Yes to this from @b0rk! Casting a suspicious eye on passive voice is not just good a style rule for writing; it’s a general tool for good learning and good thinking. social.jvns.ca/@b0rk/114202062…
EDIT: OP deleted, apparently. It talked about how passive voice leaves out information, and avoiding it helps when investigating tech questions.
Why the words in your job posting may attract rule-bending narcissists
It may seem natural to use phrases like ‘ambitious’ or ‘think outside the box’ in job descriptions. Here’s when and why recruiters should rethink their approach.The Conversation
You know what my chainsaw looks like, or that of any working man or woman? The housing's all scratched, half the paints missing from the bar, and it's got oily sawdust everywhere.
Keine Koalition ohne Klimaschutz!
Klimaschutz ist das Fundament!
Aktion in Köln: symbolisches Fundament aus Pappkartons mit dem Schriftzug "Klimaschutz" vor dem Kölner Dom. #KlimaschutzIstDasFundament #KeineKoalitionOhneKlimaschutz
@P4FKoeln 📷 @KoelleForFuture
#RaederlesNuggetTheCat #RaederlesNoxTheCat
#CatsOfMastodon
Your first and third lines were absolutely direct quotes from Nox. The second line is a perfect representation of Nugget the orange ginger thoughts on the matter.
If you are trans (or have friends and family) in the US - be very very mindful that if your passport gender does not match your birth gender, you may have issues with US border/customs staff as your documentation could be considered 'fraudulent':
youtu.be/Vts-f_oDpwc?si=jWsW0j…
youtu.be/vmAnwVsUjQw?si=mnqrSO…
#uspassport #lgbtq #transrights
No, I Wont Be Quiet!
Another week - more drama. When will the whole crazy thing end? Who knows - but until things change I'm gonna be one of the few people on YouTube talking a...YouTube
A US judge on Monday ordered #Trump administration officials to explain whether the administration violated his order when they deported hundreds of *alleged* Venezuelan gang members over the weekend & potentially set up a constitutional clash between the president & the federal #judiciary.
#law #Constitution #14thAmendment #5thAmendment #DueProcess #immigration #CivilRights #AbuseOfPower
reuters.com/world/us/group-see…
Judge James Boasberg in Washington set a hearing for 5PM ET (2000 GMT) on Mon & instructed the govt to provide details on whether the flights that transported the #Venezuelans to #ElSalvador took off after his order or were in the air at the time.
#Constitution #14thAmendment #5thAmendment #DueProcess #immigration
Non sequitur
What was the legal jurisdiction / flag those planes were flying under?
A cruise ship under N'th flag, is under N'th legal territory, regardless of where on the planet it is.
It's why they check your passport at San Diego when you board a Norwegian flagged ship to go spend 3 days in Oregon. You step out of California, into Norway, even when that boat is still tied to the docks.
Does ICAO need to have a chat, using crayons, with Bondi?
The planes were all labeled airline GlobalX flights (Global Crossing Airlines is an American charter airline). There were only three GlobalX arrivals to El Salvador’s international airport on March 15 & 16, according to the flight tracking site FlightRadar24.
First flight tail number: N278GX
Second flight tail number: N837VA
Third flight tail number: N630VA
#law #Constitution #DueProcess #immigration #Venezuela #CivilRights #Judiciary #AlienEnemiesAct #Trump
The hearing was scheduled in response to an overnight filing by the ACLU & other advocates seeking clarity on the flights.
The rapid developments represent a potential escalation in #Trump's challenge to the US #Constitution's system of #ChecksAndBalances & the #independence of the #JudicialBranch of govt.
At an emergency hearing on Sat requested…Boasberg issued a 2wk temporary block on Trump's use of the #AlienEnemiesAct of 1798 to deport 238 alleged members of Tren de Aragua….
#law
The judge said in court that any flights already en route should return to the #US. His written order following the hearing appeared in the court's online docket at 7:26PM ET….
WH press sec Karoline Leavitt issued a stmnt on Sun denying the #Trump admin had violated Boasberg's order, while also questioning his #power to issue it:
"A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft ... full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from US soil.”
#law
The flights suggest the #Trump admin may be growing more brazen in its defiance of judicial restraint. The #US #Constitution established the #judiciary as a co-#equal & #independent branch of government.
Trump has sought to *push* [illegally expand] the boundaries of #ExecutivePower since taking office in Jan, cutting spending authorized by #Congress, dismantling #FederalAgencies & firing tens of thousands of #FederalWorkers.
On Mon, #Trump's border czar, #TomHoman, said the flights were already in international airspace when the judge's orders came & that more flights would continue.
"Once you're outside the border, you know, it is what it is. But they're in international waters, already on the way south, close to landing. You know what? ... We did what we had to do," he told FauxNews…. [The law applied to the admin’s actions who were not in international jurisdiction; idiot.]
Asked what was next, #TomHoman said: "Another flight, another flight every day."
"We're not stopping. I don't care what the judges think," he added.
With the #Republican-controlled #Congress largely backing his agenda, federal judges have often been the only constraint on #Trump, putting many actions hold while they consider their legality. In several cases, the admin has refused to comply w/judicial orders.
#law #Constitution #DueProcess #immigration #AbuseOfPower #SeparationOfPowers
When this is all over.. no matter how it ends, we will come for you #TomHoman #NotHuman
open.substack.com/pub/closerto…
AN OPEN LETTER TO TOM HOMAN
From the Editors and Writers and Staff at Closer to the EdgeCloser to the Edge
A group led by Elon Musk has shared that they have offered $97.4 billion to buy the non-profit that controls OpenAI, on Monday.
As per Reuters, the initiative is another salvo in the billionaire's fight to block the artificial intelligence start-up from switching into a for-profit firm.
gossipherald.com/news/21495-el…
Elon Musk offers $97.4 billion to buy non-profit controlling OpenAI
A group led by Elon Musk has shared that they have offered $97.4 billion to buy the non-profit that controls OpenAI, on Monday. As per Reuters, the initiative is another salvo in the billionaire's fight to block the artificial intelligence start-up..Web Desk (Gossip Herald)
Anthropic Claude just caught up with a ChatGPT feature from 2023—but will it be accurate?
arstechnica.com/ai/2025/03/ant…
R.I.P. Paul Weiss
Death by Lost Reputation will be painful.
techdirt.com/2025/03/21/paul-w…
Paul Weiss’s Shameful Surrender Makes Every Lawyer There Complicit In Trumpian Constitutional Desecration
In what may be one of the most shameful displays of institutional cowardice we’ve seen, law firm Paul Weiss has completely capitulated to Donald Trump’s ridiculously unconstitutional ex…Techdirt
Aardvark Weather
Is the software license and the data really free?
phys.org/news/2025-03-fully-ai…
#WX
Fully AI-driven weather prediction system delivers accurate forecasts faster with less computing power
A new AI weather prediction system, Aardvark Weather, can deliver accurate forecasts tens of times faster and using thousands of times less computing power than current AI and physics-based forecasting systems, according to research published in Natu…The Alan Turing Institute (Phys.org)
:goose_honk: UPDATE
:goose_honk: Papa Muscovy has returned ... he relieved mama on the nest while she went to the pond for about an hour ... pretty sure we're close to the big day 🎉
Day 25, as far as I'm aware 🐣🐣
Stay tuned for future updates :goose_honk:
Fantastic info about ducklings
👇👇👇👇
wildthingsfood.co.uk/news/the-…
#Jacksonville #Florida #Nature #Birds #Ducks #MuscovyDucks #AmateurPhotography #Pixelfed #StreetPhotography #UrbanExploration #GalaxyS23+
The secret lives of ducklings | WildThings
Click here to find out all about the secret lives of ducklingsmelanie.smith (Wildthings)
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Bogeymen And Trojan Horses: How Trump And Musk Rule
How to identify and call out Trump and Musk’s fascist tacticsThe Big Picture
This was actually the best article so far I have read on the subject.
"..and he needs to create an emergency in order to justify an iron rule...
.. Next up is a swing at the Insurrection Act to put military forces to use against his domestic enemies....
.., put down the “riots” could become his permanent way of ruling through military force instead of by the consent of the governed.
#resist #fascism
Heh...
youtu.be/8peiLVFsLdw?si=7g6Q8u…
We Will Survive
A parody song of I will Survive written about the current Tariff threats to Canada by Donald Trump Lyrics written by : Gord MoranVocals : Sonya Zaback Produ...YouTube
#KennyRogersAndTheFirstEdition
youtube.com/watch?v=IrmZFmfRvU…
Kenny Rogers & The First Edition - Ruby, dont take your love to town
Ruby, dont take your love to townMarch 2, 1972YouTube
If you are going to do more than talk, boost/repost, you need to start thinking about safety:
1: obfuscate your existing social media profiles - change your name, DOB and details over time. Decrease dependence on Meta/BlueSky/Reddit, etc.
2: get Tails OS, verify it and make a bootable USB.
3: get VeraCrypt (+VeraWipe), make a hidden encrypted volume on a new USB/SD and store some porn on the outer volume (bonus points if it will trigger fascists)
4. Always use Tor and Tails to browse and gather info / materials. (Make a 'BOK')
5. Using Tor, create a Proton Mail account and aliases. Use a separate service (Onion Mail) as a backup so that you can then make entirely new Mastodon/Lemmy accounts separate aliases for each.
6. Use extremely strong passphrases and a separate one for each account.
7. Look into meshtastic/lora devices in the 900mhz range for when/if internet and cellular comms go down.
#CanadaStrong #ElbowsUp #Never51 #Canada #opsec #protest #antifa #antifascism
Following Polestar, Lucid Courts Tesla Drivers With $2K Discount
The EV maker seeks to capitalize on anti-Musk sentiment with its new 'Conquest Offer' for Air sedans leased or purchased by March 31.Emily Forlini (PCMag)
New USPTO Memo Makes Fighting Patent Trolls Even Harder
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) just made a move that will protect bad patents at the expense of everyone else.Electronic Frontier Foundation
hazelton likes this.
reshared this
Spent time looking for smth like NetworkManager for FreeBSD 🤪. I was trying to solve the problem: when I disconnect the laptop from the Ethernet I want to autoreconnect to WiFi. So, my downloads and online videos will not be interrupted.
I even found a (dead) project to port NetworkManager to FreeBSD…
But the answer came from FreeBSD handbook — it was enough to create an interface that aggregates both Ethernet and WiFi and the system will switch between them itself!
@Remittancegirl @stephanetremblay @CatHerder @nullagent
#elbowsup #antifa #cdnpoli #canada #mexico
Permanent posting:
open.substack.com/pub/charliea…
Elbows up!
Don't travel to totalitarian regimes, you could be arbitrarily jailed, beaten, whisked away to Guantanamo Bay or a torture prison in El Salvador, or be disappeared with no rights and become a political prisoner.
#mairikkka is now such a failed state, even with the privileges of being a white Canadian.
Stay away.
No more #bluejays games in #seattle. Nothing.
Keep your people out too.
#cdnpoli #canada #mexico #fascism #antifa #elbowsup
MY WARNING TO CANADIANS: DO NOT TRAVEL TO TRUMP LAND
A Chilling New Reality at the BorderCharlie Angus / The Resistance
This weeks #Lego #FossilFriday is #Carcharodontosaurus
In 1924, two teeth were found in Algeria. Those teeth were eventually given to French geologist Charles Depéret.
In 1925, Depéret and Justin Savornin described the teeth as Megalosaurus saharicus
In 1927, it was reclassified (wrongly) as Dryptosaurus.
In 1931, a skeleton found in 1914 was finally described by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer which he named Carcharodontosaurus saharicus, synonymizing previous fossils.
Building a Handheld Pong Game
hackaday.com/2025/03/21/buildi…
Building A Handheld Pong Game
Pong was one of the first video games to really enter the public consciousness. While it hasn’t had the staying power of franchises like Zelda or Call of Duty, it nonetheless still resonates …Hackaday
Get ready, #Canada. You know Musk is going to throw everything he has into ratfucking our federal election. #ElbowsUp!
#CDNPoli #CanPoli #CDNElxn2025
From: mastodon.social/@verge/1142015…
The Verge (@verge@mastodon.social)
Elon Musk is paying voters again ahead of the Wisconsin Supreme Court election https://www.theverge.com/news/633834/elon-musk-paying-voters-petition-wisconsin-supreme-court-raceMastodon
Via the #CalgayHerald, Mar 07, 2025
An expert on #insurgency says an American military incursion into #Canada would be a disaster — for the #UnitedStates.
A military move by President Donald #Trump could eventually destroy America’s worldwide power, says Dr. Aisha Ahmad, an associate professor at the University of #Toronto.
calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu…
Braid: Invading Canada would spark fight lasting decades, expert says
Expert says President Donald Trump would make a huge mistake if he invades Canada. U.S. world dominance would be destroyedcalgaryherald
Choosing an enemy that blends right in with you would be a complete disaster.
lime!
in reply to Paul Cantrell • • •Paul Cantrell
in reply to lime! • • •@lime I’d say that in modern English genderless singular “they” is preferable for an unknown / generic person, for a variety of reasons.
Passive voice can sound old-fashioned, stuffy, vaguely like you’re hiding something — though it remains stubbornly common in scientific writing.
This isn’t a recent change, but guides do often lag usage The MLA has approved this singular “they” for decades now, FWIW, and their guide is good to my eyes: style.mla.org/using-singular-t…
lime!
in reply to Paul Cantrell • • •you actually just retriggered a memory for me.
sometime in my teens (early 2000s) one of the shows i'd watch on discovery, "how it's made", switched over from passive voice to using the "they" form and the programme just started feeling like it was talking down to the audience and to this day i can't explain why.
instead of saying "the dingle is carefully florped", it started using "they carefully florp the dingle" even when nobody was involved in a fully automatic process. it felt like a dumbing-down of the language, and to my ESL ears it started to grate.
now, i've read the reasoning behind avoiding passive voice in a scientific context and to a large part i agree that it should be avoided when the style requires clarity and detail. however, the difference in prosaic flow feels significant, at least to me, and i'm always hesitant to use active voice when describing processes that are meant to be transparent to users (in instruction manuals and such).
Mandar Vaze (desipenguin)
in reply to Paul Cantrell • • •Paul Cantrell
in reply to Mandar Vaze (desipenguin) • • •Oops, sorry, deleted post!
Jencel Panic
in reply to Paul Cantrell • • •@mandarvaze old conversation.
The advice to avoid the passive voice dates back to 1918:
"The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive:"
(source "THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE" - orwell.ru/library/others/style…)
As any rule, there are exceptions, but with all else being equal, active voice is preferred (see what I did there 😀).
Oliver Strunk: 'The Elements of Style'
www.orwell.ru