An enduring lesson of the past decade: Politics is really, really hard. Anyone who tells you it's easy is probably pretty bad at politics.

Apropos of nothing: youtu.be/jWvtaIB0jJg?...

John Cleese Sketch

YouTube video by WKUK: Whitest Kids U’ Know

youtu.be

Tuchel got this so devastatingly wrong in the second half, utterly shocking

"BeT iT sUcKs To Be HaTe-WaTcHiNg ThE kNiCkS rIgHt NoW!!!" Yes! Yes it does! Do you want me to pretend I am morally superior? I am not. I am straight up a dirty, evil hater that revels in sports beef. This is awful and I am not having fun.

Always remember: When someone else does it, it's "p-hacking and cherry-picking". But when you do it, it's "bold scientific exploratory analysis".

Playing some D&D

Been avoiding stick my neck out there with the current leadership scuffle, but I must speak my truth: The State Opening of Parliament closed a few roads today and mildly inconvenienced my commute to work. No other issue is quite as important. Thus, Sir Starmer must go.

Good news: new and improved job title. Bad news: jokes remain old and bad.

Chili tastes better with turkey mince than with beef mince

Rav@rvbdrm.com · 4mo ago

WE NEED BAD IRRELEVANT TAKES IMMEDIATELY FLOOD THE TIMELINE

Check out the new research that my team and I published for the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport, in conjunction with our partners at University of Glasgow and Faculty www.gov.uk/government/c... #polisky

R&D Science and Analysis Programme - Capturing engagement numbers

R&D Science and Analysis Programme - Capturing engagement numbers for unticketed sporting and cultural events

gov.uk

My first ever craft project. A spicy pillow for a spicy lad.

If we just paint flames on all of the ships and build a big ramp, they can just jump over the Strait of Hormuz while blasting some sick guitar solos. Why hasn't the government tried this?

Shameless self-plug: Zach Zwald, Ryan Kennedy, and I wrote a whole paper on public support and trust in automated weapons systems. Spoiler alert: the relationship between AI, the military, and public opinion is quite complicated and contextual. #polisky academic.oup.com/jpr/article/...

The political viability of AI on the battlefield: Examining US public support, trust, and blame dynamics

Abstract. This study examines how the public views the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on the battlefield. We conduct three survey experiments on a rep

academic.oup.com

The Associated Press@apnews.com · 5mo ago

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gives Anthropic a Friday deadline to open its AI technology for unrestricted military use or risk losing contract, source tells AP.

Feel like starting some beef today: The best theme in ggplot is theme_bw()

New blog post: Did MPs who performed better in the 2024 UK election discuss the election more often in their e-newsletters? In a brief exploratory look, I find that they do, though that relationship is more complex than simply asking "who won the race?". #polisky adamlozer.github.io/blog/posts/2...

Useful list of MPs on here. bsky.app/profile/did:...

Today, one of my D&D campaigns hit its 69th session. It's the little things in life that give you light in the darkness.

Fun fact: Billy Idol's full name is William Idolatry.

Fun fact: in high school, I sent a letter to my Senator asking to be granted a letter of marque for privateering, as my history teacher promised the class a free A as a joke if we got one. I never got a response. I guess I was just ahead of my time.

The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · 8mo ago

U.S. lawmakers moved to revive privateering, a practice banished since the age of sail, which will allow government-backed ships to target enemies.

Extremely lukewarm take: In politics, calling someone a prick is not an ad hominem attack if the fact that they are a prick directly impacts their ability to govern.

Me, the vast majority of the time: "I quite enjoy living in the UK." Me in December: "It is 7:34 am and the sun has not yet risen. All joy has fled this decrepit island, there is only despair."

Lukewarm take: AI doesn't improve productivity much b/c large chunks of time at most desk jobs are spent waiting for responses to your emails. Sure, AI can help code a bit faster, but if I can't code until Charles in budgeting green lights my project, I'm still moving at the speed of bureaucracy.

Hey #polisky, If you have smart students with an interest in data and public policy, Verian has a graduate scheme to get them started in the industry. www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

predicting-ball.co.uk Ever wanted to quantify just how much Bayern Munich are running away with the Meisterschale, but all the projection models out there focus on the Premier League? Well, have I got the model for you!

You ever have Schrödinger's meeting, existing in a simultaneous state of cancelled and not cancelled until the hour arrives and you can directly observe?

Over the past year, our team at Verian worked with the EEF to explore the ways schools spend their Pupil Premium funds to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. You can read the summary and download the full report here: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and... #polisky

Understanding Pupil Premium spending in schools

Understanding schools’ approaches to Pupil Premium spend

educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk

What are we calling this? Mamda-mination? Winning Zor-handily?

A great job opportunity for any data experts with a love of social sciences and social research. Pros: you get to work on cool projects with important public policy impact. Cons: you have to listen to me make bad puns in meetings. www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43... #polisky

Do legislators write their own email newsletters? How do they determine what content to include? I had the opportunity to chat with former MEP @richardcorbett.bsky.social and learn from a politician's perspective on communicating with constituents. adamlozer.github.io/blog/posts/2...

The existence of Singapore implies the existence of Danceapore and Actapore. And if you visit all three, you unlock access to EGOTapore.