theogrin

theogrin, 4 months ago

@Impossible_PhD

This is horrifying to the extreme. This isn't just the death of a generation. This is the death of several, the cultural obliteration of trans, enby and GNC folks in general for decades upon decades, in pursuit of a vaunted patriarchy constructed entirely of pigeonholes.

Of that 25-44 range, I would even hypothesize that the lion's share are below 35.

theogrin, 4 months ago

@rachel @Impossible_PhD

I don't even have to look up the doc to tell you they skew hard towards poverty, because a culture of hatred and violence doesn't just have the obvious illness and death effects, but also results in stressors which make it difficult or impossible to hold down even the most seemingly-innocuous job for long, even without the push to turn to self-medicating through alcohol or other substances.

theogrin, 4 months ago

@Impossible_PhD @oldladyplays

Seriously, at some point I need to find the best way to treat her to something like Nougat or Vincenzo's or somewhere in town. (Hear that? The offer's open!)

theogrin, 4 months ago

@Impossible_PhD

It is a wonder and a blessing that we even have as many as we do -- folks like @oldladyplays who is an absolute gem and out there living her best life.

But imagine how much better we could be with more like her...

theogrin, 4 months ago

@Impossible_PhD

And those in the Bible Belt are the ones most likely to be unable to move. Mobility is sharply reduced in lower-income areas, in no small part by design, and especially for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, ND and other groups which are discriminated against in terms of income.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@foone

I like to think that containment is the primary goal when designing such reactors, but then I remember that few things breach containment quite so well as headbutting a planet.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@mastodonmigration

The drop in stock prices was precipitous, going from a high of 12 on Thursday to a low of 6.40 after Friday's close. (It was 9.59 at close on Friday.)

I expect some SEC investigations and a firmly-worded 'no' to those responsible for this little decision. And this is in part why I'm opposed to private enterprise being the chief arbiters of space projects these days: they're not beholden to actual progress, but instead to their investors and especially the traders who make their bones out of a finely-timed short.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@LALegault @CStamp @ned

It's making an impression, for sure. So too does a die machine, especially after you've inserted a living human being into it.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@ned @CStamp @LALegault

I'm still outright convinced that a much larger population of Canadians are trans and NB but just haven't come to that conclusion for themselves -- or feel uncomfortable and even afraid of admitting it even on a blind survey -- owing in large part to the misia, disinformation, and policies like these found throughout.

Mind, I'm talking closer to 1%, in keeping with findings in other countries. We aren't that uncommon, and a lower rate of admittal is less a matter of us existing than it is an expression of deep-seated sociological issues.

Either way, one thing's for sure. The Tories want that number to be 0 -- at any cost.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@LALegault @CStamp @ned

Sorry, I'm making a reference to the descriptive meaning of 'impressive' rather than the general colloquial use.

As in, 'Danielle Smith's policies are impressing upon trans Albertans as well as the rest of the country just how bigoted and hateful the Tories are'.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@Tattie @JoscelynTransient

The most enthusiastic ally... I certainly feel that. Hard as hell to move out of that mindset.

You'll get across that gulf in time, assuming that you want to! And at least there are lots of friends, discovered yet or no, to help you build that bridge.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@Tattie @JoscelynTransient

It can be really hard to get into any social scene when everything is so... neurologically overwhelming. Overstimulating, even! I get that the theme of drag typically is the glam and the flash, the exultation of "we are HERE", but there has got to be room for the quieter moments too, if only because there's a lot of us who get locked out because of it.

Which isn't a criticism of drag per se! If I wound up in a furry rave I'd be closing my eyes and chanting, "I have to get out of here" in tempo with the wubs too. Some stuff is just Too Much.

You're not at all unworthy because of that, dear, and you're certainly no less trans for not immersing yourself in every aspect of queer life.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@atomicpoet @crashglasshouses

I'd love to read that. And it doesn't necessarily sound gay at all.

Unless the dragon somehow takes an interest in the clumsy neophyte, in which case all bets are off.

Anyway, I've known way too many cishet guys who would absolutely adore a lady blacksmith who could fold them into an ingot with or without a hammer, so I guess it sounds like more a differentiation between 'generally not a huge audience' and 'a limited audience for which you're looking'.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@crashglasshouses @atomicpoet

If I may...

There is a certain subset of films produced for the Male Heterosexual Audience which are very narrowly circumscribed. This subset of films is, to put it lightly, overlarge. Within that subset, however, any female roles and indeed any non-traditionally-masculine roles are circumscribed, limited and generally reduced to a fraction of what they might ordinarily be.

So the ostensible Strong Lady Blacksmith's purpose is to create something for the much more virile Strong Male Swordsman.

To have her become the heroine of the story would be Upsetting, and thereby Unsuitable for a Male Heterosexual Audience, save in the potential that she might become the lover of the Male Heterosexual Hero.

The notion that a Strong Lady Blacksmith might in fact be the lead of an entirely different genre of story never seems to click in some minds, minds which have entirely too much sway in which productions should be produced.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@GottaLaff

As the old saying goes, "If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere!"

Trump can no longer make it there.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@ucblockhead @carnage4life

There's a well-established axiom in tech that the first 90% of the project takes 90% of the time, and then the last 10% takes the other 90% of the time.

And that's for projects with a stated completion goal! Where the team can say, "Okay, let's wrap this up here, it's good enough to ship." When it comes to boondoggles like self-driving cars, LLMs, and the assorted non-trivial problems of similar works, there is no stated end, no point at which the team can pretend it's tied up in a neat little bow.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@HeavenlyPossum @AdrianRiskin

This is how cults and gangs operate in part, abusing the sunk cost fallacy to drive prospective members deeper into their waiting and greedy arms.

'course, it's clear that often we don't need a cult or a gang to do it to ourselves.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@rooster
Pretty much the question I asked before finally hatching! Though it was also a little like, "If I were to spend the whole rest of my life as this gender, could I?"

Dark times are as revelatory as bright ones!

In any event, the answer was, "Yes, I'd prefer to present as a woman," and thus, behold, woman.

theogrin, 4 months ago

@zazzoo

Those paying extra special attention may note links between those groups and the bankrollers of the disastrous Ottawa Convoys from the other year, which crowded the streets of our Capitol with Nazis resting their feet up against their car horns and painting swastikas on walls -- until they ran out of gas and started demanding local business owners provide them with all the respect they weren't showing to anyone else.

Have the alleged CTF started trying to convince Canadians that we have a Second Amendment up here?

theogrin, 3 months ago

@Wileymiller

Thankfully, I can link Monty Python's classic opus, Every Sperm is Sacred, without having to look at John Cleese's mug, morally bankrupt prat that he is. It's Jones and Palin there.

So I shall, but not before mentioning that this overture for ultimate control isn't even a question of a slippery slope: it's the logical conclusion of all of Alabama's policies and directions to date. And there's little doubt that it will also be used -- and has -- against women who miscarry for whatever reason, or a host of other theoretical infidelities.

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

theogrin, 3 months ago

@akareilly

Anyone who extols the idea that 'proper training' prevents people from making mistakes, ever, should be immediately fired, preferably in a ballistic manner.

Human beings have this natural tendency to screw up! Sometimes we do so cataclysmically! And one of the benefits of diversity and inclusion is that when one person screws up, we don't just mill about in a homogeneous herd, someone has the ability to recognize the fault and the skills to fix it.

Meanwhile, Boeing execs who can't see past 'Money == Good' are making unilateral decisions and getting people killed through their blinkered incompetence.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@KrissyKat

My condolences.

Hopefully he's grown up since.

theogrin, 4 months ago

@wordshaper @charliejane

Hell, even at the end of Q Who, he's all like, "I'm in such a good mood that I'll even fix up the mess I caused, aren't I so nice?"

He is one of my favourite characters, but can't forget that he's an amoral villain and Jean-Luc and the Enterprises are simply his favourite playthings.

theogrin, 3 months ago

@atomicpoet

I get that some folks are traditionally bearish on tech stocks and often that's a reasonable position to take. In truth I see a lot of bubbles about to pop WRT LLMs in the next two years.

But now that the miners' stranglehold on the GPU market has collapsed due to a mixture of crypto no longer being 'in vogue' and more specialized cards being produced to differentiate them from the typical consumer market, I've seen a lot of folks finally taking the plunge on replacing their old 1050 Tis or whatnot.

Who takes a short position in that kind of climate?!

theogrin, 3 months ago

@AnarchoNinaWrites

People occasionally lament the inconsistency of the Conservatives' policies and directions, but it all makes sense if you realize that they're just a set of excuses which they shift around like a kaleidoscope. They don't care what the excuses are so long as they're a 'reason' to vote Conservative, be that because they think the Cons will keep them at their social standing (hah) or because it's the Party of Hate. Anything to justify that end result.