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Phligm Phlagm 2
Mar. 5th, 2016 10:31 pmOpen plan offices are bad. There are two people in my workplace. I’m married to the other one. And we work in different rooms. Imagine how bad it is to work right next to people you don’t even like…
Ranking British universities for free speech.
If you needed body armour, why wouldn't you want it to look like Boba Fett's?
Male competitive athlete? Little chance of winning an Olympic medal? Here's what you need to do.
This is the best headline of 2016 so far. (I take no responsibility for any distress caused by your own imagination after reading this. Those mental images are all yours.)
Useful discussion on minimum wage laws. (Thank you ford_prefect42)
John Cleese on political correctness.
Denmark is not a socialist utopia.
Phligm Phlagm 3
Dec. 10th, 2015 11:55 pmThe Russian Navy is a LOT smaller than the Soviet Navy.
"We are all Jews here." The US soldier who led a revolt against German prison guards.
Fitness advice: How to Lose Fat.
Reports of 'Giant Rats' in London leads to increased sales of Chainmail and +1 Longswords.
What does the galaxy need most after the destruction of the Second Death Star? A Central Bank. (I would actually love it if this is the plot for Episode VII, but then I liked all the stuff about taxation of trade routes in Episode I…)
McLaren's idea of what F1 cars might look like in the future.
The genius of Tusk. (And isn’t Christine’s hair truly tragic in that photo?)
Phligm Phlagm 2
Aug. 4th, 2015 03:16 pmDo 3D films make you dizzy - or is it just your imagination? (By neuromancer.)
A clever idea for those of us who scribble lots of things in notebooks. (Thankyou na_lon.)
Did Frederick Forsyth work for MI6?
Don't blame the Germans, blame the Euro.
Yet another mostly muslim child abuse horror story.
The ten best British cyclists of all time.
A (not quite) complete list of things supposedly caused by global warming.
I know what happens if you mix nationalism and socialism. I wonder if US Democrats do.
Phligm Phlagm 2
Jul. 4th, 2015 10:03 pmNever swallow a porcupine whole.
And the lesson to be learned here is this: make a self-deprecating joke to a conference that could be misinterpreted as politically incorrect if removed from the context in which it was made, then it _will_ be removed from its context, selectively quoted and used by a social media mob to hound you out of your job, no matter how great your previous accomplishments. Richard Dawkins is angry about this, and really so should we all be. This is typical of the condemnatory articles that didn't think to check facts.
Doctor Who Online does look to be defrauding advertisers. They’ve tried this with The Shop on the Borderlands (we sell Doctor Who RPGs), but I was too sceptical. Combine a proprietary analytics system that massively overstates traffic with quite persistent selling, and yes, I think Mr Sandifer is on to something.
Half of households receive more in benefits than they pay in taxes. (And that’s before you include the cost of state education, state healthcare, public sector salaries etc…)
Free market lessons from Scandinavia.
The man who invented trainspotting (sort of) has died.
Well Google, this is awkward...
Sir Nicholas Winton, the "British Schindler", has died aged 106.
Did Joss Whedon base Firefly on Traveller? This is a good examination of the evidence.
Holograms that you can touch (sort of). Next step, Holodecks!
This year's ENnie Awards (the RPG and miniatures industry awards) nominees
Nice collection of photos of the British Grand Prix over the years.
I'm amazed that the Forth Bridge isn't already a World Heritage Site.
This time it really is the end of the line for the Avro Vulcan.
Long Overdue Phligm Phlagm Part 1
Jun. 11th, 2015 10:51 pmI haven’t done a Phligm Phlagm post since April. (Sorry, I’ve been really busy…) We have some catching up to do. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and / or are informed by these links:
The maths (and beauty) behind a perfect 147. Make sure you watch Ronnie O’Sullivan’s five minutes and 20 seconds 147 – one of the all time greatest accomplishments in any sport.
Few people regularly make me as angry as this incompetent, ill-informed, hypocritical, leftard.
Great myths of British politics, number 745: "The NHS is the most efficient health system in the world". (According to the OECD, only Ireland and Greece could make greater savings from more efficient healthcare systems.)
Even among countries with similar healthcare systems, the UK's is "below average". (So can we please stop this “envy of the world” bollocks?)
Diane "divide and rule" Abbott tutting that the "Tories harp on about Mid-Staffs". (Yeah, cos it’s not as if 1,200 people dying because of neglect in a state-run hospital is something politicians should be concerned about…)
Student union backs excluding white people from 'anti-racism' events.
PwC is going to ignore graduates' A-level results when recruiting. (This surprises me. When I was being recruited as a trainee chartered accountant, and when I was recruiting trainee chartered accountants, it was generally accepted that A-level grades were the best indication of future success in ACA exams, far more so than class of degree.)
George Digweed, the greatest British sportsman you've never heard of.
10 typographic mistakes everyone makes (and which life is far, far too short to care about.)
Broad Jump
Feb. 28th, 2015 09:46 pmThe broad jump is one of the tests used to see how athletic wannabe NFL players are at the annual Scouting Combine, which took place last weekend.
Now how far do you think elite athletes can broad jump? To give you some context, the best broad jump at the 2014 Scouting Combine, was 11 feet 0 inches, by Marquise Goodwin, a wide receiver from the University of Texas who would be drafted by the Buffalo Bills. Goodwin is a world-class long jumper, who made the Olympic Final in 2012, and was expected to win a medal. (He had a bad day and didn't. You may remember Great Britain's Greg Rutherford won the Gold.) The best ever broad jump at the Scouting Combine was 11 feet 7 inches in 2013.
So what do you think was the best broad jump at the 2015 Combine?
( Read more... )
Phligm Phlagm
Feb. 1st, 2015 07:06 pmA rousing defence of private property from an unusual source.
Why are NHS Accident & Emergency units suddenly too busy to cope?
Very serious corruption in the NHS watchdog. Seriously, people should go to prison for this.
"Tax Systems: The good, the bad and the completely toot toot ding-dong loopy"
2014 was the warmest year in moden record.
...although actually it's within the margin of error and tied with 2005 and 2010.
Dodgy anti-trade measures from "so called chocolate maker Hershey's". (I remember a colleague who had been on holiday to the US bringing some Hershey’s ‘chocolate’ into the office for everyone to taste. It tastes of vomit. I’m not saying this in a way that means “it doesn’t taste very nice”, I mean literally that you can taste vomit and you can taste Hershey’s and they taste very, very similar. And everyone in the office who had some agreed with this assessment. If you run a Google search for “Hersheys tastes”, see what the auto-complete suggestions are. How is this stuff so popular?)
How to appreciate American cuisine.
Baseball's toxic tradition - chewing tobacco.
Benedict Cumberbuzzle falls victim to SJW idiocy. (The leading black/colored/coloured/African-American civil rights pressure group in the US is the “National Association for the Advancement of Colored People” so how can the word “colored” be “outdated” or “offensive”? But presumably your typical hashtag social justice warrior is too stupid to realise this.) See Rules 21, 22 and 23.
Lars Andersen explodes Hollywood's archery myths.
Geekdad explodes Lars Andersen's archery myths.
Practical jokes through facebook advertising.
124 year old business destroyed by single-letter Companies House typo.
The French government has just spent £40million on this "How to spot a Musilim Terrorist" wallchart.
Phligm Phlagm part 2
Sep. 3rd, 2014 11:19 pmThe man who was killed by a flying model lawnmower at an NFL game. (True story.)
Three Things You Didn't Know About The Arachnids That Live On Your Face.
Much respect to this Italian doctor.
Inflating normal lungs versus inflating smoker's lungs.
What charities need to learn from #icebucketchallenge.
How those transfer deadline day last minute deals are done.
Apparently, almost half of Americans have never eaten lamb!
Charlie Powell, the greatest multi-sport athlete you've never heard of.
On internet bigotry and hereditary entrepreneurialism.
I'd never heard of Brooks Newmark until today, but bravo sir for having the balls to say this.
Phligm Phlagm 2
Aug. 11th, 2014 11:56 pm11 ways to be a better roleplayer.
Yay parody! Yay format shifting!
Christians have been misinterpreting Leviticus all of these years.
The state of the New York monument to those Americans who died in WW1.
India's First Empire & Commonwealth Gold Medallist - The 'Flying Sikh'
Russian Homosexual Neo-Nazis. Seriously.
What did the British ever do for us?
Man pushes Brussels sprout up Snowdon with his nose in four days.
More Phligm Phlagm
Jun. 6th, 2014 04:06 pmThe oldest village post office in the country is just up the road from us.
Dr Seuss campaigned for the US to enter WW2.
Downmarket British newspaper libels bestselling American fantasy author. He doesn't sue...but he does take the 'journalist' apart line-by-line in a very entertaining fashion. Part 2. ...and a fellow member of the Evil League of Evil joins in the bitchslapping.
An entirely new type of planet - the 'Mega Earth'.
An entirely new type of planet - the 'Gas Dwarf'.
10 Celebrities Who Studied Accountancy
The State Opening of Parliament is really us commoners kicking sand in the eyes of the Queen.
Britain's Greatest Pilot, Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown. Did anyone see the documentary about him on BBC the other night? Astonishing bloke. For a short time, he was my Dad’s commanding officer at RNAS Lossiemouth. List of aircraft flown by 'Winkle' Brown.
More Phligm Phlagm
May. 11th, 2014 04:08 pmWhat was the Cliven Bundy thing all about?
Ten situations in which it is acceptable to use the word "nigger".
The latest in the production line of talented footballers from my home town.
How big were the famous Middle-earth dragons?
Things would have been very different for them if the Starks had used a bit of common sense.
Phligm Phlagm
May. 11th, 2014 03:52 pm“Supposing him to be the gardener: Sam Gamgee, the Battle of the Somme and my Great Uncle Bill”
"A writer shouldn't be punished for his political beliefs."
A Traveller's Guide to the Milky Way.
I don't drink beer, but if I did I'd be inclined to try this company's beer.
What credit rating would an independent Scotland receive?
"Inequality isn't a problem". It's about time someone said this.
Pre-Comics Code comics. I think it's time to bring back "All Negro Comics"...
Let The Men of Online Dating Show You How to Really Woo A Woman.
When Ayrton Senna lived in a semi-detached bungalow in a suburb of Norwich.
Phligm Phlagm
Apr. 14th, 2014 11:31 pmWas the Post Office sold off too cheaply, and if so could anyone have known?
How to get fast internet access if you live in a small hut in Svalbard.
Pseudoscientific wank from the pages of audiophile magazines.
New York Public Library, 20,000 historic maps for free and Call of Cthulhu.
This is a nicer Silmarillion than any copy you own.
Celebrities that Look Like Mattresses
Why Hasn't Westeros Had an Industrial Revolution?
Game of Thrones TV series renewed for at least two more seasons.
What impact would Scottish independence have on the national debt of the rest of the UK?
What did Einstein refer to as "the eighth wonder of the world"?
Sir Chris Hoy wants to drive Le Mans 24 Hours
Is the Co-Op ungovernable or is it simply run by incompetents?
How far down is the missing airliner likely to be?
Remembering when everyone hated Windows XP.
This is why basic economics should be taught to every child.
Phligm Phlagm Special
Apr. 1st, 2014 11:59 amRoyal Albert Hall to finally get retractable roof.
Piers Morgan recruited as Liberal Democrat media advisor
Darth Vader to run in Ukrainian presidential election
The Kindle Paperscent removes one of the remaining disadvantages of eBook readers.
bathstore launches world's first selfie mirror
Dating site doesn't want lonely hearts using Firefox
NASA detects 'intelligent' alien signal
Toby Carvery brings you the Breakfast Sundae
Manchester United's new home shirt to feature Sir Alex Ferguson's face
Ant and Dec to split. Dec will reinvent himself as 'Dec'.
Government to crack down on selfies
Domino's introduces the edible pizza box.
UN draws up peacekeeping plans in event of Scottish 'yes' vote.
Mumsnet to run maternity wards
New Scottish pound coin to use Alex Salmond's head instead of the Queen's
An independent Scotland would drive on the right
Aspiring 'glamour' model gets £5,000 breast enlargement plus £2,500 of dentistry on the NHS.
Polly Toynbee calls for Richard Murphy to sit on the board of HMRC
The Holy Grail has been in a Spanish church for ages.
You need to eat ten portions of fruit and veg a day, not five.
"Manchester United are not underdogs" against Bayern Munich.
Hull's rival to Bitcoin: HullCoin
Unite boss calls on members to kill the rich
George Osborne to get everyone a fancy job.
CERN website to switch to Comic Sans
Finding Pokemon with Google Maps
Michael Gove to make gowns and mortarboards compulsory
Leonard Nimoy to sing end credits song for third Hobbit movie
Valentine's Day
Feb. 14th, 2013 04:43 pmViolets are glorious
You don't want to piss off
Oscar Pistorious
Too soon...?
Phligm Phlagm part 3
Feb. 12th, 2013 10:44 pmEU to set up euro-election 'troll patrol' to tackle Eurosceptic surge.
What twitter made of that photograph of Mr Obama firing a gun.
Will the Financial Transaction Tax work?
Random conspiracy theory generator (just keep refreshing to get new theories)
America's Most Disliked Athletes
A real dilemma for Guardian journalists...
Azerbaijan should have a great chance in Eurovision this year...
What you think Ockham's Razor means is probably wrong.
Hasn't Lego got expensive? No. No it hasn't.
How much do you pay for car insurance? Rowan Atkinson probably pays £60,000 a year.
Some funny Amazon reviews for the Playmobil Security Check Point
Phligm Phlagm 2
Dec. 20th, 2012 11:40 pmClient feedback to marketing agencies as posters. (Much better than it sounds.)
Sir Patrick Moore had some financial difficulties in the last few years of his life. So Brian May bought his house for him. (Please, please, please BBC, don’t give The Sky at Night to that wanker from Manchester with the bad dress sense and the creepy lips. Give it to Chris Lintott and Brian May. Queen, not D*Ream.)
Famous movie scenes in Lego. (I think The Godfather is the best.)
ESPN presenter argues that Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III isn't "really" black because he has a white fiancee and he's a Republican. (For this, he has been suspended for 30 days by ESPN. This is the same punishment they gave to a basketball commentator (whose wife is Asian-American) who asked “Is there a chink in his armour?” about a Chinese basketball player. The former behaviour seems much worse to me.)
Gerard Depardieu moves to Belgium and farts in the general direction of President Hollande.
Football management - what they apparently _do_ teach you at Harvard Business School.
I wonder at what point the Labour Party website will remove this page...
Strong contender for worst album cover of all time. On the other hand, it does feature a cat.
Superstars!
Nov. 15th, 2012 03:00 pmThe BBC is bringing Superstars back for a special one-off Christmas special featuring British 2012 Olympic medalists. Yay!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-20322939
(I'm using my Raiders userpic for this post in honour of Raiders wide receiver Willie Gault, who was twice American Superstars champion.)
