Maybe this whole post is an ironic shitpost? If not, that makes it even funnier, tbh. I just can't tell anymore.

Have you given thanks that your home hasn't been run into by a car today? 🙏

That's a flat rock used for basking! It's supposed to be a bit more off-center from the heat lamp so that it doesn't get too hot, but he loves to flatten out/pancake on a warm rock.

I personally prefer interesting creatures over vehicular trespassing, so it's understandable.

Bearded dragons typically only poop every few days or even once a week! So it's not like a daily thing, unless there's something going on with their health or they've drank/eaten more than usual (they WILL try to eat as many insects as possible, if given the opportunity!). Plus, it's not like a dog-sized poop or anything, but it is pretty loose and nasty, admittedly.

They can't really be trained to poop in specific places, which is why a lot of owners use the bathtub method. Just fill up the tub/container a bit with warm water (usually it's enough so that they are submerged up to the base of their tail), put your dragon in, and within a few seconds to minutes, you have a freshly emptied dragon! Just drain/dump the poopy water, and you don't have to worry about poop on your floors, blankets, yourself, etc.!

I gotchu

He has his own enclosure, too! But poop really isn't as issue. They telegraph pretty clearly when they're about to poop. They'll move around more frantically before they do, do the classic slight tail lift + butt wiggle, and then decimate everything let it all out. If you're paying attention, you'll usually catch them before they stink up your floors.

Water actually triggers their poop reflex, too! So owners often soak their dragons in the tub to have them poop before letting them roam.

That's what the trees were for! But yeah, someone managed to dodge all that.

If this was a typical thing, I probably would, but I'm not too worried about repeat instances. I also am fortunate to have a crawlspace under my home, so they'd be hitting the bricks & rebar before they get to my windows.

However, with those larger stupid trucks I often see, neither a boulder nor a brick barrier would matter much.

Considering the damage they did to the other car involved (you can see their trunk popped open behind the wannabe monster truck), I'm sure they'll be paying in some way or another. They're certainly not getting away with it without significant consequences!

I just had some grass & a few flowers torn up, so I'm very fortunate. Not looking to weaponize the system against them. Just want the folks who suffered the actual damages to get paid. Hopefully this teaches the distracted driver a valuable lesson!

Bearded dragons absolutely have a knack for stupid reaction faces!

Thank you! We were pretty fortunate this time.

People are allowed to be critical of entertainment, and that includes comedy. In fact, sometimes you should be critical of things that people brand as "comedy".

Sometimes things are problematic, regardless of their intent as "comedy". And that's normal. Comedy often ages very poorly. Remember all those movies that used rape & sexual assault as a punchline? Should we not be critical of blackface because it's supposed to be "comedy"? Should we turn off our brains because "it's just a joke"?

You're allowed to laugh. Others are allowed to be more critical. Both are valid.

Relax.

Your kindness warms my heart. It means a lot to hear it be said. Thank you!

He's a brave boy, and he got to watch the pretty lights of the police cars as they directed traffic, so he was pretty pleased.

He puffed up at all the commotion! Gotta look big and scary at the big noise.

Texting and driving, I think. Please do not check/use your phone while driving!

I believe they ran a stop sign, hit someone else, & proceeded to drive frantically up the curb. I'm very fortunate they stopped short of my home!

There are better ways to do it that don't involve a phone call to the police, I assure you!

Distracted driving & running a stop sign!

Their poop can be pretty nasty, to be sure. Never pooped on his own back directly, but he has done things like walk through it, or fall off his basking platform into it. It's absolutely possible that your dragon fell into it while climbing.

To be fair, if he poops in his enclosure, my dragon will run away from it and frantically claw at the glass (also called glass-surfing) until I clean it up. He HATES having poop in his enclosure!

Same. Invasive species. Ick!

Listen: if the alien can't manage to get out of some curtains, they were not meant for this world.

I'm sure someone will find a way to drive right over / through them.

911 look at this dude 😎

He responded with a confused head tilt and licked a cardboard tube.

I apparently don't speak cat very well, so interpret that how you will.

I try to leave nature in the wild where it belongs. 🙏

You okay? How many fingers am I holding up?

Well

This makes me extra thankful.

If I'm remembering right, wasn't this specifically developed to assist in helping to better identify victims of human trafficking?

Yep. Found it.

https://www.romper.com/p/a-man-made-app-that-shows-women-without-makeup-on-there-is-so-much-to-unpack-here-5480392

It's been used by people for nefarious purposes, regardless of its original intent. Both perspectives are valid.

edit: sexist horseshit is not a valid perspective.

The creator stated their intent, and the author disagreed. Does that opinion make the creator's statement untrue?

It's a weird situation & definitely a slippery slope. Was it his intent? I honestly can't say. I guess it's certainly a possibility.

I don't think this kind of app is harmful in itself. This kind of thing can & will obviously be used/weapon used by stupid shit-heads for their own agenda, but those kind of people will utilize literally anything that exists to justify their shit-head views.

The creator of these comics is a Christian, with the message of them being a Christian message/allegory.

The message here is that if you disconnect yourself from God and try to live independent from God, you lose your purpose and/or are helpless to fulfill your "true purpose" (which, to a Christian, "true purpose" = serving/following God).

That said: I'd strongly suggest that people stop posting these comics and giving this guy attention. They're meant for Christians and are not really relevant to people outside of that.

EDIT: I made a (regrettable) visit to the website to satisfy my curiosity and found the title & description:

Absolute Freedom – God (in control of all things) gives us freedom to choose what to do, but we don't get to choose the outcome.

Make of that what you will.

This will eventually extend to birth control.

Just you wait.

"Girls desire a knight in shining armor to come sweep them off their feet!" — my pastor

For the longest time, I struggled because I was told all my life what a "woman's purpose" was, and my desires never lined up with that. Felt like a freak because I never desired romance, sex, or partnership with a man (or anyone else, for that matter). If that was my purpose, was I supposed to will myself to want that for myself? Was I doomed to be alone forever? Was I wrong to want to pursue adventure and things that I wanted?

If my desire ≠ God's desire (which was apparently union with a man at some point in the future), then my desires were.. wrong. Maybe/probably even evil.

So I fucked up my life trying to follow that and fit into that mold. I did things I never wanted to do because it was the "right thing" to do in the eyes of God.

After I escaped, I never really recovered. But.. I discovered a lot about myself.

I did bearded dragon rescues & fostering, I got into cosplay, learned how to sew stuffed animals, got some mental health care, rekindled my love for nature.. all by myself. I learned to love me and not base my worth on what other folks believe I should do or how I should behave. I don't have a partner who gets to dictate my personality. I got to grow on my own.

I'm still coming to terms with.. a lot of things about myself, but now I'm able to grow freely instead of being confined to such a small pot.

Don't let people define who or what you are, or what your purpose is in life. Only you get to do that. It's both terrifying and freeing, but you can do this.

I adopted a defective lizard from a breeder for a 20$ fee. This particular defect often results in culling the animal, as it is often too expensive and time-consuming to care for. Because of this, not much is known about its care.

I now am one of the most prominent "experts" on caring for this particular subset of creature. Though no one but the most experienced keepers should own one, I am still happy to give information to folks who may have to care for one, either from rescue or purchasing one before knowing exactly what they're getting into.

Aside from being able to give advice on keeping these creatures alive, that's not all the value: the real value is my stupid lizard. I got him literally just a couple of weeks before the pandemic & lockdowns started. He's an absolute angel who has brought me so much joy in my darkest times. He's sweet, gentle, goofy, and is a wonderful companion animal. He now has complete freedom in the front of my home (when he's not in his vivarium) with his own heatlamp, ramp, and a view of the road where he love watching all the cars go by.

I love my stupid lizard. ❤️

Comment stolen from user "copygirl" from blahaj.zone:

Looks like they'll be harvesting your data if you follow anyone from Threads, maybe even injecting ads. Unsure what happens to the data of people that get followed by a Threads user. A large part of the fediverse is here precisely because they want to escape corporate meddling, data-hoarding, advertising and other anti-user malpractices. There's a number of people talking about this, here's a recent post that highlights some of the things from their TOS.

"Are you considering suicide or harming yourself?"

"No."

— adds 40$ to your bill —

"How about now?"

My friend is a technical writer and just lost her job because "chat GPT can do what you do!"

She then informed me that she knew 11 other people who got fired due to the same thing. And now those companies are realizing how badly they fucked up and are frantically trying to rehire.

Men are often socialized to believe that showing emotion is reserved for children, women, and the weak. They are often taught that emotions are in direct opposition to "strength" and "manliness".

Unfortunately, if men show emotion, they are often criticized and made fun of (often by other men), calling their masculinity into question. As if having emotions make you weak or less of a man.

Emotions are not a "weak" trait. Emotions are a human trait.

Men need to work hard to be supportive and accepting of other men showing emotion. De- stigmatize emotional men. Stop showing sensitive men or men who struggle or cry as "weak" or worthy of mockery. This is such an antiquated view and needs to be abolished.

Support your bros. Become comfortable with emotional expression. This will help struggling men everywhere, I guarantee it.

"Helping people is gay"

My kid is in middle school, and the current thing is calling out to "chat" out loud if something interesting happens.

"Chat, is this real?"

"Chat, did you see that?"

"Chat, do you know the answer?"

Etc.

Some kids are already "terminally online".

An old friend of mine eventually revealed himself to be a transphobe. He also revealed that he thought that you could get AIDS from toilet seats. Toted himself as an "enlightened spiritualist and intellectual".

The reality is that transphobes are literally too stupid to reason with.