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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 2h

Now I (old, expensive, no research income, an annoying outspoken git) am clearly the sort of person likely to be made redundant. But I cannot see how striking will change this. Quoting assets of £3bn which is mostly buildings does't help. (3/3)

Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 2h

" [...] and since it costs £120million per month to run the University, even if that cash could be used it would only last 3 or 4 months. Prudent responsible leadership requires longer-term planning than 3 or 4 months." (2/3)

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 2h

I asked @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social and the Principal about this recently. The principal's reply was :

"Of the much-quoted £3Billion, about 15% is cash, some of it restricted ie cannot be used for anything other than the original purpose for which it was given [...]" (1/3),

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 2h

I suggest that if we are going to post content from @privateeyenews.bsky.social then we should tag them as they do have an active account here. Also: go and subscribe. You might not agree with everything they write, but they are one of the few news outlets not owned by a rightwing billionaire.

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 3h

If people cannot assemble all their thoughts into a coherent message (preferably an email) before sending them, I would call them a <rude name redacted>. It is bad enough monitoring email without having to monitor Teams as well.

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 3h

I just remembered a student writing "hot pot" instead of "hot spot" or "hotspot". I pointed out that you might have to go to Hawai'i to find a hotspot, but you could find a hot pot in Lancashire.

(You can find an unrelated hot pot in 四川of course.)

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 3h

Any of my colleagues who teach Earth Sciences in its widest sense will enjoy this thread and may have something to contribute to it.

(Also, if you are not following @edithrojas.bsky.social you probably want to.)

Rhyolite_Prof @edithrojas.bsky.social · 13h

Students calling a rock VASCULAR instead of VESICULAR will always be funny!

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 5h

Oh, goodness, the evil that is done by spell checkers. I am forever telling students to use them, but to watch out for technical terms that the checker does not know being changed to a similar looking word that means something else.

Commonest geophysics example: remanent changed to remnant.

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 5h

Thanks --- it is so long since I went there that I don't remember the murals. I should pay another visit.

Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 19h

Every bellringer agreeing with that one. Moved next to a church with a huge tower? Failed to check whether it had an active band of clanking learners or "surprise royal" wizards? Tough.

Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

For example Chris Hinchcliff (Lab) earned a massive £56, but Nigel Farage's circle is not 21000 times larger. (2/2)

Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

The original interactive graphic is quite good once you get to it past Reach PLC's wall of flashing adverts. Do note that the areas of the circles is NOT proportional to the amount earned; this is necessary to ensure that the small earners are large enough to click on. (1/2)

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

That is why I said "might" --- one hears noises about MPs' expenses but I don't know enough about it to say if the system needs changing, or how.

Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

I mean . . . bsky.app/profile/sund...

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 1d

GB News pay party political leader Nigel Farage over half a million pounds. The TV channel pays him five times his MP salary - and as much as his other 11 further external jobs put together
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...

Nigel Farage earns over £1m from 12 'second jobs' - check how much your MP earns

The Reform UK leader's most lucrative second jobs include hosting on GB News, serving as a brand ambassador for Direct Bullion and recording videos for Cameo

www.mirror.co.uk

Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

Bigging up this post because it is a correct take. For a start it would cause Nigel F*r*ge to lose all interest in politics.

There might also need to be a review of how MPs expenses work, how they pay their staff etc.

Scott Pack @meandmybigmouth.bsky.social · 1d

MPs should be paid more. Maybe £150k or so. Could even be a bit higher. Basically, a shit-hot salary that almost anyone would be delighted to earn.

But they are not allowed any other income whatsoever. No other paid work. No donations. Nothing.

They have one job, one salary. End of.

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

This is an interesting read for anyone who does any education at all.

As an aside, I lived in #Mississippi for three years as a grad student at @olemiss.bsky.social . I am pleased to hear that the state that was my adopted home for a while getting something right.

Carl Hendrick @carlhendrick.substack.com · 1d

Comfortable Fictions: The Myth of Multiple Intelligences carlhendrick.substack.com/p/comfortabl...

Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

As you know (but other readers might not) the proper pronunciation is "penny-cook". The temptation for an incomer is to pronounce the last syllable as "coo-ick" or "cyoo-ick".

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

I have a lovely book written by the staff of the Vatican observatory, about the green flash. The book has many colour photographs demonstrating that the flash is a real physical phenomenon (people used to question this). I stole the book out of a pile that my employers were throwing out.

Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

For anyone reading this thread, but not some of the other quote-posts of the original, I would hate you to miss this: bsky.app/profile/ncdo...

New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 1d

My strange affectation is tudbright
The a sigh that is faintly lugudbright
Ous when you ask whavie
All my friends in Milngavie
Suspect that I come from Kirkcudbright.

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 1d

What’s the word where you’re from that, when pronounced exactly as it looks, identifies a tourist immediately?

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

You might say that. I couldn't possibly comment.

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

The one that bit me when I first moved to the Lothians was Penicuik.

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

I already added Milngavie to the replies to the original post. (I was warned about it by a colleague who had previously worked in Glasgow, so I never made the mistake myself.)

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

I'll bite: how do you say that? I have lived in the area for 25 years, but Athelstaneford is small enough that I never heard a local say it.

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Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

From where I grew up in Cheshire, England: Cholmondeley (pronounced Chumley). From where I live in central Scotland: Milngavie (pronounced something like "Molgai")

Hugh Pumphrey @hughpumphrey.bsky.social · 1d

Wins on "Fast as C". Might win on "scalable" depending on what you mean by scalable.

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