Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Christopher actually

@chrismardell.bsky.social

590 followers 540 following 2.2K posts

Aussie back from the Bad(isch)lands of Germany. Web weaver in the corner where sustainability, risk and resilience meet. Trying to avoid politics. Views expressed are neither my employer’s nor my own (please direct all complaints to the rodent in my hat).

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · Dec 29

Australian animals rarely kill people. ~180,000 die from all causes each year. Of those, ~2 snake bite. ~3 shark bite. <1 combined from crocodiles, jelly fish, blue ringed octopus, Pacific man-o-war, cone shell, stone fish. 0 from spider bite.
In India? 60,000 deaths annually from snake bite alone.

8 8 180

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 5h

it’s not a pooma

1 1

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 6h

how dare *checks latest outrage notes* communists *checks notes again* have a good time

2 7

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 6h

maybe because America has wide stroads with car parks that you need a packed lunch to cross to the distant big box, while London has narrow streets designed for people?

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 6h

*installs content warning sign on the facade of every state art gallery in the world*

1 2 4

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 6h

No off site backup

🏰meg⚔️ @Birthright Audiobook! @impavid.us · 3d

In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand

I'll go first: Six page commercial lease.

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 6h

A police force being partisan is a clear sign that it needs to be rebuilt from the ground up

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 10h

also soft armour against rubber bullets and pepper balls. and anyone attacking someone dressed as an animal looks like even more of a dick than they already did in their temu GI Joe cosplay outfit

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 10h

I guess buying from [country with decent labour laws] improves the chances that the maker was well paid, but doesn’t guarantee it, and it doesn’t really do anything to solve the global issues of worker exploitation

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 10h

There’s no way that the person who made it was paid what I would consider a fair wage. And I’d be happy to pay significantly more for the same shirt *if I could ensure that extra money went to the person doing the work*. But no mechanism seems to exist for me to tip the factory worker. It should.

1 5

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 10h

At my kids’ school, the uniform includes a non-branded polo shirt which retails at Target for the equivalent of US$5. I look at that and think, with my sewing skills, it would take me at least a couple of hours to make that shirt badly; it’s it’s not a low-skilled job.

1 6

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 10h

I’m not American, but one thing that frustrates me about buying clothing is that even though I’m willing to pay extra for quality, that doesn’t guarantee that the people who made the clothes were paid fairly, regardless of where it was made.

1 11

Reposted by Christopher actually

Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 1d

👇👇

740 13K 33K

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 12h

how dare the FBI under *his admin* be prepared to respond to events that ultimately happened

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 12h

Can one be “on” dementia?

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 12h

In your analogy, the competent plumber has coworkers who are still in the condo, getting paid big bucks to help with maintenance but they’re just watching TV and changing the occasional washer and ignoring the water gushing down the stairs and flooding dozens of apartments

Reposted by Christopher actually

Chappell Ellison @chappelltracker.bsky.social · 10d

This Tumblr user summarizes something I've been feeling/doing lately. Against everything going on, it somehow feels helpful.

User homoquartz writes: as long as you smile and nod, people are satisfied. it’s just to show that you are nice and there with good intentions. we’re small in a big world and have to rely on other people to be decent to us. so we do our little human dance to each other to say, “i’m not here to hurt you. here’s something we have in common, like the weather or sports or itchy sweaters, so we both know we’re on the same team. we both agree on a basic fact, like that it is rainy or that being itchy is uncomfortable, and this proves we can get along. i’m being light-hearted and non-threatening right now."
Small talk isn't to get to know a person. It's just a greeting to affirm you're buddies in the universe. I am motivated by wanting the other person to know I am friendly, so I have gotten pretty decent at small tall when I used to hate it.

36 1.2K 3.4K

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 12h

Occasionally if I’m stuck for an ice breaker I’ll ask people what they’re passionate about; it’s a question that can make for some very interesting conversations, because people love talking about the things they’re passionate about (and it gives them permission to talk about it).

Christopher actually @chrismardell.bsky.social · 12h

IMHO responder would also benefit in cultivating some personal curiosity. Sometimes the topics that seem completely boring at face value end up being super interesting if you give them attention.