joannaholman

joannaholman, 6 months ago to random

Ideally public restroom mirrors shouldn’t run windows

#internetofshit

joannaholman, 8 months ago to books

I know I've mentioned this before but worth another one because it's amazing: You can download tens of thousands of academic books on a staggering variety of humanities and social studies topics legally for free at the OAPEN library https://library.oapen.org/

#books

joannaholman, 3 months ago to random

Today I learned the largest technically possible PDF file is 381 km × 381 km which is this big

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF

joannaholman, 2 months ago to Dogs

Dogs aren’t usually allowed in public pools for health reasons but on the last day before they close for the season a pool near me invites all the local dogs for a swim. It’s the happiest thing imaginable

#dogs #dogsofmastodon

A happy looking brown corgi in a green life jacket stands on the edge of a pool
Two large wet black dogs at the edge of a pool
An orange and cream chow chow dog lies in a shallow pool

joannaholman, 4 months ago to random

Happy new revolutions eve!

joannaholman, 13 days ago to random

So weird hearing people still using the phrase “avoid it like the plague” when we’ve conclusively established most people aren’t that committed to avoiding plagues

joannaholman, 5 months ago to random

Getting ads for a startup that's "invented" reusable tissues, charging $35 for 6. Handkerchiefs, they've reinvented handkerchiefs

joannaholman, 7 months ago (edited 7 months ago) to Cats

One way Mastodon is like earlier internets that I most appreciate is there are so many cats and their humans are mostly just sharing the joy of cat rather than trying to make them into influencers/celebrities/brand deal magnets

#cats #catsofmastodon

joannaholman, 7 months ago to books

Didn't intend to go on a Japanese people writing about the significance of mundane work reading binge but ended up reading Kikuko Tsumura's No Such Thing As An Easy Job and Shoji Morimoto's Rental Person Who Does Nothing back to back.

No Such Thing As An Easy Job is a magic realism tinged novel about a burned out women who takes the easiest sounding temp jobs she can find only to have a series of unsettling things keep happening and to keep meeting people wrestling with work and belonging. Rental Person Who Does Nothing is a memoir of what happened to a guy who's boss told him he didn't contribute anything worthwhile who wondered if doing nothing could in fact be useful. He offered online to just be present with people and found himself sitting with people while they studied, accompanying people to turn in their divorce papers, going with people to restaurants they were nervous about going alone to and a myriad of other encounters where his technically doing nothing actually achieved a lot for people.

Both are so interesting for the way they explore from different but complimentary angles the ways that our societies often don't really have a clear sense of what makes for meaningful contributions, how all work paid or otherwise is complex and that there's ways of being in the world that don't have to be driven by money and status. I recommend them both.

#books #bookstodon #japan

joannaholman, 4 months ago to books

If you're thinking about New Year's Resolutions, I'd encourage adding read books from more countries to yours. It's the best non-fitness resolution I've ever done.

I realized I was reading a lot of fairly similar books that were almost entirely from Australia, UK or America so I set out to expand my horizons. This year my reading included Singaporean short stories about cats, a Danish guide to happiness, Liberian magic realism, Trinidadian YA, nature writing from the Faeroe Islands, Ukrainian poetry, South African romance and more. I also added books from a few not quite countries like a memoir about Bougainville's journey to become a country and a collection of essays from scientists working in Antarctica.

It's been magic to see the world from so many different angles and to spend time discovering places I'll mostly never get to visit in person. The world seems bigger and more interesting now. It's a goal I plan to keep going in 2024 with books from even more countries.

#books #bookstodon #newyearsresolutions

joannaholman, 5 months ago to random

It appears the Melbourne Central decorating people have been taking interesting substances again….

joannaholman, 9 months ago to random

I’m….not sure that feels comforting….

joannaholman, 7 months ago to photography

Spring comes to central Melbourne

#photography #melbourne

People in two Chinese lion costumes dance in front of a dumping restaurant. A person in an orange robe is waiving a rattan fan in front of them
A hipster style cafe counter with a large metal espresso machine and a red phone. The menus are made from recycled childrens books. There’s a layer of faded posters to one side
Close up of white blooms in front of the side wall of a church building

joannaholman, 4 months ago to random

Today I learned hydrogen fires are invisible and that sometimes people investigate where one is suspected to be by walking around with a flammable broom in front of them https://spinoff.nasa.gov/spinoff1997/ps1.html

joannaholman, 9 months ago to random

I hate how much modern life includes wasting time evaluating middleman companies between you and the service you want to use. Last night I needed to make a hotel booking and ended up in a daze trying to compare the hotel’s website, booking platforms and sites that compare booking platforms. I think I even saw a site comparing the comparison platforms. Every site has slightly different rates, offers and booking terms but ultimately all are for the same standard hotel room.

Same problem getting a phone plan or electricity company. My phone is still largely going through the same phone towers and my electricity from the same power plant even if I pick plans offered by an airline or supermarket for some reason. I wonder how much of what I spend each year goes in profit to middleman companies like these?

joannaholman, 8 months ago to random

Kinda sad to see that the bee people at the Melbourne show have partially fixed their sign because this from last year was once of my favourite ever pieces of songwriting chaos

joannaholman, 3 months ago to random

I love the idea of the Loose Ends charity. If a loved one passes away leaving a craft project incomplete or develops a disability that would make it too difficult to work on, their volunteers will finish it and return it to the family https://www.looseendsproject.org

joannaholman, 5 months ago to random

A lot sucks in the world but tree kangaroos exist and that’s quite nice

joannaholman, 1 month ago to Cats

We are trying to get Winston used to dressing like a proper Melbournian

#cats #catsofmastodon

joannaholman, 7 months ago to random

What an under-appreciated privilege we Australians have that our question when picking where to vote tomorrow can be which or the half dozen nearby polling places will be selling the best food, not where am I least at risk of violent intimidation or queuing for 6 hours only to have my right to vote denied.

joannaholman, 7 months ago to random

May you live life with the self confidence of Qantas believing people will want to buy wine and financial services from them when they’re not even good at being an airline

joannaholman, 7 months ago to random

I suspect the hype around big tours like Taylor Swift has made people believe great live pop music is inaccessible and unaffordable. In reality there’s so much great live music in Australia if you look for events that aren’t in stadiums. I recently booked tickets for Australian artists Ashwarya and Jude York. Both are incredible performers with the potential to be big stars. Neither ticket was over $30.

joannaholman, 4 months ago to random

At a wildlife park that has cassowary encounters as an upgrade option. This seems inadvisable. I’ll pass, I do not wish to encounter the last survivor of the dinosaurs

joannaholman, 1 month ago to random

Kinda a bummer when companies post fake products for April fools day that would be both plausible and great