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Chris Thomson

@cbthomson.bsky.social
308 followers 176 following 271 posts

Learning - technology - music - storytelling - creativity, all that good stuff. Soft Butlerian. "Life Can Only Be Understood Backwards, But It Must Be Lived Forwards" Kierkegaard (probably)

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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Morning from the Amsterdam- Newcastle ferry, everyone
Sun rise over the sea taken from the deck of a passenger ferry.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This has made me very happy. Heard one booming from one of the hides there in the early summer. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Rare bitterns breed 'furthest north in 70 years' at Gosforth
Natural History experts say it is the first time bitterns have bred at the site since 1956.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Oh, and the one’s like “The Crumhorn Player’s Daughter-in-Law”?
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Can we call time on book titles that are just variations of “a thingummy of whatsit and something-or-other”.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
This is what confuses me about schools that make their 6th formers wear suits in prep for “world of work“.
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 25/09/2026
I have blamed The agents That hacked Your website And which You probably Reasonably thought I controlled Forgive me I am rich And unaccustomed To taking responsibility
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I'm curious about Apple rn. Lots of people saying they are losing at AI but let's assume a financial shock due to tech companies being overextended for AI. Is Apple the only major player that might emerge from that relatively unscathed? ("Relatively" doing a lot of heavy lifting there).
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I’m sad I can only give this one like.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Oooh, that‘s a good thought. It’s the sort of thing Douglas Adam’s might have had a word for.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
What’s the word for the satisfying moment when real world sounds match the pitch and rhythm of music in your headphones?
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
"The Battle of Legitimate Concerns". Quiet genius at work.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Glaswegians:
static.klipy.com
Popcorn Guy Enjoys Popcorn While Relaxing
Alt: Popcorn Guy Enjoys Popcorn While Relaxing
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This needs a little unpacking. Did you specifically enter the competition hoping for that outcome or were you after the spa vouchers?
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Love those guys
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
That's a real treat.
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Jisc @jisc.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
While we make the final preparations for going live on the website, we wanted to share that next year’s Digifest will be the last as we evolve our digital transformation events programme to include a broader mix of smaller, more audience-led engagement opportunities.
jisc.ac.uk
Digifest 2027 to be the final edition as we evolve our events programme - Jisc
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Make a band edible: Queenoa
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Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 08/09/2026
The RNLI saves lives at sea, regardless of who they are. Sometimes the crew doesn't come back. To me that sounds a lot more patriotic than getting ballied up and chanting inane slogans at people trying to go on holiday. rnli.org/about-us/our...
rnli.org
Why does the RNLI launch to small boats in the English Channel?
RNLI lifeboat crews have always launched to the rescue without judgement or preference. Men, women and children in danger in the Channel are no exception.
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Edge Foundation @edgeuk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Are you a budding Policy Officer? Edge Foundation are hiring. If you'd like to work with our outstanding team to help make education relevant, apply now! www.edge.co.uk/about-edge/w...
edge.co.uk
Work for Edge
Working for Edge Foundation
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Rev Darren Jalland @oldmacharrev.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Jesus literally, and very famously, gave people fish
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Checks out.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
[sticks fingers in ears]Shut up Sarah McLachlan, you’re not helping.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
On the train taking youngest to start uni in Germany. Can’t get the Toy Story 2 bit out my head where Jesse gets left behind in a cardboard box for some reason.
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Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I’ve been in the UK long enough to get this joke, please clap
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Accessibility Awareness @a11yawareness.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
An emoji has a coded description that gets read aloud by screen readers. Putting emoji in between text could cause confusion or make content less clear. It's best to put emoji at the end of written content.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
JUDAS!!
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Really wasn't expecting that. The conditions of 30% of the payout being contingent on Youtube and Tik Tok following suit will make things even more interesting.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
And now we know how much they are willing to pay to avoid Zuck taking the stand.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Mine changes from hour to hour depending on a) how stressed I am, b) who I'm talking to, and c) how close to Scotland I am. People sometimes think I'm taking the p*ss. 😅
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Jacob Ward @byjacobward.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Meta's public reports: bullying/harassment at 0.05–0.06% of content. Meta's own internal surveys of teens: 20–27% experienced it in the last 7 days alone. Self-harm content: Meta said <0.05% publicly, 8.4% internally. Violent content: "100 to 400 times" higher internally.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
And now I have the tune stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Thanks.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I’d assumed it was an error. It flashed on my screen for a split second before vanishing. Spent 5 mins worrying if the world was ending.
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Stephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
It's that day again #alevels
[Title panel]:
A-LEVEL RESULTS COLUMNS DAY

[Scene is a TV news type report about A Level results day]

REPORTER [talking to camera outside a school where students are crowding outside the hall to get in]:

Well, it's that day again

When A-Level students across the country finally get to find out

What Britain's newspaper columnists think about their results.

[show the interior of the school hall, with long tables, but instead of results papers on them, loads of middle-aged newspaper columnists are all laid out]

[Close up on the COLUMNISTS lying on the table, talking up to a gaggle of excited students desperate to find out what they say]

PETER HITCHENS:
I remember when A-Levels meant something

CLARKSON: 
I got a C and two U's

[Cut to outside the hall, the REPORTER is talking to a student]

REPORTER:
And did you get the middle-aged opinions you wanted?

STUDENT:
Yes! 

I got one ‘There's Too Much Humanities’,
and two Oxford graduates telling me they went to Oxford.

REPORTER [now doing a voiceover, as we see the students in the school hall next to the columnists on tables, and the students are preparing to jump in the air for a photographer]:

And then the annual photo shoot…

[PHOTOGRAPHER]
One, two, three...

[One of the columnists on the table pipes up with]: 

What's The Point Of University in 2026?

[The students all jump for joy]

STUDENTS:
HOORAY!

[ends]
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Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
As of 2 August, Claude will start to comply with EU regs and add imperceptible watermarks to content, but - reading the text - it feels like they could have maybe done it in a slightly more useful way. What good is provenance data if it doesn't tell you anything about provenance?

• A detected mark provides a signal that content was processed by Claude, but is not fully conclusive. Detecting a Claude mark tells you that the content may have been processed by Claude. It does not, on its own, confirm the full provenance of the content. For example:
• Claude may not be the original author. People often use Claude to proofread, translate, summarize, or convert files. The output can carry a Claude mark even if the underlying ideas, text, or data originated from another source;
• The content may have changed after Claude processed it. Marked content may be modified, excerpted, or combined with other material after Claude processed it.
• Lack of a detected mark doesn't mean the content wasn't Al-generated or processed.
Content generated by Claude may not carry a detectable mark if, for example:
• It was generated by a model released before marking was supported;
• The text has been heavily edited, paraphrased, translated, or mixed into other writing;
• The passage is very short, leaving too little text for a reliable signal;
• A file's metadata was stripped through format conversion, re-saving, screenshots, or othe means;
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Alison Stenning @alisonstenning.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Spent the evening in largely car-free Utrecht and sad to see the devastating impact the exclusion of cars has had on the bars, cafes and restaurants, and the liveliness of the city centre.
An awful lot of people sitting in outside terraces in central Utrecht Dozens and dozens of people in canalside cages and bars in Utrecht Still more people in cafes and bars in central Utrecht A side street full of bars and cafes, in turn full of people, in central Utrecht
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
If that's where I think it is, it's my favouritest place in the world!
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Both. It's both.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
“They have the very enviable ability to simply turn back into a juvenile at any sign of stress, which is something that I’m sure we all wish extended to humans.” Big deal. I mastered this some time ago.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Guardian's invertebrate of the year is the immortal Turritopsis jellyfish. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘When you kill it, it doesn’t die’: the jellyfish that has cracked the secret of immortality
Turritopsis dohrnii has the ability to turn back into a baby jellyfish and grow up all over again
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
- Ah, Georg. Do you remember the days when we did not have to queue in the streets for bread? - Hush, Yen. Drink your vodka. Death will come soon.
“Georg” and “Yen” from the IT Crowd struggle through the cold streets to find a bakery.
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Andy Diggle @andydiggle.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Heads up, new term for perv goggles just dropped.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
People from Edinburgh love correcting people about Edinburgh.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
[whispers] that’s not Edinburgh Castle. Look behind you. 😉
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Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
For my data and mapping nerds ... (read the first answer! so interesting on bias and weighting of data sources)
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Lovely to be visiting Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh today. So much history. Co-founded of course by James Heriot, the Yorkshire vet and Wat Tyler, the leader of the 1381 Peasant’s Revolt.
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Edge Foundation @edgeuk.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Join our Policy Network This group brings together policy leads and practitioners from a range of educational institutions. The network meets regularly to hear from senior policymakers in the education & skills sector, discuss topical news, & share ideas for reform. www.edge.co.uk/policy/join-...
edge.co.uk
Join our Policy Network
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I did the forgetting and am bad
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
This is dangerously close to a true story and now i am triggered.
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King Algamemnon @adamrothman.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I'm not posting Odyssey memes because one must be wary of GIFs bearing Greeks.
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Chris Thomson @cbthomson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Enjoyed The Odyssey last night. Been trying to think what film it’s most like. All I can come up with is Time Bandits.
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