Monthly Archives: February 2019

Wed, 20:17: RT @bbclaurak: Labour loses its amendment – so, in theory, the party should shift its position now to backing another referendum Wed, 21:53: RT @YvetteCooperMP: Amendment wins 502 to 20. Strong support from every party & from across … Continue reading →

Tue, 12:16: RT @mvanhulten: Not enough pallets. https://t.co/mbODmqVlb1 Tue, 22:26: Tuesday reading https://t.co/De4v6jvVTy Wed, 07:54: RT @littlebrown: A revised statement from Little, Brown and Company. https://t.co/zSQp1Q132C Wed, 08:58: RT @timd_IFG: Carolyn Fairbairn telling it like it is on @BBCRadio4 – … Continue reading →

Current Present Danger, ed. Eddie Robson A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara ι1 Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot Last books finished θ1 The Capital, by Robert Menasse Next books Troll Bridge, by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran The Botany of … Continue reading →

Mon, 12:21: RT @IanDunt: Have you… have you seen Ghostbusters? https://t.co/7mz6j0kmqU Mon, 12:30: RT @Dublin2019: Don’t forget, deadline for nominating in @TheHugoAwards is the 15th of March. Mon, 12:56: RT @Chris_Auld: A rant about the state of statistical work in … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:56: Voting with your gut https://t.co/qeJhh1XDOf Brexit and rationality. Interesting. Sun, 14:17: RT @ProfChalmers: The Spectator’s solution to Brexit involves going over the heads of the Commission and negotiating with individual states… Sun, 14:31: RT @Frances_Coppola: What I found … Continue reading →

I was fortunate enough to be invited to give a lecture in Rome a couple of weeks ago, and made it into a long Valentine's Day weekend with Anne. I was speaking to students of the University of Washington in … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:12: Brexit: The narrow precipice to a last-gasp deal https://t.co/vYnU7oRZy7 @TonyConnellyRTE has the latest – a better… https://t.co/YN5MnzIvka Sat, 12:36: RT @RobertBohan: Thread: James Gralton (1886-1945) was the only Irishman ever to be deported from independent Ireland. He was … Continue reading →

Fri, 12:17: Final exchange: @USAmbEU : Did you get out of bed on the wrong side today? @Josef_Braml : I’m not a diplomat!!! #CEPSlab19 Fri, 12:48: RT @MarcoInBxl: ‘@USAmbEU Gordon Sondland: after Trump-Juncker meeting there has been little/no progress on … Continue reading →

As noted earlier, the BSFA final ballot is out! I'll have to be cautious commenting on anything that is Hugo-eligible, but that doesn't apply to the Best Art category, where there are eight finalists (which appears to be a record, … Continue reading →

Thu, 12:03: #CEPSlab19 77 minutes into the session and @Poli_Eleonora is the first woman to speak. Thu, 12:17: RT @FrancescoNicoli: @simonjhix: “to go beyond the second order election trap, the Eurosceptics must have a lead candidate. That creates re… Thu, … Continue reading →

Lots to crunch here. First of all, the GR/LT stats for the Best Novel finalists: Goodreads LibraryThing owners av rating owners av rating Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik 114,671 4.3 793 4.28 The Poppy War, by R.F. Kuang 76,250 4.04 … Continue reading →

Wed, 12:34: RT @JusticeLeagueEU: @jonworth Reminds me of when @nwbrux diplomatically said ‘I don’t know why the minister said that’ when what he meant… Wed, 12:37: The Independent Group: Tories Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen quit party over … Continue reading →

The BSFA shortlist is out – somehow I only spoted it today. (The Nebula final ballot is out too, but I'll post the stats for that tomorrow.) There are five shortlisted novels, which were 8th, 13th, 16th, 17th and 32nd … Continue reading →

Tue, 12:56: Timothy the Talking Cat reads “Ender’s Game” https://t.co/iCjJ5RW9C8 Spot on. Tue, 16:05: On the Loss of Citizenship https://t.co/Rf18IQsxTi @PaulDBurgess reflects on Brexit. Tue, 16:34: RT @BlockchainforEU: #BlockchainforEU is unifying the #Blockchain industry’s voices. Learn more about our views … Continue reading →

Current θ1 Present Danger, ed. Eddie Robson Last books finished Expo 58, by Jonathan Coe η1 Tweaking The Tail, by John Leeson The Life of Sir Denis Henry, by A.D. McDonnell Bitter Angels, by C. L. Anderson Next books A … Continue reading →

Mon, 12:05: RT @britainelects: The following MPs have resigned from the Labour Party: Chuka Umunna (Streatham) Luciana Berger (Liverpool Wavertre) Chr… Mon, 12:56: Sometimes you see something that restores your hope in humanity. https://t.co/FhDjjliBAD Mon, 16:05: RT @notalogin: The middle … Continue reading →

Just in case you ever needed to know, there are 55 positive integers whose square root √n is less than or equal to their number of divisors τ(n). √n < τ(n) in 53 cases, and in two cases √n = … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:56: Brexit: The Compromise (PDF) https://t.co/XoHcycmRfM @AndrewDuffEU sees a way forward. Sun, 13:49: RT @AlbertoNardelli: 1) measures have been covered multiple times by multiple outlets since first set out 2) it’s not a secret deal, but un… Sun, 14:21: … Continue reading →

Two weeks ago, I took F on his first trip to Bosnia. I lived in Banja Luka, the main city of the Republika Srpska (the Serbian part of Bosnia) from January 1997 to May 1998, and was joined by Anne … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:56: RT @simonjhix: This really is an extremely articulate explanation of the problems of Brexit, far clearer and more sophisticated than anythi… Sat, 12:59: RT @Dublin2019: Don’t forget, deadline for nominating in @TheHugoAwards is the 15th of March. Sat, … Continue reading →

Fri, 20:48: Churches of Rome Wiki https://t.co/WxtpOn7kVn Hugely enjoying the information and occasional snark in this wiki. Fri, 21:01: RT @chrisgreybrexit: A highly revealing comment, not least for showing the complete refusal of Brexiters to take any responsibility whatsoe… Fri, … Continue reading →

Thu, 12:56: RT @alanbeattie: Roses are red, Violets are blue. Sugar is an interesting example of how what ought to be an efficient global commodity m… Thu, 16:05: RT @benjaminbutter: We need to stop pretending the coverage of trans people … Continue reading →

Wed, 12:18: RT @nick_gutteridge: 1/ EU countries are ready to help May drag out the Brexit talks until March 21, when they will try to stitch together… Wed, 12:56: RT @peteqconsult: @pmdfoster https://t.co/WyH4NJJ0RL Wed, 13:40: Vote Leela and @Lou_Jameson !!!! … Continue reading →

Tue, 12:56: RT @theJeremyVine: This correction may look ridiculous, but the Huntley “Nicola” story has been used for the last year to make transgender… Tue, 14:18: Pretty much my assessment too. https://t.co/lVfuHXh1Na Tue, 16:05: How was the Irish Border drawn … Continue reading →

Current Bitter Angels, by C. L. Anderson Expo 58, by Jonathan Coe η1 Tweaking The Tail, by John Leeson Last books finished The Fire Sermon (sample), by Francesca Haig ε1 ζ1 Script Doctor: the Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986-1989, … Continue reading →

Mon, 12:34: RT @EUTweetup: Next #EUTweetUp will take place on 20 February at the Ginette Bar on Place Lux. See you there from 18.30 and follow us (& th… Mon, 12:56: RT @csgmoore: Dear Conservatives, remember when you used to … Continue reading →

Sun, 22:59: What SF to read? Results of a Facebook/Twitter poll https://t.co/RDxAkLszrb Mon, 09:42: The European Commission’s 60-slide deck explaining the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration. Clearer… https://t.co/te2N98CdyK Mon, 10:45: What fresh madness is this? #Brexit https://t.co/cai2OjUcVo Mon, 11:49: … Continue reading →

I was on the road last week, and will be again next week, so blogging will be light until things settle down. However. An old friend contacted me on the first day of my trip, asking for recommendations for either … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:04: Government cancels Brexit ferry contract with no-ship firm https://t.co/Idy6l4b4z0 Hahahahahahahaha #TakingBackControl Sat, 12:56: Brexit: Hell, High Water and the Return of Chequers https://t.co/8tYcigOG5n Latest excellent analysis from @TonyConnellyRTE. Sat, 13:48: #TakingBackControl https://t.co/jdpdzT0dDe Sat, 14:48: RT @remkorteweg: Based on … Continue reading →