Ian Blackham
@iblackham.bsky.social
OU DS T&L Moodle VLE, boardgames, archery, Christian
All those people who told me my degree in Classics would never be relevant to anything other than teaching or archeology…
November 28, 2025 at 1:00 PM
@diceosaurus.bsky.social where was that place you went in London?
Asking now at stupid o'clock because it's popped into my mind, but does anybody know where one might be able to get teeny tiny models of shonky French battleships for a reasonable price? I want to make baubles for the Christmas tree...
November 15, 2025 at 9:53 PM
@diceosaurus.bsky.social where was that place you went in London?
In Icelandic we have 'Ókind' for monster. But the translation is un-sheep. So everything not a sheep is dangerous.
November 7, 2025 at 7:55 AM
"It might be entertaining, but it won’t make you think, and it won’t make you feel"
My review of The Bacchae at the National Theatre - a production based on the premise the audience won’t notice how little sense it makes as long as the cast say fuck enough
www.newstatesman.com/culture/thea...
My review of The Bacchae at the National Theatre - a production based on the premise the audience won’t notice how little sense it makes as long as the cast say fuck enough
www.newstatesman.com/culture/thea...
The Bacchae is more cringe-inducing than clever
Indhu Rubasingham’s debut as artistic director of the National Theatre tries to bring girlboss feminism to Euripides
www.newstatesman.com
September 25, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Banger of an intro paragraph
When I see people write like this about finance, it spurs me to be braver in my own writing.
Very very well done @dsquareddigest.bsky.social
on.ft.com/47ZzGzI The grimdark future of credit risk models
When I see people write like this about finance, it spurs me to be braver in my own writing.
Very very well done @dsquareddigest.bsky.social
on.ft.com/47ZzGzI The grimdark future of credit risk models
September 24, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Sometimes it's nice to remember that even Marcus Aurelius was like "you don't have to comment on everything bro"
September 18, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Ian Blackham
There are more parkrun *volunteers* than anti-asylum protestors (and counterprotestors). Let's hear their voices & stories! What are they hoping for this bank holiday?
and 5-10,000 volunteered to make parkrun happen, of course.
August 23, 2025 at 1:04 PM
There are more parkrun *volunteers* than anti-asylum protestors (and counterprotestors). Let's hear their voices & stories! What are they hoping for this bank holiday?
Reposted by Ian Blackham
The story of the weekend looks like about 3000+ people protesting asylum, 2000+ counterprotestors while 210k people do parkrun
August 23, 2025 at 12:51 PM
The story of the weekend looks like about 3000+ people protesting asylum, 2000+ counterprotestors while 210k people do parkrun
@mcrice.bsky.social @stevepuk.bsky.social this feels like something I heard recently...
Very gloomy views around the launch of the Commission for Students in Higher Education report. Basically, in this financial crisis, it's hard to see what can be done better. Students simply can't study while they have to work all hours God sends. You can't do more with less. (1/2)
July 19, 2025 at 3:45 PM
@mcrice.bsky.social @stevepuk.bsky.social this feels like something I heard recently...
Reposted by Ian Blackham
One other 7/7 thread today. Because I think how the bus network got running again is a real testament to some serious heroes that day:
The bus drivers and staff who got that network running again and got London home that night.
And TfL/the Mayor disobeyed the Security Services to make it happen /1
The bus drivers and staff who got that network running again and got London home that night.
And TfL/the Mayor disobeyed the Security Services to make it happen /1
July 7, 2025 at 10:28 AM
One other 7/7 thread today. Because I think how the bus network got running again is a real testament to some serious heroes that day:
The bus drivers and staff who got that network running again and got London home that night.
And TfL/the Mayor disobeyed the Security Services to make it happen /1
The bus drivers and staff who got that network running again and got London home that night.
And TfL/the Mayor disobeyed the Security Services to make it happen /1
July 3, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Five years today, the statue of Edward Colston was pulled down in Bristol.
Boris Johnson accused protestors of trying to "photoshop" the past and "lie about our history".
I'm reposting below a thread I wrote at the time: on history, memory, and how we decide who to celebrate in our public spaces.🧵
Boris Johnson accused protestors of trying to "photoshop" the past and "lie about our history".
I'm reposting below a thread I wrote at the time: on history, memory, and how we decide who to celebrate in our public spaces.🧵
June 7, 2025 at 8:25 PM
As it is that time of year again, here is W/C L.E. Healy's wonderful response to the Air Ministry's reminder, hours into the landings in Normandy, that 2TAF's Hawker Typhoon Bomphoons were not cleared to drop 1000lbs bombs.
The Canadian Tiffys had already dropped 48 of them that morning...
#dday
The Canadian Tiffys had already dropped 48 of them that morning...
#dday
June 6, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Ever wondered why some charts are more effective and engaging than others?
I’ll be going through all the theory, evidence and principles behind compelling data storytelling from this Wednesday.
Free to watch for anyone who is interested: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-fundam...
I’ll be going through all the theory, evidence and principles behind compelling data storytelling from this Wednesday.
Free to watch for anyone who is interested: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-fundam...
May 12, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Reposted by Ian Blackham
If a government with over 400 seats and 4 years left to govern cannot summon the courage to level with the public on social care then I despair at the capacity of our political system to ever deliver the change we need.
May 11, 2025 at 6:14 PM
If a government with over 400 seats and 4 years left to govern cannot summon the courage to level with the public on social care then I despair at the capacity of our political system to ever deliver the change we need.
@diceosaurus.bsky.social thread!
1804. Oceans are now Battlefields.
In the South China Sea a British convoy worth almost £1bn today is spotted by the French.
It should be a massacre.
Instead, Commodore Nathanial Dance is about to defeat a French battle squadron using some paint and the most overplayed hand in #navalHistory. /1 🧵
In the South China Sea a British convoy worth almost £1bn today is spotted by the French.
It should be a massacre.
Instead, Commodore Nathanial Dance is about to defeat a French battle squadron using some paint and the most overplayed hand in #navalHistory. /1 🧵
May 2, 2025 at 6:35 PM
@diceosaurus.bsky.social thread!
Reposted by Ian Blackham
Twitter was like a zoo where both sides thought they were the visitors.
May 1, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Twitter was like a zoo where both sides thought they were the visitors.
Reposted by Ian Blackham
@mcrice.bsky.social announcement ...
Our second university getting deeper and deeper into the mire today is the University of Nottingham, which is going to join everyone else shedding jobs. Every single day in UK Higher Education is like this, and it will get worse and worse until someone gets a grip. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
University of Nottingham plans to cut 250 jobs
Announcing the consultation, the university said it was a
www.bbc.co.uk
April 8, 2025 at 5:36 PM
@mcrice.bsky.social announcement ...
Another fantastic thread @diceosaurus.bsky.social (and the alt are brilliant again), but also solid practical application of war gaming.
This here is one of the great U-boat hunters of the Second World War.
Grab a comfy seat and a glass of something pleasing. We're going on a journey...
Grab a comfy seat and a glass of something pleasing. We're going on a journey...
April 8, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Another fantastic thread @diceosaurus.bsky.social (and the alt are brilliant again), but also solid practical application of war gaming.
Burn!
Any Labour SpAd arguing for restricting student imm should be sat down in front of a map and asked three Qs:
1. Where do you think the unis in most financial trouble are?
2. How many people rely on them for jobs and income?
3. Which party represents these seats?
1. Where do you think the unis in most financial trouble are?
2. How many people rely on them for jobs and income?
3. Which party represents these seats?
April 8, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Burn!
@diceosaurus.bsky.social this is a thread, and check out the alt descriptions
Five years ago today it seemed that the golden age of naval idiocy had disappeared forever.
That was before the Venezuelan patrol vessel Naiguatá managed to recapture some of this spirit by fighting - at least at that point - the dumbest action of the 21st century.
That was before the Venezuelan patrol vessel Naiguatá managed to recapture some of this spirit by fighting - at least at that point - the dumbest action of the 21st century.
March 31, 2025 at 5:44 PM
@diceosaurus.bsky.social this is a thread, and check out the alt descriptions
@stevepuk.bsky.social @skardrup.bsky.social a bit of data analysis in this thread ...
An anecdote in @whippletom.bsky.social's great book 'Battle of the Beams' made me realise I was looking at a puzzle I knew well from my proof.kucharski.io research, but in a new disguise. The story begins in 1941, with a growing network of Nazi radar stations across Europe... 1/
March 15, 2025 at 7:27 PM
@stevepuk.bsky.social @skardrup.bsky.social a bit of data analysis in this thread ...
February 20, 2025 at 6:21 PM
@stevepuk.bsky.social my bluesky feed is overlapping with the 9-5 too much today
February 8, 2025 at 3:56 PM
@stevepuk.bsky.social my bluesky feed is overlapping with the 9-5 too much today