Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 4h

You want to know about the Tories 20% base? There's a major chunk of it.

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 4h

There's a lot of talk here about the terminally online (left and right). I've just been to see my Daily Mail reading, terminally OFFLINE parents.

It's like I was visiting another planet. No problems with Badenoch. High support within party and country. No serious play for reform, modest criticism.

1 1

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 8h

We got beets!

2

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 22h

I've just had a 'solid chocolate kitkat' moment. The restaurant we were at got my order wrong and brought a small instead of large plate. To make good they brought a second for no additional cost.

I had two teas!*

This will be family legend forever now.

*I'm so full.

3

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 1d

It's pretty solid on foot/bike too from what I remember (I was there in 2010)

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 1d

It's a bit like the difference between greatest hits Queen and album Queen.

1

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 1d

I liked it. About a week's worth of stuff to do. Prob less strong if you don't eat meat or fish...

1 1

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 1d

Since I was a teen I'm keen to look at deep cuts and influences of my favourite bands. I knew Deep Purple were a big influence on Maiden but they never clicked with me. As a consequence Rainbow entirely passed me by for more than 25 years...

I'm always happy to be one of the 10,000

xkcd.com/1053/

1 1

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 1d

It's Open Day so back to campus. I'm not on the bike so the next best thing, and my current earworm for a soundtrack.

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 1d

I'm now largely right-handed as my mum made me do everything right handed when I was little.

I use scissors left-handed, knife and fork/spoons the wrong way round. I can use tools with whatever hand is easiest to no real detriment.

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 2d

Have faith! You have to camp out on them.

Nobody ever believes me but in more than a decade it's never failed me.

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 2d

In truly sad news, I learned that Eatwells has shut. So marks the passing of the last place to get a decent sausage/bacon butty on campus (unless has any good intel they want to pony up!)

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 3d

I get these sentiments. Really I do (and I'm not quoting them because it's not a dunk) but they're hard to square when, for example (this happened) you're literally being chased down the street by someone wanting to fight you because they were walking in the cycle lane and you said "excuse me".

The truth is that you win just by being there.

Don't apologise because you're acting properly

Just cycle you are winning already. It is their problem not yours

3

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 3d

Those are rookie numbers!

1

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 3d

Hah. It's perhaps the one thing I've never* actually had grief about personally. Glad I don't have to open that can of worms!

*OK, once

1

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 3d

Even then (and this is just me, and not necessarily extrapolating too heavily), I get sense there is a stronger sense of pedestrian norms/behaviours. Never really seen anyone question a zebra crossing, walking against traffic when no paths, the little weird wave people do on zebras etc.

4

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 3d

I guess I was contrasting it with my experiences in the Netherlands (especially utrecht, delft and Rotterdam) where there seemed to be a clearly defined culture and Norms. Steam gives way to sail, but for example very few people straying into the bike lanes.

1 9

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 3d

I think there's some really interesting research to be done about what the UK's culture surrounding cycling does, could and should look like. And how you might make that happen in a practical way.

Plenty to go off in answering q1...

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 4d

On this tour one of the themes is that in the UK we have almost zero settled cycle culture. There's no settled way how to behave on a bike, how others might expect you to behave, how you might expect others to behave.

We have the highway code, which is car brain.

bsky.app/profile/alex...

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 6d

It was nice to show some Planning students from Sciences Po Rennes around some of Liverpool's cycling infra developed since 2020.

I found myself frequently inviting them to draw their own conclusions. Good? Bad? Useful? Dangerous? Would they use it?

4

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 4d

Who saw this coming? Not me. No sir.

David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 4d

This sounds "bad" 🤔

Faisal Islam @faisalislam

NEW

Bank of England:

value of Al tech companies "appear stretched" with a rising risk of a "sharp correction” saying that on some profit measures it was “comparable to the peak of the dotcom bubble".

1

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 4d

Yeah I agree. It was one of the findings of our paper from a few years back - for us around pierhead/lord st/church st.

This afternoon a big chunk of it was the river/prom. Same deal.

activetravelstudies.org/article/id/1...

Bikes! Camera! Action? Exploring the Everyday Behaviours of Urban Cycling to Inform Lessons for Infrastructure Planners

This paper uses a video-based methodology to explore everyday cycling practices in a city that is not well-known for its cycling provision – namely Liverpool, UK. By looking at the way everyday c...

activetravelstudies.org

1

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 4d

Ran out of characters - I could go for a long while.

Riding in a segregated cycleway: get grief.

Your bike is noisy over cobbles: get grief.

Don't wear high viz: get grief

DO Wear high viz: also get grief.

2 14

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 4d

On this tour one of the themes is that in the UK we have almost zero settled cycle culture. There's no settled way how to behave on a bike, how others might expect you to behave, how you might expect others to behave.

We have the highway code, which is car brain.

bsky.app/profile/alex...

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 6d

It was nice to show some Planning students from Sciences Po Rennes around some of Liverpool's cycling infra developed since 2020.

I found myself frequently inviting them to draw their own conclusions. Good? Bad? Useful? Dangerous? Would they use it?

A linear park with a footpath and segregated cycleway, on an autumn day with leaves on the ground.

1 2 21

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 4d

Cycle on a pavement: get grief. Cycle on the road: get grief. Cycle in a shared-use space: get grief. Cycle on a *checks notes* National Cycle Route: get grief.

Cycle like a ninja: get grief. Use your voice: how dare you. Use your bell: also, how dare you.

You. Just. Can't. Win.

10 15 110

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 5d

There's also a "what has local government ever done for us?" conversation to be had.

It's frankly amazing how some of these authorities have managed to keep on* trucking in the last 15 years.

*barely.

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 5d

It is also deeply unhealthy to have local govts who don’t provide many visible/valuable services for most residents (because they lack the resources). Encourages distrust and populism - “what am I paying my council tax for? The council does nothing for me.”

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 5d

Amazed this is still going ahead - basic and obvious problem is that essentially everything local government does now is for the poor. You can’t move it around without really hurting poor people somewhere!

1 1

Alex Nurse @alexnurse.bsky.social · 5d

Most people with kids will tell you that at least every once in a while you have to follow through or you're done.

To butcher Teddy Roosevelt: "Authority" isn't just just constant rollockings or hiding the telly plug.

1 1