2-May-24 UK Mayor, Council, PCC Elections

Get The Tory Out #GTTO Get the Vote Out #GTVO

https://stopthetories.vote/ Tactical Voting FTW!

Mute Early. Mute Often.

https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2024/apr/22/muting-people-social-media

Just like the current one, the next pandemic will be airborne.

Unfortunately it's proven difficult to get the seals and deer to wear N95 masks and keep the HEPA filters running.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/22/health/birdflu-marine-mammals.html

What are these weird tally marks on my arm? I don't remember making them.

Deadline for a Gov Voter ID is 5pm 24-April

https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate

Seen in "Last Week In Collapse". Which was a doozy.

https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1c9ftje/last_week_in_collapse_april_1420_2024/

One of those threads. The UK is in mid-collapse.

https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1c4iemm/weekly_observations_what_signs_of_collapse_do_you/kznub9p/

> The corrupt UK government is being stripped and sold for parts, according to this bleak weekly observation from somewhere in northern Britain. Traffic violations mount, bureaucracy has ground to a halt, the water infrastructure has gone to shit, higher education has gotten hollowed out and profit-seeking, rents are expensive, and the NHS is moving towards the chopping block. Some might say they’ve already Collapsed.

UK Mayor, Council, PCC elections 2-May-24

Get The Vote Out. Get The Tory Out. VOTE!

There's a few more days to post your Postal Vote. You can always hand deliver to your local Election Office or any polling station on polling day.

#GTTO Tactical Voting FTW!

Excellent thread on Long Covid from slides by the Yale School of Public Health

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1782209777780592877.html

#Cocktail - Golden Glove

50ml Jamaican Gold rum (Appleton's Kingston), 20ml Cointreau, 20ml Lemon, Lemon twist, crushed ice, Rocks glass.

You may want to cut the lemon to 15ml or add some (2.5 or 5ml) double syrup as it's quite tart.

@drinkstodon

And then it turns out it's a problem of information on the TV schedule, and WSB Race 2 is on Quest.

Proper cold in Assen. Somebody should do the track day thing of wearing a fleece hoody over their leathers.

When Dorna (now Liberty) manages and promotes both WSB and MotoGP, why do I have to buy a separate subscription for both?

Old enough to remember when I could remember things.

We'll never forget these times, will we.

This all stems from trying to show multiple motorcycle races live on a Sunday though 1 1/2 channels, Eurosport 2 and Quest HD.
- WSB Assen
- BSB Navarra
- WEC World Endurance Le Mans 24

I'm sure there'll be one weekend when there's MotoGP as well.

They've got TNT 1-2-3-4, Eurosport 1-2, Quest to play with as live recordable channels. But still they put WSB on Discovery+.

#WSB motorcycles. They've started putting some WSB sessions and races on Discovery+ The Discovery+ channel is not available on Virgin Media. I already pay extra for TNT sports to watch MotoGP. TNT, Eurosport and Discovery+ are all part of the same family.

So:-
- Dorna and WSB are shooting themselves in the foot by partnering with a TV provider that requires 2 subscriptions to watch.
- Discovery+ should partner with VM when they already partner with TNT+Eurosport

#Cocktail - Beadleston

60ml Scotch, 30ml Dry Vermouth, Dash (or 2 or 3) Angostura, cherry

#Cocktail - Mill Lane

50ml Light Rum, 20ml Lime, 20ml Grenadine, dash Peychaud's, dash Absinthe

@drinkstodon

This thread keeps getting longer.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1578292619288846336

Ten [ahem!] things twitter folks know about Covid that people on the streets don't

Stay Angry. Get The Tory Out. Get out and Vote!

2-May-24 : Council, Mayor & PCC elections.

#GTTO Tactical Voting FTW!

Next Pandemic likely to be airborne, scientists warn.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/20/next-pandemic-likely-to-be-caused-by-flu-virus-scientists-warn

#CleanAirNow . Yes we #CAN !

#Cocktail - Adam (aka Canadian)

50ml Jamaican Gold Rum (Appletons, Kingston), 20ml Lemon, 20ml Grenadine, Shake, Lemon Twist

@drinkstodon

A fav artist name. Right up there with "Unknown Mobile"

ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ

Pronounced "Pea Doh Bare"

https://www.discogs.com/artist/4233336-%CA%95%E1%B4%A5%CA%94

The label (Omena) and tracks are pretty good. In a mid-Teenies, post-dubstep, kind of way.

I'm sorry, it's just, it's been so long since I've seen a news article saying things are generally okay and I don't need to be outraged about anything. I've sort of forgotten what it feels like.

Well, don't worry: it hasn't happened yet. It is still possible that the unpredictable combination of politics and market forces will contrive to bring about a grim meat hook future that is dismal beyond our ability to comprehend.

There is no need to re-learn what it is like to feel happy.

Just yet.

Sorry, but this is just a lot of hand waving and magic spells isn't it? As an economist, if you want economics to be taken seriously aren't you supposed to be in the model business rather than the magic business?

[from the 2012 archive]

In other words:-
* The human mind can overcome all problems
* We have yet to discover many forms of cheap energy
* The natural world doesn't matter (only humans do)
Ok. So they're suggesting a model where unlimited exponential use of energy by the whole world is possible and ok because human ingenuity will find all the alternate non-renewables, then build renewable infrastructure and then replace that with some magic technology that is permanently 30 years in the future.

Here's an example quoted from http://www.growthbusters.org

Economist: I don't think energy will ever be a limiting factor to economic growth. Sure, conventional fossil fuels are finite. But we can substitute non-conventional resources like tar sands, oil shale, shale gas, etc. By the time these run out, we'll likely have built up a renewable infrastructure of wind, solar, and geothermal energy—plus next-generation nuclear fission and potentially nuclear fusion.

The meaning of models

I do wish people would understand the meaning of "models". ISTM that when we say "at our current growth rate ... " what we're really doing is suggesting a straw man model in which exponential growth rate continues indefinitely and then arguing that is obviously impossible. When really the model is just wrong. So suggest a better model or go and investigate people who specialise in building models and testing them. Like the "Limits to Growth" people and the world3 model.

Don't you know, "The Chinese control the means of production".

No, but you hum it and I'll join in.

Houses made from pre-fab Hempcrete wall panels. Good insulation, warm in winter, cool in summer.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/16/hempcrete-indigenous-tribe-minnesota

After "Special Forces Tourism", "Hit & Run Tourism".
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/18/tourism-florence-michelangelo-david-visitors-souvenirs

Super Hi-speed: Arrive, see the attractions, take the selfies, buy the souvenirs, leave. With a side order of one night Airbnb and over-priced tourist food.

40th Anniversary.

Some times the light's all shining on us.
Sometimes we can barely see.
Lately it occurs to me.
What a long strange trip it's been.

There's a lesson there. Always start with the least expensive ingredient. Then when it goes wrong or the customer changes their mind, you can always start again or just seamlessly shift into the other recipe.

Where have you got to? Just the lime? Ok. Make it a Last Word, then.

Bath, Queensberry Hotel, Olive Tree, Q Bar. Highly recommended for that special occasion.

Saturday, lunch till late. I got to do something I haven't done in ages, which is just sit at the bar and idle conversation at the end of a very indulgent 1 Michelin * lunch. The two of us, Nepalese barman, two single men.

Nepal? Going to W Nepal soon. Near Mt Kailash? Ah, a Negroni. Where you from? London. Know Bar Termini? Oh, yes, the home of weird Negronis and tiny Martinis. A 12 Mile limit please. Are you sure, sir? We're using high overproof rum. Maybe a Last Word then.

#Cocktail - Gloria (#3)

50ml Gin, 15ml Dry Vermouth, 7.5ml Campari, 7.5ml Cointreau, Lemon twist

I keep fiddling with the proportions. This seemed to work pretty well. Balance!

@drinkstodon

A free choice of date within a maximum time doesn't appear to work. But a Fixed Term Parliament doesn't seem to work in the UK either.

Old enough to remember Michael Foot speaking at CND rallies.

Bonus links.

So busy chasing Tory votes, he's forgetting the Labour vote.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/12/starmer-tory-voters-the-sun-coup-selling-out

Getting Labour elected : Another problem that can't be solved with nuclear weapons.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/apr/11/keir-starmer-labour-defence-nuclear-deterrent-barrow

Grauniad Pitchbot: Labour have a huge lead but they might lose seats because of their policies.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/apr/11/labour-may-fail-to-grab-target-seats-as-young-voters-turn-away-over-gaza-and-climate

Job One is Get The Tory Out. #GTTO

But don't vote for the Red Tory if another party is more likely to beat the Blue Tory. Every Green MP is a special win.

UK Covid Stats

No comment this week. Only to say that the official stats are more meaningless than ever.

#CovidIsNotOver #CovidIsAirborne #CleanAirNow We #CAN do it.

UK Politics Horrorshow

4 years ago, Brave Boris rose again from the ICU on the 3rd day. It's been quite a trip for the #JohnsonPandemic & #JohnsonBrexit since then, what with the 240k dead and all. I wonder if our Corbs would have done better.

Here's the tweet from our local Town mayor of the time. Long since deleted. The Tweet not the Mayor. Although he's no longer even a local councillor in the area. After the local Tories were swept away in last year's council elections.

Also. Late spring solar is just balancing their total electricity use. Replacing the gas boiler with electric would still mean using mains electricity to power it in winter.

We decided that a simple timer and thermostat on the immersion would probably be enough to get the solar+battery to power the hot water tank.

Conversation with friends last weekend who've recently installed solar panels + battery.

"A heat pump is 3 times as efficient as a gas boiler, but electricity is 4 times the price of gas. So where's the saving?"

"An immersion management switch add on for the panels and battery is £500. Why? There's almost nothing in it."

Thing to make you go "Hmm?".

UK Politics

Council, Mayor and Police Commissioner elections 2-May

Only a few days left to register to vote (16-Apr) or request a new postal or proxy vote (17-Apr). Tell and help your family, friends and colleagues.

Vote "Not Tory" on 2-May. #GTTO

#Cocktail - Rob Roy #3

45ml Scotch, 15ml Dry Vermouth, 15ml Red Vermouth, 15ml Curacao, dash Angostura, dash Peychaud's, cherry

One of several Rob Roys. Usually just a 60:30 Scotch Manhattan. This one has had some fiddling. TBH It's far enough away from a Rob Roy to deserve it's own name. Suggestions?

@drinkstodon

UK General Election Now!

It feels like the UK is currently trapped in sleep paralysis. Only a GE will break the deadlock.

But we're stuck now till 2-May plus 6 weeks at the very least.

#GTTO Vote "Not Tory" on 2-May.

Fans of Modernist, Brutalist architecture will love this. But why is it always in high def B&W?

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2024/apr/10/brutal-wales-architecture-simon-phipps-in-pictures

1st pic is Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station. Started in 1959, operational 68, closed 93. Planned to be fully decommissioned and landscaped by 2083. 25 years run time. 90 years to fully remove it.

4 years ago today, we were arguing about exceptions to lockdown. Why were public car parks for the wild places closed? When was it acceptable to drive to a place to walk the dog in isolation? What's the best time and place to get exercise without any personal interactions at all, at all.

As ever, bicyclists were essentially exempt because enforcing rules against them is just too hard. So I indulged in my first lock-down, solo, night time rave in a wood. With a head full of smiles.

Can we have a Post-Dubstep, Future-Garage revival please?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2VAj8EKVaU

Yes it was. March Global Average Daily Surface 2m Air Temperature was 0.1C above the previous March record.

10th consecutive month that was above the previous record for that month.

https://www.theguardian.com/global/2024/apr/09/tenth-consecutive-monthly-heat-record-alarms-confounds-climate-scientists