Adrian Riskin

An old friend of mine -- it'll be fifty years next fall -- lives in an illegal rental in Oakland, California. It's illegal in the sense that it was never registered with the Oakland rental board. His original landlords sold the property to a flipper a few months ago and the new owners have been trying to get my friend to move out. They started by offering him cash for keys a few months ago, but two different lawyers advised him not to take the deal because it came with onerous conditions (that I can't remember right now) so he didn't take it. Then they progressed to yelling at him and calling him names. A couple weeks ago they escalated to smashing out his car windows and a few of the apartment windows. They also spraypainted the word "PEDO" on an exterior wall. The cops, doing their job by protecting the landlord, refused to do anything because there's putatively no proof that the landlord had it done. They also told him to remove his personal belongings from the bathroom and the kitchen because they were going to start demolition, they said. Then last night they escalated again. At around 2 am he was working at the computer when someone smashed both the windows near his desk and sprayed pepper spray through the holes. They also smashed out all his car windows again, sprayed his front door with pepper spray, and painted "PEDO" on the side of his car. S again the cops, who were apparently personally sympathetic, still said they couldn't do anything. One of the cops advised him to file a civil suit pro se. He's physically unharmed and is talking to lawyers and doesn't feel like giving in yet, but of course he's worried, especially given last year's murder of a tenant by a landlord who wanted the property vacant to increase the sale value. If you follow me chances are good that you already understand the intrinsic scumminess of landlords, and I do too, but it's still surprising and shocking to see the lengths they'll go to to collect money they are absolutely convinced is theirs by right. #OaklandCalifornia #Oakland #California #Landlords #Rent #RentIsTheft #PropertyIsTheft https://abc7news.com/post/civil-lawsuit-alleges-motive-killing-tenant-eric-bigone-san-franciscos-outer-sunset-district/19319210/

How does #asstodon feel about mules posting-wise?

@HeavenlyPossum@kolektiva.social Contaminated food/drugs and universal health care were both late 19th century US progressive issues. At the time the same voters cared about both issues and yet Congress only implemented laws regulating food and drugs, nothing about health care. Food and drugs regulations were passed relatively easily at the time while, of course, we still don't have health care. It's hard to imagine anyone caring so much more about pure food than they do about health care that a putatively vote-responsive Congress would implement one and not the other. But I've never heard an electoralist explanation of the difference. An anarchist explanation is easy to see, of course. The ruling class saw useful capabilities in food/drug laws but none in universal health care and implemented them for their own reasons rather than whatever activists thought made those laws necessary. Universal health care would harm ruling class interests, so no dice.

They're fucking whiny losers so the cops should hurt them, possibly kill them. I'm a whiny piece of shit (but I usually vote so I guess Ben Royce doesn't have me on his kill list... Yet) Ben Royce is a bully. If this is the libs' get out the vote messaging I'm not surprised they want to call in the violence workers when it's ineffective.

@other_ghosts@kolektiva.social While you were desperately looking for shelter, I studied the blade. 🤢

Very thoughtful of some zillionaire tech bros to provide these convenient self-installing relocatable sidewalk trash receptacles! All of a sudden they're everywhere and we are using them! The grateful people of Los Angeles thank and salute our benefactors! #LosAngeles #Litter #LimeScooters #EBikes #Sarcasm

@HeavenlyPossum@kolektiva.social @MissGayle@urbanists.social No, bro, I swear! Just a few more rules and everything will be great!

@HeavenlyPossum@kolektiva.social As you say the cops protect the perpetrators from their victims. Less than 3% of them face legal consequences. It seems very clear rapists would be a lot less likely to attack victims in the absence of state protection. Clearly they'd rather face largely indifferent or supportive police then have to worry about payback from their victims and their family and friends. https://rainn.org/facts-statistics-the-scope-of-the-problem/statistics-the-criminal-justice-system/

@quixoticgeek@social.v.st Thank you for this thread. TIL. And the remains in song: I met my love by the gas works wall Dreamed a dream by the old canal I kissed my girl by the factory wall Dirty old town Dirty old town --- Ewan MacColl

@mattblaze@federate.social United States v. Comey (4:26-cr-00016) District Court, E.D. North Carolina https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73256624/united-states-v-comey/

@mattblaze JFC On or about May 15, 2025, in the Eastern District of North Carolina, the defendant, JAMES BRIEN COMEY JR, did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon, the President of the United States, in that he publicly posted a photograph on the internet social media site Instagram which depicted seashells arranged in a pattern making out "86 47", which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States. In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 871(a).

@HeavenlyPossum@kolektiva.social @dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org @mhoye@cosocial.ca @AnarchoNinaWrites@jorts.horse I am sorry to hear that. I hope you're feeling better at some point and can find some joy even in the midst of it. ♥️🖤 I know pranks aren't panacea but this clip made me laugh it loud more than once. If one person does it it's a mitzvah, but if what if just a few percent of us could? https://loops.video/v/fdgPFJDAF4

Some final notes: I settled on spherical tops because one that I made with an elongated rectangular top shattered when I dropped it. I don't know if there's a way to mitigate this. Try it and see! Also, at first I tied cords to the top with a loop for my wrist but this turned out not to be that useful so I don't do it any more. And at first I put 1/2 inch oak dowels inside the canes because I was worried about them buckling under load, but at some point I stopped because of cost and have had no problems at all. That's the whole story! I hope some folks find this interesting and/or useful...

@DejahEntendu@dice.camp @tbortels@infosec.exchange @Hex@kolektiva.social As homer had it: The blade itself incites to violence.

One more thing I forgot to say. Depending on the price of copper these cost about $12-$15 to make. I've given away about 20 over the last few years by just leaving them at a local free-clothes station that someone put up. I've never seen anyone using one in the wild, but I know they're out there somewhere, and they're practically indestructible. Also, if the price of copper is an obstacle it's also possible to make them with steel electrical conduit, which is just as functional but not as pretty in my opinion.

@Siiin@pagan.plus This makes perfect sense to me and sounds like a great idea.

@maxleibman And then the man whom Sorrow named his friend Sought once again the shore, and found a shell, And thought, I will my heavy story tell Till my own words, re-echoing, shall send Their sadness through a hollow, pearly heart; And my own tale again for me shall sing, And my own whispering words be comforting, And lo! my ancient burden may depart. -- W.B. Yeats

@Hex@kolektiva.social Such a good essay! "From the days when you chained us in your fields to the strike of a week ago"

@flexghost@mastodon.social R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders -- Persian Rug + not drinking but smoking something green... This probably hits the first three. No time travel, but it does have robots! The lyrics start at 1:56. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kIrvxBPHDhc

@atoponce@fosstodon.org You need to go On Beyond Zebra to find surreal letters!

@rob@social.afront.org @atoponce@fosstodon.org Keisler uses Abraham Robinson's hyperreals, a proper subfield of the surreals, that rigorously model 17th century thinking about infinitesimals. A great book either way, of course!

@GeePawHill @cavyherd @ShaulaEvans In this case three grandparents in the CPUSA, although my parents were not able had never been. But they were/are sympathetic.

@PallasRiot@social.treehouse.systems A lesson that many activists today could stand to pay attention to: >After all, anarchists don't believe in lording over people, so even if the 8 hour day sounded too modest to many anarchists, who were they to tell their fellow workers to pick a different fight?

@cavyherd @GeePawHill @ShaulaEvans I had the opposite experience. My parents were red diaper babies. They took me to see Billy Jack with some of their friends and made sure we understood cops and ranchers are really the bad guys.

@ellane@pkm.social I really like Herbin purples and blues. This website has writing samples on Tomoe River. Blues: https://mountainofink.com/blog/j-herbin-blues Purples: https://mountainofink.com/blog/j-herbin-purples

@futurebird Very neat! This to-me-amazing fact is why the transcendental inverse trig functions have algebraic derivatives, an also extremely amazing fact. But yeah, hard to impress the kids with this stuff.

I forgot to say that you should figure out what length of cane is comfortable for you. The length makes a huge difference, and if it's too short or too long you won't be comfortable with it. You can do this by using an adjustable commercial cane and measuring the length that feels right. Add about 3/4 of an inch to account for the part that goes inside the top. Measure and cut a length of copper pipe. Use a tube cutter! It's so hard and irritating to cut this stuff with a hacksaw.

@ciggysmokebringer@kolektiva.social Thank you for this. This is excellent! I only knew the version from Best of Two Worlds with Stan Getz, João Gilberto, and Miúcha (also excellent).

@occult@vox.ominous.net Cc @municipaladhesives@kolektiva.social

@quietmarc@kolektiva.social "How about next Tuesday?" "Sure." 😠

@ShaulaEvans Every time I hear this song I simultaneously get chills in a good way, think of that beautiful camp counselor who used to sing it pretty much every night, and can't actually believe the lyrics are as absolutely corny as they are. Perfect pop for its moment!

@TheBreadmonkey@beige.party This can get a little dark... "Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearse.." --- after Oliver Wendell Holmes

@angiebaby $ echo -n strawberry | wc -m 10 $ Claudia, my love, is that you???

@danpmoore @mattblaze @johncarlosbaez It's clear that that's pretty old because it awards points for mailing your theory to someone you don't know personally. Math departments (and I assume physics departments too) used to regularly receive thick packets from crackpots in the mail about trisecting angles and whatnot, but with the rise of the Internet they slowed and eventually stopped. I kind of miss that personal touch!

@Ashedryden@xoxo.zone Definitely Riot Women! Also Sirens is excellent. Sadly these only have one season each, although Riot Women is renewed at least.

@beadsland This maybe? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07566-y

@beadsland No, I found it. It's recent. https://arxiv.org/html/2601.05280v2

@beadsland Yeah that was my impression too, which is why I'm not sure this is that same article.

Finally, jam the two parts together, try not to get epoxy in the wrong places. I twist the ball gently to move the epoxy around but who knows if this matters. Make sure the top is nice and straight, because it's really irritating to use if it's lopsided. Put it somewhere safe and don't mess with it till the epoxy is cured. When it's all hardened peel off the masking tape and you're good to go.

Now use masking tape to protect the clay from the epoxy. It's possible to wipe off epoxy if you don't mask and smear some in the wrong places but you'll never get all of it and you don't want to mess with this toxic stuff any more than necessary.

The first step is to make the top. I use porcelain and various oxides and stains mixed right into the clay body but any kind of decoration should work. I use porcelain because I love it and also because it has 0% porosity when fired to cone 10. This is important because more porous clays collect dirt from your hands and it's impossible to wash off. When the porcelain gets grubby you can clean it. I'm not showing the process of making a top because you can do it any way you want to. The only requirement is that you have to scoop out a hole for the pipe to go into later. I make it about an inch across because I'm too lazy to think about shrinkage. This way I know the pipe will fit. Make it a comfortable size and shape for your hand. The pictures show a top I made recently along with the hole.

After you cut the pipe use the hacksaw to cut four notches in pairs about 1/4 of an inch long. Then bend them inside the pipe with the pliers. Finally cut a few horizontal grooves into the pipe near the top. I learned the hard way that epoxy doesn't bond strongly to smooth copper. If you don't rough it all up like this to create a mechanical bond the top is likely to pop off when you drop the cane. And you *will* drop the cane.

Fill the hole about 3/4 of the way with epoxy and also put some epoxy down into the pipe so that it gets under the little tabs you folded down. I'm using paste epoxy these days because I need it for some other projects, but when I started I used liquid. I actually prefer the liquid because it's easier to control. If you're using liquid you should tape the top to the pipe so that it's nice and even. Tie some string around the other end of the cane and hang it so that the top end is down and it's hanging perfectly straight. Mix the liquid epoxy and drip it into the hole with a disposable squeezie thing.

Next put the 1/2 inch rubber cane tip on the other end. I buy the four packs made for quad canes, but any half inch tips will do.

@rtn I never heard of it before today, but it looks pretty interesting so 🤷🏻

@oddhack @stshank @mattblazehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/paul-koloc-engineering-physicist-dies-at-75/2012/03/23/gIQA91bRWS_story.html

@FluentInFinance@mastodon.social Maybe this statement has a technical meaning I don't understand, but doesn't it mean that $100K in 2018 is equivalent to $142,857 today? If $70K now is the same as $100K then it seems to mean today's money is worth more rather than less.