Boney M hits on a mechanical organ YouTube video by The Mechanical Music Man

What a time to be alive!

youtu.be/V74n68YhKeg?...

Solidarity with you all. I was on casual contracts for 12 years and even though I've now got a "permanent" post, that dreadful anxiety is still with me. I often think of the PVC who told me "well you don't look exploited".

But it is tho…chatting with ai should be considered like chatting with a malevolent demon that may seem like it can help you but you can never trust it and it may well drive you into madness

A reminder that we did this.

(And had to pay Mirror Group Newspapers for the copyright of the text, one of the finest rights payments I’ve ever approved.)

I'm going to reach Meldrew Point late next month. Excuse me while I crumble into dust.

There's a John Finnemore sketch about a police officer who explains to his superior that he's not corrupt, he's just rubbish. We should deserve better from the people running the country, but that doesn't seem to be the trend right now.

One of the things that has kept me moderately hopeful over the past ten years is the belief that sooner or later (and sooner than most in the political class think) it will become politically impossible not to propose rejoining.

Pudding, an adorable little black and white cat, sitting on the very chair I previously occupied until about 30 seconds earlier. She doesn't seem particularly remorseful.

Pudding, Stealer of Chairs, from a different but equally unrepentant angle. I don't imagine she's going to move any time soon unless bribed with snacks.

"Oh, were you sitting here?"

For goodness sake, tax the rich. Don't tax the poor, they've got no money.

“It’s time to apply for our amazing funding of £700. It’s highly competitive and must result in three academic journal articles. It does not cover subsistence costs, we expect you to pay these yourself with your job which you don’t have.”

In case people are confused by Matt Goodwin's suggestion that all academics get masses of funding from dodgy organisations, let's be clear: the best most of us can do is a few small grants that cover expenses for the occasional train journey to London.

Ooh, that looks interesting - thanks!

I remember a fragment of a short film where someone peers closely at an inkblot on a map, and has a vision of a terrifying ghostly apparition. Years later I read the MR James ghost story "Mr Humphreys and his Inheritance" and recognised the scene. This is the film I saw: youtu.be/8cNvma-h7KA

Thanks! My depression was only on the mild/moderate end of things, and I muddled through mostly ok, but medication has definitely helped. And I got another piece of the puzzle the other week - it turns out I've got ADHD. So I'm going to be exploring medication options for that too.

I avoided them for decades, because it felt like it somehow wouldn't count unless I got better through sheer force of will. But you don't actually get extra points for doing things the hard way, and it turns out one tiny pill a day rebalances my brain chemistry and helps me function.

Man Who Threw Molotov Cocktail At Sam Altman’s Home Claims He Was Following ChatGPT Recipe For Risotto

Man Who Threw Molotov Cocktail At Sam Altman’s Home Claims He Was Following ChatGPT Recipe For Risotto theonion.com/man-who-threw-molotov-co...

There was one for a while, "Pope Michael I", but apparently he died a few years ago, so I guess there's a vacancy now. In his case, Vatican II was the issue, which all seems rather quaint compared to the full-on evangelical fascism of today.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_B...

Any random billionaire or even merely millionaire executive controlling literally everything, would die in a gristly manner in about a week of living like a normal person with a normal job.

Once in GCSE music we had to arrange something for string quartet and I just couldn't figure out the viola line. My teacher sarcastically wrote "I thought you didn't like atonal avant garde music?" on my work.

Berlioz invented concept albums. The only reason Symphonie Fantastique and Harold In Italy were not so-called is that 33 rpm vinyl records were not invented until 80 years after his death.

If you see this, post a character from Spaced.

I was at (my 27th) Eastercon and it really was lovely sharing the hotel with you all. There were so many amazing costumes, and you brought such enthusiasm and joy with you. I hope we can do this again sometime.

Moon flaw I elaborated to blithering idiot (5,4)

BBC - Relics: Einstein's Brain (1994) YouTube video by Ipso Facto

The most ridiculous thing I've ever encountered on April Fools’ Day was a jaw-dropping documentary about a Japanese professor tracking down Einstein’s brain, being given a piece (cut off on kitchen chopping board), then celebrating with karaoke
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8-V...

Gosh, I remember that, it was brilliant and weird. I think the doctor never asked permission to nick Einstein's brain, he just did it. And if I remember correctly at the time of the documentary he wasn't working as a doctor any more, but in a sheet metal factory. I need to watch it again.

Floor tiles arranged like a Pythagoras proof, except vertices of internal square don’t touch the sides of the outer square.

An almost Pythagoras proof found on the floor of the hotel I’m staying in.

This is brilliant. Thanks and congratulations to everyone involved in the recovery of these episodes.

I really hope staff are going around with boxes to everyone’s houses saying “knock knock”

See also: "when did Doctor Who start getting political?" to which the answer is "November 1963".

(The Doctor, et al introduce a tribe of cavemen to the concept of democracy and direct action, and enable the workers to seize the means of production.)

I want to hire a removal van, but also to show everyone I’m a true patriot.

Say no more, Sir. I have just the thing.