Mike Agg @countingquoll@social.cleverlibre.org

Oh, look. It's true.

#music #Silence #puns

Some days, although we cannot pray, a prayer
utters itself
——
Some nights, although we are faithless, the truth
enters our hearts, that small familiar pain;

-Carol Ann Duffy, Prayer
#everynightapoem

When facing the "All we need is STEM!" approach to education, my usual response is:

Developing the vaccine was the STEM problem; distribution & getting shots in arms was the Social Science problem; getting people to trust it & combatting misinformation was the Humanities problem -- which did we fail?

Google's Chrome browser is now a thin candy shell of browser interface around a full-time surveillance engine and personal data monetization machine. Find a better browser, folks.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/09/googles-widely-opposed-ad-platform-the-privacy-sandbox-launches-in-chrome/

There's an excellent job going with us the Zooniverse in Oxford helping us communicate. Would suit someone from a science or #scicom background looking for project management experience, and there's space for your own projects too: https://my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecruit/erq_jobspec_version_4.display_form?p_recruitment_id=167651&p_internal_external=E&p_display_in_irish=N&p_process_type=&p_company=10&p_display_apply_ind=Y&p_refresh_search=Y&p_form_profile_detail=&p_applicant_no= #astrodon

"Female 'Samurai'

While 'samurai' is a strictly masculine term, the Japanese bushi class (the social class samurai came from) did feature women who received similar training in martial arts and strategy. These women were called “Onna-Bugeisha,” and they were known to participate in combat along with their male counterparts. Their weapon of choice was usually the naginata, a spear with a curved, sword-like blade that was versatile, yet relatively light.

Since historical texts offer relatively few accounts of these female warriors (the traditional role of a Japanese noblewoman was more of a homemaker), we used to assume they were just a tiny minority. However, recent research indicates that Japanese women participated in battles quite a lot more often than history books admit. When remains from the site of the Battle of Senbon Matsubaru in 1580 were DNA-tested, 35 out of 105 bodies were female. Research on other sites has yielded similar results."

Okay trying something!

NERDY TECH BLACK PEOPLE SAY HI SO I CAN FOLLOW YOU!

Maybe it's that easy (or maybe I followed them all and this thing just doesn't feel like home for folks like me) 🥺

“Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.” — Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

Third time I’ve read this classic novel.

Painting of The Governess originally called The Poor Teacher by Richard Redgrave, 1844. Oil on canvas, 26 x 36 inches. Victorian and Albert Museum, London.

#classics #Bookstodon #reading #CharlotteBrontë #JaneEyre #books #painting

It’s not just about selling you ads.

Ex: you’re a teenager living in a highly conservative state. You’re visiting sites your ultra religious family don’t want you to. Google tracks you NATIVELY IN THE BROWSER and informs 3rd parties of your interest in LGBTQ sites.

You’re NOT SAFE using Chrome.

Maybe when the computer asks "are you a robot?" it's just trying to find its family. Ever think about that? No, you only think about yourself.

I don't like to show off about how mature and brave I am but, in this hot weather, I have been sleeping with one foot dangling outside of the bed where monsters could grab it.

You ever wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and think to yourself,
"When did I get replaced by this gnarled old gnome?"

I just got an ad with this image. The ad was for a car but let's just ignore that for a second...

Doesn't this just *look* crap?

Absolutely lovely shops fucking ruined by a random car

From Facebook: "Wow...bought a cheap $10 USB guitar adapter from Temu. It arrived 5 days later with a little disc with install software on it and install instructions. Obviously I checked out the software before properly installing...and it has a cracked pirated copy of Guitar Rig 2. And the setup install Asio driver, was actually a Trojan Horse virus which locks down your computer demanding ransom to unlock. 🤣. Buyer beware getting anything from Temu!!!"

If you are a Chrome user, you've probably been been opted-in to Google's enhanced tracking system without any warning.

Google Chrome newest update pretends to provide users "Enhanced ad privacy", but actually enrolls Chrome users into a new trackings system.

To disable this tracking, go to Settings>Privacy and Security>Ad Privacy and disable all three options there (Ad Topics, Site-suggested Ads, and Ad Measurement).

For people who for some reason still want to use Chrome:
Settings > Privacy >Ad privacy, then just toggle everything off.

For anyone unaware, Google Chrome is currently rolling out an update that track your interests based on browsing history, then share them with 3rd party websites. The notification page makes it sound like they added a new privacy feature, but in actuality they've automatically enrolled you into their tracking system and you have to go and manually opt out.

Techbros: self driving cars are inevitable!

Also techbros: prove you are human by performing a task that computers can’t do, like identifying traffic lights.

See also…

Hiring manager: What is it about this specific role that makes you want it?
Me: Well, Susan, since the job spec is almost certainly a work of fiction, I took a punt and chucked in an application. I haven’t actually decided whether I do want the job. I’m interviewing you every bit as much as you’re interviewing me.

#JobSpecs #JobInterview

🎶 She wore an
Itsy bitsy teeny weeny…