OneHourAhead

Via Virtual Economics, I found this neat little visualization tool from Neoformix.

“Introducing News Spectrum ! It is a visualization of the words used for two topics in the latest results from Google News. One topic is coloured blue, the other red, and the associated words are coloured and positioned based on how highly they are associated with the two topics. Click on any word to see the related Google News results.” - Neoformix

So, Jeff Clark at Neoformix suggested using it to find the associations between two news topics, Seamus McCauley inventively tried two news sources. I thought I would try two people who are in the news:

Hmmm. Interesting. You can see that the word “Leader” is one of the biggest words so it is the one most associated with Clegg and Cameron, but it is also way over to the right, suggesting that the word is associated with Nick oh so much more than Cameron. Not surprising, Cameron is not so much a leader, as the person at the front of a baying mob. Also “Brown” is a high-rated word but skewed more towards Cameron, perhaps suggesting that Cameron is referenced in relation to Brown rather than a person in his own right. Sounds about right.

As you would expect the words “Liberal” and “Democrat” are nicely in Clegg’s half as if the algorithm knows that Cameron’s liberalism is a sham. Also nice to see “Crewe” and “Nantwich” in the Lib Dem half. Although surprisingly “Nuneaton” isn’t in Cameron’s bit. “Burma” is associated with Nick while “Myanmar” is associated with Dave - so we are on the side of democracy and the people, while Dave sucks up to the military junta.

My favourite though is tucked away in the top-right corner on Nick’s side - “Samantha”.

Hmmm, time to get worried Dave when even you wife is associated more with the opposition.

Could she be one of the 30?

1,2,3….Go!

I have recently had a Facebook frenzy updating my woefully out-of-date profile and answering all the messages, notifications, friend additions and all the other various crap with which Facebook is now filled.

How does this relate to you lovely people.  Well the lucky ones amongst you may by now received an electronic magic friendship request from someone purporting to be “Andrew Tate”. If so, then it is I.  Or of course it is a completely separate Andrew Tate - that would be pretty weird though!  If you haven’t received said request then either I missed you out by mistake, you ain’t hip with the kids so aren’t on Facebook or I hate you and all you stand for. I’ll let you choose which.

Add me or don’t add me, I’m cool - although if you don’t add me I will hunt you down and kill you like the dog you so clearly are!

Me like meme. From Mat Bowles, who got the story from here. These are, according to Empire Mag, or rather there obviously straightjacketed readers, the 50 greatest small screen treats ever. in history. wow. The Wire makes it in at No 8. Told you it was great. Although how in the hell it was beaten by something as shit as Buffy I do not know.

Rules are: Bold for ones you’ve got (originally DVD form but I am expanding to include my, erm, totally legit downloads). Italics for the ones you’d happily watch, rent or buy, strikethrough for the ones you think are crap. Bold and italic for the ones you have some of but not all and leave as normal the ones you couldn’t care less about).

50. Quantum Leap
49. Prison Break
48. Veronica Mars
47. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
46. Sex And The City
45. Farscape
44. Cracker
43. Star Trek (TOS)
42. Only Fools And Horses
41. Band of Brothers
40. Life On Mars

39. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
38. Curb Your Enthusiasm
37. Star Trek: The Next Generation
36. Father Ted
35. Alias
34. Frasier
33. CSI: Las Vegas
32. Babylon 5
31. Deadwood
30. Dexter

29. ER
28. Fawlty Towers
27. Six Feet Under
26. Red Dwarf
25. Futurama
24. Twin Peaks
23. The Office UK
22. The Shield
21. Angel
20. Blackadder

19. Scrubs
18. Arrested Development
17. South Park
16. Doctor Who
15. Heroes
14. Firefly
13. Battlestar Galactica
12. Family Guy
11. Seinfeld
10. Spaced

09. The X-Files
08. The Wire
07. Friends
06. 24
05. Lost
04. The West Wing
03. The Sopranos
02. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
01. The Simpsons

Some stuff I have got I no longer really like that much (The Office, Family Guy) and although I like scrubs and have most episodes, it certainly ain’t one of the top 50 shows ever. I also understand I will have to hand in my passport and renounce my British citizenship for committing the cardinal of English sins: striking through no. 28. Sorry but Fawlty Towers was balls. Ripping Yarns was much better.

Rather than writing anything witty and erudite this week I have been mostly procrastinating reading other’s observations of the world. I have added a few to my ever expanding blogroll:

Pootergeek and Chase me ladies, I’m in the cavalry certainly don’t need any introduction from me but both are worth a read, particularly chase me ladies, as he is obviously ever so slightly mental.

The only really political one that I have added is rhetorically speaking, who has been doing a good job recently of laying into the perennial fruitloop that is Nadine Dorries.

Two that are good for a proper laugh out loud are Mr Angry’s constant indignation over at iamlivid.com and the superb spEak You’re bRanes, where someone has helpfully distilled the comments from the BBC’s wonderful Have Your Say pages into worrying collection of rants about asylum-seekers, dole-scroungers and bringing back hanging.

I have also been reading a few public service blogs recently, ones from coppers, paramedics, nurses, doctors and the like. I would particularly recommend Random Acts of Reality, a blog from a London Ambulance Service EMT which in turn can be funny, thought-provoking and devastatingly heartrending. Also Area Trace No Search from a Met PC with tales of life on the beat.

Message ends. Additional:

The Predator Rap

Pro-life Richardson - What would the nutjobs here call themselves?

Found this - don’t let any Tories see it though as there head might explode.

Beyond that, BBC prime were recently showing all the episodes of Red Dwarf again and I was reminded why I owned them all on VHS when I was a kid, Smegging hell it was funny. Also my new favourite thing is Flight of the Conchords, with this being my fave of the fave. Can’t take Kiwis seriously anymore. Thank you, that was great.

Just reading the Lexington Column of The Economist and found out that the NY Governor’s tryst with Ms Kristen took place in the Mayflower hotel in Washington, DC - the very same hotel that I stayed on my trip to DC.  It’s nice to know that myself and hypocritical, philandering bastards have the same classic tastes.

My stay there wasn’t as fun-filled as Mr Spitzer’s though, I just sat in my room writing a talk on face recognition and watching American Football on ESPN.  Although one night Dick Cheney was in the building and one of his Secret Service chaps asked “is there was anything I can help you with, sir?” as I was craning my neck round a door in the lobby trying to see who had just turned up in a 10-vehicle motorcade outside.

It’s a very nice hotel if you are ever in Washington, DC, although perhaps stay away from Room 871 - I’m sure they change the sheets, but still.