Recently updated blogs

I’m running a bit behind getting this post written and uploaded this morning. It’s the last full day of PulpFest 2024. I didn’t make it to the Doc Savage gathering this morning at 7:30, but I did make it to the informal meeting of members of PEAPS, the Pulp Era Amateur Press Society. I will […]

If ever there was a case of nominative determinism, this book has it. Susannah Walker writes about walking the Ridgeway and the Harrow Way, two ancient routes that snake across southern England and cross each other near the Wiltshire-Somerset border. She walks these routes on her own as an act of conscious resistance. The premise … Continue reading Susannah Walker, The Hard Way →

Where we started The first Government project I worked on was a licensing service, as part of the project, licence numbers were updated. That change stopped users from being able to log into a related service where they recorded their activity. In summary, our ‘service’ had broken someone else’s ‘service’. I’ve seen loads of examples of similar issues over the years. Usually the result of only designing parts of services …

To be fair, the original joke, published on X (formerly Twitter) on July 15, 2024, did not label U.S. Senator and vice-presidential candidate JD Vance, Republican of Ohio, a “couch-fucker.” That came later. The joke, posted by user @rickrudescalves and later hidden, merely posited that Vance “might be the first vp pick to have admitted in a ny times bestseller to fucking an inside-out latex glove shoved between two couch …

This is a slight departure for Historical Ragbag, as I’ll be looking at a mythical figure. But it still involves research and a good story so I decided it still fit. In researching for my novel, it’s contemporary and with merpeople but based on Welsh history and mythology, I came across a figure who gets one tantalising mention in the Mabinogion. Dylan of the Wave. The Mabinogion is a series …

My book about how comedy works, and why it matters, is available from good bookshops and truly exceptional coal merchants...Deeply analytical and utterly joyous.Robin Ince Joel Morris has finally invented ‘being funny whilst talking about being funny.Caitlin Moran It's made me a better writer. It's probably made me a better human too.Daisy Buchanan Joel knows what he’s talking about. And he’s sickeningly funny. Stop reading this sentence and buy this …

The fourth in the series about every year of Numberphile. Videos about Klein bottles, infinity, and coin flips.

In another universe, in which Washington’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics was successful, the District would be the center of the sports world this week. Clearly many photographers are feeling inspired by the Paris games anyway. Savor these sporty favorites from the Greater and Lesser Washington Flickr pool! In that other universe, the Iroquois Republic dominates Olympic lacrosse gold. Image by Diane Krauthamer licensed under Creative Commons. Cross country? …

Found this while working on a different research project, and fell in with love with the stripe fabric. It's described as a denim, which I need to look into further, as I haven't seen a two-color striped denim like this before. Anyway, I love how the striped fabric and darker (piped?) edging makes the bias-bands pop. It's very effective as trim, but subtle enough not to overwhelm the whole garment. …

Like a lot of you I first got interested in technology through audio equipment. More specifically, my Walkman. Growing up in a rural village being able to slip on some headphones and instantly transport myself to another world was magic. I was hooked as soon as I tried my mum’s Walkman. My parents gave me a cheap model of my own for my eighth birthday, and from that point I’ve …

Christina Lee's The Method is a Riso comic done in the style of a People-magazine style magazine mixed with scandal sheet sensationalism. The result is three separate stories that focus on the concepts of appearances, internalized & externalized pressure, and above all else societal expectations of women. The Method utilizes a typical Riso color pallette, with a focus on pink & blue for the first story, green & yellow for …

Altitude 56.153 ft Nicholls, GA 92°F (feels 99°F) Sunny (wind 3.9 mph) An old farm that was given to the state and turned into a living history park replete with beautifully restored historic buildings. (Reply or view comments)

Why is a Declaration important? The challenges that countries and people around the world are facing show that current governance mechanisms are not fit for purpose – at national or global level. The Declaration on Future Generations is a set of commitments on how governments will take a longer-term approach in national and global decision-making. What has happened so far in negotiations? The Declaration on Future Generations is in the …

Few alliance nations would ponder how the cadence of Netanyahu’s speech inside Congress put them under the spell of denial. This is akin to the Khmer Rouge (government in exile) that was invited to hold a seat in the United Nations until 1993. Continue reading »