Birb's recent activity

  1. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~health

    Birb
    Link Parent
    As someone who also loves lattes, have you tried them with almond milk? I switched after I became lactose intolerant and I honestly don't notice the difference.

    As someone who also loves lattes, have you tried them with almond milk? I switched after I became lactose intolerant and I honestly don't notice the difference.

    1 vote

  2. Comment on Introductions | June 2023, part 2 in ~talk

    Birb
    Link Parent
    You might want to check out a site called neocities!

    You might want to check out a site called neocities!

    3 votes

  4. Comment on Tildistas, what is your favorite poem? in ~books

    Birb
    Link Parent
    Could you explain what you mean by this? I'm not terribly familiar with the subject.

    Why does it capture the feeling of these horrid events during Culture weeks so well?

    Could you explain what you mean by this? I'm not terribly familiar with the subject.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on "A big fugazi": Why fishermen still can't get behind offshore wind in ~enviro

    Birb
    Link
    I understand that it sucks for people to lose their jobs, but I would much rather that space be used for renewable energy than have us continue to overfish our oceans. There's no need for it; the...

    I understand that it sucks for people to lose their jobs, but I would much rather that space be used for renewable energy than have us continue to overfish our oceans. There's no need for it; the sooner we move from involving animal products so heavily in our diets, the better.

    The fisherman's argument against the wind farm (that it would disrupt the local habitats and ocean life) has me skeptical, too; isn't mass-fishing just as disruptive? I can't imagine all those fish and crustaceans are being used for much more than food.

    3 votes

  6. Comment on What's missing from your life? in ~life

    Birb
    Link Parent
    Thank you! It's hard to explain exactly what the fandom is; it's a bit like asking what the comic fandom is. At the baseline, everyone in the furry fandom enjoys anthropomorphic animals in some...

    Thank you!

    It's hard to explain exactly what the fandom is; it's a bit like asking what the comic fandom is. At the baseline, everyone in the furry fandom enjoys anthropomorphic animals in some way. They might enjoy movies like Robin Hood or Zootopia, they might create artwork of animal characters, hell, they might even cosplay like an animal. The conventions are getting to be huge, with the largest one having over 10,000 attendees. It's a bit difficult to understand it without being a part of it yourself, I think. It's a major online community that I've been a part of since I was a kid.

    I think a lot of the appeal is the fact that it's a huge social and creative outlet, and its imagery is similar to a lot of media we grew up with.

    3 votes

  7. Comment on Rare protein allergy would give PKU sufferer 'brain damage' in ~health

    Birb
    Link Parent
    Oh man, that sounds really nice. Here in the US one of my prescriptions costs me $60-$70 a month. The one I used before that only cost me $15 a month, but then the savings card they had for it...

    Oh man, that sounds really nice. Here in the US one of my prescriptions costs me $60-$70 a month. The one I used before that only cost me $15 a month, but then the savings card they had for it expired and it began to cost $230 a month :/ It messed me up until I was able to switch to a new medication.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on What's missing from your life? in ~life

    Birb
    Link Parent
    Hey, thanks for the response! It's nice to hear we're not alone in our struggles. I fortunately have two very close people in my life that I can be completely open with, and for them I'm very...

    Hey, thanks for the response! It's nice to hear we're not alone in our struggles.

    Do you have someone of such status in your life?

    I fortunately have two very close people in my life that I can be completely open with, and for them I'm very thankful.

    Since starting fresh at a new university not too long ago, I feel I can also be more authentic in everyday life. There's no prior reputation or image to worry about, so it's a nice clean slate. I'm not 100% open about all my hobbies, but I'm definitely more authentic than I was in high school.

    What kind of art are you working on? What kinds of characters do you develop? If you'd like to share them, publicly or privately, I'd love to hear about 'em.

    My hobby falls under the furry fandom, I'd say! It's actually pretty benign, but unfortunately a lot of media and the internet in general has framed it as something terrible. Hence my hesitation in being open about it; if I run into someone with that idea of the fandom, it probably won't bode well for me.

    Anyway, here's some art I've done!

    One
    Two
    Three

    3 votes

  9. Comment on What's missing from your life? in ~life

    Birb
    Link Parent
    I feel the same way when it comes to schoolwork. If I'm given the time to work on something in class, I can knock it out, no problem. But if I'm expected to do something entirely at home, by my...

    I feel the same way when it comes to schoolwork. If I'm given the time to work on something in class, I can knock it out, no problem. But if I'm expected to do something entirely at home, by my own motivation... It's not easy. There's too many distractions. I want my school time to be school time, and my home time to be home time. This was perfectly manageable all the way up through high school, but in college I'm running into trouble. I've done pretty ok regardless, but I've had a few moments where it felt like my whole career as a student was going to fall apart due to my study behavior. At least recruiters don't look at GPA all that often?

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Pokemon: Detective Pikachu discussion in ~movies

    Birb
    Link Parent
    Oh that's unfortunate! :( The guy who took our tickets had a stack of Pokemon card packs in front of him and handed one to everyone who was seeing Detective Pikachu. They were special promo packs...

    Oh that's unfortunate! :(

    The guy who took our tickets had a stack of Pokemon card packs in front of him and handed one to everyone who was seeing Detective Pikachu. They were special promo packs for the movie that had two cards each in them; one was Detective Pikachu, the other one was another random Pokemon from the movie. They were both holographic too! I got Magikarp.

  11. Comment on Pokemon: Detective Pikachu discussion in ~movies

    Birb
    Link
    I was really surprised at how much I ended up enjoying it! I was a bit hesitant going in, but it was an awesome experience. The Pokemon looked excellent, and I was totally captivated by the world...

    I was really surprised at how much I ended up enjoying it! I was a bit hesitant going in, but it was an awesome experience. The Pokemon looked excellent, and I was totally captivated by the world they built. Some of the acting was a little cheesy for sure, but it's to be expected from a Pokemon movie. Ryan Reynolds was great as Pikachu.

    I definitely want to see more movies built from the same style; I didn't think I'd want Pokemon movies to be styled so "realistically" (it was certainly uncanny when the trailer first came out), but now there's nothing I want more out of the franchise.

    Also, was anyone else super giddy when they were handed their free pack of Pokemon cards before the movie?

  12. Comment on What's missing from your life? in ~life

    Birb
    Link
    I suppose I need a living space where I can comfortably be my truest, fullest self. I'm living with my parents, and-- don't get me wrong, they're great and I love them very much-- I just don't...

    I suppose I need a living space where I can comfortably be my truest, fullest self. I'm living with my parents, and-- don't get me wrong, they're great and I love them very much-- I just don't feel like I can much express myself when it comes to interests outside of normalcy. I have my significant other and one great friend I can openly be myself with, but I want to feel that same comfort at home.

    I often restrict myself to being a more 'normal' person-- and I think it makes me seem pretty boring as a result. Thankfully video games are considered an acceptable hobby, so that leaves me with one thing to talk about (when I'm with the right audience). Most people enjoy artwork, at least casually, so I have some surface-level commonalities there. But where do I go when I want to talk about a new character design in my head or when I want to show off a piece I'm working on? What if the real reason I want to travel is to experience a convention full of others who express themselves through animal-people?

    Most people might be unfamiliar with the subject, shrug their shoulders, and just find it a bit quirky. But I've met enough people my age who think they know what a "furry" is that it makes me afraid to open up. Who's going to get the wrong idea and immediately think me disgusting? I so badly want to be my open and true self, but I'm afraid.

    I haven't gotten to talk about this much, so I hope I didn't go on for too long! You all seem like a nice bunch here on tildes so I feel a lot more comfortable opening up.

    8 votes

  13. Comment on What are some quality mobile games? in ~games

    Birb
    Link
    AdventureQuest 3D is pretty fun, and it's almost entirely free to play. There are optional microtransactions for things like cosmetics and extra bank space, but otherwise the game is totally free....

    AdventureQuest 3D is pretty fun, and it's almost entirely free to play. There are optional microtransactions for things like cosmetics and extra bank space, but otherwise the game is totally free. It's still kind of early in development so there's not a ton of content yet, but for a mobile MMO I really enjoy it. It also has Artix Entertainment's usual sense of humor involved if you've ever played any of their other titles (like AdventureQuest or DragonFable). If you're into MMORPGs it's worth checking out! It's also available on Steam for PC (although the interface is definitely geared more towards mobile game play).

  14. Comment on It Chapter Two | Official teaser trailer in ~movies

    Birb
    Link Parent
    That picture of him casually talking to Pennywise on set is hilarious. I need to see more shots like that.

    That picture of him casually talking to Pennywise on set is hilarious. I need to see more shots like that.

    4 votes

  15. Comment on What's a common misconception or misunderstanding you would love to see corrected? in ~talk

    Birb
    Link
    Taxonomy is something many people get wrong, even among the pedantic. Often I've seen people say things like "That's an ape, not a monkey" and "Killer whales are actually dolphins, not whales."...

    Taxonomy is something many people get wrong, even among the pedantic. Often I've seen people say things like "That's an ape, not a monkey" and "Killer whales are actually dolphins, not whales." Well, yes... But also no.

    In order for apes to not be monkeys, we would have to follow paraphyletic classification, something that's rather arbitrary and not very scientific. Apes are actually descendants of monkeys! Old world monkeys are more closely related to apes than new world monkeys. That means that apes are also monkeys (including us!). This applies to a number of other incorrect statements of pedantry... Even saying "Frogs are amphibians, not fish" is incorrect (although I'm a little more forgiving when we're going that far).

    I'd love for taxonomy to get a little more focus in education, but unfortunately I think we have a long way to go when it comes to the topic of evolution and genetics in general!

    11 votes

  16. Comment on World Medical Association warns doctors not to enforce IAAF testosterone rule affecting Caster Semenya in ~sports

    Birb
    Link Parent
    I think in the future that sort of classification will be the way to go, especially as gender barriers are further broken and our idea of sex in general changes. Perhaps it could be like weight...

    I think in the future that sort of classification will be the way to go, especially as gender barriers are further broken and our idea of sex in general changes. Perhaps it could be like weight classes that we have in some sports. It'll certainly be an interesting change in the world of sports/physical competitions if we manage to get there.

    5 votes

  17. Comment on An Alabama “ISIS bride” wants to come home. Can we forgive her horrifying social media posts? in ~life

    Birb
    Link
    Wow, what an incredible article. I don't think her citizenship should be denied, but undoubtedly she should face repercussions for her actions. I'm curious what all she experienced while in Syria;...

    Wow, what an incredible article. I don't think her citizenship should be denied, but undoubtedly she should face repercussions for her actions. I'm curious what all she experienced while in Syria; her interactions with the journalist were interesting.

    4 votes

  18. Comment on Do you have any odd or unusual fears? in ~talk

    Birb
    Link Parent
    Hey, mine developed around the same time too I think! I have a distinct memory of being three years old and eating strawberries. Now strawberries are the absolute worst for me; I can hardly stand...

    Hey, mine developed around the same time too I think! I have a distinct memory of being three years old and eating strawberries. Now strawberries are the absolute worst for me; I can hardly stand to be in the same room as them. Apples and bananas I don't mind as much (unless something is artificially scented to smell like them), but just about any other fruit is horrible for me to smell. Some of it is the texture too; I just don't like their weird mushy consistency.

    2 votes

  19. Comment on Hey! How are you doing today? in ~talk

    Birb
    Link Parent
    I've gotten a chance to play around with the Surface Pro and I'm really loving it! I'm super glad I bought it.

    I've gotten a chance to play around with the Surface Pro and I'm really loving it! I'm super glad I bought it.

    2 votes

  20. Comment on Do you have any odd or unusual fears? in ~talk

    Birb
    Link
    I'm afraid of flying, buzzy insects, particularly being stuck indoors with them. The sound of their wings is the worst. If one flies past my ear I'll flinch hard enough to cause my neck to lock up...

    I'm afraid of flying, buzzy insects, particularly being stuck indoors with them. The sound of their wings is the worst. If one flies past my ear I'll flinch hard enough to cause my neck to lock up for several seconds. Everything about them makes me uneasy.

    2 votes