Monthly Archives: December 2014

The traditional poll of books I read this year; any inconsistency in numbers with this post is just creative ambiguity. If you like you can advise me what to read in 2015 as well.

I read 291 books this year, the most since 2011, with a total pagecount of ~97,100, which is way above previouis tallies ( ~68,000 in 2013, ~77,800 in 2012, ~88,200 in 2011). Partly this was the accelerating incentive of the Arthur … Continue reading →

Non-fiction 3 (YTD 48) Ages in Chaos: James Hutton and the Discovery of Deep Time, by Stephen Baxter ℶ1 101 Ways to Win an Election, by Mark Pack and Edward Maxfield Fiction (non-sf) 0 (YTD 41) SF (non-Who) 14 (YTD … Continue reading →

I've found doing these posts a useful self-discipline over the course of the year, but I am actually going to switch to Thursday for next year – simply so that I can have the satisfaction of doing a final weekly … Continue reading →

Once again, I found your votes very helpful in leading me to interesting reading in 2014, and I would once again very much appreciate your advice on what books to read next, by filling in this poll. This is not … Continue reading →

History of Ceres How we came to know of the first dwarf planet(tags: astronomy asteroids ) The Discovery of Ceres: How Gauss found it Omitted by my previous link, a fascinating bit of maths history.(tags: astronomy asteroids )

A Visit to the European Parliament Leaves Many Amazed @gksteinhauser and @FMR_Brussels nail it.(tags: eu ) UK under David Cameron no longer at heart of EU, says José Manuel Barroso True enough; of course, neither is Barroso any more!(tags: eu … Continue reading →

There have been a couple of algorithms going around which purport to tell you what your most successful posts on Facebookwere this year. I'm not wildly convinced by any of them, and have resorted to hand-counting the stats for each … Continue reading →

As noted last year, Livejournal continues to subside as a medium of communication. Certainly I am consciously new using it as an archive first, and active platform for dialogue very much second. I am still way behind on book reviews, … Continue reading →

Since my last roundup on 23 December last year, I appear to have perpetrated 3,337 tweets and gained 769 followers, leaping from 1,625 to 2,394 (of which 250 were gained in the last two weeks of May, during my appearances … Continue reading →

Confessions of a white Oxbridge male An English perspective.(tags: ukpolitics ) James Nicoll reviews Imperial Earth (tags: ) How the Union was almost lost: The inside story of the Scottish independence campaign’s last 100 days In fairness to &telegraph, this … Continue reading →

The overnights meme: List the places where you spent a night away from home this year, marking places where you spent two or more non-consecutive nights with an asterisk. *London, England Nicosia (north), TRNC Glasgow, Scotland *Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Belfast, … Continue reading →

The Blue Coup in New York City Harsh. Fair?(tags: uspolitics ) Good Morning leaflets from the era of telegrams Those were the days!(tags: ukpolitics ) Worse than a Defeat Britain’s most recent military campaigns.(tags: ukpolitics Afghanistan iraq ) Gamergate and … Continue reading →

Fairytale of New York: the story behind the Pogues’ classic Christmas anthem How a classic was made.(tags: Music ) Last Christmas Phil Sandifer’s review(tags: doctorwho ) RFE/RL’s Baku Bureau Raided By Prosecutor’s Office Freedom of the media, Azerbaijan-style!(tags: azerbaijan )

Buzz Aldrin: The Dark Side of the Moon A compelling piece.(tags: space )

Current Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy Infinity Race, by Simon Messingham Last books finished The Dying Days, by Lance Parkin η3 Elizabeth’s Bedfellows, by Anna Whitelock θ3 Last week’s audios Welcome to Night Vale eps 23-36 Next books Earth Girl, … Continue reading →

8 pronunciation errors that made the English language what it is today Old news, but fun.(tags: linguistics ) The baby from Teletubbies Now 19 and at university.(tags: tv )

A kind correspondent has thoughtfully sent me his new e-book about the placenames of Antarctica, and had even authorised me to send it on to interested readers. It is, hoever, in Bulgarian, which I fear may limit its appeal. Do … Continue reading →

The Time Scales – Big Finish, Doctor Who Ratings and Reviews I did not know about this brilliant site.(tags: doctorwho ) Civil Litigation Review of 2014 Law nerdery from the UK.(tags: law )

The Europe Dilemma Very interesting review by @JeremyCliffe of Roger Liddle book.(tags: eu ukpolitics ) Theresa May plans to ‘send home foreign graduates’ met with anger Expel educated immigrants! You know it makes sense!(tags: ukpolitics migration ) Jane Bown: a … Continue reading →

How not to apply for a job in development Ow ow ow!(tags: careersadvice )

Jeepers, how did this happen? I last did a bookblogging update four weeks ago, and since then have been travelling a lot and also read about a dozen Arthur C.Clarke Award nominees. (One of which, in full disclosure, I gave … Continue reading →

So I was in the local supermarket and spotted some crocodile fillets on the meat shelves, and thought, why not? I remember eating crocodile precisely once before in my life, in of all places Varaždin in October 1998 (a wedding … Continue reading →

10 diktats from Brussels that are ruining life in Britain Of course, all were approved by governments and elected MEPs!(tags: eu ukpolitics )

Current Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy The Dying Days, by Lance Parkin Elizabeth’s Bedfellows, by Anna Whitelock η3 Last books finished δ3 ε3 (did not finish) ζ3 Last week’s audios Welcome to Night Vale eps 20-22 Next books Earth Girl, … Continue reading →

Twitterstorm ahead – EU VAT Action Tuesday 16th December Taking online action to save microbusinesses.(tags: eu twitter ) Gagauz, the Turkic-Speaking Minority of Moldova @LangsoftheWorld reports.(tags: linguistics languages moldova ) Britain on the brink: the real story of the Scottish … Continue reading →

The Posters that Warned against the Horrors of a World with Women’s Rights Don’t let women vote! It will only encourage them!(tags: sexandgenderandsexuality politics ) Imprisoned with the Pharaohs (1924) By Harry Houdini [ghost-written by H.P. Lovecraft].(tags: sf ) Is … Continue reading →

Andrew Rawnsley has written a piece about the influence of Northern Irish political parties after May’s Westminster election. The Nigel we need to talk about is Nigel Dodds. Mark the name. For within a few months, he is the Nigel … Continue reading →

Obama Sells Out U.S. Diplomats It goes way deeper than political ambassadors.(tags: uspolitics ) Margaret Hamilton, lead software engineer, Project Apollo Coined term “software engineering”. Moon landings ran her code.(tags: sexandgenderandsexuality space ) Bob Purdie: 1940-2014 I met him only … Continue reading →

Commission ISDS report: Fireworks for the new year Where the debate really is.(tags: eu ) British Balance of Competence Reviews, Part III: More reform than renegotiation or repatriation @CEPS_ThinkTank looks at what is really possible (and wanted).(tags: eu ukpolitics ) … Continue reading →