Michael Porter @MichaelPorter@qoto.org
- Pronouns
- he/him
- Size
- XLT
- Philosophy
- Humanist
- Politics
- Lefty-Antifa
Retired Chem/Physics/Earth Sciences teacher. I'm interested in everything.
I like a good debate that introduces me to other perspectives. I don't waste much time with people who devolve to name-calling or insults, aside to call them out on it.
I think society performs at its best when we take care of others, especially the weakest among us. That means a strong social safety net, with "free" healthcare, education, and public transit. It's a dream, I know.
30+ years of explaining stuff to teenagers has left me with some habits... I'm not a mansplainer, but I *do* like to find ways to 'splain stuff to receptive ears 😊
I like dogs, cats, and astronomy pictures with a bias towards the shorter wavelengths (kinda leaves out all those lovely Hα pics 😄).
The first thing I look at when shopping for cars is headroom/legroom. Saves a lot of time.
Joined Nov 2022
Michael Porter
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I really want future Star Wars series to go in the direction Andor has. More world-building, more intrigue, less blatant fan service. It's such a rich galaxy with so much to explore outside of Force users.
Please, more.
Michael Porter
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The thing I want most in the whole world is for zombo.com to host a Mastodon instance. The website is uniquely poised to crack open the next decade of social networking.
In terms of usability, zombo.com warmly welcomes its users and encourages them to do *anything* there. Its Mastodon instance would be bright and colorful, with a short domain name that’s easy to spell!
The “do anything” policy is concerning from a content moderation perspective, but I have faith.
The infinite is possible.
Michael Porter
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The Great Unconformity
Left to right on top of my notebook are:
Tapeats Sandstone deposited 525 million years ago in a beach environment.
Zoraster Granite emplaced 1.7 billion years ago.
Vishnu Schist 1.8 billion years ago.
Both of the bottom layers are the roots of mountains that eroded away.
Expand the post for more…
Michael Porter
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I made Thanksgiving dinner and now the kids are crying and I'm not allowed to help anymore
Michael Porter
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Incredibly rare photo of Schrödinger's cat.
Michael Porter
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Michael Porter
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In 1981, Dragon Magazine published AD&D character stats for Bugs Bunny and other cartoon characters.
Bugs was a 15th level illusionist, Popeye was a 9th or 18th level fighter (depending on the spinach situation), and Daffy Duck was an agent of chaos with random attacks and complete immunity to all forms of damage.
Images: Dragon Magazine #48, April 1981
Michael Porter
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Elon with frog parts all over the room: "But where's the bit that makes it alive?"
(His famous 'first-principles thinking' approach doesn't work on #ComplexSystems.)
Michael Porter
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Welcome to Earth, where we'll all be one big happy family, as soon as Mastodon admins finish sorting all the conflicts out.
Michael Porter
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Michael Porter
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ESO's Very Large Telescope got sharper infrared eyes! The new ERIS instrument just finished its test observations.
ERIS combines the capabilities of two previous instruments, NACO & SINFONI. All 3 use(d) adaptive optics to correct for the blurring of Earth's atmosphere. But ERIS's new adaptive optics module, working together with the VLT's adaptive optics facility, deliver sharper observations and with better sensitivity
More info: https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann22015/
📷 ESO/ERIS team
The TP-Link router help page has a bunch of videos (that I won't be able to view when I go to set up my home network) instead of a downloadable manual or set of instructions. Doesn't matter, though, they're all for Windows computers.
E-Z instructions for setting up your router:
Step 1: Remove the router and all cables from the box.
Step 2: Plug in your router and turn it on.
Step 3: Make sure the automatically synchronizing cardinal grammeters are connected to the ambifacient lunar waneshaft, and ensure that the drawn reciprocation dingle arm (to reduce sinusoidal depleneration) is in place
Michael Porter
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Was at CHEO Monday morning. Kid was there for dental surgery. The unit was only being used at 40% of it's capacity because half the day surgery unit is now used as the paediatric ICU overflow, PICU2 as it was labelled.
That a mask requirement has to be debated down at the individual school board level is an indictment of Provincial leadership.
That Premiers across the country willingly abdicate the responsibility to protect children's health is discouraging and demoralizing.
Michael Porter
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Pinhey Forest http://bit.ly/3i5UqOp. Wandering the snowy trails behind the Nepean Sportsplex.
A Brown Knowser #blog post for Wordless Wednesday.
Interesting and challenging* article on the quantum nature of things:
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/quantum-fields-quantum-particles/
Challenging for me, because of some unfamiliar physics and my tendency towards distraction; but also because I *still* have big problems with the mismatch between General Relativity's "Gravity is not a force" and everywhere else where it seems to be considered a field with gravitons as the force-carrying particles.
In the end, all of these are models, and I guess you pick the one that works best for you today. But it will be cool if we come up with a model that incorporates quantum theory and gravity.
Michael Porter
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During an IB economics exam today I gave students 2 minutes in the middle of the 80 min exam to get up and talk to their peers.
The mood lightened, positive energy was restored, and students later said that it helped.
Because students were writing long responses to questions, I doubt there is much need to worry about cheating.
On balance I would say “the juice was worth the squeeze”; the benefits outweighed the cost.
Has anyone else tried this? #edutwitter
Michael Porter
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Brand new cartoon: Two abreast
Some of the thinking behind this cartoon, plus info on reuse, etc: https://davewalker.com/two-abreast/
Michael Porter
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Canada is at the #WorldCup today.
A fun promo the organizers are offering at the event – the first 1000 Canadian spectators will receive a goodie bag containing the last worldly possessions of a migrant worker killed in the construction of their very stadium.
- Pronouns
- he/him
- Size
- XLT
- Philosophy
- Humanist
- Politics
- Lefty-Antifa
Retired Chem/Physics/Earth Sciences teacher. I'm interested in everything.
I like a good debate that introduces me to other perspectives. I don't waste much time with people who devolve to name-calling or insults, aside to call them out on it.
I think society performs at its best when we take care of others, especially the weakest among us. That means a strong social safety net, with "free" healthcare, education, and public transit. It's a dream, I know.
30+ years of explaining stuff to teenagers has left me with some habits... I'm not a mansplainer, but I *do* like to find ways to 'splain stuff to receptive ears 😊
I like dogs, cats, and astronomy pictures with a bias towards the shorter wavelengths (kinda leaves out all those lovely Hα pics 😄).
The first thing I look at when shopping for cars is headroom/legroom. Saves a lot of time.
Joined Nov 2022
