Network Effect by Martha Wells, read by Kevin R Free.
It's a great book, and the reading/delivery is really entertaining. I highly recommend it if you're a fan of science fiction!
Short answer: racism. Long answer, racism and colonialism.
Yes, it's definitely a problem. Folks are working on it. Lots of great new authors out there to read if you look hard enough. Ask your local librarian or bookseller for a hand finding stuff, they are great at this sort of thing. When I was looking for stuff for my kid a local bookstore turned me on to Rick Riordan Presents. The author of the Percy Jackson series made a publishing imprint that solely focuses on underrepresented mythologies and so far everything I've read from it has been great.
If you want something a bit more adult, Nnedi Okorafor has some really fantastic adult and YA novels that are based around Nigerian mythologies.
There's lots more out there, this is just what's at the top of my brain. I'll try to edit if I remember any other authors or series. I've been on more of a sci-fi kick lately so that's what's in my brain right now (ps go read Murderbot Diaries if you haven't already).
What you are describing is not osmosis, it is capillary action. Capillary action is caused by the forces between the water molecules and the molecules of the tube overcoming the force of gravity. You can read more here: https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry)/Physical_Properties_of_Matter/States_of_Matter/Properties_of_Liquids/Capillary_Action
Briefly, the water molecules are attracted to the molecules of the tube by adhesive force. The liquid molecules are also attracted to each other by cohesive force. The interplay of these forces causes capillary action.
However, it seems that tree sap moves by more than just capillary action. If you scroll down part way in this book they talk about it a bit: https://pressbooks.online.ucf.edu/phy2053bc/chapter/cohesion-and-adhesion-in-liquids-surface-tension-and-capillary-action/
Kids love this shit as long as you keep it at the ELI5 level and stop when they are done and lose interest. My kid will throw around words like "microorganism" and "bioaccumulation" because I actually explain biology concepts when he asks. The other day he had a question about atmospheric composition and he was absorbed for about 5-10 minutes, complete with looking at molecular diagrams, and then he was done and went off to make his Lego people fight each other with flamethrowers.
If you have knowledge, share it with kids and let them see you enjoying science. They absorb more than you might think.
Yeah this is what happens with our kid (who, admittedly, has ADHD so maybe he's a bit unusual). The first day or week after a cool experience he's pretty meh about it and won't volunteer much in the way of thoughts or feelings and then suddenly he'll realize it was real again and all of a sudden he won't shut up about how cool it was! Then eventually he settles down into a steady pattern of "hey remember when we did X thing wasn't that so cool we should do it again" which is my favorite phase because that's how I know what he really likes that stuck with him. : )
Nazis get worse if you don't actively oppose them. That can look like punching them, but it can also look like actively ostracizing them by taking away their jobs, denying them participation in community events, or just straight up shaming them in public.
Pacifism only works if the other side isn't willing to kill you. These jackasses fantasize about genociding people as a hobby, so if you think pacifism is going to work for you then go right ahead but I'll be over here working on my defensive skills.
In many situations nazi-punching is not your best tactical decision, especially in the presence of cops. Using your words to hurt the poor Nazi snowflakes feelings works just as well and has the added benefit of potentially provoking them into getting themselves arrested if there are cops watching.
Found safe and alive! I wish they'd put that in the title of the article but of course they want you to click on it.
Pretty sure the shelter paid us to take our current cat lol. Or at least all the chipping and medical fees were waived. She'd been there for months and months and had already had one failed adoption.
She's ornery as hell and never wants us to pet her but somehow mysteriously happens to be in the same room as us all the time. And she sleeps on us at night. Deep down it's clear she loves us in her own cat way. 🥲
Also despite her...odd... temperament she is a beautiful cat! No clue why anyone would pay for an expensive breed when there are so many cuties like ours just wasting away in shelters.
They don't. My local shop has a waiting room with coffee, sodas, Wi-Fi, and seating/desks. Plenty of people (myself included) bring their work with them to the shop while their car is fixed. Also I've definitely seen people driving around loaner vehicles from dealerships before which is kinda a solution?
But you're right that it sucks that our society has designed places where it's impossible to get around without a car. My car shop is a short bus ride from my house or a slightly longer walk. If I take my car to the dealership, which is farther away, home is a bike ride away or I can go to the shops nearby. I'd guess this is the case in most denser urban areas except maybe some US cities which are just terribly laid out.
I take issue with the first panel.
To me, patriotism is "I'm going to work on my house because I love the people who live in it and I want them all to have the best house."
If you start from the assumption that your country is the "best" that's nationalism and straying too close to the roots of xenophobia.
Cisgender woman here, I just wanted to add that if my husband were to come out as trans, that would not be a tragedy or something I wished he'd gotten figured out sooner for my sake. In this hypothetical scenario, if it somehow managed to make us incompatible as married partners we'd deal with it but people have gotten divorced for much worse reasons before. The worst part for me would be worrying if he'd been miserable during our marriage, because I love him and would hate for that to be his experience of our time together.
It's really hard to imagine because AFAIK we're both cis but personally I'd probably prefer to stay married to my spouse even if he changed his gender identity. I mean he's still the same person I married and we still love the same things and have a wonderful life and child together. I dunno, maybe it wouldn't work out in the end but I sure as hell wouldn't be mad at him for something he couldn't change.
Anyways, my point is you don't have to assume that your relationships with cis people will all get blown up if you do happen to be trans. I appreciate the urge to have your ducks all in a row before embarking on significant life events but the truth is that marriage and adulthood is super messy anyways. If you marry someone and have a kid with them the odds are good you will have all sorts of chaotic events to deal with- physical illnesses, mental illnesses, kid stress or illness, weight gain or loss, money trouble, job changes, changes in personality with age, the list goes on and on. The trick to being happily married is rolling with the changes, working hard at your partnership, and being committed to your partner, not having it all perfectly lined up at the start.
Please share the podcast name! That sounds like something I'd enjoy.