Interesting Links for 15-06-2017

[andrewducker]

Theresa May says not to worry DUP's views on 'LGB…what's the rest?' (not satire!)

(tags: lgbt Conservatives OhForFucksSake )

A Merriam-Webster lexicographer reveals how words are added to the dictionary

(tags: language dictionary video )

Last year the Grenfell Action Group were pointing out that their tower block was unsafe...

(tags: fire safety OhForFucksSake )

Some Of The Oldest Color Photos Showing What The World Looked Like 100 Years Ago

(tags: history photos colour )

Google AI used to vet New York Times comments

(tags: comments ai abuse language )

Edinburgh Trams scores highly in light rail survey

(tags: edinburgh trams )

Pirate Bay may finally be sunk after EU copyright ruling

(tags: piracy copyright )

An amazing story, and advice on how to deal with awful people on the internet

(tags: business advice twitter autism )

Never Bathe or Shower in a Thunderstorm

(tags: electricity death lightning baths )

Sony continues to lock PS4 players out of cross-platform play

(tags: sony playstation gaming )

Inside the pitch meeting for The Mummy

(tags: funny movies fail review )

Konami treat their former employees appallingly

(tags: business gaming Japan OhForFucksSake )

These maps reveal the hidden structures of ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books

(tags: Choice FreeWill books visualisation maps )

A really simple visualisation of how poverty has been decreasing over time.

(tags: poverty GoodNews visualisation )

Alpha (A translation of Genesis 1 using only words beginning with A)

(tags: language religion christianity )

Robert Maltby on the murder of his girlfriend Sophie Lancaster: ‘The goth thing was an oversimplification'

(tags: UK violence murder goth )

What is London’s euro clearing market and why is Brussels worried?

(tags: europe uk money euro )

I'm taking part in "A Walk to Remember 2017" to raise money for a hospice. If you can sponsor me, I'd appreciate it.

(tags: charity money death )

Comments

Never Bathe or Shower in a Thunderstorm

[doug]

That's a US article, and doesn't apply so clearly in the UK.

In the UK, we have strict regulations about earthed equipotential bonding: basically, anything metal anywhere near anything water-y or pipe-that-goes-in-the-ground has thick, thick conducting wires between it, and to earth. (Have a look under your kitchen sink and you should see the green-and-yellow wires connecting the pipes, if your pipes are not entirely plastic at that point.) That's mainly there to protect against wiring faults, but it also provides some protection against lightning strikes. It means that there is always a better conducting path between anything metal and the ground, or between anything watery and the ground, than via an unfortunate person touching or near both. I'd be surprised if we have any similar deaths in the UK - and not just because we get less lightning.

(The US doesn't have the same need for earthed equipotential bonding for protection, since their domestic mains supply comes off either side of a transformer, so isn't (supposed to be) more than 55 V above ground - to get the 110 V supply you need both ends wired up. Our system is 230 V above earth potential, which needs a different approach.)

[naath]

Poverty - so the world is in general getting better, but not Africa. What went wrong there ?

Africa

[andrewducker]

As far as I can tell bits of Africa are actually doing well. But there are too many bits where there's not enough rule of law to make it worth investing into. You need a fair bit of infrastructure, both legal and physical, to get growth going, and I suspect the problem here is that it's not getting off the ground.

This is hopeful - http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/04/19/economic-growth-in-africa-is-on-the-upswing-following-a-sharp-slowdown - although it indicates there's still a very long way to go.

[danieldwilliam]

I think part of what went wrong with Africa is that Africa's population doubled over the period of the visualisation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Africa

So the same absolute number of people in poverty but a significant decrease in the proportion in poverty.

What really strikes me is how China has reduced the number of impoverished people in China.

[cmcmck]

Now why did I just know that May would attempt to make a sad attempt at at joke at my expense and those who share my history?

Way to deperson someone Mrs May! It's as well I'm used to it, isn't it?

Not a critique, just an observation

[amaebi]

That's not a translation, but a paraphrase.

Re: Not a critique, just an observation

[andrewducker]

You are, of course, correct.