Blamp Head > Recent Status Updates

I'm loving this. During the dark times of uni assignments, this is a light in the world. 😅

I actually bought this thinking I was in for a laugh, given Billy McMahon's reputation as Australia's worst PM (I know nothing of McMahon beyond this reputation), but now I'm a bit worried that this is all in earnest. 😬😅

"Some 120 children among every 1,000 of those under 5 years of age die each year in the poor world. The corresponding figure for rich countries is 7."

"Utterly irresponsible rhetoric, and the debasement of political discourse, fanned the flames of resentment and created fear."

This really is an intense read. Much suffering and very graphic at times.

I really don't want this to end. It's been pure joy.

I spent the week just gone whining to my wife that we had too many things on; we were too busy with social commitments and I was tired. And now I'm listening to a chapter on starvation in Leningrad after Operation Barbarossa. Privation, temperatures 30-40 degrees C below zero, people so desperate for food that they ate horses, pigeons, rats, pets and eventually some resorted to cannibalism. The contrast is stark.

While I enjoy the turn of phrase, given I had a few days off listening to this and didn't remotely miss it and its slow ways, this is precariously close to falling into my Abandoned category.

Enthralling, well written and a little depressing, really.

At this rate, if even half of this book was unfounded slander it would still be pretty damning of The Abbott/Credlin team. Perhaps little wonder Savva resigned this week rather than writing in The Australian right beside a woman she's criticised so heartily and heavily... It would have been awkward!

The first half was largely a blow-by-blow account of the federal response to the pandemic, much of which a close follower of news may recall. Supplementation with views from some players was interesting. That'll be more interesting in a few years' time when we're trying to remember what happened. The second half has gotten interesting, with Murphy exploring the PM's character and why he's done things as he has.

Very interesting so far (and somewhat depressing of course).

To continue or not to continue, that is the question

Very interesting. Quite technical, does take some concentrating...

Thoroughly enjoying this! (Though like Mythos and Heroes I have trouble remembering who everyone is and who is aligned with whom...)

It's interesting. The discussion of how liberalism may be affected by technological advances is sensible one second and pure speculation the next.
I think humans like to feel in control and enjoy the ability to make decisions. At times the author is of the opinion that once AI is better at making choices we'll eventually yield to their authority. I don't fully agree.

Incredibly quaint little old book. It's talking about how to draw different conic sections (including ellipses, hyperbolas, etc) using pen and paper, with string/compass as aids as necessary. Also describing how using a torch you can create these shapes.
Funny enjoying this take on it. When doing my degree I thought conics was probably the most boring subject I did.
Still, only for those keen on dry simple maths.

Thoroughly enjoying this so far (albeit somewhat sobering). Some of the stats could now be updated with more recent data, but the book seeks to argue its case through evidence found in a broad range of ecosystems.
If the quality of the book is maintained I'll be highly recommending it.

Well that's enough of that.

Almost done and I don't want this book to end -- it's been pure joy! :)
Definitely recommend the audiobook, read by Sir David (naturally).

An incredibly handy manual for dealing with the next time you find yourself, as we all have done on countless occasions, in charge of a princedom. Whether we have come by this fortuitous position through merit, dumb luck, popular approval (this happens?!) or indeed through good old fashioned nastiness and violence... this book has the guidance you need for keeping a firm grip on that thing.

A delightful set of stories of the Norse deities finding themselves in scrapes and trying to weasel their way out of them.

The book is much improved now that we're past any unnecessary hype and they're just talking about genuinely interesting things. I mean, time machines don't need hyping!

What a delight this book is. :-)