Calishat@researchbuzz@researchbuzz.masto.hostresearchbuzz.masto.host

Y'all, I had a very productive Labor Day weekend. I finished WikiTwister AND I got my upgrade to MastoGizmos finished! MastoGizmos ( https://mastogizmos.com/ ) is a set of 11 Web-based tools for exploring #Mastodon.

Here's a thread about the tools. If you have a friend who isn't on the fedi but is Mastodon-curious, let them know about MastoGizmos - you don't need a Mastodon account to use any of the tools.

MastoGizmo is free to use, free of ads, and works best on desktop. Let's go!

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I've been wrestling with this site all week and I finally got it doing right. WikiTwister ( https://wikitwister.com/ ) is a set of six tools for exploring #Wikipedia pages and categories. It's free, free of ads, and works best on desktop. A brief tour thread:

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Sixteen Tools for Enhancing Your Google Search Experience — SearchTweaks

Happy holidays! I made you a present: a collection of sixteen tools to make your Google search better, presented in a new site called SearchTweaks.com .

As you might imagine, after over 25 years of writing about search engines I have plenty of thoughts and opinions about what's missing in the search experience and what could be done…

#Google #search #WebSearch

http://researchbuzz.me/2023/12/18/sixteen-tools-for-enhancing-your-google-search-experience-searchtweaks/

I'm posting news I find interesting and useful.

I welcome thoughtful comments, additional information, or even jokes.

Snarks, arguments, and insults will get you blocked. I'm not here for you to take out your frustrations.

Also, my mother almost died of covid and has permanent heart damage. If you come at me trying to lecture me about covid and how I should refer to it after I post a related article, I will block you into next week.

Just imagine how much water and energy we could save if instead of generating an AI image we just posted the prompt if we wanted to comment on something. Like if someone was posting that the VP was looking a little dehydrated, you could post, "Please create a picture of JD Vance as a dried apple head" and then everybody could use their own brainGPT to generate the image.

Also we'd be leaving little caltrops for any AI scrapers in the area

Hand Presses Worldwide, North Carolina Newspapers, Ubuntu, More: Monday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, April 21, 2025

NEW RESOURCES New-to-me, from University of Pittsburgh: The Text and ConText Lab’s Columbian hand press was added to a global database. "The Columbian hand press in the Text and conText Lab — a collaboration between Pitt’s Center for Creativity and University Library System — was recently added to the Association of European Printing Museums directory. The…

http://researchbuzz.me/2025/04/21/hand-presses-worldwide-north-carolina-newspapers-ubuntu-more-monday-afternoon-researchbuzz-april-21-2025/

#legal #Tesla #ElonMusk #PublicSafety

'Former Tesla engineer Cristina Balan, who was fired in 2014, said in an interview that her entire team was threatened with deportation for taking her side when she brought up a brake safety issue directly to Elon Musk. She’s now succeeded in throwing out Tesla’s arbitration case against her, and hopes to meet Tesla directly in open court in a case that could influence corporate policy nationwide.'

https://electrek.co/2025/04/20/tesla-whistleblower-says-musk-wanted-to-deport-her-team-for-raising-brake-issue/

Good afternoon to everyone but especially Flo Meiler.

'In addition to her gold medal wins at the Masters championship, Meiler added another four world records to the 35 she had already amassed over the years. This time, she set the record for pentathlon, 60-meter hurdles (24.87 seconds), triple jump (14’9¼”), and pole vault (4’6”) for women ages 90-94.'

https://vtdigger.org/2025/04/20/flo-meiler-setting-track-world-records-at-90-years-old/

Somebody made a search engine for Linktrees.

https://linktreefinder.com/

ResearchBuzz 27th Anniversary and My Ability to Use the Toilet Unassisted

Yesterday was ResearchBuzz' 27th anniversary. I don't make a big deal of anniversaries anymore, there is no reason for anyone to care, but this year I did want to add a little bit and just make a statement about my existence. There's been a lot of talk from certain individuals about autism lately. About how autistic people can't date, or write poetry, or use the toilet unassisted.

http://researchbuzz.me/2025/04/21/researchbuzz-27th-anniversary-and-my-ability-to-use-the-toilet-unassisted/

VibesMasto Gets an Overhaul and a Web Version

Saturday I dug out the VibesMasto News Monitor so I could monitor news about the protests around the country. It was very useful but it also made me cringe. I first made this tool about two years ago when I knew a lot less about JavaScript, and its code is CRUSTY. Uncrusting it became yesterday's priority. Now there's a overhauled version on GitHub and a new version on the Web at…

https://www.calishat.com/2025/04/21/vibesmasto-gets-an-overhaul-and-a-web-version/

Want to monitor news and hashtags on #Mastodon but you live on a small instance with low news flow? I've put VibesMasto News Monitor on the Web so you can get trend and hashtag information from larger instances as well as keep an eye on your favorite #RSS feed. Completely free, no Mastodon account required.

Article on the way but in the meantime:

https://mastogizmos.com/vm.html

I had to do some more tweaking but I now it's a lot better. Let me get it up on GitHub.

Irish Republican Digital Archive, Carolee Schneemann, Fountain of RSS, More: Monday ResearchBuzz, April 21, 2025

NEW RESOURCES Irish Echo: New chapter opens as oft-banned rebel publications made available online . "The Irish Republican Digital Archive, founded last year by a group of historically-minded colleagues from around Ireland, catalogues the ebb and flow of republicanism in the modern era, since the 1950s and the order to 'dump arms' following the failed Border…

http://researchbuzz.me/2025/04/21/irish-republican-digital-archive-carolee-schneemann-fountain-of-rss-more-monday-researchbuzz-april-21-2025/

Y'all remember that Mastodon tool I was telling you about yesterday, to monitor hashtags?

I found it very useful but I made it two years ago when I knew a lot less and that code was CRUSTY.

So I spent the day doing an overhaul and now it's got a nice settings panel so you don't have to muck about in the code. It's also better at feed display.

I'll update GitHub tomorrow but I'm also going to put it up as a web app so you don't have to download anything.

#politics #GiftArticle

HClinton's server seems damn quaint at this point.

'Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed information about forthcoming strikes in Yemen on March 15 in a private Signal group chat that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, according to four people with knowledge of the chat.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/us/politics/hegseth-yemen-attack-second-signal-chat.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BE8.ZE3N.Z-fvlf04q4YF&smid=url-share

Iceland Performing Arts, Connecticut Mortality, Ecommerce, More: Sunday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, April 20, 2025

NEW RESOURCES National and University Library of Iceland: The National Theatre's theater programs made available on timarit.is. "On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the National Theatre, all of the National Theatre's theater programs from its inception will be made available on timarit.is and the National Theatre's website. The National and University…

http://researchbuzz.me/2025/04/20/iceland-performing-arts-connecticut-mortality-ecommerce-more-sunday-afternoon-researchbuzz-april-20-2025/

I love this picture from yesterday's protests.

#Florida #politics #RonDeSantis #Zoom

'A board meeting of the Hope Florida Foundation, connected to a key initiative of Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis, was interrupted April 17 after online trolls hijacked the open Zoom call with pornographic images, Nazi symbols and racist slurs.'

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2025/04/17/porn-nazi-symbols-more-overtake-online-desantis-hope-florida-meeting/83138145007/

Good morning to everyone but especially all sword-wielding grannies everywhere

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyqqz9mr6yo

Earl Grey bread sounds delicious

'Judges said the loaf - which beat 200 others to the prize - impressed them with its "unique flavour profile" featuring Earl Grey tea and limoncello-soaked candied lemon peel, combined with lemon curd and juice for a "zesty, aromatic finish".'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4wllmr27no

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Robert F. Kennedy Assassination, TikTok, More: Sunday ResearchBuzz, April 20, 2025

NEW RESOURCES Catholic Review: Daughters of Charity, DePaul University expand digital collection of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s papers, letters. "As the 50th anniversary of the canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton approaches Sept. 14, many of her family’s documents are being made public digitally. The archives of the Daughters of Charity Province of St. Louise,…

http://researchbuzz.me/2025/04/20/st-elizabeth-ann-seton-robert-f-kennedy-assassination-tiktok-more-sunday-researchbuzz-april-20-2025/