This morning we went to see an exhibition by the wonderful Margot from watercolorpatterns (watercolourpatterns.com/), and it's just insane the precision, dedication and just sheer amount of care and detail she puts into every single one of her watercolors.

And it's all just this wonderfully enthusiastic lady doing everything herself!

Give her a hand if you have the chance, she's wonderful

Je tu taký starší pán a ide na bicykli z Hamburgu... teraz je tu a ide do Istanbulu a potom do Indie. Kamoš @xChaos ? Veľmi mu chutí a vraj je spokojný tak u nás bude denne pokiaľ tu bude.

edit: dal som mu šišku. 😁

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I'm calling OSHA

VOTE EARLY THIS WEEKEND

Good morning. If you live in a state where you can vote early or vote by mail, why not vote this weekend?

Check your state: cbsnews.com/news/map-early-vot…

Voting early is the best thing you can do to help Harris. It establishes a winning narrative which undermines polling manipulation by biased GOP pollsters. It also motivates our team and demoralizes them. Right now, with more than 10 million votes already banked, Dems are up by >1.5 million votes.

VOTE!

@KamalaHarrisWin

Tim Walz is not "redefining masculinity." Tim Walz is redefining *white masculinity*.

Trump does not have a big lead with men voters. Trump has an *absolutely massive lead* with *white men voters*.

70% of the NFL is Black. 90% of those Black men vote Dem. More Black men than white women think the environment is important. Black men support masking to prevent the spread of Covid. Black men are more likely to support women's reproductive rights. Etc, etc.

usatoday.com/story/news/politi…

1/N

Football coach and cheerleader: How Tim Walz is defining masculinity in 2024

With gender central to the campaign, Democratic VP nominee Tim Walz is taking a different approach to masculinity compared to bro-ness and aggression.

^{, USA TODAY (USA TODAY)}

Are you still using social media platforms? What's your reason?

For Google and Facebook users here's how you can better protect yourself!

Step 1: Stop Facebook collecting SO much data 👉 tuta.com/blog/what-does-facebo…

Step 2: Reduce how much Google knows about you 👉 tuta.com/blog/what-does-google…

PRODUCT REVIEW: And that's why it's become my go-to for

DIJKSTRA: *immediately closes tab*

always amused when someone in Ontario talks about "driving across the province in 8 hours"

buddy, Ottawa to Kenora was 21 hours of straight driving last I checked

most people have no idea how damn big this place is unless they've done the trip themselves

Yesterday I finally solved the third hardest discrete bug I’ve worked on in my career. Took about 3.5 weeks of work. At the end, I spent 10 consecutive days doing nothing but investigating this bug, all day, every day. I then took a day off to pick up my folks in Pennsylvania because they wrecked their car (everyone is fine, just car damage). Came back, and yesterday I finally found it.

1/

The fact that space indents won out over tabs actually makes me a little sad.

I just don't see why pressing a key four times is better.

After upgrading to #pipewire version 1.2.5. Finally, I am back to an audio system that works as well (or better!) than my old hand-tweaked setup with JACK1 and PulseAudio.

Unlike that system, this one is fully integrated - things using any of the various Linux audio APIs are all visible and routable to each other.

Latency is the same or better as I got with JACK1.

Truly excellent. Good job @pipewire

(and for those who don't know, I wrote JACK1, with the help of a lot of amazing people).

Maybe I Think Differently Because I See Differently

Ever wondered how our senses shape the way we think? It’s a fascinating concept, especially when you consider how different sensory experiences, like those between sighted and blind individuals, create unique cognitive worlds. As someone who navigates the world without sight, I’ve often wondered how this influences my thoughts and perspectives. After all, if we see the world differently, surely we think about it differently, too. Let’s explore how our sensory experiences shape our cognitive processes and perceptions.

Visual Dominance in Sighted People

For sighted people, vision dominates daily information processing. Research suggests that around 80% of their cognitive processing is tied to visual input, shaping not only how they see but also how they think. This visual dominance influences thoughts, understanding, and the focus on details like colours, shapes, and spatial relationships. Sighted individuals are often adept at processing visual patterns and details, like reading body language or interpreting facial expressions. For them, “seeing is believing,” but for those of us who cant rely on sight, belief comes from a different place altogether.

Cognitive Adaptations in Blind People

Without sight, blind people are forced to turn to other senses to form our mental landscapes. We rely on hearing, touch, and smell to navigate the world. Imagine walking into a room and, instead of scanning visually, you map it out through sound and touch. These senses aren’t just backups; they become finely tuned tools that create vivid mental representations. Over time, we develop exceptional auditory and tactile skills, and our memories sharpen to store all the information we gather through these non-visual cues.

Strengths Born from Different Senses

There are some advantages that come with thinking in a world shaped by sound, touch, and smell. For instance, blind people often excel in auditory tasks, like picking up subtle tones in conversations or identifying people by their footsteps. Memory is another area where blind people shine, as we frequently have rely on it to navigate and interact. Spatial awareness also becomes second nature, built from a blend of sound, touch, and movement that lets us “see” the world in our own way.

Beyond physical senses, abstract thinking often plays a prominent role in how we understand the world. Without the constant influx of visual distractions, our minds find other ways to stay busy—often diving into deeper, more abstract realms of thought. This can lead to an especially profound connection with concepts that aren’t tied to visual cues.

Neuroplasticity: The Brain’s Remarkable Adaptability

Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of sensory difference is neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to rewire itself. When one sense is absent, the brain often repurposes the areas typically devoted to that sense. For blind individuals, parts of the brain usually reserved for vision get redeployed to boost other senses, supporting our enhanced skills and abilities in non-visual realms.

A Unique Cognitive Landscape

This distinct mix of sensory information creates a rich, varied internal world that offers a unique perspective on life. It’s a powerful reminder that our brains are remarkably adaptable, moulding our thoughts to the sensory input we experience. So yes, maybe I do think differently because I see differently. And maybe, that’s the beauty of it all.

#Blind #Cognition #Neuroplasticity