@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

Paulos_the_fog

@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org

Retired software engineer & woodworker.
Anglo-francophone.
Detest tories. Subscribe to green, leftish radical politics but not to any particular political party!.
Love the EU and all it stands for, moreover, I spent the last 10 years of my career working at an EU agency.
Enthusiastic photographer, especially wildlife and most especially butterflies.
Slightly knowledgeable gardener.
Atheist; loathe almost all religions and pity the people deluded enough to follow them. I make exceptions for Buddhism as it isn't really a religion in the strictest sense of the word as it doesn't postulate the existence of any god, and Jainism which is the epitome of peace.

For anyone who is interested, my header photo is of the most stupendous sunset I have ever seen. On the right is the waterfront of Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on the left is Thailand and in the middle, acting as the border between the two countries is the mighty Mekong river.

#FBPE

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Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

There were some interviews on the BBC the other day I believe it was in Bolton. They were asking people in the street what they thought about current political situation so on.
I'm not going to insult the people of Bolton, or wherever it was, by tarring all of them with the brush of abject cretinous stupidity that appeared to come out of the ‘stop a random person in the street’ interviews. I think it far more likely that it was the BBC that engineered the extreme right wing bias of the interviewees.
There seemed to be a vacuous obsession with immigration. I don't know whether the imbeciles interviewed realise the reality of the situation that Britain is in. Britain is in fact in dire need of immigration for a number of reasons:
the birth rate is nowhere near high enough to maintain an active workforce that will be needed to pay the pensions of most of the cretins interviewed! Therefore, immigration is an absolute necessity to ensure that there are enough people paying into the pension pot.
Britain does not train anywhere near the number of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and other medical personnel needed to fully staff the NHS. There are currently tens of thousands of vacancies for both doctors and nurses and those cannot possibly be filled without immigration!
Fruit and vegetables are rotting in the fields due to the lack of suitable personnel to harvest them. Brits themselves seem not to want to do this kind of work and in the past the pickers have been mainly eastern Europeans who were entitled to come here as EU citizens. Now the conservatives have screwed that up completely, they are not allowed to come so farmers and market gardeners are losing millions due to the in their inability to recruit pickers.
It's a mystery to me what the complete imbeciles interviewed think could be a solution to this issue it's pretty blindingly obvious that the only solution is immigration but they hate that – idiots

Geri, to random
@Geri@mastodon.online avatar

Farage will not be standing

who gives a fuck

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@Geri

Good - his only possible useful contribution to a GE would be to suck right-wing & fascist votes away from the tories and although I would dearly love to see that happen, it is insufficient compensation for having to listen to the utter bollox that that arsehole spouts!

ChrisMayLA6, to Health
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

Is the answer to 'dental deserts' to force newly trained dentists to work for the NHS for the first years of their career (or to pay back the costs of their training)?

Well, unless Labour adopt such an approach we may never know, but the crisis in NHS dentistry might be alleviated by some form of national service requirement from dentists (alongside a better funding model!)?.

It may not be the best answer, but these are desperate times in dentistry.

#NHS #health
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/23/new-dentists-could-be-forced-to-work-in-nhs-to-tackle-englands-dental-deserts

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@JohnLoader6 @ChrisMayLA6

Completely private dentistry is the ultimate goal of the tory filth.

The current contract for NHS dentists is a joke and it is not surprising that dentists are fleeing in their thousands.

The only way you can run a healthcare system that includes dentistry is on a "pay per item of treatment" basis. This is what all our European neighbours do and it works well and this is the way UK NHS dentistry was organised when the NHS was founded.

There was an organisation called the Dental Estimates Board (later name changed to the Dental Practice Board) in Eastbourne that processed the claims for payment by dentists in England and Wales. This employed over 2000 people at its height, making it Eastbourne's largest employer, however computerisation substantially reduced the numbers needed to process claims for payment.

stavvers, to random
@stavvers@masto.ai avatar

Heads up to anyone using facebook or insta: you'll receive a notification about your data being used to train AIs. The opt out process is deliberately convoluted and you have to fill out a form to object. This is what I wrote in mine, and the objection was immediately registered as successful, so feel free to copy.

Masto reply bores, this is not a post on which to fart out your opinions about Meta or AI or whatever. So don't. I'm sharing helpful info for people who need it, not for you.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@Jo2sn @regordane @flippac @stavvers @Kjaerulv

You want to worry the drop down country lists in many apps don't list the country where I live, Luxembourg. However I guess it's even worse for residents of Liechtenstein!

Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar
Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

This doesn't surprise me in the slightest as when I was living in Eastbourne and working in Darlington Co Durham, a single from Eastbourne to my place of work on a Monday morning was £144 and that was back in about 1997!

https://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/1902151/train-ticket-cost-london-newcastle-furious-twitter

KimPerales, to journalism
@KimPerales@toad.social avatar

Oppressive regimes control & selectively remove media coverage, SM..., that keep them accountable. Netanyahu may be covering up more war crimes:

Israeli officials seize AP EQP & take down live shot of northern Gaza, citing new media law. The QA satellite channel is among 1000s of clients that receive live video feeds from the AP & other news orgs. The AP denounced the move.

https://apnews.com/article/live-transmission-israel-associated-press-57e8f662907334ba3599156276381190

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@KimPerales

It seems pretty clear to me that the israelis intend to slaughter the Palestinian population en masse using starvation & deprivation of medical supplies!

mikewas, to random
@mikewas@esq.social avatar

Why does your credit score drop when you pay off a car loan?

A friend of mine was furious the other day, when he saw that paying off his car loan caused his score to drop about 40 points.

Why does this happen?

Two reasons.

👇

#CreditScore #TransUnion #Equifax #Experian

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@mikewas

I think I prefer the Luxembourg way of dealing with things! If you miss a payment of some sort the creditor informs the Luxembourg National Bank who put your name on a no-credit list - when you have paid the outstanding debt, your name is removed from the list. Anyone or any company who is not your creditor or the Bank Of Luxembourg holding such information is committing a criminal offence!

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@mikewas

?? 'refi' ??

WTF is 'refi'?

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@mikewas

A colleague did that. He swapped a mortgage @ around 5% pa for one at 1.44% pa fixed rate throughout the term of 22 years.

He lives just over the border, in France where most mortgages are at fixed interest rates for the whole period of the loan!

Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar
weekendspy, to random

Say what you like about 1970s trade unions. But nobody in a full-time job needed food banks then.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@weekendspy

I agree with you.

Unfortunately, they acquired too much power (in the UK at least) leading them to abuse that power.

Organisations do that - tory governments are a superb example - they have absolutely robbed the country blind and wonder they are staring at an almost complete wipe out at the next election!

nyquildotorg, (edited ) to random
@nyquildotorg@fedia.social avatar

I've heard the story about how the A&W 1/3 lb burger at the same price as McDonald's Quarter Pounder failed because America is bad at fractions, but I do not believe that's the whole story.

Incredibly important factors:

  1. A&W burgers sucked.

  2. McDonalds was already an advertising juggernaut by that point. No kids have ever begged their parents to go to A&W to get a burger, which means the parents don't need to buy a bigger burger.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@nyquildotorg

Jesus god! You make it sound as if the toxic, vaguely beef flavoured cardboard sold by McDs is edible!

If A&W burgers were worst than that utter crap, I'm surprised that anyone went there!

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@nyquildotorg

It seems to me that it is a real shame the kids are being raised to actually crave food that is appallingly bad for them. McDonald's along with most 'fast food', may please kids palates but it is a major factor in the obesity epidemic that afflicts the USA and to a lesser extent, the UK. Notice that in countries like France where sane, healthy eating is still a thing, the rate of obesity is orders of magnitude lower than in the USA where people habitually stuff their faces with shite!

rbreich, to random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Half of Amazon warehouse workers struggle with food and housing costs.

A third of the workers have had to rely on at least one government assistance program.

Amazon's stock hit an all time high in April. Jeff Bezos is now worth $203 billion.

This is what oligarchy looks like.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@rbreich

It is within the power of the government to jack up the minimum wage so...

thomasfuchs, to random
@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io avatar

To make something very clear after the dogpiling and death threats I got yesterday:

You have the right to disagree with and criticize my word choices or opinions.

You don’t have the right to make me listen to you or respond to you.

You absolutely, positively don’t have the right to stalk me after I withdraw consent of communication by blocking you, or to threaten my family or friends with violence or death. Fuck you if you do, or if you associate with those who do.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@thomasfuchs

I crossed swords with some arrogant prick who decided he had the right to censor my posts. He insisted that I take down a post to which I replied that he could stick his censorship where the sun don't shine!

A few days later I received a further message from him saying that he had researched my background and now knew that I worked for such and such a company in Luxembourg and that unless I took down the post to which he had objected, he would message my employer telling them what I had said on social media. I replied "go right ahead" but I omitted to mention that I had retired 7 years earlier!

Apparently he did contact them and was told to 'foxtrot oscar and mind his own business' by my former boss who was a jolly forthright chap!

Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar
fkamiah17, (edited ) to random
@fkamiah17@toot.wales avatar

Look at these giggling old men. This is what they're saying to the interviewer (see video link, sorry it's Xitter) about their actions in 1948.

Left:

"I didn't talk to anyone about it."
"What about your wife? I assume you lived with her for many years. You never talked to her about it?"
"I never told her. What would I tell her - that I'm a murderer?"

Right:

"And some guys took flamethrowers and ran after people and incinerated them."

1/

https://twitter.com/EZUKFP/status/1719018133334155538

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@msquebanh @fkamiah17

Seems to me that the israelis are treating the Palestinians in exactly the same way the the Nazis treated the jews in the 1930s and 40s.

TheBreadmonkey, to random
@TheBreadmonkey@beige.party avatar

Never forget.....

Findus Crispy Pancakes were found to contain 100% horse meat. A whole generation of British kids grew up eating horses. I feel like that should be more of a thing. Maybe that's got something to do with the UKs mental health epidemic. Mental horselth epidemic (nope that doesn't work at all). But maybe we're all sad all the time due to eating a bunch of horses by surprise. SURPRISE, MOTHERFUCKERS! You just ate a horse. How do you feel now? This is what capitalism does to families.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@TheBreadmonkey

Ha, ha, ha! I live in country, Luxembourg, where eating horsemeat is still common (as indeed it is in Belgium and France). Personally, I prefer it to beef! Our local branch of Auchan the French supermarket chain usually has various cuts of horse on sale!

Richard_Littler, to Autism
@Richard_Littler@mastodon.social avatar

Spring, ffs. There are songs, even symphonies, glorifying birdsong written by everyone from Paul McCartney & Fleetwood Mac to Frederick Delius, Vaughan Williams, & Messiaen. But, I swear to god, if you're neurodivergent/misophonic, some bird 'song' is the aural equivalent of being waterboarded.

#autism #misophonia

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@Richard_Littler

One man's meat is another man's poison!

Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar
pwaring, to random
@pwaring@fosstodon.org avatar

Every time I see a large organisation with a major IT problem (e.g. botched migration or data breach) I go and look at the 'leadership team' page on their website, and 9 times out of 10 there's no IT expertise. Today's examples include a Chief Technical Officer with no technical experience and one of the largest universities in the UK where the IT Director isn't part of the Senior Leadership Team.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@pwaring

I once worked for an company who had its fair share of cock-ups. The guy leading a large part of their development team had trained as a butcher!

Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

Great!

https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/05/novel-attack-against-virtually-all-vpn-apps-neuters-their-entire-purpose/

steve, to random
@steve@mastodon.me.uk avatar

Lots of news reports about the online safety bill today, with attention on the part of children requiring age verification to use social media apps.

The reporting is somewhat misleading - for this to work everyone will be required to submit to age verification.

So why aren’t the headlines “ID docs required for social media apps”?

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@steve

You can bet your life that Blojob Johnson wouldn't forget his ID to log in to a porn site!

anathema_device, to random
@anathema_device@bne.social avatar

Actor David Tennant has urged those with anti-trans views to “f**k off and let people be”.

The Scottish Doctor Who star and his wife, actress Georgia, have upped their vocal support of the LGBTQ+ community in recent years, particularly for young trans and non-binary people.

https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/05/07/david-tennant-speaks-out-weaponising-trans-rights/?utm_content=1715088720&utm_medium=social&utm_source=threads

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@anathema_device

I have never understood why anyone thinks other people's sexuality is any of their fucking business!

So long as it's not directed at children and doesn't involve rape, feel free to express your physical sexuality in any way that pleases you! That's my take on things!

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