A century of hair samples proves leaded gas ban worked
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/a-century-of-hair-samples-proves-leaded-gas-ban-worked/
Third Foundation
"But they were all of them deceived, for another Foundation was created"; fan of "star (trek|gate|wars)", he/him, married
The Power of the Powerless
"…The United States has been slowly abandoning it’s commitment to liberal democracy for the last forty or so years. Inequality is growing, government institutions are failing, social and economic mobility no longer really exist, and fascist elements are taking over our federal and state governments. People in the USA are miserable and — increasingly — most people know it. The political system no longer works and most people know it. Things have to change and soon, and people are realizing that. Most of the people who voted for Donald Trump did so because they saw the clear need for change. Too bad they picked the exact wrong way to fix things. So, clearly, we here in the USA are in a comparable situation to that of Czechoslovakia in the late seventies, and this book is quite relevant. There’s a lot of work in front of us to drag the USA back from the abyss and our collective sense of powerlessness is one that is familiar to Václav Havel."
https://mralancooper.medium.com/all-the-books-i-read-in-2025-a2f4eb05312c?source=rss-b1fa02015e7f------2
"48. How to Win an Information War: The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler, by Peter Pomerantsev (2024)
This is the story of Sefton Delmer, a brilliant and controversial British propagandist whose efforts significantly degraded the war fighting powers of Nazi Germany. Delmer brought his original thinking to the problem and solved the puzzle using unheard of techniques. This was a fun and very interesting read"
https://mralancooper.medium.com/all-the-books-i-read-in-2025-a2f4eb05312c?source=rss-b1fa02015e7f------2
"45. Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service, edited by Michael Lewis (2025) (audio)
A few years ago I read Michael Lewis’s book The Fifth Risk and I was surprised to discover that it was about the strange and wonderful things that people in public service do. Nobody I’ve talked to has ever read this title from the very popular author. Nobody has heard of it. I’m mystified.
In the introduction to this new book Lewis begins by saying that nobody ever read The Fifth Risk and he didn’t understand why. But apparently the few people who did read it were amazed. I certainly was. So Lewis decided to recruit a few writers that he knew to pick some random person in public service, write about them, and he would anthologize them in a new book, along with an essay or two by Lewis, which is what Who is Government is.
People in public service are simply astounding and you will enjoy learning about them"
https://mralancooper.medium.com/all-the-books-i-read-in-2025-a2f4eb05312c?source=rss-b1fa02015e7f------2
Third Foundation boosted:
Vet: And what breed is Minna?
Me: She is smol void baby.
Vet: Excuse me?
Me: Sorry. Domestic short hair. Black.
#Cats #CatsOfMastodon
Third Foundation boosted:
If you're planning on recording federal agents, turn biometrics off on your phone and opt for long passwords instead, EFF’s @legind told The Fulcrum. https://thefulcrum.us/civic-engagement-education/sousveillance-ice-surveillance-state-dhs-data
Third Foundation boosted:
🥱🧠 MRI scans show that yawning isn't just a sign of boredom but a specialized movement that helps clear out waste and cool your #brain.
It turns out that every yawn is actually a coordinated maintenance cycle for your central nervous system.
👉 https://www.sciencealert.com/yawning-does-something-surprising-in-your-brain-mri-scans-reveal
Third Foundation boosted:
Waymo Exec Admits Remote Drivers in Philippines.
Mechanical Turk, meet Mechanical Filipino: Mauricio Peña, the company's Chief Safety Officer, confirmed under questioning that the Google subsidiary employs human operators abroad [...] "They provide...
https://jwz.org/b/yk3E
sad that I have to keep blocking star trek fans for being assholes.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1C3fnxdTHM/
#LawyerOyer U.S. prosecutors resigning
Third Foundation boosted:
@foundseed The inevitability of solar has been wholeheartedly embraced by Australians. "You mean at the hottest time of day my air conditioner runs for free?" is not a difficult sale.
Haven't done the sums of recent to know how many months, but the payback period on residential rooftop panels is under a year, not too long ago that was three years.
Now at the stage where new street lighting -- actually on power poles -- has solar cells and battery built in to limit mains usage.
Third Foundation boosted:
It's so weird how the whole "this tech is the inevitable future that we've all been building towards and any resistance to it is backwards, if not malignant" is being put out for AI but not solar tech, huh?
"I don't know man the new Starfleet Academy show is about a generation of faculty that remembers a kinder world doing their level damndest to teach the new generation how to build one better than they've lived to see and if that doesn't sound exactly like what Star Trek should be doing right now then I don't know what to tell you."
#starTrek #starFleetAcademy
https://www.tumblr.com/femboycatofmystery/807275643362557952/i-dont-know-man-the-new-starfleet-academy-show-is
Third Foundation boosted:
A 'crazy' dice proof leads to a new understanding of a fundamental law of physics
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-crazy-dice-proof-fundamental-law.html
@middleclasstool I was moved
Third Foundation boosted:
Kanzi the bonobo who could communicate in English* also had imaginary tea parties. Scientists would "fill" one of two cups with juice "from" a jug, and Kanzi would choose the "full" one 69% of the time, which he would proceed to "drink" from.
Third Foundation boosted:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Eugene Roddenberry @ewr.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy — remember this 2022 throwback to our #GR100 Tour of your dad's homes, schools, & studios, wrapping with champagne at Roddenberry HQ? #drtrek #trekland #larrynemecek #treklandtreks #startrek #generoddenberry #majelroddenberry #thetrekfiles
Third Foundation boosted:
What are #linux folks using for reminders and calendar? I use apple products and have always used apple reminders and calendar. Switching to linux has me flummoxed. I need cross platform compatibility.
Client Info
Server: https://mastodon.social
Version: 2025.07
Repository: https://github.com/cyevgeniy/lmst