Month: November 2014

Image ~ ~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

canadian-space-agency:

The Canadian Space Agency is proud to have many Veterans among its employees. On this Remembrance Day, join us in thanking them and all Canadian Veterans for their courage, service and sacrifices that have kept our nation strong, proud and free.

(The poppy pin shown above is either old-fashioned or foreign, I’m not sure which. This is what a modern-day Canadian poppy pin looks like. I’m not complaining about the CSA’s choice of picture, but I thought I should give you the correct mental image for what I’m about to tell you.)

The importance Canadians place on Remembrance Day and World War I is probably the biggest thing that surprised me about Canada. I had no idea until after I moved here.

My first November here, the very first time I ever saw someone wearing a poppy pin, I told her I liked her flower. She was rather surprised. I was nearly fourteen: surely I knew what a poppy pin was? But I didn’t, and the people there had to explain to me.

The first time someone referenced “In Flanders Fields” in front of me, I didn’t know what they were talking about. They were surprised: surely I’d had to memorise it in school a few grades back? But I hadn’t, and they had to explain to me.

I memorised it on my own not long after that; I wanted to be more a part of my adopted country. I visited two World War I museums to learn the things a Canadian ought to know. I bought a poppy pin from one of the countless donation boxes for the Royal Canadian Legion, and I try to wear it whenever leaving the house during the first eleven days of November, as Canadians do. This is my country too, now, and its customs are mine.

Tags:

#Remembrance Day #our home and cherished land #cultural differences #the more you know

Image ~ ~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

jtotheizzoe:

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft is set to release  its Philae probe in preparation for touchdown on the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko tomorrow, November 12. 

In case that didn’t sink in, tomorrow some human beings are going to try and land a spaceship on a comet. Here’s what you need to know, thanks to the folks at Nature (click here to explore a bigger version of the infographic).

Tags:

#space #the power of science #(there are *so* many things that could go wrong) #(here’s hoping this works)

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

anotherfreakingdork:

maepel:

maepel:

holy shit tumblr deleted the ignore feature

staff what are you doing

PLEASE reblog this and spread awareness. idk if they actually deleted it or maybe its a bug but its still really troubling for people who need it to keep away harassers (even though it never did well in the first place)

while tumblr.com/ignore is gone, there is still 1) the ignore “x” if you’re in the tag and 2) the ignore “x” in your inbox

you can also view ignored users if you go to settings -> account and scroll to the bottom. there’s a pencil to the side, which i thought would allow me to add/remove ppl from the block list, but it doesn’t appear to be working

STILL, i urge everyone to send in messages to staff because sometimes the person you want to block doesn’t send you messages or put things in the tags; sometimes the person leaves the most obnoxious and/or abusive comments when they reblog things and how the fuck are you supposed to get rid of those people????

I don’t get it. Looks fine to me. Did they put it back?

Tags:

#The Great Tumblr Apocalypse #reply via reblog

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

flameraven:

rainbow-femme:

I’m sick of magical worlds with no technology. I want fairy run coffee shops where you can get a latte with a shot of charisma, because you’ve got a big presentation you’re worried about, or witches working at Apple selling phones that automatically appear in your pocket if you accidentally leave it somewhere, or psychics running hair salons who always know how you want your hair to look, or aura reader therapists. I just really want normalized magic in modern society

Practical magic is something we need more of, and not just in modern settings. Because here’s the thing. Fireballs are cool and all, but think about the possibilities of creating an endless supply of fresh clean water would have on a medieval-era society. Think about cold spells being used for refrigeration, and plant magic being used to secure and increase the yearly harvest. Think about heat spells providing warmth without having to burn coal or oil. Think about teleportation spells being used to transport food and supplies in the dead of winter. Think about the implications of language spells that grant the ability to read long-dead languages. Think about the potential of magic-based medical care (including birth control)! There are so many possibilities that are way more interesting than magic missiles.

Whenever a new technology shows up, humans are usually mostly interested in using it for food, shelter, sex, and war. Fantasy settings like to cover that last one a lot, but totally neglect the rest. I think that’s a shame. Granted, the existence of magic would probably quickly elevate a society out of medieval-era subsistence, so you couldn’t get your pleasant pastoral English countryside pastiche. But at this point, shouldn’t we be thinking of more varied stories anyway?

PSA: if you don’t want people finding you through your email on tumblr:

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

tenderagender:

tenderagender:

go here and it’s the first option

it’s always been an option that i’ve always had turned off, i think the new update just made it easier to find someone if that option isn’t disabled

for people who can’t click through, here’s a manual link:

https://www.tumblr.com/settings/account

i’m serious. don’t ignore this. there are people who are worried their abusers can find them now, and this can give them more protection.

Tags:

#PSA #the more you know #Tumblr: a User’s Guide #hmm #this is on the verge of being too guilt-trippy for me #I suppose I’ll let it slide this time as they do make a good point #I personally found this option a while back and deliberately left it turned on #because Brin has her own email address separate from legalname!me #and I’m totally happy for anyone who knows Brin’s email to know about Brin’s Tumblr #but those of you who don’t have that setup might find this useful