One day I hope I'm reincarnated as an alligator @phoenixskyebear - Tumblr Blog

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This is the single best video of a loon I've ever seen. Do you people realize how rare it is to see them that close? How rare it is to see them in that shallow of water? Incredible catch.

paper-mario-wiki

hey here's a website for downloading any video or image from any website.

works w/ youtube, soundcloud, twitch, twitter (gifs and videos), tumblr (video and audio), and most other websites you're probably lookin to download stuff off of.

mineralsrocksandfossiltalks

Fossil Friday: Eremotherium

Eremotherium, the Wandering Ground Sloth or Pan-American Ground Sloth, lived in southern North America, Central America and northern South America from the Pliocene Epoch about 5 Ma to possibly the early Holocene Epoch (the current epoch we are in).

It was discovered in Skidway, Georgia in 1823 by fossil collectors J.P. Scriven ad Joseph C. Habersham, described by Joseph Leidy in 1855, and mistaken for Megatherium until 1948 when Franz Spillmann recognized it for a new genus and named it Eremotherium.

Because the rocks it is found in are so young, it was very difficult to find any information on formations. A lot are just unconsolidated sediments that haven't been buried long enough to be properly turned into rock yet. Wild to think about. Old enough to fossilize bone but not old enough to make a rock. One of the biggest localities for finding Eremotherium is in Florida in a karst site (limestone that has undergone dissolution producing a rugged landscape of sinkholes, ridges, and fissures) filled with unconsolidated clay where an old Pleistocene lake used to be.

Eremotherium lived alongside very familiar animals like Trachemy platymarginata, a pond turtle,

Holmesina floridanus, a giant armadillo,

Tapirus lundeliusi, a tapir,

Chelydra, a snapping turtle,

Erethizon poyeri, a porcupine,

and Amplibuteo concordus, an eagle,

as well as many other animals including an alligator species in Florida. In Brazil, it was living with more unfamiliar animals such as Toxodon platensis,

Glytotherium,

Panochthus,

as well as a few armadillos.

Eremotherium is part of the class Mammalia, the clade Eutheria, the superorder Xenarthra, the order Pliosa, the clade Megatheria, the family Megatheriidae and the subfamily Megatheriinae. There are two species of Eremotherium, E. eomigrans and E. laurillardi.

It's closest living relative is the Three-toed Sloth.

Eremotherium was 20 ft (6m) long, about 6.6 ft (2m) tall on all fours and 13 ft (4m) tall when rearing. The most recent estimates have it weighing in at 6, 931 lbs. (3,144 kg).

It's skull measured 25.6 in (65cm) in length and was close to 13 in (33cm) wide at the zygomatic arches (bones that go from the temples, around the eye socket toward the upper jaw bone). It had a shortened nasal bone (nose) giving it a sort of truncated cone appearance and it had small, shallow eye sockets that sat slightly lower than its relatives. The teeth of Eremotherium are large, rectangular when viewed occlusally, and have a unique v-shaped valley in lateral view. Both species had 5 upper and 4 lower teeth in each side of the jaw, with upper and lower crowns interlocking along the V-shaped valleys into what was likely a shearing surface for processing leaves and small branches

The vertebrae were massively built but also compressed anterior-posteriorly giving it a shortened look overall especially in the tail.

They have very robust limb bones to carry their immense weight. look at these beefy bones!

The two species had a different number of digits on their hands with E. eomigrans having five digits and E. laurillardi having only three.

Eremotherium primarily moved on all fours with its feet turned inward, its weight resting on the outer phalanges. This all suggests it was pretty slow. Shocker, a slow sloth? Who would have guessed? It's hands were not properly shaped for digging as once thought due to its large claws but the fingers had limited mobility that would have made this endeavor impossible. However, it was able to rear on its hind legs and pull branches down with its hands. This, along with its teeth and the animals it lived alongside suggests it lived in mixed woodland forests and ate a wide variety of foliage.

There have been a number of sites with multiple individuals that have led to debates about whether they lived in family groups or not. Modern sloths are solitary but that doesn't necessarily rule out group living. Some scientists think that the bone beds were filled with individuals who died at different times in the same place, others think they died at the same time and lived in herds. It's hard to say.

Thanks for tuning this week! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and make sure to tune in Monday to learn more about large igneous provinces. Fossilize you later!

afronerdism

Please do not let debt collectors play in your face.

afronerdism

I am super busy so I honestly don’t even know if I should be taking the time to write this, but hopefully this will help those of you who may find yourself in a similar situation.

Earlier this year I received a letter of notice from a debt collector stating that they had acquired a debt supposedly belonging to me and that, per law, I have 30 days to dispute the debt. I immediately drafted a letter and sent it to both disputing the debt and request validation of the debt as well as possible settlement arrangements had they actually been able to validate said debt

I sent this letter via certified mail. Always certified mail.

About a week after the 30 day period for them to respond expired, I received a Phone call very specifically crafted in a way to invoke urgency and panic and suggest legal action. So, naturally, I called this number only to discover this was a different company that had only just recently acquired said supposed debt. I reiterated to them that I was disputing this debt and required validation in writing.

The initial conversation went smoothly, they then called me back the next day and became aggressive. They accused me of lying and did everything under the sun to try and trick me into validating this debt as mine so that they would not have to legally send me that validation. I, knowing my rights, insisted that I was disputing the debt and that they were required to send me validation despite them claiming that they were not and that they already had and many other number of lies. I refused to continue the conversation until someone had sent me validation to which they continually responded that they would be forwarding this to their legal department and blah blah blah blah blah.

Surprise surprise, I get a phone call today from yet another company, this one claiming to be in the process of forwarding my account to the county clerks office. That was an immediate red flag as the county clerk does not handle debt disputes. They would have to hire a lawyer in my state to handle this case. I asked what company this was as they had not stated initially, and when they told me I realized this was now another company who had purchased said alleged debt and we’re trying to collect on it. this one outright illegally threatening to take me to court knowing they weren’t.

Beyond that, he tried to lie to me and tell me that a debt validation was not what I thought it was and that a validation was actually just a notice that they had purchased a debt so when I received a letter stating that they had purchased this debt that would be a validation.

That is not true! Debt companies are legally required to send you notice of an allegedly acquired debt in writing and you have 30 days to dispute and request that validation. The company then has 30 days themselves to respond and validate your debt or the debt is forfeit. This man tried to lie to me and tell me that a notice was the same thing as a dead validation in order to trick me into paying a debt that he cannot validate that I am actively disputing.

This is now the fourth company that has attempted to collect on a debt they cannot validate. They know they cannot validate this debt and instead have relied on trying to trick me into paying it. These tactics would absolutely work if I did not have a sales background and or know my rights.

And this ladies and gentlemen is why you always always always dispute a debt. The last debt I disputed was immediately pulled from collections and that allowed me to get back in contact with the original creditor and work out a payment plan so that it would never hit my credit and keep my account with them current. This debt is invalid and therefore they cannot hit my credit with it nor can I collect on it or I will sue them.

If you guys have any questions about dealing with that collectors please ask me.

le-dreadmau5

I'm not surprised they gave you the long ass run around on this.

For anyone that has a debt sold to a Collections Agency do exactly what OP did and request debt validation (Google-able). Most of the time, the Original company you owed debt to did not give them your Social Security Number or your date of birth; just a good phone number and address. In order to be held legally responsible for it and to be on your credit score, they need your SSN or DOB to prove it's yours.

Usually, they're initial call will say "Hey so before we can discuss your debt of $Xxxx, we need you to verify your SSN and DOB." They're lying. That means they want you to confirm it so they can legally pin that debt to you. If you send a Debt Validation letter VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, that Collections Agency has 30 days to prove you owe the debt and that it does in fact tie to you. Since in most cases they can't, they'll send a letter saying "We don't have the necessary information to collect on this debt. It is now null and void." Send copies of that to the credit bureaus, and they wipe it from your credit report.

With OP, they did the shadiest thing possible by constantly re-selling the debt, thus starting over that 30 day response period.

Never pay a debt unless you're certain that you owe it. Especially if it's for a deceased relative. Debt collection companies are especially predatory during the grieving period asking you to "Pay down the debt" or "Clear their good name". Unless you (co)signed, don't give them anything. The debt will get written off on their taxes. If you do pay, you're locked in on that debt. You basically showed "willingness and ability to pay" which is all they need.

ravynfyre

I gotta say... even if you *are * "certain you owe it", get it validated. If someone forgot to make sure to dot all the i's and cross all the t's and didn't connect the DOB and SSN and everything... That isn't your fault. This whole capitalistic hellscape is fucking broken. don't pay *anything* that you legally can't be compelled to.

lytefoot

#an extremely good rule of thumb also is 'never give someone who called you your ssn/sin'#scammers also will ask you to 'confirm' it to deal with a debt or a legal issue or a tax thing#and it should not be on you to provide your ssn/sin over the phone.#if they're legitimate and they know who you are they will have that information. you should not provide it

This is so important.

Do not give your ssn on the phone to anyone who has called you, ever, no matter what the caller ID shows. If you are doing something for which you should be providing your ssn (e.g. applying for a loan), look up the appropriate phone number for the organization you should give it to you, and you call them. If it's at all practical, find a way you can give your ssn to the organization in person at their offices instead, or by a form sent to you via paper mail. (If they're committing fraud by paper mail, that's mail fraud, the feds actually take that seriously.)

Anyone who needs to confirm your identity based on your ssn will tell you the last four digits of your ssn (not the whole thing).

Never, ever give your ssn to someone that has called you. Any reputable organization that you want to do business with will respond to "I don't feel comfortable providing that information over the phone" by giving you an alternative.

stevviefox

Good advice. ⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️

lilboreddev-blog

reblog if your name isn't Amanda.

thatblackwatchdouche-blog-blog

2,121,566 people are not Amanda and counting!

We’ll find you Amanda.

world-heritage-posts

world heritage post

vanilla-bean-buttercream

There was a phrase that I used in my classroom when my students would ask me about doing questionable things, and my response was always, "Technically you can, but should you?"

The reason I used this instead of a simple yes or no answer is because it opened up conversation. Instead of blindly looking for permission, the conversation became more about cause and effect. Usually it navigated the "well you can't tell me what to do I'm going to do it anyway" instinct in kids when I'd say no, because all they were looking for is something to challenge them.

For example: "Can I jump off the slide?"

"Technically you can, but should you?"

If they answer no, I'd ask why. Usually they'd say because it's against the rules or I don't know.

If they say it's against the rules, I'd ask them why they think it's a rule. And if they'd say I don't know, I'd explain that the slide is five feet off of the ground, and jumping that high is a good way to hurt your knees or worse.

And then the most important part: if you did do it, how can you make it safer?

That's when the creativity juices started to flow. I'd get anything from pillows to beds to bouncy shoes to wings to someone catching them (which became a whole different conversation). And I told them since we didn't have those things here, it wasn't safe. And safety is everyone's number one job at school.

It stopped them from doing it behind my back. It got them to engage in critical thinking. And it helped them figure out how to do things without help.

However, there's always been an itching thought in the back of my head. Somewhere out there, did one of my past students drag their mattress out to the slide and jump off of it?

vampmilf

this is my favourite video rn btw

mortalityplays

I am exceptionally lucky in that my parents never hit me, grounded me, confiscated my things, banned me from my hobbies or threatened any of these actions to make me behave as a kid. as an adult it has made me realise how very very long a road most people have to traverse before they can take a statement like 'no rule that must be enforced by threat is legitimate' seriously.

mortalityplays

I really do mean this sympathetically. we are not well equipped as a culture to grapple with the implications of power and violence, because we are intimately saturated in it from birth. cruelty feels natural, and that's hard to unlearn.

mortalityplays

a bunch of things that I know are going to sound really corny (which honestly I think is half the cultural problem - the idea that non-coercive parenting is touchy-feely, ineffectual or just kind of cringe - but that could be a whole other post)

the main thing was that they always explained things to me. if I wanted something I couldn't have, they explained why (from 'we can't afford that', 'it's bad for you', 'it's dangerous', all the way up to 'it's made by a big company that treats its workers badly, and we don't want to give them money'). If I threw a tantrum, they either waited it out until I got tired and bored or they redirected what we were doing ('we have to be patient and wait in line. if we don't wait in line, we can't go into the theatre. we can't wait in line if you scream and upset people. okay then, we're going home.')

beyond that, they always spoke to me like a full person. they asked my opinion on things and took it seriously, and asked me why as much as I asked them. apparently I had a phase as a toddler where I always wanted to be the first one on the swings / down the slide, and would throw almighty fits about it, until my mum took me aside one day and said 'why do you want to be first? are you worried the slide will get used up?' I laughed like it was the funniest thing I'd ever heard, and never kicked up a fuss about taking turns after that.

on the granular level, they focused on positives over negatives. My mum would draw little good behaviour charts for me, featuring e.g. me walking a long winding path through the woods with my soft toys. the path would be made up of, say, 30 stones, and every day that I was well behaved I'd earn a sticker on one of them. when I reached the end of the path, I got to pick a treat. something like a new plastic animal for my collection, or a day trip to the aquarium.

I do remember them sitting me down once and asking me to come up with what I thought would be an appropriate punishment if I ever did something really bad. I think my first suggestion was something like 'no TV', which was a real nice try because we didn't have a TV at the time. I don't remember what I finally decided on, it might have been 'no dessert for a week'. We wrote it down together and I signed my name, and they sealed it in an important looking envelope which they put in my dad's filing cabinet (for important documents). This would be unsealed if I ever did something Really Bad. the eventuality never came up, but the act of participating in the exercise kept me mostly on the straight and narrow. It's funny, the conceptual punishment itself wasn't even that bad. It was the seriousnes of the adult commitment I'd made to Behaving Well that did the trick.

When I DID do the standard naughty stuff, my parents would just sit me down and explain to me seriously why it was wrong and what impact it had caused for other people. They'd ask what motivated me, and why I acted on those feelings in that specific way. They would, of course, tell me they were disappointed. If necessary, they would tell me how things would have to change as a result of what I'd done. They were always, always open to hearing out my side of the story, and always, always took my feelings seriously even if they disapproved of my behaviour. they would ask if I was ready to say sorry and get a hug. if I wasn't ready, if I was still upset or angry, they would give me space in my room and ask me to come find them when I wanted to make up. and I always did, because I always knew they would accept it.

genatrius

Damn, what'd you grow up on a star ship in the 24th century or something? Did you know Wesley Crusher? Did you get to meet Commander Data?

mortalityplays

incredibly funny you should ask, TNG was one of the only TV shows we watched when I was a kid, and I had a homemade paper tricorder (TOS flip open variety). my mum took me to a traveling exhibition of original star trek sets where I did actually get to sit in picard's chair and see some deactivated Data heads. at one point we called an elevator and there was a family of cosplaying klingons inside complete with small child in full facial prosthetics. so ??? weirdly, kind of, yes.

dreamduality

diamond-hoo-ha-man

i thought this was a hospital drama why does he have a shotgun?!??!?

ulysseus

It’s a really, really good hospital drama

elkian

I’m so glad I turned on the Audio bc it turns out this is set to Boney M’s Rasputin and is basically perfectly synced

cappuccinoandglitter

I’m glad to see the ancient art of vidding is alive and well.

birdsareblooming

For the love of god stop

realshinjiikari

birdsareblooming

this post seems to have broken containment and if anyone's interested in what they were telling me to stop, i found the og post with this song and was mass reblogging it at an alarming rate. ive done this multiple times but i think this was the instance i reblogged it 64 times in a row

twinkothydrake

thelesbiancitizen-deactivated20

In bonobo societies, all bonobos frequently engage in sexual contact with other members of the community, regardless of sex. Female bonobos in particular are quite promiscuous with both fellow females and males; thus, bonobo society is matrilineal or matrifocal. Since the patriline of each member is unknown due to female bonobos having many sexual partners, the female bonobos take communal care of their collective young, and the male bonobos take on other community-care roles instead. It is theorized that this leads to lower levels of violent conflict, as opposed to chimpanzee, human, and other primate societies that are patriarchal, since male members of these societies must find ways to identify their offspring which inevitably leads to violent, controlling behavior toward female members as well as violence & competitive behavior toward other males who may pose a threat to their social statuses. Bonobo societies are extremely peaceful in comparison to other primate societies.

The feature musical film Mamma Mia! (2008), directed by Phyllida Lloyd, shows an example of what a matrifocal society, resembling the structure of bonobo society, could look like for humans; where several females care for a child whose exact paternity is unknown, and instead of violence resort to prosocial behavior (joyfully singing and dancing) in order to resolve conflict. In this essay I will attempt to

fwizard

You ever have to remind yourself that you didn't imagine your entire childhood

sounddesignerjeans-deactivated2

Visit Original Link

I TRIED TO EDIT BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS AND I FUCKED UP

DO YOU THINK ANYONE WILL NOTICE THAT THE VOCALS ARE NOT AS THEY SHOULD BE

keeps-getting-faster

Visit Original Link

allthingslinguistic

Next time someone complains about singular “they” I’ll point them to this 17th century rant against singular “you”.

Here’s the original book the screencap is from.

kingvoracious

This is the most delightful piece of information to come into my hungry little hands in months.

ftchocoholic

@quidb

theconcealedweapon

Conservatives: I hate Muslim people. Look at what that Muslim person did at that Orlando LGBT bar.

LGBT people: So, does that mean you care about LGBT people?

Conservatives: No! Gay people are pedophiles, and transgender women are just men who want to invade women’s restrooms and harass women! WE NEED TO PROTECT WOMEN!

Women: So, does that mean you care about women?

Conservatives: Shut up, feminazi! Women in the United States are not oppressed! If you want to talk about women’s oppression, you should be focusing on how women in other countries are treated!

Refugees: So, does that mean you care about people from other countries?

Conservatives: Stay out of our country! Why should we care about refugees when we have people here who need help?

Homeless People: So, does that mean you care about people who need help?

Conservatives: No! Get a job, freeloader!

beeslybee

BeeslyBees’ Giveaway

After a while of saving and thinking, I’ve finally come up with my next giveaway! But before I show the giveaways contents, and explain the rules, I just wanted to thank all my followers for what they do. You’re all so supportive and sweet, and I couldn’t ask for a better following. I do these giveaways to show my love and support back to you guys. I know I’m not always best at replying to messages or asks, but I still appreciate all of you. So thank you again, and I wish you all the best with the giveaway!

*Side Note* : The following contents of this giveaway are all things I enjoy, and things I think others would as well. I know since there is no main theme for this giveaway, and there might be things some people may not enjoy; when the winner is picked they may pick and choose what they want. So that way they don’t have to receive anything they don’t like. (The can of course have everything if they like it all!!)

So without further ado; The Giveaway!

1. Sakura 6-Piece Pigma Micron Ink Pen Set- Black

2. A 15-Piece Wood Handle Brush Set

3. Pure Body Naturals Dead Sea Mud Mask (250g/8.8 fl oz)

4. Golden Rose Velvet Matte Lipstick -Set of 6

5. 12 Pcs Makeup Cosmetics Brushes Set Kit- In pink or Black

6. Studio Ghibli movie collection

(Disc 1. Laputa, Grave of the Fireflies, Whisper of the Heart/ Disc 2. Princess Mononoke, My neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa/ Disc 3. Kiki’s Delivery Service, Porco Rosso/ Disc 4. The Cat Returns, Howl’s Moving Castle, Tales From Earthsea/Disc 5. Spirited Away, Ponyo, My Neighbors the Yamadas/ Disc 6. Pom Poko)

7. Tea Forte Classic Single Steeps Loose Leaf Tea Sampler (three pouches of each: Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Green Mango Peach, Chamomile Citron and Ginger Lemongrass)