Auralan

hey, I heard y’all like evil biology facts like knowledge about horse blood types.

well! today I was researching alternative biochemistries extraterrestrial life could use and. man. I think Earth life is fucked up enough for me thanks

biological dark matter. WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY BLOOD HAS DNA IN IT FROM NO KNOWN SOURCE. YOU CAN’T JUST SAY THAT COME BACK HERE

One specific cave that has been sealed for 5.5 million years and has developed an ecosystem completely dependent on chemosynthetic bacteria.

Was anybody going to tell me that bacteria have decided iron is yummy and are eating the Titanic, or was I supposed to just read that myself

Terrible Berry (yes, that’s what the genus name means). This whole thing is so fucked up. These scientists were testing whether radiation could be used to kill pathogens in food, so they dosed a tin of meat with enough radiation to kill any known living organism (as one does) but guess what, it still fucking spoiled because of THIS BASTARD FUCKER.

(seriously, why is it like this? WHY has a bacterium evolved to chill in radioactive waste like it’s a soothing Jacuzzi tub? What does it know that we don’t know?)

(ANSWERS. I WANT ANSWERS, YOU CHERNOBYL ASS BITCH.)

Cursed worm, which has no mouth or digestive system and depends entirely on five (5) different species of bacteria, which consume hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen monoxide, and carbon monoxide, for food. How do you, a worm, even...figure out how to do...all that?

Bone worms. At least they like their bones already dead. I still could have gone without knowing this was a thing.

“Oh, parasitic plant, that sounds c—WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING”

I made another thing.

[Image ID: A tweet threat from Katherine DiSavino from July 15th that reads in it's entirety:

I’m a WGA strike captain & lot coordinator at NBC Universal. On the 2nd week of our strike, Universal began construction on the sidewalks we were picketing on. On day 74 of our strike, they have fenced in and demolished every sidewalk surrounding Gates 1, 2, 4, and 5. (1/3)

(this tweet includes an image that reads: NBC Universal risks Picket and Public Safety. Sign the petition to demand the construction of a pedestrian lane!)

It has made picketing at Universal a challenge, and our incredible Captains and picketers have risen to that challenge every day. But enough is enough. Universal MUST install what the City, County and LAPD Labor Relations have deemed necessary: a protected pedestrian lane. (2/3)

Please sign the petition. Please share it. And please come picket with us at Universal so we can continue to make it clear that the WGA will hold this picket line no matter what. (3/3)

Click this sentence to go to the Google docs petition.

You don’t have to be WGA to sign. If you like sidewalks and walking safely, consider signing!

[/End ID]

Tagging people I think might be willing to boost this under the cut:

I'll say it here rather than burying it in various tags again:

Always remember that the people hoarding the money can make the strike stop at any time.

And they, the studios and streaming services, want you to forget that their profit hoarding is the problem. They're the reason this is happening, not the writers and actors.

You can't see that movie you wanted because a studio is clutching a fistful of nickels. They can afford to pay writers and actors--large collectives of not-famous workers--something even a little bit closer to fairly. But they are determined not to, with the cruelest resolve. An unnamed executive said, and I quote exactly this time, "The endgame is to allow things to drag on until [writers'] union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses."

Get mad that you won't get your movies and shows.

Your position was just referred to as employment. Independent contractors do not have employers; they do not have employment. Congrats, your contact at this company just provided evidence that you were illegally missclassified.

This contact is claiming that you have set hours you’re obligated to fulfill. Unless a work task can only be done at a set time for practical reasons (i.e. you’re an audio freelancer paid to support a live event that occurs at a particular time and requires a certain amount of pre-show setup), a company cannot set an independent contractor’s work hours. This is further evidence that you were missclassified.

The whole exchange establishes that the company is interpreting an employer-employee relationship rather than expecting a service. Discipline and potential for firing (you cannot fire an independent contractor; no longer purchasing their service is not equivalent) establish that this person views themselves as a manager. Independent contractors cannot have managers.

This one text exchange could:

Get you back pay for the full duration you’ve worked there, to bring you up to the compensation that an employee would have gotten

Get you back compensation for lost benefits that an employee would have gotten

Get you back pay for the additional self-employment taxes the company should have covered

Get the company to pay back taxes to the government

Get the company to hire everyone who performed a similar role, or face further penalties and fines

A win would encourage the rest of their missclassified workers to sue for the same, or give them leverage to demand a better deal

You can also file a form with the IRS to force the company to correct your classification (assuming you meet the criteria), without necessarily having to sue:

Keep in mind that this is just federal. Most states also prohibit missclassification as an independent contractor; and even if states have more lenient rules, companies still have to comply with this federal law. The rules have largely been bipartisan and existed for decades, so they’re common.

States also have an interest in having regulations about missclassification: it’s a significant loss of tax revenue. Your self employment tax does not fully equal what a company would have paid for you in payroll taxes.

And I was put in the seat instantly, of course. I said, “your honor, I can’t be a juror on a two week trial, I have opera rehearsal.” And she said, “opera huh, well, sing something for us.”

And I did. In a federal court of law, in front of the judge, 75 jurors, the lawyers and the fucking DEFENDANT, I sang o mio babbino caro.

item: safety pin wings

total cost: ~$4