Ian Kenway @iankenway@social.cleverlibre.org

After 48 hours of ‘Brextensity’, Northern Ireland is still not ‘sorted’ https://ift.tt/385yr1x

Today's #Covid19Cymru figures show cases continuing to rise at an alarming rate. I hear that @FmWales @VaughanGething are meeting to decide what to do. Doing nothing is not an option; this is serious. We can't go into Christmas like this.
7-day average: 1720 - UP 71

The trend continues upwards in #Ceredigion, 21 new cases seeing the 7-day average rising above 20 for the first time. Now 20.71 - UP 1.42.

1/2

The only good news here is that R is down. That's more likely to be due to recent irregularities in reporting, which have made the 7-day averages unstable, than any real effect. In any case, an R of around 1.3 is way too high, and suggests something has gone seriously wrong.
R (estimate): 1.27 - DOWN 0.08

There were 33 deaths recorded today. That puts the 7-day average at 21.57 - UP 1.29. I am afraid we are going to see an increase in deaths over the next couple of weeks.
2/2

"Spotify resets passwords after a security bug exposed users’ private account information"

In a data breach notification ... the music streaming giant said the data exposed “may have included email address, your preferred display name, *PASSWORD*, gender, and date of birth only to certain business partners of Spotify.”

Wait, wat?! Passwords?

https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/10/spotify-resets-user-passwords-after-a-bug-exposed-private-account-information/

#US and 48 #states and districts sue #Facebook in major #antitrust actions | Facebook | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/dec/09/facebook-lawsuit-antitrust-whatsapp-instagram-ftc

#SocialMedia #Monopoly

#ChuckYeager, #pilot who was first to break #SoundBarrier, #dies at 97 | #US news | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/08/chuck-yeager-dead-pilot-first-to-break-sound-barrier-dies-death-aged-97

#Aviation

Wow!
New Welsh currency to be launched to boost businesses - Nation.Cymru https://nation.cymru/news/new-welsh-currency-to-be-launched-to-boost-businesses/
#Cymru

I often say that the @Publichealthw data are suspect. Today I will go a step further, and say the figures are plain wrong. Cases are out beyond any sensible statistical probability. Deaths are wrong mathematically.
780 new cases were recorded today, down from 2021 yesterday.

Last Tuesday was also wrong (667), in fact Tuesdays seems to have been an off day for many (but not all) recent weeks.
1/3

... there's no comment I can make.

7-day average (deaths): 23.14 - DOWN 1.29.

#Ceredigion sees 4 new cases, which would be great news if true. The only light here is that it is the 3rd lowest county (behind Môn - 1, and Gwynedd - 2) so at least there is progress down the rankings, and it is slightly lower than last Tuesday,
7-day average: 17.43 (DOWN 0.71)
3/3

Decline in #science attainment among #England's year 9 pupils | Science | The Guardian

This is not a good sign.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/dec/08/decline-in-science-attainment-among-england-year-9-pupils

#Education

We’ve had a few days of settled weather and some nice #sunsets. Here are a couple of #photographs from this evening.

1: #Clouds beyond a house. I think they have a nice shape and the #orange #colour contrasts nicely with the pale #blue of the #sky and round clouds. The #trees in the foreground also create nice #silhouettes.

2: #Bird and clouds. I managed to catch a solitary flyer on its way for the evening.

#MyWork #MyPhoto #CCBYSA #DSLR #Nikon #D7000 #Photography #Dusk

What a piece of work is a man, How noble in
Reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving
how express and admirable, In action how like an Angel!
in apprehension how like a god, the beauty of the
world, the paragon of animals. and yet to me, what is
this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me; no,
nor Woman neither; though by your smiling you seeme
to say so
-- Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet (Act II, Scene II)

#Shakespear #Literature #English #Quote #Quotes #Poetry #Poem

#1971: Tomorrow’s World: #CassetteNavigation - YouTube

I wonder if it ever caught on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KliWHCzE16c

#TomorrowsWorld

Apple announces AirPods Max headphones. Here's my quick review without having ever seen a pair:

- Digital Crown: sweet, I hate touch controls on headphones

- Case enabling low-power state: cool, almost as good as, you know, an actual switch

- Case looking like a glorified designer purse: yikes

- 20h of battery time: meh

- Price: priceless

- Lightning connector: fuck off already 😂