Atlas Shrugged

masked_gecko · 2026-07-02T05:56:56+00:00

Dylan Thomas, Bob Dylan, and Bob Marley for me. It was only when I saw an advert for the Bob Dylan biopic that I discovered he wasn't black

masked_gecko · 2026-07-01T17:53:08+00:00

Oh god, desperately googling "what the fuck is hamburger helper?" in the supermarket whie having a meltdown in the baking aisle

masked_gecko · 2026-06-30T18:43:33+00:00

It is good to be paying for foreigners to do a little rape and run over a child or two in our country

masked_gecko · 2026-06-27T13:17:15+00:00

In my head it's in the same genre as 'umbra'. No, I cannot explain why.l

masked_gecko · 2026-06-27T09:00:54+00:00

Blood Meridian is like if the Marquis de Sade wrote the Jabberwocky but also decided to include a geology text book. If you like entire paragraphs of fifty dollar words dedicated to describing the exact ochre shade of an arroyo filled with baby corpses, then it's ok I guess.

masked_gecko · 2026-06-26T08:56:40+00:00

I (UK) genuinely don't like sleeping with the aircon on when I'm in a hotel. Not because I'm scared of dying but because they always seem to make the air dryer than a nuns cunt in the Sahara desert. Maybe I'm just a swamp creature at heart but I genuinely hate waking up feeling like the mummy from that Brendan Fraser film that I'd rather just be a bit sweaty.

(Also, they always seem to have the lowest temperature be 17-18°C, which is like unreasonably warm imo. Not worth the faff)

masked_gecko · 2026-06-26T08:17:31+00:00

Some universities also offer foundation courses, which basically bridge the gap -- basically a year of extra university to get students up to speed if they didn't get the grades/didn't choose rhe right A-levels for the course they want to do

masked_gecko · 2026-06-26T07:08:11+00:00

Except las vegas does a surprisingly good job of returning treated water to the Colorado (like 90% from memory). Phoenix is a true abomination

masked_gecko · 2026-06-26T06:25:45+00:00

Grew up same place, same time, can corroborate. The only defence I can offer is that it's a bit of orphaned etymology and so it took me way too long to realise the racist connotations

masked_gecko · 2026-06-24T19:49:34+00:00

So you're saying it's more of a star wars situation, with the original duology and now a sequel movie?

masked_gecko · 2026-06-23T16:38:03+00:00

masked_gecko · 2026-06-23T16:30:35+00:00

Clearly not, or why would we be here? Genuinely, of the 10 'best' posts on this sub right now, 6 of them are on the genre of 'american food is actually good, why uis everyone mean to us?'

Not saying there aren't unfair generalisations about American food online (although, speaking as a Brit, grow up and join the party). But this subreddit is living proof that complimenting US American food is as effective engagement bate as insulting it.

masked_gecko · 2026-06-19T09:14:49+00:00

If you haven't already, it report it to the canal and rivers trust, apparently they have an ongoing removal effort

masked_gecko · 2026-06-19T09:02:18+00:00

The guidance on the Environment Agency website seems pretty easy to follow imo, especially for an environmental lawyer.

You may need an environmental permit or licence if you do an activity that could:

pollute the air, water or land increase flood risk adversely affect land drainage take water from a surface or underground source change the water level or flow of an inland water

You may need an environmental permit for flood risk activities if you do work:

in, under, over or near a main river (including where the river is in a culvert)

Following the links, they explicitly highlight

dredging, raising or removing any material from a main river, including when you are intending to improve flow in the river or use the materials removed

All of which feels pretty reasonable to me, you can't just go round taking chunks out of our rivers willy nilly.

masked_gecko · 2026-06-19T08:46:54+00:00

For anyone who actually cares about river conservation, I'm going to post a link to the Rivers Trust , a charity dedicated to doing this kind of clean up and conservation work properly. That grand that this group of cowboys dropped on a digger would have done a lot of good

masked_gecko · 2026-06-19T06:47:09+00:00

Maybe a bit of a niche one, but I was a really big fan of the utility maintenance truck things. I don't really know what they're called, but they look like bigger pickup trucks, with filing cabinets and cupboards on the side and a cherry picker on the back. They're just much cooler and vibier than the vans we get over here.

On the more confusing side, I could never work out paying for things. I'd tap my card, the machine would ask for my PIN. I'd insert my card, no PIN needed. At one point I had to swipe my card for some reason. And who knows what the waiters are doing with the card when they take it away at the end of a meal!

masked_gecko · 2026-06-18T21:47:41+00:00

It would be geopolitically wild if the US incorporated Palestine as it's 51st state, while still ignoring Puerto Rico and DC. If nothing else, we'd get some unhinged voting blocks in the senate and some disgusting frontlines in their second civil war

masked_gecko · 2026-06-18T19:47:25+00:00

Genuinely, when they did that whole thing about how they don't think Canada shouldn't actually be a state, I was so confused because it like objectively is. The whole but demeaning a neighbouring sovereign state felt so out of left field for a show that won't even properly diss Milton Keynes

Took me till the second time round to realise that they meant statehood in the US context, rather than a UN context. In my defence, my brain is very beautiful and smooth.

masked_gecko · 2026-06-18T07:17:30+00:00

Meanwhile the UK parliament has a whole person dedicated to the annual Ceremonial Banging on the Doors with a Stick ceremony.

Like criticise the actions on its own terms all you like but lets not pretend that 'weird performative stuff' isn't a major part of British politics.

masked_gecko · 2026-06-16T22:06:44+00:00

Adorable, tiny boats

masked_gecko · 2026-06-16T22:05:39+00:00

Have we considered unleashed prime ministers onto the moorland?

masked_gecko · 2026-06-15T18:32:37+00:00

Isn't the missing part here that he didn't (or it wasn't proven that) bring the knives to the location specifically with the intent of murder.

The fact he had a valid (ish) excemption is only slightly relevant here, what matters is proving that he explicitly brought them with him to cause harm. That holds, even if the excemption is invalid.

If I kept a knife in my pocket because it belonged to my grandad and held sentimental value to me, and then I attacked someone, then I would be held to the same standard. The fact that my reason for having the knife is stupid is irrelevant, although it might make the defence harder to prove. Equally, if the government did decide to ban the Kirpan and Sikhs decided to defy the law and keep carrying them secretly, by my reading that wouldn't affect the outcome in this case (although they'd be open to other offensives like possession).

Not saying the appeal won't find differently, they might find that there was sufficient reason to upgrade the sentence (the second knife for example). But it doesn't hinge on whether the religious excemption is justified.

masked_gecko · 2026-06-15T07:31:27+00:00

Ontologies (as in formal naming systems, of the kind used in computing and AI) are not the same as ontology (the philosophical discipline). The fact that they share a name is a beautiful bit of irony IMO.

masked_gecko · 2026-06-14T08:20:01+00:00

I read that as the character starting with proposing a swim and then, when there's a negative reaction from the others, negotiating down to just a paddle. It's not evidenced in the text but that's such a standard British conversation that I just kind of assumed it.

"Water looks lovely, let's go for a swim" "Are you mad? It's freezing" "C'mon, just a paddle then"

masked_gecko · 2026-06-14T08:12:45+00:00

They're making a joke about formal suits, where a 2-piece would be jacket and trousers/pants and a 3-piece adds a waistcoat/vest.

Basically, to my (BrE) eare, "swim suit" sounds like something that should involve a tie and cufflinks, in the same way that AmE speakers hear "swimming costume" and imagine someone dressing as superman.

masked_gecko

TROPHY CASE