I read this brilliant blog post by Wouter Groeneveld looking at how many dead links there were on his blog. I thought I'd try something similar. What is a broken link? Every day, I look at the On This Day page of my blog and look at that day's historic posts. I click on every link to see if it is still working. If it isn't, I have a few options. If the site is working, but the content has…
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Either I'm particularly thick, or this is the most over-written and under-explained academic claptrap I've read in some time. Some of the language is pure poetry: the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion It doesn't actually mean anything. You have to be able to parse unexplained concepts like "an oedipal calendar" and deal with interminable footnotes…
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Welcome to this very silly series of blog posts where I attempt to identify all the mobile phones used in Doctor Who. The 2024 Xmas special is fairly light on phones. Right at the end, we see Ruby Sunday calling her mum. And a shot of the base of the phone. It looks like it's the same phone as last season albeit now in a bright yellow case. Probably a Pixel 5 The only other phone-like …
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I have been "retired" for exactly one week. It's going pretty well so far! After handing in my laptop & badge, Liz took me for lunch at Gauthier Soho. Much as our previous visit, it was a meal of utter indulgence and fabulous service. The Christmas lunch menu was divine and, as I told the waiter, tasted "stupidly delicious". The next day, we went to see a fairly obscure musician play an…
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This is a peculiar murder mystery novel. In truth, the murder mystery takes second-place to the internal monologue of a protagonist who is viscerally disgusted with his corporeal body. The majority of the book is about the protagonist's neuroses, self-loathing, and contempt for both himself and others. The central schtick is great - can a hacker solve a murder at a tech conference? - but there's …
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I go to lots of theatre performances, shows, and events. I am constantly baffled by how poorly thought out the pre- and post-show experiences are. From the moment you enter the theatre, you are having "an experience". The atmosphere created within the venue all adds up to how much you enjoy the show. Parts of that experience are usually outside the director's control - for example the number of …
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This is an exquisitely detailed and righteously determined look about the how and why of Digital Government. Richard Pope was there at the beginning of GOV.UK and helped steer it to the magnificent beast it is today. He reflects, clear eyed, on the various successes and failures of the geeky attempt to turn the state into something approaching modernity. He's forthright on his views about the…
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What can be said? Macca. Live on stage. All the classic songs, a band that hits all the right notes, and an arena full of people who are singing their hearts out. Way back in the 1990s, I bumped into Paul when he was doing a poetry reading at my university. I'd missed out on tickets because I was a lazy student and didn't feel like waiting in a long queue. So I hung around the stage door and got …
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Analogies are like soufflés - they all collapse eventually. Food can be delicious, but certain foods can cause people physical pain or, in some cases, death. In most parts of the civilised world, governments have food safety laws. They mandate how to properly prepare, store, label, and serve food. In the UK, the laws are onerous for a large food manufacturers because we recognise that …
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As of today, I've quit. I started working full time before going to university. I worked part-time during my studies. Graduated into a crappy job. Got a place on a prestigious grad scheme. Worked my way up through the public and private sector. Start-ups and Ministries of State. Constantly working. Not any more! Yesterday was my last day in the office. Laptop and lanyard handed back.…
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Neal Stephenson's "Seveneves" is one of those massive, crushing, momentous, century-spanning and era-defining hard sci-fi novels. It starts with the immortal line "The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason." Classic! It dives into a world plagued with Kessler syndrome and the grimly inevitable consequences for the future of humanity. Scalzi's latest book is cheesy homage -…
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Because I'm dead fancy and know lots of mega-important people, I occasionally get to go to swanky places. A few weeks ago, I was invited to the House of Lords for a high-powered business meeting about important stuff. The best meetings take place in opulent surroundings, so we adjourned to The Woolsack - a bar nestled deep within the Lords. As a prolific user of Untappd - the social network for …
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