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[penpaladinjules]

I am treating my body like it is a dog with request buttons.

Body: WANT

Mind: What is it, what do you want?

Body: WANT FOOD

Mind: We just ate

Body: WANT LIQUID FOOD

Mind: You want a drink. Fine. Do you want water, soda, lemonade, tea … ?

Body: WANT SALTY LIQUID FOOD

Mind: Ok well we can’t drink saltwater. Do you want Gatorade?

Body: WANT HOT SALTY LIQUID FOOD

Mind: … YOU WANT SOUP! Yeah, lil buddy, we can get you some soup.

[tiny-forests]

moss mfriday #3: Glacier Mice

[image credit]

That's right - it's glacier mice. One of my favorite things maybe on the entire planet. Let's talk about these freaky fuzzy little rats!!

Glacier mice are balls of moss that live in large herds like this in a few select glaciers. They are moss all the way through, with a center consisting of dead moss matter, implying that they begin as small growths of moss and simply accumulate over time, like snowballs. However, their outside surface is alive and well on all sides. Glacier mice have been observed, through tagging and tracking, to roll across the glacier like a majestic herd of wildebeest, exposing all of their sides to the sunlight. They trundle along at a pace of about 2.5 cm per day. That's 30 feet in a year! They're really schmovin'! Certainly further than most mosses can claim to travel.

What's really exciting, though, is that they all move in the same direction, and we're not sure why or how. Scientists experimented to try and attribute their coordinated behavior to wind, sunlight, and the direction that their grazing ground slopes, but to no avail. They speed up, slow down, and change direction in unison, based on some mysterious moss code that we haven't cracked yet.

Cross-section of a glacier mouse. Note the dead moss matter inside, and the short gametophytes on the outside, adapted to harsh winds and sunlight. [image credit]

We have figured out how they roll, though - while the moss ball sits on the ice, it insulates the ice directly underneath it, protecting it from melting. This forms a little pillar of ice that the moss eventually rolls off of. The insulating power of glacier mice also gives it the wonderful ability to host all kinds of microorganisms that otherwise wouldn't survive the glacier's harsh conditions, and their ability to move makes it possible for microorganisms to spread from one habitable spot to another. They're like a bunch of little tardigrade passenger ships, braving the dangerous glacier to go where no water bear has gone before!!

Glacier mice have been found to consist of several moss species, most of which must reproduce asexually in order to survive in the dry climate. They've been observed to live for at least six years, but are projected to live much, much longer. I love them. So much. I hope they know that I love them!! I LOVE THEM!!!!

[source][source][source]

[ospreyonthemoon]

Oh.... the glacier mice...

[nudityandnerdery]

"[Y]our Harry Potter games are Cybertrucks" is such a good way to put it.

[anxeious]

[threeture]

[kungfunurse]

Also his deeply underrated ability to clap back

[captainclickycat]

Reminds me of that story about the teacher or lecturer or whatever who told their class "hey, the ceiling has 'gullible' written on it" and anyone who looked up discovered that yep, the word "gullible" really had been written on a piece of card and taped to the ceiling. And after letting that sink in for a while the teacher said something like "those of you who looked up have just demonstrated one of the most important tenets of research: check the source."

[retquits]

so don't get too comfortable.

high resolution free to download [ here ]

[timothysnyder]

New Mexico Senate approves bill to ban ICE detention centers

The New Mexico Legislature approved the Immigration Safety Act. House bill 9 bars the state from allowing ICE detention centers.

We are deciding right now whether we want to be a country with ethnic cleansing and concentration camps.

[savouryduck]

Rubio hopes that by barring the state and local governments from working with ICE it would provide a first step in shifting the economy from relying on incarceration as the primary form of economic opportunity in rural communities. "New Mexico made a policy choice in the 90s that in order to fill gaps in economic development we would incarcerate people," Rep. Rubio said. "We have a choice now. We can go a different direction. That is possible."

[penpaladinjules]

The humans’ alien visitors looked down at the floor of the starship. “Uhhh.”

Captain Rappan followed their gaze down. “OH! Haha, right, uh. Turns out humans don’t do so great without plants and animals around. Psychologically. Most starships have an agriculture level under the floor these days, and artificial sunlight for lighting.”

The floor was clear, and below it was a shallow level of green grass. Chickens milled about below, and in another section, a pair of ridiculously fluffy rabbits.

“What are those animals?” asked one of the aliens.

To Rappan’s horror, his very neurodivergent navigator appeared at his elbow and began SHARING. “They’re chickens! They lay eggs, which humans can eat. And we can give them the scraps from our meals, which supplements their feed! And of course, they like to eat the grass and dandelions and such, it’s a bioactive substrate with worms and bugs and bees — not honeybees, the big lone clumsy bumblebees —”

“Thank you, Lorne —”

“— and the grass serves as an air purifier, to some extent, and the poo composts down to fertilizer for the grass —”

“LORNE.”

But she was opening up the panel on the floor, and hopped down into the waist-high ag level. Several chickens ran over, expecting treats. She picked up the closest one, a bold speckled hen, cradled it to her chest and stood. The chicken bawked softly, asking chicken-questions to express its doubt at this turn of events. Another chicken made a break for it and hopped out onto the clear human floor; Rappan gently scooted it back into the ag level with his boot.

“If we can move on — sorry about this —”

But the aliens were now clustered around Lorne, apparently having some kind of emotional reaction. They reached out their tentacles and touched the bird, who tolerated this with the patience of one who has already witnessed events light years beyond their comprehension, and long ago decided to just roll with it and not worry too much.

“She’s beautiful,” one of the aliens said.

“They are all beautiful,” another intoned.

The third did something that Rappan thought might be the equivalent of crying. “It’s such an elegant solution. So kind to each other. A tiny replica of your life cycles planetside. Our species, as you know, has no home planet anymore, we have traveled the galaxy for millennia in our ships as a nomadic species. Truly you must hold such love in your hearts for your home!”

Rappan, who had only ever lived in cities and found the chickens deeply weird, just nodded along with Lorne. One of aliens made a strangled cry of alarm-delight, and Rappan followed their gaze to the ship’s tabby cat who had just strolled in. The cat passed sour judgment upon this scene and changed course to the dining hall.

“AND YOU HAVE A PREDATOR TOO!” all the aliens cried, and collapsed in a heap of emotion in the floor.

[shamebats]

Tiktok post by @ wynunlimited.

[homunculus-argument]

I know that I'll certainly never be someone they'd build a memorial for, but if I could get one, I'd like to get one of those park bench statues that are sitting on the bench. Specifically of me sitting casually looking towards the other seat at an angle, looking intrigued with a "surprised but not disappointed" kind of a look on my face. Kind of a "huh, won't you look at that."

I want that specifically so people can make it a meme to post pictures of themselves showing me stuff. Like memes off their phone.

Or maybe things that they are proud of but don't have anyone else to show them to. Like your school graduation papers, this cool knitting project you finally finished, your baby who's never going to see their grandparents.

And I also want a clause that they will absolutely fucking never put those anti-homeless things of any kind on my damn bench. So if there's ever someone who's got nobody else to keep them company, they can at least spend the night with me.

[cruelssister-moved2]

for real!

[thingsbydiana]

Just wanted to make my stance on AI generated images loud and clear: Artists don't want their art to be used without consent, and our art is more to us than just a simple prompt. ❤️

[sootchild]

Ditto.

[amy-santiagos]

[smbc-comics]

[dankmemecentral1]

My dad is a kroger manager and sent me this (repost without personal info)

[leafcrunch]

they thought 1 lb stood for “one little bean”

[yellowplumfruit]

you can do it

[jensmellspeaches]

It’s okay that you can’t. 

[wilwheaton]

“Just because you took longer than others doesn’t mean you failed.”As a 34-year-old going into his junior year of college, thank you for reblogging that. I really needed to see it today.

I do my best to be the person I need in the world, and at 46, I still need to be reminded. I’m happy to know that this was helpful for you!

[thekeekster]

Tonight at Walmart I saw a little boy ask a little girl if he could hug her because he liked her sweater. The girl (these kids looked to be about 5, MAYBE 6) said no, so the boy said “okay. I like your sweater. Bye.” And then ran back to his parents.

He said to his Dad “I didn’t hug her because she said no, but I told her I liked her sweater!” And his dad said “Cool buddy!” And they went on with their shopping trip.

If a small child understands the ‘complex’ concept of consent, and the meaning of the word ‘no’, then so should everyone else.