social media

  • President promises penguins

    The disgraced former 45th and current disgraceful 47th President of the United States, adjudicated sexual predator, condemned business fraudster, convicted felon and compulsive liar, one Donald John Trump (who is on a personal quest to Make America Grate Again or something similar. Ed.), has never been renowned for his intellectual prowess. This, plus his overweening narcissism, means that for his second spell of squatting in the Oval Office, he has surrounded himself with sycophantic staff who will not embarrass him mainly because they are just as stupid as their boss, if not more so.

    This stupidity was again on display yesterday on the White House social media accounts, with a post based on the lonely penguin meme from the Werner Herzog film Encounters at the End of the World. The meme features footage of a lone Adélie penguin wandering away from its colony in Antarctica and was posted in connection with the Tangerine Tyrant’s obsession with acquiring Greenland from Denmark, an ambition which has provoked both a consumer boycott (posts passim) and demonstrations in both Denmark itself and Greenland.

    Here’s what White House staffers embarrassed themselves and the entire Trump regime with yesterday.

    Under the caption embrace the penguin' a penguin carrying a US flag walks hand in hand with Donald Trump across a snowy mountainous landscape with a red and white Greenland flag on the left flank of the mountains

    Needless to say the image was produced with the aid of Artificial Ignorance, otherwise abbreviated to AI.

    Moreover, it goes without saying that the post attracted extensive mockery online. Here’s an example.

    Reworking of White House image, but featuring tRump in a clown outfit

    However, this criticism overlooks one vital fact; The Donald’s importing of penguins to Greenland is a far better use of US tax dollars than towing Greenland down to the southern polar region to enable it to be populated by penguins! 😀

  • Security and wearable animals

    A number of years ago, wearable technology looked set to become all the rage.

    Mention of it has declined noticeably in recent years. When, for instance, was the last time you heard of or encountered, say, Google Glass?

    On the other hand, wearable animals – or parts of animals – have a history that extends back into prehistory, in particular that epoch known as the Palaeolithic, the longest period in human history.

    Nevertheless, the manners in which animals or their parts have been used have adapted over the millennia in response to technological changes and development.

    A recent example of such an adaptation is shown below. It cropped up in your correspondent’s social media timeline today, although a reverse image search indicates it might have originated a couple of years ago.

    Social media post reads Please ensure you have your identity badger at all times. Below is a photo of a notice worded Security notice - All Employees Must Wear ID Badgers When Entering
    Why Is The First Letter of Each Word Capitalised?

    Are other identity animals available? Comment below.

  • A few corrections from Merriam Webster

    Shamelessly lifted from social media, Merriam-Webster is making an effort to remedy the modern vicious circle (not cycle. Ed.) of misquoted adages.

    Post reads This is coming from a place of love andnsupport, but...
It’s ‘shoo-in, not ‘shoe-in?
It’s ‘case in point; not ‘case and point’
It’s ‘moot point, not ‘mute point’
It’s ‘hunger pangs, not ‘hunger pains’
It’s ‘jibe with, not ‘jive with.
    One stands corrected

    Merriam-Webster describes itself as “America’s most trusted dictionary“. It’s also the USA’s oldest dictionary publisher, whose presses first started producing reference books in 1843, according to Wikipedia.

    Your ‘umble scribe hopes the company’s efforts are not in vain, as language skills generally seem to be declining. 🙁

  • A message to Donald

    Your ‘umble scribe is unaware how many times a week – if any – the disgraced former 45th president and current disgraceful 47th president of the United States of America, insurrectionist, convicted felon, adjudicated sexual predator, business fraudster, congenital liar and golf cheat commonly known as Donald John Trump (who is on a mission to Make America Grate Again or something similar. Ed.) catches either a number 77, 87, 196, 452 or N87 from the bus stop at London’s Nine Elms Underground station, but it will do his narcissistic personality disorder no good at all.

    The poster below has this week appeared at the bus stop in response to the USA’s attack on Venezuela and kidnapping of its president, Nicolás Maduro, earlier this week.

    Of course, having the US military at one’s control does mean that The Donald, as commander-in-chief of the US armed forces, is able to call on their members to indulge in the ultimate ‘look over there‘ tactics when required to distract from his embarrassing local difficulties caused by his long-term friendship with the late American financier, human trafficker, child sex offender and serial rapist Jeffrey Epstein, as the thousands of documents known as the Epstein files slowly make their redacted way into the public domain and which he and his sycophantic subordinates seem very reluctant to release, despite the existence and imperative of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, not to mention the Tango Terrorists campaign trail promise to release the files.

    Poster reads No matter how many countries you invade, you'll still be a nonce
    There’s an old adage that says you can tell a man by the company he keeps.

    Before we end, a quick translation from EN-GB for any American readers. You will not find the definition of nonce as used above in a standard American dictionary; you’ll need a British one. It’s British prison slang to denote a person who commits a crime involving sex, especially sex with a child. This definition is taken from the Cambridge online English Dictionary.

    Which country will tRump invade next as a distraction from his next scandal? Have your say in the comments.

  • A chilly morning in Barton Hill

    Yesterday the regular Barton Hill community litter pick took place on its usual day – the first Saturday of the month.

    It was a cold but fine morning with a ferocious wind chill factor, so wrapping up warm was essential.

    In addition, we had our best turn-out for a while with six hardy volunteers showing up outside the Wellspring Settlement.

    Some of the crew at the end of the pick.
    Some of the litter pickers and their haul.

    Overall, we picked for an hour and a quarter, with the areas covered including Ducie Road, Morley Street, Cobden Street, the Urban Park, Strawbridge Road and Tichbourne Road.

    A good haul of both recyclable materials and landfill were removed, 4 and 5 bags respectively, in addition to which we collected a few bulky items – suitcase, printer/scanner and broken furniture – for removal by Bristol Waste.

    Whilst working around the area, we also identified other matters that needed further attention (e.g. scruffy public open space) by either the council or Bristol Waste (e.g. properties that needed help with waste management and/or recycling).

    After finishing most of us returned to the Settlement to tea and biscuits, with 2 cuppas proving to be the minimum dose for unfreezing fingers.

    February’s pick will be on Saturday 7th February. Note it in your diaries!

    In the meantime, if you see fly-tipping, any other environmental crime or something that needs fixing, you can report it to Bristol City Council here, otherwise central government’s GOV.UK site has a handy page to find your local authority in England, Scotland and Wales and notify it of such problems.

  • The seven deadly sins in the tech age

    According to the Catholic version of Christianity, there are seven deadly sins, i.e. pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. Although they are not explicitly listed in the Bible, they developed within early Christian theological tradition. Furthermore, Psychology Today speculates that their origins ‘are nebulous and likely trace back to before Hellenistic Greece‘, even though if offers no source for such an assertion. All evidence of their orin tends to point to the early Christian era and more specifically Evagrius Ponticus, a monk in fourth century Egypt.

    These seven transgressions are also known as cardinal sins, although whether this alternative naming is derived from the sinning scarlet-garbed clergy committing them is not well documented. This naming is likely derived from the other definition of cardinal, i.e. fundamental, of the greatest importance (think the cardinal points of the compass. Ed.).

    Anyway, a new revision of the seven deadly sins has been posted on social media updated for the early 21st century and it bears a distinctly technological character.

    Graphic showing modern tech expressions of the seven deadly sins - Lust by Only Fans, gluttony by Uber Eats, greed by Bitcoin, sloth by Netflix wrath by x/Twitter and envy by Instagram.

    Is this an accurate rendition? Have your say below in the comments.

  • Hell redefined

    Does hell exist?

    Most dictionaries – including Merriam-Webster – provide several definitions, including the following two which describe places that can be either real or imaginary:

    1. a nether world in which the dead continue to exist;
    2. a place or state of misery, torment, or wickedness.

    The second definition may or may not be connected with the first.

    These to have now been joined by a third – the current United States of America – courtesy of social media. Someone known as Vee posted the following on the federated Mastodon network yesterday.

    1am 76 years old. | have lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the JFK assassination, the Vietnam War, the Turmoil of 1968, Watergate, the Hostage Crisis, two oil crisis [sic], disco, Reaganomics, 9/11. The covid pandemic....These past 11 months have been easily the most miserable era in America in my lifetime. The hatred, the bigotry, the lies, the racketeering and pedophilia are beyond anything I have ever seen. We are not going to hell as a nation. We are IN hell.
    The burning coals background is a neat touch.

    Yes, you read that correctly, Vee believes hell on earth has been created by the second term regime (not administration. Ed.) of the disgraceful 47th and disgraced 45th president of the United States, insurrectionist, convicted felon, adjudicated sexual predator, business fraudster, congenital liar and golf cheat commonly known as Donald John Trump.

    That is an exhaustive list of calamities that have occurred in the world in the life of your average seventy-something. However, is the perceptive Vee being too hard on disco? Have your say in the comments below.

  • Meta must grant EU users full access to their data

    New logo as Facebook morphs into MetaAustria’s Der Standard reports that Meta, the parent company of both Facebook and Instagram, must grant European Union users full access to all their personal data within 14 days. The Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) ruled so on Thursday 19th December, according to the Vienna-Based data protection organisation noyb. The lawsuit was filed in 2014 by noyb founder Max Schrems.

    Schrems, an Austrian lawyer and data protection activist, started attempting to gain full access to his personal data stored by Meta in 2011. According to a press release from noyb, the company merely referred those affected to a “download tool” and its general privacy policy.

    14 days term

    According to a press release from the data protection authorities, the OGH has now ruled that Meta must disclose all personal data and provide information about this data, such as the source, recipients and purpose of the processing, within 14 days – i.e. by 31st December 2025.

    The court also found that Meta had unlawfully collected data from third-party apps and websites, according to a press release. Personalised advertising may only be shown with the explicit consent of the individuals concerned. Meta must also ensure that sensitive data is not processed together with other data.

    The case was heard three times before the OGH and twice before the European Court of Justice over the past eleven years. Schrems has been awarded €500 in compensation.

    Situation has changed

    Meta has told Reuters that it had taken note of the ruling. However, it referred to the situation as it existed at the time the lawsuit was filed. Meta stated that it no longer uses sensitive data for personalised advertising. EU users can now also use Facebook and Instagram for free with personalised or less personalised advertising or pay a subscription to prevent their data from being used for advertising purposes.

    In December 2025 the EU competition authorities approved Meta’s proposal to use less personal data under this pay-or-consent model.

  • ‘Tis the season to be triggered

    For some reason beyond the wit of any rational person, a religious festival celebrating the birth two millennia ago of a man who advocated peace and love seems to call forth a wave of hate and bile from those on the right of the political spectrum, who become more than usually scathing, either bleating that the traditional festival has been cancelled or railing against alleged political correctness.

    One of those who has taken to social media to vent her anger is one Susan Mary Hall, leader of the Conservative group in the Greater London Authority‘s London Assembly.

    Post reads: Look at this nonsense- NO - they are gingerbread men!!!

    Note in particular the use of not one, but three exclamation marks. As for the biscuits being of a male persuasion, I see no evidence of genitalia in their depiction on the packet, Ms Hall!

    Neverthless, have a happy Christmas, if you dare allow yourself such a luxury. 😀

  • Evolution

    Life forms are not the only things that undergo evolution, i.e. a change in characteristics over generations and/or time.

    This is also true of technology. One only has to compare and contrast one’s present operating system and its applications and what was in use twenty years ago, for example.

    That brings us neatly to the graphic below acquired from social media, which sarcastically tracks the progress of the trash icon on Microsoft’s Windows desktop over the decades.

    Evolution of the trash icon through various Windows releases and ending with the Copilot AI icon

    For those unfamiliar with the final icon on the bottom right, it’s that of MS’ Copilot generative artificial intelligence chatbot, which has not been without criticism. Indeed, one Microsoft Tech Community post has even called the software a “frustrating flop in AI-powered productivity“.

    More specifically, the post states:

    Here’s the problem: when you ask Copilot to alter a document, modify an Excel file, or adjust a PowerPoint presentation, it’s practically useless. Instead of performing the tasks as requested, it often leaves you hanging with vague suggestions or instructions. Users don’t want to be told how to perform a task—they want it done. This is what an AI assistant should do: execute commands efficiently, not just offer advice.

    If the MS tech enthusiasts are less than impressed, your ‘umble scribe need say no more!

Posts navigation