#muse explains

[chequerootlurks]

Oooo, look, such pretty danger!

This picture is a picture of very dangerous waters.

*points to the smooth, waveless areas*

Those are rip currents where the water says “nope!” and rushes back out to the ocean. If you go in the smooth areas, the ocean will “nope!” you right along with it.

So, if you’re going to play in arguably the most hostile environment on the planet, play where the waves break, and avoid weird random flat spots.

If you do get caught in a rip current, you will not win. 180lbs human against a fckton of lbs of water. It’s physics. You will go with the ocean, and you can exhaust to death fighting.

(River & Flood fact: 6in of water can pull a person off their feet, or drag a car off the road)

So when the big water takes you with it, be like “this is my life now,” drift till it lets you go, then swim parallel to shore and find waves to gently guide you back in.

If you are on the beach, and you are uncertain about the currents: look around. If everyone who looks like a local is NOT in the water, there’s probably a good reason.

*points to the picture again*

Look how few people there are on the sand, and even less in the water. That says something right there!

When in doubt, don’t go out.

[chequerootlurks]

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So... the OP of this post blocked me because apparently my addition about gynecomastia is just slamming my cis(het?) agenda around, with the goal of eliminating trans people.

*pauses*

*looks at camera*

Here’s the thing though, not every transman wants to be outed and identified as trans every time he wants to hit the beach, or play a game of shirts-vs-skins basketball.

Sometimes, an old buck transman can get sick of random kiddos coming up, pointing at their chest, and saying “omg, r u trans?!111”

1) Asking about scars is just plain rude...

2) People will be rude and nosy anyway.

3) Normalizing chest scars as something -any!- man (cis, trans) can have reduced assumptions about somebody’s gender or identity.

Some transmen are afraid to go topless for fear of being forced into outing themselves. That’s awful in my opinion. I am all about freeing nipples for -all!- genders... but that’s another soapbox for another day.

Bringing awareness of gynecomastia (an oddly taboo topic!) to mainstream society can help protect transmen from being forced into outing themselves. It can also help with residual dysmorphia: “I didn’t have boobs, I just had gynecomastia... and lots of guys have that!”

In conclusion: don’t ask about someone’s scars... and regardless whether it would benefit you or not, don’t make assumptions. — And never feel you have to out yourself if some rando does ask about your scars.

[chequerootlurks]

An itsy-bitsy PSA:

Do not assume someone with chest surgery scars is a transman. Cismen can have similar scars from this increasingly common surgery to reduce the presentation of gynecomastia.

Not ever transman will have obvious scars from top surgery. A great deal depends on how much tissue had to be removed, and how the individual’s body responded to the healing process.

Counterwise, some cismen will have -significant!- scarring.

_____

So, basically, just treat people as people, not “representations of _____.” Don’t assume chest scars = FTM; and please refrain from asking random people about their scars because, quite frankly, it’s no one’s business but theirs.

(Posted for a cismale friend who was “blessed” with severe gynecomastia, and now gets assumed FTM because of his scars.)

Type 5 Gynecomastia Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Orange County

Type 5 Gynecomastia is classified by a chest angle greater than 90 degrees and breast tissue falling below the chest fold. Learn more, see p

[chequerootlurks]

Not feeling creative? Feel weighted down by art- or writer’s-block? Don’t despair! You can still be active in your fandoms!

Find work from other artists!

Share it!

Encourage them!

Help new fans feel welcome!

Remember, you’re a human being, not a “content creation engine” that exists for other peoples’ benefit.

Don’t let the fact that you’re not “creating” keep you from enjoying, sharing and participating!

So keep on lurking, liking, sharing! Toss a like or two! Give complements. Do an ask, or even just a DM that says “luv that piece!”

Believe me when I say, being engaged with others’ art, instead of just a passive consumer, will make both of you feel good!

Art — be it writing, music, drawing, crafting — it’s a gift the artist gives the world.

Heck, perhaps you’ll feel inspired yourself to toss a few lines, a concept sketch, maybe share a character-inspired playlist based off what they’ve made... and you know what? Excellent!

Art is not an isolated arena. It has evolved exactly from creators interacting with each other, and with their viewers.

If you are admiring someone’s art, YOU! are part of that creative process!

So never feel bad just because you think you haven’t “done anything lately.” If you’re still engaged in the creative world of others, you’re CONTRIBUTING.

And if you let that creator KNOW! that you’re engaged, it makes the experience all the more awesome!

[chequerootlurks]

I saw a post about how bosses aren’t your friend...

... And to a degree this is true. BUT that does not mean we aren’t interested in caring about you as a person!

Employees are more than cogs in a machine. Or at least they should be!

A good boss recognizes individuals, their skills, accomplishments, and needs; and tailors the work environment to those.

GOOD employers CAN and DO care about their employees!

____

Lemme tell you a little story:

My industry works 24/7. We don’t get the luxury of holidays off. I block time-off requests around the holidays.

This is because it saves me having to approve or deny requests off based on seniority. It doesn’t seem fair to me stick new team members with working holidays.

One year, an employee came up to me. They had a sick family member, FML and all that. They asked if they could have the night of Christmas Eve, and Christmas day off to be with their loved ones.

I couldn’t formally grant their request.

So I asked them to email me and I’d “see what I could do.”

When I made the December schedule I was able to give them the 24th, 25th, and 26th off.

I did this by putting myself on a double shift Christmas Day. (We don’t get double pay in our industry, so it wasn’t like I made extra $$$).

They had no idea I’d given them time off till the schedule went live.

_____

The point I’m trying to make is that your boss isn’t always going to be “the enemy,” and it’s not a “you versus them” world.

Treat your boss like a PERSON!, rather than a corporate grunt. We are people, and while some supervisors are shitbags, there are just as many who truly care about the people we manage.

Granted, we might not be friends, because that can undermine structure, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t capable of caring.

A GOOD boss will want to see their people succeed, will fight tooth and nail to keep the employees who want to be there, and will work with their staff rather than against as much as possible.

Even now, my team might not know about times I go to corporate to speak well of them, but I try to make sure everyone feels rewarded and valued as an individual.

I try to give my team the best of me every day!

I only ask that, in return, my team give me their best as well.

I think that’s fair.

[chequerootlurks]

Cage Drones in the Nuclear Industry.

At one point in one of my fics, engineer Sharon is working on building a drone for area inspection purposes.

This is legit, and drones of multiple types are used in the nuclear power field.

Cage drones range from $20,000 for base models, and only go up from there; in contrast with open-propeller drones one can buy off Amazon. — Unlike open-prop drones, cage drones have next to no stability in wind, and are used exclusively for interior spaces.

Open-prop drones, in contrast can be used outside for exterior inspection, and can handle wind with relative ease.

The advantage with cage drones is they can bump into things and be fine. You can fly them in tight confines, and they just bounce off things like a girder or conduit support that would destroy the blades of an open-prop drone.

This is a cage drone I took pictures of at the plant on Tuesday, as well as the control system it come with.

Art (and fanfic) inspired by life, yo!

_____

Excerpt from “Snapshots”, Chapter25:

The table was covered with bits and pieces of what looked like robotics wear. A soldering iron, and several other micro-miniature level tools were laid out in neat order above the parts.

There was a spherical cage that reminded him of the so-called "buckyballs" his middle-school science teacher had mentioned. It was an open sphere, each piece connected to others to form two perfect domes, held together with small clasps. It was lightweight, yet surprisingly strong.

Antoine lifted the sphere up in his hands, peering at it.

The sound of the side door slamming startled him. He twitched, almost dropping the hollow ball. "That would be mine, Radson," a familiar voice barked.

Antoine set the ball down as Sharon briskly crossed the room, a lab coat billowing about her legs. She regarded Antoine with a strangely pensive look. Antoine couldn't read it. He took a step back from the table.

"That came out a bit harsh, I'm sorry," Sharon said as she pulled out a folding chair and set it up. "I've been a bit on edge today."

"Yeah," Antoine agreed. "I'd noticed. Whatcha working on, if you don't mind me asking."

Sharon pulled a blue tote bin onto the table and popped the lid off. The inside was full of egg-crate style foam packing material. She removed the top layer and gestured to the contents.

"Whoa!"

Antoine pulled his blue hair back and leaned his head over the top. Nestled in foam padding was a multi-propellered drone about the size of a large dinner plate. The controller, a tablet, a charger and spare batteries were tucked in their own pockets beside it.

[chequerootlurks]

To clarify…

I am not a human with a lupine fursona.

I am a werewolf who likes to play various tabletop RPGs (and all sorts of races thereof) and has a deer fursona.

During games I sometimes play a werewolf character, just like humans can roleplay human characters.

I have a fursona. My fursona’s name is Weslar. He is a barasingha deer.

[chequerootlurks]

From experience can you confirm the ship name for Mr.Burns and Smithers Sr. is Burnsmithers Sr. ?

I’ve always seen it Burns/Sr or Burns/Senior, and I don’t honestly think it has a one-word name.

*cashes in a phone-a-friend token*

Aye, @schemingminor , have you ever seen a ship name for Burns/Sr?