srasmus

joined 1 month ago
[–] srasmus@slrpnk.net 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

This actually happened earlier this year.

I was driving with my partner in a somewhat rural area. We were driving on the interstate. It was a sunny, bright winter morning. There was not all that much snow on the ground.

I notice on the side of the road, what appears to be a bear sitting in the shoulder next to the freeway, its back is turned to us, so we see its ears. It is completely black. Not black like a black bear, but black like those character locked memes.

I literally think it's a wooden cutout. People sometimes make those for wild animals around where we were. Although as we pass this thing, it's clear to me it is in fact a three-dimensional bear. I get a quick glimpse of its face. It is a fully, jet-black bear. The only details I can make out are small glints from its eye and the wetness of its nose. Apart from that, it looked like a void in space.

My partner and I sit in silence, and I eventually say "did you see that?" And they say "yep". We've talked about this since, and my partner stands by the fact that they think it was a 2d cutout. They didn't see the front side, which is making me think I somehow imagined it.

There are a few logical explanations, but it's certainly the weirdest thing ive ever come across while driving.

[–] srasmus@slrpnk.net 27 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Did some digging, but it doesn't appear the band compatibility with US carriers is improved at all. Am I wrong here?

[–] srasmus@slrpnk.net 14 points 1 week ago

May we please stop living in interesting times.

 

Last week, I ordered food from a restaurant and went to go pick it up. To my surprise, there was nobody at the counter. However, my food was sitting on a shelf in the lobby, labeled "mobile orders".

I had a moment of pause. Should I wait for someone to witness me taking this? It is, after all, my food. Bought and paid for. I confirmed the name and order number on the bag.

But even if the employee witnessed me taking this, what would that prove? They don't know what the person who ordered this looks like.

When the pandemic started, and these popped up everywhere, I imagined they'd be abandoned relatively quickly. After all, it would be very easy for me to walk into a restaurant and grab a bag.

I'd imagine these companies would have a very low tolerance for food theft, intentional or otherwise. I figured only one or two transgressions would result in the shelf being locked behind the counter.

Maybe the food isn't taken. Or if it is, maybe the loss is small enough to not bother. Maybe it goes unreported.

Whatever the cause, I'm glad they've remained.

39
Red mercury (wikipedia.org)
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by srasmus@slrpnk.net to c/wikipedia@lemmy.world
 

Red mercury is a discredited substance, most likely a hoax perpetrated by con artists who sought to take advantage of gullible buyers on the black market for arms. These con artists described it as a substance used in the creation of nuclear weapons; because of the secrecy surrounding nuclear weapons development, it is difficult to disprove their claims completely. However, all samples of alleged "red mercury" analyzed in the public literature have proven to be well-known, common substances of no interest to weapons makers.

Always found this interesting. Like a non-living cryptid. Ever heard of red mercury, and all the stuff it can allegedly do?

[–] srasmus@slrpnk.net 9 points 1 month ago

I try not to be terribly pessimistic. But a part of me knows you're right.

[–] srasmus@slrpnk.net 17 points 1 month ago (5 children)

I've long wondered why the populist democrats haven't been pushing harder for ranked choice voting options, or proportional representation, or any other voting system than what we have. I'm no election expert, so I'm sure there's a reason, but it's disheartening to be trapped between two parties.

[–] srasmus@slrpnk.net 27 points 1 month ago (7 children)

I've been attempting to convert as much of my digital life to open source alternatives over the last few years, and I can't tell you how many people tell me it's unsafe to do since "just anyone can work on it". Most people really believe capital = expertise, and that's a hard nut to crack.