British word of the day
Manky It means: adjective; dirty, filthy or bad and can be used like this: It is manky weather today
Is the US a first world country?
Countries are often compared. Comparisons are made about wealth, about happiness, about healthcare outcomes, and about education outcomes (literacy, for example). Many people rank the United States as a developed country, because it has high rates of wealth and is “industrialized”, but in this article we will look at how the USA ranks in a lot of different areas and let you decide whether it warrants being considered a first world country: Firearm-related death rate US ranks ninth in terms…
What Microsoft should do next
If you follow tech news, you will know that Microsoft have recently announced Windows 11 – the next version of Windows. As well as some cosmetic changes, it will be capable of running Android applications. This is a significant improvement to Windows and is something that I genuinely think is paradigm-shifting. Here’s why. When Windows was first launched it ran “Windows applications”. It ran only on 16 bit architecture – the original IBM compatible hardware with a few upgrades. In…
Obstruction in soccer / football
Football, as it’s called everywhere (soccer only in the USA), has a rule that is a little vague, but I think it’s currently interpreted in a way that makes the game less interesting to watch, have fewer goals, and is, overall, less sporting. Here’s the rule so you can know what I am talking about (from the FA): Impeding the progress of an opponent means moving into the opponent’s path to obstruct, block, slow down or force a change of…
The filibuster
I have to admit, I did not know about the filibuster’s history, nor its actual timing in the bill approval process. This video makes it very clear, and makes it very clear why it has to go:
Eight shows on streaming services you may have missed
Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Nebula, Curiosity Stream, Amazon Prime, Peacock, and many other services are now vying for our money. Once we have parted with our hard-earned cash, though, we rely on word of mouth, algorithms, or just dumb luck to find great shows on the services. So here’s a list of the gems you might have missed on some of the above services: Kim’s Convenience (Netflix) A highly successful Canadian sit-com, it still hasn’t penetrated the zeitgeist, despite being…
The harrowing police perspective
Knowing how your gender limits you
If you are of the belief that men and women have achieved equality, or if you are a man who believes in equality, but does not know how to make it a reality when men continue to earn more than women on average, there is an online webinar which might interest you: Josh Levs “Removing the ‘man-can’t’ myth”.
Dear Christians…
If you believe in the Christian God, it would be evil of you not to evangelize. The alternative is to allow someone you know (and should love) to go to the hell you believe in. But what should you avoid? This article lists some of the things Christians often do, which will always fail to reach the hearts of unbelievers. Trivializing Avoid saying the following: “All you have to do is…” Those of us who do not believe there is…
Ways you didn’t know US English and British English differed
Everyone knows about the differences in British and American English like the spelling of “color” versus “colour”, and the differences between word choices like “closet” versus “wardrobe” even where both the words exist in both languages. But less appreciated are the pronunciation differences of individual words. I thought it would be fun (nerdy fun) to look at the differences phonetically between English English and American English pronunciations, at least in northern New England: Tuna In the UK this is pronounced…