@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

simon_brooke

@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot

Anarcho-syndicalist, autistic, crofter, cyclist, depressive, entrepreneur, geek, searchable, Zapatista. Politics & environment, especially #LandReform. he/him.

Twitter: https://mastodon.scot/@simon_brooke
GitHub: simon-brooke
FetLife: Simon_Brooke

Credo: Life is harsh. What we can do - and what we should do - is strive to make it less harsh for the people around us.

Addendum: you would not deliberately block a wheelchair ramp. Do not post images to social media without alt text.

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

ScottishGreens, to random
@ScottishGreens@mastodon.scot avatar

Today Scottish Green MSPs voted against Kate Forbes becoming Deputy First Minister.

We cannot support the appointment of someone who fundamentally does not believe that everyone in Scotland is equal and worthy of equal rights and respect under the law.

video/mp4

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@ScottishGreens good.

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

I think this says all you need to know about Keir 's party, no?

https://www.thenational.scot/news/24308226.natalie-elphicke-good-natural-fit-labour-party-chair-insists/

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

"I fiercely opposed a Kate Forbes leadership bid last year, and remain very much of that persuasion. I think she is in many ways a capable leader, and can understand her appeal. But I will never support a candidate that vocally opposes social progress, and have seen the pockets of the right-wing that this kind of narrative appeals to" -- Kelly Given

https://www.thenational.scot/politics/24307727.snps-shift-right-runs-contrary-believe/

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

"The state of the [] movement in 2024 reminds me of 2017 when Sturgeon decided to “take independence off the table” at the Scottish Parliamentary elections and totally scunnered SNP members.

I remember hearing reports of “indy-free” leaflets arriving from HQ and being binned by angry activists" -- Lesley Riddoch

https://www.thenational.scot/politics/24307606.swinney-cannot-afford-treat-independence-afterthought/

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

I think it's a little unfair of Lesley to blame the for bringing down. HE sacked THEM, not the other way round; having sacked them, he didn't have a majority any longer. They didn't vote against him; he resigned.

Once he had resigned, they voted with the government against the motion of no confidence.

https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/S6M-13005

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach @naefool we'll not fix the economy without independence, so this is diametrically the wrong move.

Mind you, the SNP wouldn't fix the economy even with independence on the path that Swinney has chosen.

screwtape, to Lisp
@screwtape@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

I added a get/put example of persistent knowledgebase changes in

https://codeberg.org/tfw/pawn-75

(see the README.org)

Basically

-- pineapple

[: type fruit]
[: has-color brown]
[: plant-type bush]
[: produced-in {thailand nicaragua}]
[: latest-rearchived nil]

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

simon_brooke, (edited )
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@screwtape @indigoparadox damn, yet more stuff I really ought to read!

Fortunately, the link is a 404, so I have an excuse...

steviesyerda, to Youtube
@steviesyerda@mastodon.scot avatar

Anyone else finding Youtube rapidly going the same way as FB, Twitter and Google?

The stuff the Youtube algorithm throws at me now is more and more conspiracy laden shite

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@steviesyerda YouTubbe throws at me lots of cars-and-weapons shit, to the exclusion of much else. I don't get much conspiracy shit. But clearly YouTube has a very America-centric idea of what older white men are interested in.

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

#Roundhouse floorboards loaded up to go up to site.

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

And all the boards are now in the and stacked. I'd estimated that at a day's work, and the two of us did it between 4pm and 6pm this afternoon, so feeling pretty virtuous.

simon_brooke, (edited )
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@adrianfry it's a reciprocal roof we're building on my land with timber from trees which were blown down in , for an old friend who is one of the / heroes and so can't really afford to own anything. It's about 7 metres diameter over the pillars, about 11 over the eves.

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@adrianfry It really is going to be. It's already a gorgeous space, and once it has its straw bale walls (hopefully September) and is weathertight and cosy, it's going to be really good.

I'm not jealous or anything -- my own home made house is also really good.

https://goo.gl/photos/CjSQQhYxhjJjfxCo6

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@adrianfry Sadly, Storm Arwen did huge damage to my wood, so I don't have much canopy left. The upside of that is that I have huge amounts of timber, although hauling it out and sawing it up is major work. But this is allowing me to contribute timber to several friends' home and shelter builds.

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

First cuckoo at 55°N 4°W #ClimateDiary

ShredderLivesOn, to random
@ShredderLivesOn@mastodon.scot avatar

I wasn't surprised that George Galloway made his comments about not viewing gay relationships as normal.

What is surprising is the fact Aaron Bastani, who calls himself a journalist, actually was. And that until he heard these remarks, he would have voted for Galloway.

Anyone who has paid any attention to Galloway at all in even just the last five years would know how much of a poisonous lurch to the right he's taken.

https://novaramedia.com/2024/05/01/i-would-have-voted-for-george-galloway-but-then-he-said-gay-people-arent-normal/

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@ShredderLivesOn Galloway is a large province, formerly an independent principality, in what is now southern Scotland. What relationship, if any, 'Gorgeous' George', the compulsive self-publicist from Dundee, has with the place is (perhaps fortunately) lost to history.

I put it to you that if there were a mendacious politician-wannabe whose name just happened to be 'Surrey', you would not refer to them simply as 'Surrey'.

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

"the people reporting the metric are so interested in making the numbers look right that they lie. The metric becomes worse than noise—it’s outright disinformation. Things look like they’re getting better when they’re getting worse" -- Eric Normand

https://ericnormand.substack.com/p/measuring-dev-productivity

ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

Andy Burnham (still Mayor of Manchester) on social housing:

'One of the main reasons why the country has not built enough social homes for decades is because of the right-to-buy policy. Councils do not have an incentive to fund the building of new homes if they can be sold off cheaply & quickly. In the face of a desperate housing crisis, the existence of right to buy means we are in effect trying to refill a bath without being allowed to put the plug back in'!

Yup, that's about it!

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@ChrisMayLA6 It sounds to me an excellent idea. It might be taken forward as part of a more general restriction of all human rights to natural persons.

simon_brooke, to random
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The itinerant bike mechanic and his travelling workshop, off to fix more refugees' bikes.

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

And at the end of the day, six serviced and test-ridden bikes loaded up to be delivered to their new owners tomorrow, and another four ready. It was a long day, but a useful one.

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

Among other bikes handed in to pass on to refugees was this classic 1982 Carlton. However, the refugees don't like drop handlebar bikes, and we probably won't hand it on. Instead it will be sold to raise funds to do up other bikes. I admit I'm tempted.

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@urbanmicrofarmer there's something very classic about the last generation of mainstream lugged steel bicycle. It is the end point of 100 years of evolution of a concept, and although modern bikes are better to ride in almost every way, there's still a certain grace that has been lost.

I had a custom Carlton frame made for me – I was unusually tall in those days – in the early eighties, and this example brought it powerfully to mind.

RichardJMurphy, to random
@RichardJMurphy@mas.to avatar

The Greens were the biggest winners in the local elections, so why aren’t they getting fair air time? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/07/the-greens-were-the-biggest-winners-in-the-local-elections-so-why-arent-they-getting-fair-air-time/
Proportionately, the Greens won most seats at the recent local elections, but they are denied airtime, and we get Reform instead. Why?

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@RichardJMurphy the aren't getting airtime because, as you know, the owners of the British media (and I explicitly include the BBC) see the Greens as a much more serious threat to their status and privilege than .

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@OliverNoble @Kellys the ought to be a far bigger challenge to the status quo than the SNP. The SNP want a change in governance structure to less than half a percent of the planet, while leaving corporate interests largely unaffected. The Greens want – and need – and entire overthrow of the global economic system.



simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@OliverNoble @Kellys This is why I think would be an enormously good thing for the left in . If they could look to a country just across the border and speaking very nearly the same language pursuing much more left wing policies (as we would) and succeeding (as I believe we would), it would be easier to persuade folk in England that they deserved those good things too.

FolksVelo, to random
@FolksVelo@mas.to avatar

While I can appreciate the aerodynamics and the ability to go quickly without e-assist, I found the upper end of the velo-world to be hilariously challenging to get in and out of. Certainly a great option for long distance but maybe less practical for city use and quick trips. (i think of short trips as being 5km or less)

simon_brooke,
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

@FolksVelo Are you familiar with the Mosquito velomobile? It seems to me a very promising design. Being able to have a short front wheel drive power train without having to cope with front wheel steering seems to me a big win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44_CzZDD_08

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