Skip to main content



Hosting recommendation

Sensitive content



I have ended a relationship with DreamHost. I had been with them for well over 10 years and this was something I wish I didn't need to do honestly. Lack of commitment to accessibility and allowing one to manage their sites without others stepping in was the last straw. Promises of resolution were taking to long and I needed to be able to manage the sites I am responsible for. Thank you DreamHost for the dedicated years of service and I wish you all the success in the future.


this is #deltacat watching the ongoing 1.48 #deltachat releases carefully - thanks to @adbenitez and automated store watching, this is much less stressing, just right for a cat relaxing ~#caturday


When I was a kid, under the influence of science fiction, I dreamt I was going to the moon. It was so exciting! When I woke up I was crushed. When I grew up, I realized sending humans into space is a waste of money at present - though it was good to prove we could do it.

If we're serious about exploring airless environments with lots of radiation, we should be developing cyborgs and better AI. But meanwhile, we can explore space from the comfort of home using space probes and telescopes. We just need to get better at explaining to ordinary folks how cool this is. I can get thrilled by graphs and tables of data, because I can vividly imagine what they mean. Most folks would prefer a good animated video.

MeerKAT is an amazing array of 64 radio telescopes in South Africa. They want to expand this to the Square Kilometer Array, which will actually consist of thousands of telescopes in South Africa and Australia. But it's already seeing great stuff. Like just this June they found a weird thing that flashes like a pulsar - but really slowly, once every 54 minutes instead of a thousand times a second like an ordinary pulsar.

That's insane! What is this thing? We don't know, and that's exactly why it's cool. But for some guesses, read on - after I do the laundry.

(1/3)

This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to John Carlos Baez

Okay, I hung up the laundry. Imagine an enormous star flinging off its outer layers after it runs out of fuel and its core collapses under its own gravity. If it doesn't become a black hole, the core can shrink down to a ball of neutronium just 20 kilometers across. Just as a ballerina spins faster as she pulls in her arms, this ball spins really fast - like 1000 rotations a second. And since neutronium conducts electricity, it can blast out radio waves as it spins, creating a blinking radio signal, called a pulsar. Pulsars are so precisely periodic that when Jocelyn Bell first spotted one, people thought it was a signal from aliens!

Like the rest of us, pulsars slow down as they age. But this also means their signal weakens. So we usually don't see pulsars in the gray region of this chart - to the right of the line called the 'pulsar death line'. Pulsars are the gray dots to the left of this line. The pink squares are called 'magnetars'. These are the squalling infants in the world of pulsars: young and highly magnetized neutron stars that do crazy stuff like put out big bursts of X-rays now and then.

But then there are weirder things. A telescope array called the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder was searching for radio waves connected to a gamma ray burst in 2022 when it stumbled on something that blasts out radio waves about once an hour. It lost track of this object, so folks brought in the more powerful MeerKAT radio telescope and found it again.

Now it's called ASKAP J1935+2148. It's well to the right of the pulsar death line. What could it be?

(2/3)

in reply to John Carlos Baez

The radio source ASKAP J1935+2148 is an amazing thing. It blasts out radio waves once every 54 minutes, which is incredibly slow for a pulsar. Pulsars usually pulse somewhere between 1000 times a second and once every few seconds.

ASKAP J1935+2148 puts out 3 kinds of pulses in a rather random way: bright pulses, weak pulses, and no pulse at all. But if you fill in the missing pulses, you'll see the pulses keep the same period with an accuracy of 1/10 of a second. So I imagine it must be something quite heavy slowly spinning around, which has a patch that switches between 3 modes of radio emission.

It could be a really weird pulsar, but nobody knows how a pulsar spinning so slowly could put out radio waves. Another candidate I've read about is a 'magnetic white dwarf'. These are white dwarf stars that have strong magnetic fields. Nobody knows why! But also, nobody has seen one put out radio pulses. So this also seems like a long shot.

In short, it's a mystery! And that means we'll learn something cool.

For a nice account of this, try Astrobites:

• Magnus L'Argent, This ultra-long period radio signal can’t make up its mind, astrobites.org/2024/07/02/ultr…

For even more details, try this:

• M. Caleb et al, An emission-state-switching radio transient with a 54-minute period, nature.com/articles/s41550-024…

The animated gif here shows an artist's impression of an ordinary pulsar, not ASKAP J1935+2148. It's probably been slowed down a lot.

(3/3)

This entry was edited (1 week ago)


This is a valuable article for those who are involved in any way in online spaces (read: all of us). I'm looking forward to reading the research paper. Some of their findings:

1. Members Don’t Leave After Experiencing Toxicity
2. Online Toxic Behaviors Are Not Isolated Incidents
3. Toxicity Stems from Culture, Not a Few “Bad Apples”
4. Rivalries Don’t Boost Communities — They Tear Them Apart
5. Self-Moderation Is Not Enough to Keep Toxicity at Bay

#CommunityManagement

hbr.org/2024/11/why-moderators…



If there are any #Lorcana fans out there interested in donating $6.52 towards helping children in hospitals, doing so in the next half hour at
desertbus.org/donate
will enter you into a giveaway for one booster box of each set of Lorcana released so far. All 5!

We'd also love to have you check out the @desertbus gaming charity fundraiser marathon over at
twitch.tv/desertbus

Here's their post about this very giveaway:
kind.social/@desertbus/1134605…



Escaping From Trump?

Fancy a break?

A 4-year cruise: the US offers a "break from politics"

A residential cruise line is offering a four-year voyage for passengers looking for an extra-long vacation.

All-inclusive tickets start at $256,000 for a single room. Double rooms start at $319,998. The cruise will take vacationers to 140 countries.
#AureFreePress #News #press #headline #vacation #cruise #Politics #uspolitics #uspol

in reply to Aure Free Press

The idea there are people who can pay hundreds of thousands and fuck off for 4 years is all mind blowing, inspiring, crazy, and enviable.


Кто-то может сказать "тупая привычка", но, когда я доигрываю игру в CS2, то я всегда говорю "всем спасибо за игру" и ухожу. Даже если проиграл, даже если злился на всех, всё равно - скажу "спасибо" и выйду.

Многие отвечают "и тебе спасибо, удачи", но в большинстве случаем я слышу мат в свою сторону, по стилю "иди на*й отсюда уе*к, га*он".



Do you know this situation? You really want to get into making music, but don't know which keyboard to pick? You're visually impaired and you fear that the instrument of choice might not be accessible enough that you feel confident in your purchase? I've got a website where Ilist all the products I tested for accessibility and can wholeheartedly recommend to other people. I'm here to answer any question that might come up. The list will be expanded over time. toni-barth.online/gear/
in reply to Cleverson

@clv0 I'm already an active member on RWP. And well, Envision AI is close to releasing their Ally to the public which should kind of do exactly what you want. Maybe check them out.
in reply to Toni Barth

Great! I'll probably have to import it from another country, but good to know this.


🐾 Guide dogs are romanticized as symbols of independence, but they’re just one type of assistive tech. Not everyone needs or wants one. Independence is personal, not one-size-fits-all. 💪
#Accessibility #Blind #Disability #AssistiveTech #Inclusion


Ahora sin contenido gráfico xD

Ayer estuve donando sangre y como siempre hago mi poquito de proselitismo: #DonaSangre si puedes, es un sacrificio pequeñito para un bien necesario y que no hay otra manera de conseguir.

Y, si donas, hazlo en servicios públicos ❤️



so I discovered yesterday that gotosocial has support for local-only posting similar to glitch/hometown, which is great! unfortunately none of the clients I'm aware of appear to support it

if you're an android or JS dev, adding this to Tusky or Pinafore/Semaphore/Enafore would be a really cool contribution IMO!

there's an existing issue for Tusky but I couldn't find anything for Pinafore & co



for other blind hams out there, What is the recommended Allstar node hardware these days for setting up a hotspot? I own a g7rpg node, but it looks like it might have died. No output and no power light when I power it on.
in reply to Jason Fayre

My personal recommendation is to build your own node with a Raspberry Pi 4 kit, AllstarLink ASL3 software image, and a Shari radio from KitsForHams. This will require some time and general Linux knowledge, but it is quite well-documented at allstarlink.org/
If you really aren't interested in spending the time, gathering the hardware, putting it all together, and futzing around with software, then there is the ClearNode from NodeVentures.com
The advantage is that you get a fully-assembled and working node delivered to you, along with an iOS app to control things. But it is significantly more expensive, and the app functionality depends on AWS to function. But its totally up to you the route you choose to go.
in reply to Adam MacLeod

@adam Thanks for this. I'm interested in spending the time, but don't have the time to spend. lol! The Clearnodes do look really nice. Do you happen to know where they ship from? Can't find the info on their site. Trying to avoid getting nailed with import charges.
in reply to Jason Fayre

I know very little about the clearnodes, but I believe they come from the U.S.
in reply to Jason Fayre

Unfortunately, so do the Shari radios from KitsForHams. I'm not sure there's a way to avoid the import fees. One time, when I ordered a Shari kit, I managed to luck out with my timing, and knowing someone local who also wanted one at the same time I did, so we got both our kits shipped at the same time and to the same place. We still had to pay the import fee, but we split shipping in half. That was the best I could do on that front.
in reply to Jason Fayre

I just confirmed with someone who has ordered a clearnode that they ship from California. He also informed me that you may be able to lower the import fees with some sort of Amateur Radio clasification on the shipping. My friend thinks that it is tax exempt under $800? But we're not entirely sure on that.


Working on a cybersecurity handbook for activists. Join us; here is a sample chapter. Comments welcome. The book will be structured A to Z with one topic per letter; twenty-six chapters altogether. Here is a draft for a sample chapter check it out. docs.google.com/document/d/1PF…


🥥 Did corporate media tell you that demonstrations against Trump were held all over the USA yesterday?
Me neither.
theguardian.com/world/2024/nov…
🥥
#USPolitics #PostElectionBlues #TuckersBalls


My Windows computer's fans just started up for no reason, I wasn't using it or anything, and it sounded like a strong breeze. Yes, I was a little startled until I realized it was the computer. I'd forgotten how loud those fans can be when I'm not wearing headphones. It's gone back to rest now, so hopefully it was just, um, cleaning up log files or something.


What happens when a MIDI cover of a Classical piece gets written on and for an SC-88Pro? Big things. Very big things. This is a MIDI cover of an excerpt of "Daphnis et Chloé," a piece by Ravel. Arranged by Yu Nakajima (中島 祐), played on my ST Pro. MIDI (SC-88Pro sysex, multi-port): web.archive.org/web/2007012017….
Human performance: youtube.com/watch?v=14OM6Ysnk6…



An Overview of the Camera Types Found on Android Smartphones accessibleandroid.com/an-overv…


Say, Bluesky has public lists of accounts that users curate which helps a ton with onboarding. We have lists too, but only you can see your own lists.

Am I missing something? This seems a pretty obvious feature that only needs a minor code change? Or am I missing something and can I see other people's lists?

#Mastodon

This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to modulux

There's already instances on Bluesky where people are being added to starter packs they didn't/don't want to be in.
in reply to Robert Kingett

Which doesn't sound like a lot of fun. For it to fly here it's going to have to be opt-in.


Why do governments still have Twitter (X) links on them? Surely we can be confident that it isn't a neutral public square in 2024. Are governments getting value from it? Agencies/departments do not need to pick between LinkedIn, Mastodon, Bluesky or Threads if choosing a new platform proves difficult, but remove Twitter from your social media feeds.

Having Twitter, but not the others isn't neutral, it is negative.

in reply to Mike Gifford

I’ve been wondering about this myself. Do government comms folks not have ethical standards guidelines or committees? X has not been a reliable or objective platform for years now.
in reply to Andrew Boardman

@boardman I suspect it is mostly moment that is keeping folks there. Plus they hired social media folks who were comfortable with Twitter, so....


If you don’t have at least a couple dozen people on your blocklist, can you really even call yourself part of the fediverse?
in reply to Samuel Proulx

I've not blocked one person sinve i've been on Mastodon. i've unfollowed, but not blocked.
in reply to Gina

I have only blocked people who decide compassion and understanding are not in their dictionary, and those who promote sex work because this is too disgusting for me to even look at. Oh and, a lot of spam related bots, but that's kinda meh. I also can't mute or block instances on my side, so if your instance has an illogical, stupid name, I don't follow you. 4 years of mastodon, or something. There are also quite a few blind people on my block list hahaha. Because some people cannot be talked to, or reasoned with and I have no time for this nonsense. Also, arguing is pointless. J muchprefer my silence and peace. I guess I grew up from wanting to constantly argue because I'm behind a keyboard and this is the internet.


Dnes už jsem schopen nějaké práce s textem, tak jsem sepsal, proč odcházím od Pirátů. Mnohým z vás bych to jinak dlužil po těch letech, co tu #piráti dělám reklamu. Už nebudu :(

jackc.teptin.net/muj-konec-u-p…

Update: Vložen správný screenshot na můj příspěvek pro (ne)vstupování do vlády. Konkrétně: jackc.teptin.net/files/clanky/…

This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to Jan Korbel 🇨🇿 🐧

Prostě se z toho stala politika. Stejná, na kterou Piráti nadávali. Moc, ego, .... to se pak lidé projeví.
in reply to Jan Korbel 🇨🇿 🐧

@Jan Korbel 🇨🇿 🏴‍☠️ Díky za zprávu. je to škoda. Se ztrátou lidí jako Janka Michailidu se z Pirátů stává řadová středopravá strana s trapným dětinským názvem. Už ta disciplinace Janky Bartošem byla pro mne varovným znamením, že něco smrdí.
This entry was edited (1 week ago)


Dnes jsem ukončil členství v @Pirati. Strana se včera vydala směrem, který mi není vlastní, a proto se naše cesty rozdělují. Před 14 lety jsem vstoupil do @Pirati, protože to byla jediná politická strana, která vnímala měnící se realitu jako důsledek digitální transformace a kladla důraz na skutečně zásadní témata. Proto jsem digitální práva prosazoval i během mých 5 let v Evropském parlamentu. A na výsledky jsem patřičně hrdý.
in reply to Marcel Kolaja

Tak to je škoda, ale chápu vaše rozhodnutí. Díky za odvedenou práci v Evropském parlamentu!
@Pirati


Really strange Eloquence/NVDA anecdote: while reading a website, if I use ctrl-arrow down to move through paragraphs, a question is read with lowering intotation and the end, whereas if I use ctrl-up arrow to go up paragraphs, the question is read with rising intonation. The question is: Why would you want to look at those?

Very odd!

in reply to modulux

I'd edit but neither my client nor my instance support it, and I recently can't type. But obviously I mean intonation, in both cases.




@DavidGoldfield
Each day, I am constantly amazed at the amount of information you send out both here, on other social platforms and via email. thank you. I obviously don't read all of it, but there's plenty that interests me so I'm very much appreciate your post. My real question though is, when do you sleep? Lol!
in reply to Douglas Hunsinger

Thank you for your kind comments. You asked when I sleep. To paraphrase the wormhole aliens from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "Sleep? What is this?"
In all seriousness, getting a good amount of sleep is a major priority for me and, more often than not, I'm generally successful at meeting my sleep goal. With a good RSS reader, having good computer skills and using a few Leasey shortcuts when I'm on my Windows computer, maintaining the Tech-VI list and getting material posted to Mastodon and LinkedIn takes less time and effort than you might think. Also, I hardly ever post to X and Facebook unless I'm posting announcements about the BT Speak representing Blazie Technologies. For most announcements, I stick to Mastodon. There are definite benefits of having an X account but I rarely post non-work-related material to that platform. If more important things demand my attention in either my personal or professional life, then I prioritize on those things.
This entry was edited (1 week ago)


For #DoctorWho fans with a qualifying print disability, here's the latest Doctor Who title added to Bookshare:

The Official Quotable Doctor Who: Wise Words From Across Space and Time
by
Cavan Scott Mark Wright
"All of time and space. All things that ever happened or ever will. Where do you want to start?"From a junkyard in Totter's Lane to the fields of Trenzalore, the last of the Time Lords has navigated the past, present, and future using knowledge gathered from centuries of adventures in space and time. Now the authors of the bestselling Who-Ology have collected the best of that timey-wimey knowledge into one place. Covering themes of home and work, travel and technology, the history of the Earth and the fate of the future—you'll find a Doctor-y bon mot for every occasion here.Collecting half a century of quips and quotes, and beautifully illustrated throughout, The Official Quotable Doctor Who is your indispensable guide to life, love, mirth, and monsters.

Copyright: 2014 ISBN: 9780062382757
Features: Contains images

This entry was edited (1 week ago)


It would be nice if all the lefty writers on Substack got together and created a digital publication with subscription. Big Tech betrayed us and I really, really don't want to subsidize them and I also can't afford multiple individual subscriptions.
in reply to SocProf

in the case of Substack it has been the nazi bar all along. We have been knowing that they deliberately subsidize nazis post there.
This entry was edited (1 week ago)


Konečně se blíží dlouhé zimní večery. Nastal čas kdy konečně obnovím akvárium.
To zas bude nářků doma, že je to 400 litrů vody, jestli nejsem blázen
😀😀
Jen je škoda, že zajímavé stránky s akvaristikou nejde v ČR najít 😔
in reply to Archos

jak se píše rybičky.net tam koukám co která ryba vyžaduje
pak pohledej horacovoakvárium.cz
Já si s tím vystačil
Záleží do čeho chceš jít
in reply to GuloGulo

@GuloGulo
Ale jo, já je znám ty weby. Já mám akvária od malička. To byl spíš takový povzdech.



Oh cool. The Prudence Screen Reader for Android is still being developed.A few annoyances to get it working, but man it's snappy: prudence-screen-reader.en.upto…



Dvě hodinky na kole, dnes to v té mlze, bylo spíš na pořádný čaj s rumem, možná asi jen ten rum.
#cyklovylet
in reply to Schmaker

@schmaker
Já mám celkem drahé přímo na silničku oblečení a stejně taky mrznu. Do kopce se člověk spotí a z kopce je pak zima. Na tělo mi bylo fajn, jen ty nohy. U mě nastává období, kdy budu více běhat a méně jezdit 😀😀
Stejně jsem si chtěl příští rok k padesátinám nedělit maraton v Praze. Tak to budu muset pořádně začít 🤷🏼‍♂️
in reply to Archos

Někde jsem tady viděl (možná u @Nevolte xChaose! ?), že se dělaj návleky na boty, aby do nich tolik nefučelo.

Každopádně maraton bych nedal ani autem, jsi borec :)

in reply to Schmaker

@schmaker
Jo ty mám, ale to je škoda peněz. Takhle, do hoďky jízdy jsou v pohodě. Díky, bude čtvrtý maraton, ale uvidím jak to půjde.
@xChaos
in reply to Schmaker

@schmaker návleky na boty mám akorát na běžky a nepamatuju se, že bych v nich jezdil na kole.

Nevhodnost cyklodresů pro zimní cyklistiku řeším tak, že se v podstatě oblékám zhruba jako na běžky, včetně funkčního prádla a rukavic. Vlastně mám komplet překryv výbavy na zimní/jarní/horskou cykloturistiku a na běžky. Do bot dvoje ponožky. Jezdil jsem takhle v zimě po Praze jako kurýr na cargokole (takový záskok, ne pravidelně)

S tou letní je to taky, že jestli budu chtít vyhrát SunTrip, tak možná o kalhotách stahujících svaly nohou budu muset uvažovat... já zase nejsem tak zarytý odpůrce úchyláren, třeba si to ještě užiju :-) (i když už jsem spíš dědek)

in reply to Chao-c'

@xChaos
Na zimu mám cyklistikou bundu z Lidlu a je v pohodě. Ty návleky jsou o ničem. Jak jsou kovové kufry na botech, tak od nich to promrzá.
@schmaker
in reply to Archos

Za návleky jsem utratil nemálo peněz a všechno byla slepá cesta — nakonec jsem si pořídil zimní tretry a jsem za vodou (i dnes). Oblečení mám cca do nuly, zrovna v sobotu ráno mi dorazily čapáky 0–8 stupňů. Jasně, že to všechno stojí raketu, ale mě to baví a naprosto skvěle to funguje. Zvlášť tady je to nutnost. @xChaos @schmaker
in reply to Pavel Kout

@pavelkout Jj přesně, ty návleky je škoda peněz. Oblečení mám v pohodě, ono je i znát když se člověk obleče moc a nebo málo. Ono to chce vychytat. Teda aspoň u mě. Jinak budu budu muset koupit. To e nedá svítit :-)

@xChaos @schmaker

in reply to Archos

@pavelkout @xChaos @schmaker
Jezdím málo, řeším to levně pomocí vrstev.
Tělo je v pohodě, v zimě, do kopce uberu abych se moc nepotil, větrání reguluji rozepínáním větrovky. Ale jezdím les, terén, pomalu.
Nohy je problém, beru slabší/tlustší merino, na to neprofuk kalhoty.
Tretry teď nemám, ale řešil jsem to teplou ponožkou na to nepromokavou ponožku co neprofoukne, používám spíše turistické tretry(na těch mých 3-4k ročně) kam ty 2 ponožky narvu ... pak návleky do -5°C ještě pomohou.
in reply to Archos

@schmaker jo tak to jo, já prostě nejezdím s nášlapy, jsem hodně oldschool městský cyklista/cykloturista.


why does glibc have a function called memfrob() that according to the man page "frobnicates a memory area" and appears to just xor a string by the fixed number 42 and nothing else
in reply to velzie

lots of complex software has test or example variables, functions, and constants. Chromium has a test permission called “frobulate” that doesn’t do anything but trickled its way to the Permissions-Policy header where people started to notice and cite it.
in reply to velzie

lots of complex software has test or example variables, functions, and constants. Chromium has a test permission called “frobulate” that doesn’t do anything but trickled its way to the Permissions-Policy header where people started to notice and cite it.

That’s my guess.



Have you ever heard of, or used, the word "extramural"? Simple yes or what the fuck will suffice, but if you feel like clarifying, that's also okay.
This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to Estelle

No, but my Latin is sufficient to guess that it's something done outside of the walls.
in reply to André Polykanine

@menelion Yup. Commonly used in South Africa to denote activities outside school hours, but in the context I read it yesterday, it was talking about any strenuous outside activity as a result of heat warnings.



I'm ashamed and proud at the same time: Ereyesterday I made a huge leap for our main pet project from #PHP 5.6 to 8.3. Ashamed because well, 5.6 in 2024, and proud because I could do it after several months of weekend updates. There are some small errors still, but they are really small. And huge thanks to #A2Hosting who maintains those super mega old versions (yes, they have even 4.X still!), sometimes it's needed although I'm totally for everything new and against keeping legacy for years. Anyway, it's done and gosh, it's blazing fast now!
in reply to André Polykanine

Ещё и в языке, видимо, стало многое более удобным, так что в случае какого-нибудь багфикса не надо думать "бля, опять на этом 5.6 писать".
in reply to Kirill

@Yinshi Вот это уж точно. И аутентификацию нормальную сделал, и хэширование паролей, а не позорный sha1, как раньше было.


Národní monitorovací středisko pro drogy a závislosti vydalo Zprávu o nelegálních drogách v České republice 2024:

(PDF, 173 stran) drogy-info.cz/data/obj_files/3…

drogy-info.cz/publikace/vyrocn…