Pat @Pat@qoto.org

@stux

***possible spoiler of puzzle question***
(see previous toot in this thread)

I think it has something to do with the molecular adhesion between the water molecules and the molecules of the face of the dam wall. When the stick provides an alternate adhesion surface for the water to follow, it follows the path outward away from the dam wall due to the inertia of the flowing water and the cohesion of the molecules of liquid water. Then the cohesion of the water flowing outward pulls the adjacent water away from the dam water, widening that flow patterns, recursively across the dam.

That's my guess.

#fluid #dynamics

Ok scientists, why does this phenomenon happen?...

https://mstdn.social/@stux/109450615803341213

(It's a toot by @stux showing a thin layer of water flowing over the rim of a small dam (maybe .5 meters high). When a stick is touched onto the layer of flowing water, it changes it's flow pattern and instead of clicking to the downward side of the wall of the dam it flows outward, away from the dam wall and directly into the body of water downstream from the dam. At first it changes right at the spot where the stick touches, but then in a cascading fashion the new flow pattern ripples all the way across the dam.)

#science #fiction #ScienceFiction #SciFi #FTW #film #movie #nuclear #reactor #energy #TMI #military #spies #meltdown #China #core #premonition

Retro SciFi Film of the Week…

The China Syndrome (1979)

I’m not sure if this one is technically a science fiction film or not. It’s about high-technology and it predicted something in the future, so perhaps it is. It came out in the years during the roll-out of the first nuclear power plants. The oil industry and other incumbents were and still are strongly opposed to nuclear energy because it competes with their industries. Some of them were able to trick environmental groups into protesting against nuclear energy. Also entities that opposed the development of nuclear weapons (which usually rely on reactors for plutonium fuel), including peace groups and foreign adversaries also fought the development of nuclear power.

This film is critical of nuclear power, specifically about the possibility of accidents. It was released just a couple weeks before the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident in 1979, which drew much scrutiny because the remarkable similarity between the events depicted in the film and the TMI incident.

Stars in the film include Michael Douglas, who is an advocate of nuclear disarmament, and Jane Fonda who has been a lifelong peace activist. Fonda plays a TV reporter while Douglas is her cameraman. Jack Lemon plays a plant worker who is a whistle-blower.

(fair use image from the film)

This old folk song (probably) started out as a protest song against the harsh conditions under which black slaves worked during the mid-19th century while building out the US railroad system. Dinah was a slang term for a black woman (female slave) during the antebellum. Some minstrel shows played it sarcastically and with varying lyrics, and the song became a point of a cultural wrestling match between sides throughout the rest of the 19th and early 20th century.

This Vitaphone recording may have been the first ever made of the song. The song lyrics in this recording appear to be a blend of lyrics from various versions, probably to avoid taking sides so as to have a broader appeal.

#songs #folk #music

Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah…

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/826058756626127988/

#transparency #tos

Blocking @rdaily for a toot that included a stereotype of the Irish people. (among several other various derogatory toots)

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)