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1r0n51d3.bsky.social

@1r0n51d3.bsky.social
236 followers 503 following 338 posts

Fuimus, #Chemist at #OpenUniversity Curious Academic,Sailor on the Seas of Fate, #Touchrugby player at #BedfordTouch #SaintsRugby supporter

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Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 4h
A research funding network that used artificial intelligence to reject half of grant proposals to its latest funding call has committed to redoing the review process, reports Frances Jones #research #UKRI #AI #grants ow.ly/ZCj150ZUqXc
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Forgive me for feeling emotional seeing stuff like this. As soon as I'd finished this book my ex-publisher collapsed, took my earnings and I had no idea whether it would even come out. I got the impression everyone who read it before it was published hated it. All I knew was I felt it was my best...
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09... I can sympathise we had a similar experience in the same ocean 40 odd years ago. Five of us all rescued. Glad to see the maritime rescue system keeps working
abc.net.au
Ted was pants-less and shipwrecked but the Navy rescued him 1,000km from anywhere
In the middle of the night, in the remote Indian Ocean a boat begins to sink. What follows is a remarkable tale of an unlikely sea rescue carried out by Australian authorities.
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09... I can sympathise we had a similar experience in the same ocean 40 odd years ago. Five of us all rescued. Glad to see the maritime rescue system keeps working
abc.net.au
Ted was pants-less and shipwrecked but the Navy rescued him 1,000km from anywhere
In the middle of the night, in the remote Indian Ocean a boat begins to sink. What follows is a remarkable tale of an unlikely sea rescue carried out by Australian authorities.
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This is well deserved 👏 Definitely a unique voice and someone who can both paint landscapes and people ( and Carl) with writing. Read and feel all the emotions that make us human
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John Stott @jpsastro.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Had a UKRI funded grant proposal rejected at the "AI triage stage". "This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review." 🧪 #academicsky
I am writing to let you know that, unfortunately, your application was not successful.

Review process

As part of the initial triage of the 179 proposals submitted to this call, each was assessed using an AI-based review. Every proposal was read independently by several different AI models against the same seven criteria used to shape this call (including cyber security relevance, research quality and novelty, importance of the problem addressed, feasibility of the project plan, likely outputs and impact, value for money, and responsible research practice), with each model asked to give a score and a written justification with supporting quotations from the text. To guard against any one model's idiosyncrasies, we also ran a second, independent process in which different AI models debated the merits and weaknesses of each proposal before reaching a judgement, again against the same criteria. Scores from both processes were combined to produce an overall ranking. 

This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review.  Projects selected for funding were drawn from those that progressed to the full human review stage. We recognise that AI-assisted assessment is a new and evolving part of the review process, and we are continuing to evaluate how well it aligns with the judgements of human reviewers on this call. We will soon produce a document detailing our method, so that others can build upon it and improve it.

Feedback on your application

Your application was not selected to progress beyond the AI triage stage.  To provide transparency on the outcome of this assessment, we are sharing below the scores (out of 5) from each of the two AI review processes described above, together with the mean score across the two processes.
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Never underestimate what good writing can do. My wife needed cheering up yesterday evening so I suggested reading Villager. It worked its magic with the first chapter - that’s the power of Tor! Thank you @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
It would just take one enterprising US publisher or agent to properly look into what is happening with this book right now via Bluesky and Blackwell's and they'd, if not absolutely fucking clean up, then at least have a book that did very well over there on domestic publication, with minimal effort.
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
If each of my Bluesky followers bought this book, it wouldn't cover the earnings my ex-publishers took from me when they imploded. But that's not my motivation in reposting this. My motivation is making sure this book has the longevity it deserves and nobody ever gets to take it away from me again.
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Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I miss the old days when a disgruntled noble in a dispute with the crown would just spent a few years sulking in the Low Countries before landing at a fishing village in the south west with some Flemish mercenaries and heading for the Welsh Marches to raise his banner. Much more dignified.
bbc.co.uk
Earl Spencer defends Diana book claims about King Charles
Princess Diana's brother tells the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that "we'll forget her soon enough" were "exactly" the words used by the then-Prince of Wales.
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I like seeing this post from Tom pop up . It’s the first one I saw and through it I discovered Villager and Tom Cox a brilliant writer. Currently have three of his books and counting 😂So it’s nice to be reminded that social media does work when it’s allowed to and helps you find creative genuises👍
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Totally recommend subscribing to this!
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UK Council for Graduate Education @ukcge.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Important update: Our Board of Trustees has given notice of UKCGE's intention to change its charitable status. This won't affect membership or our charitable objectives, but the context is available on our website if you would like to know more.
twp.ai
ukcge.ac.uk
UKCGE | Notice of UKCGE's Intention to Change Its Charitable Status
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Prof Frank McDonough @fxmc1957.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
17 September 1394. Charles VI, King of France, published an ordinance expelling Jews from France. It was the culmination of a long list of antisemitic restrictions on Jews enacted by French monarchs.
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Documentally @documental.ly · 16/09/2026
I wish social media would just show us the people we choose to follow, in the order they post. No profiling, sneaky algorithms or targeted ads. Simple moderation, portable contacts and an ethical business model. Is that too much to ask?
static.klipy.com
Steve Martin: If I Had One Wish (SNL)
ALT: Steve Martin: If I Had One Wish (SNL)
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UK Council for Graduate Education @ukcge.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
New in the resource library! Thank you to Rachel Lyon and Qian Jiang at the University of Glasgow for sharing their work on multilingual researchers, and how they experience the relationship between language and their research journey.
twp.ai
ukcge.ac.uk
UKCGE | Additional Language, Additional Experience? Insights from the…
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Loved #NickySpence at #LastNightattgeProms consummate performance and what a brilliant voice. There is joy in this world.
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Dr Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
The RNLI have some of the best people in Britain volunteering for them. They put their lives on the line when they are called on and they will rescue anyone who needs them. Because every life matters, and offering help is the right thing to do. You can donate here: rnli.org
rnli.org
RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution - Saving Lives at Sea
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. We do this through lifeboat search and rescue, lifeguards, water safety education and international interventions.
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Matthew Stewart @roguestrands.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I'm currently scheduling readings for 2027 and would be delighted to hear from any lit/book fests in the U.K. that might be able to offer me a slot. I've a decent track record and I don't require travel expenses from Spain. And I promise not to scare off audiences who think poetry's not for them!
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Can it hurt to give this one more nudge? Perhaps, slightly (because every time I do any self promotion I feel an irrepressible wave of nausea). But I'm going to do it anyway. Because it might bring a mistreated book to three or four new readers. And that's VERY much worth my while.
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Do this ! You will find a brilliant writer and I will get to read more of his new books as he cracks Hollywood and becomes a creative idol . Seriously do this and support a wonderful evocative writer to just write.
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Bavovna Buff 🇵🇱 🇬🇧 🇳🇴 @global-news-junkie.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Blackwells.co.uk absolutely rocks as a replacement for Amazon as far as books are concerned.
blackwells.co.uk
Blackwell's, books for life and for learning Blackwell's
Trading since 1879, Blackwell of Oxford is the largest academic and specialist bookseller in the UK. Fast dispatch, carefully packaged, worldwide delivery.
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
For those two yachtsmen struggling in Solent asking for help isn’t admitting defeat it’s about getting aid before it becomes impossible. We survived a mid ocean storm by asking for help early #SavingLivesatsea
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Already up to number 4 on the Blackwell's bestseller list... Can we sneak it to number one, maybe for an hour or two, I wonder, before it's once again bested by books with proper commercial weight behind them?
The current Blackwell's bestseller list, with my new book at number 4.
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
It’s ideal at the moment raining here good for the garden but I can’t do any chores and not at Lords so I can watch Test cricket .
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Ed Conway @edconway.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
✍️ Want to understand the bonkers nature of the modern economy? Take a ride with me on the 30,000 mile journey the cod in a fish finger takes between being caught off the coast of Scotland and consumed in a British home 🤯 Promise I'm not making this up👇 edconway.substack.com/p/the-30000-...
edconway.substack.com
The 30,000-mile fish finger
There’s a good chance the cod on your child’s plate has been around the world and back. Not that you’d learn any of that from the label...
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
www.tom-cox.com/one-week/

Eric and Carl live in Dorset in a small white cottage under the shadow of a big cliff. Eric sells old records and antiques. Carl cooks, cleans and crochets. Nearing seventy, Eric is a lifelong accumulator of obscure objects whose easygoing, chaotic approach to life masks some of the unaddressed sadness of his past. The significantly younger Carl is an old soul who has a sophisticated emotional intelligence and likes swimming, mid-century female novelists, fibre arts and Dolly Parton. If you passed them on a walk, you may not pay them much attention. Most likely you would see Carl’s long floppy ears, tail and fur and mistake him for a dog.

The story of Eric and Carl's friendship spans twenty-one years: a constant anchor in a changing world. During that time they adopt an eccentric, unlikely gang of fellow travellers. Their wanderings through South West England unfold against a backdrop of lived, local folklore and hints at future apocalypse. All the while, Carl's true nature remains a closely guarded secret.

Tom Cox's third novel is a rare gem, centred around the importance of friendship, the power of landscape and the joy of accepting the unusual. Everything Will Swallow You will make you think deeply about the place you occupy in the grand scheme of things and give fresh perspectives on how to live and love in the present moment.
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
For me Dolly Parton championing reading for children and indeed everyone is it. Respect and rest in peace your contribution to a better world goes on .
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I like watching #Savinglivesatsea on #bbc because I appreciate what the #rnli do. Some stories do strike a chord essentially that poor yacht foundering on the Norfolk sandbanks. I am reminded of our mid ocean rescue the shock and relief is still quite strong
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Chasing perfection is a fool’s errand for PhD students www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/chas... A perceptive and interesting take how to strike the right balance in your PhD. @ukcge.bsky.social
timeshighereducation.com
Chasing perfection is a fool’s errand for PhD students
Neuroscientist Claudia Schrauwen says doctoral students are too eager to apologise for the limitations of their research rather than celebrate what they have found
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The lack of rain over the last two months has corresponded to a lack of Test cricket. As soon as the Test match starts it starts raining. Clearly to avoid future drought we must play Test cricket all summer then it will be a proper UK summer wet and cloudy with occasional sunshine! #cricket #bbctms
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Glad to see #Savinglivesatsea is back on #bbc2 it highlights the spirt of the #RNLI and indeed the wider global maritime community that always tries to help those in need.
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Captain Haddock @realcaptainhaddock.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Excellent by @stephenkb.bsky.social on Jason Arday On the description of him as ‘“the Black professor accused of plagiarism” .. as if the most important thing was not the plagiarism, but the temerity to be simultaneously Black.’ www.ft.com/content/5f92...
ft.com
The difficult truth about Jason Arday
From the beginning, investigations were accompanied by a cloud of excessive references to his race
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Prof Frank McDonough @fxmc1957.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
PHOTO OF THE DAY: The graves of a Catholic woman and her Protestant husband, seperated by a cemetery wall in the Netherlands (1888). 📷 google images
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
I wouldn't call my updated Bluesky bio "fun" but it gets to the point much more directly than my previous ones.
In 2025 my ex-publishers Unbound imploded, taking many thousands of pounds of my earnings, for seven (yes, seven) books, to hell with them. I am here primarily as an attempt to recover from that disaster. if you buy one of my books, it helps.
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John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 07/08/2026
New from me: Britain’s graduate earnings premium is falling, cue “too many go to university!” But non-university outcomes are also bad, cue “we must reform vocational routes!” Both miss the point: people used to think education drove economic outcomes, but the economy drives educational outcomes.
Chart showing that US workers who are functionally illiterate earn roughly the same per hour as the average British worker
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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I've finally found it. The most painful science montage in movie history. Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus (2009) Yes, Gen X, that is singer Debbie Gibson as oceanographer 'Emma MacNeil'. But the important thing is: she's keeping an accurate lab notebook.
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UK Council for Graduate Education @ukcge.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
New! Emily Mason (researcher at the University of Nottingham) provides tips for PhD students or ECRs who are starting out with the publications process.
twp.ai
ukcge.ac.uk
UKCGE | The art of patience: My experience publishing in academia as…
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Boothby Graffoe @boothbygraffoe.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Oh come on! The "Stench of Sleaze"? Who's gonna wear that? Although they have got a clever marketing ploy - you don't tell anyone you're wearing it and, even though it reeks, it takes people years before they actually smell it.
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
I’ve visited the island they swam to when we were sailing in the Solomon Islands
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
The Spanish National Orchestra #BBCProms debut is simply glorious.
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Hurrah the weekend has just got better this by Tom Cox has just arrived. Looking forward to reading it . Check his website www.tom-cox.com to see more about his writings. One of my happiest discoveries on Bluesky was finding Tom Cox - I loved Villager !
A great story by Tom Cox sitting on my desk It’s just arrived
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Hurrah the weekend has just got better this by Tom Cox has just arrived. Looking forward to reading it . Check his website www.tom-cox.com to see more about his writings. One of my happiest discoveries on Bluesky was finding Tom Cox - I loved Villager !
A great story by Tom Cox sitting on my desk It’s just arrived
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
I’ve seen my first hurricane of the summer flying over Drayton Parslow this evening. Love the sight and sound of a vintage Merlin powered legend . #aviation #history #militaryaviation
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Brian Dunn@briandunn.bsky.social‬ @briandunn.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
When HMS Royal Sovereign was broken up, the elevation gear from her main guns were salvaged and repurposed for the Mark 1 radio telescope at Jodrell Bank built between 1955-57. #NavalHistory
HMS Royal Sovereign at Philadelphia in 1943.The Mark 1 radio telescope at Jodrell Bank, Cheshire, England.
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
THREAD. A collection of photos I have taken of excellent cats I have met on walks. You will find the captions to the photos in the alt text.
A cat on a wall, ranting relatably to me about the way modern TV documentaries are so frantically, pathetically worried about losing the viewer’s attention, employ endless precaps and recaps, lazily emotionally manipulate the viewer with overplayed songs and talk to that viewer as if that viewer is a small child, rather than a fully grown human, or cat.
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
The latter should never be Tom’s concern. I found this chapter by Tom posting this earlier loved it and bought it. Thanks to Tom doing this I’ve discovered a genius writer through BlueSky I may never have found so every time he promotes his work here I don’t get irritated I boost it as best I can.
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
#weeangus is plugged in and recharging #proofofcat #cats
A black and white cat on a blue armchair with his forepaws on the top of a scratching post
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1r0n51d3.bsky.social @1r0n51d3.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
#weeangus is plugged in and recharging #proofofcat #cats
A black and white cat on a blue armchair with his forepaws on the top of a scratching post
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