Never forget. But what if we have nothing to remember?

Well, that's me off to listen to 'Coat of Many Colours' and have a quiet weep. Thanks Dolly.

Yet another unsolicited 'offer' to publish my research. This one neglects to even mention the name of the prestigious journal that is making the exciting proposal. So, 'Emily Receiving Editor / Editorial Assistant Scopus Journal ' into the pit with you.

Hey German history nerds. Ever heard of an article titled ‘Die Zielpunkte der Bismark'schen Politik.’ ? Dates from 1889-1890. I thought it was an internal Swiss govt briefing doc but it seems to be a transcription of an article or lecture that tries to explain German foreign policy as 4D chess.

Nothing trivial, I trust?

Hey military history types. Can anyone give me a steer on sources that focus on the negative influence of inter-service rivalry? I'm thinking IJN/IJA level. My current research suggests some C19 Swiss weapons procurement decisions were heavily influenced by two branches hating each other.

Hey all, does this fresh hell ring a bell? Send article to learned journal. Wait ages. Wake up in AM to an email with .pdf of said article for final review before publication. 'Please return within 24 hrs'. Realise it was sent last night. Open .pdf. It's full of bizarre formatting errors. Panic.

Hi scholars! A new (to me at least) scam. Cash for citations! 'I have many papers need to be cited; I will pay a thank-you fee to you. Thank you fee: $10 per citation. For example, if you cites 30 of my references, I will give you a $300 thank you fee.' I mean, come on!

Using AI for translations? Beware...' I translated the April 23rd Minutes. I then offered to go into the 24 April minutes. That would be possible if you provide the German text. Otherwise, I can simulate how such minutes would read, drawing on parallels from other documented commissions of the era.'

Shout out to any folks studying C19 Switzerland. I'm trying to access the 1880 and 1890 Census records but without success. Has anyone got any hints or tips?

Is it just me or you find its 'apologies' even more irritating. Check this out: 'I appreciate you holding me to account—especially on source fidelity. It’s essential in the kind of archival and technical work you’re doing, and I acknowledge that I fell short in that instance.'

'Sensible'. The term is 'sensible'...Shudders in clown filled horror.

This sound familiar? Just when you think you've got a handle on the sources you find another folder in the archives that seems to be a duplicate of one you've already read...but, dear reader, it bloody well isn't. So that's 250+ folders, each with 3-30 pages I have to read to find the new stuff.

There are times when a mixture of a German dictionary, a bit of transcription software, German speaking friends and what little fluency I have gained will help me translate the most challenging document. This is not one of those times.

Hey history types. Can anyone on here recommend any sources on the mid-late C19 Swiss class system - especially relating to the military. I think my biography subject is facing class prejudice but since I don't know the structures it's hard to tell.

Hey historians. What's the most undecipherable primary source you've ever encountered. Here's mine. I think it's writing by a human but other than that...(PS this is the most legible of the three pages in the archive)

My Valentines day poem... 'Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, I probably know more about Oberst Rudolf Schmidt than you.' ...It doesn't work as well as you might imagine...

Today, gentle reader, I have been doing my endnotes. A more benighted way to spend what remains of my short span on this earth I struggle to imagine.

Wow, AI really is a busy fool. Using it for some bulk translation work which it appears to be doing quite well. For funsies I then asked about an event that I'm researching. The answer took parts of the translation I'd just requested and turned them into a convincing and wholly incorrect answer.

Historians. How involved do you get with your people? Researching an engineer who is really smart. He comes up with an invention before anyone else but the existing technology means it can't work. He has has an accident and loses a hand. Commits suicide. I feel so sorry for a man I can never meet.

The Academic scambots are back from holiday! This morning I was a Doctor in Forensic medicine but that clearly wouldn't get my attention so now I'm a Professor in Astronomical Techniques and Instruments. By tomorrow I expect to be running Harvard.

A quandary. Picked up a book I’ve been wanting to read for ages. Not my field of research but peripheral to it. I open it up and there’s a glaring factual error. A long debunked myth based on propaganda. So what do I do now? Read with caution? Ignore the error? What would you do?

Today I am mostly going to be eating Japanese snacks, drinking saké and reading about one of the greatest monster makers that has ever lived. Have a wonderful Christmas Blue Sky folks!

Question for the proper academic types. Is it regarded as acceptable to reference oneself in a paper? I’d rather not use up a fair chunk of a tight word limit to explain something when I can just refer the reader to a pre-existing detailed exposition.

It's nice when the world gives you a bit of a treat at the end of a long hard day.

Good grief. Another 'invitation'. I must have blocked these people twenty times but still they come back to float in my inbox like a turd in a swimming pool. How do I make them stop!!!

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. no explanations, no reviews, just covers. 💙📚 #books #booksky #bookchallenge Day 20

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. no explanations, no reviews, just covers. 💙📚 #books #booksky #bookchallenge Day 19

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. no explanations, no reviews, just covers. 💙📚 #books #booksky #bookchallenge Day 18

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. no explanations, no reviews, just covers. 💙📚 #books #booksky #bookchallenge Day 17