Related Recs

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ChatGPT

started writing this a few hours ago when i first saw this ask, then decided against posting but i've since changed my mind. there really is no justification for it outside of entitlement. even from a selfish lens, there's no long term benefit to its usage. it harms the world and culture in more ways than one. a.) the water and energy usage that isn't a secret at this point. "no ethical consumption under capitalism" yadda yadda and yeah corporations are extremely culpable in the state of the environment but there really is no need for chatgpt and the planet is already too delicate at the moment. b.) the exploitation of workers in the global south. this program is not just a computer figuring it all out, there are in fact humans behind it. it reminds me of the acceptance of fast fashion and how people have the tendency to divorce the idea of the garment worker from the garment they wear when all clothing is handmade in some way, shape or form. you need hands to man a sewing machine, you need human eyes to moderate content. also, content moderation can be a thankless job with psychological repercussions. c.) the erosion of social skills, humanity and media literacy...this one is very personal. like, you have a cushy email job but can't write an email? you need a computer and a worker in kenya to get paid a dollar an hour to figure out a daily routine for you? i've seen the program churn out blatantly incorrect information. fine tuning a prompt or chat or whatever to give you the exact (possibly incorrect) answer you need isn't really that much less work than sharpening your research skills by cracking open a dictionary or using boolean search keys in google. again, the main issue with this kind of stuff is the entitlement to convenience, with no thought towards the repercussions within and outside of us. we are losing major recipes (critical thinking and media literacy) here, people! i probably did an iffy job are coherently articulating my thoughts here but i am in fact, human. and that’s the beauty of it all.

@deardoveswings

Oct 1, 2024

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In an imperfect world, don‘t try to be perfect. Just do your best.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A RANT Consumerism. All of us are consumers, so none of us are in the place to lecture people on their lifestyle choices, no matter what we do in life—suffering was probably involved or we have negatively impacted the planet in some way, we are just not consciously aware. Smart Phones To manufacture the smart phone/devices we all have, it requires 12,670L just to produce the single product. Now look at how normalised smart devices are, how common they are. Think of all the water it would have taken to produce the phones you have in your back pockets next time you are in a group of people. That is just water consumption during the production process, not the CO2 emissions. Data Centres Internet is one of THE LARGEST sources of water consumption. Did you know that in most data centres, 40% of the facility is dedicated to cooling systems? A standard large sized data centre consumes the same amount of energy that 50,000 homes consume in a single day. In order to cool that much, it requires around 19 MILLION LITRES of water DAILY. And did you know that not all data centres are ‘active’ data centres, there are data centres that sit there idly, waiting for the main data centre to fail so it can fulfil its job as the backup. There are data centres consuming that much power while not in active use, just waiting for a potential fail to keep companies like Amazon and Netflix running smoothly. Meta Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat. Meta. In 2023, Meta’s data centres consumed ~14,975,435 MWh of electricity. Do you know how much water alone meta consumed in 2023 to cool its data centres? 3881 Megalitres. That is 3.88 BILLION LITRES. And the demand for social media is growing. (Your whole feed is curated using AI!) I say this because I am peeved. I am peeved when I am told off that my choice to wash the dishes in the sink is worse than putting my dishes in the dishwasher. I don’t like to be lectured about which facilities I use are bad for the environment. The bus or the car you take to work uses petrol, that petrol was likely taken from a middle eastern country that has not known peace due to it’s oil facilities, and they are constantly under siege from foreign countries. The cobalt used in your smart device’s lithium-ion batteries was probably mined using child labour. Same goes for the cocoa in your chocolate. The coffee beans in your morning beverage. I am not a saint, I partake in EVERYTHING I just listed. But for the love of God, I will not take someone judging me or others for a minor scale pleasure, because when you look at the big picture—we are all at collective fault. We are consumers, and unless we are all ready to lay down our swords, it is just going to keep growing. Technology it developing faster than the eye can see, and we cannot keep up. In this perfect world, I am not perfect. But I will keep trying my best. I eat a vegan diet because I want to minimise my carbon footprint, I don’t have active meta accounts, I grow my own veggies and water them with potable water—but I still buy from large supermarkets because I do not have time to be self-sufficient, I forage, I walk if I can or I carpool when I have the opportunity to. But that is still not perfect, as I type this I am consuming the exact thing I just complained about. There is no perfect in this imperfect world as long as there is a demand. And, oh boy, is there a demand. Just do your best, do what you believe will have an impact and keeps your conscience clean at night. You got this. It all accumulates, I guess. Just, before ANYONE criticises someone’s actions or choices unless it’s immediately causing harm to another, just reflect. I have left out so much detail, and I am not going into it because frankly, it’s too much and I don’t want to. (I have links to the cites I used for the figures if you want to do your own research)

@jilly

Jan 29, 2025

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I’m usually not as single minded about an issue but…

AI is garbage for so many reasons and none of us should be using it. that includes making art as well as seemingly mundane corporate tasks. it’s atrocious for the planet, it’s horrific for the uncredited workers who labor to power it, it bulldozes all notions of “privacy” and further fast-tracks the commodification of humanity, and it‘s fueling the dumpster fire that is an entire generation of brains raised in the cesspool of the internet.

@its_just_kate

Jan 13, 2025

Top Recs from @nikkireishi

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SPINACH

Honestly those big tubs of spinach are classically goated. Truly so versatile! I've been putting them in an omelette every morning, in smoothies, and then randomly throwing into my dinner dishes. Yesterday I stir fried onions, ground beef, spinach and threw a fried egg on top with rice. Whenever I buy spinach, I use it all up ... can't say the same about arugula or kale tbhzies.

@nikkireishi

Apr 10, 2025

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STAR WARS

I swear to god these movies changed my life... relatable to the current state of the world in every way. I think I have Jedi-like qualities… the force is strong with me… or at least my cat Peanut Butter gives Yoda vibes down… anyways I have never experienced such a nuanced villain in a sci-fi series such as this one In war, all bad is bad Both sides have their darkness... it is about being anti all things bad as opposed to choosing a side Every bad bitch needs to watch Star Wars

@nikkireishi

Jan 26, 2025

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Yolo foot spa

Hands down the best full body massage in LA. Argue with the wall. I grew up going to the best $50 an hour full body massage parlors in Garden Grove. I also have had double scoliosis (my spine is the shape of an S in my back and in my neck lol thx genetics) since I was 12, so my shit’s all fucked up. My life is full of either excitement or anxiety and I naturally carry my stress and anticipation through my posture and it manifests in me feeling tense at all times, particularly in my left shoulder. I would say I have pretty strong credentials for knowing what a great and effective massage feels like. Massages are extremely important to my self-care routine and a necessary reoccurring monthly expense. I will quite literally be unwell without them and try to go at least twice a month. I’ve been to every hole in the wall massage spot in Northeast LA and nothing has beat Yolo Foot Spa. Yes, they do full body massages, not just foot massages. For $65, it is truly unbeatable. My stamp cards are filling up and I have 3 names pencilled in on them—Alex, Yoyo and the GOAT, Helen. Holy f*ck, I went to see Helen for a 60 min massage and had the most insane knot in my left shoulder and she did some crazy technique that literally rolled it away and it was gone within 10 minutes of the massage. I believe she’s studied the lymphatic system because her technique was very strategic in every part of the body, I could feel fluids moving, bones cracking, blood circulating…basically everything I could ever need in a massage. I’ve also been to $200 massages and to places that specialize in wood therapy and lymphatic drainage and have left them feeling unimpressed. Yolo Foot Spa is the real deal! I’m a Yolo head for life! Thank me later. Tip: bring cash because it costs more on card (a tip I literally never follow myself lol).

@nikkireishi

Nov 27, 2024