The Matthew Doyle story shows that jobs for the boys are just as much a thing as they ever were. For any ordinary person the appointment process would have strict rules applied. Good on Ollie Robbins that this one didn’t happen, but very depressing all the same.
Post just arrived. At 7:15 in the evening. We only get it about once a week, so maybe evening deliveries are a sign of progress?
Blogging is painful but essential for preserving my work beyond my lifetime. I discuss the steps I take, from metadata to digital preservation, and why it's worth it.
eve.gd/2026/04/19/the-necessary...
A very large black spider on a white wall.
Here it is.
We have a house guest. It had found a cosy home in my bath towel, which gave me the fright of my life this morning after a relaxing Sunday morning bath. It has now climbed a wall and is looking down on us. Who will buckle first? Pic in reply so arachnophobes can avoid it.
In a classic overheard in Waitrose moment, I have defrosted guinea fowl supremes instead of duck breasts, too late to change the recipe entirely. Duck fat replaced by extra butter should do the job.
A rather well targeted scam this morning. An email from Sigrid Rausing arrives, offering me financial business propositions because I am an active user on the Internet. All I need to do is email her hotmail account. Shall I? After all, she does fund big library projects. Good of her to reach out.
A new venue has opened near us, with some interesting names performing. And food, but can I eat there? No clue. They aim to be culturally credible, emotionally resonant, and open to those who move with intention. Food will be contextual. Nope, me neither.
The very best of British TV. I can still quote reams of it. That poor sad boy in the childrens’ home who worried so much. “But what if I don’t like greens?” I hope this final episode with a new director does the participants justice.
It's going to become increasingly challenging to identify when, in the authorship and publishing process, AI hallucinations were introduced. Mass-scale publishing leaders are as keen for the technology as other CEOs and it means that reference parsing, for instance, could go through an LLM.
Kent County Council sells Anthony Gormley artwork that has adorned the entrance to a flagship library. Heritage & Culture sure is safe with Reform UK (and they just spent more on parking spaces for themselves than they have on the trumpeted Sittingbourne Library upgrade) www.newsbeep.com/uk/529201/
For years, but especially in the last few months, I have been trying hard to imagine what it will feel like seeing Orban decisively defeated. I just couldn't. And yet here we are: it is truly and well over. I have more reservations about Peter Magyar than I could say in 300 characters or a thread...
one immediate dramatic consequence of the Hungarian result:
Magyar has promised to repair relations with the EU and unblock a €90bn EU loan for Ukraine
Sometimes things don’t go, after all,
from bad to worse... Let’s hope Sheenagh Pugh was right #Hungary
We have enough kiwi fruit to feed an army. Do armies eat kiwi fruit?
Slowly getting back to normal after a disrupted week hospital visiting and tending to the sick. It is amazing how quickly fruit goes off when you neglect it for a few days. Bin duty today was truly yuk.
don’t want it fluffy, just soft and creamy. And today there was someone who made it in advance, kept it in the fridge for two days, and then didn’t like it. Well, duh. There is something to be said for the tried and tested, literally, recipe book.
I hope nobody follows cooking advice on social media without double checking first. Including from me, of course. Bearing that in mind, I make very good scrambled eggs. Always have. Eggs, butter, S&P, low heat, time, stirring. That is how I do it. I have seen people add water to make it fluffy. I …
I buy great food at my local farmers’ market, but I don’t recommend it for medical advice. I have no intention of ever drinking raw milk, and until I hear otherwise from a serious scientific source I will continue to use seed oils. Always open to scientific proof.
Really? Trial and error got me there, but really? Wordle 1,756 6/6
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All that has been lost so far in the USA because of the Trump regime.
National Security Archives @nsarchive.bsky.social Virtual Exhibit: A Disappearing Data Chronology
#archives #library 📚
nsarchive.gwu.edu/special-exhi...
A path through beds of spring flowers, with a sign saying Breathe under pink blossom.
Hospital patient now safely home and recovering. Service from St George’s exemplary, despite the current strike. Nurses doing 12 hour shifts on the wards, which must be tough, but does give continuity for patients. Gardens and art on the walls all help. Now breathe.
Getter better, thanks. I hope you are fully recovered now.
A path lined with trees in blossom and spring bulbs below.
A display of deep red tulips with an ambulance behind.
A close up of bluish purple spring flowers
The gardens at St Georges Hospital are a great joy at this time of year. I hope nobody ever quibbles about the cost. A haven where staff, visitors and patients can stop and breathe. Many thanks to the gardening team. They make a difference.
Things that help calm the nervous system, quickly:
- Box breathing (in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4, repeat)
- Immerse your face in cold water (activates mammalian dive reflex)
- Humming (stimulates vagus nerve)
- Exercise (anything helps, outside even better)
- Impeachment and removal
Hospital visiting today. Maybe a controversial opinion, but pleased that visiting hours are restricted to afternoon and early evening. Gives medical staff time to do their jobs, and patients and family members time to rest. So long as it can be flexible when necessary, this seems very sensible.
A man sitting at a working desk, in 1540 setting, with a drinking cup, a few books, a writing desk with paper sheets, and lots of more details.
Working the morning shift as a scholar in 1540, a browser tab and a word document opened on two screens, other needed texts opened and handy, an overfull mail account nearby, and a hot beverage in reach to make for the best working condition. Bonus: wearing a thinking hat. #academicchatter
Having had a family medical crisis over the last few days, I have to say that NHS 111 and St George’s A&E were brilliant. Well, apart from the collapsing chair in A&E that nearly added me to the patient list. I suppose that is the story of the NHS. Give them all the money!
Very proud of myself for getting today’s in one. #Worldle #1538 (08.04.2026) 1/6 (100%)
🔥 Current Win Streak: 118 days
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worldle.teuteuf.fr/share
Palestinian writer Omar Hamad founded the Phoenix Library—the Gaza Strip’s first public library—built in the wake of Israel’s ongoing genocide.
Read his tale of displacement, weighed by worry and book stacks, and support the Library as a place of refuge:
www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2026/04...