General Discussion Thread

[Daéa Reina]

Seeing as I'm a Beaver (Scouts) leader, my advice is to distract them with as many games and stuff as you can, make sure at least one person's watching over 'em and then go and hide in the shade somewhere.
But, um, seriously- kids are excitable, sure, but when it comes to it, they will listen to you if you're forceful enough and speak in italics.

How do you speak in italics, I want to learn this magic

[Emil]

http://waifu2x.udp.jp/

Holy carpfin this is incredibly useful. It basically rescales your images while trying to avoid ugly artifacts

[Curry]

http://waifu2x.udp.jp/

Holy carpfin this is incredibly useful. It basically rescales your images while trying to avoid ugly artifacts

Ooh, that's nice! *bookmarks For Future Reference*

[ParanormalAndroid]

How do you speak in italics, I want to learn this magic

Basically, you just speak like this.
See?

[Troposphère]

That's so easy.

[Silent Fox]

So, over the past couple weeks we got another little cutie:

Spoiler: show

He's two months old, and his name is Kintama, because Wyrd has awful taste in names for pets. We call him Kinny, or Spaz, because that is what he is. He's skittish as hell and likes to curl up in tiny balls, but he's totally in love with Franky. He has a tendency to follow her around and try to lick her (especially after we bathed her and she looked like a drowned rat), but she is Not Amused. Mostly because...

...she's sick. And pregnant, most likely--we took her to the vet yesterday but they can't tell for 100% sure. But she's put on a pound--almost 25% of her body weight--in the past two weeks, she's tired and sensitive and her stomach's gotten so big she can't quite clean herself properly. So, we're having her spayed, since she's very young and there's a risk of complications to the kittens if she brings them to term (she was a stray and almost certainly caught several of the viruses that are especially dangerous to very young kittens). So her surgery is this friday, and I fully expect her to be miserable for a while after that, but hopefully afterwards she'll be back to her old self. *crosses fingers* And in the meantime, Wyrd can have a lot of fun teasing her about "the things she had to do to survive on the streets!" etc etc.

He's very adorable and will be sure to keep you on your toes. And best of luck with the upcoming surgery.

[Emil]

It annoys me how some people think they can just shoot down any evidence of racism by using a picture of a poor white person - "this man isn't well off, so therefore there's no proper racism here!! Rich white people haha look at this."

[viola]

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!

*throws maple leaf confetti everywhere*

[Laufey]

Canada Day? Happy Canada Day!

Meanwhile we're having a bit of a shaky day after a shaky night. All the spots mark earthquakes, stars mark magnitude 3 and larger ones.

[Russet]

Canada Day? Happy Canada Day!

Meanwhile we're having a bit of a shaky day after a shaky night. All the spots mark earthquakes, stars mark magnitude 3 and larger ones.

Gosh, where do you live? Be careful!
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/earthquake-safety-tips/
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/bda.html
^ here are some good sites to look at, maybe?
I experienced an earthquake before, but it was of low magnitude so it was more unpleasant and frightening rather than actually dangerous. Take care!

Oh, and happy Canada Day, if I'm not too late. 

[Fimbulvarg]

Meanwhile we're having a bit of a shaky day after a shaky night. All the spots mark earthquakes, stars mark magnitude 3 and larger ones.

See, if they'd put the major settlements anywhere but on that knob of land they'd be fine, mostly. Shows that settling where dead bodies float ashore is not the best strategy.

[Laufey]

Gosh, where do you live? Be careful!
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/earthquake-safety-tips/
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/bda.html
^ here are some good sites to look at, maybe?
I experienced an earthquake before, but it was of low magnitude so it was more unpleasant and frightening rather than actually dangerous. Take care!

It's fine, most of them are so tiny you can't even feel them, but since we do have that warning about a big one soon-ish I've emptied the top shelves just in case.

See, if they'd put the major settlements anywhere but on that knob of land they'd be fine, mostly. Shows that settling where dead bodies float ashore is not the best strategy.

I know right. Norwegians huh.

Then again things could be worse, I mean Katla's been dangerous the whole time people have lived here and that's not stopped anyone from building a new farm to where the previous one was washed away by a glacier flood... and the one before that and the one before that...

[Russet]

Then again things could be worse, I mean Katla's been dangerous the whole time people have lived here and that's not stopped anyone from building a new farm to where the previous one was washed away by a glacier flood... and the one before that and the one before that...

Hmm, Norwegians seem to lack a sense of caution, if I do say so myself. Sort of reminds me of a certain captain we know. 
Wednesday (today!?) seems to plenty of higher magnitude quakes lined up, so stay safe!

[Hrollo]

Under the spoiler tag is a small, political-ish rant; I'm posting it here because I don't really have anywhere else to post it right now. If you read it and want to strongly react, consider PM-ing me, so as to avoid starting an argument on the forum.

Spoiler: show

Today, on some militant blog I follow on tumblr (yes I know, but this one is usually reasonable and has good, well argued points) I came across a petition to have the Ku Kux Klan classified as a terrorist organisation because they condoned the Charleston killlings; I found this rather disturbing for several reasons.

I have nothing but contempt for the KKK, and this last incident proves that this contempt is perfectly justified, since this organisation is openly and deliberatedly morally abhorrent. But Americans, especially those subsets of Americans who fight for human rights, equality and justice, should realise what exactly they are asking, in an american context, when they demand that an organisation be classified as terrorist.

They don't want the KKK to be classified as a criminal organisation, they don't want its members and leaders to be arrested on criminal charges, brought to trial and sentenced for their misdeeds. They want the KKK to receive a legal infamy label that would effectively mean, in the current context, that any person even suspected of sympathy with the KKK could be arrested without charge, deported to a foreign country where torture is legal, and held there indefinitely without trial.

And what's worse is that they are not demanding this because of some actual attack or bombing the KKK would have commited. They are demanding this because the KKK is condoning an attack, that is, they are using their right to free speech to express an opinion which, while absolutely disgusting, is also perfectly legal in the US. They are effectively demanding that an entire group of people be denied rule of law, due process and even basic human rights because this group is saying things they don't like.

They of course have the right to want this, they have the right to start that petition and be of the opinion that members of the KKK are so hateful they don't even deserve to be treated as rightful human beings. But when you make that kind of claim, at some point you have to be honest and admit you are no longer a partisan of civic, liberal democracy, but have effectively turned into a suporter of authoritarianism. And they should also realise that once the tools of authoritarianism have been instated, they can be and are turned against everyone, not just "the people we don't like".

[viola]

Under the spoiler tag is a small, political-ish rant; I'm posting it here because I don't really have anywhere else to post it right now. If you read it and want to strongly react, consider PM-ing me, so as to avoid starting an argument on the forum.
 

Wow that brings up some really interesting perspectives and points of views. I really like how you wrote about it. You explained yourself really well and you covered some interesting points about humanity and society. I'm on mt way to bed now, but I think I'll PM you tomorrow at some point because I would love to continue this discussion. (Don't worry, I don't have an angry reaction for you, just a love for discussions that question social/societal behaviours)