User talk:Ironclad

Welcome to RationalWiki, Ironclad! Please see our guide for newcomers and our community standards. If you are interested in contributing, please read what our articles are intended to be. Tell us how you found RationalWiki here!

--RatMaster ^háblame 00:56, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

Like your inline comments.

As you may have noticed from my obsessive twitchy red pen hand (I mean no harm, I swear), I'm reading the metric ton of collapse-bubbles you're adding to The Fly's rather unique take on world history. Your mentioning of your PhD thesis which has something to do with Sargon has me intrigued about the specifics. You should probably mention your specific qualifications on your user page, if for no other reason than The Fly is allergic to experts.

I really wanted to change your mention of the Ark floating for "over a month" to "several months", because while it rained for forty days, the Ark allegedly remained afloat for 150 + 40 + 7 + 7 more days after that. I will leave the decision up to you though, since I felt like it may be over-editing.

Abadidea (talk) 01:16, 25 June 2011 (UTC) (I will not forget to sign my comments. I will not forget to sign my comments. I will not forget to double-check I got all four tildes.)

Hello Abadidea, and thanks for your message! I will put some information on my profile page in the morning; I'm largely doing these edits at the moment as I can't sleep, and needed something to relax my mind. My apologies if the comments are too numerous or if they're in the wrong format - I'm new to this and haven't quite got the grip of formatting style. Any advice you could offer on standards of style and content in this commentary context would be appreciated.

Please, by all means amend my comments as you see fit! You're entirely right that the Ark floated for severa months; I'd overlooked that. Anything else you feel can be improved upon, please do. It's a wiki after all, and our knowledge only increases through collaboration.

Many thanks,

Rex --Ironclad (talk) 01:59, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

I'm pretty new here myself. I've just been on a super editing binge. Some other point-and-refutation pages use a tabular format, but I think the collapsies are nice too. A suggestion for improving them would be to give the collapsies a title which visually ties each one to the point it's counterpointing, since the page flow can move them downhill a bit when there are several close together. Abadidea (talk) 02:38, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

Politics and cartography

What is your opinion of the Gall-Peters map projection? ListenerX^TalkerX 04:21, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

I have to agree with Arthur Robinson. "The landmasses are reminiscent of long, wet, ragged winter underwear hung out to dry on the Arctic Circle." But kudos to Peters for challenging the Mercator projection. Shame he was a bit of a shady character, though. Personally I prefer Gould's homolosine projection. You?--Ironclad (talk) 04:52, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

I do not really have a favorite map projection, but having dealt with quite a lot of creationist slop, I have a hearty dislike both of concepts pushed by amateurs with an inflated sense of expertise, and concepts that are technically inferior but are promoted as superior for ideological purposes. ListenerX^TalkerX 05:15, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

Very well said. Peas in a pod, thee and me.--Ironclad (talk) 23:20, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

Assfly

Hey there - great additions to the lecture notes. One small thing though - please don't refer to teh Assfly as Assfly, etc in article spaces. We're trying to move away from it. --PsyGremlinZungumza! 14:26, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

Ok, I'll amend those now.--Ironclad (talk) 14:56, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. I took the liberty of changing them in your last edit to the Indian history article already. --PsyGremlinRunāt! 15:09, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

Also, if you're up to a full refutation of the history lectures you might want to try this a-here thing instead of the intrusive "collapse comment" template. 21:50, 27 June 2011 (UTC) C®ackeЯ

Hi Cracker - thankyou for the advice! To be honest I don't like the collapsible bubbles, they're quite difficult to work with. But as a newbie, I don't know how to use this Side-by-Side template. is there a sandbox where I can try it out, rather than making a mess of the actual pages?--Ironclad (talk) 22:24, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

You're doing fine. I give anyone credit for being able to read Schlafly's "lectures" without having their brains bleed; posting refudiations to his "facts" is just gravy, (so far as I'm concerned). 03:02, 28 June 2011 (UTC) C®ackeЯ

Thankyou Cracker; compliments are always appreciated, especially from established members of the group like yourself. User:Nutty_Roux has shown me how to use the side-by-side thing, so I'm using it from now on (and also adopting a more professional tone). I really ought to be working, but responding to Andy's version of reality is just too much fun :) --Ironclad (talk) 11:27, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

FYI

There is no spat between Nutty and I. We are, in fact, lovers. Ace ^{of Spades} 00:00, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

I'm sure you make a cute couple :) --Ironclad (talk) 00:06, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Don't tell my wife OK. Ace ^{of Spades} 00:12, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

You work on the history lectures.

Top-notch stuff. I was watching you to make sure that you got the Haitian Revolution right. You pretty much nailed it. B♭maj7 So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world. 21:30, 23 August 2011 (UTC)

Thankyou very kindly! It's good to know that people are reading my rebuttals, and it's especially pleasing to know that I'm being tailed by people with specialist historical knowledge. I must admit the Haitian Revolution is not something I had known a great deal about (I knew the bare bones, as Napoleonic history is an area of interest to me), so I sought outside help by showing Andy's diatribe to my flatmate - who is Haitian - and it was he who gave me a couple of books with which to research the period. It's a shame I couldn't put more in, but if we were to do that for every segment, we'd end up getting lost in the "Lectures". That said, if there's anything I have misinterpreted or missed out, please feel free to amend it. I don't pretend to know the entirety of human history and specialist knowledge is very much welcomed! Ironclad (talk) 21:39, 23 August 2011 (UTC)

The only stuff I would put in would take it beyond the scope of a high school history lecture; how the Haitian Revolution affected the slave trade more broadly, the fear that is spread throughout the plantocracies, the role of African political ideas in shaping the revolution (I forget the numbers, but a substantial amount of the slaves in St. Domingue were African born of sons/daughters of Africans, so not all that removed from those traditions) and how the Western idea of the universal rights-bearing subject really came about by enslaved Africans making claims to Enlightenment notions of freedom. That, and how the people I research (Black radicals in the 1950s-1980s) used the revolution as a touchstone. Your work is excellent, keep it up. B♭maj7 So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world. 22:08, 23 August 2011 (UTC)

Thankyou B, that's very kind of you to say. Your material sounds very rich, and is new to me. Could you tell me a little more about the role of African political ideals (what precisely are these?) in shaping the Haitian Revolution and its consequences? As I say, this isn't my forte. If you would prefer to insert this material yourself, you seem far more qualified than I to speak aboput this! Thankyou for the encouragement - I'll certainly keep going. Anything else in the Lecture series you think could be amended/improved, please do let me know. Ironclad (talk) 22:15, 23 August 2011 (UTC)

I just came here myself to compliment you on the work you're doing, and I see others have beaten me to it. I'll just add, "well done, sir!" (If you're a ma'am and not a sir, my humblest apologies.) MDB (talk) 16:41, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

Thankyou, MDB! Much appreciated! I am indeed a "sir". Or esquire, if you prefer.Ironclad (talk) 18:48, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

I came here to say the same thing. Great stuff!--^talk 13:35, 25 August 2011 (UTC)

Thankyou, AD! Ironclad (talk) 18:38, 25 August 2011 (UTC)

Wonderful stuff indeed, but on World History Lecture Ten, Austria was a separate entity from 1804-1867, when it was succeeded by the Dual Monarchy. Don't want to change anything myself as you're doing such a great job. –SuspectedReplicant retire me 13:55, 1 September 2011 (UTC)

Thankyou for your compliment and advice, Replicant! I'll correct the segment now.Ironclad (talk) 18:42, 1 September 2011 (UTC)

Can I add my voice to those applauding you. I have learnt more history from your critiques than I learnt all those years ago back in school. Bad Faith (talk) 14:45, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

Thankyou Bad Faith, it's very satisfying to hear that people are learning something alongside the giggles! Is there a particular bit of history so far that's interested you most? Ironclad (talk) 21:06, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

The stuff on WW1 is interesting. My history was very similar to Andy's, except with a UK bias. I, too, was practically unaware of the eastern front and I'm getting a whole new perspective on the Treaty of Versailles. The big, big, difference between Andy and myself is that I know I know nothing. Bad Faith (talk) 23:43, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

Bad Faith, I applaud you for saying that. Nobody pops out of the womb pre-programmed with all the knowledge of Mankind, and knowing where we lack knowledge is the first step towards gaining that knowledge. Good on you! If you want to know more about the Eastern Front, I really recommend Oxford University Press's Very Short Introduction to the First World War, by John Keegan. It's only a hundred or so pages, and it's a little book so it slots neatly into your coat pocket for when you're sat on the bus. You can get the VSIs on Amazon for sometimes a penny each. Give it a go! And thanks again for your comments :) Ironclad (talk) 00:42, 11 October 2011 (UTC)

I've been spending the last several days reading the history lectures. You, sir, are amazing. --Rhodoferax (talk) 16:45, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

~Thanks Rhodo, glad you have enjoyed it! Ironclad (talk) 00:49, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

I feel guilty for asking you to go back into the quagmire that is the mind of teh Assfly, but not only did I greatly enjoy your work, but it was far more informative and interesting to read than the original material. Jwebb13 (talk) 23:53, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

The intro to 11

IT sorta drags on a bit, just saying--Mikalos209 (talk) 03:00, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

You sound like my supervisor. Ironclad (talk) 03:08, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps... I AM -gets a dramatic stare-.--Mikalos209 (talk) 03:13, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

Ahh, touche! yet my supervisor's stare drills into my very soul. Thankfully, I don't feel that now... Ironclad (talk) 03:23, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

You can ignore soul stares?--Mikalos209 (talk) 03:24, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

Hmm, no. But after five years of repetitive exercise and faculty committees, I've acquired the ability to simply respond with a blank, vacant gaze, nodding along in a vague approximation of human consciousness.....Ironclad (talk) 03:30, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

Lucky you :P--Mikalosa (talk) 00:40, 11 October 2011 (UTC)

sbs template - you're doing it wrong

Just a tip, in the sbs template if you put your rebuttal of Schlafly's text on a new line it moves the formatting down. However, if you prefix it with "2=" then it lines up again. So either don't use a new line or put "2=" for the reply. Good work by the way. Генгис^{Our ignorance is God; what we know is science.} 18:40, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

PS Congrats on your bodybuilding contest! Генгис^{Our ignorance is God; what we know is science.} 18:54, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

Thanks Genghis! It was quite nerve-wracking but I must have done pretty well to place in such a handsome finish :) I'll start using this new "2=" format from now on. On the subject of formatting; there's a couple of problems in Lecture One where Andy has used a table, and a paragraph relating to BC/AD dating issues - I can't get the sbs system to allow me to add rebuttals to those particular bits. Any idea how I could do this? Thanks! Ironclad (talk) 21:06, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

John O'Farrell

What's your take on "An Utterly Impartial History Of Britain"? For starters, have you read it? Bad Faith (talk) 13:49, 12 October 2011 (UTC)

I haven't. Would you recommend it? Ironclad (talk) 13:59, 12 October 2011 (UTC)

His left leaning and rather cynical approach to history mirrors what I'm reading of your criticisms of Andy's nonsense. I really enjoyed it but, would I recommend it to you? Well, I like my history in easily digestible chunks so I enjoyed it just as I'm enjoying your criticism of Andy. I'm interested but I'm no scholar, nor do I want to be. I have a sneaking suspicion you would either scoff as over simplistic or explode in rage as O'Farrell's politics lead him to the same poor generalisations as Andy - except in the other direction. So, don't rush out but, if a copy comes your way... Bad Faith (talk) 14:08, 12 October 2011 (UTC)

Sounds fun! I've now got to the stage where I very, very rarely explode over books. And there's a difference between a simple explanation and a simplistic one. Andy's simplistic because he doesn't even acknowledge the possibility that there are other things besides false dichotomies and single-cause explanations. History is complex, but it can be explained in simple terms which we all understand. I'll be going past the university library after work so I'll see if they have a copy. Thanks again for the compliment - I'm glad you're enjoying the History lecture critiques! Ironclad (talk) 14:12, 12 October 2011 (UTC)

Good to see you back.I'm agog waiting for your critique of Andy's take on WWII. Even I can see some of the glaring errors. Bad Faith (talk) 16:38, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Cheers mate, I'll try to do you proud! How's things? Ironclad (talk) 02:08, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

I've been busy but just found time to catch up. As ever I'm impressed. I too grew up with the "weak" Chamberlain myth. Now that you explain that he was buying time it all makes a lot more sense. Thanks, as ever. Bad Faith (talk) 12:07, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

Glad it's made a bit more sense. And appropriately, Chamberlain has been exonerated in your eyes on Remembrance Day. I'll get some more written this weekend. Ironclad (talk) 12:47, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

Something you might dig.

"This ain't Ethiopia, but it'll do." A chapter in this. Robin Kelly on how African Americans who wanted to fight fascism in Ethiopia but couldn't fought in the Spanish Civil War instead. Right up your alley. B♭maj7 (talk) Anachronistically anachronistic 00:56, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, B Sharp! Or is it B Flat? Me no speak music. Regardless, cheers for the book reference - I'll definitely check it out!! Never hurts to know what one's boyz were doing back in the day... Ironclad (talk) 02:11, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

Block

Why have I been blocked for three months?! What did I do? Ironclad (talk) 09:40, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

Nothing. B♭maj7 randomly blocked you, along with about a dozen other people (including me), because he was lonely. Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 09:54, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

I just unblocked you. Are you not a sysop; can you not unblock yourself? Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 09:57, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

You're definitely on the sysop list so it's just a case of clicking your own block button and setting the time to 0. ^{d hominem} 10:05, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

Thanks guys, much appreciated. What's a sysop? Since when have I been one? I may now get drunk on my own imagined sense of power. Ironclad (talk) 11:02, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

A sysop means that we like you. See our Sysop guide. Anarcho Symphony Noise ^{Swatting Assflys is how I earn my living} 11:26, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

Huzzah!! Ironclad (talk) 11:34, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

About the WW2 lecture

Going through the part where he skips over all parts not involving america-man, reminded me of the premise of the movie "Legend of the Titanic (1:15 in)"; which if you didn't know was that nobody DIED in the disaster and it was all just a misunderstanding. --il'Dictator Mikalosa (talk) 01:06, 24 November 2011 (UTC)

Good God, I just saw that, from 1:15 and also snippets here and there. After viewing I had to listen to some deep African bass just to clear that bloody chirruping sound! The worrying thing is that, as you say, it's creepily close to Andy-Pandy's version of history. "Hey kids, Uncle Sam saved us all! No Allies died! We all had milkshakes!" I do hope he gets scrofula before long. It would make us all very happy. Ironclad (talk) 01:32, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

Shameless Flirting

You're gay, you've read Harry Turtledove, you can quote The Simpsons, you're a history buff... and you're on the other side of the Big Pond. Sigh. MDB (talk) 20:12, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

I also know how to sew on a button and what kind of laundry soap to buy. Hell of a catch. What's your favourite Turtledove? Ironclad (talk) 22:03, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

Probably the "Southern Victory" (though he doesn't call it that) series that starts with How Few Remain. I'm re-reading that now, in fact -- I'm on the second book of The Great War. Guns of the South would be a close second.

I have two gripes with Turtledove.

1. He has a tendency to repeat character details a lot.
2. He writes sex scenes as if he were a twelve year old boy imagining what sex is like.

MDB (talk) 22:23, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

Ah I never got round to reading those. But I hear they're good. I'm finishing up a day of marking undergrad essays now and could use something light-hearted - might dig out this Turtledove from the campus library. I know it's there, I got a funny look from the woman when I asked for it.

I agree with you on those points! Reading Worldwar, I got so bloody fed up of hearing the backstories of the most irritating characters (I'm thinking of the sci-fi reading baseball-playing All-American jock who, regrettably, doesn't get shot), and his sex scenes are either clumsy and awkward or creepily clinical. Poor guy mustn't get laid often...

So, as you're shamelessly flirting and I need some distraction from the 67th student hatchet-job on Marxist geography, tell me what in history piques your interest. Ironclad (talk) 22:29, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

Mostly American history, from the late unpleasantness War of Yankee Aggression Civil War on. I also find Ancient Rome interesting, but I don't know it anywhere near as well as American. (Despite my snarky usage above, I'm not a "lost cause" type. I'm from the South, but I don't sympathize with them. Heck, the part I'm from -- East Tennessee -- was generally pro-Union, anyway.) And I know to a Brit like you, 150 years ago probably barely qualifies as "history". As I've heard it said, Britain has pubs older than the United States.

As for Turtledove not getting laid often, I've seen him at a con with his wife and three daughters, and they looked enough like him I didn't think they were adopted.

As far as the con goes, I did like his answer when a fan asked him, "if you could live in an alternate history world, what would it be?" He responded, "one where the US didn't fight the Vietnam War and used the money to go to Mars instead." Not surprisingly, that gets huge applause from science fiction fans. He's a very nice guy in general.

Did you get into Turtledove as a history buff, a science fiction fan, or both (like me?) MDB (talk) 22:52, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

Good to hear he's a nice guy! I came across him completely at random when bored and wandering round the discount bookshop. I saw a book which featured lizard-men and Nazis on the cover, and before I'd even read the back cover I was thrusting it at the cashier. I don't go to cons - the one and only one I did go to was when my friend pleaded for me to go with him to a Warhammer one. As an ork. So I ended up being painted green and wearing a ridiculously revealing costume. Hence I shy away from anything remotely con-related now...

Funnily enough, I also have a penchant for American Civil War history. I have a fetish for all things nineteenth-century, and your civil war is always interesting to read about. As for the history here, you're right. My Cambridge college predated the Black Death, and now I live a stone's throw from a Roman fortress. But I'm not British, I'm Kenyan, so whenever people play the game of "Who's Got the Oldest Culture?", I can trump them all with Olduvai Gorge. Ironclad (talk) 23:04, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

I discovered Turtledove when a friend told me the "origin story" of Guns of the South -- that Turtledove's editor at Del Rey told him, "Harry, I just got a piece of cover art as anachronistic as Robert E. Lee holding an AK-47!" And he said, "Robert E. Lee holding an AK-47... hhhhmm..."

I've not been to a con in years, and I didn't do costuming when I did. I did occasionally costume when I LARPed, but not much even then.

So, is the bodybuilder picture you (albeit with Thatcher's face)? (This is my subtle way of saying, "dang, are you really that hot?") MDB (talk) 23:58, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

Ohh I like that Turtledove anecdote :-) What's LARPing?

Thatcher's face? Thatcher?! Heretic!! That's Leopold von Ranke, the nineteenth-century Prussian historian who founded the modern methodology of history! I thought he'd be appropriate seeing as I enjoy pissing on Andy's historical parade. The rest of the picture is indeed me, on the stage at 7pm after hanging around a dirty dressing room in just a posing strap for five hours because some berk got the scheduling wrong. As I've since been pigging out on high-calorie foods since (it's bloody freezing here and when you have 5% bodyfat, you really feel the cold), I haven't maintained that definition and it'll take fifteen weeks of carb-cycling and cardio come spring to get me back into contest shape. Ironclad (talk) 00:12, 30 November 2011 (UTC)

LARPing is "live action role playing". I did the "interactive theatre" style, not the "live combat with padded weapons" style. Basically, it's a cross between improvisational theater, Dungeons and Dragons type games, and murder mystery parties.

Sorry for mis-identifying the picture. But dang, you are quite impressively built. I'm... not. Middle aged and flabby here. MDB (talk) 13:19, 30 November 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the compliment! Yeah I'm growing nicely, following in the footsteps of my hallowed and revered deity Johnnie Jackson...

Middle aged and flabby? Never too old to change. I was skinny as a rake and didn't start bodybuilding until I was 25. There's no age limit on starting to eat sensibly and do some exercise. Give it a go! :-) Ironclad (talk) 14:52, 30 November 2011 (UTC)

Compared to what I used to be, I'm quite a lot better -- I weigh less than half of what I did ten years ago.

Flabby I could change -- middle-aged I'm kinda stuck with. Though as my Dad says when we tease him about getting old, "it beats the alternative." MDB (talk) 15:46, 30 November 2011 (UTC)

Flabby you can and will change. Middle age is nothing but a concept. And a useless one, seeing as we're apparently all going to die on December 22nd next year... Ironclad (talk) 03:41, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

I am not gay but can I get in on this? I am 6"3', slim build, intelligent with a good sense of humour. My wife says I am good in the sack also. Ace^ace 03:53, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

Hey, Ace has got cigarettes! Always welcome! Light me one and I won't care which side you bat for. Ironclad (talk) 03:58, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

I always bat for Team Vagina. But you are welcome to my cigarettes. Ace^ace 04:41, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

Such a sweetie ;-) Ironclad (talk) 12:48, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

You can have some of mine, too. MDB (talk) 00:18, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

Cold War

Reading your history of the Cold War, have you ever played the excellent board game Twilight Struggle? If you're interested in the Cold War and like board games (and don't mind a complex one), you should give it a try. MDB (talk) 15:12, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

I haven't. The last board game I played was [War on Terror], and I ended up wearing the "Evil" terrorist gimp mask for two hours. It might be a while before I feel like another geopolitical game! Ironclad (talk) 15:17, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

Twilight Struggle is a much more serious game -- it's a pretty straightforward simulation of the Cold War. Though I will admit I can't resist a little role-playing during the game. I usually ask an opponent, "so, do you want to be the godless Communists or the Capitalist exploiters of the masses?" And once I was playing the Russians, and doing quite well, except in the Space Race. The Americans had just made another step towards a moon landing, and I declared, "while the capitalists piddle around with their puny space toys, the glorious triumph of global communism is at hand!" I think that was the game I was about to win, until my opponent got a "steal a card from your opponent's hand" card... and he took the card that was going to give me the game. Since the Russians generally need to win early, and the Americans have to hold out, it was all downhill for the Russians from there.

The same company also makes a game called Labyrinth, which is a serious War on Terror game. And they've got what's pretty much a direct sequel to Twilight Struggle coming out next year called 1989, which is about the collapse of the Soviet Empire. MDB (talk) 16:12, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

Sounds like you enjoy your games :) Ironclad (talk) 20:08, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

That I do. Though I do it for the social interaction as much as the games themselves. MDB (talk) 13:26, 7 December 2011 (UTC)

Happy New Year to you.

No pressure but... you do know how eagerly some of us await your Schafly history course critiques. It's been nearly a month now. Just because of the holidays... Joking apart, all the best for the New Year. Bad Faith (talk) 14:59, 4 January 2012 (UTC)

And a Happy New Year to you too, comrade! Hope you enjoyed the holidays. I wasn't aware how eagerly people awaited my work; I now feel rather flattered. Fear not, I've got nothing to do this evening so I'll get cracking on Lecture Thirteen as soon as I've completed by daily quota of sit-ups... Ironclad (talk) 15:23, 4 January 2012 (UTC)

you shouldnt

take me demanding things very seriously. --il'Dictator Mikal (talk) 16:54, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

I don't. Ironclad (talk) 16:55, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

you obviously did given how you reacted to my fake demands you meet my time schedule for things i want to read. --il'Dictator Mikal (talk) 16:57, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Sorry mate, I'm really not interested in having a tit-for-tat with you over childish attempts to rile me and backpedalling to claim "Ohh, it was a joke". I have work to do. Ironclad (talk) 16:59, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Uh-huh... welcome to that world then Iron.--il'Dictator Mikal (talk) 17:02, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Africa

I take it that one was written from the heart. As ever you have opened my eyes and, as ever, I'm grateful. Jack Hughes (talk) 13:37, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

It's difficult - maybe impossible - to write about one's homeland without writing from the heart; wherever that home may be. Thankyou for the compliment :) Ironclad (talk) 17:11, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

Looking ahead to 14...

What are the expectations for andy's "the world today" lecture?--il'Dictator Mikal (talk) 17:22, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

Ohh I don't want to spoil the surprise by looking ahead - half the fun of these is wondering what random rabbit-hole Andy's warped mind will lead us down! Ironclad (talk) 17:28, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

Summer

It is supposed to be summer here but the weather has been fucking awful. Ace^Moderator 02:27, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Well if my cartography serves me right (my globe's at the office), you're on roughly the same latitude as Britain. So I imagine your summers are as piss-poor as ours. Which island do you live on? Is there a meteorological difference? Ironclad (talk) 02:29, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Usually this time of year is great but this time around it sucks. Never mind though, I am fucking off to South Africa in a few weeks for a month of summery goodness. Ace^Moderator 02:31, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Sounds very nice. Never been to South Africa myself, but they do a lovely chardonnay... Ironclad (talk) 02:31, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Oh yeah, I am on the North Island - there is a difference. I have been to South Africa twice already because my wife is from Jo'berg originally. Ace^Moderator 02:37, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Nice! Not every day you meet the love of your life on't other side of the hemisphere! Ironclad (talk) 02:39, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Heh, I have had several loves of my life. Her family emigrated her and that's when I met her. Ace^Moderator 02:41, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Aww that's sweet :) You meet her through college? Ironclad (talk) 02:43, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Na, I dropped out of school at 17 (don't know what level that is in the states) and started working instead. Now I am 31 and working towards a MA in political science and have a high profile job. Go figure eh? But she emigrated here about 8 years ago and her twin brother began dating a friend of mine and we became close friends. When she moved over I delicately asked him if I could date his sister. Heh, he was happy with the idea. Since then we have been pretty much inseparable and traveled the globe together over a two year period. Would be a Disney film if it wasn't for my foul temper and drinking habits. How about yourself? Ace^Moderator 02:50, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

I have no idea what that is in the States either. I'm a product of the Kenyan, Tanzanian, Ghanaian, and British state education systems. And now doing a PhD - which depresses me when I wonder how many Tea Party creotards have had far, far better opportunities for education than I had back in the homeland, but fight to destroy those systems. Sigh. What are you focusing on in your MA? I did an MA in International Politics two years ago. Focused on - predictably - empire. What persuaded you to PolSci?

Sounds like a fairytale romance! I'm almost the same age as you (one or two more crow's feet here) and single, waiting for my Knight in Steroid Armour to come and sweep me off my feet. Also enjoy a beverage here - although I'm not allowed to drink beer or wine on my diet, hence I keep the local off-licence in business with my purchases of brandy. What wine you drinking? Ironclad (talk) 03:09, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

I have a knack for people and understanding motives and emotion so politics is what I most enjoy. I'd never be a politician because I wouldn't stand up to intense public scrutiny (at least I don't think so) but I would like to run a campaign. I have a background in PR and journalism so a campaign manager is my dream job. My focus is international relations. My drink for today is a local shiraz. No need for glass though, it tastes the same through the neck of the bottle. Ace^Moderator 03:30, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Campaign Manager? Segues nicely into a PR Advisor. I'm sure you'd give Malcolm Tucker a run for his money...

Enjoy your shiraz, and enjoy seeing the Missus later. I have a long day of wallpapering tomorrow so I have to turn in. See you around, comrade... Ironclad (talk) 03:36, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Debunking Economics

Debunking Economics should be a supplement to any economic history. Highly recommended, A++ and all that. Nebuchadnezzar (talk) 00:56, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

Ooh, I haven't seen this before! But it comes with a worthy recommendation - so I know what's getting added to my lunchbreak reading pile :-) Ironclad (talk) 00:59, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

The Myth of the Rational Market is another good one which focuses on the history of efficient market hypothesis. I haven't read it yet, but I'm probably going to pick up Filthy Lucre/Economics Without Illusions based on the interview with the author I heard. Nebuchadnezzar (talk) 01:05, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

Two things

1) Technically hong kong is a country in that It is still somewhat independent of China, Plus it has a country infobox on wikipedia! 2) and MUCH more importantly, The run through of the WHlectures are unsatisfactory, infact they are simply terrible; and therefor you must go through them again and fix all the problems! However to shake things up I will not actually tell you what is wrong, that will be up for you to discover. I hope you took notes young man, because this is the final afterall. --il'Dictator Mikal (talk) 17:09, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

Ha! I'm not doing Andy's job for him :) I like this website "TVTropes" you've linked to. There go a few hours of my life... Ironclad (talk) 19:57, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

Oh you are so fucked... Nebuchadnezzar (talk) 22:16, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

That cartoon genuinely made me giggle :-) Ironclad (talk) 00:55, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

Polar ice cap thing

i'd like to see that if you can point me in the right direction--il'Dictator Mikal 17:38, 15 February 2012 (UTC)

Hey comrade! It's right here. The images were printed in Frank Jacobs' Strange Maps, and flicking through my big books today in the office I finally found it. I didn't realise there was a corresponding website - the text is a little wishy-washy, but the maps are certainly food for thought. Enjoy! Ironclad (talk) 20:36, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

Hm, Danke. A bit curious now, have you ever read Stephen Baxters "Flood"?--il'Dictator Mikal 20:59, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

Never heard of it, I fear. I'd say I'd add it to my reading pile, but that thing's still gonna be there come the 41st Millennium. Can you give me the gist of it? Ironclad (talk) 22:10, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

Hard Science fiction novel depicting the flooding of the world; as it follows a handful of characters and how theyre lives keep changing. being hard sci fi the only real "wtf?" moment is how the world keeps flooding, beyond that it's just some futurey science.--il'Dictator Mikal 22:20, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

Sounds interesting! The only future sciencey things I've read are Neville Shute's On the Beach (loved it!) and Cormac McCarthy's The Road (again, loved it - never saw the film). But to be honest I'm not a fan of apocalyptic literature. I take my grim futurism through Warhammer 40,000 novels, and the rest of the time read banal history, politics, geography, and bodybuilding books. Less depressing!

Well, try it anyways :P. back onto the pole melty thing; most of t was fine til he went on about "the future species not wasting earths resources with things like crop production and whatnot" derailing the entire interesting read into the authors odd "humans are bastards for wanting to feed ourselves!" belief. --il'Dictator Mikal 01:51, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

God forbid that we should eat! Ironclad (talk) 09:59, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

I know, just terrible people, all of us.il'Dictator Mikal 05:26, 19 February 2012 (UTC)

Eugen Weber

Considering you go through history so much, and i recently remembered that guys name, have you ever read/seen his stuff? Opinion?--il'Dictator Mikal 05:26, 19 February 2012 (UTC)

Oh sure, I've read some Weber. Eerily enough I was using him just on Friday, in a lecture of the emergence of modernist nationalism. Small world... Ironclad (talk) 13:14, 19 February 2012 (UTC)

well, my AP euro teacher like to punish us by watching some of his western tradition lectures. which failed since i liked the lectures haha--il'Dictator Mikal 00:41, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

Ireland

Bravo! Jack Hughes (talk) 14:45, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Kudos

So, for all these months you've amused, entertained and educated me. I'm far richer thanks to all your hard work. Thank you. Jack Hughes (talk) 13:14, 2 March 2012 (UTC) ~And than you Jack! Much appreciated! Ironclad (talk) 00:47, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

You better have voted Ace

Or else, trouble. Ace^{The Rep Grows Bigger} 21:59, 3 July 2012 (UTC)