Look, all I'm saying is that *my* space start up has never had a runaway payload crash into the Moon.

Dark-mirrored drama, Bamburgh Castle, painting by Northumbrian artist Ruth Bond.

Also, more articles should contain the word ‘frolic’

Are we having a go at Pratchett? Because despite being a massive fan I think his ideas government work are rubbish. It's basically "just give good people unfettered power." Vetinari is basically a benign dictator. Vimes is a hero. Moist Von Lipwig is a fraud who suddenly turns into a saint.

@ironeconomist.bsky.social · yesterday

Ok I am usually team stancil but there is a very specific way in which the boots theory is true and it’s having so little savings that you buy consumer durables like dishwashers on credit. This is rarer than you think because he is right that most households have plenty of savings, but it does exist

I posted this thread on 5 August last year, the anniversary of Newcomen's death. It is a fascinating piece of engineering history and heritage.

History and Heritage Yorkshire@handhyorkshire.bsky.social · last yr.

The Newcomen Beam Engine at Elsecar Heritage Centre is believed to be the oldest steam engine in the world still in its original location. A Scheduled Ancient Monument of international importance, it stands at the site of the former New Colliery. The colliery was sunk in 1794, with

Bede's World! Bede's World! Party time! Venerable!

a great section on evidence.. Here's the strongest case for the politics being to blame "Interviews consistently emphasised that spending decisions are not made in a neutral, technocratic environment but...shaped by political priorities, negotiation and the need to respond to immediate pressures."

Young people these days, eh? #NiceThings

"They came to my rescue": Uni students praised after helping collapsed stranger

“I’m just glad I could make a difference.”

lep.co.uk

This is fast becoming an annual pilgrimage. They am have a cat! It has a secret cat passage behind the bookshelves!

🧪 Medical professionals are losing the attention war on YouTube. In a 3,958-video sample, independent creators produced the lowest quality content but captured the highest viewership using exaggeration. #MedSky

The credibility paradox: clickbait, engagement, and information quality in YouTube’s medical ecosystem - npj Digital Medicine

npj Digital Medicine - The credibility paradox: clickbait, engagement, and information quality in YouTube’s medical ecosystem

nature.com

I'm on a block list because I followed an unperson. My take on BlueSky as liberal bubble is BlueSky does a fair job of letting you choose between an echo chamber or a blood spattered gladiatorial arena. It's just some people can't cope with other people having that choice.

SpinningHugo@spinninghugo.bsky.social · yesterday

My favourite is that I'm on a blocklist of "people opposed to Universal Basic Income."

thank you microsoft sharepoint for the suggestion, but no, i will not be using the IRA charm bracelet stock image.

Website where you pay to look at pictures and videos of pig meat products OnlyHams

Website where you pay to look at pictures and videos of pig meat products OnlyHams

Never underestimate demographics, local government edition.

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 2d ago

H&F have a combination of “the council is really well run”, “the council has favourable demographics” (it’s one of the youngest London boroughs. Per the census, which given the circumstances it was taken is probably an overestimate, average age is 34).

Someone please tell me that the debt bit of this diagram is completely different from the mortgage-backed securities that caused the 2008 crash. Please. www.ft.com/content/549f... Inside Google’s $200bn Wall Street finance machine for Anthropic

Feel like this should have got more attention "Rapid early assessment by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimates there were 2,877 heat-associated deaths during 2 notable periods of hot weather in May and June 2026, almost double the figure reported annually for 2025"

UKHSA report shows 2,877 excess deaths caused by May and June heatwaves

The 2,877 excess deaths represents a significant increase on the 1,504 excess deaths observed in summer 2025.

gov.uk

it’s pretty obvious that a lot of people remember that COVID lockdowns were unpleasant and from there just extrapolate that they were therefore bad policy

Nor do they increase capacity for reading, understanding, and acting on that writing. I look forward to a future of overwhelming abundance when it comes to policy documents, think tank reports, etc.

Per Engzell@pengzell.bsky.social · 3d ago

LLMs reduce the cost of writing. They do not reduce the cost of having something worth writing.

5. We saw the desire for simple answers in the 'masks solve everything vs nothing' and the 'it's only flu vs 50% of infections lead to severe outcomes' discourse (more below). 6. Little has been learned, I'm fear. Main strategy for next pandemic for many countries is 'lockdown and wait for vaccine'.

The comfort of simplicity

How two loud extremes convinced themselves that pandemics are easy to solve

kucharski.substack.com

Some brief thoughts: 1. Discourse got polarised fast, not helped by some scientists (often not directly involved in response) speculating on how they'd run country 2. Media played role here – I gave up on interviews for some outlets, because would always start "is govt is getting everything wrong?"

Lewis Goodall@lewisgoodall.com · 4d ago

No need for anyone to agree with me - but some of the responses to this on here reminds me just how stifling and absolutist a period in our national discourse Covid was.

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This is my personal Sistine Chapel. Photo from my collection, no date/info.

“I don't wanna go far for stuff" My eloquent and powerful rebrand of the 15 minute city.

St Agnes festival today. Celebrating history's worst incel, Bolster the Giant. Here he is being led by St Agnes (in white) to his unwitting suicide.

I don't think you can overlook the extent to which this is media-driven. There's a real reaction (explicit or implicit) from the generalist pundit and political journalist classes against the very idea of a topic they're not really qualified to opine on without doing a lot of background work.

It is quite strange how little the actual public inquiry we're having into the UK's Covid response - the one that's publishing in-depth reports every few months - factors into the "you're not even allowed to ask these questions" complaints. We are, in fact, officially asking these questions!

A good topic for podcasters to ask is is the UK's public health and research infrastructure better able to cope with a pandemic than it was in January 2020?

Steve Senior@stevensenior.bsky.social · 4d ago

Great, we've reached the phase of pandemic recovery where it's all just more fodder for podcasters to have edgy takes.

Good morning "Cause I need to watch things die From a good safe distance Vicariously, I live while the whole world dies You all need it too, don't lie" youtu.be/h_TUP2vuaDs?...

TOOL - Vicarious (Official Video)

YouTube video by TOOLVEVO

youtu.be