friend at a big tech co just told me that her company's chatbot and their client's chatbot have been caught in a mutual support loop for several days that has generated nearly 20k emails

You (running screaming into the ER): My girlfriend's in a coma?! (Goth nurse who's been waiting their entire life for this): It's serious.

Quite a lot of people lost someone, maybe an elderly relative, during the heatwave. My Aunt Barbara, very ill with advanced dementia, died yesterday aged 91. She was unmarried, no kids and I had been taking care of her affairs for the past few years. That’s the least interesting thing about her. 1

Catatonic #caturday

That heatwave was vile, but it has reminded me how much I liked early lockdown. I don’t mind a national emergency that instantly explains why I’ll be staying inside for a bit, pottering, getting on with stuff, but probably not too much. I’m not sure I like late stage capitalism in Normal Mode.

Case and Frost are both very clear evidence that something has gone very badly wrong with the Civil Service. Neither should have been promoted to the levels they were.

🧠🪱 Brain worms Yes, Beth Mole’s latest 😊 This is a “60-year-old man in Spain”, but you can’t help being reminded of RFK Jr, who claimed “a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” (according to NYT).

12 years ago Janet Street-Porter curated an incredible collection of BBC Archive films for BBC Four on post-war architecture. They're all still available and it's difficult for me to think of a better illustration of the value of public service broadcasting. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/a...

I worked harder on this book than any before it. My ex-publisher then failed to pay me what they owed me for it & did their best to ruin its chances of survival. That robbed me of a year of my life & ruined my health. After all that, to see reviews like this one brings me close to tears too.

Air to Ground Message: HEY WHAT WAS THE FINAL SCORE OF THE WORLD CUP CANADA GAME THX Area: Gaithersburg, MD, USA A: #a8ab4c0fceb F: #f44ef2bb0d9

can’t believe a narcissist is being so publicly humiliated by a reflecting pool

Ahem 👋 as a child in the 1970s heatwave.. yes of course I remember playing out in the sun day after day after day... but I also remember we had no fucking water. We, the kids,had to walk to the nearest standpipe (1.5 miles for me) to get any water...3Times a day. Not such fun 🤬

Screaming

If people in the 19thC could stop writing long sloppy letters in black ink while using both sides of pieces of tracing paper that would be really super great, thanks.

Colleagues at Exeter have asked me to circulate this petition as widely as possible: www.change.org/p/stop-redun...

A world-class education is now completely free — MIT has opened its entire vault of more than 2,500 courses to the public online. source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (2026). About Us: MIT OpenCourseWare. MIT Open Learning. 😊

Air to Ground Message: WIFI NOT WORKING Area: Charlotte, NC, USA Type: Bombardier CRJ900 A: #adedc8b2167 F: #f337eee03e8

"tropical nights" significsnt less fun than they sound, huh

Worth remembering in this context that a lot of infrastructure in Manchester was built using EU structural funds, including the Bridgewater Hall and the Conference Centre.

Can confirm that the new PM will be Daphne's eighth PM ...

RMA 150th Anniversary Fellowships: Call for applications The Royal Musical Association 150th Anniversary Fellowships (for Early Career Researchers) Given the extremely challenging environment facing...

Happy 137th birthday, Petrified Ham!

Emily Elizabeth Joy Lomax (1973-2026)

So, since everyone is online - I am reupping this with a new announcement: Mrs O is coming as my co-driver. Any support massively appreciated, I'm still in awe of everything B'sky has done for this.

"The Americans can't get the slime out of their capital's monument pool and will arrest you for touching it," sounds like the sort of lie they'd tell us in the Soviet Union so we'd stop bitching about bread lines.

Just when you think you understand English placename pronunciation... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higham,...

Muppet moby dick

A remarkable discovery at Aspendos: archaeologists have uncovered a Roman mosaic showing the river god Eurymedon. Dating to the 3rd century AD, it adds a new highlight to the city’s rich ancient heritage. 👉 www.turkiyetoday.com/culture/rare...

all aboard the

Algae cheering section

1/ Happy Juneteenth! How a Texas emancipation commemoration spread across the US is an amazing story. But Juneteenth wasn’t the first Black Freedom Day in America—or the only one of its day. So, let’s talk about em’. Pictured: Martha Yates Jones and Pinkie V Yates, Houston Juneteenth, 1908 | HPL

Macron is such a mischievous little bitch he knew exactly what he was doing. I love him.

In my mind, Team Burnham is playing Team Farage and the Burnham supporters are chanting “can we play you every week“. Is it too much to hope that BBC recognise now that the fascists aren’t winning and don’t deserve disproportionate attention? @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social

In accordance with ancient tradition, our next Prime Minister is announced to the nation while standing between a furry and a man with a bin on his head.

Fuck 'em up, Emmeline.

It really is bleak where Cadbury's, a deeply ethical company with a beautiful history, has ended up. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Exc: First Government department quits Twitter over racism and violence concerns Richard Hermer sent a directive to staff last week saying the Attorney General's Office would be coming off the platform observer.co.uk/news/politic...

one anecdote: I was searching for a link to one of my old papers on Google, and the automated Gemini summary attributed all of my lab's work to my husband

Uzbend it like Uzbekistan

If you're looking for Steve Reich recommendations, this is turning into a great thread.

Drumming up interest for a Steve Reich How To Buy in @mojomagazine.bsky.social. Don't get phased. What are your favourite recordings of Shaker Loops, Different Trains, Desert Music, Clapping, 18 Musicians, Jacob's Ladder Double Sextet... etc. Best replies will go in the mag. Show your workings.

Got it this time #GladdersYoga

Air to Ground Message: NOW SAYS SHE FIXED PAX CLOGGED WITH PAPER TOWELS Area: Springfield, MO, USA Type: Bombardier CRJ700 A: #a72f0fde0c6 F: #f6dae5cb005

Air to Ground Message: WORLD CUP SCORE PLEASE Area: Phoenix, AZ, USA Type: Airbus A321neo A: #afa2f83c07b F: #fda9d9135de

One of my colleagues is doing a presentation on how great AI is, and to prove the point he got AI to create the slides for him, and he asked AI to save the presentation and I think you can all guess where this is going... Anyway, we've all learned an important lesson about using AI.

'Caesar am Rubicon', Wilhelm Trübner, oil on canvas, 1878.