Photo cross-post

Jun. 7th, 2025 12:29 pm
andrewducker: (Default)
[personal profile] andrewducker


My brother Mike got me this for my birthday, and it just takes a weight off my mind being able to say "bring the steam temperature up to 95 degrees and hold it there"

(Control over oil temperature when frying eggs is also awesome.)
Original is here on Pixelfed.scot.

oursin: Photograph of Stella Gibbons, overwritten IM IN UR WOODSHED SEEING SOMETHIN NASTY (woodshed)
[personal profile] oursin

Actually, I can't find that the article by Molly-Jong Fast in today's Guardian Saturday is currently online, alas - clearly she had a sad and distressing childhood, even if I was tempted, and probably not the only one to be so tempted, to murmur, apologies to P Larkin, 'they zipless fuck you up...', the abrupt dismissal of her nanny, her only secure attachment figure, when Erica J suddenly remarried (again) was particularly harsh, I thought. No wonder she had problems.

And really, even if she does make a point of how relatively privileged she was, that doesn't actually ameliorate how badly she was treated.

Only the other day there was an obituary of the psychoanalyst Joy Schaverien, who wrote Boarding School Syndrome: The Psychological Trauma of the “Privileged” Child.

***

Another rather traumatic parenting story, though this is down to the hospitals: BBC News is now aware of five cases of babies swapped by mistake in maternity wards from the late 1940s to the 1960s. Lawyers say they expect more people to come forward driven by the increase in cheap genetic testing.:

[V]ery gradually, more babies were delivered in hospital, where newborns were typically removed for periods to be cared for in nurseries.
"The baby would be taken away between feeds so that the mother could rest, and the baby could be watched by either a nursery nurse or midwife," says Terri Coates, a retired lecturer in midwifery, and former clinical adviser on BBC series Call The Midwife.
"It may sound paternalistic, but midwives believed they were looking after mums and babies incredibly well."
It was common for new mothers to be kept in hospital for between five and seven days, far longer than today.
To identify newborns in the nursery, a card would be tied to the end of the cot with the baby's name, mother's name, the date and time of birth, and the baby's weight.
"Where cots rather than babies were labelled, accidents could easily happen"

Plus, this was the era of the baby boom, one imagines maternity wards may have been a bit swamped....

***

A different sort of misattribution: The furniture fraud who hoodwinked the Palace of Versailles:

[T]his assortment of royal chairs would become embroiled in a national scandal that would rock the French antiques world, bringing the trade into disrepute.
The reason? The chairs were in fact all fakes.
The scandal saw one of France's leading antiques experts, Georges "Bill" Pallot, and award-winning cabinetmaker, Bruno Desnoues, put on trial on charges of fraud and money laundering following a nine-year investigation.
....
Speaking in court in March, Mr Pallot said the scheme started as a "joke" with Mr Desnoues in 2007 to see if they could replicate an armchair they were already working on restoring, that once belonged to Madame du Barry.
Masters of their crafts, they managed the feat, convincing other experts that it was a chair from the period.

***

I am really given a little hope for an anti-Mybug tendency among the masculine persuasion: A Man writes in 'the issue is not whether men are being published, but whether they are reading – and being supported to develop emotional lives that fiction can help foster'

While Geoff Dyer in The Books of [His] Life goes in hard with Beatrix Potter as early memory, Elizabeth Taylor as late-life discovery, and Rosamond Lehmann's The Weather in the Streets as

One of those perennially bubbling-under modern classics – too good for the Championship, unable to sustain a place in the Premier league – which turns out to be way better than some of the canonical stalwarts permanently installed in the top flight.

Okay, I mark him down a bit for the macho ' I don’t go to books for comfort', but still, not bad for a bloke, eh.

2025.06.07

Jun. 7th, 2025 07:59 am
lsanderson: (Default)
[personal profile] lsanderson
Outrage after Republican representative disparages Sikh prayer in the US House
Mary Miller had first mistaken Giani Singh for a Muslim and said it was ‘deeply troubling’ he was allowed to lead prayer
Maya Yang
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/06/us-house-prayer-republican-mary-miller

Money can’t buy him love: Republicans give Elon Musk the cold shoulder
Robert Tait in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/06/trump-elon-musk-reaction

Trump bill set to add trillions to US debt pile – can America stop it climbing?
Economists are concerned, politicians are angry – but the national debt keeps growing, no matter who’s in charge
Callum Jones in New York
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jun/07/trump-bill-us-national-debt

The Trump-Musk feud shows danger of handing the keys of power to one person
Nick Robins-Early
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/07/trump-musk-feud-power

Musk and Trump are enemies made for each other – united in their ability to trash their own brands
Jonathan Freedland
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/06/donald-trump-elon-musk-enemies-trash-twitter-tesla

Neo-Nazi group ‘actively seeking to grow in US’ with planned paramilitary training event
The Base is emerging from shadows and ramping up its ranks as White House turns blind eye to the far right
Ben Makuch
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/07/the-base-neo-nazi-group-paramilitary-training

RFK Jr’s report calls farmers ‘backbone’ of US – but cuts leave workers lacking support
Small farmers face ‘two personalities’ as Trump team slashes $1bn in resources despite Kennedy’s vow to protect them
Jessica Glenza
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/07/farmers-trump-cuts-rfk-jr

Russia is at war with Britain and US is no longer a reliable ally, UK adviser says
Government defence expert Fiona Hill warns UK to respond to threats by becoming more cohesive and resilient
Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/06/russia-is-at-war-with-uk-and-us-no-longer-reliable-ally

International Pride Orchestra plays outside DC in rebuff to Trump snub at Kennedy Center
LGBTQ+ ensemble was to appear at performing arts center but moved to Maryland after president reorganized venue
Guardian staff and agency
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/06/international-pride-orchestra-kennedy-center

Key takeaways from world’s largest cancer conference in Chicago
Experts announce findings on immunotherapy, a breast cancer breakthrough and the value of exercise
Andrew Gregory in Chicago
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/06/key-takeaways-from-worlds-largest-cancer-conference-in-chicago

Alzheimer’s blood test can spot people with early symptoms, study suggests
New test accurately picks up on memory problems by examining two proteins in blood plasma, US researchers find
PA Media
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/07/alzheimers-blood-test-can-spot-people-with-early-symptoms-study-suggests

It’s my goal to live to 100 – and it’s not just diet and exercise that will help me achieve it
Devi Sridhar
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/07/live-to-100-diet-exercise-long-life

Jantelagen: Why Swedes won't talk about wealth
A high income is a badge of success in many countries, but in Sweden a deep-rooted cultural code called Jantelagen stops many from talking about it.
Video by Maddy Savage and Benoît Derrier
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p07qgx5d/jantelagen-why-swedes-won-t-talk-about-wealth

If books could kill: The poison legacy lurking in libraries
Pauline McLean
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g2y9xq58no

Lost Turner oil painting found after 150 years
Leigh Boobyer
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyzp4r70m8o

(no subject)

Jun. 7th, 2025 12:32 pm
oursin: Brush the Wandering Hedgehog by the fire (Default)
[personal profile] oursin
Happy birthday, [personal profile] sally_maria and [personal profile] spiffikins!

The Sickening Has Me

Jun. 6th, 2025 08:20 pm
andrewducker: (xkcd boomdeyada)
[personal profile] andrewducker
I spent the day feeling bad for lacking focus, and wondering why I couldn't get anything done.
And then I slept for an hour on no notice.
And now I'm very wobbly and all of my muscles gently ache.
So I think I'm going to chalk it up as "The Plague" and hope I feel better tomorrow.

Nostalgic Music Party!

Jun. 6th, 2025 07:07 pm
oursin: Brush the Wandering Hedgehog by the fire (Default)
[personal profile] oursin

After a few distinctly less than summery days, today has been quite sunny.

Okay, I think I've had some of these before.... maybe.
Summer Nights


The downside: Summertime Blues:


Not sure if Summer Wine is for drinking then, or made then, with sinister summer herbs:


Obligatory Lovin' Spoonful


Kinks chilling on a Lazy Sunny Afternoon:


Carole King another one wanting it to be over:

[syndicated profile] bruce_schneier_feed

Posted by Bruce Schneier

On Thursday I testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform at a hearing titled “The Federal Government in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”

The other speakers mostly talked about how cool AI was—and sometimes about how cool their own company was—but I was asked by the Democrats to specifically talk about DOGE and the risks of exfiltrating our data from government agencies and feeding it into AIs.

My written testimony is here. Video of the hearing is here.

pegkerr: (Telperion and Laurelin)
[personal profile] pegkerr
My cousin Jill's Year of Adventure suggestion for me was to take a couple of hours volunteering together to plant some trees with Great River Greening. So, we signed up for a shift, and last Saturday on a beautiful sunny day, the two of us, along with her partner Jack, met in a park in Brooklyn Center.

The volunteer coordinators had the process down to a well-rehearsed presentation, and we three ended up planting three trees in all in the two-hour time slot. The first two were straightforward enough, and third, a Catalpa, had evidently been in the pot too long. The tap root had pushed through the hole in the bottom and grown large enough to embed itself into the plastic. It took a twenty minutes struggle to get it out of the pot.

It was hot by the time we finished up, and I'd exerted myself enough during the struggle with the stubborn tree to be glad to drink down the water I'd brought and sit in the shade a bit. But we enjoyed ourselves, and there are now three new trees in a park in Brooklyn Center, thanks to our efforts. Afterward, we drove to Jack and Jill's house for lunch, where I admired their extensive gardens and patio under the beautiful spreading oak tree.

A day well spent in the outdoors.

Image description: Lower center: head and shoulders of two women and a man, wearing hats, smiling at the camera. Center: The same three people are planting a tree. Overlaid over the tree are the words "Great River Greening."

Tree Planting

22 Tree Planting

Click on the links to see the 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021 52 Card Project galleries.

Packing AGAIN

Jun. 6th, 2025 11:51 am
lydamorehouse: (??!!)
[personal profile] lydamorehouse
 Somehow our house looks more chaotic and full of half-filled bags and boxes as we prepare for a week long vacation to the northwoods. ONE WEEK! You'd think we were packing to move out!

The thing about the place we're headed is that the closest town with a grocery store is twenty minutes down the Gunflint Trail. I mean, I will drive twenty minutes to a store around here. Maybe because we're surrounded by TREES, twenty minutes away feels so much further when we're up north. Half of what we're bringing is food. Almost none of which will be returning with us. 

Despite all this, I'm really looking forwrard to the vacation. There is limited wireless, but I usually get up early and make the hike to the Lodge with my computer and spend an hour or so making sure I'm not missing out on any earth-shattering news. So, I'm still reachable, just... only once a day. I'm going to try to post pictures and such--you know, actually keep up with this blog for once!  

Report on the Malicious Uses of AI

Jun. 6th, 2025 02:41 pm
[syndicated profile] bruce_schneier_feed

Posted by Bruce Schneier

OpenAI just published its annual report on malicious uses of AI.

By using AI as a force multiplier for our expert investigative teams, in the three months since our last report we’ve been able to detect, disrupt and expose abusive activity including social engineering, cyber espionage, deceptive employment schemes, covert influence operations and scams.

These operations originated in many parts of the world, acted in many different ways, and focused on many different targets. A significant number appeared to originate in China: Four of the 10 cases in this report, spanning social engineering, covert influence operations and cyber threats, likely had a Chinese origin. But we’ve disrupted abuses from many other countries too: this report includes case studies of a likely task scam from Cambodia, comment spamming apparently from the Philippines, covert influence attempts potentially linked with Russia and Iran, and deceptive employment schemes.

Reports like these give a brief window into the ways AI is being used by malicious actors around the world. I say “brief” because last year the models weren’t good enough for these sorts of things, and next year the threat actors will run their AI models locally—and we won’t have this kind of visibility.

Wall Street Journal article (also here). Slashdot thread.

Dept. of Brief

Jun. 6th, 2025 09:27 am
kaffy_r: Second Picture of Stray Kids' Bang Chan (Channie 2)
[personal profile] kaffy_r
Proof of Life

It's been a minute, so I decided to touch down for at least half of another minute. 

In brief: before I even got past the third Dr. Who, and despite doing my damnedest to avoid any spoilers, I read the wrong headline *shakes fist at The Guardian*, so I'm avoiding actually watching the remaining episodes until I can bear to watch them. That's not logical in the least, but there you go. 

Acting on advice from 
[personal profile] lilacsigil , I adjusted my AO3 Stray Kids fanfic's fandom tag, taking it out of SKZ fandom and tagging it as part of music video fandom. I also cut my note so that it didn't sound so awfully condescending. That made me feel better. It also gave me the chance to do a bit of editing, and that  was even better. I'm not sure I'll post it here. I have to see if my conflicting impulses eventually pan out that way.

We have one of our old bachelor friends coming over this afternoon; he wants help navigating his computer, which Bob will handle. He also wants help understanding his smartphone, and that's going to be my responsibility. This gentleman has previously had a flip phone, or some kind of dumb mobile; he really doesn't like mobiles, but I think he finally admitted that they're necessary in modern life, and so he got the smartphone, and now he needs help navigating it. We'll see if I can help him out. 

I think that's all, but I hope to post again later today.

2025.06.06

Jun. 6th, 2025 08:43 am
lsanderson: (Default)
[personal profile] lsanderson
Food additive titanium dioxide likely has more toxic effects than thought, study finds
Controversial additive may be in as many as 11,000 US products and could lead to diabetes and obesity
Tom Perkins
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/06/titanium-dioxide-food-additive-toxic

Don’t rinse raw chicken: nine food safety tips from microbiologists
We all have questionable kitchen habits – experts break down how to avoid spreading pathogens at home
Adrienne Matei
https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2025/jun/05/how-to-avoid-food-poisoning-microbiologists-tips

Minnesota’s boundary waters are pristine. Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ could pollute them forever
A little-known provision would open thousands of nearby acres to a foreign mining company, risking acid drainage
Jimmy Tobias for Public Domain
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/06/minnesota-boundary-waters-pollution

A massive outbreak has made Ontario the measles epicentre of the western hemisphere
Three-quarters of cases are in unvaccinated children, and this week saw the first fatality: a premature baby
Olivia Bowden in St Thomas
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/06/measles-outbreak-ontario-canada

Diner dates and bathhouse chili: the colorful, defiant history of America’s gay restaurants
In his new book, Erik Piepenburg dishes on the US eateries that have served as LGBTQ+ havens and are still thriving
Tim Teeman
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jun/06/american-gay-restaurant-history

Police now say they are investigating shooting of actor Jonathan Joss as possible hate crime
King of the Hill actor’s husband claimed killing was due to his sexual orientation, which police initially dismissed
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jun/06/jonathan-joss-killing-investigation-hate-crime

The inevitable Trump-Musk feud is finally here – and it’s pathetic
Moira Donegan
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/06/trump-musk-feud-pathetic

Trump’s tariffs have become his Vietnam – and the right is breaking ranks
Sidney Blumenthal
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/05/trump-tariffs-republicans

Impeachment, Epstein and bitter acrimony: Trump and Musk joust in astonishing social media duel
Tensions over the Republican spending bill burst into public view as the president’s relationship with his former adviser deteriorated
Hugo Lowell and Andrew Roth in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/05/trump-elon-musk-fallout

Trump says Musk has ‘lost his mind’ and dismisses peace offering
Trump says he’s ‘not particularly’ interested in reconciling with Elon Musk, who reportedly wanted to speak to president
Dan Milmo Global technology editor
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/06/elon-musk-signals-he-may-back-down-in-public-row-with-donald-trump

Wake Up and Smell the Corruption
How far we've fallen, how fast
Paul Krugman
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/wake-up-and-smell-the-corruption?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=apztr&triedRedirect=true

'We have a geriatric problem' - Democrats wrestle with age-old issue
Anthony Zurcher
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpw7p2pjn11o

US supreme court sides with heterosexual woman in ‘reverse discrimination’ case
Judges rule 9-0 in case where Marlean Ames argued she was denied a promotion because she is heterosexual
Lauren Aratani and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/05/supreme-court-reverse-discrimination-case

Australian navy ship accidentally blocks internet and radio across parts of New Zealand
Incident happened as one of the Royal Australian Navy’s largest ships was on its way to Wellington this week
Elias Visontay
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/06/australian-navy-ship-accidentally-blocks-wifi-across-parts-of-new-zealand

Dr Martens profits slump by more than 90%
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2kpwnr4rjo
andrewducker: (Default)
[personal profile] andrewducker
I see we're back at the "Labour attempt to introduce a mandatory ID card" stage of history*.

My feeling last time, was that the main problem that they always have is that they *start* with the cards being mandatory.

If you start with "Here is a thing that makes your life much easier, that you can carry about if you like." then that will get you 85% of the way there. And then, once you have a voluntary ID card that's not causing any problems for anyone, and that 85% of the population is using to make their life easier, *then* you move in and say "The only people who don't carry an ID card are weirdos and troublemakers, and they're causing friction in the system, we could make it all run more smoothly if only they *had* to carry one."

But no, they always try to go instantly from "Nobody has an ID card." to "Everyone must carry one at all times." - which forms a coalition of all sorts of people from across the political spectrum, and ends up being far more politically costly to them than if they'd just boiled their frog slowly.

(None of which should be taken as me taking a position on ID cards. I'm just constantly bemused by their inability to get things done by trying to rush them through in the most authoritarian manner possible.)

*Younger readers may not remember the fuss in 2006 (repealed in 2011)

Numamushi by Mina Ikemoto Ghosh

Jun. 6th, 2025 09:09 am
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


A foundling boy raised by a great snake becomes intrigued by a reclusive calligrapher living near the river snake and boy call home.

Numamushi by Mina Ikemoto Ghosh

2025 Pride StoryBundle!

Jun. 5th, 2025 09:55 pm
catherineldf: (Default)
[personal profile] catherineldf
Melissa Scott and i and have once again curated the Pride StoryBundle and it is full of great queer books by great queer writers! This year's lineup:

  • We're Here: Best Queer Speculative Fiction of 2023 edited by Darcie Little Badger and Charles Payseur
  • Point of Dreams (Astreiant #3) by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett
  • The Map and the Territory by A.M. Tuomolo
  • These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein
  • Be the Sea by Clara Ward
  • Fallen by Melissa Scott
  • A Necessary Chaos by Brent Lambert
  • Luminescent Machinations edited by Rhiannon Rasmussen and dave ring
  • Fairs' Point (Astreiant #4)
  • So You Want to be a Robot by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor
  • Price of a Thousand Blessings by Ginn Hale
  • Reforged by Seth Haddan
  • Welcome to Boy.Net by Lyda Morehouse
  • Power to Yield by Bogi Takács
Everything from queer high fantasy to trans cyberpunk, short stories to novels, award-winning authors to debut authors and for $25 you get all 14 books AND you can designate part of your purchase price (no extra cost!) for Rainbow Railroad's work with LGBTQ refugees! Heckuva way to kick off Pride Month!

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