Plashing Vole

A very interesting @privateeyenews.bsky.social story about this former Sri Lankan president accused of misuse of public funds for a visit to the UK. One British university certainly has questions to answer about security costs for his oddly unpublicised appearance. was the invoice inflated?

Superb. He had a lovely dry sense of humour.

Rival train franchises settling the timetable once and for all?

Welcome to the Beatrice and Sidney Webb Re-Education Camp.

What Are the Environmental Impacts of Artificial Intelligence? A single AI-focused data center can use as much electricity as a small city and as much water as a large neighborhood.

Decided I will just go on posting this once a week now

blog.ucs.org/pablo-ortiz/...

I’m sure they’ll wait for him.

That’s him.

I like Fresh Meat very much despite being way too old. Most of my students live at home so have never experienced the horror of semi-derelict houses shared with semi-feral strangers. I think I was Howard. With fewer social skills.

Medical parents meant that even absolute trash was permitted as long as it featured doctors and nurses!

They do! Will send them a link. Shocked I missed that one.

Thanks Greg, really appreciated. I know Singh’s work but hadn’t seen Bharat’s article. Must share it with the students.

One of the things about Bride and Prejudice that really works is the dance numbers: every Austen novel uses formal dances to deepen the characterisation and set up relations - the mandatory Bollywood songs and dances in this film do this for all the main characters beautifully.

One student had proposed an interesting essay topic (they’re final year and have to come up with their own and agree it with me): how Austen adaptations set in contemporary societies deal with servants.

Bride and Prejudice went down very well. Several students are familiar with Bollywood and are either Indian or diaspora so had plenty to say about the film’s somewhat acerbic view of diasporic people as being stuck uncomfortably between the old and the new.

One of the students tells me he was in Gray’s Anatomy too. They were also pleased by the cameo from the Gilmore Girls star.

Superb, I used to watch Shortland Street in my teens and didn’t recognise him at all.

Fantastic!

At least you’re fighting the good fight. Anyway, we’ll all be flood and firefighters once AI had burned the remaining bits of planet.

I did not know that.

a close up of a woman 's face with her mouth open . ALT: a close up of a woman 's face with her mouth open .

It’s Bollywood on the Austen module this morning: Bride and Prejudice.

Ridiculous!

Curious given UWE isn’t forecasting growth at all.

Interesting and depressing piece about student housing. One model not mentioned that works in many countries is co-operative student housing, owned and run via students’ unions.

That’s a very persuasive argument. Here HR has never, ever said no to management, which has led to some very expensive and traumatic tribunals and settlements.

Both very good choices.

FFS. Conversely, we specialise in forgetting to invite people to interview, and/or forgetting to tell them about the outcome.

Excellent result!

Definitely.

What a classy guy. Ugh.

I do hope you all watch Gogglebox. Here’s a clip that works for anyone who works in British higher education. And indeed everybody else.