Rod McLaughlin

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old articles


You can't make it up CXIII - Beckett play 'Happy Days' is about gender, race, and... climate change       23 feb 21

Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days is turning 60. Its image of a trapped woman is as potent as ever. - Guardian. 



You can't make it up CXII - how the rich use climate change to divide us       22 feb 21

Texas freeze shows a chilling truth – how the rich use climate change to divide us. This doesn't include the people who wrote and published this article.



Trouble with a credit card buying the music of Henry Cow       17 feb 21
I am very grateful to mp3va.com. I can't find much of the avant-garde seventies jazz-rock band Henry Cow on spotify.com, but I found their complete works on mp3va. A good deal for 20. But it cost me a lot more than that. Looking at... read more

You can't make it up CXI - increasingly cold winters in the USA caused by global warming       17 feb 21
"Some also blame the polar vortex, a weather pattern that usually keeps to the Arctic, but is increasingly visiting lower latitudes and staying beyond its welcome. Scientists say global warming caused by humans could be partly responsible... read more

Software Development by Random Guesswork       14 feb 21
Using the software development method known as 'random guesswork', I changed a regex, putting the underscore before the dash, instead of the other way round, and found I could correctly turn URLs with dashes after the domain, AND with... read more

An impressive customer review of the book "German Atrocities 1914: A History of Denial"       08 feb 21
I was trying to figure out how much truth there is in claims of German atrocities at the outset of WWI, when I came across this book, and a customer review which really puts them in context, explaining how soldiers nearly always commit war... read more

Another warming period bites the dust       28 jan 21
It's disputed who, if, any said Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change disappeared this temperature bump from their graphs. If Chaucer's time was warmer than now, it's more difficult, but not impossible, to argue that driving SUVs... read more

When you have a large piece of text you need dividing into chunks of size N       22 jan 21

Unfortunately, I really have to write this in Javascript - the Elixir program just receives the chunks, sent by Ajax from Javascript

 



The best critique of Civilisation yet       20 jan 21


Happy Holidays from Ruby       27 dec 20
Seven-and-a-half years ago, I made the funny comment "Ruby Two's Day" http://rodmclaughlin.com/ruby-two-s-day Christmas Day 2020 was Ruby Three's Day https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2020/12/25/ruby-3-0-0-released/ I'm going to check... read more

How to kill Atom on a Mac       27 dec 20
Geyikbayırı       09 nov 20
Yukseller Otel, Cavdir       25 oct 20
Ephesus       20 oct 20
You can't make it up CX - pot, kettle, black       18 oct 20
Plane to Istanbul - boat to Bandirma - bike to Balikesir - bus to Izmir       13 oct 20
You can't make it up CVIIII - fires caused by white Christian supremacy       05 oct 20
You can't make it up CVIII - "Covid-19 lockdown will have 'negligible' impact on climate crisis"       08 aug 20
I didn't set off for a bike tour at all       07 aug 20
At Reykjavik campsite       05 aug 20
Reykjavik after an overnight flight       03 aug 20
Greenwich mean time has shifted to Iceland       01 aug 20
You can't make it up CVII - woman won't have children because climate change       09 jul 20
You can't make it up CVI - the Guardian forgets what it blamed the fire in Paradise CA on       16 jun 20
You can't make it up CV - 'when is the next ice age due?'       18 may 20
How to get rid of a virus in Google Chrome       15 may 20
I finally found the bike route from Joshua Tree CA to Las Vegas NV       27 jan 20
You can't make it up CIV - climate change is more important than nuclear weapons       07 jan 20
"You go back, Jack, do it again": Yucca Valley for the new year       02 jan 20
You can't make it up CIII - warmest December in Moscow since 1886       29 dec 19
Back in the Tower District of Fresno       21 dec 19
You can't make it up CII - "Few media pundits could tell Karl Popper from Mary Poppins": Clive James       12 dec 19
The four horsemen of the software apocalypse - Docker, AWS, Node and React       18 nov 19
You can't make it up CI - Irish prime minister sees benefits in global warming       05 nov 19
You can't make it up C - I came out here because we’re all going to die soon if we don’t!       21 sep 19
You can't make it up XCXXXX - when you realise you haven't used a valid Roman numeral since XCIX       14 aug 19
How to get rid of all those pesky hashrockets =>       09 aug 19
Guess what happened to my comment in the Guardian explaining why free speech is not just for bigots       23 jun 19
You can't make it up XCXXXIX - Peter Ridd compares universities with the excuses for Allied bombing       22 jun 19
You can't make it up XCXXXVIII - a victory for sceptical science       18 apr 19
You can't make it up XCXXXVII - suicide to protest climate change       18 apr 19
You can't make it up XCXXXVI - warming is not all bad       05 apr 19
You can't make it up XCXXXV - Greenpeace vs. one of its founders       05 apr 19
Farewell Scott Walker       31 mar 19
You can't make it up XCXXXIV - climate change guru accuses Trump of Stalinism       21 mar 19
You can't make it up XCXXXIII - you'll never meet a fascist who cares about climate change       21 mar 19
You can't make it up XCXXXII - an old but good quote from a climate scientist       06 mar 19
Spring is here, O Spring is here...       06 feb 19
You can't make it up XCXXXI - heat is climate, cold is just weather       31 jan 19
Is this the most retarded email from a recruiter ever?       28 jan 19
I got back on my bike - and I began to pray...       04 jan 19
RESTful Java is anything but       03 jan 19
Jobs       02 jan 19
You can't make it up XCXXX - the "depravity" of global warming sceptics       31 dec 18
Germany was the least connected place I'd been       27 dec 18
You can't make it up XCXXVIIII - the first revolt against the global warming establishment       11 dec 18
You can't make it up XCXXVIII - "we are on a trajectory similar to the Permian"       07 dec 18
You can't make it up XCXXVII - a leading questionnaire on global warming       29 nov 18
You can't make it up XCXXVI - a clear example of a climate change warrior against freedom       16 nov 18
You can't make it up XCXXV - global warming causes mass immigration       07 nov 18
You can't make it up XCXXIV - global warming is particularly bad in US national parks       27 sep 18
Riddle: I just bought food cheap in Iceland, because food is so expensive in Iceland       13 aug 18
Even the boat from Hook of Holland is nice       05 aug 18
A bike crash - I'm unhurt, but the back wheel is twisted       02 aug 18
Dutch people are incredibly nice       26 jul 18
You can't make it up XCXXIII - "new feminist fight against climate change"       25 jul 18
Sure enough, I saw the Croatia game, and we lost       23 jul 18
If I keep missing the matches, will England keep winning?       06 jul 18
More about Denmark       04 jul 18
I don't know why it's called Bad Barmstedt - it's actually quite good       30 jun 18
Back in the GDR       21 jun 18
You can't make it up XCXXII - Grenfell tragedy may have been partly caused by "carbon reduction"       21 jun 18
Linkedin is as retarded as ever       08 jun 18
Vietnam is more connected than Vienna       02 jun 18
Camping at Neue Donau after a huge meal       01 jun 18
Attempting to camp in Austria       30 may 18
You thought you'd escaped from the Maven Java dependency tool...       17 may 18
You can't make it up XCXXI - a story which puts current climate change in perspective       07 may 18
The fall of Da Nang in 1975 was like the evacuation of Toulon in 1793       30 apr 18
Vung Tau       22 apr 18
The War Remnants Museum       17 apr 18
Ho Chi Minh City       15 apr 18
Last day in Dalat       10 apr 18
Dalat after four days       09 apr 18
Buon Ma Thuot to Dalat       05 apr 18
Phu Tuc to Buon Ma Thuot       31 mar 18
E254: Cannot allocate color error in vim       29 mar 18
Pleiku to Phu Tuc and some real barbecued duck       28 mar 18
To Pleiku over the Mang Yang pass       25 mar 18
Phu Cat to An Khe       23 mar 18
From Quang Ngai to Binh Dinh       20 mar 18
Son My (My Lai)       15 mar 18
Da Nang and Hoi Na       12 mar 18
Hue day two       10 mar 18
In which he continues his exploration of Vietnam       09 mar 18
You can't make it up XCXX - evolution takes millions of years       02 mar 18
You can't make it up XCXIX - first commercial tanker crosses arctic sea route in winter       13 feb 18
You can't make it up XCXVIII - a climate change contradiction in a software talk       09 feb 18
John Perry Barlow       08 feb 18
You can't make it up XCXVII - Alaska is warming - and that's a bad thing       01 feb 18
Yee-haw!       17 jan 18
The joy of bitcoind       16 jan 18
Installing Ubuntu Linux on an old Mac Air       10 jan 18
You can't make it up XCXVI - the Guardian is back on form with the headline of the year       23 dec 17
You can't make it up XCXV - the Guardian has a reasonable article       09 dec 17
You can't make it up XCXIV - if the warming don't get you, the acid will       27 nov 17
You can't make it up XCXIII - climate change is responsible for child brides in South Asia       27 nov 17
London mayor Sadiq Khan bans Uber       22 sep 17
You can't make it up XCXII - if you think Nazis are bad, try being a climate skeptic in the Bay Area       14 sep 17
Avoid Sriphat Medical Center in Chiang Mai       12 sep 17
You can't make it up XCXI - Jennifer Lawrence and the hurricanes       11 sep 17
You can't make it up XCX - global warming adds to Afghanistan's woes       28 aug 17
You can't make it up XCIX - volcanoes cause Antarctic ice to melt       13 aug 17
And yet another reason...       11 jul 17
Another reason to support Uber       28 jun 17
Uber Über Alles       20 jun 17
You can't make it up XCVIII - global warming study postponed because of ice       14 jun 17
Nepal       17 may 17
You can't make it up XCVII - the March for Science - the corruption of science by the left wing       23 apr 17
You can't make it up XCVI - a scientific measure of sea level rise: "worrisome"       14 apr 17
You can't make it up XCV - the Guardian insults the intelligence of the global warming movement       31 mar 17
You can't make it up XCIV - global warming helped cause Brexit       25 mar 17
You can't make it up XCIII - ocean warming is accelerating - advanced computer models       14 mar 17
You can't make it up XCII - global warming explains heat, cold, drought, floods...       19 feb 17
You can't make it up XCI - climatologist compares scepticism to Soviet pseudo-science       06 feb 17
You can't make it up XC - the global warming shell game in a nutshell       20 dec 16
Phoenix Life Assurance company nightmare       08 dec 16
Remember when MySql for Rails on Mac was easier than PostgreSQL?       02 dec 16
You can't make it up LXXXIX - U.S. Puts Climate Denier in office, Climate Change Action In Limbo       13 nov 16
Three strikes       10 nov 16
Nationalism isn't the main cause of war today       16 oct 16
You can't make it up LXXXVIII - climate change affects people differently based on ‘gender identity’       04 oct 16
You can't make it up LXXXVII - another comment not deleted in the Guardian       04 oct 16
Another funny example of an online ad involving Muslims       01 sep 16
The Guardian shows its true colours       03 jul 16
My favourite picture from Britain's EU referendum       24 jun 16
A comment NOT deleted in the Guardian       25 may 16
A mistaken advert on Youtube       09 may 16
Climbing at Ton Sai       22 apr 16
Me on Huayna Potosi in Bolivia and some locals       22 apr 16
The refutation of morality       19 apr 16
You can't make it up LXXXVI - DOJ has discussed prosecuting "climate change deniers"       13 mar 16
You can't make it up LXXXV - magazine publishes hoax "feminist glaciology" paper       06 mar 16
You can't make it up LXXXIV - climatologists clarify catastrophe deferment       01 mar 16
Elvis Costello's Puns       20 feb 16
Brexit       20 feb 16
The best article about conspiracy pseudo-theories I've ever read       16 feb 16
You can't make it up LXXXIII - Counterpunch gives in to groupthink       04 feb 16
How to install the Phoenix framework       29 jan 16
No wonder the Middle East is such a mess       07 jan 16
You can't make it up LXXXII - extreme weather events and WMDs       28 dec 15
Climbing at Crazy Horse Buttress near Chiang Mai       19 dec 15
Hanoi-Chiang Mai - 3000 kilometres without a flat tyre       13 dec 15
The Guardian's worst act of censorship yet       08 dec 15
A month without the internet       02 dec 15
Lies about Vietnam       02 dec 15
The Vinh Moc tunnels and a US Navy recruiting slogan       05 nov 15
Phong Nha       30 oct 15
Thanh Hoa to Ky Lien via Vinh and Ha Tinh       26 oct 15
Quan Hoa to Thanh Hoa       23 oct 15
Mai Chau to Quan Hoa       21 oct 15
A holocaust survivor and some cute kids in Son La       18 oct 15
Potential rock-climbing near Tuan Giao       16 oct 15
You can't make it up LXXXI - theregister.co.uk's Freeman Dyson scoop       14 oct 15
Dien Bien Phu       13 oct 15
Stuck inside of Lai Chau with the Dien Bien Phu Blues again       09 oct 15
A ride halfway to Sa Pa       03 oct 15
Country roads between Yen Bai and Lao Cai       02 oct 15
Yen Bai and a typical taxi driver       01 oct 15
One of those days when everything goes wrong...       30 sep 15
Vinh Phuc       29 sep 15
The road from Ha Long to Viet Tri       29 sep 15
Climbing with Asia Outdoors       26 sep 15
Re-reading the history of post-WWII Vietnam       21 sep 15
You can't make it up LXXX - the latest attempt by the global warming movement to jail dissidents       19 sep 15
Deep water soloing       19 sep 15
Hanoi to Haiphong       14 sep 15

 

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