Grant Macaskill

Thanks, Kayko. I actually wonder if the sharpness is part of the problem for me (is the text unnaturally sharp in a way that creates a mismatch with other details); I feel like it would help if I could make the text softer.

I wonder if anyone else has found that the display on a Macbook is making their eyes swim since upgrading to Tahoe. I’ve done everything to minimise liquid glass, but still find it hard to use for more than a few minutes at a time.

That’s not particularly intuitive and it buries the important information that used to be *immediately* visible (and that was important for decisions about undertaking activities that might be safe or dangerous, dependent on what the wind is doing).

Honestly, I find the new version harder to use. I struggle to find the information that was clear on the old version and find the new aesthetics unpleasant. I’ll still use it, for the data (which I appreciate), but I don’t like it as much as the previous version.

How a TV interior designer is helping revive a remote Scottish island On Ulva, in the Inner Hebrides, Banjo Beale and his husband are transforming a rundown mansion into their dream hotel, while another adventurous couple have created a charming bothy for hardier folk

Respectfully, @theguardian.com : the island is only “remote” to those who assume that the capital city is the basis for all perspective. To islanders, London is the remote place.

Thanks to @durhamclassics.bsky.social for putting together an exceptionally strong conference.

Here is @lblestes.bsky.social (Pepperdine University), “Redrawing the Map: Mimicry and Polemics of Sameness in East Syrian Literature of the Early Islamic Period”.

16-dec - Durham University

Day 1 of “The ‘Other’ and ‘Empire’ in Christianity: Postcolonial Readings of Late Antique Literature,” a small conference/workshop organised by Classics and Ancient History at Durham University (www.durham.ac.uk/departments/...). This has been a superb meeting so far.

Durham joins UNESCO’s Global Network of Learning Cities - Durham University

Good to see our Head of Department, Simon Oliver, here, representing @durhamtheology.bsky.social and @durhamcathedral.bsky.social as Durham joins UNESCO’s Network of Learning Cities www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/...

Two fully paid PhD positions at Lund University! One in Hebrew Bible and the other in Jewish studies, focus late antiquity. Gorgeous location and gorgeous colleagues. Don't sleep on this! (Set filter to HT to access these two in particular.)

lunduniversity.lu.se/vacancies

Are you an established or senior researcher in the humanities and social sciences? Our British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowships allow successful award-holders to concentrate on bringing a major piece of research to completion. Find out more: https://bit.ly/3VMeTZ9

Long Covid Is Real -- And It's Changing an Entire Generation Long Covid is affecting hundreds of thousands of kids in America, and many doctors and schools refuse to recognize their illness.

www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

Here’s my brief introduction to the Race & Class in UK Religious Studies and Theology project I’m co-convening with Dulcie McKenzie and Caroline Starkey. Do join us for the project launch on Wed 1st October to hear more.

@durham-university.bsky.social has been highly ranked in all as an institution, and has been awarded University of the Year by the Sunday Times Good University Guide.

Best UK universities for theology & religious studies – league table The study of religious belief systems, including Christian theology, Islam and Buddhism

www.theguardian.com/education/ng...

www.thetimes.com/uk-universit... (the subject rankings need to be selected under “explore the table”), but here is also a screenshot.

Theology & Religious Studies Subject League Table 2026 Theology & Religious Studies focus on the world's major religions from a non-biased, academic perspective

The last week has seen the release of three U.K. university league tables and @durhamtheology.bsky.social has been ranked 1st in all of them. www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-table...

Now available: my new book co-authored with computer scientist Dr. Ankur Gupta. The title is REAL INTELLIGENCE: Teaching in the Era of Generative AI.

The book is open access (i.e. free), published by PALNI Open Press.

Best UK universities for theology & religious studies – league table The study of religious belief systems, including Christian theology, Islam and Buddhism

Thanks, Gerard. I hadn’t realised the full subject listing had been released with this. Great to see. @durhamtheology.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/education/ng...

Ranked first for T&RS.

The Guardian University Guide 2026 – the rankings Find a course at one of the top universities in the country

Good see @durham-university.bsky.social ranked at #5, up a place from last year. www.theguardian.com/education/ng...

Durham professor honoured for pioneering contributions to death studies - Durham University

It is wonderful to see Douglas Davies from @durhamtheology.bsky.social @durham-university.bsky.social honoured for his incredible work. www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/...

New digs (or, really, the view from my new digs). @durhamtheology.bsky.social (also, not sure if “digs” translates for non UK readers …)

I’m sorry that I couldn’t be at this year’s @bntsoc.bsky.social in person, with such a great line up of papers, many representing important interventions and disruptions in the field. This week is my first in post @durham-university.bsky.social @durhamtheology.bsky.social and I have to be in Durham

Time for a reality check: Britain cannot be a big player on the world stage unless we speak more languages | Sophia Smith Galer For all the talk of addressing the problem, things have got worse. Which is criminal when there is so much we could do, says journalist Sophia Smith Galer

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Iona Fyfe stands with a blue background with MG ALBA logo. Iona is wearing a blue dress and holding an award for the Scots Trad Music Awards

Anyone here living in New Hampshire? I'm looking to fill a show in or near Portsmouth NH on Friday 17th October for Iona Fyfe! If you know any halls, concert promoters, venues or bars looking for a Scottish folksinger and pianist, please comment! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇸

What an opening session line up! www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...

What if everyone had masked up? Analysis of app data has an answer Modelling study based on almost 250,000 positive COVID-19 tests in the United Kingdom shows that universal masking could have cut transmission markedly.

UK: What if everyone had masked up? Analysis of app data has the answer:
"Respirators would have dropped the rate of COVID transmission by an estimated factor of 9, compared with 0.6 for surgical masks. A factor of 9 is enough to put SARS-COV-2 into exponential decay!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Thanks to Emily Dugan and the Sunday Times for exposing this aspect of how Maeve died from ME. A Devon County Council cover up. Maeve was taking them to judical review, dying in the attempt.
Devon County Council may have learnt nothing from the inquest. I have learnt a lot about them.
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Charities quit SNP Government's Long Covid network over 'broken promises' as £4.5m fund not spent Long Covid Scotland and Long Covid Kids have quit a Scottish Government network.

The Scotsman: “Charities quit SNP Government's Long Covid network over 'broken promises' as £4.5m fund not spent”

‘Long Covid Scotland and Long Covid Kids have quit a Scottish Government network’

www.scotsman.com/health/chari...