...for you are the last one.

#unix_surrealism #openbsd #runbsd #technomage

Over at Twitter anti-nuclear Green loudmouth Hanno Klausmeier is calling for a full year prison sentence for the audacity of delaying the demolition of the #Grafenrheinfeld cooling towers last Friday.

Is Klausmeier calling for such draconian punishment for the mere inconvenience of waiting 1.5 hours longer before the towers got demolished?

Or is it something else and is he afraid for a louder pro-nuclear voice that he wants to scare into silence?

You decide.

Rozdíl mezi ukrajinskou a ruskou armádou...

#StandWithUkraine #Ukraine #Russia

I've just witnessed a completely civil and righteous rage against the machine by an elderly man (80s+) at supermarket self-service checkout here in small city Aotearoa #NewZealand and it was a little bit wonderful.

He'd just finished paying for his groceries when the machine started saying "Please take your items" every 15 seconds or so. At first he just says "I'll do it in my own time thank you," while bagging things up.

The machine keeps telling him to take his items. After around the 5th time, he starts really arguing back:
"I don't have to do what you tell me to do."
"I'll take as long as I need thank you."
"I'll thank you to stop harassing me."

On around the seventh or eighth request that he take his items, he stands back, crosses his arms and says loudly snaps, "No! Not until you be quiet!"

The machine keeps going. The man just stands there, crossed arms, chin stuck out. A standoff is on. Staff come over and ask if they can help and he tells them that if they switch the voice off, he will continue bagging his things and go. If they don't, he's retired and can wait all day.

Machine is turned off/down with sympathy from supermarket staff. Moments later the man leaves the supermarket with the air of someone who's just won a war, expression completely stoic.

NVDA 2024.3, the free screen reader for Microsoft Windows, is now available for download. We encourage all users to upgrade to this version. Full information & download links available from: nvaccess.org/post/nvda-2024-3/

Highlights:
- Notification of add-on updates
- Unicode normalisation options
- Help Tech Activator Pro braille display support
- Mouse wheel scrolling commands
- Many bug fixes & updates for Windows 11, browsers, LibLouis, eSpeak-NG, Unicode CLDR
#NVDA #NVDAsr #ScreenReader #A11y

NASA still hasn't decided on how Boeing Starliner astronauts will return.

But recent developments, and NASA's mention of an "unsuited return" have led to a lot of questions about why the launch and entry suits aren't compatible between Boeing and SpaceX. Let's dive into what that unsuited return means, how launch and entry suits are used, and why NASA didn't mandate compatibility here.

#space #starliner #boeing #spacex #nasa #iss

youtu.be/pFjOIf8Kd5I

Why didn't NASA make Boeing and SpaceX's spacesuits compatible?

NASA still hasn't decided whether Boeing Starliner astronauts will return on their original spacecraft or a SpaceX Crew Dragon. But recent developments, and ...

^YouTube

From our President: Hello BITS Family:

BITS Microsoft Office Fall 2024 Training Course

For JAWS or NVDA BITS members who are interested in enhancing their skills with Microsoft Office. The BITS Education team is excited to announce a new weekly class beginning September 9. This Class meets every Monday via Zoom from 7:30 to 9:30 PM EST. We plan the course until November 25, 2024. We may extend class dates into December if we feel the pace needs to be adjusted.

The course provides in-depth instruction on using Windows, Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint with screen readers. The course textbook is the third edition of David Kingsbury’s book, “The Windows Screen Reader Primer: All the Basics and More,” which can be downloaded from:
The Carroll Center. This book is also available on Bookshare. David Kingsbury, who is an experienced assistive technology instructor at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Massachusetts, serves as the primary instructor.
The first session on September 9, 2024 covers class logistics, provides an overview of The Windows Screen Reader Primer’s content, teaches students to navigate it and answers student questions about the course.

Subsequent sessions cover:

• File management with Windows 10 and 11,
• Edit, format and proof Word documents,
• Use the Outlook desktop client to manage messages,
• Excel basic and intermediate tools to create spreadsheets, and
• Create visually appealing PowerPoint presentations.

Regular class assignments and office hours are integral parts of the course. All class sessions are recorded and shared with students, so you have these as additional reference materials.

Whether you are a beginner or looking to enhance your skills, this class is for you.

To reserve your place, please sign up using this form. The URL for this form is:

bits-acb.org/office

Note: You must be a current BITS member to attend the course.
To join Bits visit: joinbits.org

Pixel 3 up and running (again again again), huge props to @drakulix for getting things rebased and fixing all the regressions and weird new issues.

#postmarketOS #LinuxMobile #gnomemobile

Level crossing in the GB operated by a human operator, looking carefully if the crossing is clear using CCTV, closing the barriers, double checking that it is still clear and then finally signalling proceed to the train. 🙄

And I always thought it is the train which has priority on a level crossing, not the other way around.

youtu.be/UCXav-ptPeA?si=0L_LYr… (time 09:55)

Why Do We Still Have Semaphore Signals?

Network Rail invited me to take a tour of signalling through the decades, starting with the Littlehampton Signal Box - still operating semaphore signals - th...

^YouTube