@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

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

Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar
gerrymcgovern, to random
@gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green avatar

Calling "Mother Earth" Apple CEO Tim Cook,

In less than two years, the rechargeable lithium-ion battery found in your AirPods is due to die an untimely death. Once their battery dies, AirPods can’t be repaired. So what is there to do?

Buy another pair of AirPods. And then buy another: Buy, die, repeat.

AirPods are designed to fail. And with over 400 million sold, they’re generating a tidal wave of electronic waste.

https://pirg.org/edfund/take-action/tell-apple-airpods-shouldnt-be-designed-to-die/

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@gerrymcgovern

I believe the EU are passing legislation outlawing the sale of devices that can't be repaired - can't be soon enough!

villavelius, to random
@villavelius@mastodon.online avatar

Oh well, the DVLA. When I exchanged my Dutch driver's licence (B and BE - cars only) for a UK one some 35 years ago, I was issued with a full licence, including lorries, busses, the lot. Erroneously, evidently, and I never drove anything other than a passenger car, but it did dent my trust in the DVLA somewhat.

After 40 years driving, DVLA now says my mother never passed a test https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/mar/19/after-40-years-driving-dvla-now-says-my-mother-never-passed-a-test

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@villavelius

This sort of thing happened quite a lot as the incompetent clowns who manage the Driver licensing office accidentally destroyed the driving test 'pass' certificates of 10s of 1000s of drivers and have since refused point blank to accept any evidence of such victims ever having held such a licence. Their attitude is that if you are affected by this, well, you'll just have to take your test again, won't you!

Britain must surely have the most utterly incompetent civil service in the world!

When I applied for my British old age pension, I discovered that they had "lost" around 10 years of my contributions! When I protested they asked me to send them the wage slips of the periods in question - like I am going have keep wage slips from the 1960s and 1970s!

Their incompetence has cost me 100s of Euros a month as if I had had the extra years contributions I would have been entitled to a larger pension in Luxembourg where I live! I think god that I have a decent Luxembourg state pension of £20,000 a year rather than just the miserable pittance the UK DWP pay me!

tilton, to random
@tilton@raccoon.zone avatar

LB: This is the first I've ever heard that the Dunning-Kruger effect was shown to be a statistical error. The analysis in the attached post from 2022 is a fascinating look at statistics and autocorrelation.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@tilton

Don't be daft - the Dunning-Kruger effect is real - you can easily tell Trump suffers from it!

elilla, to random
@elilla@transmom.love avatar

cow milk is produced under terrible conditions for the cows and their babies. if your stomach "can't handle milk" it has a sound ethical compass

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@elilla

What about goat's and sheep's milk?

mxtthxw, to random
@mxtthxw@mxtthxw.art avatar

Hmm just got Tooted an image from someone at a server called holocaust.social their user name was ‘Swastika’

Just a heads up, unsurprisingly, they appear to have bad intentions…

The image was pretty old school internet. Not seen that in years.

I blocked them.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@mxtthxw

In the Buddhist, Jain and Hindu faiths, the Swastika is a symbol representing peace and harmony. It was only hijacked by the Nazi party in Germany in the 1930s

FluentInFinance, to random
@FluentInFinance@mastodon.social avatar

Many people choose their careers only for the money and that’s a great and valid reason.

Do companies really think people go to work every day because they love their jobs?

Sure employees may like a job, but they love money more.

If your only reason for choosing a career path is to build wealth so your family can live a better life, then that’s a good enough reason.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@FluentInFinance

In the USA, they may also choose a job that offers life/work balance so that they actually get to see their family, rather than working the utterly ludicrous hours that I believe some companies in the US expect their employees to work!

There was a major American company with a subsidiary in Luxembourg where I live. The company had a rush-job on as they had made promises they couldn't keep to a client but then they expected everyone on their payroll to work crazy hours to cover their oversell. Europeans don't buy that, so someone made a complaint to the 'Inspectorate de Travail' who duly raided the company's premises and demanded to see everyones entry and exit hours (there was a secure access system so all such info was logged) along with the signed form that you have to have for every employee if you ask them to work more than 48 hours a week.

The entry exit data showed many employees working more than the normally permitted 48 hours/week - up to 70 hours a week in fact - and the company was told in no uncertain terms that they were breaking the law and that further unannounced inspections would be made to ensure future compliance and that if there were further breaches of the 'working hours directive' the regulator might very well take action to suspend the company's license to do business in Luxembourg!

Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

Personally, I think AirBnB should be banned throughout the world as they have been an appalling influence in many big cities (like Barcelona, for example)

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68541161

plaguepoems, to random
@plaguepoems@mastodon.social avatar

You need not remember
where you were
four years ago today
when you first heard
that the WHO
had officially characterized
COVID as a pandemic
at home or work
at school or online
the specifics are unimportant
what matters
is that you remember
you are still in that pandemic.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@plaguepoems

The healthcare system over here in Luxembourg has implemented a virtual online vaccination system so that not only are all your vaccinations available on a mobile phone, laptop, or desktop but also they send out reminders when any vaccination booster is due or available. It's behind a rather clunky firewall but even so - very useful and I would guess rather a lot cheaper and much kinder to trees than sending out invitations by snail mail which is what they did before.

Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

So that's why they vote Trump!

https://news.slashdot.org/submission/17315378/lead-from-gasoline-blunted-the-iq-of-about-half-the-us-population-study-says?sdsrc=rel

Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

I keep dreaming that I have lost my wallet, mobile phone, passport or all of the above!
WHY???
It's not every night but at least once a week and it is a real off-piss as I wake up in a bit of a panic state and it often takes me a few minutes to realise that it was just a dream!

fkamiah17, to random
@fkamiah17@toot.wales avatar

"The document says several UNRWA Palestinian staffers had been detained by the Israeli Army, and added that the ill-treatment and abuse they said they had experienced included severe physical beatings, waterboarding, and threats of harm to family members."

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/unrwa-report-says-israel-coerced-some-agency-employees-to-falsely-admit-hamas-links/

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@hannu_ikonen @fkamiah17

Yes, I find that attitude extremely tedious too.

Nobody sensible is saying that what Hamas did is right, however no one sensible should be saying that the mass murder of around 30,000 Palestinians many of whom were entirely innocent women and children is justified by her mass is woeful slaughter!
Conflating objection to israel's (I refuse to give that murderous state even a capital letter) utterly foul murder of innocent Palestinian civilians with anti-Semitism should be criminalised in any civilized country, in my view (just as some countries have criminalised Holocaust denial)!

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@hannu_ikonen @fkamiah17

Do me a favour, let me know who you block as I will have a llok at their profile and consider blocking them too!

Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar
ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

I see rich 'non doms' are angry at Jeremey Hunt stealing Labour's policy to end the tax break... and some are now threatening to leave the county.

To my mind this is a bit like squatters complaining to a landlord that the imposition of rent means they will leave & find somewhere else to live...

I say good riddance to them if they don't want to contribute taxes to the maintenance of a country that due to their malign influence is falling apart.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@ChrisMayLA6

Perhaps Sunak's wife would do us all a favour and F-off taking her worthless husband with her!

freemo, to random
@freemo@qoto.org avatar

Just for fun I decided to do the math to calculate the amount of Ozempic/semiglutide in my system based on the usualy dosing of every 7 days (in red), versus dosing every single day (at 1/7th) the dose (in green).

The two colors represent the upper and lower limit (it will at the upper limit right after a dose and at the lower limit right before a dose).

Notice that dosing every day makes for a much more stable concentration. Note this assumes a 1 mg dose (y-axis) and the x-axis is in days. I will start dosing every day tomorrow.

For those curious I also attached the equation that I calculated (derived) for the half-life. Both in its continuous form and as the summation.

image/png
image/png

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@freemo

I also inject semaglutide at the rate of 1mg/week for diabetes rather than weight loss.

Due to recurrent shortages of the injectable form, my endocrinologist has given me an alternative prescription for an oral version of semaglutide called Rybelsus(14mg/day) taken daily.

I wonder, firstly, why the injected form is prescribed if an oral form is available and whether the daily oral dose would be more effective than the injection as it would presumably deliver a more stable blood concentration of the medication than the weekly injection.

freemo, to random
@freemo@qoto.org avatar

At this point im pretty sure we are one election away regardless of who wins.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@freemo

Back in 2015 I was notified of a vacancy by Jobserve. The vacancy fitted me to an absolute T, but after reading the job spec a couple of times, I realised that it was the job spec that I had written myself to recruit my replacement as I was retiring!

Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

Wonderful! I have been locked out of Facebook (and Instagram) for calling out a racist; albeit in an extremely barrack room manner!

That's two time-sinks out of my life perhaps I shall get a bit more done now!

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

They might have gotten away with this 30 years ago when HP inkjets were a premium machine that sold for $400-600. But they've spent 25 years giving them away for less than manufacturing cost and selling the cartridges at a markup. They've trained the public to believe inkjets are worth $36 to buy and own, not $36/month.

This is going to boomerang on them—hard.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/hp-wants-you-to-pay-up-to-36-month-to-rent-a-printer-that-it-monitors/

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@cstross

Hmmmm - I have had examples of most common brands of printers and models right up the ones that print A1 sized prints from massive (very expensive) rolls of photo paper. I have consistently found the absolute worst to be Epson and HP. Both block their jets far, FAR too often costing a fortune in ink and in expensive photo paper!

Right now I have two Brother printers, a laser and an inkjet. The laser has been impeccable and the inkjet produces superb quality photo prints, has never once blocked its jets and only mentions in passing that I am using non-original inks!

If I have to replace either of them, I will definitely buy Brother again - no question at all!

Neverfadingwood, to random
@Neverfadingwood@lingo.lol avatar

Julee Cruise - "Floating into the Night"
Absolutely gorgeous album. Top work by Cruise, Badalamenti and Lynch. One of the very best.

https://youtu.be/EIUeZ4OqLXU?si=p8iNx7hlfVeD48cY

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@Neverfadingwood

I would have been quite tempted but for the astronomical price of this album!

22 Euros is way over the top for an album these days

Paulos_the_fog, to random
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

was just about to buy some avocados yesterday when I noticed that they were marked as grown in Israel - no thanks - I will not support the Israeli economy whilst they are committing mass murder against Palestinian civilians.

Linda_R, to random

Europe's very low teen pregnancy rates, nice low numbers of teens with STDs, and low ages of consent do not cause each other. Europe's respectful attitude toward young adults aged 13-18 cause all three.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@Linda_R

It amusing me (I have a dark sense of humour) that back in the 1980s, India was claiming that it didn't have an AIDS problem (unlike the west) as its population were overwhelmingly moral and chaste. Whereas the reality was that they had a massive AIDS problem as in certain circles, it is considered normal amongst Indian men to pop into a brothel on their way home for a quickie in much the same way that western men pop into a bar after work for a quick drink!

Ordinarily, this might not be a problem as the obligatory condom would protect them to some extent but Indian men are extremely resistant to to using condoms, apparently, and thus AIDS spread unchecked across the India as, in order to make a living, women (and men) offering paid-for sex mostly have to forgo the use of condoms.

The Indian government only acknowledged the extent of the problem in the 2000s

osma, to random
@osma@mas.to avatar

Does this need to be said? Never rent a printer. It barely makes sense for businesses (where it pays for maintenance of very complex machines), it definitely makes no sense for a home device.

My Samsung laser is fine. Practically any Brother printer is more than fine.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/hp-wants-you-to-pay-up-to-36-month-to-rent-a-printer-that-it-monitors/

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@osma

I have two Brother printers an A4 colour laser and an A3 colour inkjet (mainly for printing photos). Both have delivered stunning results, even with non-original toner cartridges/ink cartridges and, unlike an HP inkjet I used to have, it doesn't refuse to function just because the cartridges are not theirs!

I have owned more than a few colour printers and have found Brother to be, by far the best, so far!

I would recommend avoiding Epson inkjets as the jets on their printers seem to block so often! HP likewise plus the problem mentioned above.

Heliograph, to random
@Heliograph@mastodon.au avatar

(⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

a huge conifer tree in sunshine seen against a cloudless blue sky

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@TimWardCam @Heliograph

Congratulations on taking a pic of the Taj that isn't the same as the one every single other tourist takes!

It's a real effort to find a viewpoint that isn't the cliché-ed one; mine was this

kennethb, to random
@kennethb@mastodon.world avatar

Thatcher sold of council houses but signally failed to replace that social housing with new, decent, good-to-high-quality homes. We've never caught up & are around 3 million homes short, right now. The Tories have never cared enough to recognise that, or to do enough about it.

Paulos_the_fog,
@Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org avatar

@TheLancashireman

Consumer choice - like the Brits like being ripped off by banks

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