Interesting Links for 13-12-2011

[andrewducker]

• Could David Cameron call an early election? (No, he really couldn't)
  (tags: elections uk politics )
• National pride brings happiness, but what you're proud of matters
  (tags: pride happiness nationalism patriotism )
• Stress in early pregnancy can lead to shorter pregnancies and fewer baby boys
  (tags: stress pregnancy children )
• What would a Higgs boson at 125 GeV tell us?
  (tags: higgs physics )
• More fibre-optic roll-out updates - finally coming to my bit of Edinburgh (and most of the rest)!
  (tags: internet isp bt fibreoptics broadband )
• 2011's Best Smartphones
  (tags: MobilePhones apple nokia Android motorola microsoft )
• The generation who don't believe in copyright are here.
  (tags: copyright youtube media remix law )
• Horrible (and terribly funny) Greetings Cards
  (tags: cards TheOatmeal funny )
• The music for the "You wouldn't steal a handbag.." anti-piracy ad is....used without permission!
  (tags: copyright piracy music EpicFail )
• Police test riot laser that can temporarily blind
  (tags: police riots laser blind )
• Unbreakable - photos of those who were abused holding the words their attackers said.
  (tags: rape photographs )
• Disappearance of the elephant caused rise of modern humans
  (tags: elephants humans middle_east evolution )
• Study debunks myths about gender and math performance
  (tags: gender mathematics )
• Modern Warfare 3 hits the $1bn mark in record time - faster than any movie
  (tags: ComputerGames CallOfDuty money )
• The projects Metallica considered before "Lulu"
  (tags: metallica funny webcomic )
• Shadowcasting in Rogue-like games.
  (tags: rogue games )
• A short history of tool use.
  Oh Brave New World, that has such tools in it.
  (tags: tools scifi webcomic )
• On the trail of the offshore tax dodgers
  (tags: tax uk )
• Livejournal to do away with subject line in comments
  (tags: livejournal )

Comments

[hirez.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that the potential improvements in comment-management look rather nice.

[andlosers.livejournal.com]

Agree. Not thrilled with the barrage of change-is-bad comments on that post; those kinds of people are why Livejournal still looks straight out of 1999.

[andrewducker]

I agree that people complaining about any change is bad. But they're stuck in one of those situations where only 1% of the users use a particular function, but those that do find it invaluable. Of course they're going to be upset when someone takes away something they use all the time.

[andlosers.livejournal.com]

True, but I'd expect new social conventions to come out of it - eg, sticking what would have been the subject line on the first line, in bold. (That's something that's turned up a lot on Google+.)

I guess what disappoints me is that what comes out is invective, rather than constructive discussion.

[andrewducker]

I'd expect the first step to be people saying "Don't do that!" rather than immediately moving to workarounds.

The latter sounds rather too defeatist for a first step.

[hirez.livejournal.com]

It was v. interesting to read Denise-DWs commentary on the state of the LJ codebase. There appeared to be several hard-coded reasons why it was (is?) all a bit nineties.

[andrewducker]

Yeah, I believe that DW has now spent so much time fixing things in the design of the codebase that backporting updates from LJ (or providing them with fixes) has become near-impossible.

Which is great, insofar as the codebase is apparently a huge amount better, but a shame from a feature adoption point of view.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

I’m not sure how well the electorate would take the necessary shenanigans in order for Cameron to call an early election.

It would amount to Cameron (and possibly others) saying “See that stability that was required in the national interest that I promised you and see that fixed-term-Parliament-constitutional-reform-that-would-change-the-we-do-politics that I also promised you. I lied. Please vote for me.”

I’m don’t see that landing well with the people.

[andrewducker]

Of course, that assumes that Cameron dissolving his government leads to an election, rather than a Lab+LibDem+Others coalition. Which would be shaky, but various parties might decide it was preferable to going back to the polls.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of the shenanigans that would be required for him to be able to dissolve his government and move straight to a general election without giving Miliband and whomever replaced Clegg as leader of the Liberal Democrats a chance to form government.

[andrewducker]

That would require a repeal of existing legislation - which would require 50% of the government (and the Lords). He won't get that.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

He’d have to wriggle like a fish on a hook. I bet somewhere there is someone whose job it is to work out how to do it.

He could nobble the Lords like Lloyd George did. In fact, he could appoint endangered Lib Dem MP’s to the Lords as well and reduce the number of sitting MP’s to the point where the 306 Tories were a majority.

Alternatively he could promote sufficient Labour and left leaning Liberal Democrats so that he could resign his Government and prevent Miliband winning a vote of confidence.

Transparent shenanigans.

The country wouldn’t stand for it. UKIP would win a landslide. Farage would form a Ministry of the All the Talents. D Miliband Deputy PM. Fred Goodwin at the Treasury, Fathers for Justice on a job share at the Home Office, Chuka Umunna as Secretary of State for Agriculture. Bill Cash as Foreign Secretary. Dr Fox back at the MOD. Farage, himself, bestriding the world like a Colossus.

I myself would serve in such a Ministry if called upon. Perhaps Chief Secretary to the Treasury or Minister of Truth.

[andrewducker]

Should you have any positions at MiniTru then I would be happy to serve.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

There will always be a desk in the high-status materials of your choice available for you at MiniTru. Just say the word.

I have a plan. I can explain it to you using 1 sheet of A3, a packet of crayons and a couple of pints (or equivalent). You’re participation may prove to be essential.

[andrewducker]

Now that you mention it, I'd be very happy to meet up for a drink at some point in time :->

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

That would be jolly civilised.

Let's make like Nike & do it

*open a sweatshop in the Far East.

[undeadbydawn.livejournal.com]

Unbreakable

is making me both extremely proud and unbearably angry.




someone very close to me was recently sexually assaulted. She knew him. he came back to 'apologise', told her his family had completely disowned him, and said she would be a terrible person if she pressed charges while his life was falling apart like this.

I want to kill him. beat him til he stops breathing, then beat him some more.

She asked my opinion. I urged her to proceed with legal action, which is very likely to happen.

the assault is bad enough. It's the mind games that just fuck you up.