@jeridansky@sfba.social
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

jeridansky

@jeridansky@sfba.social

Retired professional organizer (the clutter-clearing type); retired editor. Feminist. Cat owner. Jewish atheist. Yimby. Pro-union. Pro-vaccination, masking and ventilation/filtration. Owner/moderator of my local freecycle group.

Header photo: A large black Maine Coon cat looks at a computer screen.

#nobridge

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

jeridansky, to random
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

Truly alarming news for anyone needing an in a state with anti-abortion laws:

“Scientists in Poland have reportedly developed lab tests that can detect whether people have taken abortion pills—and those tests are already being used to investigate pregnancy outcomes under the country’s abortion ban.”

https://jezebel.com/there-are-now-tests-that-can-detect-if-someone-took-abo-1850839647

jeridansky, to writing
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

April 1, and sadly not a joke: Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com get acquired:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ixl-learning-acquires-dictionary-com-121500032.html

April 12: The entire team of lexicographers at Dictionary.com gets laid off.
https://bsky.app/profile/korystamper.bsky.social/post/3kpxgzhx7eo2l

jeridansky, to tech
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

LOL: HP wants you to rent a printer from the company via its new subscription service.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/hp-wants-you-to-pay-up-to-36-month-to-rent-a-printer-that-it-monitors/

My suggestion: Just follow The Verge's advice and buy a Brother laser printer. I'm very happy with mine — something I never expected to say about a printer.
https://www.theverge.com/23642073/best-printer-2023-brother-laser-wi-fi-its-fine

jeridansky, to mastodon
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

"Most servers lose money. Most moderators are unpaid."
https://sfba.social/@iftas@mastodon.iftas.org/111211472110806506

If your server/instance accepts donations, and you can afford to help out, please consider making a donation. (I have a monthly donation set up.) Every little bit helps!

jeridansky, to random
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

One of the better articles re: that I've seen recently includes this:

"You might also consider favoring outdoor hangouts and meetups with friends and family at this current time, to help reduce the potential risks of COVID transmission. ... Consider doing the quieter folks in your circle a favor and be the person that raises the issue first, to keep everyone safer. Remember: It’s not weird to not want to get COVID."

https://www.kqed.org/news/11957790/the-new-covid-eris-variant-and-rising-cases-what-you-need-to-know
h/t @CaramelizedShallots

jeridansky, to Banking
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

I just got emails that sure looked like official messages from my bank saying I'd added a Zelle recipient and sent him a bunch of money.

Of course I didn't click on any of the links; I just went to my bank's website and checked my accounts, and everything is fine. Also: The Zelle messages referenced an account ending in four digits which match none of my bank accounts.

So a warning that fake messages like this are circulating.

jeridansky, to ai
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

One reason I'm avoiding MSN.com (which DuckDuckGo often directs you to):

"Microsoft’s decision to increasingly rely on the use of automation and artificial intelligence over human editors to curate its homepage appears to be behind the site’s recent amplification of false and bizarre stories."

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/02/tech/microsoft-ai-news/index.html

jeridansky, to books
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

Horrible news: Simon & Schuster to be sold to KKR, a private equity firm.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/06/books/simon-schuster-kkr-sale.html
Paywall-free: https://archive.li/GtJLV#selection-405.0-405.54

Why KKR is especialy bad:
https://karawynn.substack.com/p/the-coming-enshittification-of-public-libraries
“Even in the world of investment capital, where evil is arguably banal, KKR is notoriously vile.”

h/t @JaneRLaForge

Edited to correct the URL for the NYT

jeridansky, to cycling
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

"I asked a group of Helsinki officials what role information technology has played in their success reducing crashes in recent years. 'Zero,' replied Palomaki. 'We simply slowed down the cars.'"

Finland also investigates fatal car crashes similarly to how we investigate plane crashes.

From October 2022: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-07/helsinki-finland-s-amazing-traffic-safety-record-explained

h/t @kdorse @robsonfletcher

jeridansky, to microsoft
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

Surprising almost no one:

"Return-to-office mandates at some of the most powerful tech companies — Apple, Microsoft and SpaceX — were followed by a spike in departures among the most senior, tough-to-replace talent."

And regarding managers, one person posits: "Maybe managers leave shortly after mandates ... 'because it’s easier to manage a team that’s happy.'"

Gift link via @amydiehl
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/05/12/rto-microsoft-apple-spacex/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzE1NDg2NDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzE2ODY4Nzk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MTU0ODY0MDAsImp0aSI6IjEzYzUzYzYyLWIzNWEtNGZjZS05ODFhLWU0NTBhOWU2ZTI3MiIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9idXNpbmVzcy8yMDI0LzA1LzEyL3J0by1taWNyb3NvZnQtYXBwbGUtc3BhY2V4LyJ9.UIvzIv58TQTb6eSwqy47rds7JRdmGCQcZZdjVweZHC8

jeridansky, to california
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

Californians: Did you know we still have language from 2008’s Prop 8 in our constitution, defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman? This could come back to bite us if Obergefell is ever overturned by the Supreme Court.

Let’s vote in November to get this out of our constitution!
https://ballotpedia.org/California_Right_to_Marry_and_Repeal_Proposition_8_Amendment_(2024)

h/t @yazad3 @xerophile @lakelady @dougiec3 @gretared @mcnado @fraying @stevesilberman @Barbramon1 @ewen @lisamelton

jeridansky, to Medicine
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

Dr. Ruth Gottesman, on donating $1 billion to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine so all students can attend tuition-free:

Dr. Gottesman’s husband died in 2022 at age 96. “He left me, unbeknownst to me, a whole portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway stock,” she recalled. The instructions were simple: “Do whatever you think is right with it."

Gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/nyregion/albert-einstein-college-medicine-bronx-donation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.YU0.xHcm.KGd5ffmXFPes&smid=url-share

h/t @deborahh

jeridansky, to random
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

And then there were four: “Rutgers and the University of Minnesota now join Northwestern and Brown in successfully reaching deals to peacefully end their encampment protests.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/02/rutgers-university-of-minnesota-protest-agreement


h/t @Miro_Collas

jeridansky, to random
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

I love having a CO2 monitor to check the air quality in indoor spaces (my grocery store, my dentist’s office, etc.). I’m relieved when stores have good ratings, and I’ve convinced my dentist’s office to open windows to get the rating down to an acceptable level.

I use an and thanks to @brainwane I learned they are on sale (at quite a discount) until Sept. 17. Highly recommended for the Covid-cautious who don’t have one already.

US Customers: https://shop.aranet.com/north-america/product/aranet4-home

jeridansky, to Unions
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

If you didn't already know Trader Joe's is vehemently anti-union, you do now.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-26/trader-joe-s-follows-spacex-in-arguing-nlrb-is-unconstitutional or
https://archive.is/eOOwV

jeridansky, to random
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

I've written enough Postcards to Voters — I'm writing 10 right now for a Supreme Court election in Georgia — that I need to buy more postcards.

We have lots of artists here; does anyone sell postcards? I'm looking to buy about 100 with possible re-orders. The art must be nonpolitical and something that will make people want to read the cards. Pictures of animals, flowers, landscapes and such are all good. (My current ones have a bird.)

jeridansky, to apple
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

Apple is making a team in San Diego relocate to Texas in order to keep their jobs? The Texas where it's not safe to be a person who could become pregnant (among many other problems)? Shame on them.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-14/apple-to-shutter-121-person-san-diego-ai-team-in-reorganization or
https://archive.is/TnOUv

jeridansky, to Jewish
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

About to settle in for the traditional Christmas meal for those of us who are . (Yes, I'll have plenty left over for Christmas day.)

jeridansky, to random
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

I will never read or listen to David Sedaris again. I would normally link to the original, but I don't want to give The New Yorker any clicks for this garbage. h/t @augieray.
https://archive.is/rZMr5#selection-571.0-575.40

jeridansky, to journalism
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

The sorry state of news reporting in Richmond, California:

"Chevron is the city's largest employer, largest taxpayer and largest polluter. Yet when it comes to writing about Chevron, The Richmond Standard consistently toes the company line.

"And there's a reason for that: Chevron owns The Richmond Standard."

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1239650727/chevron-fossil-fuel-richmond-standard-california-news

h/t @verdantsquare

jeridansky, to journalism
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

A big thanks to the Cleveland Plain Dealer and editor Chris Quinn:

"The facts involving Trump are crystal clear, and as news people, we cannot pretend otherwise, as unpopular as that might be with a segment of our readers. There aren’t two sides to facts. People who say the earth is flat don’t get space on our platforms. If that offends them, so be it."

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2024/03/our-trump-reporting-upsets-some-readers-but-there-arent-two-sides-to-facts-letter-from-the-editor.html

h/t @BenCisco
@msbellows

jeridansky, to Florida
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

Interesting to see conferences are cancelling plans for events in — and they don't all cite the same reasons.

One mentions "the Governor’s statement that slavery was good for Black people." Another cites "issues around women’s health & the added challenges with higher education.” One mentions anti-migrant policies. Another notes "fear for the safety of African-American, LGBTQ+ and ... even Latino students & others traveling to Florida" as well as the "new permitless gun carry laws."

https://news.yahoo.com/floridas-broward-county-says-losses-212500160.html

jeridansky, to random
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

Yet one more problem with wildfires: When they burn intensely, they can take a harmless chemical found in the soil and turn it into a "notorious" carcinogen.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/california-wildfire-created-toxic-chromium-research-finds-rcna128644

h/t @CelloMomOnCars @andybrwn @hannu_ikonen


cc: @ai6yr

jeridansky, to climate
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

A new climate report is, as you might expect, very grim.

“Global efforts to limit warming to 1.5C are lacklustre at best. Despite decades of dire warnings and wake-up calls, our leaders have largely failed to mobilise climate action anywhere near the pace and scale needed. Such delays leave us with very few routes to secure a livable future for all.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/14/world-behind-on-almost-every-policy-required-to-cut-carbon-emissions-research-finds

jeridansky, to boston
@jeridansky@sfba.social avatar

I’ve always supported numerous media outlets, but as I get disillusioned with some mainstream media I increasingly appreciate (and send $ to) alternative efforts, including:

The new & impressive @404mediaco, which includes reporting from @josephcox & @jasonkoebler

@TexasObserver

@MLNow for San Francisco folks

@gbhnews for news of & beyond — and because they have a cool Mastodon presence

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