Politics | TIL Technology

Real or AI?

Blown Away Guy – Maxell ad, via Wikipedia.org “Is it real? Or is it Memorex ?” For those under fifty, the answer is probably a blank stare. For the rest, I apologize for misremembering the slogan. Imagine my surprise when I found that it was actually “Is it live, or is it Memorex?” Do others remember it that way? Is this an example of the Mandela effect ? Nah – I just remembered it wrong. I need to apologize for the image as well, but this one was deliberate. I only vaguely r

Apr 85 min read

Phrack!

Phrack, via https://phrack.org/ Language is constantly evolving, not only by time and location, but also because of usage and changing cultural associations. When I think of the word “ manifesto ”, the example which leaps to mind is the Communist Manifesto , obviously due to the title, but also because it is short and clearly laid out. Manifesto is defined as “a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer”, and such statements are gen

Apr 15 min read

Pyramid!

Cover of The Alan Parsons Project album, Pyramid, via Wikipedia.org The Alan Parsons Project is one of those acts where many people don’t “know the band”, but will recognize several songs, such as Eye in the Sky , or Prime Time . Those familiar with progressive rock from the 1970’s and 1980’s, on the other hand, likely know them well. The only official members were Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson , augmented by a large group of session musicians who worked in various capacit

Feb 255 min read

Power Hacker!

“Martha Root”, dressed as Pink Ranger, Chaos Computer Club, 2025 I feel conflicted. On the one hand, it was illegal. On the other hand, they were bad people and it was very cool. I once attempted to describe the “ hacker mindset ”, which is less about technology, and more about trying to find innovative ways to do things – for many “old-school” hackers, it was far more about solving puzzles. Over the years, the word “hacker” has become more and more difficult to define. Depen

Jan 286 min read

Details Matter!

Cartoon by Tom Gauld, 11 th April 2013, for @newscientist One letter can make a big difference. Or one number. I’ve mentioned You Are Not So Smart (YANSS) before. It’s a podcast created by David McRaney , who is a science journalist, author, and speaker who is fascinated by brains, minds, and culture. I’ve been listening to YANSS for years, and it’s well worth the time. On episode 313 , David McRaney and his guest, Erica Chenoweth , discussed the work done by Chenoweth and

Dec 3, 20254 min read

Eine Kleine Alptraummusik!

Nachtmahr (“The Nightmare”), by Johann Heinrich Füssli TIL that the German translation of the word “nightmare” is “alptraum”, which led me to the wonderful painting above. While “ alp ” is the German cognate of the English word “elf”, the creature in question bears little resemblance to the Tolkienian Elves most of us are familiar with. Instead, they appear to be more closely associated with the vampire, or incubus, and attack sleeping people, either by giving them “elf dream

Nov 12, 20254 min read

Who The F^ck is Charlie?

Charlie Chaplin, in The Great Dictator, 1940, via Wikimedia Commons Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about fascism. While I already had a fair degree of familiarity and understanding of the big picture, I’ve been picking up (and often blogging about) items which are new to me. Predictably, most are disturbing, but I occasionally come across something wonderful. Charlie Chaplin was an immensely influential figure in the history of cinema, and his “Tramp” character has been an

Oct 15, 20254 min read

Debate me, Bro!

The School of Athens. Print by Giorgio Ghisi, of painting by Raphael, via Wikimedia Commons What most people call “debate” really is not. I found the Wikipedia article quite amusing. My favourite bit was where it says: “...debates emphasize logical consistency, factual accuracy, and emotional appeal to an audience.” I guess one out of three isn’t bad? Even so-called “formal” debate, where there are rules, judges, and guidelines for acceptable conduct, are more about competit

Oct 8, 20255 min read

Who The F^ck is Horst?

Cover of "Living Next Door to Alice" single by Smokie, via Wikipedia Living with the name “Alice” was not always easy in the 1970s and 1980s. For those not aware, the name of the song is actually “ Living Next Door to Alice ”, and was originally released by an Australian band called New World in 1972. The rest of us generally associate the song with the band Smokie , and think of it as “ Alice! Who the F^ck is Alice? ”. The song is about a man’s unadmitted love for his next-d

Oct 1, 20254 min read