I have done enough crosswords to form a mnemonic that helps me remember OTT (3)(baseball) v ORR (3)(hockey). Someday I will also be able to immediately recall which clever clogs is the poet (NASH (4)) versus the cartoonist (NAST (4)), especially as we did study at least one in history.

What's really concerning about this bill (second stage tomorrow) is that the power within it - to find and categorise us by our biometrics - is *NOT* the power that was in the heads of bill when we were in pre-legislative scrutiny last year. There has been no public/democratic discussion about this

Also, if you are interested in doing this work with me, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]! Law students and lawyers are preferred, but not necessary. Racialized, queer, and disabled people are encouraged to reach out too!

If there is an artist/cartoonist/designer out there in the world of crosswords, I have a potential job for you. A small job (an image for my 2026 thank-you cards), very quick turnaround time (2 weeks). message me or email rexparker at icloud dot com ❤️

31 seconds! You all know, don't you, that come the 22nd there'll be a bunch of people online wishing us ironically a happy grand auld stretch in the evenings and we'll be all able to tell them they're a week late, and it's already two-and-a-half minutes long!

For a while, I collected the worst jokes UK political correspondents ascribed to MPs, especially those sent via WhatsApp. Because I despise you, I'm migrating the thread here, starting with this absolute *shiter* from 2022, so we can share in the horror together. Please send me the worst you have.

Happy 80th Birthday to Ernie Hudson, whose many acting credits include HOLD IT, THIS GUY IS 80? WHAT????

Finding out that Gerry Conway, co-creator of the Punisher, also wrote on Father Dowling Mysteries and there's the actual crossover I want.

I've had one lovely book reviewer reach out to ask about whether this book is "sapphic" or not, and I've been tagged in a bunch of posts that simply label it that, so I'd like to share what I told the one lovely person: I have been calling it sapphic-ish. Flora-William is a woman and a man.

incredible stuff over at r/ididnthaveeggs It’s a eggnog recipe

Here is a map of the affected countries (excluding Tonga), to give you a sense of how much this new ban restricts immigration from Africa in particular. Of the newly-added country, Nigeria faces the largest impact, with tens of thousands of visas issued every year to Nigerians.

“Muppet Dracula with Deadly as Dracula” do u hear yourself. That’s a Gonzo role. The chickens are the brides. Get your head in the game.

Before I moved to Germany I was volunteering teaching English to migrants and refugees in Dublin. On my last day before moving, a 60-something Ukrainian woman I'd been teaching said "Good luck" then glanced down at her lesson notes, and said "It'll be grand." Fuck off with your "social cohesion" bs

Dropping this the same day as the sad white guy essay is diabolical work from Reuters and I salute it.

Again I say: how fucking interesting that remote work technology is bad and not worth adopting despite all research pointing to productivity gains, but genAI which offers NOTHING is so important to adopt and force on people who have no use for it despite all the horrible things genAI does

I'm not sure if people realize the murder strikes are taking place across a large region. It's quite staggering. www.newsweek.com/map-us-strik...

But just switching written essay to oral exams over genAI panic is not going to help. We need to use this as an opportunity to reconsider what the function of assessment is, what we want out of it, how we are equipping students fir the world AND (for those who want it) further study.

#SpeirGorm #Solidarity

Actually, rebumping this because I know there are neighborhood WhatsApps in this area where most of the members might not be on BlueSky - but all it takes is one person to get it in those loops and get more people looking. (Yes, I put it on mine.)

Guys Ernie is still missing, he's the sweetest little boy who enjoys the company of humans. If you see him around Richmond Road/Clonliffe Road, please call his mam on 0892533727🙏🏽

This really resonates - I was taught the same formal essay structures back in the day and as a result every time I see people claim some grammatical quirk is sure proof of LLM authorship I get nervous about writing anything in public.

I hadn't given much thought to the actual philosophy behind the "empathy is bad, actually" movement, because the people espousing it are so transparently anti-human that I never thought of it as having more depth than wolves having the philosophy "Sheep are tasty". But I realized it matters to AI.

Why did I stumble upon Frederick laying here looking like he’s summoning an Eldritch horror?

This goes doubly for my fellow abolitionists. If we're abolishing the system anyway, why do we need to know how it works now? These are questions I get on a daily basis. And here are my answers. 1. First, you simply cannot dismantle a system unless you already know how it works.

government is not a business and I will die on this hill. it should not make a profit, it should provide a service. the point of taxes is to pay for that service

Two exquisite Harry Clarke illustrations have been acquired by the National Gallery of Ireland. See them in room 20 from today, free admission.

Honestly, as a member of a community served by schools and as someone who wants to see children and families served well, I have my own opinions too, but the least I can do is encourage parents/guardians to make their input known.

Cross posting this 14 book bundle from @aptshadow.bsky.social #booksky 💙📚 www.humblebundle.com/books/adrian...

"immigrants are why you can't get a hospital appointment / why there aren't enough houses" these crises are both caused by rich people's greed, AND ALSO i guarantee you both would get worse overnight if half the people who have moved to ireland decided to go back to their previous homes

Can we commission CMAT to write a song about Jim O'Callaghan #spéirghorm

We will have about 13,000 in 2025. About half will be allowed stay. I don't think 6,500 extra people in a population of 5 million is a threat to "social cohesion". Not being able to afford a home or to see a doctor or not having to wait 3 years for my kid's needs to be assessed is.

Recall of Cube bicycles warns use must “stop immediately and without exception” Bicycle brand Cube has issued a recall, telling customers to stop using the 2025 and 2026 road bicycles "immediately and without exception until the fork has been checked and affected forks replaced". The company has…

I'd say lack of mental/health services, lack of housing, lack of public transport infrastructure, lack of "the third place" and pandering to right wing talking points in the face of neoliberalsim and late stage capitalism is the biggest threat to 'social cohesion'. But fuckit what do I know.

to sleep() perchance to dream

“Our systems are under pressure!” “So you’re going to increase funding to those systems, right? Right?” “No, let’s introduce new unworkable, legally-challengeable schemes!” “That… that doesn’t seem like it will help.” “You’re right, let’s limit population growth, starting with the most vulnerable!”

An unpublished report commissioned by Dublin City Council has identified hundreds of feeding sites used by light-bellied brent geese across the county.

i'm ever more convinced that mandating a social media website to collect [via 3rd party or not, irrelevant] people's IDs supposedly for age verification is a complete horseshite: -----BEGIN GARDA AGE CARD----- Crypto: AAAAAAAAAA Email: [email protected] Age level: 16+ ------END GARDA AGE CARD-------

the above, issued by a bored Garda at the station, is enough to support the stated purpose; anything more intrusive isn't justifiable, certainly not with the arguments being put forward today

Reminder that if anyone is setting you up online to do some crime, THAT PERSON IS A COP. ALWAYS. WITHOUT FAIL.

A few years ago I saw someone say that dating someone with ADHD is like microdosing Wikipedia and I’m still recovering from that wound

The bear is now one of the renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web

I guess this has probably already gone viral somewhere but I am simply dying at this picture of a bear that looks like it hired a photographer to do a glamour shoot

So there’s a whole generation that’s never seen When Harry Met Sally and it seems that everybody is going to watch it now— may the Reiners’ memories be for a blessing— and I am fascinated to see how they experience it. I have no perspective.

If anyone's open to a New Year's resolution suggestion, please try volunteering for a non-profit! It doesn't necessarily mean showing up in person to do physical labor. Just think about a cause that is important to you and consider what skills you have. 🧵

Just in case you didn't see this cultural beauty of a cover by Juliet Nneka. Roots of Madness No. 4 cover, out 2/4/26! FOF TODAY!

Every single reporter there needs to hold the line on this too. Don't throw him a lifeline with another question if he dodges. Have each other's backs and demand he answer the question.

The average person lived to be about 50-60 hundreds of years ago. The reason everyone fixates on the average human lifespan being 30 or 40 is because of the infant mortality rate. Half the kids didn't make it past 5; it dragged the lifespan average THAT far down. Vaccinate your kids.

🧵 If any of you are responsible for this, here's some advice: This isn't how you honour creators. This is theft. And this isn't how you hone your creativity. This is theft. Learn how to impersonate people and do your roleplaying that way. Because this? IS THEFT. caibotlist.com?search=daisy... 1/4

Last chance (at least for a while) to get our All Fonts Pack 90% Off in our Winter Sale. 1200+ Commercial Use fonts for use in all your projects with free updates as we add more to the pack. Use them in game dev, graphic design, web design, videos, physical merch etc. ci.itch.io/all-fonts-pack