Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 11/09/2026#RSEcon27 will be in Edinburgh! 6-9 September 2027 #RSEcon26 030
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 09/09/2026A statement on the dilemma caused by the UCU Sheffield boycott shortly before #RSEcon26 started and the £50,000+ loss that would occur if it was cancelled (it takes well over a year to organise the conference and contracts are signed months in advance) society-rse.org/trustee-stat... 030
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 09/09/2026This year's #RSEcon26 sponsors: www.amd.com, aws.amazon.com, @biofair.bsky.social, www.bristol.ac.uk/research/cen..., www.hpc.cam.ac.uk/d-w-n, @theturing.bsky.social, dareuk.org.uk ... 111
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 22/03/2026Finals of the last ever Climbing Works International Festival, and a very worthy winner! www.youtube.com/live/VujOPDm... #cwif #cwif2026 #climbingyoutube.comThe Rab Climbing Works International Festival 2026 (CWIF) - FinalsYouTube video by The Climbing Works 000
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 02/03/20263 #AWS Availability Zones in the Middle East (including 2 in the same region!) have been hit by #Iran health.aws.amazon.com/health/status 010
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 27/02/2026It's been a while, but some good political news. The @greenparty.org.uk have won a by-election, beating Reform and Labour! bylinetimes.com/2026/02/27/h... #gordonandentonbylinetimes.comHope Beats Hate: Green Party Defeats Reform and Labour in Huge Gorton and Denton By-Election VictoryA concerted political and media campaign to scare voters about a “Green Menace” winning this by-election failed, reports Adam Bienkov 000
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 26/02/2026A pretty poor design choice by Google, encouraging developers to treat API keys as public, then introducing a service that allows them to be abused trufflesecurity.com/blog/google-... #cybersecuritytrufflesecurity.comGoogle API Keys Weren't Secrets. But then Gemini Changed the Rules. ◆ Truffle Security Co.Google spent over a decade telling developers that Google API keys (like those used in Maps, Firebase, etc.) are not secrets. But that's no longer true. 000
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 04/02/2026Have you ever wondered what Torn by #NatalieImbruglia would sound like in Danish? Turns out the Danish version came first (ignore the video date) www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyuG...youtube.comLis Sørensen - Brændt (Official Music Video)YouTube video by Warner Music Denmark 000
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 20/01/2026UK newspapers grossly intentionally misrepresent the cost of #NetZero for the UK's energy system by omitting cost of running the existing system youtube.com/shorts/PDNE7... #ClimateChangeyoutube.comHow was this new report so badly twisted?YouTube video by Simon Clark 000
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 06/01/2026Is the UK finally going to stop appeasing Trump? I'd like to think so but I don't have much faith in our government at the moment 😑 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukUS discussing options to acquire Greenland, including use of military - White HouseIt came as European allies rallied behind Denmark after renewed US insistence it must have Greenland. 000
Reposted by Simon LiDr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 01/01/2026This year has been brutal for the #climate movement. Rollbacks, repression, & outright denial, especially in the US, have made progress feel fragile & uneven. Which is exactly why it matters to pause & look back at what did move forward in 2025. Here are 12 real wins 🏆, one for each month 🧵⬇️ 8303160
Reposted by Simon LiRob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 12/12/2025A result which both illustrates the magnitude of the Reform threat and the problems with Labour’s “Farage is right, don’t vote for him” response. 37 point Lab to Reform swing. Labour go from first to 4th as anti-Reform vote splits 3 ways. Combined Lab/LD/Grn vote larger than Reform vote. 28285153
Reposted by Simon LiSarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 28/11/2025So depressing to see a Labour Home Secretary posting this kind of populist anti-immigrant boast on X. Everything about that is failure. 1203
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 18/11/2025@uklabour.bsky.social has a massive majority and enough time to make temporarily unpopular decisions that will genuinely improve people's lives. Instead they're bringing in immigration policies and divisive rhetoric aimed at an audience who probably won't vote Labour anywaybbc.co.ukWhat changes will be part of the UK's asylum reform?The PM sent Shabana Mahmood to run the Home Office precisely so that she would be radical. 130
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 07/11/2025Something you may not have thought of if you ban IP addresses when you detect abuse- IPs are more likely to be shared by multiple (maybe 100s) of independent users in countries where internet adoption was slower due to bias in IPv4 allocations www.theregister.com/2025/11/03/c...theregister.comISPs more likely to throttle CGNAT traffic: Cloudflare: When operators see danger, innocent users are dragged down along with bad actors 010
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 04/11/2025#Git Worktrees. Wish I'd know about them years ago www.tomups.com/posts/git-wo...tomups.comWorktrees: Git's best kept secret (and why you should use them) | Tom UpsTom Ups blog 000
Reposted by Simon LiMayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 21/09/2025My statement on the formal recognition of the Palestinian state. 037389
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 21/09/2025Saw a lot of runners in Edinburgh so Googled to find out what the race was... #aifail 020
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 11/09/2025Next year's Research Software Engineering conference: Sheffield! 9-11 September 2026. Collocated with the International Research Software Conference 7-8 with the Research Software Alliance. #RSEcon26 #RSEcon #ReSA 051
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 10/09/2025@simonhettrick.bsky.social on the problems with the Research Excellence Framework in the UK. Software (and many other outputs) should be considered - but very few universities include them. 97.6% of submitted outputs were publications. #RSEcon25 032
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 09/09/2025FRIDGE, SATRE and AIRR at #RSEcon25 #TrustedResearchEnvironments 042
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 09/09/2025#RSEcon25 kicks off with a keynote by @amandabrock.bsky.social from @openuk.bsky.social academic.oup.com/book/44727 #opensource #openaccess 021
Reposted by Simon LiEwan Birney @ewanbirney.bsky.social · 09/04/2025Longstanding followers will know I have consistently tried to unpick concepts of race / ethnicity from genetics. TLDR; Race/Ethnicity - a self identification process about a categorical group is v different from the high dimensional variation in the genome despite a thin connection by visible traits 24313
Reposted by Simon LiLed By Donkeys @ledbydonkeys.org · 28/03/2025We took over the giant screen at Farage’s big rally in Birmingham 541146424850
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 28/03/2025Should URLs in #JsonSchema IDs be resolvable? They don't have to according to the spec json-schema.org/understandin... but _should_ they be?json-schema.orgJSON Schema - Modular JSON Schema combinationJSON Schema 000
Reposted by Simon LiJames O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 08/03/2025No schadenfreude or satisfaction in seeing ‘prominent’ Trump cheerleaders in the UK finally see the light & change their tune (Andrew Neil is just the latest). Just a low simmer at their toxic blend of arrogance, cupidity & ignorance & the knowledge that the media will still promote their ilk. 1122831433
Reposted by Simon LiInstitute for Research Software @softwaresaved.bsky.social · 06/03/2025🟥 We are happy to announce that the SSI has received £4.8m from @ukri.org to launch the Research Software Maintenance Fund. Find out more about this exciting opportunity at www.software.ac.uk/news/ukri-aw... 23633
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 28/02/2025Can anyone explain why the UK government is inviting a sexist racist climate change denier for a second state visit? www.bbc.com/news/article... (it says "invitation from the king" but it's the government that decides)bbc.comKeir Starmer gives Donald Trump state visit invitation from the KingKeir Starmer hands the US president an invitation letter as the pair meet at the White House. 100
Reposted by Simon LiWorld Bollard Association™️ @worldbollardassoc.bsky.social · 27/11/2024Welcome to Bollard World. A place where dreams come true. #WorldBollardAssociation 381098107
Reposted by Simon LiSue Cowley @suecowley.bsky.social · 02/02/2025Honestly Labour you have a large majority and more than 4 years to the next election. Why do you have to be so limited and limiting in your thinking? 🤦♀️ 4377
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 31/01/2025Editor in chief of the British Medical Journal gets straight to the point on the damage being caused by the new US president, misleading information on social media, and the deliberate failure to invest in fact-checking. www.bmj.com/content/388/...bmj.comTrump and the tech bros: demagogues of harm to human and planetary healthA US medical society has written to tell us that some of its members will be unable to contribute to journal activities. This followed a government mandate that initially seemed to prohibit US federal... 000
Reposted by Simon LiHardeep Matharu @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social · 25/11/2024"That progressives have failed to grasp how utterly tech has changed everything in our political culture – esp. given revelations of the role of psychological profiling through social media – is exploited by the right as a new ‘Wild West’. Elon Musk, is the most logical next step in this trajectory"bylinetimes.comThe Psycho-Social-Techno Politics of ‘MAGA’ Trumps Democracy – And the Liberal Left Has No AnswerDonald Trump’s second victory in the United States is a warning sign to democracies everywhere of the centrality of emotions – and their manipulation – in the new politics of gross inequality and psyc... 48465226
Reposted by Simon LiJoshua Eaton @joshuaeaton.bsky.social · 02/01/2025This is, as I see it, the defining problem of our media environment. We have more and more people doing commentary and analysis based on facts gathered by fewer and fewer reporters. It’s can’t hold. 210623
Reposted by Simon LiBread and Rosie @rosiemund.bsky.social · 08/12/2024Any "avid cyclist" who claims that the solution to road safety for cyclists is simply to be more skilled and assertive should be required to demonstrate that they are more skilled and assertive than Olympic Champion Remco Evenepoel who was, this week, doored. 13621153
Reposted by Simon LiTom Calver @tomcalver.bsky.social · 08/12/2024NEW: How baby boomers became the least healthy generation Until recently, bad habits were concentrated in the young. Now, people born in the 50s and 60s are drinking more than any other age group - and are driving up obesity rates too @thetimes.com 1/7 🔗 www.thetimes.com/article/4efe... 74818
Reposted by Simon LiDavid Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 29/11/2024We all think plastic pollution is a problem, and it is. In the nearly 70 years between 1950 and 2019, the world produced a total of ~9.5 billion tonnes of plastic. But all the plastic we have EVER produced weighs as much as CO₂ we emitted into the atmosphere during the first three months of 2024! 38691224
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 28/11/2024A nice talk today from Paul Behrens at the Oxford Martin School about dealing with climate change. In some areas we're ahead of where we thought we'd be (eg prevalence of solar), surveys show the public and scientists are much more in favour of action than perceived! www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRMz...youtube.com'Towards a liveable planet: land, energy and food system transitions' with Prof Paul BehrensYouTube video by Oxford Martin School 100
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 28/11/2024Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative (PEDRI) have launched their new website and it's looking good 😀. If you work with data about the public (e.g. healthcare, government) and want to know how to maintain the public's trust you should have a look www.pedri.org.ukpedri.org.ukHome - PEDRI 000
Reposted by Simon LiChris Holdgraf @choldgraf.com · 19/11/2024Big milestone for Project Jupyter 🚨: Jupyter has finalized the creation of the Jupyter Foundation, hosted by @linuxfoundation.org. www.linuxfoundation.org/press/linux-...linuxfoundation.orgLinux Foundation Announces Formation of the Jupyter FoundationLinux Foundation Announces Formation of the Jupyter Foundation 16222
Reposted by Simon LiWorld Bollard Association™️ @worldbollardassoc.bsky.social · 14/11/2024Breathtaking. #WorldBollardAssociation 491059114
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 15/11/2024A nice write-up of the disadvantages of using #blockchain to store an immutable log blog.sigstore.dev/sigstore-blo...blog.sigstore.devsigstore, blockchain vs transparency logs - Sigstore Blog 000
Reposted by Simon LiResearch on Research Institute (RoRI) @rorinstitute.bsky.social · 14/11/2024Narrative CVs: How do they change evaluation practices in peer review for grant funding? Check out this blog post @dorassessment.bsky.social reporting some preliminary findings from a RoRI project designed to investigate the evaluative use of narrative CVs: sfdora.org/2024/11/05/n... 199
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 14/11/2024Finally, some good news from the USA www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/b... #theonionnytimes.comThe Onion Buys Alex Jones’s Infowars Out of BankruptcyThe satirical news site planned to turn Infowars into a parody of itself, mocking “weird internet personalities” who peddle conspiracy theories and health supplements. 000
Reposted by Simon LiJessica Elgot @jessicaelgot.bsky.social · 13/11/2024Some big news this morning www.theguardian.com/media/2024/n...theguardian.comGuardian will no longer post on Elon Musk’s X from its official accountsPlatform’s coverage of US election crystallised longstanding concerns about its content, says Guardian 11149681016
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 03/11/2024The power of regular expressions. Or the insanity of regex. youtu.be/5vbk0TwkokMyoutu.beHow on Earth does ^.?$|^(..+?)\1+$ produce primes?YouTube video by Stand-up Maths 000
Simon Li @penguinoops.bsky.social · 27/10/2024It's the time of year where it gets dark early in the evenings, and in response we put the clocks back an hour so it gets dark even earlier 🤷♂️ 010
Reposted by Simon LiDaniel Benneworth-Gray @danielgray.com · 24/10/2024Exceedingly important discovery: Ikea Kallax shelves are exactly two LEGO studs wide. A simple bracket shape like this will stay in place without any support. 612470847
Reposted by Simon LiKatharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 18/10/2024The need for blocking, especially on a platform where bots abound and the algorithm favours trolls, is obvious. But in case you'd like to know my personal reasoning, here it is below! The article on the psychology of trolls is here: www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your... 834556
Reposted by Simon LiDavid Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 04/10/2024If they used the £22 billion to improve bike lanes and public transportation in the country, it would reduce CO₂ emissions way more. 45818
