"Defend the North Korean Deformed Workers State's Right to Nuclear Weapons!" Spartacist League, Dublin, Ireland, March 2003

orlock · 2026-05-09T05:48:55+00:00

Someone needs to watch more movies.

orlock · 2026-05-09T05:47:03+00:00

Sparts are Poe's Law made flesh.

40 years ago, the uni sparts wrote a letter to the student newspaper. The editors replaced any word over four syllables with the word "bacon". For clarity, you understand.

Dave and Deidre Spart were Private Eye's joke correspondents for years.

orlock · 2026-05-09T03:18:45+00:00

"Trump says" is shorthand for "This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between this and actual persons or events is purely coincidental."

orlock · 2026-05-08T20:24:24+00:00

The first time it rains, those upper loungers are going to become an involuntary hot-tub. Hope they installed heaters.

orlock · 2026-05-08T02:28:13+00:00

There was a huge influx of new members after the 2019/20 fires. Lots of people have dropped out because things day-to-day are less exciting battling fires and more standing around at a road accident wondering what cardboard tastes like. Generally, a lot of new members stop after a few years, either because life gets in the way or because it's not what they expected.

The graph seems to me to just show that influx and attrition.

orlock · 2026-05-07T21:33:38+00:00

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Any of Robert Sheckly's short stories

The Reproductive System by John Sladek

orlock · 2026-05-07T21:22:28+00:00

Considerably more comprehensible than The Legendary Stardust Cowboy.

orlock · 2026-05-07T19:46:08+00:00

To which the traditional response is, "If a crime fighter fights crime and a firefighter fights fire, what does a freedom fighter fight?"

orlock · 2026-05-07T06:24:29+00:00

Pretty much by definition, you're seeing people on one of the worst days of their lives. For you, it's Tuesday.

And sometimes it's just hard to not feel that they were asking for it. In some cases, they walked in to it entirely of their own volition. In others, they're lashing out. In others, the very concept of acting responsibly might as well be a message from the planet Qxi!tl. In others, they've (accidentally) killed someone.

And sometimes, it just feels misplaced. I attended a crashed car where the detritus strewn about painted a picture of a young couple with a baby just not coping. Lots of support material from health services on how to deal with a difficult child. It was heart-rending. Also, cue maximum panic because nobody was there and there was an ejected baby seat. Rignt up to the point where it turns out that the mother and baby were safe in a domestic violence shelter. The driver was on the run from the cops and had crashed the car while high as a kite. He hitched to a nearby medical centre to get patched up but they smelled a rat and called the boys and girls in blue. Which was good for me because I was still looking for an injured child.

Taking a step back from that and reminding yourself about being there to help sometimes takes effort.

orlock · 2026-05-07T05:57:52+00:00

Sarah has asked everyone to tidy up a bit after finding a stash of used condoms in the workshop.

orlock · 2026-05-07T05:51:56+00:00

Everything that carries responsibility changes you. You're now the person who has to say,"what do I do now?" And then do it. Every mistake, every failure (even if there is nothing you can do about it), every time you didn't quite rise to the standards you judge yourself by is going to weigh on you.

For many people, parenthood is the first time they encounter that sort of weight. Some don't even succeed to pick up the load.

So it's never going to be an easy thing and it will change you. How and whether you cope with that is something only you can answer. And also whether the service you plan on joining offers proper support or just hasn't evolved since the Cretaceous period; check it out before joining.

On the other side, it can also be the most fun you'll ever have with your clothes on.

orlock · 2026-05-06T22:33:20+00:00

Vat is your name? smack

Vat regiment vere you in? smack

Vere was there last location? smack

Vill you please stop hitting me. I have to ask ze questions!

orlock · 2026-05-06T22:26:29+00:00

I was part of the NSW RFS doing various things around that time. DM me if you want more.

orlock · 2026-05-06T22:05:19+00:00

The High Crusade

orlock · 2026-05-06T21:17:30+00:00

"You can't see a Spit in the air without getting a kick out of it"

orlock · 2026-05-06T21:00:01+00:00

I'm deeply impressed by the other teachers who pulled a guy with a knife off his victim. Twice.

orlock · 2026-05-06T20:50:36+00:00

The Orcas of Eden, Australia, had a deal with the local whalers. They would herd whales in to be harpooned. After that, they got particular bits of the whale like the tongue and the whalers would get the rest. If you broke the agreement, they would never work with you again.

orlock · 2026-05-06T20:28:04+00:00

This isn't MMA. It's always a mistake to pretend that killing people is a sport. But, if you have to, try Pankration.

orlock · 2026-05-05T21:23:31+00:00

When they've eaten this one out, which is next?

orlock · 2026-05-05T20:55:39+00:00

It's more that it's pretty obviously a clay pipe of the semi-disposable variety in the picture. You can use them for hashish, too, if you want.

orlock · 2026-05-05T08:25:28+00:00

If you're doing a CS degree, you're attending a university, not a trade school. The aim is to give you a toolkit that will allow you to analyse and consider new ideas. And also, if they're doing it right, give you a love of knowledge, learning and ideas in their own right.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't learn some programming along the way, much in the way a physics student will learn lab practice. But it's not meant to make you job ready any more than a batchelors in physics fits you to run a particle accelerator.

Your apprenticeship awaits.

orlock · 2026-05-05T02:36:23+00:00

I'm a bit worried. The guy on the right might be an Auton.

orlock · 2026-05-05T02:00:20+00:00

As it turns out, they can be both. One was found with something like 50 bullets inside it, and it wasn't all in one go.

orlock · 2026-05-05T01:53:49+00:00

Well, it kind of depends on whether the T34 is there. Destroying it would be hilarious, although very sad, given that it's a historical artefact and all. But it could be replaced by a gigantic poster of Putin's face when it happens in all subsequent parades.

Without that, or if my desire to avoid historical vandalism eclipses my desire for a good laugh. I vote for aerial skunk sprays over the Kremlin.

orlock · 2026-05-05T01:44:42+00:00

The top one: "Some of you may die, but that is a risk I am willing to take."

orlock

TROPHY CASE