Suw
@suw.bsky.social
Writer, creative ecologist, owned by Grabbity & Copurrnicus. Currently writing an eco-sitcom podcast, Fieldwork, about four ecologists studying a rewilding project. https://fieldworkpodcast.substack.com/
Pinned
Suw
@suw.bsky.social
· 25d
Hello, lovely new followers! I'm Suw, and I post about whatever catches my eye. This might include, but is not limited to, volcanoes, cats, the Welsh language, science, cats, books and publishing, writing, Wrexham AFC, women in STEM, cats, crafty stuff, ecology, nature, and my various newsletters.
Reposted by Suw
If we get to our fundraising goal, I will show you all our newest miracle cat. His name is Hamham, he has two noses, a wobbly head and a hearing deficiency, and he is SO CUTE I COULD SPLODE.
Trust me, you want to see this cat! Donate here:
Trust me, you want to see this cat! Donate here:
Donate to Three beautiful kitties in need of help, organized by Holly's Merry Moggies
Hello from Holly's Merry Moggies , a small rescue for disabled, difficul… Holly's Merry Moggies needs your support for Three beautiful kitties in need of help
www.gofundme.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:54 PM
If we get to our fundraising goal, I will show you all our newest miracle cat. His name is Hamham, he has two noses, a wobbly head and a hearing deficiency, and he is SO CUTE I COULD SPLODE.
Trust me, you want to see this cat! Donate here:
Trust me, you want to see this cat! Donate here:
Grabbity has become obsessed with my jewellery, particularly my VLA necklace and earrings. She very nearly managed to walk off with my necklace, and had a good go at eating an earring.
February 5, 2026 at 9:31 AM
Grabbity has become obsessed with my jewellery, particularly my VLA necklace and earrings. She very nearly managed to walk off with my necklace, and had a good go at eating an earring.
Reposted by Suw
I went to a screening of Hot Fuzz, inc Q&A with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. Saw them at the bar after, no one near them, so plucked up my courage to go and tell them that Shaun of the Dead was the first ever zombie movie that I, a non-zombie film liking person, had ever seen. I then...
One of my academic colleagues looks a bit like Bob Mortimer. One time near our labs I saw him walking towards me and I warmly said Hey Kevin. It was Bob Mortimer.
Please share your very low impact celebrity encounters here.
Please share your very low impact celebrity encounters here.
Fun low level anecdote: I once sat near Peter Mandelson in a theatre but I had a name blank and said rather too loudly ‘ooh look it’s Michael Portillo!’
He was visibly unamused.
He was visibly unamused.
February 5, 2026 at 7:58 AM
I went to a screening of Hot Fuzz, inc Q&A with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. Saw them at the bar after, no one near them, so plucked up my courage to go and tell them that Shaun of the Dead was the first ever zombie movie that I, a non-zombie film liking person, had ever seen. I then...
Reposted by Suw
The 41st eruptive episode of Kīlauea in Hawai'i a few weeks ago made a big mess thanks to tall lava fountains and strong winds. Check out some details on the clean up in the area around Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: eruptions.site/2026/02/04/c... #eruptions
Cleaning Up After an Eruption
Maybe you missed it, but the last eruptive episode at Kīlauea in Hawai’i was messy. Thankfully, that messiness didn’t mean injuries and fatalities, but it does mean that suddenly a lot …
eruptions.site
February 4, 2026 at 5:13 PM
The 41st eruptive episode of Kīlauea in Hawai'i a few weeks ago made a big mess thanks to tall lava fountains and strong winds. Check out some details on the clean up in the area around Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: eruptions.site/2026/02/04/c... #eruptions
Reposted by Suw
Everything is stressful and bad and weird so here's another thread of tech jobs I've found where you make the world better (or at least hopefully not make it worse)
I've started cross-posting these to my blog to make them easier to find, including some jobs not listed in the thread
I've started cross-posting these to my blog to make them easier to find, including some jobs not listed in the thread
Tech For Good-ish Jobs Jess Found, Feb 2026
Open technology roles in tech for good (or at least, hopefully minimally evil) orgs that Jess has collected from her wanders across the web.
jessica.tech
February 4, 2026 at 2:44 PM
Everything is stressful and bad and weird so here's another thread of tech jobs I've found where you make the world better (or at least hopefully not make it worse)
I've started cross-posting these to my blog to make them easier to find, including some jobs not listed in the thread
I've started cross-posting these to my blog to make them easier to find, including some jobs not listed in the thread
Reposted by Suw
A story in three parts
October 16, 2025 at 3:33 PM
A story in three parts
A categorisation of the non-miaow vocalisations made by cats and kittens: Maslow's Hierarchy of Meeps.
A study of the size of leg joints, according to your senority in an organisation: Maslow's hierarchy of Knees.
A dynamic map of Europe with how borders change throughout history: Maslow's Hierarchy of Cedes
February 4, 2026 at 11:23 AM
A categorisation of the non-miaow vocalisations made by cats and kittens: Maslow's Hierarchy of Meeps.
Reposted by Suw
Taking over Staff's desk and readying myself to steal her water.
February 4, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Taking over Staff's desk and readying myself to steal her water.
Reposted by Suw
I'm finding that searches on Google Books now don't even pick up metadata, including for books that I'd expect to be out of copyright. Searches return lots of periodical literature and little else.
winbuzzer.com/2026/01/28/g...
(what’s the betting that the answer to this mystery is LLMs and crawlers)
(what’s the betting that the answer to this mystery is LLMs and crawlers)
February 4, 2026 at 8:03 AM
I'm finding that searches on Google Books now don't even pick up metadata, including for books that I'd expect to be out of copyright. Searches return lots of periodical literature and little else.
It also looks to me like they didn’t tailor the shirt to fit a corseted silhouette. You can’t just chuck on a regular shirt - you’ll end up with excess fabric causing wrinkles, which you can see under the jacket. It’s like this whole thing was done by men with no experience of corsets.
I enjoyed this Vogue behind-the-scenes peek at Bad Bunny's Grammy outfit. I like the concept (especially the corset detailing), but think the execution could have been better. The coat does not appear to fit him as well as it could have. May have benefited from new pattern + multiple fittings. 🧵
February 4, 2026 at 7:25 AM
It also looks to me like they didn’t tailor the shirt to fit a corseted silhouette. You can’t just chuck on a regular shirt - you’ll end up with excess fabric causing wrinkles, which you can see under the jacket. It’s like this whole thing was done by men with no experience of corsets.
This makes no sense. Why would Google turn off book search like this?
February 3, 2026 at 8:37 PM
This makes no sense. Why would Google turn off book search like this?
Today's Word Count newsletter might be a bit later than usual, but it's a stonker, even if I do say so myself. And the lateness allowed me to add in some extra bits, so it all came good in the end.
open.substack.com/pub/wordcoun...
open.substack.com/pub/wordcoun...
Word Count 113: On making a living and dicking about, Tom Cox's writing routine, James Henry on writing
Plus Douglas Adams’ railway station biscuit theft story, Val McDermid's sensitivity reader, new AI report, and the European wildcat is making a comeback.
open.substack.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Today's Word Count newsletter might be a bit later than usual, but it's a stonker, even if I do say so myself. And the lateness allowed me to add in some extra bits, so it all came good in the end.
open.substack.com/pub/wordcoun...
open.substack.com/pub/wordcoun...
This is a lovely interview with Mackenzie Crook, but honestly, someone needs to get him in a room with Smol Paul. I need to see Smol Paul climbing all over Small Paul.
@hollyqueenofspayeds.com
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
@hollyqueenofspayeds.com
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
‘Watching The Office recently, my heart just sank’ – Mackenzie Crook on comedy, cruelty and being TV royalty
After a very hard landing into fame in the 00s, he decided to take a softer approach – and hit on a winning formula for classic comedy. The star talks about his fantastical new show Small Prophets, hi...
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 3:57 PM
This is a lovely interview with Mackenzie Crook, but honestly, someone needs to get him in a room with Smol Paul. I need to see Smol Paul climbing all over Small Paul.
@hollyqueenofspayeds.com
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
@hollyqueenofspayeds.com
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
OMG, I've spent 2.5 hours having quite intense conversations in Welsh, including a long debate on how to describe "snout" in Welsh when there's no word for it (nose, chin/jaw or mouth are the closest), and which word for "grass" is the closest to my intention. Then 1hr of user testing of my new...
February 3, 2026 at 3:14 PM
OMG, I've spent 2.5 hours having quite intense conversations in Welsh, including a long debate on how to describe "snout" in Welsh when there's no word for it (nose, chin/jaw or mouth are the closest), and which word for "grass" is the closest to my intention. Then 1hr of user testing of my new...
This is making me think about cross-subsidy, which used to support a lot of writers. AutoTrader used to subsidise the Guardian's journalism. Bestselling books subsidised all the others. I'm sure even the BBC's best dramas subsidised its more niche offerings. But then people got all excited about...
“I didn’t have rich parents, a childhood bedroom to return to or an infatuated billionaire intent on marrying me. Either writing had to make me money or I couldn’t do it. “
I wrote about making a living from writing in the new economy.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
I wrote about making a living from writing in the new economy.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Please sir can I have some more
On making a living as a writer
substack.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:10 PM
This is making me think about cross-subsidy, which used to support a lot of writers. AutoTrader used to subsidise the Guardian's journalism. Bestselling books subsidised all the others. I'm sure even the BBC's best dramas subsidised its more niche offerings. But then people got all excited about...
Newydd gorffen fy ngyfweliad cyntaf yn y Gymraeg. A rŵan mae fy mhen wedi toddi.
February 3, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Newydd gorffen fy ngyfweliad cyntaf yn y Gymraeg. A rŵan mae fy mhen wedi toddi.
Reposted by Suw
A lot going on here and all ugly, but one thing I still can't get my head around is how any British government can do business with Thiel at this point.
February 3, 2026 at 9:28 AM
A lot going on here and all ugly, but one thing I still can't get my head around is how any British government can do business with Thiel at this point.
Reposted by Suw
"Without pay, writing and performing becomes a vanity hobby for rich people"
One of those articles where you think, yup, that pretty much covers it.
One of those articles where you think, yup, that pretty much covers it.
This is a brilliant, thorough and truthful bit of writing, as you’d expect from @littlemaddles.bsky.social.
Someone is making a penny, as they say, and the arts needs to have a hard look at itself, 25 years into a lunatic experiment in impoverishing creators.
open.substack.com/pub/madelein...
Someone is making a penny, as they say, and the arts needs to have a hard look at itself, 25 years into a lunatic experiment in impoverishing creators.
open.substack.com/pub/madelein...
Please sir can I have some more
On making a living as a writer
open.substack.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:26 AM
"Without pay, writing and performing becomes a vanity hobby for rich people"
One of those articles where you think, yup, that pretty much covers it.
One of those articles where you think, yup, that pretty much covers it.
Reposted by Suw
There was an email, so I've dropped her a line, but I don't know how up-to-date those contact details are.
So if anyone knows Nina Ševaljević, give me a shout. I have her driving licence.
So if anyone knows Nina Ševaljević, give me a shout. I have her driving licence.
Nina Sevaljevic | Actress, Additional Crew
Known for: Petak 13. II, Dinastija, Emergency Center
www.imdb.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:35 PM
There was an email, so I've dropped her a line, but I don't know how up-to-date those contact details are.
So if anyone knows Nina Ševaljević, give me a shout. I have her driving licence.
So if anyone knows Nina Ševaljević, give me a shout. I have her driving licence.
Reposted by Suw
Historically speaking, Peter Theil’s head on a pike is the way this sort of thing would typically end. Not saying it should, not saying it will, not saying I want it to, just that that’s how the masses have dealt with this sort of thing in the past.
Peter Thiel has been open about this for a long time. Trump is a way to break the republic, which can then be replaced by “free economic zones” with oligarchs as dictators and tech as a taskmaster for helpless humans without any rights. (1/2)
Definitely seems like they destroyed the country on purpose.
February 3, 2026 at 2:14 AM
Historically speaking, Peter Theil’s head on a pike is the way this sort of thing would typically end. Not saying it should, not saying it will, not saying I want it to, just that that’s how the masses have dealt with this sort of thing in the past.
Reposted by Suw
At 2:30 every day, he gets up and comes in to my office. He then makes a right pain the arse of himself. Only stops if i follow him back into the bedroom for a hug.
February 2, 2026 at 2:39 PM
At 2:30 every day, he gets up and comes in to my office. He then makes a right pain the arse of himself. Only stops if i follow him back into the bedroom for a hug.
Reposted by Suw
I swear to god, I left this cat alone for two fucking minutes with a jar of red beets.
Two. Minutes.
#CatsofBluesky
Two. Minutes.
#CatsofBluesky
February 1, 2026 at 2:01 PM
I swear to god, I left this cat alone for two fucking minutes with a jar of red beets.
Two. Minutes.
#CatsofBluesky
Two. Minutes.
#CatsofBluesky
Reposted by Suw
Currently editing my first YouTube video. Taking out all the umms... but it seems a shame to waste them, so here they are.
(with a sneak glimpse at some of the books I'll be talking about)
(with a sneak glimpse at some of the books I'll be talking about)
February 2, 2026 at 11:26 AM
Currently editing my first YouTube video. Taking out all the umms... but it seems a shame to waste them, so here they are.
(with a sneak glimpse at some of the books I'll be talking about)
(with a sneak glimpse at some of the books I'll be talking about)
Reposted by Suw
A recent cartoon for @newscientist.com.
p.s. my new book of science cartoons, ‘Physics for Cats’ is out now. Links at www.tomgauld.com
p.s. my new book of science cartoons, ‘Physics for Cats’ is out now. Links at www.tomgauld.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:38 AM
A recent cartoon for @newscientist.com.
p.s. my new book of science cartoons, ‘Physics for Cats’ is out now. Links at www.tomgauld.com
p.s. my new book of science cartoons, ‘Physics for Cats’ is out now. Links at www.tomgauld.com