Robert Haynes
@r-haynes.bsky.social
Engineer. Baker. Tabletop gamer. He/him.
Also, quite apart from extraction, the arrangement whereby peasants are barely able to achieve sufficiency leads to a situation where the Big Man can easily control them by controlling access to land.
September 14, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Also, quite apart from extraction, the arrangement whereby peasants are barely able to achieve sufficiency leads to a situation where the Big Man can easily control them by controlling access to land.
Reading this, it becomes fairly apparent (though I don't think you mention it) that the Big Man will naturally hold the better land, meaning that the peasant holdings are likely to be on poorer land.
September 14, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Reading this, it becomes fairly apparent (though I don't think you mention it) that the Big Man will naturally hold the better land, meaning that the peasant holdings are likely to be on poorer land.
Late to the party, but... recover a large object from the ocean floor, without any part of the system reaching the surface.
Threshold: 1,000 tonnes from 260 metres. Objective: 8,000 tonnes from 6,000 metres.
This was a real requirement, by the way.
Threshold: 1,000 tonnes from 260 metres. Objective: 8,000 tonnes from 6,000 metres.
This was a real requirement, by the way.
July 30, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Late to the party, but... recover a large object from the ocean floor, without any part of the system reaching the surface.
Threshold: 1,000 tonnes from 260 metres. Objective: 8,000 tonnes from 6,000 metres.
This was a real requirement, by the way.
Threshold: 1,000 tonnes from 260 metres. Objective: 8,000 tonnes from 6,000 metres.
This was a real requirement, by the way.
The BBC style guide says your two examples shouldbe referred to as SamsAUTOrepair and &&&&. Meanwhile news outlets across the land dutifully referred to abrdn (or Abrdn) before their rebrand, despite it being unpronounceable rubbish.
March 11, 2025 at 5:41 PM
The BBC style guide says your two examples shouldbe referred to as SamsAUTOrepair and &&&&. Meanwhile news outlets across the land dutifully referred to abrdn (or Abrdn) before their rebrand, despite it being unpronounceable rubbish.
In the case of the name of an organisation, the organisation itself.
March 11, 2025 at 4:56 PM
In the case of the name of an organisation, the organisation itself.
They can publish whatever nonsense they like in their style guide. They're still wrong.
March 11, 2025 at 4:28 PM
They can publish whatever nonsense they like in their style guide. They're still wrong.
Just looked out the synoptic forecast charts. Projected minimum pressure is 938 hPa. Not a record I was keen to see broken.
January 23, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Just looked out the synoptic forecast charts. Projected minimum pressure is 938 hPa. Not a record I was keen to see broken.
There has never been any attempt to establish formal footpaths of any kind. The desire paths there are as old as me, if not older. Occasionally they move in response to the environment. But it's all just people, doing what people do.
January 16, 2025 at 12:23 PM
There has never been any attempt to establish formal footpaths of any kind. The desire paths there are as old as me, if not older. Occasionally they move in response to the environment. But it's all just people, doing what people do.
Where I grew up, there was a drainage ditch. People kept jumping it to walk their dogs. Eventually someone put a railway sleeper across the creek. Then the sleeper was replaced by a proper bride. There's now a shelter and information panel about the wildlife.
January 16, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Where I grew up, there was a drainage ditch. People kept jumping it to walk their dogs. Eventually someone put a railway sleeper across the creek. Then the sleeper was replaced by a proper bride. There's now a shelter and information panel about the wildlife.
The best thing I can say about that is that it does appear to have both an X and a Y axis.
January 8, 2025 at 8:46 PM
The best thing I can say about that is that it does appear to have both an X and a Y axis.
Early dungeon crawls actually work better with a basic length unit of 1 metre than one of 5 feet, since a standard 10 foot - 3 metre - corridor can accommodate three characters side by side.
January 7, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Early dungeon crawls actually work better with a basic length unit of 1 metre than one of 5 feet, since a standard 10 foot - 3 metre - corridor can accommodate three characters side by side.
I'm curious whether the emphasis of early COVID responses on hand washing and surface cleaning had a meaningful effect on the eleventy squillion other bugs floating around. Nothing at all to an airborne virus... but perhaps fewer colds and noroviruses?
December 28, 2024 at 6:06 PM
I'm curious whether the emphasis of early COVID responses on hand washing and surface cleaning had a meaningful effect on the eleventy squillion other bugs floating around. Nothing at all to an airborne virus... but perhaps fewer colds and noroviruses?
Depending on local laws and tax bracket, a few even drive around in their own wankpanzers.
December 28, 2024 at 5:57 PM
Depending on local laws and tax bracket, a few even drive around in their own wankpanzers.
Keeping the van at a home address is convenient for both parties when all it needs is diesel pumped in every few days.
If the interests of employees and employers diverge, it becomes less simple.
If the interests of employees and employers diverge, it becomes less simple.
December 27, 2024 at 1:38 PM
Keeping the van at a home address is convenient for both parties when all it needs is diesel pumped in every few days.
If the interests of employees and employers diverge, it becomes less simple.
If the interests of employees and employers diverge, it becomes less simple.
One might suggest that the work van ought to be plugged in to the charger at the works yard. But making storage for company equipment the employee's problem is cheaper.
December 27, 2024 at 1:16 PM
One might suggest that the work van ought to be plugged in to the charger at the works yard. But making storage for company equipment the employee's problem is cheaper.
It gets you a Masters degree at 23. But it also produces a lot of STEM graduates who are paperclip optimisers with limited knowledge beyond their discipline. I've broadened my education since I graduated. Many haven't.
December 27, 2024 at 1:01 PM
It gets you a Masters degree at 23. But it also produces a lot of STEM graduates who are paperclip optimisers with limited knowledge beyond their discipline. I've broadened my education since I graduated. Many haven't.
It's one of the failings of the UK's education system that we specialise early. I didn't study the humanities at all past 16. I stopped studying English at 17. By 18 I was not only on a STEM track, but largely locked into my engineering discipline.
December 27, 2024 at 12:58 PM
It's one of the failings of the UK's education system that we specialise early. I didn't study the humanities at all past 16. I stopped studying English at 17. By 18 I was not only on a STEM track, but largely locked into my engineering discipline.
The propulsion lead for my undergraduate design project wanted gas turbines for cruising, with medium speed diesels for peak power. I still haven't figured that one out.
December 15, 2024 at 6:30 PM
The propulsion lead for my undergraduate design project wanted gas turbines for cruising, with medium speed diesels for peak power. I still haven't figured that one out.