@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz
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forpeterssake

@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz

Serious things: #law, #technology, #bikes, #transit, #sustainability.
Silly things: #humor, #movies, #books, #music, #scifi, #running, #backpacking, #kayaking, the complete works of #JaneAusten, and cat memes.
Apologies if my silly is your serious, or vice versa.

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beexcessivelydiverting, to books
@beexcessivelydiverting@mastodon.online avatar

I’m going to recap ’s “An American in Austen” over at Excessively Diverting (https://excessivelydiverting.substack.com/). The movie is on tonight at 8 p.m. EST and the issue will be out n a few days.

Premise: “Harriet, who thinks that no real man compares to Mr. Darcy, is transported into Pride & Prejudice and gets an unexpected chance to find out.”

@bookstodon

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@beexcessivelydiverting @bookstodon You know what they say, never meet your heroes.

beexcessivelydiverting, to books
@beexcessivelydiverting@mastodon.online avatar

Did anyone catch last night on Hallmark? No? Have I got you covered!

Premise: Lilly, a hopeless romantic and literary enthusiast, is surprised when her wish to talk to her favorite author comes true and herself appears in her life.

https://excessivelydiverting.substack.com/p/austen-bronte-issue-four-recapping-love-and-jane

@bookstodon

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@beexcessivelydiverting @bookstodon
I really appreciate the recaps, I'm not sure I have the stomach for some of these, but like to know the gist of them to see if one might be worth my time!

sundogplanets, to random
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social avatar

Today I've got a Skype a Scientist with a class in Illinois, the weekly international research group meeting that I lead, a podcast interview, a meeting to organize the workshop I'm leading next week on inviting Indigenous knowledge-keepers to your astronomy class, and a meeting to organize a workshop I'm leading on teaching climate change. And somewhere in there I need to do all my normal teaching stuff and telescope planning.

I have definitely volunteered for too many things... help...

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@sundogplanets
Can we make side bets? My money is on the llama! 😄

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

WOO-HOO!

The turbine is up. I did have help to get the first bolt between the turbine and the mast in, but the rest was all myself.

Turbine reassembled on the mast head. Below the masthead is my trestle, with tools. The tractor, which is anchoring the winch, is in the background.
Winching up. This is about half way.
And it's up! The wind turbine on top of its mast, which is now vertical. The tractor is still in the background, but the winch is no longer connected to the mast.

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@simon_brooke
Oooh, nice! I'd love to hear what you think about the system once you've used it for a while.

forpeterssake, to random
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

My haul:

Becca Mancari - Left Hand
https://beccamancari.bandcamp.com/album/left-hand

Laufey - Bewitched
https://laufeyofficial.bandcamp.com/album/bewitched

Lizzie No - Halfsies
https://lizzieno.bandcamp.com/album/halfsies

Katie Pruitt - Mantras (pre-ordered!)
https://katiepruitt.bandcamp.com/album/mantras

Cover art for Laufey's album Bewitched. Laufey is shown in a prone position on the floor, propped up on her elbows, wearing a silver dress and crown and looking at the camera.
Cover art fro Lizzie No's album Halfsies. Lizzie is centered in the middle, viewed standing from the side, wearing a black dress, her head turned over her shoulder towards the camera but her eyes are closed. Her hair is curly and done up. The album title HALFSIES is written across two large lines of white block letters, against a white and green and purple background evocative of flowers.
Cover art for Katie Pruitt's album Mantras. The geometric design has a black and gold border with "Katie Pruitt" at the top and reflected mirror image at the bottom and the roman numeral II in each corner. Katie's face is small in the center, seemingly fractured or broken up, with two corinthian columns on either side. The diamond motif in the middle leaves four fields in the corners; the upper two show clouds (fluffy and peaceful on the left and stormy and lighting on the right) and the lower two fields show flowers (yellow wild flowers on the left and pink/red flowers, perhaps poppies, on the right).

forpeterssake, to random
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

The single best McMansion Hell ever, this is such a funny read. Kate Wagner
(@mcmansionhell) is in awe of this creation, and by the time you finish looking at the photos, you will be too!

(Is that a skate ramp roof in the front? I have so many questions about this house!)

https://mcmansionhell.com/post/741171396971053056/weve-found-it-folks-mcmansion-heaven

GazEtc, to random
@GazEtc@mstdn.social avatar

A drawer that fits around the base of the toilet, for storing whatever the opposite of valuables is.
US Patent 11612281

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@jqheywood @GazEtc
Yeah, it looks like a Squatty Potty toilet stool and oh-no-I-ran-out-of-toilet-paper storage rolling into one. Might be okay for people who don't pee standing up.

marcprecipice, to random
@marcprecipice@xoxo.zone avatar

Not the K-rails!!! Is there nothing left to us?!!???!

“…the barrier tested wasn’t designed to handle vehicles weighing more than 5,000 pounds. ‘So far, we don’t see good vehicle-to-guardrail compatibility with electric vehicles,’ he said.”
https://insideevs.com/news/707059/electric-pickup-truck-guardrails-weight/

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@marcprecipice
7,000+lbs. for a 5-seat vehicle? It seems like a reminder that trucks and SUVs have become too heavy in general. A vehicle that will destroy a guardrail will kill anyone it hits at even lower speeds. (That the Rivian vehicles have bad visibility and high hoods/grilles makes it even worse.)

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@marcprecipice
Yeah, the more I think about it, the more this seems to me to be a vehicle size/weight issue and not directly a BEV issue like the title says. A 5,000+ lb. vehicle of any propulsion mechanism carries additional danger/risk.

rvaughnmd, to random
@rvaughnmd@med-mastodon.com avatar

A medieval horror story in 2024.

Why would any woman trust the medical system today?

Black Woman Who Was Charged for Miscarriage Was Reported to Cops by Her Nurse

In the audio of the 911 call obtained by CBS, the nurse tells police that Brittney Watts “didn’t want to look” at her fetal remains as evidence of wrongdoing

https://jezebel.com/black-woman-who-was-charged-for-miscarriage-was-reporte-1851205206

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@rvaughnmd
Journalism is providing context to events or statements, like this:

"Mercy Health declined to comment on Watts’ care to CBS due to patient privacy. (Though that didn’t stop the hospital from calling the cops on her.)"

😑

forpeterssake, to random
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

NPR's Planet Money presented Penn State civil engineering professor Vikash Gayah's "big idea" of banning left turns in downtowns to improve efficiency. Which seems like a pretty little idea to me.

You want a big idea? Don't ban left turns, ban CARS from downtowns. Stop focusing on through-put in a dense urban area! Downtowns are places people come to for work, shopping, amenities, events, etc. A downtown is the destination, not the way to somewhere else.

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/24/1197956583/baby-bonds-proportional-representation-no-left-turns

capntransit, to random
@capntransit@urbanists.social avatar

'Now a Biden administration proposed “waiver of non-availability” from its “Buy America” policy requirements would allow some railroad stock for an ambitious $12 billion high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas to Los Angeles to be built in Germany. That has local businesspeople and politicians, including Hornell Mayor John Buckley, up in arms. The mayor pointed out that the Hornell plant operated by French train manufacturer Alstom employs 700 local residents…'

https://www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2024/01/editors-note-hornell-no-longer-overlooked-americas-high-speed-rail-manufacturing-home/393494/

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@capntransit "Buy American" policies are myopic and are part of what is holding back transit in the U.S., both rail and bus. I understand the mayor of Hornell wanting to bring more business to his town, and I want the Alstom plant humming too. But as far as I'm concerned, they can import every piece of rolling stock from Germany or Japan or France if it means actual American high-speed rail.

gombang, to random
@gombang@social.nancengka.com avatar

Senate votes against Sanders resolution to force human rights scrutiny over Israel aid

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/16/bernie-sanders-senate-test-vote-military-aid-israel

> Sanders’ effort to make US military assistance conditional on whether Israel is violating human rights in Gaza fails in US Senate

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@gombang
He's quite a character, but I really respect Sanders for things like this. It takes a certain amount of stubborn resolve to be the voice in the wilderness, and he's one of very few willing to do it.

fawfulfan, to random
@fawfulfan@mastodon.social avatar

Teacher accused of displaying noose sues school for 'anti-white' racism https://www.rawstory.com/anti-white-teacher-noose/

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@fawfulfan
Is he going to make an argument that terrorism is intrinsic to whiteness?

forpeterssake, to random
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

"Your acne is caused by stress, so I recommend reversing climate change, Supreme Court decisions, and the increasing costs of living. Or use ointment."

(Comic by Madeline Horwath)

beexcessivelydiverting, to books
@beexcessivelydiverting@mastodon.online avatar

20 Period Romances To Watch if the ‘Pride & Prejudice’ Hand Flex Lives in Your Head Rent-Free

https://theeverygirl.com/period-romance-movies-and-shows/

@bookstodon

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@beexcessivelydiverting @bookstodon
I would have added Elizabeth McGaskell's North and South to this list, if only for Richard Armitage's smoldering eyes. Oh, and a bonus Brendan Coyle for the Downton Abbey fans!

davidzipper, to scooters
@davidzipper@mastodon.social avatar

Me in @FastCompany:

We should be rooting for e-scooter companies – not gloating when they go bust.

They may look weird, but e-scooters reduce urban car trips, making cities safer and less polluted. So show them some love.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91005446/e-scooter-companies-are-going-bankrupt-that-should-alarm-you-even-if-you-hate-them

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@davidzipper @FastCompany
This line right here made me shout "Yes, exactly!" at my screen:

"Upon examination, many of the most common e-scooter complaints are actually indictments of bad street design."

(And look, I sympathize with Margaret Renkl's complaints in Nashville, I live here too. But those were mostly complaints about misbehaving tourists, and they misbehave on and off the scooters. It's settled down now, and we're used to scooters now, they just need more bike lanes to ride them.)

forpeterssake, to random
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

Mainstream media outlets covering boring things like revisions to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways? Yes please. This is a matter of literal life and death, and went ignored for way too long.

https://www.npr.org/2023/12/31/1222174861/road-street-design-traffic-mutcd

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

I'm having Christmas with my husband's family who are Conservative and very anti-vax.

Today my brother-in-law said, "I don't like the Progressives, but they've made our town really nice."

Y'all I almost spit my drink out!

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@RickiTarr
They're THIS close to getting it. Maybe they will eventually, that was part of how I came around.

angiebaby, to random
@angiebaby@mas.to avatar

The most insidious thing about racism on Mastodon is how it is done in such a way that the majority-white user base never sees it. I don't think that it's simply a matter of white people not seeing what they don't want to see - at least in the vast majority of cases.

So when a non-white person discusses the racism they see as a user of Mastodon, it must feel like gaslighting when white people respond with "What do you mean? I've not seen anything like that here."

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@angiebaby

etherdiver, to modularsynth
@etherdiver@ravenation.club avatar

Metaphysical Shitposting continues to grow and evolve! Just in time for Xmas, I've added a little seasonal gem about my love for journeys around Christmas time. It's called "I Always Love Tripping at Xmas" and, if you were planning to chew up some blotter and stare at the twinkly lights, it's a perfect soundtrack!

https://etherdiver.bandcamp.com/track/i-always-love-tripping-at-xmas

It's an all track based around mutilating a "sleigh bell" sample in the . It's real trippy! Enjoy!

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@etherdiver

Sounds like a thematic cousin to Katie Pruitt's "Merry Christmas Mary Jane." https://katiepruitt.bandcamp.com/track/merry-christmas-mary-jane?from=search&search_item_id=2888956415

Alon, to random
@Alon@mastodon.social avatar

I've read articles as ridiculous as this one, in Belarusian media, about Lukashenko, and because of that, I didn't trust those articles enough to use their numbers (which did pass a sanity check) for the Transit Costs Project. https://reason.com/volokh/2023/12/22/clarence-thomas-the-best-and-most-incorruptible-supreme-court-justice-in-u-s-history/

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@Alon
Man, that Calabresi piece is some bullshit. Thomas makes up legal standards and selective versions of history whole-cloth, and the biggest consistency in his 3+ decades on the bench is his misanthropy.

Moreover, since when do we celebrate consistent error and dishonesty? Consistency alone is no virtue.

nerd4cities, to random
@nerd4cities@mstdn.social avatar

No video this next Wednesday because…holidays. Instead, I’m doing a year in review livestream on Thursday Dec 28 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. Join for 2023’s highlights and lowlights, and plenty of Q&A! https://www.youtube.com/live/X9tjTQPdriM?si=VWG0f7VttK5siIWR

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@nerd4cities Nice, you deserve the time off, but I am looking forward to the livestream. I'd love to hear more about your travels through Spain earlier this year.

scalzi, to random
@scalzi@mastodon.social avatar

Cool, now everyone else in the automotive industry do the same

https://www.engadget.com/volkswagen-drivers-want-more-physical-buttons-instead-of-touch-controls-044931087.html

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@scalzi
Yes please. But honestly, even the "improved" interior looks terrible to me. Get that humongous tablet out of my face, and give me controls that I can identify by touch. The volume knob should feel different than the fan knob, etc. VW is actually very good at this, they shouldn't throw that good engineering away.

ExcessivelyDiverting, to books

was first published today in 1817! (And remains one of my favorite books.)

@bookstodon @histodons

forpeterssake,
@forpeterssake@mastodon.xyz avatar

@ExcessivelyDiverting @bookstodon @histodons
Jane Austen's best work, in my opinion, and sort of a counter-point to the more popular Pride & Prejudice. If P&P stands for the proposition that two people can be wrong about each other and learn to change, then Persuasion tells of the reverse, that two people can fall in love and stay in love despite all opposition and get a second chance at being happy together.

In this busted world where things don't go right very often, I love second chances.

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