In the news

Whoever wrote that question should be forced to accompany people on this Polish heritage trail every Saturday until they have learnt their lesson.

I'm not crying, you're crying

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/08/nyregion/auschwitz-love-story.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Buffalo attack in New Jersey it sounds like:

https://twitter.com/GxldSociety/status/1203635324850716672?s=19

I'm sure it's just a bit dusty in here.

Those are moose

It's "mice" mate.

Möös

2006, royal party thrown by Prince Andrew:

https://twitter.com/JeffreyGuterman/status/1204124122843877377?s=19

That could be literally anybody wearing that mask and that's just people dressed up as those guys.

Is what Prince Andrew will probably say

He didn't actually attend that event, he was in Pizza Express in Bromley, and he was injured in his party zone in the Falklands and can sadly no longer party

City planners zero in on cyclists through exercise app

Like tens of millions of commuters around the world, 35-year-old east London resident Jemma Taylor monitors her cycle ride to and from work.
Using the fitness tracker app Strava, Ms Taylor logs the route, speed and other data on her 7.5-mile journey to the capital’s financial centre. She uses this to set goals on her commute and for training at her local cycling club.
Her information is also being used by London’s planners. In 2016 Strava signed a contract with Transport for London, the city’s transport agency, to share its data. In October TfL renewed the relationship, signing up to a four-year contract worth $272,080.

for anyone interested in such things I would highly reccomend The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff. A hefty, but I think very important read

https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781781256855?gC=5a105e8b&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzJfXsuat5gIVx7HtCh2gJw8cEAQYBSABEgIKJPD_BwE

Enjoyed her on Adam Buxton's podcast the other week. Definitely on my to read list.

The Hydrogen Economy.
Takes a tiny step forward.

Well remembered. Meant to make a note of the book but I was driving when I heard it, so completely forgot.

I feel like a proper fuckwit.
I'm partway through that book and relatively aware of the data economy (e.g. appalled when Google bought Fitbit)
Bizarrely I still signed up to the Strava "make our cities better for cycling" thingy...

Well... honestly, if that data is out there anyway, TfL using it (out of all possible institutions) is probably not the worst application?

In the end, a lot of decisions that need to be made out there 'in the real world' can be improved if there is data. That data has to come from somewhere. Out of all possible applications, I'm OK with TfL looking at mobility patterns of cyclists (with the caveats mentioned in the article too, e.g. regarding what type of cyclist is more likely to use Strava in the first place).

also, if you strava your commute you full deserve for your data to be mined

I do, and I'm fine with that. I'd be less fine with it if my personal information was sold as such (though they don't really have any apart from my email, e.g. I never paid for anything on Strava), but I definitely don't mind being part of a large database being sold to TfL.

Haha, I live out in suburbia so it's actual training

The Hydrogen Economy.

Takes a tiny step forward.

Hydrogen from low grade brown coal is hardly a step forward. It seems that they take 160 tonnes of coal then use up electricity, oxygen and water to produce 3 tonnes of hydrogen and 100 tonnes of CO2. The CO2 could be captured and sequestered underground, but isn't. The hydrogen is compressed then shipped 150 km by lorry to the port where another high energy plant liquefies it. Storage at -253 degC uses more energy. The new diesel powered boat will ship 8-9 tonnes at a time, once every three months.
https://hydrogenenergysupplychain.com/latrobe-valley/

Hydrogen fuel derived from solar electrics and/or biomass systems can make environmental sense. Hydrogen from low grade coal fossil fuel does not.

The lad sent down for the horrible murder of the 14 year old in Leyton was this man's son, Majdouline:

https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/crime-court/drug-addict-jailed-for-king-s-cross-double-murder-1-4160144

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/11/modern-slave-19-convicted-of-of-jaden-moodie-14

Just so grim, rammed him with a stolen Mercedes then stabbed him.

I can't find it now (probably at least partially due to having had a beer or several) but I saw summat on Twitter about the use of Strava data and the like for urban planning. The gist of it was that planners are looking at the wrong thing, and should really be looking at the bike journeys that aren't happening/the short car journeys that could be replaced by other transport modes.

9 hours ago : ) Post #57780 courtesy of @TW

https://www.ft.com/content/bfd4dbaa-061b-11ea-9afa-d9e2401fa7ca