robyn @ snnzzz

robyn // they/them // 29 // art account @drawbites // editor for @ActuallyRea !!! // icon by @cmyKades !!

[ChUwUnky🩷 🌈 V-Chunky 🌈 @ChUwUnky]

🫩🌈MY MODEL IS NOT A FETISH🌈🫩

I’ve always gotten these comments whenever I’m using my main model, and they make me VERY uncomfortable..

I’m an incredibly sex positive person, but when I’m being labeled as a fetish for no reason other than being visibly fat and queer, it gets old real fast.

[Nick Kapur @nick_kapur]

Compelling essay by sci-fi writer Ted Chiang on why LLMs are nowhere near consciousness, but why it serves the interests of LLM companies to constantly suggest that they might be.

I've pulled one quote below, but the whole article is worth reading.

[Nomadic Warriors for Pritzker⚔️ @Nomads4Pritzker]

So, I've worked in the beef industry. I have a fairly detailed knowledge of beef markets, the supply chain, parasites and parasiticides, etc. Suffice it to say, this is a nightmare scenario, but one we've known was coming since at least 2022.

New World Screwworm was eradicated from North and Central America in the mid-90's. The US gov't (APHIS) funded a program of screwworm drops, where they bred sterile males so that extant populations couldn't reproduce and move northwards. But in 2022 NWS jumped the Darien gap and started moving northwards once again. It's most likely that they came undetected on livestock brought alongside migrants fleeing political instability in South and Central America. Elon Musk/DOGE, of course, cut several monitoring programs that would have detected this exact scenario. The screwworm drops are still funded, but the monitoring programs are what have been cut - a stupid move if there ever was one.

A serious Central/South America policy would have worked hand-in-hand with CA/SA governments to help contain this, but we've never had a serious policy towards South America, not during the Biden years, and especially not under Trump. The USDA broke ground on a sterile screwworm facility in Texas... last month. I worry it's too little, too late.

Screwworm is so dangerous because, unlike other fly larvae, they lay eggs and feed on living flesh. So something like a small scratch (or even bug bite) can quickly becomes infested, and the larvae will burrow into the flesh, growing the wound and attracting more screwworm. They don't only parasitize cattle, but will also feed on wildlife, domestic pets, even humans. Since they have detected screwworms in domesticated cattle right now, it's likely that there is a wild reservoir as well. We can quarantine herds and pets, but we can't quarantine deer and armadillos. They will move, and so will the NWS.

Under normal circumstances, cattle are moved around - a lot. Calves will be sent to stockers through their adolescence, then shipped to feedlots for finishing. A lot of calving operations (like 70%) are small, and small-time producers don't always catch parasite infestations. Cattle moved in-state don't require a certificate of veterinary inspection, so it's easy for an infested animal to be moved without being noticed. Animals crossing state lines do need a CVI, but Texas has such an enormous cattle population (something like 13 million head) that as goes Texas, so goes the nation.

Fortunately, we have a lot of drugs that treat NWS. The FDA has issued several emergency use authorizations in the last year or so. But every input raises the price of beef, and treatment only makes a difference if producers catch an infestation early. If an infestation spreads unnoticed on a large feedlot, it can hit hard, both in terms of cattle that have to be killed, and treatments that then have to be deployed. Producers will spend days at a time running cattle through the chute, inspecting them and applying parasiticides. It costs a lot of money, which is then passed on to the consumer.

What does that mean for you? Beef is a commodity, and just because there's no NWS up here in Illinois doesn't mean that prices won't skyrocket - and they will skyrocket. US herd size is already at record lows, and this will result in culls. Consumer prices also run 18-24 months behind, which means that shocks to the supply chain now are still going to be felt by consumers in 2028.

It's hard to say if our government will be able to muster an effective response - though I don't trust our current administration, which can't even throw a 250th anniversary party, to be able to deal with an ecological issue of this magnitude. It doesn't help that our current USDA secretary is a lawyer and think-tank creature. I don't much trust the state government of Texas either. The industry has also taken the workforce of large animal veterinarians for granted - a monopoly/market power issue that I just can't get in to here.

For me, it comes back to our federal government having an incoherent policy on Central and South America. We knew what was coming, we know what's going to happen, but we cut the program meant to prevent this scenario. Instead of taking those countries seriously as partners, the government has been stupid and domineering.

Here's the kicker: this is what the industry voted for. They might scream, they might get bailed out, but all that means is that you, the consumer, are going to be paying more for beef, plus whatever bailout gets shoveled their way. Until the industry accepts that they are part of a larger system; that they cannot eternally privatize the gains and publicize the losses of beef production; that they need to consider sustainability and stewardship in the management of their operations, this is only going to keep happening. Eventually, they may find that there is very little goodwill for them among the public, and people will decide that a Brazilian ribeye tastes just as good as one from Texas.

[Petr🌈🥮🐵🌾⚡COMMISSIONS OPEN⚡ @PetrPetushok]

Full comic pages 🕺🏾🕺🏾🕺🏾
1/5
#AvatarTheLastAirBender #ATLAB

[Meccha Japan @mecchaJP]

How many life-size Furrets is too many? Asking for a friend 💛

#Pokemon #LifeSizePokemon #Furret

[Yen @Yenaiiru]

🏵️
#Δ帽子 #wha #witchhatatelier

[Sean Morrow @snmrrw]

I have my dead mom's phone (I use it for some 2fa stuff ive been too lazy to change) and over a year ago it rang and I answered to my own voice going "hello mom" and then silent when I responded

[zetsho @z3tina]

i've been holding on to this comic for almost a year and i think it's still the funniest thing i've ever drawn. happy pride🌈

[No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen @NoLieWithBTC]

Scott Pelley issues new statement after being fired by CBS for opposing their pro-MAGA bias:

“New management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them.

Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done.

Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all.”

[🐇まる @yuqikun]

I wish we could go back in time where ai generated images never existed. I miss being able to like any artwork or post that I see, without worrying if it's ai or not. I miss it so much.

[Matthew @NEEMOAHTOAD]

Kane being interviewed asked about gen AI during an interview for the film basically confirmed for me that the AI readings ppl have had for the film are 100% intentional

[robyn @ snnzzz @weaselbites]

@privatemoonz don't get me started

[Sofía @starkcanarie]

“I can share what I’m visualizing more clearly & efficiently to my creative team” YOU CAN DO THAT WITH STICK FIGURES

[Collins🦋 @collinstimbela_]

For pride month you can't say "let me get this straight...", you have to say "just so we're queer..."

[Chad 💙 @ChadBoston_]

I think some people aren't really understanding, it's not about corporations actually giving a fuck. They never did. It's moreso an indicator that it *used to* be seen as profitable to signal allyship, but that's just not the case anymore, which is sincerely concerning

[@itslaylas on upscrolled 🪬 @itslaylas]

i think health insurance companies should be charged with murder if they intentionally deny a patient a lifesaving medication or procedure. if they want to act like doctors, they need to face the consequences. if a healthcare provider does that, we can lose our licenses.

[ToonHive @ToonHive]

Matthew Lillard criticized the industry for prioritizing celebrities over voice actors in animation:

“The ability to carry a film, as the lead of a film with only a voice, is a power very few people have. The idea that they keep hiring crappy celebrities to carry huge films is killing us.”

[🇵🇸The Nerd Wants MotU to be GREAT 🇵🇸 @TheNerdWASuit]

A huge problem with the Netlix remake is that at every point they refuse to engage with the heart and soul of what makes these characters interesting and subversive for a fantasy story just for another boring action scene.

Zuko refusing to fight at all is CENTRAL for his story.