Mat Bowles

This is mind bogglingly bad. How bad is the Downing St vetting process?

Shipwreck with ancient medical kit, actually workable cures for common problems

I know, I know, but there were too many serious links today.

How cool is this? We are living in the future. Give them a target, they work together to build it autonomously. I WANT MY FLYING CAR

Ye gods, this may be a worse bit of journalism than the Hezza interview. I mean, I know it's in the Fail, but... This link goes to Tabloid Watch, frequently a good read. Try to avoid linking to The Fail when possible.

PZ debunks the latest media meme. WARNING: this particular bit of crappy science is about rape, PZ thinks it's bobbins, which is what it looked like when I first saw it.

A mostly accurate summary of what's going on--I've commented on the bits I think are factually wrong, but the summary itself is useful. I do wish peopl ewould stop using that tired and factually false 'gerrymandering' trope though, there are bloody good arguments for this process being flawed, that aint' even close to valid.

Known Tim for years. Yes, he can be a bit intense at times, but watching the hell he and his family have gone through as a result of Dorries' lies, obfuscations, half truths and slanders hasn't been pleasant. Now he has proof. And there's a CPS file on her now.

More details on the proposals, with Clegg's speech in video. I are happy,

Jennie proposed this in a consultation at her first ever Lib Dem conference, after we'd talked about it, lots, here at home. Now it's, officially, Govt policy, and beinh heralded all over the place as a brilliant plan. This is a Good Thing, and I'm a very happy policy wonk reading this.

This really is a train wreck interview isn't it? At one point she complains "he has clearly marked me out as too simple for that." I'm inclined to suspect he may be a good judge of character and ability. You?

The mind boggles. Given a strong platform to put forward coherent arguments against a Yes vote, the chair of the No campaign writes this? If anyone wants me to rebut anything specific, let me know, but it's just too easy to bother.

Not sure whether this is a valid point to campaign on, or if it helps in any way. Keeping to the principles strikes me as better, but is it indicative that worse MPs prefer the status quo?

Pretty sure Tim's right here, speculators stockpiling means prices stabilise over medium term and encourage farmers to produce more. Counterpoints?

Overcharging gits. Check your bills if you're with them, they'll give the money back if you ask, which is doubly shitty.

Can someone give me a $billion? Seriously. They haven't built it,it's just a design they could build, but still, I wants one, my precious.

This is weird. They fought each other by beating each other with their wings.

We have plenty of pump clips, beer mats and similar kicking around the house, have to dig some out and get a stamp.

Incredibly good use of Flash to show how big things are relatively, I've seen similar before, but not this well done.

And, in the comments, someone actually dates the birth of Jesus using actual bibilical evidence.September. Can we have our secular/pagan holiday back please?

Um, this article appears to actually be serious. At times reading it I thought it might be tongue in cheek, but I'm not sure it is. Opinions?

Like Wozniak, I'm always a bit ambivalent about net neutrality arguments, but the balance always comes out in favour of the idea, there isn't true competition in the ISP market, and even if there were giving the wealthy/established privileges over the poor/startup strikes me as distinctly unliberal.

I think this sort of thing is a good use of sites such as @libcon. I suspect the odds are if he weren't Assange, prosecution wouldn't be happening for a case of this nature. But there's a large part of me that thinks that prosecution should happen in cases of this nature. Some nice legwork by Sunny, Dr Ben et al.

I believe in due process and the rule of law. Assange should be given the full rights given any accused person, and I hope for a free and fair trial. It's possible he's both guilty and that the prosecution is politically motivated. But if he is guilty, he should be prosecuted, and Wikileaks can, and will, survive.

Andrew makes some good points very strongly here, hadn't considered some of what he suggests, can't say I disagree with him though.

Interesting idea for a site, run by the Commission rep to London. Bit dry, but points for effort (and for using Wordpress reasonably well, although I've seen a lot better)

There are people I've actually met writing stuff for this. Might be interesting.

See, if the world had sane drug laws, this bloke would just be having a nice relaxed Xmas and not hurting, or costing anyone, anything. As it is, the whole legal system has to deal with him. Drove past Koblenz once. Didn't stop.

Legalise it, regulate it, tax it. Generally my approach to most things I disapprove of. I've been to Dortmund, it's a strange place.

A couple of my cousins went to this school. What a brilliant idea and method of teaching science properly. I am impressed.

Jon on the future of blogging. I broadly agree with him about how blogging has, and likely will, develop, group blogs always had an advantage over individuals, if done well. Now that UK blogging has matured, it's unsurprising that group and media financed blogs dominate most rankings. But that doesn't mean they're taking over, or driving smaller bloggers out. They're amplifying an audience, the audience for small personal blogs is probably bigger now than it was a few years ago, and I'd say it's likely even easier for a good individual to break in to the higher echelons if they want to. Twitter and Facebook may reduce the number of people think-piece blogging regularly, but they help the same people build up an audience to share links with very easily. Besides which, it's not like the top group blog in the country has particularly high standards...

More for the comments than the main news. The difference between wanting a blog to write occasional thoughts down, and wanting to be a top or pro-blogger is actually quite significant. La Dale is out of the race for the top, but isn't going to shut the site down, just use it when he feels the need, instead of feeling the need to use it.

I don't know if it's the outfit, the lighting, the hair or a combination of all, but I really don't like this photoset, the look really doesn't suit her.

I've always hated the 'blame the messenger' approach, especially when it's stuff I kinda like. According to some, most of my friends should've committed multiple Columbine massacres by now given their respective combined tastes. Strangely, this hasn't happened. Nice research.

Several different people have linked this and I finally got around to following the link. You should do the same. It would help if you've seen, at the very least, Aliens. If you haven't, you probably ought to report to a reeducation facilty (or a DVD rental facility) ASAP.

Odds are, having most of the Labour leadership campaigning along a lot of senior Lib Dems will do a lot to mend wounds and similar. This will, naturally, be a good thing. I seem to recall talk that the EEC referendum that put the sane Labour members campaigning alongside the Liberals helped foster the bonds that eventually led to the Alliance. Given the personal rapport that already existed between Steel and Jenkins, not sure I'm sold on that completely, but anyone got a source or extra info on that?

Jennie is amused by reactions to the idea that the LDs don't always agree, and this therefore necessitates a split. The idea that a Liberal party agrees on everything all the time is so laughable it's silly. But then, this is the mainstream media.

Sunder debunking a different bit of the No campaign's daftness

I love well decorated cakes. I love Plants Vs Zombies. I love this cake. I probably ought to learn how to do this sort of thing more now I've got the basics of baking down fairly well.

More urban desolation, this time an island off Japan that lost its entire industry and raison d'etre overnight, to simply be abandoned.

An entire town abandoned and being reclaimed, some very interesting images in here. Nature finds a way.

Some very good points on this list, most of which I agree with and try to implement on my blog(s) when possible in some form. Completely disagree with point 6 though, for reasons I've outlined in the comments, but that is an issue that for most just doesn't cross the radar, and I'm aware some find dark backgrounds harder to read, need to make my link to the alt layout more accessible and clearer. Ideas how I should label it very welcome.

I know I'm awful at replying to stuff generally. Some 'features' of email really do make that even less likely

They've given Hans Rosling a series on t'tellybox. This is very cool. Why did no one tell me?

I want it. I like utterly pointless things

Economic growth is a continual process of job destruction, jobs are a cost, not a benefit, of any investment or expansion. We need to make sure that the jobs we create, the jobs the economy creates, are actually useful, productive jobs. Figuring out how to do that? If I knew that, I'd be a very rich man...

If the corporations had their way, every street would be like Times Square, right? That's the dystopian nightmare future in so many SF films. Except it's not unfettered capitalism that makes Times Square garish and ugly, it's the building regulations of the special midtown district.

Want to build a mobile phone transmitter in your bedroom? Not legal to turn it on, obviously, all the bandwidth is accounted for, but a good backup

Note, Coade Stone is not on here. That's because, despite what the gorgeous Ms Coren said on Only Connect the other week, the formula for that was never lost.

Simply amazing presentation (as we've come to expect from TED), makes the point that we know so little about many parts of the world that relating to it is difficult. I probably know more stories and facts about one city in the US than the whole continent of Africa. That's Not Good.

Mutuals are good. Nuff said.

Aubrey De Grey is cool, and thinks the first thousand year old human is alive today. Plus, he likes decent beer, and is openly poly. Jennie likes his beard.

PRetty much agree with this one. One of the biggest problems I have generally when talking about economic stuff is not to come across like some rabid right winger, economic language is so dry and analytical, it can make you sound heartless. But using exact terms is necessary at times. Balances need finding.

Drinking moderate amounts daily is good for you, so many different studies show this. Yet all we hear from various Govt sources is how bad for you excessive drinking is, and how we must control drinking generally. Pig headed stupidity, drinking a healthy amount is pretty much unaffordable for many. Especailly those who would benefit the most from the smarts boost.

Very very sily, naturally, but still cool