Reading ‘The End Of Everything’ (on my mission to read the entire Booker longlist), and nothing in the dystopian future of that book is as weirdly End Times as the supposedly liveable present.

Django Wexler@djangowexler.bsky.social · 3h ago

Somehow things that would have been a background gag in a Verhoeven movie are now just real

Life in the shoe: From where I sit in the kitchen I can hear 26yo in his room and 21yo in his playing an online game 'together'. Their laughter, rolling through one and then the other is like lighting followed by thunder. The instantaneity (or not) a measure of how closely they both get the joke.

Life in the shoe: I don't get through Midori very quickly, but in iced tea season it's great in this LA Iced Tea. 🍸🧚🏼‍♂️

The Peak District is burning — and where there’s fire, there’s smoke. Given Sheffield’s proximity to the park, it feels inevitable that, if more frequent and severe fires keep happening on the moors, they are going to have an increasing effect on us. The question is, can we do anything about it?

The Peak District is on fire. Can we stop it happening again?

‘You’re breathing in the smoke, and it looks and feels post-apocalyptic’

sheffieldtribune.co.uk

It’s the anniversary of Black Tot Day (1970), when the British Royal Navy ended the rum ration. #grog #rum Grog based on prior art by @wcurtis.bsky.social & Martin Cate.

I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful

Even for a regime with more scandals than you can count, this ranks near the top as one of the most egregious and criminal abuses of presidential power in history.

Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 5d ago

So many sneering elitist journalists with snarky posts over the past months that the Reflecting Pool story was trivial. It was so trivial that the DC US Attny presented false evidence to a grand jury to indict an innocent man to please the President while they both lied about it.

Sometimes I look round and feel like I had my '100% of the time off my fucking box' era about 40 years too early. What is wrong with. ... all ... these people?

Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · 5d ago

Update: Google just sent me a statement saying it is “rolling back” this AI feature that let anyone make completely bullshit satellite images. Comes after our demos of the tool and those from OSINT researchers. One of the worst AI tools I’ve ever seen bsky.app/profile/jose...

Even if this were remotely true, I'd be pretty cool with it.

Roland Smith@rolandmcs.bsky.social · 5d ago

Evening.

[AI bubble bursts] billionaire tech bro: the stupid consumer did not understand it

The Irish Times@irishtimes.com · 7mo ago

AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns

I can't stress enough what a crisis this is. Trump's own intelligence agencies concluded that Iran attacked Minnesota's critical infrastructure and Trump is saying that it's Minnesota's own fault and denying it was Iran. The federal government won't defend blue states in a literal war.

U.S. Sees Iran as Likely Behind Cyberattack on Minnesota Water Systems (Gift Article)

Investigators cautioned that the assessment was preliminary. There were no indications that any water supply had been rendered unsafe to drink.

nytimes.com

Life in the shoe: Weekend at last! Rebennack No 1. 🍸🧚🏼‍♂️ Proper knockout drops.

Bordeaux, France, has now recorded more days above 40°C in 2026 alone than during the entire 105-year period from 1920 (when observations began) to 2025. This is deeply shocking.

I study the boreal forest. This summer wildfires came for my home | Julee Boan

I study the boreal forest. This summer wildfires came for my home | Julee Boan

Here are things that will – and will not – help us fight the threat of wildfires

theguardian.com

Life in the shoe: Fun day out with 18yo. Frida Kahlo at Tate Modern, lunch at a nearby Italian place, Avenue Q matinee and now a snoozy, stopping train home again.

No, European heatwaves are not CAUSED by a fall in air pollution. The word CAUSED is doing an awful lot of heavy lifting here! Let's look at what the study being 'reported' on was actually researching and what it found🤓 1/22 🧵

This is interesting and troubling and opens up something of a dilemma for egg eaters (me included). How do we know when we have enough information to make good decisions about the eggs we eat? www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Organic eggs have worse impact on climate than eggs from caged chickens

Adopting organic free-range model in UK could lead to greenhouse emissions equivalent to 2,316,000 tonnes of CO2, study suggests

theguardian.com

Goals.

Longlisted@longlisted.app · last wk.

3,824 pages across the thirteen. Fifty-six days until the shortlist, so 69 a day for anyone going after the whole list!

Any new Marlon James makes me happy. (Though I’m really holding my breath for the final part of the Dark Star trilogy.)

The Booker Prizes@thebookerprizes.com · last wk.

‘We are confident that our longlist of books has something for everyone’ We are delighted to reveal the Booker Prize 2026 longlist. Huge congratulations to the authors who make up this year's Booker Dozen. ➡️ Discover the full list: thebookerprizes.com/bp2026

‘Great Inventions, 1961’ Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope Artist: Robert Ayton

When the rain isn’t enough The change to our climate demands a change in the way we respond to our environment

When the rain isn’t enough

The change to our climate demands a change in the way we respond to our environment

sussexbylines.co.uk

We are so very screwed.

France caught between Fire and Ice - DW News

*sigh* Reminding anyone who cares that the purpose of social care is not to prevent the NHS from collapse, it’s to support people to enjoy fully rounded lives with pleasure, wellbeing and dignity. (Preventing the NHS from collapse would be a positive side effect.)

I’m enjoying all the Mayo love in my timeline. In 1989 I had a Mayo-born boyfriend and I think it was the first time they’d made it to the final after 1951? It was a huge deal anyway. We had a horrendous break up in the summer of that year but he definitely took losing the final harder!

Zohran has promised to lift the curse upon the Mayo GAA Team.

Life in the shoe: On the one hand, I can't imagine ever not having the wherewithal to rustle up a Dark 'n Stormy. On the other, it's always a good idea to have your Business Continuity Plan sorted. This is a Cablegram. A decent substitute. 🍸🧚🏼‍♂️ Rye, ginger syrup, lime juice, soda, over ice.

Nobody ‘gets used to’ their house burning down and their community fleeing. People cope with trauma in different ways, but fearing/actually losing everything is traumatising. News focuses on tourists who’ve had holidays spoiled, but they can go home. Residents’ whole lives have been upturned!

Graham Caswell@grahamcaswell.bsky.social · last wk.

"It rained last night but we are hearing that electricity may be cut out over the peninsula, especially as the ash clouds go towards Bordeaux." Climate change is basically a slow-moving apocalypse appearing to different people in different ways, more and more. www.bbc.com/news/article...

So the UK has a new government wooing us with its willingness to listen. So please, can we have a state education system that treats children as people rather than as information processing systems, most particularly in the early years? @paulwaughmp.bsky.social @lucympowell.bsky.social #EduSky

Nurturing the brain: play, development and learning

Play is essential to healthy brain development and learning in early childhood. Human brains evolved to “boot” principally through social in...

histpsych.blogspot.com

Not sure which vaccines you had? If you have the NHS App it includes your Covid-19 vaccination record which tells you which kind of jabs you had and when.

madeline odent@oldenoughtosay.com · 2w ago

I am not eligible for this study because i got the AstraZeneca covid vaccine, along with probably a significant proportion of Oxford, so if you didn’t get that particular jab and you’re local and willing to help save lives, please follow the link!