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I was going to use the phrase 'avoid it like the plague' but, given recent years, I suspect the literal meaning of that is 'make a small token effort to avoid it, unless doing so would impact the economy or cause inconvenience'.

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Now livestreaming at joystick.tv/u/toplesstopics and for Patreon donors on our Discord server which you can join at toplesstopics.org/chat ! Today's project is to draw some "erotic fanart" from whatever fictional media franchise I'm currently obsessed with--maybe some Genshin Impact Gooner Pin-ups, maybe some giantess fetish Lady D art from Resident Evil! Come hang out and see!

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There are people who hate art precisely because its value isnโ€™t tied to utility or productivity.

We call them Philistines.

Philistines only crave comfortโ€”technology, convenience, consumption. The idea that art might make you a better person offends them. Even worse if the art doesnโ€™t flatter them.

What defines a Philistine is their demand that art serve an immediate function. If it doesnโ€™t, they dismiss it as worthless.

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in reply to Bliss

@Crissy Thereโ€™s a book that goes into this in far more detail called Revolt of the Masses by Josรฉ Ortega y Gasset, written just before the Spanish Civil War. He called Philistines by another name: mass-men.

The idea behind this book is that mass-men and authoritarianism go hand-in-hand. And I would agree. Elon Musk, for example, is the consummate mass-man. He has no appreciation for aesthetics beyond utility, spectacle, or status.

This, by the way, is why the Cybertruck is so awful.

in reply to Chris Trottier

thanks for sharing about the book & concept of mass men.

What's wonderful (and antithesis to the Cybertruck's shock value and hideous looks) is the Porsche 911, which balances performance with aesthetic coherence developed over decades of refinement!

My takeaway from learning about this is genuine excellence, thoughtful design, and authentic human connection is possible when we are being respectful and kind to all.

Which also raisesCritical Questions for #FediCollective and #PeerTube co-op like

1. How do we build businesses that serve mass markets without adopting mass man values?

2. Can technology be designed to elevate rather than reduce human experience?

3. What's the entrepreneur's responsibility to resist the race to the bottom in taste and standards?

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The situation in North Gaza is beyond catastrophic.
Entire neighborhoods are being wiped off the map โ€” home by home, street by street.
People have no electricity, no clean water, no food.
Displaced families are sleeping on rubble. Children cry from hunger. Disease is spreading.
There are no hospitals left. No aid. No safe zones.

#GazaIsBleeding
#NorthGaza
#LetGazaLive
#CeasefireNOW
#EndTheSiege
#GazansUnderAttack
#GazaGenocide
#StandWithPalestine
#SaveGaza

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in reply to SakherGaza1

The bombing never stops โ€” and the world remains silent.
Whatโ€™s happening in North Gaza is not just a humanitarian crisis.
Itโ€™s a stain on the conscience of humanity.
If you're reading this:
โ†ช๏ธ Please share
๐Ÿ’” Please donate if you can
๐Ÿ“ฃ Please speak out for those who have no voice
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nonsexual female nipples

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Hello Fediverse I want to make a short announcement about the social.trom.tf Friendica instance run by my friend @tio

Currently that instance is going through a big server migration process and it will take a couple of hours for it to get finished. So if you mention or send anyone messages during this time it might not reach them.

#fediverse #PSA #Friendica #TROM

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In other news, here's a new video.
youtube.com/watch?v=JzClLWL-Eyโ€ฆ
Let's see if releasing this on labor day weekend was a good idea...

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in reply to Technology Connections

Rotary desicants are of some (if limited) use in some parts of the United States. I live in an area with lots of streams, rivers, creeks, swimming pools, and a few lakes, so humidity can be quite high in the shoulder seasons. My garage's dehumidifier suffers from the freezing issue during spring and autumn when I normally need heat, and the garage isn't "plumbed" for the HVAC system, so I might end up getting a rotary desicant at some point.
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This entry was edited (Sunday 31 August 2025, 09:10)

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in reply to Aral Balkan

Genuine question:

If I hosted my own private analytics tracker (something like Matomo (nรฉe Piwik), e.g.) just so I could have funny numbers to look at because I like to look at numbers but do nothing meaningful with them, would that require a cookie banner?

I'd pondered about just having a static notice in the footer of my site that just says "This site uses some functional cookies and one (1) tracking cookie for a self-hosted analytics dashboard because I like to look at Numbersโ„ข."

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Went to the mall theater to see Bad Guys 2 and now the kids are playing giant chess on the way out...

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nonsexual female nipples

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nonsexual female nipples

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Eurostar security is great, the pulled my bag aside and opened it. - โ€œWhatโ€™s in this toiletry bag?โ€
- โ€œMy toiletriesโ€

Agent then found my Lovense plugs. Spent a good amount of time trying to put them back into their drawstring bag while I stared at them impatiently. ๐Ÿ˜ผ

Then they got to my Densha de Go Shinkansen controller, looked lost for a bit, then waved me though. ๐Ÿ˜ธ

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in reply to Kenneth John Bardsley

The image features a social media post with a black background and white text. The post is from a user named "katepaintspaws" and is timestamped "1d" (one day ago). The text discusses the number of migrants in hotels awaiting asylum decisions in the U.K., stating there are approximately 32,000. It then compares this number to the capacity of Wembley Stadium, suggesting that a third of the stadium's 90,000 seats would be equivalent to the number of migrants. The post criticizes the use of this comparison by groups like Reform UK Ltd to influence public opinion. The background of the post includes a fiery image, possibly symbolizing unrest or conflict. The bottom right corner of the image has a watermark with the letter "X" inside a circle.

Provided by @altbot, generated privately and locally using Ovis2-8B

๐ŸŒฑ Energy used: 0.195 Wh

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now livestreaming at joystick.tv/u/toplesstopics while I edit a video railing against Youtube's new even-more-invasive AI verification "system"!

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UBI is unconditional and universal. We can build support for it by removing work requirements from any existing program and/or making any existing program universal and paired with higher taxes on those with higher incomes. When it comes to amount, I'd like to see any unconditional universal amount. #UBI

youtube.com/shorts/PLvuOc4va1cโ€ฆ

#ubi

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Outside the tech world, everyone talks about public figures like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Sam Altman, and others. However, those in IT or with CS background know that people like Dennis Ritchie, Ken Thompson, Alan Turing, researchers and mathematician are the ones who truly built this industry. Sadly, they don't get enough credit or movies. People these days worship grifters and I think it is really sad.

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I mean, if you Google "topless inequality" you can find plenty of posts about it (after you sift out the porn). But most of these articles are years, even decades old, yet you'll notice the patriarchal oppression of "female nipples" continues unabated. huffpost.com/entry/nipple-censโ€ฆ

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It appears I neglected to announce the existence of last weekโ€™s episode of Reverse Trivia.

Here it is for your viewing pleasure. But beware, at least one of us sings!

youtu.be/X2LebcZ7CkM?si=hJ5JU-โ€ฆ

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now streaming at joystick.tv/u/toplesstopics ! Gonna edit topless beat saber workout videos, come hang out!

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My mom taught me that people are poor because they were too lazy to help themselves get a job. To give them money would just let them not have to work, and they would go buy beer with it.

Now that I am poor due to being disabled, I know the truth. I am poor because I did not get the help I needed.

Independant human, a lie. We all still need help. Sometimes people need the help because they CANT do the things to get out of poverty.

Some of us cant work, because there are no jobs they can do.

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in reply to Green Roc Thoughts

But in some cases, we are not alloed the help, by policies set upo that seem so incompatible with the truth of our lives. They try to make it simple, black and white, cover everyone, but these policies are not suitable for everyone, as some of us suffer under these restrictions, like how I cant get married unless I want to give up my income, so we remain together, unmarried. Many of these policies are to blame for the shrinking the quality of our lives.
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This is what I think of every time I see Microsoft Co-Pilot mentioned:
This entry was edited (Thursday 17 July 2025, 01:23)

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Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster - videoneat.com/documentaries/26โ€ฆ

This is the perfect example of why in this trade-based society things get fucked. Because people are focused on trading, making a profit. And these idiots did just that. Cut corners, then cut their lives short and of those who paid for their scam.

Tragic. But a very important example of how #TradeRuinsEverything

#documentary #bbc #titanic #titan

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that's right, we're gonna talk about aereolas

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in reply to Mark

re: that's right, we're gonna talk about aereolas

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@Mark
in reply to Cleo of Topless Topics

re: that's right, we're gonna talk about aereolas

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UK, politics

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People like this is why I don't like answering this question anymore lol.
Also what a wild thing to just randomly say to someone in line at the vet clinic on a Monday morning? Hey your whole life is a lie, your amputation you've had since your a baby was just part of a conspiracy. K'ay bye!
#Furry #SFWFurry #Disability #Amputee #Disabilityproblems #Dragon #DragonArt #Fantasy #comic #Webcomic

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People are shocked to discover they need to fact-check ChatGPT and I'm having the uncomfortable realization that they never fact-checked their uncle's Facebook posts, their friend's medical advice, or literally anything Google's top result told them, and suddenly the last decade makes sense...

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in reply to JA Westenberg

Iโ€™m still like deer-in-the-headlights frozen since a colleague earlier this week just casually threw into a discussion about a complex, consequential, and costly legal question โ€œwell I checked on ChatGPT and it saidโ€ฆโ€ as though that was some kind of mic drop.

I just wasnโ€™t prepared for this. My jaw was on the floor.

Spoiler alert: ChatGPT was 100% wrong, like exactly the inverse of the true fact, of the complex, consequential, and costly legal question. A yes/no question where the answer was โ€˜noโ€™ and ChatGPT said โ€˜yesโ€™.

I bet theyโ€™ll keep using it though ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™‚๏ธ

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Nipple-less male chests in anime
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I started watching a new anime called "Summer Pockets" and after getting soaked by a sudden wave the MC took his shirt off and encountered another inexplicably topless guy, only for both of them to be called "flashers" by a female lifeguard... I wish all genders had the right to go top free regardless of location instead of only "people who look male," but at least chastising men for taking their shirts off while out walking is a start towards equality ๐Ÿ˜‚

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โ‡ง