Ilanin
@ilanin.bsky.social
Definitely not a tiny twentysomething French racing driver. @putdorianedown.bsky.social, but not talking about motorsports. Probably gaming/puns/maybe coding who knows?
1/ "Stupid things with names I can remember from roleplaying"
- There's a ban on names beginning with A in our current group because otherwise everyone looks at namelists ordered alphabetically and picks something near the top
- hasn't stopped 2 of our guards being called Alfred and Balfred
- There's a ban on names beginning with A in our current group because otherwise everyone looks at namelists ordered alphabetically and picks something near the top
- hasn't stopped 2 of our guards being called Alfred and Balfred
Jarnathan is also great because we all know the “DM forgot to name a character and just pulls something hacky out of his ass”
“What’s his name?”
“Uh, Jonathan? wait, no, Jarnathan”
“What’s his name?”
“Uh, Jonathan? wait, no, Jarnathan”
January 24, 2026 at 12:52 AM
1/ "Stupid things with names I can remember from roleplaying"
- There's a ban on names beginning with A in our current group because otherwise everyone looks at namelists ordered alphabetically and picks something near the top
- hasn't stopped 2 of our guards being called Alfred and Balfred
- There's a ban on names beginning with A in our current group because otherwise everyone looks at namelists ordered alphabetically and picks something near the top
- hasn't stopped 2 of our guards being called Alfred and Balfred
I see that the Powell Doctrine is about to acquire a point zero of "Are you absolutely sure the target has been correctly identified?"
January 21, 2026 at 3:58 PM
I see that the Powell Doctrine is about to acquire a point zero of "Are you absolutely sure the target has been correctly identified?"
Personally the only time I tried to invade Greenland I found that Nuuk was actually quite heavily defended by arachnid mechs armed with pulse lasers and had to resort to hit-and-run tactics, but YMMV.
January 19, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Personally the only time I tried to invade Greenland I found that Nuuk was actually quite heavily defended by arachnid mechs armed with pulse lasers and had to resort to hit-and-run tactics, but YMMV.
Reposted by Ilanin
Rubbish? Fine? Brilliant? British superlatives graded and ranked.
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
US version here ('quite' interesting comparison)
today.yougov.com/society/arti...
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
US version here ('quite' interesting comparison)
today.yougov.com/society/arti...
January 13, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Rubbish? Fine? Brilliant? British superlatives graded and ranked.
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
US version here ('quite' interesting comparison)
today.yougov.com/society/arti...
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
US version here ('quite' interesting comparison)
today.yougov.com/society/arti...
This is being treated as a new thing and a result of current media trends, but it's probably neither. As part of its annual crime survey, the ONS has ben asking people if crime has gone up a) nationally, and b) in their area in the past few years. Here's the proportions of people answering it has:
January 11, 2026 at 11:53 AM
This is being treated as a new thing and a result of current media trends, but it's probably neither. As part of its annual crime survey, the ONS has ben asking people if crime has gone up a) nationally, and b) in their area in the past few years. Here's the proportions of people answering it has:
It's not quite so rude, but the next village over to where I grew up, (Haxey, North Lincolnshire) always amused me with this piece of excessive literalism:
January 8, 2026 at 2:42 PM
It's not quite so rude, but the next village over to where I grew up, (Haxey, North Lincolnshire) always amused me with this piece of excessive literalism:
Adam MacNaughtan, who wrote one of my favourite songs about living well and dying young (below), died this week aged 86. RIP, but also I do feel slightly cheated. open.spotify.com/track/28F67c...
Cholesterol
open.spotify.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Adam MacNaughtan, who wrote one of my favourite songs about living well and dying young (below), died this week aged 86. RIP, but also I do feel slightly cheated. open.spotify.com/track/28F67c...
Vice Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee be like:
fuck Coronel
November 22, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Vice Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee be like:
The British switching in 1752 but the States General of the Netherlands doing so in 1582 creates the mysterious case of the time-travelling Prince of Orange during the Glorious Revolution of 1688, where William departed the Dutch coast on the 11th November and landed at Torbay on the 5th...
this Easter egg does not appear to be regional specific! The U.K. switched in 1752 so I guess Apple calendars is just holy Roman Catholic
November 16, 2025 at 8:32 PM
The British switching in 1752 but the States General of the Netherlands doing so in 1582 creates the mysterious case of the time-travelling Prince of Orange during the Glorious Revolution of 1688, where William departed the Dutch coast on the 11th November and landed at Torbay on the 5th...
Can you see the magic word I put in the post below that caused the bot to follow me? Confused me for a while given that I wasn't using it in the relevant context...
November 2, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Can you see the magic word I put in the post below that caused the bot to follow me? Confused me for a while given that I wasn't using it in the relevant context...
"I'm sure nothing will go wrong if I try to hold on to the pawn in the Queens' Gambit Accepted without knowing the theory", an occasional series
November 1, 2025 at 11:26 PM
"I'm sure nothing will go wrong if I try to hold on to the pawn in the Queens' Gambit Accepted without knowing the theory", an occasional series
In possibly-related news to the daft thing that I just put on @putdorianedown.bsky.social, I'm really getting along with Positron, the new IDE from the RStudio chaps. Not tried to use it for Python yet but the R stuff flows better than it did in RStudio I think.
October 27, 2025 at 11:43 PM
In possibly-related news to the daft thing that I just put on @putdorianedown.bsky.social, I'm really getting along with Positron, the new IDE from the RStudio chaps. Not tried to use it for Python yet but the R stuff flows better than it did in RStudio I think.
The Royal Navy, having largely swept the seas of anything vaguely hostile at its outset, would spend much of the 19th century engaging forts. Unfortunately a ship is quite a large target whereas to do any real damage to a fort requires precise gunlaying and they never really did get the hang of it.
#OTD 24 October 1808 the Danish fortress at Christiansø island in the Baltic under the commandant Johan Henrik August von Kohl, beats off an attack by a Royal Navy squadron of 2 ships- of-line and 6 frigates.
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
October 24, 2025 at 10:06 AM
The Royal Navy, having largely swept the seas of anything vaguely hostile at its outset, would spend much of the 19th century engaging forts. Unfortunately a ship is quite a large target whereas to do any real damage to a fort requires precise gunlaying and they never really did get the hang of it.
One should always put Chesterton on a committee intended to provide recommendations on the removal of fences. It is quite likely that several current regulatory processes are unnecessarily bureaucratic but you can't determine that without bringing in the people who actually know why they're there.
Such a bad way of doing this sort of thing. Business responds, "I don't like X," Civil Service responds, "But X provides important co-benefits Y and Z," in equivocal advice to a non-expert Minister, and nothing changes.
Nostalgia time for policy geeks - the Red Tape Challenge is back!
www.gov.uk/government/c...
www.gov.uk/government/c...
October 21, 2025 at 2:00 PM
One should always put Chesterton on a committee intended to provide recommendations on the removal of fences. It is quite likely that several current regulatory processes are unnecessarily bureaucratic but you can't determine that without bringing in the people who actually know why they're there.
Chess moves I'm proud enough of to brag about, an occasional series. This one looks bad for black, doesn't it? But....
16... Qc7!!
IRL my opponent failed to notice the main problem and the game ended
17 g5?? Qxc2#
But even if you do...
17 Rxd4 (or c3) Qxf4+
18 Kb1 Bxg5 and the Queen is trapped.
16... Qc7!!
IRL my opponent failed to notice the main problem and the game ended
17 g5?? Qxc2#
But even if you do...
17 Rxd4 (or c3) Qxf4+
18 Kb1 Bxg5 and the Queen is trapped.
October 17, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Chess moves I'm proud enough of to brag about, an occasional series. This one looks bad for black, doesn't it? But....
16... Qc7!!
IRL my opponent failed to notice the main problem and the game ended
17 g5?? Qxc2#
But even if you do...
17 Rxd4 (or c3) Qxf4+
18 Kb1 Bxg5 and the Queen is trapped.
16... Qc7!!
IRL my opponent failed to notice the main problem and the game ended
17 g5?? Qxc2#
But even if you do...
17 Rxd4 (or c3) Qxf4+
18 Kb1 Bxg5 and the Queen is trapped.
It would be a useful feature of Windows if I could tick a box somewhere to inform it that a particular HDMI output didn't have speakers and sound devices should quit trying to output to it. Apropos of nothing in particular and definitely not Spotify trying to play to my monitor AGAIN.
October 7, 2025 at 9:16 AM
It would be a useful feature of Windows if I could tick a box somewhere to inform it that a particular HDMI output didn't have speakers and sound devices should quit trying to output to it. Apropos of nothing in particular and definitely not Spotify trying to play to my monitor AGAIN.
You know the economy's bad when even the Volcanoes are going out of business.
Iceland Is No Longer The Low-Cost Pit Stop To Europe Thanks To Volcanoes, Airline Going Out Of Business
Iceland Is No Longer The Low-Cost Pit Stop To Europe Thanks To Volcanoes, Airline Going Out Of Business
Exceptionally cheap flights to Europe with a stop in Iceland are suddenly a thing of the past.
www.jalopnik.com
October 6, 2025 at 3:40 PM
You know the economy's bad when even the Volcanoes are going out of business.
Apparently nobody wants to talk to recreational cyclists so I guess I'll shut up then.
September 26, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Apparently nobody wants to talk to recreational cyclists so I guess I'll shut up then.
@spotify.com, do you really think this is a helpful search return?
September 19, 2025 at 5:46 PM
@spotify.com, do you really think this is a helpful search return?
A sensible comparison to this would be to point out how Starmerism actually works to win elections. Because it's somewhat questionable this could apply to the US (is this politics? No, it's a discussion on strategy). Quick 🧵on that:
trump’s numbers are tanking and there is a palpable desire in the electorate for a real alternative and yet the only money in democratic politics is for doing starmerism
September 17, 2025 at 4:45 PM
A sensible comparison to this would be to point out how Starmerism actually works to win elections. Because it's somewhat questionable this could apply to the US (is this politics? No, it's a discussion on strategy). Quick 🧵on that:
If you were in a British school in the 1990s this ship name is hilarious. Otherwise I suspect it just seems a bit odd.
There are very few problems which aren't solved, or at least moved somewhere else, by the application of sufficient force.
And figuring 18" torpedoes weren't getting him anywhere, Keyes shifted his flag to HMS Myngs and its 21" warheads.
And figuring 18" torpedoes weren't getting him anywhere, Keyes shifted his flag to HMS Myngs and its 21" warheads.
September 16, 2025 at 8:57 PM
If you were in a British school in the 1990s this ship name is hilarious. Otherwise I suspect it just seems a bit odd.
Microsoft once again disapprove of me having multiple hobbies
September 15, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Microsoft once again disapprove of me having multiple hobbies
I'm fairly sure the disconnect between the statistics saying "the US is richer than Europe" and the everyday experience of people saying "no it isn't" is basically entirely the relative wealth of the 1% at this point. This is probably an issue on both continents for different reasons.
Income inequality in the United States dipped last year, with median household income rising slightly.
Income inequality dipped and fewer people moved, according to largest survey of US life
Income inequality in the United States dipped last year, with median household income rising slightly. The U.S.
bit.ly
September 11, 2025 at 7:50 PM
I'm fairly sure the disconnect between the statistics saying "the US is richer than Europe" and the everyday experience of people saying "no it isn't" is basically entirely the relative wealth of the 1% at this point. This is probably an issue on both continents for different reasons.
This graph does the rounds from time to time and I'm definitely a fan. It's easy to interpret, too. The "overrepresented" characters are the ones who represent a more traditional myth. Aragorn is the hero of the monomyth; in LotR his role is first bodyguard and then decoy.
Lord of the Rings characters: screen time vs mentions in the book.
The further from the dotted line, the further off trend.
By reddit user austinw-8 www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeau...
The further from the dotted line, the further off trend.
By reddit user austinw-8 www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeau...
September 11, 2025 at 3:16 PM
This graph does the rounds from time to time and I'm definitely a fan. It's easy to interpret, too. The "overrepresented" characters are the ones who represent a more traditional myth. Aragorn is the hero of the monomyth; in LotR his role is first bodyguard and then decoy.