Posts by cathal@sunbeam.city
(DIR) Post #247378 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2018-09-27T08:47:38Z
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@bob@cjdI'd concur: the Old Ways implicitly included "don't be a shithead" but it was never codified because social groups were small and insular (and homogenous) enough to self-regulate. Codifying "Don't be a shithead" isn't a breakaway from the Old Ways, it's a reaffirmation.
(DIR) Post #247404 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2018-09-27T09:02:20Z
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@oshwm @bob @cjd I appreciate where you're coming from, but I see this as a commonplace fallacy. People who are resilient against emotional abuse are not necessarily better engineers or project managers. I'd be surprised to see a correlation there, in fact for community or project management I'd expect an inverse correlation. And without any data that controls for survivor bias (I've seen none?) it seems an irrational position to take.
(DIR) Post #247406 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2018-09-27T09:10:54Z
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@cjd@oshwm @bobI do agree: With Rust as a prototype for example, "serious engineers" would be able to see that a CoC did not result in a community of soft engineers who can't get stuff done. And looking at their channels ome could see how it doesn't stifle productive discussion. Of course, a bad CoC can have bad outcomes, I'm sure there are communities where authoritarians used them poorly. Perhaps even Linux will suffer that way?
(DIR) Post #500918 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2018-10-12T09:50:11Z
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Installed Manyverse from FDroid. Sure, I'll experiment. Though I'll keep it installed even if I don't use it, because that way I can use FDroid to share the app with others if the net ever goes down for prolonged periods, so we can nucleate a little disaster-resilient social network. Phones have great batteries, can be easily solar-charged, and are portable to sync between distant networks to spread news and help.I think that's pretty #Solarpunk.
(DIR) Post #661660 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2018-10-20T20:21:43Z
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@neauoire Where to?
(DIR) Post #661669 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2018-10-20T20:22:25Z
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@neauoire Is a follow request welcome? :)
(DIR) Post #665399 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2018-10-20T21:58:16Z
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Rage, hatred, and exclusive ideology ain't Solarpunk
(DIR) Post #665401 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2018-10-20T22:16:14Z
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@Shufei Kinda my answer: https://sunbeam.city/@cathal/100930268960021328 - But pithier answers exist, @neauoire summed it up well recently if I could locate his toot.. :P
(DIR) Post #665403 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2018-10-20T22:22:49Z
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@neauoire @Shufei Thanks! :)I think Solarpunk, done well, is postcapitalist or capitalism-killing entirely as a side-effect. Ecosystems outgrow parasitism, they don't thrive on scorched earth.
(DIR) Post #940464 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2018-11-02T20:14:08Z
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#Trees do more than just sequester #carbon, indeed that's the least benefit they bring in the war on #GlobalWarming / #GlobalHeating / #ClimateEmergency. They modulate weather patterns at small & large scales:* Cooling surface temperatures* Increasing cloud cover and albedo* Reducing cirrus cloud (the kind that warms us more than it cools)* In sufficient numbers, trees directly pump rainclouds inland, spreading growth and sequestration even into deserts and dustbowls!http://www.fao.org/in-action/forest-and-water-programme/news/news-detail/en/c/470213
(DIR) Post #1431397 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2018-11-09T09:40:33Z
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Thinking of building a #Solar Kiln, or bodging it entirely and just buying another cheap tarp greenhouse to dry firewood in:https://builditsolar.com/Projects/WoodDrying/wood_kiln.htm#solarpunk #resilience
(DIR) Post #1431399 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2018-11-23T16:52:48Z
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@fitheach _poke_: Did you ever write this up? Am interested to learn more about the viability of this "quick and stupid" method. :)
(DIR) Post #9gRgTuvtgHWyI8BFWS by cathal@sunbeam.city
2019-03-04T22:56:48Z
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Spent a little while this evening sieving the frass out of my single-box mealworm setup. This time, I am seeing little larvae, indicating that the adults are successfully mating, and the cycle is working. I'm still harvesting plenty of pupae to feed to the wild-birds (I pay my taxes! :) ).I'm thinking it might be time to start taking some pictures and document it for #SolarpunkActionWeek / @actionweek. I started this as an experiment in a temperate-climate alternative to black-soldier-fly composting, and so far it's looking like a success.. although I'm still learning, and there's plenty more to be learned on how to do this best.Managing "wet" waste, in particular, is going to be harder to do with this method: I think Darkling Beetles (=mealworms) prefer mostly dry conditions. Possibly this can be managed with partial dehydration/solar-drying of waste, or perhaps just "mix with sawdust", but then you're maybe just hot-composting. Like I said, lots to learn. :)
(DIR) Post #9gRgTvPJut4BlNwkNs by cathal@sunbeam.city
2019-03-05T01:16:45Z
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@compostablespork Oh yes, they can also seemingly do PP, PET, perhaps others besides! I just started chatting to @the_gayest_doggo about this: https://sunbeam.city/@cathal/101695389201895971I've been put off experimenting until research indicates they can complete the degradation. But I figure odds are good that they can: the existing research is over very limited time-spans with larvae of a particular size, but I am guessing if you kept a colony then the smaller larvae would feed on the frass (poo) of the older ones and further degrade plastic particles. Toward zero? I don't know.. that's why I'm hedging and wondering whether a fungal partner could help finish the job.
(DIR) Post #9gRgTvafEi8mKZFo48 by cathal@sunbeam.city
2019-03-05T01:30:08Z
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@compostablespork @the_gayest_doggo Quick research yields:Disposable diapers biodegradation by the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21474296Abiotic and biotic degradation of oxo-biodegradable plastic bags by Pleurotus ostreatus https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25419675Degradation of oxo-biodegradable plastic by Pleurotus ostreatus https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23967057(Note: Plastics often have additives that may themselves be degradeable, or not. They may also have heavy metals which the mushrooms may concentrate, so the outputs of this composting process might not be themselves safe to eat or cycle through a food process. But maybe they can reduce landfill volume, at the very least?)
(DIR) Post #9gRi7bznbjyN63UtSS by cathal@sunbeam.city
2019-03-05T01:39:44Z
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@xj9 @the_gayest_doggo @compostablespork Well, my concern is that some additives won't degrade, particularly heavy metals or recalcitrant organic molecules. But, so far my rapid dive into the research is bearing fruit:"Bioremediation of long-term PCB-contaminated soil by white-rot fungi." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27894756"Removal of emerging contaminants using spent mushroom compost" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29660886"Comparing the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil after different bioremediation approaches in relationto the extracellular enzyme activities" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30528015Note that last one: gasification reactors, for example those used to make terra preta nova / biochar, could produce a lot of PAH pollution in their tars, and Oysters might be valuable in remediating that and making the tar more safely-useful.
(DIR) Post #9gRl2s0OxLsTAGD3ce by cathal@sunbeam.city
2019-03-05T01:31:18Z
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@compostablespork @the_gayest_doggo But, short version is, it's starting to look like mealworms -> grey oysters would be a possibly very good way to degrade some plastics, particularly "food grade" ones like food containers. :blobhyperthink:
(DIR) Post #9j8mtZsTmqarnTOibg by cathal@sunbeam.city
2019-05-24T16:15:54Z
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Set up an automatic waterer for an indoor planter in my new office, and it's _surprisingly effective_. Cost me ~€35, powered by USB, can do fairly granular scheduling:http://www.landrip.com/home/3-automatic-drip-irrigation.htmlAdvantage: I can keep non-succulents indoors and not worry when I go on holidays!Disadvantage: Some plants require more or less water, this approach does not cater to those cases.One worry I had was what displacement was practical with this little pump, because I have it watering three tiers of plants using a floor-based reservoir, where the highest tier is 1.1m above the reservoir intake.. but it was _no problem_, and the thing waters much faster than I expected.
(DIR) Post #9jDUglbw1cXR2OCUQS by cathal@sunbeam.city
2019-05-26T22:34:53Z
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I know lots of you beamers are anti-voting, but I gotta say I'm happy to see the Green Wave bearing out here in Ireland and EU.I'd prefer if we'd have a sortition system, but if we have to have elections.. I'm really glad we do them by proportional representation. Voting meant putting the candidates in order of preference, so I knew my vote would end up AT WORST voting for a mainstream party to deny far right. But it looks like maybe I did better and got my first pref? Time will tell.
(DIR) Post #9jDUglmvMlKRaTLGYS by cathal@sunbeam.city
2019-05-26T22:38:04Z
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Do I think the "Green Wave" will save us? Not by itself, not even 10%. But it's a signal that, _less than 1 year since the IPCC's stark warning_, momentum is building, despite the wilful apathy of mainstream politics.People are signalling to one another: climate is a mainstream concern. Preaching about solar and bikes and vegetarianism and anti-natalism, etc.. we're reaching a point where it's starting to stick.We can win.