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President Trump: The Inauguration
Jan. 15th, 2017 11:06 pmDamien Love's tv preview from The Sunday Herald (Glasgow)
President Trump: The Inauguration
4pm, BBC One/ STV
After a long absence, The Twilight Zone returns with one of the most ambitious, expensive and controversial productions in broadcast history. Sci-fi writers have dabbled often with alternative history stories – among the most common is the “What If The Nazis Had Won The Second World War” setting – but this huge interactive virtual reality project, which will unfold on TV, in the press, and on Twitter over the next four years, sets out to build an ongoing alternative present. The story begins in a nightmarish version of 2017 in which huge sections of the US electorate have somehow been duped into voting to make Donald Trump president. It sounds far-fetched, and it is, but as it goes on it becomes more and more chillingly plausible. Today’s feature-length opener concentrates on the gaudy inauguration of President Trump, and the stirrings of protest and despair surrounding the ceremony, while pundits speculate gravely on what lies ahead. It’s a flawed piece, but a disturbing glimpse of the horrors we could stumble into, if we’re not careful.
President Trump: The Inauguration
4pm, BBC One/ STV
After a long absence, The Twilight Zone returns with one of the most ambitious, expensive and controversial productions in broadcast history. Sci-fi writers have dabbled often with alternative history stories – among the most common is the “What If The Nazis Had Won The Second World War” setting – but this huge interactive virtual reality project, which will unfold on TV, in the press, and on Twitter over the next four years, sets out to build an ongoing alternative present. The story begins in a nightmarish version of 2017 in which huge sections of the US electorate have somehow been duped into voting to make Donald Trump president. It sounds far-fetched, and it is, but as it goes on it becomes more and more chillingly plausible. Today’s feature-length opener concentrates on the gaudy inauguration of President Trump, and the stirrings of protest and despair surrounding the ceremony, while pundits speculate gravely on what lies ahead. It’s a flawed piece, but a disturbing glimpse of the horrors we could stumble into, if we’re not careful.
An indifferent penguin
Dec. 14th, 2016 06:31 pmThis picture appeared in my Twitter feed and is too good not to share. The caption, from a tweet by Alan Ferrier, is "Who would have believed that the perfect Wikipedia photo caption could have been improved upon?"
In some news that I'm sure will delight ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
weegoddess, the Oxford English Dictionary has finally (after 151 years) admitted squee to its pages.
weegoddess, the Oxford English Dictionary has finally (after 151 years) admitted squee to its pages.The Power of Poison
Jun. 14th, 2014 03:01 pm
I came across this book via a retweet by Phil Gates (@SeymourDaily) and while I'm unlikely to make the exhibition (it's in New York at the American Museum of Natural History) the website is fascinating emough. And I thought it might appeal to
nineweaving -- who knows?Sauvons le Grand Hamster d’Alsace !
May. 7th, 2014 02:24 pmWho knew Alsace had a giant hamster? Not me, and not shewhomust until I read her a story in today's Guardian. And now I discover they are seriously threatened and there is a campaign to save them. Here's more information and lots of pictures:
and they have even built a hamster bypass under a new autoroute:
shewhomust until I read her a story in today's Guardian. And now I discover they are seriously threatened and there is a campaign to save them. Here's more information and lots of pictures:and they have even built a hamster bypass under a new autoroute:
Spend a lot of chess?
Nov. 9th, 2013 01:06 pmThe latest attempt to part me from my money by pretending my PayPal account has been suspended includes this intriguing sentence:
WTF? Presumably it's an artefact of machine translation, but if so, what was the source language?
We have recently determined that differents computers are connected to your account,and spend a lot of chess were present before the login.
WTF? Presumably it's an artefact of machine translation, but if so, what was the source language?
Happy Birthday...
Dec. 28th, 2012 03:34 pmHappy birthday, helenraven.
Do you get the Wine Society emails? They have just started their January clearance.
helenraven.Do you get the Wine Society emails? They have just started their January clearance.
Let's do some maths...
Jul. 4th, 2012 11:49 am... or for my US readers, some math.
This post is triggered by today's news that an at-home H.I.V. test has won F.D.A approval for sale in the USA. The article referred to gives these figures:
This is where it starts to get interesting. If everybody in the US took this test, except the people who already knew they were infected, then in round figures:
The other statistic today is that the people at CERN are sure to a 5σ level that they have found the Higgs Boson According to Professor Brian Cox, it roughly means that you're 99.9999% sure. And it seems that Peter Higgs is there in person. He says "I never expected this to happen in my lifetime and shall be asking my family to put some champagne in the fridge."
But in contrast to the H.I.V. test, the people at CERN have stopped short of claiming official discovery of the Higgs boson.
This post is triggered by today's news that an at-home H.I.V. test has won F.D.A approval for sale in the USA. The article referred to gives these figures:
- The home test is accurate 99.98% of the time for people who do not have the virus.
- The test is accurate 92% of the time in detecting people who do.
- About 20% of the 1.2 million infected Americans do not know they have the disease.
This is where it starts to get interesting. If everybody in the US took this test, except the people who already knew they were infected, then in round figures:
- 238,000 people would correctly be diagnosed as infected with H.I.V.
- 20,000 people would incorrectly be given the all clear.
- Around 310 million people would correctly be given the all clear, but
- 62,000 people or thereabouts (0.02% of the 310,600,000 who are in fact uninfected) would get a positive result.
The other statistic today is that the people at CERN are sure to a 5σ level that they have found the Higgs Boson According to Professor Brian Cox, it roughly means that you're 99.9999% sure. And it seems that Peter Higgs is there in person. He says "I never expected this to happen in my lifetime and shall be asking my family to put some champagne in the fridge."
But in contrast to the H.I.V. test, the people at CERN have stopped short of claiming official discovery of the Higgs boson.
Happy birthday, shewhomust
Apr. 17th, 2012 03:18 pmToday is shewhomust's birtbday. Many happy returns!
shewhomust's birtbday. Many happy returns!
Posted via m.livejournal.com.
In the City of Chicago...
Apr. 7th, 2012 12:55 pm...but not as the evening shadows fall.
A pre-breakfast post to record our safe arrival here yesterday afternoon. In reply todesperance, they did let us in, at Dublin in a process called pre-clearance, no queue and we arrived as if on a domestic flight.
We are now at Club Quarters, ahelenraven recommendation which has worked very well. Nice walk yesterday afternoon, many photos to follow. Today the train to California.
A pre-breakfast post to record our safe arrival here yesterday afternoon. In reply to
desperance, they did let us in, at Dublin in a process called pre-clearance, no queue and we arrived as if on a domestic flight.We are now at Club Quarters, a
helenraven recommendation which has worked very well. Nice walk yesterday afternoon, many photos to follow. Today the train to California.
Posted via m.livejournal.com.
It was sixty years ago today
Feb. 6th, 2012 12:41 pm(shewhomust has heard this so often, I suggest she reads no further.)
Sixty years ago I was nearly five and my brother nearly two. We lived with our parents in two rooms in a house in Forest Hill (London SE23). That morning my brother had been twiddling the knobs on our wireless (as we called them). A little later when my mother turned on the radio she could not get it to play. We blamed my brother for breaking it.
It was only in the late afternoon when my father returned from work that we learned that the King had died and that consequently the BBC was not broadcasting except for the scheduled news bulletins.
shewhomust has heard this so often, I suggest she reads no further.)Sixty years ago I was nearly five and my brother nearly two. We lived with our parents in two rooms in a house in Forest Hill (London SE23). That morning my brother had been twiddling the knobs on our wireless (as we called them). A little later when my mother turned on the radio she could not get it to play. We blamed my brother for breaking it.
It was only in the late afternoon when my father returned from work that we learned that the King had died and that consequently the BBC was not broadcasting except for the scheduled news bulletins.
My Blackberry is not working
Jan. 29th, 2012 09:32 pmI appreciate that I'm number 17,905,673 to watch this, and it's been around for over a year, but it's still funny:
The final News of the World crossword
Jul. 11th, 2011 06:25 pmSome sample clues:
Are they babbling? (6)
Savings method (1,1,1)
Antsy (anag) (5)
Italian food (5)
Job (4)
Answers ( behind the cut )
Are they babbling? (6)
Savings method (1,1,1)
Antsy (anag) (5)
Italian food (5)
Job (4)
Answers ( behind the cut )
As feeble excuses go ...
Jul. 7th, 2011 09:46 amThere are not many laughs in the News of the World phone hacking saga, but this story in today's Guardian made me laugh out loud:
Under the headline News of the World surveillance of detective: what Rebekah Brooks knew comes the story of how the newspaper was spying on a senior Scotland Yard detective, David Cook, who was investigating two murder suspects with links to one of the paper's reporters:
Under the headline News of the World surveillance of detective: what Rebekah Brooks knew comes the story of how the newspaper was spying on a senior Scotland Yard detective, David Cook, who was investigating two murder suspects with links to one of the paper's reporters:
Scotland Yard chose not to mount a formal inquiry. Instead a senior press officer contacted Brooks to ask for an explanation. She is understood to have told them they were investigating a report that Cook was having an affair with another officer, Jacqui Hames, the presenter of BBC Crimewatch. Yard sources say they rejected this explanation, because Cook had been married to Hames for some years.
No, not us, not this time.
"A Canadian woman's house is collapsing under the weight of the 350,000 books she rescued from a neighbour who was planning to burn them after her bibliophile husband died."
See this story from The Guardian.
"There was a first edition copy of Black Beauty on the top pile and the bottom was all charred off [from being burned] but the top was just immaculate,"
"A Canadian woman's house is collapsing under the weight of the 350,000 books she rescued from a neighbour who was planning to burn them after her bibliophile husband died."
See this story from The Guardian.
"There was a first edition copy of Black Beauty on the top pile and the bottom was all charred off [from being burned] but the top was just immaculate,"
Gandalf's Garden
Jun. 11th, 2011 12:37 pm
Over on a post on desperance 's LJ, I mentioned Gandalf’s Garden, how silly of me not to realise that it now had its own web presence (not to mention Wikipedia page), indeed you can also buy a CD of the magazines.To clarify, the shop was, as
shewhomust recalls, at the Worlds End. However, the guiding light Muz Murray I recall as living in Campden Hill, which is in Notting Hill -- or maybe that was somebody else. It was all a very long time ago.There was grafitti on the walls outside:
The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.
Brain dump over. I feel better now.
In case anybody was thinking that Zoominfo are to be relied upon as a source of business information, consider this: in the past couple of days they have emailed two names plucked out of thin air at my business email address. I don't know what makes them think that I have employees called Robin and Anne. Either they are making them up, or they are encouraging spammers by buying dodgy mailing lists. I think you get the message.
