I'm here to chew gum and shitpost about science and I'm all out of gum. cartoon via @xkcd.com

That’s it lads, 36 years five months and four days, and it’s my last day at the BBC.

It is wonderful here. It is also very hot. Like being air fried.

As a Brit, I have seen a lot about this on Bluesky in the last 24 hours. But I have seen nothing from the President denouncing the violence at all. Has he not said anything, or am I in an echo chamber? (It would be hard to imagine the UK prime minister )saying nothing if an MP were killed.)

#PathSky 53F with shortness of breath and “ground glass” pulmonary opacity. Not a hard dx, but a spectacular (if very unfortunate) case.

Life has a way of keeping one down to earth. Yesterday I found out I am getting a medal. Today - well, it looks like I need a colonoscopy. Delighted about the former. More than a little anxious about the latter.

My latest @newscientist.com cartoon

I did a thing about being chopped in half that none of you will like, so you probably shouldn't read it. Especially not over lunch. Don't say I didn't warn you. www.bylinesupplement.com/p/russell-jo...

Autopsies are still absolutely necessary to advance our understanding of disease, and better treat living patients. Full article available here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

It's time to start reminding people: LILIES ARE DEADLY FOR CATS. The leaves, the petals, the stem, even drinking a bit of vase water or licking a few grains of pollen from their fur can cause fatal kidney failure. ⚠️ www.fda.gov/animal-veter...

Sitting here in the UK, I'd never heard of Senator Cory Booker until tonight - he's not a big name here, but I suspect that may change now. I've been listening to him for the last few hours (and you can too as his speech, which has been going on for more than 22 hours now is being streamed ...

Eid Mubarak to all who will celebrate it today!

An education, which isn't limited to the textbooks being sold to students, is how you learn what questions to ask, and what answers to challenge. LLMs are biased data, not knowledge, generation machines and function closer to a search engine than a person who can reason.

Nice! Forbidden Planet was released 69 years ago today!

"Poverty in Britain exists not because we don't have enough money to satisfy the needs of the poor, but because we don't have enough money to satisfy the greed of the rich." My bit for @bylinetimes.bsky.social on wealth tax and the new austerity. www.bylinesupplement.com/p/russell-jo...

The golden rule to remember is that gifts should be either sticky, noisy, or contain indelible ink. Bonus points for gifts that meet two or more criteria.

Esme is not at all impressed at having had her deworming treatment. PARASITES??!! I AM VENOM!!

I don't usually drink coffee, but I did not sleep well and so have had three cups. Now I am a hummingbird.

Not commonly seen without a clinical mass! #PagetsDisease of nipple with associated invasion. Also #HGDCIS in subareolar ducts. Usually #ERNegative & #Her2Positive. #pathsky #Pathology #BreastPath 😉

Epic Lasagna. The hard part in making this is the 20 minute wait now before serving.

What should we see in Kuala Lumpur? My list so far (in no order): Batu caves Bird park Butterfly park Petronas towers KLCC fountains (right by our hotel - easy) Central market and chinatown KL tower (likely for lunch and/or dinner) Royal Selangor visitor centre

Summer hols booked and, shock, NOT a cruise! We're going to Kuala Lumpur and Georgetown in Malaysia. I've been to KL before but hubs hasn't. Neither of us have been to Penang. Very exciting!

Starting Sunday with Sea Shanties! www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP-7...

You can tell antivaxxers don’t actually care about children because a child died and these sickos are using it as an excuse to share juice recipes and promote their supplements. There’s more aluminum in a cup of carrot juice than in the two-dose MMR series. And carrot juice doesn’t prevent measles.

My left shoe felt odd all day. Finally caved and took it off to see and what did I find? One of the cat's toy mice lodged in the toe. Wasn't expecting that.

A wonderful start to the day - received my copy of my mentor, Kim Suvarna’s book. I authored ch 10. Published after his death - he is much missed. #autopsy

ADVENTURER: Dragon! We are here for your gold! Prepare to die! DRAGON: My gold? ADVENTURER: Yes! We climbed this great mountain, swam it's flooded caverns and- DRAGON: Fair enough ADVENTURER: Wait, what? DRAGON: It's yours ADVENTURER: DRAGON: How are you carrying it out of here? ADVENTURER: Um... /1

Today’s excursion was an ‘African market experience’. Certainly an experience - first time we’ve needed a guide and security to see a market. most interesting part an area we couldn’t take photos - traditional medicine market where it’s believed that taking photos steals the essence of the medicine.

The port of Durban is one of the largest in Africa, but not the largest. The others must be HUGE! This is only part of it.

Today we are in Durban and have taken a trip to PheZulu and the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Was excellent!

Today’s visit to Port Elizabeth and Addo elephant park has been aborted due to high winds preventing docking.

Good morning from the Cape of Good Hope!

Today we have mostly been in the Namib desert. Saw the national plant, and also moon valley.

We’re on our way to Walvis Bay and the Skeleton Coast in Namibia. View this morning is more reminiscent of Greenland…

On #regentsevenseas cruises, a Sunday sea day means brunch. And OMG!!

What am I missing? Isn’t the point of the saying that it is an excuse to drink BEFORE 5pm? 😆

It’s a hard life. We have left Cape Town and now cruising to Walvis Bay in Namibia. Caviar and mimosa for breakfast - a light start as it’s brunch at 10am and apparently that’s something of a showstopper.

Well it turns out we’ve had a new experience. A sail away party without sailing away. Too windy apparently. Still it is lovely here in Cape Town.

Cruising in Splendor. Some of the best burgers ever. ⅔ of our cases have arrived and been unpacked. Met our room attendant. Now quite warm. Loving it.

Lots of queues but we are now aboard the Regent Seven Seas Splendor for our South African odyssey.

Awoke to clear blue skies and sight of our cruise ship. Can even see our room. It is a balmy 20-something degrees, getting up to 26 later. First time solstice in the southern hemisphere!

Arrived in Cape Town after many hours flying. Table Mountain has its cloth on so spent the afternoon at V&A waterfront. Bought new hat. Tried the local wine.

Well we have made it to Dubai. Flight from Manchester was slightly delayed but we have some time before our connecting flight to Cape Town. Business class lounge is very comfortable

I have reached the packing stage where I no longer want to go. But another 10 mins faffing about and it will be done.

Out of office on. Flight checked in. Car confirmed. HOliday HOliday HOliday

Festive

Brilliant poem from @brianbilston.bsky.social. I loved my childhood Advent Calendar, which came out every year. It was a stable scene and opened like a book. 24 windows, building excitement over the month of December! My brother had a glittery snow scene, but mine was nicer. In my opinion!

It's almost the season. BEWARE!! “Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder. Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels. Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies. Elves are glamorous. They project glamour. Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment. ...