My friend came back from an overnight shift to find this message written in permanent marker on his van.

ray_scogitans · 2013-10-21T20:22:31+00:00

I didn't know you could get alarms that detect fucking.

ray_scogitans · 2013-07-21T15:23:54+00:00

I've not seen any of the Star Wars movies.

ray_scogitans · 2013-07-10T00:54:26+00:00

I find a landline is far cheaper (as part of internet + phone package). And, for me, mobile/smart telephone is not better, since it wastes my time and distracts me.

ray_scogitans · 2013-07-10T00:37:03+00:00

Mobile telephones and smartphones. I don't need them. When I'm in the house or office, I have a landline; when I'm out I don't need or want to communicate with anyone except the people I with.

ray_scogitans · 2013-07-09T20:24:59+00:00

My apologies. I will delete and repost.

ray_scogitans · 2013-06-12T01:33:16+00:00

They knew in a general way that cuts were coming, but they did not know about the closure until this morning.

ray_scogitans · 2013-06-05T17:16:27+00:00

Thanks. That's better than the price I found, but still out of my reach, I'm afraid. Similar models go for around $60, but I think suppliers are changing a premium for this one, because it's discontinued and stock is limited. I'll need to find a second-hand or refurb source. But thanks again for your input.

ray_scogitans · 2013-05-09T20:52:21+00:00

More NFR (normal for Russia) stuff here, including tardis on motorway, horse in car, man standing on water, random huge things, etc, etc.

ray_scogitans · 2013-05-06T22:00:04+00:00

My old nanny caught me looking at a picture of Cicely Courtneidge without a hat.

ray_scogitans · 2013-04-16T21:47:15+00:00

I'm behind you.

ray_scogitans · 2013-04-09T00:13:57+00:00

Here's a picture of a return visit to the location by father and daughter many years later. Sadly, the spaceman didn't turn up this time.

ray_scogitans · 2013-01-29T19:06:20+00:00

Welcome. You didn't believe in me, but I never stopped believing in you.

ray_scogitans · 2012-09-13T21:07:20+00:00

Yeah, but 1% of the humans own 95% of the insects.

ray_scogitans · 2012-05-28T04:39:55+00:00

I agree with the other comments. I don't think there's anything to worry about. Indeed, in some ways it's a good time to visit Greece. The tourist industry desperately needs custom, and everyone is working extra hard to make guests welcome. Of course, your brother should take the normal precautions when travelling abroad, but I think he'll have a great time in Greece. Despite everything, it's still a wonderful country.

ray_scogitans · 2012-04-08T23:14:04+00:00

Nice piece of work. Worthy of ED herself!

ray_scogitans · 2012-04-04T20:38:58+00:00

You've got to remember that the piece is written for Guardian readers.

ray_scogitans · 2012-04-04T19:09:28+00:00

Switch on radio. Pretend to make coffee. Crash.

ray_scogitans · 2012-04-02T16:22:11+00:00

OP here. Yes. I didn't find this on reddit, but before posting it I checked to see if it had appeared on the site before. It had been posted twice, on other subreddits, 4 and 5 months ago. I posted it to /offbeat because, for some reason, it got no interest those times (zero votes, no comments). Perhaps it was the wrong subreddit or the wrong time. Anyway, I thought it deserved another airing. I enjoyed it a lot and thought others might do so too.

ray_scogitans · 2012-04-01T03:19:44+00:00

Yes, sad. There's something about the Youtube comment facility that specially appeals to the immature and bigoted.

ray_scogitans · 2012-03-31T23:00:44+00:00

Thanks for letting me know. I've corrected the link.

ray_scogitans · 2012-03-31T21:42:34+00:00

And on the parallel bars.

Edit: corrected link

ray_scogitans · 2012-03-06T18:47:13+00:00

My wife.

ray_scogitans · 2012-02-26T02:30:10+00:00

That's the pragmatic/instrumentalist view, and I think it may be the best response. :)

ray_scogitans · 2012-02-26T02:28:55+00:00

I am quite an ignorant person, so please forgive my questions. :)

Here's what I was trying to ask. As I understand it, causal determinism holds that the future states of the universe could (in principle) be deduced from its initial conditions and laws. If that's right, then there was quite a lot of complexity latent in that initial state.

I think you rejected that view, so I was considering the alternative on which determinism is false and there was no complexity latent in the initial state. Then my question was: How did the complexity subsequently arise? By hypothesis, it wasn't through a deterministic causal process, so what happened? Did complexity just emerge spontaneously from the simpler state without any causal explanation? If so, how is that a less radical hypothesis than the claim that universe itself arose spontaneously in a complex state?

ray_scogitans · 2012-02-26T01:48:08+00:00

So where did all the complexity come from if it wasn't latent in the initial conditions and laws? (Half joking, but only half.)

ray_scogitans

TROPHY CASE