µblog - archive for 2006-11 🏳️‍🌈

Wikipedia’s list of countries without an army:

[Monaco renounced] its military investment in the 17th century because the expansion of ranges of artillery had rendered it defenseless. Defense is the responsibility of France.

(Via Matt’s del.icio.us feed.)

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Rui:

[…] it becomes perfectly obvious that users aren’t, or were ever, to blame for the success (or lack of success) of mobile services of any description. Considering the disconnect between the people who design services and the end user, it is nothing sort of miraculous that we’ve been at all successful with them during the past few years.

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Ken MacLeod:

I was interviewed sitting on a camp-bed in an army barracks. (Thought I’d mention that just in case anyone thinks that’s where I live.) The interview was mainly about the British SF themes of catastrophe and dystopia, so it’s likewise far removed from my usual scientifictional interests - which are, as is known, all about space habitats and world ships upon whose vast beautiful interior landscapes hop myriads of cute fluffy bunnies, which get eaten.

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Eric Newby dies at 86.

One of my all-time favourite authors. Sad news.

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