11. Not all computers are made by the Apple corporation.
Author: Damien Ryan
And I looked, and behold a pale horse
I would encourage everyone to check out The War Game, a BBC fictional documentary by Peter Watkins which was never shown due to governmental pressure. Appearing to be the first of what is now a genre of “aftermath” movies from Briggs’s sublime When the Wind Blows to ABC’s The Day After Guttenberg-fest, it’s in equal measures frightening, harrowing, and an ultra-realistic depiction of what might have been.
I grew up in the 80’s of Reagan, Thatcher, and Haughey and remember the all pervasive fear of nuclear war. Survivalist books were on the best seller lists. Chernobyl gave us in Europe an idea of the widespread damage a nuclear detonation could do. Even Tomorrow’s World got in on the act with a special programme simulating a Soviet Nuclear attack being repelled by Reagan’s fantastical SDI programme (if anyone can find something on this please let me know).
Of course, since I was only nine years’ of age, I truly believed there was a nuclear attack. Thankfully Mr. Tulié put me right the next day in school.
UPDATE: Ferg pointed out Threads, an eighties film which is just as harrowing.
The computer of the 80s
Kahfee
The office where I work, like most modern offices, has a posh coffee machine with several options. Is this wealth of choice really actually worth it? Let’s try all of the options and see.
- Café Crème: Not a great start. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this is coffee with cream as I did. Imagine my disappointment to find it was just a cup of black, quite bitter, Americano style coffee which tastes no better than instant. Milk might help, but for the purposes of this taste test the only addition I’m making is my usual two sugars.
- Americano: This actually does what it says on the tin. Unfortunately it tastes like warm dirty water. We’ll not be having it again.
- Espresso: No, it’s not expresso and in this case it’s barely espresso. I won’t be sleeping much tonight.
- Café au Lait: From the French for Coffee with Milk, one would expect it to be simple coffee with a dash of cow juice. In reality it seem more like a latte, with a dash of Americano style coffee topped up with heated milk. This seems to be the best, so far.
- Hot Water: You are kidding? No, I won’t drink a cup of hot water with two sugars in it.
So, apart from only keeping me up for the next week I’ve discovered that machine made coffee is pretty much all the same. I just want a pot of filter coffee – is that asking too much?
The Yoof of Today
Every year the mindset list looks at the world through the eyes of the current set of entrants to Universities. This year, those young minds would have grown up never knowing the Soviet Union, always with a mouse in their hands, and thinking that Google has always been a verb.
It doesn’t seem to mention that generation’s general lack of social graces and entitlement complex though. What that lot need is less self-esteem, not more.
[via Metafilter.]
Sarcastinate
Ang’s worried about being too sarcastic.
Ang to Pickle : Would mam mind taking me shopping for a plunger later.
Pickle : Why?
Ang: Because I’m making a dalek costume.
Ask and ye shall receive – Venice is saved
Although it baffled some people it seems that I’m not the only person who has heard of Rondò Veneziano’s La Serenissima. Some kind, but anonymous soul has sent me a link to the video in the comments field.
Perning in a gyre
It’s that time of year again – the annual redundancy ho-down.
Come see the sweating brows as our forty contestants are whittled down to just eighteen for the prize of a cash settlement and a trip to the Job Centre.
Who do you think I am?
This is my one that only has my own comments so I’d ask as an experiment for you to add your own here and you can see it change as it’s added to.
Arena(known to self and others) complex, sentimental, silly | Blind Spot(known only to others) able, accepting, cheerful, friendly, giving, idealistic, independent, intelligent, knowledgeable, logical, loving, modest, observant, searching, sympathetic, tense, trustworthy, warm, wise, witty |
Façade(known only to self) helpful, reflective, self-conscious | Unknown(known to nobody) adaptable, bold, brave, calm, caring, clever, confident, dependable, dignified, energetic, extroverted, happy, ingenious, introverted, kind, mature, nervous, organised, patient, powerful, proud, quiet, relaxed, religious, responsive, self-assertive, sensible, shy, spontaneous |
All Percentages
able (16%) accepting (16%) adaptable (0%) bold (0%) brave (0%) calm (0%) caring (0%) cheerful (16%) clever (0%) complex (50%) confident (0%) dependable (0%) dignified (0%) energetic (0%) extroverted (0%) friendly (16%) giving (16%) happy (0%) helpful (0%) idealistic (33%) independent (16%) ingenious (0%) intelligent (50%) introverted (0%) kind (0%) knowledgeable (16%) logical (16%) loving (16%) mature (0%) modest (16%) nervous (0%) observant (50%) organised (0%) patient (0%) powerful (0%) proud (0%) quiet (0%) reflective (0%) relaxed (0%) religious (0%) responsive (0%) searching (16%) self-assertive (0%) self-conscious (0%) sensible (0%) sentimental (16%) shy (0%) silly (16%) spontaneous (0%) sympathetic (16%) tense (16%) trustworthy (50%) warm (16%) wise (16%) witty (33%)
Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 6.3.2006, using data from 6 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view djryan_ie’s full data.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view djryan_ie’s full data.
[via Someone Else’s Horoscope]
A date? Love the date.
Even dating has taken on a more temporal quality now that David Tennant has taken over as the tenth incarnation of The Doctor.
In Nine and a Half Minutes by Appignanesi & Manson-Smith, a short published on the BBC Film Network he stars as a bloke on a blind date to see a move that becomes an entire relationship before the curtain has even risen. Cute, funny, and devastatingly true to life.