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Simon Scott

@simonscott1975.bsky.social
272 followers 152 following 2.4K posts

Mythical regulator. Bi-furious one-way time traveller. Repitching with Peter Dinklage in the lead. Mucks about with a puppet and blender.

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Reposted by Simon Scott
Mr. Joshua @pantspants.bsky.social · 15h
“Bongo” Ballpoint pen, pencil, watercolor, acrylic paint, and a little colored pencil.

Our man is in trouble this time, reader. Art supplies are scattered around a painting of an abstract cityscape. On the canvas we see a man in a telephone booth making a frantic call to his cat, Bongo. In the foreground, an answering machine is taking his voicemail, [Leave a message at the beep] --- “Bongo, Daddy got stuck in the painting. Go get help, Bongo.” Bongo stands at the base of the easel looking at the phone. Her tail in the air and ears perked up. Whether she’ll be able to help is open to interpretation.

Artist’s note: One of my favorites from the Spooky Pants book. I was playing around with the idea of a painting coming to life (like that guy in Ghostbusters 2) and kind of fumbled my way into this version. I really draw a lot of corded phones. I won’t stop.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 18h
Trial of live facial recognition in London stations ends with a false positive and no arrests
theguardian.com
Trial of live facial recognition in London stations ends with a false positive and no arrests
Freedom of information request finds six-month trial cost £320,000, used almost 100 police hours and led to just one – incorrect – alert A six-month trial of live facial recognition (LFR) technology in London’s railway stations that cost more than £320,000 and almost 100 hours of police officers’ time ended in one false match against a watchlist of suspects and no arrests. More than half a million faces were scanned between February and July this year in some of the capital’s busiest transport hubs during the British Transport Police (BTP) trial of the surveillance technology, which aimed to help catch offenders and people breaching court orders. Continue reading...
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 21h
I think maybe don't listen to US politicians who are keen to invoke the threat of a third party as they face being wiped out in the midterms, but I don't know, I'm not a journalist.
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Ricardo Autobahn @ricardoautobahn.co.uk · 26/09/2026
ALF, marvel hero
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is the "but pocket calculators though" argument, and I hate it. I hate it because a) we all suck at maths now and bi) yes we have calculators but do we actually use them? bii) we've lost the *feel* for maths, which means we can be manipulated by numbers much more easily.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Maybe superior to Trump's intelligence. I mean, it just predicts the next word right? I don't think Trump is very good at that.
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Sylvia @sylvia-suffragette.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
#TwoTierPolicing

B BC

Woman sentenced for hurling milkshake at
Farage
16 December 2024
Lewis Adams
BBC News, Essex
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
A lot of war memorials cover both World Wars but we're presumably initially just for the First World War. So the original text is like "we commemorate those that laid down their lives in the war to end all wars. Also we have left a space."
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Going to go out on a limb here and say that no episode of Neighbours has been iconic.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Can't focus on Ed Davey's messaging because I'm trying to work out whether they've done the photoshoot at the naturist end of the beach.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Did a little "yay" in the cinema on Saturday when Jo Martin popped up in Resident Evil absolutely bloody nailing it.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Worried that if Labour press ahead with their policy of providing every household in the UK with a garlic plant, that many of the UK resident vampires will move abroad.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
If I were to make Doctor Who I would simply hire the best actors and writers, and deliver episodes on budget and schedule that please old and new fans alike.
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Pablo Nepomnaschy @pablonep.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Not new, and not discovered...still great news. I offer a, perhaps, more accurate, less colonizing, title: "Western scientists describe a felid known to local communities as Tilcayo. It is the first description of its kind in over a century"
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Scrolls through Shorts "my kids love staying at a Travelodge" immediately scrolls on "keyboards are obsolete" Closes shorts.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
We've been told we need to massively build out infrastructure to meet compute demand. It's all taking longer than projected, so there should be signs that we're clamouring for compute. We should be hammering at the gates. Things shouldn't be working for want of compute. Where is the want?
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Lance Parkin @lanceparkin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
An important reminder that a lot of the AI loons are a very specific type of loon who hold the position that they are (a) far more rational than the rest of us, (b) faithful servants of a merciless future god made from computers. In Dr Who money, 'the Brotherhood of Logicians'.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Wondering if the AI CEOs want regulation because they're all in charge of companies that have publicly admitted to breaking the law and they'd prefer this to jail time.
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Area Man @areamancm.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I mean this btw. It would make me very happy
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
A while back I arrived at the term "Rimmering" (after Red Dwarf) which is where, in pursuing a task you distract yourself with unnecessary additional tasks that you've convinced yourself are absolutely necessary to the success of the main task. Really handy having a name for it.
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Adam Becker @adambecker.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Nice to see this getting some attention. It's completely true, and I dearly wish more journalists understood where these common narratives about AI actually come from.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Excited to be collaborating with a particular and wonderful puppeteer soon in aid of the Sesame Workshop, but the last time we were going to collaborate it got cancelled because... their house burnt down. Fire started during one of their streams. It's left me feeling very superstitiously anxious.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Always a surprise to learn that before Rick Wakeman became the former keyboard player with Yes he had a successful career in music.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
You tell a story, you don't show a story.
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Robin Moira White @robinmoirawhite.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Curiously unreported by mainstream media. Carried by a show of hands with no opposition. labourlist.org/2026/09/tuc-...
labourlist.org
TUC Congress backs motion opposing EHRC guidance and calls for gender self-ID - LabourList
Unions have backed calls to campaign for gender ‘self ID’ and for a change in “discriminatory and unworkable” guidance around transgender rights.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I think we might be nearly at full tulip bulb.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Get closed down by the regulators and so request compensation?
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
One of the things I find interesting about the (probably not legal after all) massive donations Reform have been getting is that, just like Tory and Republican attempts to frustrate the vote of the left, it always seems to galvanise opposition.
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children of the corncob @bisk.sureis.sexy · 14/09/2026
AI doesn't "go rogue". the developers are responsible for not putting up proper guardrails. if their AI agents fuck off and start hacking things those developers should be liable for those crimes as if they did them themselves. until we do this these developers will not bother to stop.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Did enjoy NF (who knows more about donation compliance then anyone, but also does not) being asked the yes or no question regarding the donors' residential status and batting it away. Plain he either didn't know (and should), or did know and it's awkward.
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IANdrew Dice Clay @iandrewdiceclay.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I swear, I'm sure there's been funnier memes, but I crease up when ever I see this.
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James Alistair Henry @jamesbluecat.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Maaaaaaaaate
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Not a huge fan of retrospective legislation (outside of decriminalisation) but if you are going to ban any particular form of party donation you would have to backdate it to the day of the previous election.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Someone who commits fraud would be of the opinion that everyone commits fraud even when shown evidence to the contrary. This should be treated for the red flag it is.
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Reform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Reform UK’s £105m Crypto Donations Christopher Harborne: £61m Ben Delo: £44m Maria Rost: £125-136k Simon William Smith: £116k Oscar Townsley: £30k That’s approximately £105.46m from crypto-linked donors (that we know of).
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Michael Spicer @michaelspicer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I cannot tell you what absolute fiction this is. AI is heading for a crash and this cackhanded Terminator narrative is being engineered to save them. The fact that the unsubstantiated testimony of a former employee has been the top story on BBC News all day is absurd and irresponsible.
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michael lutz @ztul.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Barber CEO: You Risk Falling Behind If You Don't Get A Haircut "Right Now" Industry Experts Foresee Future In Which Everyone Receives Multiple Haircuts Every Day Today Your Hair, Tomorrow The World: Barbers Say They Are On Track To Build A Pair Of Scissors So Big, It Could End Life As We Know It
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Working up some illustration videos for a reading of War of the Worlds (starting tonight from 8pm). Currently looking at the cylinder pit and, hahaha, you want to stay faithful to the book, but Wells' Martian cylinder is supposed to be 29 metres across, and its pit "surrounded by perhaps 20 people".
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Miraj showing his arse on LBC on an item about AI. Anthropomorphicising the heck out of chat bots. Wish threat people would educate themselves rather than just accept the Kool Aid.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Remembering with fond nostalgia all the previous times chatbot CEO's have said that we really need to slow down AI development.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Strongly suspect NF is currently at least considering ways he can wind down his company and trouser the £72 million.
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Seán Costello @seanjcostello.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
A heads-up for those with access: this dazzling masterpiece is on the BBC iPlayer from today
Programme cover for The Red Shoes (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1948)
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Money laundering, bit currency, racism. It's a perfect fit for Reform really.
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Jack Lyttle @jacklyttle.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
They banned Furbies from government buildings.
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
NEW Why holding a placard is a terrorist act, while causing disruption in a balaclava is not The mess caused by ministers and the police not taking terrorism law seriously By me at @prospectmagazine.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

Recent events in England now reveal the practical difference between terrorists and protesters. It would seem that terrorists peacefully hold placards and get immediately arrested, while protesters wear black uniforms and balaclavas and disrupt infrastructure and do not get arrested.

How did we get into this mess? How have we placed ourselves in the position where terrorism legislation is used to detain and prosecute peaceful protesters, while those adopting the terror tactics of private armies seem to be free to do as they wish?

The reason is that for some time British politicians have not taken terrorism legislation seriously, and that ministers have got into the habit of misusing terror laws for easy targets.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"when you think about it" is a terrible construction because it implies that the rest of the time, someone isn't thinking, like thought is an applied, focused, effortful activity; not just what's going on in your head all the time. And always attached to the most obvious and often wrong thoughts.
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Fascists like hanging out down the docks. Is that anything?
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Last night on the stream I suggested that OpenAI's logic of "AI is inevitable, so it would be best if we built it rather than someone else" was perilously close to the paedophile logic of "well if someone's going to abuse the kids it's better that it's me, because I'm good."
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Love how the "my Markov chain text extruder solved math" stories all take a bit of unpacking and the unpacking is always "no, it didn't."
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Simon Scott @simonscott1975.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
There's something about "the taxpayer picks up the tab" arguments that somehow conjures up the idea that everyone is paying the same amount of tax. Irritates.
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