On this day, 28 September 1846, troops from the 1st Royal Dragoons opened fire on starving food rioters in Dungarvan, Ireland. A contemporary report described how “The distress” was “truly appalling in the streets; for, without entering the houses, the miserable spectacle of haggard looks, crouching attitudes, sunken eyes and colourless lips and cheeks, unmistakably bespeaks the sufferings of the people.” Meanwhile, an abundance of food was being exported for profit. On 28 September, several thousand people attempted to break into the quay-side grain stores. When the ringleaders were arrested, a section of the crowd demanded release of the prisoners and then marched to the centre of town, where they looted several bakeries. The British 1st Royal Dragoons were deployed to the scene and the riot act was read. When the crowd refused to disperse, Captain Sibthorp gave orders to fire. Two rioters were seriously wounded, and one of them, Michael Fleming, subsequently died of his injuries. In the coming days, four companies from the Lancashire Regiment were sent to enforce order in Dungarvan, but despite their presence, on 1 October dock workers refused to load grain for export as they feared reprisals. The Great Famine lasted until the 1850s. It killed around a million people and forced an even greater number to emigrate. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1221297311388750/?type=3
On this day, 19 November 1944, the battle of Vianden took place: one of the most important fights of the Luxembourg resistance, where they defeated a vastly superior Nazi force. 250 Germans attacked the town of Vianden to try to retake the castle (pictured), from which resistance fighters were reported on German movements to the allies. Despite the castle only being defended by four people - Philippe Gleis, Misch Schneiders, Will Weyrich and Friedrich Heintzen - they managed to repel the attack, including 6 German soldiers who got inside. The Germans retreated after suffering 23 casualties, whereas the total force in the town of 30 resistance fighters lost one. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1268071086711372/?type=3
This plaque, or thin plate, was placed on the mummy of king Psusennes I over the incision made in the lower abdomen to remove the internal organs. The plate was intended to heal and form a scar over the incision.
In the center of the plate, there is a sacred wadjet eye flanked by the four sons of Horus, depicted standing with upraised arms as a sign of devotion. Hieroglyphs are engraved in the gold above the scene with the names of the four sons of Horus and the cartouche of the king.
The entire scene and the text are framed by a thin incised line with holes at the four corners allowing the plate to be attached to the mummy’s bindings.
Third Intermediate Period, 21st Dynasty, reign of Psusennes I, ca. 1047-1001 BC. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 85821
slightly click-baity title but i’m getting really tired of ‘zero-waste’ shops and bloggers which advocate buying le parfait/mason/fancy new glass jars for storing your organic flour, couscous, oats, etc.
those jars are fucking expensive (i don’t care if it’s a ‘one-off investment’ they are overpriced and not everyone can afford to invest in your bougie jars)
it sort of defeats the object of reducing your waste if you immediately go out and buy a whole set of brand new virgin glass jars to store stuff in. there is loads of glass packaging already in the world. USE IT.
to replace this middle-class bullshit (this is zero-waste for the aesthetic first if ever i saw it) is simple and way cheaper:
go through your cupboards and find all your jams/pasta sauces/assorted nut butters. use them (or chuck them out if they’re all old, no point hoarding ancient food), then wash very thoroughly and dry them (i’d recommend putting all your (glass only!) jars on a tray in the oven to dry as this will sterilise them too). then congratulations! you have a bunch of free reused jars to fill with rice/oats/organic chia and flaxseed muesli at the zero waste shop!
go on ebay/your local bring and buy facebook page/a charity shop and find ‘job lot glass jars’/’old jam jars’/similar. then rinse and repeat as before (literally). congratulations! you have sourced reused jars for a minimal cost to fill with your choice of obscure grains! (and potentially supported a fellow member of the proletariat trying to make a little extra money/a charity in the process!)
zero-waste shouldn’t be the new trend for the middle classes. it should be accessible to everyone because it matters.
a final point! whilst our individual actions can (and do) have a massive impact on the planet, and we should all make what changes we can to protect the environment, this means nothing so long as massive corporations are polluting water sources, destroying rainforests, dumping toxic chemicals in the oceans, exploiting poor migrant workers, and every other filthy trick they pull because they think they can. we need to hold these despicable companies (and the governments which enable them) to account! sign petitions, protest, boycott! do not allow them to get away with this!
Then, I do nothing else—because I’m a pretty nice dude who is just
fascinated by this sort of thing. That said, however, the specific
measurements for any common brand of lock can be found online, and, with
a little experience, you can hand-file keys in only a few minutes. Just
search for “Depth & Space” charts. Those will tell you how far
apart to space your cuts and the possible depths you might find cut into
that type of key. Note that, while the space and depth will stay
consistent across a given brand, it’s up to you to figure out the
specific depths for your key.
Seriously guys, stop posting photos of your brand new house key in clear fidelity on multiple social media platforms. People with malicious intentions can easily walk into your no longer secured homes.
This is not a new thing. There was a furor with TSA luggage keys a few years back (last I checked, lockpick and lock enthusiasts have managed to decode and recreate most of the keys except for a couple).
Um..who the FUCK posts pictures of their HOUSE KEYS? Like. Who even does that?
Also, babies, please, your first rule of moving into a new place is “change the locks”. ALWAYS.
You would be fuckin amazed.
I’m married to a locksmith, remember, and he has had to explain this, at length, to so goddamn many people who can’t figure out how people broke into their house after posting pictures of their house keys to social media.
Fuck, I’m just married to a locksmith, and have picked up enough to be able to cut a house key that’ll have at least a 50% chance of unlocking a door off sight alone.
And people think I’m paranoid when I mention that literally the first thing we did when we bought the house was get the locks changed.
Shit when we got our place he went through and put in good locks, deadbolts, replaced the hinge screws with longer ones, replaced all the strike plates, replaced all the weather stripping, and put the code-unlock deadbolt on the back door so that we can leave the door lock unlocked and still get into the house if we lock ourselves out without other people being able to get in.
Oh and re-keyed the garage and installed padlocks (which he also re-keyed) on the doors so no one can break into that either.
He considers this the bare minimum, because “Well, if I was really going all in I’d install high-security locks.”
…how much will he charge to locksmith my place when I move to Iowa? Because I want ALL THE SAFETY
For friends? All he charges is the cost of the materials and some beer and pizza.
“Solarpunks cherish nature, progress and science; the individual and the community.
They believe in a world that is green, colourful, and bright. It can be described as a literary genre, an aesthetic, or a movement. The key points are:
An emphasis on renewable energy, especially solar power.
A demand for technology and society to re-centre around sustainability, longevity, and balance.
A focus on decentralisation, community activism, social justice and civic empowerment.
A recognition that economic, social, and ecological injustices are all deeply inter-connected.”
- Sunbeam City
“Solarpunk is a literary movement, a hashtag, a flag, and a statement of intent about the future we hope to create” - Ben Valentine
Solarpunk as a concept emerged from the imagination of authors and creators in the early 2000′s, and was shared freely throughout the internet. It originated as a genre of creative writing and artwork, but it quickly began to be implemented into decentralised left-wing spaces. Nowadays, solarpunk embodies a whole range of politics, activism, design and art; but at its heart it encompasses positive, grassroots community action and innovation as a way to prevent ecological crises.
This is where I need your help - I would love to collate a list of Solarpunk-themed tumblr blogs. If you post about Solarpunk and would like to be included in this list, please comment or message me with your blog URL. Thank you!
This is actually pretty exciting. They’ve found a way to turn plastic into food.
Mushrooms are such amazing things. Most are decomposers, meaning they break stuff down into its original components. Some break down dead wood, or animals, others can break down toxic waste, and apparently this one can break down plastic. How cool is that?
Pestalotiopsis microspora (a mushroom found in the Amazon rainforest) consumes polyurethane, the key ingredient in plastic products, and converts it to organic matter.
Further, Pestalotiopsis microspora can live without oxygen, which suggests enormous potential for feeding on, and thus cleaning up, landfills.
It takes just a few weeks for the mycelium to start breaking down plastic, and in a few months’ time, the plastic is completely broken down, and all that’s left is a white puffy mushroom. Even if not eaten or used for anything else, the mushroom could be composted and turned in to soil at a much faster rate than that of plastic, which is estimated to take 400 years to decompose on its own.
“Aspergillus tubingensis, which was found in Pakistan, is capable of eroding plastics such as polyester polyurethane, which is often used in refrigerator insulation and synthetic leather.”
