History, Politics And Current Affairs

Beanstalk or satellites. You choose.

Yeah the fan-service in Footfall is one of my gripes.

At first it seems obvious that SF is about aliens. And yet, over 100+ years, things have changed, not very surprisingly. Originally aliens were often BEMs (Bug Eyed Monsters) which behaved in various fairly predictable ways, not exactly human, but Terran at least. The last of these I read was Footfa...

Can anybody say 'word salad'?

Here's another one, summary grabbed from/. It is worth reading the tables in the paper which give various threats and so on. https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.15840# A pair of researchers investigating the ability of LLMs to coherently operate a simulated vending machine business have recorded hilariously ...

We'll be going to the V&A next time we're in London, which is no time soon. The Great Wen has little to attract me.

I vaguely remember seeing a video from a phone of this launch. If anyone else has seen it can they post a link?

Our local posh seaside resort has a nice op-shop (charity shop) which at the end of the season features some good stuff. Et voila, a clearing out of some Stones stuff Life by Keith Richards - very bloody good ghosted autobiography One and One ( a film by Goddard) the studio bits where they develop S...

Microsoft are about to launch a communication protocol to make it easier for a developer to plug an AI into an app. I haven't got the faintest idea what that entails, but it sounds like a great path for virusses.

Stern first launches need a lot of space, and put a big sagging strain on the keel (so they say). There's a non zero chance that the ship falls over at some point. Having said that it's been the usual method for hundreds if not thousands of years.

Yes, this is not going to be pretty. At the same time I amazed that it tore the ship apart.

"Range could be enhanced or reduced, depending on the design tweaks that would go along with such a configuration change."

ie, the author has put absolutely no thought into the article. What a waste of time.

Finally got around to watching TB. OK, my memory was bad. The underwater furball was still as dull as ditchwater, but otherwise it was good fun. I wonder why they replaced hammerheads with whatever those sharks were? Of course back in the 60s it seemed far more exotic, little did 12 year old me thin...

Heard this on the radio today Black-throated Finch By Jarad Bruinstroop | 1 February 2020 You have new notifications your connection has been reset please pay on time to avoid incurring an appointment with your therapist need to get in touch press crisis or if you prefer experience the virtual lifes...

" Churchill sacrificed city to conceal an Enigma de-crypt seems a tad far-fetched" Not exactly sure how Churchill would do that. Fighters defending London could have been relocated by 12 minutes to cover Coventry Here's wiki Ultra decrypts for the period have been available in the National...

What does neutral steer mean in context? TIA

Meanwhile the Army is funding research' into a totally stupid greeny idea - using a thermoelectric generator on tailpipes. https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/boeing-still-sees-hydrogen-hurdles-as-industry-strives-for-net-zero/159324.article (a) it's already been done and (b) the tailpipe is the...

I haven't watched TB in decades, I'll give it another go.

My favorite Hammer film was Theatre of Blood. Featuring the lovely Diana as a rather vengeful young lady.

I must rewatch them (Alien). Maybe I'll watch them in in universe chronological order. Or maybe not.