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January 18 – February 24, 2024

I’m annoyed at this Internet Explorer advert

Prejudice against conservative Christians is a real thing. But so is the tendency to see prejudice where it isn’t. That is Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s special talent.I explain in a new column at The Hill.

The book manufacturing plant Sheridan Madison, once upon a time Webcrafters, is closing, and 116 people will be losing their jobs between now and the end of July. Printing Impressions bears the tale. The ostensible reason for the closing hardly assorts with the bouncily cheerful assessments (also here) I gave recently of prospects for the year ahead. “CJK Group and Sheridan indicated ‘the decision comes as a result of the …

I didn’t think Apple needed to make a sports app, but now that they have, it’ll be my default. I agree with John Gruber’s post that being fast matters: …the truth is ad tech, combined with poor programming, has made most sports apps slow to load. Most apps, period, really. Just being very fast to load ought not be a hugely differentiating factor in 2024, but it is. Over the …

It's been a low-energy week in some ways, but also a planning and 'feeding the soul' week. Like most people, I've been surfing the sewage of politics, both National and Global. About five years ago I dated a man who explained the major flaw in Darwinism: survival of the fittest inevitably means survival of the psychopaths. It is they who have the time and wherewithal to form masterplans than involve …

I see the dear old Church of England, in the person of the Bishop of Norwich, is calling for the 'rewilding' of churchyards, in the interests of 'biodiversity'. Well, I don't know where the Bishop has been these past few decades, but the kind of measures he recommends – maintaining 'wild' areas in such a way as to encourage a wide range of wildlife – have been practised in a …

Today's links The majority of censorship is self-censorship: …But the majority of self-censorship is intentionally cultivated by an outside power. The Bezzle excerpt (Part V): Keep your hands at 10 and 2. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading The majority of censorship is self-censorship (permalink) I know a lot of polymaths, …

Having now acquired Little John, I get to bring him on missions. As expected, he’s a variant on the Strong Merry 1Tangentially, the game’s random name generator has given me a merry man amusingly named Much Strong. He isn’t even a Strong Merry. He’s an archer. — he’s basically the strongest merry, and has most of the standard Strong Merry abilities plus a couple of additional ones of his own. …

“This Is How the Story Changes, This Is How the Body Remembers” by Raennah Lorne One day, when I tell my story, I will remember how my body led me to believe it. I will say I slept with you the second time we met, seeking a force strong enough to break the physical magnetism between me and my loving ex. I will not fear being called a slut or …

Many years ago when my family took me on day trips to Skegness we would sometimes briefly stop on the return journey at a pub that I can recall had Batmans written on its sign. As a youngster this was rather spooky. Only years later did I realise that it had been Batemans that I’d…

Stage 1: Excitement "...now simply pipe seven thousand individual strands and you're done!" Stage 2: Compromise "Well, it's still kind of feathery..." Stage 3: Apathy "Meh, just spray it yellow." Stage 4: Passive Aggression "We call it, 'Big Bird In A Snow Storm.'"And that'll be $37.99." Thanks to Anony M., Rose T., Anony M., & Shannon B. for finding the face of despair. (Seriously, the longer you look, the more …

This pair of hand drawn amateur broadsides from the 1936 election reveal political discourse is nothing new. The stakes were high then too…but fortunately Roosevelt won (and the world was saved with help from our European allies). NATO, anyone? I had to censor a shameful racial epithet (from the Republican advocate (of course) but otherwise things are about the same. Handmade political broadsides with drawings 1936. Collection Jim Linderman Dull …

I wrote before about the destruction of St. John’s Park, but I had not seen the photo below. The photo shows St. John’s Chapel, an out-chapel of Trinity Church, which was constructed in 1807 and which eventually gave the park its name. This was originally an almost suburban setting, with the square city block of the park surrounded by only houses and the church. The location – Laight to Beach …

We’ve got a few more books listed as coming up later this year. There’s no surprise that we’re getting the paperback edition of The Complete Peanuts 1993-1994, and with it, the box set of 1991-1994. After all, these have been coming out like clockwork, and 2025 should bring us the final two volumes. But it’s only a slight bit of a surprise that we’re getting the Chef Snoopy Cookbook, published …