← Feed

Posts

• View post

  "Great women belong to history and to self sacrifice, not to the annals of a stage however dignified." - Leigh Hunt, discussing Mrs. Siddons, in "Table-talk, To which are Added Imaginary Conversations of Pope and Swift" from 1870. Note the plural second word. The quote is commonly given with the singular, which must have been the result of an incorrect OCR and copying by the umpty-dozen quote sites that don't bother giving sources. #Bookstodon #Wise...

• View post

  "Let's visit Oxford!" I said. "Well known for its academic library, we will find all sorts of exotic and intellectual books here!" I said. #bookstodon #HoosierMast

• View post

  We’ve made Oxford Street traffic-free – and that’s just the start. "The road stretching between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street is now officially traffic-free. But removing cars is just the beginning. Imagine an Oxford Street where you can stroll at your own pace, take a break from shopping with a coffee under the trees, or stumble across some live music, a fashion show, a sports exhibition or a cultural event." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/26/o...

• View post

  Reality is a Communist Plot "What Trump and his supporters hate most of all is reality. They know what they want to believe...If believing something suits MAGA’s prejudices and interests, they don’t hesitate: they simply insist that it’s true. They routinely dismiss scientific and statistical evidence, but they don’t stop there. They’re perfectly willing to deny reality even if the truth is staring them in the face." https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/reality-is-a-communist-plot #US...

• View post

  The World Keeps Asking Iran the Wrong Question "Washington and Tel Aviv entered the 2026 war wanting something contained—pressure on the nuclear program, the missiles, the regional network. Iran expanded the frame. When military pressure reached a threshold, Tehran closed Hormuz, converting the confrontation into a global economic crisis. Every time Washington sets the rules of the game, Tehran changes the playing field." https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/05/19/iran-politics-str...

• View post

  Mayor Sadiq Khan protects the public by not allowing secretive Palantir contract "The Met had planned to hire Palantir, which was co-founded by the Trump-supporting tech billionaire Peter Thiel, to automate aspects of investigations. But the mayor’s office, which oversees large Scotland Yard contracts, said there had been a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules." https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/22/palantir-hits-back-sadiq-khan-contract-met-police-blo...

• View post

  Lessons Learned about Technology and Reform "But if you believe, as I do, that teaching is anchored in a relationship between an adult and a student then relationships cannot be replaced by even the most well designed software, efficient device (including ChatbotGPT) or virtual reality." Teaching, perhaps. *Education* is about getting a passing grade to move on to high school, or college, or a good paying job. Fixing this would truly be transformative. https://larrycuban.wor...

• View post

  S&P Considers Forcing Millions To Buy SpaceX Stock They're considering allowing SpaceX to join after 6 months instead of 12 like every other company, and not bothering to calculate the number of shares available to trade before allowing it in. This would force index funds to buy tons of shares to keep up with the index. Most people with 401(k)s have a fair amount of money in index funds. https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/elon-musks-spacex-could-fast-180121306.h...

• View post

  Power just comes out of the wall. There should be per-plug monitoring to show you exactly what you're using power for. Heated your pizza in the microwave? 1.5 kilowatt-minutes. Made a pot of coffee? That's 5kwm you used. OMG YOU RAN THE DRYER? 180 kwm you've chewed through today! #electricity #conservation

• View post

  "You...want me to put your face as the baby Jesus?" "I'm paying for it, aren't I?" "I guess so" #art #chicago

• View post

  Banksy confirms he's behind statue in central London "Street artist Banksy has confirmed a large statue that appeared in central London is his work. The sculpture - which bears his signature - depicts a suited man walking forward off a plinth while carrying a flag that covers his face. Its location - Waterloo Place, St James's - is an area designed to celebrate imperialism and military dominance in the 1800s." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y9wlnwl85o #London #banks...

• View post

  Indiana's tax disaster "Last year's property tax cuts were the biggest business tax cut in state history. For close to 85% of businesses, SEA 1 marked a 100% elimination of business personal property taxes...To accommodate this huge business tax cut, SEA 1 pushed local governments to enact income taxes, while forcing property tax cuts for older Hoosiers." Indiana is making it cheaper to be old while making it more expensive to be young. https://commentaries.cberdata.org/1364...

• View post

  YOU'RE not blockading the Strait of Hormuz, I'M blockading the Strait of Hormuz!

• View post

  Russia's 'shadow fleet' makes mockery of UK naval power "On 9 April, two Russian "shadow" oil tankers were escorted through the channel by a Russian navy frigate armed with all manner of weapons, including anti-ship missiles. In response, the Royal Navy could only muster an auxiliary fuel tanker to follow it helplessly. The Daily Telegraph reported on this heroic operation from the deck of a 40-foot fishing boat following in the tanker’s wake....

• View post

  Guardian provides us with a peculiar headline "UK households to be urged to use more power this summer as renewables soar". No, we don't want to use *more* power, we want to move our usage to times when the grid isn't being powered by fossil fuels! "Under the new plans, people could be encouraged to run dishwashers and washing machines or charge up their electric vehicles when there is more wind and solar power than the electricity grid needs.&quo...

• View post

  Waterstones shows there is still life in the British high street "The survival of bookshops wasn’t inevitable. Much of the industry seemed destined for pulping. Foyles and Blackwell’s, two iconic chains, struggled with profitability before being bought by Waterstones under the dynamic Mr Daunt. The Booksellers Association, the industry’s trade body, recorded a long decline in independent bookshops starting in 1995, which finally levelled off in 2016." https://www.economist.co...

• View post

  I do not know why drunk helicopter pilots are buzzing my flat. #London

• View post

  @susankayequinn@wandering.shop "The Machine Stops" by Forster covers it pretty well. 1909.

• View post

  War is a tactical error "This suggests a principle that ought to be obvious but apparently is not: any nation powerful enough to mount a serious military campaign is, almost by definition, powerful enough to pursue its interests through diplomacy, economic leverage, and strategic patience. The return on investment of war is almost always catastrophically negative compared to the alternatives. Even when you win." https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-war-failure/ #WorldPol

• View post

  Hundreds and hundreds of articles on what to do about the rising price of oil, and none on new solar or wind installations. #ClimateDiary #Solar

• View post

  @dtm@mastodon.cc @virbonus@sueden.social @fesshole@mastodon.social Hot water from the tap could have contaminants from the heating system, especially if it's older.

• View post

  Monika Herzig's new album, TransParent, documents in jazz her journey in raising a transgender child. Dr. Herzig is a professor at Indiana University. https://www.acmerecords.com/product/transparent-cd/ #jazz #TransGender #IndianaUniversity

• View post

  It's about time for Sir Keir to start releasing from the Strategic Solar Panel Reserve. #UKPol #Solar #OilPrices

• View post

  Transport for London signs contract for 65GWh of solar per year "TfL currently uses about 1.6 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity each year, making it the largest single electricity consumer in London. Once operational, the solar installations could supply up to 65,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable electricity each year — equivalent to roughly two-thirds of the Victoria line’s annual power consumption." https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/tfl-taps-our-largest-nuclear-fus...

• View post

  Clean power offers protection "Clean electricity, by contrast, cuts gas demand and reduces exposure to volatile markets. The political pressures are jobs, tax revenues and the economies of Scotland and north-east England tied to a declining asset. Clearly, more drilling will not shield households from price spikes; it will mainly boost oil company profits – which explains why the industry is lobbying to scrap the windfall tax." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/...

• View post

  London councils to share £95m for safer roads and new cycle routes "The latest funding will support the expansion of London’s Cycleways network, the installation of additional pedestrian crossings, and the introduction of more School Streets schemes to restrict traffic outside schools at key times of day." The cynic in me wonders how the councils will use this money to make cars go fast; but I have to reminding myself it's not the USA. https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/art...

• View post

  We can make electricity cheaper by developing more solar and wind power "By far the cheapest component of our energy supply is the electricity produced by renewables, principally wind and solar. It’s the same story worldwide. But the price of electricity does not reflect the mix of sources. It is set at almost all times by its most expensive component. And what might that be? Oh yes, fossil gas." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/13/uk-energy-prices-soaring-w...

• View post

  Is it the #USPol

• View post

  Turfgame.com is down today, or being DDOS'd or some such. I had a few hours planned into my Sunday for that 😕 #turfgame #gaming

• View post

  @urlyman@mastodon.social I prefer text.