Author: Brendan Barry

  • Where the Vaping Illness Is Spreading

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    Brendan Barry
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    Yesterday President Trump announced that the FDA is seeking to implement a ban on flavoured e-cigarettes. Ostensibly this is to combat teen uptake on the habit, but it comes at the same time as an outbreak of respiratory illnesses seemingly linked to vaping. Though, it should be pointed out that preliminary data points to a…

  • Prorogation of Parliament

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    Brendan Barry
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    If you’re among my British/European audience, you are probably well aware Boris Johnson has prorogued, or suspended, Parliament. He and cabinet ministers stated it was a normal, average-length prorogation to prepare for a Queen’s Speech. (The Queen’s Speech is the formal opening of a new session of Parliament that sets out a new legislative agenda…

  • The Retreat from Ilovaisk

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    Brendan Barry
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    Five years ago, I covered the Russian invasion of Ukraine a little tiny bit. Five years on and Russia has formally annexed Crimea and Russian “patriotic volunteers” continue to destabilise the Donbass. About two weeks ago, this article from the BBC caught my eye as it recounted the story of Ukraine’s deadliest day in the conflict.…

  • Merging of the States

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    Brendan Barry
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    Dorian now speeds away from Newfoundland and into the North Atlantic. We looked at its historic intensity last week. But during that week, with all the talk of maps and Alabama, I noted to myself a map from the BBC that showed the forecast path. But note the state borders. New Jersey and Delaware have merged. Is…

  • Greenland Is Melting

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    Brendan Barry
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    There is a lot going on in the world—here’s looking at you Brexit vote today—but I did not want to miss this frightening article from the BBC on the melting of Greenland’s ice. It’s happening. And it’s happening faster than thought. There are several insightful graphics, including the standard photo slider of before and after,…

  • We’re All Just Palm Trees and Patio Furniture in the Wind

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    Brendan Barry
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    For all my American readers, I hope you all enjoyed their Labour Day holiday. For the rest of you, today is just a Tuesday. Unless you live in the Bahamas, then today is just another nightmarish day as Hurricane Dorian continues his assault on the islands. The storm will be one for the record books when…

  • Childhood Video Games: You Can Never Go Home

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    Brendan Barry
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    Well, we all made it to Friday. And for those of us here in the States, our bank holiday weekend starts at some point this afternoon. Consequently, here is a post from xkcd that basically describes my childhood and when I would draw the layouts to linear scrolling video game landscapes for Mario. Admittedly, it…

  • Hong Kong Identity

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    Brendan Barry
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    One of the things I have been following closely the last few months has been the protests in Hong Kong. The city is one of China’s few Special Administrative Regions—basically the former British colony of Hong Kong and the former Portuguese colony of Macau, two cities bordering mainland China and separated by the Pearl River estuary.…

  • Pub Trivia Scores

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    Brendan Barry
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    So today we have pub trivia scores. It’s been a little while since I’ve posted from my data recording of my Wednesday night’s team trivia pub scores. For the very few of us who know what this means, here you go. Essentially, our ability to score points on music in the last round remains pretty…

  • The Amazon Burns

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    Brendan Barry
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    The G7 conference in France wrapped up yesterday and they announced an aid package for Brazil. Why? Because satellite data from both Brazil and the United States points to a rash of fires devastating the Amazon rainforest, the world’s largest carbon sink, or sometimes known as the lungs of the Earth. I have not had…