It'll be... interesting... if there's another pandemic and, say, Oxford University develops an mRNA vaccine and every country on Earth except the USA inoculates their populations.

I wasn't there. But I heard this anecdote decades ago. Over the years its magic has embedded in my mind so solidly with retelling that I now feel as if I was.

A story Stoppard told several times, in several places:

Why is the US allowed to negotiate for Ukraine? We are no longer a major contributor to their defense

"Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast" - rip Tom Stoppard

For the life of her, Chloe could not figure out how what had seemed like such a good plan, had gone so terribly, terribly wrong.

Sadly, I assume the best ones have already been eaten

Reform UK are selling blackshirts. Real sense of history...

"Hey! You! My friend here wants a little word..."

I'm a long way away, so can someone explain to me why judges aren't throwing these people in jail for contempt? This one was federal, but especially state-appointed judges, who's sentencing I presume is not subject to presidential pardons.

Those philosophical and theological discussions were all very well, but did the Council of Nicea fix the potholes?

I've decided that an important reason why croquet is such a good game* is that one has a mallet to lean on when a player** is taking a shot. Note billiard-table lawn quality last summer. --- * Which it is. ** AB in hat.

TIL kitchen roll is much better than bog roll if you have a horrid, streaming cold. (Almost sounds like one of those Viz tips...)

Should we be considering someone who has never heard of Imperial Rome as a potential prime minister?

God knows I'm not here to shill for Amazon, but this is not fair. Amazon's profit margin is about 11%. So its UK profits on £29 billion in sales will be around £3.2 billion. If it pays £1 billion in tax that's a tax rate of 31%.

I'm a member of the Green Party, and I've just donated. If you can afford to and you want to see decent, humane local and national government policies that support the poor, migrants and the environment, please donate as well. Either way, please repost. www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hopeishere

I'm a member of green party and have donated! Lets keep this up. We dont want fascism invading our shores in way of reform.

I'm currently on 3-a-day Amoxicillin for an ear infection. I feed the cat at 08:00, 16:00 and 24:00. Should I leave the pills in the catfood cupboard to remind me, or will some other idiot in the family give one to the cat?

Opposing genocide is not terrorism. Make your choice. www.wedonotcomply.org

This! Let’s share like mad.

I'm a member of the Green Party, and I've just donated. If you can afford to and you want to see decent, humane local and national government policies that support the poor, migrants and the environment, please donate as well. Either way, please repost. www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hopeishere

Saw this a few months ago. Well worth it if you're in London.

Never understood that Sally Ride and 100 tampons anecdote. Were none of the men who asked her if that was the right number for a six-day mission married to a woman, or in a relationship with one? I don't mean that they should have asked them instead. Simply living gives the needed knowledge.

One of the reasons that Polanski is so effective is that he is very good at a difficult thing: remembering the question that you were asked by a journalist all the time that you are making the remarks that you need to make to preface your answer, then actually answering that question.

Nice. I think NY subway girder man wins though

Friend of mine once got on the tube at rush hour with the oar from a rowing eight...

In my first ever trip to America in the 1980s I encountered this stuff at, of all places, a conference in the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY. AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY MILK AS AN ALTERNATIVE.

Want low-carbon steel & cement? Buy it! Public procurement is key to climate success. Spot on by Casier, @jorenverschaeve.bsky.social & Deboffe via @projectsyndicate.bsky.social prosyn.org/fECHpKy

Today I realised that the literal opposite of "exhibition" is "inhibition"...

Ages ago I had a student doing a journalism internship in DC. After speaking to groups of lawmakers, she called and sheepishly asked, "Prof, is it me, or are some of these powerful people . . . not always that smart?"

#Enshitification Alexa: Also, I have found a routine that ends your day with upbeat music at 5:30. Would you like to enable it? Self & Wife in unison: NO!

Technical and economic supremacy, China vs America... "Engineers specialise in construction, whereas lawyers specialise in obstruction." Dan Wang on Chanel 4 now.

American electronic component manufacturers! Great products at competitive prices! Well done! But you know that little flag top right on your website where people can select the language they want? PLEASE also add one that flips your site from inches to metric...

"But by far, people said their biggest anxiety was what could happen if a battery overheats and catches fire." Each one of whom had one of the same batteries in their pocket...

The growth in solar is truly extraordinary. Soon the whole human race (except for people living in countries governed by morons) will have energy that's virtually free of recurrent costs.

When it comes to eating the rich, I'd start with baronets and work up...

Well. I choose to name her Hetmiazongonfaroushkin.

Pharrell Williams confirmed as another world famous multi-millionaire who chose to live in a house that looks like it should be called the North Strabane Esat-Digifone Retail Hub & Business Park.

If you want to tell the UK Government that their proposed mileage tax on electric vehicles is a bad environmental idea and that they should raise fuel duty more instead, you can fill out their survey here: www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/eVEDconsul...

Those who do not remember history are doomed to be tried by it.

TIL...

Laying awake in bed unparalleled for considering plumbing problems.

I have a chancellor's autumn statement bingo card with just one word on it: smorgasbord. I got it within two minutes of starting hearing commentary on the radio.

Reminds me of, "IndyCar is like Formula One, though both the cars, and the fans, are a little slower."

What do you do when your media org is captured? You start your own. Introducing....The Nerve!!! @thenerve-news.bsky.social We're all-female, journalist-owned & launching next week. Please help us build a truly independent, progressive new media!👊👊👊

That's about 1/1500 the distance to the nearest star*. It was launched just under 50 years ago, so it'd take 70,000 years to get there (if it was heading that way). --- * Other than the Sun, you pedant.

Well. I choose to name her Hetmiazongonfaroushkin.

Vik Olliver's #RepRap Micron has done a #3Dprint with layers! The cylinder with the big blob* at the top is 500μm in diameter and 10 layers high. Details: blog.reprap.org/2025/11/fina... reprap.org/wiki/RepRapM... --- * First print... Cut Vik some slack...