Closeup of the punchcards that make it possible to weave elaborate designs…

Possibly our favourite minute of a meeting ever taken: On the 19th September 1739 the following caught our eye: The Merchant Adventurers paid 2s 6d for "washing the Hall after Mr Peary had showed Lyons". Yes you've read that right. Lions! In the Hall! 🦁💩

Hurrah it is Wednesday and the weasels are dancing as always! A bit of Disorder and Joy Division today. The weasels are off on their hols for the next 2 Wednesdays and not sure if we’ll have a signal to post, so maybe see you, but if not, don’t forget to dance like a weasel, you know you want to!!

Who could resist? Sound on. [AD= black cat with green eyes meows for strokes]

UK history is at a crisis point in academia. More & more people are going freelance on a part time basis, or as a whole new form of employment. IHN is creating support network for all historians who work independently. We aim to bring people together, promote your work, and be a hub of information.

Lucy Delap@lucydelap.bsky.social · yesterday

Great discussion at the 'crisis in UK history' meeting hosted by @ihr.bsky.social, @royalhistsoc.org, @histassoc.bsky.social and History UK. Horror stories of closures and redundancies, balanced by new resources. Check out for ex. the new Independent Historians Network independenthistorians.org

Last week, I went to the theatre. Stood up to let a late middle aged couple into their seats next to us. Earwigged them as they sat down. “Hmm. Quite an angle.” “AI says it’s not a bad view.” “Ah! Good!” They were sitting in the ACTUAL seats. But they were trusting AI more than their own eyes.

Hey Bluesky! We're Scripps Oceanography and we're looking for friends who are interested in: 🔬 Marine Science 🌍 Earth Science 📈 Climate Change ⚠️ Hazards 💊 Biotechnology and Biomedicine 🌊 Oceanography 🪸 Coral Reef Ecology 🌧️ Atmospheric Science ➗ Geophysics ⚛️ Bioscience

Here is the lesser-known "Dark Side" of Van Hise Rock: ⚒️

Callan Bentley@callanbentley.bsky.social · 4d ago

Here's an annotated copy of the photo of this super cool place. Here's an old blog post I wrote explaining the larger scale implications: mountainbeltway.all-geo.org/2011/10/21/f... ⚒️

🐾🐾🐾

Here a compilation of stupid things library consultants have said to me in solidarity with library pals at Lambeth Libraries where genius consultants has decided that a qualified head of library service post isn't really essential.

Major funding secured! 🏛️💛 We’re thrilled to share that the @wolfsonfdn.bsky.social has committed £600,000 as a Founding Partner to help make our new permanent home in the City of London a reality. We're one step closer to bringing the UK’s missing museum to life in Spring 2028! 🧵👇 📸 Unknown Works

In honour of #InternationalOwlDay. (It may be a bit niche [or maybe not, seeing the popularity of #TheOdyssey], but it's my favourite of any memes I've made.)

A happy morning potting up (this is just one tray). Now to rearrange everything on the window sills. #OnHoliday

Parents! What's the WORST swearword you'd be comfortable with your 8-12 year old reading in a story? Where do we stand on "arse"? (please be as prissy as you like, I'm trying to balance "word I want to use" with "can I be arsed with the complaints"?)

Yes I acknowledge it makes sense in context but “I need my car to meet criminals” is now my favourite basis for an attempted exceptional hardship plea. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This ring, featuring a fragment of gold-glass, depicts a roaring lion. At only 1.8 cm across, the animal is depicted in extraordinary detail. Roman gold-glass images began as parts of glass bowls. Images were made by engraving a picture onto a sheet of gold leaf.

Definitely the case here. In two weeks we find which 9 of 12 in my group will be gone. The other 3 will then have a month to prepare and find hourly-paid replacements for all the classes across two degrees. And supervise 25 PhDs. Plus admin and pastoral care and research. Management doesn’t care.

Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 3d ago

If you're arriving at uni this autumn, or maybe dropping your kids, remember that there could be a ghostly phalanx of absent redundant staff, lost modules and degraded degrees making it a very unhappy place. It may *look* the same, but it won't *be* the same. www.ft.com/content/e5b0...

Has anyone ever done a study on why, given senior management were once academics, senior management at some Uni's can also have a vindictive indifference to the work of other academics? Did they not get invited to drinks at their first big conference? Was reviewer 2 really mean? is it just the £s?

My fellow book lovers! The Libby app has saved me hundreds of pounds because I borrow ebooks and audiobooks instead of buying them. Just discovered how easy it is to use to get books onto a proper e-reader (Kobo Clara). Brilliant for anyone who wants to stop using Amazon Kindle / Audible.

Believe it or not we have addressed this! Here you go: single gar = gar multiple gars, same species = garrison multiple gars, different species = garmada

Frank Hogan@charleyphogg.bsky.social · 5d ago

A group of Gar can not be called a school it’s not tough enough

The short version is: after a month the AI has not given me any good reasons to trust it, and I am honestly freaked out by the confidence with which it weaves completely wrong facts into prose, and the confidence with which it writes and professionally formats entire sections of bullshit.

It may be surprising to some that there are thousands of undescribed species just sitting in museums awaiting description. One of the main reasons this problem exists is that taxonomy is undervalued and underfunded, a trend that coincides with the devaluing of studies on natural history.

Here's the working prototype of my setup. It's a 3D-printed black block with a socket to hold a watch glass, and a 3D-printed diffuser that sits on top of the block. Recessing the glass greatly reduces stray light & glare. #NaturalHistoryCollections #Macrophotography #FocusStacking #DIYImagingStage

Craig B@mutillidae.bsky.social · 6d ago

I've been working on a better setup for capturing focus-stacked images of immature insects in alcohol...and it's working well. 🙂 #NaturalHistoryCollections #Macrophotography #FocusStacking #Psephenidae #APennyForYourThoughts

Holy Trinity, Hull for #YorkshireDay, recently rebadged as Hull Minster. It vies with St Nicholas, Great Yarmouth to the claim of the largest non-collegiate parish church in England. There's a grand tower for #SteepleSaturday just out of sight, and the bell tower of the neighbouring Trinity Market.

VC24 #MothsMatter #TeamMoth I known there have been a lot of Hummingbird Hawk Moth videos but this one is covering the whole flower.

Which wild plants are coping with heat and drought? Please share and fill in my new survey: forms.gle/TZYyqgHqwcbo... the results will be shared free access on wildway.info

Which wild plants are coping with heat and drought?

Help identify which wild plants are thriving in your area or garden without watering during hot, dry weather. Check your garden and wild areas near you this month August 2026 and report how wild plant...

forms.gle

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

The shell of a dried out Common Goose Barnacle (Lepas anatifera). When young and tiny, these crustaceans attach themselves to objects floating on the sea surface. They will remain attached to their floating home for the rest of their lives, filter feeding as they drift about and grow.

Surprisingly moving to see the envelope that carried the first BCG vaccine to Ireland - turning the tide on TB in Ireland. 🥲@tcdlibrary 👀📺 Trinity's Treasures @rte.ie

I feel like this at university too. I want to share the excitement and fun of the subject. Many students trained in this terrible school system want to know how any learning contributes to the assessment. Sometimes it doesn’t! It’s education, not rote learning!

Tits McGee@scientits.bsky.social · 4d ago

My science teacher said (a very long time ago) that she hated the national curriculum because it was so narrow and restrictive She said she wanted to be able to teach her pupils what she thought they needed to know in that subject, not what they need to know to pass an exam