ThomasW
@thwes.bsky.social
A SF/F fan and an avid book reader, an occasional service designer, but working in the accounting industry doing projects, and a flightless traveler.
Usually he/him (or hän in my native language), but they/them will also work.
Usually he/him (or hän in my native language), but they/them will also work.
Reposted by ThomasW
Stockholm here we come!
We’re at #SMOFcon42 from 5-7 Dec, with bids from Portugal, Poland, Canada, Norway, Scotland, France & Germany.
Ask #Dublin2029 questions at the Q&A (12.00 - 16.00 WET/13.00 - 17.00 CET on Sat) or join us at the International Party (from 18.00 WET).
Will we see you there?
We’re at #SMOFcon42 from 5-7 Dec, with bids from Portugal, Poland, Canada, Norway, Scotland, France & Germany.
Ask #Dublin2029 questions at the Q&A (12.00 - 16.00 WET/13.00 - 17.00 CET on Sat) or join us at the International Party (from 18.00 WET).
Will we see you there?
![[ID: The Smofcon 42 logo. It is a stylised graphic in shades of green and yellow. In the centre is a flying saucer beaming up a silhouetted person stood on the ground. In the background is a large ringed planet, the outline of the planet encircling them. Across the top reads ‘Smofcon 42' and across the bottom upside down is ‘Don’t panic!’. END ID]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nkawd4drc46ln2ulm3apxci2/bafkreidly5af5cqfxwww5t6a5iko3shyxezrmu6yejt7lidvjymvzcunfq@jpeg)
December 2, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Stockholm here we come!
We’re at #SMOFcon42 from 5-7 Dec, with bids from Portugal, Poland, Canada, Norway, Scotland, France & Germany.
Ask #Dublin2029 questions at the Q&A (12.00 - 16.00 WET/13.00 - 17.00 CET on Sat) or join us at the International Party (from 18.00 WET).
Will we see you there?
We’re at #SMOFcon42 from 5-7 Dec, with bids from Portugal, Poland, Canada, Norway, Scotland, France & Germany.
Ask #Dublin2029 questions at the Q&A (12.00 - 16.00 WET/13.00 - 17.00 CET on Sat) or join us at the International Party (from 18.00 WET).
Will we see you there?
Relevant, timely and thought-provoking (for me at least)
In this week’s @strangehorizons.bsky.social, one of my favourite pieces I’ve edited this year — on orientalism from Star Trek to Game of Thrones.
Photon Torpedoes Break the Space Muqarnas: SFF Audiovisuals and Anti-Muslim Violence,” by Tanvir Ahmed —
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
Photon Torpedoes Break the Space Muqarnas: SFF Audiovisuals and Anti-Muslim Violence,” by Tanvir Ahmed —
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
Photon Torpedoes Break the Space Muqarnas: SFF Audiovisuals and Anti-Muslim Violence
Dragon fire on white bodies is sad. Dragon fire on not-Muslim bodies is cheered on the screen. We ache when the scimitar prows of not-Muslim ships cleave through a white human captain’s ship. But b…
strangehorizons.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Relevant, timely and thought-provoking (for me at least)
Reposted by ThomasW
The lesson of genAI has very little to do with genAI.
The real lesson here is that as soon as your bosses found something that could approximate the worst possible worker in your team, they obliterated entry-level jobs.
It's not coming alive. That's nonsensical. But your bosses are already alive.
The real lesson here is that as soon as your bosses found something that could approximate the worst possible worker in your team, they obliterated entry-level jobs.
It's not coming alive. That's nonsensical. But your bosses are already alive.
October 16, 2025 at 7:19 AM
The lesson of genAI has very little to do with genAI.
The real lesson here is that as soon as your bosses found something that could approximate the worst possible worker in your team, they obliterated entry-level jobs.
It's not coming alive. That's nonsensical. But your bosses are already alive.
The real lesson here is that as soon as your bosses found something that could approximate the worst possible worker in your team, they obliterated entry-level jobs.
It's not coming alive. That's nonsensical. But your bosses are already alive.
Reposted by ThomasW
Controversial opinion, but I think trans people should feel safe here on bluesky, and nazis shouldn't.
September 11, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Controversial opinion, but I think trans people should feel safe here on bluesky, and nazis shouldn't.
Reposted by ThomasW
Ever have those days…?
August 11, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Ever have those days…?
Reposted by ThomasW
That flight tickets are often cheaper than the same trip with train. We need carbon taxes.
July 25, 2025 at 7:00 PM
That flight tickets are often cheaper than the same trip with train. We need carbon taxes.
Reposted by ThomasW
SMOFCon is really good for those who want to know *how* to run a convention.
Want to help shape the future of fan cons?
Glasgow 2024 is offering up to 18 bursaries (for aspiring & experienced conrunners alike) to attend SMOFcon 42 in Stockholm this December!
Deadline: 31st August 2025
(1/2)
Glasgow 2024 is offering up to 18 bursaries (for aspiring & experienced conrunners alike) to attend SMOFcon 42 in Stockholm this December!
Deadline: 31st August 2025
(1/2)
July 21, 2025 at 4:52 PM
SMOFCon is really good for those who want to know *how* to run a convention.
Reposted by ThomasW
Everything feels like this now
May 17, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Everything feels like this now
Reposted by ThomasW
Finland almost coal-free four years ahead of schedule. Coal power has dropped to less than 1% of its energy mix. Wind energy has more than doubled since 2020, now supplying 25% of the country's electricity while reducing consumer priceshttps://buff.ly/MOTqcuf
#ShareGoodNewsToo
#ShareGoodNewsToo
How Finland has replaced coal power with wind in less than 10 years
Wind power in Finland has more than doubled since 2020 to supply a quarter of the country’s energy.
www.euronews.com
April 12, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Finland almost coal-free four years ahead of schedule. Coal power has dropped to less than 1% of its energy mix. Wind energy has more than doubled since 2020, now supplying 25% of the country's electricity while reducing consumer priceshttps://buff.ly/MOTqcuf
#ShareGoodNewsToo
#ShareGoodNewsToo
Reposted by ThomasW
the magical thinking about testosterone + estrogen is off the charts these days. the gender anxiety seething beneath the new right is unreal. they are frightened of the modern world--and of themselves. they might not like what they felt if they looked inside
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-new-gend...
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-new-gend...
April 8, 2025 at 12:14 PM
the magical thinking about testosterone + estrogen is off the charts these days. the gender anxiety seething beneath the new right is unreal. they are frightened of the modern world--and of themselves. they might not like what they felt if they looked inside
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-new-gend...
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-new-gend...
Reposted by ThomasW
The next-next-next generation of #StarTrek will need to adjust to the fact that the Federation's model for "pluralistic democracy with moral authority" should now be the EU, not the US.
March 22, 2025 at 4:36 PM
The next-next-next generation of #StarTrek will need to adjust to the fact that the Federation's model for "pluralistic democracy with moral authority" should now be the EU, not the US.
Reposted by ThomasW
The plan is working. Boycotting Tesla is making right wing dipshits so angry that they are buying electric cars to own the libs. 😊
March 15, 2025 at 6:11 AM
The plan is working. Boycotting Tesla is making right wing dipshits so angry that they are buying electric cars to own the libs. 😊
Reposted by ThomasW
I see Hugo nominations are open and people are doing eligibility posts and … I think The Night Guest is eligible for the novella category?
Anyway no pressure, just look at this pretty dog.
Anyway no pressure, just look at this pretty dog.
February 11, 2025 at 4:38 PM
I see Hugo nominations are open and people are doing eligibility posts and … I think The Night Guest is eligible for the novella category?
Anyway no pressure, just look at this pretty dog.
Anyway no pressure, just look at this pretty dog.
Reposted by ThomasW
Now that corporations & entities are people, since you can run for US president if you were born in the US or were here when the Declaration of Independence was made, Canada is eligible to run for US president. So is Lake Michigan.
February 2, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Now that corporations & entities are people, since you can run for US president if you were born in the US or were here when the Declaration of Independence was made, Canada is eligible to run for US president. So is Lake Michigan.
Reposted by ThomasW
Somehow, Palpatine returned.*
[*No irony]
[*No irony]
February 2, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Somehow, Palpatine returned.*
[*No irony]
[*No irony]
Reposted by ThomasW
Inside me are two wolves: one thinks it is an ethics committee and the other wants a big nap.
February 1, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Inside me are two wolves: one thinks it is an ethics committee and the other wants a big nap.
Reposted by ThomasW
Recent studies show that sea turtle populations are booming worldwide. Loggerhead nests off the northwest African coast: 35,000 from 500. Kemp’s ridley nests: 17,000 from 702, and a 2023 survey discovered 150,000 green turtle nests in New Caledonia. https://buff.ly/40AUae1
#ShareGoodNewsToo
#ShareGoodNewsToo
Bloomberg - Are you a robot?
We've detected unusual activity from your computer network
buff.ly
January 19, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Recent studies show that sea turtle populations are booming worldwide. Loggerhead nests off the northwest African coast: 35,000 from 500. Kemp’s ridley nests: 17,000 from 702, and a 2023 survey discovered 150,000 green turtle nests in New Caledonia. https://buff.ly/40AUae1
#ShareGoodNewsToo
#ShareGoodNewsToo
Reposted by ThomasW
Newsletter: Our digital lives are unregulated growth-hacked ecological disasters. The modern tech ecosystem's growth-at-all-costs mindset is actively harming billions of people, pushing them toward authoritarianism for profit. We must fight back.
www.wheresyoured.at/never-forgive-them/
www.wheresyoured.at/never-forgive-them/
Never Forgive Them
In the last year, I’ve spent about 200,000 words on a kind of personal journey where I’ve tried again and again to work out why everything digital feels so broken, and why it seems to keep getting wor...
www.wheresyoured.at
December 16, 2024 at 5:31 PM
Newsletter: Our digital lives are unregulated growth-hacked ecological disasters. The modern tech ecosystem's growth-at-all-costs mindset is actively harming billions of people, pushing them toward authoritarianism for profit. We must fight back.
www.wheresyoured.at/never-forgive-them/
www.wheresyoured.at/never-forgive-them/
Reposted by ThomasW
I see Yoon Suk Yeol has decided to move from the 'fucking around' stage of his failing presidency to the 'finding out'.
December 3, 2024 at 4:11 PM
I see Yoon Suk Yeol has decided to move from the 'fucking around' stage of his failing presidency to the 'finding out'.
I think U.S. is about to have a cultural revolution, though not a woke or progressive one, but one like China had during Mao era.
November 13, 2024 at 7:47 PM
I think U.S. is about to have a cultural revolution, though not a woke or progressive one, but one like China had during Mao era.
Reposted by ThomasW
Reminder: during times of turmoil it does not matter if you aren't interested in politics, politics is interested in *you*.
November 9, 2024 at 10:50 AM
Reminder: during times of turmoil it does not matter if you aren't interested in politics, politics is interested in *you*.
Pikkujoulukausi alkaa. Pre-christmas season starting …
November 8, 2024 at 4:40 PM
Pikkujoulukausi alkaa. Pre-christmas season starting …
Reposted by ThomasW
Reposted by ThomasW
If you're gen x or millennial, odds are you have known some people online for *decades*. Across multiple now-dead forums, across vast gulfs of time in internet years. You've probably got a friend group that outlived multiple sites.
June 20, 2024 at 3:53 AM
If you're gen x or millennial, odds are you have known some people online for *decades*. Across multiple now-dead forums, across vast gulfs of time in internet years. You've probably got a friend group that outlived multiple sites.
Reposted by ThomasW
Not really. It's just another walled garden. Eventually the owners will allow ads in to bring revenue, then the usefulness will be crushed under the increasing weight of ads until we have to find a new IRC clone.
June 20, 2024 at 7:31 AM
Not really. It's just another walled garden. Eventually the owners will allow ads in to bring revenue, then the usefulness will be crushed under the increasing weight of ads until we have to find a new IRC clone.