Artificial Stupidity

So some fanartist drew a “sexy” (read: booby) version of a (cartoon) character who is traditionally very non-sexualised. Fans of the character got mad about it because it’s kind of groundbreaking how that character is written and portrayed and this art totally ignores the entire point of the character. They demanded the art be deleted. In response to that other people said, well what the fanartist did may be distateful but they have every right to draw what they’re into. The two sides fight for days and each starts a harassment campaign and even report their “opponents’” accounts.

So far so typical. But things eventually come to a head and they decide that this will be settled by votes - not through a poll. Through donations to a children’s education charity via each side’s portal. Whoever can get the highest amount of donation wins.

[ID: question by anonymous: did they answer the question though ///end ID]

the navy officer i asked about cyber attacks did answer my question very thoroughly. he also answered other questions such as "when refueling on sea, which boat is the primary course holder?" and "would switching to another government branch affect your retirement benefits?" and generally provided a lot of information over the course of a fascinating hour that as a former government employee myself i am pretty sure he should not have told me. but i also think he would have told me his social security number if i asked nicely (i didn't, I was busy learning about the tactical advantages of speedboats).

the guy obsessed with boat refurbishment that i asked about his tendency towards preservation gave me a really haunted look, said "holy fuck" and then after a moment of consideration "i think i am too drunk. i'm going home" and proceeded to leave. in my defense, it was well and truly meant as genuine curiosity and not as the attempt at psychological warfare it turned out to be. he unfortunately did not answer my question.

Do you know if there's any merit to this theory?

that theory has been largely discounted because the Deccan Traps erupted around a million years before the meteor hit, and yet we see no decrease in fossil diversity in this period like we would expect if this caused the great extinction. Chicxulub is still the reigning champ of abrupt end-times, I'm afraid.

but this is probably because, unlike the Siberian Traps that accelerated the end-Permian Great Dying, the Deccan Traps were relatively slow! they did release absolutely staggering amounts of magma, but spread out over a period of like 800,000 years or so. life more or less just went on around it, presumably dodging the enormous surface pools of lava and plumes of toxic gas.

however there is a significantly more terrifying theory out there now that suggests that the Deccan Traps DID play into the end-cretaceous extinction event.... because the Chicxulub Impactor rattled the entire planet so hard that it caused almost every volcano on earth to erupt at the same time, including the Traps.

so yeah! fuck!

That's not what happened. This image by Donald E. Davis is probably the best depiction I've seen:

This asteroid was huge and traveling at an incredible speed. It was about 10 km in diameter and moving at 20 km/second - maybe about 10 times faster than a bullet. It spawned tsunamis over 100 m tall and earthquakes likely at least 10 times as strong as any in recorded history - earthquakes that almost certainly lasted for days or longer and very well could have caused volcanic eruptions. It threw so much superheated rock into the atmosphere that later fell down on the earth that it caused wildfires over much of the surface of the globe.

All that debris and smoke in the atmosphere resulted in a thick, hazy, years-long "winter" that stopped surviving plants and algae from photosynthesizing and left surviving animals with little to eat. The ocean also acidified, killing off phytoplankton and other sea life, and acid rain fell across the globe, further damaging plants that were already starved for light. We tend to focus on the animals, but maybe about 50% of all plant species were killed, too, even though no major plant families were lost (plant families tend to be a lot more speciose than animal families).

Yes, the Deccan Traps were big, but nothing compared to the Chicxulub impact. Their peak activity doesn't line up too well with the known extinction event, either. It wasn't a bad hypothesis for what caused the K-Pg extinction, but the Chicxulub impact makes a lot more sense.

There are no levels in knitting, there are no exams to pass or goals to achieve before you can continue.

The Handsome Chris is a perfect beginner project. It's all one color, it's knit flat, you get to learn lots of new techniques all at once, but most of all it's engaging and you're working towards a goal you really like.

I would have impaled myself on my needles if I'd been forced to complete a Sophie scarf before I got to advance to something more "challenging" like a washcloth, or God forbid a ribbed hat.

My very first project was a self-drafted 11-strand intarsia double sided cable scarf, because I didn't know I wasn't allowed and that was what I wanted to make.

This attitude of mystifying certain fabrics as advanced really twists my stitches. I cannot do simple stockinette colorwork to save my life, but I can 3-color brioche without looking.

There are no levels in knitting.