Supergrunch

Personally I told everyone who said they weren't intending to vote to go and spoil their ballot instead. It's a nice way of protesting, it doesn't put you in the group of people who didn't vote (as far as I know), and it's kind of funny. Of course actually voting is better...

I agree, he really should have got in. Did you see how close it was? 23,906 for the Conservative candidate (Nicola Blackwood) to 23,730 for him. There's one MP who understood science (and libel reform) down the drain...

Partly just through being sick of Labour, but partly because I think a more balanced Tory party with the Lib Dems calling some of the shots (and hopefully pushing things like electoral reform) might be a good thing. It'll mean re-examination of policies, without anything swinging too far one way, and might end up being line with my views (right on things like education, left on public funding and immigration). Plus it's what I predicted the outcome of the election would be a few weeks ago, so it'd be nice to be proven right.

Labour + Lib Dem coalition = no thanks. Labour minority = really no thanks. Conservative minority = no thanks. Conservative + Lib Dem coalition = yes please. This is quite fun, although disappointing in terms of the Lib Dems. Oh well, at least they got the (safe) seat in my constituency.

This details it all nicely, and updates without requiring a refresh.

By law Labour had to call an election around now, they left it about as late as they could. It's not in their interest to do so, as they'll probably lose.

Even if you are sufficiently misanthropic to think that all politicians are solely out for themselves, it doesn't mean that there aren't differences in policies between the parties. To take a random example, the Conservatives intend to ring-fence funding for the NHS, whereas Labour and Lib Dem do not. While it may seem minor, it is a genuine difference, and the choice of government will affect a huge number of factors like this. And occasionally, votes can alter major issues - how can you argue that the 1975 EU referendum didn't have major consequences? Just because you only ever see the outcome that takes place doesn't mean that the alternatives wouldn't be any different. Oh, and I voted Lib Dem.

I've stood under that giant robot's crotch too.

The concept of creating a fantasy world that just happens to use exactly the same measurements as us, but then assigns them all different values so descriptions sound more "cool" but are actually unintelligible to anyone from the real world just strikes me as... stupid. I think people are putting far too much thought in.

Pratchett hit the nail on the head in my opinion, but that's what makes Doctor who awesome, and I get the impression that's how the comments were meant to be interpeted. It's what I was getting at when I said: As in, now it's embracing the fact that it revolves around deus ex machina, rather than pretending it doesn't.

Fair enough, my previous post was based on my knowledge of both games at about age 12. Which isn't to say I no longer think MtG is awesome.

Pokémon TCG is largely just a watered down version of MtG (both are made by Wizards of the Coast), and I much prefer the latter. MtG is the only trading card I've come across where the gameplay is good enough to make a worthwhile strategic experience that doesn't rely on the draw producing cards with known characters on. While there is a MtG story, it's very much secondary to the game itself rather than the other way round. I've never tried Magic Workstation, might give it a go after my exams.

I actually only wear jeans/suit trousers, so I win there. I look awful in shorts but if forced to wear them I'd probably augment them with (sockless) sandals or something. Or just normal socks. Note that I never actually pull them up properly, just let them scrumble around the ankle.

Bleh, I'd never be able to wear anything with shoes apart from real socks. And trainer socks are just wrong in general.

Chorizo and roasted pepper tortilla/frittata thing topped with cheddar and balsamic glaze: For some reason these always come out blurred...

I'm in the Shorty/Serebii camp. I found the first couple of episodes of the current season a little dodgy, but now it's starting to work well, and is a refreshing break from the the RTD hegemony. Instead of pretending to be a serious epic with a consistent canon, the show is now taking delight in its own silliness, and also seems to conform much more with what little I've seen of the show pre-revival. Thank God it's not taking itself so seriously any more. Also: The doctor being something of a dick is great. Also also: He needs to be awesome a little more however. Also also also: Lol at comparing Doctor Who to BSG.

A sandwhat? Sorry that was irresistible. [noparse]:p[/noparse]

Yeah, I had to turn on subtitles, although I was using crappy laptop speakers.

My dad's taking the next day off work so he can stay up all night watching the results come out.

Hired, of course.

I use my dad's, but it's too short and fat for me. I eventually had to buy new trousers (£20 from M&S) because they kept falling down.

What people commonly refer to as suits are lounge suits; this is quite a broad category, but usually consists of a jacket and trousers made from the same material, a plain suit with a simple collar, and a normal tie. They're normally single breasted, but double breasted is possible too, and in my experience the lapels tend to be notched. The whole thing can be added to with a waistcoat (same material as the suit) or cummerbund (different material). Black tie, known as a tux(edo) some of the time (especially in America) is the next level of formality, and consists of a matching jacket with silk-faced peaked lapels and trousers with satin bands covering the seams (two bands in America, normally one in England). Once again the jacket can be single- or double-breasted. The shirt is also more formal, known as a dress shirt, and has french cuffs which need to be folded over and fastened with cufflinks, and a cotton pique fronting (basically a load of frilly bits). The shirt may be fastened with silver studs rather than buttons. The collar can be either turndown or wing, although wing seems increasingly common. Technically a wing collar should only be used if it's detachable and affixed with studs, but people don't seem to worry about this these days. You wear all this with a black bow-tie, hence the name of the dress style. Cummerbunds and waistcoats can be added if you're wearing a single breasted suit, but this is less common I think. The next-step up is white tie, which is the most formal level of civilian dress in the UK, and it's awesome, although I've only got the time to post a picture: I had a ball where the above was compulsory. Anyway, in answer to your question, I think you should definitely go in black tie, as that's the standard for balls. Plus in my opinion it looks nicer than suits.

I have decided that the problem with modern games is that technological (and graphical) advances outstrip creative advances, meaning an awful lot of stuff out there is just shit that looks very pretty. And the prohibitive costs required to make games up to the expected standard means that almost everything ends up homogeneous and unimaginative, as that's where the money is. [/obvious and irrelevant rant] So today I did revision, and continue to do so. Oh well, these may be my last ever exams.

Eugenics isn't a great idea even from a biological perspective, as it just shrinks the gene pool, ending up increasing the possibility of birth defects and so on. And of course these days it's pretty hard to justify from a moral perspective.

I just say I'm going to meet internet people, and nobody seems to want to enquire any further.