Peak Dire Straits...

Sultans of Swing, 43 years ago.

https://youtu.be/8Pa9x9fZBtY

#DireStraits

This view is from the bench at the top of the rise after we walk up to the bridge over the Rosgil River and up the the lane. I see it daily and, of course, it varies enormously in its appearance and feeling. In England they have been suffering through a series of heatwaves caused by climate change.

On Skye we also have odd weather, but then we always do. This is high summer. Cool and wet. We have sunshine too and the combination is one that we enjoy.

#isleofskye #summer #weather

@dave Governments who are not proactively banning these pervert, creepy, stalker glasses are increasingly showing they have no concern for the safety of women or children in their countries.

An advertisement feature on the Independent newspaper website and app - 10 ways to use Meta's smart glasses while sightseeing (although it actually means whilst on holiday).

It doesn't mention "hanging around in the mens toilets" or "capturing fond memories on the naturist beach".

#AIGlasses should be banned. It's as simple as that.

The BBC's defence of the case against it brought by the Tangerine Tyrant is a great example of how a bully's bluster and hyperbolic threats can unwind rather seriously once exposed to the legal process... in this case the BBC's discovery process for defending their claim has backed Trump & his lawyers into a corner.

Here's @davidallengreen clearly setting out the details. It's giving to make you smile....

#Trump #RuleOfLaw #politics

https://theemptycity.com/blog/2026/08/why-trumps-lawsuit-against-the-bbc-is-not-going-well-for-him/

One (and it *is* only one) measure of political economic power is the share of global GDP for each major political bloc (country, or empire).

This chart from @visualcapitalist charts 200 years of such shares (and their changes)...

You can be sure this raises just as many Q.s as it answers but it remains instructive of shifts & changes in the make-up of the global political economy.

(yes, GDP is a problematic metric in itself, even when used on a PPP basis, as here.)

#politics #history

@wood5y There is a fair depth of insensitivity needed to knowingly scorch grass with a BBQ. The indifference towards others and the environment is one of the more worrying consequences of tech.

There's nothing 'essential' [sic] about a disposable barbecue, you muppets!

#BadJournalism

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/disposable-bbq-tesco-asda-ban-b3027116.html

Conservative newspaper panics over 'real possibility' Trump will be impeached #AlterNet https://twp.ai/E5EyNI

What surprises me:

We spend endless amounts of time debating the consequences of climate change.

Yet somehow we behave as if climate change itself is already a settled chapter, something previous generations caused, leaving us only to cope with the aftermath.

The reality is that we’re only at the beginning of the impacts. What’s coming will be far worse than what we’ve seen so far.

And much of it is still preventable, if we finally decide to act.

Instead, we’ve developed this remarkable ability to file each new disaster under “unfortunate, but inevitable” and then carry on marching cheerfully toward the cliff.

In an implicit acceptance that it has been (shall we say) misleading in its presentation of data on the 'success' of the roll-out of Palantir's technology to speed up NHS patent discharges, NHSEngland is now 'revising' the manner in which such data is both reported and collected.

To be blunter: NHSE were lying about Palantir's success for corrupt reasons & have now been required to publish unbiased data on the technology's capacity to aid NHS Trusts.

#Palantir #NHS
h/t FT

#HomeLab help!

I have #Proxmox VE and used a helper to make a Docker VM.

Now I want to give that VM a fixed IP and I see that the way to do this is to log into the VM and set the fixed IP for the OS in the VM, but...

The VM is running Debian 13 Trixie, which I believe uses #Netplan. So I modify the config, and do 'netplan try', and it reports that it can't allocate the IP which I think is because it's a VM. So I don't accept the new config. I tried some unused IPs.

Any thoughts on this?

For #FootpathFriday I wanted to remind me about a really cool hike we did a while ago.

Enjoy

#photography #mountains #wandern #hiking

Reform UK promised to shake up Westminster politics, and Richard Tice is certainly delivering—by getting investigated by the parliamentary standards watchdog for failing to declare an interest. Nothing says "anti-establishment" quite like classic MP paperwork trouble. 📋 #ReformUK https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/03/standards-watchdog-investigating-reform-richard-tice?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Richard Tice raging at the Archbishop of Canterbury’s anti-slavery post reveals Reform UK’s total refusal to confront historical truth. Demanding credit for abolition whilst ignoring two centuries of tax-funded slave-owner compensation isn't patriotism. Are we blind to real history? 🗳️ #ReformUK https://www.thecanary.co/trending/2026/08/02/richard-tice-meltdown/

fantastical eulogies for the execrable rod liddle incoming, no doubt.
#rodLiddle #rot

Admission may undermine Farage’s account of circumstances surrounding £5m gift from crypto billionaire

Farage admits he discussed returning as Reform leader months earlier than previously stated | Nigel Farage | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/aug/03/nigel-farage-admits-discussed-returning-reform-leader-months-earlier

We can thank Mr. Trump for this reversal of favorability, comparing the US to China. What an idiot we have for a president.

#trump #china #us #politics

https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UcQ5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca67cf36-73f8-41e9-abeb-87a465b3b69c_838x1438.png

"The climate emergency kills and that’s why it’s not enough to address the consequences, which we do; what we have to do is reduce its causes, anticipate its effects, and, consequently, better prepare our country to protect people’s lives."—Pedro Sánchez

100% correct.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/02/climate-change-kills-pedro-sanchez-speaks-plain-truth-to-spains-deniers

How serious is the drought that is currently being experienced across Britain (for the most part)?

well, here is a Met Office map that pretty graphically shows the problem.

If this is the future we will be needing to be thinking a lot more carefully about water management & (likely) nationalise the industry as the private utilities have demonstrated a lack of serious intent to actually manage the water courses, being only interested in *draining* the system of cash

#water #drought #politics