DHDexter

Working in Higher Education in the UK is utterly heartbreaking.

I too am disappointed not to have won the nobel peace prize.

There's too much of it!

This is echoing what many have been advocating for decades. Focusing on interventions around admissions is pointless if wider inequalities remain and efforts aren't made from the start of school to support pupils.

Poverty makes a huge difference here, but other barriers also remain firmly in place

A woman next to me at the GP surgery is very upset that there is a leaflet with a diagram showing how to do a vaginal swab. She brought one over to me, pointed at the diagram and said, 'There is too much of it around! Too much!'

Small black keyring with a torch and pin to pull out in case of attack

Grateful for the 'defender' keyring being given out on campus this week by security. Excuse me whilst I go and find the 'try not to attack anyone' stall.

What was it like working with the genius that is Alex Garland in Devs and playing the role of a technological god? Paulsaxonshaw Alex Garland is one of the most underrated of our modern film-makers. He asks these big questions on behalf of all of us. With Devs, the question is: should we give power to the controllers of our technology without any checks and balances? Playing a tech god was fascinating, done with authentic human drama and interpersonal relationships. We filmed in Santa Cruz, San Francisco and London. The Devs building was in a giant sound stage in Manchester. I love Manchester. It’s a wonderful, hardworking city. It reminds me of Chicago, full of charm, populated by working people who love a sausage roll. It’s tough to beat a Greggs. I’ve tried the posh ones. It needs to be a little dirty.

WE LOVE YOU TOO NICK OFFERMAN

🥹

www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

The cycle is:

Enrollments slightly decline so funding for teaching is cut so fewer courses are offered so enrollments slightly decline so funding for teaching is cut so fewer courses are offered so enrollments slightly decline so the legislature says terminate the program.

Election meme: 50.1 Everyone gets a puppy, 49.9 diarrhea forever

Everything feels like this now

Lots of Land Rovers identifying as busses this morning.

My boyfriend is watching MobLand whilst I am helpfully telling him about Mothers, Monsters, Whores and how every woman in the show fits the narratives Sjoberg identified. He keeps rolling his eyes but I think he really appreciates it.

Dear NHS 7 day blood pressure diary, This morning as I read more meaningless AI policy, I wondered whether the soul of higher education was lost for ever and if, as I have dedicated my adult life to HE, my soul was also diminished… 158/90.

The markets are down. The markets have rallied. The markets are down. The markets have temporarily recovered. The markets are down. Has anyone checked whether the markets are also perimenopausal?

3 fully funded Phds in peace and conflict studies:

www.coventry.ac.uk/research/res...

I might have to. It's ok to just glue things to him?

Solidarity to anyone who has just realised it is World Book Day on Thursday. My son has just announced he wants to go as King Louie from the Jungle Book. So I've 48 hours and zero skill to put that together

Research Associate (2 posts) We are seeking to recruit two outstanding individuals to contribute to our work with public services and the Welsh Government. The post offers a unique opportunity to manage and conduct high...

Two lovely Research Associate roles with Wales Centre for Public Policy wcpp.org.uk/about/job/re...

Found this toad at 7am this morning in the middle of a carpark. We were both awake too early, I think. It did not want to move.

You're just round the corner from me, I think? 🤣

This evening at B&Q my boyfriend asked me what colour we should paint the skirting board and I said 'I just don't have the bandwidth to deal with this tonight'. We are both silently wondering who I've become.

Solidarity to everyone at Cardiff Uni. Awful news.

After 11 days without heating or hot water Anwar from British Gas is coming today. Anwar is already a hero to our family.
The kids are excited. I'm emotional.

A small, green electric lint remover sits on top of a multicoloured wool jumper.

Sorry for the slow reply, I bought an electric lint remover and have become obsessed with shaving bobbles off my clothes.

Top 4 misconceptions about science
1. It fills knowledge-gaps (discoveries are unknown unknowns)
2. It proceeds along a straightforward path (discoveries are not predictable)
3. It looks for answers (new questions are crucial)
4. It is only rational (requires night science leaps)

Provide me with a technology that enhances human flourishing & makes our societies demonstrably better & I’ll adopt it enthusiastically. Provide me with an ethical tool that improves learning & teaching & I’ll use it tomorrow. LLMs, in their present forms, do the opposite.

My coffee advent calendar gave me decaf for the 24th. Decaf for xmas eve??

You too!

It would be today, Fri Dec 20th, that water starts to come through the ceiling 🙄

Still working my way through Gerard Toal’s brilliant book in this iteration of the book & beer/ pint & paper series. This is definitely worth a read. And by popular demand (one person asked!) the beer- 3 Ravens Cali IPA- is a super-crisp IPA perfect for a summer Friday afternoon in Oz. Cheers!

I will not open my Year in Monzo. You can't make me look.