Reading through the most recent issue of "Solarpunk Magazine" and wanted to highlight how much I enjoyed the story "Once and Future Kilowatts" by @susankayequinn. One theme I really like in many #Solarpunk stories is a reckoning with history and the need to remember the past as a ground to move forward. And the village in this story reminds me of communities where I grew up struggling with deindustrialization.
Worth reading (and subscribing if you haven't already)
A rare moment when a video title is not clickbait. Great report from DW Planet A on energy system inefficiencies. I've wonder whether talking more about efficiency and waste to climate skeptics might bring them on board with green policies. Personally, I don't care how we do it, as long as we get to the same end result of a more sustainable world.
I am on my Windows computer so much for work that when I get off, I really just want to do something not on a computer. I realize that I now associate Windows with work and it doesn't feel like something fun or enjoyable. It doesn't feel personal to me.
I've been trying to figure out why lately I've had trouble with personal projects and perhaps this might be a small part of the answer.
A dangerous thing to see when walking by the craft beer shop on my way home. Tried a taste of Dovetail's new pils - I think I might have to go try it more at their brewery around the corner.
In the 1880s, the mark of consumption among elites was replacing gaslights for electric ones. Today it is the replacement of electric ones for useless decorative gas lights that constantly burn. We see these in many wealthy neighborhoods in Chicago.
I really don't know about the mechanics of this system. Nor do I know anything about the people. Just always find such fixtures strange.
@seanbala not exactly a new concept though. It used to be a sign of wealth to have a pale skin because you didn't have to work. Now people spend a fortune trying to get the kind of tan you can get for free just by going and toiling in the fields from sunrise to sunset.
@capnthommo I definitely agree with you. I would have put "conspicuous consumption" but ran out of characters. I completely agree with you about it not being a new thing. I find it fascinating that idea of consumption to show status morphs so much and can change over time. Something that signals status today will lose all meaning tomorrow.
Did some repotting yesterday. Some of our plants had outgrown their pots. The big one in the photo has been with us for probably 4.5 years and has grown so much. It feels good to have taken care of something for so long.
Got a question about #privacy. I know #Mastodon has robust privacy settings. I was wondering about the underlying protection of the system from massive data scrapers. Are there underlying protections built into Mastodon to prevent theft of data or the upload of data onto a third party website? On another vein, is there any way to limit your account reach in outside #search engines like #Google? Does Mastodon have limited interaction with outside search? Thanks!
Just had an artificially flavored coffee that was so bad it makes you ask God why he allows such evil into the world. So much for trying to be spontaneous. Going to stick with my usual from now on ☕️