Erik Przekop @IAmErik@qoto.org

Some people would say I am quite mad for creating a gravy sandwich, but my dog, for one, thinks I'm a genius.

@OkieSpaceQueen @TidalFlats #ChunderRoad #Astronomy
#Astrodon
This something that bears repeating, because not too many folks know this, especially getting into the hobby-

A good pair of binoculars costs about as much as a crappy beginner telescope.

Unlike a crappy beginner telescope, you can always use a good pair of binoculars (for astronomy, birding , whatever) no matter how much you get into astronomy, or how big a telescope you end up using. A good pair of binoculars allows you a wide field of view that you can't get with a big telescope.

A crappy beginner's telescope will always remain…a crappy beginner's telescope, and will turn you off from the hobby, and will do the same to the person you give it to- “I've just got it lying around”.

Yeah. It's lying around for a good reason. It sucks.

maybe with the silly season coming up I'll post some advice on good beginner's telescopes.

OTD in 2006 journalist & activist Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead. Whoever ordered her killed is still at large. And turns 71 today.

I try not to complain about my job because let's be honest, I'm wildly lucky to have it. Tons of jobs suck in tons of different ways and I chose this one because the great aspects outweigh the sucky ones, for me.

But what gets me is, what if you *didn't* have to be wildly lucky to make a living in journalism? What if you just had to be good at it, care, work hard, and write stories people found worthwhile?

Sounds like a fairy tale, but that's how it was before local newspapers collapsed.

Shawn Fain, president of the UAW, interviewed on national television about the auto workers strike wearing an EAT THE RICH t-shirt.
#ChunderRoad #uaw_strikers #Eattherich

Man sentenced for treason for trying to assassinate the Queen had been encouraged to do so by his AI girlfriend

((STOP THE TIMELINE I WANT TO GET OFF))

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67012224

This may be obvious, but I recently started routinely adding "-youtube" to google searches. This eliminate most pages with links to garbage YouTube-monetized videos that try to attract people looking for basic instructions on how to do simple things. Greatly improves the quality of search results.

Should the #unitedstates #FCC create standards for broadcast and cable news so great that syndicated "news opinion" must relocate to radio or social media or be fined for broadcasting political opinion?

#news vs #opinion

New blog entry: Do my Laundry! https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2023/09/do-my-laundry.html

Using #Mastodon
and the #Fediverse is an act of rebellion in itself.

By being here,
you are contributing to grow an alternative system that is led by the people and for the people, not for profits.

By being here,
you are encouraging a solution to a deteriorating social climate that thrives on outrage and monetization of hate.

By being here,
you are participating to the development of a new system that can slowly build a better world.

Thank you for being here 💚

Superb reporting by Ronan Farrow. Elon Musk acts as though he has the US government over a barrel—and the government acts that way, too. Is the US powerless to rein in this rogue oligarch?

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/28/elon-musks-shadow-rule

What's the Bare Minimum Number of People for a Mars Habitat?

Although some tech billionaires hope to send millions of people to space, that might be more than necessary to support a self-sustaining Mars station. According to a new paper, researchers propose that you could bring that number down to just 22 individuals, assuming they have agreeable personalities. This also assumes that they're receiving regular supply missions from Earth, on top of the resources they'll harvest locally from the atmosphere and regolith.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.05916

Hey everybody, this is a good deal on a good read - get on it!

It's @cstross so you can be sure it's dark as fuck, but it's excellent, will have you sputtering about all the places it goes, and does an amazing job of tying up the loose ends of the previous two novels.

Doubly recommended for any fan of 'The Prisoner', FYI

https://wandering.shop/@cstross/110922579361592111

Since I saw that clip of Oliver Anthony singing his song 'Rich Men North of Richmond', the ghost of Woody Guthrie has been whispering in my ear. "Help that guy out" Woody keeps telling me "Let him know there's a way to deal with those problems he's singing about". So today I sat down and wrote this response to Mr Anthony's song, for people like him and people like you. ----Billy Bragg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGNFR7pgxDY&t=1s
@music @unions