Greetings. Do kids still say 'greetings'?

As a bit of levity, upon seeing the work in progress drawing of Agent Alex, Fran - @crazygnomenclature had this to say,

“🎵 Secret Aaaaagent Ma'am🎵”

Thank you, sometimes we need a bit of fun when discussing things that are extraordinarily not fun.

I'm Still Alex - Webtoon | Tapas | Linktree | Patreon

Sure, I’m technically allowed to work for the federal government… unless I was one of the trans people purged from the military… which was later ruled unconstitutional, so I suppose I could get that job… for now… but the damage to our transgender military personnel was already done; that ruling was far too late.

Beware the person who downplays what’s happening, and let’s go further, challenge them.  Yes, trans people are legally allowed to work government jobs, but when doing so requires them to be stripped of their life saving healthcare, are they really?

The messaging is clear: if you want to be part of the future that republicans are building, you must either strip yourself of your identity, or die.

Broken record as I am on this topic, it bears repeating:

Neutrality assists the oppressor.  If you’re part of a discussion where someone spouts this garbage and you don’t push back, you’ve given tacit approval to what they said.  If you remain friends with that person, you’re making the statement that bigotry is not a dealbreaker for you.

What kind of person do you want to be?  If transphobia, homophobia, racism, bigotry, etc. aren’t dealbreakers for you, are you that person?

It can almost certainly tell different species apart based on the shape of those air bladders. And it can tell if a fish has something weird inside it, like a metal hook. In Hawaii, false killer whales often pluck tuna off fishing lines, and “they’ll know where the hook is inside that fish,” Aude Pacini, who studies these animals, tells me. “They can ‘see’ things that you and I would never consider unless we had an X-ray machine or an MRI scanner.”

This penetrating perception is so unusual that scientists have barely begun to consider its implications. The beaked whales, for example, are odontocetes that look dolphin-esque on the outside—but on the inside, their skulls bear a strange assortment of crests, ridges, and bumps, many of which are only found in males.

Pavel Gol’din has suggested that these structures might be the equivalent of deer antlers—showy ornaments that are used to attract mates. Such ornaments would normally protrude from the body in a visible and conspicuous way, but that’s unnecessary for animals that are living medical scanners.’

I'm not sure if I ever shared this story before here, but in Curacao, when I was allowed to assist in a guest interaction programme, there was suddenly consternation in the pool behind us. A guest had entered the water and the dolphins were going crazy, paying no heed to the trainers anymore. The lead trainer that was with me gave the dolphins to me to watch over while she went to help. When she came back she told me what had happened. The guest that had caused so much uproar had left the water again and was asked if he had done anything to upset the dolphins. He hadn't, and he couldn't imagine what was wrong... until he mentioned he had a pacemaker. The younger dolphins in the pool had never seen someone with a pacemaker before and apparently it rocked their world.

Breathes in-

It's rude. You're making someone take their time to read something you couldn't bother to write. You're telling them they were so unimportant you couldn't be bothered to actually take the time to say something yourself. And frankly, you're lying about it while you're at it.

Your husky isn’t “hyperactive”, it’s bred to pull sleds for 8 hours straight and you have it in a 400 sq ft yard.

Your English sheepdog isn’t “pushy”, it’s bred to herd sheep, and you have neither to space nor the herd to allow it.

Your terrier isn’t “nippy”, it’s bred to kill rats and your hamster looks a hell of a lot like one.

Your Catahoula isn’t “mean to animals”, it’s bred to hunt any and all animals smaller than it, and you didn’t acclimate it to your cat.

Your Lhasa Apso isn’t “yappy”, it’s bred to bark at any tiny noise and alert watchmen to intruders

me: oh god is that fatal

doctor: that's your insurance provider