Quote of the week!

[Disembodied]

“Jeff Bezos could personally pay each of Amazon’s 876,000 employees a one-time $105,000 bonus today and still be as wealthy as he was at the beginning of the pandemic.”

[Cody]

One of Scotland's leading pipers says he is groped, humiliated and photographed indecently by women on a regular basis while wearing a kilt.

[Disembodied]

A "Galactic Federation" of aliens has been in contact with the U.S. and Israel for years, but humanity isn't ready to know, according to former Israeli space security chief Haim Eshed.

Eshed, who was the head of Israel's space security program for nearly 30 years, told Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that the cooperation between the U.S. and the Galactic Federation includes an underground base on Mars.

[Cody]

... the cooperation between the U.S. and the Galactic Federation includes an underground base on Mars.

What of the Empire? Who's co-operating with them? China?

[Disembodied]

The Empire's not big on co-operation, as a rule.

[Cody]

It's an ill wind that blows against the Empire!

[Cholmondely]

A "Galactic Federation" of aliens has been in contact with the U.S. and Israel for years, but humanity isn't ready to know, according to former Israeli space security chief Haim Eshed.

Eshed, who was the head of Israel's space security program for nearly 30 years, told Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that the cooperation between the U.S. and the Galactic Federation includes an underground base on Mars.

I'm told that Yedioth Ahronoth is the sort of newspaper our dearly beloved chum Donald the Troomp would read.

[Disembodied]

I'm told that Yedioth Ahronoth is the sort of newspaper our dearly beloved chum Donald the Troomp would read.

To be honest the least believable thing about this whole story is that Donald Trump could know about it and yet somehow not tweet about it.

[RockDoctor]

I'm told that Yedioth Ahronoth is the sort of newspaper our dearly beloved chum Donald the Troomp would read.

"Would have read to him", surely?

[Disembodied]

When they write the history of this era, one of the strangest chapters will be devoted to Uber, a company that was never, ever going to be profitable, which existed solely to launder billions for the Saudi royals.

A deeply fascinating argument by Cory Doctorow.

[Cody]

None of which surprises me! Having once worked in the taxi trade, I know many drivers, and their opinion of Uber is... unprintable!
Amazingly, many people think Uber is cool. Twats! Wake up, Sheeple!

[Cody]

The phrase "Essex girl", defined as a "contemptuous term", has been dropped from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary after a campaign.

At least that's a start. They'll be out celebrating in Brentwood, Basildon, and Billericay! The OED next, perchance?


While reading the article, I came across a term which was new to me: WTF is a "scripted reality" show?

[Disembodied]

The OED next, perchance?

No: it's a historical dictionary. It'll include the information that the phrase is derogatory, but the OED is there to record language use, not police it.

[Cody]

No: it's a historical dictionary.

Thanks, Big D - so all those words we're not allowed to use anymore will remain in the OED?

[Cody]

From Essex girl to quantum computing...

A photonic cat qubit, he explained, is one where you have an even state with, for example, 16, 18, or 20 photons, and another that has an odd state with, for instance, 17, 19, or 21 photons, creating superpositions of photon states. Thus it's like the cat in Schrödinger's experiment – alive and dead, or in this case even and odd – until it's observed.