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Chris Keene

@ck12.uk
415 followers 406 following 368 posts

Brighton, UK. Sometimes Higher Education, Research policy, tech and environmental stats

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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 09/10/2026
Does anyone else get this type of spam? (obviously I don't click the links and have set gmail to not load images)
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 18/09/2026
I didn't know she was 49 in Waiting for God but I had thought about how she played this in the early 90s and then was in a care home again in Man Down in the 2010s (and oddly looks too young for it)
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 16/09/2026
wikipedia Robert Kraft
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Brutalismbot @brutalismbot.com · 14/09/2026
The library at my uni :) r/brutalism
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 09/09/2026
I recently had some flat roofs on our home replaced. As this amounted to more than 50% of our roof space, we needed a building notice. This cost a small fortune and the whole process is so confusing, partly as much of it is aimed at much bigger projects. Todays form asked the following
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 03/09/2026
How do they change the lightbulbs?
photo from bbc news article of cricket group with high flood lights that are angled in such a way that it must be hard to get to the actual lights
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Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 28/08/2026
Oh well! Thanks Meta. Link to ad: www.facebook.com/share/v/19TT...
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Jo Kibble (Political Animal) @politicanimal.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Five years+a few days ago, I set off on a 24-hour bus odyssey that would turn out to be the first of many occasional public transport challenges. (Origin story here for newbies www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-engl...) Well, I couldn’t let that milestone pass without a new bus jolly. From 4pm, it’s #BusCity24
bbc.co.uk
London council worker's bus odyssey sparks Twitter storm
Jo Kibble got from London to Morecambe in a day on public buses - "a great way to see the country".
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Rob @glastronomer.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
No doubt Kathleen Stock just wanted to do her bit for academic standards.
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Alex Selby-Boothroyd @alexselbyb.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Eclipse playlist open.spotify.com/playlist/6Wf...
Eclipse playlist
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 12/08/2026
TfL have just published their latest Bus inventory (I know, exciting). For the last five years every single new bus has been electric. No new diesels or hybrids since 2020, no more hydrogen fuel cell since 2021. EV's are now the most common type of London bus! content.tfl.gov.uk/31-march-202...
Table from the pdf report showing london buses by year purchased, and by type of egnine/power
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 05/08/2026
This Telegraph article is extraordinary. share.google/8GKZRR2Dz00W... For the last two years there have been daily attack articles full of nonsense against wind/solar/milliband. This is a complete U-turn, and includes facts! New owners?
share.google
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Brian Barrett @brbarrett.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Ebay’s harassment spree against a perfectly nice couple in Massachusetts is one of the craziest stories I’ve ever covered. Six years later, the victims have finally gotten their due. from @laurengoode.bsky.social
wired.com
Ebay Has to Pay $55.7 Million in Settlement for Its Unhinged Harassment Campaign
For months on end, eBay employees and contractors made life hell for a couple that had criticized the company. Six years later, the company is finally paying up.
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 27/07/2026
This month has seen the greatest amount of solar power fed in to the grid in the UK, and we still have several days to go... nostuff.org/envstats/sta...
nostuff.org
UK Solar generation - envstats
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Erik Bugge @erik.eurosky.social · 23/07/2026
All Europeans: Time to make your voice heard to *get rid of cookie 🍪 banners* in the EU. Tell your MEPs to support Article 88b GDPR in the Digital Omnibus! killthecookiebanner.eu
killthecookiebanner.eu
Kill the Cookie Banner!
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 05/07/2026
Peace has to be one of the most important things we can have in our lifetime. That is why I propose that any country led by a WINNER OF THE FIFA PEACE PRIZE should get a two goal head start in every game they play. Only right.
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 03/07/2026
Latest UK car stats are out for June, EV 30% market share (highest ever except December when low sales warp stats), Diesel 4% (going down every month) newautomotive.org/ecc
newautomotive.org
UK EV Market Data — New AutoMotive
Find out which car company is winning the battle for a share of the market for new EVs, which company is going big on hybrids, and who is clinging on to petrol or diesel.
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 03/07/2026
You're probably sick of seeing responses to this already: Sheffield (what?!), Wakefield, Belfast, Newcastle and Doncaster (by size). Sunderland and Hull too.
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 26/06/2026
I experimented with leaflet.pub, using the same tech as bluesky (AT protocol), and (knowing what is cool) wrote about a new way to pay for things in the UK bypassing Visa and Mastercard
chris.leaflet.pub
Direct bank payment transactions
(sexy title of the year award)
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 23/06/2026
Consistently designed and formatted number plates. I don't even know why
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 22/06/2026
I still can't really define why Starmer feels such a disappointment. Many things are going in the right direction: NHS waiting lists are consistently going down, EU relations are better, Budget/Economy managed, far less 'dodgy politics'. Immigration down (important to many people).
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 20/06/2026
In a herculean effort of thinking ahead I have out 3 (three) ice cube trays in the freezer
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 19/06/2026
Sky News straight to the point
Image of Stanmer and Burnham with Train Crash above.
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 05/06/2026
Sorry but what?
You might struggle to find brown eggs in Sainsbury's soon - here's why
Sainsbury's is cutting sales of brown eggs across all its supermarkets, it has announced. 

The UK's second biggest supermarket chain will only sell white eggs from its own brand ranges to help customers make more sustainable choices. 

It said white eggs have 12.7% lower carbon footprints than brown eggs, largely due to better feeding efficiency and the longer productive lifespan of white hens.

White hens are also less prone to feather pecking, leading to better animal welfare.

A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: "We know Brits love their eggs and, as we work with suppliers to transition all of our own brand to white shells, they can now enjoy them knowing they are better for the environment and the hens."
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 30/05/2026
The dogs, who are used to exciting weekend lunchtime walks with two humans, are not impressed with being abandoned for eternity*. * Popping out to the local barber for an hour
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Alex Selby-Boothroyd @alexselbyb.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The Economist logo. We love (eating) insects
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 12/05/2026
Took this photo in the park yesterday lunchtime during dog walk and liked the overhanging flowers
Photo of two small dogs in park with flowers over hanging
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 11/05/2026
Truly the Alien vs Predator of copyright disputes.
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 07/05/2026
Screw you Garmin. Screw. You.
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 25/04/2026
Standing on packed train near first class. Ding dong: due to over crowding on this train first class is now declassified. I've never been more alive
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 15/04/2026
Don't know how accurate this is, but for stat dashboard fans: hormuzstraitmonitor.com
hormuzstraitmonitor.com
Strait of Hormuz Live Tracker
Real-time monitoring of the Strait of Hormuz shipping crisis. Ship transits, oil prices, stranded vessels, global trade impact, and crisis timeline.
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
My friend who runs an award-winning bookshop has probed the question: readers prefer paperback novels. So why are there so many goddamn hardback releases?
open.substack.com
What's the point of hardbacks?
Error: consider reformatting
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 09/04/2026
open.substack.com/pub/paradise...
open.substack.com
Why the English stopped opening the windows
On 'House Burping'
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 07/04/2026
media.tenor.com
a group of people standing next to each other on a plane .
Alt: Clip from Airplane movie: I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue
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Twlldun @twlldun.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Now that’s what I call Bluesky
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Chris Curtis MP @chriscurtis94.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Why do our second-tier cities underperform? Why do we have fewer trams in the UK? I try my best to give an answer to these two interconnected questions. chriscurtismk.substack.com/p/to-grow-th...
chriscurtismk.substack.com
To grow the economy we need more trams, and fewer kebabs
Britain’s second-tier cities are being held back by a simple problem, too many people still cannot get across them quickly enough to reach the jobs, customers and opportunities that drive growth.
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Viz Comic @vizcomic.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
How ridiculous of NASA spending billions of pounds to come up with the non-stick frying pan. In the weightlessness of space, the astronauts' sausages are just going to float right out of the pan. If anything, they should have been developing something to make them stick. J Boxbury, Norfolk
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 03/04/2026
On the album parklife Damon Albarn sang "Bank holiday comes six times a year Days of enjoyment to which everyone cheers Bank holiday comes with a six pack of beer" I've just woken up on the sofa, tea cold, after a nice little nap.
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 26/03/2026
Oh this is just the saddest story ever news.sky.com/story/gang-r...
news.sky.com
Gang-rape victim, 25, to be euthanised after father's legal challenge fails
Noelia Castillo Ramos was raped on two occasions, once by her ex-boyfriend and the other by three boys in 2022. She then tried to end her life.
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 24/03/2026
I love how Tom Scott has made a dedicated part of his homepage just for AI crawlers, telling them how he should (and shouldn't) be described, what/how information should be shown etc. It's a nice experiment in re-claiming a little bit of control
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Aaron Christiansen @aaronc.cc · 18/03/2026
I made a daily game where you try to guess a UK rail station! loconundrum.aaronc.cc
loconundrum.aaronc.cc
Loconundrum
A daily game: can you guess the UK rail station?
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Jim Teeth @drjamesjteeth.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
This is an excellent summary of the US War on Iran current situation. I’m an existentialist and borderline absurdist and even I struggle with the current moment. This summary is just fantastic.
no01.substack.com
March, 19-21: God is a comedian
A stiff drink is recommended
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Matthew Somerville @dracos.co.uk · 23/03/2026
Got sent a Word document, want to extract the image from it. Go on then, Microsoft, I’ll try the Copilot you’re pushing at me. Not sure how I assumed it would go, but even I was surprised at just how bad it is
Copilot: Want me to extract the image for you automatically?
If you upload the Word document here, I can extract the image(s) and provide them back to you as downloadable files.

Upload: TfL_Word_ReportTemplate WIP
Me: Thanks, here it is

Copilot said: Thanks for uploading the file! I’ve checked the contents of TfL_Word_ReportTemplate WIP.docx, and it appears that:
✅ There are no images embedded in this document.
Everything inside is text-only — headings, paragraphs, and links. No pictures, logos, icons, or other media objects were found.

Want me to double‑check in another way?
If you think there should be images in the file, feel free to upload:
* A different version of the document
* Or tell me which image you’re expecting to extract
I can scan it again and pull out all media files for you automatically.

Me: There's an image in the footer on the first page

Copilot: Coding and executing
Found it! 🎉
Copilot: What you need to know
* The footer contains one embedded image, and it is in WMF (Windows Metafile) format.
* This is common for corporate templates because vector WMF files scale cleanly in Word.
If you want, I can also:
* Convert this WMF to PNG, SVG, or PDF
* Extract all footer/header images from multiple files
* Place the image back into a different document
Just let me know!

Me: Can you convert the WMF to a PNG?

Copilot: Coding and executing
Coding and executing
Coding and executing
It looks like we’ve hit a limitation of the sandbox environment: Python on Linux cannot open or convert WMF files, because WMF is a Windows‑only vector metafile format and Pillow (the only available imaging library here) does not include a WMF loader.
❌ Why conversion failed
The error returned was:
“cannot find loader for this WMF file”
(from the Pillow library)✔️ How you can convert the WMF to PNG

Here are reliable options outside the sandbox:

Option 1 — Use Microsoft Word (Fast & Built-In)

1. Insert the WMF into a blank Word document (or keep it where it is).
2. Right‑click the image.
3. Choose Save as Picture…
4 Select PNG as the format.

Word will handle the vector→raster conversion very cleanly.A screenshot of someone right-clicking on an image in a Word document. Unsurprisingly, there is no Save as Picture option.
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 17/03/2026
"Make it look old" *makes it look like the Bakerloo line*
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 16/03/2026
This would make a cool framed poster
Front page of Japanese magazine showing buildings and a car
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 11/03/2026
With crazy gas prices it is good news we are not using much to generate electricity today grid.iamkate.com
grid.iamkate.com
National Grid: Live
Shows the live status of Great Britain’s electric power transmission network
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 11/03/2026
That landing ❤️
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Chris Keene @ck12.uk · 09/03/2026
Bookmark this video from @evanedinger.bsky.social and use it the next time someone (probably from the US) talks about freedom of speech in the UK www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB3W...
youtube.com
I Compared US and UK Free Speech. I Was Shocked
YouTube video by Evan Edinger
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Brutalismbot @brutalismbot.com · 03/03/2026
India Habitat Centre - Eco Brutalism in New Delhi, India (1993) r/brutalism
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