@CurtAdams@urbanists.social avatar

CurtAdams

@CurtAdams@urbanists.social

Semi-retired biologist with interests in speciation models, urbanism, liberal/left politics, economics, quartertone music theory, boardgames, ambient music, house rabbits, and yoga.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. For a complete list of posts, browse on the original instance.

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

👇🏼Via Rupar:

President Obama on the stakes of 2024: "What we're seeing now is a byproduct of 2016 where a whole bunch of folks, for whatever reason, sat out. They said, 'well, we're not enthusiastic, we're not feeling inspired, why bother'. And hopefully, we have learned our lesson. Because these elections matter in very concrete ways and we are now seeing how much it matters when it comes to the Supreme Court."

CurtAdams ,
@CurtAdams@urbanists.social avatar

@etherdiver @Badger_AF @GottaLaff Obama never had 60 seats for that. There were only 60 Democratic seats for about 50 days, and it included several abortion opponents like Ben Nelson.

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

If you see a new youTube channel with a plain sounding name like "NatureView" or "BrightScience" etc. and there is what looks like a tempting video on a specific education topic "Most Active Volcanoes" or "Incredible Carnivorous Plants"

There is a 50/50 chance it will be a generated voice with stock footage and a script written by GPT.

I am now avoiding videos if I don't recognize the creator, or don't see signs it was made by a person.

So much spam!

CurtAdams ,
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@futurebird @nottrobin @shiri I hear at least narration anytime I'm thinking and it's appropriate but I very quickly realized LLM "intelligence" was bogus. I am a programmer, tho, so I understood what was going on under the hood.

ElleGray , to random
@ElleGray@mstdn.social avatar

had the WEIRDEST experience at the dmv yesterday. it went perfectly. barely had to wait. I'd messed something up and they were nice about it. guy taking the photo was so funny I kept laughing. it took four tries to get. was a good photo in the end! genuinely concerned I hallucinated the whole thing

CurtAdams ,
@CurtAdams@urbanists.social avatar

@ElleGray I totally don't get the bitching about the (California) DMV. I make an appointment, show up, get it done, bam. Once I didn't have an appointment and had to wait an hour. Annoying, but no big deal. Last time I went with my son to get his license replaced, we didn't have an appointment and we were still done in 15 minutes.

Maybe in Republican states.

bontchev , to random
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CurtAdams ,
@CurtAdams@urbanists.social avatar

@bontchev You're too optimistic. You show the right result showing up beneath the garbage. A lot of times now search shows nothing but garbage.

futurebird , to random
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Mood: Checking the url of the source of my ant facts like I’m doing online banking.

CurtAdams ,
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@futurebird @justafrog Do 11 more and contaminate the AI scrapers!

futurebird , to random
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I have a soft spot for Libertarians even though I shouldn't and they don't deserve it. When I was a kid I had a weird neighbor who was always giving me Libertarian books... I wish I still had some of them they were WILD. He was a thorn in the side of the local, school board as well insisting that if they had an event at the school that involved politics Libertarians had to be included.

And in defense of the guy, he was about as likable and earnest as a Libertarian could be.

1/

CurtAdams ,
@CurtAdams@urbanists.social avatar

@futurebird I was a left libertarian until Enron started turning out the lights in California in the 90's.

rbreich , to random
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Europe has tougher laws on ticket fees and reselling. The result?

Tickets to Taylor Swift's European tour, air fare + hotel can cost LESS than one of her concert tickets in the US.

If that's not another reminder that we need to crack down on Ticketmaster, I'm not sure what is.

CurtAdams ,
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@rbreich One of my friends is doing just that- flying a family of four from California to Warsaw for a Taylor Swift concert, and saving money in the process.

ElleGray , to random
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Saw this and immediately wondered if the sound a parent made stepping on it in the dark in ancient times is the same noise we'd make today

CurtAdams ,
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@ElleGray Cuss words are language-specific so not exactly the same sound but you'd know what what happened if you were in the next room.

lowqualityfacts , to random
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Asking Isreal to agree to a ceasefire but then sending them a billion dollars worth of weapons is like telling your dog to stay off the couch but then slathering peanut butter on the cushions.

CurtAdams ,
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@lowqualityfacts It's not being sent. What happened is that a review period was started, until about August, to determine whether to send it.

futurebird , to random
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You know the early humans who lived in Europe 25k years ago? The ones with stone tools who carved thicc portable woman statues?

How many do you think there were in all of Europe?

I'm shocked to learn the estimates are only 30,000 people! Hardly even a small town... and spread over so much space. Humans were rare animals. Our shift to numerous is more extreme than I think we realize.

It explains why technology changed so slowly. Not enough people!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTn5KdsxZ0E

CurtAdams ,
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@futurebird Tasmanians seem to have actually lost technologies like bone tools and boomerangs because of their small population size.

randahl , (edited ) to random
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Warning: Likely disinformation.

France is in the process of deploying its first 1,500 combat soldiers to Ukraine, writes Stephen Bryan for Asian Times.

Caution: I have not seen any official confirmation of this development, and no other media has this story. But it is consistent with earlier reports of the preparation of French soldiers, and Macron’s latest statements about “not ruling out” the use of French troops in Ukraine.

https://asiatimes.com/2024/05/france-sends-combat-troops-to-ukraine-battlefront/

CurtAdams ,
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@randahl @harriettmb @anderspuck So, laundering a fake story about direct French involvement in Ukraine? So far, typical laundering process of blatant propaganda -> non-journalistic "news" source. Continuing on to lazy MSM next, like with COVID disinfo?

All that said, the world would be a better place if France actually did intervene in Ukraine, just like if they'd intervened in Czechoslovakia in 1938.

randahl , to random
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Our politicians keep saying, we are not at war with Russia, while the U.S. is now teaching their special forces students Ukrainian.

Nothing to see here folks.

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/special-forces-ukrainian-language-program/

CurtAdams ,
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@randahl There's an aversion to saying we're at war, but Russia has been at war with us at least since installing their proxy Trump in 2016. Glad to see the military is at least recognizing the situation.

CurtAdams ,
@CurtAdams@urbanists.social avatar

@Moonrise2473 @lgsp Too bad about the timing. If this had started right after an election the improvements would be done, and they could have locked in the fines by dropping other city taxes and making the city's budget depend on the fines.

futurebird , (edited ) to random
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"The Why Files" is a youTube channel that regularly has videos with over a million views. They started as a kind of paranormal/fringe science channel that was mostly harmless, and that often debunked conspiracies.

But, they've moved beyond that in to material such as suppressed patents for cars that run on water. And treating climate change like it's a unresolved question. This has made their audience grow.

The things is they aren't just spitting lies. 1/

CurtAdams ,
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@futurebird @Rural_Canadian @GiddingsMJ You are wise, because advertising makes us unhappy - probably exactly by making us want things we can't/don't have. https://hbr.org/2020/01/advertising-makes-us-unhappy

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

So night terrors, sleep paralysis etc. seem to be a real thing. I've had "bad dreams" but never anything that sounds like these experiences. It sounds like it's scary. Scary like when you are home alone and hear a sound and don't know what it is.

I'm curious if people who can have this are can be aware that it's not real when it's happening.

When I get anxious I can also know "this is just that thing" and I'm sort of detached about it?

Can that happen with fear?

CurtAdams ,
@CurtAdams@urbanists.social avatar

@futurebird I had sleep paralysis frequently as a child. I wasn't all that frightened and I didn't imagine supernatural beings or aliens, but it's still pretty unpleasant to be unable to move. Fortunately by adulthood it stopped.

CaptAntagonist , to random
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Bro what

CurtAdams ,
@CurtAdams@urbanists.social avatar

@futurebird @CaptAntagonist You'd probably need to actually move to a red state, though. At some point somebody would check.

futurebird , to random
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Can anyone tell me why that thing bros talk about too much that starts with a B and rhymes with loins is up recently? Without attracting any bots … please?

CurtAdams ,
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@futurebird It's held up by a pyramid scheme involving Tether. Tether issues tokens, which get used to buy you-know-what, driving up the price, making profits for the Tether folks, who issue more tokens, rinse and repeat. Until the bubble pops.

GottaLaff , to random
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The Federal Trade Commission sued to block Kroger’s $25 billion bid for Albertsons, throwing into uncertainty one of the largest supermarket deals in history - WSJ

CurtAdams ,
@CurtAdams@urbanists.social avatar

@GottaLaff Hoo-ray!

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

...

My husband has these horrible bets with the people at his office This month it's "who can lower their cholesterol the most?"

They all run out & get tested on the 1st then do it again at the end of the month and the person with the biggest drop wins the betting pool.

I keep telling him that's not how "health" works, but he's not listening and watched some video about eating a "shot" of garlic juice, lemon and hot peppers. He says he can "feel it working"🙄

Are there any real tips?

CurtAdams ,
@CurtAdams@urbanists.social avatar

@futurebird The tip to win that contest is to eat three eggs and a milkshake with whipped cream immediately before the initial test. You're guaranteed a massive drop when you do the next month's test properly, after a fast.

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

👏🏻 easily wins first official Democratic primary in

https://trib.al/BzHsHm4

CurtAdams ,
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@GottaLaff Trump wins NH with 54%
Biden wins SC with 96% (!!)

Which party is more unified?

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