Nothing makes you hate cars more than living on a busy street, forced to listen to their din day in and day out. >:(
Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud — Not Just Bikes
Urban noise is a common problem, and the vast majority of it is created by motor vehicles. Noise is far too often dismissed as a minor nuisance, rather than the legitimate health issue that it is.The book "Curbing Traffic" has a chapter about the health impacts of noise pollution. I explore the research in the book, and visit Delft, the city that is highlighted in the book as being a shining example of what can happen when noise pollution is taken seriously.
This video explores the problem that farting cars, farting motorcycles, and farting mopeds create in our cities.
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From here:
There is no 'free' market, and there never has been. The 'free' market is predicated on the belief that all players will act honestly, and make informed choices based on available information. This is a completely false assumption, and has been proven so time after time.It completely ignores human nature whereby someone will always lie, cheat, and steal to achieve their own ends -- this is what we see here.
Industry players will always form cartels and collude in anti-consumer behavior -- price fixing being the prime example.
Without someone to keep corporations in line, the market would steadily skew to all of the power being in the hands of a few.
There is no such thing as a 'free' market, and there simply never has been. It's a utopian myth which can never be true.
People who go around spouting about the 'free' market are either naive, self deluded, or actively lying.
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damn, so we've had 11 years of this very thing getting worse.
when will people get it?! people keep voting for these pro corporate parties and it's depressing
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well, the same is happening here in the Netherlands. people have been voting the neoliberals into power for decades, despite things going to shit, and other parties being available here.
it's the propaganda that's working; most people still believe that free market capitalism is great, and it will take a lot more downfall before they understand it's shit.
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@bazkie about 10 years ago when I had learned just enough Dutch to read sites where younger folk hung out (and chat to them) I learned a fair few thought all the bicycles, good public transport (which folk in UK often envy!) and the high cost of learning to drive (which is same as UK) was imposed by "big government/EU" and they wanted to have cars just like young people in UK, enjoyed watching Top Gear and thought folk in UK and USA had more "freedom" (and those youths would be 30-40+ by now, many with families of their own)
At least you are highly unlikely to get Nexit as everyone can see the mess the UK is now in 5 years later..
@vfrmedia UK has been a lovely warning sign for us indeed!
..tho people have been voting far right the past few years despite Trump, so maybe most people don't really understand warning signs 😅
and about that dutch youth; keep in mind we've had neoliberal rule for decades now, so the whole "free market good, nationalization bad" has been really hammered in.
not sure if we'll get rid of it in my lifetime tbh. but most of the lovely social policies we have left stem from the more progressive governing we had before I was born 😅
btw why did you learn dutch? (maybe I asked before)
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I love pirate radio!
I don't know if it's actually a pirate station, here's an FM broadcaster near Quinault Lake here that plays all kinds of odds and ends with weird stuff in between. It might fall under LPFM, but I doubt the FCC would hassle them anyway since it's in the middle of nowhere and low power.
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@vfrmedia what's LPFM?
I wonder if maybe the FCC is a bit more relaxed these days since people listen to FM radio less (or well, I imagine that they do)
the "free market" is to economics what the frictionless spherical cow is to high school physics.
The very existence of corporations means there is no free market. Corporations are a legal construct of governments that grants a business (and later even a mere collection of assets) status as a district entity separated to some degree from the owners and workers within.
As such, there is no choice between "government vs corporations" because they are *two sides of the same coin*...it is all one big hegemony.
We have all been thoroughly conditioned to think otherwise for a couple of centuries now. It is thoroughly ingrained the minds of everyone in the "free world" that corporations are the capitalist free market and government is the socialist planned economy but that is pure BS.
The biggest economies in the world have arrived in the same place from two different directions...the US being a corporatocratic regime and China practising state capitalism.
As such deregulation just means re-regulation.
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They're fucking baby snatchers now?
And you still haven't gone to arms yet? Aint no hope for y'all.
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but the rules
dog, have you seen the rules lately?
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hahaha no you dont understand, you see, the rules
dog! LOOK AROUND
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SHOW US YOUR SCREENS
Live Hack Night
Tuesday, January 27th, 19-22h
There will be an open projector and speakers for anyone who wants to share their screens with a ≤10 minute performance, demo, presentation, etc.
Please prepare your presentations offline. There is no internet connection at offline – even cell reception is unreliable.
+++ More info, address & sign-ups: https://pads.offline.place/p/show-us-your-screens
Poster by https://andricspaeth.com/
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#WhiteHouse posts digitally altered image of woman arrested after #ICE protest
Guardian analysis shows images are the same, with Nekima Levy Armstrong looking composed in original but sobbing after alteration. The White House posted a digitally altered image of a woman who was arrested on Thursday in a case touted by attorney general #PamBondi, to make it seem as if she was dramatically crying, a Guardian analysis of the image has found.. The woman, Nekima Levy Armstrong, also appears to have darker skin in the altered image. Armstrong was one of three people arrested on T ...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/22/white-house-ice-protest-arrest-altered-image
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Former DMPS superintendent Roberts pleads guilty to federal immigration charges - EUROPE SAYS
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The former superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district pleaded guilty Thursday, and admitted to falsely claiming to be a U.S.EUROPE SAYS
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Watching A Superpower Die By Suicide - EUROPE SAYS
Welcome to Doomsday Scenario, my regular column on national security, geopolitics, history, and—unfortunately—the fight for democracy in the Trump era. I hopeEUROPE SAYS
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https://tcnv.link/BJYxa1j
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Oh, so now I'm figuring out what Emma Brockes' deal is. You may recall she wrote a piece about why you should definitely not make the fascists angry and give them a reason to hit you, probably best to hide. Anyway, her piece today is titled:
"David and Victoria Beckham learned the hard way – modern kids go ‘no contact’ with no guilt or stigma at all"
Absolute fucking muppet. The Guardian always keeps a half dozen of them around to prevent the paper from accepting that reality is real.
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Spain suffers FIFTH train crash in days after landslide in rail tunnel - EUROPE SAYS
Spain has been struck by a fifth train crash in just days after a commuter train collided with debris from a collapsed tunnel wall on Thursday afternoon.EUROPE SAYS
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Wow in the last 10 minutes, a widespread spate of M4+ #earthquakes from Iceland to Iran and Dubai, over to Indonesia, through the Mariana Trench and over to Chile.. you don’t see an entire tech tonic plate drumming like a bowl very often.
And Hokkaido, Kamchatka, Utah (a bit far off course for the Pacific rim), Afghanistan, Turkey too.
Reports via @geofon
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5 min
Brenna . Right now she’s covering the hyper local organizing going on in Minneapolis to deal with ice and all the horrible Fuckery they’ve been up to.
I want to say this is well worth watching
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The woman and the child https://mastodon.social/@villebooks/115932912796201256
Are all members of Hamas, right?
Susan Ville (@villebooks@mastodon.social)
📢 🕯️ Five Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and shelling in central and southern #gaza on Wednesday morning 🔹 In Deir al-Balah, three Palestinians, including a child, were killed by Israeli artillery fire east of the city 🔹 In #KhanYounis…Susan Ville (Mastodon)
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Confessions of an Old Cowboy Programmer:
For a chapter I’m writing, I’m researching the street drug Angel Dust. Technically, it’s called Phencyclidine or PCP for short. The drug is a hallucinogen famously known for bringing out the inner psychopath in the user. Of course, the reality is more nuanced.
I’ve just discovered, throughout the document, I repeatedly have mistyped it as PHP.
Have I just unearthed a fundamental truth about my relationship with programming languages?
Um, Lisp and LSD. C++ and, uh, ok I'm stopping this rumination... But just to be clear, Python is the ibuprofen of my mind.
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Mail server is down. Massive panic. Frantic texts. Nobody can authicate. Config files are being rifled thru. Nobody knows what's going on or who changed what.
Then it occurs to me to try my personal email from the application. Works fine.
Microsoft just fucked up outlook.
I'm happy my server is fine. Let's leave it at that.
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Secretary Marco Rubio claimed no one died as a result of cuts to USAID. That’s not what we found.
Our reporters Brett Murphy and Anna Barry-Jester and photographer Peter DiCampo are answering your questions on Reddit about the continued fallout of slashing aid for some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.
LIVE NOW: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1qk521e/were_propublica_reporters_who_traveled_to_some_of/
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TIL: That VELCRO was inspired by a dog's encounter with burrs, on a country walk with a Swiss engineer, figured out the hook and loop idea from a natural analog
https://www.invent.org/blog/inventors/walk-in-the-woods-velcro
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1qjwnfm/til_that_velcro_was_inspired_by_a_dogs_encounter/
How Did a Walk in the Woods Lead to the Invention of VELCRO® Fasteners?
Uncover how nature inspired Inductee George de Mestral to develop something that many of us use every day: VELCRO®!www.invent.org
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https://kingcountymetro.blog/2026/01/22/go-hawks-transit-will-get-you-to-lumen-field-for-the-nfc-championship-game/
#KingCountyMetro #WestSeattleWaterTaxi #firsthillstreetcar #WaterTaxiShuttle #SeattleSeahawks #LinkLightRail #SoundTransit #Soundertrain #TripPlanner #News
Go Hawks! Transit will get you to Lumen Field for the NFC Championship Game
Our Seattle Seahawks play the biggest home game of the season on Sunday, Jan. 25, with a third and final game against the Los Angeles Rams to determine who goes to the Super Bowl! Bring your excite…Metro Matters
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Over 762,000 people have already died from Trump's cuts to USAID, including more than 500,000 children. This includes over 158,000 adult deaths and 16,000 child deaths from HIV due to the slashing of PEPFAR.
Even without war, Trump is set to become one of the deadliest world leaders of all time.
#publichealth #trump #USAID #aids #HIV #children
Quick takes: Death toll from USAID cuts, withdrawal of chikungunya vaccine, funding for updated Ebola vaccine
A model that tracks the impact of USAID funding cuts estimates that more than 760,000 people have died as a result of those cuts since January 2025.Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
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Pintopia 2026 is LIVE! 🐾
Pledge to Soft Circuit for robot plush pals, PCB style enamel pins, circuit board bandanas, and stickers! >>
https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/czgoldedition/soft-circuit-short-circuit-1-2?ref=mastodon 🐺💚
Soft Circuit: Short Circuit 1.2
After two successful enamel pin campaigns, the Short Circuit bot boards are BACK with both a third pin installment and a soft new twist in the mix: a PLUSH version of Byte to hold and help you relax!BackerKit
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And Soft Circuit has FUNDED!! 🎉🎉🎉
The Byte plush, Earth Line bandanas, Byte pin and sticker reprints, and all the freebie designs will be produced!
Reminder to back in the first 48 hours to get a FREE Softwere pin of your own!
(via @ColesStreetPothole)
https://abc7ny.com/post/nypd-detectives-denied-treatment-disrespected-nyu-langone-health-staff-cobble-hill-brooklyn/18445210/
#ACAB
NYPD detectives say they were disrespected at NYU Langone Health after going for treatment
The detectives say they believe they were mistaken for ICE agentsN.J. Burkett (ABC7 New York)
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There is a secret police force to resist, there is fascism to fight, there are people actively being murdered by fascists who need your solidarity.
And to waste your time on Internet drama 24/7 instead is inexcusable
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The debt collection agency my spurious medical bill has been transferred to is getting desperate. They're offering reduced rates. All debt must go. Etc.
Collection agencies are bullshit. Credit ratings are bullshit. Medical debt is bullshit. The financial system is propped up by bullshit.
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@dalias
I've found that telling them to fuck off under the law is pretty effective, actually. They're scavengers. They go after low-hanging fruit. Knowledge of the law generally makes the fruit hang too high for them to bother with.
But by all means, lie. Anything which deprives them of money is okay in my book. At the moment all they're doing to me is sending me increasingly desperate texts which I'm ignoring.
Wishing everyone safety and some degree of calm in the face of weather and current events.
@Robo105 No, currently it's just +20 F = -6.7 C, with a wind chill of 10 F = -12.2 C.
Our overnight low is supposed to be -16 F (-26.7 C) with a wind chill of -34 F (-36.7 C), and tomorrow during day the actual temperature is supposed to stay below 0 F (-17.8 C) and the wind chill below -20F (-28.9 C).
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https://www.ft.com/content/b6ad9dde-d034-4cfa-a9d0-e799f8360d9d
Prediction: this is DOA just like #NEOM in #SaudiArabia
#MiddleEast is a dying region for all except the #billionaires #monarchs #oligarchs #plutocrats
Folks from that region should cut a deal with the likes of Kushner - here is our land, in return for a place in the higher latitudes in #Europe #Russia #Canada - Deal?
#climate #climatechange #climatecrisis #survival #extinction
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🚨 LAYOFF ALERT – 🌎
Shopify will lay off an undisclosed number of employees from its partnerships team as part of a restructuring announced on January 22, 2026, according to employee posts and company statements.
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Worth saying this to people out there who may not know how surge protection works:
Most “surge protectors” are not surge protectors. Not because they’re worthless, but because of a simple fact:
Most are just power strips in the same housing (dishonest, but they don’t care). Especially Amazon QUANGZSHIZZZI specials. Especially eBay (why would you buy brand-new electronics off eBay). AliExpress purchase? That’s asking for it.
Most sold online are power strips literally LYING or hoping you don’t notice or care. Most literally say “power strip” and hope you didn’t pay attention.
Even the ones at the store. Especially the ones at the store. Walmart “power strip” specials but it LOOKS like a surge protector so you think “I’m protected.” You are not.
For power strips, I do not mean “there is some protection” I mean “we rely on God and the user to ignore the label.” They’re relying on you going by shape and “it looks the part.” Like a North Korean Kim Jong-Un lookalike, not the real thing but looks convincing enough for the media.
Is it illegal? Arguably no. Nobody who matters has died yet, and people who matter don’t usually buy cheap shit. Cynical but true.
Power strips can be fine, if you know what they are and they’re reputable: copper, not protection. Same level as “I plugged it into the wall.”
The ones that DO protect you:
* Should say “surge protector” not “power strip”
* Protection can range from “robust, fail open” to “eventually fails closed or degrades or dies one day” (MOV protectors are like this) to “it might eventually blow open or just shunt a lot of current and trip the breaker eventually… or blow a fuse if it has one… or the poly fuse will trip if it has one...”
* Often won’t protect you against things like lightning (which is a bastard)
* Most rely on rare events being rare and you replacing it before you realise the sins they committed
Now what I usually say is “trust certified surge protectors and check what they are.”
As for certification:
* I prefer UL certified. UL usually means “won’t burn your house down” and “it’ll do what it says, mostly.” UL are pretty reliable and ferociously protective of their trademark. Like “they’ve shut down Chinese factories” level of protective. In store you can usually trust it. But online… “UL listed” can often be a lie. And they know you won’t check. And Amazon’s business model is less “we don’t wanna get sued” and more “caveat emptor.”
* Intertek can be good but sometimes I have seen shit certified by them that shouldn’t have been… trust but verify
* “CE” is unfortunately close to meaningless due to uneven enforcement and self-declaration
* Check reviews and listings. Always. If it’s a no-name, look it up.
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"DHS lied.🚨This guy wasn't on the loose in MN when they raided a US citizen's home w/o a warrant. He was in prison. #DHS would know this info.
In a stmt explaining Thao’s #detention, #ICE🚨officials say they were looking for 2 undoc Laotian men with criminal records, Moua & Kongmeng Vang, who they say lived w Thao. They also said Thao matched the description of those men.
Family mems said they'd no knowledge of either..."
Compare pics:
-D Bier
24/7 DHS: #LIES
#PoliceState #Evil #Protest #USPol
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No problem for the maintenance. I get it. But, using a pedonazi website as status page. eew.
#boardgames #boardGameArena #tabletop
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someone else will figure it out
does not a plan make
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TIL that there's an #openstreetmap feature that shows #fediverse instances.
Edit: Adding thanks to @jaz for making the map
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/fediverse-near-me_828094#3/46.86/-46.58
Fediverse Near Me
A curated selection of well-moderated Open Social providers that are are open for registration and serving specific countries, regions or cities. [[https://jaz.co.uk/projects/mastodon-near-me/|Project Home/Message me]] [[https://jaz.co.uMap
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bazkie 👩🏼💻 bitplanes 🎵
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Neil E. Hodges
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Daniel
in reply to Neil E. Hodges • • •every time I contemplate "upgrading" the stock exhaust on my bike, I remember it's already louder than a car exhaust.
Most car exhausts, anyway. Not the M3 that my neighbour across the road drives.
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Mira
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