COVID tests
I've finally worked out why I've never been "randomly" chosen for a COVID test by the Zoe app when so many of my friends have been tested multiple times.
It's because it's not random at all. They only send tests to people reporting vaguely COVID-like symptoms within the app. (Seems like everybody but me already knew this!)
welsh police violence / death of black person / crowdfunding
This is the GoFundMe page for Mohamud Mohammed Hassan, who died after receiving many severe injuries while in police custody in Cardiff. The family is looking for money to pay for legal fees because the police are currently saying there was no misconduct.
Donation link:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-and-serve-justice-for-mohamud-hassan
Further context:
http://leejasper.blogspot.com/2021/01/black-man-dies-after-being-violently.html
I'm thinking we should start a hashtag for calming photos of moss.
How does #Mosstodon sound to you all? π Come join us! π±
Here's another photo, for luck! π
A long shot, because Masto seems to be a magical place where long shots work: does anyone want old copies of Cycling UK magazine from the past few years? Will post (within the UK) if you either refund me the postage or donate the equivalent to a charity of your choice.
Otherwise I'll just put them in the recycling.
Pandemic social isolation provides glimpse into the everyday realities of chronically ill patients
The COVID-19 pandemic is teaching the world a lesson in empathy for those who have had to social distance long-term
https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2020/12/pandemic-social-isolation-provides-glimpse-into-the-everyday-realities-of-chronically-ill-patients
It's hopeful reading this. Though I'm still scared that once things get back to "normal" people will quickly forget and think we are being lazy and having a fun time housebound. It will go back to "It's nice for some" when we answer the door in our PJs.
big tech, creepy behaviour
But as all my social groups reassemble themselves over on Signal, it has been a bit unsettling to discover that so many WhatsApp groups have members I never even knew about because they didn't introduce themselves when I joined and have been completely silent for the months I've been a member.
I suppose it's a timely warning to be careful what you say, even amongst friends, because you never know who's listening.
But also: why do this? At best, it's the kind of laziness that makes extra work for yourself: you CBA leaving a group so you just put up with endless notifications that you ignore. At worst, it's fucking creepy. Silently following other people's conversations knowing that they don't even realise you're there.
big tech
The process of getting people to switch from WhatsApp to Signal has proved much easier than I expected. I thought it would be the same level of difficulty as trying to persuade people to give a shit about climate change, but it's been almost as easy as telling colleagues there's free cake in the break room and inviting them to help themselves. Practically a stampede.
labor idea that I am sure has been thought up before but I don't know where
We just need like an unemployed union to like fight for fairer interview practices and help people get by while unemployed so they don't feel compelled to take the first job that gives them an offer even if its a bad place for them.
We can let everybody be in it and pay some kind of income to all the members to help with the basics.
Cross-posting from birdsite. The Leopards Eating Faces Party has been around for some time...
A roman mosaic depicting a Leopard eating the face of a condemned man. 3rd century AD, now on display at the El Djem Archaeological Museum in Tunisia.
(From: https://t.co/Xz79gZF4OP )
the other day someone posted a really beautiful beetle to /r/whatsthisbug and i had to draw it as a dress. cw bug https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthisbug/comments/kri3i5/found_such_a_pretty_bug_today_does_anyone_know/
COVID, lockdown, a bit depressing
This lockdown feels so different from the first one. Cars everywhere. We talk about "lockdown fatigue", but I think it goes deeper than just being tired of the whole thing. I think British people have lost the sense that what they do makes any difference.
Hundreds of psychological studies have shown that results and feedback are motivating, while not seeing any results is deeply demotivating. Well, we've changed the way we live, we've trashed the economy, we've stayed away from loved ones and we're still hitting record numbers of cases. No wonder people are feeling like there's no point.
I don't know what the answer is. I don't know how you get the public to un-learn the lesson that making the effort isn't worth it.
PayPal dispute resolution
Just had my first experience of using the PayPal Buyer Protection service. Hmmm.
I don't think they make it clear enough that your initial message will be sent just to the seller you have a problem with, and that PayPal won't look into it until you've gone through that step.
They make it clear that the other party will see your message, but not that PayPal won't. So I put together a statement of what's happened and added my unanswered emails to the seller as evidence...but what was the point of that when it was being sent directly to the seller? They've already seen and ignored those exact emails!
Hopefully I can move on to the next step soon and actually get PayPal involved and reclaim my money.
Living in Cardiff, interested in fighting climate change and creating a more liveable world.
Pronouns: she/her
Age: 42 -1