Phil Landmeier @shuttersparks@social.cleverlibre.org

Telling people to leave Twitter is silly anyway. The math ain't mathing for Elon. He may be losing hundreds of millions a month. Advertisers ain't coming back. The Eng and policy teams are at unsustainably low levels. This doesn't end well.

But I'll repeat what I said in my 1st few months on Mastodon: if you want communities to move over to Mastodon, make Mastodon better for those communities. Don't just yell "Elon is bad!" Many of the people you're telling, knew he was bad way before you did.

This article on the prolonged twilight of the 3.5” floppy disk in long-lived, high-cost equipment of various kinds doesn’t mention scientific instrumentation, but I bet there’s a lot out there nonetheless.

A little over a decade ago, the lab I was working in got a new instrument (from the single company that built it) that was run from a laptop that they custom built to house the 3.5” floppy drive for the software… and the serial port needed to talk to the instrument.

https://www.wired.com/story/why-the-floppy-disk-just-wont-die/

Happy Women's History Month.

When my mother got married in 1955, all of her financial accounts were automatically transferred to my father the minute she tried to use them under her married name. Her credit cards were canceled and reissued in his name. Her credit rating ceased to exist and became his alone.

When I got divorced in the state of New Jersey in 1999, even thought no-fault divorce had been legal since 1970, (and female suicide rates then dropped 20%), NJ didn't offer no-fault divorce. Even now, a couple is required to be separated for a year and a half before being allowed to file for no-fault.

Oh goody, #AI generated #scam calls being used to imitate the sound of friends and family and asking for money. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/05/ai-voice-scam/

@DeliaChristina

In 1999 to 2000 I was going through a very rough patch in my life. What with the state of things, I didn't get to see #GalaxyQuest when it was first released. Finally, on a day I was feeling particularly low, and shortly before the movie left the theaters, I canceled work and took myself out to a midday matinée.

I was the *only* person in a vast theater, of a size that no one builds anymore, sitting and waiting for the lights to go down. At one point, I turned and peered up at the projectionist's booth. I saw a shadowy figure moving back and forth behind the window, bending and straightening. This was in the days before automated, digital films. The Phantom Menace had been released digitally in 1999, but the equipment to show such films was extremely expensive and most theaters hadn't converted yet; "projectionist" was still real job.

While I was looking, the figure paused, strode to the window and peered back at me, then disappeared quickly.

I turned back around and continued to fidget and ponder the misfit pieces of my life.

At the top of the aisle behind me, the theater door swung open and banged loudly on the wall. The projectionist strode down the aisle toward me, a tall barrel-shaped man with a thick beard and glasses. My first thought was that the matinee was canceled due to low turnout, and I'd be getting a refund. Just as I'd resigned myself to that, the marching projectionist shouted out in a booming voice,

"WELCOME to your PRIVATE viewing oooooooof GALAXY QUEST!!!"

He stopped in front of my row, and I saw that he had an *armload* of STUFF. One by one, he began presenting each thing to me, and as the pile in his arms dwindled, the one in my lap grew.

"As our SPECIAL VIP Galaxy Quest GUEST today, YOU are entitled to..."

"- A commemorative t-shirt!"
"- A poster suitable for framing!"
"- A limited edition refrigerator magnet!"
"- A button to pin to your lapel!"

The list and the shwag went on. With every ridiculous item, I laughed harder and harder, until there were tears leaking out of the corners of my eyes.

Then he bowed and shouted, "WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SHOW!" and turned on his heel to march back up the aisle and out the exit door.

Alas, of all the shwag only the magnet has stood the test of time. But the humor and kindness of the unknown projectionist lives on.

Time for bed. Here’s a childhood (high school) memory. This is how we ferried my mother to and fro from our house in the winter. #photo #snowmobile #dogsofmastoson

Any solid cone with uniform density — regardless of the shape of its base (including polygonal bases, which give pyramids) — has its centre of mass located exactly 1/4 of its height from the base, and exactly 37/64 of its mass lies closer to the base than its centre of mass.

What's behind the 'shortage' of #workers in many countries?

A decline in workers under 35, due to falling birth rates in the last 20+ years, stalling a decades long growth in the labour force.

The resistance to hiring older workers, driven partly by (outdated?) ageist attitudes among employers about when a worker might be worn out, plus a suspicion their skills & technical knowledge is out of date.

This suggests #lifelonglearning is a key element to the solution.

https://theconversation.com/what-is-driving-current-labour-market-shortages-and-how-older-workers-could-help-200873?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1677862445

Nice. Latvia knows what it's like to have Russia breathing down their neck, having only recently taken the Russian boot itself off of it.
"Russian warship, go fuck yourself!"
#SlavaUkraini
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYbQ0-If6OA

"Under the terms of SB0001, any minor currently receiving hormone therapy for gender dysphoria will be required to come off that treatment by March 31, 2024."

Sure sounds like government coming between patients, parents and doctors.

https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-politics/governor-signs-anti-drag-anti-trans-healthcare-bills-into-law/

First time in my lifetime I've hesitated to wear my Star of David jewelry.

Wore it anyway, because, you know, screw that. But. First time it was even a consideration.
---
RT @colbertlateshow
“Not since Germany in the '30s have I witnessed antisemitism, no longer lurking but standing proud with hands on hips like Hitler and Mussolini — kind of daring us to defy it. I’ve never experienced this in my entire life. Especially in this c…
https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/1631522287504457728

US Capitol Police says its officers confiscated an M-4 style “ghost gun” and a Glock handgun with full auto switch while they were patrolling the perimeter of the Capitol Complex, near the Senate Parks. https://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/uscp-officers-confiscate-m-4-style-ghost-gun-handgun-during-arrests

@DrKen @therobburgessshow

Time to stay out of Florida... it's nazi central down there. Desantis is working with the 1931 Germany playbook and it's working.

All the fascists around the country and slathering to get started in their own states following his lead since no one is pushing back against him.