I really do not wish to write the words necessary to describe what I think about those MPs.

I really do not wish to write the words necessary to describe what I think about those MPs. But I'd like to suggest a sanity check for each of them.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nuclear-waste-national-parks-radioactive-aonb-energy-lake-district-beis-a8470376.html

Popcorn! Anyone without popcorn?

Popcorn! Anyone without popcorn?
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/31/donald-trump-koch-brothers-total-joke-north-dakota-heitkamp

Via The Dude

Via The Dude

Originally shared by melanie Lee (Scarlet red)

Look, we have a visitor...

Look, we have a visitor...
#notmycat

What? Someone uses facts and logic to tell us why we should stop being hysteric and calm down instead? How dare you!

What? Someone uses facts and logic to tell us why we should stop being hysteric and calm down instead? How dare you!

What if all that journalistic energy had been devoted to the complex nuances of the ongoing U.S. national crises in education and health care and infrastructure, not to mention the ultra sensitive and yet somehow perennially neglected issue of racial injustice ?
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-dangerous-putins-russia-27046

Been partying too long, Gigi?

Been partying too long, Gigi?

It's good to see some Culture on the seas:

It's good to see some Culture on the seas:

SpaceX currently operates another drone ship, named Just Read the Instructions, on the West Coast for launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. All three are named after spacecraft featured in Scottish author Iain M. Banks' "Culture" novels.

If you don't know what this is about: Don't ask, read!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture_(series)
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2018/07/28/elon-musk-spacex-next-florida-drone-ship-shortfall-gravitas-probably-ready-next-year/854812002/

Sounds familiar...

Sounds familiar...

Originally shared by Ricky Graham

I must be living on a different planet: What is described in the article and allegedly new and only possible with...

I must be living on a different planet: What is described in the article and allegedly new and only possible with Amazon's own music service is something I've been doing for a while with Spotify and an Echo Dot.

I can play music directly on the Dot and then on the phone switch that music to the phone - or I can do it the opposite way. This may not exactly be casting, because the music comes from the service, Spotify, not my phone, but the result is the same. (And Amazon Prime Music works the same way.)

This is actually pretty convenient, because I can switch music to the phone when I leave the house, so I can continue on earphones and when I get home I just switch back to the speaker.

So, am I missing something?
https://www.androidauthority.com/amazon-music-cast-alexa-889993/

Hahaha!

Hahaha!

No wonder that there is no portrait of Trump: His followers don't have the USD 10k the portrait costs and the people who might be able to donate wouldn't...
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/399310-putin-portrait-was-put-in-colorado-capitol-where-trumps-was

Has been for a long time, currently going up again...

Has been for a long time, currently going up again...
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/asia/2018-07-27/storm-brewing-taiwan-strait

Tricky...

Tricky...

Originally shared by Robert Partridge

You're welcome.

Israel, what are you up to?

Israel, what are you up to?

First you reject Syrian refugees, civilians who simply ran away from war.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-civil-war-israel-army-idf-refugees-border-crossing-guards-deraa-golan-heights-a8453496.html

Then you help evacuating "hundreds" (or rather 98) of "White Helmets", even including their families, which is strange, seeing that they apparently didn't take up arms, so why run when even FSA fighters simply surrendered or switched sides.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/22/world/middleeast/israel-white-helmets-syria.html

And then you shoot down a Syrian jet fighting ISIS (who apparently still are a problem, seeing they just killed more than 200 people), simply because the plane allegedly strayed into your air space - although it crashed inside Syria. So, you are aware that you are helping ISIS, yes?
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/24/middleeast/israel-syrian-fighter-jet-intl/index.html

I wonder what would happen if the next IDF jet bombing Syrian territory gets shot down, because it was definitely not straying.
https://www.newsweek.com/israel-bombs-syria-stop-refugees-fleeing-europe-netanyahu-977123

A list of companies that have been affected because they named Taiwan a country. Interestingly, Costco did not bow.

A list of companies that have been affected because they named Taiwan a country. Interestingly, Costco did not bow.
#taiwan
http://uk.businessinsider.com/which-companies-have-changed-taiwan-description-china-2018-7/#audi-1

We have a number of stray cats around here and somehow I must have gotten a kind of reputation among them.

We have a number of stray cats around here and somehow I must have gotten a kind of reputation among them. A red cat who became somehow friendly with me brought her four kitten around some time ago and tonight another one came trailed by five little felines, among them this very small fellow who was so busy munching that mom's calls went unheard...

Bullying, state level

Bullying, state level
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/25/us-airline-taiwan-references-erased-china

German Bushism, the Kate variety

German Bushism, the Kate variety

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa1NiXk132s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa1NiXk132s

Size it up!

Size it up!

Why are people in the US more worried about attacks by Muslims than by white people? Because those by Muslims get way more coverage...

I wish someone would make a similar study for Germany...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/20/muslim-terror-attacks-press-coverage-study
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/20/muslim-terror-attacks-press-coverage-study

About time.

About time. We had routing for cars first, then bicycles, but I never saw motorcycles, which are different from the other two.

The article speaks of narrow lanes and alleys not accessible by car, but the main point here in Taiwan is that motorized two-wheelers are considered a second- or third-grade matter of transportation, which means they are not allowed on freeways and expressways.

A bicycle is actually more flexible than a motorcycle here, because a bicycle can go everywhere a motorcycle can go, but not vice versa. There is however the drawback of speed...

My Venox can exceed the highest speed limits on this island, but is still not allowed on the freeway. (Standard reason: Dangerous!) I just checked the new feature for my way to work: By car the distance is 102km, by bike 104km, but while the car needs 72 minutes going mostly on the freeway, it's twice that time on two wheels - and that is just theory, without red lights etc.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/google-maps-for-motorcycles/

Ouch...

Ouch...
https://youtu.be/dNF6sVurAuI

2-8-6

2-8-6

After two years of fooling around the UK government finally has a proposal to present to the EU, who needs eight minutes to shred it to pieces. Now six weeks are left to come up with something else.

What are the chances that something meaningful will surface within six weeks that didn't happen in two years? Anyone? Anyone?

Brexit - how to shoot yourself in the foot multiple times while loudly claiming to give a public safety demonstration.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/theresa-may-brexit-michel-barnier-brexit-a8456806.html

In the 80s and 90s we had LCD-clock-all-the-things and solar-calculator-all-the-things.

In the 80s and 90s we had LCD-clock-all-the-things and solar-calculator-all-the-things. More recently RGB LED were all the rage, now it is voice control.

Don't get me wrong, I love voice control - where it makes sense. IMHO a computer fan is not one of those places.

Cooling expert Thermaltake has announced the next logical progression from RGB-all-the-things: Fans which link to Amazon's Alexa voice assistant service..
https://www.bit-tech.net/news/thermaltake-announces-alexa-linked-case-fans/1/

"These things happen."

"These things happen."

This is so sad: The UK is not only suffering from the xenophobia that is feeding Brexit, misogyny seems to have risen with it...
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/ukip-councillor-murder-latest-stephen-searle-domestic-violence-extramarital-affairs-nigel-farage-a8453121.html

The new railway station in Taichung is very different from the old one.

The new railway station in Taichung is very different from the old one. I wonder how the whole place will look like when it is completed.

After leaving old Motorola DSPs behind, I am now moving among old Motorola CPUs...

After leaving old Motorola DSPs behind, I am now moving among old Motorola CPUs...

Ingenious: Without saying a word, the Queen made a number of statements during Trump's visit.

Ingenious: Without saying a word, the Queen made a number of statements during Trump's visit. And her insensitive visitor surely didn't notice any of it.

https://twitter.com/SamuraiKnitter/status/1018570246037352449
https://twitter.com/SamuraiKnitter/status/1018570246037352449

Pay wall warning

Pay wall warning

Dear UK, I would like to help you save £30m. My suggestion: You give me £10m and scrap this plan.

First of all, it is not "Scalextric style" if it is wireless. Slot cars are wired. Secondly, wireless charging is OK for devices with low capacity that can be brought close to the charger, but not for electric cars. Why?

My phone has a relatively large battery with 16Wh, many have less. Serious cars start at 60kWh, 4000x the capacity. That's an enormous electromagnetic field you want to create.

Electromagnetic fields have an interesting property: The field strength is depending on the distance between sender (charger) and receiver (device), but not linearly! Field strength is the square root of the distance. That means, if the receiver gets 1V at a distance of 1m, it will be 0.25V at a distance of 2m. You can of course use centimeters instead of meters, the principle is the same. In short: If you don't get real close (= touch), you are losing efficiency, wasting energy. You waste anyway with wireless, but even more with distance.

And there we come to the last point. Not a physics issue, a financial. We live in societies where almost everything needs to be paid for. How do you want to bill drivers for charging on roads? Your chargers are always on, no matter if cars are there or not. You could use sensors to turn them off after a while of inactivity, but not between cars. You cannot measure how much energy a car consumed, only how much you put out, you don't know the efficiency.

And that problem applies even in car parks, where you can exactly know who is where and for how long: You still don't know how much the car did indeed receive, only how much you put out. And which driver would be stupid enough to pay the same as the driver of the next car, but only get a quarter of what the other guy gets?

So, better give me £10m and put the other £30m into NHS, they will need that money.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/scalextric-style-roads-to-power-electric-cars-3psgjjk0g

Please remember this the next time you hear, read or want to talk about Bitcoin or any other of those crypto...

Please remember this the next time you hear, read or want to talk about Bitcoin or any other of those crypto currencies that people are "mining"...

Originally shared by Kristian Köhntopp

Bitcoins energy use, however much it currently really is, is doubling every 6 months, and that is not only unsustainable. It's also currently erasing all progress that we have made in using non-fossil energy sources.
https://grist.org/article/bitcoins-energy-use-got-studied-and-you-libertarian-nerds-look-even-worse-than-usual/

Bow before me!

Bow before me!

This apparently happens when you do a vertical panorama...

I found an interdimensional portal, unfortunately it is protected by a barrier...

I found an interdimensional portal, unfortunately it is protected by a barrier...

Face it, Duterte, the people don't like your brown-nosing.

Face it, Duterte, the people don't like your brown-nosing. You are only "strong" when you hit your own people, but really soft when you talk to officials from China. Your people noticed that...
https://m.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2154978/banner-declaring-philippines-province-china-appears-manila?amp=1

Some people take their pet peeves obsessions quite far...

Some people take their pet peeves obsessions quite far...

#taiwan
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/07/10/apple_taiwan_filter_iphone_crash/

Some people take their pet peeves obsessions quite far...

Some people take their pet peeves obsessions quite far...
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/07/10/apple_taiwan_filter_iphone_crash/

In front of Schönhauser Arkaden mall

In front of Schönhauser Arkaden mall

#berlin #柏林

#berlin #柏林

#berlin #柏林

This beauty is for hire, standing at the Brandenburg gate in Berlin.

This beauty is for hire, standing at the Brandenburg gate in Berlin.

#berlin

哈哈：離我媽不遠的地方果然有台灣的飲料店，賣台灣典型的飲料。他們也正確翻 名稱：在很多地方有“bubble milk tea"，但這其實應該是泡沫奶茶。珍珠奶茶是 Pearl milk tea。

哈哈：離我媽不遠的地方果然有台灣的飲料店，賣台灣典型的飲料。他們也正確翻名稱：在很多地方有“bubble milk tea"，但這其實應該是泡沫奶茶。珍珠奶茶是Pearl milk tea。

這裡也可以選甜度，不過沒有標“微糖”，所以直接問能不能做：可以。而且，我們有測試一下，直接用華語點：可以。不是每個人很懂，我要細的吸管的時候(我喝奶茶，但他們給我珍奶的吸管。)，我必須問幾次。

不過，速度比任何台灣的飲料店慢…

#柏林

I think all the companies who based their ads on the German football team may have been expecting a better result.

I think all the companies who based their ads on the German football team may have been expecting a better result. It's rather funny to see those ads now.

#berlin

Ahem, come again? Are those shoes that can walk on water or those that can't?

Ahem, come again? Are those shoes that can walk on water or those that can't?

#berlin

Via Maia Legazpi

Via Maia Legazpi

Originally shared by Eduardo Ramirez

Currywurst at Konnopke - mmm...

Currywurst at Konnopke - mmm...

#Berlin

This is where glasses go to die...

This is where glasses go to die...

Flea market Mauerpark ("Wall Park"), Berlin

Via Neil Carvin

Via Neil Carvin

Originally shared by Jamez Frondeskias

Sunday is flea-market day in Berlin. No other stores are open, so people flock to these markets...

Sunday is flea-market day in Berlin. No other stores are open, so people flock to these markets...

Mmmm... Steamed yeast dumplings with blueberry sauce - haven't had these for a while.

Mmmm... Steamed yeast dumplings with blueberry sauce - haven't had these for a while.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I was not at BER, I was at TXL. But it was nice to see someone tried to reduce the waste that is BER by reusing some of its items at other airports.

After all, BER has not been opened since 2013 (When it should have opened first.) and will not open until 2020. That is the current opening estimate, which has already been rendered impossible due to new problems, but the people running the project have so far been unable to provide a new estimate.

#ber #txl

You really need to know German if you want to go to Berlin.

You really need to know German if you want to go to Berlin. For starters, when you arrive at the (international) airport Tegel as a non-EU citizen, you will need to find the immigration queue for "all passports" - which is only displayed in German...

You also better not be in a hurry: When we arrived in a 787 with about 2/3 non-EU citizens, there was one (1) counter processing those people, which took more than an hour. After about one hour a (Gasp!) second counter was opened...

#txl #berlin #tegel

Well, looks like we are off to a good start. Scoot is trying really hard not to see passengers again...

Well, looks like we are off to a good start. Scoot is trying really hard not to see passengers again...

Hey hey, she saved the world today

Hey hey, she saved the world today,
Everybody's happy now the good thing's here to stay...

There are btw more musicians with academic credentials who could be considered for such positions. How about someone with a PhD in astrophysics...?

https://youtu.be/Zf052uxFF58

Via Josain Zsun

Originally shared by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU)

Royal Academician, singer songwriter, highly-respected social activist and philanthropist, Dr Annie Lennox OBE is to become the new Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University.

Annie said: “It is truly a remarkable honour to be invited to become Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University. I am humbled by it, and intend to serve this outstanding institution in the very best way I can. Following in the footsteps of such an exemplary individual as Muhammad Yunus is somewhat daunting, but I’m very much looking forward to working with everyone in a collaborative way, so I can be of good value to the students and the establishment of the University.”

https://www.gcu.ac.uk/newsroom/news/article/index.php?id=249182
https://www.gcu.ac.uk/newsroom/news/article/index.php?id=249182

USD16/100g...

USD16/100g...

Line, a messenger quite popular in Asia, just asked me to agree on their updated privacy policy - including sharing...

Line, a messenger quite popular in Asia, just asked me to agree on their updated privacy policy - including sharing my information for marketing purposes. Continued use is only possible after agreeing to all three items.

Luckily they only have my phone number, no other information regarding my person (contacts excluded). It's interesting how directly they mention marketing, usually something like this would be hidden or very nicely phrased...

Congratulations, Line, now you suck not only technically...

This is expensive chocolate: 100g cost almost USD 16… Photo was taken at Miyahara Ice Cream in Taichung.

This is expensive chocolate: 100g cost almost USD 16… Photo was taken at Miyahara Ice Cream in Taichung. (Yes, they also sell a few other things.)

Hahaha!

Hahaha!

Pay wall, just enjoy the headline...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/06/30/no-surrender-mrs-may-eu-weak-britain-strong/