Empress of Mars: Undisputed @zebratron2084@awoo.space

@JulieSqveakaroo When they serve up the power pills, ask for a double—you've earned it. *hug*

@chandra @anthracite Yeah, specifically the quote "These mnemonics may be misleading when written this way. For example, misinterpreting any of the above rules to mean 'addition first, subtraction afterward' would incorrectly evaluate the expression"

plus the fact that they're all written with a slash in-between the equivalent ones to denote that they're a single equal group (e.g. "Division/Multiplication" instead of "Division, Multiplication")—but I can see how it would give the impression that these are two different hierarchies, they REALLY don't make that super explicitly clear with the language used

Thanks for the backup, bunny :D

@packbat I mean, *yeah*. :) Totally agreed, and that's one of the things that annoys me about all this, the artificiality and impracticality of this equation. It really rubs me wrong that people are looking at something that defies all convention and arguing in terms of what's "right" or "wrong" for it rather than thinking about what conventions went into it—or failed to—in the first place. I'm a LONG since fallen math jock, but I used to be one many decades ago, and I'd never use notation like that.

Well, not never. The only circumstance I can think of where it might actually be natural or useful is a low-level algebra class where the equation starts life as something like a ÷ b(c+d) and you substitute terms one at a time. But then I'd STILL use a horizontal bar to denote division if at all possible, e.g.

8
-----------
2 (2+2)

The whole thing feels like creates an "ambiguity" that only exists because of bad, unrealistic notation—a problem that's been solved ages ago, really.

@anthracite I... I think there's more to it, but it's complicated so I can get into it when you get home. :) Short version: that's not part of the actual rules, it's a common student misunderstanding of each. (e.g. there isn't actually supposed to BE a precedence of multiplication over division in either) However, again, I'm NOT 100% sure on this and I'm still half-immersed in work—that's just my current impression and you may have spotted other things I didn't! (one dot...)

@anthracite I'm not 100% sure, but I think if I'm reading it right, it's not so much a mathematical but a nomenclatural difference, i.e. exponents are called "orders" or "indices" in this context and "parentheses" are called "brackets." I think they're essentially describing the same thing, and the two sets of conventions being described in the Mathworld article (i.e. whether "implicit multiplication by juxtaposition" takes precedence over division signs) are a different thing?

https://mashable.com/article/math-equation-divides-twitter/ (cw: brain-hurting juice)

my hot take:

people who can't tell the difference between an objective reality and a cultural convention, and would never have it dawn on them that there could be a difference between them, are exactly why we can't have nice things and they should all be fed to large jungle cats so i never have to read an argument like this ever again 🐯​

fwiw, i think "multiplication implied by parentheses takes precedence over the usual PEMDAC/left-to-right order of operations" is the superior convention, for its flexibility and consistency with algebraic tradition, but i'm not daft enough to think it's objectively right somehow

@hystericempress hahaha, every time I think i've shook my mc fetish, someone goes and drags me back in 😻​

@hystericempress OOOOH. <3 <3 <3

I like that much better than my idea, which was basically Dinsdale Piranha's capacity to inflict grievous bodily harm via sarcasm and literary device. >:D

Also, I mean, who the fuck wants to be chased around by a giant Cockney hedgehog?

@hystericempress OK sis, also your punishment for making a Jojo's reference is now you gotta pick a stand power for me :p

consumerism comedy; submitted without comment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYz2iEtlfzE

@hystericempress I mean, if you REALLY wanna nitpick it (and I emphatically don't, because fuck them), Nazi is a tad classist because IIRC it was based on a—Bavarian, I think?—nickname for a hick.

It'd be like calling all Trump Republicans "Goober," which... um... is pretty tempting now that you mention it, because I 100% agree—derogatory names based on adoption of an inhumane ideology instead of an accident of birth are still kinda just fine with me these days.

Not optimal, yanno, but... I'll stop playing with Memetic Dark Magic when THEY do. I don't really want a world where the power of ridicule is an effective, let alone necessary, tactic. But damn if it isn't a necessary part of a good self-defense arsenal these days, as long as you laser-aim it towards people who have ACTUALLY ANTAGONIZED YOU WITH SOMETHING MORE THAN MERELY SYMBOLIZING SOMETHING YOU DON'T LIKE VIA THE OFFENSE OF THEIR EXISTENCE.

But in the case of slurs like "romos" and "breeders" and such... my main objection is that they tend to tar and alienate people who MIGHT HAVE BEEN OUR FUCKING FRIENDS based on something they can't help, that does not necessarily denote that they are enemies. If someone explicitly PICKS enmity towards us as a (*knowing smirk*) "lifestyle choice"... yeah, fuck 'em.

(THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE HUMAN HOST AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THOSE OF EMPRESS REZEYA MONTECORE ST HOBBES NOR THE MARTIAN GOVERNMENT TOWARDS THE FILTHY FILTHY TERRAN MENACE)

@hystericempress yeah basically. bodies and genitals still kinda bore me, hormones are just not a thing that happens for me, and with my thoroughly monged nervous system, physical contact just ain't that exciting for me — though i do still like peg's boobies and butt a whole lot ^______^;;

@hystericempress god i love you sis <3 seriously, could people please NOT attempt to be "woke" by simply substituting one variable for another in the Anti-Life Equations, based on whoever's fair political game this week? >___<

@001zlnv I need to see if I can find the snapshots we took of our "um smart fridge" (which may or may not just be a regular fridge with a whiteboard) from the week it was taken over by crow-centric television programming...

@001zlnv The-other-kind-of-Amazon crows, in general. :D

Huh. That Silicon Dawn reading I just did for @Oneironott was actually pretty fun to write. I don't consider myself to have any real experience except for reading for myself, but... I just know my stepdaughter Dawn so damn well at this point, maybe as a consequence of knowing her mom.

Kinda tempted to start doing these for tips, either here or at conventions while I'm playing table minion for @anthracite...

CARTOMANTIC HELP: 5¢
THE GREAT AND POWERFUL REZY IS [IN]

@001zlnv once again you have made me SO ANGRY that i never taught myself how to draw :D

@Oneironott

Quicky summary of Dawn's forecast, keeping in mind Dawn flips Wands (Fire) and Swords (Air) relative to tradition, and has a bunch of weeeeird extras :)

THE QUESTION:
- Chevalier of Swords (a swashbuckling duelist with a Very Nice Hat, casting a rapier at the viewer while their giant birb mount flies a bit close to the sun)

THE CONDITIONS:
- Chariot (cybernetic kittytaur lady, quite possibly the Fastest Thing Alive, being reassembled by her pit crew)

THE PAST:
- Chevalier of Wands (a wary samurai on his rhino mount, surveying the horizon from a hill)

THE PRESENT:
- 9 of Cups (Basically Anthracite/Peggy in a collar, corset, and stripey stockings, taking a selfie surrounded by nine mismatched haphazardly arranged cups, each filled with a different Whimsical Thing)

THE FUTURE:
- Progeny of Void (a barren, rocky place with a distinct absence of a child who... should have been there)

THE CLIMAX:
- Fortune (frowning, possibly shrugging six-armed woman with a chessboard dress that merges with the floor and runs off into infinity, holding dice, coins, etc. in her hands

THE YOU:
- Sun (ecstatic bee-lady hovering over a buzzy, busy sun-drenched hive)

THE THEM:
- Untitled [Hanged Woman] (smiling woman in a bondage sack and a bubble helmet, suspended from a post while a confused crow stares point-blank at her, perched on the handle of an axe)

THE MOOD:
- VIII: She Is Legend (weird cat enby with rubber boots and twin-tail hair, holding up a fingertip that is turning fluid while the entire room twists and deforms around her)

THE ANSWER:
- Progeny of Wands (ecstatic young treelady falling to earth from high orbit, unconcerned that she is quite possibly about to burn up on re-entry)

So... yeah. Geeze. I was afraid Dawn was gonna project some of my own cynicism at you, but that's honestly a pretty sunny reading for her. I am SURELY projecting here, as all readers do, hopefully not just telling you what I think you want to hear. And I'm not even sure I AGREE with Dawn here, but... I mean, this is the message i'm getting:

Once upon a time, you were wary and scared, watching for Signs Of Doom on the horizon. You're having your share of hedonism, and when and if it comes to an end, you're ready to just walk away from the ugliness of this world and steal your energy right away from the Elders that had Plans for you. You are sure you are too nimble to be caught, and with the support crew you have, you might actually be correct. While your friends are in a state of suspension, playing the Reality Game as best they can and hoping for the best, you inspire them and radiate energy. Whatever happens, even if it destroys you, it'll be a beautiful burnout—and there's a distinct chance that you'll just scatter somewhere and regrow.

Enjoy the con, hun. I... don't know what that just was, but it was my most sincere go at it. <3

Haha, yes, foolish humans. Teach the corvids useful logistical skills. Surely they will never use it to hasten your inevitable demise and build mighty palatial nests in your ruins. *wrings paws, gazes through the Time Portal, and cackles madly*

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/11/rook-at-this-mess-french-park-trains-crows-to-pick-up-litter

@Oneironott I can consult Peg's deck for you, if you like, but (a) I've never done a reading for anybody else before and (b) if you don't know Dawn, um, she can get a little... cranky. Tact is not my stepdaughter's strong suit. :>