Talking to my parents about when we went sailing around the South Pacific in the 80's and how you kept in touch pre-Internet. They had a ham radio, they did a check-in with a friend once a week.
But then there was Pacific Net. This was one guy, a hobbyist with a big antenna somewhere in Hawaii. He did a broad cast daily at a set time. Gave weather updates and did check-ins. You'd ask to be added to his check-in list. He would ask for your check-in and you would give your location and your heading. Tell about weather conditions and any other news you had. He would give you information about your location he'd gathered from everyone else he talked with. Like "this is what to expect at the port you are headed for" etc.
If you heard someone on the check-in that you wanted to talk to, you'd ask them to switch to another channel for a private chat.
Absolute early Internet vibes.
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This is amazing. I’m not yet half way in. But Indy’s articulation of where we are is superb.
(I’m biting my lip on some of the tech that I think might be coming. Let’s see.)
More later
mastodon.scot/@Eceni/113531957…
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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has written an op-ed published at MSNBC that links to last month's story about companies selling tools that can track hundreds of millions of mobile phones just by the digital exhaust from mobile ad networks.
"Congress needs to finally breach the corporate barricade that has blocked a strong consumer privacy law. I’ve authored my own strong privacy bills, the Mind Your Own Business Act and the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act. And in the coming months I plan to release two new bills: one that will protect Americans’ privacy by limiting how much data websites and apps can collect on Americans and preventing data brokers from amassing and selling that data, and another that will protect Americans from being spied on by their smart TVs and set-top boxes and having that data given away or sold to data brokers."
msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinio…
The Global Surveillance Free-for-all in Mobile Ad Data: krebsonsecurity.com/2024/10/th…
Data brokers are selling the ability to track women at abortion clinics
Data brokers are selling the ability to track phones that visit abortion clinics and follow them back across state lines.Sen. Ron Wyden (MSNBC)
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For most of us, if not all of us, there is literally nothing we can do to stop what is happening in #Gaza
But the *very least* we can do is be a witness to what is happening and to see it CLEARLY.
Because when this is over (whatever 'over' will look like), the Powerful will tell us that what we saw was NOT what we saw. They will try to erase the fact these people existed and had a right to exist. They had a right to be free.
They HAVE a right to be free.
I'm overwhelmed and overcome because there's only so much trauma we can bear. But WE, here in the U.S., are bearing *nothing* compared to what our Palestinian neighbors are bearing.
To look away is a comfort+privilege.
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An Illustrated Field Guide to the Art, Science, and Joy of Tea
From leaf to cup, by way of the history of human civilization.The Marginalian
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I noticed a new god in the temple.
"Who are you offering to?" it asked.
I listed them all, the gods of rising bread, of health, and all the others.
"Offer to me only, and I will share with all of them."
It was convenient, but now there is only one god, and my bread will not rise.
#SmallStories #MicroFiction #TootFic
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“Take everything that’s bright and beautiful in you and introduce it to the shadow side of yourself… When you are able to say, ‘I am … my shadow as well as my light,’ the shadow’s power is put in service of the good.”
This is wonderful: t.co/jc39XEDSbk
The Six Pillars of the Wholehearted Life: Parker Palmer’s Spectacular Naropa University Commencement Address
“Take everything that’s bright and beautiful in you and introduce it to the shadow side of yourself… When you are able to say, ‘I am all of the above, my shadow as well as my ligh…The Marginalian
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Paul Simon says he suffered sudden hearing loss while recording his new album, making it unlikely that he will ever be able to tour or perform live again.
"He recently survived a severe bout of COVID-19, which has been linked to sudden irreversible hearing loss in some patients."
#Covid #Covid19 #SarsCov2 #LongCovid #music
datebook.sfchronicle.com/music…
Paul Simon unlikely to perform live again due to sudden hearing loss
“My generation’s time is up,” said the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame musician.Aidin Vaziri (Datebook | San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide)
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well, it makes about as much sense as thinking that unlicensed copying is stealing…
i guess it would also mean that public goods are impossible.
Thousands of years ago, people were experimenting with all sorts of complex, dense social forms. Over 11,000 years ago, at Göbekli Tepe in what is now Turkey, people were erecting some of the world’s first monumental stone architecture. 11,000 years ago at Jericho, in Palestine, people were settling in one of the world’s first cities. At Çatalhöyük, also in Turkey, people 9,000 years ago built a complicated, honeycomb-like city. 5 to 6,000 years ago, people in what is now Ukraine built sprawling settlements. People were experimenting with urban life, with agriculture, with writing and all sorts of new phenomena.
Then, a little more than 5,000 years ago, in what is now southern Iraq, something entirely new began to emerge in some of the Sumerian cities of Mesopotamia: the state.
1/#thread
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If I may ask a question: How/When do you see gerontocratic and especially patriarchal forms of hierarchy come into the picture and fit into early/current state formation/violence? And similarly subjugation/separation of "nature"; as Bookchin theorized that human/human subjugation was the foundation for exploiting "nature" or the (according to Bookchin) Marxist view that subjugation of nature was required for human/human exploitation?
🐉THE RECLINING DRAGON💤
The 'Garyū-rō' (臥龍廊 'Reclining Dragon Corridor') is counted amongst the '7 Wonders of Eikan-dō' (七不思議).
Curling gently up the hillside like the spine of a dragon, the roofed staircase was constructed in 1504 without the use of a single nail.
Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji (永観堂禅林寺) traces its history to Shinshō (真紹 797–873), a pupil of Kūkai. Aspiring to found a temple for worship of the '5 Wisdom Buddhas', in 853 he was gifted the mansion of Fujiwara-no-Sekio to realise his dream.
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At the base of the Garyū-rō (臥龍廊) is a basin known as 'Suikin-kutsu' (水琴窟 lit. 'water koto grotto').
When water is poured into the small opening the sound of trickling echoes melodiously within.
The design is simple...an upside pot sits above a basin of water.
#Kyoto #京都 #suikinkutsu #水琴窟 #waterkoto #Eikando #EikandoZenrinji #Japan
Under Yōkan (永観 1033-1111), the 7th abbot, the temple's teachings leant towards Pure Land Buddhism (the Jōdo-shū sect would form at the end of the 12thC).
Yōkan, who cared deeply for the poor and sick, was also known as Eikan...which gave Zenrin-ji an additional name 'Eikan-dō'.
#Eikando #永観堂 #Kyoto #京都 #Japan
Hey there!
#climate #ClimateJustice #climatediary #Climatepsychology and #ClimateCrisis folks -
this is Climate Psychology Alliance of North America's new mastodon account -
There seem to be some CPA-NA bots and impersonators out there - but this is really us!
Please follow!
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a Portrait of Tenochtitlan, my 3D reconstruction of the capital of the Aztec Empire is released!
I've been looking forward to this for a long time, and I am really curious what all of you think.
Take a look:
tenochtitlan.thomaskole.nl
a portrait of Tenochtitlan
a 3D reconstruction of the capital of the Aztec Empiretenochtitlan.thomaskole.nl
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Re-upping this again: I wish more lefties could internalize the idea that hypocrisy is not a meaningful accusation to the right. Of course they're being hypocrites. That you are bound, by rules, standards, logic, human decency, some fundamental moral consistency, anything at all, and they are not? That is their conception of what power is, and why they seek it. So they can exercise power, without constraint, and you cannot.
That's the whole point.
Hypocrisy is the virtue-signaling of fascism.
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I came across a first-hand account of somehow who escaped the fire in #Lahaina and she noted that many roads out of town were privately owned by sugar plantations and were chained shut.
She says people died in their cars trying to escape.
These people were murdered by #PrivateProperty.
All of those sugar plantations were enclosed by the Hawaiian monarchy and sold off to American colonists, who in turn overthrew the monarchy and cemented their control of the islands and their lands.
Dying because of a chained gate on land that was stolen from the Hawaiian people is as surely murder as if they’d been pushed into the flames.
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I’m trying and failing to see a distinction between people dying because they can’t access private roads and people dying at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory because the owners locked the doors.
Private property is an assertion of a right to interfere with access, even unto a non-owner’s death. That’s the whole point of private property!
@LaNaehForaday The US is the only developed country that has no public right of way thru private property. In the U.K. it's standard practice to allow public trespass thru property, including on roads.
The US has a strange mentality about 'private' property. Given the small size of these islands, no roads, regardless of where, should have been off limits to anyone. And this tragedy proves it.
Yes in a perfect world, all things would happen perfectly. My point is blaming the sugarcane owners because they cordoned off their areas to keep people out of their cane are not at fault, no matter how they acquired their land..
@LaNaehForaday @julescelt01 People put up gates when they didn't have to. Other people died because the gates were there. The people who put up the gates should be held responsible. What is so complicated about this?
If they weren't prepared to open the gates in an emergency... that is still their fault.
@sidereal When you own property you are allowed to put up gates. You do not have to be responsible for your gates when there is a wildfire. IDEALLY all gates would magically open exactly when they need to open HOWEVER people/corporations/business owners/ land owners ARE ALLWED TO PUT GATES ON THEIR PROPERTIES.
Just because there was a wild fire does not make them at fault for putting up gates on THEIR property. JFC
> There is nothing particularly complex or nuanced about this.
::laughs and laughs and laughs in real estate lawyer::
okay i just saw the rest of this conversation and what you were responding to
i retract my derision
In the Pinyin transliteration between Chinese and English, the character 'x' carries the sound 'sh'. For example, the Chinese leader's name is Xi Jinping, pronounced 'she jinping'.
I noticed that when thinking about what's happened to Xitter in the last 9 months.
I know a lot of people will think that this is a 'radical leftist ideological approach', but when I read calls to 'design ways to survive the heat', I really feel sad for the current limited productivist vision #design has.
You know what will help us to survive? Downscaling production, stopping billionaires, ending colonialism (yes, it's still there) and shifting to a post-growth economy of care.
You know how designers can help? By stopping designing products we don't need.
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Hivemind/boost question, please?
What boardgame would you say is a fun, fast, widely accessible game of space combat?
I'm looking for something to potentially port to Classic Traveller that would make the space combat portion available to most players, instead of the wargame-like mechanics in the rules.
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Exactly 14 years ago today—on July 24, 2009—the minimum wage was set at $7.25 while top 1% were worth $5T. Today, billionaire wealth is $45T+, meanwhile the min wage is still $7.25.
This is what generational wage theft looks like. Pay workers. Tax billionaires. #RaiseTheWage
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At 1.4 trillion, more photos were taken in 2019 than in the entire 20th Century
In 2023, it’s estimated we’ll take 1.8 trillion photos
90% of all photos ever taken were taken since 2000
Since 2000, we’ve taken about 2,000 photos for every child, woman and man on planet
We’re storing about 10 trillion photos in the Cloud
Most of them will never be looked at again.
To deal with CO2 caused by photos between 2000 and 2020, you’d need to plant about 675 million trees
photutorial.com/photos-statist…
How Many Photos Are There? (Statistics & Trends in 2023)
Discover everything you need to know about photo statistics - Number of photos taken daily, number of photos on Google, and much more!Matic Broz (Photutorial)
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This seems like a worthy project. And I'm well on my way with the plants I already have, as well as increasing success with the wildflowers in my front yard. It's what I hope to accomplish with our backyard, with some set aside for growing fruits and veggies and my dyestuffs.
"Homegrown National Park® is a grassroots call-to-action to regenerate biodiversity and ecosystem function by planting native plants and creating new ecological networks."
Home - Homegrown National Park
WE CAN DO THIS! ONE PERSON AT A TIME* REGENERATEBIODIVERSITY PLANT NATIVE *No experience necessary! GET ON THE MAP 31,923 ALREADY ON Doug Tallamy co-founder HNP”In the past, we have asked one thing of our gardens: that they be pretty.Homegrown National Park
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We shouldn't call them "Billionnaries" like they won a lottery and we're all envious. We should call them Capitalist Extremists like the world killing terrorists they are.
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Even if you never read "The Dawn of Everything" by Davids Graeber and Wengrow, at least take this to heart:
What you learned about human prehistory was most likely a lie. There was no linear progression from hunter/gatherer to farmer to city dweller to modern human. Our ancient ancestors were just as creative as we are. They didn't wait until 5,000 years ago to figure out agriculture. They invented it and discarded it when it didn't suit them, over and over again. They built cities and abandoned them quickly or centuries later, over and over again. They invented and discarded socialism and despotism, many times over. And there's no correlation between mode of production vs. political freedom. The idea of a linear progression was invented by 18th century Europeans who were feeling defensive about the inequality in their societies as compared to those of indigenous Americans.
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theverge.com/2023/6/1/23745168…
Google Wallet is getting custom cards and state IDs this month
Google Wallet users will soon be able to add their state ID or driver’s licenses to Google Wallet and can create a digital version of any card that features a barcode or QR code.Jess Weatherbed (The Verge)
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Here's a case where a man got shot for reaching for his phone, the officer involved thought it was a gun.
"Hold on sir, don't unlock that. There have been reports of people triggering explosives with their phones. Hand it to me and give me your passcode."
This is easy as fuck. I could come up with 10 bullshit excuses to make you unlock your phone in as many minutes.
Don't give cops a reason to take your phone. Your recording is likely your only protection.
Goddamn even if the cops leave the phone locked to view the ID, they'll just pocket the phone afterwards and "give it back to you when we're done here" - you willingly handed it over to them, they can keep it.
Now they know you can't be recording them. You want to hand over the one thing that they know might keep them honest?
Are people just not paying attention? How the fuck can anyone be in favor of this? You want your ID on your phone so bad, get a sticky ID holder and slap it on the back.
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His only success was his Donkey Roti.
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Jonathan Schofield
in reply to Jonathan Schofield • • •…I’ll just say for now that I followed Indy on Twitter when I learned about his work with Immy Kaur and Civic Square in Birmingham.
Neither of them are here. (Immy has a dormant account)
mastodon.social/@urlyman/11211…
Jonathan Schofield
in reply to Jonathan Schofield • • •…OK, so I’ve finished listening to Indy set out his thinking at podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/….
And just noting a few thoughts that spring to mind:
1. His setting out of our predicament is among the clearest I’ve heard
2. His recurring focus on soil and food systems as a key domain to work on is, I feel, spot on
3. At 48 minutes in the emphasis turns to the patterns of how societies will respond
4. His citing of terra preta is something I want to look into more (see #2)…
INDY JOHAR: The starkest collapse prognosis I’ve heard
Apple PodcastsJonathan Schofield
in reply to Jonathan Schofield • • •…5. There’s an implied tech/machine focus to his solution set, but Indy keeps it to a high level, so he doesn’t for example talk about blockchain, which is where I was worried he might go.
6. He comes across as genuinely humble and open, which is super important.
- - -
I might dig out a transcription of the opening section because it is in my view so well framed
Jonathan Schofield
in reply to Jonathan Schofield • • •…Ah, I thought perhaps Sarah’s podcast might be on Substack (because she is), in which case there would be a ready made transcription, but it’s not.
It’s on Acast, so transcribing the hard way is the next step
Pauline von Hellermann
in reply to Jonathan Schofield • • •i listened to it too, thank you for the recommendation! It really was hard-hitting. To really hear someone aay that in his opinion everything might be over in 10-15 years..
Like Indy, I have recently started to think that it might be war that destroys everything before we even get to the full fallout of climate change. But who knows. I am not so hopeful that other ways out will be found, but as he says we have a duty to try, and Dark Matter Lab’s approach is so good.