Three good things that Obama is doing in his last days as President.
What's the opposite of 'Grimdark' fantasy? Noblebright fantasy.
A reasonable stab at classifying various types of leftists.
Interesting story about the man who was the janitor at the US Air Force Academy in the 1970s.
Jeremy Paxman reveals that University Challenge is edited to make the contestants look cleverer.
(Mostly) Star Trek ship recognition chart
Doctor Who video game easter eggs
"Woman forced to remove burkini on Nice beach by armed officers" (Really? Or was this a setup? I mean, who goes to a stony beach, lies down in a burkini without a book or even a towel to lie on? It doesn’t quite stack up to me.)
United Nations incompetence is killing thousands of Haitians. And until very recently they covered it up. This should be a much bigger news story than it actually is.
14 Justifiably Forgotten Milton Bradley Board Games
The Labour Party's new 'digital democracy' guru is a communist and an IRA supporter.
A useful summary of how many types of people disapprove of Pokemon Go. (Christians, muslims, moral guardians, leftards, gaming purists, conspiracy theorists, nanny-statists, more leftards, SJWs, puritans…)
I love these Game of Thrones posters that HBO did. One per episode (almost)!
The plot of all three major Tolkien works in a single haiku.
Pretty much how I feel about both babies and cats.
The IMF was wrong and I was right. (I feel smug.)
Some clever statistical analysis of the EU referendum.
"How did the language of politics get so toxic?"
Considering the impact of cheaper Sterling.
Clare Short is responsible for a lot of the bad things that have happened in Zimbabwe.
Whatever happened to William 'The Refrigerator' Perry?
No, the British did not "frantically" google what the E.U. is hours after voting to leave it.
New Robin of Sherwood audio drama with original cast. (We’re working our way through the boxed set in preparation!)
Gordon Murray has died. No, not the bloke who designed the car in the userpic, the guy who did Trumpton, Camberwick Green and Chigley.
Mapping the growth of cities over the last 6,000 years.
An interview with Matthew 'Pandemic' Leacock.
Five steps universities could take to revive free speech on campus.
NASA's mission in the 1960s: Get America to the Moon. NASA's mission in the 2010s: Reach out to the muslim world. (Wait, what?)
The McLaren F1 needs a 20 year old Compaq laptop
The pilot episode of Korgoth of Barbaria. Why didn’t this make it as a series? It’s great!
The Game of Thrones title sequence, done with slime moulds
Those Finns sure like their metal.
"Dr Heimlich saves choking woman with manoeuvre he invented."
Kim Jong-Un's aunt runs a drycleaning business in the USA.
Here's a clever way to make interstellar travel real.
"Around 50% 'hold authoritarian views'". Sounds shocking. What’s more shocking is the ignorance of the researchers (three politics professors no less, albeit from second rate universities) as to what constitutes “authoritarian”. Authoritarians would presumably favour powerful state control, right? You know, like Stalin or Hitler or Mao. Not according to these three clowns. Apparently “ideological sympathy for… rolling back the state” is an authoritarian point of view. Incredible.
Thankfully I wasn't the only person to spot this.
The new president of the National Union of Students sounds like a lovely girl.
The Game of Thrones Mock Draft.
The Stevland Angus Appreciation Society
Brave socio-political commentary in 'My Little Pony'. Yes, really.
Why are we so understanding towards the crimes of Communism? A suggestion I’ve seen elsewhere is that International Labour Day should be replaced with a day of remembrance for the victims of communism and socialism. Good idea.
Gerry Adams apologises for tweeting the word "nigger". I’m amazed at the fuss about this. Might it not have occurred to the twitter commentariat that heading a terrorist organisation responsible for the deaths of 1,800 people is ever so slightly worse than typing a naughty word into social media?
"Sepp Blatter deserves Nobel Prize" says Vladimir Putin.
The Complete Blake's 7 Costume Index
Total respect to the owner of this Porsche 918 Spyder.
Really nicely done Star Trek fanvid set to William Shatner singing* Pulp's 'Common People'. (* Maybe singing isn’t quite the right word. If you’re familiar with Mr Shatner’s musical career, you know what I mean.)
Milton Friedman was right, part 865.
After more than 6,000 episodes of Countdown, this happens.
Never 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.
How to get rich from tidal energy.
How come Jeremy Paxman is allowed to ask tough questions but Kay Burley isn't?
Tblisi flooded. Zoo animals escape. Hilarity (and some terror) ensues.
Remember last month when New York was underwater? No?
The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission is confused between correlation and causation.
Good questions to ask in a job interview.
I 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.)
Even if the minimum wage doesn't hit jobs, it hurts the poor.
How to roleplay during RPG combat.
More on that British DNA study.
Of the Rings of Powerpoint and the Third Age
Christianity didn't nick Easter off the pagans.
One of my ambitions in life is to come up with a hoax this good.
A pretty decent short history of the British videogame industry.
Every argument about 'Buffy' on the internet from 1998 until now.
Brazil have reacted to their World Cup humiliation by retreating into the past.
'Virtual nose' may reduce simulator sickness in video games.
Questions in The Guardian we can answer.
Why you must lie in job interviews and what you must lie about.
The five best libertarian TV shows ever. (No Blake's 7? No Yes, Minister? No Firefly?)
This seems blindingly obvious to me. (I'm very much _not_ a morning person.)
It's 25 years since the Herschel Walker trade.
10 hot teenage football prospects.
Jimmy Page on Stairway to Heaven
An odd story involving Stevie Nicks, the tilde, and 1,000 nerds.
10 things that always happen in soaps but never in real life.
A Latino author on the "underrepresentation" of latinos in movies.
An open letter to all the Jews in the world (sort of).
How to cyberstalk cats all around the world.
How Gary Gygax Lost Control of Dungeons & Dragons.
Guardian leftard wants to nationalise mobile phone networks. Yes, really.
The story of Brazil's yellow and green jersey.
Examining the implications of the Fermi Paradox.
Plug-in 'safety' socket covers are very unsafe.
Seven grammar 'errors' you shouldn't worry about. (This makes perfect sense until the last two lines.)
Like Kerbal Space Program? You need a custom controller.
Argentina is getting exactly what it deserves. (Nothing to do with football, although while we’re at it, I would _love_ it if Germany humiliates the dirty, cheating, slimy, Falklands-invading bastards the way they humiliated Brazil.)
The 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.
Is it finally the end for 'Computer & Video Games'? I used to subscribe, but that was 30 years ago.
Brilliant timelapse origami animals.
One man's relationship with 'Dragon's Lair'.
Lifetime achievement award for Christine McVie at the Novello Awards.
If Disney did 'A Game of Thrones'. (Thankfully this is just fan art, not some awful nightmare.)
40 Maps That Explain the Middle-East
What 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' would look like as a Lucasarts point-and-click adventure.
I love this illustration of AD&D module G1 'Steading of the Hill Giant Chief'.
It looks like the end for Wrexham Swimming Baths and its ridiculous roof.
What 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.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timeasmymeasure
