Empress of Mars: Undisputed @zebratron2084@awoo.space

@zx3 great thanks buddy now i'm gonna die humming the theme from airplane <3

And, I mean, FUCK that top forecast is scary.

Listen, I mean, I calculated the approximate mortality rate of Hurricane Katrina and it was something like 1 in 2850 in Louisiana.

And I did some more panic-research and confirmed that not only was Katrina a direct hit on New Orleans -- whereas Delta is currently expected to hit somewhere around Lafayette, >100 miles west -- the damage really was largely because the ACOE fucked up a levee project and they didn't hold up. Those levees have gotten a lot of love and attention, hopefully the competent sort, since then.

But still. Just in case.

I've had a really interesting life and honestly while I can think of far better ways to go, it's an adventure innit, and I don't know if I really have any serious regrets. Love you all lots.

Yeah, not lovin' this at all.

If you've never read one of these before, it's not QUITE as scary as the track (right over NOLA 😨​) or the intensity graph (Cat 4 max 😱​) make it look.

If you check the hourly markers, they almost all have Hurricane Delta hitting us around the 96 hour mark. By that point, the storm's decelerated to a Cat 1 (which is a walk in the park for us) or a Cat 2 (which isn't, but NOLA's well-equipped for it).

And that one Cat 3 scenario is from the CTCI model. That's the one that flings way east to the Florida panhandle and if that's the case I genuinely wish them the best of luck.

Still. Argh. That's a REAL tight margin. Our local go-to weathe retiree Bob Breck is bearish on Delta and is pretty confident cooler waters in the N Gulf will take the piss out of it. But a possible Cat 4 in that close of a margin does not make me any LESS anxious about my life.

GEORGE ZIMMER'S LAW OF PAREIDOLIA:

Any conspiracy theory based on a crease, wrinkle, or other feature of a political figure's clothing in a still photo will turn out to be 100% bullshit, regardless of affiliation or ideology.

There are zero exceptions. I guarantee it.

@balinares Or to let an admired role model speak for me...

XD <3

@balinares The short answer is "no, I've tried and the bureaucracy required would have far too high of a Sanity Point cost."

Also... I mean... I appreciate the concern massively. <3 <3 <3 But it's the middle of a pandemic and I've felt like this (to this extent) for all of a day, so... :)

My *general* mh is pretty good given the city's shut down! :) <3

I'm just so bloody bored. Surrounded by distractions, terabytes of media accessible, dozens of games, and bored out of my mind. And feeling intensely aware that something is probably really fucked up about both me and my culture.

@hystericempress Oh, here it is! I'm curious how it squares up with the experience of someone who's actually familiar with Dune...

https://medium.com/@hdernity/dunes-not-a-white-savior-narrative-but-it-s-complicated-53fbbec1b1dc

@hystericempress The white saviorism, at least, I might recommend a little skepticism about. I'd have to dig up the article, but I did read something lately that offered excellent evidence that Herbert meant Dune's White Savior Complex to be entirely satirical and doomed.

The rest is probably a pretty solid accusation. And I'm admittedly NOT working from an informed opinion here, just an article I've read. I've never even seen the damn film adaptations...

@spacewastrel@yiff.life Well FUCK :(

@Cerulean This sounds right up my alley though, thank you!

Quick gaming note:

If you're into Slay The Spire or other deckbuilders, Monster Train has provided me a hell of a lot of entertainment for my money so far and has a surprisingly deep, if fiddly, combat and upgrade system. Very highly recommended, and not just because it's so conducive to throwing the horns and screaming "MONSTAAAAH TRAAAAAAAAIN!" in your best hair-metal falsetto.

@LexYeen@snouts.online Delighted to test that one in the field for ya, chief. o7 <3

In the meantime, just remember:

"Folded hands Tangerine Person golfing Skull and crossbones!" [sic]

Twitter Support hasn't done a thing to me about that one so far. Take notes: emoji seem to be immune. I'd say take that as a dare.

Landed a 12 hour ban for telling Ben Shapiro to "go die." Got 6 hours, 40 minutes left. I can't even LIKE things, what the hell is the purpose of that?!?

Expect extreme rhetorical tiger violence around 20:10 CST. If there's a way to tell Ben Shapiro to go die without saying it out loud, he's gonna hear it tonight. 😼​

This. Sounds. Awesome.

Hey, @anthracite, any interest in learning German? I already speak a tiny bit. I wonder if they need artists and researchers...

@Leucrotta In the immortal words of Reverend Stang, I'm Up For Any Program at this point...

Penumbra's been MIA for three days. :( I think he's moved on.

I feel guilty, but less guilty than when Umbra went missing, 'cause Penny left all on his own. The cats (except maybe Arthur and Shemp) have made it quite clear that they appreciate our Our Cats Who Live Here offer but politely decline.

Still, I already miss the little dude and was not done doting on him. I really hope he shows back up. There's absolutely no way we can take care of seven frickin' cats as if they were Our Cats forever (in cat lifespan terms), but... I was really hoping everybody would just kinda stick around.

If anything bad happened to him, I never ever ever wanna know. I am gonna comfort myself with how much he was already taking after his prodigal hero brother Umbra, who turned out to have suffered mildly, for all of 8 hours, before hitting the semiferal jackpot...

Vaya con Bast, little amigo. Please visit real soon, 'cause I WILL fret over you.

Witches, you know what to do.

Tigers don't even get any mana points -- we'd be way too overpowered if we could spellcast AND teethmurder AND look this fabulous all the time. But I still fully intend to make a sigil out of "PENCE EQUALS PETRI DISH," put it out before the cosmos, and see if I get any bites. XD

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/04/president-pelosi-pence-shrugs-off-covid-risk-426219