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8 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Finishes 'Star Tr... · 0 replies · +1 points

10 years ago @ Mark Reads - Mark Reads 'Soul Music... · 1 reply · +14 points

I wanted to provide links but ID wanted to eat them more.

However, if you do a custom google search and limit the dates to 1994 or before you still get plenty of articles using "the N-Word" in context. I found newspapers using it back to 1990. A google Ngram search shows it starts appearing in 1990, with a definite uptick after '95 but only to double its previous levels.

Pratchett had spend time in the US before SM was written, not least on the Good Omens tour around 1990-91. He had at the very least interacted with the American media and spent time in the country. Given that the UK was already getting plenty of US media by that time, it would be a real surprise to hear he wasn't aware of the use of the term.

10 years ago @ http://markspoils.blog... - Weekly Shenanigans · 0 replies · +8 points

The new suggested voting system is E Pluribus Hugo, largely thrashed out by the community over at Making Light over the months after the nominations. I believe that link is the final text of the proposal that was passed. It now needs to be ratified next year. ML's discussion thread kicks off with a list noting which works were nominated on the Sad (Correia and Torgersen) and Rabid (Vox Day) slates.

There is a length Wired writeup here. It does include a substantial interview with Racist Sexist Homophobic Dipshit (origins of the nickname here) so expect nasty racism and sexism in the quotes. There is also a brief interview with Annie Bellet about why she declined the nomination which is well worth reading. Especially worth noting at the end she would have made the list anyway, so just lost out on her first possible Hugo nomination due to the Puppies.

11 years ago @ http://markspoils.blog... - Weekly Shenanigans · 0 replies · +4 points

There's an older biopic the BBC made starring Bennerich Cummerbund and written by Moffat. Quality and budget might be a spot lower, but I remember it being interesting back when I saw it. Available on Youtube as well (quality isn't amazing);
[youtube U_ytm34YVCU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ytm34YVCU youtube]
The new one looks to cover more of his life after his Doctorate and the course of his disease, while the BBC one covers more of the actual science and debates that were going on. The framing is the place of his Doctorate work in the wider scientific research into the origins of the universe and I recall it being fairly accurate, even if the end point is far from the end of Hawking's own journey (in any sense) or contributions to the field.

11 years ago @ http://markspoils.blog... - Weekly Shenanigans · 0 replies · +5 points

Something like this?

11 years ago @ http://markspoils.blog... - Weekly Shenanigans · 0 replies · +6 points

Just as a warning to anyone with unstable internet;

Avoid using download managers like Download Them All for Firefox. It will expire your links and replace the file you attempted to download with the expired.html file.

It might just be the result of my internet going down every few seconds at the moment, or it might be the way it uses multiple download streams to get the files faster, but either way using the manger will eat all the clicks very quickly if using the manger to avoid having to constantly restart the Firefox download each time it is interrupted (itself perfectly safe - so long as you are careful not to double click and cancel the download - and I've been using it for months when I have problems).

Note that this was a deliberate experiment using my own links purchased for the test and I already have copies of all the files I wanted. I specifically wanted to test before I tried using DTA on any publicly shared links. Which I now won't ever be doing.

11 years ago @ http://markspoils.blog... - Weekly Shenanigans · 0 replies · +2 points

Only 72 isn't too bad. I've got over 250 hours and have never reached the end date. I've gotten to Empire status a few times and have seen the Mongol invasion a couple but rarely bother running things that long. I tend to prefer the early struggle and build-up to empire management and decay.

I'm currently playing a game from the same start I would be using for this. Became the King of Ireland in three generations. Sacrificed the Duchy of Leinster to create a vassal trade republic which is increasing my already high city income by 30%. I've just converted the entire realm to the Cathar heresy, doubling my talent pool by letting women do pretty much any jobs men can. I immediately made a 25 diplomacy princess my new councillor. I then survived Scotland declaring a holy war on me thanks to defensive bonus and good commanders (one of whom was a 26 marshal woman with strong defensive and commander traits). Now I just need to subjugate the last three counties in Ulster (harder now they can call on 10,000 man Holy Order doomstacks) and build up my provinces a little more before looking to make inroads into Britain itself. I want to run this one up to empire status at least, but crusades are likely to be a big problem. If I attract the attention of any of the Catholic big boys I will probably instantly lose.

11 years ago @ http://markspoils.blog... - Weekly Shenanigans · 2 replies · +8 points

Just want to test for interest.

I've had an idea bouncing around for a while now of running a community-style game of Crusader Kings II. Basically I run through a normal (rather easy/safe - 1066 Dublin start) game, but any time I come up to a significant and interesting decision point I offer it up to the community to pick.

An example would be my needing a bride for the realms current heir and picking out three relatively equally matched choices for Spoils to pick from. Or letting Spoils decide which succession laws our realm should use. Then playing with whatever choices are made. There could even be renaming of children in the future.

It would be rather slow, but I've already got a set of screenshots and could throw up a post this evening with three decisions (one each bride, succession law, ruler ambition) plus a bunch of background/fluff, and depending on interest I could probably manage to bring at least one such decision every few days.

If nothing else it would be an excuse to watch an a-historical medieval Europe develop, with the potential to meddle.

11 years ago @ http://markspoils.blog... - The Black Market · 1 reply · +4 points

Farscape 1x15-20

11 years ago @ http://markspoils.blog... - Weekly Shenanigans · 1 reply · +3 points

Apparently it's a reference to Jeremiah Johnson.

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