Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Scurra @scurra.com · 59m

I might even put Major at the top in that regard. Thatcher never really faced the "end-of-an-era/small majority" problem (see also Blair)? Major managed to keep his government running and passing significant legislation for five years even as it collapsed around him. That's an achievement.

Scurra @scurra.com · 13h

I think it was because at least one of the security services ran a lot of monitoring services there (for obvious reasons.) I think the prominent MI6 building in Vauxhall was classified in the same way - it's nonsense, but at least it's *consistent* nonsense!

Scurra @scurra.com · 13h

Also famous for being an "Official Secret" and thus not appearing on Ordnance Survey maps even though everybody could see it. (ISTR this may be an urban myth? It's too good to be true.)

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Scurra @scurra.com · 23h

Fine piece. But considers blocking you for the Sudoku slur. 🙂
I think "puzzles" fit your distinctions of coding quite well - a tool can turn out endless Sudoku, but handcrafted puzzles are more interesting to solve because the domain knowledge behind them is what enables unexpected stuff to happen.

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Scurra @scurra.com · 1d

I reread *Jingo* the other day. It's not in my top ten (which is an invidious idea anyway!) but boy, did it hit really, really hard just at the moment.

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Scurra @scurra.com · 3d

Oh wow, that brought on a Proustian rush of childhood memories!

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Scurra @scurra.com · 3d

It's also genuinely horrifying for those of us in churches who have spent centuries trying to explain why "King" in this context does *not* mean "authoritarian ruler who demands unquestioning obedience (and preferably patriarchal hierarchies to enforce it)" but that's what these men want.

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Scurra @scurra.com · 3d

And all four of those pictures are a great demonstration of why (generative) "AI" cannot ever work at more than a superficial level. All the artistic choices in those images are fantastic, but also delightfully intangible. Love them all.

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Scurra @scurra.com · 5d

Don't forget to visit the shop to buy your map and upgrades. Otherwise when you get to the double-jump bit, you'll be stuck.

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Scurra @scurra.com · 7d

No, I haven't got something in my eye.

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Scurra @scurra.com · 7d

Would you like the British to come over and do it again?

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Scurra @scurra.com · 8d

Chat-GPM. Magic.

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Scurra @scurra.com · 9d

Congratulations.

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Scurra @scurra.com · 10d

Presumably the inverse to Barry Cryer's joke, which is that it tastes like golden eagle.
(Guy shot an eagle, was prosecuted
Judge said "what did you do with it?"
Guy says "I ate it"
Judge says "what did it taste like?"
Guy says "rather like a swan")

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Scurra @scurra.com · 12d

The Netherlands seems to have gone a bit crazy too? And France isn't exactly showing brightness either. Honestly (and this is a deeply depressing thought) I put it down to a lack of a massive European war, which helped paper over the cracks every generation or so.

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Scurra @scurra.com · 12d

(remember also there is decent evidence that Cameron expected to be able to "negotiate away" the referendum in a coalition deal with the LibDems, just as he did in 2010. There are an almost infinite number of reasons why that was a stupid idea as well.)

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Scurra @scurra.com · 14d

A strong endorse of this, from another listener in the UK.
Especially as we watch our own Trumpian wannabees embrace all the same distressing techniques and too little pushback.

Scurra @scurra.com · 15d

Also possibly spooked by the rest of NATO unanimity over the "accidental" incursions. If it's clear that they won't splinter, and if anything are more resolved, then he loses a key tool there too. (Of course, that's ascribing awareness to Trump that may be overly generous based on evidence.)

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Scurra @scurra.com · 16d

Not just the internet, of course. As endless shelves of "self-help" books in shops and libraries will attest.

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Scurra @scurra.com · 17d

@slacktivistfred.bsky.social (who spent years on his blog wonderfully deconstructing the truly terrible Left Behind novels) posted this, which encapsulates it nicely.

bsky.app/profile/slac...

SlacktivistFred @slacktivistfred.bsky.social · 18d

In 1995 at a part-time bookstore job a customer wanted to special order “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988.” It was out of print.

Customer: Out of print? But it’s such a good book.

Me: It’s 1995, sir.

C: But it’s a good—

Me: NINETEEN. NINETY—

My Boss: OK, let me handle this one.

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Scurra @scurra.com · 17d

I'm wondering how fast Starmer had to talk to get Canada and Australia to wait until after Trump had been and gone before formally doing it? Because it was clearly co-ordinated but imagine how much more difficult it would have made last week!

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Scurra @scurra.com · 18d

It was great to meet you (I was the guy who had the copy of *Something More*. 🙂)

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Scurra @scurra.com · 18d

And I have just realised that I messed up your carefully crafted punchline.

Scurra @scurra.com · 18d

Oh that is a very fine joke indeed.

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Scurra @scurra.com · 19d

Kyle is proof that the Albanian AI (or not?) minister is well behind the curve in terms of having government ministers who might as well be chatbots.