LXJohn

Celebrate 25 Years of Nonstop Living in Space Aboard the International Space Station The first residents of the international space station arrived Nov. 2, 2000. The station has been occupied nonstop since then.

"This weekend, on Nov. 2 the ISS celebrates 25 years of continuous human habitation in space."

I remember following the development and creation of the ISS throughout my teenage years. I was, and still am, amazed by such an ambitious international collaboration.

Read this and wrap your head around the way white institutions so often want marginalized people to present their stories in weak, hyper-personalized, depoliticized ways.

If you have any interest in the mapping of Britain and Ireland you should be following @natlibscot.bsky.social . Their online maps cover the entire UK (not just Scotland) and (as per this post) pre-1920s Ireland as well.

A photograph showing the beginning of a parade on Calton Hill with people in costumes carrying flaming torches.

A photograph of a lady who appears to be dressed as some kind of elaborate mushroom dancing with fire.

A photograph of a man's face wearing green and purple face paint who appears to look scary.

A photograph of a lady wearing a costume with green and purple face paint dancing.

A few of my photos from Samhuinn Fire Festival during Halloween on the 31st October on Calton Hill. This festival is a modern interpretation of a Celtic festival with fire, music and dance.

© Dave Coulson Photography

#Edinburgh #samhuinn

"On two occasions I have been asked, 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?'... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."

Charles Babbage, inventor of the mechanical computer, 1864

Great read from @iandunt.bsky.social on whether Starmer should stay or go, including the mystery of how, if you’re launching a popular climate, energy, and growth strategy, why wouldn’t you stage a press conference on it?
iandunt.substack.com/p/a-world-wi...

Incredibly, people still take this bloke seriously when he tells them he'll be terraforming Mars by easter. He's an inveterate liar, a child.

Lewis is absolutely right here

Same concerns with lawyers using AI

“We are told that AI is inevitable, that we must adapt or be left behind. But universities are not tech companies. Our role is to foster critical thinking, not to follow industry trends uncritically.”

I've been getting back into the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series after many years, and the most relatable part is how everyday objects like doors and elevators have been imbued with artificial intelligence and it just makes them obnoxious and frustrating to use and everyone hates it.

Minority representation on TV causes outrage There has been widespread support for prominent Reform MP Sarah Pochin after she complained about the over-representation of minorities on television. Said one angry viewer, "She's right. Every time you turn on the telly there's another Reform MP being interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg." She added, "I respect their way of life and their strange customs, but Reform MPs comprise only 0.7 percent of the House of Commons. Yet Nigel Farage is on Question Time more than Fiona Bruce." "I'm not prejudiced. Some of my best friends are swivel-eyed loons, but enough is enough. There are too many people with angry red faces on television.”

Gotta love Private Eye.
Always cuts through the crap.

Come with me on a wander through Wakerley Great Wood, part of the ancient Rockingham Forest. The native Sessile Oaks have put on their autumn finery & are looking fabulous 🍂🧵🌱

Robert Frost 🖎

Thread. A reminder of some of my alltime favourite facts. Starting with...there are no bridges over the river Amazon.

Our politics is increasingly normalised to racism – because politicians are addicted to X The platform has quietly dragged British politics into a dark place

I've written a couple of things over the last days about how the government and much of Westminster remaining on X as the platform becomes increasingly toxic is having consequences for our politics...

Household energy bills include green levies. What are they and why do we need to pay them? When energy providers set tariffs for gas and electricity, the price includes a range of costs.

If the UK is serious about net zero, we have to fix our green levies. Our explainer shows the current system charges 16% on your electricity bill but only 5.5% on gas, making electricity more expensive and discouraging people from adopting low-carbon heating.

Learn why this system needs to change ⤵️

Any chance you'll offer your calendars through etsy again this year? Missed them before..

"The worst social policy ever" We have a couple of bonus guest posts over the next week.

New post out:

"The worst social policy ever"

Today we have a guest post from @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social on the abomination that is the two-child limit and why Labour need to scrap it ASAP.

Lots of data but also powerful testimony.

(Free to read)

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...

A large planetary nebula. The nebula’s central star is hidden by a blotchy pinkish cloud of dust. A strong red light radiates from this area, illuminating the nearby dust. Two large loops extend diagonally away from the centre, formed of thin ridges of molecular gas, here coloured blue. A huge number of bright, whitish stars cover the background, also easily visible through the thin dust layers. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. H. Kastner (Rochester Institute of Technology)

Red Spider Nebula, caught by Webb 🕸️

🕷️ Planetary nebulae like this cosmic creepy-crawly form when stars like the Sun reach the end of their lives, balloon into cool red giants & shed their outer layers 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
🧪 🔭

A story in Private Eye, headlined "Minority representation on TV causes outrage". The article reads: "There has been widespread support for prominent Reform MP Sarah Pochin after she complained about the over-representation of minorities on television. Said one angry viewer, "She's right. Every time you turn on the telly there's another Reform MP being interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg." She added, "I respect their way of life and their strange customs, but Reform MPs comprise only 0.7 percent of the House of Commons. Yet Nigel Farage is on Question Time more than Fiona Bruce." "I'm not prejudiced. Some of my best friends are swivel-eyed loons, but enough is enough. There are too many people with angry red faces on television."

Private Eye nailing it.

This is absolutely right. It’s about creating a permission structure for violence, whether that violence is conducted by the state directly or simply permitted by the state.

I used to work at a small shop that made little plastic vampires.

There were only 2 of us working there, so I had to make every second count.

illustration of an otter with a tie, a namebadge saying 'Steve' and a cup of coffee. Text reads: Do not seize the day. That only startles it, and nobody wants to deal with an aggressive day before coffee. Approach it slowly. Avoid eye contact. Maybe offer a polite nod. Act casual. If the day growls, starts making demands, or mentions shenanigans back away quietly and return to bed.

Advice to live by.

A close up photograph of an entry in a parish register. It is written in Latin, with black ink on vellum. The text says: Aprilis Samson Aethiops nate in Africa Quaturodece an[n]os natus baptizabate sexto die Wil[l]mo Palmer Grato [gratus] Wil[l]mo Davies Clerico et Katherina Pates susceptoribus Translated, this means: 6 April 1571 Samson Aethiops born in Africa fourteen years born baptised 6th day William Palmer Gratious William Davis Clerk and Katherina Pates sponsors

As Black History Month draws to a close, we thought we'd share this entry in a baptism register for Buckingham, April 1571. It features a 14 year old boy called Samson Aethiops, noting that he was born in Africa.

A very tiny posy I made in a thimble using flowers I grew in my garden, including lily of the valley, forget me not, cow parsley, sorrel, Mexican fleabane/erigeron, snowberry and buttercup.

When humans look at something we find beautiful our brains release dopamine, lifting mood & if we connect with what we're looking at oxytocin, giving us a sense of belonging.
A tiny posy I made in a thimble, with real flowers I grew👇
If you like it it'll alter your brain biochemistry for the better:

Never again? Memory entrepreneurship and the radical right’s assault on the postwar order

New post just out:

"Never again?"

On how the radical right are trying to change our collective memory about World War Two as part of their assault on the postwar order.

And why that memory remains a critical defence against nationalism.

(£/free trial)

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/n...

"For the government it’s quite mad to keep using X. It’s active participation in its own destruction and against its own interests. I cannot fathom the logic of doing it. It would be like a Reform government communicating entirely through the Guardian comments section." 👏 @samfr.bsky.social

The movement to consider all black and brown people ‘not British’ or ‘not English’ is all part of this.

Yay. Priceless. The right column at the right time. And a gleefully English two fingers to the haters.