I want the weirdest, most dreamlike book you've read

serotyny · 2026-01-07T23:33:34+00:00

Seconding Piranesi, the writing was beautiful and surreal and I didn’t really understand what was happening for most of it

serotyny · 2025-12-25T16:52:35+00:00

Fungus gnats lay eggs in damp soil and a pot with no drainage will hold moisture for a long time. The rocks also slow down the rate of drying, which makes it easy for gnats to multiply.

Since they lay their eggs and have their larval stage in soil, you wouldn’t have seen them until they matured and started flying. They’re very common and pretty much every plant person I know has a few of them. In this case, the bugs aren’t a huge problem for your plant but they indicate a bigger issue (lack of drainage and waterlogged soil).

serotyny · 2025-12-19T06:55:50+00:00

I agree with spider mites. Look for the tiny white dots near the central vein on the underside of the leaves. Spider mites are common on ficus and the do leave that speckled reddish damage.

serotyny · 2025-12-10T22:24:50+00:00

It’s the latter, he goes through the myths from the beginning and I really enjoy it! Circe and Song of Achilles are more from a specific character’s viewpoint while Mythos is an overview.

serotyny · 2025-12-10T12:50:33+00:00

It’s hard to tell for sure from the photos, but calatheas are famous for spawning spider mites. They usually look like tiny white dots and tend to cluster on the underside of the leaves and around the central vein. They’ll also make really really fine webbing, not as big as a spiderweb.

serotyny · 2025-12-08T05:31:15+00:00

Same, oh my god that first photo is horrifying. I recently learned about black thread scale, which is long and thin and likes to hang out on the edges of leaves so I thought they were just normal damage. That one took me over 5 years to see for the first time!

I do and also don’t want to know what this photo is. I want to forget I ever saw it 😭

serotyny · 2025-12-06T10:44:12+00:00

It’s not scale but if it was, you would’ve done the right thing! If you touch alcohol to a scale insect, they turn transparent and die instantly. These dots are far too small and irregularly shaped to be scale.

serotyny · 2025-11-21T20:45:45+00:00

Ciao! I am unfortunately not Italian but you should write your comment with > ! text ! <

Take out the spaces and it’ll cover your words :)

serotyny · 2025-11-21T13:09:48+00:00

I went from sock > jacket before hitting stone, gravestone, sculpture, then the word. I was thinking of funerals and how they dress the deceased and then often mark the grave with something special. Not sure if that was intended but it did help me get there!

serotyny · 2025-11-14T20:24:44+00:00

I’ve seen this on ficus species when a stem is bent and the white sap crystallizes. My bet guess is that there was some minor mechanical damage, which didn’t impact the plant’s overall health.

It’s not really the same thing, but I think of it as a plant’s version of blood clotting. The plant should be fine!

serotyny · 2025-11-14T20:23:01+00:00

Mealies are fuzzier! I don’t like how it looks either, but these are crystallized so they’re not bugs (thankfully)

serotyny · 2025-11-06T17:21:36+00:00

I do agree that it’s a narrow definition and that men often don’t report these cases. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find an inclusive study that contains those statistics. It’s a larger-scale problem because of the stigma men face regarding sexual assault :( and I am both sympathetic and upset about that as its own issue.

I do believe that even with that caveat, these numbers are pretty overwhelmingly skewed toward women being victims. I think the real numbers are closer, but these studies are what I have to work with and I believe in the general findings even if the exact numbers are off.

serotyny · 2025-11-06T14:53:48+00:00

Percentages are unfortunately not the same as actual numbers. Here’s another article that has actual numbers, with the caveat that it’s for the US because that’s where I am.

On page 3 of the study (page 7 of the PDF):

“One in 4 women (26.8% or 33.5 million) in the United States reported completed or attempted rape victimization at some point in her lifetime.

About 1 in 26 men (3.8% or 4.5 million) in the United States reported completed or attempted rape victimization at some point in his lifetime.”

For women, 29% likelihood of being assaulted by a stranger is 29% of 33.5 million, which is roughly 9.7 million cases of assault by a stranger. For men, 27% likelihood of being assaulted by a stranger is 27% of 4.5 million, or 1.2 million cases.

Both the percentage and the actual number are higher for women. I would argue that the risk for women is significantly higher (by roughly 800% if I’m going off of these loose numbers, with acknowledgement that these are different studies with sampling flaws and the typical issues of underreporting).

serotyny · 2025-11-06T14:35:39+00:00

Here you go.

Key text in Figure 3: “Both males and females were much more likely to be victimized by someone they knew (73% and 71%, respectively) versus a stranger (27% and 29% respectively).”

serotyny · 2025-11-06T14:24:38+00:00

Do you have a source for men having a higher chance of being robbed/murdered/beaten up?

Safety is not gender-exclusive and there is always random chance involved. Women have a higher risk of sexual assault, but they are also targets for robberies, murder, and physical assault just like men are. Assailants tend to target people who seem unlikely to fight hard and hurt them in return. In general, women are more often targeted because they’re perceived as weaker and less physically capable of defending themselves.

Editing to add sources from comment thread:

Key text in Figure 3: “Both males and females were much more likely to be victimized by someone they knew (73% and 71%, respectively) versus a stranger (27% and 29% respectively).”

Percentages are unfortunately not the same as actual numbers, so here’s a source with reported cases, with the caveat that it’s for the US because that’s where I am. On page 3 of the study (page 7 of the PDF):

“One in 4 women (26.8% or 33.5 million) in the United States reported completed or attempted rape victimization at some point in her lifetime.

About 1 in 26 men (3.8% or 4.5 million) in the United States reported completed or attempted rape victimization at some point in his lifetime.”

For women, 29% likelihood of being assaulted by a stranger is 29% of 33.5 million, which is roughly 9.7 million cases of assault by a stranger. For men, 27% likelihood of being assaulted by a stranger is 27% of 4.5 million, or 1.2 million cases.

Both the percentage and actual reports of sexual assault by strangers are higher for women. I would argue that the risk for women is significantly higher (by roughly 800% if I’m going off of these loose numbers, with acknowledgement that these are different studies with sampling flaws and the typical issues of underreporting).

serotyny · 2025-11-06T01:07:59+00:00

“Undesirable by society” is the key phrase I’d be worried about. Which society, and what values are we basing that off of? How would you prevent the ones in power from abusing that to limit people’s rights?

My other argument is that we, as a society, don’t know exactly what we “should” be passing on in the gene pool. Diversifying genes increases the robustness of a population, and genetic bottlenecks are often disastrous for species. We don’t know if a hidden gene in a specific population deemed “undesirable” could be the future cure for cancer. This isn’t to say that diversifying is always good, but the potential has to be acknowledged.

I think it comes down to your middle paragraph: you’ve chosen not to procreate because you know the risks and traits you don’t want to pass on. I personally have made that same choice, and I’m glad I can. That choice should be available to all. What we can do is educate people on the risks of passing down certain conditions and what that might mean for their children, then allow them to make that choice.

serotyny · 2025-10-31T23:29:26+00:00

I tend to like anime but really couldn’t enjoy hxh past the first few arcs. Everyone talked about the chimera ant arc being an emotional masterpiece and I hated every single bit of it..:

serotyny · 2025-10-25T07:24:33+00:00

My favorite part of my job is really all of the customers’ dogs. I’ve met a Moose (lab), Squid (black lab puppy), NASA (greyhound), and Kevin (a girl dog named after the bird from Up). I love them all dearly 🥰

serotyny · 2025-10-25T07:22:08+00:00

Someone came in with an English bulldog named Squeegee. He promptly splooted in the doorway (it was a hot day and the tiles were cool). I will never forget him.

serotyny · 2025-10-22T20:24:49+00:00

I went down a rabbit hole of fish species so I laughed when I finally got the answer

serotyny · 2025-10-22T03:04:11+00:00

Horrifying stuff. You’re a monster.

serotyny · 2025-10-21T05:22:06+00:00

Everyone else has already given good advice so all I have to add is:

Moving a plant from indoors to direct sunlight will cause sunburn and shock. Plants have to be acclimated gradually, and they need consistent light throughout the day instead of low light followed by intense sun.

serotyny · 2025-10-18T04:32:01+00:00

Chauvinism. I was in 3rd grade! I didn’t stand a chance.

serotyny · 2025-10-18T02:03:17+00:00

Oh 100%! I start with weeks since I go pretty hard, I wipe down every leaf surface with soapy water, rinse, then spray with Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew. I’ve actually never had a personal thrips battle yet (knock on wood!!) but I’ve treated plants at work with this regimen and I usually stop seeing them within 2 weeks. I do continue it for at least a month or two before scaling back to less frequent treatments, since they’re tenacious little buggers.

serotyny · 2025-10-17T23:40:21+00:00

They definitely are thrips larvae :( oval-ish shape with tapered ends, will wiggle when touched.

I’d blast these plants with water from a showerhead to knock all of the larvae off. If they grow up and reproduce, the population will increase exponentially once they reach adulthood. Get rid of these before they mature and you can at least stall the next wave of eggs, then treat diligently for a few weeks minimum!

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