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Alex

@alxblk.wsocial.eu
42 followers 24 following 185 posts

Risk and disaster scientist (UCL), photographer and cinematographer.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Alex
Peter du Toit @peterdutoit.com · 11/10/2026
Nepal, the least responsible for the ~427 ppm CO2 in the atmosphere, is currently on the front lines of the #ClimateCrisis IPCC (‘23) one of the places most at risk in the near-term (‘23-‘40): “Places where people and species live in close proximity to seasonal rivers.”
youtu.be
Nepal Floods | Moment: Terrifying Flash Flood Sweeps Through Gorkha | WION Originals
A terrifying flash flood has swept through Nepal’s Gorkha region, sending powerful torrents of muddy water rushing through the area and damaging buildings along the Budhi Gandaki River. The sudden surge has raised fresh concerns for communities living near the river, with authorities urging people
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 11/10/2026
I remember this quote from Rebecca Shaw in ‘The Guardian’ last year: “I knew one day I’d have to watch powerful men burn the world down – I just didn’t expect them to be such losers” Were it not evergreen.
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Reposted by Alex
National Trust @nationaltrust.org.uk · 02/10/2026
Consider this your sign to go outside before it gets dark at 4pm again.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 25/09/2026
I feel like I've been living in some sort of drug induced fever dream watching the US News this week. www.forbes.com/sites/antoni...
forbes.com
Sen. Tommy Tuberville Doubles Down Against ‘Deranged’ Furry Culture
Tuberville began targeting the furry community this week, criticizing it during a Senate floor speech Tuesday.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 23/09/2026
Two years in, I don’t think I have the capacity to imagine the US in 4 years.
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Reposted by Alex
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 17/09/2026
The far-right ideologues and grifters running U.S. foreign policy are the vanguard of a movement that will alter not just America but the world, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu reports.
bit.ly
Donald Trump’s Empire of Grift
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 18/09/2026
I was convinced that this ghoul was dead but it seems he was just catatonic. Term and age limits in politics need to be enacted globally, irrespective of party.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 18/09/2026
@wsocial.eu What is the name of a post on W? Tweets are to Twitter as ? is to W. I feel we need a name. Dub is speaking to me. As in 'dubaya' but a lot less Bush and Texas. As the song goes 'Dub be good to me'.... www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MnE...
youtube.com
Beats International Dub Be Good To Me
YouTube video by G R O O V I S S I M O
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 17/09/2026
Cards Against Humanity do this ‘because we think scientific progress actually fucking matters for the future of humanity’ They’re fucking right. Please share and help women and non-binary students pursue paths in STEM. www.scienceambassadorscholarship.org
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 16/09/2026
Aerosol–cloud interactions remain one of the most difficult parts of Earth’s climate response to quantify. This upcoming webinar may be of interest to scientists and friends in climate. eo-college.org/eo-event/esa...
eo-college.org
ESA CCI KE Webinar: From satellite observations to climate indicators: improving our understanding of aerosol–cloud interactions with SATACI – EO College
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 16/09/2026
Marketing word salad. What does it actually mean?
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 16/09/2026
Supporting journalism is important, but NYT perpetrate inutterable acts of stupidity and self harm. I was gifted an article by a subscriber and within 1s of arriving on the page, I get the attached. Or I can go to removepaywall.com and read the article free, without the interstitial. 🤦‍♂️
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 16/09/2026
Trump vs Carney is the definition of playing chess with a pigeon and to mix metaphors, the chickens will come home to roost for Trump. I wonder what 'bigly' tariff Trump will create in his laughably capricious response.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 16/09/2026
Rep. Joyce Beatty. 👏 www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1qi...
youtube.com
'He went into a tantrum': Rep. Joyce Beatty says she fought Trump during Kennedy Center meeting
YouTube video by MS NOW
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 16/09/2026
The fact that a man paradoxically devoid of taste and any cultural sensibility is involved at all is bad enough but his obsession with branding it in his own image is even more grotesque and repugnant. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
Trump’s Kennedy Center Shakedown
The only appropriate response is to refuse to accede to his demands.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 15/09/2026
New Yorker on the money today.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 15/09/2026
The goals of the AI companies and the goals of the mathematical community are severely misaligned. 25 Fields Medal winners add their signatures to the linked declaration. terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/09/11/a...
terrytao.wordpress.com
A Severe Misalignment of AI in Mathematics
I am proud to be among the list of 25 initial signatories — all Fields Medallists — to the declaration below, which grew out of discussions between ourselves over the last week. We have…
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 15/09/2026
The world we now live in was made from a misreading of cautionary tales. I'm reading this at the moment, and there is disquiet in living in foretold times. www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
We Are Living in the Fantasy World of 13-Year-Old Boys
Many of the tech billionaires who built our world have taken the wrong lessons from their favorite science fiction.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 15/09/2026
❤️
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 15/09/2026
In 1997, a UK politician described a colleague as having 'something of the night about him' and I think of this every time I see anything written about Kushner. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
Jared Kushner’s Dollar Diplomacy
Jared Kushner represents the kind of Washington figure for whom public office serves as a means to extraordinary wealth.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Guessing the next Ed Sheeran album will be ‘∅’. Debating whether that’s empty set or no spine. I know Kraft applied pressure. Ed didn’t have to cave.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
This from a man whose grasp of technology is embodied by his reaction to a Tesla as ‘Everything is computer’.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Every day, the US is dragged miserably further in the opposite direction of science, diplomacy, cooperation and sight of the bigger picture.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 13/09/2026
The #USOpen has been as tasteless and gauche a spectacle as the White House renovations. Lasers, smoke, firework fountains, the walk on and boxing style announcement of the player names. Make it stop.
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Reposted by Alex
Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Most Americans now get their info from creators & podcasts where authenticity conveys legitimacy. Institutional credentials & polish can read as elite distance. What can institutions do? New Carnegie guide, by me, Rachel Kleinfeld & Margot Treadwell: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
carnegieendowment.org
How to Engage with New Media: A Strategic Guide for Nonprofit Organizations
To remain effective, organizations need to master new media and legitimacy markers to make a once-in-a-century shift.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 13/09/2026
Connolly is playing chess with a pigeon and demonstrating a level of diplomatic contempt in her gift choices. A man with the poorest understanding of history and demonstrable ignorance on foreign policy is now sharing a view on Irish unification. 🤦 www.newsweek.com/what-ireland...
newsweek.com
What Ireland’s president has said about Donald Trump ahead of first meeting
Trump arrives in Dublin on Saturday for a two-day visit to Ireland.
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Reposted by Alex
Denys @denys.dev · 12/09/2026
This needs to be pinned somewhere. The essential guide for everyone who wants to get more details on the protocol that powers BlueSky, #WSocial, Eurosky and others... Strongly recommended for reading, bookmarking and revisiting. By @mackuba.eu mackuba.eu/2024/02/21/b...
mackuba.eu
A complete guide to Bluesky 🦋
I've decided to write down some of the tips & tricks that I often give to friends when I send them an invite code, or the advice and answers that I sometimes give to people that I find in some feed as...
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Reposted by Alex
John O Connell (WSocial PDS) @corkiejp.github.io · 11/09/2026
#WsocialFacts Myths About W Social by Denys Vuika - vol 1 ~ 2026-08-15 - vol 2 ~ 2026-09-11 Excellent ongoing blogs series if you take the 20 mins reading time. Note: Just because an account can have a human creator, doesn't prevent them running automation on it!
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 10/09/2026
Rooting for Tiafoe in the #USOpen. Shelton looked formidable against Carlos yesterday but I have a soft spot for Tiafoe. Pleased to see Andreeva out, she should have been banned for her foul behaviour at Indian Wells and she was at it again yesterday with racket abuse.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 10/09/2026
When did 'Sorry, would you mind repeating that please?' fail in use? The waitress is standing there as the watch user goes to 'Live Rewind' on his watch. The most spurious use case demonstration and feature justification for always on monitoring. www.youtube.com/live/39BalPD...
youtube.com
Apple Event September 9 2026: Introducing iPhone Duo and more
YouTube video by Apple
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 09/09/2026
I remember when Apple events were masterclasses in presentation technique and narrative. And featured innovative products.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 09/09/2026
Meta Muse AI personal agent launches with Zuckerborg earnestly appealing to us to give him access to more of our data. Trust in Muse? Probably on par with Trump crypto. research.meta.ai/blog/securit...
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 08/09/2026
Every luxury brand is now targeting women as if women were only recently discovered. It's telling that the boards of these companies are disproportionately over-index with middle-aged white men.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 06/09/2026
I would love to hear their views on fiscal policy. www.instagram.com/reel/Dc6zoDg...
instagram.com
𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗦𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗼 on Instagram: "I spoke to Reform UK members about their thoughts on climate change during the Party’s conference in Birmingham. #Reform #reformuk #climatechange #environment"
605 likes, 0 comments - spyingonsteph on September 5, 2026: "I spoke to Reform UK members about their thoughts on climate change during the Party’s conference in Birmingham. #Reform #reformuk #clima...
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 06/09/2026
@pizza.wsocial.eu I may have to unfollow you as an act of self preservation. You're normalising the idea of pizza for breakfast.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 05/09/2026
Map nerds may find this resource useful following the outcome of the UN General Assembly vote. The editable version may be useful for those in North America with an interest in hydronyms. equal-earth.com
equal-earth.com
Equal Earth Wall Map - Home
A wall map in the Equal Earth projection showing countries of the world. The map is free of charge.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 04/09/2026
UN resolution passes 164-1 in favour of changing the 16th-century Mercator projection which misrepresents the true size of continents. America cast the sole vote against the motion and called it a “radical ideological project”. The rest of us call it science.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 04/09/2026
Is there a German word for the feeling you get when you cancel a software subscription that you were ultimately forced into due to a dark design pattern?
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 04/09/2026
The privatisation of UK water is a case study in vulture capitalism and greed. The environmental harm caused by Thames Water earned them a £122.7m fine for sewage mismanagement and unlawful shareholder payouts to add to their £20bn debt mountain. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
We’re prepared to change the law to reform water industry, says Angela Eagle
Exclusive: New environment secretary insists ‘nothing is off the table’ in dealing with ailing Thames Water
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 02/09/2026
The inhumanity of man to his fellow man continues to weigh heavy. ICE is the Zimbardo Prison experiment enacted at a national level.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 01/09/2026
In 12 months, the article will adjust the date to 2027. Thankfully, the article is almost unprecedented in its decision to not use the word unprecedented. But it did use "remarkable" (twice), "record-breaking," "extreme," and "notable".
theguardian.com
Summer of 2026 was UK’s hottest on record, Met Office says
Meteorologists say mean average temperature of 16.5C was made 130 times more likely by climate crisis
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 01/09/2026
Andrew McCarthy’s images of the endeavour of space fill me with the same level of wonderment I had when I was 9 years old. This is the launch of the Roman space telescope 2 days ago. I hope images like this will continue to inspire the next generation to seek answers and pursue STEM.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 01/09/2026
Framing and language matters. Natural hazards exist and many such as wildfire are exaggerated by climate change but disasters are the consequence of a lack of preparedness and resilience. Investment in resilience is a deliberate and critical step to stop hazards becoming disasters.
euronews.com
Von der Leyen warns of worsening disaster risks, touts preparedness
The European Commission wants to shift the focus from responding to disasters to preventing them, strengthening preparedness and improving anticipation. But financing climate adaptation remains a majo...
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 31/08/2026
Djokovic, unquestionably one of the greatest players of the modern game. Despite his title count and even if he adds more slams, he will never be the 🐐. It’s Federer or Nadal. Class acts, both. On and off court. Huge respect for Djokovic on court, next to nothing off of it.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 31/08/2026
The embarrassment of British ‘media’ and their rotten, morally bankrupt overlords. There was a time when conflict of interest precluded someone commenting, notwithstanding an absence of scientific expertise. Tomorrow: David Beckham renders opinion on glacial etchplanation. 🤦
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 30/08/2026
Remember when the Internet was full of whimsical design and novel navigation paradigms? It could be annoying at times but everything now is largely paint by numbers in Wordpress, Squarespace or Waste of Space (Meta). My yearly antidote is the Tiny Awards nominees. tinyawards.net/vote/
tinyawards.net
Tiny Awards
This is the home of the Tiny Awards, which, since 2023, has celebrated the best of the small, poetic, creative, handmade web.
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 30/08/2026
I'm disappointed that they didn't have the creativity to quote a 0-88mph acceleration given the clear audience for this kit. www.electrogenic.co.uk/kits/convers...
electrogenic.co.uk
DeLorean DMC-12 Conversion Kit - Electrogenic
The Electrogenic DeLorean conversion kit delivers sports-car performance with 160kW power and 0-60mph in under 5 seconds
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 30/08/2026
Amazon started as an online bookstore. Bezos gave US$100m to Dolly Parton - 0.035% of his estimated net worth. What if he pledged to fund Imagination Library in perpetuity, globally. Interest on cash reserves and charitable tax inducements would make this an achievable and sustainable goal. 📚
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 30/08/2026
The challenge of bearing witness and the product of anthropogenic risk. This is not a natural hazard and an inevitability. Yet we careen towards 3 degrees. nepalitimes.com/2026-central...
nepalitimes.com
Reporter’s Diary 27 August
Nepali Times photographer finds his camera is inadequate to capture the true scale of the tragedy
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Alex @alxblk.wsocial.eu · 28/08/2026
I'm on Mac, Adobe Suite. Acrobat Professional has ordained itself as my PDF reader of choice. I've been too lazy / insufficiently bothered to reset it. But it's bloatware. Got me thinking, is there a better, lightweight equivalent to 'Preview' - PDFExpert seems promising. Thoughts?
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