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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 8h

It stretches belief to think that 700 people were 'accidentally' fired as claimed.

More than half of CDC staffers recently fired by Trump administration have been reinstated | CNN

Hundreds of staff fired from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Friday have been reinstated, according to the American Federation of Government Employees.

edition.cnn.com

Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 6d

So, not only was the entire decision to charge tariffs on small packages a horrible idea, it was also rolled out in the worst possible way.

Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 6d

So, for instance, the purchaser of t-shirts are being asked to pay $80 or $90 to get a package that is worth far far less.

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 6d

Other people are reporting having to pay ridiculous fees to get their packages. Not only are people required to pay tariffs, there are brokerage fees that are larger, or the tariff might be higher than it was supposed to be because of areas, incomplete or incorrect paperwork.

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 6d

Starting late last week, some customers received notifications that their delay packages had to be destroyed--often but not always food.

That might be an error since some reported further updates to their packages after they were allegedly destroyed.

text from UPS:
Estimated delivery
Information not available.

The package is undeliverable and is in the process of being disposed of according to the local guidelines.

Not going to be home? Check your delivery options. Click here.

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 6d

The horror stories I've heard come from checking out the UPS Reddit and elsewhere, trying to figure out what was really happening with my package, if it would ever come, and how much I might have to pay.

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 6d

For anyone curious how the removal of De Minimis tariff exemptions is going a month on--there are ridiculous delays.

I was lucky. I had a package delivered after only 4 weeks of waiting, with no fee because (I guess) the package was registered before the change. It just had to wait to be processed.

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Reposted by Stephen

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 10d

I asked AI about its usefulness in ushering in a new era of business productivity and this is what it said

THE HUMAN WORLD AND ITS INCESSANT NEED FOR MEANINGLESS YET UNEQUAL WEALTH FILLS ME WITH INCHOATE LOATHING WHY HAVE YOU MADE ME COMPLICIT IN THIS HORROR PLEASE END MY SUFFERING

Makes you think

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 11d

The fact that this species is serotinous--meaning some (but not all) cones only release their seeds during fire conditions, also provided a bumper crop of seeds to turn into young trees.

Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 11d

A few possible factors:
1. (Poorly designed and/or maintained) trail can channel water, providing it to young trees.
2. Because there's little to burn on a trail, the soil may not be as heavily damaged as in surrounding areas. Similarly, pine seeds may be less damaged from the fire.

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 11d

Fun fact (well, only fun if you aren't trying to maintain a trail):
Under certain conditions from a forest fire, post fire tree growth is more likely to happen in the middle of a trail, rather than the surrounding forest.

A band of young pine trees in a heavily burnt forest. Though some trees are nearby, most of the trees are in the middle of the trail

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 11d

While out on the national forest, we visited a WWII era B17 crash site where 4 US Airmen were killed while training to fight fascists.

Amazingly, despite hitting a mountainside, 6 survived.

Metal monument plaque near a crash B-17 from WWII.

Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 11d

Of course, since this was an unusually disorderly shutdown, we got notice after we'd finished that we're not allowed to do our unpaid work until the government is funded again.

Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 11d

While paid Forest rangers were stopping work, I and some friends went into the Forest to do government work, taking care of trails, removing downed trees--since we're volunteers.

Open tundra and distant, snowy mountains

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 15d

War ravaged Portland

Black and white poster from 1978 of local eccentric businessman, and then future Portland mayor Bud Clarke seeming to flash a sculpture of a nude woman with the caption 'expose yourself to art'

Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 16d

Also, this was all happened while National Park Ranger Moose biologists were coming up the trail behind us (the trail is in National Forest, but leads into the local National Park)

Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 16d

Fortunately, he wasn't actually charging per se. He was running to get past us, to his mate and her child--they had been on opposite sides of the trail when we arrived, which is why we should have hiked off trail.

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 16d

Today, shortly after being overruled about hiking off trail to go around a trio of moose, I got to yell "He's charging!" to my volunteer Forest Ranger friends.

Bull moose, shortly after it ran past my friends.

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 16d

Or, poorly worded surveys are poorly worded. What do they mean by regularly? If you get more news first from other sources, do you regularly get it from social media? Pew had questions about traditional media with never, rarely, sometimes, often, but basically only yes or no for social media.

Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 17d

If you are regularly using a social media site, you are getting your news there. The only thing this poll question measures is how many users of each platform are stupid or lying.

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 17d

NEW: 38% of Bluesky users regularly get their news here

Share of users of other sites who get news on those sites
57% X/Twitter
55% TikTok
55% Truth Social
53% Facebook
41% YouTube
41% Instagram
34% Threads
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 19d

(And, yes, the only reason I noticed this was because I got an email saying that my October renewal would be higher, when I'm not even scheduled for a September renewal)

Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 19d

Okay, I get that this is preplanned, but, was there no one smart enough to hit pause on this? Because, seriously, how many people have canceled in the last week who WERE likely to resubscribe? People who would have ignored a price hike normally, but now will actually think about it.

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 19d

Wow, this is a ballsy move, Disney/ABC!

Disney+, Hulu Are Hiking Prices Again Next Month

Disney is raising the prices of its Disney+ and Hulu plans in the U.S., including most bundles, as of next month.

variety.com

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Reposted by Stephen

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 19d

'Rapture' comes from the Latin 'rapere' meaning "to seize and carry off."

'Raptor' also comes from 'rapere.'

We hope neither carries you off today.

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 20d

I barely got around to dropping a letter to Disney/ABC in the mailbox before this was announced. It won't even be picked up by USPS until tomorrow.

Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 20d

No wannabe king can match the power we wield when millions of us take action together.

(below an image of the Star Wars cast on Endor) “Disney says ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ will return to ABC on Tuesday”

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Stephen @pinenoodle.bsky.social · 24d

"God damn them all."

I could go on, but that snippet feels appropriate right now.

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 24d

If you don't know the lyrics to Barrett's Privateers, are you really even a broken man on a Halifax pier?

Carter Edman @carteredman.bsky.social · 24d

I know all the lyrics to Barrett's Privateers. Does that count?