Interesting Links for 15-12-2022

[andrewducker]

1. After spending 20 years simulating reality, the Dwarf Fortress devs have to get used to a new one: being millionaires

(tags:games usa business money )

2. A guide to Christmas, for Jews who haven't encountered it before

(tags:satire Jews Christmas religion funny )

3. The Whispering Earring, a warning about letting AI do all of your thinking for you

(tags:short_story FreeWill fantasy ai )

4. Women in the UK Are Being Denied Medical Treatment Because They're Virgins

(tags:virginity healthcare UK OhForFucksSake )

5. The NHS has more funding and staff now than in 2019. But is treating less people. Because Covid.

(tags:NHS Pandemic Doom UK healthcare viaDanielDWilliam )

6. "All I Want For Christmas Is Creep" - a glorious cover version/mashup

(tags:music Christmas video )

7. The Snowman at 40: 'It's a story about loss'

(tags:Christmas snow TV children )

8. England joins Scotland and Wales in banning plastic cutlery, plates, etc.

(tags:plastic waste uk )

9. A guide to potential liability pitfalls for people running a Mastodon instance

(tags:law regulation socialnetworking mastodon )

10. Major Scottish subsea power cable projects approved

(tags:power electricity infrastructure scotland )

11. Edinburgh University students block lecture hall to stop screening of transphobic film

(tags:edinburgh university bigotry lgbt transgender )

12. Recreating the Argonath from the Lord of the Ring in VR

(tags:lotr video virtualreality )

Comments

[bens_dad]

4. So these medical people are happy to screw experienced women without explicit consent ?
The question should be "Can I fuck you with my gadget ?" not "Are you a virgin ?"

Are they laying themselves open to rape accusations ?

[haggis]

You have got it the wrong around. These are women who are fully consenting to necessary medical treatment who are being refused by medical personnel for bullshit reasons.

[haggis]

There was a thread on Twitter where someone said that they were refused a transvaginal ultrasound scan (mildly uncomfortable) and forced to have a laparoscopy instead because of these policies, despite begging for the ultrasound

[calimac]

2) This seems to me to be very useful to give Christians an idea of how Jews feel when Christians talk about us in an all-too-typical fashion. However, it leaves a couple of things out that I discovered when I began to co-inhabit with a practicing Christian. 1, Christians blow out the Advent candles. This deeply shocked me. Hanukkah candles are NEVER blown out: that would be sacrilegious. They are left to burn down to the end; that is perhaps why they are so small. 2, There are other good reasons for having an artificial tree, as we found after having a natural one our first couple years. They don't have to be kept moist. Cats are less likely to climb them. (Tybalt will climb anything, especially me, but he's never touched the artificial tree.) And they don't have to be discarded afterwards.

[andrewducker]

We also have an artificial tree, because otherwise Jim eats the needles.

And if we get a plastic tree that has needles, he eats those too.

So we have to have an entirely unrealistic tree.

[channelpenguin]

I saw an awesome tree that was a wooden tree-shaped cat tree painted green with cat toys as ornaments!

[andrewducker]

That sounds amazing! If you bump into it again share a photo!

Cat Xmas Tree

[channelpenguin]

https://youtu.be/hQQrIFatR_8

Re: Cat Xmas Tree

[andrewducker]

Love it!

[cellio]

They blow out the advent candles? Today I learned. Is there some amount of time they're supposed to burn first?

[andrewducker]

I've never encountered them before, but it looks like there are day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent_candle?wprov=sfla1

[calimac]

Advent candles are tall and fairly heavy. They could last for many hours if burned unattended.

B. lights them at the evening meal with a prayer, and blows them out afterwards. Then they're relit the next day. There's four candles: one for the first week of Advent, and one more added in each subsequent week. Usually even the first candle will last long enough to be put away afterwards for a second year.

I'm just speaking of what I observe here: it's not my religion so I don't know much about it.

[cellio]

Ah, thanks. I've only seen pictures of the candles/wreath, without surrounding context for scale. I thought they were more like short tapers that would burn down in a few hours anyway.

[ninetydegrees]

#1 So happy for them!

Some great news in this batch. Thanks :)

[andrewducker]

My pleasure!

[fyre]

The medical BS is no shock. Years back, I was told by the scanning technician to go and get drunk, find some rando and "loosen things up a bit". I was so shocked and appalled that I didn't even think to get angry.

[andrewducker]

What the fuck? That's awful!

[fyre]

Definitely not my best birthday

The NHS has more funding and staff now than in 2019. But is treating less people. Because Covid.

[anef]

In connection with this there was an interesting article in the Guardian recently: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/15/health-expert-jeremy-hunt-fix-social-care

Re: The NHS has more funding and staff now than in 2019. But is treating less people. Because Covid.

[andrewducker]

Thank you, that all makes sense. Total lack of joined up thinking, with the usual false economies going on.

A friend's mother was recently in hospital, then discharged too soon, and now back in again - if they'd managed it well in the first place she'd probably be properly home by now!