MetaFilter (![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png)
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 02:42 pm
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 02:42 pm
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 10:30 am
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 10:30 amThe quiet movement removing barbed wire fences to save wildlife
The quiet movement removing barbed wire fences to save wildlife. Wongarra man Doug Gimesy removes more than 18 kilometres of barbed wire from his property to create a wildlife haven.
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 08:57 am
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 08:57 amPlease put your sex toys in flight mode before boarding the plane.
https://www.tcj.com/talking-oglaf-with-trudy-cooper-and-doug-bayne-wed-stay-up-all-night-drawing-stuff-to-make-each-other-laugh/ Trudy and Doug braved a 14-hour time difference to speak over Zoom, and armed with their morning caffeine, spoke candidly about the origins of the strip, their utter lack of planning, the benefits of shame, and how, despite its very long run, an end to Oglaf may be coming sooner than you think.
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 08:18 am
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 08:18 amThe Triple Crown
In the recent Tokyo World Athletic championships, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden took home three gold medals--winning individual medals in the 100 meter and 200 meter sprints, and ran the first leg for the gold-winning USA 4x100 relay team. World Athletics has produced a short film on Melissa at the Tokyo championship, and it's a corker.
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 08:11 am
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 08:11 amCultures break down all the time, of course
The liberalization of politics and culture, together with the possibilities for work and leisure opened up by new technologies, have greatly expanded individual rights and freedoms. At the same time, though, the scope of private life itself seems to be shrinking. Our experiences are flattened by the mass culture that everyone consumes, regurgitates, remixes (and that AI is now beginning to remix for us). Social science and marketing—combined with coercive technology—turn what seem, from the first-person perspective, like deeply personal choices into statistically predictable and controllable behaviors. from Qualities Without Men [Commonweal]
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 06:48 am
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 06:48 amBreakthrough blood test finally confirms Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
A team of scientists has developed a highly accurate blood test for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The test reads tiny DNA patterns that reveal the biological signature of the illness. For millions who've faced doubt and misdiagnosis, it's a breakthrough that finally validates their experience — and may help diagnose Long Covid too.
Scientists from the University of East Anglia and Oxford BioDynamics have created a highly accurate blood test capable of diagnosing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS). This new test, which demonstrates 96 percent accuracy, offers renewed hope to patients who have struggled for recognition and reliable answers. Researchers believe the discovery could also lead to a similar test for identifying Long Covid.
Scientists from the University of East Anglia and Oxford BioDynamics have created a highly accurate blood test capable of diagnosing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS). This new test, which demonstrates 96 percent accuracy, offers renewed hope to patients who have struggled for recognition and reliable answers. Researchers believe the discovery could also lead to a similar test for identifying Long Covid.
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 05:48 am
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 05:48 amThere are more dimensions in math than are dreamt of in your philosophy
Math, Revealed is an engaging, interactive look at some corners of mathematics by math popularizer Stephen Strogatz.
Efficient Packing: How bees, beer cans and big data all solve the same problem: not enough space.
Taxicab Geometry: In the world of taxicab geometry, pi = 4 and even the Pythagorean theorem takes a back seat.
The Golden Ratio: The secret beauty in apples, stars and your belly button. Bowling for Nobels: How a centuries-old math puzzle helped us see inside the human brain.
The Golden Ratio: The secret beauty in apples, stars and your belly button. Bowling for Nobels: How a centuries-old math puzzle helped us see inside the human brain.
Ask a Manager (askamanager_feed) wrote2025-11-11 05:03 am
askamanager_feed) wrote2025-11-11 05:03 amshould you hire employees to babysit, locker room etiquette when your gym is full of coworkers, and
I’m off today. Here are some past letters that I’m making new again, rather than leaving them to wilt in the archives.
1. Should you hire employees to babysit?
I help supervise a group of about 20 student workers at a college. Most of them know I have a one-year-old and some of them really love babies (I sometimes bring him by during my non-work hours briefly to make their day). I’ve had at least two workers tell me they’d love to babysit. They’re good responsible workers, but I’ve been uncertain as to the advisability of that and haven’t followed up on their offers. This is likely to come up again as new students come in and learn I have a child. My gut says that babysitting (while paid) is more personal than a typical employment relationship and could blur professional boundaries or lead to an appearance of favoritism, so I should just kindly thank them for the offer and say we’re all set in that department. Is that the right call or am I overthinking this?
People sometimes do this and it’s fine, but if it goes wrong, it can be disastrous. For example, if you hire one of them and there are problems with their care of your child (say you find out they’ve been negligent or cruel), would you be able to keep that from affecting things at work? What if you have a dispute over pay? Are you comfortable leaving them unattended in your home? And you’ve also got to consider the power dynamics; even though they’re volunteering, there’s a risk they’d still feel obligated to say yes when you ask (or that they’ll be happy to do it once or twice but feel pressured after that). It can also make other workers wonder if you favor or give special access to the people who sit for you.
Some people do this and make it work, but if you want to play it safe, it’s wiser not to cross the streams.
– 2020
2. Locker room etiquette when your gym is full of coworkers
My office recently added some cool new perks on top of our employee benefits. My favorite? They’re now offering anyone who wants it a free membership to the gym right across the street from our office. It’s been hard for me to work out previously because of my commute, so I’ve been taking full advantage of this perk since it took effect a couple months ago. Lots of my other coworkers have jumped on this perk as well, and I’ll run into them at the gym frequently. Overall, it’s been positive, but there’s one thing I don’t know how to handle — the locker rooms.
I’m pretty comfortable in my body, and I’m not that awkward about changing in your standard locker room full of strangers. But the prospect of a coworker — or worse, my boss — walking in on me changing has me feeling incredibly awkward. So far, I haven’t been seen by my coworkers while changing and haven’t walked in on anyone else from my office, but I know it’s only a matter of time. This is a situation I’ve never encountered before — I didn’t know anyone who worked out at my previous gyms. What should I do if I run into a coworker in the locker room while one or both of us are in various states of undress? Should I just change in the toilet stalls to avoid anyone seeing me? I might be making a bigger deal of this in my head than it actually is, but it has me feeling really uncomfortable.
It’s pretty much the same locker room code as always: There’s a collective agreement to ignore everyone else’s nudity.
The last time this came up, a commenter offered this, which I really liked:
“I think there’s a big difference between functional nudity and casual nudity at the gym. Functional = in order to change, I have to take off my clothes. I am no longer 12 and trying to hide my body at all costs, so if someone glances over at me while I am changing, they will see me naked. Casual nudity = I am wandering around naked, blow drying my hair naked, etc. This is fine generally in a locker room, but is best to avoid at a work gym. Though I would totally blow dry my hair wearing a bra and not a shirt to avoid getting hot/sweaty.”
In other words, make any nudity fairly quick. Don’t linger.
But it’s also completely fine to decide you’re just not comfortable with locker room nudity around coworkers at all and change in a stall. There’s no shame in that; you’re not being weirdly prudish if you got that route.
– 2019
3. Is it unprofessional to brush my hair in common areas of my workplace?
I am an assistant manager, and today something weird happened. I did not get to finish my normal routine this morning as I had to go to the UPS store (for work) so I showed up to work with my hairbrush. I work at a preschool and typically, by the time I arrive to work, there are no parents here as they have all dropped off their kids and left. I walked around to say good morning to the teachers and collect breakfast dishes as normal, but I brought my hair brush along and brushed my hair as I was walking between the classrooms.
The manager above me made a point to rush up to me and tell me I need to do my beauty stuff in the bathroom. I was confused by this as I thought she meant the makeup in my purse but no, she explained that me brushing my hair was unprofessional. I am young, so maybe this is just a rule on professionalism I have never heard before. I am just confused. This was pretty much a one-time thing, and not a habit I have. Is it really all that unprofessional in this otherwise rather relaxed atmosphere for a work setting?
Yeah, there’s an etiquette rule about not doing personal grooming in public. Some workplaces might not have thought it was a big deal, and it’s not the biggest deal in the world, but it’s also not outlandish for your manager to ask you not to do it. (It’s also the kind of thing that can be frowned upon without anyone telling you, so it’s good that she did. She might have done that because you’re young and she figured that you’re still learning professional norms.)
– 2019
4. I accidentally sent a highly personal medical email to someone who reports to me
I am currently on maternity leave and will return to work in a couple of months. While I’ve been out, I’ve emailed my team at work a few times with baby updates and replied to anyone personally saying hello, all from my personal email as I no longer have access to my work email.
Yesterday, I sent an unrelated and angry email about a very personal medical matter to a person on my team by accident. This person reports to me. The first three letters of her name in her email are the same three letters of the person I was trying to email instead, so you can see how I sent this by accident and this worker’s email was saved because of the above previous correspondence while I’ve been off.
It was only caught because the worker emailed me back acknowledging this wasn’t meant for her. I’m mortified. How can I save face? All I’ve done so far is email her back thanking her, apologizing, and stating that I trust her to keep this between us because of the personal nature. Is this all I can do and never speak of it again?
Yes! You handled it well. If she’s at all a decent person, she’ll understand that this kind of mistake happens and will keep it to herself. We’ve all been there with a misdirected email at some point or another, and most people are sympathetic when it happens.
You don’t need to take any further action; anything more would be belaboring the point and focusing her on it more. Assume you’ll both wipe it from your minds and never speak of it again.
– 2019
5. How to bring up experience at an interview that I forgot to mention on my resume
I’m returning to work after doing a postgraduate degree. I’ve got an interview coming up, and in the course of prepping for it I realized that one of the projects from the job I had before going back to study is in a really closely related area to the role I’m interviewing for. The problem is that I hadn’t mentioned that project in either my cover letter or my CV when applying. Obviously I want to bring up this relevant experience in the interview, but what’s the best way to frame it in a way that is more “this candidate has useful experience” and less “this candidate didn’t fully think through their application”?
Just be matter-of-fact about it! “I realized one of the projects I did at Job X might be relevant here. It’s not on my resume, but (details about the project).” No reasonable interviewer is going to think not including it originally means you’re flighty or thoughtless. Interviewers know lots of people use the same basic resume for all the jobs they apply for, and they also know humans will not always instantly realize precisely how relevant something might be to a job they’re not terribly familiar with yet.
I’ve interviewed many candidates where I thought, “Oh! That’s really relevant — I’m glad you mentioned it.” Sometimes I’ve even thought, “Oooh, you should include that on your resume! It’ll help you!” But I’ve never thought, “What kind of doofus didn’t write this down originally?”
– 2020
The post should you hire employees to babysit, locker room etiquette when your gym is full of coworkers, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 02:00 am
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-11 02:00 amIn Dark Times, a Little Darkness Can Be Soothing
The dark season is closing in (in the northern hemisphere, yes), and we can enjoy new seasons of Modem Prometheus (Anthology with Frame) and The Phosphene Catalogue (somewhere between an Audio Drama and an Anthology with Frame). It's been a while, so expect another round up before the end of the year. Oddly, there are a number of shows this time that are game tie-ins.
Stories with LGBTQ characters and elements are identified when possible. Podcasts with frequent or severe content warnings are noted as are those which provide transcripts. All the podcasts are accessible via most podcast apps and aggregators (although, weirdly, some apps seem to not catch entire seasons of some of the shows). Most of the series have episodes that run ~25-35 minutes; Exceptions will be noted. Shows are identified as: • audio drama – stories with continuing plots and casts, either open- or closed-ended • anthology – stand-alone stories with no continuity • anthology with frame – stand-alone stories with some kind of continuity that ties the series together but (usually) does not affect the stories 400 Words A Horror (Anthology) Short horror and weird fiction stories by new creators still learning about audio storytelling, although occasionally better-known voice actors lend their talents. As a result, the writing and acting varies quite a bit, and those seeking very professional productions will want to look elsewhere, but the Longer episodes tend to have multiple stories with a connecting theme. Transcripts in the show notes. Frequency: irregular (sometimes biweekly, sometimes monthly) Length: 20-40 minutes Tone: Varied LGBTQ: mostly queer stories by mostly queer creators Two seasons (16 episodes; ongoing) Website At the Bottom of the Garden (Audio Drama) There are fairies at the bottom of our garden. It's a good first line. Straightforward, but evocative. Obviously indicative of genre, without giving away too much. Sets clear expectations in the reader for the story that's going to follow. You know what you're getting into, with a first line like that. Except, it isn't the first line to a story. It isn't from a book, a magazine, or even a website. It's the first line of a journal. Aiden begins to research his great great aunt's journal and discovers increasingly weird things. As he gets drawn deeper into the mystery, he and his boyfriend Chris try and unravel the mystery before it dooms both of them. Format warning: use of distortion and disorienting sound effects. Transcripts available. It looks like the story is completed. Length: mostly 5-30 minutes Tone: Folk horror, fairies, paranormal investigation LGBTQ: trans narrator Complete story (40 episodes) Website Baron Sordor's Theatre of the Doomed (Anthology) This podcast aims to take you back to a golden age when live radio plays ruled the airwaves and Orson Wells' Mercury Theatre convinced an entire nation they were under attack by Martians. Paying homage to 1960's classics like the Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits as well as some of the masters of modern sci-fi and horror like King, Carpenter, Peele, Dick and Gibson, Baron Sordor's Theatre of the Doomed is an anthology podcast that takes its listeners on a journey to the darkest recess of the human mind. Full-cast episodes, with a mix of one-shots and 2- and 2-parters. No transcripts, but there is a novel of the 3-parter. Frequency: irregular (every 2-4 months) Length: 60-120 minutes Tone: Varied LGBTQ: little to none Two seasons (11 episodes; ongoing) Website Black Velvet Fairies (Audio Drama) Upon her death, Lucy Verdell's estranged grandmother leaves her four black velvet paintings of fairies. But not twinkly sprites — stoic beings with wings of light and grim intent. As Lucy investigates her family's connection to the artwork, she uncovers a web of believers who will do anything to reconnect Earth with the mysterious fairy-world known as Hada. This is part of a multi-media world with a novel and tie-in games. It also has an in-world tie-in blog. Frequency: weekly Length: 15-30 minutes Tone: investigating a mystery; interdimentional travel LGBTQ: none One season (13 episodes; supplemental episode) Website Brittle Tourniquet (Audio Drama) After some bad luck and some bad choices, Jenny Bitters has lost her cabal, her lover, and most of her self respect. So she decides to get back in the villain game by summoning Arida, a lost and forbidden goddess, and take on the world of gods and cabals. With some more questionable decisions, she finds herself committed to an impossible heist and opposing the worst sorts of gods. Transcripts available on the website. Length: 30-50 minutes Tone: competing magical organizations LGBTQ: trans woman narrator, other trans and queer characters Complete story (8 episodes) Website Broken Veil (Audio Drama) Writers Will Maclean (The Apparition Phase) and Joel Morris (Charlie Brooker's Wipe) investigate weird, unsettling, possibly supernatural stories that have affected their friends, and explore the places where they might have happened. As they dig into the upsetting stories, a larger picture seems to take shape. I classified this as an audio drama, but the first 4 or so episodes are more like an anthology with a frame. Length: 30-50 minutes Tone: investigations of weird events, rising conspiracy LGBTQ: none significant Complete story (6 episodes) Apparently, no website, although it's also hosted on YouTube Clawmoor Heights (Audio Drama) Agatha Quinn, a truefolk historian, risks professional ruin when she's drawn into the turbulent affairs of a dying Baron and his idle children as he attempts to preserve his family's legacy. Part fantasy, part horror, part country house murder mystery, this podcast is part of a larger media project, with a TTRPG (Our Brilliant Ruin), a comic, and a video game. Also posted to YouTube. Length: 20-30 minutes Tone: Fantasy world in decay and mystery-solving LGBTQ: lesbian supporting characters Complete story (10 episodes) Website Fabric (Audio Drama) After the death of her parents, Leyna Canary discovers a cache of strange audio tapes hidden in their attic, each labeled with an unfamiliar name — Lucas Canary. As she unravels their origins, Leyna is pulled into a shadowy world of malevolent supernatural forces and the black-book task force keeping them at bay, leading her across rural New South Wales, Australia — and into the heart of something far more dangerous than she could ever imagine. A new season is expected in 2026. Frequency: season one was released in 3 batches across 2 weeks Length: 25-30 minutes Tone: conspiracy, men in black LGBTQ: none One season (9 episodes; ongoing) Website Go I Know Not Wither (audio drama) Follow Sasha, as they drive through the Siberian woods telling their story into a tape recorder so that it will be kept alive. Stories after all only live if others take their weight too. Knowing this, Sasha relays their life from birth, when they gained powers, all the way to the mysterious events that left them only with a truck, a tape recorder, and a bloody jacket. Oh, and we can't forget the wolf. Based on Russian folklore and tales. Length: 15-25 minutes Tone: folk horror LGBTQ: a gender variant narrator Complete story (10 episodes) Apparently, no website The Greatest Matter (Audio Drama) On a cold winter's evening in Dublin in the late 1890s, Professor Cesare Lombroso, a renowned Italian criminologist, arrives in the city to give a public talk. In attendance are Frances, a novelist keen to learn more about the distinguished professor's work, and Margaret, a hard-working Dublin journalist. Meanwhile, a man has been gruesomely murdered in the nearby Phoenix Park, and the authorities appear to be covering it up. As the Dublin Metropolitan Police begin inquiries, a powerful English military commander leads a sinister parallel investigation, and Frances and Margaret become increasingly intent on solving the crime, and the wider coverup, no matter the cost. The murder, Frances and Margaret soon come to realise, may have disturbing connections with spiritualism. Transcripts available on the website. There may be a second story coming. Length: 25-35 minutes Tone: governmental corruption and spiritualism LGBTQ: lesbian couple Complete story (12 episodes) Website Nightfall (Anthology) Nightfall was a radio drama series produced and aired by CBC Radio from July 1980 to June 1983. While primarily a supernatural/horror series, Nightfall featured some episodes in other genres, such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and human drama. Some of Nightfall's episodes were so terrifying that the CBC registered numerous complaints and some affiliate stations dropped it. Length: 30-35 minutes Tone: Twilight Zone LGBTQ: none One season (71 episodes) Apparently, no website Unknown 9: Out of Sight (audio Drama) Blake Elrich is an investigative paranormal podcaster cursed with knowing things he wishes he didn't. Along with his enigmatic producer Lazari, he travels the country seeking out regular people with uncanny stories—those with knowledge of the Unknown. As you'll soon discover, the strange cases, eerie locations, and peculiar characters Blake and Lazari encounter all have essential ties to the larger universe. Part of a larger media property, including a video game. The story continues in a new series. Length: 30-45 minutes Tone: paranormal investigation, occult plots LGBTQ: none Threes seasons (27 episodes) Apparently, no website Voices of the Trench (Anthology) Between centuries of suffering and torment, many stories can be told: of good and evil, faith and heresy, naive longing and forbidden desire. In another age, the veneer of civilization would have been thicker and the boundaries between categories more blurred. But this is not the age of the Trench Crusade. So let us listen to ... the voices of the trench. Medium length fan fiction based on the Trench Crusade miniatures rules – men and women cast into horrifying seemingly endless conflict making difficult choices with their souls as the fuel and cost. Frequency: irregular, weekly to monthly Length: 60-75 minutes Tone: WWI with demons and worse things LGBTQ: none One season (7 episodes; ongoing) Apparently, no website
Stories with LGBTQ characters and elements are identified when possible. Podcasts with frequent or severe content warnings are noted as are those which provide transcripts. All the podcasts are accessible via most podcast apps and aggregators (although, weirdly, some apps seem to not catch entire seasons of some of the shows). Most of the series have episodes that run ~25-35 minutes; Exceptions will be noted. Shows are identified as: • audio drama – stories with continuing plots and casts, either open- or closed-ended • anthology – stand-alone stories with no continuity • anthology with frame – stand-alone stories with some kind of continuity that ties the series together but (usually) does not affect the stories 400 Words A Horror (Anthology) Short horror and weird fiction stories by new creators still learning about audio storytelling, although occasionally better-known voice actors lend their talents. As a result, the writing and acting varies quite a bit, and those seeking very professional productions will want to look elsewhere, but the Longer episodes tend to have multiple stories with a connecting theme. Transcripts in the show notes. Frequency: irregular (sometimes biweekly, sometimes monthly) Length: 20-40 minutes Tone: Varied LGBTQ: mostly queer stories by mostly queer creators Two seasons (16 episodes; ongoing) Website At the Bottom of the Garden (Audio Drama) There are fairies at the bottom of our garden. It's a good first line. Straightforward, but evocative. Obviously indicative of genre, without giving away too much. Sets clear expectations in the reader for the story that's going to follow. You know what you're getting into, with a first line like that. Except, it isn't the first line to a story. It isn't from a book, a magazine, or even a website. It's the first line of a journal. Aiden begins to research his great great aunt's journal and discovers increasingly weird things. As he gets drawn deeper into the mystery, he and his boyfriend Chris try and unravel the mystery before it dooms both of them. Format warning: use of distortion and disorienting sound effects. Transcripts available. It looks like the story is completed. Length: mostly 5-30 minutes Tone: Folk horror, fairies, paranormal investigation LGBTQ: trans narrator Complete story (40 episodes) Website Baron Sordor's Theatre of the Doomed (Anthology) This podcast aims to take you back to a golden age when live radio plays ruled the airwaves and Orson Wells' Mercury Theatre convinced an entire nation they were under attack by Martians. Paying homage to 1960's classics like the Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits as well as some of the masters of modern sci-fi and horror like King, Carpenter, Peele, Dick and Gibson, Baron Sordor's Theatre of the Doomed is an anthology podcast that takes its listeners on a journey to the darkest recess of the human mind. Full-cast episodes, with a mix of one-shots and 2- and 2-parters. No transcripts, but there is a novel of the 3-parter. Frequency: irregular (every 2-4 months) Length: 60-120 minutes Tone: Varied LGBTQ: little to none Two seasons (11 episodes; ongoing) Website Black Velvet Fairies (Audio Drama) Upon her death, Lucy Verdell's estranged grandmother leaves her four black velvet paintings of fairies. But not twinkly sprites — stoic beings with wings of light and grim intent. As Lucy investigates her family's connection to the artwork, she uncovers a web of believers who will do anything to reconnect Earth with the mysterious fairy-world known as Hada. This is part of a multi-media world with a novel and tie-in games. It also has an in-world tie-in blog. Frequency: weekly Length: 15-30 minutes Tone: investigating a mystery; interdimentional travel LGBTQ: none One season (13 episodes; supplemental episode) Website Brittle Tourniquet (Audio Drama) After some bad luck and some bad choices, Jenny Bitters has lost her cabal, her lover, and most of her self respect. So she decides to get back in the villain game by summoning Arida, a lost and forbidden goddess, and take on the world of gods and cabals. With some more questionable decisions, she finds herself committed to an impossible heist and opposing the worst sorts of gods. Transcripts available on the website. Length: 30-50 minutes Tone: competing magical organizations LGBTQ: trans woman narrator, other trans and queer characters Complete story (8 episodes) Website Broken Veil (Audio Drama) Writers Will Maclean (The Apparition Phase) and Joel Morris (Charlie Brooker's Wipe) investigate weird, unsettling, possibly supernatural stories that have affected their friends, and explore the places where they might have happened. As they dig into the upsetting stories, a larger picture seems to take shape. I classified this as an audio drama, but the first 4 or so episodes are more like an anthology with a frame. Length: 30-50 minutes Tone: investigations of weird events, rising conspiracy LGBTQ: none significant Complete story (6 episodes) Apparently, no website, although it's also hosted on YouTube Clawmoor Heights (Audio Drama) Agatha Quinn, a truefolk historian, risks professional ruin when she's drawn into the turbulent affairs of a dying Baron and his idle children as he attempts to preserve his family's legacy. Part fantasy, part horror, part country house murder mystery, this podcast is part of a larger media project, with a TTRPG (Our Brilliant Ruin), a comic, and a video game. Also posted to YouTube. Length: 20-30 minutes Tone: Fantasy world in decay and mystery-solving LGBTQ: lesbian supporting characters Complete story (10 episodes) Website Fabric (Audio Drama) After the death of her parents, Leyna Canary discovers a cache of strange audio tapes hidden in their attic, each labeled with an unfamiliar name — Lucas Canary. As she unravels their origins, Leyna is pulled into a shadowy world of malevolent supernatural forces and the black-book task force keeping them at bay, leading her across rural New South Wales, Australia — and into the heart of something far more dangerous than she could ever imagine. A new season is expected in 2026. Frequency: season one was released in 3 batches across 2 weeks Length: 25-30 minutes Tone: conspiracy, men in black LGBTQ: none One season (9 episodes; ongoing) Website Go I Know Not Wither (audio drama) Follow Sasha, as they drive through the Siberian woods telling their story into a tape recorder so that it will be kept alive. Stories after all only live if others take their weight too. Knowing this, Sasha relays their life from birth, when they gained powers, all the way to the mysterious events that left them only with a truck, a tape recorder, and a bloody jacket. Oh, and we can't forget the wolf. Based on Russian folklore and tales. Length: 15-25 minutes Tone: folk horror LGBTQ: a gender variant narrator Complete story (10 episodes) Apparently, no website The Greatest Matter (Audio Drama) On a cold winter's evening in Dublin in the late 1890s, Professor Cesare Lombroso, a renowned Italian criminologist, arrives in the city to give a public talk. In attendance are Frances, a novelist keen to learn more about the distinguished professor's work, and Margaret, a hard-working Dublin journalist. Meanwhile, a man has been gruesomely murdered in the nearby Phoenix Park, and the authorities appear to be covering it up. As the Dublin Metropolitan Police begin inquiries, a powerful English military commander leads a sinister parallel investigation, and Frances and Margaret become increasingly intent on solving the crime, and the wider coverup, no matter the cost. The murder, Frances and Margaret soon come to realise, may have disturbing connections with spiritualism. Transcripts available on the website. There may be a second story coming. Length: 25-35 minutes Tone: governmental corruption and spiritualism LGBTQ: lesbian couple Complete story (12 episodes) Website Nightfall (Anthology) Nightfall was a radio drama series produced and aired by CBC Radio from July 1980 to June 1983. While primarily a supernatural/horror series, Nightfall featured some episodes in other genres, such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and human drama. Some of Nightfall's episodes were so terrifying that the CBC registered numerous complaints and some affiliate stations dropped it. Length: 30-35 minutes Tone: Twilight Zone LGBTQ: none One season (71 episodes) Apparently, no website Unknown 9: Out of Sight (audio Drama) Blake Elrich is an investigative paranormal podcaster cursed with knowing things he wishes he didn't. Along with his enigmatic producer Lazari, he travels the country seeking out regular people with uncanny stories—those with knowledge of the Unknown. As you'll soon discover, the strange cases, eerie locations, and peculiar characters Blake and Lazari encounter all have essential ties to the larger universe. Part of a larger media property, including a video game. The story continues in a new series. Length: 30-45 minutes Tone: paranormal investigation, occult plots LGBTQ: none Threes seasons (27 episodes) Apparently, no website Voices of the Trench (Anthology) Between centuries of suffering and torment, many stories can be told: of good and evil, faith and heresy, naive longing and forbidden desire. In another age, the veneer of civilization would have been thicker and the boundaries between categories more blurred. But this is not the age of the Trench Crusade. So let us listen to ... the voices of the trench. Medium length fan fiction based on the Trench Crusade miniatures rules – men and women cast into horrifying seemingly endless conflict making difficult choices with their souls as the fuel and cost. Frequency: irregular, weekly to monthly Length: 60-75 minutes Tone: WWI with demons and worse things LGBTQ: none One season (7 episodes; ongoing) Apparently, no website
私信 まるです。 (maru_feed) wrote2025-11-10 11:00 pm
maru_feed) wrote2025-11-10 11:00 pm秋晴れの庭。The garden with clear autumn weather.
みりはまたすごい所に座ってるね！ Miri, you’re sitting in a great place! ぽかぽか太陽の下で一緒に日向ぼっこしているはなみり。 はなはすぐに背中が熱いくらいに温まるけど、 […]
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 09:22 pm
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 09:22 pmelk min - kiln me - el mink - elm kin - ℕ
Hello everyone, it's time for a new LINKME post! It's a kind of free thread, but where the main purpose is for people to contribute links they like but for some reason they don't want to make in a full post. Maybe you don't want to deal with comments, or don't think it's important enough for the front page, or think it'd be too much effort to make a post? And then others, if they choose, can take your links and make a full post about them. It's the no stress place for things you've found on the web. Inside is a recap of the last linkme thread.
If you decide to make a post on a contributed link, it'd be nice if you could link to the comment that inspired it, and include the tag linkme in the post. Here are the major links from last month's post. It's still possible to give these sad little links https://www.metafilter.com/contribute/post_preview.mefia good home in a FPP! Glinn: Robert Irwin (son of Steve) on Dancing with the Stars Art_Pot: voting inside a stuff blue whale in Sweden (Reddit) as_night_falls: photos from a month-long closure of Joffre Lakes Park in British Columbia chavenet: "Wanda Kinsky and Related Matters," on Thomas Pynchon aleph: Machine Learnability as a Measure of Order in Aperiodic Sequences, an academic paper Wobbuffet: Excerpts from a book on visiting cemetaries Wobbuffet: On Jane Austen, Laura Klein on music Jane Austen listened to, including Youtube playlists, and a lithub post on Why We're Still Reading Jane Austen on he 250th Birthday Wobbuffet: The Oxford Ancient Languages Society uploaded a video to Youtube of a production of Euripides' Orestes in its original Greek, and videos about its recreation, and Barnard College's production of Euripides' Herakles jamjam: A Thermometer For Measuring Quantumness JHarris (I wonder who that could be): the 512KB Club lists websites that are less than half a megabyte in size (posted to the front page by chavenet here) JHarris: TechCrunch on a project to create an open source printer sciatrix: a Tumblr post containing notes from the book Grey Ghosts and Red Rangers, about the history of fox hunting in the US, which wasn't always about harming the fox which_chick: a link about growing and caring for the house plant Pothos, which is actually only the young form of the plant, and its adult form, and a Youtube video about caring for that form dick dale the vampire: A Sudoku "metroidvania," Sudokuvania: Digits of Despair eekernohan: Morten Rank-Henriksen on salty licorice, on Tiktok chromecow: An essay on wank, defined as careless speech designed to gratify/soothe the speaker, as opposed to Bullshit (PDF), it turns out this link had already been FPP'd in September metahawk: presents Anthropic's paper about tracing the thoughts of a LLM (summary) JoeZydeco: Fire destroys South Korea's cloud storage system, no backups lock robster: The Good Driver Paradox, I build a fake dumpster for stealth camping, reverse engineering obfuscated C code, and how programmers flex on each other, with explanation lock robster: Catalytic converters are simple, but getting them to work is not paduasoy: beautiful black cats on Finch (Reddit), although note that some of the cats have since deceased chavenet: a photo of Timothy Leary's copy of Gravity's Rainbow (Reddit) paduasoy: Making a Tartan Armadillo without a pattern (posted to the front page by me) gudrun: (Substack) Zombies and Vampires (and anti-vaxxers), by Josh Hartigan 99_: from Bluesky, Bari Weiss' memo to CBS News, good for angrying up the blood JopeZydeco: a visual archive of Byte Magazine mittens: an article about LLMs and creativity, FPP made by chavenet paduasoy: a report from the 2025 Knitting History Forum Conference paduasoy: the Brighton cat tour JHarris: the 100 year history of Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, which I then made into a FPP paduasoy: an articule about knitted or crocheted post box toppers in the UK from 2022 99_: the Youtube page of DJ Bobby Ghanoush
If you decide to make a post on a contributed link, it'd be nice if you could link to the comment that inspired it, and include the tag linkme in the post. Here are the major links from last month's post. It's still possible to give these sad little links https://www.metafilter.com/contribute/post_preview.mefia good home in a FPP! Glinn: Robert Irwin (son of Steve) on Dancing with the Stars Art_Pot: voting inside a stuff blue whale in Sweden (Reddit) as_night_falls: photos from a month-long closure of Joffre Lakes Park in British Columbia chavenet: "Wanda Kinsky and Related Matters," on Thomas Pynchon aleph: Machine Learnability as a Measure of Order in Aperiodic Sequences, an academic paper Wobbuffet: Excerpts from a book on visiting cemetaries Wobbuffet: On Jane Austen, Laura Klein on music Jane Austen listened to, including Youtube playlists, and a lithub post on Why We're Still Reading Jane Austen on he 250th Birthday Wobbuffet: The Oxford Ancient Languages Society uploaded a video to Youtube of a production of Euripides' Orestes in its original Greek, and videos about its recreation, and Barnard College's production of Euripides' Herakles jamjam: A Thermometer For Measuring Quantumness JHarris (I wonder who that could be): the 512KB Club lists websites that are less than half a megabyte in size (posted to the front page by chavenet here) JHarris: TechCrunch on a project to create an open source printer sciatrix: a Tumblr post containing notes from the book Grey Ghosts and Red Rangers, about the history of fox hunting in the US, which wasn't always about harming the fox which_chick: a link about growing and caring for the house plant Pothos, which is actually only the young form of the plant, and its adult form, and a Youtube video about caring for that form dick dale the vampire: A Sudoku "metroidvania," Sudokuvania: Digits of Despair eekernohan: Morten Rank-Henriksen on salty licorice, on Tiktok chromecow: An essay on wank, defined as careless speech designed to gratify/soothe the speaker, as opposed to Bullshit (PDF), it turns out this link had already been FPP'd in September metahawk: presents Anthropic's paper about tracing the thoughts of a LLM (summary) JoeZydeco: Fire destroys South Korea's cloud storage system, no backups lock robster: The Good Driver Paradox, I build a fake dumpster for stealth camping, reverse engineering obfuscated C code, and how programmers flex on each other, with explanation lock robster: Catalytic converters are simple, but getting them to work is not paduasoy: beautiful black cats on Finch (Reddit), although note that some of the cats have since deceased chavenet: a photo of Timothy Leary's copy of Gravity's Rainbow (Reddit) paduasoy: Making a Tartan Armadillo without a pattern (posted to the front page by me) gudrun: (Substack) Zombies and Vampires (and anti-vaxxers), by Josh Hartigan 99_: from Bluesky, Bari Weiss' memo to CBS News, good for angrying up the blood JopeZydeco: a visual archive of Byte Magazine mittens: an article about LLMs and creativity, FPP made by chavenet paduasoy: a report from the 2025 Knitting History Forum Conference paduasoy: the Brighton cat tour JHarris: the 100 year history of Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, which I then made into a FPP paduasoy: an articule about knitted or crocheted post box toppers in the UK from 2022 99_: the Youtube page of DJ Bobby Ghanoush
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 09:20 pm
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 09:20 pmIn Praise of dhh
A reflection on Ruby's past, present, and future. From: "He could be arrogant, and brash. He was maybe a little too self-satisfied. But on the whole I would say he was someone I admired, someone I looked up to. He was a role model." to: "I have good news for you, though: assholes are a minority. People of conscience, people with good will and good intentions have always outnumbered psychopaths and sycophants."
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 09:09 pm
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 09:09 pmBAM: The future (and present and past) of the left of the dial
Act I: They're Kicking Us Out of the Station "...I didn't see the transmitter turn off" | Act II: A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, or The Takeover | Act III: I'll try to find you left of the dial | Epilogue: Take Action
Act I: They're Kicking Us Out of the Station..."I didn't see the transmitter turn off" A Thoughtless Takeover It all happened suddenly on a Zoom call Friday morning on October 3rd, 2025 in Cleveland, OH. After months of private negotiations, WCSB employees learned that effective immediately, WCSB programming was being handed over to Ideastream Public Media, Cleveland's local CPB and NPR operator for TV and Radio. The station would immediately transition to playing Jazz as JazzNEO, moving away from independent, student run campus radio free-form format. Not only was the change sudden, but CSU had police escort WCSB station staff off property, leaving them scrambling to try and save decades of archives, station memorabilia and more. Worse, Cleveland State didn't prepare for backlash over the whole thing, with university officials giving public criticism little thought. What was (is?) WCSB to Cleveland? The host of Odd Girl Hour on WCSB writes about her personal loss. A Profound Loss Of course, Ideastream itself is facing increased pressure due to federal funding cuts. They've now added local community protest and support for WCSB to their list of troubles, in addition to a key question about whether or not the deal was even legal to begin with. Harsh scrutiny is being placed not just on Ideastream, but CSU and CSU President, Laura Bloomberg, who offered a typical crisis PR statement about the change. Interestingly, she was granted a seat on Ideastream's board as a result of the takeover. WCSB may never return. The history of similar takeovers offers yet another chilling look into the current political and quality of life challenges facing America with respect to media consolidation and on campus free speech. WCSB incomplete archives here and here. Act II: A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, or The Takeover 97x: The Future of Rock & Roll (sadly) 97x was my station growing up. You may have heard of it because of the movie Rain Man. Their slogan, "97x: The future of Rock and Roll" led station breaks or played before songs, and was adapted by Dustin Hoffman during filming as a repeated phrase for his character because the crew listened to WOXY during filming in Cincinnati. This station was my lifeline to music that didn't fit into acceptable, mainstream America. Each Memorial Day, starting in 1989, they featured the definitive list of 500 modern rock songs, adapted year-over-year as newer music appeared and influenced the landscape. You can review the lists here. Other radio stations featuring classic rock, oldies and other nostalgic or top 40 music had started aligning decades prior to play the same music across the country. But in the 70's and 80's, 97x and a host of college radio stations like it offered important platforms for unique, brown, queer, artistic voices that were largely ignored on the commercial stations, bringing incredible music to American airwaves. And these stations, artists and songs were important for Gen X youth, restless and anxious as they were, always seeking ways to assert independence. Alternative and independent music was one of the key elements for shaping their worldview. The future should have been bright for independent media like 97x. But something changed. 97x was sold to First Broadcasting Investment Partners for $5.6 million in January 2004. Side Note: First Broadcasting Investment Partners was a vulture capital firm founded by Ron Unkefer, a CSU grad. Is it too much to wonder, despite this not being mentioned anywhere in media reporting, if he was an advisor on the WCSB "deal" with Ideastream? And because of the WOXY acquisition, as for many other stations like it, 97x had their last terrestrial broadcast on Thursday, May 13, 2004, a definitive moment for me, listening and crying in bed along with the DJs as they signed off, one by one, until the very last goodbye from station manager Steve Baker after playing "Sunday, Bloody Sunday," the first song they ever played on 97x. His goodbye is preserved forever here.* So, how in the goddamn hell did the 90's (nearly completely) kill college radio? We can broadly thank the Telecommunications Act of 1996, passed 91-5 in the Senate and signed by Bill Clinton into law on February 8, 1996. The law's purpose was to foster competition while relaxing media ownership regulations. It also removed the cap on radio station ownership rules. There was also a measure to prohibit indecency and obscenity on the Internet, though this was ruled unconstitutional. Except for Section 230, which enabled the growth of the internet but at what cost? Other free thinkers of the day recognized that relaxing media ownership rules (and permitting more monopolistic behavior from broadband corporations) would be, ah, not good. Radio homogenization resulted in catastrophic consequences for the industry: -More than a third of all US radio stations had been bought and sold -Of the 4,992 total stations across 268 set radio markets, almost half are now owned by a company owning three or more stations in the same market -The number of stations owned by the ten largest companies increased by roughly fifteen times between 1985 and 2005 Lydia Polgreen summed up much of the consolidation in a 1999 piece for Washington Monthly, The Death of Local Radio. Act III: I'll try to find you...left of the dial What's left when you're left? For WCSB, some supporters hope that WCSB can be re-established. I am xcsb has popped up to offer hope for the future of WCSB, not only to help continue to build community support to try and reverse the takeover, but providing info about activities to help. This includes a weekly, Friday DJ set in November with WCSB DJs at a great local venue to stay connected and support efforts to re-establish WCSB. And for 97x, there was a bit of rebirth in 2023, at least for the Modern Rock 500. You can see the list here. But most importantly, there are signs Gen Z may be listening to college radio in greater numbers, offering hope and skepticism. Epilogue: Take Action WCSB xcsb.org is encouraging people to sign a petition at Change.org to bring back WCSB From the xcsb website, they are also encouraging supporters to call to try and restore WCSB to the airwaves (you can find that yourself if you're so inclined) This Thursday, November 13th, 2025: Join KEXP (more below) by tuning in for Music Heals: Grief Organizations / Other College Radio Foundation Music First Coalition Great current college / alt radio stations: KEXP (Listen here on the station site | Live show archive on YouTube with interviews) Listen to college radio stations The 7 Best College Radio Stations You Can Listen to Online 30 amazing college radio stations From Reddit: What's popular in college radio right now? Any recommendations for good radio stations? 97x history The History of 97x The definitive 97x archive, maintained by former DJ, Craig Froehle More about 97x here Metafilter post about 97x More about radio & media consolidation here, here, here, here, here *Yes, I cried again relistening to that last broadcast while making this post, and always will.
Act I: They're Kicking Us Out of the Station..."I didn't see the transmitter turn off" A Thoughtless Takeover It all happened suddenly on a Zoom call Friday morning on October 3rd, 2025 in Cleveland, OH. After months of private negotiations, WCSB employees learned that effective immediately, WCSB programming was being handed over to Ideastream Public Media, Cleveland's local CPB and NPR operator for TV and Radio. The station would immediately transition to playing Jazz as JazzNEO, moving away from independent, student run campus radio free-form format. Not only was the change sudden, but CSU had police escort WCSB station staff off property, leaving them scrambling to try and save decades of archives, station memorabilia and more. Worse, Cleveland State didn't prepare for backlash over the whole thing, with university officials giving public criticism little thought. What was (is?) WCSB to Cleveland? The host of Odd Girl Hour on WCSB writes about her personal loss. A Profound Loss Of course, Ideastream itself is facing increased pressure due to federal funding cuts. They've now added local community protest and support for WCSB to their list of troubles, in addition to a key question about whether or not the deal was even legal to begin with. Harsh scrutiny is being placed not just on Ideastream, but CSU and CSU President, Laura Bloomberg, who offered a typical crisis PR statement about the change. Interestingly, she was granted a seat on Ideastream's board as a result of the takeover. WCSB may never return. The history of similar takeovers offers yet another chilling look into the current political and quality of life challenges facing America with respect to media consolidation and on campus free speech. WCSB incomplete archives here and here. Act II: A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, or The Takeover 97x: The Future of Rock & Roll (sadly) 97x was my station growing up. You may have heard of it because of the movie Rain Man. Their slogan, "97x: The future of Rock and Roll" led station breaks or played before songs, and was adapted by Dustin Hoffman during filming as a repeated phrase for his character because the crew listened to WOXY during filming in Cincinnati. This station was my lifeline to music that didn't fit into acceptable, mainstream America. Each Memorial Day, starting in 1989, they featured the definitive list of 500 modern rock songs, adapted year-over-year as newer music appeared and influenced the landscape. You can review the lists here. Other radio stations featuring classic rock, oldies and other nostalgic or top 40 music had started aligning decades prior to play the same music across the country. But in the 70's and 80's, 97x and a host of college radio stations like it offered important platforms for unique, brown, queer, artistic voices that were largely ignored on the commercial stations, bringing incredible music to American airwaves. And these stations, artists and songs were important for Gen X youth, restless and anxious as they were, always seeking ways to assert independence. Alternative and independent music was one of the key elements for shaping their worldview. The future should have been bright for independent media like 97x. But something changed. 97x was sold to First Broadcasting Investment Partners for $5.6 million in January 2004. Side Note: First Broadcasting Investment Partners was a vulture capital firm founded by Ron Unkefer, a CSU grad. Is it too much to wonder, despite this not being mentioned anywhere in media reporting, if he was an advisor on the WCSB "deal" with Ideastream? And because of the WOXY acquisition, as for many other stations like it, 97x had their last terrestrial broadcast on Thursday, May 13, 2004, a definitive moment for me, listening and crying in bed along with the DJs as they signed off, one by one, until the very last goodbye from station manager Steve Baker after playing "Sunday, Bloody Sunday," the first song they ever played on 97x. His goodbye is preserved forever here.* So, how in the goddamn hell did the 90's (nearly completely) kill college radio? We can broadly thank the Telecommunications Act of 1996, passed 91-5 in the Senate and signed by Bill Clinton into law on February 8, 1996. The law's purpose was to foster competition while relaxing media ownership regulations. It also removed the cap on radio station ownership rules. There was also a measure to prohibit indecency and obscenity on the Internet, though this was ruled unconstitutional. Except for Section 230, which enabled the growth of the internet but at what cost? Other free thinkers of the day recognized that relaxing media ownership rules (and permitting more monopolistic behavior from broadband corporations) would be, ah, not good. Radio homogenization resulted in catastrophic consequences for the industry: -More than a third of all US radio stations had been bought and sold -Of the 4,992 total stations across 268 set radio markets, almost half are now owned by a company owning three or more stations in the same market -The number of stations owned by the ten largest companies increased by roughly fifteen times between 1985 and 2005 Lydia Polgreen summed up much of the consolidation in a 1999 piece for Washington Monthly, The Death of Local Radio. Act III: I'll try to find you...left of the dial What's left when you're left? For WCSB, some supporters hope that WCSB can be re-established. I am xcsb has popped up to offer hope for the future of WCSB, not only to help continue to build community support to try and reverse the takeover, but providing info about activities to help. This includes a weekly, Friday DJ set in November with WCSB DJs at a great local venue to stay connected and support efforts to re-establish WCSB. And for 97x, there was a bit of rebirth in 2023, at least for the Modern Rock 500. You can see the list here. But most importantly, there are signs Gen Z may be listening to college radio in greater numbers, offering hope and skepticism. Epilogue: Take Action WCSB xcsb.org is encouraging people to sign a petition at Change.org to bring back WCSB From the xcsb website, they are also encouraging supporters to call to try and restore WCSB to the airwaves (you can find that yourself if you're so inclined) This Thursday, November 13th, 2025: Join KEXP (more below) by tuning in for Music Heals: Grief Organizations / Other College Radio Foundation Music First Coalition Great current college / alt radio stations: KEXP (Listen here on the station site | Live show archive on YouTube with interviews) Listen to college radio stations The 7 Best College Radio Stations You Can Listen to Online 30 amazing college radio stations From Reddit: What's popular in college radio right now? Any recommendations for good radio stations? 97x history The History of 97x The definitive 97x archive, maintained by former DJ, Craig Froehle More about 97x here Metafilter post about 97x More about radio & media consolidation here, here, here, here, here *Yes, I cried again relistening to that last broadcast while making this post, and always will.
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 08:41 pm
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 08:41 pmAlt-Choc
After hovering mostly between $1,000 and $3,000 per metric ton for decades, cocoa prices rocketed to about $12,500 at the end of last year. Bad weather, blight and aging trees combined to cause massive crop failures in West Africa, where roughly 70% of the world's cocoa is grown. Illegal mining, driven by soaring gold prices, has also ravaged small-scale farms in Ghana. Although prices have moderated, I don't believe this crisis is at an end. Cocoa remains much more expensive in nominal terms than ever before in recorded history. Unless there are profound changes in how and where it's grown, there's no reason to expect a return to steady, lower prices. No wonder the confectionary industry is rushing to limit its exposure. from I Saw a Vision of Chocolate's Future in an Amsterdam Brownie [Bloomberg; ungated]
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 08:17 pm
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 08:17 pmWhen you stand your ground, what are you standing on?
The Cooperative National Geologic Map This site is an educational tool and introduction to the Nation's geology. The geologic layers were compiled using a standardized process, funded by the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program. Layers for the Cooperative National Geologic Map were assembled from about 100 geologic maps of states or large regions produced by State Geological Surveys and the USGS.
The beta site was previously mentioned in 2016 in this thread about Flyover App.
The beta site was previously mentioned in 2016 in this thread about Flyover App.
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 06:56 pm
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 06:56 pmBirds don't know about Brexit
Spain's declining red kite population gets an assist from the UK A couple decades ago, ornithologists in Spain and the UK cooperated to send some of Spain's then-plentiful red kite chicks to the British Isles in hopes that the species would recover there. The effort met with smashing success. 30 years on, Great Britain returns the favor.
Spain's red kite population has declined severely, mostly due to electrocution on power lines as well as shootings and poisonings. In an act of optimism, British and Spanish kite lovers recently cooperated to send some of the descendants of that original crop of chicks back to Spain. So far, results have been promising, but the threat from humans remains an unresolved issue. Power lines in Spain have begun to be made bird-safe, at least. The visually striking red kite, with its rusty plumage and broad white wingbands, flies deftly and sings in an unforgettable way. SEO Birdlife, a conservation society that publishes an excellent guide to the birds of Spain, notes that the red kite likes to sleep in groups during the winter and prefers groves for its cold- weather communal lodging. SEO Birdlife article on the red kite, with audio samples of song and video Acción para el Mundo Salvage, the group that runs the wildlife hospital where the British chicks spent some time before their release Article on declining migrating bird populations in Andalucia, published by the Andalucia Bird Society
Spain's red kite population has declined severely, mostly due to electrocution on power lines as well as shootings and poisonings. In an act of optimism, British and Spanish kite lovers recently cooperated to send some of the descendants of that original crop of chicks back to Spain. So far, results have been promising, but the threat from humans remains an unresolved issue. Power lines in Spain have begun to be made bird-safe, at least. The visually striking red kite, with its rusty plumage and broad white wingbands, flies deftly and sings in an unforgettable way. SEO Birdlife, a conservation society that publishes an excellent guide to the birds of Spain, notes that the red kite likes to sleep in groups during the winter and prefers groves for its cold- weather communal lodging. SEO Birdlife article on the red kite, with audio samples of song and video Acción para el Mundo Salvage, the group that runs the wildlife hospital where the British chicks spent some time before their release Article on declining migrating bird populations in Andalucia, published by the Andalucia Bird Society
Ask a Manager (askamanager_feed) wrote2025-11-10 06:59 pm
askamanager_feed) wrote2025-11-10 06:59 pmI got an abusive message from an email subscriber — should I let his employer know?
A reader writes:
I run outbound marketing for a tech startup serving founders and salespeople. We often send promotional/announcement emails from my email address to subscribers who have opted in to receive our updates.
We recently sent a very harmless and innocuous announcement message, to which I received the following reply: “Why the FUCK am I getting this email”
The message was from a personal Gmail account and included the sender’s cell phone number. A quick LinkedIn search revealed that the sender is employed at a major financial services firm as a personal wealth advisor (investment manager) for high net worth individuals.
What he doesn’t know is, I’m a client of his firm. While he is not my investment advisor, one of his colleagues is, and his unreasonable reply — in response to a message he opted in to receive — honestly makes me reconsider my business relationship with the firm. If they employ someone who casually exhibits this degree of unprofessionalism, especially when it took more time to send an abusive reply than it would have to just … delete the email and never think of it again (even deleting and unsubscribing would have taken less time!), it undermines my trust in their ability to manage my money.
So my question is, should I make someone at the firm aware of his behavior? I could let my own investment manager know, but I’m not sure what he would do about it, other than directing me to someone higher up in the organization. Blasting this guy publicly on LinkedIn isn’t really my style, but a world in which someone can be disproportionately abusive in response to a low-stakes “problem” like a marketing email is not one I want to live in, let alone support by giving them my business. I also understand the logic of letting it go, especially given that the reply came from his personal email address, but it’s really made me mad and I don’t want his conduct to go unacknowledged because acting like it’s okay when it clearly isn’t feels like a tacit endorsement. Should I let his employer know?
Nah, let it go. They won’t care.
I’d argue you shouldn’t really care either. A ton of people forget they’ve subscribed to email lists and then send rude responses when they’re annoyed to receive what they think is spam, not realizing they opted in. Is it rude and, frankly, fruitless? Yes, absolutely. Is it something his employer will care about? Probably not. Will it look extremely strange to contact them about it? Yes.
I don’t want to imply that we should accept casual rudeness as the norm. We shouldn’t! But you’re also kind of overreacting to it in this case. He thought it was spam, he was annoyed and, yes, his response was over the top, but your response to it is also pretty disproportionate.
If this guy were your investment manager, I could see caring a little more — like who is this hothead I have managing my money and how else does he behave when he thinks he’s anonymous? But you’re far enough removed from him that you should just delete his reply and not give it any additional thought. (Or at most, you could reply to say, “You received this message because you opted into our mailing list. I’ll remove you.” But nothing beyond that.)
The post I got an abusive message from an email subscriber — should I let his employer know? appeared first on Ask a Manager.
Ask a Manager (askamanager_feed) wrote2025-11-10 05:29 pm
askamanager_feed) wrote2025-11-10 05:29 pmmy employee might be working a second job during our workday
A reader writes:
I recently took over managing a team, and have some concerns about one of my employees, John, who was hired by my predecessor. He is pretty good at what he does, but he is super slow at producing finished work. He rarely meets deadlines and if I don’t micromanage him every step of the way on a project, it won’t get done.
At first I assumed he just had too much on his plate, so I’ve taken over a decent chunk of his work and made sure that everyone else on staff keeps me in the loop when they need his help. So now I know exactly what’s on his plate and how long it should take to do it – and he takes much longer than he should on most tasks.
I’ve been trying to figure out why he is so slow, and lately I’ve started wondering if he is working on his side gig during our office hours. We work remotely so I can’t see what he is doing, but I’ve noticed he will send me work first thing in the morning and then later in the evening. I won’t hear from him for hours on end during the 9-5, but the work he sends me in the evening is something that should take an hour or so to finish, not all day.
He does have an agency that he founded and works for on the side, so my theory is that he is working on that and then scrambling to get some of his actual work done before the end of the day. How can I have this conversation with him without accusing him and how can I make sure he is actually doing his work without micromanaging him?
I answer this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here.
The post my employee might be working a second job during our workday appeared first on Ask a Manager.
MetaFilter (metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 04:28 pm
metafilter_feed) wrote2025-11-10 04:28 pmCan man-made bungalows installed in rivers help fish?
Recovery was on the edge for this species. Then ecologists tried something new. This spring offers a critical window to see if man-made bungalows installed in rivers can help a struggling fish species. If they work, they could provide a path forward for restoring other battling Australian freshwater fish populations.