Mike Prior-Jones
@drmikepj.bsky.social
Glaciologist and electronic engineer at Cardiff University. Current designer of #cryoegg and #cryowurst. UKRI Future Leaders Fellow.
🏳️🌈(he,him)
🏳️🌈(he,him)
What hadn't struck me until recently is that indirect costs on FEC are effectively what, in my commercial days, we called "pre-sales cost recovery" - they have to cover the cost of preparing the applications for all the grants we didn't win.
February 8, 2026 at 8:16 PM
What hadn't struck me until recently is that indirect costs on FEC are effectively what, in my commercial days, we called "pre-sales cost recovery" - they have to cover the cost of preparing the applications for all the grants we didn't win.
... and so everyone would put extra stuff in their grant proposals over and above what they needed so that they'd have the cash they actually needed to do the research they really wanted to do.
February 8, 2026 at 8:06 PM
... and so everyone would put extra stuff in their grant proposals over and above what they needed so that they'd have the cash they actually needed to do the research they really wanted to do.
I just about remember the days before FEC - it was during the final year of my undergrad, and my final year project was with one of the research groups. The academic in charge explained how if he bid for £1000 in grant money, the uni would "top slice" a percentage...
February 8, 2026 at 8:06 PM
I just about remember the days before FEC - it was during the final year of my undergrad, and my final year project was with one of the research groups. The academic in charge explained how if he bid for £1000 in grant money, the uni would "top slice" a percentage...
Cardiff University stands in for a lot of other places though, so it can’t actually be depicted as itself, I guess?
(I work there - it’s always fun to come in and find the building has been cosplaying at the weekend)
(I work there - it’s always fun to come in and find the building has been cosplaying at the weekend)
February 7, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Cardiff University stands in for a lot of other places though, so it can’t actually be depicted as itself, I guess?
(I work there - it’s always fun to come in and find the building has been cosplaying at the weekend)
(I work there - it’s always fun to come in and find the building has been cosplaying at the weekend)
Reposted by Mike Prior-Jones
🎶It's time to meet the experts on the plenary tonight🎶
February 7, 2026 at 2:58 PM
🎶It's time to meet the experts on the plenary tonight🎶
Reposted by Mike Prior-Jones
🎶It’s time to question methods
It’s time for petty fights🎶
It’s time for petty fights🎶
February 7, 2026 at 2:52 PM
🎶It’s time to question methods
It’s time for petty fights🎶
It’s time for petty fights🎶
Reposted by Mike Prior-Jones
The Muppets Have More of a Comment than a Question
February 7, 2026 at 2:46 PM
The Muppets Have More of a Comment than a Question
The RHS garden in Devon used to have a raised platform that supported many varieties of thyme in small pots. It was a thyme-table.
February 4, 2026 at 11:42 AM
The RHS garden in Devon used to have a raised platform that supported many varieties of thyme in small pots. It was a thyme-table.
I had to look twice! It’s very near where I grew up.
February 4, 2026 at 8:12 AM
I had to look twice! It’s very near where I grew up.
As we came out, he said “Was that like a childhood fantasy made real?” and we all grinned and said yes, yes it was.
February 4, 2026 at 8:02 AM
As we came out, he said “Was that like a childhood fantasy made real?” and we all grinned and said yes, yes it was.
I was once lucky enough to go to Lego’s R&D department, which is as amazing as it sounds. At one point we went in a warehouse with thousands of picking bins in, and we were told it contained every Lego part ever made. Our host handed us small clear plastic bags and told us to help ourselves!
February 4, 2026 at 8:02 AM
I was once lucky enough to go to Lego’s R&D department, which is as amazing as it sounds. At one point we went in a warehouse with thousands of picking bins in, and we were told it contained every Lego part ever made. Our host handed us small clear plastic bags and told us to help ourselves!
In a similar vein, when I lived in Croydon, as I drove towards the town centre, the road suddenly widens into a dual carriageway flyover and curves round to reveal a cluster of tower blocks and I would say “Ah, Croydon! City of the Future!” to anyone in earshot.
February 4, 2026 at 7:29 AM
In a similar vein, when I lived in Croydon, as I drove towards the town centre, the road suddenly widens into a dual carriageway flyover and curves round to reveal a cluster of tower blocks and I would say “Ah, Croydon! City of the Future!” to anyone in earshot.
Because it lied when it was seventeen.
February 3, 2026 at 7:21 AM
Because it lied when it was seventeen.
See also the logo of the governing party of Singapore: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...
In both cases the lightning bolt suggests power and action and hurt directed at the party’s enemies, so not a great logo for a nationalised train company!
In both cases the lightning bolt suggests power and action and hurt directed at the party’s enemies, so not a great logo for a nationalised train company!
February 2, 2026 at 7:34 AM
See also the logo of the governing party of Singapore: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...
In both cases the lightning bolt suggests power and action and hurt directed at the party’s enemies, so not a great logo for a nationalised train company!
In both cases the lightning bolt suggests power and action and hurt directed at the party’s enemies, so not a great logo for a nationalised train company!