AL

@exQUIZitely I just wish they'd called the version of 'Not As Complicated As It Looks' without blockers 'As Complicated As It Looks'

Lemmings turned 35 this year (a few days ago)... Not just one of the most unique games ever, but also one of the best. When Lemmings hit the market in February 1991, it felt like a completely new concept - something never done before. At least I don’t remember any game that came even remotely close. On top of that, it had an incredibly gorgeous style, beautiful graphics, the cutest animated pixel characters, and one of gaming history’s most recognizable soundtracks. I remember one review giving it a 99% rating with the comment that “we need to leave the 1% off so there’s room for something better - if it ever comes” (paraphrased). In all the years since, you’d have a hard time finding a more unique concept that’s also so very playable. The early levels are super easy, basically a walk in the park, gently introducing the idea and controls. But once you reach the later levels, boy, does it get tough. It never felt unfair, though - the key was smart usage and timing of the different Lemming types. That’s why the game was also great with friends: you’d sit around the screen and try to figure out the best strategy together. Lemmings became one of the most sold games ever on the Amiga. Deservedly so. This game is timeless and 99% perfection.

@EdConwaySky @Waterstones @peterfrankopan @RachelReevesMP @matthewsyed @adamboultonTABB @Itwitius @markmiodownik @lewis_dartnell @DianeCoyle1859 @krogoff Congratulations, am really enjoying it.

I have some (for me) terrifically exciting news. Actually TWO bits of exciting news. 1. Material World is out in paperback TODAY. All good bookshops etc. Speaking of which: 2. It's @Waterstones non-fiction book of the month! I'll be popping by a few branches later. Say hello!

@fotofacade @EJBrand Thrilled whenever I see an old wall with an even older wall embedded in it, but this is off the scale.

A ghost gable caught like a fly in amber at Wirksworth in Derbyshire #throwbackthursday

@thisisyogic I wonder if 300 years back somone cursing their loss took solace in imagining someone might find it and think back to them centuries hence. Perhaps not, but what a find!

This morning, mudlarking in blazing sunshine, I came across this beautiful old signet ring, decorated with crude lines and set with three faceted blue stones. All my instincts are saying Georgian, making it two or three hundred years old. What a find from the Thames foreshore!

@hansmollman Crumbly concrete? Oh we used to dream of crumbly concrete. Our's was made from cake and every time it rained we had to redo the icing with a trowel.

Why would you even invent a crumbly concrete

@adymitruk @jetbrains @cursor_ai Wonder if competition from AI tools will push Jetbrains into closer partnership with Google.

What's the best @jetbrains AI coding assistant? I need something as good as @cursor_ai. Jetbrains IDEs are awesome. Every time I'm in VSCode i'm missing so many things i'm used to.

@Pickpricklypear @BarristerSecret Because it means no practical change to the current situation: "Powers already exist to compel attendance and to increase sentences for refusal, as criminals can be held in contempt of court, and existing guidelines also allow the use of reasonable force." - BBC article.

Woke gesture politics

@BarristerSecret We would all be in a better place if media put their paragraph ten above the fold: "Powers already exist to compel attendance and to increase sentences for refusal, as criminals can be held in contempt of court, and existing guidelines also allow the use of reasonable force."

TLDR: Most defendants attend sentence without complaint. Those who refuse tend to be those with nothing to lose, who are unlikely to be deterred by 2 years added to a life sentence, and who, if forced to attend, may well disrupt proceedings causing upset to victims and families.

@britishmuseum Are you crowd-sourcing verification of a possible recovery?

Just one of these works was created by the Renaissance painter Titian – but can you tell which one? 🖼 Let us know if you work it out – and then come back to check your answer in five hours ⏳ 🖌 Titian died #OnThisDay in 1576.

@britcultarchive Size of that Cornetto

Hyde Park Flats, Sheffield, 1988. Photo © Bill Stephenson, all rights reserved.

@aptshadow I enjoy the fleeting thrill of crashing through abstractions as I hold the power button down.

Microsoft Policy meeting some years ago: Executive 1: Yes, but what do our users *really* want? Executive 2: Wait, I have it. They want the process of shutting down their computers to involve as many needless steps and button clicks as possible. Executive 1: Genius!

@PARLYapp Do any capacities other than minister and commissioner exist in which a member might be called on to answer an urgent question?

Unusually today we have a UQ today that won’t be answered by a minister at the despatch box but by a backbench MP representing the Church of England commissioners.

@GrimArtGroup What's the small alcove in the wall for, apart from storing the lone brick?

Battersea Power Station, 1958 by Wolfgang Suschitsky (1912-2016)

@gregyoung Aha, I will stick with the sentiment if not the wording.

@AlecMLyons Are you just trying to get a de beers reference in here? :-D

This is probably the hardest text I have written but IT IS NEEDED. Happy for arguments for/against and discussions around details.

@JonnElledge Not sure if "nobody important? that's amazing" or "halfway out of the dark" is the better line.

1. A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2010) *Obviously* the best one. The flying fish. The shark pulling a sleigh. The frozen people. Michael Gambon. The Doctor disappearing and appearing in the video Kazran's watching.

Might do an official and objective ranking of the Doctor Who Christmas specials later, just to set everyone right

@hansmollman Ever reliable gastronomydomine.com/2008/07/24/bos…

can’t wait to drink the cursed ham mulled cola

We’re all making coke ham this weekend right

@MichaelRosenYes Porridge for breakfast (with yoghurt which is a culture of food itself), stinky Epoisses for lunch, and Ojakhuri for dinner.

How many different cultures of food have you managed to consume today? I had a chunk of panettone for breakfast, some Greek feta salad later and a potato latke with apple sauce this evening.

@RishiSunak I can't see the Americans saying much about this.

Standing up to Putin, together 🇬🇧🤝🇺🇸

@Dymvue @hugorifkind @ClarkeMicah suggested something similar where candidates and electors must meet various constraints, I think. Personally I'd prefer frequent opportunities to democratically eject appointed elites than democratically install longevous ones.

On the indefensible House of Lords. thetimes.co.uk/article/8ae8b9…