Activity from Fiasco da Gama
Displaying post 1 to 50 of 167
Social History Of The Cardboard Box
Buttonwood Zoo Red Panda Cam
That mysterious font is Festive, not Stymie
Right-to-left Cartesian planes
Has there ever been a convention for a Cartesian-style plane read right-to-left?
Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert, Found
Moon Train
DARPA has asked for proposals to build an American train on the moon, to compete with proposed Chinese base proposals, and Northrop Grumman has responded with a concept study. But will this be a levitational railway, or a more standard broad-gauge one to suit the lower lunar gravity?
Step By Step Repair
What if we could extend those basic principles — that repair should be social, embodied, intuitive, accessible — beyond the device or object? Could we apply these logics at the scale of civic systems and public spaces?
Operational activity game
I am interested in the potential design features of physical (NB. not computer) games, or tabletop style wargames, or RPGs, that can be used to simulate realistic operational activity, that are open ended, aimed at professional learning, and most importantly don't involve a combat mechanic. How do such games work?
Historical time management in very high latitudes
Before the availability of reliable and accessible clocks and watches, how did people in societies in very high latitudes (where the summer sun is all day and the same for the winter night) self-manage time? How did they decide ‘time to get up’, ‘time to go to work’, ‘time to go to sleep’ etc.?
The Cybertruck from the perspective of a cultural critic
Article witha great line about not having been convicted of murder
I remember reading a biographic article with a great line, which was to the effect of 'he was never convicted of murder, but crucially, not in the same way that you or I have never been convicted of murder'. What was the article? Whose line is it?
The World’s Last Internet Cafes
Otter 841
Her name is 841. She is a sea otter. Her attacks on surfboards are escalating. She has so far managed to evade capture. Her popularity is growing.
What is a pademelon?
Echidna Bachelorette
Border cities
I am interested to know or read about any border cities, which exist on both sides of an international border, but where there is little or nothing to control movement of citizens from one side to the other. Where, for example, someone can walk down the street and suddenly be in another country. What's it like to live there, to work, to socialise, to interact with both Governments?
CDs are cool again. Here’s how to rip them
‘You can’t listen to CDs on your digital devices unless you rip them first. In ancient times—back in 2001—people knew how to do this, but much that should have been remembered has been forgotten.’
2023 Mens' Ashes Series
The first match of the 2023 Men's Ashes series is underway, at Edgebaston in England. So far Australia's Usman Khawaja has made 141, dismissed by England's Ollie Robinson. Previously, previously, previously, previously.
How a dose of MDMA transformed a white supremacist
Brendan was once a leader in the US white nationalist movement. But when he took the drug MDMA in a scientific study, it would radically change his extremist beliefs – to the surprise of everyone involved.
Ben Roberts-Smith Loses Defamation Action
Ben Roberts-Smith, an Australian Victoria Cross recipient, has lost a defamation action he brought against the Sydney Morning Herald and Age, which accused him of being a murderer, a war criminal, and a bully.
Big boat stuck
In Praise Of The Pitch Clock
I’m on record as opposing the pitch timer, and I opposed it on aesthetic, even theological, grounds... I’ll just have to come right out with it. I was wrong.
Inside Music’s Nostalgia-Industrial Complex
The most authentic Philly steak sandwich in Lahore
Kaktovic Numerals in Unicode
'Almost 30 years ago, a group of Kaktovik students invented a numbering system that reflected the way they counted in Iñupiaq and made math more intuitive for them.' The numerals are now part of Unicode (PDF).
Musician who told the crowd to clap on the 2 and 4
I recall reading an anecdote about a rock musician who, in the middle of a show somewhere in Europe (perhaps Germany), stopped and asked the crowd to clap on the 2 and 4, i.e. the backbeat, if they were going to clap, instead of the 1 and 3. Did this happen? Who was it?
Australian soldier charged with murder
An Australian soldier has been charged with murder over the 2012 shooting of an unarmed man in Afghanistan, in a case that may have precedent for other Western allies. The Office of the Special Investigator has said that ‘40 or 50’ other offences are being investigated.
How does it feel
Infinite Mac
Do balloons count to make a flying ace?
Everyone knows it takes five aerial victories to make a flying ‘ace’. But do spy weather balloons count? Do drones?
The Cage Gauge
Authors whose works continue to be written after their deaths
Tom Clancy remains creatively active after his death (as in this previous ask). But are there other authors or artists whose estates have simply continued to publish under ghostwriters-collaborators and the 'brand'-IP of the author or their pen-name? Who?
George Pell 1941–2023
Cardinal George Pell, who was the most senior Catholic official to be convicted of child abuse before his convictions were quashed, one of Australia’s most influential and controversial Catholic clergymen, has died.
Auslan Holiday
Auslan, the majority Australian sign language has a visual dictionary with three recognised signs for ‘holiday’, of which the second is noteworthy.
Expressions for petty authoritarians
I am after expressions or slang terms for very junior people who, when given small amounts of power or recognition in organisations, let that go to their heads.
The Commodordion
Charlie Dean (run out) Sharma 47
In 1947, Vinoo Mankad ran out Bill Brown at the bowler's end of the crease, giving his name to the unusual (and controversial) dismissal. Most recently, Deepti Sharma, at Lord's, ran out Charlie Dean to win the match for India. So, is it within the rules of cricket? Or is it unsporting?
Welding classes in Sydney, NSW
I'd like to learn to weld, for hobbyist purposes (i.e. I'm not looking for a new job), and am in Sydney, NSW. How do I go about that? Who runs a good welding-basics course?
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev 1931--2022
Work Pray Code
Carolyn Chen in Guernica: Buddhism has found a new institutional home in the West: the corporation.
I think all the teachers had some qualms about being forced to leave the ethical aspects of Buddhism out of the workplace. They were not being hired to make the employees more ethical; they were being hired to make them more productive.
Return of TISM
Songs in which a mother says not to do something, yet they do it
I am interested in songs (or poetry or indeed lit of any kind) which involve the trope of a mother telling someone not to do specific things, yet they do them anyway. Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues is the most obvious example.
Colloquial expressions for chaotic or poorly-run situations
When something goes horribly wrong, what do you call it? I'm after colloquial expressions for chaotic, disastrous, or poorly-run situations—in the style of the 'goat rodeo', 'clown show', clusterf*ck or trainwreck.
I'm particularly interested in obscure, older, professionally- or industrially-specific, or very local (and non-English) phrases, and much less in the obscene ones.
Masto and other accounts
As we know, a depraved billionaire bought [some of, kind of] Twitter. This thread is for discussion of where else you are for social media, such as Mastodon instances—and if you want, to tell others where to find you.
What Happened To Ford Timelord?
Lighthouses of Europe
What was this early RPG I recall reading about?
I recall reading about an early (pre-D&D) form of role-playing game, in which the premise was that the player(s) were junior officers making a reconnaissance of a border town, where there might be other officers or agents from the other side, in the tension before a war about to start. What was the game? What did I read?
Peter Cundall
Peter Cundall, the host (1990–2008) of the ABC's Gardening Australia, and host of gardening programs since 1967, has died.
Term for a style of proverb/expression
There's a style of proverb or expression which has two clauses, one of which is a play on words (but not a reversal) of the other. Is there a name for this kind of construction?
Caffenol
Develop your film: with coffee, red wine, Croatian rosé, drain cleaner and acetaminophen, beetroot, ajvar (capsicum chutney), or gas station beer.