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Breaking radio silence

Created

Tue, 04/05/2021 - 06:17

After a long while (almost 5 years!), the blog is finally back online. And yes, I did at the long last come to terms with the word “blog”. Also, the title got changed to what a major translation service spat out when fed the Icelandic information security law.

I admit it took way too much time for me to finally start working on bringing the blog back, and then again too much time to actually get it done. I probably did overthink stuff massively. As I am prone to do.

But hey, at least we can now have…

What next for parklets? It doesn’t have to be a permanent switch back to parking

https://theconversation.com/what-next-for-parklets-it-doesnt-have-to-be-a-perma…

Created

Tue, 04/05/2021 - 06:07

Roadsides have long been reserved for parking cars, but the pandemic led to many experiments with other ways of using scarce and valuable public space. We can put it to better and more flexible uses.

PEF Student Essay Contest Deadline Extended to May 11

https://www.progressive-economics.ca/2021/05/pef-student-essay-contest-deadline…

Created

Tue, 04/05/2021 - 05:36

To allow the maximum number of quality student essays to join the already promising submissions we have received, PEF is extending the deadline for our 2021 PEF Student Essay Contest to May 11, 2021. Calling all Canadian students anywhere in the world and all post-secondary students in Canada who are working on papers taking a critical approach to the functioning, [...]

Canada’s Secret Weapon in Fighting Climate Change: Great Trade Unions

https://www.progressive-economics.ca/2021/05/canadas-secret-weapon-in-fighting-…

Created

Tue, 04/05/2021 - 04:21

U.S. President Joe Biden has been pushing the envelope in bringing America back into the Paris Accord process, setting more ambitious targets for reducing U.S. emissions, and committing to very big investments in renewable energy infrastructure and other climate-friendly measures. This is very encouraging, and will reinforce (and up the ante) for Canada to do better. One news story about [...]

It’s the last day to back TBH on Kickstarter!

http://wondermark.com/its-the-last-day-to-back-tbh/

Created

Fri, 30/04/2021 - 17:00

Today’s the last day to back my new game, TBH, on Kickstarter! We’ve just hit our 1000-backer stretch goal, which means every backer will now get a free pack of Kickstarter-exclusive bonus cards! These are cards that won’t be in the post-Kickstarter edition of the game, and won’t be available to anyone after today. The […]

The Minsky Conference Returns

https://multiplier-effect.org/the-minsky-conference-returns/

Created

Fri, 30/04/2021 - 01:21

After pausing last spring due to the pandemic, the Minsky Conference is back. Join us next week, May 5-6. It would be an understatement to say this has been an eventful year in world economies and financial markets. It is also a period in which we are seeing some signs of change in economic thought […]

Direct Job Creation in Greece

https://multiplier-effect.org/direct-job-creation-in-greece/

Created

Thu, 29/04/2021 - 01:54

Senior Scholar Rania Antonopoulos recently participated in a webinar for the European Trade Union Institute, during which she discussed the rationale behind and experience with the implementation of the “Kinofelis” direct job creation program—a limited job guarantee for Greece. Watch her presentation below (accompanying slides are here). The Levy Institute’s previous Strategic Analysis for Greece […]

The Muddled Speech of Numbers: Blood clots, COVID-19 vaccines, and statistical risk

http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2021/04/19/the-muddled-speech-of-numb…

Created

Tue, 20/04/2021 - 02:38

Earlier this week, the CDC paused the roll-out of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination after 6 women experienced serious blood clots. Their caution has merit, given that the FDA has been approving vaccinations in advance of the typical large-scale evaluations because speed is seen as so crucial. Reasonably, there is a desire to know […]

Behind every algorithm, there be politics.

http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2021/04/18/behind-every-algorithm-the…

Created

Mon, 19/04/2021 - 03:07

In my first class in computer science, I was taught that an algorithm is simply a way of expressing formal rules given to a computer. Computers like rules. They follow them. Turns out that bureaucracy and legal systems like rules too. The big difference is that, in the world of computing, we call those who are […]

#1526; The Spot Treatment

http://wondermark.com/c1526/

Created

Tue, 13/04/2021 - 15:00

How and why I made a party game in a pandemic.

http://wondermark.com/how-and-why-i-made-a-party-game/

Created

Tue, 13/04/2021 - 14:28

My new game, TBH, has now reached its minimum funding goal on Kickstarter! We’re working on stretch goals now, to make the game even bigger and better. The campaign runs through the end of April, and I hope you’ll check it out! If you visit the page, you’ll see my face halfway down, hosting a […]

Canada: Ten things to know about the federal role in housing policy

https://www.progressive-economics.ca/2021/04/canada-ten-things-to-know-about-th…

Created

Mon, 12/04/2021 - 02:12

I’ve written a 750-word overview of the federal role in housing policy. The English-language version is here: https://nickfalvo.ca/canada-ten-things-to-know-about-the-federal-role-in-housing-policy/ The French-language version is here: https://nickfalvo.ca/canada-dix-faits-saillants-sur-le-role-du-federal-en-matiere-de-politique-du-logement/

DWCA Western Sydney Tavern – on again 9 April

http://dwca.org.au/dwca-western-sydney-tavern-on-again-9-april/

Created

Fri, 09/04/2021 - 10:36

It’s back on 9 April 2021 – the next DWCA Western Sydney Tavern! You can meet up and hang out with organizer Dallas Jones and other Who fans from about 6.30pm at the Lone Pine Tavern, Rooty Hill, located at 15 Rooty Hill Road, Rooty Hill, NSW. The plan is for attendees to meet in the dining area, so look for a table with a TARDIS model. The Lone Pine Tavern is within a short distance of Rooty Hill Station for those people who want to come along via public transport and the venue has plenty of parking for those… Continue reading

From Outcasts in White Australia – 2 (1971)

https://sydneyanthology.wordpress.com/2021/04/07/from-outcasts-in-white-austral…

Created

Thu, 08/04/2021 - 08:11

C.D. Rowley details the findings of a survey into conditions among Sydney’s Aboriginal community: Mrs Pamela Beasley made at the beginning of 1964 an interim report on conditions in the Redfern–Chippendale area. She found over 500 persons willing to be interviewed as Aboriginal, in a small area including part of Redfern and part of Chippendale, […]

From Outcasts in White Australia – 1 (1971)

https://sydneyanthology.wordpress.com/2021/04/07/from-outcasts-in-white-austral…

Created

Wed, 07/04/2021 - 20:34

Public servant and academic C.D. (Charles) Rowley was principal of the Australian School of Pacific Administration from 1950 to 1964, where Australian administrators of the Territory of Papua New Guinea were trained. In 1964 he accepted a three-year appointment to the Social Science Research Council of Australia, Canberra as director of a project to study […]

I made a new game. It’s called TBH.

http://wondermark.com/i-made-a-new-game-its-called-tbh/

Created

Wed, 07/04/2021 - 18:35

I’ve spent the past six months making a new party game. [ IT’S ON KICKSTARTER RIGHT NOW ] I said a bit more about it on Twitter too, starting here. (And on Patreon.)

Who is lending to the British government?

https://econoblog101.wordpress.com/2021/04/06/who-is-lending-to-the-british-gov…

Created

Tue, 06/04/2021 - 17:53

The Guardian has published a question and invited other readers to answer it: The chancellor has borrowed an unprecedented amount of money. Who is lending it to him, and where did they get it?Sean Boyle, London The answer from Andrew, Richard and Neil is a genuine MMT answer and I recommend reading it. It was also […]

2021 PEF STUDENT ESSAY CONTEST IS OPEN

https://www.progressive-economics.ca/2021/04/2021-pef-student-essay-contest-is-…

Created

Fri, 02/04/2021 - 15:32

The 2021 PEF Student Essay Contest is now open! Calling all Canadian students anywhere in the world and all post-secondary students in Canada who are working on papers taking a critical approach to the functioning, efficiency, social, and environmental consequences of unconstrained markets. The winning essays will receive a cash prize of $1,000 for the graduate student category and $500 [...]

Trans south

http://www.raewynconnell.net/2021/03/trans-south.html

Created

Tue, 30/03/2021 - 13:14

Identifying “Underproduced” Software

https://mako.cc/copyrighteous/identifying-underproduced-software

Created

Tue, 30/03/2021 - 10:56

I wrote this blog post with Kaylea Champion and a version of this post was originally posted on the Community Data Science Collective blog. Critical software we all rely on can silently crumble away beneath us. Unfortunately, we often don’t find out software infrastructure is in poor condition until it is too late. Over the …

Continue reading "Identifying “Underproduced” Software"

Cousin Jack

https://tregeagle.com/cousin-jack.html

Created

Mon, 29/03/2021 - 12:51

I’ve not been a good friend. I did not send cards or presents. I moved around the globe and did not stay in contact. I have become older and regrettably maudlin about Cornwall and my old friends. I have gone home for intermittent visits. We have awkward conversations remembering …

r/McMansionHell - Hello r/McMansionHell, I'm Kate Wagner, creator of McMansion Hell and architecture critic at The New Republic. AMA!

https://mcmansionhell.com/post/646838568508080128

Created

Sun, 28/03/2021 - 06:28

r/McMansionHell - Hello r/McMansionHell, I'm Kate Wagner, creator of McMansion Hell and architecture critic at The New Republic. AMA!:

Howdy, Folks! If you’re not busy right now, I’m doing an AMA on the McMansion Hell Subreddit! Stop by and ask me some questions!

The Free Software Foundation and Richard Stallman

https://mako.cc/copyrighteous/the-free-software-foundation-and-richard-stallman

Created

Sat, 27/03/2021 - 06:24

I served as a director and as a voting member of the Free Software Foundation for more than a decade. I left both positions over the last 18 months and currently have no formal authority in the organization. So although it is now just my personal opinion, I will publicly add my voice to the …

Continue reading "The Free Software Foundation and Richard Stallman"

Background Check

https://thenib.com/background-check/

Created

Wed, 24/03/2021 - 18:00

A shocking incident where a man registered to vote...on an election day.

The Tenth Doctor and River Song (Big Finish)

http://reviews.doctorwhonews.net/2021/03/the_tenth_doctor_and_river_song_big_fi…

Created

Wed, 24/03/2021 - 08:04