Carsten Timmermann
@ctimmermann.bsky.social
Historian of Biology and Medicine. Science is culture, and long live the Humanities. Director of @manchstm.bsky.social. Lapsed biochemist. Migrant. Rheinländer in 🇩🇪. Northerner in 🇬🇧. Gen X. Cyclist. Owned by dog. Often online. Here privately. He/him.
Honestly: who would want to swap Denmark (Rank 2 in the World Happiness Index in 2024) for the US (Rank 24 in 2024, almost certainly worse today).
data.worldhappiness.report/map
data.worldhappiness.report/map
January 15, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Honestly: who would want to swap Denmark (Rank 2 in the World Happiness Index in 2024) for the US (Rank 24 in 2024, almost certainly worse today).
data.worldhappiness.report/map
data.worldhappiness.report/map
Even more now than before his amusing fall, Robert Jenrick reminds me of René Goscinny's Iznogoud, the inept Grand Vizier, who is absolutely consumed by the desire to be Caliph instead of the Caliph.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iznogoud
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iznogoud
January 15, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Even more now than before his amusing fall, Robert Jenrick reminds me of René Goscinny's Iznogoud, the inept Grand Vizier, who is absolutely consumed by the desire to be Caliph instead of the Caliph.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iznogoud
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iznogoud
Organic office shredder in action.
January 15, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Organic office shredder in action.
This is his conclusion. Freud, of course, was a bona-fide neurobiologist at the beginning of his career, as Frank Sulloway has shown convincingly in 1992, in his book ‘Biologist of the Mind’.
January 14, 2026 at 7:09 AM
This is his conclusion. Freud, of course, was a bona-fide neurobiologist at the beginning of his career, as Frank Sulloway has shown convincingly in 1992, in his book ‘Biologist of the Mind’.
While crime is higher than elsewhere in Britain, the trend points downwards for Manchester, too.
Source: www.police.uk/pu/your-area...
Source: www.police.uk/pu/your-area...
January 12, 2026 at 4:45 PM
While crime is higher than elsewhere in Britain, the trend points downwards for Manchester, too.
Source: www.police.uk/pu/your-area...
Source: www.police.uk/pu/your-area...
Hmm. Tricky. AI or not, this is obviously a satirical take on the iconic Tank Man photograph from the Chinese crackdown at Tiananmen Square in 1989. I find that legit. At no time did I think that this was a real photo.
January 10, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Hmm. Tricky. AI or not, this is obviously a satirical take on the iconic Tank Man photograph from the Chinese crackdown at Tiananmen Square in 1989. I find that legit. At no time did I think that this was a real photo.
What can I do for you, matey?
January 10, 2026 at 3:13 PM
What can I do for you, matey?
Beautiful day.
January 10, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Beautiful day.
Is it time to seriously talk about boycott? Let’s not allow them to turn the Worldcup and the Olympics into a rerun of Berlin 1936.
January 10, 2026 at 8:13 AM
Is it time to seriously talk about boycott? Let’s not allow them to turn the Worldcup and the Olympics into a rerun of Berlin 1936.
Timeline cleanser (before I turn to the next student paper). Son No 1 is on the train from Tokyo to Kyoto and sent me this photo of Mount Fuji in the twilight.
January 9, 2026 at 9:18 AM
Timeline cleanser (before I turn to the next student paper). Son No 1 is on the train from Tokyo to Kyoto and sent me this photo of Mount Fuji in the twilight.
It’s all so painfully stupid. What do you need in order to claim ownership? A document that certifies that you and nobody else can claim to own the thing you own.
January 9, 2026 at 8:34 AM
It’s all so painfully stupid. What do you need in order to claim ownership? A document that certifies that you and nobody else can claim to own the thing you own.
Looks like the advice is to leave your smartphone at home, and bring only a burner phone if you feel you need one.
January 8, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Looks like the advice is to leave your smartphone at home, and bring only a burner phone if you feel you need one.
And this paragraph does not explain how it works.
January 8, 2026 at 10:43 AM
And this paragraph does not explain how it works.
He looks very different with his ears pricked.
January 6, 2026 at 3:05 PM
He looks very different with his ears pricked.
Fortunately I’ve got moral support.
January 6, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Fortunately I’ve got moral support.
They are actually interviewing people in and from Venezuela and Greenland. Also: no review of the UK newspapers.
January 6, 2026 at 7:50 AM
They are actually interviewing people in and from Venezuela and Greenland. Also: no review of the UK newspapers.
More icy photos
January 5, 2026 at 10:44 AM
More icy photos
It’s cold and bright in the South Manchester suburbs.
January 5, 2026 at 10:17 AM
It’s cold and bright in the South Manchester suburbs.
Thanks for the link. But don't you think that's a tad unfair towards pigs?
January 4, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Thanks for the link. But don't you think that's a tad unfair towards pigs?
The man may be British, but his teeth are definitely American. Image source: Wikimedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Bu...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Bu...
January 3, 2026 at 5:39 PM
The man may be British, but his teeth are definitely American. Image source: Wikimedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Bu...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Bu...