social media | Steve Woods

All day?

06/03/2025 Steve WoodsLanguage, Oddities, Social Media

A crime against the English language appeared in my social media feed today. It loomed out of a photograph of part of the menu from an unidentified McDonald’s drive through somewhere in the United States.

Dies irae* if you roll up at 1.01 pm?

It centres on the use of the word day whose meaning for this context is provided by Merriam-Webster:

“the time of light between one night and the next”.

When combined with the words all and breakfast one would expect the fare proffered to be provided throughout the hours of daylight between sunrise and sunset; or at the very least to be available between the business’ opening and closing times.
Not “ONLY UNTIL 1PM” as the menu shouts loudly.

The picture seems to have been taken some while ago, as the price of eggs in the USA has rocketed due to avian influenza and Walmart is rationing egg purchases. The egg shortage has not gone unnoticed under the golden arches either: Newsweek reports a customer of a McDonald’s in Fairfield, Connecticut was charged $7.29 per Egg McMuffin and complained about it on social media.

* = Day of wrath (usually divine. Ed.).
A put-down from Linus

17/02/2025 Steve WoodsLanguage, Linux, Open Source, Politics, Social Media, Tech

Linux was once famously described as Communism by former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.

The non-corporate, contributive and sharing nature of free and open source software and operating systems is one aspect that has always made it attractive to your ‘umble scribe, who comes from a family where both branches have been left-leaning for three generations and possibly longer.

Linus Torvalds, the creator and chief developer of the Linux kernel, the heart of the operating system, has a reputation for plain speaking, to put matters politely.

Linus has responded forthrightly – but mostly politely to someone who aimed the phrase “woke Communist propaganda” in his direction via social media recently and set out his political views plainly for all to see, as shown in the following screenshot.

Thank you, Linus, for your humanity, never mind the kernel. 😀
Daleks preferable to Musk

06/02/2025 Steve WoodsMedia, Oddities, Politics, Social Media

As part of the background to TV science fiction series Dr Who, which has graced TV screens since 1963, one learns that the planet Skaro, home of the Daleks, suffered a thousand-year war between two societies: the Kaleds and the Thals. During this period, many natives of Skaro became badly mutated by fallout from nuclear weapons and chemical warfare. The Kaled government believed in genetic purity and swore to “exterminate the Thals” for being inferior. Believing his own society was becoming weak and that it was his duty to create a new master race from the ashes of his people, a Kaled scientist named Davros genetically modified several Kaleds into squid-like life-forms he called Daleks, removing such “weaknesses” as mercy and sympathy whilst enhancing other behaviours such as aggression and the survival instinct.

The Daleks are just about the nastiest characters ever to appear on Doctor Who: they are portrayed as violent, merciless and pitiless cyborg aliens, completely absent of any emotion other than hate, who demand total conformity to the will of the Dalek with the highest authority. Your ‘umble scribe well remembers cowering behind the settee fifty-two years ago.

However, there are worse creatures in the universe according to your correspondent’s social media timeline.

Goose-step forward fascist man-baby Elon Musk, a man with a now undisputed reputation for gesture politics.

In a poll by British science fiction writer Charlie Stross, the South African-born man-baby and best buddy of the disgraced 47th and 45th president of the United States, insurrectionist, convicted felon, adjudicated sexual predator, business fraudster, congenital liar and golf cheat, one Donald John Trump, is beating the Skaro aliens hands-down over the most evil incarnation of government.

You will obey or you will be exterminated!

Where’s a Tardis when one’s needed?
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MP escapes Essex for some winter scum

19/01/2025 Steve WoodsPolitics, Security, Social Media

The dishonourable member for Clacton, one Nigel Paul Farage, has a reputation that stretches way back to his days as a member of the European Parliament of raking in his salary and not doing the work that supposedly comes with the job of being an assembly member in a representative democratic institution.

Indeed, as The Guardian noted over six years ago: “His voting record while a member of the influential European parliament fisheries committee is utterly dire – over three years, he turned up to one of 42 meetings“.

He is now treating the gullible burghers of Clacton with the same contempt. He has not so far organised a single surgery for constituents citing spurious “security” concerns, on which he later backtracked.

Furthermore, he seems to spend more time away from the House of Commons than actually in it, which might just be understandable given the frog-faced grifter earns far more money outside than his already generous MP’s salary of £91,346, according to both the press and his register of declared financial interests.

We are all aware too that the western shore of the North Sea can be a dismal place in the heart of winter; and Nigel definitely thinks so too, as he’s just decided to put the whole of the Atlantic between himself and his constituency, as he has posted the photo below on his on-off pal Elon Musk’s apology for a social platform.

Toto, I don’t think we’re in Clacton anymore!

Farage is not the only right-wing British politician clogging the streets of Washington DC with their malign presence at the moment. The former MP for West Norfolk, one Mary Elizabeth Truss, whose term of office as prime minister was shorter than the shelf life of a lettuce, is also there, taking a break from sending cease and desist letters to one Keir Rodney Starmer via her lawyers.

Make America Grate Again

The reason for this outflow of talentless right-wing (ex-)politicians? The inauguration in Washington tomorrow of the disgraced 47th president-elect of the United States, the disgraced former 45th president, insurrectionist, convicted felon, adjudicated sexual predator, business fraudster, congenital liar and golf cheat, one Donald John Trump.

The actions of both fake man of the people Farage and Lettuce Liz remind your ‘umble scribe of moths circling a lit candle… 😀

In other news, Farage’s party colleague, the perma-tanned Richard James Sunley Tice, the ‘businessman‘ whose smile would be gleaming as he stole your granny’s savings, is now splitting his time between his original constituency of Boston and Skegness and his new bailiwick of Dubai.
Liability lost in translation

16/01/2025 Steve WoodsLanguage, Oddities, Social Media

As this blog has pointed out previously (posts passim), it is not unusual for bilingual signage to have text that tells the speakers of one language one thing and those of the other language something completely different.

The bad advice given can cover such varied topics as how far one has to travel to legal liability for loss of or damage to private property.

The latter is the subject of a photograph which appeared in your ‘umble scribe’s social media feed this morning and concerns legal liability at an unknown railway station operated by Trafnidiaeth Cymru, also known as Transport for Wales.

In translation, the Welsh text on the sign reads:

You can leave your bike here for free, but at your own risk

On the other hand, the English text reads:

Bicycles may be left here free of charge but at our risk

Judging by the patina on the sign, it’s been there a long time and somebody has yet to take the railway company to court to determine exactly where legal liability lies given the sign’s bilingual ambiguity.

Your correspondent wonders how many of these confusing signs have been installed across Cymru.
Nearly 90 French organisations are leaving X

15/01/2025 Steve WoodsMedia, Politics, Social Media, Tech

In an opinion piece which appeared on Tuesday in Le Monde (paywalled), 86 French associations and federations announced they are collectively leaving X, a cesspit of far-right intolerance, ignorance, paranoia, misinformation, flat-out lying, and malicious abuse formerly known as Twitter, on 20th January, the date of convicted felon and sexual predator Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th United States president. By supporting the “Hello leave X” initiative, they are also appealing to the public to leave the platform en masse.

The LDH (Ligue des droits de l’Homme – Human Rights League) jointly set up the HelloQuitteX collective in partnership with the CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique – National Scientific Research Centre) and was also asked to sign the opinion piece initiated by the poverty and homeless charity Emmaüs France. Moreover, it decided not to post any more content on X due to both the configuration of its algorithms, which encourage the proliferation of hateful content and spread conspiracy theories and climate scepticism, and the lack of moderation.

The LDH believes that X is no longer the digital street (however imperfect) that it could have been, due to the manipulation of the conditions for making public debate possible by Elon Musk and, as a result, the lack of visibility of the principles that it upholds in defending human rights and equality.

It is also a basic call to arms for democracy, implying the solidarity of all stakeholders in civil society and politics who share the same values. This entails promoting and advocating digital spaces that respect and ensure the protection of pluralism, respectful debate and reason.

The LDH is therefore inviting all those who share these values to leave en bloc if possible on 20th and follow them on Mastodon or Bluesky instead.

In other news, the German army has announced it is also abandoning X. Auf Wiedersehen, Elon!
More than 60 academic institutions quit X

13/01/2025 Steve WoodsLanguage, Politics, Social Media, Tech, Uncategorized
More than 60 German and Austrian universities and research institutions wanted to set an example and collectively announced that they were ceasing their activities on the X social media platform, a cesspit of far-right intolerance, ignorance, paranoia, misinformation, flat-out lying, and malicious abuse formerly known as Twitter. This withdrawal is a result of the lack of compatibility between the platform’s current orientation and the core values of the institutions involved: cosmopolitanism, scientific integrity, transparency and democratic discourse.

The changes to X – from the amplification of right-wing populist content to the restriction of organic reach – make further use untenable for the organisations involved. The institutions’ withdrawal underscores their commitment to fact-based communication and against anti-democratic forces. The values that promote diversity, freedom and science are no longer present on the platform.

Some institutions which have already ceased their activities on the platform also support the joint appeal, thereby reaffirming the importance of an open and constructive culture of discussion. This decision only affects the X-accounts of the institutions involved and not their communication via other social media channels. In the light of recent events, they will continue to closely monitor the development of the platforms and their algorithms.

The institutions concerned are as follows:
- Alanus Hochschule für Kunst und Gesellschaft;
- Bauhaus-Universität Weimar;
- Berliner Hochschule für Technik;
- Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus – Senftenberg;
- Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel;
- Deutsche Ornithologische Gesellschaft;
- Deutsche Sporthochschule, Cologne;
- Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder);
- Fachhochschule Dortmund;
- FernUniversität in Hagen;
- Freie Universität Berlin;
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg;
- Goethe-Universität Frankfurt;
- HAWK Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen;
- Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf;
- Hochschule Anhalt;
- Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg;
- Hochschule Darmstadt;
- Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar;
- Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hamburg;
- Hochschule für Philosophie, Munich;
- Hochschule Furtwangen;
- Hochschule München;
- Hochschule Neubrandenburg;
- Hochschule Osnabrück;
- Hochschule RheinMain;
- Hochschule Ruhr West;
- Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung, Eberswalde;
- Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Umwelt, Nürtingen-Geislingen;
- Humboldt-Universität in Berlin;
- Institut für Vogelforschung;
- Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz;
- Justus-Liebig-Gesellschaft;
- Justus-Liebig-Universität, Gießen;
- Katholische Hochschule Nordrhein-Westfalen;
- Kirchliche Hochschule, Wuppertal;
- Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung;
- Leibniz-Institut für Ostseeforschung Warnemünde;
- Medizinische Universität Innsbruck;
- Philipps-Universität Marburg;
- RWTH Aachen;
- Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola;
- Technische Hochschule, Cologne;
- Technische Universität Braunschweig (Brunswick);
- Technische Universität Darmstadt;
- Technische Universität Dresden;
- Universität Bamberg;
- Universität Bayreuth;
- Universität des Saarlandes;
- Universität der Künste, Berlin;
- Universität Duisburg-Essen;
- Universität Erfurt;
- Universität Greifswald;
- Universität Heidelberg;
- Universität Innsbruck;
- Universität Münster;
- Universität Potsdam;
- Universität Siegen;
- Universität Trier;
- Universität Ulm;
- Universität Würzburg;
- Universität zu Lübeck; and
- Westsächsische Hochschule, Zwickau.
English imperialism alive and well in Australia

31/12/2024 Steve WoodsLanguage, Politics, Social Media

I’m currently in Australia for my niece’s wedding (which was wonderful, by the way. Ed.).

This is the first time your ‘umble scribe has been to abroad an Anglophone country. Australia has sensibly adopted the metric system of weights and measures, something the Untied Kingdom has yet to do. In the lengthy deliberations about metrication, it was mooted that conversion of the currency to a decimal system was an essential first step. The UK did adopt decimal currency in 1971, a long time after it had first been proposed in 1824 (separately from the introduction of metrication. Ed.).

Australia shares an alleged head of state, an unelected monarch, with the UK and this is reflected in currency, with coins showing the head of the Mountbatten-Windsor family, as can be seen from an Australian 50 cents piece.

Elizabeth the what?

Readers will note that Elizabeth is described as the second of that name by the Roman numerals.

Your correspondent can’t help asking when were the dates for the reign of Elizabeth the first of Australia (hint: there are none. Ed.).

On social media, your ‘umble scribe has also had it pointed out to him that within the UK, coins also bore the inscription Elizabeth II, even though someone called Elizabeth has never been crowned as ruler of Scotland, which can be regarded as equally insensitive to Scots and their history.

But whether in Australia or the small group of islands off the western coast of Europe, it is apparent to all with open eyes – and an open mind – that English imperialism – i.e. a system in which a country rules other countries – is alive and well and likely to continue despite the efforts of the likes of Senator Lidia Thorpe.
Annoy Musk. Donate to Wikipedia

29/12/2024 Steve WoodsMedia, Open Source, Politics, Social Media, Tech

One of the greatest benefits to mankind of modern information technology and the internet is the ease of access to knowledge of all kinds. The charitable Wikimedia Foundation, which is the umbrella organisation for Wikipedia and its sister projects, has made a major contribution to this ease of access to information of all kinds for free and for any purpose.

However, this has not met with everyone’s approval, particularly one excessively rich person of limited intelligence with a very big mouth.

Step forward with no style at all man-baby Elon Musk. According to The London Economic, the wrecker of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has taken offence at Wikipedia’s editing policy and decided the best way to bend it to his will is to throw money at the problem in the form of bribery.

Musk once offered Wikipedia $1 billion to change its name to ‘Dickipedia’; this is an offer he said still stands although he’s now offering $1 bn. to rename it Wokepedia, erroneously claiming this would be “in the interests of accuracy”.

This is despite the fact that Wikipedia has a dedicated page entitled Wikipedia is Not For Sale, which categorically states the following:

Wikipedia is not for sale. Wikipedia is a non-commercial website run by the Wikimedia Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in San Francisco. We are not looking to be acquired by the highest bidder. Our mission is to create a free online encyclopedia that anyone can access and contribute to.

Wikipedia is currently running one of its regular fundraisers, so do the right thing: donate to Wikipedia; and annoy Elon Musk in the process.

I have! 😀
Idiocy in public office

27/12/2024 Steve WoodsLanguage, Oddities, Politics, Social Media

There are still over 3 weeks until the disgraced president-elect of the United States, the disgraced former 45th president, insurrectionist, convicted felon, adjudicated sexual predator, business fraudster, congenital liar and golf cheat, one Donald John Trump, (also known as the Felon of the Year. Ed.) is inaugurated for his second term as president of the United States.

However, that has not stopped the so-called Tangerine Tyrant from upsetting other countries around the world, firstly in respect of trade tariffs and more recently in the field of territorial claims and a revived offer to purchase territory.

As regards the latter, two instances are prominent: Panama and Greenland.

As regards the former, Trump is of the opinion that Panama is charging US shipping ridiculous fees to use the Panama Canal, and in his usual bullying and bombastic manner, has threatened to seize control the canal if Panama does not reduce tariffs. Furthermore, he has intimated that China could exert increasing control over the canal. In response, Panama’s president José Raúl Mulino has called the claim of increased Chinese influence ‘nonsense‘.

Even though the US largely built the canal in 1914 and administered territory – the Panama Canal Zone – either side of the passage for decades, Washington finally handed over full control of the canal to Panama in 1999 under treaties signed two decades earlier by then-US president Jimmy Carter and Panamanian nationalist leader Omar Torrijos.

When it comes to Greenland, this is a long-term obsession of Trump’s. He first suggested the USA purchase this Danish autonomous territory during his first term pf office and has recently resurrected the idea. The Greenland prime minister has replied by stating categorically that it is not for sale.

In both his election campaigns, Trump’s leading slogan has been to Make America Grate Again (or something akin thereto. Ed.) and as has been seen above, this has not gone down well outside the 50 states of the Union.

Moreover, Trump’s bullying tactics have also not gone down well with the more progressive elements of American society, as can be seen by what some individual has done outside the orange one’s eponymous tower in New York.

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