xkcd and bunny have run cartoons over the last couple of days about Lego.
Now lego is awesome. But the idea as Lego as a type of Shrodinger's cat mixed with quantum theory is a cool one. Lego can be anything, it's only limited by your imagination!
My favourite of all is this Bunny, a nice reference to the 'Keep calm and carry on' posters from the war era.
Other relevant comics:
xkcd
Bunny
11 November 2009
Blair and the Lisbon Treaty and the EU
This story was from a little while ago, but it's still knocking around. About the possibility of Tony Blair becoming EU president.
I don't know enough of what Blair's policies are likely to be if he becomes president. I am possibly making a large assumption in assuming that the candidates will have any real policies, since EU policies tend to end up fitting the lowest common denominator so nothing very progressive is ever achieved. Also we the little people are not going to get a say in who gets in anyway. I don't like Blair personally and I never will.
Maybe this is a big part of the problem the EU faces in the UK. I'm a declared pro-European and I remain unsure what the Lisbon Treaty involves other than the creation of the role of President. Bad on you British media! Give me some information so I can make an form an informed opinion!
I believe the EU is a very positive thing on the whole. It's still in the living memories of some people when the continent was at war with eachother; I believe that this will never happen again because the EU has made us a stronger unit. The concept that I could go and work anywhere in Europe I want without needing a visa is also awesome. Since I work with a lot of international students who have to jump through hoops to get a visa to go to a conference on mainland Europe, (nevermind working!), I'm guilty of taking a lot of the privileges that come with EU citizenship for granted.
I feel that a lot of the Euro-sceptics are deluded. We're only a small country and we're enjoying the glories of our past which gives us a disproportionately loud voice in the international community. This influence will become less and less as time goes on. We are no longer the British Empire and we need to move forward and become part of something else. Europe is the way forward, eventually the dinosaurs will realise this.
I don't know enough of what Blair's policies are likely to be if he becomes president. I am possibly making a large assumption in assuming that the candidates will have any real policies, since EU policies tend to end up fitting the lowest common denominator so nothing very progressive is ever achieved. Also we the little people are not going to get a say in who gets in anyway. I don't like Blair personally and I never will.
Maybe this is a big part of the problem the EU faces in the UK. I'm a declared pro-European and I remain unsure what the Lisbon Treaty involves other than the creation of the role of President. Bad on you British media! Give me some information so I can make an form an informed opinion!
I believe the EU is a very positive thing on the whole. It's still in the living memories of some people when the continent was at war with eachother; I believe that this will never happen again because the EU has made us a stronger unit. The concept that I could go and work anywhere in Europe I want without needing a visa is also awesome. Since I work with a lot of international students who have to jump through hoops to get a visa to go to a conference on mainland Europe, (nevermind working!), I'm guilty of taking a lot of the privileges that come with EU citizenship for granted.
I feel that a lot of the Euro-sceptics are deluded. We're only a small country and we're enjoying the glories of our past which gives us a disproportionately loud voice in the international community. This influence will become less and less as time goes on. We are no longer the British Empire and we need to move forward and become part of something else. Europe is the way forward, eventually the dinosaurs will realise this.
5 November 2009
Strictly and the reality of phone-in tv
Okay so last week (not for the first time in Strictly history) we had two of the better dancers in the dance off. Yes it's a shame that one of them has to go when they're good to watch but this is the nature of tv of the noughties when phone votes control the direction of shows.
What hacks me off is the judges have a whinge about who's in the dance off and how it's a 'travesty'. No it's not. It's the general public and this is what happens when you let us grubby little people have our say in what happens. The judges would probably love it if it was down to them only, but then it would be in no way as entertaining. Results more shocking than this have happened before we had the dance off format introduced to try and give the judges a bit more power.
I want Jade and Ian to win, but it's pretty unusual when the people I want to win actually do. I don't think they'll win it because they're not so popular as all the soap 'stars' but I'm not really complaining, I accept this is how the show works and it's more of an entertainment show than an actual dance contest, regardless of what the judges would like to think!
Thankfully with the demise of Big Brother in the near future, we've reached the peak of the reality/phone in tv show craze of the last decade. I don't remember being angry or upset that I didn't get a say in what happened in tv shows of my youth. I could also do without the life story of some reality show contestants; this is why I can't stand to watch X-factor.
While viewer interaction can really add to some shows I think it's become too prolific and like charity fatigue, now we risk phone-in tv fatigue where we no longer care about the contestants.
What hacks me off is the judges have a whinge about who's in the dance off and how it's a 'travesty'. No it's not. It's the general public and this is what happens when you let us grubby little people have our say in what happens. The judges would probably love it if it was down to them only, but then it would be in no way as entertaining. Results more shocking than this have happened before we had the dance off format introduced to try and give the judges a bit more power.
I want Jade and Ian to win, but it's pretty unusual when the people I want to win actually do. I don't think they'll win it because they're not so popular as all the soap 'stars' but I'm not really complaining, I accept this is how the show works and it's more of an entertainment show than an actual dance contest, regardless of what the judges would like to think!
Thankfully with the demise of Big Brother in the near future, we've reached the peak of the reality/phone in tv show craze of the last decade. I don't remember being angry or upset that I didn't get a say in what happened in tv shows of my youth. I could also do without the life story of some reality show contestants; this is why I can't stand to watch X-factor.
While viewer interaction can really add to some shows I think it's become too prolific and like charity fatigue, now we risk phone-in tv fatigue where we no longer care about the contestants.
2 October 2009
Holy pavements!
I am clearly easily amused, but on a trek down the Coates building I saw this poster and the sponsor company seemed rather exotic. I'm making a bit of a leap and assuming that they're probably not a company based in the UK; shame on you UK business for having bland corporate company names...
What is it that makes a company 'Worshipful'?
26 September 2009
Yes, I am wearing black, but with a twist
Today I'm wearing coloured tights, purple ones to be exact, and actually, they look pretty cool! It's part of my attempt to wear less black and more colour. But I love black so much, it's nice and safe and I swear it goes with everything. Colour is good, but looks better on other people. I'm more of a brightly coloured accessory person. I'm the girl dressed entirely in black, but with the bright yellow laptop!
The tights were an impulse buy from Primark, on the basis that if I did hate them then it wasn't a complete waste of money. My dilemma with the coloured tights is what to wear with them; the easy option is black (unsurprisingly that's what I've done).
I'm not sure about wearing colour with coloured tights, it's a tricky one to pull off. Wearing purple elsewhere can look rather naff, and if you wear contrasting colours it can end up looking too little-girlish. I'm sure there must be some rules somewhere, but no ones told me about them. I'm going to be a coward and stick with the black for now...
The tights were an impulse buy from Primark, on the basis that if I did hate them then it wasn't a complete waste of money. My dilemma with the coloured tights is what to wear with them; the easy option is black (unsurprisingly that's what I've done).
I'm not sure about wearing colour with coloured tights, it's a tricky one to pull off. Wearing purple elsewhere can look rather naff, and if you wear contrasting colours it can end up looking too little-girlish. I'm sure there must be some rules somewhere, but no ones told me about them. I'm going to be a coward and stick with the black for now...
20 September 2009
British, not English
Watching the BTCC, one of the commentators was talking away during a safety car phase, but stated that other than Giovanardi, everyone in the field was English. Now I know that clearly no offence was meant, but this irks me. While the majority of the field are English, there are some who hail from Scotland and Colin Turkington, championship leader is from Northern Ireland, so correctly we should say British.
Historically it's only relatively recently that the term 'British' has emerged. Before then 'English' was used as an umbrella term for all of the UK. But now, using 'English' when you mean 'British' is just a lazy habit.
I have been told in the past that I'm an awkward sod for insisting that I'm British and not English. Yes, I was brought up in the home counties and I do sound very English, but if you classify me as that it's essentially writing off half of my family, which I refuse to do.
The other reason I think that British is a much better term is that it's far less divisive than English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish. Not that I'm trying to do down anyone who identifies as any of these, but at the end of it we are all British and our country is amazing; each nation of the union has a distinctive culture and traditions and we work together better as a country.
I think that if people want to celebrate being Welsh/Scottish/English/N. Irish it's all cool as long as it's positive and pride in your home nation, and not at the expense of another (and yes, this is normally the English). The idea that the Scots actively want England to fail at football to other nations is bizarre to me, but then I accept I will never understand the passion that some people devote to football.
It's cliched but together we are greater than the sum of our parts. I am British and I am proud of that.
Historically it's only relatively recently that the term 'British' has emerged. Before then 'English' was used as an umbrella term for all of the UK. But now, using 'English' when you mean 'British' is just a lazy habit.
I have been told in the past that I'm an awkward sod for insisting that I'm British and not English. Yes, I was brought up in the home counties and I do sound very English, but if you classify me as that it's essentially writing off half of my family, which I refuse to do.
The other reason I think that British is a much better term is that it's far less divisive than English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish. Not that I'm trying to do down anyone who identifies as any of these, but at the end of it we are all British and our country is amazing; each nation of the union has a distinctive culture and traditions and we work together better as a country.
I think that if people want to celebrate being Welsh/Scottish/English/N. Irish it's all cool as long as it's positive and pride in your home nation, and not at the expense of another (and yes, this is normally the English). The idea that the Scots actively want England to fail at football to other nations is bizarre to me, but then I accept I will never understand the passion that some people devote to football.
It's cliched but together we are greater than the sum of our parts. I am British and I am proud of that.
16 September 2009
500ml of pepsi contains 60% of your daily sugar intake..
Forgive the awful quality of the picture, but this is a perfect example of an annoyance of mine. I buy a 500ml bottle (of Oasis in this case, but the same is true of Pepsi etc.) and the nutritional information on the label informs me that "This bottle contains two 250ml servings". Why? Who are all these people who go and buy a bottle of pop and then only drink half of it? They're not anyone I know!Do the right thing drinks companies and admit that one bottle will normally be drunk by one person. We can deal with the consequences of the whole truth of how much sugar is in the stuff!
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