Replies

ifixcoinops, 7 months ago to random

If you're in the US and you've also been idly wondering why "I don't like to drive at night" has become such a common thing to say in the past few years, stand near to a modern LED streetlamp and block it with your hand. In about two thirds of a second, the whole road brightens up as your pupils open.

You're not just getting old; between over-bright streetlights, over-bright headlights of oncoming cars, over-bright instrument clusters, over-bright porch lighting, nobody can see in the dark anymore.

Just in the last decade we've made it much harder and more dangerous to drive at night. Oh, and we also gave up the stars.

violetmadder, 7 months ago

@ifixcoinops

Brighter is not always better.

You really, really don't want to be blinding the other people on the road. Or yourself. Honestly.

GossiTheDog, 7 months ago to random

Actors in the US are still on strike. The latest (and “final”) offer from studios says they want the right to make AI puppets out of actors after they die with no payment or permissions from the union or their families.

I hope actors reject the deal. It won’t be the final offer while movies and TV show production are all still on hold.

violetmadder, 7 months ago

@GossiTheDog

I do NOT want to spend the rest of my life watching Hollywood resurrect soulless zombie versions of everyone they can get their claws into (without even PAYING them fucking fairly).

Fight like hell!

mattblaze, 8 months ago to random

This shouldn't need to be said at this point, but given the new Speaker's apparent beliefs, it bears repeating:

While there are weaknesses in US election infrastructure, there is simply no evidence whatsoever that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen" or that technical attacks in any way altered its outcome.

58 of my colleagues and I wrote this shortly after these nonsensical conspiracy theories began to spread in 2020. It remains as true now as it was then. https://www.mattblaze.org/papers/election2020.pdf

violetmadder, 8 months ago

@mattblaze

Rigging the actual counting process seems pretty redundant when money, media dominance and gerrymandering do most of the heavy lifting.

But for some reason the Republicans rarely seem to complain about those.

aehdeschaine, 10 months ago to random

I really hate seeing that article going around about the grift of planting trees as carbon offsets. Yes, the grift is real and planting trees with that intention is disingenuous.

But KEEP PLANTING TREES ANYWAY. So many trees in my area have been cut down for often very little reason. We're losing shade, root structures, ecosystems.

I worry that these types of headlines enforce a belief that there is only one perfect solution and nothing else is worth doing.

#ClimateDiary

violetmadder, 10 months ago

@aehdeschaine And especially plant a wide variety of species of trees.

People gotta learn to think in terms of systems instead of magic bullets, for sure.

violetmadder, 11 months ago

@petertrek1 @allstartrek I always despised that bizarre jumpsuit.

violetmadder, 11 months ago

@petertrek1 @allstartrek Agreed