1/ This very good thread on Twitter from Tom Giuretis highlights the vital role that the canals fed from the Dnipro play in the agriculture of southern Ukraine and Crimea. But I thought I'd add a historical perspective to how the canals changed life there.
https://twitter.com/TomGiuretis/status/1666062460967690240
The account @Tendar doesn't post as regularly here, but has always been a good source of info and analysis on Ukraine.
Here's a great commentary the criminal destruction of the Nova Khakova Dam as a "Nero Decree" given by a dying regime.
Tried a 6am run for the first time. Conclusions: #London needs a wash, all the beautiful people are still in bed, night runs are much more interesting, although park/canal might be better in the morning.
French authorities are now considering that using encryption (eg encrypting your harddrive, using @signalapp, educating others about privacy-preserving apps) as evidence of conspiracy and terrorism. That's much scarier than "AI" taking over the world.
https://www.laquadrature.net/en/2023/06/05/criminalization-of-encryption-the-8-december-case/
People from the russian-occupied areas hit by the flood say that in many places the orcs are sitting on trees and screaming as the waters rise. #Kakhovka #RussiaIsATerroristState
It seems they underestimated the scale of the disaster they caused. Their fortifications are underwater. And I wonder just how much, in terms of supplies, arms, and heavy guns, they have lost. https://twitter.com/aleksandrx13/status/1665985163547877377?s=12&t=N13y1eYGJ4UCp5MLPfYcuA
Obligatory @oatmeal - I believe this comic is older than my firstborn.
1/ Men evacuated from Shebekino on the Russia-Ukraine border are causing havoc at Belgorod State University, where they've been relocated. Students are complaining of sexual harassment, drunkenness and rowdy behaviour. "Get together as a group, find those men and smash their faces in," one student says. ⬇️
Great analysis of the conclusion of Succession and how so many elements were building up over the seasons. Lots to unpick from psychoanalytical perspective.
Heavy spoilers, obv.
One for @richardnicholls
@pluralistic Mention of the #BBC becoming more closed, rather than more open, reminded me of the old iPlayer rss/atom feeds, which I worked on. They were switched off in about 2014. A FOI request at the time revealed that they were being accessed millions of times each day.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/internet/entries/7dadf7de-ab46-315d-a2a7-a4db7e1143a7
The #Succession theme was what actually got me into watching the show. I absolutely loved the finale's "Andate Risoluto" piece, one of many throughout the series. It's a slow, similar take which builds to a statement of "I am the new King."
Here (earlier seasons) the composer Nicholas Britell talks about how he developed the motifs and variations.
https://youtu.be/X0WzqanwlG0
Huge pleasure to listen to @pluralistic lecture on disassembling #BigTech and ‘decomposing and recombining’ platforms with mandatory #interoperability. In @AdaLovelaceInst Rethinking Data report we’ve looked at opening up infrastructure beyond the #DMA as one of the key transformations for more ambitious change in digital systems: https://www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/report/rethinking-data/#1-transforming-infrastructure-through-open-ecosystems-11
Lots of interesting points from today's @pluralistic talk and the panel, and as a side, an unexpected strong defence of the #BBC as a key institution for advancing technogical progress and standards... at least until recent years. Risk of huge loss by turning it into a pure content producer and video rental service, which would be a consequence of abolishing license fee.
This #movie should have got a lot more attention at the time: "3000 Years of Longing" is a bright, romantic fantasy, based on a short story by AS Byatt. Starring Idris Elba & Tilda Swinton, directed by George Miller. Just spectacular to watch, very satisfying.
https://youtu.be/TWGvntl9itE
Just another worried little citizen of this modern-day Pompeii. Techie at UCL, working on Process Automation with MS Power Platform. Scatterbrain, interested in education, languages, Space and lots of disparate things. sorry.
Keeping my space toots at @astrodad as an experiment in self-moderation :)
*Background banner is a photo Yorkshire flag in blue and white, in front of a classic bell tent, in a field of similar tents at a festival.