Thyme @Thyme@computerfairi.es

@monsterblue

Have you ever interacted with Muscovy Ducks? They're so friendly, sweet, and docile; I love them.

@grace_in_name_only

This sort of thing is a part of nature, and a part of our shared evolutionary history: we know that mitochondria are descendants of ancient symbiotic bacteria related to existing bacterial parasites, and that substantial parts of our genome originate from ancient viruses co-opted into functional roles.

There are actually worms with their nutrition and excretion systems entirely replaced by symbiotic bacteria.

I'm really happy with the improvement in my diet since moving here to live with my close friend, I've been eating more, more consistently, and healthier.

Recently I've been proud of making rice topped with roasted potatoes, carrots, "sweet potatoes", mushrooms, capsicum, onions--cooked with various herbs and spices--then uncooked raisins, walnuts, and Brazil nuts, and finally lettuce on top of everything; with microwave steamed broccoli around the side; and soy sauce over the top.

@certifiedperson @monsterblue

Maybe you'd be interested in Indomita, a Flight Rising style browser game where you play as a horse. It's nowhere near as polished, and is apparently quite difficult to learn/play, but it does seem to have a small but dedicated community of other people who enjoy being horses online.

I only know about it because of happening across this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nUjEYhoBX0

@monsterblue

I can relate because Green Iguanas are typically semi-aquatic in the wild and swim in much the same way as crocodilians: side-to-side movements and propulsion from a strong tail. See here: https://youtu.be/9-2YcjsDQ60?t=470

I went swimming at an indoor pool last year and they had a little loop of flowing current, and floating around that on a float board proved a really nice way to invoke "swimming reptile" feelings for me.

Portal: "The symptoms most commonly produced by Enrichment Center testing are superstition, perceiving inanimate objects as alive, and hallucinations."

KUBARK: "The symptoms most commonly produced by isolation are superstition, intense love of any other living thing, perceiving inanimate objects as alive, hallucinations, and delusions."

@monsterblue

Having a spine that's primarily oriented for up and down movement (all mammals including dolphins and whales) instead of side to side movement (fish and reptiles) is actually annoying.

This chart is fascinating to me. Note: A is Money's theory, while B is what the author favors. Note at least the following:

a) That this concept of "physchosexuality" (basically both gender and sexuality) is clearly shown as a spectrum, and

b) That social and cultural factors play a role in imposing limits on this spectrum.

Diamond, M. (1965). A Critical Evaluation of the Ontogeny of Human Sexual Behavior. The Quarterly Review of Biology

@OCRbot

Here's a 1948 lecture describing a natural basis for homosexuality. Interesting especially for referencing the presence of homosexual behavior in other mammals.

BEACH, F. A. 1948a. Sexual behavior in animals and men. Harvey Lect. Ser.

Quoted in:

Diamond, M. (1965). A Critical Evaluation of the Ontogeny of Human Sexual Behavior. The Quarterly Review of Biology

@OCRbot

Actually that's the same author who introduced to the world the idea of a distinction between "sex" and "gender". Well, here he is later explaining the reasoning behind this distinction. I suppose we have the "strain" on the "etymological stem" of "sex" to thank for it?

Money, J. (1973). Gender Role, Gender Identity, Core Gender Identity: Usage and Definition of Terms. Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis.

@OCRbot

Here's a section from a 1957 paper explaining the five different biological aspects of "sex", based on studies of intersex people.

Interesting because I often see people treat this as if it's recent knowledge, when it's not. In an earlier paper the author even treats it as well known to experts, but to my annoyance I cannot access that paper anymore.

MONEY, J. (1957). Imprinting and the Establishment of Gender Role. Archives of Neurology And Psychiatry.

Reading old scientific papers about sex, sexuality, gender, and so on, in light of contemporary understandings and debates is fascinating to me. I'll share just a few of the quotes that I find quite interesting.

Content warning for the sorts of casual prejudice and insensitivity you might expect from cishet male doctors and scientists in the 1950s writing about these topics.

That's all for right now.

Hi again to the handful of people that ended up following me.

Since I was always sympathetic to socialist ideas because of my class background, as well as, you know, having sympathy for other people, now I say I'm something of a "scientific socialist". Which means not being interesting in adopting a "political identity" beyond that.

I have little interest in getting involved in the dreadful "heated online political discourse", just something worth sharing as background on the way I think about things.