iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Mike Prior-Jones

Louise Amoore @amoorelouise.bsky.social · 16h

Journal editors & research funders commonly report a doubling (+) of submissions as LLMs promise to circumvent the difficulty that is writing. Now people seem to be using Copilot to automate email my daily inbox also doubled to around 200 per day. It’s now useless to me. Among the hallucinations:

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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 20h

Eric Claxton's guiding principle when designing Stevenage was that separating bikes and cars was fine, if: - Their routes ran parallel - For every metre the bikes gave up in gradient, the cars should give up two - If necessary, you make the cars go further not the bikes Because cars have ENGINES

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 21h

He made the point that the notaries were effectively a cartel, and eventually their power was curbed.

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 21h

Many years ago I read a piece about a correspondent newly posted to Brazil, who found he had to spend days and considerable sums of money getting his signature registered with all the major firms of notaries as a prerequisite to all the subsequent bureaucracy of moving to a new country.

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 23h

Singapore’s early colonial history is worth a look: featuring a zero-taxation policy, pirates and opium. I’m still very sad that the excellent tax museum in Singapore has closed, as it told the story very eloquently.

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karanormal activity 💜 @deadontheoutside.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

coroner: it appears the subject died of multiple tab wounds

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DTU Cryosphere group @dtucryo.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

We’re hiring! ❄️ Two-year postdoc in Satellite Glaciology at DTU Space’s Cryosphere Research Group, working on SWOT-ICE, funded by the VILLUM FONDEN Experiment Programme. Apply and read more here: efzu.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid... #Glaciology #RemoteSensing

efzu.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com

Postdoc in Satellite Glaciology - DTU Space

DTU Space is looking for a postdoc repurposing the SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite mission to detect subtle ice sheet elevation changes caused by meltwater moving through the ice s...

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Velux skylight windows, another Danish success, makes so much money it’s now a major funder of academic research. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villum_...

en.wikipedia.org

Villum Foundation - Wikipedia

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Jonathan Westaway @jonwestaway.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Great opportunity for research funding into alpinism, mountaineering and mountain environments... @alpineclub.bsky.social @alpineclublib.bsky.social #Mountains #Mountaineering #EnvHist

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I don’t know if it was the first, but I certainly remember a fire safety ad for which the strapline was “you won’t even have time to fill a bucket of water”giving me a lot of pre-sleep anxiety, as it showed a whole family dying of smoke inhalation in a house very like ours.

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I don’t usually boast about my scores, but today I got lucky and solved Loconundrum in two: Loconundrum #204 ⬜⬜🟩 🚂🚂 🟩🟩🟩

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I wouldn’t treat anything the Americans do as rational…

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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

It's October 4th -- the Sputnik satellite was flung into orbit 69 years ago today, beginning the age of space exploration. I dug into the Russian archives and got some documents on its creation. Check it out if you're interested.....

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Superalbs @superalbs.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Welcome to Amsterdam Sloterdijk station, home to the Train Lodge Hostel, with rooms in these 1960s sleeper cars! Has anyone ever stayed here? 👀

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Cliff edges in the tax system should generally be avoided. I don’t really understand how the Treasury signs off on creating new ones, like the £100k cap.

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I still think that corporate R&D can outperform an R&D-by-acquisition strategy but the financial markets hate R&D and love M&A!

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

This was somewhat upended by Silicon Valley business culture because small businesses did get access to cash from investors, but only because that model allowed bigger companies to underinvest internally in R&D and then acquire a promising startup instead.

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

One of my management lecturers during my engineering degree used to point out that “innovation comes from small, dynamic enterprises” is largely a myth, as small businesses don’t have much capital to invest in innovation.

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Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

In 1974, Cornell lecturer Lin Farley began recognizing a pattern in the experiences women shared in her Women and Work course: women were being pushed out of jobs by men’s sexual behavior. Farley coined the term, “sexual harassment.”

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Kate Devlin @drkatedevlin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This does indeed smell desperate, but that's not why I'm sharing it. No, the bit that leapt out to me was the @financialtimes.com use of the phrase "Seattle-based cloud giant" to describe Amazon, which sounds beautifully fairytale and captures the nature of this whole industry: magic beans.

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Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

It's #DigitalFriday ! This is my routine appeal to #skystorians and all other academics prepping for teaching to share any software, hardware, online resources (primary, secondary, teaching tools, blogs) tips and tricks that they've found useful this week! #AcademicSky 🗃️(pls boost to relevant feeds)

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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 26/02/2026

Have I told you the one about the Muscovite who went to buy a toilet in the early 90s?

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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

From a discussion of updating a department website...

A photo with baby Yoda and adult Yoda with the caption "Could it be time for a new photo?"

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Jo Sharp @jofeanelwa.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Do you bloody hate meetings where people bore on and on and nothing ever gets decided? Do you want to learn how to actually let everybody talk? Here is an event for you: edihubplus.ac.uk/event/the-we... 21st October, online.

edihubplus.ac.uk

EDI Hub+ Webinar: The Well-Chaired Meeting – is it even possible? – EDI Hub +

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I think that’s fair! I did used to think, as a boring sermon began, “I wonder if the preacher is prepared to raise the dead today?”

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This was my favourite Bible verse as a young man. (I’m no longer a Christian). Though the preface to the Lord’s Prayer (“And when you pray, do not ramble on because you think you will be heard because of your many words…”) came close.

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Oh sorry - yes, that is concerning.

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I think online forums allow people to ask questions that they otherwise would feel embarrassed to ask in person. I’m sure there were people in my generation who didn’t “get” university until a term or so in, but they had no low-stakes way to ask.

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Cabinet Pressure: Martin, Douglas and Arthur are Secretaries of State working for Carolyn as PM…

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

It’s a tradition on British research stations to watch The Thing on Midwinter’s Day. (I did in 2006).

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Really, really good careers resources and advice for children aged 7 and up. The UK’s education system specialises early and best serves those (like me) who correctly worked out what careers would suit them before the age of 14. Most do not.

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Reposted by Mike Prior-Jones

Rick @flipchartrick.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The government, banks, utilities and similar services MUST make it easier for those with Power of Attorney to manage stuff online. I find I'm having to do a lot of stuff by phone. It's like being back in the 90s except without the 90s infrastructure to help.

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

“I need to be driven from my Surrey place to directly outside my City office in my chauffeured Jag or people won’t know I’m a big deal”

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Steve Chambers @planningtransport.co.uk · 27/09/2026

An illiterate view. Why does the City of London lead the way in eliminating traffic and promoting active travel? To force out enterprise? To shoo away wealth?

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

“If you’re going To Market Harborough, Be sure to wear Some flowers in your hair!”

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The UK’s highly-centralised healthcare system can’t do it either…

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I was once stood up for a telephone interview. It did not endear me to the company!

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

British cheese is really good, and the choice is huge. Neals Yard is the most famous cheese shop, but there are lots of others. Try the Cheese Barge on the canal next to Paddington station!

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Don’t under any circumstances eat in a restaurant called Angus Steak House, Aberdeen Steak House or any variation- they are expensive and awful. Do eat a Scotch Egg, preferably one with a soft centre made fresh. Ginger Pig in Borough Market is a good option.

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Walk along the South Bank from the London Eye to Tower Bridge. If you can ride a bike, rent one of the TfL bikes and cycle back the other way along the Embankment - there’s now a cycle track all the way along. content.tfl.gov.uk/central-lond...

content.tfl.gov.uk

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Kieran Healy @kjhealy.co · 26/09/2026

Incidentally, the pattern on custard creams represents ferns. More generally the style is that of William Morris, in tiny biscuit form. I was not aware of any of this when growing up, only that being allowed to have a second one was a rare treat and having a third decadence beyond imagining.

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Sarah Elizabeth Cox @oispooky.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

2yrs after I finished my MA History at Goldsmiths, my research rights were bought and I was hired to work as historical consultant on this TV show. It's had BAFTA and International Emmy nominations. I got a book deal, too. Goldsmiths: "No point in MA History, let's fire everyone and delete it."

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

There’s been an unfortunate development in politics since the 1980s which is “if you’re explaining, you’re losing”. Unfortunately the upshot of this is that politicians can only play to emotions.

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Many years ago a friend of mine applied for a Saturday job at the newly-opened Waitrose supermarket. Apparently a manager came into the room full of teenage candidates and asked all of them to show him their socks. Anyone wearing white sports socks was told to go home.

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Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Can’t believe no one has ever thought of the idea of selling us hot food. I, for one, am both excited and, if I’m honest, a little apprehensive about the idea of warm food. www.ft.com/content/bdb6... Subway rival bets hot sandwiches will sell in UK’s ‘cold and rain’

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Pro-trans of Denmark are my favourite.

Door of a shipping container, rusty red paint. A peeling sticker advertises a company called PRO-trans.

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Yeah, we get that too. I do sympathise in some places: if the city centre is so expensive that only the wealthy can live there, it forces people out to suburban-rural places with no public transport. But a 10-mile rural cycle route into the city can be surprisingly effective, as Cambridge found.

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