After 7 months of development, the Mastodon 4.2.0 update has been released and is available today for all Mastodon server operators to install. It is designed to make it easier for users to get started, use the network even when logged out, and search for content across the platform. https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/09/mastodon-4.2/
#mastodon #update #fediverse #socialmedia #opensource
Love the new "thread" view on Mastodon 4.2. Makes it so much easier to follow conversations. #Mastodon #update #MastodonUpdate
I met Ray Manzarek of The Doors about 10 or 15 years ago. Had a photo taken with him—will have to dig it up. Ray was a cool fella. I always thought that he was the brains behind The Doors. John Densmore is cool, too. Anyone who champions reading will always be cool in my book.
It's rare to hear this from them, and so it is quite welcome.
@MaksiSanctum There was a major paper from 2010 or 2011 that showed mask effectiveness for hospital workers at preventing flu. Those results showed equivalent effectiveness for N95s and surgical masks and concluded imperfect fit was the reason why the "better mask" did not perform better. I suspect the recommendation is based on the data.
Unbelievable, the expected CDC "guidance" says that N95's are no better than surgical masks despite the numerous studies that show N95's show a large decrease in infectious disease spread.
If you had any doubts b4 about the CDC becoming a political tool...
Expected CDC guidance on N95 masks outrages health care workers
@cordillera Mastodon only. I miss specific Twitter fantasy baseball content but not enough to install it on my phone. No one has sent a Bluesky invite my way or I would check that out. Mastodon is fine for politics.
In memory of Grant Vernon Hart, drummer and co-songwriter of the alternative rock and hardcore punk band Hüsker Dü, who died on this day in 2017 from complications of liver cancer and hepatitis
#punk #punks #punkrock #granthart #hüskerdü #huskerdu #history #punkrockhistory #otd
@trendless @novid Good deal, though actually trying to order from them may not be worth the effort. Tedious password requirements, shipping exclusions, and shipping charges.
Alabama decided to try it, and the federal panel isn’t pleased. Like, at all. How the state tried to thumb its nose at a SCOTUS voting rights opinion, and how that’s likely to go, in today’s piece. https://open.substack.com/pub/statuskuo/p/an-alabama-slammer?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
So, I'm just going to be sure I have this straight.
Back in 2019-2020, when #covid19 first burst onto the scene, nobody had any idea what we were dealing with. Out of an abundance of caution people were urged to stay at home, and keep away from other people.
In the almost-four years since then, we have learned exactly what we are dealing with - a disease never dealt with before on this level, that attacks and destroys multiple systems of the body, leaves many people disabled/bedridden, or with any of a huge number of chronic conditions.
It attacks the heart and brains of everyone infected (to varying degrees), and confers no long lasting immunity against future infections (which tend to get worse each time).
But with all that knowledge, we've now dropped any semblance of protection, and actively discourage masking, isolation and cleaning the air.
... Do I have this right?
Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of all freedom. But not all speech is the same, and not all speech qualifies as “free speech.”
As the indictments pile up against Trump and his co-conspirators for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election, we have seen a concerted effort by Trump to claim a ridiculous defense based on “freedom of speech.”
Free speech, according to his cockamamie theory, means he can say whatever he wants to say, regardless of the consequences. He falsely equates his leadership of the criminal conspiracy to destroy American democracy with the act of having a mere opinion or belief.
This defense is unlikely to hold up in a court of law — and it doesn’t hold up in the field of cognitive linguistics, either. Cognitive linguists have long understood that there are different kinds of speech, and that some kinds of speech constitute “speech acts.”
More at FrameLab:
https://framelab.substack.com/p/trumps-criminal-speech-acts-vs-free
@georgetakei I visited the Iowa State Fair a few weeks ago. I saw no politics at all, which indicated to me that political types of all stripes are exhausted and have moved on. Previously, everyone including No Labels was there. The disgraced ex-president is old news and no one is interested in him anymore.
Things every reporter knows but none will mention:
—Congress has no constitutional authority over a state prosecutor.
—Jim Jordan has no factual basis for any of his nasty insinuations.
Just published
When a nasal vaccine provides superior immune response compared with a shot (2 doses of each). Results from a randomized clinical trial, including vs Omicron, and with less local and systemic adverse effects
https://nature.com/articles/s41541-023-00717-8
39 years ago today
Hüsker Dü at the junkyard photo shoot for Zen Arcade, July 31, 1984
Photo by Mark Peterson
#punk #punks #punkrock #hardcorepunk #hüskerdü #huskerdu #history #punkrockhistory #otd
“The imperial Supreme Court is something new and dangerous … [W]e must consider more radical options to protect the American form of government.”
https://harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-136/the-imperial-supreme-court/
#SCOTUS
I agree 100 percent with ICE-T regarding Sinead O’Connor when contrasted with people in general: most people in the world do not stand for anything at all. The vast majority of us stand for our own existence and survival, and not too much else. This is the painful, human truth. If we could see outside and beyond ourselves more often…
I blog about transitions and change. Follower of music, analytical baseball, science, futurism and humor.