chris

invalidname, 1 hour ago to hnom

Do you see this sh*t, Applejack? The Boston goalie THREW HER STICK to make the save. Amazing play. #PWHL @hnom

Various replay angles as Montreal attackers are denied a goal by Boston’s goalie.

chris, 9 hours ago to animals

There is disagreement over who has possession of the icky rainbow 🌈 🍌 banana thing.
#catsofmastodon #Atlas #Whiskers

chris, 12 hours ago to random

I AM SILENCED spelled out in the first letter of each sentence of Miss USA's resignation letter. Good on the BBC for reporting it. Miss Teen USA resigned as well. These pageant shows should be banned.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68973924

chris, 21 hours ago to random

CANUCKS WIN
CANUCKS WIN
CANUCKS WIN
#HNOM

GottaLaff, 1 day ago to random

So I did ask, but seems you didn't have anything you needed included in my next How to Move to Canada series post... which is fine!

But I bet you will AFTER I post it, right? Oh well. I'll try to answer what I can if you do have questions.

I'm nearly done writing it.

chris, 1 day ago to internet

1/2 Today in, "Chris writes to Politicians” 🤣
I wrote to the British Columbia Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness today in relation to this news that she was negotiating with Meta to try to get access to Facebook to post emergency updates. How did we allow ourselves to be so beholden to these corporations for basic communication!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/meta-wildfire-crisis-news-ban-1.7196763

Here is my letter:
Dear Minister Ma (EMCR.Minister@gov.bc.ca)

CC: My Local MLA Minister Josie Osborne

I understand and agree with why you feel you must try to get Meta to allow you to post Emergency messages on that platform, especially during the fire season when we all now face so much uncertainty.
However, you must also acknowledge that:

1. Meta has made it clear its concern is curating its own content and “news” for its own financial benefit separate from any public benefit consideration.

2. You will never be able to control the algorithm on any Meta platform, so while you may post, you are still never guaranteed that your message can reach 100% of the people 100% of the time.

3. You as a Minister and as a representative of the Government of British Columbia cannot rely on third parties to get timely messaging out to communities and citizens. You are government, you have the means and responsibility to get the message out directly.

The question is how do you, as government, use social media directly? This has not been possible before, but it is now.

The answer is the Open Social Web. You may cringe at this example (and rightly so), but the pioneer and most famous person using the Open Social Web tools for public communication is Donald Trump with his “truth.social”.

#OpenSocialWeb #Emergency #Government #CanPoli #CdnPoli #SocialMedia #BCPoli

chris, 1 day ago to random

Has anyone told Ron that every risen bread he has ever eaten is essentially "lab grown”?

That the act of baking with things like yeast, baking power, baking soda, salt, and other things turn the kitchen into a home chemistry and biolab?

Finally: How much money did he receive from the cattle industry?

#LabMeat
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/florida-ban-analysis-canada-1.7197136

chris, 1 day ago to home

House is all finished. It has never looked this good. ❤️ 🏠
if you are in Port Alberni and looking for a painter, I know a guy. :-) #Home #PortAlberni #Renovation #Painting

chris, 2 days ago to random

#FreePalestine #NoGenocide #IsraelHamas #BCPoli #CanPoli #CdnPoli

I stand with somw holding a Ceasefire Now sign. We are in front of a large business sign with BarBurrito on top and Josie Osborne MLA office on bottom.

sundogplanets, 3 days ago (edited 3 days ago) to random

Hello Toronto - I'm giving a public talk there in 8 days. Want to hear me yell about satellites for an hour? Come say hi!

EDITED to add: Oops I didn't give image credit! The image in the poster was taken by Joshua Rozells, see APOD link: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220614.html

chris, 4 days ago to privacy

Protect your info online folks and don't expect much from AirBnB if you get a fraudulent charge from them on your card!

I recently saw an AirBnB purchase on my credit card. I did not make it. $CAD466 for a reservation in London. I have never even had my CC connected to AirBNB and my account is secure. It was obviously made by someone who got my CC info.

I saw it a couple days after the transaction but it was still pending on my statement. So I called my bank (VanCity) and they asked all the right questions, removed the "token" for AirBNB so other transactions couldn't be made, and encouraged me to contact ABNB, screenshot any communications, and try to get them to reverse the transaction.

I had three conversations with ABNB. The first, text chat, I explained the situation, they were receptive but it ended without any resolution.

After waiting a few hours for a response, I called ABNB for another conversation. This one ended with them agreeing, verbally, to refund the amount in 24-48hrs.

However, immediately after the end of that conversation, they sent an email, attached here, where they argued, without evidence, and despite the fact the support person said it was someone in Montreal named James, (I know no one in Montreal named James!) that the most likely explanation was that it was a friend or family
member. 😡 They would not refund.

After I sent a spirited reply demanding evidence they said they would only give it under supeona or a police investigation!! 🤯 (full text in image alt)

So ya hey AirBnB: Suck it.

I have gone back to my bank to have the number deactivated and put in a charge dispute. It could take up to 3 months for the charge to be refunded!
#Privacy #Fraud #AirBnB #CreditCards #VanCity

A screenshot of the final email from AirBNB says: Hi Christopher, Thank you for your reply. We understand your concerns, but please rest assured that a full and thorough investigation has been carried out on the disputed charge. As outlined in the previous message, a refund cannot be issued in cases in which we believe a friend or family member who has access to your payment method has used it unintentionally. Unfortunately, we're unable to release any information regarding the reservation or the user accounts involved without a formal request, such as a subpoena, from a government agency or law enforcement. If a government agency or law enforcement contact us regarding this issue, Airbnb will fully cooperate with their requests. We again recommend getting in touch with anyone you may have given your credit card details to in the past. Additionally, we would suggest contacting any friends or relatives who have an Airbnb account that you have traveled with on Airbnb previously—if you added your payment credentials on another account and decided to save these credentials for future use, this could be what caused the unexpected charge.

chris, 4 days ago to Israel

No free press in Israel apparently. War propaganda only. Democracy dies in the dark.
#Israel #Gaza #Hanas #FreePalestine #Journalism #Fascism #AlJazeera

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/05/1249205453/netanyahus-cabinet-votes-to-close-al-jazeera-offices-in-israel

mike, 4 days ago to random

Well, I got my first white supremacist reply from the fediverse after posting an article about Elon from Flipboard.

I reported and blocked the account. I also looked at the instance admin's account and it's clear he's also a white supremacist. So that instance will be blocked on flipboard.com and flipboard.social as well as shared with other instance admins as a problematic instance for them to take action if they also deem appropriate. Took all of 2 minutes to help make the fediverse a bit better for everyone.

And the best thing is that anyone in the fediverse can do this too. Decentralized moderation FTW.

chris, 5 days ago to gardening

omg SALAMANDER FAMILY 🦎 🦎 🦎 in our yard/pond!!!

We found three salamanders in the bottom of a waterlogged garden pot under our rhododendron not far from the pond. So we transferred them into the pond stream under the little wood bridge in the moss and rocks. ❤️ 🦎
#gardening #pondlife #PortAlberni #Salamander #amphibians

A tiny baby salamander is a light brown colour, wriggling on the bottom of a black plastic pot
A black Salamander looks up from in between some weeds abd moss beaidw a rock.

chris, 5 days ago to Israel

Glad that this article is out there now about the VIU encampment and the unjustified threats from administration.

Speak up folks. For the right to protest AND against genocidal governments and those that support them.

#VIU #Israel #FreePalestine #UVic #BCPoli #CdnPoli #CanPoli #Gaza #UniversityProtests
https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/viu-warns-students-in-encampment-they-could-face-arrests-expulsions-8696211

chris, 5 days ago to linux

It is absolutely mind bending how many options ffmpeg has. I've been trying to convince it to use the old Radeon 2600 Pro graphics hardware acceleration. No luck finding the magic command yet! :)

#ffmpeg #commandline #linux #debian #iMac #footiMac #webcams

code GIF

chris, 5 days ago to canucks

Just logging in to say... CANUCKS WIN CANUCKS WIN CANUCKS WIN
Off to the next round.
Where's the Stanley Cup emoji? 😂
#HNOM #Canucks

happy ice hockey GIF by NHL

chris, 6 days ago to random

#FreePalestine #Protest #FreedomofExpression #BCPoli #CanPoli #CdnPoli #Indigenous #Police #RCMP

Vancouver Island University, my employer, is now threatening to remove the encampment and have people arrested. I'm absolutely sick.

I had corresponded with our President on May 1. I sent this to our Chancellor, Chair and President today.

Dear Chancellor Sayers, Chair Anderson, and President Saucier,

I am extremely concerned by the escalatory words and actions of VIU today given the encampment’s peaceful and respectful nature and disposition to date. The President has stated to me in her response quoted below on May 1 "that VIU’s approach to the encampment is based on respect and peace for protest and freedom of expression.”

The locking of all campus buildings today and the very clear threat by VIU Security (see attached noticed link) to have peace officers remove tents and equipment under the Trespass Act under threat of arrest is completely contradictory to the President’s statement and is exactly the approach that I flagged to the President as being extremely dangerous and likely to result in harm to the protesters and deep embarrassment to the University itself. There are peaceful ways to do this.

As an institution that is supposed to be fully immersed in the spirit and action of Truth and Reconciliation, I find these statements and actions to be horrendously contradictory, misguided, colonial, and dangerous.

As an individual employee, VIUFA faculty member, and member of this community on Snuneymuxw, Coast Salish and Nuuchanulth lands I am embarrassed, and I beg the University to reconsider and reverse its actions.

Sincerely,
Chris Alemany
@davidakin @pennydaflos

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6fXd_rLuXx/?igsh=ZzdmaHFmOWlodjd1

chris, 7 days ago to Palestine

I'd just like to say I've been to enough protests of various topics that I have, in the past, seen anarchists, black block types, etc. I know what they look like.

I saw them before the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, and another time in Vancouver at a Climate protest. In both cases they were a tiny TINY portion of the crowd and stuck out like a sore thumb and have never, in my experience, ever been acting in connection with the overall group. They are their own thing.

There has been nothing of that sort in any protest that I have seen in these #Palestine protests. So any suggestion of such is, in my opinion, a pure fabrication and an incitement and dog whistle to Police to justify violence against the encampments.

#Israel #FreePalestine #UniversityProtests #VIU #UVic #BCPoli #CanPoli #Olympics

chris, 7 days ago to random

BBC is interviewing an ex-Clinton aide who said that some of the people are “Anarchists”. The interviewer challenges "are you seriously saying these are anarchists?”....

“I didn't say all…" says guy. Then he spends the rest of the time referring to them as anarchists. This is classic.

Guy is just going off. He says: “There is no such thing as genocide from Israel because Hamas has a policy of genocide... apartheid is not a thing…

"These anarchists at Columbia are not voting for Joe Biden”

Interviewer: “Do you not see at all, any unease about the basic issue [of Israel's war conduct]”

Guy dodges…

"These anarchists…. will try to make a scene [at Demoratic and Republican conventions]”

chris, 8 days ago to random

Happy Dental Care Day Canada!! (at least if you're over 70 without private insurance)

I hope that in time this will become part of universal single-payer healthcare (along Drug Coverage) and eliminate private insurance for health needs, but it's a start at least. And it happened because a centre-left party, the NDP, has an agreement to work with the minority government.

#CdnPoli #CanPoli #HealthCare #DentalCare #PharmaCare #UniversalHealthCare #NDP #Liberals #CPC

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-dental-care-plan-cdcp-seniors-coverage-begins-may-1-1.7189717

brooke, 8 days ago to random

Units of luminance are named like a Monty Python sketch

chris, 11 days ago to Travel

Back on the CO2 travel kick... equivalent of the day:
A 40km crossing on a BC Ferry from Nanaimo to Vancouver produces the same CO2 per passenger (5kg) as an 1800km high speed train journey from London, UK to Valencia, Spain.

We need to completely rethink travel in Canada but our political leaders are transportation cowards.

Source:
Train: https://ecotree.green/en/calculate-train-co2#result
Ferry: Own Calculations based on conversations with BC Ferries employees.

#CanPoli #CdnPoli #Travel #CO2Emissions