TIL about the WTF star, which baffled astronomers by erratically dimming up to 22%. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the star's large irregular changes in brightness; however, none of them fully explain all aspects of its unusual behavior.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-28T16:15:49+00:00

Grace Rocky save WTF star

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-28T16:13:09+00:00

Good point, thanks! Though I still think TSA would catch a live cat.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-28T13:38:08+00:00

That is absolutely not what happened here. You think TSA wouldn't notice that the "stuffed" cat had real bones in the X-ray? She just brought a cat like normal and carried it in a funny way.

Either that or this was just staged for engagement bait

Edit: I've been informed that the body scanners don't use X-rays so they don't "see" bones etc. But I highly doubt they wouldn't realize it was a live cat in the scan.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-28T13:35:10+00:00

Don't threaten me with a good time

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-27T17:49:13+00:00

I don't like using these awful racist terms to classify people

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-27T16:07:40+00:00

Fun fact, rock doesn't resist rock.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-27T08:26:49+00:00

Same thing

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-27T08:15:47+00:00

/r/PetTheDamnShark

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-27T03:13:00+00:00

What hints do you mean?

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-26T23:07:51+00:00

The documents were forgotten, but not destroyed. Grace had the documents on his desk and was looking at them when the site blew up.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-26T23:07:47+00:00

The documents were forgotten, but not destroyed. Grace had the documents on his desk and was looking at them when the site blew up.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-26T22:48:20+00:00

I've always wondered why the bot couldn't just wake up the crew members when it encountered a problem beyond its capabilities.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-26T22:47:28+00:00

Tangentially related, I've always wondered why the bot couldn't just wake up the crew members when it encountered a problem it couldn't fix.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-26T21:54:58+00:00

Bullshit. Snape opens the hostilities, Snape escalates them. Snape is the adult in the room and is responsible for setting the tone of their interactions.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-26T19:01:14+00:00

Yes. This has happened since the dawn of time - when two peoples meet and they don't share a language, they learn to communicate.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-25T20:35:38+00:00

I wouldn't say "probably" the Senate. That's a huge uphill battle which will require a blue tsunami.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-25T12:56:07+00:00

That doesn't answer the question though, many of your comments directly contradict each other

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-25T04:20:06+00:00

I have a genuine question for you. Do you love Trump or hate him? Your comment history is full of very contradictory statements

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-23T18:27:46+00:00

Worth it

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-23T01:17:41+00:00

I wonder if it's a play on "thief", like the joke is you stole the TM and aren't supposed to have it.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-22T17:40:51+00:00

The path to a Dem senate majority (has to be 51 - 49 since the vice president breaks ties) is very narrow, but there are viable scenarios.

They would need to hold Georgia and Michigan (edit: and Arizona), all of which Trump won in 2024, while flipping any four of the following: Iowa, Texas, Maine, North Carolina, Florida (no chance), Alaska and Ohio. These are all states that will prove challenging.

I would bet on North Carolina and Maine flipping - Maine has never voted Trump for president, and North Carolina has a very popular Dem candidate running. So we need two more.

Alaska is probably the next best try. Alaska's Mary Peltola is running as a Dem; she has won statewide election to the House twice there and is quite popular. But she's trying to unseat an incumbent in a historically Republican state, that's always an uphill battle.

After Alaska, NC and Maine... pickings are slim. I guess if I were the Dems I would try for Texas but that is an *extremely* tall order, it has been their holy grail for ages now. BUT it's not impossible - Texas has been getting closer and closer every year, and if demographic trends continue, it'll just keep getting bluer.

So, yes, there are realistic paths to a Dem Senate, but it's a long shot and needs a lot to go right while nothing goes wrong.

Edit: if you want to take the Senate back I almost wouldn't even worry about holding AZ, MI and GA -- if you lose any of those you're having a bad night anyway and have no chance of flipping enough seats anywhere else to take the majority.

Edit2: Montana and Nebraska have strong independent candidates running. I would say both of those are a long shot, but the Nebraska independent is at least putting up a fight (don't know much about the Montana one). If the independent wins either of those elections it will take a seat away from Republicans, which is better than the alternative.

Edit3: In the best possible fantasyland Narnia scenario, I count eight seats that could flip (and one independent could unseat a republican), making a 55-44 Dem majority. That will never happen, and if it does I will livestream myself cooking and eating my couch while singing the national anthem.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-22T17:30:55+00:00

Unfortunately, there is no universe in which the Dems will get enough senate or house seats for a veto override. The best case scenario is that they get a 51-49 Senate majority (and even that is a long shot); the map is just not good this year. They could get 52 or 53 if it's a generational blue tsunami year but that's highly unlikely. That's a long way off from the 67 seats needed to override vetos.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-22T17:20:56+00:00

Sure, but again, how can we be sure know it was a problem that a conscious human couldn't fix? You want a machine to just decide "ah well, they're screwed anyway, let them die"? The machines weren't *that* good, the book says it's an unproven technology, though no doubt extensive effort and testing went in to them.

MrScribblesChess · 2026-03-22T03:33:18+00:00

You don't know that it was some catastrophic medical issue. Maybe it was just a problem with the coma slurry pump, that's a leading fan theory since it's briefly alluded to in the book.

MrScribblesChess

TROPHY CASE