davoloid

@davoloid@qoto.org

Just another worried little citizen of this modern-day Pompeii. Techie at UCL, moving towards Process Automation with MS Power Platform. Scatterbrain, interested in education, languages, Space and lots of disparate things. sorry.
Keeping my space toots at @astrodad as an experiment in self-moderation :)

*Background banner is a photo Yorkshire flag in blue and white, in front of a classic bell tent, in a field of similar tents at a festival.

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pluralistic, to random
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

In A City On Mars, biologist and cartoonist @ZachWeinersmith set out to investigate the governance challenges of the impending space settlements they were told were just over the horizon. Instead, they discovered that humans aren't going to be settling space for a very long time, and so they wrote a book about that instead:

https://www.acityonmars.com/

1/

davoloid,

@pluralistic @ZachWeinersmith Lots of space anthropologists, architects and scientists also fully cognizant of this fact, despite the spacebros insistance that it's round the corner.

There's lots of interesting work towards that goal, and lots of immediate steps to be taken in various fields.

pluralistic, to random
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

Anyone who says "If you're not paying for the product, you're the product" has been suckered in by Big Tech, whose cargo-cult version of markets and the discipline they impose on companies.

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/22/kargo-kult-kaptialism/#dont-buy-it

1/

davoloid,

@pluralistic I've been seeing many responses to this in my feed and must admit I was like "Wait, what?" with your opening statement. That's definitely had its day as a useful maxim.

davoloid, to twitter

Now that has effectively destroyed itself as a platform for sharing news, are there any more rumblings about and similar institutions sorting out their own presence?

Daojoan, to random
@Daojoan@mastodon.social avatar

The next time, the so-called tech leaders throw up their hands, asking, "What more could we have done?" I'll point to bullshit like this - where inclusion takes a backseat, and even the fucking girls' club is run by the boys' club.

To Blackbird let me just say this: the standard you walk past is the standard you accept.

When you read this investor memo, were you proud of where your money is going?

https://joanwestenberg.com/blog/dear-blackbird-women-in-tech-are-not-corporate-girlies

davoloid,

@Daojoan I think the heartwarming story of how they started was a giveaway. Though I think we can all identify with the trauma of having to throw your $20k life savings away at age 20.

image/png

DrALJONES, to Palestine
@DrALJONES@mastodon.social avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    davoloid,

    @DrALJONES Forensic Architecture have a number of investigations and reconstructions about atrocities, extrajudicial killings and evictions over the decades. (As well as incidents in other parts of the world)
    Here's an example which describes a recent incident in Jerusalem, but stretches back to evictions from Haifa in 1948. whttps://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/sheikh-jarrah

    Daojoan, to random
    @Daojoan@mastodon.social avatar

    Let’s start with something controversial: Capitalism is not an economic system. It is a philosophical and ideological force that shapes our lives, environment, and perception of humanity.

    https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/how-to-quit-capitalism-5044a7290684?sk=3ed3d3172c52ea41b4506e875480c6fb

    davoloid,

    @Daojoan By sheer coincidence, I was listening to this radio show (available as a podcast) yesterday on Veblen's "Theory of the leisure class". One of the main things I took from that is that Economics positions itself as a universal scientific explanation of a system. A physical model like in Chemistry or Biology which justifies inequality.
    https://open.spotify.com/episode/1t5Mw9m9zHRdDMiu2lKdH5?si=157anBwtTTGV1-UateWCag

    PatrickoftheG, to random
    @PatrickoftheG@mastodon.social avatar

    The double standard on this.

    Imagine the screams of bloody murder if America were held accountable for its war crimes because "democracy"?

    Do you have any idea how many people Kissinger killed? Remember 9/11. No, not the NYC one but the one America did to Chile? Is the world allowed to carpet bomb NYC?

    Ditto imagine if every time the IDF killed the innocent, if that justified vengeance against Israeli citizens because democracy? Evil.

    Madness.

    Credit to @DrALJONES

    https://www.juancole.com/2024/02/innocent-civilians-palestinians.html

    davoloid,

    @Benaresh @DrALJONES Aah, I know that term via MalcomX but have never heard of Fanon, will have to read more, he seems to have been hugely influential in such a short space of time.

    davoloid, to random

    Real story here is that a passenger got paranoid and caused himself and all his fellow passengers unnecessary delay. With knock on effects, no doubt.
    Good work fella!
    https://www.unilad.com/news/us-news/virgin-atlantic-flight-canceled-missing-bolts-wing-777642-20240123

    danfuzz, to random

    Different conservative groups "all disagree about who should be in charge, but they all agree that some people are ordained to rule, and that any 'artificial' attempt to overturn the 'natural' order throws society into chaos." — @pluralistic

    (FWIW, I got my go-to definition of conservatism from an essay by Phil Agre: "Conservatism is the domination of society by an aristocracy.")

    https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/27/for-the-little-people/

    davoloid,

    @danfuzz @pluralistic The reason we have these "unnatural" mechanisms to define who is in power (which we loosely call "Democracy" is because of millennia of these types of people imposing that "natural order" and getting others to kill each other when they couldn't decide who was right.

    robb, (edited ) to random
    @robb@social.lol avatar

    ⭐ Heat Death of the Internet https://www.takahe.org.nz/heat-death-of-the-internet/

    "The photos on the page look weird. The hands are disfigured. There is no image credit."

    I love this and hate this in equal measure.

    📌 https://rknight.me/links/heat-death-of-the-internet/

    davoloid,

    @robb Even the URL is getting in on the act!

    OrbitalGardens, to random
    @OrbitalGardens@spacey.space avatar

    Sometimes historical research is annoying. I found a reference to experiments on tomato seeds that had been stored on the Mir space station for 6 years.

    I have found the results of those experiments. I have found out which spacecraft took them to Mir, and which one brought them home.

    I have found out that of the "agricultural seeds" involved, only the wheat and tomato survived the experience.

    But can I find out which other seeds they sent? No, I cannot. 🤯

    davoloid,

    @OrbitalGardens More importantly, was that research published?

    davoloid, to random

    Sometimes you come across an article or documentary that you were not expecting to hook you in, that manages to combine a whole bunch of interesting issues in one amazing narrative.
    This, from @ryanhoulihan is one of those, and covers AI, deep fakes, the music industry, culture and Britney Spears.

    If you remember the Black Mirror / Miley Cyrus episode from a few years back, strap in, this is an even wilder ride.
    https://mastodon.social/@ryanhoulihan/110135460306229895

    davoloid, to random

    A few weeks back, Computer Science hosted @pluralistic who talked about - how big corporate tech use bait & switch techniques wrt our personal data and usage of their platforms. A panel discussion followed the talk, on regulation and combatting such trends.
    Now (unless you have adblocker) on YouTube:
    https://youtu.be/Yn47ptAtVH0

    davidallengreen, to random
    @davidallengreen@mastodon.green avatar

    Why the inquiry announced into potential war crimes is interesting – very interesting.

    Me back on 15th December 2022.

    https://emptycity.substack.com/p/why-the-inquiry-announced-today-into

    Suggest you (re-)read this for background, for something coming up soon.

    davoloid,

    @davidallengreen Are we going back to this period?
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/aug/01/campaigners-mod-court-afghanistan

    davoloid, to Argentina

    One thing I really miss about is Alfajores and Empanadas. In BA there would be shops with rows and rows of these, all different varieties, but here they're usually presented as greasy tiny dumplings. Found Chango just off Bond Street in , and these are really nice.
    Any Porteños need to pay attention - you would clear up.
    https://maps.app.goo.gl/YWkpAhomWYmpe56G9

    Typical shelf from an empanada shop in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    davoloid, to random

    Here's @pluralistic explaining Word of the Year "enshittification" at UCL last year. With a panel chaired by @leotanczt.
    Man this feels like a long time ago!
    https://youtu.be/Yn47ptAtVH0?si=sCQpuvthAJ_6MtGL

    clacke, to random

    Is there such a thing as a soup pot with a cast-iron bottom?

    I don't want to buy non-stick pots and inevitably get micro teflon in my food as it deteriorates, and I really like how my cast-iron frying pan works.

    I suppose there are full cast-iron pots, but those would be super heavy and also easy to burn yourself on.

    I suppose it's not possible to make something like this without getting a seam that would inevitably leak?

    davoloid,

    @feld @RandomDamage @clacke Valid point, hadn't considered that. There are apparently some tests you can do. https://wilmax.com/pages/how-can-you-tell-if-stainless-steel-is-good-quality-try-this-test

    davoloid,

    @RandomDamage @clacke Yep, I've got a set with thick bottoms, been using them for 22 years and still come up brilliant when cleaned. Brabantia don't seem to do those any more but there are others. They weren't even that expensive at the time.

    LouisIngenthron, to random
    @LouisIngenthron@qoto.org avatar

    Why is it that kids so often like bread with the crust cut off while adults so often love the crust to the point where we buy shit like french bread?

    davoloid,

    @LouisIngenthron Show me the child who enjoys a ciabbata and I'll show you a future hipster artisan baker.

    Eka_FOOF_A, (edited ) to baltimore
    @Eka_FOOF_A@spacey.space avatar

    The main center spans of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in has collapsed. A large ship hit one of the main bridge supports, and all of the center spans fell.

    Video: https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/baltimore-bridge-collapse-03-26-24-intl-hnk

    https://www.npr.org/2024/03/26/1240857704/francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse-baltimore

    davoloid,

    @Eka_FOOF_A Bad luck or a symptom of the national crisis in infrastructure maintenance?

    fulelo, to random
    @fulelo@journa.host avatar

    #BBCNews - #Moscow #crocus attack: Central Asian migrants hit by backlash in Russia
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68665896

    davoloid,

    @fulelo This is the kind of thing that will push these countries further away from Moscow's sphere of influence.

    rasterweb, to Milwaukee
    @rasterweb@mastodon.social avatar

    Visit Milwaukee has a new logo so I wrote about it...

    ➡️ https://rasterweb.net/raster/2024/04/18/visit-milwaukee-logo/

    #mke #milwaukee #logo #design

    davoloid,

    @rasterweb I used to really enjoy the logo reviews at Under Consideration, but sadly they're now subscriber only. Amazing how much subtle changes can refresh a brand... or send it towards indistinguishability.

    jon, to random
    @jon@gruene.social avatar

    This #CrossBorderRail line is really easy to re-activate. Most of the track is active, you only really need to sort out this bridge at the edge of Coevorden
    https://mastodon.online/@bahnoev/112325989155560007

    davoloid,

    @jon That appears to be a swing bridge:
    https://maps.app.goo.gl/dQeFp1qFBh6KXwnb6

    davoloid, to random

    @lowqualityfacts Before Netflix and fast broadband, the only way you could watch movies online was via Terminal. Someone has recreated that experience for posterity.
    https://ascii.theater/

    Sample from Ascii Theatre showing several scenes from movies rendered in ASCII, in a 69x420 (heh) mac SSH terminal. We can see scenes from The Shining, Pulp Fiction, Shrek and the 20th Century Fox ident.

    davoloid,

    @freemo @lowqualityfacts I guess because VT100 didn't support stereo.

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