Interesting Links for 04-12-2017

The 100 best British tweets of 2017

(tags: twitter funny )

Fifteen hours of training allows women to match men's spacial awareness, increases engineering retention rates by 30%

(tags: gender brain mathematics engineering )

Protip for men: if marriage is a horrifying concept for you and you think it is an evil trap, do not buy a ring and ask a woman to marry you

(tags: marriage men relationships society )

Today I learnt that Wild Boar are the stuff of nightmares

(tags: animals history pigs )

Doctor Who Christmas special: Steven Moffat reveals all

(tags: drwho )

Britain's ignorance of Ireland is the luxury of a powerful nation, and one it can no longer afford

(tags: Ireland history UK Europe NorthernIreland fail )

People have spent over $1M buying virtual cats on the Ethereum blockchain

(tags: cats Technology internet )

A 20-Year Experience of Software Development Methodologies

(tags: software development organisation )

British Politics would be hilarious if I was viewing it from a safe distance

I've been watching the reporting going on on the Northern Ireland/Ireland border. And the general expectation is that Northern Ireland will match Ireland for regulations.

Which led to the following from the Scottish First Minister:

If one part of UK can retain regulatory alignment with EU and effectively stay in the single market (which is the right solution for Northern Ireland) there is surely no good practical reason why others can’t.

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) December 4, 2017

And from the First Minister of Wales:

We cannot allow different parts of the UK to be more favourably treated than others. If one part of the UK is granted continued participation in the Single Market & Customs Union, then we fully expect to be made the same offer.

— Carwyn Jones (@fmwales) December 4, 2017

And then from the Mayor of London:

Huge ramifications for London if Theresa May has conceded that it's possible for part of the UK to remain within the single market & customs union after Brexit. Londoners overwhelmingly voted to remain in the EU and a similar deal here could protect tens of thousands of jobs.

— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) December 4, 2017

and the brilliant comment:

There now seems to be a serious concern that the offer being put on the table by the U.K. is not acceptable to... the U.K.

— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) December 4, 2017

Of course, at this point I'm still waiting to hear what the announcement might be:

I'm told An Taoiseach can't make his statement yet because he's waiting on a phonecall from Donald Tusk. But Tusk can't phone Varadkar because he waiting to hear from Jean Claude Juncker. #Brexit They need a WhatsApps group!

— Kevin Doyle (@KevDoyle_Indo) December 4, 2017

Edit - Alas!:

Juncker. Not possible to conclude a complete agreement today

— James Mates (@jamesmatesitv) December 4, 2017

Neither May nor Juncker take questions. No indication what the outstanding problems are, though the DUP's rejection of the deal is no doubt the crucial one.

— James Mates (@jamesmatesitv) December 4, 2017