Reposted by Ken MacLeod
Would Comfortables be just as supportive of "The ambulance service is under strain so they will no longer be responding to calls from houses in council tax bands G and higher" do you think?
November 26, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Would Comfortables be just as supportive of "The ambulance service is under strain so they will no longer be responding to calls from houses in council tax bands G and higher" do you think?
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
@amendlocke.bsky.social calls it "darkly comic SF that leaves most serious SF in the dust: endlessly inventive and surprising, with a sharp take on the ethical quandaries of operating the most destructive interstellar drive in the history of science fiction.”
November 26, 2025 at 10:38 AM
@amendlocke.bsky.social calls it "darkly comic SF that leaves most serious SF in the dust: endlessly inventive and surprising, with a sharp take on the ethical quandaries of operating the most destructive interstellar drive in the history of science fiction.”
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
Every single person in Britain: "the chippy" or, if we're being fancy, "the chip shop"
The New York Times: "the french fry restaurant"
The New York Times: "the french fry restaurant"
new favourite New York Times term for a British thing just dropped
November 26, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Every single person in Britain: "the chippy" or, if we're being fancy, "the chip shop"
The New York Times: "the french fry restaurant"
The New York Times: "the french fry restaurant"
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
"Speculators may do no harm as bubbles on a steady stream of enterprise. But the position is serious when enterprise becomes the bubble on a whirlpool of speculation."—Keynes
November 26, 2025 at 2:43 AM
"Speculators may do no harm as bubbles on a steady stream of enterprise. But the position is serious when enterprise becomes the bubble on a whirlpool of speculation."—Keynes
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
I'm at Waterstones Nottingham tomorrow evening, talking with Marisa Haetzman about Ambrose Parry and Jack Parlabane.
www.waterstones.com/.../an-eveni...
www.waterstones.com/.../an-eveni...
November 26, 2025 at 10:28 AM
I'm at Waterstones Nottingham tomorrow evening, talking with Marisa Haetzman about Ambrose Parry and Jack Parlabane.
www.waterstones.com/.../an-eveni...
www.waterstones.com/.../an-eveni...
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
ANNOUNCEMENT
January 15th marks five years since the Fermi flew off into space in Dyson's Fear, destroying the Earth
.
To celebrate I'm releasing Fermi's Wake in paperback and omnibus e-book!
Pre-order the ebook here:
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
Or here!:
scarletferret.com/books/fermis...
January 15th marks five years since the Fermi flew off into space in Dyson's Fear, destroying the Earth
.
To celebrate I'm releasing Fermi's Wake in paperback and omnibus e-book!
Pre-order the ebook here:
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
Or here!:
scarletferret.com/books/fermis...
November 26, 2025 at 10:33 AM
ANNOUNCEMENT
January 15th marks five years since the Fermi flew off into space in Dyson's Fear, destroying the Earth
.
To celebrate I'm releasing Fermi's Wake in paperback and omnibus e-book!
Pre-order the ebook here:
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
Or here!:
scarletferret.com/books/fermis...
January 15th marks five years since the Fermi flew off into space in Dyson's Fear, destroying the Earth
.
To celebrate I'm releasing Fermi's Wake in paperback and omnibus e-book!
Pre-order the ebook here:
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
Or here!:
scarletferret.com/books/fermis...
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Wednesday 26 November 2025
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Wednesday 26 November 2025
£1M for Mortons Rolls staff, Ibrox could be expanded, sugar tax to hit Irn-Bru, Santa Dash road closures, phones heist at Hydro gig + crimes against women increase
open.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:44 AM
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Wednesday 26 November 2025
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Tuesday 25 November 2025
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Tuesday 25 November 2025
Dozens march for Whitehill Pool, Silverburn Glasgow 'best mall in the UK', tributes to Red Onion's John Quigley, Cathedral Square taped off, fresh skyscraper plans, + West End Christmas celebration
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:17 AM
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Tuesday 25 November 2025
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
Shocking, but not surprising.
Oh FFS, Today Christmas guest editors, tax dodger James Dyson an ex Tory PM and head of AI from Microsoft…. Why not get some genuinely interesting people? Someone who volunteers in a food bank, a doctor who works in a&e, a Welsh hill farmer…. BBC has completely lost its way.
November 24, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Shocking, but not surprising.
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Monday 24 November 2025
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Monday 24 November 2025
George Square statues' items 'inappropriate', protest against refugee language lessons, housing secretary refuses council's asylum seeker pleas, Amen Teklay's birthday tribute + £1.5m for Govan
open.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:05 AM
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Monday 24 November 2025
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
James “B.V.” Thomson (1834–1882) – poet, journalist, translator, anarchist, atheist – was born #OTD, 23 Nov, in Port Glasgow. Best-known for his long poem THE CITY OF DREADFUL NIGHT, he influenced TS Eliot & is seen as a progenitor of #Modernism
#poetry
1/4
psychogeographicreview.com/the-city-of-...
#poetry
1/4
psychogeographicreview.com/the-city-of-...
The City of Dreadful Night
James Thomson was a Scottish-born poet, atheist and anarchist. He struggled with depression, insomnia and alcohol-abuse throughout his short life and his work frequently reflected the bleakness and…
psychogeographicreview.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:48 PM
James “B.V.” Thomson (1834–1882) – poet, journalist, translator, anarchist, atheist – was born #OTD, 23 Nov, in Port Glasgow. Best-known for his long poem THE CITY OF DREADFUL NIGHT, he influenced TS Eliot & is seen as a progenitor of #Modernism
#poetry
1/4
psychogeographicreview.com/the-city-of-...
#poetry
1/4
psychogeographicreview.com/the-city-of-...
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
The fact that in both 2019 and 2024, the winning party did so with a set of manifesto promises that could not be kept and dissolved upon contact with actual office is something that as an industry we should be much more bothered by than we are.
November 23, 2025 at 12:35 PM
The fact that in both 2019 and 2024, the winning party did so with a set of manifesto promises that could not be kept and dissolved upon contact with actual office is something that as an industry we should be much more bothered by than we are.
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
Edinburgh or Shield Generator Complex on the Forest Moon of Endor?
November 23, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Edinburgh or Shield Generator Complex on the Forest Moon of Endor?
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
this just shows how the Western family unit has completely broken down because in Asia we all have uncles to fulfill this function in our lives
November 23, 2025 at 11:21 AM
this just shows how the Western family unit has completely broken down because in Asia we all have uncles to fulfill this function in our lives
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
Longblog on John Clare's 1820s poem "The Mores": profadamroberts.substack.com/p/john-clare...
John Clare, ‘The Mores’ (1825)
Enclosed and Unenclosed
profadamroberts.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Longblog on John Clare's 1820s poem "The Mores": profadamroberts.substack.com/p/john-clare...
This week's Rebel Britannia, by @rebelbrit.bsky.social, tells of Sir Richard Acland: 'an eccentric toff, there’s no denying that, but that didn’t stop him doing some highly useful work throughout his life.' open.substack.com/pub/rebelbri...
Rebel Britannia
24th November 1990:
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:48 AM
This week's Rebel Britannia, by @rebelbrit.bsky.social, tells of Sir Richard Acland: 'an eccentric toff, there’s no denying that, but that didn’t stop him doing some highly useful work throughout his life.' open.substack.com/pub/rebelbri...
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
November 21, 2025 at 2:49 AM
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞 Weekend Guide 21 - 23 November 2025
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞 Weekend Guide 21 - 23 November 2025
Glasgow Airport immortalises Scotland goal, three charged in ashes scandal, cyclist hospitalised after crash, communities outside LEZ raise concerns, new Glasgow Airport routes + The Weekend Guide
open.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:14 AM
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞 Weekend Guide 21 - 23 November 2025
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
The London Minute ⏰ Friday 21 November 2025
open.substack.com/pub/londonmi...
open.substack.com/pub/londonmi...
The London Minute ⏰ Friday 21 November 2025
Oxford Street's new traffic plan, Finsbury Park festival tree fears, Brixton mural unveiled + Design Museum’s new Wes Anderson exhibition opens
open.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:12 AM
The London Minute ⏰ Friday 21 November 2025
open.substack.com/pub/londonmi...
open.substack.com/pub/londonmi...
The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Weekend edition: 21 - 23 November 2025
www.edinburghminute.com/the-edinburg...
www.edinburghminute.com/the-edinburg...
The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Weekend edition: 24 - 26 October 2025
New concert hall gets £20m 'lifeline', St James Quarter in Westfield deal, weekend protests + Portobello Food Market returns
www.edinburghminute.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:07 AM
The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Weekend edition: 21 - 23 November 2025
www.edinburghminute.com/the-edinburg...
www.edinburghminute.com/the-edinburg...
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
"there was a young man with a dream
of making methamphetamine
...
of making methamphetamine
...
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 21, 2025 at 9:00 AM
"there was a young man with a dream
of making methamphetamine
...
of making methamphetamine
...
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
And today I learned that in 1962 the BBC let Jaquetta Hawkes imagine the archaeology of apocalyptic Britain. As a short film 👀10/10 Will weird your day youtu.be/c8yEIe69M4k?...
1962: What Was Britain Like Before the Apocalypse? | Monitor: The Lonely Shore | BBC Archive
YouTube video by BBC Archive
youtu.be
November 20, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
It’s the exclusive everyone wanted, the story that will win next year’s Pulitzer…
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
London's giant AI artwork to be torn down
The bizarre story of why a much-talked-about creation is being torn down. Plus: Docklands Light Railway extension, giant laser stalks the night sky, and more tales of Android phone theft rejection.
www.londoncentric.media
November 20, 2025 at 7:18 AM
It’s the exclusive everyone wanted, the story that will win next year’s Pulitzer…
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Thursday 20 November 2025
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Thursday 20 November 2025
Work begins on 173 Dalmarnock homes, man jailed for January murder, new hotel plans rejected, number of homeless children rises, First Bus workers could strike + arrest made in sweetie-stealing spree
open.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:14 AM
The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Thursday 20 November 2025
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
open.substack.com/pub/theglasg...
Reposted by Ken MacLeod
Always repost Paul Robeson singing I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night to Scottish coal miners.
Remembering Joe Hill on the 110th anniversary of his murder by the state of Utah.
Paul Robeson singing "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night" to Scottish coal miners in 1949.
Paul Robeson singing "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night" to Scottish coal miners in 1949.
November 19, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Always repost Paul Robeson singing I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night to Scottish coal miners.