Mike Prior-Jones

Intercultural question: I saw a video the other day by an American in the UK who had been introduced to “pass the parcel” at a kid’s party, and this was new to her - so is this uniquely a British thing?

TIL the younger parents call party favor bags loot bags now

Until the 2010s, new tech seemed to be about enabling humans: ideas to celebrate. Now, with AI, synthetic biology etc, many techno-optimists are describing a dehumanised future that makes most of us pawns in someone else’s game. I think the first option is still there, but we have to make it so.

This is what makes us a great country, right here.

I deeply sad to see millennials getting into nostalgia slop.

Glacier surging and surge-related hazards in a changing climate - Nature Reviews Earth & Environment Glacier surges are rapid ice flow acceleration and mass transport events, which can threaten nearby communities, infrastructure and habitats. This Review discusses the global distribution, behaviour a...

***Our review paper on glacier surging is out!***

Lovell H, Benn DI, Jiskoot H and 12 others (2026) “Glacier surging and surge-related hazards in a changing climate.”
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 7(2). doi.org/10.1038/s430...

@hazlovell.bsky.social #cryosphere #glaciology #science #glaciers

I do highly recommend these lovely toy boats made by Ogas in Germany - they work equally well on the carpet or in the bath. ogas-fabrik.com/en/floating-...

Ship Toys from Papa Foxtrot You sank my battleship! Beautifully-designed wooden and metal ship toys from Papa Foxtrot. Emma Maersk At nearly 400 meters in length, the Emma is the

I really wanted one of these wooden toy ships but couldn’t justify the money being asked… sadly the firm has gone bust. design-milk.com/ship-toys-fr...

Savoy is corrugated cabbage, so why not corrugated lettuce?

YouTube video by John Finnemore The Interview Sketch - Harold the Owl

People who like this post will likely also enjoy this sketch: youtu.be/7CLozw-sf6I?...

We are seeking a 3+ year postdoc in ocean modelling, to work on an exciting project investigating underwater tsunamis in Antarctica.

More about the project here: www.polomints.ac.uk
Read more about the post here: lnkd.in/eBjndZPv

Please share and help connect us with the best candidates!

Turns out yes - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_p...

thanks!

Also a great explanation of privilege: if you called your Dad, could he stop it all?

We have decided that all the skidding and sliding events at the Winter Olympics would be better not on ice, but in socks, on polished wood floors.

The highest risk would be in hitting a wet patch.

“Oh, her socks are soaked now. She’s not going to like that.”

Ask TfL nicely if they’ll sell you a single A4 poster space at Roding Valley station?

What hadn't struck me until recently is that indirect costs on FEC are effectively what, in my commercial days, we called "pre-sales cost recovery" - they have to cover the cost of preparing the applications for all the grants we didn't win.

... and so everyone would put extra stuff in their grant proposals over and above what they needed so that they'd have the cash they actually needed to do the research they really wanted to do.

I just about remember the days before FEC - it was during the final year of my undergrad, and my final year project was with one of the research groups. The academic in charge explained how if he bid for £1000 in grant money, the uni would "top slice" a percentage...

Hoping for a world where more people try to be a Kermit…

I got lost down a dual-support, FEC, QR rabbit hole and came across this letter from the government to HEIs from 2005.

Accessed by the amazing Wayback Machine internet archive
web.archive.org/web/20060623...

Cardiff University stands in for a lot of other places though, so it can’t actually be depicted as itself, I guess?

(I work there - it’s always fun to come in and find the building has been cosplaying at the weekend)

🎶It's time to meet the experts on the plenary tonight🎶

🎶It’s time to question methods
It’s time for petty fights🎶

The Muppets Have More of a Comment than a Question

I'd watch a muppet show movie where the muppets infiltrate an academic conference.

Very true. There are Reasons that I spend so much time banging on about properly implementing safeguarding and harassment prevention programs in academia and in the broader science and tech community.

Sex and snacks, but no seat at the table: the role of women in Epstein’s sordid men’s club Files reveal a world of flattery and fratboy tones, where rich men are cultivated and women provide services

The brilliant Amelia Gentleman. Read it and seethe. @ameliagentleman.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

“Some might be tempted to dismiss the Epstein files as just evidence of the extreme behaviour of a prolific sex offender.

But strip away the lewd and crude content, and they also reveal much about how patriarchy works day to day.”

1. [Title Panel]: Is Your 17th Century Astronomer Spending Too Much Time on His Telescope? 2. [Text -only panel] These days, more and more 17th Century Astronomers have access to telescopes. Here are some warning signs that they are on the slippery slope to Godless heliocentrism! 3. STAYING UP LATE WITH THEIR TELESCOPE [GALILEO is looking through his telescope out the window at a starry sky]. GALILEO'S WIFE: Go to bed, Galileo! GALILEO: In a minute... 4. ‘FOMO’ (FEAR OF MISSING OBSERVATIONS) GALILEO'S WIFE: Dinner, Galileo! GALILEO [Looking through telescope]: Just need to check my orbits 5. WITHDRAWING FROM REAL-WORLD ACTIVITIES [Galileo's friend the POPE is now standing next to Galileo, who is still looking through his telescope] THE POPE: Come to church, Galileo! GALILEO: Not now... 6. FALLING OUT WITH FRIENDS GALILEO: [Showing The Pope the book he's working on) I'm just working on my book challenging the Bible's view of the Universe 7. BEING ARRESTED BY THE INQUISITION [GALILEO is being dragged out of the room, hands outstretched to his telescope. He is calling to it]: GALILEO: Telescooope 9. GETTING SENTENCED TO HOUSE ARREST UNTIL DEATH FOR HERESY [GALILEO sitting in front of his telescope, now with bars over the windows] GALILEO: Ah, crap. 10. CONTINUED TELESCOPE USE DESPITE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES [GALILEO in same position but now with long white beard, he is looking through his telescope through a barred jail window at the sky] GALILEO'S WIFE: Go to bed, Galileo! GALILEO: In a minute... [Ends]

Another comic I never bothered posting
This one from 2023. Topical galileo humour apropos of precisely nothing at all