MetaFilter posts tagged with UK

Cryonics in the UK

veedubya — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:44:46 -0800

"I don't mean to be rude, but I try everything out on Sylvia, and if she can do it, anybody can." Fortunately, Sylvia is in the kitchen making another cup of tea. In sleepy Sussex is a group of dedicated cryonicists who believe they hold the secret to eternal life. Simon Hattenstone joins them for a demonstration – but first they need to make sure the hosepipe isn't too leaky.

"More than one American has offered to buy up our Tower and erect it on Palm Beach as a bungalow!"

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:16:06 -0800

The Open Road London pioneering colour footage from 1927 (SLYT)

Brilliant folding power plug

five fresh fish — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:45:09 -0800

A brilliant industrial design (IMO) for a slimline UK power plug. The UK plug is an exceptionally chunky and large lump; a real pain in the computer satchel. This video shows what appears to be a manufacturable design that turns it into an elegant device. SLYT. The UK uses a "ring" wiring system (a habit developed during the post-war copper shortages). This means that for outlets in series, the single line carries all the amperage for the loop: there is no individual return circuit for each plug. Essentially, every damn plug in the house is like your kitchen stove 240V monster gonna-kill-you plug, so the plug is designed to help you not get killed. Built-in fuse. Monster blades. Safety plastic. Maybe a switch? Anyhoo, here's a SLYT where the designer demonstrates CAD and 3D-Printed prototypes. At first glance, I see no reason why this can not be a successful design. Pretty slick solution, at any rate. previously

Radio Is A Sound Sensation

Hartster — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:08:22 -0800

Comparemyradio.com analyses the playlist data from all the major UK radio stations. If you want to know who's playing the current number one, what's the overlap between Radio One & Two or whether you should bother checking out Radio Six, this is the site for you.

The Guardian's Review of the Decade.

ClanvidHorse — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:17:38 -0800

The Guardian's Review of the Decade. "It all started 96 hours after 9/11". Environment, Creativity, Communication, Science, Global politics, Celebrity, Sport, Lifestyle, Liberty.

SWEDEMASON

flatluigi — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:35:03 -0800

The Works of Swede Mason: "Jeremy Clarkson," "Get in the Back of the Van," "Jungle All The Way," "Bill Wyman's Metal Detector," "Put the Lotion in the Basket, *" "Got The Sucka," "The Gobshite, *" "Squashed Thingy," "Spare Me The Madness," and the pair of tracks based on Neighbors deaths "Coffee And Croissants" and "Todd....Dead." note: starred tracks have NSFW audio. mp3 downloads can be found here.

HP15 0TH

acb — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:40:11 -0800

The British postcode system, one of the things which Britain arguably does better than anyone else, is 50 years old. The system divides the entire UK into alphanumeric postal districts organised in a hierarchy, with the first one or two letters denoting a postal area (typically a city or the environs of one, though London has several). Unlike systems elsewhere (such as the US, Australia, and most of Europe), it doesn't stop at the neighbourhood level, with each 5-to-7-character full postcode denoting a segment of a street. This makes it useful for applications other than addressing mail, such as navigation; as such, you can enter a postcode into Google Maps or a satellite navigation unit and be shown exactly where it refers to. Unfortunately, though, the database of postcodes and their locations is another victim of the British institutional custom of copyrighting taxpayer-funded databases and licensing them only at great expense and under onerous terms (see also: the Ordnance Survey), effectively restricting them to moneyed corporations. However, there are several unofficial efforts to assemble this data from scratch and release it into the public domain.

UK Asylum Seekers: Let The Right Ones In

filthy light thief — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:54:02 -0800

The Home Office, the UK government department responsible for immigration control, has initiated a program to test the DNA from of potential asylum seekers in an attempt to confirm their true nationalities. The initial program is a six-month pilot limited to claimants arriving from the Horn of Africa. The program, currently using forensic samples provided on a voluntary basis, could potentially expand to other nationalities if successful. The Home Office spokeswoman said ancestral DNA testing would not be used alone but would be combined with language analysis, investigative interviewing techniques and other recognized forensic disciplines, but many are decrying the "deeply flawed" program, from refugee support groups to scientists in the genetic forensics fields (via). Sandy Buchan, of Refugee Action:

Many of those who seek asylum are two or even three generations removed from the country of origin of their parents and grandparents, and are fleeing areas other than the nation of their birth. A Zimbabwean farmer fleeing persecution may possess the DNA of British relatives; would they be denied asylum on that basis?

Alec Jeffreys of the University of Leicester, who pioneered human DNA fingerprinting:

The Borders Agency is clearly making huge and unwarranted assumptions about population structure in Africa; the extensive research needed to determine population structure and the ability or otherwise of DNA to pinpoint ethnic origin in this region simply has not been done. Even if it did work (which I doubt), assigning a person to a population does not establish nationality - people move! The whole proposal is naive and scientifically flawed.

See also: Science Insider follow-up post and further reactions from experts in genetic forensic analysis.

Skip to the end

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:43:15 -0800

Spaced is 10. Fried gold!

Cobra Mk 3

Artw — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 09:51:39 -0800

This month marks the 25th aniversary of Elite, the groundbreaking 3D space trading game. The making of Elite. More on the making of Elite from The Backroom Boys. Emulate the original BBC Micro version. The Dark Wheel.

U.K. science fiction Golden Age?

zardoz — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:31:10 -0800

The stories of now. An essay by Kim Stanley Robinson on the remarkable pool of SF talent currently working in the U.K.

George and Lynne live in the mid to late seventies.

fearfulsymmetry — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:45:38 -0800

George And Lynn Explained (George And Lynn Explained, explained) Mildly NSFW cartoon nudity

Sorry, Alan.

lupus_yonderboy — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:10:27 -0800

UK government apologizes to Alan Turing. It might be a long time overdue, but it's a really nice apology. [previously]

The Iron Lady ❤s The Iron Curtain

empath — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:04:23 -0800

New Documents from the Soviet Archives reveal that as the Warsaw Pact was falling apart, Margaret Thatcher called Gorbachev to inform him that:

The reunification of Germany is not in the interests of Britain and Western Europe. It might look different from public pronouncements, in official communiqué at Nato meetings, but it is not worth paying ones attention to it. We do not want a united Germany. This would have led to a change to post-war borders and we can not allow that because such development would undermine the stability of the whole international situation and could endanger our security. In the same way, a destabilisation of Eastern Europe and breakdown of the Warsaw Pact are also not in our interests.

This backs up assertions from former German Chancellor Kohl's new memoir that Thatcher put up obstacles to German Re-unification, fearing the rise of a Fourth Reich.

My Gypsy childhood

acb — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:37:52 -0800

Roxy Freeman was born into an Gypsy family. For years, her family travelled around Ireland in a horsedrawn wagon, without electricity or formal schooling, getting by on picking fruit and selling horses they bred, before settling in Norfolk. Roxy taught herself to read, devoured books, and, after travelling the world for a number of years, decided to go to university, a move which would require her to completely change her way of life. Living in a flat in Brighton, a way of life which she finds bizarre and alien, she has written about her childhood, her family's culture and the difficulties and prejudices she encountered, for the Guardian. The shift to a fixed, urban lifestyle wasn't an easy one: "I can't see or feel the change from one season to the next, I crave greenery, and I constantly wrestle with the emotion of feeling trapped. I spend half my life opening doors and windows, trying to get rid of the airless, claustrophobic feeling that comes with being inside. I get woken up by bin lorries, the rush-hour traffic and my neighbours shouting, instead of birdsong and the wind in the trees. I can't sense when it's going to rain because I can no longer smell it in the air, and when it does rain I can't hear it landing on the roof."

They sure don't make nostalgia like they used to anymore.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:42:39 -0800

Punctuality, privacy, dead time, concentration: all dead or dying at the hands of the Internet, according to this list in the Daily Telegraph.

Only at festivals with no Wi-Fi signals can the gullible be tricked into believing that David Hasslehoff [sic] has passed away. Insta-spoiler – the full list, with UK-centric or possibly obscure references linkified: 1) The art of polite disagreement 2) Fear that you are the only person unmoved by a celebrity's death 3) Listening to an album all the way through 4) Sarah Palin 5) Punctuality 6) Ceefax/Teletext 7) Adolescent nerves at first porn purchase 8) Telephone directories 9) The myth of cat intelligence 10) Watches 11) Music stores 12) Letter writing/pen pals 13) Memory 14) Dead time 15) Photo albums and slide shows 16) Hoaxes and conspiracy theories 17) Watching television together 18) Authoritative reference works 19) The Innovations catalogue 20) Order forms in the back pages of books 21) Delayed knowledge of sporting results 22) Enforceable copyright 23) Reading telegrams at weddings 24) Dogging [possibly NSFW] 25) Aren't they dead? Aren't they gay? 26) Holiday news ignorance 27) Knowing telephone numbers off by heart 28) Respect for doctors and other professionals 29) The mystery of foreign languages 30) Geographical knowledge 31) Privacy 32) Chuck Norris's reputation 33) Pencil cricket 34) Mainstream media 35) Concentration 36) Mr Alifi's dignity 37) Personal reinvention 38) Viktor Yanukovych 39) The insurance ring-round 40) Undiscovered artists 41) The usefulness of reference pages at the front of diaries 42) The nervous thrill of the reunion 43) Solitaire 44) Trust in Nigerian businessmen and princes 45) Prostitute calling cards [possibly NSFW]/ kerb crawling 46) Staggered product/film releases 47) Footnotes 48) Grand National trips to the bookmaker 49) Fanzines 50) Your lunchbreak

Murdoch v. the BBC

Jakey — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:00:54 -0800

"If you think you can get fucking angry, I can get fucking angry." James Murdoch, Chairman of News Corp, gave this year's MacTaggart Lecture (vid) (transcript) in which he delivered a broadside on the role of the BBC, accusing it of 'dumping' news on the commercial market. An alternative view was given by the BBC's Robert Peston, who asked "Should we be relaxed if 'can't pay' means 'can't know'?" Their after-dinner discussions led to a 'vigorous exchange of views.' There was a mixed reception to the speech in the UK media, and even The Wire's dominic West got in on the act. Previous MacTaggart speakers include Dennis Potter and Jeremy Paxman, amongst others.

Webbed, For Her Pleasure

Christ, what an asshole — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:16:37 -0800

There is no God. More Mitchell and Webb: Homeopathic A&E Annoying Vegetarian Education Reform Mac vs. PC Football, Football, Football Bad Vicar Abraham and Isaac Apprentice UK Spoof Candidates Getting Over Lucy Banana Dance Angry Art Avocdo Bathroom Dying Kid Identity Killer Identity Killer 2 Alien Invasion Cryogenics Who is the Captain? Levitation Holmes and Watson Corner Shop Sir Digby Chicken Caesar Toothbrush Company Party Organizer Realtor Torture Psychologist Friends of Moneypenny Wavy Arms Swimming Pool Sale Myth Child Speedo Cheesoid Boy With an Arse for a Face Hole in the Ring The Fun Historian Chiropractor Wordwang A History of Numberwang Scarecrow German SS Officers Henchmen Good Samaritan Social Misunderstanding Gap Year Backpedaling Idiots Gap Year Backpedaling Idiots 2 Gap Year Backpedaling Idiots 3 Israel/Bible Pitch Science Fiction Cricket Dave Gorman Football Young Love The Insulting Librarian First Television Chip and Pin Heroin Addict Christmas Arguing Couple Big Talk Detectives Global Warming Skeptic Hospital Drama Counterfeit Sell That House to Them Daydream Believers Daydream Believers 2 Daydream Believers 3 Rat Poison Library Psycho Sarcastic Paramedic Bad Poker Player IT Recruiting Sarcastic Egg Farmer Biscuit Levitation The Green Clarinet Angel Summoner and BMX Bandit Garden Center Natives Naming a Dry Cleaner Massive Yacht Table of Reds Dreamy Pastures Insurance Jump Off a Cliff Sometimes Fires Go Out Primetime Welsh TV Yorkshire Airlines Bad Waiter Casino Carnivale My Shag as a Whore Captain Todger Screw Back in Anger Little Guy Emotionally Repressed Action Figures The Greatest Invention Yet Dog Bell Lights Out Ring Cycle Alcoholics Hotel Vectron Community Policeman Community Policeman 2 Guru Meditation Kitchen Nightmares Die Hard Doctor and Ice Cream Tester Remain Indoors Remain Indoors 2 Remain Indoors 3 Prankster Doctors Alcoholic Isotonic Drink Polite Taxi Driver Helivets Helivets 2 Biohazard Biohazard 2 Biohazard 3 Bronze Age Orientation Everything is Now Fine Lecherous Director Hospital Innuendo Pet Hospital Tina Edwards Hercules Poirot Professor Death Queen Victoria Text a Blog Best Man Speech Brain Surgeon Caveman Detectives Now We Know Write This Cheese

Dennis The Softy?

Artw — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:39:40 -0800

A new BBC version of Dennis the Menace tones down the iconic British comics character. Or does it? It's another "political correctness gone mad" myth embellished by the media says cartoonist Lew Stringer.

'NO! Please let me drown BEFORE the GIANT SCORPIONS get to me!'

fearfulsymmetry — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:32:25 -0800

When the future was 2000AD by Garth Ennis. Thrill-power invested illustrative examples courtesy of Simon Gurr.

A Hard Man is Good to Find

nooneyouknow — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:49:06 -0800

Filament aims to be a different kind of women's magazine. They plan to "cover a wide range of topics [but absolutely no beauty or diet articles] that inspire and engage , and [give women] gorgeous boys the way [they] like to see them." Their first issue is out and featured a mix of articles, fiction, poetry and pics of shirtless boys. For their second issue, they want to include a pic of a man with erection, but their printer bailed because the printer was afraid of a backlash. The magazine has also had issues with distributors because many of them don't want to deal with a women's magazine with a man on the cover. Via (NSFW) Erotica Cover Watch (NSFW) which is a blog dedicated to ending the preponderance of (naked) women on the covers of erotic books, and is trying to get more men and couples on the covers.

Ship ahoy, Captain!

jaduncan — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:40:42 -0800

You've heard of the Swedish Pirate Party. You may have seen their their elected MEP, and their 50,000 members. You may even have heard of the German Pirate Party's thousand members. But now the Open Rights Group does not stand alone in the UK's digital rights movement. On June 30th, the British Pirate Party was registered. Press reaction is here. The initial policies: • Reform copyright and patent law. We want to legalise non-commercial file sharing and reduce the excessive length of copyright protection, while ensuring that when creative works are sold, it's the artists who benefit, not monopoly rights holders. We want a patent system that doesn't stifle innovation or make life saving drugs so expensive that patients die. • End the excessive surveillance, profiling, tracking and monitoring of innocent people by Government and big businesses. • Ensure that everyone has real freedom of speech and real freedom to enjoy and participate in our shared culture. Shared policy discussion currently takes place on the wiki (and the Copyright Policy Working Group may be of particular interest). Twitter | Facebook Group | Forums

The state of high-speed rail, August 2009

acb — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:12:59 -0800

The Guardian ran a series of articles looking at the state of high-speed rail travel today. France intends to double its length of track over the next decade, and China is planning a massive rail-building programme, including a high-speed line which will halve the travel time between Beijing and Shanghai to 4 hours. In Germany, domestic air travel is rapidly going extinct, and Spain's network has made day trips between Madrid and Barcelona a possibility. The USA, which has long neglected its rail network, is planning up to 10 high-speed lines. Meanwhile, Britain's only high-speed line goes to France, but there is talk of a 250mph line from London to Birmingham and beyond, possibly by the early 2020s. Meanwhile, the CEO of France's rail operator, SNCF, weighs in on what the UK should do.

Coffee or tea?

Artw — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:17:48 -0800

Do you qualify to be a UK Citizen? From the looks of Twitter it seems that many UK Citizens don’t.

End of the line

fearfulsymmetry — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:06:07 -0800

RIP Benson The Carp, 'the people's fish'... yes, it's the Silly Season again.