Marc Criley

Dragon Gems (Winter 2024 Edition) Short tales to get you through the long winter months

Heh, I actually sold a short story along these lines a couple years ago...written *before* ChatGPT and its ilk.

Simulacrums of lost ones featuring "true" deeply sourced AIs vs newer cheap surface level ones, and the caring of those AIs as the world leaves them behind.

"Memento Amicum"

are we still on about em dashes and ai. imo human writers should just use the em dashes even harder. we should be out here pummeling out those em dashes like we're emily dickinson

There has never been a President that has worked as hard as me! My hours are the longest, and my results are among the best. I’ve stopped Eight Wars, saving many millions of lives in the process, created the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country, brought Business back into the United States at levels never seen before, rebuilt our Military, created the Largest Tax Cuts and Regulation Cuts, EVER, closed our open and very dangerous Southern Border, when previous Administrations were unable to do so, and created an “aura” around the United States of America that has led every Country in the World to respect us more than ever before. In addition to all of that, I go out of my way to do long, thorough, and very boring Medical Examinations at the Great Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, seen and supervised by top doctors, all of whom have given me PERFECT Marks — Some have even said they have never seen such Strong Results. I do these Tests because I owe it to our Country. In addition to the Medical, I have done something that no other President has done, on three separate occasions, the last one being recently, by taking what is known as a Cognitive Examination, something which few people would be able to do very well, including those working at The New York Times, and I ACED all three of them in front of large numbers of doctors and experts, most of whom I do not know. I have been told that few people have been able to “ace” this Examination and, in fact,

most do very poorly, which is why many other Presidents have decided not to take it at all. Despite all of this, the time and work involved, The New York Times, and some others, like to pretend that I am “slowing up,” am maybe not as sharp as I once was, or am in poor physical health, knowing that it is not true, and knowing that I work very hard, probably harder than I have ever worked before. I will know when I am “slowing up,” but it’s not now! After all of the work I have done with Medical Exams, Cognitive Exams, and everything else, I actually believe it’s seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean “THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.” They are true Enemies of the People, and we should do something about it. They have inaccurately reported on all of my Election Results and, in fact, were forced to apologize on much of what they wrote. The best thing that could happen to this Country would be if The New York Times would cease publication because they are a horrible, biased, and untruthful “source” of information. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

Every part of this is bonkers. The intro is bonkers. The transition to his health is bonkers. The mention that other presidents didn't need cognitive exams is bonkers. The claim that this screening test is somehow hard is bonkers. The idea that criticism of him is treason is bonkers. All of it.

Journey to the egg: How sperm navigate the path to fertilization COMIC: Male cells must survive twisty passages, strong currents and immune attacks; millions enter, but only one can finish

Folks, if you read one comic today, I hope it's this story about sperm as portrayed by your D&D party.

Written by Amber Dance and edited by @eva-emerson.bsky.social

I have more respect for the Iraqi journalist who threw a shoe at George W Bush than any of the cowards in the current White House press pool.

With most of America about to get huge increases in health insurance costs as the ACA subsidies expire, maybe it’s time to start raising the subject of Medicare For All again, because this horrific “market-oriented” system is unsustainable if the US wants to continue as a civilized country.

A wavy shaped mug glazed in blue with black ringed planets.

The same mug shown from the other side. The glaze has spots on it.

Ringed planet mug. In my etsy shop. Surly.etsy.com. Planet illustrations by me.

immigrants score the lowest on tests, but they also take all our jobs, while at the same time taking all the welfare and buying all the homes

I hear...otters.

I just saw that Ireland made its basic income for artists permanent and I have never been so jealous.

What must it be like to live in a country that actually values the arts?

I'm happy for all Irish artists and hope maybe this kind of thing will expand elsewhere.

1000000%

The Pit: A Novelette (Shacklebound Books) Amazon.com: The Pit: A Novelette (Shacklebound Books) eBook : Fomley, Eric: Kindle Store

www.amazon.com/dp/B0FSSFJP7T

Archibald: Trump’s environmental triple whammy threatens lifeblood of Alabama Are we parasites or stewards of this place?

I find myself thinking of water often.

I think the cognitive tests are getting a wee bit too lenient...

ChatGPT cuts the crusts off my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I'm a big business boy.

When you let the 7yo decorate the Christmas cookies

You will be visited by three spirits.

PSA: if anyone in your life is trying to dissuade you from getting the shingles shot, you should probably assume that person hates you, and wants you to suffer. There is literally no other explanation.

Shingles hurts worse than childbirth. Worse than knee surgery. Worst pain of my life.

I had a joke about Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego, but I didn't want to get flamed.

elf buzzball, maple syrup sundae flavor

whoever did this is evil

i dont understand why so many of these guys wanna live forever when it's clear they don't actually enjoy being alive

Letter to a Mess Letter to a Mess

Women are chaos, and I love every minute of it.

The rest of the country has to bail out Trump voters again after he crushed them with his policies. bsky.app/profile/acyn...

Just about done expanding a 100 word drabble into a 600 word flash.

Yeah, it's kind of a nice break not having to constantly check the word count. Add a sentence! Delete a sentence! Get rid of some words! Add a clause! Whatever! Complete literary anarchy!

A box of 10 Flickering Lights with really bad kerning.

it's that fuckering time of year again, so time to put up the old fuckering lights

"Just get on board the 'FUCK AI' train."

Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah

Snags, Stars, and Earthshine - From Bill (ridingrobots.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2rofg4d

“That felt frog wearing a top hat is to celebrate the Lord” is one of those phrases that lives on repeat in my head.