Interesting Links for 10-08-2022

[andrewducker]

1. The effect of renewable electricity generation on the value of cross-border interconnection

(tags:electricity trade renewables viaDanielDWilliam )

2. Spiders Seem to Have REM-like Sleep and May Even Dream

(tags:spiders dreams )

3. The productivity tax you pay for context switching

(tags:productivity psychology )

4. If you're wondering why the South of England has a water shortage, the government has been blocking new reservoirs for over a decade

(tags:water UK Doom OhForFucksSake )

5. 'Gingerism': the last socially acceptable form of bullying?

(tags:colour hair bullying uk )

6. It's now fair to ask: what the hell is Keir Starmer thinking?

(tags:labour politics UK Doom )

7. France experiencing worst drought on record

(tags:France water Doom )

8. Why your friends get sick before you

(tags:disease connection friends graphs )

9. What if life first evolved in hydrothermal vents *before* there even were genes?

(tags:genetics life prehistory biology chemistry )

10. The crisis at the heart of the Conservative party

(tags:politics UK conservatives )

Comments

[lilysea]

'Gingerism': the last socially acceptable form of bullying?

Trust me, there's still plenty of bullying of people for being fat or Disabled, and that's still seen as socially acceptable by FAR too many people...

[andrewducker]

Yeah, I should have put in a comment with that headline, because I totally agree. (And half of the USA certainly seems to think that racism is still socially acceptable...)

[calimac]

It did have a question mark. And by their description, this is a bullying that doesn't lead to blowback as bullying of the fat or disabled, however common, does.

[nancylebov]

Prejudice varies a lot locally-- gingerism does seem to be a British Isles thing, though South Part did its bit to bring gingerism to the the US.

And yes, there's never a last prejudice, or even a last socially acceptable prejudice.

[dewline]

Further evidence: the Ontario Disability Support Program...does not support disabled people properly. By design.

[cmcmck]

5. They forget that bullying trans people is also still socially acceptable.......

[nancylebov]

Of course your friends get sick before you do-- you're more likely (I think) to get an infection from a friend than a stranger.

[lilysea]

Back before COVID existed, I caught all of my colds from strangers - because my friends knew to cancel plans with me if there was even a chance that they had a cold (I'm medically vulnerable), but strangers on buses/trains and Drs waiting rooms took no precautions about sharing their germs...

[conuly]

Do spiders dream of silken sheep?

[andrewducker]

Tasty, tasty silken sheep.

[ninetydegrees]

7. "with farmers warning that there might be less food available."

What a load of crap. The problem is of course exacerbated by the drought and it *is* a huge issue, but the way we cultivate lands and what for, manage our production, balance importation and exportation, and have never made plans to adapt to climate change is at the root of the issue. For example, we're exporting over 30% of what we produce while we import huge amounts of (GMO) food to feed cattle (which also makes for a good part of our production), as well as fruit and vegetables because they're cheaper than the ones we make. I don't envy farmers at all but, at some point, you have to question the way you do things and in which way you contribute to the problem you find yourselves in. Of course, the powers that be and society in general are to blame too since this isn't something farmers can solve all on their own.