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paulhhowells.bsky.social

@paulhhowells.bsky.social
155 followers 431 following 73 posts

He was an opposite child. 🌻

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Joe Brown @joebrownlondon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
#OnThisDay 50 years ago BR introduced their revolutionary InterCity 125 on regular services between London Paddington and Bristol/South Wales. Video clip from the BBC Archive from a couple of weeks before the launch previewing the new trains, full video: buff.ly/QGnH3Et
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Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ @olivia.science · 26/09/2026
Please sign if you can! OPEN LETTER: PAUSE THE NATIONAL ROLLOUT OF AI-MEDIATED TUTORING IN ENGLAND'S SCHOOLS > Children should not be exposed to a technology whose future, effectiveness, and safety we cannot predict, and for which the evidence is mostly negative.
docs.google.com
OPEN LETTER: PAUSE THE NATIONAL ROLLOUT OF AI-MEDIATED TUTORING IN ENGLAND'S SCHOOLS
OPEN LETTER To the Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP, Prime Minister, and the Rt Hon Lucy Powell MP, Secretary of State for Education The Department for Education has announced plans to develop, what it calls, “...
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
gorgeous!
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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 11/08/2026
"To wrap AI into the art of learning when we have overwhelming proof of the harm it does to developing minds is feeding snake oil to the people we should cherish most." www.theguardian.com/books/ng-int...
theguardian.com
‘I hate what AI is doing to the minds and happiness of the young’: Katherine Rundell on the view from the classroom
Education is at a crossroads, argues the author and academic. Should we embrace new technology in the name of efficiency, or is it time to fight back?
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
If you have a pet that sometimes snags your clothes, or if you're clumsy like me, I've found Dritz Snag Nab It to be very useful. It's a needle with rough grooves on the tail end. Push the needle through the cloth and it'll pull the snag to the fabric's underside, where it will be hidden.
A green plaid flannel shirt with two snags on the face side of the fabric. There's a Snag Nab It needle next to the snag. The same flannel shirt, but the snags have disappeared. A photo of the underside of the cloth. The snag is now on the underside.
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
oh nothing, just canadians learning about the hormuz straits of the great lakes...
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Robin Berjon @robin.berjon.com · 28/08/2026
It's almost as if doing the right thing for climate, democracy, tech will pay for itself, while the cost of continued inaction grows staggeringly. Shocked!
static.klipy.com
Surprised Monkey Puppet Meme
Alt: Surprised Monkey Puppet Meme
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Alissa Azar @alissaazar.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
New by Sabot media & We Will Free Us: The U.S. government has designated Autistici/Inventati, a volunteer-run collective providing autonomous, privacy-preserving infrastructure to activists, antifascists & independent media, a terrorist organization.
wewillfreeus.org
The Server Called Paranoia: Defend Autistici/Inventati Before September 25
Defend Autistici/Inventati
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kottke.org @kottke.org · 03/08/2026
The Listening Museum: “36 mechanical keyboards and switches, curated and sound-mapped. From IBM Model M (1985) to Topre to thocky modern customs. Click any card, type on your real keyboard, hear it as if it were on your desk.” [sheets.works]
sheets.works
The Listening Museum — 36 Keyboards, Sound-Mapped
36 mechanical keyboards. Click. Type. Listen. From IBM Model M (1985) to modern thocky customs.
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Special Needs Jungle @spcialndsjungle.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Just 80 days left to get the petition to protect disabled children’s rights to 100,000. We did it with the previous one and we can do it again. Please ask everyone you know to sign. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
petition.parliament.uk
Petition: Protect legal right to support for children with SEND
A petition created by a British citizen or UK resident. You can share this petition if you agree with its message.
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Toby Nangle @tobyn.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
A machine for making us lonelier and stupider seems a little harsh, but then again www.ft.com/content/bdb3...
“Instead of thinking about Al itself, we should be thinking about its effects. It concentrates power; it obfuscates accountability; it further despoils nature and climate; it is a means of the wholesale expropriation of cultures, languages and lands for massive profit; and it will probably make us lonelier and stupider.”
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
TIL entryism goes back at least to the 1890s, and is a.k.a. boring. I should remember that search engines exist!
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Sometimes what is obvious to others is not quite so clear to me :-) (Yes, I read the post before replying). The only bit that wasn’t clear to me was why entryism was used, but i’m not working in the same profession as you. Understanding the ethics and impact of LLMs is highly relevant to me though.
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Thank you for explaining Diami, I did not know that. (I’m in the UK).
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Please would you tell me why you used the word entryism? Is it the (attempted) entry of people who seek to undermine into a group?
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Martin Lewis @martinlewis.moneysavingexpert.com · 08/07/2026
Overheard someone say they were "giving 110%" today... and I couldn't help myself. Maths pedants of the world… unite!
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
thinking about pledging to never personify LLMs…
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James Sherwin-Smith @jss4nw.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Inspired by the brilliant cartoons of Alan Baker, we've launched #slowVOTE. 🚧 Read. Think. Decide. Vote. A simple campaign encouraging @nationwideuk.bsky.social Members to take a little more time before voting, but most importantly, to #VOTE, with just 9 days left. slowVOTE.com #Nationwide #AGM
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James Sherwin-Smith @jss4nw.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Two articles in @thetimes.com today. I'm the first Nationwide Member Nominated Candidate to reach the ballot in 20 years. The Financial Editor at The Times says the Board has "tilted the playing field". Voting is expected to start next week. Join the campaign: james4nationwide.co.uk/elect-james/
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
JFC. Chad Jones, economist who'll be joining Anthropic: "In other words, with log utility it is optimal to take a 1 in 3 chance of ending human existence in exchange for a 2/3 chance of dramatically raising living standards by a factor of 55." www.ft.com/content/bb04...
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Blue Wave @votebiue.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
This is a beautiful thing. These shelter dogs get to pick their own toys.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
“Before the Iran War, none of Trump’s political allies would have dared speak out in this way. Trump would have crushed them. But now he’s wounded and his power is draining away. Once that happens it’s almost impossible to recapture it.”
open.substack.com
Knives Out
Trump looks fatally wounded
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Playing Mannenberg…
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Fred Studemann @frederick65.ft.com · 12/06/2026
One standout article that crossed my desk as FT opinion editor back in the day was this by David Hockney. An illuminating, thought-provoking piece (sparked by a comment in a letter) - along with illustrations. Other opeds (smoking) and pics followed. A delight to work with. How lucky we were. RIP
as.ft.com
The mass media has lost its perspective
Our view of the world, long defined by a particular western vision, is finally changing, writes David Hockney
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Anton Gerashchenko @antongerashchenko.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
In Brussels, the "Wings for Europe" initiative assembles drones for Ukraine. Volunteers - from scientists to veterans - operate from secret locations. They say: "I am doing this for the sake of my grandchildren's future." Thank you! 📹: DW
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
IMPORTANT: The Dutch invested €595 million annually on urban biking, resulting in €19 BILLION saved in public health care costs alone. That’s how smart governments do the math on investing in better mobility. Let’s be clear— it WASTES public money to NOT do it. #CityMakingMath HT @modacitylife.com
Examples of striking Dutch bike-lane and urban biking infrastructure via Modacity Life.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
"For users on capped mobile data plans, particularly in regions where smartphone-as-only-internet is dominant (much of Africa, much of South and Southeast Asia, most of Latin America), 4 GB of unrequested download is on the order of a month's data allowance.." www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-...
thatprivacyguy.com
Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent. At a billion-device scale the climate costs are insane. — That Privacy Guy!
Google Chrome is downloading a 4 GB Gemini Nano model onto users' machines without consent, with no opt-in, no opt-out short of enterprise tooling, and an automatic re-download every time the user del...
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Ethan Mollick @emollick.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
This is an actual line that was added to the official system prompt for Codex for GPT-5.5 by OpenAI. Usually the system prompt is as minimal as possible, so I assume it would otherwise mention goblins a lot. AIs are weird.
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British Transport Films Stills @btfstills.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
FIVE IN MILLIONS (1978) | player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-f…
An image captured from FIVE IN MILLIONS (1978)
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Emilia @lazerwalker.com · 19/04/2026
It’s absolutely incredible that one of the largest Japanese-run Go servers, which has been running since 1992, is still accessed entirely via Telnet. And while most players use GUI clients that use Telnet under the hood, you can still connect manually and get ASCII graphics streamed to you
A screenshot of a white-on-black terminal depicting a 19x19 go board in ascii graphics, with empty grid intersections as periods, and black and white as Os and #s
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Simon Monk @simonmonk2.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Very interesting. TLDR use 1u MLCC decoupling caps instead of 100n. codeinsecurity.wordpress.com/2025/01/25/p...
codeinsecurity.wordpress.com
Proper decoupling practices, and why you should leave 100nF behind
Ever wondered why 100nF is a go-to value for decoupling capacitors? This number has pervaded in datasheets and electronics advice going back to the 1980s, and is still widely present in the datashe…
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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
🧵 Democracy feels like it's in a rough state at the moment across the globe, and we hear various explanations, like polarisation, extremism, disinformation, and loss of trust. But what if those explanations are mainly symptoms and we've been trying to treat them rather than the underlying causes?
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
I read that they have APIs and wonder if they could be of use to you. I found a page listing their APIs here: archive.org/developers/i... Alternatively, if it would be helpful, then I’d be happy to volunteer as a Mechanical Turk to retrieve your posts.
archive.org
Tools and APIs — Internet Archive Developer Portal
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
I really like seeing the SWR livery on all the 450s, 159s, 701s etc. at Waterloo. It’s a good look.
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The Register @theregister.com · 28/03/2026
GitHub hits CTRL-Z, decides it will train its AI with user data after all
go.theregister.com
GitHub hits CTRL-Z, decides it will train its AI with user data after all
As of April 24 you'll be feeding the Octocat unless you opt out Microsoft's GitHub next month plans to begin using customer interaction data – "specifically inputs, outputs, code snippets, and associated context" – to train its AI models.…
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John MacPherson @johnmacpherson.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
'Inside The Fort' I posted this work on The Other Place. It might resonate for some here. It's about disability & opportunity, but most of all creativity. It underlines the value of community & the contributions we all can make. It's a long thread, but I hope worth your time reading... 1/24
A refuse collector, garbage collector with his garbage truck
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ændra. @aendra.com · 13/03/2026
This was such an amazing project to work on, it really pushed me to the limits of what I can do with mapping tools
as.ft.com
The English roads at risk of being underwater
[FREE TO READ] FT analysis reveals large swaths of vital infrastructure are vulnerable to flooding
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Good Law Project @goodlawproject.org · 06/03/2026
Our data belongs to all of us. We need to know how the NHS deals with our data. We need the right to say no. No to sneaky data grabs and no to Palantir 👇 goodlaw.social/3gc7
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus! Happy St. David’s Day!
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Kris Ball | Playing Dezza In GBBO Musical @kriswhoacts.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
If LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER doesn't take his Furby Organ to Vienna, we riot at dawn youtu.be/GYLBjScgb7o?...
youtu.be
THE FURBY ORGAN, A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MADE FROM FURBIES
YouTube video by LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER
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Matthias Ott @matthiasott.com · 09/02/2026
✍️ New article: Webspace Invaders 👾👾👾👾👾👾👾👾👾👾👾👾 matthiasott.com/articles/web...
matthiasott.com
Webspace Invaders · Matthias Ott
There’s something happening on the Web at the moment that almost feels like watching that old arcade game Space Invaders play out across our servers. Bots and scrapers marching in formation, attacking...
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Mons @dennismons.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Politie in vuurgevecht in Utrecht! 🥰
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auonsson @auonsson.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Judging from comments it seems we have about 5 European navies with exercise proven capability to sink US aircraft carriers. I had no idea. Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, France. Did not check veracity of all claims.
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
Seems like Claude Sonnet 4.5 is unable to build my simple POC with View Transition API, but GPT-5.2 succeeded on first attempt. It would be interesting to compare with Opus 4.5 (I write ‘seems’ in case my prompts were poor, but I thought they were reasonable with good context and documentation).
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Hi Anthony, I thought you would know! :-) I like the continuity, I remember the 508s running to Shepperton in the 80s before the 455s. I’ve been puzzling over this for a while, thank you!
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Hi Anthony, do you know why 5716 has one carriage that is different to the others, i.e. has a lower roof and some single seats? I have noticed that 455s to Shepperton always have one of these in the formation.
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Euromaidan Press @euromaidanpress.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Putin claimed Ukrainian forces were "surrounded" in Kupiansk. He invited foreign journalists to visit—offered a 5-6 hour ceasefire so they could see the encircled troops safely. Today, Zelenskyy walked in freely.
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paulhhowells.bsky.social @paulhhowells.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
100% agree
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Jeremy Keith @adactio.com · 18/11/2025
Journal: The premature sheen Brian Eno on prototyping and fidelity. 🔗https://adactio.com/journal/22256
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