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I listened to quite a good podcast about the film which interviewed lots of the production people and when trying to describe the look of the film, they were like IT'S NOT STEAMPUNK OK? I mean, what else would you call it? I think I would definitely watch it again as it is so visually interesting and they are so many details I probably missed the first time.

I want to say this is delicately as I can: these issues do not just affect trans people. Right now, a group of athletes is suing the NCAA over this. A group of athletes is suing Connecticut over this. A detransitioner is suing Kaiser Permanente. None of these litigants are trans (so far as I know), and all are claiming to have suffered losses from public or private policies about gender issues. It's easy to just shrug and say that these plaintiffs are hateful bigots, and that they are just whining or reacting from thwarted entitlement, but the fact is they exist and we as a society have to deal with them. The only way we do that is to have public discourse, and that means acknowledging that everyone, trans or cis, has a stake and gets a say. I don't know how these issues will ultimately be resolved, and to be honest I don't always have a strong opinion how they should be resolved, but I know that the best way to find that out is for us, on this board and in this democracy, to discuss it, hopefully respectfully and with the awareness that we're talking about lives, not chess pieces. What's the alternative?

Well, you said it: Maybe confusion is just a by-product of complexity? I mean, in light of science's inability to yet riddle the how and the why, it's kinda natural to default to philosophical meanderings I suppose, but it resolves about as much as stirring up the silt on this subject [yet I'll admit it's hard to avoid] So what it is, is Me Myself and I. That sense of self-- I am, I feel. Simple as that. [and no, beyond severely depressing individual exceptionalism, the unlikely possibility of an intelligent hive mind wouldn't stymy that. Me Myself and I would just become We. Us. Ourself, if language even need be present in that type of species rather than some type of pheromonal programming... to close out the loop] Anyway. It's arguable that a select few of our animal brethren are self aware, but without language to express themselves, to themselves, to each other, it's a primitive type in comparison, right? Doesn't necessarily mean it's less rich, mind [instinct, emotional bonding, all that] but it's not the same. Yet if it was solely language that made it happen, then AI perhaps should be sentient already but it's not. So, I think therefor I am is only part of it. You say you must be sentient/conscious [I'd say the same about myself] but because of who we are: genetically, intellectually, personally, experientially, our individual perceptions will be a little different [or a lot] dig? Like, say you and I are plunked into the exact same stress scenario. It's exceedingly unlikely we're going to react the same way. How we feel about it, does it trigger anything in our pasts whether good/bad/indifferent, what we each think/post-rationalize about the circumstance, blardeblar. Those differences between you and I, me and Fragile Bird, between Ran and Relic, they speak to something -so there's definitely a here, here- because it's not reality that's subjective [it's us] and therein lies at least few proofs of consciousness/sentience to my mind. Imagine a human child was born blind, deaf, and entirely numb. From birth until the age of 20, 40, after having seen nothing, heard nothing, accompanied by zero tactile experience; with no language or subliminal context, would we determine they're neither sentient or conscious? Probably, because there are no avenues for that mind. So at least as we experience it, to be conscious and sentient has requirements. Current AI [IA for Euros] is hardly nascent in these regards except one, and even that's arguable, so... [spreads hands] --- It's late, I'm tired, need to be up in less that 4 hours [really need to stop checking the board after some late binging] so I'm not even going to edit this shit, but I'll leave it with: if sentience/conciousness is a Hard Problem, it's due to us. Because we make everything hard. But maybe that's part of it too. edit: I lied, the egregious couldn't be countenanced. but now I'm really going to bed

1. Not a character 2. Object 3. A part of the current timeline 4. Not a weapon 5. Not a personal object (object that someone may carry with them or wear, like a crown, jewellery, a piece of clothing). 6. In Westeros 7. Not a song 8. Made of real life material 9. Not made of hard material (rock, metal, bricks, gemstones, steel, wood, glass, hardened clay etc.) 10. Not made of cloth 11. Not a body part 12. Not any kind of food or drink 13. Not in cold climate, like north of the Neck 14. Not an animal or another living being 15. A book or a scroll 16. Not the White Book 17. Not A Song of Ice and Fire 18. Not "The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, With Descriptions of Many High Lords and Noble Ladies and Their Children", the book that Ned and Jon Arryn were reading You're close now because I don't think there are many books specifically mentioned in the current timeline. I'll give you a hint: this one was not just talked about but seen and played a memorable role.

I admit I was hesitant to speak for her without checking in first but tbh the reason I eventually felt I had to is this is nowhere near the first time we've been around this block on the forums and she's expressed her frustration before. On the observation that people have quoted and responded - true, in a literal sense they have and 'taken absolutely nothing on board' is hyperbole. But people have been picking out specific points and running with them. The tone of the discussion she was trying to set is lost. On the last part, of stifling discussion - this particular part is from me and I don't know if Karradin agrees, but I need to be clear that I don't just mean the people with opposing views. I obviously disagree with them and there are some posts that come off in context as callous, but Karradin engaged with this topic specifically to share her perspective for some of people with different views, it's not about shutting it down. But there's been people who in principle share views with me and presumably with Karradin who have just taken this as a chance to yell accusations or have a drag-out argument about their own position on small parts of the whole wide issue and it's completely stifled the tone and a substantial portion of the substance of what she was saying. (The font appears to have randomly turned red partway through. I have no idea why, I didn't even know it was possible. If it's just my phone and y'all can't see it, ignore this I guess) Apologies Karradin if I have misrepresented you over anything here

Is that a serious question? No.

Antonelli will be 18 in a few months, the musical chair scenario isn't getting easier. Hulkenberg joins Kick Sauber, which will be Audi from '26 (then they are after a German line-up). Vettel or Mick the other seat? Either ways Zhou will be rendered jobless as Bottas currently got contract beyond '25. Nice announcement post the kid's home race lol.

There are also other tick borne illnesses like anaplasmosis and erlichiosis (sp), of the bite can become infected with incidental bacteria. I fucking hate ticks. Unusually get a dozen or so bitten into me per year. This spring I've only had one so far. Hoping for a mild year, but this winter was mild so probably going to be a wee bit bitey around here.

Yep. I want to be careful here, because I don't want to imply that measures that target trans people are only bad because cis people also get caught in the crossfire. Measures that negatively affect or target trans people are bad entirely on their own merits. But it is also true that cis people will find themselves getting targeted by the same measures, and therefore even cis people who don't care about trans issues or are even actively anti-trans should think carefully about the standards they seek to enforce. As pointed out above, cis female athletes who are deemed insufficiently feminine (which, let's be honest, frequently overlaps with race) are vulnerable to being targeted. Cis women in public who are deemed insufficiently feminine can (and have) be accused of using the "wrong" bathroom. We've seen attempts in the USA to force participants in childrens' sports to undergo physical examinations (read: genital inspections) before being allowed to participate. Attempts to single out trans people will end up hitting a lot of cis people who don't fit 100% into their assigned gender roles (and again, it would still be bad even if this wasn't the case), and these attempts will of course also just by weaponised by cynics and chancers.

Get your husband to watch out for a rash there, particularly a target like one with concentric rings. If in doubt go see a doctor and get antibiotics. Lyme disease is not fun and needs to be dealt with promptly.

If someone was the 1000th best male footballer, and transitioned to be the best female (for arguments sake) they would still be earning an absolute pittance compared to their previous earnings. This probably applies to most sports other than tennis, golf, and maybe athletics where the top women earn a significant % of the top men. Other than the unpleasantness of the process itself, i am highly dubious that anyone is transitioning because of any potential uplift in performance or potential reward.

Transitioning involves one helluva set of hurdles to jump through just for a handful of transwomen to maybe get a small piece of that action. And depending on when they begin that transitioning process, it could require that they lose their prime athletic years or even those early years where recruitment happens. And if they are transitioning during these times, they risk losing their athletic scholarships, they are not earning money, they are not competing in athletic competitions, and they are not advancing their athletic careers. Moreover, in many cases, they are potentially downgrading their own athletic capabilities by transitioning and their own earnings by competing in women's sports rather than men's sports. And there is no guarantee that they will have similar levels of athletic performance as before because transitioning affects every individual differently. I think the idea that transwomen are potentially transitioning for the sake of these things often presumes a level of bad faith on their part, and it doesn't necessarily consider what is also lost in the process. I think that the concern for feminism in sports is laudable, but I think that feminism (a) also requires a place for transwomen, and (b) requires understanding how there is often an anti-feminist element that is part of the transphobia that seeks to exclude transwomen from sports. As @Kalbear mentioned before, the concern about testosterone levels or even just transwomen athletes "invading" women's sports has resulted in cis women also being targeted with various accusations. There are ciswomen at the upper athletic levels who have naturally higher levels of testosterone who have faced allegations of doping or somehow of being "trans infiltrators." There have been cis women at all levels of athletics who have been accused of being trans and thereby cheaters. Cis women are being subjected to "purity tests" because their own various athletic advantages are being called into question as "unfair."

Cool, so what is it? It reminds me of the ‘left and right’ problem, in that it’s impossible to define either direction without referencing said direction. Imagine aliens visited and we had a cracking conversation about physics and mathematics, when certain things got invented and how, comparing histories. “What about consciousness?” we ask. “Con… what? We don’t have that, I don’t know what you mean”. “You know, that sensation that makes you feel like you’re aware you exist.” “I am aware I exist. I still don’t know what you’re talking.” “Well … that thing we’re confused about, but you don’t appear to be. How about this: imagine you were a bat. It’d be ‘like something’ to be a bat, wouldn’t it.” I mean seriously, ‘it’s like something’ is such a feeble answer to anyone who isn’t already confused about it. It’s called the Hard Problem for a reason, we haven’t got our hands around what the problem actually is, because as far as we can tell, there isn’t anything to be explained. The entire function of the brain is completely explainable from what we know, that we have motor function and memory and logic processing. There just isn’t some magic space that accounts for us feeling sentient, feeling like something fundamentally different has happened to us that hasn’t happened to a toaster. “The toaster seems to be confused about something it can’t explain” isn’t much of a statement to someone with a full technical manual of a toaster. Maybe confusion is just a by-product of complexity? To be fair, I don’t believe that. I do think there is something fascinating happening, and I’m fascinated that of all the various scientific truths we know of, my own consciousness is the one I can be surest of. Even if I’m a brain in a jar in an alien lab, or I’m in a simulation, I MUST be conscious. However confused I am, the confusion exists and someone must be the subject of that confusion. But I also believe we’re a long way off of real progress on this, and AI will go sailing past this benchmark while we’re all still in the dark.

Ha, that was my next guess.

I've got to apologise here coz I seem to have thrown a bomb on the table that might do this and then gone to work. I'll respond to things Ran and others are saying response when I can. But yes broadly what infuriated me was the last few pages became a point-scoring exercise by both 'sides' when it isn't about sides, it's about people.

I dedicated a pretty significant chunk of my large post to the idea that remnant advantage isn't a black and white issue, and that if that advantage results in a significantly smaller number of additional people in the top x% of athletes than will naturally be in the population of cis women then it shouldn't be considered a problem. The exact numbers would of course be open to negotiation, my argument was on the principle of the matter. That was completely ignored in favour of fixating solely on the question of remnant advantage as a whole being unacceptable. I also don't accept that the research you linked is necessarily the whole picture, even if it is 100% correct there are additional aspects beyond what it lays out, but its also just not relevant to some of my main arguments. The unfairness cuts both ways, implementing a just framework is about balancing that - not picking one side that's completely fair over another that is not. I don't expect to be the sole voice on this subject, not one comment I've made in this thread suggests it should be the case, but it is extremely frustrating when the conversation consistently chases the most contentious side of things and ignores attempts to expand the common ground (with people that are acting in good faith). And to be perfectly honest - no, I'm not OK and getting involved in these threads is not taking care of myself, I fucking hate it and it makes me miserable. This is the one corner of the internet that I had tried to make a more accepting place for myself and I feel the need to try and defend what little I've made of it, but its terrible for me. I'd happily not see another thread discussing this topic for at least a year, and I don't start the conversations...I just feel obligated to try when someone else does. ETA: I'm not asking for the thread to be locked just for my sake lest anyone think I'm asking for special treatment, just expressing my feelings on it.

Pfft. We don't know how it is [sentience/consciousness] but what it is? Insofar as we human beings experience it, yes, we know. [stares directly at the camera, points up] Complex issue, sure. Vexing though? [shrugs] ChatGPT isn't sentient. To think the fanciful crap it spews when asked such a question would be similar to how an actually sentient AI would respond is unimaginative and intellectually lazy.

(In all honesty, I was first going to respond to @polishgenius went for a walk with the dogs first, and on mulling over I decided that in fact I should delete the post because it seemed a very wrong thing for someone to drag some other member's name into their post in a way that seems to me mis-guided, at best. But since @karaddin appreciates it, I'll just respond to it.) Has no one really taken aboard her views? I can see multiple posts in the thread quoting her and responding to her. Doesn't everyone here agree with her in rejecting "one-size-fits-all", a position that may not have seemed so straightforward at the start of the thread? Didn't she agree with the idea I'd noted that maybe we'll need to figure out some different metrics for dividing up competitions but that it seems a very hard problem? Like, we've had a discussion. It continues. Now replying to her and quoting her isn't enough. What is? Simply stop talking? Just agree reflexively? Turn the thread into an AMA? I really don't know what to do with this notion. I appreciate everyone's contributions, but no one has a monopoly on discourse.

What I particularly hate is when it seems like the behaviour of non-trans individuals in these threads seems to worsen other peoples attitudes towards trans people, that's just completely illogical and quite relevantly to the discussion - completely unfair.

I'd be happier if this subject went the way of tipping and was banned (lets be honest, nobody has been educated or changed their mind even a teeny tiny bit on either side in the 30 odd times this has been a topic since I joined), not necessarily because I don't want to offend her, she's can take care of herself and I'm sure she absolutely doesn't expect special treatment. That being said if people say stuff i disagree with, I'm going to respond, I wish I could leave it alone and be the bigger person, but I just can't. Especially when someone says any position other than in their opinion 'the correct one' is transphobic, that really pisses me off.

Well at least I feel seen now. Thanks.

What a draft night. Caleb walks into a better situation roster-wise than Justin did three years ago, and Rome Odunze falls right into their lap, giving Caleb another weapon. What a night.

We have no clue what it is. Theories range from “it’s a programming loop” to “it’s quantum mechanical tubules” to “it literally doesn’t exist, it’s an illusion”. That doesn’t sound like a theory we have a good handle on. We’re completely incapable of describing what we’re even talking about, other than to reference our own confusion; ‘that thing that has no actual inconsistency to be explained, other than that we all appear to be confused by it’. And they’ll let us know, awesome. Go ask Chat GPT if it exists or not. A “lol” at one of the most complex and vexing issues imaginable, I return your ‘lol’ my friend.

I always feel bad for Karradin when this topic comes up because it always begins with her putting her viewpoint and experience as someone who knows what she's talking about across in the most clear way she can do it and engaging with opposing viewpoints politely and it always ends up with a load of people just shouting at each other past her, without taking on board anything she's said and with no concern for how certain thoughts expressed might impact someone who's living this even though she's telling us. (I'm not saying I've never been guilty of this but come on guys what are you doing the last few pages here have been horrendous)

Adrian Newey is leaving Red Bull. No details known yet, but lots of speculation. Is he going to Ferrari or Aston Martin? It's not clear either how soon he can work for another team. And the big question: will Max Verstappen leave, too? In other news, the city of Hockenheim is selling the Hockenheimring to private investors. That's good news for motorsport in Germany as the city wasn't ready to make big investments or gamble tax money on hosting a GP.