Dylan
@dylanl.bsky.social
Data wrangler 📊, wheelchair basketball 🏀, maths and physics nerd 🤓
Reposted by Dylan
2020s: AI "System Prompts" are lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "prompt engineers".
1980s: AI "Expert Systems" were lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "knowledge engineers".
1980s: AI "Expert Systems" were lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "knowledge engineers".
January 1, 2026 at 8:59 PM
2020s: AI "System Prompts" are lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "prompt engineers".
1980s: AI "Expert Systems" were lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "knowledge engineers".
1980s: AI "Expert Systems" were lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "knowledge engineers".
Reposted by Dylan
Who Forgot to Put the Silverware Away: A Knives Out Mystery
December 30, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Who Forgot to Put the Silverware Away: A Knives Out Mystery
Reposted by Dylan
*So, climate crisis winds taking out the planetary superclock, too bad they didn't time that for New Years'
The atomic ensemble time scale at the NIST Boulder campus has failed.
December 21, 2025 at 9:07 AM
*So, climate crisis winds taking out the planetary superclock, too bad they didn't time that for New Years'
Reposted by Dylan
We really, really need a public information campaign to explain that one million pounds is actually not a large amount of money at all. £15.8 million, the total cost of all medical taxi journeys, is about one third of the cost of building one new Tesco Extra. www.building.co.uk/news/patton-...
November 29, 2025 at 9:18 AM
We really, really need a public information campaign to explain that one million pounds is actually not a large amount of money at all. £15.8 million, the total cost of all medical taxi journeys, is about one third of the cost of building one new Tesco Extra. www.building.co.uk/news/patton-...
Reposted by Dylan
70% of the additional spending from removing the two-child limit will go to families who are in work. This is targeting support for low-income working households who are being priced out of a decent standard of living despite doing everything asked of them.
November 27, 2025 at 4:38 PM
70% of the additional spending from removing the two-child limit will go to families who are in work. This is targeting support for low-income working households who are being priced out of a decent standard of living despite doing everything asked of them.
Reposted by Dylan
Every version of this story is some version of ‘well you couldn’t expect me to be able to afford to buy the house I currently own’ and yes that is the point welcome to the housing crisis.
‘I don’t live in a mansion. It’s a 1930s house’: Richmond residents react to council tax rise
‘I don’t live in a mansion. It’s a 1930s house’: Richmond residents react to council tax rise
Rachel Reeves’s new council tax surcharge on homes worth £2m or more earns mixed reception in well-heeled London borough
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Every version of this story is some version of ‘well you couldn’t expect me to be able to afford to buy the house I currently own’ and yes that is the point welcome to the housing crisis.
Reposted by Dylan
It’s like a decade a self-imposed economic sanctions.
November 19, 2025 at 9:50 AM
It’s like a decade a self-imposed economic sanctions.
Reposted by Dylan
Reposted by Dylan
Reposted by Dylan
for anyone who hasn't seen this, it's genuinely excellent:
Nov 9th - Sarah Wilder, at her half-sisters wedding, found herself stuck in a timeloop with Nyles, another wedding guest. Nyles was already stuck in the timeloop, and had been for some time.
📽️📅 Palm Springs (2020)
📽️📅 Palm Springs (2020)
November 9, 2025 at 7:10 PM
for anyone who hasn't seen this, it's genuinely excellent:
Reposted by Dylan
Gotta get a return on all that investment somehow
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
August 14, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Gotta get a return on all that investment somehow
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Dylan
funny how they never overestimate the scale of climate marches
BBC among media misreportimg/exaggerating scale of asylum protests
Median protest is a few dozen, below 100.
"Usually Several hundred at a time" is false.
- should say *occasionally*
< 1/10 protests have 200 people
"Sometimes thousands"
I dont think a single 2025 protest had > 2000 people yet
Median protest is a few dozen, below 100.
"Usually Several hundred at a time" is false.
- should say *occasionally*
< 1/10 protests have 200 people
"Sometimes thousands"
I dont think a single 2025 protest had > 2000 people yet
August 9, 2025 at 8:14 PM
funny how they never overestimate the scale of climate marches
Reposted by Dylan
Also note that "uninsurable" houses aren't just uninsurable because the actuaries are being awkward or snobby; they are "houses with a significant likelihood of being made uninhabitable quite soon after construction". Should any government really be allowed to count that towards its targets?
Government insiders tell @tesscolley.bsky.social Chris Hinchcliff had whip removed due to "persistent knobheadery".
Here he is, asking whether it's right to build in a way that could create 100,000 new homes uninsurable due to flood risk. Is that knobheadery?
www.endsreport.com/article/1925...
Here he is, asking whether it's right to build in a way that could create 100,000 new homes uninsurable due to flood risk. Is that knobheadery?
www.endsreport.com/article/1925...
July 19, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Also note that "uninsurable" houses aren't just uninsurable because the actuaries are being awkward or snobby; they are "houses with a significant likelihood of being made uninhabitable quite soon after construction". Should any government really be allowed to count that towards its targets?
Reposted by Dylan
I think it’s really important, when considering what we’re investing in for the future of decarbonization, to consider that techs depending on cooling water might simply be seasonally unviable under future climate conditions
French nuclear power plant has to close during intense heat wave, because temperatures in the river that provides cooling water are too high.
EDF shuts down Golftech nuclear plant due to high river temperature
French utility EDF said it shut down the No. 1 reactor at the Golftech nuclear power plant in southwestern France late on Sunday, ahead of an anticipated rise in the temperature of the Garonne river that supplies the plant's cooling water.
www.reuters.com
July 2, 2025 at 12:31 PM
I think it’s really important, when considering what we’re investing in for the future of decarbonization, to consider that techs depending on cooling water might simply be seasonally unviable under future climate conditions
Reposted by Dylan
“Fine, we’ll go with the guy who takes bribes.”
“New York City’s business community appears to be abandoning its grudging support for former Governor Andrew Cuomo and organizing more desperately around Mayor Eric Adams in a last ditch effort to block Mamdani in November’s general election.”
www.semafor.com/article/06/2...
www.semafor.com/article/06/2...
Eric Adams suddenly finds ‘overwhelming support’ from NYC’s desperate business elites
Wall Street’s business community looks poised to rally behind Adams, dogged by corruption and low japproval ratings, to keep Zohran Mamdani from winning November’s general election.
www.semafor.com
June 25, 2025 at 9:47 PM
“Fine, we’ll go with the guy who takes bribes.”
Reposted by Dylan
![4-panel comic. (1) PERSON 1: This stick is one meter long. PERSON 2 WITH SHORT HAIR: Cool. PERSON 3 WITH WHITE HAT: That’s a nice stick. (2) PERSON 1: This rock weighs one pound. PERSON 2: I’d believe it. PERSON 3: Looks like a normal rock. (3) PERSON 1: This battery is one volt. PERSON 2: Seems fine. PERSON 3: Might need a recharge. (4) PERSON 1: This capacitor is one farad. [2 and 3 leaning away attempting to shield themselves] PERSON 2: *AAAAA! Be careful!!* Person 3: Put it down!!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreih7d3cewqllnapj5oi7cdxjj6qentr2s3tdbijwaik7shmbtrxiji@jpeg)
Reposted by Dylan
All governments are imperfect but they are NOT "all the same".
The lazy trope that "it doesn't matter who you vote for" isn't just false; it feeds the nihilism on which the radical right prey.
It's like a burning tyre, coating everything in acrid smoke, choking off any meaningful democratic choice
The lazy trope that "it doesn't matter who you vote for" isn't just false; it feeds the nihilism on which the radical right prey.
It's like a burning tyre, coating everything in acrid smoke, choking off any meaningful democratic choice
Compare and contrast the plutocratic US government's grotesque help for the richest... with social democratic Britain. Like night and day.
June 14, 2025 at 8:43 AM
All governments are imperfect but they are NOT "all the same".
The lazy trope that "it doesn't matter who you vote for" isn't just false; it feeds the nihilism on which the radical right prey.
It's like a burning tyre, coating everything in acrid smoke, choking off any meaningful democratic choice
The lazy trope that "it doesn't matter who you vote for" isn't just false; it feeds the nihilism on which the radical right prey.
It's like a burning tyre, coating everything in acrid smoke, choking off any meaningful democratic choice
Reposted by Dylan
Using the agency of the PM to set the terms of the debate 🤦♀️ Who advised him to do this? And I don’t think Labour are in any position to criticise anyone for peddling fantasy economics.
May 29, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Using the agency of the PM to set the terms of the debate 🤦♀️ Who advised him to do this? And I don’t think Labour are in any position to criticise anyone for peddling fantasy economics.
Reposted by Dylan
"was this a morally comfortable decision? No. But was it the right thing to do? Also no. But in order to achieve anything you need to win elections, and that is something we are certainly not going to do"
In short, Starmer has taken a massive hit among Labour voters, for no gain elsewhere, while boosting Farage's popularity, including doubling his ceiling among Labour voters.
I.e., the political scientists were right, Morgan McSweeney was horrendously wrong.
I.e., the political scientists were right, Morgan McSweeney was horrendously wrong.
Keir Starmer's net favourability rating has dropped 12pts in a month to -46, his lowest level ever, including a 34pt drop among Labour voters
All Britons: -46 net rating (down 12 from 13-14 Apr)
By 2024 vote
Labour: -5 (down 34)
Lib Dem: -13 (down 12)
Conservative: -76 (up 1)
Reform: -94 (down 5)
All Britons: -46 net rating (down 12 from 13-14 Apr)
By 2024 vote
Labour: -5 (down 34)
Lib Dem: -13 (down 12)
Conservative: -76 (up 1)
Reform: -94 (down 5)
May 16, 2025 at 8:21 AM
"was this a morally comfortable decision? No. But was it the right thing to do? Also no. But in order to achieve anything you need to win elections, and that is something we are certainly not going to do"
Reposted by Dylan
Via @greenpeaceuk.bsky.social on insta, the most accurate use of this meme ever
May 15, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Via @greenpeaceuk.bsky.social on insta, the most accurate use of this meme ever
Reposted by Dylan
I kinda feel like the UK should have the thing in Canada where a PM is generally expected to be at least a bit bilingual. Welsh and Gaelic may not have the same presence or proportion of primary speakers as French does in Canada, but we aren’t a monolingual country
again, not the main point but Welsh has equal status in Wales
May 12, 2025 at 12:47 PM
I kinda feel like the UK should have the thing in Canada where a PM is generally expected to be at least a bit bilingual. Welsh and Gaelic may not have the same presence or proportion of primary speakers as French does in Canada, but we aren’t a monolingual country
Reposted by Dylan
Today's immigration announcement marks the death of the mission for the UK to have the fastest economic growth in the G7.
International investors now know that the UK govt will put other considerations ahead of economic growth.
International investors now know that the UK govt will put other considerations ahead of economic growth.
May 12, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Today's immigration announcement marks the death of the mission for the UK to have the fastest economic growth in the G7.
International investors now know that the UK govt will put other considerations ahead of economic growth.
International investors now know that the UK govt will put other considerations ahead of economic growth.
Reposted by Dylan
"Conservatives have created this hostile environment.. we should welcome people wherever they come from.. the UK is better because of immigration.. Lab has been a bit scared of making the positive case for immigration.. we need to turn that round"
The most duplicitous politician in my lifetime
The most duplicitous politician in my lifetime
May 12, 2025 at 5:32 AM
"Conservatives have created this hostile environment.. we should welcome people wherever they come from.. the UK is better because of immigration.. Lab has been a bit scared of making the positive case for immigration.. we need to turn that round"
The most duplicitous politician in my lifetime
The most duplicitous politician in my lifetime
Reposted by Dylan
Amazing news that the Home Office has apparently worked out how to bring hundreds of thousands of native UK workers into the care industry
May 11, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Amazing news that the Home Office has apparently worked out how to bring hundreds of thousands of native UK workers into the care industry