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This is a link post This man wants to sharpen your pencil

(, Wed 14 Oct 2026, 16:07, Reply)
This is a normal post Great video
But what's that rubbish about traditional pencil sharpeners cutting perpendicular to the wood grain? Does he mean parallel?
I've been using the method with a plane this guy describes, but I've recently started a job where I have access to a belt sander - awesomely sharp pencils in seconds!
youtu.be/VWBzHk7Tlns?is=WrliU6uBMs36ji4v
(, Wed 14 Oct 2026, 22:11, Reply)
This is a normal post every office should have one
I don't think I've used a pencil in decades, certainly don't have one
(, Thu 15 Oct 2026, 0:26, Reply)
This is a normal post I've got a pen
or at least I did, not sure where I put it
(, Fri 16 Oct 2026, 13:29, Reply)
This is a normal post I have a lot of pens.
Enough to fill a small island, maybe.
(, Fri 16 Oct 2026, 18:51, Reply)
This is a normal post If the grain runs along the length
Then normal sharpeners do cut perpendicular (though at a slight angle) to the grain I would have thought
(, Thu 15 Oct 2026, 0:49, Reply)
This is a normal post Ah - I see what you mean
I was thinking of the orientation of the cutting edge, not the direction of cut. Cheers!
(, Thu 15 Oct 2026, 6:25, Reply)
This is a normal post none of it is flush anyway because you're cutting a cone, so he's somewhat overselling the benefits
my experience is that it's most often the lead that fails rather than the wood when sharpening
(, Thu 15 Oct 2026, 11:30, Reply)
This is a link post Do you like football? Do you like spreadsheets?
Browser version of the amazing and time destroying best game of all time*, Championship Manager 2, only with fully updated squads and teams to this 26/27 season.

*apart from Little Big Adventure
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 14:55, Reply)
This is a normal post Doesn't work.
Locked up shortly after starting.
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 17:57, Reply)
This is a normal post
might be browser related - works fine on Edge for me, including saves
(, Wed 14 Oct 2026, 8:51, Reply)
This is a normal post Begone Procrastination Satan

(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 18:59, Reply)
This is a normal post
Reminds me, I haven't done a paperclips run through in a couple of months now.
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 20:45, Reply)
This is a normal post So, uh, what was that link again?
Asking for a friend.
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 22:56, Reply)
This is a normal post
www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/index2.html
(, Wed 14 Oct 2026, 5:41, Reply)
This is a normal post Thanks, I’ll pass that on.
Soon.
(, Wed 14 Oct 2026, 8:10, Reply)
This is a normal post
Release the hypnodrones
(, Thu 15 Oct 2026, 1:22, Reply)
This is a link post Pop song minus the the pop-sounding production I made this!
Always liked this song from 20 odd years back - but wondered how it would sound if the song just played the piano as it suggests it will at the intro : so I took away the instruments apart from the piano !

Tentative tick of 'IMT' cause I did the arrangement.
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 14:05, Reply)
This is a link post The Great War – A Journey Through Sound I made this!
Just put out something I've been planning for quite a while, an audio journey through the first world war using only contemporary recordings.

Download, stream, tracklist, blog are all under the link, and it's a lot more listenable and a lot less grim than you might imagine.
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 9:36, Reply)
This is a normal post I really enjoyed this
a good audio history - thank you!
(, Thu 15 Oct 2026, 12:24, Reply)
This is a link post Some amazing musical archaeology
Don't worry about it being 13 minutes, he gives the game away in the first ten seconds.
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 7:59, Reply)
This is a normal post Great stuff!

(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 8:51, Reply)
This is a normal post Any excuse to even think about Chime imporves my mood.

(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 9:50, Reply)
This is a normal post ^ This

(, Wed 14 Oct 2026, 22:13, Reply)
This is a normal post
Never throw away your dad's old records!
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 14:58, Reply)
This is a normal post The TD3 sample he played
Was also used in Joey Beltrums Energy Flash. Still a favourite of mine to this day.
Cor his ‘lectric bill must be in the 4digits with all his lovely kit.
(, Wed 14 Oct 2026, 20:26, Reply)
This is a link post Yay!
A perfect reason to play the first one again, although I’m definitely cheating at that minigame when I get to it.
(, Mon 12 Oct 2026, 20:39, Reply)
This is a normal post Amazing!
That’s made my afternoon :) I loved the first one, still the best thing Amanita’s ever done IMHO. Very ready for round two (just hope the trailer isn’t giving too much away).
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 17:23, Reply)
This is a normal post
Never heard of it but starting the first now.

Good linkage.
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 20:18, Reply)
This is a link post Play with sliders and buttons and make twinkly noises
Ronseal
(, Mon 12 Oct 2026, 14:37, Reply)
This is a normal post Really struggling with this
I usually like unorthodox synths, but in this case I can't get any obvious correlation between the input and output. I might be missing something!
(, Mon 12 Oct 2026, 22:20, Reply)
This is a normal post I couldn’t get any output at all.

(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 4:52, Reply)
This is a normal post There's a "Run" button down the page
If you can make any sense of it I'd be interested to know how!
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 6:15, Reply)
This is a link post Tyger Tyger burning bright
in the forests of the night
what immortal hand or eye
could frame thy fearful.....AARRG SHIT!..... IT'S GOT ME LEG!
(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 5:14, Reply)
This is a normal post "Regarding rumours surrounding the condition of the tiger, the animal was uninjured"
Well no shit.
(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 10:33, Reply)
This is a normal post
io
(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 15:32, Reply)
This is a normal post I went there once.
The small animals enclosures seemed well designed to keep them happy, but then you get a polar bear which seemed utterly broken and which depresses me to this day.

If I was going to end it that way, I think I'd have given him a rare bit of fun instead.
(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 17:21, Reply)
This is a normal post yeah, melbourne zoo used to be like that
the big animals like the bears and the tigers looked like they'd been driven mental
now they don't have em, and the gorilla exhibit is so naturalistic you can't even see them.
part of me thinks it's a tragedy, but another part thinks, "well, finally something interesting in the tiger's daily grind"
(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 21:47, Reply)
This is a normal post The Tiger is safe
And will not be euthanized.
(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 23:13, Reply)
This is a link post 6 years old apparently
I'm a sucker for a bit of manual manipulation.

It's a bit of a pity the title gives the game away from the start though
(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 23:26, Reply)
This is a normal post how did she do in the swimsuit section of the paegant?

(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 5:46, Reply)
This is a normal post No way is she 6 years old
/talk defense
(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 7:50, Reply)
This is a normal post I was ony looking for six year old ring pieces

(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 9:45, Reply)
This is a normal post This is great, cheers

(, Mon 12 Oct 2026, 2:01, Reply)
This is a normal post She looks a lot older than 6.
Hard to be sure with all the makeup kids are wearing these days, mind.
(, Mon 12 Oct 2026, 6:54, Reply)
This is a link post Probably been posted before

(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 18:25, Reply)
This is a normal post One of my favourite Orbital tracks.

(, Mon 12 Oct 2026, 6:55, Reply)
This is a normal post Ooooooh he's here again....

(, Mon 12 Oct 2026, 9:22, Reply)
This is a normal post Hahaha

(, Mon 12 Oct 2026, 12:35, Reply)
This is a normal post Arf!!!

(, Mon 12 Oct 2026, 18:01, Reply)
This is a link post Funny name corner..?

(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 10:34, Reply)
This is a normal post At least he'll get the marching powder running on time

(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 13:02, Reply)
This is a link post Montgomery Wards In-Store Music: Storewide Appliance Sale - Oct 1983

(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 23:19, Reply)
This is a normal post This is lovely

(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 6:16, Reply)
This is a normal post Do you think it's the same studio
That did the Ceefax music?
(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 7:45, Reply)
This is a normal post Almost certainly not.
There's a lot of Buddy Merrill in this, and I never heard anything like that on Ceefax.
(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 15:21, Reply)
This is a link post Recreation of piloting a starship to Alpha Centauri in real time at lightspeed
Bonus vid at the end with a little on how it was made.
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 18:49, Reply)
This is a normal post So it's a 4 and a half year long video?
Oh, time dilation, yeah.

The AI voices are unbearable and the script is shite, but interesting visuals nonetheless.
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 18:57, Reply)
This is a normal post
I didn't know YouTube allowed 4.3 year long videos.
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 19:40, Reply)
This is a normal post 4.3 years long*
*adverts not included, they're an unskippable compilation of those adverts you repeatedly skip featuring those where you tap at the screen hoping for a skip button
(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 9:38, Reply)
This is a normal post Anything moving at "c" does not experience time.
The reason the video is not 0s long is that there is an acceleration phase, and the ship never quite reaches "c", and then a deceleration phase.

If you were to PoV a photon's perspective, the journey would be instant.
(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 9:54, Reply)
This is a normal post So if it never quite reaches 'c' then it does experience time

(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 10:59, Reply)
This is a normal post Yes, just slowly from an outside perspective. ie, Time dilation.
From the perspective of the traveller actually doing "c" though, birth to death is instant as long as they are always at "c", regardless of distance travelled, regardless of any outside observed metrics.

Effectively, we always "move" at "c", but in "space-time". At true rest, we move at "c" through time only (theoretical only, we cannot be at rest in reality). As we move in 3D space, we trade from time to space, taking a fraction from "c" in time, to a fraction in 3D space. The two speeds must always add up to "c", so moving through 3D space at "c" makes time=0. This is why "c" is a hard limit, because you can't make time negative.
(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 11:12, Reply)
This is a normal post Fucking nerds.

(, Mon 12 Oct 2026, 6:55, Reply)
This is a normal post :D
ACKCHERLY... The term is "geek". People are ignorant to this, and it's very silly. "Nerds" are the "fandoms" of fictional shit, like Star Trek etc or those little pieces of candy... They know every little detail about that sort of nonsense. Geeks are more technical, engineers and such, and know real things that matter that are often beyond the comprehension of the average Joe.

HTH!
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 10:59, Reply)
This is a normal post Like circus geeks

(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 13:59, Reply)
This is a normal post
Yes, thanks for that Einstein. I was of course ignoring the time dilation for comedic effect.
(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 11:34, Reply)
This is a normal post I'd forgotten 'Smooth move, Einstein!'

(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 14:43, Reply)
This is a normal post 99% of physicists agree
That they're probably wrong. It's the easiest way to still be right all the time.
(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 23:39, Reply)
This is a normal post i think you'd have to define both time and experience to say that statement with certitude
einstein defined time as only relative to local frames of reference, they can only be synchronised relatively between two clocks, and a clock is really just ordinal events, be it microseconds or hours. therefore the photonic excitation of the energy field is an event whose location can be referenced in spacetime relative to measuring events in another location in spacetime (for example, the start of a second on a clock). they all exist in space time, the clock, the photon, the observer. none of them experience time. the observer just deterimines the various events ordinal spacetime position, the observer themselves are merely an ordinal sequence of events. "experience" is just a label for that cascading causal sequence of events emergent from the complexity of evolved brains. one event causes a single synapse to fire reinforcing a calcium potassium ion channel as a causal event in ordinal sequence and we call this "experience". there is no real time, there is no real experience. our brains "experience" the arrow of time as forwards because that's what "experience" is, it's a tautology, what emerges when you run that tape forward on the brain. But you could also say we "experience" time backwards, it's just that when you play the tape backwards "experience" could describe a process where reinforcement triggers a reverse firing of the synapse back to the potential state. Both could describe reality, as could not playing the tape at all. Reality is a tapestry, relative events in space time where past, present and future all exist at once. "experience" and "time" are just labels our brains have made, rather than reality.
the photon doesnt experience time, nor does anything.
(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 12:24, Reply)
This is a normal post ^ Nobody is reading that drivel.

(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 17:59, Reply)
This is a normal post nobody has the time

(, Tue 13 Oct 2026, 22:20, Reply)
This is a normal post Facetime me when you get there

(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 20:28, Reply)
This is a link post Island Hopping
I made a complicated variant of sudoku that nearly broke the current Times cryptic crossword champion. I didn't think it was that that tricky for a former member of the UK's world sudoku championship team, but the number of times he wonders if the puzzle is even possible to finish makes me rethink that assessment.

You can try it yourself here: sudokupad.app/e7kgnmlm76 if you dare. Or just watch Mark having a bad time for over an hour in the video.
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 13:13, Reply)
This is a normal post I don't even understand the rules.
What is the difference between water and island if both are represented by numbers 1-9?
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 14:52, Reply)
This is a normal post
Yeah, if this is your first exposure to weird-rules sudoku then you're being thrown in at the deep end somewhat.

You need to work out where the islands are and how big they are in order to figure out where some of the numbers are - or aren't. For instance, because numbers can't repeat on an island, if you don't know which cells the islands occupy then you can't work out which numbers need to be excluded from them. Also, if you don't know how big the islands are then you can't get the numbers in the circles.

It's knowing that the circled numbers denote the size of the islands, in conjunction with what numbers it's possible to use in the black dot doubling relationships that should give you your first digit in the puzzle. It's really useful to have the colouring option that the app gives you to keep track of water/island cells. Something you can't really do for a pen and paper puzzle.
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 15:21, Reply)
This is a normal post Ah, that makes more sense to me, thanks.

(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 16:40, Reply)
This is a normal post It makes less sense for me
but not to worry, sudoku is not my bag anyway.
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 18:18, Reply)
This is a normal post Very nice
I'm stuck having got the first 9 numbers. Not watched Mark yet though
(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 15:33, Reply)
This is a normal post Thanks
I often find an easy break in can lull you into a false sense of how tough it can be, and it definitely has some tricky bits. Figuring out where to look for the next step can be the most challenging part. It ends up having the more difficult logic on the right of the grid and easier parts on the left.
(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 16:12, Reply)
This is a normal post
Yeah - doesn't help that I'm losing my marbles :-)

If you ever think to write a blog post on how you go about creating these things in general, I'd be fascinated to read it
(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 20:15, Reply)
This is a normal post
Once I have bit more experience I might do that and I'll share it here. This is the first sudoku puzzle I've made though, so I've still got a lot to learn myself.
(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 14:08, Reply)
This is a normal post That was crackin'
Took me the best part of an hour and a half of solving, got properly stuck at the end and had to sleep on it. Woke up, saw the reduction of r6c6 and that was it. Thanks.
(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 7:51, Reply)
This is a normal post
Glad you got there in the end.
I've had the same experience, where taking a break from a puzzle that has become intransigent helps. Coming back to it with fresh eyes and somehow my mind is now ready to see things it refused to before.
(, Sun 11 Oct 2026, 14:16, Reply)
This is a normal post Wow
Ended up watching it all the way through. Fascinating to see his thinking process. Just about held on
(, Mon 12 Oct 2026, 13:19, Reply)
This is a link post A map of all the lighthouses in the world
Quite beautiful, and helpful too.
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 6:34, Reply)
This is a normal post
Lovely
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 10:59, Reply)
This is a normal post It has a few navigation beacons near me
that are showing as rotating-optics, but I was sure they were static...

So now I have to go take a look when it gets dark tonight!
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 12:49, Reply)
This is a normal post Cool, I really hope they are
If I was a sea captain I worry that I'd get so mesmerized by lighthouses I'd run around anyway.
(, Sat 10 Oct 2026, 6:18, Reply)
This is a link post This is going to be HUGE for Netflix.

(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 6:21, Reply)
This is a normal post Sounds like the sort of amoral plan a drunk would concoct

(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 7:38, Reply)
This is a normal post Isn't this something the taliban would do?

(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 8:18, Reply)
This is a normal post The Taliban didn't have half-time shows.

(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 10:32, Reply)
This is a normal post They missed a trick there

(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 10:58, Reply)
This is a normal post
Remember when the only people live streaming executions was fucking ISIS?
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 8:58, Reply)
This is a normal post
Even they didn't have the cheek to monetise it. Which will certainly happen this time. Probably.
I wonder if it will be arranged so that half the squad shoots him in the legs and arms, and then there's a pause for a Tylenol ad before the final act?
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 10:28, Reply)
This is a normal post They'll almost certainly monetise it.
The viewership will be way, way beyond what the White House would have the capacity to self-host, so they'll almost certainly have to rely on a third-party CDN. And that CDN provider will likely need an awful lot of financial incentive to host a public execution.

Even if the stream is limited to the US, you're still talking about 135 Million households potentially signing up for the festivities.
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 10:43, Reply)
This is a normal post My guess is that Elon will let them stream it on on X
and there will be a "remix in Grok" button next to it.
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 23:07, Reply)
This is a normal post Pay per shot?

(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 10:22, Reply)
This is a normal post He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster

(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 10:55, Reply)
This is a normal post Soften everyone up with a wrong 'un no-one can possibly defend
Precedent set.

Next!
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 10:56, Reply)
This is a normal post They should just issue all ICE agents with body-worn cameras and livestream those, job done

(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 10:59, Reply)
This is a normal post Worked for Robespierre until it didn't

(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 11:25, Reply)
This is a normal post Lots of people love this cruelty, so no change here.
Remember, lynching postcards were sold widely in the US.
(, Fri 9 Oct 2026, 17:30, Reply)
This is a link post The Atonal Spangled Banner
Andy Reinheld manages to play along to Martha Reeves.
(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 17:18, Reply)
This is a normal post Owww
Painful on so many levels.
*masochclick*
(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 21:49, Reply)
This is a link post FUNNY NAME CORNER

(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 13:27, Reply)
This is a normal post
His dad smirked all the way through the christening.

Here's another one:-
dawnhardwick.com/about/
(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 13:46, Reply)
This is a normal post See also
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_Kox
(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 14:24, Reply)
This is a normal post looks like the bastard offspring of Stephen Fry and David Mitchell

(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 15:27, Reply)
This is a normal post Cast includes Ben Johnson as...
wait for it

sadly no page in wikipedia but you can search for pages that include the name
(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 21:12, Reply)
This is a normal post We're fucked

(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 11:29, Reply)
This is a normal post SPANG

(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 11:56, Reply)
This is a normal post Tru dat

(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 14:48, Reply)
This is a normal post Bittersweet

(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 13:42, Reply)
This is a normal post GC?
b3ta.com/links/1634308
(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 18:51, Reply)
This is a normal post Dang

(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 19:13, Reply)
This is a link post Extra wide fiesta
This is just silly, but the build is pretty good and the road trip montage is better
(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 8:19, Reply)
This is a normal post This is very silly
but I applaud the commitment.
(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 9:34, Reply)
This is a normal post I like that
they've put far more effort into the fit/finish than is required for the joke
(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 11:04, Reply)
This is a normal post Still more practical than a Jaguar 01.

(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 16:06, Reply)
This is a normal post Haha!

(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 16:16, Reply)
This is a normal post Now do a portrait version

(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 16:52, Reply)
This is a normal post
youtube.com/watch?v=WO6aRHKe7_c
(, Thu 8 Oct 2026, 21:11, Reply)

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