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npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Profile Code
nprofile1qqsz6y6xa9jmvlfcvzcrzfn9ld4lsur0a4spnmqmyhw3x7h6qc0lhdspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds6s2rpc
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2026-08-29T09:24:22Z Event JSON
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"content": "{\"name\":\"Benoît Jones\",\"about\":\"🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🇨🇵🇪🇺🇬🇧\\n\\nCivil Engineer/Engineering Geologist/Geotechnical Engineer and author of 'Soft Ground Tunnel Design' textbook, Telemark Skier, Runner, Guitarist/Singer, trumpet player, former academic, long covid sufferer, Repair Café co-organiser. Trans ally, believer in learning who people are, from them.\\n\\nInterested in: #grunge, #folk and #classical music, #art, #history, #geology, #SteamDeck gaming, #MurderMysteries, #books in general, #mountains #skiing #naturephotography #birdwatching.\",\"website\":\"https://mstdn.social/@huxley\",\"picture\":\"https://media.mstdn.social/accounts/avatars/109/287/690/498/256/959/original/2592d2212322a1f9.png\",\"banner\":\"https://media.mstdn.social/accounts/headers/109/287/690/498/256/959/original/a397a5d5abe76667.png\",\"nip05\":\"[email protected] \"}" ,
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Last Notes npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones you too ❤️ npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I heard it only had three intermissions meaning only those with very strong bladders dared to see this in the cinema. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I guess my stumbling block is that if you create more money you need to also delete money through taxation, otherwise you will surely cause high inflation? npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I would *love* for MMT to be true but I am just a simple engineer, not an economist, and I can't see how it works. Government spending creates money, tax deletes it. If we create more money than we tax we get an oversupply which leads to inflation which devalues money which makes everything more expensive which erases the benefit of spending more as well as making debt more expensive. I just can't make it make sense. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones This is why governments have to be careful not to oversupply money or devalue it in other ways (e.g. like Henry VIII debasing the coinage in 1542). npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones usually what parties do in this situation is to stand a candidate but just quietly not campaign very much, it's rare to make a statement like this. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Totally agree with you. They would see actually running the council as a poisoned chalice. To be fair, that assessment is correct (especially in Birmingham, which is in a terrible state), but a commitment to public service would probably mean another party in the same situation would still do it. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I also wish university (and any other form of post-18 training/education) were free. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Great distance and at a good pace! Well done! And that looks like what my local cafe calls a 'morning bun', only with ice cream on top! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones This is a nice article in today's Guardian: npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I'm thinking that tariffs are a great way of shifting the tax burden from rich people to poor people... npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Some things that shocked me about my fellow academics: npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I often felt like an odd one out. I felt most at home as a postgrad at Southampton, as in our group it was quite international, but also the UK postgrads were more likely to be from similar backgrounds to me. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I think there is a big difference in privilege between those from multi-generational middle class families, and those who are first or even second generation middle class. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Congratulations, it looks like a lovely place! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Happy holidays @npub1s20…twmm ! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones The ECHR is only anti-communist if we're talking about Leninist, Stalinist or Maoist communism, i.e. a totalitarian state hell bent on the eradication of the individual. Democratic forms of socialism are totally compatible with liberalism. In fact many liberals are progressive social liberals because there is nothing that impinges on liberty more than poverty, racism, sexism and wealth inequality. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Johnson was not a liberal by any stretch of the imagination, he was a populist who had no ideology. I think you are using the word carelessly to mean any roughly centrist politician, but liberalism is not centrism and nor is it capitalism. It is about valuing the rights and freedoms of individuals. So yes, the ECHR is a liberal project, I don't understand why you think human rights are a bad thing? npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Compare how he was treated by the justice system to how the AI companies are for much worse 'piracy'. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones you should switch to kms rather than miles because you will do bigger numbers and it sounds better, e.g. 8km sounds better than 5 miles! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones probably will also be a bit delayed also, so first thing is to get out of the stock market! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones is cash safer, or will a stock market crash cause big inflation? npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones it seems like the left has given up on trying to move the window, whereas the right are actively trying to move it. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I work in construction, mainly of tunnels. We all know the rule book is written in blood. H&S is taken very seriously, because the cost of getting it wrong means someone not going home to their family. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones best wishes to you and your dad. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones thanks! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Well I managed to run a whole half marathon this morning! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Twitchy the baby #hedgehog is visiting tonight! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones This seems very plausible, the transition is going to be traumatic, especially to those with SEN or less social capital. The article doesn't, however, say whether this is a worsening problem or whether it is actually much better than it used to be. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones you put Garlic in a salad?!!! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Maybe the skills needed to get elected are a totally different set of skills from those needed to govern well? Case in point: BoJo. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Construction started in February of 'Eastern Green Link 1' - a subsea HVDC link from Torness in East Lothian and Hawthorn Pit in County Durham. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Mastodon appears to have an insatiable appetite for #hedgehog photos, so here is one of Streaky Bum (one of the adults) from last night's visitation. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones #bloomscrolling #fleuristonfil npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones to be honest, I also hate 'If', it's so pompous and patronising. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Good meowing to you too! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones none of this would be a problem if everyone had just voted lib dem 😂. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Miss Marple rocks! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Just want to add that Heathrow has been planning to upgrade its power supply, and this will likely involve quite a lot of tunnelling to avoid disrupting airport operations. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones To start with he decided to paint, and (I think) to use oil on canvas. The next constraint was abstraction - he decided not to put any recognisable objects in his paintings, but he also developed a style that had constraints. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I think my point is, if there were literally no constraints, you would have to begin by setting some for yourself. In your example, (1) you decided to write a piece of music (2) for a small ensemble (3) in a blues style. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones My grand theory of creativity, let's call it "Jones's Law"(TM, patent pending), is that creativity loves constraints. It begins with constraints, it is shaped by constraints. It is very hard to be creative without constraints. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Streeting is turning out to be a bit of an idiot, especially his intervention on assisted dying where he talked about the money it might save 🫣 npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones A gigantic economic crash may be the best thing that could happen. It certainly helped get rid of Truss here. But US system doesn't make it easy to get rid of a president and they may well be wanting a disaster which they will blame on whoever they want to victimise. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones you are a wonderful being 🥰 npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones #walking #hiking #woodland #nature npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I'm not as thunk as you drink I am npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Also his Bugs song is great 😃 npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Have you heard of Snowboard Jesus? He's a bit of a legend. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Even though every belief is under determined by the evidence (we cannot know anything for certain), this does not make all beliefs equally likely to be true! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Ok, so, let's break it down. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones The problem with this is you first have to define what you mean by 'believe'. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones It ain't easy being green. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I don't think we can rule out an EU trade deal or joining Customs Union or Single Market. Labour under Starmer seem capable of implacably ruling things out right up until the moment they suddenly do a thing. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I think global population is mainly still increasing because of increased life expectancy in the third world, despite decreasing birth rates. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Banana cake om nom nom 😋 npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones This was quite early on Thursday morning from our London office window. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones This fact is of exceptionally high quality! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Is mstdn.social ok? I presume it is a different server because I'm on it and I get no spam. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Everybody's got something to hide except for me and my monkey npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Autumn is coming. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Sue Gray just resigned, so clearly £180k was not worth the hassle. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones There is no correlation between how much people are paid and (a) how hard they work or (b) how valuable their job is. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones See also: French Fancies. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones That looks probable thanks! The yellow diagonal stripes on the sides are not very visible in my photos so I wasn't sure. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones A dragonfly! Not sure about identification, perhaps someone can help. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Interesting! Yes, Carter is a very kind person. But he was running against Gerald Ford, the incumbent, who had taken over from Nixon two years before after Watergate. As such, there are reasons why Ford and/or the Republicans were pretty toxic. Carter narrowly won, served one term, and was beaten by Reagan in the next one. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones They're all about the performative cruelty. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I think just generally speaking, academia is not a healthy place to work. It's often quite isolated and stressful. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Don't we all? npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Democracy is the radical uncoupling of wealth and power, where one person = one vote. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I must admit I haven't followed this as closely as I should (I am a French citizen), my excuse being it hasn't been much talked about on UK media. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Before AI and Crypto, Kárahnjúkar hydro plant was built to power an aluminium smelter iirc. The government should decide who should use the power available, not just let the market decide. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Your photos really are amazing 😍 npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Rage is the only sane response. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I'm sure Keynes had buried the myth in the 1920s but it keeps coming back! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I think they can do a lot better than the conservatives in terms of just competence and longer term certainty for businesses. This will in itself promote growth and investment. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones It's not a problem but it grows quickly and you think you have a shrub/bush and the next day it's a small tree! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Buddleia are ok if you keep them under tight control, but they do have a tendency to grow fast and take over. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones Sorry for misunderstanding. npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones There's nowt wrong with Hollyhocks! npub195f5d6t9ke7nsc9sxynxt7mtlpcxlmtqr8kpkfwazda05psllwmqspnqyg Benoît Jones I think social media is creating the problem, or at least is adding more people or bringing together more people than would otherwise subscribe to these views. If you are patriotic, perhaps a fan of military things, football, you will be shown memes saying things like "Stop international aid and spend the money on our veterans/nurses/homeless instead". Not in itself inflammatory but leads people into 'them and us' thinking.
