The first of a fleet of shiny new DLR trains entered service this morning, to a collective shug from most of the passengers – and that’s exactly as it should be. www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/the...

One bad apple ...

In discussion with a computer scientist from the University of Cambridge last night: Me: "you've described some of the things that AI is good at. How would you describe the category of things it's not good at? **pause** Him: "Anything where it has to be right".

An actual quote from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade Too often people go to university to ‘explore research and knowledge’ Look forward to Wes S saying 'too often people go to hospital to have operations' or Heidi Alexander saying 'too often people go to the station to catch a train'

Free speech banned in Windsor prior to Trump visit bit.ly/4pnBOrr I cannot see how this accurate photo is ‘malicious communication’ which must be indecent, grossly offensive, or menacing but I guess the police needed an arrest to take it down.

Spinal Tap II. Well crafted and nicely judged, it offers knowing chuckles rather than the guffaws of the original. Very enjoyable for Tap fans, and it doesn't outstay its welcome.

A regular reminder that there is no classical Greek source for this story - and our, much later, ancient sources name a very different messenger. Pheidippides actually ran an ultra marathon to Sparta and back! www.badancient.com/claims/pheid...

If you see headlines claiming NASA's found life on Mars - these are new studies of features in rocks which, if they were on Earth, look like the kind of thing caused by microorganisms. But they could very well - are most probably in fact - be caused by chemistry, not biology.

it's real support from actual racists

On the same day in the Telegraph:

Tl;dr: “Hurrah for the Blackshirts!”

UK stargazers, there will be a total lunar eclipse at moonrise this Sunday evening! ☀️ 🌍🌕 The eclipse will begin while the Moon is below the horizon, reaching its maximum 20 minutes before moonrise, meaning we'll catch totality before the Moon exits Earth's shadow. 🔴 👉 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

What’s really depressing is that there are several big structural problems in the UK where not only is there near-consensus that something must be done, preferably twenty years ago, but where the way forward is pretty well agreed among experts: social care and council tax. 1/2

And far too often we still think physics is just quantum mechanics and cosmology - far away mysterious things that don't relate to our everyday life. That's nonsense. Why it is tiring to walk slowly, what limits the height of a tree, why do baby ducks swim in a tight line? Physics will tell you!

Few natural objects are as familiar as the Sun, but we've only understood its core processes for less than a century, and there's still an enormous amount to discover.

It is a contentious issue in forensic psychology as to whether 'white-collar psychopathy' is a valid category.

And binocular images are not figure-8 shaped, but few accept that.

🙄

Appeasing Farage won't save the BBC. If he obtains power he'll either abolish it or do a full conversion to state control.

To be called BritGPT and will suggest a nice cup of tea as the answer to every problem. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Connecting meteorites with the Sun via comets is sort of correct. At least Anaxagoras didn't theorise antimatter.

Parachute jumps for charity cost more to the NHS than they raise on average according to a 1999 study

Is 3I/ATLAS made of cheese? Is cheese made of 3I/ATLAS? Is Avi made of cheese? Who can say?

A new Bad Ancient article is now out. This one has been a while in the making! www.badancient.com/claims/roman...

I'll admit, I was skeptical when they said Gemini was just like a bunch of PhDs. But I gotta admit they nailed it.

They found a printer that works?

Shocked to discover that careful analysis appears to rule out aliens.

The media report this as if it's serious diplomacy or negotiating, but it's mainly about getting exposure and personal advancement.

Idealised, of course, but it does capture the thrill of seeing a dense shower against a dark sky.

The fact that this woman is barking mad is merely a matter of individual psychiatry. What's of political importance is that many members of the ruling class and much of the media thought she was fit to be PM.

🙄

Thanks google AI but I meant to type “shut”…

Sexual intercourse began In 63 BC (which was rather late for me) - Between the end of the Catiline coup And Catullus' first whoopee.

Glad the Apollo 13 movie is getting reruns lately. This scene is even more moving today: right, Tom Hanks playing Jim Lovell; left, cameo appearance by actual Jim Lovell (1928 Mar 25 - 2025 Aug 7).

the scenario we all feared

It’s amazing how ridiculous the reporting of Trump’s nuclear bluster is. He deploys the USS Jeffrey and USS Epstein (allegedly), doesn’t say where, and people are acting like he might go nuclear. His threats are even less credible than Putin’s.

Trump decides tractor production statistics are too low. www.ft.com/content/023b...

Fascinating. It's better than the station, I suppose.

BBC News - American musical satirist Tom Lehrer dies at 97, US media report www.bbc.com/news/article...

No, inheritance tax isn't a double tax on your already taxed, hard earned money. You're dead. You don't pay it. It's paid, to all intents and purposes, by the people receiving the inheritance, who absolutely did not earn it, and don't deserve a massive tax free windfall.

An entertaining takedown of claims about mysterious interstellar objects being alien probes. Particularly good on the “absence of evidence is itself evidence that There’s Something Out There” fallacy. briandunning.substack.com/p/alien-visi...

Seconded.

So, happy 21st birthday, this photo caption – which appeared in Selkirk paper the Southern Reporter below pictures of St Ronan’s Games Week and Cleekum Ceremonies in Innerleithen

Quality piss-taking. We heartily approve.

'Strong possibility '🤦

And I think in London, looking northwest.

Only a few hours to go until the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere - it's at 03.42 BST (02.42 GMT) on Saturday 21 June. So yes, the middle of the night, and the 21st is the longest day of the year. Happy Summer (Winter for southerners) Solstice everyone! www.rmg.co.uk/storie...

Batters? @bbcnewsuk.bsky.social. Surely batspeople or quiet batspeople?

Transport for London (TfL) has chosen a heatwave to announce that the new air-conditioned Piccadilly line trains have been delayed. www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/lon...

Great from CD. Not the Platonic great lie, but the little lies politicians often want you to believe.