Recently updated blogs

Things that are Englandy. That first drive down super narrow streets again, good heavens. Rain, then. All of it, non stop since I got here. Wouldn't have it any other way, good to be back for a bit.

A senior Greenwich councillor fought back tears while discussing the conflict in Gaza after the town hall held a minute’s silence for the thousands of victims of the conflict in the region. Adel Khaireh, the cabinet member for communities, became emotional after being asked what the council could do to support families affected by the […] The post Greenwich councillor fights back tears after minute’s silence for victims of Middle …

1. Not to take away from Caitlin Clark's incredible achievement in scoring, but it turns out there are other high scorers, who, due to changes in the divisions and such, who's achievements should also be noted. 2. I agree with this column on trigger or content warnings and how good ones let you make informed decisions, and how good media will suck you in regardless. 3. Mychal Threet's library videos …

Someone recently asked me some questions about my article from a few years ago, Honesty and transparency are not enough. I thought it might be helpful to summarize why I’ve been promoting this idea. The central message in that paper is that reproducibility is great, but if a study is too noisy (with the bias and variance of measurements being large compared to any persistent underlying effects), that making it …

In public opinion polls, one of the primary concerns about rising levels of immigration is the extent to which it might increase crime rates. But several puzzles arise here. The evidence that immigration systematically leads to an increase in local crime rates turns out to be meager. However, Olivier Marie and Paolo Pinotti explore these issues “Immigration and Crime: An International Perspective” in the Winter 2024 issue of the Journal …

NEW RESOURCES Simon Fraser University: Digital repatriation of Tse’k’wa archive democratizes 50 years of archaeological and cultural knowledge. “Fifty years of archaeological knowledge and scholarship from one of British Columbia’s most significant cultural and archaeological sites is being digitally repatriated to the Dane-zaa people. Tse’k’wa, or ‘rock house’ in Dane-zaa/Beaver language, is a cave that has been home to the Dane-zaa ancestors for more than 12,500 years. Archaeological excavations at …

HISTORY OF AMAZING GRACE, part 1 On February 23, 1807, the British parliament passed a bill banning the nation’s slave trade. In these two articles, we’ll explore the lives of two men and one song that played a significant role in that effort. John Newton‘s devoted Christian mother dreamed that her only son would grow… Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian billpetro.com Subscribe to have future articles delivered to your …

Here are the 2023 awards [connected to my read smd to-read lists]. As the votes were made by participants to the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon, Chengdu, China, censorship later came to light, regarding authors critical of the Chinese government, like Kuang, Zhao, and Gaiman, who did not make it to the shortlist… Best Novel Nettle & Bone, by T. Kingfisher (Tor Books) The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi (Tor Books) …

Steel Empire was a 2-D shooter on the SEGA Genesis. The unique thing about it was the premise, as all the flying vehicles were blimps and steam powered machines. Kind of a Jules Verne steampunk vibe. It got remade on the Game Boy Advance and then again on the 3DS. And now it gets another […]

Leica M + Zeiss 28mmAt one point a couple of years ago I owned both a black and a chrome Fuji X100V. They very nice cameras. The 35mm equivalent lens was very good and the images I could get out of the camera were competitive with anything else even close to the price. I didn't really like the way the camera felt but that was something I'm pretty sure I …

I have a soft spot for Rochdale. That should be made clear from the outset, else nothing good will come of this blog. 1999 and the Cemetery Hotel was the destination. Discovered by chance, My first Good Beer Guide was 2 years away. Marvellous pub. But then a load of Tiger hooligans trashed it, and the guv'nor banned Hull City fans for life. I was sad. So was Daddy B. …

tonyinterpreter:On Translating the Musicality of Sentences From One Language to Another Wow, a very interesting article. Once again it makes me think that translators don’t get enough recognition.

The Lowney Chocolate Factory is a historic industrial complex in Mansfield, Massachusetts and was established there after town officials took advantage of rail access provided by the Boston and Providence Railroad and enticed businesses to establish themselves in Mansfield. The Walter M. Lowney Company was a chocolate and candy business founded in Boston in the early 1880s by Walter M. Lowney, who started his business by manufacturing chocolate bonbons. The …

Hello lovies If you read my post this morning and have picked your preferred card pile, welcome back:) Here are the three card reveals: COMMUNICATION ~ CHOICE ~ SUPPORT Communication Communication is the key to seeing deeper right now. Let your heart lead your voice. Communicating and sharing what's on your heart and mind can sometimes feel daunting. The fear of saying the wrong thing, of hurting someone with our …

Today I am 60 years old. People with uteruses did not have bodily autonomy when I was born nor do they have it now. This is ridiculous. When I was born, everyone was afraid of Goldwater becoming president, then starting an apocalyptic war with the Soviet Union. Now we fear that a man deep in the pockets of the Russian dictator might return to the presidency, and destroy whatever democratic …