today someone asked me what my favorite even-toed ungulate is… god, who could decide?

this was ignorant of me to post. of course its the muskox

and here comes my favorite boy…

okay. some of you must surely be getting tired of seeing me say this but i literally cannot help myself- THAT IS AN ICE AGE GOAT. THAT CAN GET TO BE 800lbs BIG.

we called them musk-ox because we thought they must be some kind of cow thing, but they are actually a goat thing; this is to a normal wild goat what a woolly mammoth is to a normal elephant, only these things survived.

and i absolutely cannot help myself because of the tizzy my brain goes into over the twin facts of

1: ice-age megafauna that is still alive! and

2: EIGHT HUNDRED POUND GOAT

you can see the goatishness a little more in their babies

i just, i am crazy over the fact that these guys are still alive on our planet

@bestanimal

His wife <3

I think one of the consequences of getting older is finding out that your parents were kind of right when they complained about technology? At least you can see they weren’t entirely wrong.

I’ve been hearing from friends that it’s getting harder to find quality refrigerators that don’t connect to the internet. Why exactly does my refrigerator need wifi? Or even a computer, at that? Older fridges can last decades because they have so few failure points. They have one job and they do it well. 

I tend not to use my smart TV very often because the damn thing glitches and it’s laggy and too much of a hassle unless I am really committed to watching a movie in my living room. And the worse thing is...can you even buy a non-smart TV these days that isn’t secondhand? Are they even making ordinary...yanno...televisions that don’t need software updates and internet connections, anymore?

Someone in the comments of this post asked how bluetooth earbuds are forced and everyone pointed out that a lot of phones (especially iphones) simply do not have the ports to plug in wired headphones anymore. You must get the apple wireless headphones - and I think that’s the crux of the problem. I am glad I have an android phone because I can use the old wired earbuds I've had for over 12 years. If I wanted to, I could buy wireless earbuds and use them instead, because my model of phone gives me that option.

And that's the kicker: the problem is that as things are "advancing," more and more, options are being taken away. It has nothing to do with consumer demand - obviously there are a lot of people that are not happy with these developments. But as we’re seeing, the products being made don’t reflect customer preference or choice. It’s always about is best for the companies making and selling those products.

Every day we’re hearing about new apps and tech startups and really...does anyone really want this shit? Is the nth attempt to make crypto work, the billions spent on the Metaverse, doorbell cameras; is a fridge with an IP address really allow it to do its job better? Is that actually going to improve the lives of anyone who aren’t the developers of that product? Just the other day I was reading about a tech startup that wants to be able to beam ads into your car's GPS screen. Video ads! On a screen! To tell drivers what's nearby when they can just...continue to look out the window because they're supposed to be driving a goddamn car.

The problem of a world run by tech companies is that the tech isn’t being made to accommodate us, we are being forced to accommodate the tech.

I’ve said it before I’ll say it again.

Nostalgia tech is a thing that would make money if they would just fucking do it. That’s why they still make records and record players.

BUT. Now it’s a luxury and luxury items sell. As LUXURYS.

Because it’s now about money. It never was. It’s about control.

Y’all understand? It was always about control.

So I had a new boiler fitted the other day. The old one had done its job for a long time but finally gave up.

It wasn't until the damn thing was all installed and ready to go that I was told that I would need to download an app on my phone and register my details and prescise location in order to set my heating.

I would no longer have a thermostat in my house. I would only be able to control it from my smart phone.

I am 36 years old and I went mad - not at the poor boiler engineer of course, but I refused to do what he was asking. I asked for an alternative. He initially said there wasn't one. I told him to check with the company. He phoned the company and eventually someone spoke to me about it. Explaining that this was the standard for all new boilers. I told them it was ridiculous. What if I was an elderly person living alone who didn't own a smart phone? What if I lost my phone? What if the wifi failed? What if there was an electrical fault?

It took over half an hour of exasperated bargaining before someone agreed to swap out the smart app connected parts of the boiler with a "standard issue thermostat". At first they were gonna charge me an extra £100 to swap it out, but I argued my case there as well.

After a lot of back and forth and effort that totally drained my energy, eventually I got a standard thermostat fitted. No smart phone app or registration needed. No extra charge. Just a lot of extra effort that someone a bit less stubborn and determined to avoid this technological attack on basic living would have easily backed down on.

We are already living in a world run by tech companies, where every. single. thing. in our lives is slowly being transformed into another system where they can track our every move, steal our personal information, and make life that little bit more complicated.

The fact that even white goods like refridgerators and washing machines are starting to require app connections is worrying. It's not a good thing, and its not being done for convenience. It's being done for data tracking, location tracking, and finding new ways to inflict ads on us.

Sorry if this rant derailed the post a bit, but the memory is still fresh and so apparently is my anger! But at least this is an example where being persistent and stubborn does heed results against them!

"Here."

Jaskier looks up from his lute to see Eskel holding the reins of a horse so beautiful it looks like a pearlescent moon.

"She's for you." Eskel says.

Jaskier moves as if in a dream, taking the reins of the albino mare. Eskel continues, the words flowing.

"She was a steal, blemished. Someone cut her deep in the head and sides. But I thought you'd find that romantic, you know. Make a wounded unicorn out of her marks. And you need a horse and you like pretty things. It made sense to me."

The chords of his throat knot, cut short. Jaskier draws his fingers through the white mare's mane, lute callouses catching on hair white as snow. He picks at a stuck burr and his heart clenches with the familiarity of the movement .

"Why couldn't it have been you?" He says.

Eskel stops abruptly. There is something wild and despairing in the bards voice, a reclamation of destiny.

"Why couldn't it have been you I met in Posada all those years ago?" Jaskier says. "Where were you twenty years ago? Where were you ten? Where were you when I was young and green and full of music?Of course I meet you now,"

He laughs, and there is no melody in it.

"Of course I meet you now, when I am full and sick of loving. You would have been- kind, when you finally sent me away. You would have killed it quickly, killed the dream quiet and fast, in my sleep, like a horse with a broken leg too weak to stand."

okay but i'm DYING about the idea of lambert having stumbled on lettenhove one day injured from a hunt and on death's door, and jaskier's servants see a wolf medallion and just assume oh!! this must be the lord's witcher!! no idea where the *white* wolf is coming from but what other witcher would come so close to a place that rarely has contracts

and listen. lambert's half gone with bloodloss and potions and isn't 100% present when he's being ushered inside. and even after he's fully conscious again...listen. he's getting breakfast in bed. he's getting baths. he's getting "sir"d. he's getting his stuff washed and mended for him.

he has no clue who the FUCK this julian person is, but he apparently?? just likes witchers?? weirdo, but he's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

and after that he just...keeps doing it. the lord is never there and has apparently not cleared up *which* witcher he means, and he can smell that no other witchers come here. so sweet. alright. free place to crash that's fully catered.

and he passes this along to eskel, naturally, one day when they meet on the road. lambert's learned that the lord has a smaller home in town and listen he's got dibs on the country estate, but eskel tends to get along with people better anyway, so he can have the townhouse. and eskel doesn't plan to actually do it (he is HEAVILY judging his lil brother, but he won't wreck this for him even if it's a bad idea), but one day he's injured and HAS to have a place to stay to heal. and listen. it's worth a shot.

and then it WORKS.

so lambert and eskel FOR YEARS have these simultaneous pseudo-hussles going on. they still don't know who this viscount is, but he's never home, and they're nice to the servants and help out with stuff like carrying heavy things around, so they're always welcome. and it's nice. having a place to Be.

aaaaaaaand then geraskier happens and jaskier goes to take geralt home to meet people, they get there, jaskier goes "this is the white wolf" and every. single. servant. is like "no????? no he's not????"

I can’t wait until my sense of taste is back. This cup of tea tastes like hot water. :(

Don’t worry, that’s normal for tea.

#girl all your post have ‘tumblr heritage post’ vibes like there’s so much 

Tags that make me indecisive about whether I should be flattered or horribly offended

My senses have returned and tea tastes normal again.

So, like hot water then?

this level of luxury is simply unmatched

thanks shakespeare for inventing good riddance specifically so mr joey batey could say it in the softest most yearning way imaginable

uhhhh reverse Delicious in Dungeon. Disgusting in Restaurant. nothing's edible