Andrew Cherry
@kolektiv.xyncro.com
Tech-person, primarily software, occasionally hardware. Somewhat of the left. Dog-dad (also actual child-dad). He/Him. European.
I have literally used that as a selling point with a potential client in the last few weeks. "My advice will come from me, it's the only way I can stand by it"
November 15, 2025 at 5:21 PM
I have literally used that as a selling point with a potential client in the last few weeks. "My advice will come from me, it's the only way I can stand by it"
Yes, it was very much like that for kids' TV in my childhood. Blue Peter and Grange Hill on the BBC, and Ancestral Voices Prophesying War on ITV (later replaced by Fun House due to falling ratings).
Absolute racist plum of a man.
Absolute racist plum of a man.
November 12, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Yes, it was very much like that for kids' TV in my childhood. Blue Peter and Grange Hill on the BBC, and Ancestral Voices Prophesying War on ITV (later replaced by Fun House due to falling ratings).
Absolute racist plum of a man.
Absolute racist plum of a man.
While I think that fear of phone-snatching in many cities is overblown, Apple have definitely done their bit for the muggers here. Spotting a target while cruising by on a moped is much helped by having it in a soft and grabbable day-glo yellow theft-sock.
November 11, 2025 at 2:22 PM
While I think that fear of phone-snatching in many cities is overblown, Apple have definitely done their bit for the muggers here. Spotting a target while cruising by on a moped is much helped by having it in a soft and grabbable day-glo yellow theft-sock.
It would be vaguely understandable in a series obsessed with gritty realism - Ken Loach's Bond should probably care. But if you've previously run across a pool of crocodiles or fought in a hollowed-out volcano, you can probably assume your audience can suspend a little disbelief...
November 11, 2025 at 2:10 PM
It would be vaguely understandable in a series obsessed with gritty realism - Ken Loach's Bond should probably care. But if you've previously run across a pool of crocodiles or fought in a hollowed-out volcano, you can probably assume your audience can suspend a little disbelief...
I'm always trying to work out which of the things Glasman has said recently is the most obstreperously idiotic. I think "abolish the treasury" was less nakedly absurd, but, on consideration, even more fuckwitted. It's like making the classic boorish drunk uncle a peer.
November 7, 2025 at 10:35 PM
I'm always trying to work out which of the things Glasman has said recently is the most obstreperously idiotic. I think "abolish the treasury" was less nakedly absurd, but, on consideration, even more fuckwitted. It's like making the classic boorish drunk uncle a peer.
That's definitely the question, along with "Is this real cultural change you've observed or hypothetical/potentially fictitious cultural change you've been told about?"
November 7, 2025 at 11:49 AM
That's definitely the question, along with "Is this real cultural change you've observed or hypothetical/potentially fictitious cultural change you've been told about?"
One of my favourite series, layer upon layer of ideas to explore and a glimpse of cultures that are nearly tangible. The best parts of a whole slew of genres twisted together around thousands of miles of railway track...
November 5, 2025 at 9:39 PM
One of my favourite series, layer upon layer of ideas to explore and a glimpse of cultures that are nearly tangible. The best parts of a whole slew of genres twisted together around thousands of miles of railway track...
Haha, yes, that's a valid point! It irks me slightly that they keep dressing things up in nationalised-sounding clothes, but I do get it. (Although, do we need a Great British Prefix for bloody everything?!)
November 5, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Haha, yes, that's a valid point! It irks me slightly that they keep dressing things up in nationalised-sounding clothes, but I do get it. (Although, do we need a Great British Prefix for bloody everything?!)
I have no expertise but it seems like "sounds like some nationalisation, but really isn't, instead an additional body which is supposed to coordinate and make things work better". Which in turn seems to imply profits still flowing out to private orgs/not in (more than superficial) public interest...
November 5, 2025 at 2:54 PM
I have no expertise but it seems like "sounds like some nationalisation, but really isn't, instead an additional body which is supposed to coordinate and make things work better". Which in turn seems to imply profits still flowing out to private orgs/not in (more than superficial) public interest...
Yeah, it's just such a ridiculously detached and intellectually lazy understanding of "the working class", combined with my other searing pet hatred, the idea that you have to mirror people, not lead/persuade/debate them, the total abdication of the fight for progress.
November 5, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Yeah, it's just such a ridiculously detached and intellectually lazy understanding of "the working class", combined with my other searing pet hatred, the idea that you have to mirror people, not lead/persuade/debate them, the total abdication of the fight for progress.
I've never been able even to understand why they want to be Labour. The initial founding statement of "...a deeply conservative socialism..." should have seen them booted from the room before they'd finished the sentence, for intellectual incoherence as much as appalling policy and bigotry.
November 5, 2025 at 2:06 PM
I've never been able even to understand why they want to be Labour. The initial founding statement of "...a deeply conservative socialism..." should have seen them booted from the room before they'd finished the sentence, for intellectual incoherence as much as appalling policy and bigotry.
Absolutely this, and the fact that it isn't immediately and painfully obvious to them how to sell the Good Things That Need Doing is, as much as anything, what makes people suspicious of whether they actually believe in left things at all.
November 5, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Absolutely this, and the fact that it isn't immediately and painfully obvious to them how to sell the Good Things That Need Doing is, as much as anything, what makes people suspicious of whether they actually believe in left things at all.
Is the difference in criminal ranking not at least partially influenced by how caught you got? Sticking the Mona Lisa under one arm and hoofing it would be bold, but non-masterful - huge, yet petty. Caught = bad, much like famous = bad for spies, surely? Ah, Mr Bond... Bugger.
November 3, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Is the difference in criminal ranking not at least partially influenced by how caught you got? Sticking the Mona Lisa under one arm and hoofing it would be bold, but non-masterful - huge, yet petty. Caught = bad, much like famous = bad for spies, surely? Ah, Mr Bond... Bugger.
About the only current option would be a Morgan Super 3, which doesn't seem practical, or in the (bigoted, moronic) spirit of what he said, but I'd be all for offering disabled people a little sports car if they could use it...
October 30, 2025 at 12:12 PM
About the only current option would be a Morgan Super 3, which doesn't seem practical, or in the (bigoted, moronic) spirit of what he said, but I'd be all for offering disabled people a little sports car if they could use it...
It's astonishingly daft, despite being so appalling.
It's also weird how he seems to subconsciously try to Tolkien-ise his prose: "they shall surely all die" - does he really speak like that? Although Tolkien wouldn't have suffered such ridiculous hyperbole. All of them? Every single one? Idiot.
It's also weird how he seems to subconsciously try to Tolkien-ise his prose: "they shall surely all die" - does he really speak like that? Although Tolkien wouldn't have suffered such ridiculous hyperbole. All of them? Every single one? Idiot.
October 29, 2025 at 10:21 AM
It's astonishingly daft, despite being so appalling.
It's also weird how he seems to subconsciously try to Tolkien-ise his prose: "they shall surely all die" - does he really speak like that? Although Tolkien wouldn't have suffered such ridiculous hyperbole. All of them? Every single one? Idiot.
It's also weird how he seems to subconsciously try to Tolkien-ise his prose: "they shall surely all die" - does he really speak like that? Although Tolkien wouldn't have suffered such ridiculous hyperbole. All of them? Every single one? Idiot.
Yup, I suspect you're probably right - it would definitely require a different model of provision, and the end-state would likely be more beneficial, provided you kept motive for innovation in some form. Classic "how do you get there from here?" problem though, buried under a century of economics...
October 27, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Yup, I suspect you're probably right - it would definitely require a different model of provision, and the end-state would likely be more beneficial, provided you kept motive for innovation in some form. Classic "how do you get there from here?" problem though, buried under a century of economics...
That's not to be mean, just to recognise the practical problems that kind of approach entails - right now, a company is better at moving quickly and consistently, but that's not (IMO) inherent, just a side-effect of current culture/markets/env.
October 27, 2025 at 4:08 PM
That's not to be mean, just to recognise the practical problems that kind of approach entails - right now, a company is better at moving quickly and consistently, but that's not (IMO) inherent, just a side-effect of current culture/markets/env.
Yeah that's a really interesting thought, and a good theoretical answer, potentially - except that now you've got to get all countries to agree to and implement complex interop standards, each with their own learning curve, non-shared costs, etc. We've not managed to standardise plugs globally yet.
October 27, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Yeah that's a really interesting thought, and a good theoretical answer, potentially - except that now you've got to get all countries to agree to and implement complex interop standards, each with their own learning curve, non-shared costs, etc. We've not managed to standardise plugs globally yet.
The interesting question then becomes: what other models might exist to make something planet-scale like this? Is it a public good? Is it public digital infra? How much damage would removing competition do in terms of innovation vs. stability? It's complicated! (My catchphrase, as a consultant...)
October 27, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The interesting question then becomes: what other models might exist to make something planet-scale like this? Is it a public good? Is it public digital infra? How much damage would removing competition do in terms of innovation vs. stability? It's complicated! (My catchphrase, as a consultant...)
Opinion, but... as far as I can see, it's really just economics. Cost to build + cost to run is enormous, and you therefore need a certain volume of clients to make it viable. If you had 1000 providers, 990+ of them would probably go bust. Not sure that's escapable with a purely capitalist model.
October 27, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Opinion, but... as far as I can see, it's really just economics. Cost to build + cost to run is enormous, and you therefore need a certain volume of clients to make it viable. If you had 1000 providers, 990+ of them would probably go bust. Not sure that's escapable with a purely capitalist model.