@JanPV@mastodon.social
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

JanPV

@JanPV@mastodon.social

Welsh-Polish grandchild of forced labour survivors of the Nazi regime. The rule of law: all else follows from there. Former microbiologist, now wandering over and inside the mountains, capturing and writing about north Wales' heritage. Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society. I also fly and motorcycle.

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

JanPV, to Astronomy
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

An hour after local midnight, north Wales, June 02. Closely depicts the naked-eye view after dark adaptation for ~30 minutes.

DrALJONES, to auspol
@DrALJONES@mastodon.social avatar

Report

US-client-state, Australia, again fails Palestine

"A motion to recognise a Palestinian state by the Australian Greens" was voted down in parliament 80 votes to five.

"Greens leader Adam Bandt put the motion to the Australian House of Representatives."

"It was seconded by Greens Max Chandler-Mather & supported by Independent member Andrew Wilkie.

"Mr. Bantdt criticised Labor for not supporting the motion."

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/greens-move-to-recognise-palestinian-state-voted-down-in-parliament-5658619

-calledLabor ..

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@milennialzero @DrALJONES I used to be a Labour supporter, if not always a voter. Now I'm going to vote Plaid Cymru, because Starmer.

JanPV, to Astronomy
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

With global interest in the #aurora last week, don't forget that, for those in the high to mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere, this week marks the typical start of the #noctilucent clouds season.

You'll need to stay up late. Due to night-long twilight, NLC are visible from around 23:30UT to 03UT. The early morning period is the most likely to yield displays.

For the first week or two, displays may be unimpressive. But they will soon grow into midsummer.

#meteorology #astronomy #space

image/jpeg

glynmoody, to random
@glynmoody@mastodon.social avatar

Judge scraps date for Trump Mar-a-Lago documents trial without rescheduling - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/07/donald-trump-florida-trial-postponed how blatant can you get in your bias?

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@glynmoody I think I now have an answer to the worry I've always had for years: yes, the US authorities have lost the ability to bring down a would-be dictator in their own country.

Either Trump burns, or the US does.

magdelenehall, to random
@magdelenehall@mastodon.social avatar

Parents, voters, ministers – do the maths: if we run out of teachers, who will teach our children?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/30/parents-voters-ministers-run-out-teachers-recruitment-schools?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@magdelenehall Zero-hours contract staff, provided by foreign pension fund-owned companies, just like pretty much everything else in the UK.

The minute we realise most politicians are bought by business interests through 'donations', it becomes clear why things are the way they are. It's just that most people cling on to some other reality.

JanPV, to Archaeology
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

Very pleased that a simple magnetic compass and measuring wheel (lit by torch!) suvey of an old slate quarry tramway tunnel (yellow) turned out in pretty-much perfect alignment with the portals at each end. I didn't have knowledge of the 1889 map until after the survey.

fkamiah17, to UKpolitics
@fkamiah17@toot.wales avatar

What's the point of Ofcom if it an't see an egregious breaking of rules?
GPLB: "Ofcom launches investigation into whether Rishi Sunak's People's Forum Q&A on GB News broke impartiality rules"

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@fkamiah17 As a long-term amateur radio enthusiast, I can certainly say that OFCOM is absolutely useless. Its main fodder is now not regulation but selling spectrum. When the Tories came to power, OFCOM had a 24/7/265 interference investigation service. Now, it won't investigate anything unless it affects aviation or shipping, pretty much.

The Tories wanted a country that has no regulations to there are no barriers to the elite getting richer. Sad to say that they have indeed succeeded.

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@fkamiah17 The Tories were intent on appointing Paul Dacre! They were pretty insistent, but backed down eventually. I think another crony was then lined-up, but I've forgotten the story now.

The latest OFCOM classic is allowing Royal Mail to make more money by, erm, providing less service!

MikeElgan, to random
@MikeElgan@mastodon.social avatar

Following Google Maps directions in rural Tasmania and encountered this sign.

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@MikeElgan In Wales, Google is also often wrong, not least in the way it accepts 'suggestions' from tourists for places to be added to their maps and Earth. These names are usually English or English corruptions.

fkamiah17, to random
@fkamiah17@toot.wales avatar

😂 😂 😂

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@fkamiah17 Yeah, but she went through hard times and is one of yous, blah blah blah. She'll be a consultant and director in five years' time, when Starmer's Fascists hit the wall of failure.

JanPV, to repair
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

We've all been tricked into planned redundancy and non-repairability.

It doesn't have to be this way.

I've just received a radio, built in 1957. After a clean and fitting a plug, it came to life with no further work.

At most, the capacitors, costing pennies, will need changing at some point, as might a valve or two, costing £5 each.

Let's go back to the days when equipment could last for several decades.

https://youtu.be/8lF7jqyYb5A

Inside of the radio, showing 1950s valves.
Details of replacement valve identification, if needed.

JanPV, to Archaeology
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

The very well-known Tre'r Ceiri late Iron Age hillfort, used until ~400AD.

Oblique view of the hillfort, with the coast in the distance.

magdelenehall, to italy
@magdelenehall@mastodon.social avatar

Drivers protest as Bologna becomes first Italian city to bring in 30km/h limit
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/19/drivers-protest-as-bologna-becomes-first-italian-city-to-bring-in-30kmh-limit?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

That's the way, 30 km/h. Great!

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@magdelenehall The worst part isn't the speed limit (which is actually quite well respected in Wales), but the endless social media aggro about it.

Still, it's not as though we're at the threshhold of a major war or anything, so plenty of time for arguing about speed limits. 😩

ScottishGreens, to random
@ScottishGreens@mastodon.scot avatar

Giving councils the power to apply a visitor levy will raise vital funds for local services. This is already commonplace across Europe and beyond.

Today the Scottish Parliament will vote on Stage 1 of the Visitor Levy Bill, secured by Scottish Greens in 2019. 🙌

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@ScottishGreens Excellent if carried. Some of the money might go into mitigating the effects of mass-tourism on our heritage and environment, which has become very serious, notably after the Great Post-Pandemic Release.

JanPV, to Archaeology
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

Every damnded day, I find these ridiculous, unacceptable failures by archaeological contractors to know, understand and record the Welsh names for things and places.

Imagine if you, in England, saw an official record with something like 'an Iron Age 'ranhs?' when someone who didn't speak English had tried to record a 'roundhouse'. You might be outraged.

A total shame on an industry within which, even in Wales, fewer than a quarter have any Welsh ability.

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@grb090423 Who knows? But there would typically be many stages between a report being written and ending up on the RCAHMW's database.

The real problem is that people who don't have ability in Welsh will either not realise there's a trap they can easily fall into because of that inability, or else deny there's a problem at all. A very few are humble enough to accept their limitations and seek help, which is perfectly fine.

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@grb090423 We can live with insults, provided there's an effort to improve. But the problem is that different names, English names and errors come to hold sway. This runs the risk of losing important information contained in, for example, place names.

ChrisMayLA6, to books
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

For this of us accused of buying too many - Umberto Eco was on our side:

'It is foolish to think that you have to read all the books you buy, as it is foolish to criticize those who buy more books than they will ever be able to read. It would be like saying that you should use all the cutlery or glasses or screwdrivers or drill bits you bought before buying new ones'

h/t Subir Dey (LinkedIn)

@bookstodon

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@ChrisMayLA6 @bookstodon Only two books (or series) spring to mind as ones I've really had to put down:

(1) 'Rocket Man', about Wernher von Braun, written in a weird third person omniscient style.

(2) The monumentally awful, but widely celebrated (and aptly-titled) 'Three Body Problem' trilogy, a classic case of writing three books because the publisher said so, and utterly incoherent as a result.

JanPV, to Archaeology
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

Tomorrow, this extremely exposed terrace, at 584m (1916 feet) up, of three rooms, possibly a quarry barracks, will enter the official Welsh heritage database for the first time. It has never appeared on an OS map, including the current editions.

I was up there again to take measurements this morning. Minus 8 degrees Celsius in the wind. My poor hands - and my tape broke! 😩

Never-before recorded stone structure, nestled amongst the cliffs of Moelwyn Bach.
Front elevation of an unrecorded stone-built structure, basking in low winter sunlight, the individual stones picked clearly out.
Sunrise image of the cliffs and slopes of Moelwyn Bach mountain. The building is found, blending into the landscape, at centre right.

JanPV, to UKpolitics
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

and co might sound like they are going places with the Post Office scandal but, in the background, the PO has reduced its payout fund by, er, 50%.

JanPV, to UKpolitics
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

Those who have followed this epic tragedy for years and those who've just discovered it, will want to make their small mark on the wider pressure now building rapidly:

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/strip-paula-vennells-of-her-cbe

fkamiah17, to random
@fkamiah17@toot.wales avatar

@JanPV Bookmarked, thanks! I doubt I'll be surprised at the paranoia among the English establishment about ceding control, whether that's to the nations or the regions. You only need to look at the lengths they're going to just to stop Scotland even having a referendum. Basically it would be turning off the grift tap.
I like that there are movements like this gaining ground now. I saw a website for "Free The North" a few weeks ago. Bring back Mercia and Wessex!

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@fkamiah17 @rebelrebel62 @Henrysbridge Much earlier - about 500 million years!

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@fkamiah17 Nothing wrong with that. The alternative was to be a gammon and argue it was something else.

Happy to bore you to death about geology, especially underground! 😂

JanPV, to UKpolitics
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse: more Cummings!

Here's my three-word slogan...

magdelenehall, to random
@magdelenehall@mastodon.social avatar

Wales fears another Aberfan as Westminster refuses to clean up tips
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/26/wales-fears-another-aberfan-as-westminster-refuses-to-clean-up-tips?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

JanPV,
@JanPV@mastodon.social avatar

@magdelenehall Another example of how people don't matter. It was the same, both before and after Aberfan. 😡

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