in the glorious transhumanist cyborgian future one of the first things I want is a complete searchable AI-assisted index of everything I ever read and watched so I can effortlessly be like “hey what was that article I read where…” or “which video was it that made this point”
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#we can’t 100% do this yet but we’re closer than you might think #Whisper + Recoll is such a good combination #101 Uses for Infrastructureless Computers #transhumanism #proud citizen of The Future #amnesia cw?
Please re-blog to widen the data sample! I might use this for my statistics project at the end of the semester, and every answer is a great help :).
Please share in the tags what you picked and why if you’re so inclined.
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#reblogging this post to commemorate getting a subsidised bus card today #(and yes‚ I went to pick it up via bus) #(then I bought my mom some broccoli on my way home) #the transit here still has some improvements left to make to be truly Good #but it is *infinitely* better than it was when I first moved here‚ and I am grateful beyond words #keep up the good trajectory #adventures in human capitalism #proud citizen of The Future #surveys #this probably deserves some warning tag but I am not sure what
My new favorite thing: People making their reusable elastomeric respirators beautiful! (Usually the Dentec P100 or the Dentec N95, which are NIOSH-certified and reusable.)
I’ve been collecting as many of these customizations as I can find, and I think they fall into a few categories:
The first is the colorful distraction, where it seems like the aim is to make the mask colorful and cheerful — less scary — which distracts from the apocalyptic / gas mask vibes, while still being simple enough for everyday wear.
2. The second is make it fashion, where the aim is to just make something that looks so incredibly cool that you feel beautiful wearing it, and it feels like a stylish accessory. These use lots of shiny elements and swirling patterns (all of the below by @nickelpin)
3. And the third is punk where the mask customization embraces and enhances its non-conforming / resistance undertones. My favorite in this category is by @andrewshumate, who installed a CO2 monitor and set it up so the filters change color based on the CO2 levels in the space.
I have been daydreaming a lot about designs for a customized Dentec P100 or N95!
(my daily masks are either my Dentec P100 or the comfy 3M Aura N95, and I’d like to have a reusable respirator that looks less intimidating for everyday walks etc.)
First, some cheerful patterns. I actually like the cloud one a lot, I might do it. I think the high-contrast sunflower design is super effective at distracting the eye from the respirator shape.
I’m also really into this night sky version. Feels more beautiful / mysterious / subtle.
These are not my style, but I’m reeeeeally into the idea of bootleg Louis Vuitton designer masks. (This is like, the opposite of punk, lol)
Just thinking about how wearing a respirator (like KN95, N95, or the pictured elastomeric N95s and P100s) is very cool and my personal experience is that everyone thinks you’re cool and attractive when you do it.
Project N95 is a nonprofit that sells these and other respirators for relatively cheap, you can find them here: link .
I got a question about reusable masks that look less apocalyptic but still work.
I’m not a mask nerd (just a normie who wants to stay alive another week + live in solidarity with disabled people), so first I want to recommend The People’s CDC as a resource. Their latest info on masking is here, and they also have a weekly COVID weather report newsletter that I love here.
So: If that’s you, I’d recommend the Flo mask. It’s not NIOSH-certified yet, but it does seem to work like an N95 from what we can see (results here and here). It also has kids’ sizes!
And you can do cool mods like adding spikes or decals. (Artist and designer Nickelpin has an online shop where she sells Flo mask decal stickers like the sparkly star below — that’s here.)
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#I’m not much into decorating things in general #and to the extent that I have an aesthetic‚ ”post-apocalyptic chic” actually fits it very well #but I’m glad this exists #(also‚ while we here at Brinens and Things do *not* endorse passive-aggressively strapping a CO2 monitor to your face) #((except maybe at DefCon: seems like in that social context it actually might not backfire)) #(we have to admit that’s a hell of a thing) #clothing #illness tw #transhumanism #proud citizen of The Future #((getting an elastomeric is‚ in all sincerity‚ one of the best things that has ever happened to me)) #((warts and all)) #((I said back in the day that I might stop masking in summer‚ or with some vaccines in me)) #((but in the end‚ I thought: why go back? why settle for less?)) #((I’ve had a taste of a better world‚ and I’m not going to turn around and walk away)) #((The Future has open borders: to live there‚ one need only choose)) #tag rambles
i got different answers when i asked my vegetarian sister, my vegetarian mom, and my vegan partner so.
if lab grown meat became widely available and easily affordable, would you eat it?
if you want to tag why please go right ahead, (i.e. you wouldn’t consider it to follow religious dietary rules and restrictions). i’m very curious because i’ve talked about this a lot with people.
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#I eat meat about once or twice a week and I am so hyped† for cultured meat #why‚ you ask? well‚ read my previous post #(do cultured mink fur next so those little bastards can stop breeding new variants of every goddamn epidemic that comes along) #((I suspect doing fur would be harder‚ but like‚ that is *the sort of line* along which we ought to be thinking)) #((*even if* one ignores the matter of animal welfare‚ I firmly believe we should wean ourselves off factory farming for our *own* safety)) #speaking as someone who makes less than the global average income‚ I would be willing to pay up to double to have my meat be cultured #†I continue to not be good at excitement qualia‚ but like‚ intellectually hyped #food #animal abuse cw? #illness tw? #surveys #proud citizen of The Future #(((P.S. also I suspect future-me will care more about animal welfare #and *I* care about *her* and do not want her to regret having been me #so that’s also a factor in why I eat so little meat))) #(((I think Ozy Brennan put it very well when they said #”when [people] can look up and think about something other than staying alive‚ the first luxury they buy is compassion” #I can’t look up right now #but maybe someday I’ll be able to))) #tag rambles
During the Bubonic Plague, doctors wore these bird-like masks to avoid becoming sick. They would fill the beaks with spices and rose petals, so they wouldn’t have to smell the rotting bodies.
A theory during the Bubonic Plague was that the plague was caused by evil spirits. To scare the spirits away, the masks were intentionally designed to be creepy.
Mission fucking accomplished
Okay so I love this but it doesn’t cover the half of why the design is awesome and actually borders on making sense.
It wasn’t just that they didn’t want to smell the infected and dead, they thought it was crucial to protecting themselves. They had no way of knowing about what actually caused the plague, and so one of the other theories was that the smell of the infected all by itself was evil and could transmit the plague. So not only would they fill their masks with aromatic herbs and flowers, they would also burn fires in public areas, so that the smell of the smoke would “clear the air”. This all related to the miasma theory of contagion, which was one of the major theories out there until the 19th century. And it makes sense, in a way. Plague victims smelled awful, and there’s a general correlation between horrible septic smells and getting horribly sick if you’re around what causes them for too long.
You can see now that we’ve got two different theories as to what caused the plague that were worked into the design. That’s because the whole thing was an attempt by the doctors to cover as many bases as they could think of, and we’re still not done.
The glass eyepieces. They were either darkened or red, not something you generally want to have to contend with when examining patients. But the plague might be spread by eye contact via the evil eye, so best to ward that off too.
The illustration shows a doctor holding a stick. This was an examination tool, that helped the doctors keep some distance between themselves and the infected. They already had gloves on, but the extra level of separation was apparently deemed necessary. You could even take a pulse with it. Or keep people the fuck away from you, which was apparently a documented use.
Finally, the robe. It’s not just to look fancy, the cloth was waxed, as were all of the rest of their clothes. What’s one of the properties of wax? Water-based fluids aren’t absorbed by it. This was the closest you could get to a sterile, fully protecting garment back then. Because at least one person along the line was smart enough to think “Gee, I’d really rather not have the stuff coming out of those weeping sores anywhere on my person”.
So between all of these there’s a real sense that a lot of real thought was put into making sure the doctors were protected, even if they couldn’t exactly be sure from what. They worked with what information they had. And frankly, it’s a great design given what was available! You limit exposure to aspirated liquids, limit exposure to contaminated liquids already present, you limit contact with the infected. You also don’t give fleas any really good place to hop onto. That’s actually useful.
Beyond that, there were contracts the doctors would sign before they even got near a patient. They were to be under quarantine themselves, they wouldn’t treat patients without a custodian monitoring them and helping when something had to be physically contacted, and they would not treat non-plague patients for the duration. There was an actual system in place by the time the plague doctors really became a thing to make sure they didn’t infect anyone either.
These guys were the product of the scientific process at work, and the scientific process made a bitchin’ proto-hazmat suit. And containment protocols!
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#I think about this post every time I see someone wearing a bifold N95 #(I know I’ve talked about that before‚ but here is the specific post I had in mind) #history #101 Uses for Infrastructureless Computers #that one post with the thing #illness tw #proud citizen of The Future
The first victim could not have been recorded, for there was no written language to record it. They were someone’s daughter, or son, and someone’s friend, and they were loved by those around them. And they were in pain, covered in rashes, confused, scared, not knowing why this was happening to them or what they could do about it – victim of a mad, inhuman god. There was nothing to be done – humanity was not strong enough, not aware enough, not knowledgeable enough, to fight back against a monster that could not be seen.
It was in Ancient Egypt, where it attacked slave and pharaoh alike. In Rome, it effortlessly decimated armies. It killed in Syria. It killed in Moscow. In India, five million dead. It killed a thousand Europeans every day in the 18th century. It killed more than fifty million Native Americans. From the Peloponnesian War to the Civil War, it slew more soldiers and civilians than any weapon, any soldier, any army (Not that this stopped the most foolish and empty souls from attempting to harness the demon as a weapon against their enemies).
Cultures grew and faltered, and it remained. Empires rose and fell, and it thrived. Ideologies waxed and waned, but it did not care. Kill. Maim. Spread. An ancient, mad god, hidden from view, that could not be fought, could not be confronted, could not even be comprehended. Not the only one of its kind, but the most devastating.
For a long time, there was no hope – only the bitter, hollow endurance of survivors.
In China, in the 10th century, humanity began to fight back.
It was observed that survivors of the mad god’s curse would never be touched again: they had taken a portion of that power into themselves, and were so protected from it. Not only that, but this power could be shared by consuming a remnant of the wounds. There was a price, for you could not take the god’s power without first defeating it – but a smaller battle, on humanity’s terms. By the 16th century, the technique spread, to India, across Asia, the Ottoman Empire and, in the 18th century, Europe. In 1796, a more powerful technique was discovered by Edward Jenner.
An idea began to take hold: Perhaps the ancient god could be killed.
A whisper became a voice; a voice became a call; a call became a battle cry, sweeping across villages, cities, nations. Humanity began to cooperate, spreading the protective power across the globe, dispatching masters of the craft to protect whole populations. People who had once been sworn enemies joined in common cause for this one battle. Governments mandated that all citizens protect themselves, for giving the ancient enemy a single life would put millions in danger.
And, inch by inch, humanity drove its enemy back. Fewer friends wept; Fewer neighbors were crippled; Fewer parents had to bury their children.
At the dawn of the 20th century, for the first time, humanity banished the enemy from entire regions of the world. Humanity faltered many times in its efforts, but there individuals who never gave up, who fought for the dream of a world where no child or loved one would ever fear the demon ever again. Viktor Zhdanov, who called for humanity to unite in a final push against the demon; The great tactician Karel Raška, who conceived of a strategy to annihilate the enemy; Donald Henderson, who led the efforts of those final days.
The enemy grew weaker. Millions became thousands, thousands became dozens. And then, when the enemy did strike, scores of humans came forth to defy it, protecting all those whom it might endanger.
The enemy’s last attack in the wild was on Ali Maow Maalin, in 1977. For months afterwards, dedicated humans swept the surrounding area, seeking out any last, desperate hiding place where the enemy might yet remain.
They found none.
35 years ago, on December 9th, 1979, humanity declared victory.
This one evil, the horror from beyond memory, the monster that took 500 million people from this world – was destroyed.
You are a member of the species that did that. Never forget what we are capable of, when we band together and declare battle on what is broken in the world.
Happy Smallpox Eradication Day.
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#this post was queued to ensure proper timing #Tumblr traditions #anniversaries #illness tw #history #proud citizen of The Future
spotify wrapped is weird because of how many of you are apparently using subscription services for music
you know there are legally operating websites your ISP will be cool with you visiting that have tons of music files on there, right?
Spotify is free, though; i assume most Spotify Wrapped posters are just using the ad-supported free plan, not paying for a subscription. I do dislike the ads, though – which are the legal music piracy websites?
Youtube. For ad-free, Youtube + UBlock Origin.
(note for some of the mobile Internet users out there: UBlock Origin *is* available on Android Firefox)
The breadth of their library, already substantial a decade ago, has improved tremendously. It has been several years since the last time I searched for a song on Youtube and did not find it.
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#anyway I agree with OP #for songs I know I’ll want to listen to many times in the future I use local files #but if I only want a song once or twice‚ or if I’m looking up new songs‚ that is what Youtube is for #(this is actually my *primary* usecase for Youtube) #((well‚ that and videos to watch while on the treadmill)) #reply via reblog #the more you know #music #I think different aspects of this post qualify for both #proud citizen of The Future #and #disappointed permanent resident of The Future
Cory Lee has visited 40 countries on seven continents, and yet the Georgia native has never explored Cloudland Canyon State Park, about 20 minutes from his home. His wheelchair was tough enough for the trip to Antarctica but not for the rugged terrain in his backyard.
Lee’s circumstances changed Friday, when Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources and the Aimee Copeland Foundation unveiled a fleet of all-terrain power wheelchairs for rent at 11 state parks and outdoorsy destinations, including Cloudland Canyon. The Action Trackchair models are equipped with tank-like tracks capable of traversing rocks, roots, streams and sand; clearing fallen trees; plowing through tall grass and tackling uphill climbs.
“I’ll finally be able to go on these trails for the first time in my life,” said the 32-year-old travel blogger, who shares his adventures on Curb Free with Cory Lee. “The trails are off-limits in my regular wheelchair.”
Georgia is one of the latest states to provide the Land Rover of wheelchairs to outdoor enthusiasts with mobility issues.
In 2017, Colorado Parks and Wildlife launched its Staunton State Park Track-Chair Program, which provides free adaptive equipment, though guests must pay the $10 entrance fee. Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources has placed off-road track chairs in nearly a dozen parks, including Muskegon State Park. In 2018, Lee reserved a chair at the park that boasts three miles of shoreline on Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake. “It allowed me to have so much independence on the sand,” he said.
Brinens and Things 