I had my first #GE2024 (General Election 2024) calling candidate this morning. She was somewhat shocked that I had prepared and printed out a "voter's flyer" telling candidate what I want.
You can see the flyer here. It's good for printing and folding, but not for online reading, so I have also put the text up on my blog.
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55% turnout or less: Republicans win
60% turnout: Democrats take the lead
65%: it’s a Democratic landslide akin to 2008
70%+: Democrats would dominate creating an environment to pass meaningful legislation and build safeguards for democracy
Every vote counts.
🗳️
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A blast from the past.
The solar eclipse of the 4th December, 2002. Taken in the South Australian town of Ceduna.
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Armed gardaí broke into wrong house and woke terrified children during two-hour raid, court told
I've read this story in 2 different outlets, and neither suggests that there might be an explanation for why they raided the wrong house. That would be of interest to the public.
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When I was in college from 1989-1994, I lived at home about 3.5km from the campus. For the first few years, I cycled to and from, but a number of things got me out of the habit; such as the desire to socialise with alcohol close to the college in the evenings, the ease with which I could hitch lifts from college staff in the mornings, and the rain.
Latterly, I just blamed the rain. With my tongue firmly in my cheek I proposed "Ó Hanlon's Law" (not to be confused with Hanlon's Razer -- we don't talk to that branch of the family):
The amount of rainwater you gather in your clothing as you make your way along the street is proportional to the square of the speed at which you're moving.
Meaning, for example, if you move twice as fast in the rain, you will get 4 times as wet.
That's as far as I got -- no mathematical rigour or anything like that. It just felt that way. A bald statement that no one was going to be arsed to falsify.
Until now.
Ó Hanlon's Law is now officially dead:
theconversation.com/walk-or-ru…
Walk or run in the rain? A physics-based approached to staying dry (or at least getting less wet)
You have certainly experienced this situation before. Let’s approach the problem from a physics perspective and try to calculate the amount of water that will fall on you based on your speed.The Conversation
With the exact same amount of rigour, and with as much deadpan irony I could muster, I would often follow it up with...
The actual amount of water you gather on your clothing is defined by the Ó Hanlon Constant, which depends on how heavy the rainfall is and on the material of your clothing.
As I was studying a science degree, it always amazed me how few called out the total bullshit of that statement.
Turns out that LLM summaries are actually useful.
Not for *summarizing* text -- they're horrible for that. They're weighted statistical models and by their very nature they'll drop the least common or most unusual bits of things. Y'know, the parts of a message that are actually important.
No, where they're great is as a writing check. If an LLM summary of your work is accurate that indicates what you wrote doesn't really have much interesting information in it and maybe you should try harder.
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Changes to new Gaelic football rules with four-point goal set to be scrapped
I spent my entire childhood jealous of those who could look at the score of a Football or Hurling match and immediately -- just like discerning left from right -- do the mental maths to tell who was leading or who won.
Changing the value of goals from 3 points to 4 would have levelled the playing field for me; at least for a short while.
Changes to new Gaelic football rules with four-point goal set to be scrapped
Examiner Sport understands that a goal will revert to three points, and 45s will now only be worth one point.Maurice Brosnan (IrishExaminer.com)
Gerry Hutch considers general election run to unseat Mary Lou McDonald in Dublin
I find this very funny. One wonders if he's secretly in talks to stand as a Fine Gael candidate. It's not as though they have trouble with gangsters and with celebrities, so why not celebrity gangsters.
Gerry Hutch considers general election run to unseat Mary Lou McDonald in Dublin
Gangland figure was acquitted last year of organising Regency Hotel gun attack which accelerated Hutch-Kinahan feudConor Gallagher (The Irish Times)
I've been hearing a bunch of people say that AI / generative AI is part of the new digital revolution, and it's here to stay. Can I just remind people that the same things were said about crypto. About NFTs. The Metaverse. Apple Vision Pro.
Just because techbros and companies, who have made absurdly large investments in it (that they stand to lose), want this to be the next big thing, it doesn't mean that it will be. If you need to hyper-advertise a "revolutionary product", it's usually a bust.
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"RTÉ defends 'satirical remarks' on Late Late Show as Sinn Féin calls for apology"
An earlier version of this story said that one TD called for the offending segment to be removed from the RTÉ Player.
This is an odd demand from the party that was subject to section 31 of the Broadcasting Act for 20 years.
RTÉ defends 'satirical remarks' on Late Late Show as Sinn Féin calls for apology
Sinn Féin has accused RTÉ of "electoral interference" following a controversial remark made by host Patrick Kielty on The Late Late Show last night.Greg Murphy (IrishExaminer.com)
IDF reference removed from EU leaders’ criticism of attacks on peacekeepers in Lebanon
Cowards. The lot of them. Sniveling, venal cowards.
IDF reference removed from EU leaders’ criticism of attacks on peacekeepers in Lebanon
Mention of Israel Defense Forces cut from European Council statement on Unifil attacksJack Power (The Irish Times)
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Extradition treaty with Dubai approved, targeted at prosecuting Kinahan leadership
I wonder how many people successive Fine Gael governments will extradite to the UAE for thought crimes before we stop hearing " but but but but .... Daniel Kinehan" as the justification.
Extradition treaty with Dubai approved, targeted at prosecuting Kinahan leadership
Deal will strategically strengthen Ireland against ‘transnational’ crime, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee saysConor Gallagher (The Irish Times)
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youtube.com/watch?v=RRh0QiXyZS…
Tennessee Ernie Ford - 16 Tons
I do not own the rights to this recording. It is intended for promotional purposes only.YouTube
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Ayup. Same energy: “The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell (1893-1949)
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Are Standing Desks Actually Bad For Your Health?
I see the MaTFLLA ("matfla": the Manufacturers of Tables of Fixed-Length Legs Association) is starting it's astroturf campaign.
Are Standing Desks Actually Bad For Your Health? science.slashdot.org/story/24/…Are Standing Desks Actually Bad For Your Health? - Slashdot
A new study counters the widely held belief that standing desks are good for your health, discovering that it does not reduce the risk of diseases such as stroke and heart failure.science.slashdot.org
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Former British Army chief Mike Jackson, who was present on Bloody Sunday, dies aged 80
Ah jesus lads. "... who was present ..."? He wasn't a fucking tourist. He sure as shit wasn't marching for civil rights!
An alternative headline: "Devil instructs Nairac to make up the second bed in the cell."
Former British Army chief Mike Jackson, who was present on Bloody Sunday, dies aged 80
Jackson also led the British Army during the allied invasion of Iraq in 2003.TheJournal.ie
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Relevant as the days get shorter. All credit goes to @tomflood and @TheBikingLawyer (Not yet on Mastodon)
#CycleTO #BikeTooter #Urbanism #SafeStreets #TheBikingLawyer
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"Say their names."
An important piece from Heather Burns (a.k.a. webdevlaw) on Wordpress.org, the current SNAFU, and how it was seen coming.
"Man repeatedly called gardaí 'bastards' while resisting arrest for begging in Cork"
If there's one thing I would ask the examiner to do differently is to drop the emphasis on reporting on what vulnerable, disadvantaged people say to the Gardaí.
It's pathetic and is just nothing more than punching down.
Man repeatedly called gardaí 'bastards' while resisting arrest for begging in Cork
Judge Mary Dorgan imposed a total sentence of four months on the accusedLiam Heylin (IrishExaminer.com)
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I told this story as a reply before, but I think it's worth sharing on the main feed:
I remember the time (ca. 2005) when I installed a very early fedora build on an idle desktop PC at work. I had been using it for a few weeks when the head of IT found out and told me to shut it down. "We don't allow Linux on our company network," he said.
About 5 years later there was a new policy and we were all given laptops for use at home. "What's the O.S.?" I asked the head of IT as he handed me mine. "Windows," he told me. I gave it back to him ... "I'm sorry, I don't allow Windows on my home network."
He hadn't a clue what I was talking about, but it felt good.
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I recently went on the EchoChamber Podcast to talk about the upcoming Commission na Mean plans for regulating the Internet.
I was uncomplimentary. But if you would like to hear my dulcet tones roll up and down its full vocal range, please take a listen:
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/…
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/5bFlE…
The Digital Safety Act – It’s Unworkable
The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack · EpisodeThe Digital Safety Act – It’s Unworkable (Spotify)
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The promise of power can hold a political ship together as it approaches harbour. But once that mirage vanishes and everyone realises the ship is on the wilderness of the High Seas, the Captain has no promise left of loot to divvy up.
That’s when you may as well just mutiny or abandon ship.
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My daughter is trying to convince me that the phrase "social butterfly" implies the existence of a "social caterpiller", which justifies her wrapping herself in a quilt, her "social cocoon", and refusing to get up today.
I have to admit it's a pretty good argument. Solid wordplay, reasonable-sounding if ridiculous conclusions, ticks all the boxes. Kinda dad-proud right now, gotta say.
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Éibhear 🔭
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in reply to Éibhear 🔭 • •Page 4 of my #GE2020 voter's flyer to be given to candidates looking for my vote.
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