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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 1h

Do you know the Manhattan Transfer version? Gets across the weariness and repetition of the subject, I reckon. open.spotify.com/track/1pYdE7...

open.spotify.com

Love For Sale

The Manhattan Transfer · Pastiche · Song · 1978

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 7h

My mum remembers reading a film magazine or annual describing then-starlet Brenda Bruce as "elf-like" - only there was a typo so it said "elk-like".

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 11h

In 'The Honourable Schoolboy', Jerry Westerby (iirc) says 'I always back the slow horses'.

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 11h

Not enough punning! Pumpkin SLICE Latte...

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 11h

It's a great book, isn't it? But that cover infuriates me: the car is a decade too modern.

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 15h

I loved that story, although I always imagined the jet fighter as more like an F-111. Was Dean McLaughlin a one-story wonder?

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Mark Grimshaw @markgrimshawtism.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

A fascinating editorial decision from the BBC, to make the headline a scaremongering “AUTISM AND ADHD ARE BEING OVERDIAGNOSED”, and then, four bullet points later, have the author of the report quoted as essentially saying “nah, that’s bullshit, actually”.

ADHD and autism at risk of over-diagnosis, says report, as author warns of rise in mental ill health
Summary
• An official review in England finds there is a risk of people being over-diagnosed with
ADHD and autism - three key findings from the report
• As well as neurodevelopmental conditions, the review looks at mental ill health, particularly in younger people. Our health correspondent explains the difference
• It was commissioned earlier this year after Wes Streeting, then the health secretary, said there was an "over-diagnosis" of mental health conditions
• Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme earlier, review chair Prof Peter Fonagy said Streeting was "with respect, completely wrong"

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

A couple of lovely Chris Foss covers on those Asimovs!

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

"The President has never been unambiguous." Er...

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Ford had a slightly bluer Moonstone - one of the original colours for the Sierra Cosworth.

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Worgle 1730 6/6* ⚪⚪⚪🟡🟢⚪ ⚪⚪🟡⚪🟢🟢 ⚪🟢⚪⚪🟢🟢 ⚪🟢⚪⚪🟢🟢 🟢🟢⚪⚪🟢🟢 🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢 Worgle in 6! That's spoiled my 3.4 average...

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

But solar + wind (+ battery) is SO much cheaper than nuclear! Renewables only need to take a small fraction of land use, and there's always agrivoltaics. Plus... it looks like cutting fossil fuels could give an immediate improvement in agricultural productivity: news.stanford.edu/stories/2022...

news.stanford.edu

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

As you can see from the other replies, I'm being ludicrously simplistic.

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Handily, if you accelerate at 1g you reach light speed in almost exactly a year (and travel around half a light-year in the process). So including deceleration, you could get there without discomfort in 134 years. I'm only an engineer, so I'm discounting any relativistic effects in my calculation...

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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

As long as the Tories are threatening to leave the ECHR, they aren’t a serious party. Consider it the ultimate red flag. Any party who’d take this entirely unnecessary and ruinous risk with our rights and our country’s security and wellbeing should never get its hands on power. (Letter, Times)

Value of the
ECHR
Sir, In dangerous times, serious countries do not retreat into splendid isolation. They build alliances, multiply their influence and strengthen institutions. Key among those is the 46-member Council of Europe, at its heart the European Convention on Human Rights.

As former independent reviewers of terrorism legislation we have seen at close quarters that the ECHR is not just a human rights instrument. It is a national security asset. Terrorist networks, hostile states, organised crime gangs and people smugglers do not respect borders. Tackling them requires arrangements for the closest possible co-operation with our neighbours, including through joint investigations and police access to European passenger, fingerprint, DNA and vehicle data.

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

And now it's almost as far back to the documentary (46 years) as the documentary was to the end of the silent era (50-odd years)... #I'msoOLD

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I see! I was thinking there was perhaps a rights issue which meant the version on disc was different. I imagine some of the clips these days might actually be better than before, given the films which have been discovered and preserved in the past 46 years.

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Does the Laserdisc version not have the original clips, then?

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

You've lost out: try Macklemore's 'Downtown' (preferably via the bonkers video). It's a lot of fun.

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

So, a couple of points: a: I'm glad they featured Thunderbird Number Two. ii: Why not call them "Thunderbeans"? 3: Did Brains endorse any frozen, pork-based meat products?

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Sagewood @sagewood86.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A new UCLA study used chemical clues preserved in a 66-million-year-old T. rex tooth to estimate a body temperature of about 97°F. The result adds evidence that T. rex was highly warm-blooded, helping explain how it could remain active in relatively cold environments

sciencedaily.com

A 66-million-year-old tooth reveals T. rex was nearly as warm as a human

Chemical clues preserved inside fossilized T. rex teeth reveal that the dinosaur maintained a body temperature of about 97 degrees Fahrenheit, almost identical to humans. The finding provides direct e...

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Not be confused with Charlie Parker's "Ko Ko" (or Gilbert & Sullivan's, for that matter) - but awesome. youtu.be/WY5nScVCLg8?...

youtu.be

Ko-Ko

YouTube video by Duke Ellington - Topic

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Some really interesting (albeit US-centric) data on solar energy and agriculture here.

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Not an ideal comparison: Cary Grant was from Bristol, so his native accent would have been nowhere near London Cockney. In US terms, think South Carolina vs New Jersey.

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I think Heaven 17 deserves a bit of credit there too... #fascistgroovething

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Kid Rock and Ted Nugent are free, I understand.

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I saw Belouis Some live! Astonishingly, supporting Queen at Knebworth, on just before Status Quo. Not an obvious juxtaposition.

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

How was this filmed so that it tracked the bird's eye so perfectly? Was it reframed from a wider shot?

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Perhaps: a post in the IMDB Trivia section for the film says it's Roy Bargy, and he does look more like Gershwin!

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

And is that George Gershwin himself on piano? Looks like it. #IcouldlookitupIsuppose

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I'm sorry, but I'm hearing that to the tune of "We all live in a yellow submarine"...

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The Rubaiyat of Victor Kiam @phantomcorsair.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

In Europe and China plenty of people are working on this: 'hybrid' charging stations (with stationary batteries to soak up high demand) can cope with Megawatt charging. The Megawatt standard for chargers (incorporating liquid-cooled cables etc) allows up to 3.75MW, iirc.

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Manderley Press @manderleypress.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I’m re-reading Blue Remembered Hills - the memoirs of Rosemary Sutcliff - aptly covered in cornflower cloth and gorgeously published by @slightlyfoxed.bsky.social. A perfect tonic for our times - an utterly compelling autobiography. What should I read next? #booksky

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