Nice twist. I'm pretty sure at this point that you're not seriously trying to engage in good-faith argumentation. Have a nice year.
🗣AM ENDING 2025 WITH A BOOST & FAVE
look who just arrived in time to welcome the new year: my THING1 & THING2 gifts in #plushtodon form, #Boost & #Fave.
it was hard to get a good pic of us together by myself, so i hope you don’t mind the potato quality of my tablet’s pics.
i haven’t stopped smiling since i opened the package.
🗣HAPPY NEW #FEDIVERSE YEAR TO YOU ALL
@Tarheel If it's horrible and sadistic, His Majesty will probably do it sooner or later. 😡
@cargot_robbie
@alice This took us far too much effort on mobile, but we have no regrets 🤭
Edit: fixed the frame
I don't think you're hearing what I'm saying.
Also, your core argument is more or less the right-wing "individual responsibility" trope, to wit: systemic problems are always caused by individuals not trying hard enough.
I have to wonder: Under what circumstances would you consider a system to actually be broken?
(P.S. The "right to vote" is actually hotly disputed right now. The Right doesn't believe in it, and have consistently worked against legislation to enforce it -- with help from their billionaire financiers. If we only have a right in theory and not in practice, is it still the fault of the populace for not exercising as much as we'd hope? And why is it that when voting goes down, we always seem to end up with worse results? Why are those 50% making such bad decisions? What is different about the other 50%, such that things would be better if they voted too?)
@rnd I mean, can't we just pick a year and stay there for awhile??? Honestly, kids these days...
And that, in my opinion, is the crux of the problem. Most of us who were born in a democracy are now plagued with complacency.
No no no. We shouldn't have to. People in a democracy should be able to just, you know, live their lives doing whatever it is they do best.
People should only have to be "dying, fighting for simply having the right to vote" when the system is broken.
I mean, think about it: If you have to fight to fix the system, then it's kinda definitionally broken, wouldn't you say?
P.S. "Are people really waiting for the system to be "better" before voting? That doesn't make any sense." That is close to being the opposite of anything I said.
"Isn't that the case by people voting" [...]
It has seemed to me, for some time now, that the system we're in is designed to give the appearance of democracy while severely limiting actual popular input into how we are governed.
We don't really choose who represents us; we hope that the collection of voters in the geographic area we've been assigned to will choose someone we can tolerate, but the positive outcome rate is pretty low.
...especially when you consider that FPP voting results in only ever having two real choices, the overwhelming majority of the time.
"or entering politics if they don't feel represented?"
Most people don't have the time or disposition for politics -- and to a large extent, the political system we have filters out people who genuinely want to do good, in favor of people who are willing to compromise their values in exchange for political donations. The Citizens United decision kind of turned that problem from a rainstorm into a tsunami.
"the government doesn't represent you BECAUSE you don't vote!"
A large part of the problem there is people being misinformed about what's actually going on -- and the political system discourages most players from trying to properly inform their constituents.
TLDR: kinda no; the political system is far too broken, in so many ways.
Yes, we still need to vote for harm-reduction, but it's a band-aid on a breech in the hull.
@clacksee As it happens, I just watched a pretty good video from @rebeccawatson on this exact topic, albeit US-centric: Somali Americans are Good, Actually (Spoiler: it's not just about Somali-Americans.)
(I agree wholeheartedly with both you and her.)
We call the very upper #atmospheric (ionosphere) #lightnings elves and sprites (which is itself great). They don't occur everywhere, and the analysis in this study argues that elves mostly occur along the #tectonic plates' boundaries, which is slightly crazy.
Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S1064226925700081
I've been thinking about that problem a lot, over the past decade or so.
I think what we need is a paradigm which allows individuals to choose between governments (much like choosing an instance on the fediverse), with the governments negotiating between themselves over global rules.
That way, community-minded groups can gain the benefits from taking a more cooperative, and self-interest-oriented individuals can fight amongst themselves without directly wrecking things for the rest of us.
@HaTetsu @zeenix OMFG. If that happened in the US, given what teachers have to live on (and with) here, I'd be inclined to slap the guy. (Hopefully, things aren't quite as bad in Germany...)
@westerling @futurebird @SnoopJ
I once lived with a cat named Button. Button Yerface. (I didn't pick the name.)
(I lack enough information to decide if I would trade life-experiences, but part of me yearns for that final, unarguable affirmation of biology. 🥀)
@bthylafh Yesh! About 2/3 of the way down several screens of stuff about memory and CPU, it says this is a Surface Pro 7. TIL. 🎉
@BigShellEvent (There's a technique I saw for getting stuck rings off -- involves winding and unwinding a band of... cloth? something... let me know if I should try to find that.)
It's a long shot but anyone out there on the fediverse have access to a CT scanner?
I've been looking to image certain rare cards like my Vermont Microsystems IM-1024 to see if we can non-destructively resolve inner traces.
Commercial services have quoted me $1200-$1500 for this, which is just not in my budget.
more than just a beautiful mug
my friend started making these gorgeous mugs with the goal of creating a beautiful pottery mug a friend with Parkinson's could still easily hold, but she noticed it's just in general very pleasant to use
It's comfortable and relies on balance more than grip strength. She makes the top handle different on each one so you can find your best fit.
another example about how accessibility and beauty can easily commingle
Catastrophe? Nonsense -- cat as trophy (you only win it if you can sit down fast enough). 🏆