@DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

DavidPenington

@DavidPenington@mastodon.au

Sailor, father, database developer. I ride bicycles for transport.
Studied mathematics, physics & some meterology.
Wurundjeri country, Melbourne Australia
I talk quite a lot about Australian politics, Ukraine war, renewables/global warming. Some IT & military history.

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

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

OK, suppose we reformed the relationship between central and local government in the UK by switching the proceeds of one major tax from central government to local government, which should it be? Switching income tax (£250bn) would obviously benefit richer areas at the expense of poorer. My hunch is that switching VAT (£162bn) would be a better idea.

Comments?
@RichardJMurphy
@thecommongreen

DavidPenington,
@DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

@simon_brooke @RichardJMurphy @thecommongreen
Switch that revenue by allocating it per capita, not trying to attribute it to its origins.

DavidPenington,
@DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

@simon_brooke @RichardJMurphy @thecommongreen
Per capita is basically the only formula that doesn't get messedup by politicians or entrench poverty.

jpm, to random
@jpm@aus.social avatar

PSA: even lights-and-sirens ambulances stop at closed level crossings.

Do. Not. EVER. Cross. A. Closed. Level. Crossing.

DavidPenington,
@DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

@jpm Except they do, just occasionally, get stuck down & ringing. I've seen it.

PieterPeach, to Anesthesia
@PieterPeach@mastodon.social avatar

Cool white saps-the-life-out-you light should be banned from operating theaters.

DavidPenington,
@DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

@PieterPeach I have zero cool white or "daylight" lights in my house (even, I think, the fridge where I put an LED in for non-economic reasons)
They are a little more efficient than warm white, because fluorescent & LED lights start with UV or blue & shift it down towards red.
Current LEDs use 40% less power than the long fluorescent bulbs, so there's room for the slight efficiency cost of warm white.

Alice, to random
@Alice@beige.party avatar

Is this a positive result for COVID? The people in this ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese say it's not positive because the line isn't pink and is instead a really dark red.

DavidPenington,
@DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

@Alice yuk. I hope you do better than I did with my 1st COVID-19 in Nov. I left my N95 mask in the car for one 10 minute service stop.
I felt less bad on days 7 & 8, then the cough started. ☹️
Don't be surprised if there is long exhaustion or a second dip of illness.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Via Aaron Rupar:

calls Trump "Donald 'Herbert Hoover' " and says, "have you noticed he's a bit confused these days? He apparently can't tell the difference between Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi."🤣✔️

DavidPenington,
@DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

@GottaLaff "Hoover's response to the depression was widely seen as lackluster and he scapegoated Mexican Americans for the economic crisis. Approximately 1.5-2 million Mexican Americans were forcibly "repatriated" to Mexico in a forced migration campaign known as the Mexican Repatriation — a majority of them were born in the United States."
"A significantly below-average president"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Hoover

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

I have my weekend blog post ready. I always put it here first. The first few people will get that error. Just wait a minute and try again.

I plan to demonstrate that any democratic government—by its very nature and under its own terms—will have a dangerous anti-democratic opposition because eliminating the opposition cannot be done using democratic means.

The opposition can be blunted and, with constant work. . .

1/

https://terikanefield.com/the-anti-democratic-opposition/

DavidPenington,
@DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

@NovaNaturalist @Teri_Kanefield
"the best 18th Century democratic system available"! Beautifully put.
A 1st step: ranked choice voting https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting to not "split the vote" - like Australian single member elections.

simon_brooke, to cycling
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

"The emission savings from replacing all those internal combustion engines with zero-carbon alternatives will not feed in fast enough to make the necessary difference in the time we can spare: the next five years. Tackling the climate and air pollution crises requires curbing all motorised transport, particularly private cars, as quickly as possible"


https://theconversation.com/cycling-is-ten-times-more-important-than-electric-cars-for-reaching-net-zero-cities-157163

DavidPenington,
@DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

@publius @simon_brooke
This is incorrect - it is the "old banger" myth.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-21-misleading-myths-about-electric-vehicles/
There are CO2 savings after 32-50,000 km of EV use (depending on the electricity source), so replacing a petrol car with an EV today will net benefit after that distance, despite wasting some of the petrol car's service life. Of course the replacement needs to result in a net reduction in petrol cars on the road - if no car is scrapped as a result, there's not much saving.

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

More on the Colorado-Keep-Trump-off the Ballot case

Because I have so much free time now that I turned in my latest book, I figured I'd read the three latest briefs filed in the Colorado case. 🤓

(I will also be going outside to enjoy a beautiful day)

I updated my blog post on the Colorado-Ballot-case with thoughts and analysis after looking through the briefs.

Here it is:

https://terikanefield.com/section-3-and-the-spirit-of-liberty/

(The first few people may get an error message As always wait a minute and try again.)

DavidPenington,
@DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

@Teri_Kanefield Thank you for your 26 Jan additional comments.

  1. Examples 1-6 & 8 seem to show Article 14.3 being self-executing.
  2. "Adding a qualification" seems linguistically invalid for a state law enforcing a constitutionally defined qualification. But I know law is weird, and there may be many thousands if words behind "adding"
  3. Article 14.3 was a political weapon against pre-war authority figures who became Confederates. It's a weapon against insurrectionists, so doesn't need to be "weaponised"! "If they hat fits, wear it". Perhaps I'm being too pedantic here.
  4. If Arnold Schwarzenegger stands for President & wins, congress & the states can quickly amend the constitution to allow him to take office, so he should be allowed to stand. Is that a logical conclusion from the Amicus brief?
    It also seems a stretch/surprise to say "Colorado requiring someone to currently not be disqualified from becoming president encroaches on Congress's power to remove the disqualification"
hanse_mina, (edited ) to Finland
@hanse_mina@nafo.uk avatar

🧵 1/ The interconnection used for power transfer between and was disconnected suddenly on January 26th just after midnight local time.

An investigation regarding the disconnect has been launched. It's currently unknown why the disconnect happened and if there was an outside factor regarding it similar to the last year.

This was reported by , Finland's transmission system operator.

https://www.fingrid.fi/en/news/news/2024/failure-on-estlink-2-interconnection-26.1.2024/

DavidPenington,
@DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

@hanse_mina
EstLink2 Engineers: we don't know what's wrong or where the problem is.
Management: ok, but how long will it take to find and fix?
Engineers: I just said we don't know.
Management: We'll say "at least a week"
I get this in software a lot: we don't kniw what we need & you don't know how you'll build it, but tell us how long it will take +-50%

GossiTheDog, to random
@GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social avatar

deleted_by_author

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    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @kurtseifried @GossiTheDog
    I think now, your organisation will be broken in to, and you must be minimising the harm & be resiliant.
    Minimising harm includes not unnecessarily storing stuff that will harm customers or staff - my data perspective & new goal at work.

    GottaLaff, to Israel
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    has proposed that senior leaders could leave as part of a broader ceasefire agreement

    https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/22/politics/israel-proposal-hamas-leaders-leave-gaza?cid=ios_app

    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @GottaLaff I think there's a genuine offer here - 2 month ceasfire, all hostages held in Gaza freed, Hamas leaders allowed to leave.
    I suspect Yahya Sinwar is in a tunnel-bunker on the Egyptian side of the border.

    DavidPenington, to random
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    There are a lot of Hamas tunnels in Gaza - An average of over 20 entrances per square km & 400+ km of tunnel in a 40km long territory.
    https://archive.is/hs80B

    GottaLaff, to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    👀Via Kyle Griffin:

    Chuck 's office confirms the senator has been hospitalized and is "receiving antibiotic infusions" to treat an infection.

    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @GottaLaff Senator Grassley is 90 years old. The US seems to let its senators die in place, not retire.

    hanse_mina, to Ukraine
    @hanse_mina@nafo.uk avatar

    The wants to sharpen its plan for fighting ’s invasion as the war heads into its third year and is expected to raise the issue with President Volodymyr in next week.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-10/us-set-to-push-zelenskiy-at-davos-for-clearer-war-plan

    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @VikingChieftain @hanse_mina
    Plan:
    -Destroy Kerch brIdge & transports to Crimea with ATACAMS

    • destroy Russian strategic bombers with Tomahawk
    • destroy Russian drone, missile & ammunition production with Tomahawk
      Destroy Russian railways near Ukraine with ATACAMS
    • Fit Trophy APS or equivalent to numerous tanks
      -Attack weakened, undersupplied Russian forces in Kherson Oblast.
    raymondpert, to Aviation
    @raymondpert@mstdn.social avatar

    deleted_by_author

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    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @samueljohnson I had a similar experience with a Phillipine Airlines DC10 in 1992 - on & off it repeatedly in Manila iver several hours, including a trip to the runway & back. Off again after reboarding in Sydney. My wife & I refused to reboard for the last leg to Melbourne. We were rebooked on a dimestic flight.

    GottaLaff, to legal
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    Via Anna Bower:

    New order from DC Circuit Court of Appeals ahead of oral argument on ’s Pres immunity appeal advises parties to be prepared to discuss issues raised by amicus curiae.

    Among other issues raised by amicus curiae, American Oversight argues Judge Chutkan’s denial of Trump’s absolute immunity claim is not immediately appealable—meaning that Trump would have to wait until after trial to raise the appeal.

    But the special counsel’s brief did not raise that argument

    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @GottaLaff You could argue that Trump is sure to appeal if found guilty, so there is little value in expediting the hearing of one element of an appeal - it creates a 2nd appeal & so wastes court time.

    fulelo, to Israel
    @fulelo@journa.host avatar

    - - war: says deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri killed in blast in capital
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67859135

    Al-Arouri is said to have been among four people killed in an explosion at Hamas's office in Dahiyeh, one of the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs

    Al-Arouri was the deputy head of Hamas's political bureau and known to be deeply involved in its military affairs

    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @fulelo This is a remarkably comprehensive report about the journalists killed in Gaza on Sunday, with comments from all relevant parties. Excellent work by the BBC.

    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @fulelo It is very unclear what Israel has given in this "deal".

    raymondpert, to Israel
    @raymondpert@mstdn.social avatar

    deleted_by_author

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    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @raymondpert Correction/clarification: UNRWA says Israeli Forces Fired on Aid Convoy. UNRWA are known to make extreme & biased statements. In Gaza they are intermingled with Hamas & dare not publicly disagree with Hamas.

    GottaLaff, to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    may drop remaining holds on military nominations, citing end of the year - senators.

    “I don't know. It just depends on how they do it. You know, sooner or later we're gonna let them go through, you know? I've given 99 percent of them. But you'd think they would say OK, what are we gonna do to get these last 11? I've heard from nobody” https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2023/12/19/congress/tuberville-holds-senate-military-00132486

    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @GottaLaff 60 votes can override 's hold, but "patriotic" Republicans aren't supporting that.

    raymondpert, to MIjazz
    @raymondpert@mstdn.social avatar

    deleted_by_author

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    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @raymondpert "ignition" means laser energy in = heat energy produced. Electrical energy in was 5 times that.
    Heat conversion to electricity is rarely better than 30% so to produce useful electricity from this approach needs:

    • working out how to usefully capture the energy produced in the fusion & cope with the vast numbers of high energy neutrons which cause materials problems
    • improving efficiency more than 15 fold, to break even.
      So this "breakthrough" is arbitrary milestone a very long way from delivering any usable energy.
    GottaLaff, to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    “The U.S. and a host of other nations are creating a new force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced early Tuesday in Bahrain.”

    https://apnews.com/article/attacks-red-sea-navy-mission-missiles-286d51bfd65e741e839e185f0f4a455b?taid=6580bb99010d8800015dc157

    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @GottaLaff So far the missiles & drones from the Houthi are being treated in the way Somali pirates were/are handled, but pirates were a local problem & this is an organised government level attack.

    VikingChieftain, to random
    @VikingChieftain@krigskunst.social avatar

    deleted_by_author

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    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @VikingChieftain Perhaps Egypt needs to take action against the Houthi, with Saudi cooperation.

    jpm, to rust
    @jpm@aus.social avatar

    let mutex = None;
    let file = None;

    loop {
    […]
    if let None = file {
    file = None; // DO NOT REMOVE - makes borrow checker happy
    mutex = None;
    mutex = Some(card.lock().unwrap());
    file = Some(mutex.open_file(FILE));
    }
    […]
    }

    Completely normal programming language…

    DavidPenington,
    @DavidPenington@mastodon.au avatar

    @jpm "let None = file" is certainly weird.

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