the_roamer

@the_roamer@mastodonapp.uk

University teacher, father, dog walker. A European in England. Posting on #UKpolitics, #covid, #pedagogy, #taoism, #literature, #programming, #typesetting with #TeX.

Kindness will prevail.

Many of my posts reflect on #MastodonCulture. Micro-observations on life with my #whippet are tagged #whippet_moments. Occasional waves of #SixWordStories.

Meta/threads.net: blocked.

Most of my comments come up in conversations. Please view my "Posts and Replies" rather than "Posts".

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

BobWilliams, to random

Finished a book titled "Reasons to Be Hopeful" last night but in many ways did not find it hopeful.

It's put out by an organization called the "School of Life" and oddly didn't attribute the writing to an author(s), which was weird because it has a very clear voice and worldview.

The advice was solid, but in its efforts to avoid unfounded positivity, it leaned toward most negative view of people, life, and what we are capable of.

I felt more conflicted than hopeful after reading it.

the_roamer,

@BobWilliams

You are stating deep truths. People can be nasty to each other, often they are kind to each other (in small or big ways), but either way the currents of time ceaselessly carry us forward and whatever we did to each other in the past means little as we try to stay afloat today. Be kind, remember the kindness that was shown to you, forget your own failings (as others have), treasure your friends, and if you can, forgive the wrongs that were done to you. Kindness will prevail.

catrionagold, to novid
@catrionagold@mastodon.social avatar

PSA for UK friends who would like to get for and/or (most of you, right?) 💉

The NHS booking platform will allow ANYONE to book a appointment if you answer "yes" to "do you regularly look after someone who is ill, an older person or disabled?"

Most pharmacists are not interested in policing who is getting jabbed, & will give you a bonus free flu jab too ✨

Pass it on!

@novid

the_roamer,

@catrionagold @novid

Didn't know --- will try to do that! Thanks for the PSA!

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Name a film you've seen that left you with the thought, "This is art." If you want to explain why it made you feel that way, that would be pretty cool of you.

the_roamer,

@RickiTarr

Bergman's 1957 The Seventh Seal. Saw it once as a very young man. The narrative, the tone, every scene stayed alive within me for decades without rewatching. When I saw the whole film again recently, it was a confirmation not a renewal. An intricate mix of allegory & realism, a general air of wistful reflection of what life is and what it could be, the voice and face of Max von Sydow... this film is one long elegiac poem.

mph, to random
@mph@social.lol avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    the_roamer,

    @mph

    The boost carousel is an ingenious design innovation, isn't it? Allows me to focus on the primary posts whilst still having an (optional) eye on my follows' boosts.

    I use Semaphore and Fedilab on my phone mostly, but Phanpy is a joy to use.

    duanetoops, to books

    This is the third time Samuel Johnson has come across my path recently. It's clear the universe is shaming me for having not read him.

    https://booksthatmadeus.substack.com/p/you-can-never-be-wise-until-you-learn

    @bookstodon

    the_roamer,

    @duanetoops @bookstodon

    Great, loving essay on Samuel Johnson by Henry Oliver, thank you for the link.

    Oliver is right, there isn't one special book that defines Johnson, each of his works somehow feels a little unremarkable in isolation. It's Johnson's tone, the reflective posture, that make him.

    And Oliver callling Johnson the JS Bach of English prose is ingenious. Jup, Johnson is the Bach of English prose.

    liztai, to journalism
    @liztai@hachyderm.io avatar

    I don't read the news much these days, especially about politics. Before, I was mad about Geopolitics but realised the talking heads were the same, creating outrage content - not good for your mental health. So I stopped. How do I determine what to read? The info graphic below explains it well.
    I can't control or influence what's happening in Israel, Palestine or whether US will have better relations with China. I can only consume content that helps me in my circle of influence.

    the_roamer,

    @liztai

    I agree, to an extent. On twitter, I used to feel obliged to comment on all events in my "circle of concern". Not any more. That was an illusionary activity, effective only in fuelling those meaningless attention waves, but not changing anything real. We want to free ourselves of those waves and the attitudes they create. But. We can have meaningful conversations about those matters, zooming in on fragments of personal experience that relate to them. Subtly, this creates change.

    NunavutBirder, to worldwithoutus
    @NunavutBirder@mas.to avatar

    Happy International Inuit Day.

    I saw a post today that the Arctic is best experienced from the comfort of your own home. Seriously this is one of the most magical places on earth and it’s by far best experienced full on, laying on the tundra, or standing at the floe edge, or having tea in a tent with a friend.

    the_roamer,

    @NunavutBirder @Elbwiese

    So sorry to hear that you lost a friend, and I feel privileged to see your photograph of him and his drumming.

    mcnees, to random
    @mcnees@mastodon.social avatar

    Physicist Lise Meitner was born in 1878. She discovered fission in uranium with Otto Frisch, and was the first person to understand both its mechanics and implications.

    Per usual, the Nobel Committee awarded a prize to some of her colleagues, but left her off.

    Image: Atomic Heritage Foundation (photographer unknown)

    the_roamer,

    @mcnees

    What a wonderful photograph! You can feel the intensity of her attention.

    Thank you for showing this photograph, and for the entire thread.

    StillIRise1963, to random
    @StillIRise1963@mastodon.world avatar

    My parent's house is filled with furniture bought in 1959 and 1968. Well built, made to last, still perfectly intact.

    the_roamer,

    @Urban_Hermit @bronakins @StillIRise1963

    Lovely thread, pointing to the intricate ways in which sustained use of items merges with personal memories.

    My 11yo daughter has the sofa I bought as a student many decades ago. We sit around a table bought by my parents in the 1960s, our 18th century cabinets were bought by my parents at the same time. I still use a 1931 Leica II for photography. Our car was built in 1999, we bought it two years ago for 700 pounds, not many repairs since.

    the_roamer,

    @bronakins @Urban_Hermit @StillIRise1963

    Beautiful. The continuity of things. Some originate with us, some come from others. Some we keep, some we pass on to others. Some of those others we know, some remain unknown. One wonderful network of shared making and using.

    wild1145, to mastodon

    In just a couple of hours (21:05 UK Time) will hit it's 1 year anniversary, which honestly looking back is something I wasn't sure we'd make it to for a while.

    We've had a wild journey with some huge scaling issues at the start, both being at the time one of the few sites on the website that accepted registrations, being on the BBC news and various radio interviews, we went from 1 or 2 users to over 1k overnight and went onto over 50k in the first week.

    the_roamer,

    @wild1145

    Thanks, Ryan, for providing a first home to many arrivals in those dramatic early waves, and a lasting home for many, me included. I arrived on the 5th, some 24 hours after you started. Still on your instance, one year later. Many thanks to you and your team!

    Bing_Chris, to random

    Hi - Twitter is a garbage fire. I am going to try to use this platform more. Love,-Bing.

    the_roamer,

    @Bing_Chris

    A place where people talk rather than shout. Welcome!

    sonny, (edited ) to GNOME
    @sonny@floss.social avatar

    The GNOME Code of Conduct applies to everyone including contributors and users/participants/reporters.

    Don't hesitate to politely remind each other

    • Be friendly
    • Be empathetic.
    • Be respectful.
    • Be considerate.
    • Be patient and generous.
    • Try to be concise.

    https://conduct.gnome.org/

    See thread for a Markdown formatted excerpt ready to copy and paste in our online spaces.

    the_roamer, (edited )

    @sonny

    Excellent advice for all online communication, including for our conversations here on Fedi.

    auschwitzmuseum, to history
    @auschwitzmuseum@mastodon.world avatar

    26 October 1908 | Norwegian Jew, Jacob Scharff, was born in Oslo.A violinist.

    In Auschwiz from 1 December 1942.
    No. 79213
    He perished in the camp the same month.

    the_roamer,

    @auschwitzmuseum

    Jacob Scharff, we remember you.

    auschwitzmuseum, to history
    @auschwitzmuseum@mastodon.world avatar

    26 October 1894 | A Polish Jew, Moryc Mojsze, was born in Gostynin. A worker.

    In Auschwitz from 1 October 1941.
    No. 21252
    He perished in the camp on 8 October 1941.

    the_roamer,

    @auschwitzmuseum

    Moryc Mojsze, we remember you.

    RickiTarr, to random
    @RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

    Alright, it's my Birthday Eve, and today I need to do my unselfish deed, what do you think I should do, and what would you do if it was you?

    the_roamer,

    @CWilbur @RickiTarr

    That is so beautiful. What a treasure. And yes, we should all continue the record and each of us should write a letter to a friend, by hand, every once in a while.

    Nice storage setup, too!

    bloor, to random
    @bloor@bloor.tw avatar

    for toryleader in * do
    echo "The problem is $toryleader"
    done

    the_roamer,

    @kentindell @bloor

    Brilliant!

    davidallengreen, to random
    @davidallengreen@mastodon.green avatar

    Tamworth.

    Where even the most terrifyingly illiberal views are middle-of-the-road.

    Tamworth has fallen.

    If you know the western midlands, you will know the significance of this.

    the_roamer,

    @davidallengreen @andrej

    :-)

    dgar, to random
    @dgar@aus.social avatar

    How to write good.

    1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
    2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
    3. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)
    4. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
    5. One should never generalize.
    6. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
    7. Be more or less specific.
    8. Sentence fragments? Eliminate.
    9. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
    10. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
    11. Who needs rhetorical questions?
    the_roamer,

    @dgar

    Thread bookmarked!

    auschwitzmuseum, to history
    @auschwitzmuseum@mastodon.world avatar

    16 October 1910 | Dutch Jew, Louis Lena van Emden, was born in Rotterdam.

    He was deported to Auschwitz from Westerbork with his wife Marika in August 1942. Marika was murdered in a gas chamber after arrival selection. Louis perished in the camp on 30 September 1942.

    the_roamer,

    @auschwitzmuseum

    Louis Lena van Emden, we remember you.

    Marika van Emden, we remember you.

    auschwitzmuseum, to history
    @auschwitzmuseum@mastodon.world avatar

    14 October 1914 | A Hungarian Jewish woman, Lydia Barta, was born.

    In May 1944 she was deported to Auschwitz. She did not survive.

    the_roamer,

    @auschwitzmuseum

    Lydia Barta, we remember you.

    interfluidity, to random
    @interfluidity@zirk.us avatar

    when the word Swift appears in my feed, it’s about 50/50 Apple vs Taylor.

    the_roamer,

    @interfluidity

    Ah, the Swifts! Apple. Taylor.

    No posts at all about Jonathan Swift the satirical author?

    Nothing at all about Gerard Unger's beautiful and versatile typeface?

    Well, we can change that.

    https://www.fonts.com/font/linotype/swift/story

    As a contribution to the work of an NGO I supported, I once did the digital typesetting and layout of an entire book for them. In Unger's Swift.

    davidallengreen, to random
    @davidallengreen@mastodon.green avatar

    Commissioner Breton writes a letter

    In praise of the one-page formal document

    By me at Substack

    https://emptycity.substack.com/p/commissioner-breton-writes-a-letter

    the_roamer,

    @davidallengreen

    Thank you for pointing to this letter and the beauty of its succinctness. Pretty good on content it is, too!

    auschwitzmuseum, to history
    @auschwitzmuseum@mastodon.world avatar

    11 October 1891 | A Czech Jewish woman, Kitty Mautnerová, was born in Prague.

    She was deported to Auschwitz from Theresienstadt ghetto on 6 Setember 1943. She did not survive.

    the_roamer,

    @auschwitzmuseum

    Kitty Mautnerová, we remember you.

    maxleibman, to random
    @maxleibman@mastodon.social avatar

    Sorry, can’t. I’m busy scrolling up to my birth year on this sign-up form.

    the_roamer,

    @maxleibman

    Ouch. I feel seen. (As a user who's no longer young, that is. Not as a designer of a flawed online UX.)

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