ceoln @ceoln@qoto.org

One of the world’s smallest raptors; the #collaredfalconet (Microhierax caerulescens). We spotted it by chance, and then it was a mad scramble to get our gear out of the car, set up, and to start shooting. The light was fading and this falconet was already appearing anxious; looking left to right, left to right. A few minutes later, it flew off. What a wonderful sighting and thankful to have been able to get a few shots. #falconet #BirdsSeenIn2023 #birding #birdphotography

We're watching a small group of billionaires decide that society itself is an expendable luxury in the pursuit of more wealth.

With so many places having done layoffs lately, I wanted to mention the US Digital Service is hiring. It's a wild place to work, but also you get to work on legitimately meaningful projects that affect a lot of people (in 2022, we made it easier for transgender ppl to get passports, helped low-income families buy food, and I got to help identify disadvantage communities for environmental funding). I'm happy to talk about USDS if you're on the fence. http://ow.ly/LpqJ50LVnPV #fedihire #fedijobs

I’m sad to announce that I am leaving @themarkup to pursue other projects, which I will announce soon.

It was an honor and a privilege to found @themarkup five years ago to create an investigative newsroom that integrated engineers and journalists. We showed the world what journalism could be: math literate, computationally superpowered, and human-centered.

On my departure, I thought I would reflect on the ten lessons I learned leading these investigations. https://themarkup.org/hello-world/2023/02/04/journalistic-lessons-for-the-algorithmic-age

Reminder for anyone who doesn't know: you can disable boosts for anyone you follow. I know I'm boosting a lot!

'Lx' is a collection of generative drawings made with an original line drawing algorithm. Lines are drawn to mimic the process of hand drawing and relying on the physical understanding of human visual perception.

Drawings are made with the technique 'aux deux crayons' in the style of the 16th and 17th centuries, with white and black lines that subtlety and chromatically play with the gray 'color of the paper'.

https://objkt.com/collection/KT1UwfW9hkT9uq3AzEsU6q7uS1FFDuUP4iwQ

#genart #mastoart #generative #lisbon #tezos #objkt

One of the many things that makes reading unique among narrative forms is the way you can read one book and suddenly run smack dab into another. You’re reading about a young girl in a school in Mexico in a book by Sandra Cisneros and suddenly you’re in a similar scene in a story by Lucia Berlin you read months before. You don’t even know which one you’re in, because it’s all just words unfurling in your head, pulling up other words, unlocking memories.

#bookstodon

No pity for this woman. She can leave any time she wants, we'll let her go.
A lot of people would work for her salary, if she's miserable we'll be happy to oblige her.
“Becoming a member of Congress has made my life miserable. I made a lot more money before I got here. I’ve lost money since I’ve gotten here,” she groused, adding, “It’s not a life that I think is like something that I enjoy because I don’t enjoy it.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/miserable-marjorie-taylor-greene-whines-that-her-congressional-salary-is-too-low?ref=home

🫠

“Well, North and South America are separated by an isthmus. And Africa, too.”

Ok, what about Europe and Asia?

“Isn’t there like a big mountain range separating them?”

Nope.

here’s my (perpetually) hungry girl and forever queen, Frankie. #catsofmastodon #caturday

Equality Illinois ball

Carolina Wrens only moved into the Montreal area from the south a bit over ten years ago but can survive (small numbers) remarkable cold providing they can find food which in winter means garden feeders.

#Carolinawren #Birding #Greenbirding #Montreal #Birds

What would you say if a state in Germany today were to outlaw the teaching of any critical reading of history, suppress inquiry into structural/systemic antisemitism, and ban books by the most prominent Jewish intellectuals?

The equivalent is happening in Florida.

A thread:

https://mastodon.social/@tzimmer_history/109802494389110893

Today's second review! Alternative Holidays:

"An anthology that will by turns amuse, delight, horrify, and compel you... a fun, quirky read with a nice variety of merriment and mayhem."

https://www.limfic.com/2023/02/04/review-alternative-holidays-anthology/

#Fantasy #SciFi #ScienceFiction #Mystery #Holiday #Crime #Romance #Queer #LGBTQ #Bisexual #Gay #Lesbian #NonBinary #Poly #BookReview #review #LGBT #LGBTQ #MMBookstodon #LGBTQBookstodon @LGBTQBookstodon @MMbookstodon @diversebooks #bookstodon @bookstodon #book #books

In the Star Trek episode "Peak Performance", Captain Picard tells a shaken Commander Data something that is very hard for many of us to internalize:

"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life."

Thinking about past revolutionary projects, insurgencies, challenges to power, and protests, sure, we do need to keep in mind that tactics and strategies of the past should be studied and improved upon.

But we should also have the humility to recognize that there is no perfect way to do anything, and successful acts aren't always successful because they were superior to failed ones but because their circumstances were more favorable.

We don't really get to choose the circumstances of the fights we're in, or at least that can't be the only thing that we consider. Sometimes, we just have to keep fighting to help make circumstances more favorable for others later or others elsewhere.

We do what we can while we can as long as we can, and it may not be our mistakes or good decisions that are decisive but something else entirely.

Which is hard. It's very hard. But the work is the work, and it continues.

with keanu

The post I've had to write out of sheer necessity: How to give advice on the internet without being an utter menace https://anotherangrywoman.com/2023/01/18/how-to-give-advice-on-the-internet-without-being-an-utter-menace/

This one goes out to you, reply guys.