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Arthur

@arthur.qeng-ho.org
199 followers 117 following 2K posts

Frequently glossobuccalic. Knows just enough to be a danger to himself and others in a surprising number of areas. I'm not overweight, I'm underheight. "AI" is marketing hype, machine learning is the technology, copyright theft is the business model.

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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 05/10/2026
Celebrating the 40th Monday morning of this remarkable year.
A red panda slumped on a branch looking like it's had more than enough of the world.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 23/09/2026
Created for the Other Place, still appropriate here.
An image of an industrial warning sign, with the text "Adam is committing excruciating puns again."
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 24/08/2026
It's always good to come across polite people.
A person holding a door mat which says "In this house we say please, thank you & fuck Donald Trump".
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 10/06/2026
Not unknown. This was 25th June 2016. All the white bits were hailstones.
A picture of a road and flat roof covered in hailstones.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 09/06/2026
The Skeptic. Fair enough, I've long liked Montaigne and playing with cats. (Of course they're playing with me.)
Your closest counterpart: The Skeptic.

You suspend judgement, keep your doubts coded, and cultivate a quiet life among your books. You think certainty is a delusion and the wise keep their own counsel.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 29/05/2026
For the more philosophically inclined (is there a bicycle or not?)
A CAPTCHA asking for all squares with bicycles. The image shows a painted bicycle symbol marking a cycle lane rather than a real bicycle.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 28/05/2026
A computer error alert saying "Yesterday does not exist. Would you like to remove it?"
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 28/05/2026
Counterpoint:
A picture of Hello Kitty being cute with the caption "I have no mouth, and I must scream" written around it.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 14/05/2026
Over on amazon.co.uk, a slight muddle in the "Books by Adrian Tchaikovsky" section. Looks like the AI got confused by similar titles. Also, Engines of Reason doesn't appear to be available for pre-order yet.
The front cover of Frederick Forsyth's "The Dogs of War" when it should be Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Dogs of War".
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 07/04/2026
This crab apple tree is just round the corner from where I live. Every year in spring it produces this wonderful display of blossom. #TinyJoys
A quiet side street in Cambridge. A crab apple tree, smothered in white and pink blossom and green leaves, fills the front garden of a house on the right and arches out over the pavement reaching as far as the roadway.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 31/03/2026
I know audio products can be stupidly expensive, but socks?
A screen grab of an Amazon product item for titanium socks* but at the ridiculous price of £3,299. It's not clear whether that's per pair or per sock.

* Yes, titanium socks are a real thing.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 15/03/2026
There's this British chap keeping it tidy.
Picture of the front cover of the book "Biggles sweeps the desert" BT Captain W E John's.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 17/02/2026
The newest Hollywood franchise drops. You've seen the Fast and Furious, now meet the Daft and Delirious.
Donald Trump and LIz Truss at their meeting. Truss has a half hearted smile and looks slightly spaced, Trump is grimacing like his haemorrhoids are playing up badly.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 04/02/2026
This is on every page from the US National Library of Medicine. Depressing short-sighted idiocy.
A notice saying:

Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 02/02/2026
They're just well fed. From the Tower of London web page:
Heading: Why are the ravens' wing feathers trimmed?

The Ravenmaster occasionally trims some of the ravens' primary and secondary flight feathers to encourage them to stay at the Tower. All the Tower ravens are able to fly but, with careful feather management, plenty of food and a comfortable new enclosure, they are happy to call the Tower their home.

However, some ravens have gone absent without leave in the past and others have even been sacked. Raven Munin flew off to Greenwich and was eventually returned by a vigilant member of the public after seven days. Raven George was dismissed for eating television aerials and Raven Grog was last seen outside an East End pub.

Heading: A diet of meat, biscuits and blood

The ravens are fed twice a day by our Ravenmaster and dine on a special diet of mice, chicks, rats and assorted raw meats. As a special treat, they are given biscuits soaked in blood.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 12/11/2025
It's only potatoes and not radium. Even the thickest crank doesn't think radioactives are the best thing since sliced bread these days. Image from www.nuclearmuseum.org/virtual/vex1...
An old and rusty can labelled "Radium hand cleaner", with the slogan "Takes off everything but the skin". This is from the Radium fad of the early 20th century.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 10/11/2025
I detect a theme from @jonrosenberg.bsky.social. Understandable.
Three reposts from Jon Rosenberg, originally dated 9 months, 20 months, and 25 months ago, all just saying "sigh".
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 30/10/2025
Debatable in some cases.
A lion sculpture with added googly eyes that make it look very disapproving.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 05/10/2025
The kawaii version
A picture of Hello Kitty with the caption "I have no mouth, and I must scream".
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 05/10/2025
Some books have nothing but
A photograph of the text book "An Introduction to Algorithms" by Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest & Stein.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 25/09/2025
I use NoScript in my browser and regularly have to enable JS in order to see anything on a web site that shouldn't need JS if done competently, so it was nice to find this on a recently visited site
An outlined box containing the message "Oh, I see you disabled JavaScript. Keep up the good work, my fellow cleanweb person!"
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 04/08/2025
Amazon appears to have a very eclectic definition of academia.
A screenshot from the Amazon web site. The heading says "Academic Kindle Books Sale". The "academic" book offered is "The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook".
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 18/07/2025
Over on T̶w̶i̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ X, the French are getting snarky.
An X post from the French Embassy in the UK. The text says

"{hashtag}DemocracyNotAlgocracy | 🇪🇺🇫🇷In Europe, one is free to speak, not to spread illegal content. 

{hashtag}EuropeProtects 
{hashtag}DSAProtects"

The image has the same slogan "In Europe, one is free to speak, not to spread illegal content" in English and French, plus 2 of the 3 hash tags.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 05/07/2025
A cartoon showing a showroom with a couple of large black blobs in it, and a salesman saying to a customer "Sure, the abyss is great for staring into. But if screaming is your thing, you'll want to go with the void."
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 04/06/2025
Mare and foal in the New Forest. #TinyJoys [For non-Brits, the New Forest is 946 years old.]
A brown New Forest mare with her grey foal standing under her neck. They are standing on a grass verge.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 24/05/2025
Good enough for a hashtag: #GooglyEyesOnALion. #TinyJoys
A monumental stone lion with a downturned mouth and googly eyes added to it so it seems to be looking very disapprovingly at the camera.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 17/05/2025
From The Bad Place, but interesting.
A tweet reading:

Fascinating statistic: in 1938 there were just under 11,000 degrees awarded by British universities. In 1970 63,000.

In 23/24 over 1,100,000 degrees were awarded! Less an expansion than an explosion in universities over the past 80 odd years.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 20/04/2025
Life making the best of what it's got. #TinyJoys
A tiny forget-me-not with a handful of blue and yellow flowers growing in a crack between paving slabs.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 16/01/2025
Meme image.

First panel shows a real dog looking at a cartoon display saying "What a lovely day on the inter–".

Second panel shows the dog looking at you saying "Good Lord".
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 15/12/2024
Some are not amused.
A stone lion augmented with googly eyes. It appears to be giving you a disapproving stare.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 06/12/2024
Buñuel's _The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie_ comes to mind.
A still from Buñuel's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie showing all six main characters walking down a country road.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 28/11/2024
I saved this a while back. Unfortunately I don't know who the photographer was, because they got the essence of lethally furious orb perfectly.
A blue gray gnatcatcher epitomising lethally furious orb.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 08/11/2024
Hey, teacher said we can go play computers today
Screen shot from the film "War Games" showing an old style terminal saying "SHALL WE PLAY A GAME?"
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 07/11/2024
Leopards are eating people's faces. Leopards have always been eating people's faces.
A Roman mosaic of a leopard eating a gladiator's face.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 20/10/2024
Spotted on The Bad Place. Computer monitors wanting to push adverts and AI at the user. Which genius at LG thought this was a good idea?
An LG computer monitor displaying a full screen "accept user agreement" dialog talking about advertising and collecting user data. This occurred while the user was working. The user is not happy.A further display showing that the monitor has an "AI service" giving various options for how intrusive the AI is.

The user is definitely not happy
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 05/10/2024
Thatcher on a tank tribute?
A cut down photograph of Margaret Thatcher in a tank.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 04/10/2024
Spotted in The Bad Place. This certainly explains certain Tory party leadership candidates.
A tweet saying: basically one thing that's happening globally right now is that american ideological strains escaped from america. they're incredibly potent and while americans have been selected for resistance the rest of the world is naive. basically brain smallpox but for the old world
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 04/10/2024
The Daily Mail, consistent in its correctness.
A picture of a Daily Mail page from December 5th 2000, with the headline "Internet may be just a passing fad as millions give up on it".
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 30/09/2024
I've just done the common sense test at commonsense.seas.upenn.edu. As expected, I have no common sense and don't think like anybody else. It's hard being the only one in step. 😁
A graph showing more people score between 20 & 100% and me at 0%A test result showing 0% with the text "This score is based on a calculation of how similar your beliefs are to others (yours are 0% similar), and how accurately you rated what others think (you were 0% accurate)."
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 30/09/2024
nasa.gov is down. Anybody know why?
IsItDownRightNow.com report showing nasa.gov is down
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 18/09/2024
Complemented by the guy at the back left playing the collection of Danish pastries.
An awful AI generated image of an orchestra member playing, err, something.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 17/09/2024
I prefer to think of it as being fashionably late.
Bluesky showing I was user 2,242,262
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 15/09/2024
#AI being wonderful again. Note that I rephrased the question so the farmer can take wolf, goat and cabbage in one trip.
I put the river crossing problem to an AI, but with the change that all three items, wolf, goat, and cabbage, can be taken in one go.

The AI replies with the standard answer for when only one item can be taken in the boat.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 08/09/2024
From one of the more specialist UK ISPs. I believe they actually do support the shibboleet protocol.
A FAQ:

Q: Have you tried turning it off and back on again?

A: Our tech support staff are not following a script. They have access to detailed line monitoring and diagnostics tests, some of which are unique to A&A. Whilst "turning it off and back on again" can be valid, it is far from our standard response. Our support staff have training in low level protocols and understand networking. They have seen the equipment we use, and have even visited a telephone exchange and seen how equipment connects together and understand how things work for real. You don't even need to say Shibboleet.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 05/09/2024
From my latest veg bag. A carrot romantasy.
Two carrots intertwined so it looks like they're hugging.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 02/09/2024
TL;DR version. 30 out of about 350.
It is with regret that I inform the House today,…

…the assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel…

…there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

I have informed my Right Honourable Friend, the Business and Trade Secretary.

And he is therefore today announcing the suspension of around 30, from a total of approximately 350 to Israel, as required under the Export Controls Act.

These include equipment that we assess is for use in the current conflict in Gaza,…

…such as important components which go into military aircraft, including fighter aircraft, helicopters and drones, as well as items which facilitate ground targeting.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 02/09/2024
Don't even need special sunglasses.
A screen shot from the film They Live, showing an alien revealed in front of a large sign saying "Obey".
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 02/09/2024
If people want to use LLMs for writing they should also use them for dietary advice.
Asking Gemini whether I'm getting enough codeine in my diet. The answer is "You're almost certainly no getting enough codeine in your diet".
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 28/08/2024
You can also get them in the middle of ham pies. A British "delicacy".
A picture of a pastry encased meat pie and three slices of it with egg in the middle, on a chopping board with knife and dish of pickles. The egg is a "long (i.e. extruded) egg" that runs the entire length of the pie.
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Arthur @arthur.qeng-ho.org · 22/08/2024
This puts me in mind of medieval marginalia.
A medieval margin drawing of a knight defending his wife from an attacking snail that is almost as large as the knight. They are all standing on a twig.
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