There's a broken cuneiform tablet from the Old Babylonian period, nearly 4,000 years ago, which preserves a tiny portion of a dialogue between two friends. It feels a bit like the conversations I've been having for the past week, so I wanted to share it.

Remember these Mac logos of Susan Kare? 'Her primary objective with the Macintosh was to humanize it, ... and give it "a smile'". She intended to bring "an artist's sensibility to a world that had been the exclusive domain of engineers and programmers". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_K...

Fascinating article on conservation of historic handmade glass fibre* garments. [*Here, I use 'fibre' (AusEng) because 'fiber' and 'fibers' grate. You're welcome to substitute what you wish.] blog.cmog.org/2017/qa-rako...

I don’t often miss being in retail, but when I do it’s because of the chance to assemble a ‘display stand’ like this (and I don’t even care about modern race cars, it’s all about the card engineering)…

What's the connection between Helen Doe's bio of fighter ace Stanford Tuck, & 1980s novel & TV series 'Piece of Cake' by Derek Robinson? Find out from Helen, myself and James Jefferies at @avculturesconf.bsky.social's Searchlight FREE online webinar this weekend! aviationcultures.org/spotlights/p...

Some mudlarking finds survived for centuries in the muddy banks of the River Thames. Others are freshly baked tasty snacks. 🍪 This biscuit (cookie) set recreates ten of the 350+ mudlarked objects in London Museum's Secrets of the Thames exhibition. The exhibition closes on 1 March. Don’t miss it!

Sadly, despite the good stuff in its heyday, you should not be on Twitter (X) any more. Data says. "...also significantly demoted the share of posts from traditional news organisations’ accounts while promoting or boosting posts from political activists." theconversation.com/a-few-weeks-...

Thoughts on #FridayReads. A paired ‘then & now’ bio set on well-known, highly regarded British pilots: Bob Stanford Tuck & Eric Brown. In both cases, modern bios explode multiple myths. Join us, & author Dr Helen Doe at @avculturesconf.bsky.social to discuss! aviationcultures.org/spotlights/p...

Great post. People (which is people, next pedestrians, then cyclists, then drivers etc) come first in getting around. We now know for certain human habitation built for people first works best, not what tech-knobs tell us. Londoners flow through traffic. Jaywalking can stay under a car in the US.

Take the time to do this folks. The proposed changes to ILR are shocking and cruel, which is made abundantly clear in the text of the public consultation linked below. Please lend your voice to try to mitigate the cruelty.

Bonjour and good morning #histscalemodel gang! Just a little reminder that on May 1st, the #BastilleBuild 🇫🇷 group build starts! It's never too early to order those aftermarket accessories ;) You can read all the rules and (optionally) RSVP via the embedded form on bastille.videospectre.net

Curious that no one’s picked why Audrey’s CIA question is amusing - anachronistically, I think.

Tonight’s entertainment. First viewing of Charade (1963). Great film, glad to finally get there. Hepburn, Cary Grant ~and~ Walter Matthau. Many zingers, but this one lands if you’re in aviation history… “Mrs. Lampert, do you know what C.I.A. is?” “I don't suppose it's an airline, is it?”

The most interesting thing about this ABC Challenger long read (to me) is that the five engineers who warned it was unsafe then became "lepers". Why is it not the managers who overruled them to suffer social ostracism? www.abc.net.au/news/science...

"The idea that trans inclusion at the ponds is somehow imposed against the wishes of users simply does not survive contact with reality. Londoners have looked at the evidence... and overwhelmingly said: this works, this is fair, and this reflects our values." celord.com/2026/01/29/h...

Turned another thread into an article for easy reading. Film review: ‘The Dig’ (2021) You can read it here; fakehistoryhunter.net/2026/01/28/f... or here; fakehistoryhunter.substack.com/p/film-revie...

Yesterday James Robert David Jefferies and I had a fantastic chat about our paper for @avculturesconf.bsky.social 'Print the Legend' free webinar 'Searchlight'. Despite being on opposite sides of the globe, we were on the same page! See more, join us! Details: aviationcultures.org/spotlights/p...

At @avculturesconf.bsky.social we have a couple of terrific events coming up. The first, online,our 'Searchlight' is at the end of Feb. The in-person (and also online) full conference is mid June, in Canada, AND you can submit papers for that until the 5th Feb. So don't be shy, engage via website!

Don't miss it! It's free to attend our Print the Legend Spotlight event on 27-28 Feb online, and we have the full conference, in person in Kelowna, BC Canada and also online, so do join us! We are still accepting papers for the AvCultures Conference in June, for details, see below!

In the first presenter profile for Print the Legend, (27-28 February - register here: unisq.zoom.us/webinar/regi... ) we are thrilled to welcome backour old friend Guillaume de Syon. Guillaume’s presentation is titled “Hot Air Stories? Figuring out the “real” Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin”. >

Ray Morimura (Japanese Artist, born 1948) "House in Tamugimata", 1999. Japanese Woodblock Print, 45 × 30 cm. Private Collection. #art #painting #painters #BlueSkyArt

I just updated my explainer for why I don't allow generative AI in my classrooms with a new section and an expanded section. New: Generative AI has a literal body count Expanded: Generative AI is dehumanizing CETERUM AUTEM CENSEO INTELLIGENTIA ARTIFICIALIS ESSE DELENDAM

No, these are very serious comments. ChatGPT has absolutely no goddamn place in graduate education. It steals from other authors, routinely gets major facts wrong, hallucinates sources, and generally makes the prose flat and boring as hell. And if you shill for it in my mentions, I'll block you.

For #FridayReads, May I suggest The Vintage Aviation Echo’s ( @vintageavecho.bsky.social ) new Vol II? As well as a range of other splendid articles, it has my feature on the Martin Mars saga, that goes in many unexpected directions, inc from Mary Pickford to Typhoon Freda. Details: www.vaemag.com

An exciting opportunity in Kelowna. Great to see the twin Merlins on this Mozzie in action! @avculturesconf.bsky.social and the Canadian Aviation Historical Society will be at the KF Centre for Excellence in June, so see you and the Mozzie there, then! -JDK kfcentre.ca/mosquito-eng...

Important article on the lack of redundancy and robustnesses in Australia's rural emergency public comms network. Knowledgeable input welcome. theconversation.com/no-power-no-...

A thing I didn’t expect to see. It’s an Iguanodon (Victorian reconstruction) one of the Crystal Palace dinosaurs.

OK, @six18sfoundry.bsky.social , you have my attention, I think we need to hear more, please!

Tonight’s entertainment: Theodore Drew III: “Mother says I'm a throwback to my great-grandfather. He was a pirate.” Regi Allen: “Honest?” Theodore Drew III: “No, a pirate.”

Bonjour #histscalemodels ! Now that #HeaviesGB has concluded, I would like to propose a new group build for 2026. I floated the idea a while back and people seemed interested, so here we go: #BastilleBuild will run from May 1st to July 14th! Details in comments or at bastille.videospectre.net

#histscalemodels group build concluded. Have a great holidays season, we will do something similar again in 2026 to make the coummunity come together.

Formal photos of the completed model. Thanks to @jaaaagirr.bsky.social for leading the project, and all the other contributions to see - good luck to everyone else racing to the finish line of #HeaviesGB in #histscalemodels ! If there's interest I can share some build photos and saga, say the word!

Well, with an hour and a half to go (local time) and a BIG push to the end, it's DONE*. The Focke Wulf Fw 200 airliner prototype D-ACON, as on the 24 hour non-stop flight from Flugplatz Berlin-Staaken, Germany, to Floyd Bennett Field, New York, USA, 10-11 August 1938. #HeaviesGB in #histscalemodels

Did you miss me? Current status. It was a silver monster, then a lumpy blue monster (masking tape) now a shiny black lumpy monster, but I'm surprisingly pleased to be here - nearing the end of the build and (fingers crossed) the end of #HeaviesGB in #histscalemodels, thanks, @jaaaagirr.bsky.social!

Tonight’s entertainment brought to you by a ‘working’ ‘nun’ and a p.i. Punctuation deliberate.

Richard Overy and Lord Russell at KCL History department.

8 Hrs to Aviation Cultures Spotlight on Logbooks and AvDocs! Join us free, online on Zoom to join our distinguished international speakers, followed by the rare opportunity to ask questions of the experts. Full details aviationcultures.org/spotlights/l...

Good long form read.

I'll be there - after all, I co-organised it. But it you're interested in aviation history, how it's created, researched and examined, the maybe you should be too. After all we've made it free, online, and accessible, because we think it should be. See you there!

Cleared that up. Archivists. Be nice, they know where the bodies are buried.

Not just you, the internet's worse. NB: You aren't powerless, you can adapt and overcome. Your actions are important. As elsewhere, making thoughtful smart choices is work, but make a crucial difference. (Bonus dog on the internet New Yorker cartoon too...) theconversation.com/the-internet...

Very proud of what @avculturesconf.bsky.social team have achieved. It's 2 sessions this weekend, but packed in there are world class experts ready to share their expertise AND answer YOUR questions, free. I can't quite believe what we've got! Full details on the website, shares & visits v welcome!

* And extra points if you can tell us about something YOU put in a logbook. (Or better still, left out!) You can DM us in confidence, this account isn’t monitored by any retro aviation authorities (probably). -JDK

Logbook oddities? We’re interested. What’s the strangest, funniest or most unexpected thing that you’ve found* in an aviation logbook? We’ll be talking ‘Logbooks & Avdocs’ in our next Spotlight event, free, online, in just over a month. Can you tease us with an odd fact first? -JDK

Monday Movie Magic: "...you're wanted for murder on every front page in America. Don't be so modest." - "I told you. It's a nice face."

The three 1/72 Sea Furies are done! A big “Thank You!” to @jdkightly.bsky.social for his generous assistance with decals, without which these would be back in the stash waiting. I still shudder that Airfix released this kit given its limitations, even compared to Hornby Era designs. #histscalemodels

The Met Opera’s season ad shows people being transfixed by gorgeous singing in different places in New York. This commenter is very angry: what if the wrong sort of people show up? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Going to be worth your time! @danellin.bsky.social shares great research.

The Royal Australian Air Force base, RAAF Point Cook, in Victoria, has a rare (possibly unique) pre-WWII aircraft gun butt building. The modern image was taken on a base tour while the great period shot shows one of the RAAF's Hawker Demon fighters using it. Any other pre-WWII aircraft gun butts?

I rather like this one. No filters, no tweaks, no processing, straight from the camera. Tocumwal airshow practice, take off, 100 Squadron RAAF CAC Mustang current serial A100-170. (Formerly VH-SVU, A68-170, painted as A68-750.)