@impermanen_@zirk.us cover
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

impermanen_

@impermanen_@zirk.us

An aging, distracted, anarchic contemplative who lives on a farm with donkeys, works in #solar, advocates for #degrowth and anti-fascism, practices #Vajrayana #Buddhist #meditation.

Posts pics of our burros on the #asstodon tag

Rare snippets of buddhadharma

#FreePalestine #Zapatista

The header artwork is by Wang Yiguang

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

impermanen_ , to random
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

It’s me. Hi. I’m the problematic guy in a FaceTime call on his phone while shopping in the grocery store.

Just know that my mom is 86, disabled and in a nursing home, and she loves these occasions when she can “get out” with me while I’m doing chores, cleaning barn stalls or running errands. Compared to the usual couch-based call these brighten her up and fill her with all kinds of questions and comments about my life. The smiles per hour go way up!

Thank you for your patience! 🙏

impermanen_ , to random
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

I used to low-key curse the wave of Miller moths that fill the house every summer in Colorado, fluttering in your face, your food, your computer screen. Then I learned we’re witnessing one of the great migrations. As the summer progresses the moths follow the flower blossoms from the plains up to higher elevations, eventually scaling the 14,000 ft peaks of the Front Range. There they rest under rocks, sated by nectar, and become a crucial protein source for bears, pikas and marmots. Just… wow!

impermanen_ , to random
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

Juries are starting to refuse to return guilty verdicts for climate protestors charged with tiny offenses against the property of fossil fuel companies. The reason? The jurors acknowledge that these companies have been torching the whole biosphere with impunity and reject the claim to property damage by the protestors. https://juststopoil.org/2024/06/05/jury-finds-just-stop-oil-supporters-not-guilty-in-petrol-pump-case/

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

When colonies are small they are nervous. Here is the young queen and her 23 daughters are gathered close to her frozen in fear as I feed them and collect the little trash pile they made. When their numbers pass some tipping point they will stop cowering like this and grow bold. I wonder how each ant decides if she should be brave or hide? how do they know the size of their colony?

impermanen_ ,
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

@futurebird I suspect that the features of consciousness (like self-reflection) that support such behaviors might be found more at the colony level than the individual, at least as compared to humans. It seems possible that the colony has self-awareness on a higher level from that of the individual ants, but which they nevertheless respond to at their own level.

impermanen_ , to random
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

Today I had a video chat with my mom (who’s 86 and non-ambulatory) and I walked all over the place with her to show her all the wildflowers. I was using my phone so could get right up close. I reminded her of all their names and that she had taught me them. She cried at that and then so did I.

impermanen_ , to random
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

You don’t find better crafted stories than those of Alice Munro. You feel like you know the characters better in a few pages than in an entire novel by any other writer. My wife and I decided we are celebrating her life and work by reading aloud an Alice Munro story every night for as long as we can get our hands on another. Last night we started with “The Jack Randa Hotel.” So rich and funny.

From: @w7voa
https://journa.host/@w7voa/112440195077163271

impermanen_ , to random
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

Universities that invite cops to riot against their own students and faculty rather than divest from a genocide? What a world. 😣

impermanen_ , to random
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

If you’re getting tired of the wild Pasque flower pics, well, either mute me or suck it up because they may keep coming for a while.

impermanen_ OP ,
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

Another day, another photo of our wild Pasque flowers getting all wild and flowery

impermanen_ , to random
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

Last day to put finishing touches on a capstone project for a course I started in January. It’s been satisfying to be back in school. Sure, working as an engineer means constantly learning new things. But it’s a pleasure learning just for the sake of broadening and deepening my understanding, not to solve a particular problem on a deadline with managers looming over me.

impermanen_ OP ,
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

Working problems for a prepared course gives you the confidence that the problem, however difficult, has a solution. That’s not always the case in the real world. Sometimes you need that comfort, a kind of nest, to convince yourself you can do the hard thing.

faab64 , to palestine group

After global pressure and outcry against Israeli attacks against members of WCK that led to death of 7 members, Israeli government have officially apologied for the "mistake" and blamed the "accident" on Hamas.

This is another outrageous lie by IDF who targeted 3 different vehicles of WCK. Clearly marked by the group and their geo locations shared with Israeli military.

Do they really think we are stupid? That they accidentally attacked 3 vehicles from the same organization on 3 different locations by mistake?

This wasn't just another criminal action by IDF to prevent food distribution to starving Palestinians and to draw attention away from their horrible war crimes in and around Hospital?




@palestine @israel

impermanen_ ,
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

@faab64 it’s not that Netanyahu thinks we’re stupid, but he can make Biden look stupid and evil for continuing to offer military support, thus demoralizing his base and costing him the election. A Trump presidency is far better for Netanyahu and frees his hand to finish the genocide. Why Biden plays into this dynamic as if he doesn’t care about reelection is anyone’s guess.

inquiline , to random
@inquiline@union.place avatar

Real cool system of ordering the world, it'd be a shame if something were to happen to it:

"Major tire manufacturers are trying to have a lawsuit filed against them over environmental pollution dismissed. The suit concerns a chemical used in tire production, which has been found to rapidly kill fish commonly harvested for food"

https://www.thedrive.com/news/tire-makers-say-theyre-not-liable-for-waterway-pollution-because-it-takes-years

impermanen_ ,
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

@inquiline TIL: “an increasing body of evidence shows the overwhelming majority of ocean microplastics are from tires.” (And EVs make this component of car pollution worse)

Yet another great argument for public transportation, bicycle infrastructure, zoning law reforms, car-free zones, and all the things that make for a good life without 300 million cars on the road.

impermanen_ , to random
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

This may be the worst case of corporate machine learning abuse I’ve come across yet:

UnitedHealth uses AI model with 90% error rate to deny doctor-approved care to elderly patients, according to a lawsuit by the estates of two who died when they lost critical care. (UnitedHealth is the insurance that AARP promotes to seniors). https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/11/ai-with-90-error-rate-forces-elderly-out-of-rehab-nursing-homes-suit-claims/

#ai #ml

impermanen_ , to random
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

Thankfully the snowfall seems to be winding down a bit. The donkeys and horse are rather subdued by the deep snow, but doing fine. #asstodon

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

"This species is renowned for its large size... up to 15 millimeters in length."

Lies. These ants are known as "mini rubies" because they are small for carpenter ants.

"striking coloration, with a combination of black and metallic blue or green hues,"

WTF utter nonsense!

"prefer nesting in..rainforests and mangroves"

NO.

I just encountered a "species description"and I think it's AI generated. I think they did this so they'd have one for every species.

I'm so LIVID. This is GARBAGE.

impermanen_ ,
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

@futurebird “generative AI” is an attack on the very idea of knowledge, of science. It’s not only that it deliberately passes off bullshit as authoritative. The very nature of the technology prevents us from knowing how it works. We can’t fix it, we can only appease it by throwing more GPUs, more power, and more humanly created training data into the volcano and praying for a better result.

inquiline , to random
@inquiline@union.place avatar

Do I have this straight... the US is air-dropping aid bc a country won't stop bombing long enough to let the US in to offer humanitarian aid on the ground, but the US supplied the weapons to the country that won't stop bombing

impermanen_ ,
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

@inquiline Biden’s made it pretty clear that his support for the bombings is unconditional, so he should be grateful if Netanyahu is so patient with him as to not shoot down our air-drop planes.

impermanen_ ,
@impermanen_@zirk.us avatar

@ariaflame No country gets more military aid from the US than Israel and as @inquiline points out, the aid has only grown in the last few months. https://www.cfr.org/article/us-aid-israel-four-charts

If we’re to believe Biden has privately threatened to withdraw support or to stop vetoing ceasefires resolutions in the UN, then what are we to make of the fact that the civilian massacres continue and there has been no change from the US side? If that’s not unconditional, then what would be?

I feel like I’m going insane.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • test
  • worldmews
  • mews
  • All magazines
    •