A new Substack blogpost from @robinince.bsky.social thecosmicshamblesnetwork.substack.com/p/a-difficul...

Christmas giveaway time! I've got a 2026 Calendar in need of a good home. For a chance to win it just click Follow/Like/Retweet (and if you can spare a couple of quid a month & want to encourage me, sign up to my Patreon.com/happytoast - but that bit's not necessary to win)

Come work with me! (And, thankfully, other people)

Legendary subterfuge that all b3ta members will remember

We've secured landmark agreements with all five major academic publishers, giving UK universities read and publish access to 11,000+ journals and breaking pricing links to article volume.

📢 Postdoctoral Opportunity – Neural control of movement in Parkinson’s (3 years) This fantastic three-year postdoctoral position at Cardiff University and funded by Parkinson's UK, has now re-opened for applications. Full details and application here: krb-sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Sear...

Bloody finally.

Trump is coming after our BBC. He’s suing it for $10 billion, and the Conservatives and Reform are cheering him on.

Erm what?!? is this for real @eastmidrailway.bsky.social ?

Ongoing decimation of British universities part 252: Apx. 1000 academic staff at University of Essex just received formal ‘risk of redundancy’ letters via email. Please share @ucuessex.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk

I'm giving away a copy of this year's Monster Month, just Like/Follow/Repost and you're in with a chance of winning.

If you (or your university) is a UCISA member, then you can sign up for this panel on Web / Digital Services tomorrow. I'll be on it, talking about challenges in HE around money, governance, AI use and more. ucisa.ac.uk/Events/2025/...

We deserve better than this

Closedown: The Trailer.

Premiere of our film takes place at the Curzon Soho on 28th Jan, 18:20. Tickets on sale now. Part of the London Short Film Festival.

This Pluribus ad on a fridge caused a schizophrenic woman named Carol to be hospitalized.

"are you enjoying duo mobile" does a hamburger enjoy being made of quarks. does a fish enjoy linear time. does the mountain enjoy the first taste of a cup of hot chocolate when you get back to the ski lodge. your question means nothing to me. i couldn't enjoy duo mobile even if i tried

Award for being a "great educator" one day.... Announces cuts to education the next All in a week's work for your local Vice Chancellor And we @ulsteruni.bsky.social thought the Times Higher UoTY Gong Washing was peak trolling......

It's official: 400 redundancies and a campus closure. At-risk staff will get a letter next week. Absolutely no serious consideration of any of the union's counterproposals. Please share widely.

As set out in this thread, the causes of the court backlog are chronic lack of funding and absurd inefficiency. The government has made no proposals to address either. Their answer is to remove juries. Rather than fix the leaking roof, their solution is to burn the house down.

Great culture can save lives. Literally. Amazing letter in today’s @thetimes.com about Tom Stoppard

Currently looking for freelance ecological/conservation work, based in East Mids but happy to travel. Experienced in survey, land management, conservation and invasive species removal. CV on request. Had my hours slashed at work and xmas is looking like it will be lean this year. Pls share!

RMT members who clean the DLR and who are employed by Bidvest Noonan are back on the picket lines today - fighting for sick pay. The current offer: One weeks pay - but ONLY if you're dying! Share if that's unfair.

This is community 🥰

Not much can beat local live music. The Gerry Farrow Band warming up.

UNBOUND AUTHORS: Leftover copies of your books in the UK (MacMillan) warehouse will be pulped within the next week or two. DM me for a link to the warehouse stock list and contacts. If you have no dosh, another publisher (Wilton Sq) is willing to buy the books & distribute on a 50/50 profit split

Get your flu vaccines, people. If you're in the UK you can get the vaccine at most pharmacies (in Tesco it's about £16) or check here to see if you're eligible for a free one: www.nhs.uk/vaccinations...

I want David Lammy to read this particular case. I want him to understand what it means.

Shivers down my spine. Beautifully done @xkcd.com

Malice and incompetence. Awful. #UKHE www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Selling some haunted paintings (in #Nottingham) to raise funds for my cat shelter, please spread the word among your arty / under-ghouled friends www.facebook.com/marketplace/...

Another superb occasion last night at our third twice-yearly @loroshospice.bsky.social charity quiz. Our winners took home a fabulous voucher for a First Class Lunch on the Great Central Railway, and the grand total raised for the evening was a magnificent £710 💙

always remember: Terry Pratchett said trans rights this book was written in 1996 by a 48 year old British man and no cis person in 2025 has a single goddamn excuse to behave differently

Discworld QOTD, from Feet of Clay, for Trans Day of Remembrance

As someone who saw my pension erode significantly when I switched from TPS to USS, this cause is close to my heart - please sign: www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/no...

POV: you are a young woman celebrating a recent academic success

Have you voted in the #WeAreTheUniversity ballot yet? If not, vote now and vote YES! @ucu.org.uk @unitetheunion.bsky.social @unison.org.uk

Looking to talk to someone who makes YouTube content or streams - preferably not personal finance content! Maybe something arty? Open to ideas, suggestions welcome

Next time someone tells you that train drivers "just push buttons" show them this from the BBC

This is the most ruthless act of union busting in the history of the UK games industry. Yesterday, @rockstargames.com unfairly fired over 30 employees for union activity. We won't back down, and we're not scared - we will fight for every member to be reinstated.

Picking up on the day's news via Bluesky. "Jamaica?" "Ozymandias?" "Nonce?"

This really is a shame. In times like these we really should be commissioning more engaging, informative evidence-based shows, not fewer.

Yep, did this, very easy.

Government has published one of those quiet but important documents that might get overlooked as it is not 'newsy'. The headline finding is that £1 of public R&D investment generates £8 in net economic benefits for the UK over the long term www.gov.uk/government/p...

I mean... she's right. It's worse.

Yay. Priceless. The right column at the right time. And a gleefully English two fingers to the haters.

Hey so UoBham colleagues - if you know anyone in Comp Sci who uses Uno as a teaching technique then give them a heads up they should do a blurb about privacy in the classroom next session because one of their students is a redditor & is posting pictures taken in-class.

Ten Reasons to Vote Yes in the @ucu.org.uk ballot 1⃣ 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝘀 A YES vote strengthens the hand of your elected negotiators and your union in the face of a set of employers making massive cuts in pay and jobs.

Another @ucu.org.uk vote goes in the post. Your union needs you ✊ #weAreTheUniversity @lboroucu.bsky.social

Not going to pretend Tolkien isn’t flawed but this thread is bang on. Tolkien couldn’t be more explicit that the Hard Men of Gondor are *doomed to fail* no matter how Tough they are. The victory against evil is brought about by pity.