Notices by iona 🐝 (iona@social.coop), page 51

@ghost_bird It depends where you live - I know Leeds is particularly bad.

@nev Estradiol is usually prescribed for trans women as pills. I don't know what the situation is re. prescription costs in the US.

In Britain, it's prescribed on the NHS but only after a significant waiting period (in excess of three years for an appointment, plus a couple of years after that, plus you've got to be considered 'trans enough' by the medical system).

Many, many, many people here resort to buying from suspect websites that supply hormones prescription free at a high price.

The radio station I'm suffering through this morning has but one CD in its library - Wedding Disco Classics 1994

We've already suffered through One Night in Bangkok and now it's Ring My Bell by Anita Ward.

@tomharris There used to be one of those in Manchester, you had to go into an unmarked door down a back alley full of bins, and descend down a spiral staircase to get in.

It was full of wankers too

@dajbelshaw @paws @mayel I agree with Mayel. Employers tend to want unfailing loyalty from the employee but have no compunction in dumping staff when it's slightly more profitable to do so. Loyalty to an employer is very much a one-way street.

@woozle I was never sure how nyan.cat stayed going until I noticed that it had a tiny option for 'Catalan' as a language in the corner of the screen.

@kensanata @siraben On a similar note, take a look at 99% Invisible - it's a fascinating podcast all about the hidden bits of our (mostly) urban areas. If you have any interest at all in cities, infrastructure, geography etc then it will be hours of entertainment.

@siraben @kensanata Radiolab is brill. It doesn't fall into the "bad Ira Glass impression" hole that a lot of US public radio content falls into these days.

@woozle Do you ever worry that Catalonia is going to shut you down for running a non-Catalan site on a .cat TLD?

I thought they were quite strict on it to prevent their TLD being overrun by sites about cats, cat memes etc.

@david_ross They were licensed as a radio station for Manchester's LGBT community.

These days, their own website touts their "84% male audience" who are "48% middle management" and "36% London based" to advertisers.

https://www.gaydio.co.uk/contact/advertise-with-the-uks-biggest-lgbandt-media-brand-duplicate/

@david_ross My personal bugbear is the "LGBT community radio station" in Manchester that focuses the entirety of its programming on cis gay men who like all-day non stop house music.

It's literally the laziest thing ever and the most blatant attempt at chasing the "pink pound".

@cathal The fact that someone thinks a nesting bird *at a maternity hospital* is disgusting is ironic at best.

@cathal Huh? How is a nesting bird 'disgusting'?

I have a family of blue tits in my garden and I love watching them.

Is Github's Atom text editor free software? I don't use it, I use Kate, but if it is free then if the new Microsoft Github decide to nix it then surely it can be forked and developed.

@cathal It has been thus on forums, and prior to that Usenet, for decades. If you say something that someone doesn't like, they'll say "link please!" to shut you up, because who can be arsed to do loads of research for free to win an argument on a newsgroup?

I'm in a different area today so the local radio is even worse than usual.

"We're taking you through your workday with the Featured Artist, the On This Day feature and the Birthday File!"

Innovation in radio never stops.

@Damage chewing gum

@cathal Last time I was in Ireland I was like - wow, they actually still cut the grass on the kids' play areas here.

In this country kids are playing football on car parks because the grass on the playing fields (that haven't been sold for houses) is up to your arse.

How can crisis-ridden, broke Ireland afford basic maintenance of public facilities when Booming Brexit Britain doesn't appear to be able to...?!

@cathal Have you been playing on our local playing fields?