Pat @Pat@qoto.org

spoiler: see the first toot in this thread before looking here

#NSFW

Dick pic...

#musk #twitter #covid19 #misinformation #truthbetold

Musk ends a policy that Twitter formerly used to remove COVID-19 information that it considered misleading.

Oh my God, what are we going to do? You mean Twitter users are going to have to think for themselves?

***An inclusive, Academic Freedom, instance***

#fedi #mastodon

Federation Allied to Reduce Turf Skirmishes

#Irish #bigotry #stereotypes

For those of you who may be unaware, the Irish people have been oppressed and discriminated against for hundreds of years.

Here's a well-researched article on the topic:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Irish_sentiment

Today's "fuck you" feature is the autoplay feature on youtube that automatically plays a video (that youtube chooses for you) at the end of the video you just watched. It gives you about 1.5 seconds to jump up, find your mouse, and click the "no-I-don't-want-to-watch-your-spoon-fed-video" button and if you aren't as fast as lightning it leaves the page and starts playing youtube's selected video and then you have to try to navigate back to where you were just to read more about the video you just watched.

Tubi is even worse. They throw up a huge popup window BEFORE the movie even finishes and if you don't jump up and click a tiny little target on the screen it CUTS OFF THE END OF THE MOVIE!!!

So, absent an adequate feedback mechanism at those websites...

"Fuck You" youtube and tubi.

#youtube #tubi #UI #UX

I think every website should have a "fuck you" button on every page. Then whenever some marketing egghead decides to add some irritating feature or noxious algorithm in an attempt to increase "engagement," you can just hit the button and move on to the next site.

Here's a short (<1min) video made from the film "Behind the Curve", a documentary about Flat Earthers.

This clip shows a Flat Earther doing an experiment to attempt to prove that the Earth is flat, but instead he proves that the Earth is round. His reaction is priceless.

(The documentary is 95 mins, but I don't think I'd waste anymore time on it than this short 1min. video.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-zmRt89mcM

#MastoPrompt #poem #embellish #SmallPoems #poetry

Note to self...

When tooting it may seem fair
to write with a little more flair

Like putting a rose in your hair
just to get folks to stare.

But no need to embellish your prose
like the guy with the big red rose.

Just say what you mean to say
if it connects, then they’ll say hey,

That really hit the spot
I really like that a lot.

So no need to confuse
with big words that bemuse

you can shorten it a lot
and use simple mused jot.

#advertising #media #BlackFriday

So, Amazon is playing the most irritating and noxious ads right now on their streaming platforms.

Why?

They are trying to drive people away from watching videos and get them to go shopping. (That's my take on it anyway.)

Well, it won't work. I'll go dig my DVD player out of the attic before I succumb to those tactics.

#fedi #Mastodon #qoto

Who would want Mastodon instances to fight with each other?

This toot was supposed to be in this thread:

https://qoto.org/@Pat/109394366249181461

I never, ever suggested government mandates for wearing respirators by the public in public places. The seatbelt case study I mentioned actually happened before there were any mandatory seatbelt laws. It was purely a public awareness campaign and it was hugely successful.

But as you point out, that was back in the 60s and 70s, before the world went apeshit and people lost all sense of reason, and avarice became the unquestionable religion.

I said what should be done, not what you or I have the power to implement -- and believe me I've tried. I've contacted every public official and media entity that I thought would listen, but to no avail.

Our society is sick, not just from COVID-19. It's a moral illness, and those who are most likely to become infected are the ones most likely to hold the reins of power. I think we're sunk.

Like many others, I've considered just pushing it off the cliff, starting over. We've got a really low bar right now -- odds are we'd come out much better after the dust had settled.

I've even considered this:

https://qoto.org/@Pat/107703090587925915

- - - -
Re my claim...
Facts:
- In the US, 42,915 traffic fatalities in 2021, up about 10.5% from 2021
- Per JHU, 1,079,104 deaths from COVID-19, as of 2:20pm EST
- Seatbelts are less than 99.97% efficient at preventing traffic deaths

#science #fiction #ScienceFiction #SciFi #FTW #film #movie #blue #ResourceCurse #colonialism #military #spies #robots #pandora #unobtainium #McMovie

Retro SciFi Film of the Week…

Avatar (2009)

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a decade since Avatar was released. Chances are you’ve probably already seen this one because it was the highest-grossing film of all time when it came out.

Avatar was able to achieve two things that few other films before it did:

1. It featured an interracial romantic relationship without anyone noticing.

2. It showed topless women in a PG-13 rated film.

Even with all of the hype and the obvious preplanned blockbuster feel, it’s still a nice film and worth watching. The film is about American colonialism and serves as a surrogate for commentary about oil wars.

Depending on your perspective, the film delivers one of either two messages:

1. The US is wrong to use its military might to subjugate other less powerful countries.

- - or - -

2. We’re Americans, we’re coming to take your stuff, so bend over.

Yeah, they’re doing another one of these – it releases next month.

(fair use image from the film)

#covid19 #mask #elastomeric #respirator #vax #vaccine #masks #respirators #covid #pandemic #prep

A properly worn respirator is the most effective way to prevent infection and spread of COVID-19 disease.

The most effective respirator at a reasonable price is an elastomeric respirator with detachable filters. The best filter is N100 or P100. These filters are at least 99.97% efficient at filtering out the tiny particles that carry the virus.

Respirators are effective against all variants of the virus. They are also effective against other respiratory viruses and pollen.

The respirator should be NIOSH-approved.

Make sure you do a seal check each time you wear the respirator so that no air leaks around the mask.

Make sure the filter material doesn’t get wet because it won't work as well when it is wet.

Don't ever remove the respirator when you are around other people or are where other people have been recently. Don't even remove it to eat. Find a safe place to eat away from other people who might be infected.

(Image: A cop wearing an elastomeric respirator, lic. CC-BY-AT-2.5. Attribution: Ryssby at en.wikipedia)

#US #violence #shootings #publicHealth

Imagine if there was another Uvalde shooting today in your town. How would the media react? How would people react?

Now image if there were Uvalde shootings in 13 cities throughout the US, all in the same day. How would the media react? Would our government try to do something about that?

Now image if there were 13 Uvalde shootings again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next and the next. Would you expect our government to do something to protect us? Would expect the media to report it?, or to provide useful guidance on how to stay safe?

Well that's exactly what is happening right now, today, 13 Uvalde shootings. That's how many people are dying everyday from COVID-19. Today, tomorrow, and the next day, and the next...

Yet the media is silent. Our government is silent.

Please protect yourself. Wear a properly fitting respirator, like a N-95 mask, or a N-100 elastomeric respirator.

Remember that the more people around you who are not wearing a respirator, the more risk there is to you, so wear your respirator even if you are the only one doing so.

#Thanksgiving #food

I couldn't wait. I made some Thanksgiving dressing this morning using a traditional American recipe:

...pita bread, tempeh, shitake mushrooms, and broccoli.

(not really a recipe, it's just what I had in the house)

#StarTrek #TNG #data #android #human #thoughts #consciousness

This is what androids think about (according to the screen-writers for TNG)

(fair use clip from Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), episode 'In Theory')

#qm #entanglement #particle #physics

I've been trying to research an answer for this question for some time...

Does anyone out there in Masdo-Land know what the maximum time that physicists have been able to maintain an entangled pair of particles before decoherence?

#oil #money #world #crime #accountability #corruption #inflation #Jamal #Khashoggi #JamalKhashoggi #binSalman #Saudi #Arabia #OperationJustCause

A couple of days ago, the Biden Administration announced that the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohamed bin Salman is immune from a court proceeding to hold him accountable for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi because he is a head of state.

In 1989, the US invaded Panama in order to arrest their president, Manuel Noriega, on charges of drug smuggling.

What a difference a few years make. I guess money can actually buy more today than it did back then.