kedamono | Network

Whistles, monarch butterflies and other anti-ICE symbols join thousands at ‘No Kings’ Minnesota rally
Minnesotans clearly embraced having the nation’s attention at the “No Kings” rally on Saturday as thousands of them stood unified in opposition to President Donald Trump.
by Cleo Krejci and Ellen Schmidt
https://www.minnpost.com/news/2026/03/whistles-monarch-butterflies-and-other-anti-ice-symbols-join-thousands-at-no-kings-minnesota-rally/

Third No Kings protest draws 8 million worldwide to push back on Trump administration
Anti-authoritarian rallies, in all 50 states plus more than a dozen countries, were the largest number of protests in a single day in US history
Lex McMenamin, Fabiola Cineas, Rachel Leingang and Amy Qin
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/28/no-kings-protests-trump ( Read more... )

wychwood

Can't believe it's Holy Week already except that that was definitely Palm Sunday last night. The weather's been oscillating between "too warm for the start of spring" and "too cold for the start of spring", which is relatively normal, but on Wednesday we had rain, sleet, hail, and snow, which actually stuck on the ground for a bit! And the Wednesday before was 17C. It is, however, definitely spring now and not late winter. Friday was the first day I got tricked by the lengthening days into not realising that it was later evening than I thought, and the clocks hadn't even changed then! We're into BST now, though.

I feel like I've been busy but I couldn't say with what. The big testing thing at work is now into week seven of two, and is certainly not going to be done before Easter (...admittedly part of this is because the team in charge have had to go away and make some decisions about how things are going to function in the new set-up, because apparently it didn't occur to anyone that they needed to agree basic processes before they went into UAT...). Choir has been a contributor, as ever, and I'm off shortly for a double Sunday rehearsal. I have done a little bit of socialising, but not as much as I would like.

However, today's big achievement is that I finally! managed to de-DRM my Kindle books, and am now putting them into my ebook reader at LAST. A triumph.

shipperslist

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$radiantfracture: Beadwork bunny head (Default)$

radiantfracture

Poster for Unbound Desires: A Night of Heated Rivalry

Here's the thing I've been helping to organize! Just picked up my posters for distro today.

A blurb:

Come celebrate the Rachel Reid book that started the whole phenomenon. Attend Victoria Festival of Authors' spring fundraiser at the Sports View Lounge above Oak Bay Rec on May 8th (7-9 pm). There will be burlesque, drag, and 🌶🌶🌶🌶 readings from real-life Victoria residents who have broken barriers around gender and sexuality in Canadian sports. Even better than the cottage!

Ticket link is here.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Thanks to

contrarywise for the title!

conuly

Or several corpuses? (Corpora?)

I’m just getting tired of people claiming that “nobody” says things that I’m certain I’ve recently heard on contemporary lowbrow media. But I just can’t prove it! And I can’t make them prove it either!

Even fansites with searchable scripts would be something.

lsanderson

D.C. Memo: Learning from the nation’s airport chaos
Plus: Senate passes DHS bill sans ICE, Border Patrol funds; EPA allows temporary sale of E15, though Klobuchar and Craig want more; and other news.
by Ana Radelat
https://www.minnpost.com/national/washington/2026/03/d-c-memo-learning-from-the-nations-airport-chaos/

United flight narrowly avoids US military helicopter in California
FAA investigating after plane carrying 162 passengers forced to change course to prevent collision
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/27/united-plane-california-military-helicopter

Talking with David Roberts
Paul Krugman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx9WvIwiqLQ

US has destroyed only a third of Iran’s missiles, intelligence suggests
Reuters report contradicts Trump’s claims that Tehran’s arsenal has been largely wiped out
Middle East crisis – live updates
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/28/us-destroyed-third-iran-missiles-intelligence-suggests-trump

As US troops sail to Middle East, how likely is Trump to order boots on the ground?
Andrew Roth in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/28/as-us-troops-sail-to-middle-east-how-likely-is-trump-to-order-boots-on-the-ground

How Trump’s deportation campaign has changed tack after deep unpopularity
Roque Planas
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/28/trump-deportation-campaign-noem-bovino-change

Third No Kings protests to see millions across US push back on Trump administration
Anti-authoritarian rallies, taking place in all 50 states plus 16 countries, are expected to be biggest in US history
Lex McMenamin
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/28/no-kings-protests-trump

‘Break your silence’: Jane Fonda leads rally against Trump crackdown on arts and media
Actor outside Kennedy Center urges Americans to ‘stand tall against authoritarianism’ and resist free-speech threats
David Smith in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/27/jane-fonda-kennedy-center-rally-trump

‘The era of invincibility is over’: the week big tech was brought to heel
Dan Milmo and Robert Booth
https://www.theguardian.com/media/ng-interactive/2026/mar/28/week-that-brought-big-tech-to-heel-meta-youtube-google-instagram-facebook

Two Iowans accused of lacing lasagna with drugs to cause woman’s miscarriage
Matthew Uthoff and his wife, Amber Dena Snow, allegedly gave oxycodone-laced pasta dish to unknowing victim
Gloria Oladipo
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/28/iowa-drug-laced-lasagna-pregnant-woman

Nine people sick from E coli linked to raw cheese from California farm, more than half of them children
Raw Farm was also linked to 2024 salmonella outbreak that sickened 165 people and deaths of two cats from bird flu
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/28/california-dairy-e-coli-raw-cheese

‘It was bonkers’: Samba the runaway capybara inspires a wild rodent hunt
Members of the UK public join the search after specialist dog units and thermal drones have yet to locate her
Isaaq Tomkins
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/28/samba-runaway-capybara-search

Johannes Radebe: ‘I had always been warned to wear my flesh underwear. I did not that day’
Rosanna Greenstreet
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/mar/28/johannes-radebe-dancer-interview-strictly-come-dancing-kinky-boots

In an Istanbul market, I found an old German phrase book – and a reminder of how not to speak to migrants
Carolin Würfel
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/28/istanbul-market-german-phrase-book-migrants-turkey-berlin

‘Changing a city is complicated’: Anne Hidalgo looks back on 12 years as Paris mayor
Kim Willsher in Paris
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/28/changing-a-city-is-complicated-anne-hidalgo-looks-back-on-12-years-as-paris-mayor

An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests. Fungi enthusiasts are doing damage control (Paywalled?)
Mohamed Madi
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260325-an-unstoppable-mushroom-is-tearing-through-north-american-forests

Scientists film whale giving birth while other whales work together to help her
Female named Rounder surrounded by family members when about to give birth to her second calf
Agence France-Press
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/27/scientists-film-whale-giving-birth-other-whales-help-her

rmc28

(some of these have had their own posts; some probably should; do ask me to expand in comments if you want more details!)

( four busy weeks )

April has two uni Nationals weekends in Sheffield (one each with Womens Blues and Huskies), a hockey camp in Hull, three other hockey games, hopefully some more theatre trips, and a movie date next week with Tony.

shipperslist

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chris_gerrib

I am continuing my ongoing (semi-) rewatch of Star Trek: The Original Series. This post will cover season 2, episodes 18 to 21.

Overall, I found this batch decidedly mediocre. "Immunity Syndrome" was a semi-remake of "The Doomsday Machine" which aired earlier that season. "A Private Little War" was okay, but again very derivative of "Friday's Child" in the same season. I found "Return to Tomorrow" questionable - Kirk's decision to let aliens take over his body just did not work for me.

I don't remember ever seeing any of these episodes before - I think they tended to drift off of the rerun schedule. The only episode I remember, "Patterns of Force" (Starfleet interference recreates Nazi Germany) did not age well. The plot itself seemed original but full of holes that Adult Me saw and Kid Me didn't. Kirk as womanizer is getting established here - in two of the four episodes, Kirk gets handsy with a Hot Chick (and the romantic music plays).

Current Mood: calm

conuly

( Minor season 5 spoiler )

I actually have a similar thought about the most recent episode I watched of Young Sherlock, ( Read more... )

************

( Read more... )

jennlk

which is to say "there will be weather". Whether it makes sense or not is something else. Yesterday morning, it was 35F when I went to work. Yesterday at 3pm it was 70F and I had some windows open. This morning at 8am it was 26F (yes, I'd closed the windows when it started to cool off yesterday). On the plus side, at least it didn't rain or snow or wintry mix. It's still below freezing at 1pm, but it is at least mostly sunny. The cats are glaring at the cold outside while sitting in sunbeams.

The daffodils are showing buds, and a couple of them may open today, but I won't be surprised if they don't. There will most certainly be daffodils blooming by Sunday. There are still more branches down in the yard, but I'm going to go pick them up tomorrow, or maybe even Sunday. Today is "move crap in the basement"(*) day, and I can't do both. I also have to go pick up cat meds.

* -- A desk that's been in the corner is going to work because it's a better size for me to run an election on than the table I've been using, and so I have to rearrange that space. And sort out stuff to Just Go Away. I took four boxes away earlier in the week, and there's another box for the Friends of the Library sale. (which they're not accepting until next week, so it's in the living room.) I need to ask my sister if she wants the "Cool-est" cooler that she Kickstarted and then they wouldn't ship to Alaska. It's been in my basement since Mum moved to NC. (Sis hasn't driven to the CONUS since Mum got it.) There's also Grandma K's china that I want out of my basement -- I already have Gramma B's china, I don't need two sets of 1930's Federal/Montgomery Ward china!

Current Music: Prokofien Piano Concerto No 2: Andantino

conuly

In a random reddit thread this time.

Truly, people will never, ever stop complaining about the man.

Also on reddit: "This is an old book" but also "snapchat was mentioned". Uh....

**********

( Read more... )

lsanderson

Trump to sign order for DHS to pay TSA agents ‘immediately’ amid funding standoff
President says order will ‘address this Emergency Situation’ as TSA employees have gone without pay during dispute
Guardian staff
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/26/trump-dhs-order-tsa-agents

Trump signature to appear on US currency in first for sitting president
Treasurer’s signature to be removed for first time since 1861 in change made to mark US’s 250th anniversary
Coral Murphy Marcos
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/26/trump-signature-us-bills-currency ( Read more... )

seawasp

Because it’s even more relevant now than it was a year ago, I post the link to my detailed review/commentary on the blueprint the current administration is following in its quest to destroy the country.

http://grandcentralarena.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Ryk-Spoor-Project-2025-Commentary.pdf

seawasp

I posted this previously on FB, which is a reversal from my normal; I usually write my long posts here and point to them from FB. So, onward...

I do not use AI. And I will not use it.

This isn't because I don't see what I could do with it -- yes, despite its current limitations and flaws.

It's because (A) all the current AIs are built on a foundation of stealing other people's work in the name of "research" and then using it for commercial purposes -- including quite a number of my own books, and the artwork of many artists I know, respect, and have even in many cases used the services of.

(B) Our current society is structured such that the use of AI is in no way beneficial for anyone except a very, very small fraction of the population. From the point of view of its deployers, it's a money and time saving system. But the money and time it saves is in the work of the majority of the workforce.

There are those who will argue that X profession or Y profession will be resistant to AI intrusion (for instance, plumbers or electricians) because of the physical limitations of the job. And that's true, to an extent, but ONLY to an extent. We already have automated cars. They kinda suck in various ways, but there's no doubt that people are working constantly on improving autonomous driving; when that reaches the point that it's as safe or safer than human drivers, good-bye to 99% of the driving-based jobs. White collar jobs are far more vulnerable, and make up a HUGE portion of total jobs.

If we had a society that valued PEOPLE, this wouldn't be a big deal. Okay, you can't spend your time in an office filing forms, so now you can go home and have fun, maybe do some hobby you've wanted to do but didn't have the time for.

But our current society REQUIRES that you have "A Job" unless you're already quite wealthy.

And AI is a *general* innovation, not a *specific* one. If you have a specific innovation that, say, kills off the buggy whip market, there are usually new emergent jobs that will absorb the relatively small fraction of the population that used to work in that industry.

There is no possible way that AI will create more jobs than it disrupts, if it is at all effective in its roles. It WILL cause -- and is ALREADY causing -- significant layoffs, and eventually an unheard-of spike in unemployment.

The current administration and the techbros around them will have a "solution" to this, but it's most likely going to be "slave labor" with a new label. I'm not exaggerating; Elon Musk suggested that his proposed colonies would be populated by people from all walks of life... under what was just a relabeled form of indentured servitude.

So unless, and until, the most fundamental problems with it are solved, I do not, and will not, use AI for anything I can possibly avoid. No matter how fun it might be.

fred_mouse

New-to-me flavour of chips: Thins Potato Chips Margherita Pizza.

Soooo tasty. Strong on the fake cheese, light on the tomato, reasonable on the basil / other herbs.

(brought home by Youngest from a picnic. This might be a short term variant).

thistleingrey

No laptop games lately; taking notes on coursework has earned me a second referral to a occupational therapist specializing in hands. Not much leisure reading lately, due to eyestrain issues.

I've tried some diversions on my Android phone, over some months:

* CookieRun: Oven Smash (released this week) brings the franchise's extant characters into ad hoc PvP (player versus player), initially three against three. I like the idea that one may fall into combat alongside strangers and work together (presumably one may also play alongside in-game friends), but I'm not into real-time PvP. Time elapsed: about 15 minutes, including listening to the cutscenes---I set it to English text and Korean audio.
( there's a bunch of these because none of them lasted )

That's a lot of casual disappointments that didn't matter! The thing about many puzzle diversions that're slightly more challenging than "too simple" is that they increase eyestrain or require my hands in ways that I currently can't support. Like, I very briefly tried Strange Jigsaws on the laptop, and then I stopped because of eyestrain and hands. It's good, though!

Laptop demos I haven't tried yet (but have installed): Aethus, Hozy, Momento, Relooted, Scriptorium, Winter Burrow.

Have you played something lately that you didn't dislike? I'm still looking. :)

chris_gerrib

I'm not obsessed about Mars - I can stop thinking about it at any time. I just don't want to. (umm) An interesting article on a potential problem - low level radiation. (Posted here so I can find it later.)

Current Mood: calm

shipperslist

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lsanderson

Yesterday was the first day I stole more electrons from the sun than I bought from the power company.

What are we doing here? The agonizingly repetitive theater of legislative committee hearings
Ostensibly, committees are supposed to pass any bill without a fiscal component by this Friday, per a deadline set by legislative leaders.
by Matthew Blake
https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/capitol-conversations/2026/03/what-are-we-doing-here-the-agonizingly-repetitive-theater-of-legislative-committee-hearings/ ( Read more... )

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kedamono

May 2020

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Page Summary

lsanderson - 2026.03.29
wychwood - it's not that i have anything to say but if i don't post soon i'm going to forget how
shipperslist - whyy-yy?
radiantfracture - Unbound Desires: A Night of Heated Rivalry
conuly - Okay, is there a searchable TV / movies corpus?
lsanderson - 2026.03.28
rmc28 - Events of note: March
shipperslist - Mistakenly Saving the Villain by Feng Yu Nie
chris_gerrib - Star Trek Thoughts - Part 8
conuly - I finally caught up on Only Murders in the Building
jennlk - still spring in the Upper Midwest.
conuly - And my Robert Moses counter increments up yet again!
lsanderson - 2026.03.27
seawasp - Repost:Project 2025 Commentary
seawasp - Why I do not, and will not, use AI (as it exists now)
fred_mouse - Chip (crisp) tasting
thistleingrey - recentish android game tastings
chris_gerrib - On To Mars, Part Whatever
shipperslist - Myrkur: Folkesange
lsanderson - 2026.03.26

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Uncle John's Rantings

Wherein the owner froths at the mouth

Network

2026.03.29

it's not that i have anything to say but if i don't post soon i'm going to forget how

whyy-yy?

Unbound Desires: A Night of Heated Rivalry

Okay, is there a searchable TV / movies corpus?

2026.03.28

Events of note: March

Mistakenly Saving the Villain by Feng Yu Nie

Star Trek Thoughts - Part 8

I finally caught up on Only Murders in the Building

still spring in the Upper Midwest.

And my Robert Moses counter increments up yet again!

2026.03.27

Repost:Project 2025 Commentary

Why I do not, and will not, use AI (as it exists now)

Chip (crisp) tasting

recentish android game tastings

On To Mars, Part Whatever

Myrkur: Folkesange

2026.03.26

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May 2020

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