Paul Sutton @zleap@qoto.org

The wave of Newcomers we've been receiving in GNOME is very diverse in some ways, and it's made me very happy. Yet I've noticed that few people of color stick around for more than GSoC/Outreachy, and I wonder why that is. Is there a lack of opportunity? A general lack of time for open source work among those demographics? What could we be doing better?

I'm really interested in this, because I would love to see more people like me involved.

I've been struggling with this myself, so I thought I'd repeat it for other people that might be dealing with the same thing:

Not every hobby needs to be a project. Not everything needs to be a whole *thing* with a goal and an endpoint. It's okay to not finish something. It's okay to pick up something for a bit, explore it, start making something, and then drop it without making any "progress".

Productivity is capitalist bullshit that doesn't need to infect your free time too. Have some fun

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel died 50 years ago. He was asked if he had a message for the young. “Let them remember that there is meaning beyond absurdity. Let them be sure that every deed counts, that every word is power, and that we all can do our share to redeem the world in spite of all absurdities and all frustrations and all disappointments. Above all, let them remember…to build a life as if it were a work of art.”
#mazeldon @mazeldon

Our "Respects Your Freedom" (RYF) certification program helps you find hardware that doesn't violate your right to control the devices you own. Learn more, and shop while supporting companies that support your freedom: https://ryf.fsf.org/ #RYF

Tobacco companies to be billed for cleaning up cigarette butts in Spain - Ruling is part of a package of measures designed to reduce waste and increase recyclingTobacco companies are to be forced to foot the bill for cleaning up the millions of cigarette ends that smokers discard every year under new environmental regulations in Spain.The ruling, which comes into force this... #theguardian

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/03/tobacco-companies-cleaning-up-cigarette-butts-spain

⚠️🌧️🌊 #MetOffice have issued a Yellow Warning for Rain, 7pm Tue - 3am Wed, and Natural Resources Wales have also issued a Yellow “Be Aware” Advisory for risk of #flooding, for much of #Conwy and #Gwynedd counties.

Background: Rainfall is expected to continue through Tuesday and become heavier overnight. 15-25mm could widely fall in Conwy and Gwynedd in 3-4 hours, and some places over high ground could see as much as 40-50mm of rainfall in total.

#severeweather #WeatherWarning

These are the people holding Britain together – video - In the midst of the UK's deepening cost of living crisis, John Harris and John Domokos go in search of hope, touring England and Wales to meet the new breed of community activists dealing with hunger, poverty, and loneliness, but who are also trying to push towards a better future. All the groups covered in... #theguardian

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2022/dec/20/these-are-the-people-holding-britain-together-video

#OTD in 1883, Clement Attlee was born. He had the quiet vision to institute massive postwar changes in the #UK, including our #NHS.

His socialist reforms were opposed by the Tory opposition & the current Tory govt continues this by wrecking our health system in order to revert it to prewar privatised status.

My favourite Attlee quote:

"Charity is a cold, grey, loveless thing. If a man wants to help the poor, he should pay his taxes gladly, not dole out money at a whim".

#ClementAttlee

“In #Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment and counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.”

Make sure everyone understands this — It’s costing us far too much to NOT provide housing and supports to those who are homeless.

https://scoop.me/housing-first-finland-homelessness/

#homelessness #cities #housing #HousingFirst

I've been using #Twitter significantly less recently, and only to read stuff others have tweeted (not that I was ever a prolific poster anyway).

The one thing that really stands out, however, is just how toxic that place was. I didn't really notice until I left... It was so common that I became almost immune to it, like it was normal or to be expected.

Whether it was posts about #infosec or #Brexit or #Covid or Greta Thunberg... Tweets just constantly seemed so argumentative and intentionally divisive. It's such a more pleasant experience overall here on Mastodon!

I am excited to be hosting a Biodiversity Net Gain virtual symposium.

This 3-hour virtual event will bring together professionals from a range of sectors to discuss their experience and lessons learned from working with BNG and will take place on Wed 29 March 2023 during 10:00 – 13:00 (BST).

Learn more about the BNG Virtual Symposium 2023 at https://lnkd.in/eyHGE72g

#biodiversitynetgain

What if instead of going back to “normal” we improved society somewha– (pulled off stage by a vaudeville hook)

Someone just went to the trouble of performatively “quote tweeting” me by adding a screenshot of my post as well as a link back and a mention to their worst-faith interpretation of what I’d written.

I have zero desire to see that toxic behaviour here and if you go out of your way to “quote tweet” me, that’s an instant block.

Keep your toxic “haha, look @thisIdiot!” culture on hell-site where it belongs.

@Gargron If you’re going to implement that crap here, please at least make it opt in.

🏛 A Mosaic floor at the ancient site of Salamis, Cyprus. Salamis has a very interesting history and has, during its history, been under the control of the Assyrians, Greeks and Romans. Read more about it here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamis,_Cyprus
📷 My own photo.

As part of the #science staff we make fairly regular contributions to #RoyalHorticulturalSocietymagazine. Rarely do we make the cover, really pleased with January's The Garden, we (Helen Bostock & Stephanie Bird) had fun choosing the #plants, #bees & writing, but had no idea the cover would be so fabulous! Enjoying the piece on #lichens too. #Anthrax #heavymetal on the vinyl (attack of the killer bees naturally) and a tasty beer from AldiUK. #Happynewyear #entomology #publicengagement

NASA and the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) Conclude Asteroid Experiment

https://www.gi.alaska.edu/news/nasa-and-haarp-conclude-asteroid-experiment

Search over 1,000 astronomy and space news releases at www.stars-n-stuff.com/news-stories

#astronomy #space #science #news #stargazing #NASA #HAARP #Asteroids

Image: Own work via Night Cafe Studio

Look, if a core Bitcoin developer's can get their whole wallet emptied out unrecoverably on them, and that developer's immediate reflex is to start calling a centralized authority for help, it's time to stop pretending this entire cryptocurrency exercise is ever going to work reliably.

@zleap @tchambers @writeas_dev Good to see blogging platforms supporting ActivityPub/Federation. Thanks for the suggestion. The past few years have seen numerous walled gardens, but seeing an introduction on @write_as like "Friends and family can read your words without creating yet another account online." makes me happy.

Mathematician Finds Easier Way to Solve Quadratic Equations

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/math/a30152083/solve-quadratic-equations/