"Stone Cold" Steve Cobden
@stephencobden.bsky.social
Was a penguin before fascists decided to be weird about them. History buff. Classic cinema lover. Formerly resident of Alexandria, Dublin, Sofia and Los Angeles. Enjoys the odd video game. Great War Living Historian. Heritage Railway porter.
Cis. He/him
Cis. He/him
Pinned
I do sometimes wonder if there were instructions on the sign up page most of us missed:
"Bluesky is a game where you have to put forth your most mad, yet sincerely held, opinions. The winner will be decided by a combination of the madness of the opinion, and the size of the ratio "
"Bluesky is a game where you have to put forth your most mad, yet sincerely held, opinions. The winner will be decided by a combination of the madness of the opinion, and the size of the ratio "
Ceterum censeo Starmer esse delendam
February 10, 2026 at 1:39 PM
Ceterum censeo Starmer esse delendam
Just to back this up, it is worth bearing in mind that Mr Bunny has never appeared on the UK singles chart (though I suspect this may change soon)
February 10, 2026 at 12:25 PM
Just to back this up, it is worth bearing in mind that Mr Bunny has never appeared on the UK singles chart (though I suspect this may change soon)
Fantastic name for a well dressed kitty
February 10, 2026 at 2:39 AM
Fantastic name for a well dressed kitty
(that said, saner than the earlier "Ardian, Reeve, Banneret" proposals, but on the flip side that proposal had the advantage of being endearingly bonkers)
February 9, 2026 at 11:35 PM
(that said, saner than the earlier "Ardian, Reeve, Banneret" proposals, but on the flip side that proposal had the advantage of being endearingly bonkers)
Just looked this up (alas, I am a rank nerd). I can see the logic behind his reasoning - not sure I agree with it (and I think the Admiralty may have some words to say about it).
February 9, 2026 at 11:31 PM
Just looked this up (alas, I am a rank nerd). I can see the logic behind his reasoning - not sure I agree with it (and I think the Admiralty may have some words to say about it).
It struck me that I genuinely cannot think of a single demographic the current government appeals to - Boris, Sunak, even Truss I can name a some group I could see liking them, but not Starmer.
February 9, 2026 at 11:10 PM
It struck me that I genuinely cannot think of a single demographic the current government appeals to - Boris, Sunak, even Truss I can name a some group I could see liking them, but not Starmer.
In fairness, he hadn't done his warcrimin' by the time the graph ends
February 9, 2026 at 10:20 PM
In fairness, he hadn't done his warcrimin' by the time the graph ends
It's a bit sturgeons law: the thing about romance in games is that it is incredibly easy to do badly (be it "Bring me 30 carrots and I will love you forever", "select the right dialogue options and we kiss", or "everyone is so horny for the protagonist, you accidentally fuck a squid")
February 9, 2026 at 9:11 PM
It's a bit sturgeons law: the thing about romance in games is that it is incredibly easy to do badly (be it "Bring me 30 carrots and I will love you forever", "select the right dialogue options and we kiss", or "everyone is so horny for the protagonist, you accidentally fuck a squid")
Which reminds me, I'm in Lewes in a couple of weeks. Will have to load up the car and pretend I am Jerry Read in Smokey and the Bandit
February 9, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Which reminds me, I'm in Lewes in a couple of weeks. Will have to load up the car and pretend I am Jerry Read in Smokey and the Bandit
This has the energy of someone whose attitude towards copyright law evolved because his mummy won't buy him Grand Theft Auto because it is 18 rated.
February 9, 2026 at 5:19 PM
This has the energy of someone whose attitude towards copyright law evolved because his mummy won't buy him Grand Theft Auto because it is 18 rated.
What an interesting pic - I didn't realise muleteers in Italy were issued with 1940 pattern cavalry webbing.
February 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM
What an interesting pic - I didn't realise muleteers in Italy were issued with 1940 pattern cavalry webbing.
I ended up smack bang in the middle of "German Pogressives", "Swiss Progressives", "Austrian Progressives" and "German Dog Lovers".
I do not even speak German.
I do not even speak German.
February 9, 2026 at 1:04 PM
I ended up smack bang in the middle of "German Pogressives", "Swiss Progressives", "Austrian Progressives" and "German Dog Lovers".
I do not even speak German.
I do not even speak German.
The paranoia that seems to have enveloped large sways of world may play into this: if you don't understand what they are saying, they might be talking about you.
February 9, 2026 at 12:40 PM
The paranoia that seems to have enveloped large sways of world may play into this: if you don't understand what they are saying, they might be talking about you.
Why get angry at some random blokes opinion on social media, when you can direct your anger instead at the fucking bastard jester from MindMaze?
February 9, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Why get angry at some random blokes opinion on social media, when you can direct your anger instead at the fucking bastard jester from MindMaze?
Honestly, no bad thing. It means you get to experience something as good as the Muppets for the first time - something I, personally, am extremely jealous of.
February 8, 2026 at 10:57 PM
Honestly, no bad thing. It means you get to experience something as good as the Muppets for the first time - something I, personally, am extremely jealous of.
With the (warranted) exception of senior diplomats, I have always enjoyed the fact that in the UK, the fancier the title, the more likely it is to actually be a sinecure - Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Earl Marshal, Master of Trinity House...
February 8, 2026 at 10:34 PM
With the (warranted) exception of senior diplomats, I have always enjoyed the fact that in the UK, the fancier the title, the more likely it is to actually be a sinecure - Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Earl Marshal, Master of Trinity House...
I think this varies depending on the SM site in question. YouTube seems pretty good (it has picked up I like trains, and shows me trains content), Facebook bonkers (it knows everything I know and love, and shows me bad cartoons), and X, when I was on it, the worst opinions I have ever seen.
February 8, 2026 at 3:52 PM
I think this varies depending on the SM site in question. YouTube seems pretty good (it has picked up I like trains, and shows me trains content), Facebook bonkers (it knows everything I know and love, and shows me bad cartoons), and X, when I was on it, the worst opinions I have ever seen.
I didn't know antipodean rock bands had primaries.
February 8, 2026 at 2:28 PM
I didn't know antipodean rock bands had primaries.
I think exposure to other conspiracy has seen the growth of the the "omni-conspiracy". 30 years ago, a bloke might have believe the world is flat. Now, he believes that "they" killed Kennedy, falsified elections, are injecting us with wifi in the vaccines, etc. to keep this knowledge secret.
February 8, 2026 at 1:43 PM
I think exposure to other conspiracy has seen the growth of the the "omni-conspiracy". 30 years ago, a bloke might have believe the world is flat. Now, he believes that "they" killed Kennedy, falsified elections, are injecting us with wifi in the vaccines, etc. to keep this knowledge secret.
I mean, I wouldn't rule out that she may have been a terrible human being at the time in lots of different ways (I'm sure her father had some involvement in her upbringing); however, this isn't something we currently have evidence for.
February 8, 2026 at 1:23 PM
I mean, I wouldn't rule out that she may have been a terrible human being at the time in lots of different ways (I'm sure her father had some involvement in her upbringing); however, this isn't something we currently have evidence for.
Yeah, at that time the most you could really say would be that she had poor taste in parents (not her fault); that said, if our suppositions are correct, a poor taste in partners might be a fair criticism.
February 8, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Yeah, at that time the most you could really say would be that she had poor taste in parents (not her fault); that said, if our suppositions are correct, a poor taste in partners might be a fair criticism.
Yeah, Maxwell and Johnson were both in the same college (Balliol) at the same and knew each other - Cameron was Brasenose.
February 8, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Yeah, Maxwell and Johnson were both in the same college (Balliol) at the same and knew each other - Cameron was Brasenose.
It's really bizarre to think that 20 years ago, someone with identical demographics to me (40 year old, home counties, married, civil servant with a mortgage) would have been the stereotypical Tory, and now would be considered a stereotypical Labour.
February 8, 2026 at 12:29 PM
It's really bizarre to think that 20 years ago, someone with identical demographics to me (40 year old, home counties, married, civil servant with a mortgage) would have been the stereotypical Tory, and now would be considered a stereotypical Labour.
Why is Jackie Abbot dressed for #totp whereas Paul Heaton is dressed for hanging around at Waterloo station waiting for a Class 33 that is running on an unusual route?
February 6, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Why is Jackie Abbot dressed for #totp whereas Paul Heaton is dressed for hanging around at Waterloo station waiting for a Class 33 that is running on an unusual route?