Gonna pull from TrekLit alternate lore a bit (IFKYK), but if you think that bitch is bad, wait till you meet this bitch:

Colors -> Shadows-Highlights

Occasionally I’ll need to use Colors -> Brightness-Contrast to bump the base brightness a little bit first. I also do it on a per-layer basis since the source images are all from different scenes/shots.

Like another commenter said, polarization and cemented, frequently extreme, views. You’re not going to change their mind on anything, but they’re constantly trying to change your mind on everything. I consider them shills and hit that block button.

I also block people who are here “on a mission” for whatever cause. Social media has enough activists, and even if I agree with them, I’m still thinking “will you shut up, man?”.

I also block people who intentionally take others out of context as an excuse to attack them or inject drama into every interaction. There’s plenty of that to go around, and thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be a limit on the number of blocks I can issue.

Basically, I’m not here for drama or activism or circle-jerking any political cause or to suffer immature edgelords. I just wanna talk about cool stuff with rational people. Blocking helps separate the wheat from the chaff in that regard. Anyone who has a pattern of making this place unenjoyable gets blocked

It’s like phone manufacturers have run out of ideas and will do anything except stop making tall, skinny phones. I miss horizontal pixels and not needing a step ladder to reach the top of the screen, dammit!

I actually did a post a while back asking for recommendations since, yeah, there’s a lot of them and I really only have time for the “must reads”.

https://startrek.website/post/28030285

So far, I’ve read two and 2/3 (one single, one trilogy, and 2/3 of another trilogy). I can recommend them all as “must reads” (unless Millennium falls apart in the 3rd book; just started it last night).

• A Stitch in Time
• ST: Destiny
• DS9: Millennium

Probably next up is the first in the “Titan” series (as recommended by someone in that post). I only bought the first one in that series. If it’s good, I’ll buy the rest of them.

I’m not seeing any mainstream media coverage.

• https://www.kbtx.com/2025/09/16/students-body-found-hanging-tree-mississippi-university-authorities-say/
• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/black-student-demartravion-“trey”-reed-21-found-hanging-from-tree-on-delta-state-university-campus/ar-AA1MCbF3
• https://www.newsweek.com/trey-reed-college-student-death-mississippi-2130545
• https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2025/09/16/students-body-found-hanging-tree-mississippi-university-authorities-say/
• https://www.13abc.com/2025/09/16/students-body-found-hanging-tree-mississippi-university-authorities-say/
• https://www.fox13memphis.com/education/delta-state-university-student-found-hanging-from-tree-no-foul-play-suspected-officials-say/article_f5278a0a-0b0f-47c6-b829-a8cffc78a75e.html
• https://mississippitoday.org/2025/09/15/delta-state-university-is-investigating-a-students-death/
• https://www.wdbj7.com/2025/09/16/students-body-found-hanging-tree-mississippi-university-authorities-say/
• https://www.wbls.com/news/deceased-black-student-found-hung-at-delta-state-university/

It really irks me when people use “mainstream media” as a pejorative like there’s some kind of conspiracy. There are way more sources covering it than that, but I think that’s more than enough to make my point.

Still deeply down the TrekLit rabbit hole.

Finished the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy early last week (amazing, BTW) and am now through the first two books of the DS9: Millennium trilogy.

Absolutely! I still laugh at that even knowing what’s coming.

I can’t speak for your situation, but I do know of too many examples of marriages “just because” that made both partners completely miserable for decades. And their disgust at each other definitely was not good for the kid to grow up around.

If she’s someone you could see spending your life with, just not right now, then it’s worth considering. But either way, I would advise against agreeing to a shotgun wedding and leave that decision between you and her.

Sounds like her parents are trying to force you into a shotgun wedding.

Ultimately, it’s up to you if you want to go into a marriage that is very much going to be unhappy (I know currently and grew up around lots of terible pregnancy / stay together for the kids marriages) Personally, I’d just setup child support arrangements and discuss with her what role, if any, I would have in the child’s life and politely, but firmly, tell her parents to fuck off (you’re both adults).

Edit: And if she doesn’t want to have a baby, I would also support and assist with that.

How do you all feel about Reuters, Associated Press, National Public Radio and BBC

Recommend them all. They’re pretty unbiased and highly credible. I’m also a monthly donor to NPR :)

I tend to just stick to the wire services (Reuters, AP) and fill in with NPR/BBC and some local news stations that aren’t owned by Sinclair. I tend to avoid any and all that have clear bias or try to appeal to emotion. I just want the verified facts.

For topics related to technology and privacy, TechDirt is pretty solid. They don’t pull punches and are very well researched.

I’ll edit this comment if I think of any more specific ones.

We need people that will safeguard certain lines that may not be crossed.

Exactly.

“We finally won.”

What did it cost?

“Our humanity”

If people are so willing to cross those lines, what are we even doing or trying to uphold?

I do both, but mostly the tea is just to stretch out the coffee supply. e.g. Instead of making a second up of coffee, I’ll make tea instead.

Every time I grab it from the cabinet lol.

Goes good with cham-pag-ney.

I’m happy he’s not spewing hate anymore. However, I abhor (and denounce) how that came to pass and remain genuinely disgusted at the sick, bloodthirsty mob social media turns into when shit like this happens (or attempted happens).

I am very much not an “ends justify the means” kind of person and firmly believe that kind of logic is extremely dangerous.

How does this make me feel? Well, disgusted. Disgusted that there’s more gun violence in the world, disgusted that people are cheering it on, and disgusted with pretty much everyone’s knee-jerk takes on the matter. I can forgive celebrating his passing as dark humor / gallows humor. I can even understand laughing at the schadenfreude due to the guy’s stance on exactly this kind of thing. But for people to be praising the suspect or calling for more is firmly crossing the line into psychopath territory.

Again, the ends do not justify the means.

I can feel in my bones that the other shoe is about to drop, and all these people salivating over the bloodshed are not going to be happy when it does. Violence only begets more violence, and people need to understand that and not be cheering it on.

I usually alternate between Risa and 10F unless I’m posting for a theme event happening in 10F. Like to diversify my Trek-adjacent shitposting lol.

Angry motorcycle guys, a chair thrown.

!risa@startrek.website

!tenforward@lemmy.world