Wolf_Baginski

@Wolf_Baginski@meow.social

Retired field-scale bio-systems engineer
¡No pasarán!

Can do arithmetic.
Smarter than the average ̶b̶e̶a̶r̶ Tory.
May contain nuts

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

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

New blog entry: The Coming Storm: https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2024/01/the-coming-storm.html

Wolf_Baginski,

@cstross

I shall carefully remind everyone that we are being flooded with lies and disinformation, and some of us see multiple elections on the same day.

Don't trust people telling you who to vote for. It's YOUR vote. Whether you choose gunpowder, treason, or plot, if you don't use your vote you will have lost your election.

Joe Hill: "Don't mourn, organize!"

cstross, (edited ) to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

The point at 1m46s into this Orangina ad from 2006 where the octopus babe tentacle-squeezes her breasts(?!?) and they burst, spraying Orangina™ everywhere defines a bizarre sexy Lovecraftian sensibility I really want to nail for a future Laundry Files story.

Wolf_Baginski,

@Floppy @cstross

Some people do have a bad reaction to the furry aspect. I'm not sure of the target age-group, but I do get a feeling of some rather ugly sexism lurking in the thinking of the advert's creators.

It doesn't feel incidental, in the way the real people in swimsuits might.

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

Brexit bonus! Martian hyper-scabies epidemic hits the sunlit uplands of brexitannia! Supply chain whoopsie hits supply of meds for treating the condition causing multi-month delays! Merciless itching intensifies! Happy new year!

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/01/doctors-report-nightmare-surge-in-scabies-across-uk

Wolf_Baginski,

@cstross

The report mentions eczema. The treatments overlap slightly but the habit of prescribing by brand-name means I have three "different" prescriptions for the same treatment. All three variations are in short supply. They can all be described as a "barrier cream". There is no obvious difference in the list of ingredients. But I have three different chains from prescriber to pharmacy to me.

Those two active ingredients used for Scabies are very different. Malathion is an acetylcholine esterase inhibitor, and when I was farming that was in one of the more dangerous classes of pesticides. There are also reports of emerging resistance.

The other choice, permethrin, is a pyrethroid. I am not speaking as an expert, but I am uncomfortable with the thought of shortages when resistance may be an issue. Using an ACE every year was not a good idea, though that was partly because of such aspects as the risk to bees.

georgetakei, to random

This is in fact what he did.

Wolf_Baginski,

@georgetakei

A smart lawyer could argue for both, in different circumstances, but this bear, looking at some recent events, doubts that Mr. Trump is employing a smart lawyer.

WataruTenkawa, to random
@WataruTenkawa@vivaldi.net avatar

"The FDA believes this wasn't just a matter of poor hygiene at the factory. The lead was deliberately added to the cinnamon. They say it was "economically motivated," a way of making the cinnamon cheaper.
This is remarkable. A pouch of applesauce contains something like one gram of cinnamon, which costs less than a quarter of a cent on the global market. But it's cheaper to use less cinnamon and make up the weight with lead?
What's even worse is that the FDA suspects this is a routine practice—but only for cinnamon shipped to poor countries. It was only caught this time because the cinnamon supplier screwed up and accidentally delivered a tainted batch for applesauce that was destined for the US, where we have the ability to detect lead contamination. Everyone else is out of luck."
FDA: Applesauce was deliberately tainted with lead https://jabberwocking.com/fda-applesauce-was-deliberately-tainted-with-lead/

Wolf_Baginski,

@WataruTenkawa

It may be deep in the FDA account, but lead acetate (or "sugar of lead") was used by the Romans to sweeten wine. That may be why lead was used.

patterfloof, to random

Fun home legacy code. Hall lightswitch works the opposite way from the other 3 on that panel & I can't figure out why

Wolf_Baginski,

@patterfloof

There is a way of wiring a pair of light switches at opposite ends of a hallway which allow the light to be turned on or off by either switch. And it can lead to the switches being "opposite".

The switches do have to be a special type, and detail does depend on wiring regulations. Look for "2 way light switch".

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

GOOD MORNING!

Your thought for the day is:

Muppet Yiffing

Wolf_Baginski,

@angusm @cstross

It doesn't come up on Google Maps but that doesn't say much about reality. Even if it shows a place it may not exist. They think we still have a Woolworths here.

Skembear, to random
@Skembear@mastodon.social avatar

The Corruption Behind Starmer’s Rise Has Finally Been Exposed | Novara Media
https://novaramedia.com/2023/11/14/the-corruption-behind-starmers-rise-has-finally-been-exposed/?mc_cid=a0fc4f771e

'The slush fund of undeclared, unregulated, and unlawful dark money – more than £730,000 of it – that financed the reconquest and reclamation of the Labour Party by its far rightwing using Keir Starmer as front man.'

Wolf_Baginski,

@cstross @jpaskaruk @Skembear

I am not sure I have it right, but Zionism is more parallel to the political movements that exploded across the world after the fall of Empires in WW1. It isn't so much anti-Nazi, even if the Holocaust also fed into the State of Israel, but it's too old to be just that. The Pogroms and the huge Emigration to the USA are part of the story.

How much the parallels to Britain and Ireland matter, I am not at all sure. It seems to me that the genuine hard men can make deals. Their successors are the dangerous failures.

Wolf_Baginski,

@cstross @jpaskaruk @PJ_Evans @Skembear

Quick summary of the timing.

The British had advanced from the Suez Canal to Gaza by April 1917, and stalled. The Ottoman Army had defeated two attacks on Gaza, and both sides built up forces on the line running from Gaza to Beersheba.

Beersheba is about half way between Gaza and the Dead Sea and the logistics of the time meant the gap to the East was irrelevant.

The British Imperial forces won the battle of Beersheba on the 31st of October 1917. If they had lost a retreat to the Suez Canal was likely.

The British seem to have made conflicting promises to everyone.

ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

Is it awful to hope that something horrible happens to while he's in the jungle filming I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here?

just askin'

Wolf_Baginski,

@quinn @cstross @ChrisMayLA6

has only got one ball
has two but rather small
is soft and ever squishy
And has no balls at all

georgetakei, to random

Trump is already talking about using the Insurrection Act on his first day in office, if he is reelected, to put down any civil protests. I can’t stress this enough. No matter what you think of Biden, his age, his policies, he is no dictator. He believes in democracy. We cannot let Trump anywhere near the White House again.

Wolf_Baginski,

@georgetakei it's a bit scary that there are so many echoes of Trump visible in our current British government.

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

In pretty much any Columbo episode that involves the military I always expect the Brigadier to turn up and say:

"Oh it's you, Doctor. New face again I see."

Wolf_Baginski,

@garius

I am not going to try this year.

The settings are too different, but the more general concept of the Doctor meeting with a half-recognised fictional cop has potential. But even Sherlock Holmes gets tricky because of a US TV series in the 1950s.

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

My thoughts are with everyone trying to explain to their cat why mealtimes are one hour later now.

Wolf_Baginski,

@garius

Partly because of farming, which reflects solar time more than many think, the assorted humans, cats, and dogs on the farm were less bothered by this.

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

Ugh, colds suck.

(But not as much as COVID. Which this probably isn't, going by the lack of non-cold symptoms and two negative LFTs so far. Will keep testing, though.)

Wolf_Baginski,

@cstross

This bear did get his influenza vaccine on Tuesday. Just the usual injection-site discomfort.

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

Fact of the day:

ISO3103 is the International Standard covering the serving of tea. It's there to ensure consistency in taste testing.

Key points:

  • Pot should be porcelain or earthenware
  • Milk should be added AFTER hot water

Ireland were the only country to object on its submission, noting there was no provision for pot-warming in the specification.

This was overruled.

Wolf_Baginski,

@glitzersachen @garius

It does seem a little odd if there is nothing about the starting temperature of the pot. I assume the volume is included.

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

Wheelspinning this week with good days and bad days, probably because the clocks go back on Saturday and the SAD is hitting me hard—11 hours/night in bed, sleeping up to 5 hours at a stretch instead of my normal 2 hours max. (I have a very bad sleep pattern, going back nearly 30 years.)

Wolf_Baginski,

@cstross

It does not help that the USA uses its own switching dates and mostly speaks something that might be mistaken for English.

georgetakei, to random

So we can expect a guilty plea then, Donald?

Wolf_Baginski,

@georgetakei

I am not greatly annoyed by this. I trust you. But this is in the territory where content-warnings are justified. I use "British Politics", and I sometimes wonder if I use it enough. I wonder about hashtags.

We may call such things tricks, but they are about communicating.

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

Life-threatening rain as Met Office escalates Storm Babet to red alert

A red warning is issued only when dangerous weather is forecast and it is 'very likely there will be a risk to life'.

https://news.stv.tv/scotland/life-threatening-rain-as-met-office-escalates-storm-babet-to-rare-red-warning?key=68ViW0HZa4TnWo9qeyNejdW

(Forecast is for a month's worth of rain in 48 hours, starting late tomorrow, plus strong winds. Area affected is the east coast of Scotland, i.e. right here, and parts as far south as Newcastle.)

Wolf_Baginski,

@cstross @adaddinsane There is a bot repeating Met Office traffic from X

It does match other Met Office sources but Red isn't the worst for rain. Some of the "independent" sources are very dodgy if you're on a regional boundary. I do use the Android app, but it can be a bit dodgy, looking out the window can be better.

@metoffice

Wolf_Baginski,

@cstross @adaddinsane @metoffice

It does look as though the Met Office got a bit mixed up on Wednesday about the colour-coded warnings. The Red warning zone is centred on Montrose. There is an Amber zone running down the East Coast into England, Yellow inland and along the coast further south. It doesn't look as though the wind and rain numbers have changed.

Northern Power has warned of possible power cuts.

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

I've been asked by a digital publication to do a regular column on forgotten or overlooked bits of tech and business history that changed stuff forever.

So what's your favourite weird nugget of obscure history or people in tech or business?

This is LITERALLY your chance to make me write about it 😄

Wolf_Baginski,

@garius

How a leather business from Texas became (briefly) the biggest computer retailer on the planet.

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

This all-day training workshop is in a room with about four plug sockets.

Which is a spectacular oversight when every attendee is from the IT department.

Ain't nobody brought a pad or pen.

Wolf_Baginski,

@garius

A lot of new-build housing has the same problem, with grandfathered-in electrical systems designed in the pre-computer era.

garius, to history
@garius@mastodon.me.uk avatar

On 8th Oct 1952 the worst civilian rail disaster in UK history happened in London. 112 would die. 340 would be injured.

That accident, and the actions of one woman from Florida have saved THOUSANDS of lives since.

Because that disaster would help lead to the creation of paramedics. /1 🧵

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU60PgAjh0E&t=7s

Wolf_Baginski,

@garius @martinvermeer

And since it comes out of Combat Medicine you can track so much back to WW1, with connections to ARP and Civil Defence in WW2. But my views are biased by half-remembered stories told by my parents and grandparents.

mattblaze, to random
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

Someone yelled at me for posting monochrome photos again.

That's kind of annonying, but this place still has fewer Nazis than that other place, so I'll be sticking around (along with my dreary monochrome photos, devoid of all color and joy as they may be).

Wolf_Baginski,

@0xabad1dea @mattblaze

I know there are profile settings you can pick to set default image handling. The exact details depend on how you're accessing the Fediverse. That sort of user can set up his access to protect himself.

I have several disabilities of my own. I have some strong opinions about the way some people politicise health issues. Very strong opinions, which could be be sung to the tune of "Colonel Bogey", and would need a Content Warning of their own.

EU_Commission, (edited ) to Women
@EU_Commission@social.network.europa.eu avatar

Today, the Istanbul Convention enters into force in our Union.

It aims at protecting women from violence and to prevent, prosecute, and eliminate it by:

🔹 training professionals in contact with victims of violence;

🔹 running awareness-raising campaigns;

🔹 empowering their police and justice system to remove perpetrators from the house.

We will only live in a truly fair and equal Union when and girls no longer live in fear of violence.

Wolf_Baginski,

@shalien @EU_Commission

That's nobody's business but the Turks.

(The Convention comes from the Council of Europe, not the EU.)

georgetakei, to random

President Biden made history by standing with autoworkers on the picket line. Trump held an invite-only rally at a nonunion plant outside Detroit. The choice couldn't be clearer which party truly supports workers. Can Biden get voters to listen? https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/biden-trump-uaw-strike-workers

Wolf_Baginski,

@georgetakei

I had an interesting day.

It ended with my old laptop dual-booting into Linux, which gives me working sound. So I tried YouTube and found a version of "This Land is Your Land" in Yiddish.

I don't know if the Nazis got around to banning that.

https://youtu.be/GnP8zWcy1ZA

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • provamag3
  • InstantRegret
  • ethstaker
  • osvaldo12
  • magazineikmin
  • GTA5RPClips
  • rosin
  • mdbf
  • Youngstown
  • Durango
  • slotface
  • everett
  • kavyap
  • DreamBathrooms
  • JUstTest
  • thenastyranch
  • tacticalgear
  • modclub
  • cisconetworking
  • tester
  • cubers
  • khanakhh
  • ngwrru68w68
  • normalnudes
  • megavids
  • anitta
  • Leos
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •