@pws@social.coop

Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · Jul 26, 2026

Replying to on m.ai6yr.org

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org Before you start bending frames, don't assume you have a straight wheel. It's also quite possible to have both a bent frame and a wheel that's out of dish and misaligned rear dropouts at the same time. I would not even call that rare. Better to measure the rear triangle alignment and check the dropout alignment before you make changes, because you don't want to be repeatedly making changes.

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · Jul 25, 2026

Replying to @ascentale@sfba.social

@ascentale@sfba.social @edd@freeradical.zone @bikenite@fedigroups.social This depends on many factors - how hard the ride is, the weather conditions, your level of fitness, whether it's a supported ride. A century ride with a mountain in it is completely different from a mostly flat route, or a ride in hot or freezing conditions. It really helps to build up to it so you can figure out your hydration and nutrition plans. That said, the only really long rides that have not gone well for me are the ones where I did not have enough food or water, or where my stomach did not care for food provided along the way, so I take more than I think is necessary. But if you haven't done some long rides, it's hard to know what you need. A supported ride with feed stations helps manage that risk. I try to avoid taking drink mix from feed stations or strange sports food that my body is not familiar with, but bananas and pretzels and other normal food I would consider fair game. Ideally I eat and drink only things that I have tried before. #BikeNite

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · Jul 24, 2026

Replying to @ascentale@sfba.social

@ascentale@sfba.social @grammasaurus@mastodon.social @bikenite@fedigroups.social A5) It really depends on the hole - how big it is and whether there is significant damage to the casing. If the hole is large enough that you can see the tube starting to bulge into it, it's time to replace it. If it's tight enough that at full inflation everything looks good and the tire hasn't developed a lumpy appearance in the area of the hole, I would reuse it. I would also inspect it after some rides to make sure the tire still tracks true to the rim and doesn't waver at the point where it was punctured. That would be a sign of damage to the casing. #BikeNite

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · Jul 21, 2026

Replying to @fifonetworks@infosec.exchange

@fifonetworks@infosec.exchange The other thing I tell people is don't rush to cancel their cell phone plan. You may need it to get into accounts.

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · Jul 21, 2026

Replying to @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @scott@mastodon.clitheroe.ca Missy lives on my wall forever

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · May 09, 2026

Replying to @pencilears@mastodon.eternalaugust.com

@pencilears@mastodon.eternalaugust.com I've worked with three food shelves in Vermont (never the state food bank, just the local distribution places). They vary a lot in terms of who they allow to shop, but anyone showing up in an emergency situation is offered food even if they don't technically qualify. One of them requires evidence of living in the town (such as a piece of mail, no ID required), one does the same but also asks you to attest to your income and family size but does not ask for any proof, and one asks almost nothing. Even when residency evidence is requested, if someone says they are camping or living in a car, there is no way they are leaving without as much food as we can provide. But the message I have for anyone struggling to get food is go to the food shelf and ask. The people working at the food shelves I have volunteered at all want to help everyone. That is why they are there.

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · May 06, 2026

Replying to @afewbugs@social.coop

@afewbugs I promise I will start caring about the Met Gala when everyone is fed and housed and has healthcare

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · May 05, 2026

Replying to @pws@social.coop

Funny thing about working at E&W... the office was full of Macs but the process to requisition software was onerous, so I became the guy who went around copying software from one machine to another (ie, the unofficial office pirate). Nobody cared how it happened and I didn't give it a second thought. They just wanted the latest copy of Microsoft Word and a day later it was there like magic. I was everybody's friend. The rest of the work involved typing dictation recorded on tapes, using a pedal operated tape player. I was the typist for around 40 management consultants. Many of them worked on joint venture projects in the Baltic region, and it was actually kind of interesting to see how the money machine worked on things like forestry projects in Latvia. This was a much more plush typing job than the typing pool which was something like 50 women sitting in rows in one room typing all day, and far better than opening business-reply mail on a slicing machine.

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · May 04, 2026

Replying to @pws@social.coop

After cycling through a variety of short assignments, including stacking tea crates and working reception at the Royal National Institute of the Blind ("the elevator is on your left") I was placed at Ernst & Whinney on the 10th floor with an eye level view of the clock tower on the north side of the river. This was before the surveillance state so it was no problem to blow through the term of a work visa until I decamped to Yugoslavia for a cycling trip down the coast from Trieste, Italy to Dubrovnik. The Yugoslav inflation rate was around 2500% that year, so they had just started printing the 50,000 Dinar note when I arrived. They started printing the 100,000 Dinar note about 3 weeks later. A barkeep told us that 25,000 Dinars was "good pay for a month's work 10 years ago and now it's 2 beers". (Unconfirmed but good story!) Shops handed out candy in lieu of small change when making a purchase.

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · May 04, 2026

37 years ago I flew to London with a work visa arranged through the British Universities North America Club, walked into a temp agency in Vic station to do a typing test and was immediately employed as a typist. They were overjoyed that I knew how to use a Mac and various other computers. "You know Macintosh!" I became their guy to dispatch to the places with strange or ancient computers, like the DECwriter with 8" floppy drives that was already a dinosaur. Anyway, I needed office garb, so I went to Camden Market and bought this very threadbare woolen overcoat. Inside the pocket is the maker's label, J. K. Chung, made in Brooklyn, NY in 1928. I think it might have been £5 and nothing was cheaper. I bought two shirts, two ties, two pair of trousers, and a Melton jacket to use every day for as long as I was there.

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · Apr 13, 2026

Replying to @tg9541@mas.to

@tg9541 My dad bought a Motobecane in 1972 (in the US). It had one of those Huret derailleurs with the smooth pulley wheels, no teeth. Another bike with almost every part made of steel. Funny to think about the evolution of Huret which ended up as SRAM, and see where they are now.

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · Apr 13, 2026

Replying to @tg9541@mas.to

@tg9541 When we unpacked Peugeot bikes to build in the shop (this was in the 1980s) they came wrapped in a big plastic bag that mechanics referred to as "the placenta"

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · Apr 08, 2026

Replying to @Jgbird@mas.to

@Jgbird In case you need this: ❤️ 💕 💓 💖 💗 🤸‍♂️

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · Mar 08, 2026

Replying to @xeophin@swiss.social

@xeophin@swiss.social On macOS, screenshots are not added to the photo library. If you open the Screenshot app, there is an Options button that will let you pick the default location for saving them. It will also tell you the current default save location. That setting will also apply when you take a screenshot using the keyboard shortcuts, you just wouldn't see the Options button in that case.

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Paul Southworth @pws@social.coop · Jan 30, 2026

Replying to @jessamyn@glammr.us

@jessamyn Library borrowing history ofc

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