Post tagged: humour

Transmorphing Killer Robot Movie

Coming to a screen near you

Scene: a suburban back yard. A giant alien ROBOT is crouched hiding behind the house, talking to a teenage BOY.

BOY: Mr Robot, now that you’re on Earth, how will you hide from your evil robot enemies? And the military, who would like to dismantle and study you? While …

Spanish soap opera

Is this a telenovela?

I'm learning Spanish at the moment and the example sentences seem to be trying to tell a story:

  • Robert works at three factories.
  • Working in an office is fun.
  • No, I do not live with my girlfriend. My girlfriend lives in China.
  • The library has three books.
  • This man is …

Marvel Comics' "Everyone Else"

A modest proposal.

Dateline, New York: In a surprise press conference today, Marvel Comics has revealed its TV lineup for new season, consisting of over 500 new shows and comic book tie-ins. Said a spokesperson for the company, "We were wondering how to work in Tigra, whether she should join 'Inhumans' or make …

Making a new package ecosystem

  • People complain the old package management system doesn’t work and/or is too complex. A solution is needed.
  • Pick a strange and inappropriate common word for the name of your new system. It should have nothing to do with the actual function or workings of your tool. “Groundhog”? “Frigate …

Agapow's paradox

My bid for fame.

Of course, everyone wants to have a phenomena or syndrome or disease named after them. So that's why I'm staking my claim on Agapow's Paradox:

Anyone who boasts of their people skills, actually has terrible people skills.

(Thanks to Graham Thompson for the name.)

PM for PM

If Trump can do it, why not me?

Since it's the season for unqualified blowhards running for office, I've decided to throw my hat into the ring and nominate myself for Australian Prime Minister.

My platform is simple:

  1. I'm not an unmitigated misogynistic paleo-asshole
  2. The national anthem shall be changed to "Throw Your Arms Around Me", and will …

Words a bioinformatician never wants to hear

Based on hard-won experience.

(This first appeared on biocodershub.net courtesy of Rad, and has since popped up on coderscrowd.com. It enjoyed some moments of viral popularity, with many aggrieved practitioners chipping in on the comments of the article. Following the resurrection of my website, it's a good opportunity to bring this piece …

Philosophical considerations in manuscript preparation

Thought experiments and musings.

Xeno's paradox of manuscript completeness

No matter how many drafts you go through, the number of helpful suggestions make by your co-authors will approach but never quite reach zero.

Plato's allegory of collaborators and the cave wall

Distinguished or influential co-authors have a tendency to invite, introduce or insist upon …

As I was watching Game of Thrones

Notes made while binging through seasons 2 & 3.

Uh, who are these beardy dudes standing on a beach? I have a feeling I'm going to be asking this sort of question a lot ...


The GRRM writing flowchart:

Is there incest?

No: MOAR INCEST

Yes: (narrows eyes) Hurrrr ...


The quintessential GoT moment: a sex scene cuts to another sex …

Star Wars names

Demonstrating that the magic truly has left George Lucas.

How can you take seriously a movie featuring a character called "Pash Cracken"? It sounds like something produced by an Australian slang generator. These are all genuine names from the Star Wars movies, harvested from the IMDB or the Star Wars Name Databank:

  • Aks Moe
  • Ask Aak
  • Bultar Swan
  • Captain …

Generic Fan Complaint

Following fan outcry about film adaptations, only slightly dated

Upset about the Lord of the Rings? Angry about Hitchhikers? Sassy about about Sahara or exercised by X-men? To save time in future, please fill out this form first:

GFC/97X - GENERIC FAN COMPLAINT

I've just come back from seeing the long-awaited adaptation of the classic _____. It was terrible …

Talk Queenslandish in one easy lesson

A brief guide to the curious linguistics of north-eastern Australia.

I had the dubious pleasure of growing up in Queensland, a sun-soaked and slightly backwards part of Australia., second only to South Australia for its obscurity [1]. However, over the years I've come to remember Queensland speech with some affection, a dialect in which it is possible to have an …

Starship Troopers: a review

A review.

(Way back when, I used to do a lot of SF/F reviews as part of the Postviews site. Eventually Postviews will be incorporated into this site, but until then this star of the series can find a home here.)

I couldn't wait for that smarmy little brunette to die …