(Source)

Important addition

The higgs boson discovery was made possible by AI sifting through data that was estimated to take humans 500 years to go through and with less accuracy.

AI/ML is a tool like any other. It's not a miracle fix for everything, just like how it isn't an evil entity

Getting my big font because I've said this before and I'm getting angy about it:

You need to stop saying "AI" when you mean "generative AI".

You need to stop inferring "generative AI" when you just see "AI".

You are throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

As much as I hate generative AI with a passion, yes, other forms of AI are INCREDIBLY HELPFUL and even needed. It's not replacing humans because, well, as unichrome said it would take 500 years so... Yeah, that wouldn't have even been a task given to a human.

Also, many times humans are still needed to verify what computers have done. For example, there's a project (Planet Hunters NGTS) going on whose objective is to identify transiting exoplanets and they use an algorithm (don't know if it's an AI per se) to sift through all the data, but then they need help from citizen scientists to verify the outcome.

Also x2, friendly reminder that Zooniverse exists and that there's PLENTY of scientific projects going on that need an extra hand, and many of them are fun to do! From wildlife observation to exoplanet hunting, just give it a try if you're bored or want to be part of a real science project!

Finally came around to doing another panel redraw with my oil crayons. One of my favourite panels from the series! (Who knows, maybe I'm starting a Trigun panel redraw collection, here's the other one.) Reference panel under the cut:

Chapter 2: Sacrifice

Part 7

🔪 knife stop 🔪

Take a knife or two to complete any tasks you need to finish soon. Reblog to give your mutuals a knife for any group projects you may be working on

Group projects, you say? Caesar was talking about meeting one of these days, might come in handy

I'm a big fan of wizards-as-programmers, but I think it's so much better when you lean into programming tropes.

I want to see wizards snarking at each other over different magical languages/scripts, the same way programmers do it over different languages.

* so the funny thing here is that this isn't a reference to the unity game engine. The main country in my One Hundred and One Magical Pistols setting is called "the union" and their language is called "unity".

It's wands vs staves vs bare hands.

Wanders are like "they're available everywhere and once you learn how to do it it's so powerful!"

Staffguys always talk about how you can do ANYTHING with a staff. Wanders claim it's a pain to carry around an overpowered device that can do ANYTHING when you just need to cast fireball or a simple one man teleport.

Meanwhile the bare wizards are showing off how they don't need any magical tools and can just do hand motions.

Wanders and staffguys retort that when a spell goes wrong, THEY need to go to store for a new magical tool. YOU need new hands.

⋆˙

❤️ 4 DAYS UNTIL P/O ENDS! 🖤

Back with the giveaway as a thank you for all the support!

Update on my Vash sprite work! I've made a test sprite for the neutral/standard look, but the posture is still a bit stiff and I'm not super happy with the sweater, so I'll change that :) was a nice test run though! Some more sketches underneath what I could still do...its a lot, but I'd really love to do all? Best start for one standard, one complex animated one and then I have smth nice to show for my portfolio and can still do the others whenever I want to. (I also would really love to do a fake screenshot/short clip with background and all teehee)

st vash of avila (wip)

Wh... When I say we have Santa Teresa everywhere in Ávila I wasn't expecting my Triguns to also have Santa Teresa. I think she's following me

Jokes aside this is a beautiful wip 🙏

I was thinking I'd like to do some nice clean sprite drawings for my portfolio, kind of like Ace Attorney style. So I had the idea of a Vashwood Dating Sim game where you play Wolfwood who thinks he's in some kind of story/detective game until he realizes he's the protagonist of a dating sim. I think that could be hilarious BUT then I didn't want to do a school setting...So now I thought about a new setting, more mystery style, where Vash and Nai search for Tesla, with the help of Wolfwood. So I'll try my hand at drawing some pretty sprites now!

First things first, gotta figure out a Vash design...a little cyberpunky and I wanted the ep12 hair :) I think I like the right one best, and I'll work a bit on that.

That's where I'm at now...I want to try out more and think about what to show with his design, but I need to go to sleep now. I kinda got very close to a mix of Maximum design and Final fantasy Cloud design, although I wanted to do smth new, so I do need to try out more stuff.

Tadaa! Not yet coloured, but at least the ground design for Vash is finished!

Meet Vash, a young (??) man who travels with his brother back into the city where they both fled from an evil lab that experimented on them. While the lab was destroyed in a police investigation 12 years ago, the brothers follow a lead that tells them that their sister, who managed to flee before them, might be somewhere around…In this (imaginary) game you play Wolfwood, another former victim of this lab, who stumbles upon Vash, helping him out of a pinch. Together and with the help of two reporters they investigate in order to find the missing sister. Featuring a Nai that is very grumpy but at least not killing anyone. A young man Kaite who has a bar where holographic fish swim next to your stool. The Bad Lads Gang who have reskilled (I still need to think to what). And probably many more.

i think we should all start using arabic words and phrases more often because its a beautiful language and also theres not really. english equivalents that have the same vibes

theres also the comedy potential of it. you guys dont know the joy of having your muslim friend text you "hopefully the racists in our city will all get sick and cant go to the protest" and you, as a pasty white guy, responding with "inshallah they get covid"

its a one hit KO every time. its fucking hilarious. theres no english word that has the same effect.

he also once texted me that he got over a mysterious illness he came down with (i think? i cant remember the exact context) and i responded with "subhanallah he is cured"

again, one hit KO. he lost his shit.

what im saying is we gotta normalise arabic. its just a language like any other, and it has some great words. its just like saying "thank god" or whatever, but theres so much variety and nuance. its beautiful

what do inshallah and subhanallah mean so I could potentially use em in the correct situations? And potential words I could use?

OK LETS DO THIS

disclaimer i am not arab or muslim and i dont speak arabic but @frogofalltime has explained these words to me and says im using them correctly lmao

inshallah - "if god wills it". like an "i hope this happens" kind of thing. remember the finding nemo poster "inshallah they find him" meme if that helps. used in future tense.

mashallah - "god has willed it", used when something good happened. can be used to denote awe about an event or person. used in past tense.

alhamdulillah - essentially "thank god" or "praise be to god". like mashallah and inshallah but stronger, and can be used in any tense (i think). he will be baked soon alhamdullilah

subhanallah - "glory be to god". like alhamdullilah but stronger. used for when something almost miraculous happens!

those are all the ones i remember off the top of my head im sure binya can add more (and also confirm whether ive got my translations right)

mashaallah robin my faithful student you translated and explained all of this so well :0

there's also astaghfirullah which means "i seek forgiveness in god" which you use when you or someone else does something haram (forbidden / sinful / wrong). tbh we use it in a lot of jokey contexts like if someone swears in a conversation you can call them out like "astaghfirullah haram !"

and bismillah which means "in the name of god" which you can use before doing something, we often use it before doing a difficult thing like when you are struggling to open a bottle or something lmao. or you can say it when someone falls or drops something or gets injured. idk

appalachians need this they will be unstoppable

There’s definitely something to doing a mix-and-match with semantically-similar rural-American colloquialisms. I think “Inshallah and the creek don’t rise” has a nice ring to it.

Lord that rolls off the tongue so good 😭

As a Spaniard the concept of inshallah is very familiar to me, we have "ojalá" (pronounced aughallah) which comes from Arabic and also means "God willing", even though it's lost the religious meaning in modern Spanish. If I said inshallah instead people would probably kind of understand what I meant lol

I'm writing down all of the other ones, they also seem very useful

(via meanboysclub)

The last one

Also good on these people for taking the aggressively petty route instead of falsely registering their pets as service animals

I love how everyone intentionally interpreted this not as “your dog must be small” but “your dog must be in a bag”

“aww cute!! big doggies in ba-”

*cry-laughing as i hit the reblog button*

I’m going to point out that this sounds like the system working as intended bc if your dog is actually currently in a bag its not going to like, run off and bother other passengers or piss/shit where is not supposed to.

Like, yep. This works. If your dog’s well behaved enough to stay in a bag, THAT’s when it’s allowed on the subway.

That last comment was my EXACT thought.

urgent: Help evacuate my family from the Gaza war

Dear humanity, my supportive friends

I am Asmaa from Gaza, from a family of 8, a lawyer and a graduate of Palestine University. I climbed the ladder to build my life and future step by step, but everything ended and was destroyed because of the war.

I've witnessed the evidence of the tragedy that has struck our lives in Gaza, where my family and I have survived amidst numerous previous wars. But today, we face the most dangerous and fierce battle in the current war. The urgent need intensifies for us, as we have nothing left and are unable to secure our basic needs such as food, water, and safe shelter.

Here is our story - On October 7th, our lives changed forever. My family and I left our home for southern Gaza, hoping to return soon, but that was not to be. Our home was besieged and then completely destroyed. Our home, once a bastion of hope, now lies in ruins, a stark reminder of our shattered dreams.

The night before we set off south was terrifying. The sounds of bombing were everywhere, making a great noise that was so great that it ripped through our souls. Every explosion shook the ground like earthquakes, sending intense air strikes of fear through our trembling bodies. Making us terrified. It was so great, and the blood was in the air, making it hard to breathe. When dawn came, we looked around us, and realized that our home was now a symbol of loss and despair.

We ran into the streets and with each step we took into the unknown streets, we felt as if we were plunging deeper into the abyss of our shattered existence, leaving behind everything we own in our home: Clothes, important official documents, the car, and literally it's almost everything - the enormity of our loss weighed heavily upon us.

I appeal to the world as a whole to hear my cry and the mournful cry of my family in Gaza. We need the helping hand that reaches out to wipe our tears and build a bridge to safety.

Your donation is not just a donation; it's an opportunity to rebuild life and brighten a better tomorrow. Be part of our hopeful story, for we need your hand to start anew.

The purpose of the fundraising campaign

The goal of this fundraising campaign is to rescue my family - my parents, my siblings, and me - through the Rafah Crossing to Egypt, which currently requires $5000 per person. This campaign is our only chance to stay alive, and I humbly request your assistance at this critical time. I will provide you with a comprehensive breakdown of the expenses, committing to transparency and clarity.

Verified by :

Thank you for your kindness and support.

جزاكم الله خيراً

best wishes