Somhairle Kelly

pivot-to-ai.com/2025/11/18/v... - text

I'd argue that it's not been tried in any meaningful sense, rather than having failed. After all, many otherwise reputable brands - like their school, their operating system, and their web browser - have been pushing genAI to them constantly.

Make it clear why it's bad, impose social opprobrium for using it, and make sure otherwise respected brands know they shouldn't legitimise it.

"Don't make me peck the sign."

I have a new business idea: advanced ballistic parcel delivery. We load your parcel onto a mediaeval siege engine, use AI to calculate the best vector given the weather, and yeet. More reliable than Evri, much more fun, sign up for trebuch.ai soon.

Anecdotal, but I recently had ECO4 improvements done, and that involved something like 9 different small firms or sole traders - because the contract holders couldn't afford to employ their own staff. Or possibly "afford".

Like **** we did, what we elected this government on was a promise to BE LESS EVIL THAN THE ****ING TORIES and in most areas (including refugee rights) they're actually doing worse.

AMOC shutdown is our Cold War.

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia specifically because the rheumatologist couldn't quite justify an EDS diagnosis.

We need to push for the most "extreme" versions of things. No immigration rules *at all*, not even a passport check. No citizenship rules. You're here? You're British now.

Morning Womble! Alas, I am cold-ridden, but I'm rereading @pennyvixen.bsky.social's Grief of Stones, and later I have @mkhardywrites.com's The Needfire waiting for me to start.

A fab wee event at the lovely But n' Ben Books in Stonehaven today with @mkhardywrites.com, chatting folklore and the gothic and finding our books have plenty in common 🖤🤗 A lovely local bookshop, especially great SFFH selection, so if you find yourself in the area do pop in!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿📚✨️

That's wonderful!

In the United Kingdom there is an accursed talisman. It glitters and tempts and everyone who holds it is dragged into a spiral of evil.

It is called the job "Home Secretary".

I also picked up an epub copy of The Needfire - I'm just about to go around the corner to a signing by MK Hardy, who are friends of mine anyway, but it's definitely worth having both formats!

This was useful, since I'd just started a reread from The Goblin Emperor, and now I have The Tomb of Dragons waiting for me!

A notebook cover, greyboard and blue silk-stranded tissue paper.

Keeping my hands busy during tutorials (online tutorials!) helps me focus.

Finally, we have implemented Necromancy from the seminal theological text "Do Not Do Necromancy"!

All residential property - no exceptions - should be confiscated by the state and immediately assigned to the people living in it. All mortgages & rent debts should be cancelled.

Beautiful! I use a Columbian press when disability lets me get in a studio session at @peacockandtheworm.bsky.social - it's a real pleasure to print on.

An uncased text block, a half-finished cover, a scalpel, a metal ruler, and a bone folder sit on a battered cutting mat.

Now I need to choose some cover paper, and touch up the paint on the leather-embossed paper that makes up the spine binding. (Gmund H(l)eather).

Cover boards cut, spine spacer made. I have no bookcloth handy and can't be bothered to make any, so another layer of mull and some fashion paper it shall be. In the morning.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, Astreiant is exactly the sort of thing the best series award should recognise. Individually good books, but the sweep of the city, its people, & their lives across the series is an order of magnitude more important.

Expertly crafted living world in miniature.

For various reasons I needed a distraction, so here we are. No process photos because hyperfocus happened. My first time making a book block with multiple signatures. I really need some smaller bookbinding needles, 15s are absurd for this.

ok this breakdown of AI writing indicators is incredible. Huge shout-out to the Wikipedia community for this

TIL about this teaching fad, promulgated by a guy who literally does not know that children grow up.

Full-color image of the Cathedral of Barcelona, composed on a typewriter by Montserrat Alberich Escardívol. Image from WikiMedia.

Holy shit, just learned about the typewriter art of Montserrat Alberich Escardívol, a Catalan typist. Using an extra wide typewriter and 180 color ribbons, she built up elaborate images from simple characters like 'm' and '.' and ';'. Here is her typewritten painting of the Cathedral of Barcelona.

Scottish Independence 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Welsh Independence 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
United Ireland 🇮🇪

RT if you agree.

Reminder to self: today I have post-codeine brainhaar in addition to normal brainfog. It's OK to only get a bit done. If I can get a bit done in seven different directions (which is frankly inevitable) that's better than beating my head against a single essay question for ages.

The cover of a book. Title reads TEXTILE SHAKESPEARE. The illustration shows black embroidery of flowers, fruit, animals and insects on a stained cream ground.

Today is the OFFICIAL publication day for TEXTILE SHAKESPEARE! Please indulge me: I want to say a little (perhaps rather a lot) about it and share my acknowledgements - and a discount code! Appropriately,🧵1/10