nostr:npub1qy53t5xgt2vl99rwss9uhenll6d79va6xw9hclfgw0m7e2lkf3eq2cqq3x I should have answered that Q for the New Management books. (Rupert!)

nostr:npub18v84hurwd535g5hle4e5xtw768zvrulsh8at3a54w6wj8fqpnvcq788klv

How much security do you need on a PDP-11/70 with wired terminals and at best 9600-baud modem dialup for store-and-forward email (no MIME attachments, they hadn't been invented)?

Put it in a server room with a lock on the door. Nobody does e-commerce on it because the web hasn't been invented yet, and neither have EPOS terminals and online card payments.

Etc.

It's ludicrously low jeopardy by modern standards.

On consideration, I generally go with vast impersonal forces or alien gods as antagonists, rather than individuals.

Writing Wonders Day 8/31. Has your MC or antagonist ever approved of something the other’s done?

MCs: are horrified to discover the antagonist exists, for good reason

Antagonist: if he was aware of the existence of the MCs' species he'd launch a genocidal crusade to exterminate them (and it wouldn't be his first genocide)

nostr:npub1zl93dtqgvm78n7gqsse3tncf3x958p9dnyxr036y3qqsy0c7gq3swg76w7 Ask the US Marine Corps about that: they might disagree, as would their Russian and Turkish opposite numbers. And British, for that matter. Turns out amphibious infantry are *really* into hovercraft rather than old-skool landing craft (they're fast, and unlike helicopters they can carry tanks and other heavy logistical loads).

nostr:npub17dulf2876chvuykq3kl967x3dvrgsxm7mexku98dryrx5hqvkjesu4y5k7 nostr:npub1asa7zhxq92arr7z3dqywvsh0ur24a9k6qmkg2zcthe0wshyu9pvsren9sr nostr:npub1ftjsgdps5txpgrgc9f3rfp98753e4kagdn9a7nt45j8sq52nh95qv6v3qt nostr:npub1rhr0y4vaqskyq2qejhquzq90yr586hf948m3cgxd7pcqamg4l8cqwpgh5p You're telling me North Korea doesn't import *anything*? Even from China? (It may be a hermit kingdom but it does have borders with other countries! And a history of kidnapping people overseas if the regime thinks they can be useful to it.)

6.8 miles further along the road there's a naked Barbie nailed to a mailbox ...

nostr:npub17payfvm86a5eulff9mhw4hm0aemvprufa7dk3dnv9d69p4qvwuhqduepmr Semi-fixed. We're back in the flat and he'll be back with a new lock later.

nostr:npub1agydwjy4csp5mur58ry04gzwgfh3lxceycftd98h482etnaz469ssmld3n nostr:npub1jvn4k2u849va6ehrnaaqvg78he60hcc7zkt4un6w77qjkrcmnndsk3uj7g The cylinder didn't break; the tail linking it to the deadbolt, however ...

nostr:npub1h55q4u52v7ysfvxdtxngya9chpgtx0ru3hxq0w7hwnknxqqtkhzqz9jfjp nostr:npub1f0c0f6zpke00he4ue6cvxz5flnuf0pzv3mqc3l6jyej9pxnn2casmsysfk nostr:npub1wzpq6sdh78urqlk4gkdyjdhwdq3kahkzqkp5hw6n04hazs69qvequ0mlk6 nostr:npub1w83sdzs0y9vnvpfy6222vdmqgpkvhq69x6nk620wyxuuzzlar0js4yget0 I grew up Jewish in Leeds in the 70s. I have No Time for the fash.

nostr:npub17aqgyjm4p8z9r42mpwkt45qln7sh4hr65z2gzwahgjtchr7vmsms8g3dh0 If I was flying next week I'd be a lot more worried about the crowds of COVID carriers, and the sick staff who can't afford to take time off while they're coughing out the virus everywhere.

(Pressurized airplane air conditioning with frequent air changes means they're about the safest densely-seated indoor space, but the terminal buildings and long ground-side queues are another matter.)

nostr:npub17aqgyjm4p8z9r42mpwkt45qln7sh4hr65z2gzwahgjtchr7vmsms8g3dh0 It would be, ahem, *helpful* to have some idea how many pilots there are in total! But I know there are on the order of 50-100,000 commercial flights per day world-wide, and the USA accounts for a substantial proportion of them, and also has a large general (light/private) aviation sector, and commercial airlines are supposed to require regular physicals and in any case airliners always have two or more pilots, so ...

nostr:npub1ednpdwaxfmp38ufqywa5ufm9hvuckcsmqavtel0kkzcccrffsdrs55zme6 nostr:npub14hshg4ehuv9t8g9v0dzhakz8n5cplzappzfdyxyj7f7wq04f57kq2maxed nostr:npub1kz50lamc40hwh335xzjhex9lmae60cw2thnjw4wpdz99lhxf9j4qetr9ke (a) Labour is trying desperately not to offend the right wing press barons, and (b) they internalized the gamesmanship approach to FPTP—they just need to win (or not lose) in about 30 key 2-way or 3-way marginals, no other voters matter; and (c) once they're in power they aren't bound by previous promises (they learned this from the Tories). It's really quite worrying, both main parties seem to have given up on ruling by consent of the majority.

According to Pizzagate conspiracy theorists, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Pizza Hut boxes are encouraging Satanic ritual abuse | Boing Boing

Reminder: "Satanic ritual abuse" plus Pizza (flatbread) is simply the age-old anti-semitic Blood Libel wearing a Scooby-Doo mask.

It's racism pure and simple, and the traditional anti-semitic excuse for a pogrom. https://boingboing.net/2023/08/27/according-to-pizzagate-conspiracy-theorists-the-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-on-pizza-hut-boxes-are-encouraging-satanic-ritual-abuse.html

nostr:npub1myktqekzcsfqlu0w4se9s54tuxx5lz0fxadkszp4t08f5g6836eqp4epvt UK copyright runs for 70 years post mortem. In Spain and IIRC South Africa it's 90 years. So, still effectively in copyright until 2033-2053.

nostr:npub142z8l93hu6a05ageus24rfe7d6u43rekrel6uaq5xcad6xfl3zls4nfvvc I've seen examples in a museum display on the history of maize: they're not commonly sold, any more than purple and green carrots or pink knobbly potatoes.

Ahem!

LAST DAY! SEASON OF SKULLS is still only US $2.99 in ebook stores in North America! But it's going back up again on Monday: https://www.amazon.com/Season-Skulls-Novel-World-Laundry-ebook/dp/B0B9KWWHPV

nostr:npub1etqyxmlm8agqa6029xyjg8p5znxp3xl0h6fdjp63rhnx2tvxtpmsru2htj Sure! Would you prefer me to do that on MS-DOS or VAX/VMS?

Here's ChatGPT masterfully channeling the spirit of the Bastard Operator From Hell: