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Joined 10 months ago
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Cake day: December 12th, 2023

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  • I’ve been enjoying the use or weird lately. I’ve had some strong personal opinions on language lately. A lot of it comes with a huge increase of new words that sort of seem abstract from it’s meaning.

    I think with how rapid information can spread to large groups of people, it’s just too fast for my mind to keep up. All of a sudden I feel like I’m in a war with words and who knows which landmine of a word will get you in trouble. It causes me even more anxiety when someone comes at you with manipulative intentions in order to control the direction of the discussion.

    I think weird works because it’s an almost basic word. It’s simple and descriptive. It’s not a newer, more specific word that requires a deeper understanding of a broader topic. It’s understood by more people. People with varying degrees of language knowledge including people whose native language is not English. It’s easier for more people to understand.

    It’s a lot easier to understand someone is weird compared to someone being a fascist.



  • They look like springtails to me. I use springtails and isopods in my gecko’s terrarium as a clean up crew.

    The isopods eat the poop while the springtails eat any mold that would grow in moist conditions. I do have plants in there too so all that bug poop goes right back into the soil to be reused.

    They can’t survive outside of a moist environment for long and will simply dry out. I have no idea how harmful they are to plants alone but at least you don’t have to worry about mold.




  • confusedpuppy@lemmy.dbzer0.comtoScience Memes@mander.xyzWasps
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    3 months ago

    I’ve never understood why people think wasps are so aggressive. At least where I live. They are curious like a bumblebee although slightly more persistent in hanging around.

    If I am eating food, I leave a bit for them just within arms reach so they feast on that rather than what I’m eating.

    They seem pretty chill if you’re willing to share your space and food with them.


  • confusedpuppy@lemmy.dbzer0.comtoGames@lemmy.worldIndie games using retro graphics
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    3 months ago

    I’ve found myself lately a lot more interested in games that don’t focus heavily on graphics but instead allow other parts of the game to speak for itself. This allows for the imagination to fill in the gaps, as you mentioned.

    I’ve been playing a lot or Caves of Qud recently. It’s a rogue-like game with tile graphics and colourful text. Somehow this menu simulator game has drawn me into it’s harsh and unforgiving world. The tile based graphics actually allows for an amazing amount of creative freedom both from the developer and player point of views. The developer has created this futuristic planet with mutants and cybernetics roaming the planet trying to survive. The player has the freedom to play as they like and create the most unique characters they can imagine. My current character has two hearts, a scorpion tail, a fanged beak, two dagger wielding claws and a habit for stabbing.

    I think the rise of constantly better technology has inadvertently encouraged a focus on better graphics over other aspects of video games. While there are some absolutely beautiful games with higher hardware demand, I think as of late, I’m yearning for games that focus more on story or gameplay. Games where you can feel the developer’s passion. Games with polish and attention to details in the most unexpected ways. Games that attempt to push boundaries within certain limitations (think hardware or graphic styles for example).

    I think what I want is a game that feels like I’m reading a fiction book in a way. What I mean is that when you read a work of fiction, your imagination is filling in all that visual information. A game can provide you more than just text, but if it can balance graphics, gameplay and story, it can really transport and immerse your imagination into that world.



  • I try to remind people that doing nothing is not a bad thing and something you can enjoy. Productivity can be quite addictive for some people. For others, it can be so ingrained into their mindset that they are driven by guilt to remain productive.

    In a couple years from now when the sun finally decides to kill all life on earth for shit and giggles, all that progress and productivity won’t mean anything. I’d rather chill the fuck out and enjoy the nice views with the people I like around me and I only have one life to do that.


  • I think managed is an appropriate word which describes the process the indigenous people applied to the land. They not only farmed on the land, but the use of controlled burns helped renew the area after it had been used. After farming in an area, it will deplete nutrients in the soil. If you want to use that area again in the future, you will have to have some sort of long term understanding of the land to regenerate the area.

    Those fires also help guide wildlife to previously used, burned and planted areas ensuring the wildlife is not wiped out in the process. And since the burns are low heat, this helps get rid off weedy overgrowth, open seed pods and prepare the area for a new growth cycle. I assume there will be lots of bugs and micro-fauna survive underground to help kick start the renewal process quickly after a burn occurs. Managing this cycle requires a lot of effort. Especially if you consider that this was happening all over Australia by many different communities.

    Australia was described to be green and beautiful by the first European settlers who arrived there. Without indigenous intervention, the land has been trampled and ruined by European farming practices. Now we have the red desert many people imagine when they think of Australia.

    If you want to know more, I’d suggest watching This 14 minute mini-documentary which briefly covers things nicely with sources.

    I think what bothers me most about this comment is that there seems to be a recurring theme I’m seeing on lemmy. Whenever there is a post or comment about indigenous peoples, there will be someone quick to post minimizing and belittling statements about indigenous peoples. These statements never have any supporting evidence and from my perspective seem to be aimed at erasing indigenous culture, history, efforts, achievements and dignity.

    If anything, now more than ever, we need to learn from these communities. We may have lost an incredible amount of indigenous/local land knowledge due to unchecked colonialist pursuits, but there is still knowledge out there by people willing to share. We shouldn’t ignore or erase these peoples because someone else told us they are simple barbarians.



  • Who care about consumer spending when I’ve been watching the current biosphere die off for my whole adult life?

    I’m supposed to save for a future in a society that’s pretty obviously collapsing as the biosphere deteriorates?

    The only type of news I consistently paid attention to over my teenage and adult life was environmental news. These two questions strongly inspired me to do something in my life for myself instead of blindly following in other people’s footsteps.

    When I was in my mid 20’s, I abandoned the idea of retirement. Took all my money out of stocks and retirement plans. Sold or donated the majority of what I owned and went off to explore and have experiences. I don’t regret it but I’m still filled with so much sadness with how much damage and loss is happening all around us.

    In my mid 20’s, I blindly predicted that ecological collapse would happen when I would be in my 80’s. That number has been dropping rapidly with more news coming out about the current state of the environment. Everything is casually happening faster than expected.