Disciple of the Cards

They released an album too! I don't think this song is on it but the rest of their stuff is SO GOOD !!

Like, is your classroom dead silent and full of rigid and disengaged undergrads?? I’m your one stop solution!! Services provided:

1) Will provoke a rollicking and current event-relevant class discussion even if it’s just between you (prof) and me (humanities only)

2) Will sit in the back of the classroom and loudly ask questions/make statements about the people fucking off on their laptops (“Hey this guy’s playing a video game”) (yes I will make it awkward)

3) “I think (x student) has something to say”

4) I’ll do the reading

5) I can out-argue fascists in my sleep

Today's featured flag for 3 July, 2026 is the flag of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. This is a special post, because not only is this our seventh post- representing a week- but this is also our first requested flag! This... interesting banner comes from the lovely @sarroth, who mentioned that he finds it endearing how the designers of this flag didn't seem to care that according to all known laws of vexillology, there is no way that this flag should be able to fly. And yet, this plucky little monstrosity flies anyway, because flags don't care what vexillologists believe is impossible. All jokes aside, while this flag is objectively horrible, I love it in a so-bad-it's-good way, kin to the U.S. state of Maryland's banner in my mind. Please thank @sarroth for this flag recommendation, and feast your eyes upon the beauty of the flag of Detroit!

Today's featured flag for 2 July, 2026 is the flag of the Republic of the Congo. Today happens to be the exact midpoint of 2026- it's already almost half over, shockingly enough! Anyhow, due to this fact, i've decided to highlight a country on the equator, the dividing line splitting our world in two- and the less arbitrary of it and the prime meridian. After thinking it over, I've decided that the most unique and non-ugly design of these countries is that of the Republic of the Congo. It'd be a cool coincidence if they did, but Congo-Brazzaville doesn't happen to have any anniversaries or holidays today. Still, I think it's a cool design that uses the extremely popular pan-African colors from the flag of Ethiopia in an innovative way with a fun pattern.

It is the first flag that I saw that was for a city and not a state or country. I didn’t know that was a thing until I came across this.

I’ve also watched Roman Mars’ talk on flags and this one seems to violate every standard he suggested makes for a good flag, and it’s kind of endearing to me that whoever came up with this one just didn’t seem to care.

There are a ton of quick and cheap electrolyte drink recipes that you can find online. Tea, coffee, cocount water, milk, milk substitutes, juice, etc are all hydrating despite extremely persistent myths. Many fruits and veggies like cucumbers, watermelon, strawberries, bell peppers, etc have high water content and are a great way to hydrate while also getting vital nutrients. Popsicles are also a good way to stay cool and hydrated and you can buy them or make your own with whatever ingredients you want; there are recipes online, including ones for electrolyte popsicles, but you can also just do basic ones with your choice of fruit juice and whatever you want to add, like chunks of fresh or frozen fruit.

An increasing number of vehicle components are being equipped with chips that "pair" them with a specific vehicle. You can't replace these parts unless you pay a dealer to re-sync them.

If you figure out a workaround to pair the parts yourself and share it with others, you can be charged under DMCA for "breaking a digital lock", and be dealt heavy fines or sent to prison.

All these added electronics are even more fun at a time when trade conflicts and the AI race to the bottom are driving up the cost of components.

In a 2023 privacy review by the Mozilla Foundation, every single manufacturer doing business in the US received a failing grade. Car companies collect and sell data about your driving behavior, as well as anything coming through the mic feed or Bluetooth phone connections. - Nissan's privacy policy says that they collect such things as sexual activity data, health diagnosis data and genetic data, and they expect you to make any prospective passenger in your car read the privacy policy and accept it as well. - Kia's privacy policy says they can collect information about your "sex life". - Drivers of GM vehicles recently found their insurance rates going up as the company sold data about their driving habits to insurance companies.

If you connect your phone to the car via Bluetooth, they can download your text messages and contacts, too.

Section 24220 of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, known by detractors as the "kill-switch law", requires all US vehicles from 2026 onward to include driver monitoring systems that will disable a vehicle if they deem a driver to be impaired or inattentive. It sounds nice on paper, but doesn't provide specific guidance on how these systems are to be implemented, or what you're supposed to do to re-enable your vehicle once it's shut itself down. The general assumption is that the system will include a camera focused on the driver at all times, combined with monitoring driving behavior for sudden swerves, stops, or acceleration. Of course, there are many outside factors besides inebriation that may cause a driver to suddenly swerve or stop. It remains to be seen how these systems will account for this.

Safety's great, but the increasing number of airbags and exterior sensors on newer cars drive up purchase costs and insurance premiums. Even a relatively minor accident could end up "totaling" your car as these components cost so much to replace if damaged or deployed.

Increasing vehicle weights speed up the deterioration of both tires and roads.

BMW received flack last year for building heated seats into their vehicles, but charging a monthly subscription fee to use them. Tesla does something similar, allowing you to purchase better vehicle performance through their app.

Touch screens. Ugh, touch screens. Not only are they unsafe to operate at speed, but a lot of them are integrated into vehicle operations and cannot be simply swapped out to suit owner preference like older stereo head units. Infotainment systems have become the number one source of customer complaints in newer vehicles. Nothing like a car with a load-bearing radio.

Stellantis (Dodge, Jeep, etc) owners have been receiving full-screen marketing ads on their infotainment screens lately.

Just because customers are complaining about infotainment systems, that doesn't mean the traditional parts are doing any better. Vehicle reliability has been down across the board over the past few years, even for companies like Toyota that built their reputations on dependable products.

In short, the cars on dealer lots right now are expensive, disposable privacy nukes that give you about as much agency as Windows 11. That's on top of them being huge, ugly, and depressingly grey.

And fuuuuuck commercials in my car. How did I never consider that possibility of course they would do that capitalism is fucking evil.

I made this transparent PNG the night he died in preparation for one of the many ways I was going to memorialize him--a surface rug in his likeness that I planned on laying directly in the line of his favourite sunbeam. And I uploaded that PNG here, because this is the website where people post their cats.

I was not expecting the reception I got. Many people have pointed out that this post has more reblogs than likes, and how insane that is in 2025 when reblog culture is at an all time low. I didn't even talk about the fact that Burger passed away in the original post, it wasn't a tearjerker reblog bait or anything like that. People just loved Burger that much, in the same way I fell in love with him at first sight. He was such an ugly kitten.

Anyways, it's really special to me that so many people have reblogged my best friend. I made this PNG to memorialize him in a completely different way, and you all wound up doing just that in ways I never even imagined.

Thank you. Wherever he is, I know the sun is shining.

The Amur Leopard and Clouded Leopard (which recently celebrated its 50th cub born at the zoo!)

The Sumatran Tiger

The Red Ruffed Lemur and Ring-Tailed Lemur

The Cotton-Top Tamarin and White-Cheeked Gibbon

The Colobus Monkey and De Brazza’s Monkey

And the Mexican Spider Monkey!