Erika ZD

@ezd.bsky.social

Professor, Parent, POTsie, baker. Minnesotan forever. Assoc Professor in the humanities. Taking things slow thanks to long Covid. Sharing Covid science and public health. Always speaking for myself, not my employer.

Ugggh, I woke up two hours early this A.M. from an adrenaline dump, and couldn't return to sleep. I really just don't get early morning risers, or why they do that. My pharmacy wasn't even yet open when I called in a refill. #POTsie #NEIS

Underneath solar panels, plants grew much more and used less water, "Chiltepin pepper plants produced three times as much fruit as those grown in full sun. Jalapenos matched their usual harvest while using 65 percent less water. Tomatoes grown under the array came in at twice the normal yield."

hoergen@hoergen.bsky.social · 4d ago

*American farmers slid solar panels over 62,000 acres of farmland, and the biggest payoff had almost nothing to do with electricity* #Erneuerbare #Renewable #Solar #Photovoltaik energiesmedia.com/solar-panels…

You can/should read Emily Wilson's latest take on the Odyssey, but I'm logging on to convey my hairdresser's reaction. She was AGHAST that Nolan, with his million $ budget, gave Matt Damon ONLY 6 hair extensions. As a result, his hair did not blow around properly, & that ruined the film for her.

Just so everyone knows, this is a tried-and-true mainstream media tactic. For progressives/leftist candidates, every election is a “crucial test” and any loss would serve as proof to the media that the latest left-side moment is at its end. Any win, though, just means it’s time to find a new test.

Politico@politico.com · 2d ago

Michigan will provide another crucial test of whether progressives can not only keep up their winning streak in safe-blue seats but also break through in battlegrounds crucial for control of Congress. The stakes for the Democratic Party are huge.

That's what taxes are, man. That's the definition of taxes. "You are subsidizing things you might never use" man shut the fuck up. My taxes currently subsidize like oil company exec private jets, you think I'm upset at low-income people eating inexpensive bananas?

USA TODAY Opinion@usatodayopinion.usatoday.com · 2d ago

Opinion: Mamdani's idea may sound appealing, but it's NYC taxpayers who will take the hit, subsidizing discounts they may never even use.

"don't make enough money" is a fig leaf All those degree programs--social work, art, etc.--have disproportionately female student bodies. This is designed to make it harder for women to attend college--college education being a key factor in women's autonomy from men & left-leaning voting pattern.

The New Republic@newrepublic.com · 2d ago

President Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/aaAEu6v

The richest person in the world, an avowed white supremacist, today again posted "the next step is getting rid of 'source code' entirely and just making an efficient binary directly with AI" because he has no idea how anything works, not even the basics of industries he is in.

Many say this leaves no path to redemption; I will note that paths to redemption exist, but they are for the offender to walk, not for others to deem it walked on their behalf. And a Nazi isn't walking a path of redemption if they remain in the Nazi party. Nothing stopping them. Path open.

And remember, kids, unless a public health threat kills one of the country's 17 perfect specimens of physical health, all deaths are really the fault of "underlying issues." Public health efforts can't help that! (I'm kidding, of course; there are no literally perfect physical specimens)

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 2d ago

Breaking News: Two deaths in Michigan have been linked to cyclospora. Both people who had the parasite also had underlying health issues.

So, what happens if I'm a parent and I know that my kid needs highly paid teachers, a library full of books with diverse characters, trans-inclusive bathrooms and extracurriculars, and a curriculum unpacking topics like systemic racism, colonial oppression, economic inequality, and climate change?

Facebook post from the U.S. Department of Education, saying "Parents know best" with a picture of a cartoon White, two-parent, heteronormative family, featuring a dad in a tie and sweater vest and a mom in a dress and pearls.

It’s nice to see everyone’s textual analysis of The Odyssey It’s almost like the humanities give you entertainment, feelings, pleasure, and fun/interesting stuff to talk about, as well as lenses into both past and current society

Iran has suspended the Memorandum of Understanding, accusing the US of violations, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said. He added: “We are busy defending our country.” Everything back to square one. Trump has nothing to show for the misery he’s inflicted on the world,

More war crimes: In its fourth strike on water infrastructure, the US has destroyed two water tanks in Sirik, Iran, completely cutting off water distribution in all villages of the Bemani district and the city of Kohstak, the Hormozgan Water and Sanitation Authority says.

Fuck off. If anything is "millennial", it's those cool transparent colors our iMacs, Gameboys, and Tamagotchis came in. No fucking millennial likes the house flipper grey. Call it a millennial paint job when I can see through the exterior of a car because it's Glacier Purple like my GBA.

An image showing the colorful transparent plastic of various pieces of technology of the 90's and early 2000s, that were easily the popular choice of the millennial age bracket. Some of the tech is an iMac, Nintendo 64, Sega DreMcast, a PlayStation 2, a Gameboy color and Advance, and CD player.
Jack Saint@lackingsaint.bsky.social · 3w ago

No fuck off we're not calling this "Millennial grey" this shit was dictated completely by boomer retiree house flippers we absolutely had NO say in this

Millennial grey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A kitchen with beige grey floors, drab walls, brushed steel appliances, and grey granite countertops.
Grey floors and furnishings are said to appeal to Millennial tastes.
Millennial grey refers to a desaturated colour scheme that is said to appeal to the interior design sensibilities of the Millennial Generation in the early 21st century.[1] Cultural historian Kassia St. Clair attributed its widespread adoption to a desire among Millennials for "a flexible, sensible choice that will last years, hide any stains, and can be adapted to different schemes."[1] Some have diagnosed Millennial grey as a reaction to the warm hues of the late 20th century.[2]

Millennial grey is polarising, particularly when used with imitation-wood-texture sheet vinyl flooring, which many describe as depressing, soulless, or corporate.[3][4] Although attributed to Millennials, the grey colour scheme is often chosen by house flippers, vacation rental owners, or other people who do not actually live in the greyed properties.[3] Thus, the occupant of the property—Millennial or not—has little say in its colour scheme, particularly when deployed for fixtures such as flooring.[4] The greying may have been driven, in part, by a desire to prepare properties for sale in a manner thought to be least offensive to the average buyer.[5] Given the housing crises gripping many countries in the early to mid-21st century, buyers and renters may feel they have no choice but to accept a property decked in Millennial grey.[4]

To the extent that Millennial grey is said to be enjoyed by Millennials, it is also said to be loathed by Generation Z.[1][2]

New: Late last night, Taylor Farms quietly posted an official recall notice We now know that the parasite-linked iceberg lettuce was shipped to Walmart & food distributors in 27 (!) states It was for some reason still being sent out up until Thursday July 16 www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...

Parasite-Linked Lettuce Was Sent to Walmart Stores and Food Distributors in 27 States - Consumer Reports

Taylor Farms' recalled the parasite-linked lettuce it said was sent to Walmart stores, Sysco, and other food distributors in 27 states.

consumerreports.org

After a conversation with a colleague: if someone’s only experience of AI is chatbots and ambient exposure to the need for checking for accuracy or its ecological costs, they will be genuinely surprised by any further information you provide about its uses in government, policing, commerce etc 1/n

"don't cite what you haven't read" remains the basic entry level academic responsibility; & if your discpline "doesn't have that as a norm" then sorry, your discipline needs reforming for this new world. Citations are structural parts of trust and knowledge building, not trinkets or optional extras

Miles Klee 🦉@milesklee.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Academics and technologists are sounding the alarm about a growing crisis in scholarship as we know it: AI-generated citations of nonexistent papers that have infested real journals. Despite being fake, the sources are widely assumed to be authentic the more they appear in published literature.