Interesting Links for 24-11-2018

[andrewducker]

Airlines face crack down on use of exploitative algorithm that splits up families on flights

(tags: business airplanes OhForFucksSake )

US Coal On Track For Record Capacity Decline, Closing 15.4 Gigawatts

(tags: coal usa )

Have you got a “self-actualised” personality? A new test brings Maslow’s ideas into the 21st century

I score highly for perception of reality and incredibly low for purpose.
(tags: personality psychology )

Repowering the UK’s oldest wind farms could boost energy generation by 171%

(tags: windpower uk )

Germany, Denmark, Netherlands and Finland stop weapons sales to Saudi Arabia in response to Yemen famine

(tags: saudiarabia weaponry business Germany Netherlands denmark finland )

You should read your children illustrated stories

(tags: books reading children psychology neuroscience )

The Sentilese may be averse to outside contact for good reasons

(tags: india society history uk )

British army chief: Russia 'far bigger threat than IS'

(tags: Russia UK )

British government drops military-style rifle ban amid backbench revolt

(tags: UK guns law fail )

Comments

You should read your children illustrated stories

[doug]

Yes! Not least because children like them. (If they don't, try different ones, or different activities.) It's good to have the research. And most attentive parents can directly see what's engaging their kids well and what's overwhelming or underwhelming them, and naturally give up on the things that aren't working and go for the ones that are. Even if it's bloody That's Not My Dinosaur for the thirty-eighth time today.

My younger kid transitioned from breastfeeding as the ultimate comforting activity to sitting on your lap having a picture book read, and it was ever so lovely. Particularly for me, since it meant I was suddenly much better at providing comfort than I had been.

[momentsmusicaux]

> So were the exchanges known as "dialogic reading," where caregivers point out specific words or prompt children to "show me the cat?" in a picture. "That's a whole other layer," of building reading Hutton says.

ARGH no, fuck that shit. I already spend tons of time reading to the kids -- they each get about 30 minutes a day just at naptime and bedtime, plus more throughout the day when they ask, which is frequently. I don't have the mental energy to go 'show me the cat' and whatever. I read the words. If I ought to be saying 'show me cat', then the book should bloody well have the words 'show me the cat' printed in it, and then I'll read them.

[momentsmusicaux]

I'm low on acceptance and equanimity, but I could have told you that without a test.

[cmcmck]

That's particularly nasty for me as I'm flight phobic and can only travel if I get a window seat with him very definitely next to me.

[errolwi]

But if you require a window seat you will be paying for seat selection in any case, surely (unless you are on a small aircraft with 2-2 seating)?
The early comment about 'detecting' same surnames and deliberately splitting them up is nonsensical. Why would you expect passengers on separate bookings to be placed together, even if they check in sequentially?
Clearly some airlines' algorithms attempt to place those on a booking together, and others treat each seat as a separate allocation task. I wonder if any actively assign non-selectees to unpopular seats first (e.g. middle seats).I'm always slightly surprised when AirNZ assigns a window seat when I'm travelling alone, I keep expecting a middle.

[cmcmck]

I must say I've never come across this nonsense, thankfully.

We do quite a lot of flying on 2-2's.

I'd probably quite enjoy the DH dragon in your userpic- the smaller the better for me! I've flown on BN islanders and actually enjoyed the experience. :o)

[errolwi]

I don't seem to have interior photos from my flights in 1930's DH's, but sounds right, 1-1 seating with large windows!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/errolgc/albums/72157616728996482/

Provided you don't mind being close-ish to the ground the whole flight.

I expect to have some Islander flights this summer, as a good friend of my partner just moved to Great Barrier Island.
https://www.flymysky.co.nz/

[cmcmck]

Such a familiar sight! :o)

We use them up in the Orkney islands off the north coast of Scotland when we go up each year.

[calimac]

B. also hates flying, though more from the simple discomfort of the process, and will only fly in an aisle seat - more room - with me next to her.

But we've never encountered the splitting process in the US. Most airlines here allow you to pick seats in the online booking process.

[cmcmck]

It happens here too with the more, shall we say, reputable airlines.

[errolwi]

I haven't heard of not being able to do it (other than really small planes where they might arrange you for weight and balance reasons), just some fares have it structured as an optional extra.

[cmcmck]

I think it's outfits like Ryanair (whom we avoid like the plague) who have the reputation for this sort of stunt.

[heron61]

I score highly for perception of reality and incredibly low for purpose. Same here - I found the questions about purpose odd - I love my work, but that's because it's fun and I'm pretty good at it, not because it's some grand or important purpose, or anything like a calling.

self actualization

[darkoshi]

I scored 87, which apparently is quite low:
"Based on data collected from 522 other people, your percentile score is 5.16%. This means that your score is higher than 5.16% of those who have already taken this test."

My top 3 items are authenticity, creative spirit, and acceptance. My lows are purpose, humanitarianism, and peak experiences.

[mountainkiss]

My top three are Creative Spirit, Purpose and Efficient Perception of Reality. (I'm very surprised at the last as I wouldn't rate myself highly for that at all.) Lowest three are Humanitarianism, Peak Experiences and Equanimity. Overall I come out 54th percentile which feels about right.

Re: Arms Sales to KSA

[dewline]

There's an article in yesterday's Globe and Mail looking at the Canadian angle. There's a company with a plant in London, ON that's building light armoured vehicles for KSA, and those vehicles are almost certainly being used against homegrown dissidents and/or Yemeni civilians. TGAM being firmly pro-corporate these days - which Sir George Brown would likely be aghast at to some extent - they're still depicting the conflict of conscience as being in play here...

As for myself, I'd prefer the House of Saud be firmly told "no more".