DutyBard @DutyBard@qoto.org

He talked about electric cars. I don't know anything about cars, so when people said he was a genius I figured he must be a genius.

Then he talked about rockets. I don't know anything about rockets, so when people said he was a genius I figured he must be a genius.

Now he talks about software. I happen to know a lot about software and Elon Musk is saying the stupidest shit anyone's ever said, so when people say he's a genius I figured I should stay the hell away from his cars and rockets.

Staggering charts in the FT by John Burn-Murdoch show that after 12 years of Tory rule we are poorer, sicker and will die sooner than our peers. Utterly disgraceful.

For the holiday, a thread on how to befriend crows.

--

Befriending crows is a wonderful thing.

I have many crow friends at home and at work. They bring joy at unexpected moments and can rescue a miserable day even without shaking down the dust of snow that Robert Frost described.

This thread is an updated version of one I posted at the bird site in July 2019.

#birding #birdwatching #birds #urbanbirding #crows #corvids #crow #corvid #crowfriends

@ftrain Think this is the very definition of ephemeral (& summarises UK weather atm)

@Willie2 People whine about strikes being inconvenient...that's the WHOLE POINT.

I fully support ALL of the striking workers.

The Tories have a knife to the throat of this country and they need to be brought down, once and for all.

„Password requirements: myths and madness“ by Alan Franzoni

Still a topic in may enterprises, where IT security and IT users have conflicts. Where security is 100% successful when no one is able to work.

https://www.franzoni.eu/password-requirements-myths-madness/

Ministers are wholly responsible for this alarming situation: 12 years of #austerity, barely hidden privatisation agenda, #Brexit impact on staffing, cavalier attitude to training sufficient doctors and nurses, all trademarks of this reckless government.

https://www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/strike-blog-huge-variation-in-deals-to-cover-heart-attack-calls/7033936.article#.Y6H_tT5jCk4.twitter

I’m a city dweller. I pray on coffee and sandwiches on the go, sounds of cafes and subway soothe me and car fumes etched my lungs while I was infant, crippled my immune system for good. The city breathes, it has its own heartbeat, trembling under the streets. There are demons lurking in passages and walleys in the night, there are shadows of doubts and passions and sins imprinted in crosswalks and pave tiles.

I think it was in 2014 when I saw this the first time. The shift in people’s feelings, the surge of excitement and a feeble protest that was smothered in a matter of days. There were subtle hints that I couldn’t quite pick up at that age, unfortunately. Or maybe for the better.

Now I see with my own eyes, no goggles needed, the consequences of the past year. First, the police came. Two guys armed with pistols in every station, just standing there, talking to each other and squeezing money out of illegal immigrants on the occasion. Two more, with AK each, standing at the entrance during rush hour. I wonder if these weapons are off safety?

Every day I ride the subway and every day there is a drunk man lying on the floor. I haven’t seen this in a while in the city center. They don’t look homeless or too poor, you can usually tell by looking at the shoes and the coat. They look like they are lost, fell out of place, somehow ended up in the center instead of the suburb slum. Maybe boarded the wrong train or skipped a bus. Sometimes police takes them somwhere, sometimes they just watch, smirking.

I go to malls in the city for clothes and presents. Shop windows are shining with new goods, closed stores (h&m, cropp, uniqlo, and others) are replaced with new ones, either local or chinese-owned. Mostly the latter, but no one seems to care. It all looks very modern and quite civilized, there is even a robotic coffee kiosk at the entrance for some obscure reason. Someone couldn’t tolerate an old-fashioned coffee machine, can’t say I blame the man.

And now it’s not just the glamour and the overspending. It’s empty syringes in restrooms and fear in the eyes of the school students who go there for an ice cream when the weather is bad. I saw a few couples there over the years – boy with a boy, girl with a girl. Dyed hair, good clothes, albeit expressive, holding hands and laughing louder than considered polite. The capital was always a touch more tolerant than other cities, at least in places like this. Not anymore, not since December the first. Look over the shoulder before telling a joke, just in case. Not a paranoia, but a well-justified caution.

I will keep doing what I must, and try to tell the tale while I still can. Not because I am good at it, but because I cannot do it any other way, it seems.

A mob of red deer stags in Richmond Park, they were on the edge of the woods and unless you stopped to look from most angles they were perfectly hidden, I crouched down to take the shot, that's when I could see how many there were (shot with a long lens it looks like I was a lot closer than I actually was). #RichmondPark #RedDeer #Stags #RedStags #WildLifePhotography #Nature #Photography #AltText

MINI TUTORIAL: How to look at risk ratios and deal with Web propaganda: the case of Saturated Fats & Nina Teicholz @bigfatsurprise.

Matt Hancock should face one trial.
In West Suffolk. At the ballot box. Against me. And for each vote I get, he has to eat a Wuhan bat’s penis. Reblog if you agree. #ImACeleb

Hello everyone 👋

For months I've worked on a poster about designing for users with dyscalculia and low numeracy.

Today it's ready.

https://designnotes.blog.gov.uk/2022/11/28/designing-for-people-with-dyscalculia-and-low-numeracy/

Please use it to improve your service for people who struggle with numbers.

I'm happy to chat to anyone about the poster or what it's like living with dyscalculia.

Created with colleagues Rachel Malic and Jane McFadyen at DWP and HMRC.

The most CORRUPT nation, on the planet.

If you pay tax, just know it's your money they are stealing.

And they will keep doing it more and more because WE keep letting them.

#EnoughIsEnough

My daughter just sent me this fantastic photo she took today #photography #scotland #wildlife #scenery

Ok I’ve done it, I’ve ordered a sleeping bag type blanket I can use for the on call room

Cause it’s arctic