In Australia, it means ‘food poisoning’

People appear to actually be slightly surprised, shocked, and even upset that Gordon Ramsay's gastropubs use pre-made food. People are silly. Absolutely everyone in foodservice, outside of the very top end (which gastropubs charging £15 for a main course are, obviously, not) uses pre-made, bought-in dishes. Indeed, Ramsay is a step higher than most: at … Continue reading In Australia, it means ‘food poisoning’

Top 5 Things That Have Made Me Happy Today

Still mblogging, so can't face messing about with links. If anything intrigues and confuses you, google is your friend. 1) Stephen Frears's High Fidelity. Best geeky boy film ever, one of best love stories ever, terrifyingly accurate insight into my past relationships ever, etc. I know Nick Hornby also relevant but I've boycotted praising him … Continue reading Top 5 Things That Have Made Me Happy Today

They call me Black Stacey

As you may have noticed, I haven't updated for a while, as I've been in the poorest country outside of Africa (*) with only a mobile phone for connectivity. And while my mobile phone is more of a mini-laptop, it's not really conducive to full-on blogging. And while I haven't checked rates, I'm fairly sure … Continue reading They call me Black Stacey

Yes, it’s another exciting round of Easy Answers To Simple Questions

DK: do you think it just slightly possible that [Polly Toynbee's] attitude, and that of her fellow [Guardian] commentators, might possibly have led to [advertisers] feeling—during these turbulent times, when costs need to be cut—that GMG, whose employees constantly attack said companies, can just fucking whistle for their business? No. I would happily stake my … Continue reading Yes, it’s another exciting round of Easy Answers To Simple Questions

A note to excitable conspiracy theorists

No-notice, turn-up-and-go international travel out of the UK will not, ever, be banned. Rather than reading incoherent rants in half-witted newspapers and drawing conclusions from the information they leave out, read the actual details of the eBorders scheme: [Passenger] data are only mandatory when they are requested to be provided at the time when passengers … Continue reading A note to excitable conspiracy theorists

In defence of ad-hominem

One of the most tedious aspects of online debate is that, as soon as you call someone an idiot, or suggest that their argument is of the kind that would disgrace a below-average chimpanzee, they accuse you of arguing 'ad-hominem', which they believe to be a terrible thing. As the holder of a philosophy degree from … Continue reading In defence of ad-hominem

Some factual statements

Note: see update at the bottom I'm holding points 1-8 to be non-controversial; let me know if you, err, controvert them. 1) Rape is very bad. 2) Long-term psychological, bullying abuse is very bad. 3) Violence per se is bad, but not very bad. 4) Nearly all raping is done by men, mostly against women. … Continue reading Some factual statements