Notices by myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win), page 18

She prefers to nap on a tweed jacket. Please provide one for her on the couch. #picathecat #catsofmastodon

@doctormo

Her thorax is interesting. She could be a queen carpenter ant because of the boxy shape. She has no wings which would mean she's mated and looking for a nesting spot and mostly focused on that. But, I'm not totally certain... the angle is a bit difficult.

Camponotus pennsylvanicus is my guess, but it could be some other Camponotus.

The right photo is a queen, the left a major worker.

Lovely girl!

@doctormo

Yup. That's a queen!

Was she all black or did she have a dark reddish tint to the front of her gaster? It kind of looks a bit red in this photo... If so it's not the very common Camponotus pennsylvanicus but could be Camponotus chromaiodes.

But Camponotus pennsylvanicus is still most likely... not that they are THAT different.

People talk about how "efficient" ants are. These people do not watch ants.

I just hooked up a new area for my Camponotus pennslyvanicus colony.

The tube was shoved in the sand so only the small workers can fit into the entrance to the new area. (there is food there)

Majors are crowded around the entrance trying to go in, other workers are trying to dig it out so every ant can fit, but the majors are in the way.

It's just like the subway when people won't move from the door.

This was supposed to be a GIF.
Didn't work when I first posted it. #picaTheCat #sleepysunday #catposting #cats

I have an idea for a program to promote businesses that are good for the environment because they help people repair things. Places like tailors, cobblers, electronics repair are all at risk of vanishing along with the skills required to do these things.

Right at a moment when we should be making repair and longevity a bigger part of material culture.

My cobbler is very old and isn't training anyone to take over.

Just telling people to repair things won't cut it.

There needs to be:

* incentives to manufacture things that can be repaired
* a general shift to see repairability as a sign of quality, luxury and responsibility
* training a new generation to do the work
* support for these trades so it's a viable way of life

Having a job fixing things is one of those types of work that can nourish the soul. But it needs to nourish the wallet too.

I think the disappearance of these kinds of trades feeds the feeling that the modern world is terrible and strange strains of nostalgia that right wing politicians seem adept at exploiting and turning in to much uglier things... without ever bringing back any of the things from "the good old days" that were actually good.

Like shoes that you could love and have for 25 years.

I've heard people suggest that products that last slow economies. That isn't true. They change who gets to make money.

@alexwild

Do ants like them?

Cowboy boots with an "ants and aphids" motif seem like an obvious and popular idea for a style.

I am naturally shocked, these do not already exist, but I'm adding them to the list of things offered by my imaginary ant-themed fashion brand called "Ants Only." Right after the "pheromone themed perfume"

#antFashion

Someone on tumblr made the comment "silverfish are REAL?" on one of my posts and I didn't think much of it, but then one of my students said the same thing when I showed them a silverfish near one of the vents explaining what they are and why they were there.

That's when it hit me.

MINECRAFT

They think it's a made up creature from minecraft!

(Totally gonna tell them that endermites and shulkers are real too next time this happens. heh heh heh heh)

Pica caught a moth in the night and was so proud of herself and so excited to ... "include me in the fun" she did not kill it but brought it to my bed and put it on my FACE. That's how I woke up at 1am.

Even for a huge bug fan... this was a bit much. And the moth was not having a good time at all.

But Pica was just so proud. "Isn't this amazing mom? Look what I found? Let's play!"

OMG.

she is such a WIERDO

I'm going to reseal the screens since I cannot live with this. Pica. NO.

@dank

I'm so deeply ad-blocked and click-bait blocked (and I don't really do things like Netflix or cable) that when I see an add on a screen on the subway I'm like a person from the past and horrified, scandalized, astonished, and generally much less able to cope than most people I think.

Because it's the only video ad I've seen all week ... maybe longer.

*clutching pearls*

"A motion picture advertisement! What is this nonsense!?"

@KimberlyN @blogdiva

When they pose for the thumbnail with their mouth open and eyes popping out.

Just mugging it up.

This has been proven to increase engagement which I find deeply baffling.

This guy at the ants forum changed his thumbnails so every one was him going sort of "WHOA" to a photo of an ant and his views jumped. That's about when I stopped making ant videos. I don't get it.

@KimberlyN @blogdiva

People are much more likely to click on a video with a human face, ideally expressing extreme emotion. If there are other images that suggest a story or *mystery* even better.

This was true three years ago. I wonder if it is still true.

@trochee @KimberlyN @blogdiva

I have a plugin that replaces all thumbnails with random stills from the video. I just don't want to play the game. I don't want second guess if I'm being influenced or over correct. It also replaces the titles with simple user-submitted descriptions with the aim of removing click bait and hype.

The latter makes it much easier to find things I really want to see.

@josh0 @funkula @cstross

You see I think an isopod tongue is a good thing actually.

Im so mad. I was listening to House of Open Wounds (2023) Adrian Tchaikovsky and he has a character with an isopod tongue. (Not literally but that's the biological concept he references) who can communicate with bug aliens.

Now everyone will think I stole MY character with an isopod tongue from this-- But I swear to God I did not.

:(

Anyway. It just means it's obviously a very cool idea. And I will do more with it.

Still kind of mildly grumpy. LOL.

OK I can admit I have a deep aversion to suburban kitchen design. And I think I will find out where they make the appliances for kitchens on yachts. Might have more luck there. I've always wanted a kitchen that felt like it was on a boat.

But even if they can't manage to sell stoves that are more localized and popular they should just rip out the show kitchens it's a waste of floor space. They could put a stack of air conditioners there or something that people would want to see and buy.

But, the Home Depot formula says there must be a goofy show kitchen, and they just slavishly stick to that formula.