DavidC (he/him)
davidtcook.bsky.social
DavidC (he/him)
@davidtcook.bsky.social
Husband, father-of-two, fencer, juggler, programmer, cyclist, SFF Fan, gamer, AFOL.
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
The fantastic @ethymologynerd must’ve put tons of work into this great graphic showing the name and story behind the name of popular patterns used in clothing. I knew exactly nothing!
November 28, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
In this map @eurostats shows us that the total fertility rate in the EU stood at 1.38 live births per woman in 2023. My beloved Tenerife recorded the lowest rate of the whole of Europe (0.79). Source: link.europa.eu/p8WYPC
November 28, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
THREAD.

3 years ago, with no warning, a brilliant orange farm cat wandered over from the draughty barn where he had been living, in rural Cornwall, and decided he wanted to live with us instead.

We decided to call him Jim.

This is the first photo I took of him, on that night: December 1st, 2022.
November 26, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
I see exasperated Sensible Moderates complaining that this government has no project, no theory of what it’s doing and no good ideas. I suggest this is because we have for a very long time been hugely rewarding politicians whose key skill is telling *lobby journalists* what they wanted to hear.
November 27, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.

🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.

This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
www.reuters.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
Australia recorded ZERO cases of cervical cancer in women under 25 for the first time since they started tracking the cancer in the 80s.

This is the power of vaccines.

The HPV vaccine is extremely effective at preventing cancer.

Viruses can be oncogenic. Get your vaccines and protect yourself!
newsGP - Australia set for world-first cervical cancer elimination
Vaccination programs have played a key role, and GPs remain ‘instrumental’ in boosting screening rates to reach the 2035 target.
www1.racgp.org.au
November 27, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
Late contender for best news quote of 2025: "At the end of the day, most people do not give a shit about Ned Kelly’s rotating three-dimensional helmet."
State Library of Victoria faces job cuts as staff accuse management of pursuing ‘digital vanity projects’
Under the plan, 39 jobs would be lost and the public-facing workforce of reference librarians would be cut from 25 staff to 10
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
Read this thread
I'm not the only author I know who has a huge surfeit of ideas for books that we would love to write and send out into the world if only we had the time to write them.
November 27, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
The IBM 5150 motherboard, illustrated.

#retrocomputing
November 27, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
I get twitchy and pedantic when people use the phrase "quantum leap" when what they actually mean is closer to "phase change" or "thermocline." A quantum leap is the SMALLEST possible change a sub-atomic particle can make!
November 27, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
When the Australian government hang out together vs when the Trump regime hang out together.

#auspol #ausmusictshirtday
November 27, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
To be fair, it is to be expected that there are fewer large than small countries. Still an interesting list.
November 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
this image was generated with google's latest nana banana pro tool. we have no idea how bad it is about to get.
November 27, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
The Bookshop Darlinghurst is still trading until 24 Dec; nip over to their bricks-and-mortar store, or their Web site, and buy someone a Christmas present (you!). www.thebookshop.com.au
I'm sadder about this than I can possibly say. I came here for the first time as a baby dyke and maxed out my meagre funds on a copy of "Tipping the Velvet" I still own. One of my dreams was to see my own book on the shelf here one day. I'm sad beyond words. www.starobserver.com.au/news/sydney-...
Sydney Loses Beloved Institution: Bookshop Darlinghurst to Close After 43 Years - Star Observer
It is with a heavy heart we share: after 43 years of serving Sydney’s LGBTQ+ community, The Bookshop Darlinghurst is closing its doors.
www.starobserver.com.au
November 26, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
Tag Yourself!
(Image from @heckogeckocomic.bsky.social )
November 27, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
Gas prices are driving electricity costs higher. Good thing we're getting all that PRRT money right? Right??
www.theguardian.com/business/gro...
November 27, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
AND supporting your local library is super important! If you actually DO want books to be available to everyone, the library *already exists* and is staffed by the people who are deep in the trenches of fighting censorship! Supporting the library is doing actual good for your community!
TAPS SCREEN

For like the zillionth time: Libraries are FREE for you, but WE still get compensated for our work!!
Just saw someone claim that authors who want to be paid for their work are "class traitors" because we "only let the wealthy" read our books, and I think I need to go into the woods to scream into the night for a bit.

It's $5, not your first-born child! I need that $5 for health insurance!
November 26, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
I've done pixel art and on and off for years, and I think I'm at a point in my abilities now where I can begin taking commissions. If you're interested in getting a custom piece of pixel art by me, DM me for details!

(animation will be limited, Aseprite is not great at it)
November 23, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
I have two things I would really like people to internalize about the fashion industry/garment manufacturing, and they are:

1. Mass manufactured clothes are only ever intended to fit "good enough," and;

2. Everything you wear was made by actual human people.
November 23, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?
November 23, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
“Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health, according to unredacted filings in a lawsuit by U.S. school districts against Meta and other social media platforms.”
Meta buried 'causal' evidence of social media harm, US court filings allege - The Economic Times
Meta reportedly halted internal research into the mental health impacts of Facebook and Instagram after finding causal evidence of harm. Internal documents revealed users reported lower depression and...
m.economictimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by DavidC (he/him)
Just a friendly reminder as we go into the holidays:

Folks don't have to explain to you why they don't drink.

If you offer them a drink and they decline, don't ask them why. It's not your business.

Just offer them something without alcohol to drink instead. And move on.
November 23, 2025 at 8:04 PM