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AlanFricker

@alanfricker.bsky.social
685 followers 312 following 2.9K posts

Still growing stuff, running and generally interested. Probably library chat will happen.

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Reposted by AlanFricker
Joe Brown @joebrownlondon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
#OnThisDay 32 years ago the last train ran on the rural Essex outpost of London Underground that was Epping-Ongar. The shuttle was also the last stand for the 1960 Stock seen here: capture of the last day by ian29d on YouTube (part of a longer video) buff.ly/GZRFUqU
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Yeah - I just wear my Airpods. They work great. I don't bother with this other tech stuff" #RttO #OpenPlan #MurderousThoughts
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Just deployed a talkie toaster gif in a work chat about AI and feel like this might now happen a lot
static.klipy.com
Talkie Toaster
Alt: Talkie Toaster from Red Dwarf. Anyone want any toast?
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Late call for a spare ticket at the Afghan Whig
Ed Harcourt doing a mini encore strong blue light behind he has two fingers in the air but not like thatAfghan Whigs on stage at the shepherd's Bush empire under red and white lights
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Sent an email to lis-medical that felt dangerously close to a "drink your weak lemon drink" level of nicheness
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
What happened when authors of rejected papers were asked about the content of papers they submitted (brought here via ( @ianmulvany.bsky.social post considering tiered review processes) medium.com/@TmlrOrg/ask...
medium.com
Asking Authors About Their Own Papers
By Nihar B. Shah
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Trying to find articles about EndNote Fusion - mostly getting jazz supportcenter.clarivate.com/s/global-sea...
static.klipy.com
Nice!
ALT: Nice!
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The new logo for a soon to rebrand web based bibliographic tool is a real "Will this do?" job isn't it?
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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Apparently it's migraine awareness week in UK. And a new national online pathway and decision tool for headache has just launched. gettingitrightfirsttime.co.uk/girft-marks-...
gettingitrightfirsttime.co.uk
GIRFT marks Migraine Awareness Week with launch of national online pathway for headache care - Getting It Right First Time - GIRFT
As Migraine Awareness Week gets under way today (21st September 2026), GIRFT has launched the first national online pathway and decision-making tool for the care of patients presenting with headache s...
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Clear description of context vs memory. Makes clear impact of context window and limits on chat size for degradation of both recall and response. Important if users stick a lot of PDFs that then get "read" repeatedly which will add up library.hkust.edu.hk/news-events/...
library.hkust.edu.hk
What Your AI Remembers About You | HKUST Library
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Clear explanation of why the hugging face hack was both predictable and still bad pluralistic.net/2026/09/12/g...
pluralistic.net
Pluralistic: LLMs are real, AI is fake (12 Sep 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A mate running for a heart breaking cause - if you have a couple of quid at the end of the month you could do worse www.justgiving.com/page/maratho...
justgiving.com
Marathon to Athens - For little Otis & SUDC UK
Help Thomas Meredith raise money to support SUDC UK
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Cyriak @cyriak.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Saw a man with no face today, sitting on a bench. Turns out it was a bald guy looking down at his phone with his sunglasses propped up on the top of his head, but for a brief moment i was transported to a world of cosmic terror
Literally a drawing of what I just described
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Murky Depths @murkydepths.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
You can tell no transport commentator who reports on the new DLR trains has young children as it's now MUCH harder for them to see out the front At a rough guess a 5 year old could see out on the old ones. New nearing 8+9 years old This is true investigative journalism This is a 6 year olds view
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Terence Eden @edent.tel · 16/09/2026
New blog post: How to get a DOI for your blog posts shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/how-to-get… Each new post on this blog now has a Digital Object Identifier. This post looks at the how and the why of getting one, whether it is useful, and any issues you might …
shkspr.mobi
How to get a DOI for your blog posts
Each new post on this blog now has a Digital Object Identifier. This post looks at the how and the why of getting one, whether it is useful, and any issues you might experience if you go down this path. Table of ContentsBackgroundGetting a DOI the easy wayLet's Go Rogue!Automatic Submission of New ContentManual Submission of Old ContentGetting the DOIGenerating your own DOIMaking the DOI…
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Miss working in central London. Got off at St Paul's to walk to work is a great start to the day
View of the city of London looking across the beach at Gabriel's wharf. Beautiful morning light with little fluffy white clouds
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Counter argument - having a veg box removes part of the "what are we going to eat" tyranny of the blank page www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
It’s my self-care hack of the year: I quit our local veg box scheme, and set my mind free | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
Being a member felt like the right thing to do and it was a boon during the pandemic. But oh, the emotional labour, says Guardian columnist Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Litter pick with a local beaver group. Hats off to the leaders
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Hassinator @hassinator.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Sigh
Not the Smartie of Doom but not dissimilar.  A spinning icon to denote a page loading
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"The agents are portable, but the judgment patterns are not! That means, like it or not, you will get locked into a model." > important point for reproducibility mikecaulfield.substack.com/p/agents-are...
mikecaulfield.substack.com
Agents are portable but judgments are not
This is a bigger problem than people realize
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Pre work work
A barrow full of email<<<< manure
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Extremely disappointed to discover this is Essex, MA and not Essex UK
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
This is not mega helpful when you are trying to record a little demo video
A cloud flare timeout message counting down before it will show me a webpage
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Taking a thirty year old t-shirt out to a disco
An authentic 1996 three boy hardcore action Ash tshirt
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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
The Cat Righting Reflex is the official name of the process cats use to automatically correct themselves mid-fall and land on their feet. It develops between 3 - 9 weeks of age, and is responsible for the greatest wikipedia gif of all time.
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Library Hentut 💙⭐🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ She/Her @emmahalford.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
People with breasts, this is your reminder to please accept a breast screening appointment when you're offered. If this isn't you, but you can help someone attend an appointment by given them a lift, or offering moral support and encouragement, please do. 🙂🙏🏻
Photo shows two mugs of tea, one decorated with robin red breasts, the other with blue tits. Between them are two iced Belgian buns topped with cherries. In front of them is an NHS leaflet entitled 'Your guide to NahS breast screening'.
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Was not aware there was a studio working on painting and sculpting of miniatures in West Essex!
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Jess Morley @jessrmorley.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Please enjoy this edit I made of my cat (back in England) being beaten up by a mouse …. and the analogy contained within.
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Royal College of Nursing Library and Museum @rcnlibraries.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Thanks Alan! We're excited too. We hope to record the evening's talks and publish on the RCN YouTube - so hopefully you can catch up later. Also, there are plenty of events related to the exhibition lined up for later dates. 📆 Check our events programme: www.rcn.org.uk/library/Muse...
rcn.org.uk
Events | Library | Royal College of Nursing
Find out about the latest events at our libraries.
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Looking forward to popping into the new exhibition at the @rcnlibraries.bsky.social at some point. Not able to make the online talks for the launch www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-digita...
eventbrite.co.uk
The Digital Revolution: Exhibition Launch (hybrid)
Join us for the launch of a new exhibition exploring data, computing and technology in nursing practice.
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
If you live anywhere near Norwich and weren't at Nation of Language at the waterfront tonight more fool you
Nation of language bent over a moog in broght white light
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Jo the Hat @jothehat.eurosky.social · 26/08/2026
Good morning, fellow megafauna!
Tumblr text post by crabussy on 8 August.
"I'm so lazy for lying down so often" "I'm so greedy for eating such a big meal" MY BEAUTIFUL FRIEND!!!! YOUUUU ARE A GIANT OMNIVORE. YOU'RE MEGAFAUNA. DO YOU KNOWWW HOW ENERGY EXPENSIVE IT IS TO KEEP A GIANT OMNIVORE WITH A HUGE BRAIN RUNNING. very!!! very energy expensive!!! eat that burger take that nap. holy moly. you wonderful animal. your species is made for frequent meals and daytime rests and long sleeps. let yourself be a human.
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Emma Monk @monkemma.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This is not misinformation. That's what I normally cover - something out of context, an opinion quoted as fact, or a deliberate misinterpretation... This is none of those. This is full-on disinformation. Because that is NOT from the Express. It is entirely fake😱 🧵 1/10
Lembit Opik tweet:

Burnham's big migration plan: take 4,000 stranded migrants from Ceuta, bring them to the UK and put them up in luxury hotels. Americans look at Europe in despair. 

Express Headline: Burnham's migrant, Campbell, 1,000 stranded in Ceuta to be brought to UK. The Prime Minister proposes flying thousands of stranded migrants from Spanish enclave to Britain and housing them in London hotels. 

Monk Debunked stamp on top of both
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CRASSH @crasshlive.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
📚 The Politics of Rare Books: Colonial legacies, libraries, provenances 21 September Alison Richard Building, CB3 9DP bit.ly/4gcpiXM This event aims to advance conversations on how historical connections to the slave trade within library collections can be communicated to the public
The politics of rare books
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Can any library folk suggest suitable organisations to take on this collection? RIBA perhaps? 📚
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Chigwell & Epping Forest Orienteering Club @chig-orienteering.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Entries are now open! Entries for our 13 September event in Epping Forest are now open. We have courses available for all ages & abilities. Explore the beauty of this ancient woodland through orienteering - the sport that challenges the mind and the body. See chig.org.uk/events/26091...
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I witnessed around 30 seconds of it last night!!!
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Rosalind McNally @rmcnallynhs.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The Knowledge & Library Hub has been refreshed. This bite size video takes you through all the changes or contact me @penninecarenhs.bsky.social Knowledge Service for a refresher training session www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0yQ... @sfstringwell.bsky.social @alanfricker.bsky.social
youtube.com
Intro to the Knowledge and Library Hub
YouTube video by NHS England Workforce, Training and Education
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Luke Turner @luketurner.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Bad news from East London where the wonderful Newham Bookshop is under threat due to a preposterous rent hike. Run by the lovely Viv Archer, who is equally at home supporting books by West Ham's footballers as she is my words on queer sex in Epping Forest. Please sign this petition if you can:
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Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 12/08/2026
I am now trying to explain to the young people on my team what 1999 was like and am just sending them this photo.
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I have a poster from this awaiting a suitable location www.nls.uk/collections/...
nls.uk
Rewriting the Rules | National Library of Scotland
Artist Peter Liversidge’s new library installation invites visitors to rethink libraries as spaces of trust, curiosity and community.
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Friday puzzle. Entered a typo - cheesewine into the discovery tool and got four results back. None of them include that as a visible string of characters
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
How is Friday going?
static.klipy.com
Oof Meme Reaction
Alt: Oof Meme Reaction
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Josh Michtom @rsgat.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
This is just to say I have eaten the sailors that were in the ship and which you were probably saving for Ithaca Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so Greek
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studpuppet.bsky.social @studpuppet.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Whenever people start to posit AI as a replacement for translation work, I send them to this page. auntymuriel.com/2012/12/23/a...
auntymuriel.com
Asterix in translation: the genius of Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge
As promised in a previous blog entry, what follows is a discussion of the translation of some of my favourite Asterix gags. The translators’ modus operandi was to include as many jokes in the Engli…
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Holly Casio @hollycasio.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Here a compilation of stupid things library consultants have said to me in solidarity with library pals at Lambeth Libraries where genius consultants has decided that a qualified head of library service post isn't really essential.
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Richard Smyth @rsmythfreelance.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Bede's World! Bede's World! Party time! Venerable!
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alix e. harrow @alixeharrow.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
i don't like to police genre, but it's not dark academia unless somebody gets squished in one of these bad boys
those rolling stacks you'll find in any big state school library
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Yesterday the beauty of David Parr's house. Today - brush on a stick. I don't think he would approve
A paint brush crudely taped to a pole to reach that bit above the stairs
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