meerkat ramblings

AO3 & bluesky: whimsicalmeerkat she/her | bisexual demisexual | happily middle-aged | author | book dragon | knitter & spinner | socialist | sometimes gamer | fountain pendragon | tattooed | “natural” hair colors are for other people | ;

[doveywovy]

kind hilarious that marvel movie Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier is somehow also a real prime example of a "dont invent the torment nexus" sci-fi were the torment nexus got invented soooo hard.

and i know its bc it was written based on real life political issues but also still pretty funny its 2 for 3 ("what if the us government is like 80% nazis secretly planning to ruin society as soon as enough of them have power" + "surveillance state as a method of protection will ultimately and almost immediately turn into fascist extremism") like maybe we all need to keep an eye out for brainwashed assassins.

[headspace-hotel]

I mean it's more on-point than that though. Project Insight in the film was based upon an algorithm that analyzed each person based upon the vast amount of data collected and stored about them in the digital world, and used this data to predict which people would commit crimes.

Now AI is being used in policing and surveillance, and the company Flock (and I'm sure others) explicitly has a goal of using AI powered surveillance to eliminate crime completely.

The Torment Nexus isn't just the surveillance state, it's "surveillance state with predictive policing using algorithms based upon data collected by the internet" and hooooo boy did we build the Torment Nexus

[shiverandqueeef]

if you aren't best friends with your lover and a little bit in love with all your friends than what's the fucking point

[redstairs]

I saw this and had to save this image cause I definitely have a few readers like this.

[isaiahmustafa]

Watson and I feel that, in order to do our best work, the chemistry needs to be right.

[lovepsychothefirst]

#see THIS is what makes Sherlock in Elementary so unique#a lot of versions of Sherlock#or pretty much Any modern crime drama would have the brilliant detective calling the other detectives ‘idiots’#or ‘amateurs’ or basically insulting their intelligence and ability as detectives#here Sherlock is both acknowledging their skill as detectives and crediting that to their Captain’s leadership#while also acknowledging that he can’t work with them because THEY don’t like him#all the while he is accepting as fair because he’s self-aware to know he’s not easy to work with#there are ways to depict an anti-social genius without being a huge asshole to everyone#and this is it

[poughkeepsiesjr]

if you feel queerbaited by actual real human beings have you considered that maybe you're just queerstupid and queerparasocial and need to touch some queergrass

[poughkeepsiesjr]

also, bisexual people exist. it's just that you people will call them straight if they're dating someone of the opposite gender and gay/lesbian if they're dating someone of the same gender. because you have no object permanence because you're, as previously noted, queerStupid

[citree]

Happy birthday trans people!!!!!! ✨💞🥰💙🫶🌟💕🦎🏳️‍⚧️💞the world is better with you in it ❤️

[citree]

.

Did not mean to add the lizard 😐

[citree]

Ok happy birthday trans people x2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🎉✨🎈🎉💕✨🫶🏳️‍⚧️💙🤍💖🎉✨🌟And also this lizard!!!!🦎🏳️‍⚧️💕🎉

[gridmaster5000-deactivated20241]

you disagreed w me in an intellectually honest way. we're friends now.

[kedreeva]

There's something so good about the wild type.

[ambiguouspersonhood]

What are those cool spiky feathers?? (Sorry I know nothing about these cool gals!)

[kedreeva]

You've been!! BAMBOOZLED!!

Those are actually not spiky feathers at all! They sure do look like it, though, and that's likely the point- if I were a raptor looking down upon a pincushion, I would think twice about grabbing it with my bare feet.

However, it's a ruse! Just a marking on a feather

Pretty neat, yeah?

[depsidase]

[haaarpb]

HARPER YOUUU MADE ‘aren’t i a tough nut to crack’ ??!?!??! i miss it can she come back pleas

oh this lil nugget huh here u go

[ao3commentoftheday]

I've been noticing myself doing this recently, so I figured I'd put it out there in case someone else needs the reminder too:

You don't need to diminish yourself in order to make others feel good about themselves.

You can compliment someone else without insulting yourself. In fact, demeaning yourself will probably make it more difficult for the other person to accept the compliment.

You also don't need to disparage your own abilities in order to give someone else confidence. You can be a capable person and support other capable people.

Don't tear yourself down to build someone else up.

[ao3commentoftheday]

Just going to put some examples here, in case anyone needs them:

Compliment: You write such great angst! I was in tears after that last chapter. Compliment + self-insult: I could never write angst like you. Mine never has that gut-punch that yours does.

Compliment: You look gorgeous! That's such a pretty colour on you. Compliment + self-insult: I wish I had your fashion sense. I just wear whatever smells clean.

Compliment: This piece is awe-inspiringly good! How long did it take you?? Compliment + self-insult: Your art is so much better than mine. I could practice for a million years and never get close to this.

The thing about insulting yourself while complimenting someone else is that you might think that you're making your compliment sound that much better because you're increasing the distance between their level and yours. But what you're actually doing is refocusing your compliment away from them and onto you and your insecurities.

Maybe they'll notice and maybe they won't, but you will. Eventually, all of the insults you've given yourself will make you feel bad about that other person's skills and now, instead of a mentor or a colleague you have someone you're jealous of. Or at least, that's how it tends to go for me.

Keep the compliment focused on that person and their skills or presentation or process etc. And if you want to learn from them, ask them for advice. It can be hard to notice when you're falling into this kind of habit - I thought I'd gotten past it but here I am again - so just do the best you can ❤️

[ao3commentoftheday]

wonderful tags by @amywritesthings

[thelatestkate]

Shop , Patreon , Calendars , Mailing List

[dear-massacre]

With Teeth is so underrated

[rvllybllply2014]

He totally made this one for us

[kawareo]

Tumblr is like our elderly dog and when she makes an especially scary cough we apparently think "oh god it's the big one"

[kawareo]

Grief is a spectrum as you can see

[kawareo]

Our shit dog is alive and we love her

[godlessondheimite]

this is the greatest story ever told

from Ask a Manager

[mikkeneko]

#there are a lot of good reasons not to use child labor#but admittedly one of them is that children aren’t good at it

[itsamepigalet]

the secret goat, the geese vs the CEO, and other stories of animals at work

Last week we talked about animals at work and here are 10 of my favorite stories you shared. 1. The unauthorized dog I’ve worked my entire c

The Dean is probably the best story, but there are several other good animal stories in the same Ask a Manager blog post.

[celebrini-martini]

things I feel like I need to correct from hr fics set in Canada that are not written by Canadians:

- we don’t have venmo or cashapp in Canada. We have interact e-transfer which works directly through our banking apps. No secondary party involved regardless of which bank you’re with

- Canada and Russia both use Celsius. With the exception of cooking temps (more likely for Shane), they’d both exclusively use Celsius. Ilya would probably pick up Fahrenheit to a degree after living in Boston, but if it’s 2 people who both come from countries that use Celsius, they’d be using it.

- kilometres. But honestly, in Canada, we’ll tell you how far something is by time it takes to drive there vs actual distance

- fuck it, the metric system in general! Canada and Russia both use the metric system. Ilya wouldn’t change his entire way of thinking after living in the US for a few years, especially having not been raised learning it. With the exception that Shane would know is own height in feet & inches and oven temps in Fahrenheit (thanks america) even though his license would have it in centimetres

- PUT THE U’S AND S’S BACK IN OUR WORDS!!!!!!! it’s colour, neighbour, favourite!!! It’s realise, apologise, organise!!!! Many younger Canadian’s will use ize/yze but it’s purely because of american influence and media. We use British English.

- hate to say it, but if a fic has the guys moving to another US city/having Shane move to the US, I fear you,,,,,, don’t understand gay Canadians. hell, or gay Russians. Regardless of what administration is in office. Montreal is literally known for its gay village. Ottawa is extremely gay too (source: I live in Ottawa)

- no one says ‘hoser’. ‘Eh’ is real, but using it correctly matters. It’s used more when you’re saying something and you believe the other person would be in agreement with you. ‘Nice weather today, eh?’ ‘One snow fall and everyone forgets how to drive, eh?’ ‘Auston Matthews’s should be traded, eh?’

- I get it. There are a lot of American fans. You know American cities and culture. But the heart and soul of this entire series is Canadian and Americanising it is…………too on the nose given the current. Well. Everything going on. Don’t 51st state this series, you sound like your administration.

[texasteaparty]

a few other things, as a Canadian prairie prince

Tim Horton's is everywhere. Legit, you can't drive two blocks without seeing one, they're in every arena/stadium/venue and every mall, every airport, everywhere. Double Double coffee is most common, same with Timbits (doughnut holes) and Honey Dip doughnuts!

There's a lot of different candy and snacks - i.e; Mars, Ketchup/All Dressed/Dill Pickle chips, Aero, Coffee Crisp, Smarties (chocolate, not rockets, which is what Smarties are here)

Everything has French on it as well as English.

(This was a thing when I was still home, so it might be different nowadays, but!) You couldn't buy alcohol at Walmart. We have Liquor Stores and Vendors, but no quick stop to a Sev or Walmart to buy a 24. (two four)

theres probably more but my brain is fried rn but yeah, haha. ^^

[scottishaccentsareawesome]

Also, just FYI, it doesn’t snow all year round here. We have hot summers (depending on what area you’re in).

Places on the coast, like Vancouver, don’t get as much snow as places farther in the country (that’s why US film crews like to film there, apart from it being cheaper than the US).

Provinces like Manitoba do still have snow/get snow late in the year (it’s St. Patrick’s Day and we have a mini blizzard going on where I am 😜)

…Also, not everybody has the stereotypical Canadian accent (we don’t all talk like Bob and Doug Mackenzie. Don’t know who they are? Look ‘em up, they’re legends to us) different regions have different accents here, just like everywhere else in the world.

[ladyprydian]

I have not watched Heated Rivalry and I have no plans to but a few other Canadianisms.

It's a convenience store for the little shops attached to gas stations. In Quebec they are called a depanneur or dep for short.

The sale of alcohol is a provincial matter as it is a provincial tax. It is illegal for grocery stores or convenience stores to sell alcohol.

Ontario has the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) as the main alcohol vendor. You might also see The Beer store as another major chain. There are independent stores as well that sell alcohol but the LCBO is the best known.

In Quebec it's the SAQ (Société des alcools). Again, you may find independently run, but SAQ is best known.

Alberta is the only province/territory that doesn't have provincially run stores, rather it's contracted to liquor vendors.

Public/National Federal holidays in Canada are as follows:

New Year – Jan 1

Good Friday - see below*

Easter Monday - see below*

Victoria Day - Third Monday in May, named after Queen Victoria

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (Quebec only)

Canada Day – July 1,

Civic Holiday – may have other names, first Monday in August (excluding Quebec)

Labour Day – first Monday in September

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) –  September 30 

Thanksgiving Day – second Monday in October

Remembrance Day – November 11

Christmas Day – December 25

Boxing Day – December 26

Provinces determine whether they acknowledge a particular Federal holiday or not. For example, Alberta does not recognise TRC day. Provinces can also have their own holiday. For example Family day (third Monday in February) is recognised in many provinces but it is not a federal holiday. While Nunavut Day (July 9th) is only celebrated in that territory.

*Easter is complicated with the confusion between federal and provincial holidays plus what your employer dictates or has formalized in your contract. Federal employees get Easter Monday as the paid holiday.

In Quebec most employers also choose Easter Monday for the paid holiday.

In the rest of Canada (Atlantic provinces, Ontario, the Western provinces, and Northern territories) Good Friday is the paid holiday.

Though you can end up with the four day weekend because of your employer. Myself for example, we have an agreement in our union contract that any federal holiday is paid leave. In the case of Easter my province recognises Good Friday as the paid holiday, but since we have the federal holiday rider, we also get Easter Monday off. Many schools do this.

Old Dutch is a potato chip company. You'll see them beside Ruffles and Lays. Old Dutch started in Western Canada and has recently branched out to the rest (start moving east in the late 90s early 00s).

Hawkins Cheesies are also a Canadian snack company. I believe they predate Cheetos. Pretty much any corn meal cheese puff snack is called a Cheesie.

I just found out that the London Fog drink was first made in Canada. So that's neat.