Really enjoying @timmaughan.bsky.social’s Infinite Detail. It reads as if Islands in the Net crashed into The Long Tomorrow, but with its own colour and sound. 2020s cyberpunk done right.

Watched The Twits. This film’s only saving grace is knowing that if Roald Dahl was alive and watching this he’d be utterly horrified his name was involved in this. A beautiful thought.

It's fascinating to me that there's a whole "AI skeptic" misinformation ecosystem out there that somehow continues to deny that Waymo exists. Like, this is easy to fact check! Waymo runs publicly-available service in 5 cities, you can just go look up how it works and see it's not planned routes!

Remind me again what happened last time Poland was invaded. www.janes.com/osint-insigh...

Does Moore’s Law apply to GPUs?

My semi-regular reminder of a really important reality about cities, density, services and taxes. Original graphic cleaned up by @kathrynmathias.bsky.social. #CityMakingMath

I was yesterday years old when I started playing my first Zelda game. Link’s Awakening is a total delight.

Did you or a family member once reside in Innsmouth? Did you test positive for fish/cephalopod DNA? You may be eligible to join a class action lawsuit. Email: [email protected] and attach results of the DNA test. (We are totally not trying to gather your info to return you to Cthulhu's bosom.)

Slightly diminish a book: The Foreman of the Rings

Remembering that time I saw someone in the local supermarket wearing the “Running on tea, sarcasm and inappropriate behaviour” t-shirt from @www.joditaylorbooks.com’s wonderful Chronicles of St. Mary’s. Had a right kick from seeing another fan in the wild.

Sometimes, self-care means “going to bed early with a book and making sure you get enough rest”.

Absolutely loving Dead Lies Dreaming by @cstross.bsky.social. Is the chapter title “Overdrawn at the Pennine Bank” an homage to the classic Raul Julia TV film “Overdrawn at the Memory Bank”?

Pagliacci goes to see Pagliacci. He's in the audience, but also on the stage. "Is this, fuck," he thinks. "Am I in a Lynch film right now. Am I in Mullholland Drive." Captured by confusion, horror, and strange, exultant sorrow, the clown must admit he is no longer depressed

I really want to know the name of the merged party.

Today I went into a stationery shop, and spoke to a person who directed me to where I could find the USB sticks. I got the stick I wanted, went to the till, and paid a second person, with cash. Then I went home and used the USB stick to install Linux on a computer. It was like 2005 never went away.

"You put one leg in there....that's it.... now, put your other leg into there. Good. Now pull that belt bit up towards your waist... "

The other day I drew a subway-style map for The Hobbit, and it was very well received. Some of you asked if I could do one for LoTR, so I have! Forgive the eel watermark; I'm working on making these something you can buy, if you like.

A Stay Hydrated kind of day.

Accurate

Every few years, someone becomes the internet main character by declaring people don't actually ENJOY old/foreign/challenging movies, they are just PRETENDING to like them for the IMAGE. And I'll say what I say every time this happens: this reveals a lot more about the complainer than they realize.

Never mind Indiana Jones, when are they going to announce they’re rebooting The Godfather?

omg they even ate the bones

I do not think we will like the ongoing Climate Crisis at all and I think we should not do it.

Meanwhile...

As climate change metaphors go, the #F1 qualifying getting interrupted because the grass on the side of the track caught fire is a bit on the nose. The scriptwriters really need to wind this back a couple of notches.

I’m not sure how by I hadn’t read Islands in the Net by @bruces.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy yet. Utterly absorbing book. Doesn’t pull any punches, and has a lot of relevant things to say.

India's ⚡️ generation from coal in April 2025 dropped well below generation in 2024, a rare sight in a country with fast rising electricity demand. Reasons: - Milder temperatures than during excessive heat in 2024 - Strong solar growth (+32% yoy) - Good hydro and wind output

Every few years I go back and re-read @greatdismal.bsky.social’s Bridge trilogy. I feel like might be time to do it again.

Spent the morning basking in the glory of Pivot Tables.

Global sales of combustion engine cars have passed the peak. Sales peaked in 2017 or 2018 (depending on the source...). From our Daily Data Insights: ourworldindata.org/data-insight...

Majorities in every single UK constituency say they are worried about climate change. It is no longer the fringe liberal metropolitan issue. Do a focus group for red wall voters they’ll talk about worries for their kids and fossil fuels meaning reliance on “mad men like Putin”

I often find myself thinking about Karl Polanyi and the idea of the double movement. An economic (read, social and/or environmental) idea forges ahead, is pushed to extremes, and societies react by pushing back against it. Sort of socio-political self-regulating of extreme innovation.

Jim Rowan, CEO of Volvo: the UK is "a really strong market" for EVs. The #ZEVMandate is "extremely useful." It's good to get car companies investing in "the technologies of the future, because that's where the competition is going to be". Good to hear. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Periodic reminder that terms like “gen this” or “gen that” are utter rubbish. They’re cute shorthands, but you often find more differences within groups than between groups.

NEW: There’s now TWICE as much lithium in the world as assessed in 2018.. ...according to the annual “Mineral Commodity Summaries” out today from the US Geological Survey

"For every middle-aged man gleefully highlighting another Dunkelflaute, a German word for when there is no sun or wind for weeks, and the folly of net zero, there is a Net-Zero Dad proudly showing strangers a whirring heat pump." www.economist.com/britain/2025...

One of the things that always gets my goat is how deskilling GenAI proposals are. Choosing a book to read is a skill; you need to understand what you like, your mood, and when to step out of your usual lane. This things assumes a user that wants to read, but has no interest in books, or themselves.

for the first time ever, solar power generation overtakes coal in the eu the change since 2011 is staggering (and will continue widening)

Interesting new survey of top corporate execs from Capgemini shows large majority planning to increase spending on sustainability. So much of the 'ESG backlash' is (at this stage at least) hype over reality. www.businessgreen.com/news-analysi...

Beyond the case in point, I think we need to keep highlighting how much the spreadsheet is the tool by which we change the world.

Came across a @coldwarsteve.bsky.social in the wild!

Another step forward for the UK carbon capture market. www.businessgreen.com/news/4393872...

It’s not too late for us to make a difference on climate change & improve our cities’ survivability. Here’s a TED talk with some interesting info that speaks to making our shared infrastructure resilient & sustainable. Or read her book, “How Infrastructure Works”). www.ted.com/talks/deb_ch...

Occasional reminder that there’s no, “it’s too late, its over” for anthropogenic climate change. Every molecule of CO2 that doesn’t go into the atmosphere makes a difference. Preventing 0.1 degree of warming makes a difference. Every bit of climate resilience we build together makes a difference.

Some of the most lucid thinking I’ve seen about EV adoption and its challenges. The idea that policy needs to evolve doesn’t get enough airing!