Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ The trend of no friends

  I tend not to see recommended videos on YouTube. I still follow channels with RSS feeds, and in the evening we watch our favourites via subscriptions on the Fashion Company Apple TV. But occasionally I do see a topic on the web UI that piques my interest.

  Last weekend’s rabbithole journey was not what I expected. The theme was hosts not having friends, and exploring how it affeced their lives. They could be broken down into these three groups:

  Lonely people who don’t know how to make friends, and are stuck in a spiral of self-hatred and doubt. My heart goes out to them, because I know exactly what that’s like. Chances are if you’re the kind of person who reads a blog like this, you do too.

• Ruben Schade ☛ When you write for yourself…

  … you only have yourself to blame!

  I originally intended this to refer to technical stuff. We only have ourselves to blame if our self-hosted sites go down. We’re not beholden to the whims and pressures of a social network, or site operator anywhere else.

  (This site has been around for almost two decades now, longer than most social networks. Some schmuck in APAC can maintain a site longer than a team of hundreds, or thousands. Yes I know my audience is orders of magnitude smaller, but still).

• TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Real World Economics: Will our creative intellect work to destroy us?

  “Capitalism is a process of creative destruction,” according to Austrian-American economist Joseph Schumpeter. Yet “capitalism” is such a loaded term, along with “socialism,” that I avoid using it. So think “mixed-market economies” instead. Usually, the benefits from creation outweigh the losses from destruction, but not always. The benefits?

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Synthetic Diamonds and Ultrapure Glass May Make The Coolest, Fastest CPUs Yet

    Companies like Diamond Foundry, Intel, and more are pushing the industry toward less silicon and more diamond and glass in manufacturing due to performance benefits.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ New Mini ITX Raptor Lake Mobile Motherboards Are Coming

    Chinese motherboard maker Erying is reportedly launching several new Mini ITX motherboards featuring Intel's Raptor Lake mobile CPUs.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Off Guardian ☛ The “Covid Inquiry” is just more propaganda

    The British government has been holding a “Covid Inquiry” for several weeks, they are apparently on “Module 5” now. Hours of footage livestreamed to the handful of people who can be bothered to listen, picking apart Boris Johnson’s Whatsapp messages. We haven’t mentioned it before now because…well, there’s no point.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Straw burning blamed for air pollution in north-east China

    About three to four hours after the straw burning, pollutants were rapidly accumulated and transported by air.

  • Science Alert ☛ There's an Important Reason Disturbed Sleep Makes Everything Hurt More

    Tired and achey.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-31 [Older] Dengue rates plummeted in Colombia after lab-infected mosquito release

  • Science Alert ☛ Millions of Women Feel Severe Pain From This Condition. Why Don't We Talk About It?

    Breaking the silence.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-29 [Older] France: Macron promises to make abortion rights irreversible

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-02 [Older] Health Canada issues warning on cord blood stored in Edmonton

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-02 [Older] Cocaine use rising in Canada, new data suggests, as researchers link stimulants to drug deaths

  • Science Alert ☛ We're Disrupting Another Major Earth Cycle, And No One's Talking About It

    "Existential threat" to freshwater.

  • Science Alert ☛ Cells Inside Living Embryos Use Tiny Tubes to Mail Packages to One Another

    Special delivery!

  • Engadget ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] Another former Facebook employee will testify at Congress about safety issues at Instagram

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] Mobile phones might cause lower sperm count

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-02 [Older] First CRISPR drug could be approved soon

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-02 [Older] Social media apps that facilitate sextortion blamed for not doing enough to prevent it

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] Nurse tells B.C. hearing she's not transphobic, but calls gender identity 'metaphysical nonsense'

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-01 [Older] How can AI be developed safely? There's a global summit tackling this right now [Ed: The problem is proprietary software and models, not "AI"]

• Defence/Aggression

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-28 [Older] Germany: Arrest warrant issued for far-right politician

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-30 [Older] German far-right AfD politician arrested for Nazi materials

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-26 [Older] Germany: Nationwide raids target neo-Nazi music scene

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] German FM calls for new Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] German voters see antisemitism on the rise

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-01 [Older] Antisemitism in sport: new 'report button' will help

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-01 [Older] No charges for alleged threats toward Jewish community at Queen's University house party

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-01 [Older] Taiwan detects 43 Chinese warplanes around island

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-27 [Older] Online video project remembers those kidnapped by Hamas

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-27 [Older] Pakistan: Afghans facing deportation seek legal help

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-27 [Older] Serbia: Migrants die in shooting near Hungary border

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-27 [Older] What the Israel-Hamas conflict means for Germany's economy

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-27 [Older] Middle East powder keg: The fear of a large-scale war

  • France24 ☛ Between 350,000 to 400,000 people still in northern Gaza, says US special envoy

    Between 350,000 to 400,000 people remain in northern Gaza, US special envoy David Satterfield said Saturday, as Israeli forces encircle Gaza City. Israel has told Gazans to evacuate the north of the Strip and move south as the war against Hamas intensifies. Meanwhile US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting Arab foreign ministers in Jordan in his latest diplomatic shuttle as the crisis enters its fifth week.

  • France24 ☛ 🔴 Live: Gazans must not be ‘forcibly displaced’ says Blinken on West Bank visit

    During a surprise visit to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Palestinians in Gaza "must not be forcibly displaced", according to a State Department spokesman. His visit came hours after Israeli warplanes struck the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza late Saturday, killing at least 45 people, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

  • New York Times ☛ Explosion Gazans Say Was Airstrike Leaves Many Casualties in Dense Neighborhood

    Dozens were taken to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where a photographer for The New York Times saw the injured crowding the hallways and the lifeless being prepared for burial.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-31 [Older] How so many Thai workers became Hamas victims

  • The Straits Times ☛ Hamas armed wing: More than 60 hostages are missing due to Israeli airstrikes

    The armed wing of Palestinian militant faction Hamas said on Saturday that more than 60 hostages were missing because of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

  • New York Times ☛ Blinken Meets Arab Ministers in Bid to Calm Outrage Over Israel Airstrikes

    A missile attack on an ambulance convoy has drawn severe criticism, including from the U.N., but Israel says it was transporting Hamas fighters.

  • RFERL ☛ Chechen Leader's Son, Who Beat A Prisoner, Made Top Bodyguard

    Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's 15-year-old son, who was shown beating a prisoner in custody this year, has been appointed to a senior role in his father's bodyguard, top Chechen security officials said on November 5.

  • teleSUR ☛ Arab Ministers Meet With Blinken

    “The Arab foreign ministers discussed with Blinken all the repercussions and ways to end this dangerous deterioration that threatens the security of the entire region.”

  • The Straits Times ☛ Gaza evacuations suspended since Saturday after ambulance targeted: Egypt sources

    Evacuations of injured Gazans and foreign passport holders through the Rafah crossing to Egypt have been suspended since Saturday, two Egyptian security sources and a medical source told Reuters.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea creates new holiday to mark test launch of missile

    Pyongyang carried out what is believed to be the first full flight test of the Hwasong-17 on Nov 18, 2022.

  • JURIST ☛ UN Human Rights Committee concludes session, criticizes US immigration policies

    The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) concluded its 139th session on Friday after reviewing reports from Iran, Kuwait, Republic of Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, the US and Venezuela. It said there were positive developments in all countries, but identified concerns and proposed recommendations.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-04 [Older] Pakistan: Insurgents kill 14 soldiers in Balochistan

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • NYPost ☛ Ukraine damages Putin’s warship in Crimea with missile strike, Russia claims

      A Ukrainian missile strike hit a shipyard in Crimea, the Kremlin claimed late Saturday.

    • NYPost ☛ Zelensky invites Trump to Ukraine and says he needs US support for one more year

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky extended an invitation to Donald Trump to come visit, while stressing his war-torn nation needs at least one more year of heavy US support.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Probes Deadly Russian Strike On Assault Brigade

      Ukraine has opened an investigation after it was reported a number of its soldiers were killed by a Russian missile strike during an "awards ceremony" this week, officials said.

    • RFERL ☛ Deadly Russian Strikes Hit Ukrainian Regions After EU Official's Visit; Ukraine Targets Shipyard In Kerch

      Russian forces launched deadly strikes on Ukraine's eastern region of Poltava and southern region of Kherson late on November 4 after the president of the European Commission concluded a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Near Donetsk front line, Ukraine artillery crew face intensifying fire

      November 05, 2023 11:19 PM
      
      

      In Ukraine's war-ravaged Donetsk region, soldiers dug in near the front line described how Russian artillery had intensified significantly in recent weeks, but said it remains below peaks seen a year ago as both sides struggle to advance.

    • New York Times ☛ Deadlocked War Tests Ukrainian Morale

      Pessimism over prospects for a quick victory is increasing, and the spirit that infused the first days of the conflict is starting to fade, polls find.

    • New York Times ☛ Russian Strike Hit Soldiers at Ceremony, Ukrainian Officials Say

      The troops were killed as they gathered in a southern village for a military commemoration, the officials said.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Anti-War Activist Detained At Belgrade Airport, Denied Entry To Serbia

      Russian anti-war activist Ilya Zernov has left Serbia after the border police at Belgrade's international airport denied him entry to the country, his lawyer told RFE/RL.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable Ballistic Missile

      Russia said on November 5 that it had successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads from one of its submarines.

    • RFERL ☛ Moldova Holds Local Elections Amid Allegations Of Russian Meddling

      Moldovan voters turned out in high enough numbers by midday to ensure the validity of the vast majority of elections for mayors of villages, towns, and cities in a vote marked by the pro-European president’s accusations of Russian meddling in the former Soviet republic.

    • YLE ☛ Many Finnish ice cream brands have links to Russia

      An Yle investigation uncovered that many of the multinational parent companies of brands in Finnish freezer aisles still have operations in Russia.

• Environment

  • Science Alert ☛ The Next Six Years Will Make or Break Our Climate Goal of 1.5°C Warming

    The clock is ticking.

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] B.C., Ottawa, First Nations announce conservation agreement worth $1B

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-01 [Older] Germany: Minister casts doubt on 2030 coal exit

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ New Mosasaur Found in North Dakota: Jormungandr Walhallaensis

      Researchers said they had discovered a new line of mosasaur, a giant sea-dwelling creature that lived alongside the dinosaurs. Its name, Jormungandr walhallaensis, draws on Norse mythology.

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] Colombia to cull, sterilize Pablo Escobar's hippos

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ Why Banks Are Suddenly Closing Down Customer Accounts

    Surprised individuals and small-business owners can’t pay rent or make payroll, and no one ever explains what they did wrong.

  • Bollyinside ☛ Carlsbad-based Tech Company Viasat Announces 800 Job Cuts in Streamlining Effort

    A Carlsbad-based technology company, Viasat, has announced that it will be laying off 800 employees, with 160 of those job cuts occurring in Carlsbad itself. The decision to reduce the workforce was made as part of Viasat’s ongoing strategy to streamline operations and better serve its growing customer base. While this is undoubtedly a difficult decision for the company, it is a necessary step in adapting to the ever-changing demands of the industry.

  • Sam Bankman-Fried was just convicted. Where does crypto go from here?

    In today’s big story, we’re looking at Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction and what it means for the future of crypto.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] Sam Bankman-Fried: FTX founder convicted of defrauding customers

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] Sam Bankman-Fried: from FTX crypto king to convict | About That

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] Unemployment rate inches up to 5.7% despite Canada adding 18,000 jobs last month [Ed: Unemployment up in Canada, but those numbers are of course meaningless and designed to make it sound like 94% of adults are working]

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-02 [Older] Flying within Canada affords less choice than before pandemic, after 'massive cuts'

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-02 [Older] Quebec media giant TVA lays off more than 500 employees, almost a third of its workforce

  • Oil Price ☛ World's Biggest Shipper Cuts 10,000 Jobs | OilPrice.com

    The shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S reported a slide in profit and revenue for the third quarter, forcing the company to take a defensive position by eliminating upwards of 10,000 jobs...

  • YLE ☛ Historic Kotka sawmill to close by year's end

    The over 150 year old sawmill will put 64 employees out of work when it shuts its doors in a few months.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-01 [Older] German industry: Can the backbone of the economy be saved?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-01 [Older] How Germany wants to rescue its industrial base

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-31 [Older] Eurozone inflation drops to 2.9% in third quarter

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-31 [Older] Economic growth: What France is doing better than Germany

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-31 [Older] Is Canada in a recession? Latest monthly GDP numbers show economy hasn't expanded since May

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-31 [Older] Rising interest rates and inflation have Canadians stressing about mortgage payments, survey suggests

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-31 [Older] Some N.S. seniors struggling financially say they need support from friends, family to make ends meet

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] Germany: More gloom as exports dip in September

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-28 [Older] Brutalism could help Ottawa convert offices to housing

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] Average rent in Canada is the highest it’s ever been

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-29 [Older] Quebec government presents new offer to public sector workers — but it falls short, say union leaders

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-01 [Older] Germany plans easing asylum-seekers' access to labor market

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-11-01 [Older] How the world can make Uber & Co. treat workers better

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2023-11-02 [Older] In Canada and the US, Autoworkers Have Notched Major Victories Against the Big Three

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-30 [Older] Tentative deal reached between Canadian autoworkers and Chrysler parent Stellantis

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Stan Woodward Claims He Doesn’t Know Where the Missing Beautiful Mind Boxes Went

    Walt Nauta attorney Stan Woodard claims he needs to review ten years of Mar-a-Lago surveillance video to try to learn where the boxes of classified documents are Mar-a-Lago disappeared to.

  • RFA ☛ Japan PM vows defense cooperation with Philippines in historic speech

    Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said cooperation between Japan, the Philippines, and the United States was critical to protecting rules-based maritime order

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia and Japan to explore more defence, maritime cooperation

    The two sides also discussed issues such as energy transition and the Israel-Hamas war.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Japan returns favour again by flying 15 Korean nationals out of Israel

    Japan had also flown South Korean nationals on a rescue flight on Oct 21 .

  • Engadget ☛ 2023-11-02 [Older] Meta will stop forcing your Threads posts onto Facebook and it can’t come soon enough

  • Engadget ☛ 2023-10-30 [Older] A software company called Threads says Meta tried to buy its domain and kicked it off Facebook

  • Engadget ☛ 2023-10-30 [Older] Facebook and Instagram will start offering ad-free plans in Europe in November [Ed: The real story is, they spy too much and don't want to get banned for it]

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2023-10-30 [Older] Meta Rolls Out Paid Ad-Free Option for European Facebook and Insta Users After Privacy Ruling

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2023-10-29 [Older] In Myanmar, a Facebook Post Deemed Inflammatory Led to an Ex-Minister's Arrest

  • Scheerpost ☛ 2023-10-27 [Older] Facebook Workers in Kenya Say Meta Hasn’t Paid Them for 6 Months Amid Legal Case

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-28 [Older] US: Former VP Mike Pence drops out of presidential race

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ New generation of mainland Chinese restaurateurs eye Hong Kong as ‘stepping stone’ to go international

    Within 30 minutes of departing from Shenzhen railway station in mid-October, Feng Guo-hua had arrived in Hong Kong to check out his new restaurant in the centre of Kowloon.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China pledges to expand market access at annual trade fair amid foreign criticism

    Premier tells the China International Import Expo that China is committed to opening up its economy.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australian PM Albanese in China, seeks dialogue and cooperation

    Mr Albanese is the first Australian leader to visit China since 2016.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vows to ‘work constructively with China’

    Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vowed on Sunday to “work constructively” with China as the two countries seek to thaw icy relations.

  • Katie Couric was scolded for using Ex-Twitter when she was the ‘CBS Evening News’ anchor

    The veteran broadcaster also opened up about the challenges she faced making history as the first woman to anchor flagship show once helmed by Walter Cronkite.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Fake news on Indonesia election spreading as govt asks Facebook (Farcebook) to take down over 450 ‘hoaxes’

    There have been at least 15 election-related posts to clarify pieces of fake news, better known in the country as “hoaxes”.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • International Business Times ☛ 2023-10-31 [Older] Elon Musk Says X (Twitter) Will Disable Ad Revenue Sharing On Posts With Misinformation

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2023-11-02 [Older] Can Marching for Palestine in Canada Get You Fired? Well, It Depends.

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] ROM backtracks after trying to alter Palestinian artists' work over 'heightened sensitivities'

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2023-10-30 [Older] Canada Bans WeChat, Kaspersky Applications on Government Devices -Statement

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • RFERL ☛ Life Of German Jailed In Iran 'At Grave Risk' Over Failing Health, Daughter Says

    A German citizen abducted in Dubai and sentenced to death by Iran is almost unable to walk and talk due to health conditions that prison authorities have failed to properly treat, his daughter told AFP.

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-02 [Older] Air Canada says it violated disability act after passenger in wheelchair forced to drag himself off flight

  • International Business Times ☛ 2023-10-31 [Older] Disabled Man Forced To Drag Himself Off Plane After Air Canada Fails To Provide Wheelchair

  • CBC ☛ 2023-11-03 [Older] Air Canada summoned to Ottawa after multiple incidents involving passengers with wheelchairs

• Monopolies

  • Patents

    • Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ First changes to ongoing SPC reform outlined by European Parliament [Ed: But "new unitary SPC on the basis of the unitary patent" means basing one thing on a totally illegal and unconstitutional thing; UPC is a giant example of massive, large-scale, extensive EU and EPO corruption. It must be undone.]

      A sweeping reform of the European Union’s legislation on supplementary protection certificates for medicinal products and plant protection products is currently underway, which features the introduction of a new centralized SPC examination procedure at the EUIPO as well as the creation of a new unitary SPC on the basis of the unitary patent...

Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal/Opinions

  • Just another rad post song

    I experienced a wonderful evening performing with a high school friend at a local bar last night. Not a whole lot of patrons, although we started with a table of nine in a blanket-knitting class seated before us, who seemed to enjoy our vibe. After that there might have been 20 additional patrons coming and going.

    We performed for about four hours: basically to the point of exhaustion for guys our age. We'd warmed up a bit before we arrived to set up, but there was no planning. We just discussed what to do next after completing a tune, or sometimes just came in with something immediately after another was to the end of soloing a tune.

  • Another pleasant gemlog almost Sunday

    Somewhat of an unusual weekend on tap.

    My wife will be having a "girls' weekend" with high school friends in roughly the locale in which we lived until January of this year.

    As for me, a high school friend will be visiting with the primary goal of our performing in a bar tonight, which should be a blast.

    Tomorrow, I'll meander to roughly where the wife will be, where we'll eventually wind up together for a gathering or two with friends still living in our former primary locale.

    This morning I refined my Gemini post creation/upload workflow. I'd been maintaining my gemlog in both "newest to oldest" and "oldest to newest" formats, which had some automation bringing me to vim session of two files, adding a link line (representing the latest post) to the top of the one, and the bottom of the other.

  • A quick autumnal update

    The tree outside my bedroom window is very nearly entirely bare of leaves, and after the "fall back" time switch the other weekend I'm riding home from work in the dark. We're in deep autumn now and winter does not feel far away at all. I'm not especially unhappy about this, just surprised at how quickly it feels like it's happened. I don't mind riding in the drak, but I will miss going for walks after dinner, which there doesn't feel much point in when I can't see anything. I've switched from cold overnight oats to warm oatmeal for breakfasts, which is always nice. I still soak 'em overnight so that they cook down quickly in the mornings. I guess binocular astronomy season is here again (or rather, the season when you can casually slot it into the rest of your life without really devoting yourself to it), and MW/LW DXing season, too.

  • my relationship views

    I think it's important sometimes to ponder where we stand on some concepts like sexuality, attraction, monogamy, marriage, cohabitation, reproduction, expectations in a relationship, the relationship escalator, the line between friendship and romance, and similar things.

• Technology and Free Software

  • montane gecko wp1+ button mod - 2023-11-05

    i've been using a montane gecko wp1+ for over a year. at first it was only for runs but now it has become a wearable handbag thing:-) i find it convenient to keep my stuff in the gecko rather than my pockets.

  • Programming

    • Unicode No Match

      This issue could depend on the font or software used. A terminal may truncate characters because the box is too small, or the font might be too small for someone to see the difference. Probably you should have a tool to tell you what the various characters are.