szescstopni @szescstopni@qoto.org

This is one of my favorite pictures. It feels like it was taken yesterday… but it was taken in a Paris public garden nearly a hundred years ago. Everything feels modern: the composition, the casualness, the daring clothes, haircuts, and accessories.

The colors are original: this is an #autochrome, using the first process for color #photography invented by the Lumière brothers in 1903.

The women are unknown, but I can't help wondering how they fared a few years later in nazi-occupied Paris.

Confucius: “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”

Me taking notes: 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 2 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴.

Blick durch mein Fernglas
Silberreiher vor Güterzug
#birds

“Rewilding Britain reports that beaver-created wetlands reduce flooding in downstream communities by as much as 60%. Where once water would have passed quickly over packed ground, creating flash floods and carrying away topsoil, the #wetlands slow it down and give it time to absorb into the #soil.

They also store water and release it slowly in times of #drought.”
#beavers #climate #nature

Congrats to #Hampshire!

“A pair of beavers will soon be released into an Ewhurst Park estate in southern #England, reports the Guardian.

Beavers were once so desired for their meat, fur, and scent glands that the population was hunted to oblivion in England almost 400 years ago.

However, in recent years, the government has been working to restore the #beaver population, licensing releases at multiple locations across the country. Just last year, a new law was passed that made it illegal to kill or injure these animals.

The Ewhurst Park release will be the first time #beavers have returned to the county of #Hampshire, according to the Guardian.”

https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/beavers-climate-hunted-hampshire-england-extinction

(More)

You see, this is an incredibly misunderstood phenomenon and even I'm barely starting to grasp the nuances of it

You know it fondly as that annoying (or pleasurable? hey, you do you) pang of mini-lightning after walking on a carpet, taking-off/putting-on a jacket etc...

But that thing is the reason why you're here. That's right, merely existing (alive or dead) generates static electricity. Ask a stalk of a dried cattail at a pond (or pensively observe, you aspiring nature whisperer) and you'll understand that thing creates electricity just by the wind brushing past it

And that's another thing: Electricity isn't "created", "generated" or other metaphorical substitute we try to jam into our vocabulary to try and mo(u)ld reality. Electrons just moving from where there is more to where there is less. "Charge" is just the state after this session of electron musical chairs. How? Holes

Yes, holes. We all have them. Holes that act as spots for electrons (chairs) and are greater in some than in others. Some say it's incorrect to use "holes" as an analogy, but we're not striving for pedantry here. Silicon is in a bit of a goldilocks zone. A holey zone, if you will. You can make it conduct or not (play electrical musical chairs) by preparing the holes (chairs) in such a way that they'll "usually" direct current in one direction

Basically, any interaction with the environment will create flows of electrons, and therefore charges, and give ample opportunities to discharge as well. Did you breath? That's a charge. Did you sit down? That's a charge. Take off your socks? That's a charge. But all sessions of musical chairs have limits

You can only create so much of a difference in charge before bad things happen to your holes. The main thing is to make sure the discharging happens through a holey thing that can handle the rush. Basically, don't tear your holes

So musical chairs is all well and good, but if you're tripping over yourself, something's gonna break. But introduce a speed limit and you end up with fewer broken chairs and fewer torn holes. How? Resistance

Which brings us back to static: The electrons are always going to find a way back to where they came from (from where they left to where there are fewer). In musical chairs, you're usually going in one direction until the music stops. In circuits, the flow of electrons always try to come back to ground

There is no s̶p̶o̶o̶n̶ ground. There's only Earth and a whole bunch of plateaus in between. So you have circuit with one plateau and electrons are returning to it happily, maybe it's battery powered. They're actually traveling from negative to positive

Yes, it's counterintuitive, but if you think of Electrons as "minus", they're leaving the minus camp (where there are more) to the plus camp (where they're fewer, as we found out earlier). But introduce a much higher plateau (static) into this mix and the fall of electrons from that height is gonna knock the electrons off your original plateau all the way to Earth (the lowest plateau)

This is kinda bad for anything with delicate holes. Silicon has delicate holes

And that brings to our conclusion about static electricity. If you're working on circuits, understand that anything and everything will create charges. The One True Ground is Earth and any excess charge will eventually find its way to it. Give this charge a way to dissipate, but introduce resistance so you don't tear the holes in the thing you're working on (a 1M resistor will do fine). That's the funny wrist strap thingy you see technicians wearing while working on stuff and that's connected to Earth through a resistor

Thanks for reading

[Note: The above post comes with no warranties whatsoever and does not imply accuracy, competence, or even coherence. Ask your electronics professional if #HardwareHacking is for you]

What a brave new world we live in

accidentally wrote "saad" instead of "saas" in a text to my partner; they immediately coined "Software as a Disappointment"

and honestly, where is the lie

I’ve been training people such as my palliative care nurse, my specialty pharmacy nurse, and my physical therapist to TEXT instead of calling, and it’s working! I tell them phone calls make me anxious — which is 100% true, I just never thought to tell everyone. Try it!

#ChronicIllness #DisabiltySkillz

Half the wetlands in Europe lost in past 300 years, researchers calculate

Basically, the rise of capitalism & appropriation of common land → exploitation for profit regardless of impact on environment.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/08/world-wetlands-europe-lost-study-aoe

four seasons: one creek. #photography #YEG #Edmonton

This is how much the tectonic plates shifted during the Turkey earthquake, the entire road moved. This photo was taken by Prof. Hasan Sozbilir leader of the ATAG research group currently mapping the surface ruptures. #TurkeySyriaEarthquake #TectonicPlates

Every year I note the approach of #ValentinesDay with gloom, thinking 'ugh I do not want to write a post that's just a list of sponsor products to buy.'

SO I DIDN'T!

Instead I wrote three different extremely horny stories which just so happen to star some sponsor products in cameo roles.

https://www.girlonthenet.com/blog/horny-valentines-day/

I'm genuinely pretty proud of this, and I wrote it while I had Covid so I could get it up in time. Pls share if you like it! <3

Problem: sometimes I want to find a comprehensive book /story list for an #erotica author. Author web pages are frequently out of date and Goodreads is always a pale shadow of incompleteness.

Observation: The dorkiest male author of four random imperialist-knob-polishing mil SF titles will have a Wikipedia page with a full bibliography. Always.

Observation: Women erotica authors frequently have no Wikipedia page at all, even when their bibliography is huge.

Side eye, Wikipedians, SIDE EYE

Just extended my library with three more books for my PhD project. 😀

I am searching for clues to understand what #historical events that shaped the eastern and central European #agricultural #landscape. Any recommendations of peer-reviewed or other types of sources are most welcome! 📃 📖

Hiiii this is a reminder i have a newsletter about people and wildlife and sometimes I write about starlings.

Or deer! Or SQUIRRELS. Anyway you should subscribe! It's short and fun. https://brookshire-team-trash.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Teraz już wiecie czemu Ziobro i jego ratlerki tak wyją o Europie co „chce nam zabrać lasy”? Chodzi o to, by po spaleniu, zasiliły kieszeń Mateckich i innych.