Happy International Non-Binary People's Day!
(July 14 falls in between International Men's Day and International Women's Day.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Non-Binary_People%27s_Day
Wow!
More money is now going into solar PV than all other electricity generation technologies combined says International Energy Agency (IEA).
World Energy Investment 2024 - Analysis and key findings. A report by the International Energy Agency.IEA
Here is a little blast from the past for all you synthesizer fans out there. Mark Isham - Never Cry Wolf. Fantastic movie with an amazing soundtrack, which often reminds a little of blade runner.
https://invidious.protokolla.fi/watch?v=7SCyrut59kQ
https://youtu.be/7SCyrut59kQ
Soundtrack from the 1983 Carroll Ballard film "Never Cry Wolf," with Charles Martin Smith, Brian Dennehy, Zachary Ittimangnaq, Samson Jorah, Martha Ittimangn...YouTube
Finally made my first demo with Slipstream!
@Violet 's monitor got damaged on the way to the Black Valley @demoparty_no party, so in a life-giving-you-lemons exercise, I decided to make it into a one-of-a-kind custom demo platform using the remaining pixels. One soundtrack from @vurpo later and we were in business...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MHTeTXaQMc
RaccoonViolet's monitor got damaged on the way to the Black Valley demoparty in Norway, so we did the obvious thing and made it into a one-of-a-kind demo pla...YouTube
A guy on Facebook reported one of my #COVID19 posts as misinformation, saying that masks have been proven to be ineffective at preventing infections. If you are laboring under the same delusion:
Masks Work. Distorting Science to Dispute the Evidence Doesn’t - Scientific American
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/masks-work-distorting-science-to-dispute-the-evidence-doesnt/
Masks are, if correctly and consistently worn, effective in reducing transmission of respiratory diseases and show a dose-response effect. - Recent research study
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/cmr.00124-23
New mask studies relying on a medical paradigm do not erase decades of engineering and occupational science that show they workScientific American
When I was young I *really* wanted a pen plotter, but we never got one. Maybe someday I'll see if I can get hold of one to play with.
ADHD!?
Ha!
Could an ADHD person do… THIS?!
*does nothing at all and is really frustrated about it*
My #Anthrocon photos are now up on @Furtrack #ac2024
https://www.furtrack.com/user/Kurrikage/album-4262
Sadly I didn't take as many photos outside my paid shoots as I'd have liked due to being exhausted and friends missing the con.
But if I got a photo of you that you enjoyed consider tossing a ko-fi my way!
https://www.ko-fi.com/kurrikage
Fursuit photo/video sharing & searching for the furry fandomwww.furtrack.com
What a fantastic way to describe gas vs #solar electric for transportation.
“If you grow an acre of corn, it will produce 900 gallons of ethanol, which will get you about 25,000 miles for a Ford F-150 pickup,” says Carson. “Which is, not bad I guess. But let’s say we put solar on that same acre. It will produce enough electricity every year to drive my Lightning 550,000 miles.”
The entire article is here https://billmckibben.substack.com/p/forty-acres-and-a-sense-of-hope
You cannot buy your way to happiness
“the key to a longer, healthier life is no mystery”. Research has long shown that it comes down to five fundamental lifestyle behaviours: exercising regularly, eating sensibly, limiting alcohol, skipping cigarettes and “nurturing meaningful relationships”. This stuff is simple, “somewhat boring” and, crucially, harder to make money from than “trendy supplements, complex-sounding theories and new gadgets”.
personally I think the MONA thing is hilarious, especially in the context of the Discourse.
for non-Australians, the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania had an area called the Ladies Lounge, where men were not allowed. They hung several fake Picassos, an antique mink rug that was actually polyester, and a bunch of fake tribal spears. The idea was that it was a criticism of the general idea of the patriarchy where men typically have a lot more opportunities for... pick a thing. Even when women were allowed in, what was actually inside were cheap replicas devoid of any amount of authenticity. It's ripping on token inclusion.
In an eye-watering display of self-awareness deficiency, a man then sued MONA for not being allowed in, claiming discrimination due to being a man. He claimed that as he had paid admission to the whole of MONA but was not permitted to this specific exhibit due to his gender, he was being discriminated against.
The Tasmanian Civil Tribunal agreed, and MONA was directed to admit men into a women's-only area. The irony is thick enough that you could cut it with a knife.
MONA, in response, dismantled the exhibit except for the fake Picassos. All the bathrooms at MONA are single-occupancy all-gender, but it turns out having a women's bathroom from which men are excluded *isn't* discriminatory, so they converted one into a women's bathroom and hung the fake Picassos in there, an exhibit of itself.
The art exhibit was basically a criticism of "turns out the only safe space for women away from men is a bathroom, and people will still claim that you're getting special rights because you get to see something nobody else can. Even if what you're seeing is a cheap replica, someone somewhere will claim that you have it good because you're getting something they don't."
Picasso's estate, however, took a rather dim view of unauthorised replicas being displayed in an art gallery in Tasmania, even though it was literally years between putting up the artwork and someone noticing. They've since been taken down with no further action.
MONA has declared that the Ladies Lounge will return as something where S26 of the Sex Discrimination Act doesn't apply, such as a church or boutique glamping experience.
They've also expressly stated that the Ladies Lounge includes ALL women, not just cis ones.
I love everything about this story. Fucking classic stuff coming out of the art world.
Wes Streeting: “This ban [on puberty blockers] brings the private sector in line with the NHS. We are committed to providing young people with the evidence-led care that they deserve”. Evidence shows that blockers are of great help.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/labour-government-may-puberty-blocker-152756755.html
This 2018 article from the Guardian lives rent-free in my head. I think about it often.
Michell Baker: ”if we have Stem education without the humanities, or without ethics, or without understanding human behavior, then we are intentionally building the next generation of technologists who have not even the framework or the education or vocabulary to think about the relationship of Stem to society or humans or life.”
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/12/tech-humanities-misinformation-philosophy-psychology-graduates-mozilla-head-mitchell-baker?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other https://phpc.social/@ramsey/112780443425702602
Mitchell Baker says firms should hire philosophy and psychology graduates to tackle misinformationAlex Hern (The Guardian)
TIL that in the UK political system the two following statements are both true :
1) in order to vote for a candidate in a general election, you must provide photo ID.
2) in order to stand as a candidate in a constituency, to hopefully receive votes cast by those people mentioned in #1, you are *not* required to provide any photo ID.
The UK is insane.
Set up a UKVI account and access your eVisa if you have a biometric residence permit (BRP).Government Digital Service (GOV.UK)