Weekend Musings

Step by step guide on how to prove via SM photographs that you have embraced Class and crawled out of your Indian middle class origins and are ready to look down upon fellow Indians with that high society subtle and pretentious scoff and ‘OMG’!

Let’s go -

1. ‘The book I’m reading’ photograph isn’t about the book. It should have a frappe, cappuccino, anychino..basically any Barista level fancy stuff. Coz honestly neither you nor your friends understand or use French press or Colombian beans. An eatable, casually thrown around, but

make sure the label is visible. And it HAS to be some foreign brand of cookies, cheese, cake you picked up at your last Khan market visit and we’re saving for this photograph. Try Scandinavian brands. No one understands what’s written and everyone will assume it’s really fancy.

And all this should cover not more than 30-40% of space in your photograph. Rest should be of the ‘view’ of the localé which ‘ OMG I wasn’t even aiming at but it just came in picture’ kinda stuff. An opportunity to show your house, garden, hotel etc. Make sure the beverage is

in a big cup. Never China. That’s Middle class. Go for those heavy stone/ Earth shade ones that prove how you always prefer staying connected to ground but everyone know they are pretty costly at those fancy stores. You can also buy them from road side vendors and fool everyone.

The Horn-Locking Exercise: State Governors versus Herdsmen

The dangerous insecurity experienced nationwide got to a head in Ondo State with a vacation order from the government to all illegal occupiers of the State's forest reserve areas.

#EndInsecurity
@edobong_akpabio

Ondo State has been in the news for months now for the high rate of kidnapping, armed robbery, murder and callous attacks on citizens travelling on the highways, in broad daylight, by criminals hiding in the bushes and forest reserves and suspected to be herdsmen.
#EndInsecurity

The story is the same all over the country - brazen criminals, masquerading as herdsmen attacking, maiming and killing innocent people, even razing down whole communities with impunity. Farmers have been some of the hardest hit, with loss of lives and property.
#EndInsecurity

Some of the scenario described by the farmers include; farms invaded/crops destroyed and farmers kidnapped/murdered/injured in unprovoked attacks by the criminals; crops harvested illegally to feed their cattle, farms razed in arson attacks, ambush attacks, etc.
#EndInsecurity

Today, there are terrorists in the NE; bandits in the NW; kidnappers-for-ransom on the highways; & criminal herdsmen (+ others) attacking the rest of the country. In most cases, the criminals are alleged to be herdsmen of Fulani extraction, carrying AK-47 rifles.
#EndInsecurity

1.
WoLF submitted an excellent brief defending women’s rights under Title IX👇👇:

"Plaintiffs ask the Court to proclaim that women & girls are no longer a discrete category worthy of civil rights protection, but men and boys who claim to have a female ‘gender identity’ they are”

2.

If the Court rules in their favor, it will mark a truly fundamental shift in American law and policy that strips women of their Constitutional right to privacy, threatens their physical safety, undercuts the means by which women can achieve educational equality, and

3.

[...] ultimately works to erase women and girls under the law. It would not only revoke the very rights and protections that specifically secure women’s access to school athletics, but would do so in order to extend those rights and protections to men claiming to be women."

4.

"Women and girls are thus protected under the law from subjective beliefs about whether and how women should work, vote, have children or not have children, and how they ought to look and behave.

5. U.S. civil rights law recognizes the need to protect people from the subjective beliefs of others, including subjective beliefs founded on sex- stereotypes. ...In stark contrast, being ‘transgender’ depends on the continued existence of sex-stereotypes.”

Attacks on Lockdown sceptics – and me in particular – have ratcheted up recently, with one of the most aggressive critics being the Conservative MP @NeilDotObrien. I thought it was time to compose a reply.

On Monday he wrote a piece for @ConHome entitled "Trumpism in Britain. It’s time to call out those in the media who cynically feed the cranks, rioters and conspiracists".

I keep seeing people on here suggest that making fun of the neo-Nazis undermines an understanding of how dangerous they are. I disagree. I think ridiculing them is both good and necessary. A short thread:

First: ridiculing Nazis is a great American tradition:

Satire is a potent cultural weapon and has been utilized in a political context since ancient times. It serves several functions: in a scenario where it's used to skewer people in power, it's a way to speak truth to power.

In a context more like this, where it's used to ridicule a guy in a silly costume who demands organic food for his shaman diet, it serves a related but slightly different purpose. Everyone needs to understand how dangerous that guy is.

And his stated desire to assassinate members of Congress make that clear. But if you only understand that guy as emblematic of a visceral danger to both individuals and the republic, and only portray him as a grave threat, you run a different risk:

There is a lot of conflicting "information" about the TX blackouts. Here's the bottom line: the root cause of the TX blackouts is a national and state policy that has prioritized the adoption of unreliable wind/solar energy over reliable energy.

THREAD

For the last decade+ policy in TX and in the US has been focused on mandating or subsidizing as much wind and solar as possible. TX has bragged about being the biggest wind generator in the US.

The TX focus on wind has come above all at the expense of coal, which has the resiliency advantage (along with nuclear) of being able to store large quantities of fuel onsite; gas mostly requires "just in time" delivery from pipelines.

“In 2009, coal-fired plants generated nearly 37 percent of the state’s electricity while wind provided about 6 percent. Since then, three Texas coal-fired plants have closed...In the same period, our energy consumption rose by 20

Because intermittent wind and solar can always go near zero--as we saw recently in TX--they don't replace the cost of reliable power plants, they add to the cost of reliable power plants. This is why the more wind and solar grids use, the higher their electricity prices.

#NHSwhitepaper Thread:

Contrary to some of the headlines, the reforms are NOT the
‘end of privatisation’

(Will explain below)

The white paper wants to reverse legislation that mandated competitive tendering, which meant every contract had to be put out ‘to the market’....

1/

Which was a nuisance
Created unnecessary beurocracy And wasted a lot of money

This legislation was brought in under Cameron’s coalition government

(Against the advice of the unions, health think tanks, royal colleges...basically everyone)

2/

A little thread about language and #HumanRights...

Recently I shared an NHS letter (not mine) that started with the line 'The vast majority of babies are normal.' It meant 'normal' as opposed to babies born with particular conditions, including #DownsSyndrome

Regularly hearing negative language about your child is emotionally wearing. And surprisingly hard to challenge in the moment (for me anyway... which is possibly why I choose to try and challenge it by writing about it).

A fortnight before Rosa was born, a consultant explained the problem they'd spotted with her digestive system, and then went on to say "...and now I have to say something to you that's not very nice... this condition is often associated with Down's syndrome."

In hospital, nearly three weeks after Rosa was born a nurse repeatedly told me what my baby wouldn't do compared to a "normal baby".

In my first conversation with the Health Visitor her opening question was "Did you know she was going to be Downs?"

Proud Boys Out In #WashingtonDC Chants Of "Fuck Antifa"☕

Source: https://t.co/3HW3zh6cwM

More Video Of The Proud Boys In #WashingtonDC

10AM Tomorrow Proud Boy Will Meet Up Again #WashingtonDC

Proud Boy Has A Speech And A Prayer With The Group #WashingtonDC

Proud Boys Meet Up With Other Patriots In The Streets #WashingtonDC

Some thoughts on remote working...

Remote makes communication skills more critical. Some of this is valuable anyway (clarity, conciseness, logical structure) but can be compensated for with co-location. Some of this is easy with co-location but becomes difficult with remote (non-verbal cues, humanisation).

Externalise everything. People can't read your mind, especially with reduced non-verbal cues, nor can they remember everything. Get it of your head into something other people can interact with. Words and pictures, not just words. Logical structure, not just a freeform dump.

No unwritten rules (GitLab), AKA a simpler expression of Kanban's "make process policies explicit".

Distribute decision-making with decision rules/guard rails. This is an example of "no unwritten rules". At larger scales, I expect "just trust people to make good decisions" leading to either a mess or indecision.

Over the last few months through pcrclaims, a core group of lawyers, scientists and other experts have been campaigning hard for an end to PCR data inaccuracies. #PCR #PCRGATE #PCRTest

As a team, we have received nearly 1,000 stories of hardship, disappointment and tragedy. And been moved by the many people out there who are really under pressure as a result of Government policies enacted through PCR data.

So what are we doing?

Through our pro bono network or law firms and individual lawyers, we have been collating witness statements relating to personal harms, harms to children and harms to businesses for ongoing judicial reviews.

We have collectively put thousands of hours into researching, making FOI requests, talking and writing to potential claimants, writing legal letters, researching claim options and interviewing claimants and expert witnesses.

Our team behind the scenes receives and reviews filings and judgments from courts around the world - all offer us all some hope for future cases here in England. So why the delay?

When she was a child, her dream was to be an artist. She would chew her lip, and grip her crayon far too tightly as she tried to stay within the lines.

“Be practical,” her father said.

“Enjoy art in your spare time. Work hard. Then, maybe someday.”

Maybe someday. 1/

She puts on the vest that completes her uniform. At her last job she had a name badge, but not here.

Just the words “ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES” in block letters.

Her granddaughter once asked her if that meant she was saving the environment.

“Sort of, mija,” she laughed. 2/

She has been “Janitorial Staff,” “Hospital Housekeeping,” and “Cleaning Crew” over the years.

The job remains the same.

She gets the equipment ready on her cart. She is detail-oriented. Everything in its place.

The little walkie-talkie on her cart crackles to life. 3/

Her first assignment is a room cleaning.

It will be the first of many.

She is often under immense time pressure, as rooms must be cleaned before a new patient can use them.

It’s a time-consuming process, even though she has become extremely efficient at it.

Laborious. 4/

She makes her way into the elevator, maneuvering her equipment cart and the trash container on wheels.

There are two other people on the elevator. She says “good morning.”

One nods hello. The other doesn’t.

She’s learned not to expect thanks, but a hello would be nice. 5/

Mini thread on @deshaunwatson & #Texans
Because I’m reading far too much BS from national mouthpieces who want to protect the Texans and the #NFL

This idea that Watson is going about everything wrong & disrespectfully is straight BS. Let’s use common sense here /1

Many national pundits claim Watson is handling things wrong because he’s shut off communication with the Texans & allowed “his team” to leak out various items about his being disgruntled.
These same ppl say Watson should not use media but go to team & talk behind closed doors /2

That’s a very team and league serving position for these national mouths to have. Always about protecting their access to the teams and the league.
Here’s the reality. Why would you continue to have talks with someone who clearly doesn’t give a damn what you have to say? /3

Watson was nominated by his team to bring issues to ownership. One of the biggest issues was the divisiveness & mistrust created & caused by Jack Easterby. The team’s lack of direction & lack of strong leadership. Deshaun brought these issues & more to Cal McNair during season /4

Cal McNair even spoke publicly that Jack Easterby wasn’t a “football ops” guy. Understood his role was more administrative & that he wouldn’t be involved in the GM or coaching search. He told Watson that the QB would be involved in those searched. /5

COLD WEATHER ADVICE, FROM A MONTANA YOTE TO ALL MY TEXAS FRIENDS STRUGGLING RN!

1) Cotten Kills. Cotten fabrics absorb water and stay wet. Wet will make you cold. Stay as dry as possible and if any under where or socks become wet change into dry ones right away.

2) layers. Wear as many layers that is comfortable. It is much easier to stay warm than it is to warm back up.

3) close all the doors in the house and isolate to one room. Your body produces heat! Use it!

4) gas is cheeper than electricity. If the power is off-

But the gas’s is still on isolate to the kitchen, and turn on the oven! Many gas stoves can be turned on with a hand lighter. Take caution ⚠️ as you don’t want to cause a gas fire.

5) buddy up! Yes even the dog. Mammals make body heat so get all the pills and blankets and sleep-

Together. It’s -12 and no heat can be very serious. If someone dose go out make sure they remove any and all cloths with snow on them before returning to the warm blanket. NO MOISTURE!

6) tent time! Have a tent? Set it up in the living room as your new hot space with body heat

7) help yourself neighbor. These are very serious times. Covid is still ongoing so take precautions but if you know anyone who is currently living alone and low risk without power could be life threatening. Mask up and invite them in to add to your body heat It could save someone

This makes me rage:

“San Francisco is about 48% white, but that falls to 15% for children enrolled in its public schools.

For all the city’s vaunted progressivism, it has some of the highest private school enrollment numbers in the country.”

"California is dominated by Democrats, but many of the people Democrats claim to care about most can’t afford to live there.

In California, we’re often symbolically liberal, but operationally conservative."

"The median price for a home in California is more than $700,000.

The state has four of the nation’s five most expensive housing markets and a quarter of the nation’s homeless residents.

The root of the crisis is simple:

It’s very, very hard to build homes in California. "

"In Los Angeles, Mayor @EricGarcetti persuaded Angelenos to pass a new sales tax to address the city’s homelessness crisis, but the program has fallen far behind schedule, in part because homeowners fought the placing of shelters in their communities."

"@toniatkins, Dem State Senate leader, sponsored a modest bill to allow duplexes on single-family lots. It passed the Senate, and then passed Assembly in slightly amended form, and then died because it was sent back to the Senate w/ only 3 minutes left in the legislative session"