Thanasis Kinias / is on Nostr

Assistant professor of history & #histodon. Research race and whiteness in the British Empire (especially Queensland & British Columbia). Teach European & world history with a focus on colonialism & empire.

Previous careers include teaching English as a foreign language and a variety of IT jobs (from Web dev to pulling cables).

Linux geek & SF nerd.

Views my own and probably ill-informed.

He/him.

Last Notes

2024-07-08 00:46:03

“sad and disappointed” is exactly where we want the far right
https://media.historians.social/media_attachments/files/112/747/628/432/941/741/original/4ecba0c8448d19d5.png

2024-05-28 20:26:39

Is something going on with the Internet Archive? It was down for me for a bit, and now it’s slow as molasses...

2024-04-17 01:15:51

I just read that a single Bitcoin transaction requires upwards of 1,000 kW-hr of electricity.
That’s like running a small air conditioner 24/7 for a month and a half.

2024-03-14 15:10:58

Not linking to it because it’s complete rubbish, but NPR has a story this morning about Ireland and Palestine that is absolutely full of historical errors, among which:
– saying that the Irish Famine happened in the 1700s
– describing Ireland as a ‘British colony’ (the distinction may be subtle, but this is just wrong!)
– claiming that Ireland and Palestine were British colonies in the same era (Mandatory Palestine came into existence at almost the same time as the Free State) 1/2

2024-01-25 16:37:04

- reply

@npub19fc…ay3c
What’s weird is that there ‘rich’ as in “I’m gonna be OK and don’t need to worry about money” and then there’s ‘rich’ as in “I can wield this as power”—and I suspect that once people achieve the first, the temptation is very strong to want to continue on to the second...
@npub14pk…80yc

2024-01-08 18:14:11

- reply

@npub1ulm…hweg
this is where I struggle to understand a lot of patent law—so many of the things granted patent protection in the U.S. (like a sign with the words “SCHOOL BUS”) just don’t seem like they could be reasonably patented

2023-12-22 16:12:20

- reply

@npub1zdp…vqv8
apropos of “less disgusting school lunches”: I was just talking to some of my undergrads about these a few weeks ago, and I was shocked to discover that at least some of them were still being served the exact same disgusting slop I got in the 1970s and ’80s...

2023-11-16 15:43:51

- reply

@npub1ulm…hweg
that seems... *remarkably* fast!

2023-11-16 01:14:15

Something I’ve noticed about the way I use social media is that when somebody posts a link to a video, I normally just move along and ignore the post. I do the same with news sites; when it’s a video story, I just ignore it and look for a text article. I feel like I have less and less patience for video content. Like the newness of “ooh, video on THE INTERNET!” wore off more than a decade ago.
So many people seem to feel the same, but yet video is EVERWHERE. It’s perplexing.

2023-09-06 03:57:33

- reply

@npub1urv…a7df @npub1lrv…tth9
yeah, I can’t find any mention of OSU there, just the state dept of education—which is *entirely* a different kettle of fish

2023-08-18 23:01:54

We’re looking for a good slogan to use for the history program in marketing materials, but my suggestion of “The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living” was, quite unfairly, vetoed by my chair.