@moz@fosstodon.org
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

moz

@moz@fosstodon.org

A lifelong resident of Yaramulla near Sydney, rides weird bikes and codes when bored. Entertains chickens for fun.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

If you live in the UK or USA, you need to understand one thing about the coming election:

You need to vote defensively.

Neither of the main parties are appealing. But if you don't vote for the lesser evil you may end up helping a totalitarian horror get elected.

Hold your nose and goddamn vote, dammit. THEN go on protests. Because if you don't vote for the lesser evil, the victor will welcome your protests with bullets.

The prize for political purity this time round is a shallow grave.

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@sarajw @project1enigma @larsmb @cstross Australia has no threshold and manages to survive having complete lunatics in the Senate (Fraser Anning!) as well as statistical flukes (Ricky Muir).

One, or even 1%, of weird outliers is IMO a good thing. It lets new parties get established and gives cranks something to focus on. Instead of persuading them to try entryist stuff on the only two parties who have any chance of governing.

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@sarajw @project1enigma @larsmb @cstross we have preferential voting with multimember electorates in the senate. And savings provisions plus "above the line voting". Beyond that it varies in the fine print.

We also have compulsory voting on the same basis that we have compulsory taxation. Oh, and democracy sausages because they're fun

House elections normally it's 5-10 candidates per seat but for the senate, especially federal sente it can be 200. "tablecloth ballot" is the magic keyword there

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@sarajw @project1enigma @larsmb @cstross low interest voters can generally vote "above the line" (for parties rather than candidates) and sometimes let the party of their choice control the whole deal "just vote 1".

Parties have "how to vote" cards and there's a government department that runs elections, signs up voters and advertises the necessary.

It works at multiple levels, from "I hate voting here's a picture of genitals" through to carefully researching then numbering all 200 boxes.

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@project1enigma @sarajw @larsmb @cstross as a politics geek I love stuff like that.

As someone who has handed out "how to vote" cards at Australian elections and also scrutineered at them, low interest voters often struggle. The "just vote 1" idea really helps them.

Non-english speakers, especially from less democratic countries, also struggle.

I still think more people should be alllowed to vote and voting system design should favour accurate expression of voter preferences over simplicity

sundogplanets, to random
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social avatar

I am talking o a reporter about this in a couple hours: https://regina.ctvnews.ca/from-outer-space-sask-farmers-baffled-after-discovering-strange-wreckage-in-field-1.6880353

This is about an hour away from my farm, so this'll be a fun conversation, and yet another great opportunity to tell a lot of people about what a huge problem we have with unregulated commercialization of orbit. (Also I just redid my slides for my public talk next week, this is going in!)

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@sundogplanets "Shire of Esperance did fine NASA $400 for littering" so it can be done!

https://www.spaceconnectonline.com.au/r-d/3536-remembering-nasa-s-400-fine-for-littering-australia-s-outback

mike, to random
@mike@fosstodon.org avatar

I've been using DuckDuckGo as my main search engine for a while now. Lately, DDG seems to "correct" my searches. A LOT. I don't know if it's just me or if it's a universal thing, but when I type in a search sometimes not only the results aren't what I was looking for, but I see the query itself has been changed to something I didn't actually search for. It's INCREDIBLY frustrating. I just might have to find a new search engine if this keeps up.

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@mike double quotes still fix most of it for me.

Welington -> Wellington, capital on Aotearoa

"Welington" -> the english footballer

kev, to random
@kev@fosstodon.org avatar

It never ceases to amaze me when I go to the stable and find fresh eggs in there. I don’t know why, I just think it’s incredibly cool that these little animals can produce an egg, every day.

Also found 2 had been snuck into the pack of bedding straw. 🥚🐓🥚🐓

image/jpeg

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@kev Be I think you should be grateful you don't have "the good laying box" and "the rest are awful and we refuse to use them" like many of us. 10 eggs in one box, a queue and much loud argument, then one egg laid in a completely random place by a hen who can't wait.

katfeete, to random
@katfeete@wandering.shop avatar

On a comment in a @cstross thread earlier today re: evidence of agricultural collapse, I said we were already in agricultural collapse, and someone (foolishly) asked me to expand on that… it got long and ranty so I’m pulling it out and giving it its own thread.

Caveats: I am not an expert, just a farmer. I’m from the US so this will be US centric. We have a dairy, so dairy and animal ag may make a disproportionate appearance.

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@katfeete @cstross don't forget predictable weather. "efficient" farmers rely on 6-12 month weather forecasts when planting, and dropping the reliability of those means the wrong thing gets planted at the wrong time so you get reduced yield (can be zero).

There are also "market forecasts", where farmers guess prices but often also pre-sell crops. A presold crop that doesn't exist due to the aforementioned bad weather forecast costs the farmer a lot of money (see: Gamestop)

rebeccawatson, to random
@rebeccawatson@mstdn.social avatar

men are such fucking spineless dweebs they took a meme about how women fear for their very lives around strange men and compared it to men thinking women don’t understand their fee-fees

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@rebeccawatson belittling men who show feelings doesn't seem like an effective way to get what you say you want.

DenisCOVIDinfoguy, to auscovid19
@DenisCOVIDinfoguy@aus.social avatar

Chief medical officer Prof Paul Kelly worried about aged care COVID vaccination rates. By Josh Butler

@auscovid19

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2024/may/27/australia-news-live-qatar-flight-turbulence-doha-singapore-dublin-png-landslide-anthony-albanese-peter-dutton-labor-liberal-coalition-icc-asbestos-milperra

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy @auscovid19 as well as aged care, the decision that the general population only need a booster every 12 months seems bizarre to me.

jwz, to random
@jwz@mastodon.social avatar

Is there any recourse -- besides bolt cutters -- to these scooter companies coming by in their truck and locking their commercial product to every slot in every bike rack so that nobody with a bike can use the rack at all?

Is there anyone at the city who will do something about these assholes?

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@jwz complain to the city and to nearby businesses as well as the scooter company. It's an annoying use of time but necessary if you want a systematic solution.

The cheap easy option is buy the cheapest superglue you can and use it to fix the locks on the scooters. Eventually even VC-funded arseholes will get sick of removing superglue with acetone. Quick set epoxy can't be removed but is more expensive and more annoying to use.

ai6yr, (edited ) to cycling
@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

Achievement unlocked. Went to the farmer's market on a combo of bus and bike. Learned many lessons...

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@ai6yr my profile pic gives an idea of why I would struggle with a no bikes sign if they didn't have shopping carts available. Albeit I don't usually take the trailer and chicken laying box with me.

Luckily the market I go to is happy for me to wheel the bike through and fill it up :)

kcarruthers, (edited ) to random
@kcarruthers@mastodon.social avatar

Probably the best and right commentary on the whole man vs bear thing right now.

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@kcarruthers Might be worth asking how we've built a society where many men would also choose the bear, why that question isn't asked and why it's still acceptable to shame men who do choose the bear.

26pglt, to actuallyautistic
@26pglt@mastodon.au avatar

This account of a teenager & his family is heartbreaking 💔.

Families raising kids who have violent meltdowns struggle to find support. Kids like this are acutely vulnerable to the influence of anyone who is kind to them & any group in which they find acceptance. For those of us who experience meltdowns, learning to understand & manage our overwhelm & the eruptions it leads to is a lifelong journey. For most of us it’s full of failure & shame. Where & how can we find acceptance & love? How can we learn to be gentle with ourselves?

I think many folk, especially those of us who grew up undiagnosed & unsupported then raised similarly undx, distressed, overwhelmed & volatile autistic kids while unable to find help, would shudder with recognition at elements of this tragic story.

My heart goes out to this family ❤️‍🩹 @actuallyautistic

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-29/parents-of-teenager-who-stabbed-bishop-give-first-interview/103767910?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@26pglt @actuallyautistic don't forget the multigeneration version. An undiagnosed kid brought up by an undiagnosed parent who for related reasons made a poor choice of spouse. I see too many abuser+autistic marriages to think it's accidental. But it's hell on wheels for the kid(s) even if they're NT.

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@janisf @26pglt @actuallyautistic I am in the position of suspecting things but having parents who are extremely opposed to anything that might suggest they're defective or broken in any way. One of the fun things they passed down to me... in the "had it beaten into me" sense that was so popular in the 1970's.

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@janisf @26pglt @actuallyautistic it can also be backstory - I've been diagnosed as definitely not having ADHD (twice! By GPs) and I suspect my medical record still has "drug seeker" on it in big friendly letters.

There's a big gap between knowing there's something wrong and being confident (or even willing to accept) that another round of trauma at the hands of the medical system might help.

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@janisf @26pglt @actuallyautistic yeah, I had an awesome GP for a while but we moved apart. Currently I go to one of those GP factory places where even getting blood tests interpreted is a challenge (they're great at "GP appointment to get blood test + GP appointment for result + GP appointment for B12 shot" but that's about their limit. OTOH they're one of the few to still require masking (I suspect their staff don't like always having covid)

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@janisf @26pglt @actuallyautistic the GI is an ongoing process because just as there aren't many ASD-friendly therapists, there's almost no ASD-friendly GPOs or GI specialists. So I get told "you're not reporting symptoms I recogise in a way I'm comfortable hearing so I can't help you".

JamesGleick, to random
@JamesGleick@zirk.us avatar

In your worst nightmare, did you consider the possibility that Trump would at the last minute:

—toss out the laughable argument that it didn’t matter what crimes he had committed, it didn’t matter whether or not he was guilty, because he had been president, and presidents are allowed to break the law—they’re “immune”;

—and then, after all the lower courts had swiftly and irrefutably explained how absurd that was, (1/2)

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@angusm @cstross @JamesGleick But traditionally the court of public opinion responded along the lines of "I've got a pike. But it's missing your head".

The French obviously took that a step further, mechanising the process in the name of efficiency and human rights ("you have the right to be killed quickly and with minimum pain") and that was quite a radical innovation.

OTOH all of this wittering is irrelevant to the far right, whose philosophy makes Ayn Rand seem intellectually rigorous.

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

From America with cash: Right-wing groups want to end abortion in the UK

A right-wing political and media ecosystem pushing a US-style anti-abortion agenda is gaining traction in the UK

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/us-anti-abortion-culture-war-uk-stella-creasy-amendement-/

Meanwhile:

YouGov survey finds nearly 90% of Britons support abortion

https://www.msichoices.org/latest/yougov-survey-finds-nearly-90-of-britons-support-abortion-in-the-uk/

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@cstross isn't this normal for the US though? Similar groups are responsible for a lot of anti-gay laws and actions around the world already, and there's a long tradition of "US aid must never go near reproductive healthcare" specifically because of the antiabortion bullshit. I'm not sure whether the refusal to allow aid to be used against AIDS was the Reagan "death sentence for gays", anti-reproductive-healthcare or some foul combination.

rebeccawatson, to random
@rebeccawatson@mstdn.social avatar

I have until Monday to tell Climate Ride whether I want to bike 60 miles (my previous max in one day) or 100 miles on day 1. I have a month to get in shape. What say you fellow cyclists and people who consider taking on more than you probably should? https://support.climateride.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=12036

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@rebeccawatson Can you bail out early, easily? If so there's no harm in trying for 100 and discovering that you only rode 80. Or got on the bus after 30, if it comes to that.

I'd definitely try for the 100 because succeeding would be awesome.

mike, to random
@mike@fosstodon.org avatar

I remember back in college in the 90s having a lot of difficulty with the required length of writing assignments. I used all the tricks of squishing margins and larger font to make whatever it was I wrote look like there was more to it than there was. Now, I'm in college again in the 20s, and I have writing assignments. I don't know if the requirements have changed or I have, but writing assignments of at least 300 words? I can write you 300 words about my breakfast. Maybe I just talk too much.

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@mike handwriting anything gave me a lot of time to think about ways to make it more concise. But I can type really fast without thinking about it.

pluralistic, to random
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

Hard to overstate how enshittified and botshitted Google Maps has become. Went looking for my local locksmith on Gmaps. Maps shows 20+ fake locksmith referral scam outlets and doesn't even register the real locksmith, despite it being fully visible in Street View.

Instead, a red pin on the shop identifies it as a fake locksmith scammer. The real locksmith - which has been there SINCE 1942 (!!) and is a verified merchant - doesn't even show up.

Google Maps, showing the storefront for Golden State Lock as an empty building.

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@pluralistic I just had similar fun finding a local plumber. Many fake addresses until Infound one where street view shows an actual plumbing company.

Weirdly the actually local one I found doesn't advertise online, has a broken website and mostly deals with bigger clients. But they came and fixed my kitchen sink anyway, and promise to send me an invoice for the quoted amount eventually.

johnquiggin, to nuclear
@johnquiggin@aus.social avatar

Australian Science and Technology Organization website says NuScale expects to have SMRs in operation by 2026. (page dated 2020)

Doesn't ANSTO have some obligation to present accurate information to the public or, if they can't do that, say nothing.

https://www.ansto.gov.au/news/what-are-small-modular-reactors-and-what-makes-them-different#:~:text=The%20EPZ%20is%20area%20surrounding%20the%20nuclear%20power,80%20kilometres%20to%20protect%20food%20and%20water%20sources.

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@johnquiggin I fear you may need to spend more time watching documentaries like "Yes Minister" and "Utopia" and less time reading fantasy sites like the ANSTO one.

I recommend the science fiction writer Charles Stross and his "Laundry Files" books documenting the English government...

kev, to random
@kev@fosstodon.org avatar

I recently bought my first electric vehicle (EV). It has been an interesting
adjustment, but am I glad I switched from diesel?
https://kevquirk.com/my-first-month-with-an-ev

moz,
@moz@fosstodon.org avatar

@kev "it was so expensive to run and quite frankly, a waste. I could afford it, but it felt like I was just throwing money down the drain"

Reasons why I've never owned a car number one: I have never felt that I have enough spare, unwanted money that buying a car seemed like a good idea.

You can buy an awful lot of very nice bicycles for the cost of a car and keeping it on the road. I really should update my "list of bicycles" page.... https://moz.geek.nz/mozbike/

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