Have Decided To Sell Out My Dreams!

i want a gabriel marketable plushie so i can throw him at a wall

fashionable

my man is so immature every time we get into an argument he turns into water and goes down the drain

I hate correcting customers who call me ma'am and miss and honey over the phone, because only about 30 percent of the time do they apologize and start calling me sir, while 70 percent of the time they double down assuming I was trans and continue misgendering me on purpose to show how little respect they have for me as a human being. "Thank you, MISS."

I'm a cis man, for the record.

Whenever I correct someone and they keep it up, I simply refuse service. "Oh, I'm sorry, we're completeley booked up the day you wanted. Yeah, no, we're booked up on your backup dates too. Looks like our next opening isn't until, hmm, mid-November. Oh, but it doesn't have enough beds for your party. We could probably fit you in around New Years, but you'd have to change rooms every day. You might wanna try [more expensive motel] a few blocks north of us, they might have vacancies. Have a good day."

I've been able to dodge what few complaints we've gotten so far because they all tell my boss that they just spoke to a very nasty woman, and she has no idea who they're talking about. "You must have dialed the wrong number, because I'm the only woman here, and I didn't talk to you." That PISSES THEM OFF, and she doesn't understand why they respond with "well we've been staying there for years, but we're never coming back." They think she's protecting me, an afab trans man, and are disgusted by it, but from her perspective they're just crazy people who are complaining about made up bullshit; it doesn't even cross her mind that they're talking about me. Why would it?

My boss is like 70 or 75, and was a Republican until 2016. It's never come up in conversation, but something tells me she wouldn't exactly be a trans ally. I'm in a weird position here, and it's hilarious.

the sky

by jukkarisikko

Algae Street Lamps?

Fellow solarpunk genre fans, have you ever seen the algae-powered lamps? They were a popular topic back in 2013 when a man named Pierre Calleja suggested using them.

During the day, the algae uses C02 and sunlight to create energy through photosynthesis, and at night the lamp uses that stored energy to light the area.

" Basically, an algae lamp can remove as much CO2 in one year as a tree would in its lifetime." — Smithsonian Magazine

A schematic showing the design of an algae street light.    image by Peter Horvath via designboom

Using the natural energy reserves of algae may actually limit it's lifespan, so other companies are now looking towards bioluminescent algae. These algae glow naturally, so there is no need to syphon energy from them.

As of right now, those companies are still working on ways to make the glow brighter, but if it works, their blue lights could give a power-free way to light a street while the algae is also munching on C02.

Realistically, there are problems with algae lamps, such as:

How would it work in freezing climates?

How often the glass will need cleaning (though self-cleaning glass cold be an option)?

Would it put off enough light to be comparable to actual street lights?

For a fictional Solarpunk story, however, I think someone could easily make this work.