fireweed @ fireweed @lemmy.world

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413

Joined

2 yr. ago

I love astronomy and astrophysics and the academic side of space research. However I am anti-space travel because we're already surrounded by artificiality: everywhere there's roads, power lines, introduced species, houses, wayward trash, the constant roar of traffic in the distance (and I live in a rural area!). Even the forests are not real: they're monoculture tree farms. Many stars are not real: they're satellites. But at least the moon is real, until we start building moon bases and mining facilities and stain its surface with light pollution. How can I be "pro-space" when everyone from space agencies to corporations seem so giddy to colonize the one mostly-untouched beautiful thing left--something that anyone anywhere on earth can gaze upon--and besmirch it too with humanity's influence?

For real though, aggressive wasp species give the chill species a bad name. It's like being mad at bumblebees because Asian giant hornets exist.

Yellow jackets for example are definitely unpleasant: they buzz you when you try to eat outdoors, don't get the message to move on when swatted at, and constantly carry an attitude of "come at me bro." However my local species of paper wasp (I live in the Pacific Northwest of the US) is crazy chill and very conflict avoidant: they don't buzz or chase humans, don't show interest in human food or garbage, and will get out of your way if disturbed (assuming you're not attacking their home)

In fact, we actively attract paper wasps to our garden by planting western yarrow, and even have plans to erect a wasp box for them to safely make a home in (no I'm not joking). Why? Because in addition to being peaceful members of our garden ecosystem--alongside butterflies, ladybugs, frogs, salamanders, birds, and other critters--they are dedicated hunters of garden pests such as cabbage white caterpillars. As someone who grows a lot of kale for its year-round hardiness, I cannot express how much I appreciate wasps' dutiful patrol of our brassicas and other crops. And if you can get a population to establish themselves near your garden they will indeed be dutiful in scouting out pests.

It took me a while to shake off my all-wasps-are-bastards attitude toward them, but I really cannot express how much paper wasps have become garden bros, and it makes me sad to see my bros vilified.

Might wanna dig into what forms of transportation the very poor use! Hint: it's not driving.

Traffic safety laws protect the most vulnerable members of society: the very poor, very young, very old, and very disabled (all populations that can't drive and are more likely to become trapped in their own homes when streets are unsafe for those outside motor vehicles).

Fun fact: cats don't just purr when they're happy! They use it as a method of self-calming and healing when feeling anxious or unwell. Amazingly they purr at a frequency that stimulates healing, which is one possible reason as to why the behavior evolved in the first place. Each individual is different of course, but generally you can get a better sense of a cat's emotional state by observing their eyes (that's how cats smile!) than by whether they are purring or not.

https://www.petmd.com/cat/behavior/why-do-cats-purr

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/05/05/do-cats-smile/11761709002/

Most bathrooms in Japan have either western style toilets or a choice of both, especially in urban areas. But better to not be caught unawares.

Are there any paved trails they can learn on? Rails-to-trails can be great, as they're naturally flat and straight, if there are any of those near you.

Mr Rogers was unable to whistle, so you're in very good company!

Someone gets a (mind) plague

"Geordi doesn't get some tail"

It used to be that summer afternoons on the Front Range of Colorado frequently featured thunderstorms, but then a long-term drought took hold, the summer storms became much rarer, and Colorado became frighteningly dry for approximately the first two decades of the 21st century. Yes this has been a wet year, and a welcome return to the old normal, but will that persist in the face of climate change or are we just seeing a brief respite before the "new normal" of warmer, drier weather returns? Plus many areas along the Front Range are depleting their aquifers at an unsustainable rate, drought or not.

fixed

Criminally neglected by this article: Yesterday's luxury housing is today's affordable housing.

The problem is we underbuilt for decades and don't have enough "yesterday" housing to fill "today's" demand, and new affordable housing often doesn't pencil out without unsustainable amounts of government subsidies. This article makes the NIMBY-fuel mistake of bemoaning the luxury housing as basically useless without acknowledging that 1) these units will become more affordable over time and are part of a necessary return to rent price stability and a balanced market, and 2) in low-vacancy markets, luxury housing relieves pressure on mid-price housing which in turn relieves pressure on low-price housing, which is not enough to resolve the issue but still better than building nothing.

Too often is the argument "we shouldn't allow this apartment/condo building because it's not going to be affordable" followed by "we shouldn't allow this subsidized affordable apartment/condo building because it will strain local resources/destroy the character of the neighborhood/increase crime and traffic/uglify the neighborhood with its cheap appearance." Opposition to luxury housing is the top rung on the NIMBY ladder, and NIMBYism leads to housing shortages, which lead to affordability crises.

I completely disagree.

I hate these headlines. Know what else would be like taking 8 million cars off the road? TAKING 8 MILLION CARS OFF THE ROAD. But instead of talking about transportation alternatives or better land use that reduces car dependence the article focuses on something completely unrelated, as if car use is some kind of immutable constant.

Handheld it's Pokemon red/blue, no competition.

Edit: although it's actually gold/silver if that counts (released 1999 in Japan, 2000 in North America)

Microplastics are a concern, if you're eating out of metal cans rather than glass. However there are microplastics in rainwater now, so it's not like you can avoid them...

I think it's a dorayaki: a sweet Japanese snack that's basically a pancake sandwich with red bean paste on the inside. Super yummy!

Related: What are the best options for gifv and other short videos?

Yeah this article was interesting, but absolutely drenched in both-sides-ism. "I wanna be able to fly a thin blue line flag" doesn't compare with "I'm LGBTQ and fleeing for my life."

It got to the point of feeling like Facebook with strangers. Good for you for graduating college/sucks you broke your wrist/congratulations on getting pregnant, but let's be real: I don't know you and I don't care.