Paul Sutton @zleap@qoto.org

Two years ago, @micahflee got banned from Twitter (and later X) for posting a link to a Mastodon account that tracked Elon Musk's private jet.

Now, in the midst of an exodus from X, he's launched a tool to archive and delete your X account so you can escape, too. https://www.wired.com/story/x-delete-posts-cyd-micah-lee/

I should really acknowledge that I'm extremely privileged to have a decent research computer grant that I needed to use, that was the whole reason I was able to afford this fancy-pants laptop. It continues to be great! I've gotten almost all the software I need installed on it, no major hiccups yet.

My old laptop still has some life left in it, and will get used by undergrad research students, and I hope this Framework one lasts me well over a decade.

There are now two courses available on WikiLearn about getting started with OpenRefine.

📈 The basics of OpenRefine for Wikidata: https://bit.ly/3ZENKdx

📸 The basics of OpenRefine for Wikimedia Commons: https://bit.ly/3ODCdVv

#OpenData #OER #Wikipedia

Deadline is 13 December for early-career researchers to apply for a funded place at our 'Mechanometabolism Unleashed: The Interface of Cell Mechanics and Metabolism' Workshop organised by Marco Foiani, Ana-Maria Lennon-Duménil, Victoria Sanz-Moreno & Giorgio Scita. More at https://www.biologists.com/workshops/june-2025/
#BiologistsWorkshops @maitrejl @J_Cell_Sci

In December 1917.

The first of many editions of Robert Baden-Powell's The Wolf Cub's Handbook is published.

The Wolf Cub's Handbook, in various editions, remained The Boy Scouts Association's official handbook for Wolf Cubs until The Chief Scout's Advance Party Report of 1966 recommended that less emphasis be placed on the Jungle Book theme and renamed its Wolf Cubs program as Cubs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolf_Cub%27s_Handbook

Books by Robert Baden-Powell at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2144

#books #literature

Israel captures Syrian territory after Assad regime collapse https://t.co/2zLqz6SMyk

JUST IN: Trump has said he would “absolutely” consider withdrawing the United States from NATO if member nations do not meet their financial obligations.

#news #finance #economics #stocks #options

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said the collapse of the Syrian regime is a direct result of his country's forceful action against President Assad's allies, Hezbollah and Iran. Across the Middle East, countries have greeted Mr Assad's ousting with a mixture of apprehension and hope.

Some, who'd welcomed Assad back into their fold, are now accusing him of squandering the opportunity to repair relations with his own people.

Issuing sex workers with 'prostitute's cautions' which stay on their criminal record (effectively) for life, has the perverse(?) effect of trapping many sex workers in sex work;

if they do try to break away, their past is revealed to prospective employers during a criminal records check... other cautions are 'spent' after six years.

Whatever you think about the plight of sex workers, removing a way out looks like malicious policing not 'justice'!

#sexwork
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/dec/07/call-for-end-to-draconian-police-cautions-for-uk-sex-workers-that-last-until-age-of-100

Next week will be the 12th anniversary of my #ALS diagnosis. 11 years ago I was given six months to live.

F..king never give up.

The most dangerous delivery truck? How a lorry-load of antimatter will help solve secrets of universe
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/dec/08/cern-antimatter-secrets-universe-science?utm_source=DamnInteresting

Syrian government falls to fast-moving rebels, ending 50 years of iron rule by the Assad family
https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-sweida-daraa-homs-hts-qatar-816e538565d1ae47e016b5765b044d31?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

Posted into International News @international-news-AssociatedPress

MAGA: We're cutting Govt waste!

So—cut bloated Defense budget?
MAGA: NO

Stop funding Pentagon until it can pass an audit?
MAGA: NO

Adopt universal healthcare which costs 50% of private insurance?
MAGA: NO

Then how?
MAGA: Cut food stamps, housing, SS, & Medicare & give billionaires more money

I have a tutoring student who is writing an informational essay on #tigers and their relationship with people. They need to interview some who works or is an expert in that field. Interview can be an email exchange. Does anyone know anyone who works with #tigers? Boost = okay. Thanks!

A new study asked
“What if
everyone had masked up?”
and found
that it “could have
cut transmission markedly,”
which is a reminder
of how much better
it could have been
had we tried
to take care of each other,
and how much better
it can be
if we try
to take care of each other.

The notion that people choose to use computer applications because they are useful at accomplishing tasks is extremely outdated. The vast majority of software use is not voluntary.

Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, born OTD in 903, published his famous Book of Fixed Stars in 964, describing much of his work in both textual descriptions and pictures https://toilet-guru.com/blog/36.html?s=mb #astronomy #history

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