Malcolm Noble
@malcolmjnoble.bsky.social
Bibliographer & historian with broad interests, incl. business and economic hisotry, queer print, oral history, co-operative HE. he/him www.malcolmnoble.co.uk
Pinned
Malcolm Noble
@malcolmjnoble.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Hi! I am an economic and social historian with broad, interdisciplinary interests that need a thread. C19th local government finance, business history, co-operative education, and queer print are my principal preoccupations; there are others. 1/
Hockey, presumably
Me watching every single Olympic event:
“Wow, that seems hard”
“Wow, that seems hard”
February 8, 2026 at 10:20 PM
Hockey, presumably
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
Me watching every single Olympic event:
“Wow, that seems hard”
“Wow, that seems hard”
February 8, 2026 at 9:39 PM
Me watching every single Olympic event:
“Wow, that seems hard”
“Wow, that seems hard”
Something very relatable here
A. C. Benson on M. R. James as Provost of King’s: ‘He lives his old easy life, quite alone, quite contented, hating his business meetings … hopes that nothing will happen to disturb him, catalogues MSS, reads Dickens & plays cards’.
February 8, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Something very relatable here
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
CFP
The Incredible Nineteenth Century: Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Fairy Tale
1–2 May, free online
Presentations invited on any aspect of #sciencefiction, #fantasy, or #fairytale in the Long #C19 as well as modern reinterpretations of the #C19 in literature & media
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
The Incredible Nineteenth Century: Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Fairy Tale
1–2 May, free online
Presentations invited on any aspect of #sciencefiction, #fantasy, or #fairytale in the Long #C19 as well as modern reinterpretations of the #C19 in literature & media
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
I19 Conference 2026
Hosted via Zoom, May 1-2. Submissions due April 4.
docs.google.com
February 7, 2026 at 1:03 PM
CFP
The Incredible Nineteenth Century: Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Fairy Tale
1–2 May, free online
Presentations invited on any aspect of #sciencefiction, #fantasy, or #fairytale in the Long #C19 as well as modern reinterpretations of the #C19 in literature & media
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
The Incredible Nineteenth Century: Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Fairy Tale
1–2 May, free online
Presentations invited on any aspect of #sciencefiction, #fantasy, or #fairytale in the Long #C19 as well as modern reinterpretations of the #C19 in literature & media
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
In these dark days of February, a little something to look forward to.
February 7, 2026 at 6:42 AM
In these dark days of February, a little something to look forward to.
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
EXCLUSIVE: allies of Keir Starmer say they have never seen him so peeved, and that he spent all of Friday saying "oooh I'm VERY annoyed at myself!"
They added he's really beating himself up right now and that's worse than any formal punishment parliament could give so they shouldn't bother probably
They added he's really beating himself up right now and that's worse than any formal punishment parliament could give so they shouldn't bother probably
February 7, 2026 at 10:43 AM
EXCLUSIVE: allies of Keir Starmer say they have never seen him so peeved, and that he spent all of Friday saying "oooh I'm VERY annoyed at myself!"
They added he's really beating himself up right now and that's worse than any formal punishment parliament could give so they shouldn't bother probably
They added he's really beating himself up right now and that's worse than any formal punishment parliament could give so they shouldn't bother probably
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
Left: Emily Thornberry explains that Labour and Keir Starmer do want to end tuition fees for students but asks, "Where do we get the money from?"
Right: Labour trying to make Brexit work makes up £90 billion poorer a year
#RejoinEU
Right: Labour trying to make Brexit work makes up £90 billion poorer a year
#RejoinEU
February 2, 2026 at 11:58 PM
Left: Emily Thornberry explains that Labour and Keir Starmer do want to end tuition fees for students but asks, "Where do we get the money from?"
Right: Labour trying to make Brexit work makes up £90 billion poorer a year
#RejoinEU
Right: Labour trying to make Brexit work makes up £90 billion poorer a year
#RejoinEU
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
New on FT website:
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
www.ft.com/content/5bba...
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
www.ft.com/content/5bba...
Starmer faces questions over visit to Palantir office alongside Mandelson
Former ambassador was also shareholder in lobbying group that counted US tech firm as a client
www.ft.com
February 7, 2026 at 8:20 AM
New on FT website:
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
www.ft.com/content/5bba...
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
www.ft.com/content/5bba...
This meet-cute will appeal to many on here:
"We met at Printed Matter in Chelsea – I was working as a bibliographer and he was curating an event there. He showed up to a meeting, like, 20 minutes late..."
www.ft.com/content/2a22...
"We met at Printed Matter in Chelsea – I was working as a bibliographer and he was curating an event there. He showed up to a meeting, like, 20 minutes late..."
www.ft.com/content/2a22...
Salter House founder Sandeep Salter: ‘I love nightgowns in the day’
The gallerist and shopkeeper champions nightwear for any occasion
www.ft.com
February 7, 2026 at 10:16 AM
This meet-cute will appeal to many on here:
"We met at Printed Matter in Chelsea – I was working as a bibliographer and he was curating an event there. He showed up to a meeting, like, 20 minutes late..."
www.ft.com/content/2a22...
"We met at Printed Matter in Chelsea – I was working as a bibliographer and he was curating an event there. He showed up to a meeting, like, 20 minutes late..."
www.ft.com/content/2a22...
Dim-witted minister surprised that someone known as "Prince of Darkness" is of less than immaculate morality.
Just thinking how we’re going to have to go through all of this again in twenty years with Lord Streeting.
Wes Streeting saying on Today that Mandelson is ‘not the man we thought he was’ but the trouble is, he is exactly the man we thought, just on a much worse scale than almost anyone thought. And there is an alternative world where none of this is this govt’s problem, because they never gave him a job
February 4, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Dim-witted minister surprised that someone known as "Prince of Darkness" is of less than immaculate morality.
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
I call this one “Heated Rivalry”
January 31, 2026 at 3:14 AM
I call this one “Heated Rivalry”
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
You can test new tech ideas using the Seinfeld Test
Would the product eliminate the plot of an episode? (Google maps, cell phones, paypal, battery packs)
Good tech.
Would the product inspire new Seinfeld plots? (NFTs, AI chatbots, crypto currency, blindboxes, metaverse land sales)
Bad tech.
Would the product eliminate the plot of an episode? (Google maps, cell phones, paypal, battery packs)
Good tech.
Would the product inspire new Seinfeld plots? (NFTs, AI chatbots, crypto currency, blindboxes, metaverse land sales)
Bad tech.
January 31, 2026 at 6:57 AM
You can test new tech ideas using the Seinfeld Test
Would the product eliminate the plot of an episode? (Google maps, cell phones, paypal, battery packs)
Good tech.
Would the product inspire new Seinfeld plots? (NFTs, AI chatbots, crypto currency, blindboxes, metaverse land sales)
Bad tech.
Would the product eliminate the plot of an episode? (Google maps, cell phones, paypal, battery packs)
Good tech.
Would the product inspire new Seinfeld plots? (NFTs, AI chatbots, crypto currency, blindboxes, metaverse land sales)
Bad tech.
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
Beloved fellow academics, please don't fall for the Let's All Worship Overwork signals that have been going around for the last couple of weeks
"But tech bros do it! Haruki Murakami does it!"
1) let's ask how---ie, who's making dinner? hmmmm
and
2) the ideas don't get better when you overwork
"But tech bros do it! Haruki Murakami does it!"
1) let's ask how---ie, who's making dinner? hmmmm
and
2) the ideas don't get better when you overwork
January 29, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Beloved fellow academics, please don't fall for the Let's All Worship Overwork signals that have been going around for the last couple of weeks
"But tech bros do it! Haruki Murakami does it!"
1) let's ask how---ie, who's making dinner? hmmmm
and
2) the ideas don't get better when you overwork
"But tech bros do it! Haruki Murakami does it!"
1) let's ask how---ie, who's making dinner? hmmmm
and
2) the ideas don't get better when you overwork
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
'Step inside the British Library: here is paradise.'
Well, before it was hacked, yes.
Well, before it was hacked, yes.
Reading the rooms: London’s British Library decoded
Novelist Charlotte Mendelson explores an institution that holds the history of humanity — and, on any given day, a curious cross-section of the capital itself
www.ft.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:58 AM
'Step inside the British Library: here is paradise.'
Well, before it was hacked, yes.
Well, before it was hacked, yes.
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
And THIS is how you support libraries!!
Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Sunday encouraged New Yorkers to stay home and check out free New York Public Library e-books and audiobooks — including "Heated Rivalry."
January 26, 2026 at 1:10 AM
And THIS is how you support libraries!!
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
I hadn't realised that Burn's 'Address to a Haggice' first appeared as front-page news!
Not important in the grand scheme of things but the entire internet - from disreputable AI to what should be trustworthy - assert that "Address to a Haggis" was first published 20/12/1786 in the Caledonian Mercury. Except it didn't print that day, it was published 19th but nobody bothered to check
January 25, 2026 at 12:30 PM
I hadn't realised that Burn's 'Address to a Haggice' first appeared as front-page news!
#sqrlpix for Squirrel Appreciation Day
Squirrels found in ‘The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America,’ originally issued in 30 parts from 1845-1848. The illustrations were drawn from nature by John James Audubon and his son John Woodhouse Audubon. The plates were printed and colored by J. T. Bowen of Philadelphia.
#animalart
#animalart
January 21, 2026 at 10:01 PM
#sqrlpix for Squirrel Appreciation Day
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
Updated CfP: Communication and Exchange in the Early Modern 1500-1850 conference: ‘A Continent in Conversation’ @ Aberystwyth University, 11-12 June 2026.
Please do check out and share our #CfP. Deadline: 27 February 2026.
#Earlymodern #Communication #History
Please do check out and share our #CfP. Deadline: 27 February 2026.
#Earlymodern #Communication #History
January 16, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Updated CfP: Communication and Exchange in the Early Modern 1500-1850 conference: ‘A Continent in Conversation’ @ Aberystwyth University, 11-12 June 2026.
Please do check out and share our #CfP. Deadline: 27 February 2026.
#Earlymodern #Communication #History
Please do check out and share our #CfP. Deadline: 27 February 2026.
#Earlymodern #Communication #History
Generous and useful in equal measure. I find it quite hard to really imagine what it is supposed to look like.
Here are 8 successful *proposals* for academic books/monographs. I am hoping that these help someone who is starting out trying to write one and wants to see what worked for me. They are provided as examples, rather than exemplars. A lot of it was just finding my own way eve.gd/2026/01/16/s...
Some example academic book proposal forms in case they help
A pivotal moment in my academic career, or at least one I remember clearly, was when a very senior professor in the US sent me his book proposal for an acade...
eve.gd
January 16, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Generous and useful in equal measure. I find it quite hard to really imagine what it is supposed to look like.
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
I’m co-chairing the program committee for the 4S conference in Toronto this year. Looking forward to seeing lots of submissions!
I'm co-chairing the Society for Social Studies of Science @4sweb.bsky.social Conference in Toronto, Oct 2026. #STS #scipol #innovation
Theme: "TechnoPower • Technoscientific Futures".
Open panel submissions portal is open! ls!
Deadline: 2nd February 2026
www.4sonline.org/about_the_co...
Theme: "TechnoPower • Technoscientific Futures".
Open panel submissions portal is open! ls!
Deadline: 2nd February 2026
www.4sonline.org/about_the_co...
About the Conference
www.4sonline.org
January 14, 2026 at 4:46 PM
I’m co-chairing the program committee for the 4S conference in Toronto this year. Looking forward to seeing lots of submissions!
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
Don't forget the deadline is looming for submitting proposals for the PrintNetworks/CPHC annual conference which this year is in Cornwall. The theme is Print, Printing and Industrial Heritage (surfboards welcome!) www.cphc.org.uk/updates/2025...
Print, Printing and Industrial Heritage — CPHC
Call for papers
www.cphc.org.uk
January 7, 2026 at 10:49 AM
Don't forget the deadline is looming for submitting proposals for the PrintNetworks/CPHC annual conference which this year is in Cornwall. The theme is Print, Printing and Industrial Heritage (surfboards welcome!) www.cphc.org.uk/updates/2025...
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
DELL EXEC: Consumers are “not buying based on AI. In fact I think AI probably confuses them more than it helps them understand a specific outcome."
@pcgamer.com #CES
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/del...
@pcgamer.com #CES
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/del...
Dell seems to be the first to realise we don't actually care about AI PCs
"What we've learned over the course of this year, from a consumer perspective, is they're not buying based on AI."
www.pcgamer.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:26 PM
DELL EXEC: Consumers are “not buying based on AI. In fact I think AI probably confuses them more than it helps them understand a specific outcome."
@pcgamer.com #CES
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/del...
@pcgamer.com #CES
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/del...
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
Great.
Now someone is going to blow Boudica's trumpet, and who knows what will then happen.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Now someone is going to blow Boudica's trumpet, and who knows what will then happen.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Thetford dig unearths Iron Age war trumpet and boar standard
The discoveries are "extraordinarily rare", say the archaeologists who helped find them.
www.bbc.com
January 7, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Great.
Now someone is going to blow Boudica's trumpet, and who knows what will then happen.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Now someone is going to blow Boudica's trumpet, and who knows what will then happen.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
07:00 Uhr: Frühstück
09:00 Uhr: Zweites Frühstück
11:00 Uhr: Elf-Uhr-Imbiss
13:00 Uhr: Mitagessen
15:00 Uhr: Nachmittags-Tee
18:00 Uhr: Abendessen
21:00 Uhr: Nachtmahl
09:00 Uhr: Zweites Frühstück
11:00 Uhr: Elf-Uhr-Imbiss
13:00 Uhr: Mitagessen
15:00 Uhr: Nachmittags-Tee
18:00 Uhr: Abendessen
21:00 Uhr: Nachtmahl
January 7, 2026 at 10:19 AM