Mastodon - Blog Posts
![Since her death in 1979, the woman who discovered what the universe is made of has not so much as received a memorial plaque. Her newspaper obituaries do not mention her greatest discovery. […] Every high school student knows that Isaac Newton discovered gravity, that Charles Darwin discovered evolution, and that Albert Einstein discovered the relativity of time. But when it comes to the composition of our universe, the textbooks simply say that the most abundant atom in the universe is hydrogen. And no one ever wonders how we know.❞ — Jeremy Knowles, discussing the complete lack of recognition Cecilia Payne gets, even today, for her revolutionary discovery. (via alliterate) OH WAIT LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT CECILIA PAYNE • Cecilia Payne’s mother refused to spend money on her college education, so she won a scholarship to Cambridge. • Cecilia Payne completed her studies, but Cambridge wouldn’t give her a degree because she was a woman, so she said to heck with that and moved to the United States to work at Harvard. • Cecilia Payne was the first person ever to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy from Radcliffe College, with what Otto Strauve called “the most brilliant Ph.D. thesis ever written in astronomy.” • Not only did Cecilia Payne discover what the universe is made of, she also discovered what the sun is made of (Henry Norris Russell, a fellow astronomer, is usually given credit for discovering that the sun’s composition is different from the Earth’s, but he came to his conclusions four years later than Payne — after telling her not to publish). • Cecilia Payne is the reason we know basically anything about variable stars (stars whose brightness as seen from earth fluctuates). Literally every other study on variable stars is based on her work. • Cecilia Payne was the first woman to be promoted to full professor from within Harvard, and is often credited with breaking the glass ceiling for women in the Harvard science department and in astronomy, as well as inspiring entire generations of women to take up science. • Cecilia Payne is awesome and everyone should know her. (OP: Matthew Gardner)](https://64.media.tumblr.com/62252d2e0b47b6782fbd6ef350407812/5bd09b4ca294947e-d3/s500x750/58ae690a544239d5a7cdf38d6193c1e114d908a1.jpg)
In my latest round of Mastodon advice, I list some of my favorite accounts to follow.
Wow. I wonder if this would be the “Chromebook” moment for the Fediverse (or Mastodon)? Someone can sign up here easily and chat with Mastodon users/follow Pixelfed photos/etc? Without needing to know about federation or instances?
Some tips for how to get started using Mastodon.
Five More Mastodon Droppings
Five more very short stories from my Mastodon, which, incidentally, I now know how to link directly to.
Utopia
In the future there will be no need for money. The production of everything will be either automated or done by a person considering the work to be play, and in either case the produce will be freely given away. There will be no pollution, the whole world made from a drop of sunlight, and not a bit gone to waste. Vast tracts of land will return to wilderness and we’ll steward it like we always should have. There will be only one class owning everything in common, because everyone else and their children will have starved long ago.
Chafing
Your existence chafes me. The fact that you dare to meet my gaze is galling. That you don’t grovel before me is an insult. You think you have a right to what’s yours? I disagree; you ought to have only what I allow you to have. If I had the power, (when I have the power), I’ll snuff you out as vengeance for ever having the arrogance to stand on two feet.
But, come on, don’t be so one-sided. Don’t be unreasonable. I’m willing to compromise. Let’s meet in the middle.
My Dad Says Goodbye
I saw my dad last night, on my front porch. He had stuffed himself into a corner, back pressed into the ceiling, holding himself up by his hands and feet, like Spider-Man. He tried to pretend he was a dummy, but I saw the glint of light when his eye twitched. Last time I’d seen him we were both passing through the train station in Seattle. At the time I wondered how long it takes for the family to learn when a homeless person is found dead. I suppose it’s forever in some cases.
After snapping a photo as proof, I went to unlock my front door. The sound of the key must’ve spooked him. I heard a flutter, looked to his corner, and he was gone.
Totality
The moon passed before the sun, and under its shadow crowds cheered, and a few people cried. One minute, two minutes, the cheering continued. Five minutes, ten minutes, a worried murmuring. After an hour, everyone was crying.
Equanimity
Joann became god while riding her bike after school one day. As god, she ignored her curfew. It was dark when she got home; her house was in flames. Her dad was at work, her baby brother was upstairs in his crib, and her mom was on the lawn screaming for help between long, wheezing gasps. She had rushed into the house, over and over, only to be repelled by the smoke and the flames. Joann could see that her mom had a strong preference that her son not be burned, but, as god, she couldn’t see why.
Mastodon Droppings
I post very very short stories to Mastadon— my handle is @david_pasquinelli. Below are five of them. Enjoy.
Garbage Disposal
I pulled out a handful of noodles and egg shells from my garbage disposal. The water drained, but there was more. Fishing around, I pulled out: several chicken livers, which I couldn’t account for; a clump of moss the size of my fist; a dozen rotten plums that smelled awful; and, most disturbingly, clumps of red hair and teeth. I shined a light down the drain and saw a glint of gold, but when I reached in to grab it I cut myself. After bandaging my hand I looked again, but it was gone.
The Majors
I dreamt of playing Major League Baseball as far back as I can remember. I loved the game, but I loved the dream more. It was my treasure, my dream of making it to the majors. Through Little League, Babe Ruth League, high-school ball, and the minors, that dream was my best loved, most precious possession. I leaned on it when times were hard. I thought I had gone to heaven when I finally got called up. But now the dream is gone. Now it’s a job, and what do I have to lean on?
Poorly Done
He brought the muzzle of the revolver to his eye and, like the others, fired it. Just like that, there was a hole where his eye had been. But he’d done a bad job and made a mess of it. He writhed and screamed on the floor before—pop—he put out the other eye. Then he lay silent and still. The others approached the body, and stood there and starred at it through the holes in their own faces where they had once had eyes.
A Brief Interview with a Homeless Man
“If you were king of the world, what would you do to help the homeless?”
“Nothin’.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
“Why not?”
“Cuz they’re assholes.”
“Homeless people are assholes?”
“Yup.”
“But you’re homeless….”
“Right, so I know. I know a lot of homeless people; they’re assholes. What do you know?”
A Spider in her Web
I was always a good and diligent wife and mother, wholesome and modest, selfless, kind, tending to her family with the attentiveness of a gardener to his garden, a businessman to his business, a spider to her web. Even after the diagnosis, my first priority was to help my family cope with a future that wouldn’t include me. At first. But now I find all I want to do is fuck strangers and kill people.
Venho pensando, nesses últimos dias, em mil e uma formas de realmente começar a utilizar esse espaço, mas nenhuma me parece apropriada - voltarei a esse ponto logo em breve.
Parte da minha cabeça gostaria de poder produzir textos longos, elaborados e bem redigidos sobre qualquer coisa - especialmente sobre cinema e literatura - mas essa mesma parte da minha cabeça vem sentindo uma certa dificuldade de funcionar direito. Minha recente aquisição do título "Depressiva em Tratamento" vem complicando essa e muitas outras caminhadas.
De alguma forma, sei que não há regra restrita, mandou e desmandos sobre como utilizar um pedaço de internet, mas pense que careço do gatilho rápido e da pouca profundidade à qual outras redes (como o Twitter e o Mastodon) me condicionaram. Penso que talvez seja uma questão de tempo até que eu abrace um novo molde - tempo e prática, o que certamente irá render algumas divagações deslocadas e pouco produtivas como essa que escrevo agora.
Por fim, apenas gostaria de que esse blog não tivesse cara e cheiro de abandono, mesmo que não haja ninguém para testemunhar tais características - tão tristes - além de mim.
Back when I used Mastodon, someone in FOSS tortured their follower base by using a Discord server as a wiki
Literally nobody liked that, from what I remember
