Sign in

Richard Harris

@beeblebrox.com
911 followers 711 following 3K posts

Climate, complexity, data & cats Climate & Ecosystem Data Intelligence. 315-432.34 ppm. Social tech innovator/entrepreneur, writer of fact & sci-fi, photographer, motorcyclist, cyclist, skier. Ex-CTO of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Owned by cats

PostsRepliesMedia
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 29/09/2026
Finally cracked: put part of the heating on. Managed a week later than last year at least.
110
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 28/09/2026
Dropped bike off with Ducati mechanic in Leith, excellent coffee had, now on brand new Ember.to electric bus directly home to the highlands. Fast, quiet, 100Mb/s+ from WiFi - if it weren’t for Edinburgh’s sub-third world roads, this could be the 21st century…
020
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 28/09/2026
‘Leith Walk’ it says, so walk Leith I did. Leith reminds me of SF in the 90s: low-rise, a tad shabby, with lots of good local coffee & craft shops, community enterprises & a counterculture vibe. Entirely unlike the Corporate Concrete Wastelands of the centre of Edinburgh. Long may it stay that way
Leith Walk, Edinburgh, in a sunny September dayLeith Walk, Edinburgh, in a sunny September dayLeith Walk, Edinburgh, in a sunny September day
030
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 28/09/2026
Authoritarian insanity at its most egregious…
010
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 24/09/2026
If ‘godlike’ is in the Greek or Norse sense, then there’s a comparison to be made: pantheons of capricious, selfish, venal beings who reflect the worst and - occasionally - the best of humanity: because that’s what we train them on… www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Nick Clegg plays down fears ‘godlike’ AI could exterminate humanity
Former deputy PM now involved in tech industry says many within sector are ‘winding themselves up into a lather’
020
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 24/09/2026
Great analysis from Dan 🤣
000
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 21/09/2026
It’s a truism that society lags science, legislation lags society and bigots lag everything, including compassion. Nowhere is that more evident than in trans legislation. So, in an otherwise fairly facepalmish LibDem conference, this is a small ray of hope www.libdems.org.uk/news/article...
libdems.org.uk
Restoring Trans Rights
The Liberal Democrats will continue to stand in solidarity with trans and non-binary communities, defending equal rights, personal dignity and safety for all.
021
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 21/09/2026
Lest we forget: there are still real journalists at the BBC. Global Eye demonstrates that, and Steve Rosenberg does a masterly job of reporting from Russia, treading the line twixt factual journalism and being summarily thrown out of the country. youtu.be/SebfRk_0jzg?...
youtu.be
Russia's "Special Election Operation" and growing pessimism in Russia
YouTube video by Steve Rosenberg
042
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 21/09/2026
The UK completely ignored the opportunity whilst in the EU to be the bridge between it and those former UK colonies with whom we still had good relations. Extremely ironic that Canada/Australia/NZ are moving closer to the EU, while the UK locks itself out in the cold. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
UK should 'team up' with Canada in new Europe alliance, Canadian minister says
It comes after European Commission President proposed "opening the door" for Canada to become an associate member of the EU.
020
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 20/09/2026
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man, conducted by the man himself. Really looking forward to this… #karljenkins #glasgow
240
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 20/09/2026
Belated #caturday post: I am being forced to lie in, as I have a large, convalescent twerp athwart me. He’s had cat flu for a month, is just starting to emerge from it and is knackered, poor lad.
Image of an orange maine coon cat wrapped in an alpaca blanket. He’s recovering from illness and must knit be disturbed. My legs have gone to sleep…
170
Reposted by Richard Harris
Kate Marvel @drkatemarvel.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Extreme weather is complicated (there are over 150 definitions of drought in the literature!), the Earth system is complex, models are imperfect, and we still have much to learn. But it's remarkable how spot-on most of our predictions have been: drawdown.org/insights/is-...
drawdown.org
Is climate change unfolding faster and fiercer than scientists expected?
Climate change is undeniably here, and it’s bad. But is it, as some are claiming, worse than even the scientists expected?
214763
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 17/09/2026
Burnham so far: the UK government is still acting like a rabbit caught in the headlights: different rabbit, same headlights.
020
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 16/09/2026
Something of a record today: I paid £1.945/litre for E5/99 Octane. E10 is £1.75 and regular diesel is £1.959. I’m very, very glad that I only need petrol for the bike - car has been EV for 7 years. BTW, that’s $9.84/US gallon. I guess that most of Europe is about the same
020
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 15/09/2026
Police have made 2,700+ arrests under terrorism laws in the UK for protesting peacefully against the banning of Palestine Action. This can't go unchallenged. The UK’s chief pr... www.amnesty.org.uk/get-involved...
amnesty.org.uk
End the prosecution of peaceful protestors in the UK
Police have made 2,700+ arrests under terrorism laws in the UK for protesting peacefully against the banning of Palestine Action. This can't go unchallenged. The UK’s chief prosecutors must now decide...
020
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 14/09/2026
Look at the semiotics of the BBC reporting here: note, "The Nationalist leaders of…" rather than "The First Ministers of…" or any reference to the fact that none are Nationalists - they're all Internationalists, which distinguishes the three nations from the one. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Westminster coming to an end, say Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish leaders
The leaders of Plaid Cymru, SNP and Sinn Fein say the UK government should prepare for constitutional change.
0115
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 14/09/2026
This. Very much this. Whether it ultimately leads to independence for each, Irish reunification and/or triggers fundamental constitutional reform of this so-called 'Union' remains to be seen. But the status quo is not an option, and never will be again. www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/devolve...
thelondoneconomic.com
Devolved nations say ‘Westminster’s time is coming to an end’ as leaders sign agreement
Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have signed an agreement of cooperation calling on the "right to self-determination".
030
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 14/09/2026
There’s a basic paradox of LLMs: for them to be effective at language, you throw everything you can at them. To make them effective at analysis and recommendation, you need curated data. Right now, we’re trying to wrestle sense out of the whole panoply of human intelligence and human stupidity.
150
Reposted by Richard Harris
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
“Guys, they want us to go home.” 🔥 🇫🇷 French short film about what would happen to society if all the immigrants listened to angry old racist white men and left (aka the Republican agenda)
15246182031
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 11/09/2026
This: Using the example of mathematics, this letter encapsulates both the potential of LLMs as adjuncts to human discovery and the peril of regarding the headline claims of its more swivel-eyed adherents which suggest that LLMs are a substitute for inspiration, talent and insight. mathandai.org
mathandai.org
Declaration — Math and AI
Read the declaration and add your name.
020
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 11/09/2026
I was in the US over 9/11, with friends who were frantically trying to contact loved ones. NATO (& others) rightly responded to support America. And I’ve now watched the US throw away all of that goodwill, betray its allies and damage itself far more than 9/11 ever did. It’s a long road back.
060
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 10/09/2026
So, self-determination is of utmost importance to Ukraine, The Falklands, Gibraltar, but not for Scotland. That is the definition of a controlled colony, not of a union of nations. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
PM Andy Burnham says second Scottish independence referendum remains 'off limits'
Andy Burnham clarifies remarks he made in the House of Commons and says his focus is on economic growth and the cost of living.
020
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 10/09/2026
Getting a ridiculous level of AI-generated junk mail, v obviously derived from crawling of our web site. What on earth makes any of these shysters think for one nanosecond that we’d ever deal with a company that stooped to those tactics? My contempt for the marketing industry continues to accelerate
030
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 10/09/2026
“Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?”, whilst ignoring the actual terrorists: the masked thugs of the far right. Utterly pathetic.
010
Reposted by Richard Harris
Ilikecaketoo (UK) @ilikecaketoo.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Disgraceful that the RNLI have to say this today, but here we are 😞. If you would like to donate👇🏻. rnli.org/support-us/g... #RNLI #RNLISavesLives
621934869
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 08/09/2026
I’m very far from being a fan of the Uk government, but I don’t believe for one second that this move is antisemitic - it’s long overdue and, if it’s upsetting the gibbering fascists of Israel’s current regime, so much the better. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
theguardian.com
UK plan to sanction illegal Israeli settlements draws criticism from US, Israel and British MPs – UK politics live
UK to reassert support for Palestinian rights and a two-state solution in move drawing widespread criticism
2112
Reposted by Richard Harris
Richard Delevan @richard.wickedproblems.earth · 06/09/2026
Deacon in local Catholic Church went full Ezekiel in homily today, re climate crisis and the horrors being visited on those least responsible: "seen recently in Nepal and Tibet. The blood of more than 1,300 people is on our hands, from this one incident of climate injustice alone."
Deacon Ray's Homily 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 

"It is important we celebrate this feast appropriately because part of our duty, as the body of Christ, is to be responsible stewards of creation, another most precious gift which God has granted us. We have lived comfortably using the resources of the Earth, without regard for future generations, but the debt is now due, and we need to make difficult choice about the way in which we live. This is especially true in the western world where despite baking summers and sodden winters we are still largely sheltered from the worst effects of the climate crisis, while those in less wealthy countries suffer disproportionately, as we have seen recently in Nepal and Tibet. The blood of more than 1,300 people is on our hands, from this one incident of climate injustice alone. 

To borrow a famous phrase from a fictional journalist, the job of the homilist is "to comfort the afflicted, and to afflict the comfortable". So, if you are still sitting comfortably in your pew, then I have failed this morning. But I hope and pray that you are feeling just a little uncomfortable, and that your hearts have been softened towards your brothers and sisters, whoever and wherever they may be."
312438
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 30/08/2026
10 days of sleepless nights, £800 in vet fees & medication, and we finally conclude that this giant twerp has had a head cold. Switched him to steroids today & two hours later, a giant explosion of cat snot over the hall and he’s bouncing around & terrorising the visiting family doggo… #caturday
What?!
0110
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 30/08/2026
Great to see this. It always used to be that the crisis point for any space mission was launch. Now it is Trump.
010
Reposted by Richard Harris
Liz Crosbie #AllianceNowUK #FBPE @lizcrosbie.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Genius #Canada 🇨🇦🍁🦫
11510
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 26/08/2026
Dolly Parton AND Tim Curry inside 24 hours. Death clearly needs new glasses and a much better aim. 😡
060
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 26/08/2026
So far, Burnham is perpetuating the refusal of his predecessors to accept that the UK is an - and increasingly dysfunctional - union of four nations. So, ‘Continuity Starmer’ then. That is not a compliment.
084
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 26/08/2026
Yet another reason to love Scotland… #batman #irnbru #glasgow
021
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 24/08/2026
Callander was on good form this morning…
Image of the old church in Ancaster Square, Callander, in bright morning sunshine
020
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 24/08/2026
I'm not surprised: my experience with Scottish Enterprise/SNIB tells me that they have a strange reluctance to seek competent advice in their assessments: It seems to be more tied to who you know and which arbitrary boxes you check rather than anything resembling merit. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Scottish National Investment Bank makes 'painful' £138m net loss
The publicly-owned body, which operates independently, has invested in several firms that collapsed last year.
010
Reposted by Richard Harris
Leon Simons @leonsimons.com · 22/08/2026
I've called Eliot the most terrible doomer of all before. Looking forward to talk to him again tomorrow. Please join us on Climate Chat.
48926
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 22/08/2026
Less caturday, more frogurday - this fine chap paid us a visit this afternoon. He/she (I am not a qualified amphibian-sexer) has now taken up residence beneath the bamboo planter and we wish them well…
Image of a fine specimen of Rana temporaria visiting our courtyard today
527327
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 19/08/2026
Follow the science & the data, not the dribbling reactionaries…
030
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 18/08/2026
We’ve spent over a week on Orkney, and this is the first day when we’ve thought, “Nah, let’s just hunker down” - this is otherwise a fantastic view over to Hoy. I’d call that a pretty good score.
020
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 17/08/2026
I just may have identified a new meta-fallacy: Fallacious Assertion of Fallacy, where someone, losing an argument & acting from dogma or unsupported claims, turns to the Ladybird Book of Common Fallacies, picks one & accuses the other party of it. Could also be a sub-type of ad hominem. #fallacies
120
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 17/08/2026
I regret to have to say to say that the ‘uninformed loudmouth moron’ count on BlueSky is rising. Blocklist got significantly added to this morning.
010
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 09/08/2026
We appear to be having a visit from Anubis… #dogdayafternoon
130
Reposted by Richard Harris
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Today is International Cat Day so we thought it would be the purr-fect opportunity to share some of the cats from the Ashmolean’s collection.
Ancient statuette of the cat goddess BastetA small metal ojime in the form of a cat.A black and white engraving of a sleeping cat.A carnelian prism seal carved with seated cat and hieroglyphic signs
3462184
Reposted by Richard Harris
Prof Martin Attrill @martinattrill.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
As a Brit can I apologise for what has become of the BBC
5439145
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 02/08/2026
If we needed any further proof of how far the BBC has been subverted by the corruption of the far Right, this is it…
042
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 30/07/2026
As a demonstration of the truism that stupidity and delusion are - in the end - self-limiting, you can’t do much better than this. (Via Dan Satterfield on FB). We’ve got the data to do this for the UK, correlated to Brexit-voting areas, so watch this space… #covid #red-state #blue-state
130
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 29/07/2026
Full moon swim, with extra added Perseids and Flaggpunsch, albeit minus one moon (we have hills and it was hiding). Courtesy of BLOBS - our little wild swimming group…
030
Reposted by Richard Harris
ESO @eso.org · 29/07/2026
Read the full story: www.eso.org/public/news/eso2611 🔭 🧪 2/2
eso.org
Astronomers find strongest evidence yet that Betelgeuse has a companion - “The conclusion of a century-long quest”
At long last, astronomers have firm evidence that Betelgeuse, one of the most famous stars in the night sky, is not alone. Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT), a team led by French researcher Miguel Montargès obtained the clearest image ever of what likely is Betelgeuse B, the star orbiting Betelgeuse. “This is the conclusion of a century-long quest,” says Montargès.
0247
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 28/07/2026
May I present a superb example of evolved design? The humble Scottish porridge spurtle: evolved over centuries to be exactly the right 'Goldilocks' diameter for yer morning bowl: a spoon is too broad and takes most of the porridge with it, and a narrower stick doesn't stir properly.
Image of a wooden spurtle: a device used in Scotland (and, I dare say, Ireland) for stirring cooking porridge: not so broad that all the porridge sticks to it and not so narrow that it doesn't stir properly. Centuries of honing in this… …also useful for making derisive gestures at politicians.
031
Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 25/07/2026
We have an upgraded security system for the new bike… #caturday #catsofbluesky #duCATi
Image of a large, orange Maine Coon cat sitting on a Ducati motorcycle. This makes for a good security system.
0181