back on my bullshit* (*never left)

leigh | STEM academia | fic writer | usually obsessed with a show or two

[c3rvida3]

I wish rainbow trout flew around in the skies so I could release them like doves at my wedding.

[xray-vex]

[dragon-in-a-fez]

actually I think you should be normal about ordinary citizens of authoritarian countries and yes that applies even to that country you're thinking of right now

[wyrmicelli]

me tongue-deep in a sandalwood candle: 🤤

the tjmaxx employee loading a fourth tranquilizer dart into their blowgun: i need backup

[snowown]

[k-wame]

[creature-wizard]

[Description: A divorce lawyer answering the question "do you believe in soulmates?"

He answers: I believe that whoever created the concept of soulmates should be taken into the town square and beaten to death. Or you should tell me who they are so I can send them a check for a couple of hundred thousand dollars, because they have done more to facilitate the demise of happy marriages than I could ever aspire to doing.

The concept of a soulmate to me is absolutely bizarre. To suggest that out of eight billion other people in the world, that there's just this one person, and they happen by the way to live within like the same town as you, where they went to the same university as you - what were the odds of that? And that's the only person you could ever have a happy, fulfilling relationship with. That's insane, folks. It's insane. And by the way, it's toxic. Because here's the thing: when you get married, society essentially tells you, this person, they're supposed to be your best friend, best lover, best roommate, best travel companion, best co-parent - that's a hell of a resume, guy. Like, it'd be shocking to find someone who fits all three of those things.

So what happens when you have this concept of a soulmate? And my partner, you know, they're the best co-parent, they're the best roommate, the best travel companion, but you know, they're not the best lover I ever had. Well, they mustn't be your soulmate then. That means that there's somebody out there in the eight billion people, that they would be the perfect one. And that's what the horizon that just forever recedes and keeps people constantly craving the next thing that might check all of the boxes. It's dangerous.

Look, we break in relationship, we heal in relationship. You're marrying a human being. They're just as flawed as you. They have great moments, they have awful moments, they have heroic moments, they have villainous moments. This idea that somebody out there is going to be this perfect angelic presence in your life, it is a fiction, and it is the siren song that's gonna send you right into the rocks of my office. /End Description]

[ahhvernin]

I need this man to write a poem or short story anthology about the woes of marriage as the divorce lawyer looking in. I think it would be FASCINATING. "it is the siren song that's gonna send you right into the rocks of my office" SIR. PLEASE. WRITE ME SOME MORE VERSES.

[awakefor48hours]

"You should create for yourself" and "it's okay to feel discouraged when creating your own original projects if no one interacts with them" are two sentences that should be able to co-exist with each other

[awakefor48hours]

On the one hand, you should kill that capitalist in your head that tells you to make art only for the enjoyment of other people. On the other hand, it's totally fine to be disappointed that you spent hours or even days on something that only got 4 notes. You can feel both ways.

[galileosballs]

Also, please do not listen to how people talk about cover letters on this site. Cover letters are important, and in many industries you can be damn sure they'll be read. And no, they're not 'fanfic about working in your office', or just re-stating the resume contents in a fancier guise. If you treat them like that, then of course they're not doing much for you. That makes you sound like a syncophantic windbag, and it's not doing anything else to help.

I was trained in the dark arts of the cover letter by my mother, who is a hiring manager. And her training has paid off: I've been consistently told my cover letters are excellent. Let me pass on the wisdom.

The job of a cover letter is to give a prospective employer strictly more information than is on the resume. This is where you take the resume contents and put them into context. You look at the job requirements (you are looking at the job requirements before applying, right?) and look at your resume and ask the question (in your head) "why would a person think this candidate would be good for this job?" and your cover letter is the answer to that question. If you don't answer that question, the hiring manager is going to have to do it themselves, and you have way more information to work with than they do.

This is especially important if you're moving from one industry to another, because then the relevant connections aren't obvious. It's also very important if you're overqualified, because then you can use the letter to say "I know it looks like this job would be too entry-level for me, but I'm interested to pursue it for reasons x, y, and z". You can also use this space to explain away something that might otherwise be disqualifying, like job-hopping or a long break in employment. The tone to strike here is always matter-of-fact and constrained to topic - don't go into detail about health stuff or personal tragedy, just tell them what they need to hear: that this period of your resume was affected by [bad thing] but that it's now in the past and you're looking forward to the next chapter. Remember, one of the things they're trying to learn is whether you'd be content in this role, or whether you'd be miserable and leave after 2 months, which would force them to do all the work of hiring again. You're trying to establish that you will fit right in and not cause problems. Knowing what drew you to this job in particular (and don't just say 'money', that's true for everyone) helps with that.

And the other mistake? Everyone writes cover letters that are too long. One page is fine. Two is the absolute maximum, and that's if you have a lot of specific things to say. It's a waste of your time and theirs to pad it out with fluff. Of my two most recent successful cover letters (i.e. jobs for which I was interviewed) one was 390 words and the other was 550. That's the length of this post. How long did it take me to write this post? About 15 minutes to write, 5 to proof and edit. That's how long you should be spending on a cover letter, maximum.

[mapsontheweb]

The Mississippi river and its tributaries

[dduane]

Meanwhile, via Bluesky...

(See also the video here from ITN.)

[ina-gartens-weave]

video ive been thinking about for days

[ranthaven]

“All of us don’t have the same eyes” is my key takeaway here. This is 100 percent correct.

[felixcloud6288]

Listening to a podcast

"Let's take a word from our sponsor."

*Skip ahead a minute* "You can-"

*Skip ahead a minute* "Use code-"

*Skip ahead a minute* "300,000-"

*Skip ahead a minute* "300,000-"

*Skip ahead a minute* "T-shirts-"

*Skip ahead a minute* "Motherfuck-"

*Go back 15 seconds*

[felixcloud6288]

Oh we're all feeling this one aren't we?

[kitsuleif]

[earhartsease]

and that much ado? it's about nothing

[artistformerlyknownasbutttrumpet]

i just started listening to hozier (ik, like over a decade late, whatever), but bruh. some of y'all did this dude so dirty. everything i've ever seen of him on here has been like "uwu magical forest man" and so my black ass goes into it expecting white boy indie music, but instead i get this radical leftist irish guy straight up singing the blues, like?? (singing the blues/having a lot of blatantly black musical influences, BUT crediting his influences in the process, which is a an important distinction)

like y'all. has anyone told tiktok what kind of music this man actually makes? bc some of them might be shooketh to find out their precious forest man is actually telling them to dismantle the oppressive institution of colonialism while actively paying homage to artists of color

well, that and also to eat pussy, but same thing tbh

[nightmare-from-heaven]

Hey. Your brain needs to de-frag. Literally it needs you to sit there and space out.

If you want your memory or executive function to improve, stare out a window at the skyline or sidewalk or trees or birds on the electrical wires for like 20+ minutes per day. (With no other stimulation like a podcast or TV if you can manage but hey baby steps innit). If you're fortunate enough to have safe outside with any bits of nature, go stare closely at a 1 meter square of grass and trip out on the bugs and shapes of grasses and stuff.

Literally this will make you smarter. Our brains HAVE TO HAVE this zone out time to do important stuff behind the scenes. This does not happen during sleep, it's something else.

That weird pressurized feeling you get sometimes might be your brain on no defrag.

Give your brain a Daily Dose Of De-Frag.

[starsdreaming]

This explains so much.

Also, if you don't take the time regularly, your brain will do it for you. Usually when you're already stressed and it gets to be too much. You will zone out. And you can not control it. So regular maintenance will help

[silverrdagger]

whatever 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

[cubejello]

I did my PhD in a fish lab, and one time I was emailing a fish company, and the guy emailed me back with the signature “Best fishes,” followed by these guys

[dorfs]

getting overtaken as a pedestrian: people are seriously so caught up with themselves they can’t get somewhere 30 seconds later

overtaking people: come on girls it’s not a statue garden

[ip2lb]

x

[thehappysnail-deactivated202210]

Holy fuck

[musingsofaraven]

This works best if you keep windows closed.

Another design is using 2 20x25x1 filters, taping them to the sides of the box fan and then to each other so they sort of make a triangle, then cutting cardboard to make a top and bottom to the triangle.

This was discovered as a more effective design during the 2020 US west coast fires.

https://tombuildsstuff.blogspot.com/2013/06/better-box-fan-air-purifier.html

Better Box Fan Air Purifier

A better more efficient and odor eliminating homemade air purifier than just taping a 20x20x1 filter to a box fan. Sometimes you need to

[runcibility]

If you live on the west coast of the United States, fire season is coming and this is vital.

[turtlesandfrogs]

We’ve been using one, and they’re great. Might try to make the double filter version this year.

[objectconstancy]

theyve been doing a bunch of studies on this during the pandemic and this design is best! 4 filters and a shroud to optimize flow rate.

Corsi-Rosenthal Cube

Corsi-Rosenthal Cube

https://encycla.com/Corsi-Rosenthal_Cube

[puppygirllaika]

I’ve personally used both the flat single-filter version AND the triangular two-filter version, and based on subjective personal experience I would argue that the benefits from the second filter, both in terms of airflow and filtration, are absolutely worth it. If you need a makeshift air filter and you have two filters to work with, build the triangle (if not the box, i have no idea how good that one works but based on the info here i presume it’s a fair bit better.)

[flunkyofmalcador]

This trick works. We use it in my house.

[primarchpenissucker]

If anyone wants aesthetic inspo or design ideas check R/CrBoxes

[artsyongallifrey]

We literally built one this morning because the air quality had gotten so bad from all the wildfire smoke coming in from Canada (and we live closer to NYC ffs). I was so sick when I woke up this morning and my eyes were red and irritated and itchy. My mouth and throat felt constantly dry despite being properly hydrated. I was constantly sneezing.

Our cube has only been running for about five hours. My mouth no longer feels dry. My eyes are mostly back to normal. Sneezing has been greatly reduced. I’m still sick and that might take a while, but this is a HUGE improvement. The whole cube costs less than $100 to make and that included getting the materials delivered through Door Dash.

Build yourself a cube or whatever variation is necessary for your budget/living space. It will make a difference, I promise.

[anarchopuppy]

sometimes being a fan of something means not wanting them to make any more of it

[stedesparasol]

The Ol' Captain Stede Spin (aka life imitates art)