““It is perhaps not the smartest thing to be picking a fight with the pope.”

A few slides from my Transition-AI keynote for @latitudemedia.bsky.social earlier this week.

samuel beckett was born on this day 120 years ago. astonishing to think that if he had survived, and could run 100m in 9.57 seconds, he would be not only the oldest but also the fastest man in the world - together with his nobel prize for literature, an astonishing trifecta

HSBC CEO “The highest I’ve seen, and I’m hoping we don’t see more of that, but the highest I’ve seen is $286 for a barrel of oil that reached Sri Lanka”

That’s a delivered barrel so includes shipping, insurance, etc.

But it’s still an eye-watering price to pay.

FT full quote:

Everyone seems to think coal will get a big lift because of the oil&gas crisis, except for the professionals - the traders and plant operators. They're buying less of the stuff in April, not more. Note this includes within-country shipments which are big in e.g. China, Indonesia.

The Whole World Is Fighting About Energy - The Ringer The two biggest stories in the world right now—the war involving Iran and the rise of artificial intelligence—are, at their core, about the same story: energy. Derek talks with energy analyst Nat Bull...

I really enjoy @dkthomp.bsky.social as a writer, speaker, thinker, and interviewer. Delighted to be back on Plain English for a third time www.theringer.com/podcasts/pla...

We now know that critical national security decisions feed on vending machine sandwiches and chili cheez fritos

Always fond of the old pence per chaldron pricing unit (thanks @jkempenergy.bsky.social)

What Did We Learn? Apart from never doing that again of course

What Did We Learn? #EnergySky

There is nobody under the age of 55 who remembers seeing astronauts return to earth like this

What Did We Learn? Apart from never doing that again of course

"Leg day is the periodic table and energy - hard, grinding stuff that actually makes you genuinely strong." @alexbhturnbull.bsky.social syncretica.substack.com/p/what-did-w...

Sorry - automatic DQ for using the name of one of the band’s albums in the analogy upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en...

One of my favorite data series, and nice to see it now at @ourworldindata.org

But @conorsen.bsky.social did you know that it’s the only major American city to elect three socialist mayors. static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp...

As the Middle East conflict continues to shake the world - people are asking us about solar, heat pumps and electric cars in record numbers. Solar sales up 54%. Heat pumps up 51%. EV leasing up 36%. Battery installations nearly doubled. 🧵 (2/4)

People in Britain want energy security that doesn't depend on what's happening thousands of miles away... 🧵 (1/4) @financialtimes.com

It is so ordered

A Fabulous Debt by Robin Wigglesworth: 9780593719183 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books From veteran Financial Times journalist Robin Wigglesworth, an epic history of the debt that built the modern world. Long considered the "boring" corner of finance, bonds are anything but. They have ...

Very excited to see @robinwigglesworth.ft.com’s book out in September. I have pre-ordered A Fabulous Debt, of course, and you should too www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/750210...

Something I’ve mentioned before but there really are only two ironclad and federally-issued citizenship records: consular record of birth abroad for us citizens via ‘jus sanguinis’, and certificate of naturalization.

Iran War Hobbles Myanmar Economy as Gasoline Supplies Disappear Countries across Asia are limiting consumers’ fuel purchases. Run by a junta and facing civil war, Myanmar is among the hardest hit.

Since Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, countries across Asia have had to limit fuel purchases. Run by a junta and facing civil war, Myanmar is among the hardest hit.

Airlines in crisis mode as Iran war hits jet fuel supplies Carriers scale back expansion plans as oil prices soar

Airlines in crisis mode as Iran war hits jet fuel supplies ft.trib.al/VLegxPg

Horrendous chart crime here, but the numbers matter

Singapore is already 50% EV sales share (this data is only through October of 2025). But flows of new car sales are not the same as stocks in the existing fleet ember-energy.org/latest-updat...

Jet fuel prices doubled in a month www.iata.org/en/publicati...

Screen capture of ride hailing company Grab’s announcement of fuel surcharges in Singapore

And the fuel charges come to Singapore

@conorsen.bsky.social Schtick

To extend the analogy it would be like Greater Atlanta being represented entirely by my hometown of Decatur with some begrudging side piece action for Avondale Estates

To say nothing of its complete erasure of Inglewood

“Like-Minded People Keep Coming”: How One New Jersey Town Became a Magnet for the Media Elite Welcome to Montclair, where a large swath of The New York Times is working from home and the local paper’s advisory board resembles “the Pulitzer committee,” as one resident put it. Amid such suburban...

Vanity Fair wrote a whole thing about it! It’s not just that it’s close to NYC, it’s where all the *NYC media people* live. www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/08...