Trump says Education Department will no longer oversee student loans, 'special needs'
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/21/nx-s1-5336330/trump-education-department-student-loans-special-education-fsa?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into Politics @politics-npr
βTrump talks about Canada much the way that Vladimir Putin talks about Ukraine β as a wayward province that isnβt really a country in its own right. β¦
The Toronto Star reports that Trump told Trudeau that the 1908 treaty demarcating the border between Canada and the United States isnβt valid and needs to be revised. β¦
β¦ 90 percent of Canadians oppose becoming a U.S. state.β
I just published a post about owning digital content (music, videos, podcasts and more) without spending money, on Odysee.
odysee.com/@fossery-tech:4/takβ¦
(Unfortunately it's too long to post it here on Mastodon, plus it would look like a mess without text formatting π But I'll work on an Articles section on FosseryWeb, then I'll share FosseryWeb links instead)
#DigitalContent #Ownership #Freedom #Tech #FOSS #OpenSource #FosseryTech
Take Control of Your Digitial Life - Without Spending Any Money!
View on Odysee: Take Control of Your Digitial Life - Without Spending Any Money!Odysee
myrmepropagandist reshared this.
OK but have you ever tried flying a quad like that? It's absolutely thrilling. Best use of "VR" ever.
I ran into a tree and almost died on the spot it was like being a BEE!
myrmepropagandist reshared this.
@futurebird yagi antennas could work here for directional transmission, but I'm pretty sure you'd actually have to route the wire for the antenna through the yagi, I don't think it works if you just clamp it onto the plastic shell of the existing antenna π but who knows!
At least you could look like a wicked mothperson while you playing with the FPV drone 
I think, it's just resonators to shape the beam. First guess: That should work.
I am a physicist, so I am allowed to make "educated" guesses on topics like this. π
(and I am too lazy to look this up --> not gonna really work for a social media post. I am looking for the *cheap* LOLs here)
but, I do have my doubts; they're literally clamping onto the plastic outside shell of the actual antenna, rather than the antenna itself that's likely smaller than the shell, and the conductor doesn't seem to pass all the way through, this looks more like a repurposed GPIO header? I mean maybe the plastic is partially conductive? but honestly if you want to make a proper yagi I'd make the antenna loop actually go through the whole yagiπ€
OK, I had to look it up. The directional elements on a "faltdipol" antenna (the typical terrestrial TV receiver antenna, sorry, I only know the German name), are only coupled via the field.
Could only find a German source for this in a hurry => de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagi-Udaβ¦
So, if the size of the elements is right, the contraption we see here could work, assuming the relative orientation of the original antenna element on which is it clamped is right.
If the end-fire array is not continuously aimed in the direction of the intended receiver, that does nothing useful.
Also, there has to be a conduction path between the elements.
OK I don't really know what I'm talking about. I used to build quads and do a little POV racing in the park years back. And this makes me want to do it again and none of the reasons are well thought out at all.
reshared this
EZpass (an automated toll payment system in the eastern US) is either so broke theyβve moved to a Chinese tld and Filipino phone number to send SMS threats to non-drivers, or this is a scam.
Could be either.
Hmm... I was looking into Paranoia again on the off-chance I might play it again soon... and realized that what I thought was slightly outdated (the paranoia about communist traitors without even the slightest understanding of what communism is) is eerily prescient of current right-wing talking points.
Doesn't help that the disturbing belief in the infallibility of the obviously deranged Computer, the jack booted security, the clueless technologists... all feel familiar.
TschΓΌss, USA: EuropΓ€ische Alternativen
Tuta: Turn ON privacy for free with secure emails, calendars & contacts | Tuta
Tuta guarantees your data stays private for free & without ads. Quantum-resistant encryption makes Tuta the best secure technology solution to protect your privacy.Tuta
Restraining order blocks DOGE's "unlimited access" to Social Security records.
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/20β¦
Judge orders Musk and DOGE to delete personal data taken from Social Security
Restraining order blocks DOGEβs βunlimited accessβ to Social Security records.Jon Brodkin (Ars Technica)
there is damn near a zero percent chance they will comply with this order.
At best they will pretend to do it.
Hello from instapix.org!
We are now live and open for signups.
Please help us boost the federation of this new Pixelfed instance by boosting this post.
Yours truly,
#FediverseFoundation
Piece of Old Twitter Survives: Blue Bird Logo That Hung Outside HQ Sells For $34K
The 560-pound bird logo was removed from Twitter's former headquarters in San Francisco. It's now been resold at an auction.Michael Kan (PCMag)
Today, in dystopia. This looks like it's directly lifted from a Cory Doctorow novel.
CBS News: DoorDash and Klarna partner to offer an eat now, pay later plan
"...DoorDash customers will have the option either to pay in full, to pay in four equal installments or to postpone payment to "a more convenient time, such as a date that aligns with their paycheck," DoorDash said Thursday in a news release...."
cbsnews.com/news/klarna-doordaβ¦
DoorDash and Klarna partner to offer an eat now, pay later plan
Sweden's Klarna already offers deferred payment options to Walmart shoppers and J.P. Morgan customers.Kate Gibson (CBS News)
reshared this
Hello out there!
Instapix, our self-hosted, Pixelfed-based Instagram alternative just went live!
* instapix.org π₯
Why don't drop by and check it out? 
Don't forget to boost and share the news! π
Also check out our newspost:
* fediverse.foundation/en/blog/iβ¦
All the best and have a great weekend,
Fediverse Foundation
#Instapix #Boost #FediverseFoundation #fediverse #pixelfed #Unplug #UnplugTrump #UnplugGAFAM
instapix.org
instapix.org - An image sharing service based on Pixeldfed, operated by the Fediverse Foundationinstapix.org
Hallo da drauΓen!
Instapix die von uns gehostete, auf Pixelfed basierende Instagram-Alternative, ist live!
* instapix.org π₯
Hier gibt's den Newsartikel dazu:
* fediverse.foundation/blog/instβ¦
Schaut doch vorbei und probiert es aus
Bitte auch fleiΓig boosten! π
Viele GrΓΌΓe und frohes Wochenende,
Fediverse Foundation
#Instapix #Boost #FediverseFoundation #fediverse #pixelfed #Unplug #UnplugTrump #UnplugGAFAM
instapix.org
instapix.org - An image sharing service based on Pixeldfed, operated by the Fediverse Foundationinstapix.org
Hey scuba divers! π
Someone has just set up a group for scuba diving discussion at:
β‘οΈ @scubadivers
I had a request from @tinca_tinca to feature the group as they want to get a diving community established here on the Fediverse π They will be posting in the group from time to time, and everyone is free to join in too.
(If you're unsure how groups work, there's a guide here: fedi.tips/how-to-use-groups-onβ¦)
#ScubaDiving #ScubaDivers #Diving #Divers #Underwater
How to use groups on Mastodon and the Fediverse | Fedi.Tips β An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse
An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediversefedi.tips
Although there are many stars close to the center of the Milky Way and its supermassive black hole, astronomers haven't found any of the most massive O-type stars, and very few of the less massive B-type stars. Where are all the massive stars? In a new paper, astronomers propose that there's a cloud of stellar-mass black holes within a few light-years of the center of the Milky Way. These act like a star grinder, tearing up large stars that get too close.
The star grinder in the Galactic centre. Uncovering the highly compact central stellar-mass black hole cluster
Various past theoretical considerations and observational efforts suggest the presence of a population of stellar-mass black holes in the innermost parsec of the Galactic centre.arXiv.org
21 March 1908 | A Frenchman, George Autret, was born in Paris.
In #Auschwitz from 8 July 1942.
No. 45186
Evacuated to Mauthausen in 1945. Liberated in Gusen II camp on 5 May 1945.
I was looking (for legitimate science writing reasons) for data on fecal size in relation to body mass and I discovered this, which is clearly a lockdown project that got a bit out of control:
justsomeweirdnerd.github.io/Blβ¦
And the Cosmic Shambles bunch think that I'm unreasonably obsessed with poo...
Poop Olympics - Mammals
A comic comparing the fecal dimensionalities of various mammals to answer the ultimate question: which poop is the biggest poop?justsomeweirdnerd.github.io
SpaceLifeForm reshared this.
Looks like an incomplete dataset.
Where are the Homo sapiens?
Clearly, there are many examples of the GOP subset that we know are full of shit.
Tree, Red Rock Canyon, NV, 2011.
All the pixels, none of the nature or outdoor experience, at flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/57β¦
Tree, Red Rock Canyon
22 May 2011. Red Rock Canyon, NV. The criss-crossed jet contrails in the sky are about the only clue that this is just 15 miles from civilization (or whatever Las Vegas is). Leica 21mm/1.4 Summilux lens (@ f/8), Leica M9 camera (@ ISO 160).Flickr
Matt Blaze reshared this.
This simple composition was made with a small FF mirrorless camera, 21mm lens, and travel tripod during a short hike.
I didn't have any ND filters with me, so ended up having to shoot this in the bright midday light at f/8. That yields too much DoF to allow focus to separate the tree from the background. But fortunately there was just enough haze to reduce the contrast of the distant hills a bit, yielding a high contrast subject with a lower contrast background. So it worked out in the end.
Matt Blaze reshared this.
Remembering award-winning sports journalist John Feinstein
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/21/nx-s1-5334668/remembering-award-winning-sports-journalist-john-feinstein?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into Fresh Air @fresh-air-npr
A spasmodically sieg-heilsing commercial windsock that no one can figure out how to deflate is a bit too on the nose of a metaphor for the current moment in America.
I mean, is it even a metaphor if it's just what is happening?
myrmepropagandist reshared this.
I hear people are doing a surprise-pikachu about Discord's new ad push?
arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/0β¦
Truly surprising that a *checks notes* proprietary, centralized, VC-funded platform started enshittifying the moment it gained enough market share to make it very difficult for people to flow elsewhere. π€―
Nobody saw that coming! 
Discord heightens ad focus by introducing video ads to mobile apps in June
Discord looks for more ways to make money ahead of expected IPO.Scharon Harding (Ars Technica)
What is the FOOS software that can best do what discord does? (This question also applies to Facebook Groups) Mainly making it very easy to create chat, file-sharing and posting spaces, to delegate moderation (many content creators use this "honor" masterfully ... but also in a way that makes me give them side eye about the free parasocial fueled labor)
Qualms aside is there any contender for a best replacement?
myrmepropagandist reshared this.
@futurebird best I can do is:
mstdn.social/@rysiek/114201644β¦
Whatever alternative I point to, there is going to be a million reasons people offer as to why they are not "good enough."
Proprietary, centralized, VC-funded platforms suck the air and funding out of the room, such that ethical, decentralized alternatives have huge difficulty with finding a mindshare.
Either we recognize this and make a conscious effort to support ethical tech even if it's not as slick, or we are doomed to pikachu-face.
MichaΕ "rysiek" WoΕΊniak Β· πΊπ¦ (@rysiek@mstdn.social)
Any people reading this who rely on Discord: this is your nudge to consider moving elsewhere. Where? I don't know. What I do know is that whatever alternative I suggest, you will find a myriad of reasons why it just "won't cut it.Mastodon π
from what i see people on here say: anything but Matrix
from what i see people on here do: Matrix
Go Net Speed (GoNetSpeed), speed test.
I am paying for the 2 Gbps and this is directly connected via Ethernet. Clearly, I am going to need to buy a 2.5 (or more) network card.
Wi-Fi test in next post -- Post 1 of 2
#Fiber #GoNetSpeed #FiberOptic #FiberInternet
2 of 2 - Pervious post was Ethernet, this is Wi-Fi.
GoNetspeed gave me a Nokia Beacon 10 router, which is Wi-Fi 6E. My wireless network card is made by TP-Link, and Windows reports it as an Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 160Mhz.
Oddly, when connected to Wi-Fi, my speed test suggests my upload is faster than my download. The only happens with the Wi-Fi (see previous post). π€
#Fiber #GoNetSpeed #FiberOptic #FiberInternet
MOVED to: @Linux@mastodon.au reshared this.
A bit of #FreeCADFriday action: reworking the sleeve for @MCQN_Ltd's RGB LED bollards so we can (a) switch the 3D printing orientation so the stress lines aren't along the printing layers and (b) it will be removable for when we want to mount the bollard on the back of a trike for another music video (or something)
#weeknotes #ibal251 #CAD #3DPrinting
Soon to be a SyFy Channel Movie of the Week: "Sharktopus" π
theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mβ¦
#science #news
Octopus jumps shark and goes for a ride on its back
Researchers spot orange Maori octopus clinging to back of large shark off coast of New Zealand in December 2023Marina Dunbar (The Guardian)
theregister.com/2025/03/21/nasβ¦
Good old fashioned reply-all storm, but planet wide for space agencies.
NASA's inbox goes orbital after email mishap spams entire space industry
EXCLUSIVE: A lone voice cries out from reply-all chaos: 'Someone tell DOGE to rehire whoever maintains this email list'Richard Speed (The Register)
Pretty sure they just gave Donnie a coloring book and a crayon. I bet he ate the crayon...
And yes, this is disgusting. It is also nothing but ludicrous theater.
Patrick Parenteau, Vermont Law & Graduate School #climatechange
Revoking EPAβs endangerment finding β the keystone of US climate policies β wonβt be simple and could have unintended consequences
The Trump administrationβs goal is to roll back rules limiting planet-warming greenhouse gases emissions from power plants, vehicles and oil and gas production, but it could backfire for industry.The Conversation
Jay Drake π¨π¦ β 51
in reply to *|FNAME|* π¨π¦πΊπ¦π¬π± • • •