Roy -- the dull one

A worthwhile bit of reading, if you are interested in the sociology of cults and the personalities that reside in them. This article also helps illuminate the messianic self-righteousness of the Lord Censor General. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/sep/22/fcc-chair-brendan-carr-midtown-aa-group?CMP=share_btn_url

Bike lanes are "DEI". Let that sink in for a moment, folks. If you ride a bicycle, you are one of those deviant people who don't conform to the lifestyle our Fossil overlords demand. You must be infected with that "DEI" stuff, whatever it is, that hated stuff about "equality" or whatever. DEI creeps like you DESERVE to be crushed under a gasoline tanker rushing to nourish our big, Exxon-approved Aggressionmobiles. So sayeth Conformity Secretary Sean Duffy. https://newrepublic.com/post/212853/donald-trump-transportation-secretary-bike-lanes-dei

@sundogplanets@mastodon.social Engineers who love any new tech idea, but lack self-respect to say "No!" when that's the right answer. Rich men of low intelligence and no self-restraint, racing to grab heaps more for their piles of money. Hucksters who steer space tech, the Internet, and any other shiny thing to bamboozle the ignorant. Caterpillar people who magically transform, from munching money in copycat businesses, into 'what, me worry?' Government seat-warmers. Would make a great horror movie.

@sundogplanets@mastodon.social I think you should place this masterful hand-crafted artefact in the far back reaches of a dry desert cave, so that future archeologists can decipher the zeitgeist of our age.

Re: mean-spirited GOP work requirements for the sick and aged. We need the same work requirements (as for Medicaid recipients) for anyone who reports capital gains on their tax return. The low capital gains tax rate is welfare for the wealthy, and we should make these deadbeats earn their keep. They are far more of a drain on the productive economy than are the people they despise. (1of2) https://universeodon.com/@jaykuo/117032052915929766

@gregeganSF@mathstodon.xyz I'm thankful we've moved beyond those dowdy old days when you learned to write and then those skills would let you communicate a century later, or at least two whole weeks after the newest "revolutionary advance". Wouldn't it be horrible if someone could still read what you write today, even after 4,000 years? As if you were scratching, chiseling or painting on a rock? Depressing that those poor ochre-grinders weren't smart enough to monopolize communication and get rich.

@Barbramon1@mas.to @VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social Thank you, Barbara! I'm pleased to see the fund is closing in on its goal.

@astro_jcm@mastodon.online Mommy, I don't want to live on this planet. The sky is all scratched up, and the air smells bad. Can we go home now?

@wonderofscience@mastodon.social I always enjoyed those long, heart-to-heart talks with the fire marshal.

@Dodo_sipping@cupoftea.social @persagen@mastodon.social Thanks for the info! I'm sorry I didn't see it in 2012.

@BlueDot@left-bank.net Maybe a boon to artsy-craftsy types. Lots of interesting things you could do with a rotary engraver and that gold plating.

@sundogplanets@mastodon.social Poor girl! Is she a first-time mama?

@jcholle@aus.social It's horrible what's happening to so many ecosystems and the species in them. Thanks for sharing the info. I hope you get some relief soon.

@AlexanderKingsbury@mastodon.social @bewilderbeast23@mastodon.social @paulschoe@mastodon.world @J2@tldr.nettime.org @YimbyEarth@mas.to @gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green When an asinine, belligerent person or bot intrudes on a reasonable, respectful conversation, it's usually best to "just ignore it and it will go away". If it relies on trivia, repetition and insults, we should heed the proverb, "Before engaging in a battle of the wits, make sure your opponent is armed." Try checking its profile Activity list. Anything there that's worth your time? No? Then let's just move on.

@Nonilex@masto.ai Some of us may have been wondering why the ordinary recreational-drug business has been deemed "an invasion" and any criticism of the President has been declared "a terrorist rebellion". We now have the explanation. Also helps explain why private-prison overlords have been given giant dumps of money in order to create a new mega-constellation of secret prisons. Welcome to the "Land of the Free" and the Home of the Knave!

@dalfen@mstdn.social I'm confident that the Supreme Court will rule that it's fine for the Fed to create fake data in order to bamboozle the public, as long as they only do it to steal elections and not to openly discriminate against brown people.

@rhett@rogersfam.co A friendly suggestion. Elevator pitch. That's what a social media post needs to be, for someone in need of a job or more business.

@stephan@them.cheeky.wales There's something about this post that just... draws me in.

@chu@climatejustice.social I'll get right on it, Mom!

@Di4na@hachyderm.io @SeanCasten@mastodon.social The issue with the current majority of the US Supreme Court is that it was installed with the express intention of throwing out the Constitution, piece by piece, and doing so without going through the procedures and rules specified in the Constitution. This is not "interpretation of the Constitution"; it is a dishonest political revolution.

@natcbr@mountains.social I enjoyed this series of posts on New South Wales geology for several reasons, including (1) I'm always curious about Australian geology, and knew next-to-nothing about NSW; and (2) I'm intrigued by gneiss and have been reading on that subject recently. Your comment on rock climbing in gneiss terranes is very interesting. Thanks for sharing that thought!

@canyakker I like all the photos -- the flickers are beautiful in flight! But It's nice to see them on the ground, too.

@canyakker Very nice portrait of this bird! Although they are woodpeckers, it might be more accurate to call them turfpeckers, because much of their lives are spent on the ground, pecking there for grubs and bugs. So you've captured this one up close at a quiet moment in "the office". So many of the pix show them in the distance flying away!

@thetyee@mstdn.ca Thanks! This is an informative article, a worthwhile read even for those outside of Canada who might not know about the politics there. The story explains the different terms (dynamic pricing, surge pricing, surveillance pricing) for the tricks the corporate vampires are using to squeeze more money from us. Surveillance pricing, in particular, opens up unacceptable avenues for corporate political and religious bigotry.

@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social Pretty dang small, I'd guess. The one downstairs and the one upstairs.

@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social Alright! Enough is enough! I don't mind generic jokes about old fogies, but when you spy on me to get your "humorous" material, YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR. I don't own any Samsung products or an Alexa, and I have taped over my laptop's camera. SO WHICH DEVICE RATTED ME OUT?

@palmoildetectives@mastodonapp.uk

1. If it is in an American supermarket, it probably contains palm oil.
2. Some people aren't buying products, to avoid palm oil.
3. Vastly larger numbers of people are not buying the products because they are in Trump-financial distress and can't afford non-essential things.
4. Corporations see sales drooping, but don't know it's "because of resistance to palm oil".
5. So they won't change their product recipes.
6. A boycott doesn't do any good IF YOU DON'T TELL 'EM WHY.

@ShredderFeeder Hmmm... Let's see. They won't be able to spend time sneering at poor people, demeaning the sick, chuckling with pals about buying off the Government, cornering markets, competing with fellow fat rats over the most expensive car/ airplane/ villa /island/ ranch/ wardrobe/... , savoring that the "losers" aren't eating caviar... They won't have any of their pleasures! But real Christians can enjoy thinking of them surrounded by other fat rats, all singing hymns, 24/7 ➡️ ♾️

@Rainmaker1973@zpravobot.news Thank you very much! This beautiful and funny video can serve as a fitting tribute to David Attenborough, and to the wonderful Bird of Paradise.

@Nonilex@masto.ai And they have the effrontery to call their movement "Pro-Life".

@persagen@mastodon.social Thanks for reposting this raw, honest, thoughtful, and truthful appraisal of America, the concept. I don't know of Christopher L Webster. Perhaps this is a staged set-up for a speech, rather than the open audience engagement forum that it seems to be. Certainly one should dislike the hair-trigger criticism of the young woman who posed the question. But if this man speaks so frankly and so well as he does in this video, he's worth hearing, in this age of evasion and dishonesty.

@benroyce@mastodon.social @challote@mastodon.social @FrancoisPrague@mastodon.social @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu All of gall is divided into three parts...

@rbreich@masto.ai Someday, after hoomonz have perfected chemo-, bio-, radio-, neuro-, econo-, socio-, agro-, psycho-, and wacko-weapons of mash destruction, some species may evolve that can use social media for good. Unlike me, Robert tells it like it is without any sour antisocial asides. Thank you, Robert!

@LiamOMaraIV@mastodon.social I heard a rumor that, over the years, 71 people have been struck by trains while trying to find that spike.

@sunguramy@flipping.rocks My claustrophobic id squeals and writhes when it sees photos like this, but somehow I just can't look away. Nevertheless, I offer kudos to those that go down to see that other world, and share it with us. Thanks!

@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social We have to admit that this guy has a talent. Who else has a crowd of educated people staggering around in clown shoes because they think he's their buddy? Who else has busloads of worshippers touching his clothing, hoping to get a little smudge of his saintliness (after he's said "Can you believe they BELIEVE this stuff?")? For whom else will contractors keep working, knowing that he doesn't pay his bills? Is there some undiscovered euphoric hallucinogen in his urine?

@akkana@fosstodon.org Very intriguing! Thanks!

@persagen@mastodon.social I thought it might be some sort of fictional work. However, as you say, it's a great speech. I'm glad that "Christopher L Webster" (in whichever persona he was operating) saw things that way, as many of us do. I didn't mention the lady in the audience with the cue cards, which seemed to hand the fiery orator his gumption. That was another clue that this video wasn't from real life. Nevertheless, real or fictional, she should be credited, shouldn't she?

@wonderofscience@mastodon.social Wow! So fascinating what we can see, if someone thinks to look! There are many possible variations on this experiment, which could be turned into course lab exercises or science fair projects. Thought-provoking! Thanks!

@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social A chilling cartoon! In a time when the "greatest genius on Earth" couldn't figure out the purpose of door handles on automobiles, we really do have to wonder what the purpose of that switch is...

@babble_endanger@freeradical.zone @chartier@toot.cafe But chalk doesn't "unspoil" milk. Only changes its appearance.

@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social I think that your guess is a very shrewd one.

@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social Muhee's observation is so right! If we want a society where people can "move up", everybody needs to know this. But people born into wealth (even moderate wealth) rarely have a clue. Our schools (public and private) should include at least one-day experiences that let students see what it means to be "privileged". Riding along with a cop may teach us something, but walking along with an underpaid worker or boxed-in housewife will likely teach us something more important.

@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social But she wasn't sleeping, was she?

@gpnaturephotos@aus.social Thanks for sharing this beautiful photo!

@mcnado@mstdn.social Okay, but wouldn't you agree that taking 8 quarts a day of tea brewed with swamp water and poison ivy and civet poop will prevent you from ever getting a virus? Just joshing. Please don't firebomb my outhouse. 🥴

@sundogplanets@mastodon.social Thank you for this (dismal but necessary) info, and for making me aware of the All Things Lighting Associatiion, a valuable resource on multiple topics.

@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social I guess, for giant problems like a whale's mouthful of trash, little cleaner wrasses aren't enough. If the whale is lucky, it may happen to find a cleaner lassie.

Never forget: Confederate patriots are fiercely loyal to their Constitution. But their Constitution is not the US Constitution; in fact, theirs has never been written down. When Confederates say "Americans" they only include white bigots who reject equality, democracy, and freedom of speech and religion. Confederates have their own (unwritten) dictionary. "Freedom" means "Conformity". For Confederates, facts are the currency of fools. Only their Beliefs matter. They never forget.