i have chronic pain. i am neurodivergent. i understand - deeply - the allure of a "quick fix" like AI. i also just grew up in a different time. we have been warned about this.
15 entire years ago i heard about this. in my forensics class in high school, we watched a documentary about how AI-based "crime solving" software was inevitably biased against people of color.
my teacher stressed that AI is like a book: when someone writes it, some part of the author will remain within the result. the internet existed but not as loudly at that point - we didn't know that AI would be able to teach itself off already-biased Reddit threads. i googled it: yes, this bias is still happening. yes, it's just as bad if not worse.
i can't actually stop you. if you wanna use ChatGPT to slide through your classes, that's on you. it's your money and it's your time. you will spend none of it thinking, you will learn nothing, and, in college, you will piss away hundreds of thousands of dollars. you will stand at the podium having done nothing, accomplished nothing. a cold and bitter pyrrhic victory.
i'm not even sure students actually read the essays or summaries or emails they have ChatGPT pump out. i think it just flows over them and they use the first answer they get. my brother teaches engineering - he recently got fifty-three copies of almost-the-exact-same lab reports. no one had even changed the wording.
and yes: AI itself (as a concept and practice) isn't always evil. there's AI that can help detect cancer, for example. and yet: when i ask my students if they'd be okay with a doctor that learned from AI, many of them balk. it is one thing if they don't read their engineering textbook or if they don't write the critical-thinking essay. it's another when it starts to affect them. they know it's wrong for AI to broad-spectrum deny insurance claims, but they swear their use of AI is different.
there's a strange desire to sort of divorce real-world AI malpractice over "personal use". for example, is it moral to use AI to write your cover letters? cover letters are essentially only templates, and besides: AI is going to be reading your job app, so isn't it kind of fair?
i recently found out that people use AI as a romantic or sexual partner. it seems like teenagers particularly enjoy this connection, and this is one of those "sticky" moments as a teacher. honestly - you can roast me for this - but if it was an actually-safe AI, i think teenagers exploring their sexuality with a fake partner is amazing. it prevents them from making permanent mistakes, it can teach them about their bodies and their desires, and it can help their confidence. but the problem is that it's not safe. there isn't a well-educated, sensitive AI specifically to help teens explore their hormones. it's just internet-fed cycle. who knows what they're learning. who knows what misinformation they're getting.
the most common pushback i get involves therapy. none of us have access to the therapist of our dreams - it's expensive, elusive, and involves an annoying amount of insurance claims. someone once asked me: are you going to be mad when AI saves someone's life?
therapists are not just trained on the book, they're trained on patient management and helping you see things you don't see yourself. part of it will involve discomfort. i don't know that AI is ever going to be able to analyze the words you feed it and answer with a mind towards the "whole person" writing those words. but also - if it keeps/kept you alive, i'm not a purist. i've done terrible things to myself when i was at rock bottom. in an emergency, we kind of forgive the seatbelt for leaving bruises. it's just that chat shouldn't be your only form of self-care and recovery.
and i worry that the influence chat has is expanding. more and more i see people use chat for the smallest, most easily-navigated situations. and i can't like, make you worry about that in your own life. i often think about how easy it was for social media to take over all my time - how i can't have a tiktok because i spend hours on it. i don't want that to happen with chat. i want to enjoy thinking. i want to enjoy writing. i want to be here. i've already really been struggling to put the phone down. this feels like another way to get you to pick the phone up.
the other day, i was frustrated by a book i was reading. it's far in the series and is about a character i resent. i googled if i had to read it, or if it was one of those "in between" books that don't actually affect the plot (you know, one of those ".5" books). someone said something that really stuck with me - theoretically you're reading this series for enjoyment, so while you don't actually have to read it, one would assume you want to read it.
i am watching a generation of people learn they don't have to read the thing in their hand. and it is kind of a strange sort of doom that comes over me: i read because it's genuinely fun. i learn because even though it's hard, it feels good. i try because it makes me happy to try. and i'm watching a generation of people all lay down and say: but i don't want to try.
That’s Louis Rossman, a repair technician and YouTuber, who went viral recently for railing against Apple. Apple purposely charges a lot for repairs and you either have to pay up or buy a new device. That’s because Apple withholds necessary tools and information from outside repair shops. And to think, we were just so close to change.
This guy inspired me to repair my own macbook. First of all, you should know that I am not… like, I have to look up HOW to look up what my computer specifications are. Tech, that ware either soft or hard, is not a subject in which I experience comfort or competence.
But my puppy peed on my keyboard, and I asked the apple store, or the fucking mac cafe, or the godsdamn Computer House Chill Zone or whatever cute ass name they have for their bullshit store, and they said it would be TWELVE HUNDRED DOLLARS TO REPLACE MY KEYBOARD. I’m not even exaggerating.
So I asked the internet, well how hard IS it to repair? And I saw this guy’s video, and while I am no techie, I AM fueled by spite, so I was all “oh, they do that shit on purpose specifically so they can charge me $1200 bucks or make me buy a new computer hunh? FUCK THEM” and I bought all the tools I needed for about $25 and I bought all the parts I needed for about another $25 and I watched a few tutorial videos, and I replaced my own keyboard.
So, once you are doing the actual deed, it becomes pretty obvious that they are finding creative ways to make this much harder than it has to be on purpose. On thing that stood out to me is, instead of all the tiny screws being the same size, there are about two dozen very slightly different sizes. They could easily be all the same size, or like, two sizes at most, but no.
These mother fuckers will take a panel that screws into place and they’ll use a different size screw for each corner. They are so close that you almost cannot tell them apart visually, but they each will only screw into the matching corner. Like, it’s a pretty clear “fuck you” to anyone trying to do repairs.
anyway, this guy is also fueled by spite, and doing holy work, and I have mad respect
Her name is Theresa Kachindamoto, and she is a senior chief - political leader of a region with a population of about 900,000 people.
She didn’t run for election; she was appointed, without her knowledge, while she was living and working in a completely different part of the country. She just received a call one day telling her to come back to her childhood home, because she was in charge now.
So she did; and when she arrived, she discovered widespread sexual abuse of children. She browbeat 50 uncooperative local leaders into accepting her decision to annul all the marriages. She then fired four of them when they continued to allow children to be married off in their areas. She still faces widespread opposition from parents who consider it their right to sexually abuse their daughters if they want to; but Kachindamoto very evidently does not give a fuck, and is continuing to use political and legal means to protect children in the region.
She’s not just an anonymous do-gooder; she’s an effective political leader despite incredibly difficult circumstances. Theresa Kachindamoto.
[Image Description: a twitter post from user Al Jazeera English @ AJEnglish that reads “This woman has broken up 850 child marriages and banned sexual initiation camps in Malawi”
Below the text is a picture of Theresa Kachindamoto. She is a dark skinned woman with short hair. She is outside and smiling. End ID]
got worried checking the dates on this post and seeing 2016, knowing how risky this kind of political activism is
good news: Kachindamoto is still in office, and last year (2024) she received honorary doctorates from 2 universities and was given the African Genius Award 🙏
Please send me the training or tutorial in a written format with maybe some screenshots if necessary. I don't want a video tutorial. I don't want to waste time trying to scroll to the exact moment in the instructions that I need and then have to pause and replay it because I missed the .01 seconds of actually relevant information.
Please. Text. Maybe some images for clarification. I can read. I promise.
I want to share a perspective that might make some of you uncomfortable, but I urge you to keep an open mind.
To all the elder sisters out there, especially those with younger brothers...be open with them. I have a younger brother and I make sure he grows up seeing women as human beings, not mysteries.
I ask him to grab my towel, my pads, or my clothes when I need them. If I’m changing my shirt and he sees my bra, I don’t rush to cover up like it's something shameful. I watch movies with him that introduce natural intimacy..not in an inappropriate way, but in a way that normalizes affection and prevents unhealthy curiosity. I never want him to grow into a man who objectifies or disrespects women just because he was kept in the dark about their realities.
But it’s not just about that. I make sure he knows how to cook, clean and take care of himself. When I cook for him, I ask him to help..peel garlic, chop an onion, fetch ingredients.. because I know if I don’t, he’ll grow up thinking the kitchen is a place for women. I get him to wash utensils, mop the floor, do the little things that build respect for labor, regardless of gender.
And I talk to him...really talk to him. I ask him questions that make him think, like, ‘Whose death would break you the most?’ He answered ‘Mom’ with tears in his eyes. That moment mattered. I let him know it's okay to feel, to cry, to be soft when the world tells him to be tough. I teach him not just to respect women, but to respect people. He’s very conventionally handsome and I don’t ever want him to become a man who takes advantage of that. I want him to be kind, empathetic and responsible.
And to the elder brothers out there..you can do this too. You can teach your younger siblings, especially your brothers, to be good men by being one yourself. Talk to them. Let them see you struggle, be vulnerable, be human. Be there for your sisters when they need help, when they’re in pain. Buy them pads, bring them chocolate on their periods, listen to them when they rant about life. Because good men don’t just happen..they are raised, they are taught and they learn by example.
it killed you to grow up there, in the dark like that, with nothing but the bones of your childhood. they punished every version of you that wasn't a god. forced sainthood into saturdays and now when you're out in the sun, your hands shake. your breathing puffing into cold mornings, alone in your room, wondering how you could be so broken and yet never have anyone notice the break.
in the dream of that house, you sometimes remember meals and silence and long hallways and your hand cramping over your homework. you sometimes remember the yelling or the limegreen falsehood veneer your parents could construct in the presence of guests. mostly you remember the way time seeped through you, dripped onto everything, how the words it'll get better felt like an arrow through your chest.
you would lay in bed and hope for death with the same fantasy air as romance, picturing a glorious coffin. sometimes you'd picture a dramatic end or a tragic illness that would sweep you away. but mostly you pictured some kind of strange miracle; that you'd go to sleep and simply never have to deal with that again.
when you got out, you had to burn the atmosphere to escape. these days you reside on another planet entirely: one bright and full of lights and color and friends and spice and laughter.
and still sometimes when people say summer, you still remember the back deck. you still remember building a castle. you still remember the birds. when you lay yourself down at night - some part of you still whispers about catacombs, and the dark, and the bones.
some version of you is still resting in that tomb, after all. some version of you will always see the outline of that place and say that's where we used to call home.
I delete most of my posts after a month or so to keep my blog manageable and to organize my reblogs. You have my permission to reblog whatever deleted post I made. It wouldn't be on the internet if I wasn't okay with it getting shared.
I have started my own website where I am organizing resources I've made over the years (and also compiling stuff like recipes and recommendations).
Here are some of the major resources I've made and some of my sideblogs in case you're looking for something that I reblogged, plus my answers to the tech questions I get most frequently:
First of all, here's the death book.
Here's the guide on how to write a research paper.
Here's the de-Googling pamphlet.
Guide on how to talk to people (including helpful commentary from others!)
HERE'S THE LINK TO 2025 California Fire Resources.
I'm also uploading this stuff at archive.org now.
Want to learn how to draw? check @beginningdrawing !
Why I don't go to defcon anymore (tw: sexual assault/harassment)
Are you looking for a good price on computers? Check out @okay-computer.
@compusever - tech and internet stuff.
@your-fave-shills-nfts - celebrities who have pushed NFTs
@how-to-do-activism - how-to's and information about activism and anarchy and stuff.
@depressionbootcamp - mental health and ADHD stuff.
@adultieradults - how-tos and advice that I've posted.
@but-i-eated-it - gluten-free recipes and cooking adventures.
@politicalmissdemeanor - political shit.
@fellow-ny - gender euphoria.
@punkpuns - a comic I used to make.
@pitmusic - my punk band.
@traum-fieber - my black metal band.
@blankie-wanky - cool blankets and fiber projects, mostly by other people.
@ms-demeanor-art-blog - my art stuff.
@ive-got-a-parasite - venom fanblog.
@dunn-v-parker about the plagiarism controversy lawsuit
@yelling-about-college - documenting college life and college strategies; kind of a studyblr?
There are more but those are the ones that I want to share the most mixed in with the ones that people want to see the most.
2023 Specs for buying a computer
How to make a computer meaningfully faster
Basic computer shit:
Basics of encryption and safe internet traffic.
Protonmail for email
Cryptpad.fr to replace gdocs, LibreOffice if you want a free desktop office suite
Windows security is probably fine for your AV but if you want more or have a Mac use Sophos free edition (if you're using linux there is no helpful advice I can give you, you probably know more than I do about it)
Here's a good resource on piracy (not written by me)
Here's a great post of coding resources by @shinelikethunder
My preferred browser is Firefox with privacybadger, decentraleyes, https everywhere, multi-account containers, ublock origin, and auto tab discard (sleeps inactive tabs to save RAM). I also have the wayback machine extension because archiving is good. Duckduckgo is my default browser in firefox.
Bitwarden for password management (free version is great, but $10 a year also gets you 1GB of encrypted file attachments)
If I have to use a chromium browser for some reason I use Opera
If you need to check if your email or password data has been leaked, the site you can check on is haveibeenpwned.com
“the arts and sciences are completely separate fields that should be pitted against each other” the overlap of the arts and sciences make up our entire perceivable reality they r fucking on the couch
Arts vs STEM is a lie, the computer that put us on the moon was a loom of woven wires, our space suits were made by hand sewing, we need chemistry to mix paint and we need biology to raise the sheep who make the wool we spin into yarn and crochet or knit or weave and the world is beautiful
I got yelled at by a Boomer astronaut (old white dude of course) because I gave a speech about rewriting STEM to STEAM, to include art.
He was so mad, and so wrong, that I just listened to him until he was done.
Then I said, "Well, some of the art I made inspired a scientist who stuck the landing on Mars, so."
I know you're thinking "and then everybody clapped" but it really happened. I just pulled the line from my speech, since it was on my mind.
To his credit, he tried to walk it back. He tried to say that arts and sciences are equally important but separate. While I furiously disagree with that, I let it go, because we both knew I was right.
Some things about this post since getting quite a few notes:
1. If you see this post, highly recommend taking it as an opportunity to set a timer for 15 minutes and switch over to ACTIVITY YOU ENJOY. if after those 15 minutes, you want to go back to scrolling, that's okay!
2. Huge shout out to this popping up in my notifs often, bc I do go back to activity.
3. I think there are times where scrolling is fine. Right now, for example, I'm being connected to a machine for two hours to donate plasma and platelets. Yes this is a brag but it is also a time where scrolling is one of the few things I can do. (Though I will probably also read or watch something on phone lol)
while i don’t use they / them pronouns for myself and frankly it makes me uncomfy when people use them for me , I SUPPORT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU WHO USES THEY / THEM PRNS !! YOU ARE VALID & LOVED <3
blakekathryn
gummygunk
tangentwithtanner
snowghoul
jbbartram-illu
ellievsbear
discoholicmusic
andulkaphoto
pixelskylines
prguitarman
