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RolloTreadway

@RolloTreadway@beige.party

Autistic Welsh NHS emergency care quality improvement person.
(they/them or he/him - those are familiar enough and will do.)

Most important:
Trans rights are human rights; Black lives matter; Tories always despise you even if they pretend not to.

Enthusiastic about woodland, cricket, silent film, constitutional stuff, birds, gardens, tea, sandwiches, music.

(Profile pic: Buster Keaton sits unhappily in a steamship funnel; header is a glass teapot full of leaves.)

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. For a complete list of posts, browse on the original instance.

RolloTreadway , to random
@RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

Morning. I had a lot of very exhausting and sometimes challenging dreams last night, so I feel like I've hardly slept. And the hose broke again, after my previous attempted fix, so I got soaked when watering the plants. My internet is still running at <1mbps. I'm not in a good mood.

RolloTreadway OP ,
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@snaptophobic Annoyingly, yes, Monday. Hope your Monday isn't looking too bad.

MondayMoon , to random
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Happy Sunday! I hope you're all doing well, or getting the support you need if you're not! :bunhdheart:

And I hope you can take a nice pause today! Maybe you can go sit in the shade of a tree, or listen to birds singing, or just focus on making a cup of tea? Whatever floats your boat! :bunhdlurkaww:

Today's tea actually hasn't been decided on yet, but it's so tempting to keep on evaluating the Korean milk tea recipe for tea science! What are you brewing up? :blobfoxflooftea:

RolloTreadway ,
@RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

@MondayMoon Today I brewed hojicha. And sowed some lettuce seeds.

Hope you're having a good day.

RickiTarr , to random
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What is your dream road trip? Where would you start? Where would you end up? What stops would you make along the way? It can be short or long, whatever interests you!

RolloTreadway ,
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@RickiTarr I'd love to go north-south (or south-north) through the middle of Europe. Sweden, across the Øresund bridge, down through Denmark, Germany, Austria through the Tirol and all the way down to Sicily.

And the vehicle I'd take would be a lot longer than a car, and its road would be two metal tracks.

RolloTreadway ,
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@purplepadma @RickiTarr I love a good train adventure. Can't afford anything quite as spectacular as a trans-European route, but Northumberland to Languedoc is good enough for me.

RolloTreadway , to random
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Morning everyone. Felt awful when I went to bed, because of some triggering stuff (not here), but didn't say anything because I hoped I might feel better in the morning. And I do, right now anyway. So there.

RolloTreadway OP ,
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@moonrabbit Not so much now. Sometimes, going out for a wander helps enormously, and sometimes it makes me feel like shit. Today was the latter.

RolloTreadway OP ,
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@moonrabbit Oh no, definitely no more wanders today.

Hopefully the sun will come out in the afternoon and I can sit in the garden.

How are you?

sheepnik , to random
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Woe is me, I under-toasted my crumpets. I might give up on the rest of the day.

RolloTreadway ,
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@sheepnik This is the saddest story I've ever heard.

RolloTreadway , to random
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Occurs to me that I've lived in my house exactly three years today. If I'd known all of you at the time, and you'd known how things were where I used to live and all the stuff going on at the time, this might seem noteworthy. However, I didn't so it doesn't.

RolloTreadway OP ,
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@moonrabbit I suppose it is. And I have grown a lot of plants in that time. Not all intentionally.

RickiTarr , to random
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WHAT IS HIS CRIME?!

RolloTreadway ,
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@RickiTarr Theft!

Kitty is A THIEF!

Kitty has STOLEN

all our hearts

RolloTreadway , to random
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I'm sitting in the garden, surrounded by flowers (and, um, quite a lot of weeds if I'm honest), listening to Craven Faults and reading a book and being softly warmed by the evening sun. I have freshly baked bread cooling in the kitchen. This is pleasant.

RolloTreadway , to random
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I'm in the woods again. I did consider going for a longer walk to a further woods. But I haven't the energy. And these are right here.

I think this would make a good . Except it's Saturday. And, really, it's not silent in the slightest - many birds competing to shout over the noise of the little waterfall (or rapids, maybe it counts as rapids).

RolloTreadway OP ,
@RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

I'm fortunate to be sat here at just the right time. In warmer months, the burn reduces to a trickle - but we've had so much rain over the winter and early spring that it'll take a while for all the water to make its way to the sea.

Whilst in winter, not only is the burn considerably higher, but thick mud frequently makes this spot pretty much inaccessible.

RolloTreadway OP ,
@RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

@moonrabbit It was very peaceful. I'm perfectly happy for the birds and the water to be making a noise because it means I couldn't hear any human activity.

I'm tired today, but more or less okay. Brain is trying to steady itself after the challenging last couple of days. I think I'll go sit in the garden soon. How are you?

purplepadma , to random
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Good morning, I actually had a great sleep! The sun is shining again and I’m off for a manicure. All is well and I hope the same for you

RolloTreadway ,
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@purplepadma Hurrah! Sunny here too, thinking I might go for a walk.

ChrisMayLA6 , to random
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It increasingly clear, as the media furore around Iain Duncan Smith's proposed law on cyclists causing injury & death grows, that this has been intended a s divide & roll measure in favour of car drivers.

Its clear from the data that both pedestrians & cyclists are more at denser from cars than from each other on the roads.... so Smith's attempt to shift the narrative to see pedestrians fume about cyclists, looks like a political help to dangerous drivers, not endangered pedestrians!

RolloTreadway ,
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@ChrisMayLA6 Well, their focus on being supposedly 'pro-motorist' did such a fantastic job for them in this month's various elections - so I guess they're just going to keep ploughing that same furrow.

RolloTreadway , to random
@RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

Morning everyone. Unsurprisingly, after everything (so much everything) that's happened the last couple of days, I had an uneasy sleep and feel really quite rubbish right now. Hopefully it'll pass, though.

I had a dream that was full of a Human League song, except it wasn't really a Human League song, but I've woken up with an earworm of Tell Me When.

I really don't like that song. It's the first incarnation of the Human League that I like, and there are certainly some good songs in the early 80s with the second, but once you get much past that, no thank you.

Anyway, if anyone does want it: https://youtu.be/V2qjKCgCO3g

theropologist , to random
@theropologist@beige.party avatar

:bc: Attention Beige Party-goers! :bc:

State of The Instance - May 2024

Let's Talk About Policy, Baby!

Yes, everyone's favorite topic: Moderation Policy! But a well-crafted policy can be a thing of beauty. The main idea is to do all the decision-making work ahead of time and document it in a clear and easy to understand way, so that when the time comes to make a moderation decision, you don't have to do any thinking in the moment when tensions and emotions might be running high, you can just apply the policy. As someone who recently had to write a semi-coherent policy at 3 AM while on vacation, I can get behind this idea.

The other benefit is transparency. If everyone is aware of the policy and can read it themselves, then moderation action becomes more predictable, both for the moderator and for the moderated. After a year and half of running this instance I can confidently assert that I still have no idea what I'm doing. I'm just another schmuck figuring it out as I go along. The best way that I can think of to mitigate this is to be as transparent as possible, so that you all are at least aware of WHAT I am doing and WHY, even if I am ultimately just winging it.

So, to that end I would like to start using these monthly updates to develop a written moderation policy covering all of the instance rules. I will explain how I interpret each rule as it relates to moderation policy and then invite your input so that we can craft a clear policy that makes sense to everyone.

My plan is to cover one rule a month, but before we start, we should think about what the heck it is we're doing here in the first place. What is the guiding principle that informs all rule making and moderation decisions? That's right, we're talking about that North Star of corporate gibberish: The Mission Statement

After thinking it over a bit, I think this sums up our mission:

To provide a safe and welcoming environment where people feel valued and respected, and are encouraged to be themselves.

The point I want to drive home here is that my approach to moderation is humanistic. I am more concerned with providing good outcomes for actual individuals than adhering to any specific principles or ideologies. This should not be confused with utilitarianism. The most good for the most people often results in terrible outcomes for the minority. As I've stated before, my other overarching principle is asking who has the power in a given situation, and who is in need of protection. When in doubt, always defer to protecting those in need of protection.

The second part, about encouraging people to be themselves, refers to identity. People should be respected and celebrated for who they ARE, but that doesn't mean we are obligated to accept everything they DO. In fact we might have some fairly heated arguments about what people do, which is why we need moderation policy in the first place.

OK, so now that we've got foundational principles down, let's move on to the first rule. It's a rule so basic that it's actually baked into the reporting interface, regardless of what the actual instance rules are. It is something so noxious to the functioning of the internet that developing strategies against it is a full-time discipline in the field of Computer Science. I am speaking of course, of the dreaded Spam.

Spam is one of those things that you think you can easily identify until you start looking into all of the various edge cases. OK, that's true of most abstract concepts, but even more so for spam. I had previously included an explicit instance rule prohibiting spam, but I have since removed it because I think it mostly caused confusion for people who were worried that they might be unintentionally end up violating the rule. One thing I am fairly certain about is that if you are a spammer, you know you're a spammer. If you are operating in good faith then it's very unlikely that you would accidentally run afoul of the anti-spam rule. However, for the sake of clarity, let's start by defining some things that are not spam:

  • Posts about your personal project or business
  • Fundraisers and mutual aid requests
  • Posts promoting a particular cause or organization

These kinds of posts are not spam in and of themselves but they can become spam if they are sent in the form of unsolicited DMs, randomly @ people who have nothing to do with the content of the post, or if they are posted with such frequency that they disrupt the normal operation of the instance.

So here I think we are circling a pretty solid definition of spam:

Unsolicited and unwanted communication that impairs the legitimate functioning of a communications network

I think that's a pretty decent general rule, but what sort of behaviors would fall under that definition? Let's look at Mastodon's reporting interface. When you report something as spam, it gives three examples:

  • malicious links
  • fake engagement
  • repetitive replies

I think malicious links is pretty clear cut. If you are posting links that are intended to deceive people and potentially send them to unsafe web sites, that is definitely against the rules.

Similarly, repetitive replies are pretty easy to recognize. If someone is posting the same reply to a bunch of different posts just to gain visibility without engaging with the original post at all, then that is pretty clearly spam.

That brings us to fake engagement, which is a little squishier. Fake engagement is not just a reply that you don't like. That might be a case for a personal block, but it's not a rule violation. My definition of fake engagement is posting a reply with the sole purpose of promoting a particular agenda, with no effort to actually engage with the discussion. This is still open to a lot of interpretation, so I will also say that fake engagement is a pattern of behavior. Posting one reply like this is not going to get you flagged for fake engagement, but if you are repetitively posting unwanted replies on many different posts, all pushing the same agenda without engaging in the discussion, then that could be considered fake engagement. It's also just rude and annoying.

So, bringing this all together, this is my definition of spam as it applies to moderation policy:

  1. Repetitive unsolicited DMs
  2. Randomly tagging users with an @ in posts that have nothing to do with them
  3. Scam posts that are intended to deceive people and/or exploit them financially
  4. Repetitive posts that disrupt the normal operation of the instance
  5. Posting malicious links with the intent to deceive people or direct them to harmful websites
  6. Hijacking the replies of a post solely to promote something unrelated to the post
  7. Repeatedly replying to posts with the sole purpose of pushing a particular agenda and with no good faith effort to engage in the discussion

Just a reminder, there is no longer a dedicated anti-spam rule listed under the instance rules, but you can always select spam as an option in the Mastodon reporting interface.

OK, I think that's enough policy for one month. I invite you all to share your thoughts. This is what I came up with, but please let me know if I got something wrong or missed something that should be added. I want to put together a policy that we can all understand and agree on. My plan is to start going over the enumerated instance rules, one rule per month, starting next month. At the end of this process I will compile everything into a policy document and post a link to it in the about section of the site.

On to the numbers!

My billing cycle for Hetzner has gone back to normal, but the date that the invoice is generated has changed from the 1st of the month to the 15th, so you can expect these updates within a couple days after that. Despite the change of the billing date, the invoice still covers only the previous month, so for example all of the numbers I post in May will apply to April, and then the May numbers will be in my June update. Since I can't post these until the middle of the month, the numbers are going to reflect a point in time from the first of the month. Previously, when I was posting closer to the first of the month, I would include additional users and donations from the first few days of the current month in addition to the numbers from the previous month. Since it doesn't make sense to include an additional 15 days of the current month, all the numbers I report will apply only to the previous month.

New sign-ups:

In the month of April we gained 31 new party-goers, for a grand total of 411 big-time beige business-doers. Of those, 264 accounts have been active in the last month.

Welcome new party-goers! if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Finances:

For the month of April we received $335.00 in donations. After PayPal fees, that comes out to $297.30. We had $1,579.67 left over from March, so our total available funds for paying the April hosting fees was $1,876.97.

The hosting fees for April break down as follows:

VPS Hosting: $98.88
Foreign Transaction Fee: $2.66
S3 Storage: $9.30
SMTP Relay: $15.00

Total: $125.84

After paying the hosting bills for April, we have $1,751.13 left in donation funds. That's enough to keep us running for over a year, so we are in good shape. Thank you to all who donated! If anyone would like to donate, here is the link:

https://ko-fi.com/drinky

It can also be found in my profile header and in the about section of the site.

And once again a big thanks to all you beautiful Beige Party-goers. You all are what makes this place great!

Beige-bless :bb:

A spreadsheet breaking down the donations for the month of April: Date Amount Fees Net 4/1/2024 $10.00 $1.34 $8.66 4/2/2024 $5.00 $0.91 $4.09 4/2/2024 $50.00 $4.74 $45.26 4/3/2024 $10.00 $1.34 $8.66 4/4/2024 $10.00 $0.84 $9.16 4/6/2024 $10.00 $1.34 $8.66 4/6/2024 $10.00 $1.49 $8.51 4/7/2024 $10.00 $0.84 $9.16 4/9/2024 $5.00 $0.91 $4.09 4/9/2024 $50.00 $2.24 $47.76 4/11/2024 $5.00 $0.64 $4.36 4/11/2024 $10.00 $0.99 $9.01 4/14/2024 $10.00 $1.34 $8.66 4/14/2024 $10.00 $1.49 $8.51 4/17/2024 $5.00 $0.91 $4.09 4/17/2024 $5.00 $0.91 $4.09 4/18/2024 $5.00 $0.74 $4.26 4/18/2024 $10.00 $0.84 $9.16 4/18/2024 $5.00 $0.66 $4.34 4/20/2024 $5.00 $0.91 $4.09 4/21/2024 $5.00 $0.91 $4.09 4/21/2024 $10.00 $1.34 $8.66 4/21/2024 $5.00 $0.91 $4.09 4/21/2024 $5.00 $0.99 $4.01 4/22/2024 $5.00 $0.91 $4.09 4/25/2024 $5.00 $0.91 $4.09 4/27/2024 $50.00 $4.74 $45.26 4/29/2024 $5.00 $0.91 $4.09 4/30/2024 $5.00 $0.66 $4.34 Total $335.00 $37.70 $297.30

A spreadsheet breaking down the donations and hosting fees for the month of April, as summarized in the text of the post: Previous Balance $1,579.67 Donation $335.00 Subtotal $1,914.67 Paypal Fees $37.70 Total Funds Available $1,876.97 VPS Hosting $98.88 Foregin Transaction Fee $2.66 S3 Storage $9.30 SMTP Relay $15.00 Total Hosting Fees $125.84 Difference $1,751.13 Out of Pocket Expenses $0.00 Balance $1,751.13
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    • RolloTreadway ,
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    @theropologist I don't like Spam. It gives me headaches, probably the sulphites or something. So thank you for keeping everything Spam-free.

    RolloTreadway , to random
    @RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

    I hope my internet is able to work enough for me to watch yesterday's Taskmaster. And then off to bed because I am very tired, and it has been a week.

    RolloTreadway , to random
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    Anyone want some flowers from out of my garden?

    Columbines in a pale pink and purple. Their slim petals hang downwards as a bell. They are purple closer to the stem and pale pink further along. One of in focus close up - and it has a tiny bug climbing on a petal - with many others behind. We can also see some orange poppies, out of focus, and a wooden fence at the back.
    A verbena with small flowers standing upright atop a stem with jagged dark green leaves. The flowers are pale purple and white, with some bold magenta at the centre of the cluster. The bright pink bucket that they're growing in is just visible in the background, and it's all in front of a brown brick wall. There's an old terracotta ventilation brick as well, the bucket is hanging from it, but don't worry, it's long since been blocked off (there's more modern ventilation just out of shot).
    A soft pink rose in full bloom, with a second just behind it. They are lit well by low evening sun. In the background, we see the wooden fence they're growing beside, as well as many green leaves, plus some other flowers in yellow orange and purple, all out of focus.

    RolloTreadway OP ,
    @RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

    My garden is full of flowers now. Especially the columbines, I've never had them grow with such enthusiasm, all over the place and in a mix of purples, whites and pinks.

    Maybe I'll post some more pictures tomorrow.

    RolloTreadway OP ,
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    @30yrdscreamer My lavender is starting to flower and send out its perfume too. That and the rose bushes make it all smell lovely.

    purplepadma , to random
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    Opened my work email and now I’m having an anxiety attack 🙃

    RolloTreadway ,
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    @purplepadma Oh no! Never touch the work email! Not even whilst you're at work!

    RolloTreadway , to random
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    I've spoken to the internet people about my faulty internet.

    Wish I'd called them earlier in the week, like I'd intended to.

    They've run a bunch of tests and they think it's the router. So they're sending me a new one (and new microfilter, new cables etc).

    But because I only spoke to them now it won't be dispatched until Monday.

    If I'd spoken to them earlier in the week I might have it by now.

    I'm hopeless.

    RolloTreadway OP ,
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    @sheepnik True, I suppose. It has been quite the week.

    helenclayton , to random
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    Moutons!!!

    There was also a griffon vulture circling 😳.

    RolloTreadway ,
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    @helenclayton Les moutons!

    TheBreadmonkey , to random
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    I know it's boring when someone posts music they're listening to like they're special and you should listen to it. But I am special. X

    https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/track/quiero-wapatcha

    RolloTreadway ,
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    @TheBreadmonkey I'm sorry I bore everyone with my music choices all the time. I just get so excited about it.

    RolloTreadway , to random
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    Back from the doctor's. It took 40 minutes and involved a whole lot of questions.

    RolloTreadway OP ,
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    @helenclayton I hope it'll be helpful for the study at least. Don't think it does me any good directly.

    RolloTreadway OP ,
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    @helenclayton Broadly speaking, yes, although it was stressful so I can't say that I'm doing great. Could've been worse though.

    RolloTreadway , to random
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    Good news! Because I make an effort to do things properly, a significant amount of the data I lost yesterday is available elsewhere.

    Bad news! Internet is working even worse today than yesterday. I have contacted the provider, they want me to call them and check some things, but I can't because of work demands.

    RolloTreadway OP ,
    @RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

    @moonrabbit Apart from the stress, I'm not doing too badly. I did sleep well last night. But the stress is quite a lot.

    How are you? Hope your excessive day yesterday hasn't done you in too much.

    RolloTreadway OP ,
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    @purplepadma Unfortunately, I have to go to the doctor between now and then.

    Schnuckster , to random
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    No mucking about today, straight to A82 of the Laker Balcony. Got the stand (almost) to myself. 🏏

    The Laker Balcony, my seat cushion on A82, cricket bag on the floor along with bento bag because the seats are wet. One othe spectator in about F60, on the aisle.

    RolloTreadway ,
    @RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

    @TheBreadmonkey @Schnuckster Can definitely recommend getting into County cricket. There's a lovely community, lots of very exciting matches, every Championship match broadcast free on youtube, plus the address thrills of getting to be angry at the ECB on a regular basis.

    purplepadma , to random
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    Just looked up how I would get to Orkney to visit the friend I met yesterday without flying. It would take 1 day 1 hour by train to get the Thurso to catch the ferry to the islands, going Wales to London, London to Edinburgh, then to Aberdeen, then change at Inverness for Thurso. Hmm

    RolloTreadway ,
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    @purplepadma Ah, the fun world of west Wales train links (or absence thereof). I think, unfortunately, flying might have to be the answer.

    Schnuckster , to random
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    Heading to the Oval for the match between Surrey and Worcestershire. Here's a nice photo of the London-bound platform at Peckham Rye Station. 🏏

    RolloTreadway ,
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    @Schnuckster Suspect that's going to be another comfortable win for Surrey (weather permitting, although I think it's okay in most places).

    RolloTreadway , to random
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    Nice new folky album that I'm listening to, whilst trying to wrangle this work fuckup.

    Afterlands - We Are The Animals In The Night

    https://afterlands.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-the-animals-in-the-night-2

    purplepadma , to random
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    Good morning, I slept better thank goodness. The weather is sunny despite some big dark clouds, we’ve got one load of washing out on the line and another lined up to do. Today is going to be a quiet day, no plans except maybe a run later. You?

    RolloTreadway ,
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    @purplepadma Also slept well, but another awfully stressful day ahead for me. Weather is very grey here but fingers crossed it'll be better after lunch.

    drandrewv2 , to random
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    Unite (the union) is lobbying Labour to row back on pledge of no new North Sea oil & gas licenses…

    Genuinely interested to hear what people think of this…

    I trained in climate science, and now work for a union (formerly and soon to be back in an energy sector union), so I have very strong and possibly conflicting views on the subject!

    Tell me your wildest thoughts on workers’ protections in the energy transition. You probably can’t shock me…
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/17/union-urges-labour-not-to-ban-new-north-sea-licences-without-plan-for-jobs

    RolloTreadway ,
    @RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

    @drandrewv2 I would be happier to see unions pushing for greater investment in creating jobs in the sustainable energy sector.

    I understand of course why there's a significant concern about energy jobs being lost in one area without being created in another. But I think the focus should be on preventing that gap from opening, rather than trying to cling on to existing jobs that shouldn't be part of the future.

    In fairness, Unite are not simply saying 'more gas and oil'. They too want more sustainable jobs. But I feel they've handled this in a way that looks a lot like 'more gas and oil', and that's not helpful at all.

    RolloTreadway , to random
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    The theme today is . As it's a theme chosen to mark , I'm going to go down that road rather than the literal weather phenomenon.

    The very first song that ever I downloaded from Napster (we're all old enough to remember Napster, right?) was When My Boy Walks Down The Street by the Magnetic Fields.

    And living a very sheltered life in Section 28-era Britain, what an extraordinary thing this was. The repeated line "and he's going to be my wife", had I ever heard of such things before?

    69 Love Songs is many things - all good - but how Stephin Merritt played with sexuality and gender was such an eye-opener for me.

    https://youtu.be/amy7LoYNIZA

    RolloTreadway , to random
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    Morning everyone. Had a good and long sleep last night, for a change. Now to try and face today.

    Very best wishes to all for a safe and hopefully thoroughly happy and loved .

    RolloTreadway OP ,
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    @sheepnik Thank you. How is your day looking?

    RolloTreadway OP ,
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    @sheepnik How about 9am?

    RickiTarr , to random
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    Y'all I just made myself feel so old, hubs looked up top 100 music from 2001, 2011, 2021, and today and the amount of music I could recognize decreased by significantly. I recognized probably 70% of 2001 and decreasing as I went on. BUT I blame the internet, I can listen to exactly the kind of music I want with no dependence on the radio, but also I'm old!

    RolloTreadway ,
    @RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

    @RickiTarr No, I'm not having this.

    Music charts are irrelevant now and have been for ages. Hell, the high point of 'everyone listening to the same things' wasn't even 2001ish, it was in the first decade or so of the rock'n'roll boom, mid-50s to late-60s.

    Everything has become more disparate since then. Always more branches on the tree, year on year. What the internet did was to break down the walls that separated different areas of music.

    So young people today who are listening to Taylor Swift or BTS will also be listening to myriad other things, from any point in time or any place in the world, in any kind of genre. Hell, even the success of BTS is striking because, when we were younger, who would've imagined a Korean group becoming global megastars?

    The charts, the 'top 100 songs' are just industry statistics. You might as well base your shopping on buying only the 100 most popular foodstuffs, ignoring the fact that you can get whatever you want and a million other things you've not tried yet.

    One of the most remarkable things about music in this globally-connected era is that artists no longer need the big labels to be heard. Don't get me wrong, the labels are still there and still as utterly rotten as ever. But now they follow trends rather than directing them. What was popular on the charts back in the day was very much decided by the major labels (which, of course, is why genres like punk and techno etc branched away from the industry entirely to do their own thing).

    Consequently, whether you know or don't know what's on the charts in 2024 means nothing. You listen to what you want! The kids are also listening to whatever they want. The only people who are in any way limited are those who stick to some big radio station and then say 'there's no good music out there blah blah blah'.

    I'm getting old too. I obsess over finding new things to listen to. 2023 was, for my tastes, an amazing year. One of the best ever. The diversity of creativity was astonishing! There's so much out there!

    And the albums that I adored included all sorts of things from all over the world, and it also included a big pop star (Lana Del Rey). I love that I can do that now, just listen to anything.

    'Anything', which includes, as well as the new stuff, Lead Belly and Bessie Smith (oh, I do love Bessie) and everything else you might find within the last hundred years.

    It doesn't matter what age you are, it doesn't matter if you know which artist happens to have made the most revenue for some label, it doesn't matter if you're adhering to some notion of 'popular' or 'cool' that I can guarantee has been made by marketing executives somewhere, that I can guarantee is at least two or three years behind what is actually cool right now. It doesn't matter whether your current favourite was made in 2024 or 1924.

    All that matters is that you keep enjoying and enthusing about and caring about whatever music it is that works for you. So long as you do that, you're not old or tired or out of touch. You're only an old listener if you reach that point where you listen to the same radio station and complain that there's nothing good any more.

    Long rant ends.

    (I care about this matter a lot.)

    RolloTreadway , to random
    @RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

    Don't know what to do with myself this evening. Probably go to bed soon. Decided to have a belated think about this week's , for which @neurothing wants - five favourite opening songs of albums.

    I'm not sure I can think of five that I'd say are my favourites. I'm far too tired and there's far too much music.

    So here's five that came immediately to mind as being particularly good.

    Anna Meredith - Nautilus
    (from the album Varmints)
    https://youtu.be/Vajhs2wBeCU

    The Selecter - Three Minute Hero
    (from the album Too Much Pressure)
    https://youtu.be/MxE-Y142x1s

    Tubeway Army - Me, I Disconnect From You
    (from the album Replicas)
    https://youtu.be/6SCrfZPMeWg

    My Bloody Valentine - Only Shallow
    (from the album Loveless)
    https://youtu.be/FyYMzEplnfU

    ØXN - Cruel Mother
    (from the album CYRM)
    https://youtu.be/fuaLiowElxE

    rachaelspooky , to random
    @rachaelspooky@cyberpunk.lol avatar

    whenever anyone uses the phrase "for the time being" i like to capitalize it in my head.

    "ive done all i can for the Time Being"

    "for the Time Being, these are the available options"

    "this is the situation for the Time Being"

    all hail the Time Being

    RolloTreadway ,
    @RolloTreadway@beige.party avatar

    @Vidyala @rachaelspooky My thought too! I enjoyed it a lot.

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