Michael Porter @MichaelPorter@qoto.org

Random photo of the day.

#photography #random #photooftheday #POTD #dailyphoto #OttawaPhotographer #birds #cedarwaxwing

This tree has a message for anyone thinking about chopping it down.

#DnD #dndmemes #DungeonsAndDragons

It's a difficult time of year. I'm feeling it. Finding the energy to deal with work and life stress has been getting me down. And yet this year is so much better than last year. And I have been in worse places before.

I hate the way that the stigma healthy people apply to suicidal thoughts make it difficult to talk about in the ways we need to in order to heal.

I'm not saying this to request comfort, I'm saying it because I *understand*.

#CopernicusAtmosphere Monitoring Service #ECMWF total column #SO2 5-day forecast from 2 December 00 UTC showing the plume with very high values (white areas > 10 DU) from the #MaunaLoa 🌋 Hawaii eruption already crossing southern US/northern Mexico as far as the Atlantic and recirculating over the Caribbean early next week. Layer height observations show the plume at ~8 km altitude.

Read more at https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/cams-monitors-so2-mauna-loa-volcano-awakens-first-time-40-years

#AtmosChem #Atmosphere #EarthObservation #Volcano

The Holocaust did not begin with killing; it began with words.

Genocides do not start with mass murder. That's where they end up.

Genocides & other mass atrocity crimes begin with words - specifically, with powerful people dehumanizing a minority.

Once they are seen as less than human, anything is possible, even mass murder.

👉 You can speak out loudly today for the rights of others, or you can stay silent & wait for tomorrow, when your rights will be taken away too.

As you've probably heard, the lava flows have cut through the road to Mauna Loa Observatory, cutting off access and power. Let's be clear: What's remarkable (and lucky for the world!) that this hasn't happened since 1984 -- MLO *is* built on an active volcano.

CO2 measures will continue globally at many sites. Fortunately so far, MLO itself is spared. But restoring power and access will be no joke.

HT @RobinLacassin for spotting the new photo.

A woman was arrested for "chemical endangerment" for using drugs while pregnant. The problem: She wasn't pregnant. So officers released her, but told her if she gets pregnant in the next few month she will be re-arrested.

The people who told us we were overreacting when Roe was overturned were never arguing in good faith and also they were very wrong.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/alabama-case-over-mistaken-pregnancy-highlights-risks-post-roe-world-2022-12-01/

#ReferenceLetters for jobs are the biggest gate-keeper in #academia

My week was rough - I skipped applying to an interesting job that would have needed 3 references.

What is wrong with the system:
1. References create a system of life-long dependencies with supervisors
2. They exclude those who are shy about asking for favors
3. Referees have STRONG biases and they play out
4. switching fields is bad

@Odedrechavi wrote about abolishing - I fully agree!

@DragonDave
When the volcano is in its sleeping mode, it is possible to filter out the volcanic signal:
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/climateqa/mauna-loa-co2-record/
Now, because lava crossed the access road to the station and cut off its power lines, the station is not operational.
There are a number of other CO2 sampling stations around the world. Hopefully it will be possible to get the Mauna Loa station back to work soon.

Con esto de seguir #Mosstodon mi timeline se ha llenado de musgo. Me gusta. Nuestras ciudades, nuestros espacios, también deberían tener mucho más verde.

En Santiago de Compostela se estudió que dejar crecer el musgo en suelos de piedra puede llegar a bajar la temperatura de estos hasta 20 grados. Más musgo y hierbas en nuestras ciudades las hacen más habitables. https://www.eldiario.es/galicia/santiago-estudia-hierba-enlosado-controlar-temperatura-e-incidir-clima-urbano_1_9194796.html

Key points from the article:

You can catch Covid multiple times.

Reinfections are common, not rare.

Breakthrough infections are common.

Covid can kill you months after you recover.

It can cause brain damage.

It can cause blood clots and heart attacks.

It doesn’t spare children.

Vaccines help, but only some.

Masks work.

#COVID #CovidIsNotOver #BringBackMasks

https://jessicawildfire.substack.com/p/you-may-be-early-but-youre-not-wrong

Timeless

I made a tweet about the shooting at a drag show in a gay club. Got a message criticizing “your kind.”
My kind is old, white, male, straight & cisgender.
But if I had to choose, I'd stand with POCs, women & LGBTQ folks. They tend to have more empathy, not to mention better music.

If this was the truth, she would have testified.

Except there are severe penalties for lying to a judge.

No penalties for lying to Canadians however.

#canadian #politics

And so every year we stomp on their chains and drag away the sawhorses and assert our right to use our space as best we can. And this year, someone has chained a snow shovel to the railing, so that we can help our neighbours.
#MutualAid #WeTakeCareOfOneAnother
#OttWalk

I’m so proud of my #Centretown neighbours. Every winter the City of #Ottawa installs anti-pedestrian infrastructure at the corner of #DundonaldPark, a park used very heavily, especially by the thousands of us who don’t have yards and/or cars here. It’s not enough to *warn* residents that they won’t shovel the stairs. They also try to block off the railing so we have to slalom down the icy hillside with no support.