Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026This looks a bit like ants carrying leaves to their nest, but is in fact people transporting wind turbine blades Source: YouTube share.google/GsfHcDt7SzOP...share.googleHow a giant wind turbine blade navigates mountain roadsWatch this massive feat of engineering: a wind turbine blade measur... 010
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026'You don't get fit by watching sport' is a brilliant line. Reading scores plummet as ‘digital distraction’ harms students - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FTgiftarticle.ft.comReading scores plummet as ‘digital distraction’ harms studentsWidespread access to AI and social media has set back educational attainment across the world, study shows 000
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Has anyone called our AI era 'the autocomplete of history'? 000
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 28/08/2026If it helps at all, my husband and I are still talking about and laughing along with the but you shared the other day that culminates in the 'prove you're human' challenge. On point, original and very funny. Really looking forward to seeing the whole show as soon as we can. 000
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 25/08/2026The 'purely geographical' crowd seem happy to include the Channel Islands in the purely geographical entity despite their proximity to Normandy. But this, those same commentators claim, is 'tradition' despite the obvious implied contradiction. 110
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Thanks. The phrase 'purely geographical' crops up a lot in this context and obviously there's no such thing 100
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Thanks. The diagram isn't mine - it's widely shared. Many online interpretations distinguish between British Islands and British Isles. Some say that the whole island of Ireland + Northern Island is 'part of the British Isles' but 'only in a geographic sense' which I find naive. 100
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Time to share these again. Last time I tried this they were controversial to some, but in historically and politically interesting ways. Even if they're a bit wrong, I think they capture a characteristically British fudge-like approach. 110
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Different colour models or colour spaces can cause slight discrepancies. It could be that the logo was derived from brand guidelines that were originally in CMYK (or Pantone) with print in mind, whereas the quiz image was probably in RGB from the start. Or that different colour spaces were used. 010
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026That's interesting. I just checked on my phone by overlaying screenshots and it works well enough for me but maybe not exact colour code. I wonder why your experience is different. 111
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 21/08/2026Tropical Brutalism! Biblioteca Central Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB) Brasil @brutalismbot.com 051
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 17/08/2026No-one with actual AI expertise would still be working at KPMG or EY. 010
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 10/08/2026Arch Linux is called that because it wants you to know you're not good enough for it. 000
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 10/08/2026OMG that's fantastic. One day this simple three-post exchange is going to need so many footnotes! 000
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 27/07/2026This is an amazing story. Makes much more sense as a conceptual artwork than as a fraud. It surprises me that a fraudster would make such a long term, risky initial investmenteuronews.comItalian conman jailed for building fake Roman amphitheatreIn Italy, a structure promoted for years as an "ancient Roman amphitheatre" has turned out to be a fake, constructed recently using modern materials. 000
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Thanks I will give it a go later. Having looked closer Nimbalyst might be a bit too hardcore - it's more like an vibe coding development environment than a markdown editor. For me I now have to think whether I consider prompt libraries & skills docs as code or ways to create code. 100
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Let me know if they suit you. My frustration with Typora was version control & managing prompt libraries. It's not designed for this but Vmark & Nimbalyst have it. Plus they appear to offer direct in-document LLM collaboration which I didn't know I needed but might help with writing SKILLS files. 100
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Sorry I didn't realise those features were missing (or for how long they have been requested). Your reply sent me off to discover Nymbalist and vmark. I use Typora for writing prompts and these seem like a step up, plus they appear to have multi-cursor & column editing. Not tried them yet though! 110
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 27/07/2026I really like Typora and I think it has most of what you describe 100
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 27/07/2026en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_A...en.wikipedia.orgWorld Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization - Wikipedia 080
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 26/07/2026I would have said WAICO but checked and that's actually just over a week ago. Maybe the most significant AI moment is when there are so many candidates for most significant AI event of the week almost every week 2120
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 14/07/2026I once created then editorially selected so many AI-generated images in one day that I became totally alienated from what human hands really look like. At lunch with my family I stared at their real-life hands trying to get reaccustomed to typical scale & pose. I would have rejected this photoconservativehome.comKemi begins her purge of the wets | Conservative HomeEvery functioning party has red lines. Positions which are so central to its identity that abandoning them means abandoning what the party is for. For Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives, net zero and... 000
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 14/07/2026I think there has to be a rule against allowing people who choose assisted dying being organ donors. This in itself is an ethically complex idea because it denies people with a strong sense of autonomy the right to decide what happens to their own bodies. Reluctantly I think it's necessary. 000
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 14/07/2026This is currently an active debate in Spain. 25-year old Noelia Castillo chose assisted dying against the wishes of her parents. They took legal action to try to prevent it but lost. Noelia's mother says her daughter was under pressure to donate her organs. 🧵 100
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 14/07/2026It's actually an extremely critical version of the trolley problem. It exposes the limits of altruism and utilitarianism. If you can save five lives by donating two kidneys, a heart, a lung and a liver isn't that worth more than your own one life? Philosophically yes, yet also definitely not. 🧵 110
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 14/07/2026Medics may become ethically compromised by the contradictions of immediate patient care and preparation for donation. Once potential recipients are identifed the pressure will increase for every patient and every medic. The process and its deadlines will create its own coercive momentum. 🧵 100
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 14/07/2026Patients might feel pressured to go ahead, or create pressure for themselves out of a sense of moral obligation. The risks are higher for people whose mental health or family situation makes them prone to feeling that they are a 'burden' 🧵 100
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 14/07/2026I support both voluntary euthanasia (assisted dying) and organ donation. But there must be laws that prevent the two from being combined. It seems comforting that others might benefit from assisted dying but in reality it could become dangerously coercive. 🧵 100
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 14/07/2026Garb of ideas is a very good term for LLM generated text. Garb as in wrapped in clothes, but also delightfully close to garbled and garbage. 110
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 14/07/2026I think it would be a massive 'I told you so!' Il n'y a pas de hors-texte! It's a very interesting question, especially in regards to Derrida's reading of Husserl and the question of whether there's anything under the 'Garb of Ideas' [Derrida thinks not]. LLMs are différance engines. 110
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 11/07/2026You're right, but the story is a bit scorpion and frog, isn't it? 000
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 10/07/2026Who could have anticipated that OpenAI would not respect the concept of intellectual property? 110
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 07/07/2026This post should be part of Eng. Lit./ creative writing courses. We seek archetypes and are instead dismayed to find stereotypes. 111
Reposted by Ian KirkSarah O'Connor @sarahoconnorft.ft.com · 18/06/2026My dad’s been a reader of the New Scientist for as long as I can remember, so I’m mega chuffed with this! Can’t wait for him to see it in the magazine. www.newscientist.com/article/mg27... @newscientist.comnewscientist.comNew Scientist recommends an excellent look at the future of workSarah O'Connor's We Are Not Machines explores how we are contorting ourselves to fit AI into our working lives – and what to do about it, finds Tom Knowles 2283
Reposted by Ian KirkThe Guardian @theguardian.com · 12/06/2026Those tedious errands, tasks and chores that AI wants to replace? They help keep you fit | Manoush Zomorodi and Keith Diaztheguardian.comThose tedious errands, tasks and chores that AI wants to replace? They help keep you fit | Manoush Zomorodi and Keith DiazA world with fewer tedious tasks, errands and chores sounds like liberation. When it comes to our health, it’s actually a trap 68417
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Brilliant. I am probably underselling how good the food is. I hope you have a wonderful time. Happy birthday! 010
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Still chuckling over @aiannucci.bsky.social and @hugorifkind.bsky.social joking that emergency podcasts are an emergency service. Imagine dialling 999 and being asked, "Do you require police, fire, ambulance or podcast?" Strong Message Here Episode link: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m... 🚓 🚒 🚑 🎤bbc.co.ukBBC Radio 4 - Strong Message Here, Fanning the Flames (with Hugo Rifkind)When does politicisation become weaponisation? And how does language fan the flames? 0322
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 11/06/2026The Ninth on Charlotte Street. Broad appeal, very good food, fair prices, Michelin star maps.app.goo.gl/wvM8GdLVczrW...maps.app.goo.gl 110
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 10/06/2026The Baianasystem album is here:youtu.beO MUNDO DÁ VOLTAS - BaianaSystem (Álbum Visual)YouTube video by BaianaSystem 000
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Sometimes the Internet can still be a good place. One of Baianasystem's songs has 'Ladina Améfrica' in the chorus. Wanting to know more led me to the writer and academic Léila Gonzalez. Now a whole new world of writing and thinking has opened up. This is how the web and pop is supposed to work.en.wikipedia.orgLélia Gonzalez - Wikipedia 100
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Have I aged suddenly or has working with computers just become much less enjoyable? The experience seems now to be an unproductive series of puzzles, battles and arguments. I'm constantly thwarted and exasperated by multi factor authentication followed by LLM insubordination and uncertainty. 001
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 08/06/2026I strongly believe that the Tendency for Interpersonal Victimhood (TIV) described in this thread contains part of the answer: bsky.app/profile/ianp... 000
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 08/06/2026Sarah! 'curretnly'? Happens to the best of us - especially in the bits about being an editor discussing mistakes. I once delivered a presentation which had 'qaulity' on the slide about quality management. Apparently this effect is now wittily called Muphry's Law en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%...en.wikipedia.orgMuphry's law - Wikipedia 110
Ian Kirk @ianpkirk.bsky.social · 07/06/2026I think you meant to say 'nodding off at the wheel'. Perhaps it was a Freudian slip. 'Nodding at the wheel' might be more true. 030
