asides Blog

One line thoughts of the day.

What has the Kepler Space Telescope found around the mysterious star between Cygnus and Lyra? Are the objects orbiting the star some previously unknown natural phenomenon, or are they really, as some have suggested, massive structures built by an alien civilisation?

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Tim Hall | Comments Off

The world would be a far better place if we were all more willing to unfollow those who unthinkingly reshare every viral outrage of the day on social media, but never bother to post corrections when the stories they’ve been signal-boosting turn out to be completely bogus. One major SF author and a well-known game designer are currently on Yellow Cards over this….

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Tim Hall | 2 Comments

One of many things that really needs to happen: A prog-rock concept album about Roko’s Basilisk. Prog bands (any of you): you know you want to!

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Tim Hall | Comments Off

The water on is actually the ‘tears of a lonely robot’, NASA confirms. Is this John Mitchell‘s doing?

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Tim Hall | Comments Off

After reading Michael Hann’s wnderfuly snarky review of Morrissey’s List of the Lost, I’m now wondering if the world of books needs its revenge. What bitter misanthropic has-been author with an oversized ego ought to make a record? How about a hair-metal album by John C. Wright?

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Tim Hall | Comments Off

The news that the VW scandal caused nearly 1m tonnes of extra pollution raises some serious ethical issues for the software industry. It’s hard to imagine that people coded and tested this functionality without understanding what they were doing was illegal.

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Tim Hall | 3 Comments

In a week’s time I’m seeing Johnny Rotten in a small club in Reading, then two days later I’m seeing Steven Wilson at the Albert Hall. Who won the punk wars again?

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Tim Hall | 2 Comments

One of the big divides in music fandom is between those for whom the most imporant thing is the music itself, and those for whom the music takes second place to the lyrics. A good litmus test for which side of the divide anyone falls is who they prefer out of Bruce Springsteen and Led Zeppelin.

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Tim Hall | 4 Comments

They say you can never judge a book by its cover. But I think we can make an exception for The Battle of Britain by James R. Cannon. “English historian” my arse. When it comes to self-published ebooks, the downside of no gatekeepers is no quality control either.

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Tim Hall | Comments Off

Got to love this accidentally-hiliarious “Where are they now” feature on the NME’s indie darlings from ten years ago.  As for the first one, if being a software developer is really more creative and exciting than rock’n'roll, it does rather suggest your failed indie band were a bit rubbish.

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Tim Hall | 2 Comments