We are deep into the German winter. The sun is up for less than 8 hours during the day. Nevertheless we export electricity to Europe thanks to renewable wind energy.
Be aware: we export because we produce cheaper than the coal/gas/nuclear plants in other countries.
If not for the fuckup in Bavaria (the right wing state government there prevents the installation of wind turbine), we would export even more.
From: @isotopp
https://chaos.social/@isotopp/111611719098358055
#Persuasion was first published today in 1817! (And remains one of my favorite books.)
#janeAusten #Bookstodon #AmReading #AmWriting #books #writing @bookstodon #Regency #Georgian #history @histodons
Earlier this year, I replaced my ailing computer w/ one that should last a while and keep me streaming, podcasting, #writing.
Computers cost money, though, and I'm semi-broke. If you've got a buck or two to spare, consider donating to my Ko-Fi page! :D
Hiking Avalanche Lake Glacier National Park
The Trail of the Cedars is a hiking trail accessible from Going-to-the-Sun Road. The trail is short an accessible for all, the .60-mile path is paved and has a raised boardwalk in some sections. Some of the cedars visible are over 80 feet tall.
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/hiking-avalanche-lake-glacier-national-park-wayne-moran.html
#AvalanceLake #GlacierNationalPark #Glacier #Montana #Nature #Mountains #Hiking #Getoutside #travel #travelphotography #landscapephotography #buyintoart #Ayearforart
"As part of its announcement today, the WHO recommended universal masking for health facilities and protection for health workers."
I wonder... if you could see that and think... hmmm I should probably do that when I'm at the crowded mall this week?
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/who-designates-jn1-separate-covid-19-variant-interest
It's nearly Public Domain Day (my favorite holiday, since the US started celebrating it again a few years back) and I'm eagerly and excitedly collecting materials which will enter the public domain in 2024 to repackage, share, remix, and otherwise defile.
There's so *good* stuff coming to the US, and it will be transformed in to even better stuff.
But! this Public Domain Day is also a time for sadness (small thread)
Look, what I'm saying is that our best chance for making the world a better place is to organize: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=VzvH5UZVQU8
Copyright law is a tiny example of a way that the intent of the law has been subverted to serve corporate interests. Major copyright reform, reducing terms to under 50 years from publication, would strike a huge blow to many of the corporations that actively campaign against what is best for us.
All of these struggles are one struggle. The struggle of the rights of People against the rights of corporations.
We must fight.
Music in 1928 is incredibly interesting. It's the earliest days of electrical recording (still per-magnetic recording, but some recordings from the late 20s are truly astounding), it's well in to the era of "modern" forms of music (that is to say Jazz, Blues, Country, etc. We don't get anything recognizable as rock and roll for a few more years, but you can see all the components.) In a world that made sense, we would own those recordings today.
But instead, on Jan 1 we get 1923 (last Jan we got no music, and the previous Jan we got 1922 and earlier.)
Judge reverses earlier decision and allows removal of #Confederate memorial at Arlington Cemetery
The allegations that the removal efforts amounted to grave desecration “were, at best, ill-informed and, at worst, inaccurate,” the judge wrote. #legal
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/judge-reverses-earlier-decision-allows-removal-confederate-memorial-ar-rcna130566
I cannot and will not accept the world we live in.
We are seeing a rise in COVID cases everywhere.
I leave the house and I am hit by stories of people losing friends to covid or its complications, who see my mask as an invitation to share it. Maskless people are sharing stories with me about death and disabilty.
People close to me are forced to participate in risky situations because the people in power in their institutions care more about their egoes than acting according to science, reason, empathy.
I can only look at this, and do what, write letters? Be nice to the random strangers talking about their trauma and tell them to mask and vaccinate? I know it is better than nothing, but this whole powerlessness is fucking overwhelming. This feels lonely and frustrating and anxious and it is being in a constant unresolved state of grief that cannot be resolved unless everyone starts to do fucking anything to stop this. Everyone. You. We.
We need to build a movement. We need to build radical communal care collectives. This is too much to bear alone.
You should build one.
You should mask. For yourself, for me, for others, for the children,for the elderly... We need to do something. Or this immense sea of suffering and death and disability will swallow us all and drown us in despair.
Via Kyle Griffin:
A federal judge has ruled that Republican Rep. #ScottPerry must disclose 1,659 documents to government investigators in its #Jan6 probe — finding that the communication records were not protected by the speech or debate clause of the Constitution. #legal
@heidilifeldman Thank you for sharing this with your highlights. When I was practicing I took a special interest in statutory construction, so I was very interested to see how they dealt with the question of whether the President was an "officer of the United States" within the scope of Section Three. Reading that section of the opinion was very satisfying. The reasoning was not forced or strained and is very persuasive. I wish I had faith that it will stand.
“#Tesla blamed drivers for failures of parts it long knew were defective
Wheels falling off cars at speed. Suspensions collapsing on brand-new vehicles. Axles breaking under acceleration. Tens of thousands of customers told Tesla about a host of part failures on low-mileage cars. The automaker sought to blame drivers for vehicle ‘abuse,’ but Tesla documents show it had tracked the chronic ‘flaws’ and ‘failures’ for years.”
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-musk-steering-suspension/
Hoping to find a few like-minded peeps. Here are a few things that keep me happy.
#Gardening
#Horticulture
#Homesteading
#SilkieChickens
#Birdwatching
#Dogs
#Baking
#Watercolor
#Art
#Nature
#Linguistics
#Antiques
#Laughter
#Kindness
#Equality
Good morning sweeties. Many thanks to my old friends for following me on this new page and to my new friends for taking the leap.
#Gardening #Anemone #Florespondence
Not sure this fits #birdsofmastodon, but on our shed, in suburban Melbourne, is this some kind of finch that’s built a nest for her loud babbies?
A consciousness somehow associated with matter.
Posting about culture, philosophy, politics, AI Art Tools, NaNoWriMo, Software Development occasionally, the relationship of consciousness to matter.
Degrees in Philosophy and Computer Science, once had a US TS/SCI(redacted) clearance, radical-for-the-US politics, ex-Libertarian, zen-buddhist-pantheist-atheist.
Google employee, but I do not speak for Google in any way.
If your profile tells me nothing about you, it's less likely I'll follow you (back).
Header: abstract smoky patterns
pfp: Adorable weird piglet / delirium cultist... thing. In a hoodie.