colorado Springs, with a history of hate, built LGBTQ safe spaces after the Club Q shooting

She continued, "It's going to be an uphill battle for retention. Employee morale is going to go down because now you have these employees that feel like targets they have targets on their back."

Companies choosing to slash DEI programs could face difficulty hiring candidates from underrepresented groups and understanding the needs of a diverse customer base, Lindor said.

"It's not just about being progressive as an organization," Howard said. "Start looking at the bottom line."

Some states that have banned workplace affirmative action -- a diversity initiative that allows employers to consider race as one factor in hiring -- saw that such bans negatively impacted diversity in the workplace, according to a Harvard study. The study analyzed the workforces of four state government following the ban and found that these states saw significant declines in the number of Black women, Latino men and Asian women working there.

Meanwhile, the number of white men in the workplaces increased, the study says.

Diversity has also proven to be good for business, according to several studies that indicate that companies that are more diverse are more innovative and in turn, more profitable.

Companies that fail to diversify could fall behind, especially in the tech industry, where a surge in the development of AI has heightened the importance of innovation, Lindor said.

"We're seeing more candidates who want to join companies that align with their values," Lindor said. "It's difficult for companies to authentically say DEI is a priority when they're cutting."

"We're going to start to see the results of that in the marketplace in the years to come," she added.

[shr0mwzrd]

^^^^^ what she said

Regrettably, I find myself in these same rocketry/space enthusiasts communities @stellanix mentioned, and they do indeed have that sort of bias 😅 ya just can't watch a NASA presentation or some launch coverage without 30 of Elon's personal cocksuckers coming out of the woodwork to call this guy the biggest and bestest genius to ever live and fiercely defend every single endeavor of every single one of his companies.

Now, I'll admit that SpaceX in particular has pulled off some incredible feats of engineering that are worthy of respect; Elon Musk cannot personally claim any merit for any of those achievements. He's "chief engineer" in the same way that my cats think they run the house: they fucking don't, and can only feel that way because they have a dedicated staff (my partner and I) to take care of their every need and desire. Recovery and reuse of an orbital-class booster is seriously impressive. The raptor engine is an engineering marvel. The potential for full reusability could be a complete game-changer. There were, are, and will be costs to that innovation and the concurrent hubris of the fascist billionaire on top.

Falcon 9 second stage trunk modules have been surviving re-entry and landing on people's properties of late. They have plans to alter to deprbit procedure to prevent this, but IIRC ~summer 2025 is the target for that, so dozens more flights will go without those changes.

Starlink, as mentioned above, is a massive hindrance to astrophotography and astronomy generally, poses a risk to the atmosphere over time, and massively increases the possibility of a debris cascade in LEO (at least they're specifically designed to drag-deorbit within a few years...but a few years of Kessler Syndrome would have pretty severe impacts on humanity as a whole. Just imagine a world with no or extremely limited cellular and weather satellites in usable operation. Plus, again as mentioned above, the fascist pulling the levers gets to give and take access to the Internet at a whim.

Starship, as an engineering project, is radical in every sense of the word, and I have enjoyed following the development progress. That said, the Boca Chica site has had some on-and-off issues with wildlife conservation in the area, including sea turtles that nest in the nearby beach. They have shattered local windows numerous times. They had to (mostly) buy out an entire preexisting village and move their own employees in so A) they were closer and B) causing damage to their homes would be easier to deal with "internally." High-profile launch failures (largely resulting from go-fever and featuring largely predictable and/or preventable root causes (directing the world's most powerful rocket EVER at a bare reinforced concrete slab Does Not Work)) have scattered huge chunks of debris for miles. While the exhaust products of methalox combustion are largely just water and CO2, the staggering number of flights projected and needed for some of these more ambitious refueling / deep-space missions (plus the moonshot of a Mars colony, if you'll pardon my pun) will have an impact on the atmosphere.

SpaceX does cool shit... sometimes. The cool shit they do cannot be attributed to Musk, but a healthy majority of the shittier things they've done CAN directly be traced back to stupid, egotistical, and/or near-sighted on Elon's part.

Starlink is dumb and bad. Global socialized fibre network NOW

starlink pisses me off

the issue of its impact on astronomy and light pollution has been discussed a lot, and is a very real issue (i've noticed up to 10% of the frames i take while doing astrophotography being rendered unusable by starlink trails), but there's an even bigger issue

not only does starlink constitute the majority of active satellites in orbit, with over 6,000 already up and potentially over 30,000 planned, but these satellites are disposable

each satellite only has a lifetime of 5-7 years (not including satellites that prematurely fail), and re-enters earth's atmosphere and disintegrates at the end of its life, and is then replaced by newly launched satellites

it's also worth mentioning that aluminum from re-entering satellites forms aluminum oxide, which can damage the ozone layer and risks reversing the recovery of the ozone hole

and this is touted as progress, "the future"! the way we bring high-quality internet to anyone who doesn't live in a big city or a wealthy country. a gift to all humanity! (except elon musk gets to deny it to whoever he wants)

and it is literally unsustainable

the so-called internet infrastructure of the future relies on frequent rocket launches spewing carbon dioxide and black soot into the atmosphere, and disposable satellites that destroy the shield that protects all life on earth from UV radiation

the atmosphere is a global commons. orbit is a global commons. yet a single company owned by a single fascist billionaire has appropriated a vast swath of orbital space and filled it with infinite trash machines - without any international regulation. but bring this up in any space fan circles, and you'll be met with techbros screaming at you and calling you an enemy of humanity for not thinking that elon musk should be able to do whatever he wants without regulation

starlink isn't the future, it's a cancer filling our sky with trash (and i guess some people get kinda expensive internet along the way? oh yeah btw the poor people they're talking about starlink helping can't afford it)

anyway fuck starlink, they should stop launching these trash satellites, if you want everyone to have internet we should build more publicly-owned fiber instead

[leagueoflegends-confessions]

I completely forgot that Kalista existed until yesterday when I played against one for the first time in 6 months.

Artwork by JasonArts

[sendaidivision]

Kotono's Thoughts on Shizuoka Division

Hojo Kanon

"Kanon-san, my former co-worker and acquaintance. Truthfully, we didn't speak much when we were both together, despite a few 'hellos' and 'hi's'. When I overheard that she had volunteered to be the guinea pig for the prototype for Hypnosis Microphone, I tried to dissuade her as it was dangerous, but she refused to listen to me. ...Now look at what you've become, Hojo.

"I sympathize with you because of Chuohku's negligence on their part. But anything other than that is entirely your own doing. And I won't be showing you any mercy if we happen to meet each other in the D.R.B. I promise you that." Kotono scowls at the photo, before tossing it to the side.

Aichi Reika

"...Wow, Takumi actually had a hidden gem like this as a woman before? ...Huh, what do you know? The guy has a few secrets of his own, it seems. Still though, it was better that the two of them didn't end up together. Why? Have you heard what's been said about this woman? How she marries her husbands for their money and then they just die mysteriously afterward? Yeah, I don't buy it. I know she's behind at least one of her husbands' deaths, if not all of them.

"But hey, this is an issue for her and Takumi to handle. I'll stay out of it if that's what he wants."

Kito Sakura

"...Okay seriously, what the heck is with all the Yakuza suddenly coming out of the woodwork as of late? Has the D.R.B. attracted so many criminals that they don't care about being arrested anymore? ...Then again, considering this woman no doubt controls more than half of the Shizuoka police department, I suppose her getting arrested is the least of her worries. So long as she keeps her business in Shizuoka and it doesn't affect any of us here in Sendai, we've nothing to worry about."

Silent Tragedy

"Silent Tragedy, huh? Points for originality, I'll say that much. But the only tragedy is what will happen if these women happen to win the D.R.B., which I don't see happening. No doubt they've got enemies on all sides, and if one doesn't take them down, then another will. I'm hoping that team will be us, if at all possible."

[sims-half-crazy]

May 16, 1881

Our garden is beginning to look like a barren patch of dirt. Thom has tried using different types of fish, dirt, loam, cow dung, rabbit dung to help the plants grow but still nothing is surviving. The upside to him not spending as much time in the field is that he's returned to woodworking more and he's creating even more beautiful furniture now.

The children are all enjoying their studies at the new school. They've just returned to session any my is the house quiet during the day! Julia and I get so much done! Well she does most of the work. I've not been feeling like myself lately. I tire easy and my stomach is almost always at odds with me. I don't know what's going on, but I am not calling the doctor. This will pass as have all the other illnesses.

Virginia has really come around in her chores and how helpful she can be. For a while, I was worried that she was going to spend her entire childhood in the chair by the oven. That's where I usually send the children when they need to get out of my hair and think on what they've done. She has spent more time in that chair than I think all the other children combined. It must be because she's the youngest. Everyone tells her what to do and she doesn't get to have a say in much. I gave her the task of caring for the chickens. She's 9 now and can handle that. The look of joy when she comes in from caring for them warms my heart. I'm so glad she's finding her place.

[adoredmarigold]

same anon as the most recent ask and yes absolutely! i really am excited for the new cast at the end of the day. they've got such a talented bunch and the character descriptions all seem like a lot of fun. i think it's just seeing more people come out of the woodwork to bash that scream 4 lately and i feel like that's sadly gonna be more of the norm after the new movie comes out. which i'm excited for too but i think scream 4 did a lot well and is still a fun time despite its shortcomings

I feel like each sequel has been getting their haters but also their fans come out of the woodworks. I feel like for every scream 4 hater I see there’s like at least 3 fans to overshadow them. I’m just glad the sequels are getting more love and attention overall.

But yeah you’re right, honestly I feel like people are way too hard on scream 4 (and no I’m not just saying that cause I’m a fan hush). Like idk I feel like people tend to nitpick it alot? I feel like people exaggerate it’s flaws, no it’s not a perfect movie but I feel like people are giving it too much shit just cause they don’t personally like it. The pacing is quick and fun and it had a message it wanted to push about remakes and I think it did it very successfully.

Also Jill and Charlie best Ghostfaces I said what I said

[whatevercomestomymind]

Such shock. So surprise.

For those of you who have been following the raging dumpster fire that is America right now, Trump just very openly laid out his plan (that I've been saying for 3 years now) in the debate last night.

Systematic destruction of the faith in the validity of our electoral process.

Calling for voter intimidation from his supporters.

Refusing to concede if he loses.

Telling literal Nazis to "stand by".

We are about to see the rise of the 4th Reich. Trump has set things up to be able to stay in power indefinitely, backed by right-wing and Nazi militias across the country. The US Military has stated if he refuses to leave the white house after losing the election, that they will not get involved.

Trump doesn't need them to get involved. He's been building relations and support from Nazis since before Charlottesville. And they're everywhere, they're well armed, and fanatical. If there is an uprising or mass protests, you can bet your ass the nazis and stazi and gestapo cops are gonna be coming out of the woodwork like never before to quell them.

Everyone keeps saying that voting blue is "our best hope". Y'all don't get it. This election is the fucking hail Mary from the end-zone with 5 seconds left and half your team is injured. Facism is already in the building. They've been systematically dismantling democratic protections for years. It's probably already too late.

Did you watch Captain America: the Winter Soldier? Yeah, Hydra has already fucking taken over.

But once, just fucking ONCE, I would like to be proven wrong. If ever I needed to be wrong, this is the fucking time. I've never wanted to be wrong about something so badly in my life.

[exoticwoodzone]

https://exoticwoodzone.com/blogs/e/things-to-consider-before-buying-a-knife-blank-exoticwoodzone