@futurebird@sauropods.win
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futurebird

@futurebird@sauropods.win

pro-ant propaganda, building electronics, writing sci-fi teaching mathematics & CS. I live in NYC.

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SmudgeTheInsultCat, to random
@SmudgeTheInsultCat@mas.to avatar
futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@SmudgeTheInsultCat

She thinks all these things sound tough... but she just sounds terrified of everything.

Guess I shouldn't shocked to find a snowflake in SD even this late in the year.

futurebird, to HashtagGames
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Riches and Wonders is a song by The Mountain Goats that's secretly about being in ant in an colony.


my fav cover:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gdLDLlFc3M

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Lest you think ants don't get drunk... well they do. Though Dorymyrmex always seems drunk and out of their minds ... that's just how they are.

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

From: https://www.instagram.com/matrondesign/?hl=en

Thing is, centipedes are famously fastidious. They wash every single leg multiple times a day and seem rather like a very leggy cat while doing it.

Perhaps it's because they are predators. Predators seem to tend to be into washing up more.

(I know it's a millipede in the cartoon, but that just makes it funnier since the centipede would roll their eyes at the complaining. )

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

If you want to watch a centipede cleaning up well here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyfivql1V-A&t=25s

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@qurlyjoe

If you want a good video on this Deep Look did one of the best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2RtbP1d7Kg

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Sometimes when I'm really tired I'll stare at a post in German on here and just wonder why I can't make any sense of it... then slowly I realize.

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

I filmed this two years ago, and the short video has become pretty popular. People are surprised that ants do this. Though to me it seems a general extension of their endless fussing over pupae... cleaning them and even biting them if they start developing into queens when queens are not wanted.

https://www.tumblr.com/futurebird/687533053186326528/harvester-ants-render-first-aid-for-their-pupating

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Flocks of graduates in colorful rayon robes, wind catching the hem, caps spinning in the air, groups of two or twenty: as much a part spring in The City Full of Schools, like the blossoms, like the balmy air— Like alates, winged ants, they gather and disperse forever.

Like the summer queens, whose wings are also one-use garments for celebration, for becoming

and for leaving.

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

My Camponotus discolor colony has produced a batch of chunky queens. They all eclosed on the same day. I wonder when they fly? Alates are a mixed blessing for ant keepers— they can really drain the energy of a colony and may lead to its end. But, it’s beautiful to watch. Seriously considering mailing these girls back to Tar Heel ants in GA —. who sold me the queen. They are legal in NY but it’s too far north to let them fly. He has many colonies— maybe he could find a way to get them mated.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

They are such beautiful ants! You almost forget how ravenous, warlike and sneaky they are!

The queens are all about the same shade of yellow/orange— which shows they all emerged at once. As their exoskeletons harden, their color will darken. In this species the wings are almost black—very striking! I hope the next batch isn’t all males— though this colony is massive— to think there were only 8 of them years ago.
(read alt text to learn how to spot a queen ant!)

A queen rests her wide head on her sisters back. They are in a cork nest and it’s crowded.
Some of the workers, that are chestnut brown with black gasters. Their gasters are a bit distended as this colony eats without end.
Side view of a major worker. Soon the young queens will be this red brown color. Notice the difference in thorax shape.

john, to ocean
@john@sauropods.win avatar

A new :

“The Wave”

The captain informs us that due to slightly choppy seas the giant paddling men have been deployed, but there is no cause for alarm.

https://johnconway.art/the_wave

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@john

The sturdy rowboat Titanic?

I have a thing for massy waves frozen in time.

What about the RMS TiANTic? if we are messing with scale...

SmudgeTheInsultCat, to random
@SmudgeTheInsultCat@mas.to avatar
futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@SmudgeTheInsultCat

Tiny?

TINY?

Have you been in the East River on a tiny kayak during the tide trying to fight it?

stupid moon, stupid gravity, stupid water ow ow my arms

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

yeah moss is great but how about a vascular plant that has basically ... gone back to the way of the moss...

Azorella compacta

It's... it's a carrot that has given up on having leaves...

Imagine a hostile planet with plants like this... could you tell that they once grew in less cold and arid climates? What if flora of the twilight days of a planet look like the earliest life... but when you look closer there are abilities, and structures that tell their history....

It looks exactly like a tuft of green moss.

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Taking photos of exoplanets is important for two possible outcomes:

We see earth-like planets or life that inspires us to do space travel.

We don't see anything at all like Earth and sober up about this little oasis on the edge of a volcanic crater.

We are like the desert pupfish. That's why that strange little fish is so fascinating. It's a mirror.

A small welcoming pool ... where we might live for a long time... and around us nothing but death should it dry up and vanish.

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Quick Tulip update: Didn’t see her for a few days and started to worry since she getting up in years for an ant. Just spotted her in the lower chamber doing some patrolling around. She’s at least two years old. Still full of life.

Close up of Tulip, a very good looking ant: she has a wide head and six sturdy black legs.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@sashin

The spots are "bee safe paint" beekeepers use it to mark their queen bees. I've marked a few ants (mostly when I catch them after they try to escape) so I could see what particular ants do. It turns out they do have distinct personalities.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@sashin

Tulip seems kind of obsessed with escaping again.

Daffodil (who had yellow spots) also liked to escape, but she was much more fierce and would join any attack with her sisters.

There is an ant with green paint who is very shy. I hardly ever see her. She likes to hide under the bark.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@justafrog

I'd like to, but young ants very rarely leave the nest.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Squad goals?

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

The company that's contracted to do security education has these little multiple choice tests, and it annoys me that they are confusing on purpose ... or they require you to listen to the wording of their videos carefully. eg:

Which URL is suspicious?

a. http : //www.gmail.com
b. https : //www.google.com/email

Um. The domain is valid for both. https is nice, but the later is a google 404... the former will re-load as https:

They wanted you to say the second one? Bad question.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@mkb

Since this has been a bit of a pattern I don't want to call them out.

To be fair they did move away from the videos you couldn't even speed up with the horrible acting.

I just wish they'd test what people know in earnest. Then put real resources to help people who who have gaps.

And stop with the videos and just let me read an article if you must. I'll remember much more from an article.

futurebird, (edited )
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@mkb

If it's anything like the rest of education it will vary by the person. Some people are excited to learn about security, may even read about it on their own. They are also the people who everyone asks computer questions... so can help spread information.

There are people who just don't care: they may need games or varied presentation to stay engaged. Humor is good too.

There are people who know they are bad at computers terrified to ask questions. They need to talk to people in person.

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

I will NOT let Pica bully me! I'm bigger than her and she can't "make" me do things!!

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@pdkoenig

But the ants always win the vote...

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@wa7iut @pdkoenig

In a few years I should have a whole congressional district on the shelf.

Problem is they are one issue: SUGAR

GrimmReality, to random
@GrimmReality@beige.party avatar

This was Drinking Buddy from Fallout 4.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@GrimmReality

It's perfectly possible to use money to become funnier. You just need to hire the right people and listen to them.

I'd say comedy isn't rocket science, but it kind of is. Comedy is hard... subtile, mysterious.

But, I don't get rich people who can't afford to project a vaguely likable image. Well I do get it. They think being rich makes what they think works "correct"

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