*banned 4 MarkDown love* @design_RG@qoto.org

A good page of the Mastodon Documentation explains how to set up Filters to get rid of unwanted contents.

I just shared some tips with users in another instance, and plan to write a blog on this. But for now, here's the link:

https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/moderating/

Example on Screenshot below, which removed some particularly annoying posts from a local user there.

#Geopolitics , censure and #tech news. #xp
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RT @DanielDumbrill@twitter.activitypub.actor
Twitter banned the president of Syria and an Iranian leader.

Now an Iranian & American ambassador are arguing with each other on Weibo... In Chinese.

The Chinese internet has become the most uncensored environment for international political discussions.

#irony
https://twitter.com/DanielDumbrill/status/1215165980281753600

Another nice page on the same site -- adding Themes to Mastodon!

https://wiki.nixnet.xyz/books/masto-tweaks/page/themesskins

The author describes how to obtain a fully fleshed theme like the ones in use at Toot.cafe or Witches.Town from their Github depositories (links provided!)

And then, you could modify either of them to your own liking.

I really like the custom theme Renato Lond created and uses at his instance - https://masto.donte.com.br/

Green background is easy on the eyes, while some contrasting elements add pizzazz and make it easier to find controls and scroll bars (these, sometimes are blurred into the Dark Themes I prefer) Screen cap of the default Web client view attached.

And I found a really clear reference for any system admin sympathetic enough to their Users and budding Writers plea for MORE space than the freeking 500 chars hardcoded into Mastodon source.

(** at Gargron's insistence, and not in a config file as I would think it should be; would make the changes MUCH easier.)

https://wiki.nixnet.xyz/books/masto-tweaks/page/character-count

A really interesting book it seems (mentioned by Cory Doctorow's Boing Boing article) but rare are very high priced copies.

Bummer.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0955006139/downandoutint-20

"The clever, bizarre and poignant DIY housewares that fill the pages of Home-Made: Contemporary Russian Folk Artifacts have stories to tell.

They communicate the textures of the lives of ordinary Russians during the collapse of the Soviet Union, they highlight alternatives to factory design and disposable goods, and they speak volumes about what goes on in other people's homes--how they spend and scrimp, how they make do.

Home-Made highlights the best of the everyday objects made by ordinary Russians during and around the time of the Soviet Union's decline."

Initial post on Cory's thread is https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1216379601976356864

Cory Doctorow just posted a really nice series of Tweets, and at the end cited this article as inspiration.

#Tech #science #computing #parallel computing #xp
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RT @doctorow
(this thread inspired by @jjn1's column in today's Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/11/we-are-approaching-the-limits-of-computer-power-we-need-new-programmers-n-ow
https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1216380499712606209

#Math and #Cats all in one post.

Great #photography too. #xp
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RT @CTrustme@twitter.activitypub.actor

https://twitter.com/CTrustme/status/1216390547780382722

...and then people ask, why do you need more than one instance??

For an active Local feed, for example, when things quiet down and you can hear insects chirping in your normal main one...

From Z's status : https://hackers.town/@zpojqwfejwfhiunz/103468609517484112

* Not an Emergency, but an alarming thing to receive in the morning *

...and then you wake up to an alarming SMS message.

Happened before in Hawaii, last year, and this morning in Southern Ontario. Toronto is a large metropolis about 40 Km or so from a Nuclear power plant in Pickering, ON.

The image is the SMS sent out -- by mistake, and that nonetheless must have rattled many people.

CBC article has lots of details -- and thankfully it was NOT an emergency but a mistake.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/pickering-nuclear-generating-station-1.5424115

Toronto, Canada has some excellent architecture. This is a nice example, although the Winter bleak landscapes are not a favourite for me.

High on my loved list are TD Towers, by L. Mies van der Rowe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto-Dominion_Centre

Buffalo, NY, not far away also has lovely ones. #xp
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RT @blogTO@twitter.activitypub.actor
Behold, the most beautiful places in Toronto during the winter http://bit.ly/36DcBR1 #Toronto
https://twitter.com/blogTO/status/1215365151265828865

#Economy is still in shaky grounds. #Growth as in previous decades has not resumed, and likely won't return. Low and Zero interest rates hurt savers and stimulate irresponsible borrowing, Real Estate bubbles.

Too important and not being discussed. #xp
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RT @JeremyWarnerUK@twitter.activitypub.actor
Is this 1929 in redux? Bizarre for a US President to be cheering on a bubble like this https://twitter.com/Schuldensuehner/status/1215…
https://twitter.com/JeremyWarnerUK/status/1215338489073541121

See also : https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/11/13/voice_of_hal_9000_douglas_rain_dies_at_90/

And @snow post concerning the possible hardware specs of HAL9000, the all seeing and controlling AI and master computer on board the "2001, A Sapce Odissey" spaceship led me to look for any possible info.

Found some interesting posts, including Cory Doctorow's post marking the passing of the Canadian actor whose voice was selected and used in the film.

https://boingboing.net/2018/11/12/hal-9000-douglas-rain.html

A really marcant performance. Some qualified it as the best participation on a film, by someone simply voicing over, never appearing.

RIP, Douglas Rain (1918 - 2019)

Stanley Kubrick, the genial film's director, posted about his passing too. https://twitter.com/StanleyKubrick/status/1061947188421582848

#scifi #HAL9000 #Kubrick #art

Quite interesting. Maps are wonderful.

#History #Geography #Culture #xp
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RT @simongerman600
Cool history map compares the Roman Empire and the Mongol Empire at the peaks of their expansion. Source: https://buff.ly/307f43J
https://twitter.com/simongerman600/status/1216049690699096065

#Food prepared in roof tiles is common in Portugal and Brazil too. #travel #Portugal #Culture #WeAreONE #xp
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RT @design_RG@twitter.activitypub.actor
@saksak_crispy Another example, I have seen it before. In Portugal, and Brazil, it's one interesting way to prepare fish or other foods.

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g312717-d2072840-Reviews-A_Tasquinha_da_Mitas-Tomar_Santarem_District_Central_Portugal.html
https://twitter.com/design_RG/status/1216371177561698307

Japanese dish, prepared and served from a roof tile.

#travel #culture #food #xp #WeAreONE
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RT @saksak_crispy@twitter.activitypub.actor
瓦そば(Kawara soba)
https://twitter.com/saksak_crispy/status/1216203759157534720

#xp and adding to my To Read Tabs.
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RT @BadRedheadMedia@twitter.activitypub.actor
Unsure how to structure your blog posts?
Here’s my FREE time-tested guide to get you started!

How To Write A Blog Post That People Read
by @RachelintheOC and @BadRedheadMedia
via @Medium
https://buff.ly/2pDaYlS

#WritingCommunity #blogging #Writers #Authors #SaturdayMotivation
https://twitter.com/BadRedheadMedia/status/1216029521264201728

Self Service is the best.

#Cats #mastocats #CatsofMastodon #xp #BlackCats 💕
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RT @CatDisapproval
Hmm, what's up here?
Oh, I'll take one of those!
https://twitter.com/CatDisapproval/status/1216132294827790337