Linkee-poo has seen your face before my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am

A tweet thread on map generators. (Grokked from Tania)

"There is no more dreaded piece of writing a creative has to do than the artist bio or artist statement." Tips on writing the bio. Personally I like my twitter bio, "All that and a bag of chips." Says it all, don't it. (Grokked from Delilah Dawson)

"Chicken eggshells are about 95 percent calcium carbonate by mass. But they also contain hundreds of different kinds of proteins that influence how that calcium carbonate crystalizes. The interaction between the mineral crystals and the proteins yields an eggshell that’s initially crack-resistant, while making nanoscale adjustments over time that ultimately let a chick peck its way out, researchers report online March 30 in Science Advances." The world is weirder than you think.

"This March, residents of Youngstown, Ohio, began noticing something weird about their local raccoon population. The animals were coming out during the day and standing on their back legs, bearing their teeth and staggering around like extras in a George Romero movie, WKBN reports." Reminds me of when I was young, and my other hometown was beset by a vampire (probably a guy on PCP). Unfortunately distemper can also attack dogs and other domestic animals. In this part of Ohio we've been so worried about the spread of rabies from PA that maybe we've overlooked some more common diseases that might pose a bigger risk (although humans can't catch "distemper" - as far as we know).

Sure there's no sexism. "(A study) finds that men in STEM subject areas overestimate their own intelligence and credentials, underestimate the abilities of female colleagues, and that as a result, women themselves doubt their abilities — even when hard evidence such as grades say otherwise." And let us be clear here, one it's not just in STEM and two it's white men that often overestimate their intelligence and then engage in social behaviors to attempt to enforce that perception (and don't give me the "socially awkward" excuse). This is calculated behavior and an attempt to place their worldview ahead of reality. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)

How bad is misogyny (for the several ways this question can be interpreted)? "Women trying to provide emergency treatment to a person who collapsed in a sumo ring were urged to leave it during a sumo event." A guy collapsed while making a speech and women rushed to perform CPR, women who were then told stop and get out of the sumo ring because they were not allowed all while the guy was dying. That's how fucked up we are. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"When racism — in the minds of many — still means open hatred, the idea that it can also come couched in the guise of fandom or fondness is a reality people really don't want to acknowledge. Orientalism is ultimately about power, which may be why it has taken the rise of international markets, and of China in particular, to force Hollywood to try to see the continent through something other than a scrim of Western assumptions." (Grokked from DongWon Song)

"For all the ways in which the Imposter Buster saga is unique, it’s also symptomatic of larger issues that have long bedeviled Twitter: abuse, the weaponizing of anonymity, bot wars, and slow-motion decision making by the people running a real-time platform. These problems have only intensified since Donald Trump became president and chose Twitter as his primary mouthpiece. The platform is now the world’s principal venue for politics and outrage, culture and conversation–the home for both #MAGA and #MeToo." As a veteran of the Flame Wars ('82 - '92), trolls aren't unusual or new. They've been there the entire time (the original "letter to the editor" writers). (Grokked from Deborah Beale)

"Dozens of the world’s leading experts on artificial intelligence and robotics have announced a boycott of a major South Korean research university, which has been working with an arms company on integrating artificial intelligence with weaponry." This is how you get Skynet. Because one company sees a "business opportunity" to own a research space.

"Newly revealed documents indicate oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has not only known about the risks of climate change for decades, but has also realized for more than 20 years that it, along with the rest of the fossil fuel industry and perhaps the U.S. government, could be held liable for not acting to prevent further climate damage." Remember when cigarets were good for you, and there were "doctor's choice" brands? So now it's both Shell and Exxon who decades ago realized that climate change was happening, and their products were to blame. Next I'm sure we'll hear about "clean gasoline." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

Hillary "Clinton said she doesn’t believe 'we’ve seen the bottom yet,' and that things will get worse, especially if midterm elections are bad for Democrats. 'It’s very scary to contemplate but more could happen that would put our rights at risk, our freedom at risk, our values, our fundamental views of what it means to be Americans,' she said." You said it, Madam Secretary.

"Essentially, Trump’s critics argue, the president now risks causing long-term damage to an organization that regulates an international economic system the United States helped create for the sake of winning a short-term dispute with China." Yeah, that. And then you have our titular president tweeting "When you’re already $500 Billion DOWN, you can’t lose!" Really? Hold my beer.

"Mexico senators unanimously approved a non-binding statement Wednesday that says the government should suspend joint efforts 'in the fight against transnational organized crime' until Trump exhibits 'civility and respect that the people of Mexico deserve,' the Associated Press reported." Also, you know that "caravan" the president tweeted about? Mexico could say, "fuck it" and just let them all pass through. Maybe even help them get to the border. Say, guess who was our number 1 importer of oil before Canada took that spot? Guess who's still number 3 or 4 (depending on the month)? Guess who could sell their oil to Asia fairly easily? (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

Tweet of my heart: @wes_chu Writing a book isn't a magical thing. It's not hit of inspiration & nothing like an artist leisurely painting while sipping a Bordeaux overlooking the Seine… It's more like Andy crawling to freedom through a mile of shit in a sewage tunnel for a crime he (you) didn't commit. (editorial note: painting, for the professional, is not "leisurely", but the image still stands)