How'd you get here?

So yeah, I have a tumbly thingy. Don't expect much from me, yo.

[damazcuz]

my local mcdonalds online prices have me doing cookie math

[damazcuz]

so the difference between having 0 cookies and having 1 cookie is 80 cents, right? you might assume that the cookies to follow would be similarly priced. maybe 2 cookies could cost $1.50 or something! but you'd be wrong

the difference between 1 cookie and 2 cookies is not 80 cents or even close. it's 1.31. huh? cookie number two costs more than cookie 1 did? it's over 2.5x the price of 1 to get 2? hang on cause

then the difference btween 2 cookies and 3 cookies is TWENTY cents. which makes sense in comparison to 1 cookie's price but not cookie 2's. why'd the cost jump from 1->2 but not 2-> 3? ordering 2x of 1 cookie for .79 each doesn't work because the store will leave the additional cookie out of the order. it's infuriating i just want 2 cookies for 1.60. i have questions for you ronald you clown piece of shit.

[foam-dome]

The 2 cookies is what's called a decoy option. A decoy option is a marketing tactic that's used to make another option look more enticing by comparison. After all, 3 cookies for $2.30 looks like a much better deal than 2 cookies for $2.10, right? You'd have to be a fucking IDIOT to not take advantage of that deal!! It's been proven that decoy options will influence more people to buy something that they otherwise might not have. Would 3 cookies for $2.30 look nearly as appealing if you didn't have 2 cookies for $2.10 to compare it to?

[cardboard-crack]

Join me at patreon.com/CardboardCrack for extra comics, looks behind the scenes, and more!

[foam-dome]

The people who actually do this irl are the ones who think they're god's gift to comedy when in reality they're fucking insufferable 💀

[deerinspotlight]

I feel like the reason certain dog-lovers insist cats are evil is because they read their body language as if they were dogs. So here’s a very basic guide to common “mean” things cats do that actually aren’t mean at all if you know what they’re thinking.

Rolling and exposing belly- attacks you when touched Does not mean: Give belly rubs! - haha I tricked you!  Actually means: I’m playful! If you reach for my belly I’ll grab your arm and bite it because I think we’re playfighting! 

Lazily exposing belly - still attacks when touched Does not mean: tricked you again! Actually means: I’m showing you my belly because I trust you. Please don’t break that trust by invading my personal space. I might accept a belly rub if I’m not ticklish and I know you well. Snapping at you while being pet Does not mean: I suddenly decided I dislike you! Actually means: You’re petting me in a way that gives me too much restless energy. Please focus on petting my head and shoulders instead of stroking the full length of my back next time.

Is in the same room but makes no attempt to interact Does not mean:  I’m ignoring you Actually means: We’re hanging out! I’m being respectful by giving you space while still enjoying your company. Slapping/scratching your hand when you try to pet them Does not mean: I hate you! Actually means: You’ve failed to establish that we’re not playing, or the way you’re approaching me scares me. Be calmer, speak more gently, make eye-contact and blink slowly at me before you try again.

[squeakykins]

I love this post omg, thank you so much. As a lifelong cat person, dogs perplex me because they’re so completely different behaviourally.

[calleo]

This is also why people assume “cats and dogs don’t get along.”

Their body language is totally different; a dog’s play posture is a cat’s hunting or aggression posture, depending on the situation.

Tail wagging is not a friendly, “HELLO! I am pleased to see you” with cats the way it often is with dogs, it’s more of an, “I’m annoyed, please go away.” if it’s outside the realm of playing/stalking behavior.

DOGS misinterpret cat body language and often assume a cat is friendly and wanting to play when the cat is displaying, “I’m uncomfortable and will either run away or attack you if you don’t stop.”

Cats also misinterpret dog body language; the tail wag and ears are two big ones. A dog with its ears back (assuming it’s the type of dog that can put its ears back) and tail wagging is often relaxed, but to a cat, that’s a pretty aggressive set of anger body language, so a dog that approaches a cat with tail wagging and potentially ears back is not often seen as a friendly hello.

Cats and dogs also play in different ways that don’t often mesh unless or until a cat and dog have had several months to get used to each other and figure it out.

[iguanamouth]

i havent shaved my legs in a really long time and while i was babysitting my skirt edged up a bit and the seven year old i was watching said “ew you should shave that hairs not supposed to be there” and i said “well if its not supposed to be there then why does it grow there?” and he was really silent for a long time and then finally said “lets watch sonic the hedgehog”

[level27rogue-deactivated2020112]

tumors grow, are they supposed to be there?

its called “evolution”, just because its there doesnt mean its useful or wanted.

[geekandmisandry]

Local Man Compares Leg Hair To Cancer, Genuinely Thought It Was A Smart Argument. More At Six.

[charlesoberonn]

Norwegian prisons are nicer than my apartment.

[postmaritalsex-deactivated20210]

holy shit dude

[firebirdscratches]

I was really shocked by this and dubious, so I decided to read further. There’s a great article about this here: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35813470 As it turns out, this is more like a halfway house. Prisoners usually begin their term in a prison more like one we’d typically recognize - bars on the windows, locked in their cells. But the emphasis there is on successful reintegration into society.  As their sentence progresses, with good behavior, they can move into a facility more like this, where their freedoms are still restricted, but they can do things like network with people outside of prison, search for employment, cook and clean and look after themselves, and begin making plans for their reintegration into society.  As a result, Norway has one of the lowest rates of recidisvism. 20% as opposed to America’s 76%.  It seems like a shocking idea to us because of where and how we live, but apparently, Norwegians are addressing the real problem. When you take people who can’t function well in society, and then…help them do that?…they….do. Without the crime-ing. 

[daxlo-ren]

Turns out treating people like human beings makes them more likely to act like human beings….

[liquidsodanium]

But won’t that incentivize some people to go back there since they get treated so well and get a nice room versus the streets?

[kompanie-mutter-deactivated2021]

If you read the post above, it says Norway’s recidivism rate - that is, the rate of released criminals who go on to be arrested again - is 20% versus 76% in the United States, so for the most part, no.

[theyoungestwhateleydaughter-dea]

Isn’t that white-lined black cross on a red field flag a Nazi flag? Are we going to talk about how wonderful it is a Nazi gets a nice halfway house?

[charlesoberonn]

[midnight-defender-deactivated20]

[foam-dome]

“But won’t that incentivize some people to go back there since they get treated so well and get a nice room versus the streets?“ Lol what streets, Norway provides affordable housing to people without homes and plenty of social safety nets that save people from becoming homeless in the first place

[duilliath-deactivated20150805]

Joker without makeup .

[vagazle-deactivated20121222]

thats really disrespectful.. he was clearly injured in some sort of way may it be war or what have you, he is probably so depressed his face is scarred like this, he has to wake up everyday seeing this his own face, why would you make fun of him like this? fuck off. 

[r1sque-deactivated20120526]

^

[nouser1999995]

 seriously, anyone who would make fun of this is just fucked up. i actually think he’s still more attractive than like half the guys out there, even with his face like this

[babybastet]

 you guys do realize that this literally is the joker without makeup? this is heath ledger in The Dark Knight, in a scene where he’s hiding in a group of policemen.

[petalite-deactivated20210521]

oh thats awkward

[godbless-st-cyr]

[whispersfromvega]

[skunkitty-deactivated20151203]

Did that really just happen

Of course he’s more attractive than like half the guys out there he’s Heath Ledger

[balaclava-trismegistus]

The conservative Christian mindset makes a lot more sense when you take into consideration that most of the modern versions of Christianity come from Rome inventing their own kind of Christianity as the official state religion after spending a couple hundred years wiping out Christians. Like all their politics, all their values, all their missionary shit, all of it is ostensibly informed by an ancient Roman attitude at its core.

[pancakeke]

google doesnt give a shit what you're trying to search any more. it's like "I didnt bother using half of your search terms but here's pinterest and wikihow. enjoy"

[blenderman-deactivated20230314]

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

I don’t know anything at all abut computers but

You know how, when you first talk to a new chatbot (the kind that are designed to be trained as they go), it’s kind of limited and stilted and obviously AI? And then, once it’s been online and trained up and tweaked for awhile, it gets really convincing and talks mostly like a person? And then after a golden period it rapidly descends into incoherence, with a few phrases dominating regardless of conversation context and everything else being sentence fragments and non-sequitors?

The last few years of using google have kind of felt like slipping into that incoherence stage.

[narcissus-the-sky]

it pretty much is what the above person is saying. a few years ago they switched to usimg the 'bidirectional encoder representations from transformers' (BERT) algorhythm, which used AI to scan your quety f9rwards and backwards searchong fpr intent, rather than just using the meaning of the individual words ypu type. few problems with this. one, it's shit. two, it is actively ignoring what you say in favour of trying to figure out what it THINKS you're trying to say. great leap forwatd for AI, and great slip backwards for clear communication vs essentually being gaslit by your computer. three, it is trying to work out ypur meaning according to the indescribably vast pool of search data from all of history, around the world. which is great if you want to search for the same things as everyone else in history arpund the world has. it's using previous searches to predict your intent. so if yoy want to search for 'can the measles vaccine cause blood clots', congratulations, ypy're going to get a load of results about the covid vaccine. you didn't mention it but millions of other people did, so that's probably what you wanted, right? how on earth could google have made such a niave mistake? simple. it's no longer invested in showing you what you want; it's trying to show you what you should want. looking for an independant crafts shop? nobpdy searches that, you're having amazon instead. searching for a specific live journal, by name? yeah wrll it isn't so bothered abput names now, and your intention is presumably to read a blog, so here are 50 links to the same huge blog sites owned by the same huge multimedia corporations. you asked for a biography of a local photographer but running your query against every similar one in history, turns out more people use pinterest and wikipedia than that random guy you mentioned, so obviously you meant to search for 'photographs' on pinterest or 'photography' on wikepedia, right? essentially, the old algorhythm was like ordering grocery delivery by saying what you want to buy and accepting that sometimes they won't have certain items in stock and will send something similar instead. the new one is saying what ypu want to buy and it analyses your shopping list to figure out which items you're most likely to want, according to how previous shoppers have purchased, and sending ypu that instead. and call me cynical, but i think the latter method is going to lead to an awful lot of 'you want coca cola, you just didn't know it'. sooner or later ypu won't even bother to search for that off-brand cola you used to drink, it never comes up anyway. what a shame. you can read abpit the model at google's own blog at https://blog.google/products/search/search-language-understanding-bert/ which is a simple, clear explanation of the algorhythm and also the answer to the question 'what will happen when AI starts correcting humans?'. the answer is profit.

[pancakeke]

thank you for this explanation! but now I want to start killing people at google

[sibyl-of-space]

Warning long ass reply incoming.

I'm skipping class this morning and I have something to prove. I did a series of searches of the exact same keywords using Google and DuckDuckGo on my phone. First: "fma03".

First thing of note: I used an acronym instead of spelling out the name. Google makes a decision as to what I intended to search for and omits anything unrelated to the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist anime series, and chooses to bombard me with Reddit hot takes as the top result.

DuckDuckGo's first result is for a particular kind of face milling cutter, something I didn't know existed until just now. It also shows me some amino acids. WHAT THIS MEANS: given a string of characters that can and does represent multiple meanings (anime show abbreviation vs tool part vs amino acids), Google will decide which one it thinks you care about and show you only that. DDG will show you everything.

(Also of note: Google specifically really wanted to show me reddit threads of people comparing it to Brotherhood, which was not in my search at all.)

This means that if I want to know about Fullmetal Alchemist 2003, I need to be specific:

The results are more comparable this time, although Google (first screenshot) gives me ratings and reviews and a synopsis whereas DuckDuckGo (second screenshot) gives more objective information about its production and creation. Google is, frankly, trying a lot harder to sell and/or make me react strongly to content rather than just supplying the requested information.

(Side note: Google's insistence that abbreviations and acronyms Must Only Stand For One Thing are to thank for one of my favorite search results-- HOW MANY GIRLFRIENDS ARE IN FF8)

(Sadly DDG does not replace GFs with Girlfriends because it does not predict intent behind words or re-write results for you.)

I went to replicate this again by searching "ToS Speedrun". Google predicted I meant Tales of Symphonia; DuckDuckGo gave me any speedrun that used "TOS" as an acronym. Switched to "Tales of Symphonia speedrun," the main results are more similar, however once I scrolled a little by the end of the page Google decided it actually wanted to show me unrelated shit about Sonic and Baten Kaitos (this is still on the FIRST PAGE of Google, I guarantee you we have not exhausted Tales of Symphonia speedrun related content on the internet):

DuckDuckGo on the other hand even after clicking "show more results" still has not shown me anything that isn't related to the tales series:

Now then, changing gears. I decide to search for "chuudaiko" which is a specific kind of drum in taiko.

Google is like "oh, that term is related to taiko. Let's act as if you had searched for taiko instead":

DuckDuckGo reads that I searched for "chuudaiko" and gives me results accordingly (notably the first result is the same but the results after differ drastically):

I'm out of images but if I keep scrolling Google shows me a ton of instagram and pinterest and DuckDuckGo shows a lot more blogs and articles that are actually what I asked about.

TOO LONG DIDN'T READ:

- Google makes assumptions about acronyms without telling you or asking you to clarify and only shows results pertaining to what it assumes you intended to ask. This makes it more convenient as you don't have to be intentional with your searches, provided you are in fact asking what it thinks you are.

- Google will also disproportionately bombard you with reddit, instagram, and pinterest, as well as mix in related topics to your results in addition to what you actually searched.

- DuckDuckGo makes no assumptions and will give you what you asked for. You need to be specific. If you are, you are much more likely to find the information or content you seek.

It often helps to cross reference both when you're not getting anywhere because sometimes Google replacing terms with other terms gives you new search terms to then put into DDG for more accurate results. But I have DDG as my default search engine now and boy has my life been less of a headache since.

Oh and use DDG to pirate shit, Google hides results but they're still there :)

[obstinaterixatrix]

completely ruined all sodas forever for myself by spoiling myself with yuzu white peach soda… it’s so good… I can’t drink anything else…

[obstinaterixatrix]

this is nectar of the gods

[obstinaterixatrix]

milkis has been banned from our house

[nothorses]

I don’t know how to tell you this, but you should not be afraid of your friends judging you or misinterpreting your intentions.

Like. your friends should not be assuming bad intentions when you voice an opinion or disagree with them. They shouldn’t be picking apart how good or bad of a person you are at every opportunity. They shouldn’t be evaluating your worth or your “progress” or whatever every time your views don’t perfectly align with theirs.

Your friends should not make you feel like you are a bad person struggling to be good. They shouldn’t make you feel like you have to look to them for guidance on how to be a better person. They shouldn’t make you feel like only they have the keys to being healthy, happy, and a positive person. They shouldn’t make you feel like you constantly have to fight for their trust.

Friends should know you well enough to trust that you have good intentions, and give you the opportunity to prove it before they start wondering otherwise.

[lafemmeredux]

Ok but… If you’re on the other side of this isn’t this how you get taken advantage of? Like people are out there who will hurt you how do you know people’s intentions if you don’t evaluate? How do you know you can trust someone?

[nothorses]

Hypervigilance isn’t a healthy response to the universal fact of life that sometimes, people are going to hurt you. And they might even be doing it intentionally.

There is a normal amount of caution to have- looking out for your own safety is obviously important- but there is a huge difference between “not letting people use you as a doormat” and “assuming everyone wants to use you as a doormat”.

Have boundaries. Enforce your boundaries. Do not tolerate things that harm you, and demand that your friends at least try to grow. If they try but continue to harm you, even unintentionally, it’s up to you to decide whether that harm is worth their presence in your life. Evaluate those situations with your own health and happiness at the forefront.

But if you treat everyone in your life like they’re an accident waiting to happen, a monster waiting to snap, and a project you are personally responsible for molding into a Reasonable Human Being, understand that you are closing yourself off to basic human connection & doing genuine harm to those people as well.

[oudandleather]

i just want a boring love. a love that doesn’t need fights or arguments to keep the fire alive. a “let’s sit and read on opposite ends of the sofa” love. an “i thought of you when i was doing the dishes” love. an “i would rather be at home with the love of my life right now” love

[tumbwr]

[genma-shiranui-deactivated20210]

All the kids being so extra during the Chūnin exams and the procters are just like “what the fuck”

[genma-shiranui-deactivated20210]

[comradebungle]

this is just what being in middle school is like

[one-time-i-dreamt]

[one-time-i-dreamt]

Remember when Jeff Bezos, who is worth 181 billion USD donated 690k to stopping Australian fires? Yeah, me too.

[s-s-s-senp-p-p-pai]

McKenzie Scott is literally proof that these fuckers can donate HUGE sums of money to EVERYTHING and still live a comfortable life.... But nooO someone HAS to justify the pitifully small donations the richest men on earth make every year for their tax write-off

[a-slut-for-smut]

[tehriz]

Some also important context (this is June 2021, after her second round of grants was announced), as well: 

[image description: tweet from Dan Price, the Seattle business owner who doesn’t take a massive salary and pays everybody at his company really well: “Two years ago, she had $36 billion. Since then, she has donated $8 billion - more than anyone in the world. She is now worth $60 billion. I think people struggle to understand just how fast wealth accumulates for the super-rich. She literally can't give it away fast enough.”.]

[mana4anam-deactivated20221204]

She’s trying to singlehandedly redistribute the wealth she took back from Jeff Bezos and is failing at it because the economy is built so that wealth travels from the bottom, accumulates at the top, and then stays there. She literally cannot give her money away fast enough.

Think about this. This is our current capitalist economy at work. It is working as intended and designed by those who benefit from it.

Her story is incredibly revealing of how and where the system is failing.

[animeengineer]

It also means that we can, indeed, tax the hell out of billionaires and they will not suffer at all.

[probablyasocialecologist]

With the IPCC report and climate change in the news, a couple of reminders are due:

"The wealthiest 5% alone – the so-called “polluter elite” - contributed 37% of emissions growth between 1990 and 2015."

World's wealthiest 'at heart of climate problem'

The so-called “polluter elite” must change their lifestyles to tackle climate change, a report says.

"Luxury consumption by the rich concentrates economic activity and delivers negligible extra wellbeing, yet sucks up vast amounts of resources."

Why a more equal world would be easier to decarbonise

Demand would shift from luxuries to necessities.

"Affluent individuals can emit several ten thousand times the amount of greenhouse gases attributed to the global poor."

Bill Gates, Climate Warrior. And Super Emitter.

The billionaire’s new book, a bid to be taken seriously as a climate campaigner, has attracted the usual worshipful coverage. When will the

"Half of all our economic activity – all the mines, all the factories, all the power stations, all the shipping, and all of the ecological impact that’s associated with these things – is done to make rich people richer."

We can’t have billionaires and stop climate change

Ecological breakdown isn’t being caused by everyone equally. If we are going to survive the 21st century, we need to distribute income and w

"The wealthiest 0.54%, about 40 million people, are responsible for 14% of lifestyle-related greenhouse gas emissions."

Affluence is killing the planet, warn scientists

We need to move towards ‘sufficiency-oriented’ lifestyles.

The rich are primarily to blame for the global climate crisis!

Climate change: The rich are to blame, international study finds

The Leeds University study looked at 86 countries and came to broadly the same conclusions about the rich.

"The world’s superyacht fleet uses over thirty-two million gallons of oil and produces 627 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year . The world’s superyachts consume and pollute more than entire nations."

The Rich Are Committing Crimes Against Nature

Mansions, superyachts, luxury cars, and private jets produce more carbon emissions than whole countries. Researchers are calling it “green c

"The grim truth is that the rich are able to live as they do only because others are poor: there is neither the physical nor ecological space for everyone to pursue private luxury."

For the sake of life on Earth, we must put a limit on wealth | George Monbiot

Increased spending power leads to environmental damage. It’s time for a radical plan, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

The wealthy pose our single biggest obstacle to environmental progress.

The World Would Be a Better Place Without the Rich

They coarsen our culture, erode our economic future, and diminish our democracy. The ultra-rich have no redeeming social value.

"The people who are actively cranking up the global thermostat and threatening to drown 20 percent of the global population are the billionaires in the boardrooms."

Billionaires Are the Leading Cause of Climate Change

As the world faces environmental disaster on a biblical scale, it's important to remember exactly who brought us here.

There no undivided, undifferentiated "humanity" that caused climate change. It is the fault of the ultra-rich, of capitalism, and of an economic system that prioritises growth over all else.

A better world is possible. It doesn't include rich people.

[infectedwithnyanites]

[heywizards]

The Secret to Love Is Just Kindness

Those who showed genuine interest in their partner’s joys were more likely to be together.

I mentioned this article as summing up some good research about what makes a healthy, long-lasting relationship. Here's some snippets.

[demonius-darkblade]

This probably sounds obvious, but I learned today that prisoners aren't protected by OSHA regulations, and that this is another reason why employers are so eager to utilize this modern slavery. It's only a couple cents an hour, less transportation costs than the overseas sweatshops, and if you want people to work with hazardous materials without proper training? That's fine too! Prison labor is the ultimate free market solution!