Dr Duncan Robertson

Yeeesh.

Just answering questions.

Just answering questions.

Or ovens are just large airfryers.

I am writing to ask you to delete the official King’s account on X, or at least to stop posting there, and to instruct other official KCL accounts to do the same “Grok” – which is the official X integrated AI/chat feature – is now directly praising Hitler and calling for Jews and others to be put in concentration camps. This is ,as widely reported, the direct result of its reprogramming by Elon Musk. In other words, it’s not that X has been largely overrun by far-right accounts – although that is also the case – this directly Nazi propaganda is coming directly from X itself/its senior management There is absolutely no excuse or justification for us to have any presence there at all any more and we should stop

I have sent this email to my Director of Comms at KCL and would encourage others to do likewise.

Err...

I'm afraid I can't do that, Nigel.

"degrade performance" is an interesting one.

9:35pm (which is definitely after 9:00pm).

Not much, apart from demand outstripping supply, and a bit less *shouty*. No information on what a tanker is or isn't, which is a little disappointing given the first post in this thread.

Going to be a fun morning on the Oxford Ring Road (the A40).

Getting on for half past nine now, which according to my watch is after nine o'clock, so one wanders into the comments section of the Oxford Mail.

All very Flanders and Swann with thanks to bsky.app/profile/capt...

I mean, maybe it's a little pedantic, but when they say they'll provide an update on their progress no later than 9pm, and it's past 9pm, one does start to ask questions (it's 9:05pm, and it hasn't been updated).

The thing about Mamdani is that as well as having appealing policies, he’s actually just a very likeable guy. Comes across as very genuine and real but with charisma and the ability to communicate.

Anyway, I think I'll live blog this one. Next update at 9. Unless they decide that they've run out of words. Which if they do, I wouldn't blame them.

But at least they haven't had to incur capital expenditure. Might as well just wait for the infrastructure to fail. Better for the investors.

Oh, and the Park and Ride has run out of water an hour earlier than advertised. So if you're on your walk there, tough. Maybe try to not drink or shower for the next few hours/days.

So, they've opened the Park and Ride to collect water. Queues half a mile long to get there. It's like the Living Dead, people with their six packs (of water alas) in preparation for the heatwave.

Now they're dealing with a 600mm pipe (that's a big pipe) rather than the burst pipe. They're now dealing not only with OX3, but OX4 and OX33 too. Oh, and we're going to close half the lanes of the westbound A40.

Good old Thames Water. No water in Oxford yesterday. Burst pipe. So they repair it, and in so doing so, they damage a valve. And then another valve...

The Wild Russian Plot to Burn a London Restaurant and Kidnap Its Owner

Russian agents paid a group of UK criminals to set warehouses filled with supplies for Ukraine on fire

Their next mission was to kidnap a Putin critic and burn down his Michelin-starred restaurant, but their efforts to "move clean" failed and they were caught in time
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/w...

Exclusive: Operation Excalibur in Los Angeles “Show of Presence” Leaks from military's LA deployment reveal Coca Cola vs. Pepsi rivalry, sweaty guardsmen, and abject failure

I've obtained a trove of leaked documents about today's federal crackdown on Los Angeles' MacArthur Park. One revelation is its codename: "Operation Excalibur"

🧐

YouTube video by AsleepAtTheWheel Ken Livingstone's London 7/7 Response Speech 7th July 2005 (Original Video)

Obviously Ken Livingstone has a… checkered… reputation but fucking hell this was a great speech.

youtu.be/vEBAVUCX0j4?...

UK stores still stock throwaway vapes despite single-use ban Government drive to cut waste and protect health being undermined by near-identical new products, experts warn

Interesting example of where policy intention does not translate to practice. Despite the ban on single use vapes, people are using reusable versions once and throwing away. FT found many shops don’t stock reusable cartridges at all
on.ft.com/3Gbz8vg

From Smithsonian description: "This ambitious chart presents U.S. political history on a single page. Moving from left to right, a timeline of parties, policies, persons, and events courses like a river through graphic space marked in four-year intervals. The analogy between politics and springs and rivulets (that jump and rejoin their banks) is the most conspicuous feature of the timeline. The parties appear in different colors. The ascendance of a party is gauged as its stream rises above the centerline, and above the streams of other parties. The thickness of a stream indicates the party’s strength. The diagram is meant to dramatize U.S. political history in a more accessible shape for educators and to offer a ready reference for scholars, statisticians, and statesmen. The chart itself, titled “Diagram of the Rise and Fall of American Political Parties, from 1789 to 1880, inclusive,” is from the Conspectus of the History of Political Parties and the Federal Government, by Walter R. Houghton, 1880"

Absolutely incredible graphic from 1880 tracing the history of political parties in the United States.

Decked by the @financialtimes.com

Tony Blair’s staff took part in ‘Gaza Riviera’ project with BCG Former UK prime minister’s institute participated in meetings on plan to turn shattered enclave into trading hub

Tony Blair’s staff took part in ‘Gaza Riviera’ project with BCG https://on.ft.com/40Akc0s

Had expected Mandarins to have a better showing.

Breaking news: Boston Consulting Group modelled the costs of 'relocating' Palestinians from Gaza and entered into a multimillion-dollar contract to help launch a new aid scheme for the shattered enclave https://on.ft.com/3TrfEpn

And a low bungalow at that.

Despite all the aggressive hostile propaganda, the UK remains one of the most diverse and inclusive places in the world. This is the lived experience of so many. We should be proud of this spirit. We should celebrate it. We should definitely guard and protect it.

I've already "Well actually"ed Kate about 1976 this morning, so I'll spare her yet another reply, but...
This is a great demo from @edhawkins.org to show how although 1976 was really hot in the UK & northern France, it wasn't in the rest of the world. Unlike more recent years.