Jules @afewbugs@librem.one

In case you needed to hear it today: Some of us have been told our whole lives to put our feelings aside and be “okay” so we don’t ruin anyone else’s fun at this time of year. But it’s okay to feel however we feel about it.

Normalise being wrong. Normalise admitting to mistakes and changing your opinion as you learn more. It's how we learn. It's part of being human.

Why do we call them “central banks” and not “apex creditors”?

Devastating article on the pressure #NHS staff are under. So many #nurses, #paramedics, doctors and other staff are near breaking point, yet they're painted as the villains by the government. I see #Sunak has said today that he won't discuss pay ... They *want* the strikes to happen in the hope that the public will turn against NHS staff. Stand firm!
#SupportTheStrikes #NursesStrike #Solidarity #RCN
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/dec/20/ive-never-seen-the-nhs-pushed-so-hard-its-not-the-system-thats-breaking-now-its-the-people?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Good timing: annual solar PV installations in the EU leaping ahead: 41 GW this year, up 47% from last year's record 28 GW!
And a way broader base than the spike driven by German and Italian support schemes in 2011.

Day two of a deeply #transphobic hashtag trending at number 2 on Twitter in the UK (am not sharing screenshot). Trying to imagine a similar hashtag trending for so long that targeted any another marginalised, minority group. Least of all a hashtag targeting a group where 40% have attempted suicide, rising to 56% of young people (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32345113/) and where the risk of experiencing violence is four times (!) higher than cisgendered people (https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/ncvs-trans-press-release/).

Snakes have clitorises
https://theconversation.com/snakes-have-clitorises-196553

First evidence of hemiclitores in #snakes: Megan Folwell et al. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1702

Across all species, researchers have given female #genitalia a lot less attention compared to its male counterpart. What’s more, it’s hard to get a good look at #snake genitalia. It’s all internal to the snake’s tail, for the most part. There has been quite a bit of research into the snake #penis, but the snake #clitoris has been missed.

Thor's Helmet

Image Credit & Copyright: Hannah Rochford

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221220.html #APOD

Which European nations are handling the energy crisis best? | Business and Economy | Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/12/20/which-european-nations-are-handling-the-energy-crisis-best

France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Greece are doing some things right, but face challenging times ahead, say experts. And the United Kingdom is struggling.

@Molly The skillsets and mindsets required for solving the first, often bring unforseen and serendipitous benefits that aid solving the second.

However such a view of STEM encourages a utilitarian outlook which is problematic in itself.

What we should promote is the sheer joy of discovery and problem solving in every sphere and not judging worth based on expected outcome.

Been in the Uk for a few days. The extent to which the place is coming apart at the seams is alarming. Trains don’t work. Ambulances don’t work. Post doesn’t work. Electricity is a luxury good. It feels like a fairly advanced stage of terminal decline.

The answer is a return to social democracy and EU membership, but no political parties are advocating either because trying to halt this decline is, itself, seen as toxic.

1/ Today I learnt that "Carol of the bells" is originally a Ukrainan New Year song from pre-Christian times. Here's a small thread about the story of "Shchedryk", with lyrics, music, and how a 1916 arrangement of the song played a role in 20th century Ukraine history.

This is how "Shchedryk" may have sounded like originally:

https://www.polyphonyproject.com/en/song/BMI_UK17050383

#UkraineFolkMusic #FolkMusic #CarolOfTheBells #Shchedryk

#Introduction time!

We're Butser Ancient Farm, a world-renowned experimental archaeology site covering over 10,000 years of human history -- we recreate ancient buildings from real UK archaeology to test theories about how they were built and lived in!

We're part of the #TwitterMigration & we talk about #archaeology #history #nature #conservation #education and #TraditionalSkills 💚

Part of the #PrehistoricNotPrimitive brigade!

I am 100% not shitting you when I say scientists named mastodons after their teeth which they thought looked like nipples. “Mastos” as in breast. “odont” as in tooth.
We’re on a website that, in Greek, literally means “Booby Tooth.”

I'll weigh in on the subject of artists promoting their work and #art and #crafts since it's a discussion at the moment. I say PLEASE DO. Obviously, we want more than just shop fronts, we want communities. But I LOVE seeing art on my timeline. I'll boost and occasionally probably buy. So, share away. Artists must support artists, and that means enabling a living wage. Art can't be created in poverty. And art should NOT be the preserve of the rich.

This individual had such a remarkable history. I'm genuinely baffled that he remained alone his entire life, despite the urge to mate. Perhaps the initial highway crossings were so difficult he didn't want to attempt them again? Or maybe the access to food and space was more compelling than mating? Anyway, RIP to a very interesting cat.

#P22 #wildlife #cougar #mountainlion

P-22, the celebrity mountain lion of Los Angeles, has died - Los Angeles Times

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-12-17/p22-obituary-celebrity-mountain-lion-cougar-puma-griffith-park-california

"neurodivergence is extremely common, affecting between 15% and 20% of the global population"

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-04248-5

I think this vision of work, with its underlying assumption of virtue and sin, is deeply harmful in many levels.

It hurts us individually by wasting our lives doing things we'd rather not.

It hurts us socially by alienating us and robbing us of time and energy for joy and connection.

It hurts us environmentally by wasting resources, burning fuel in traffic to get us to BS jobs we hate and don't need doing.

I don't know what my point is though.

Just ranting here. Go read those books I guess.

Remember, Mary Shelley not only brought forth Science Fiction as a genre with Frankenstein, she did it to piss off Byron.
Byron: "Clearly I'm the pre-eminent author here."
Shelley: "Bitch, hold my absinthe."
#authors #writing #MaryShelley

A long time ago in a book called The Hacker Ethic and the Spirit of the Information Age, Pekka Himanen argued (among many other things) that our current ethics value sacrifice and suffering as inherently virtuous.

Work is a good thing upon itself and being a hard worker, sacrificing pleasure and time off for Work are seen as positive things.

This automatically puts leisure and fun as borderline sinful and signs of weakness and shame.

I often think about this and how hard it is to overcome.