Katherine Firth
@katherinefirth.bsky.social
Writes about writing, especially for PhDs and researchers: poetry, music, food. Blogs at Research Degree Insider
Reposted by Katherine Firth
Love this Katherine! A work colleague pointed out to me this Fall that I’ve always my notebook with me and asked whether I kept them. I do keep them and go back to them, pages numbered and dated. I keep a work/research NB and a life/personal thinking NB and I’ve even started indexing their content.
January 8, 2026 at 8:12 AM
Love this Katherine! A work colleague pointed out to me this Fall that I’ve always my notebook with me and asked whether I kept them. I do keep them and go back to them, pages numbered and dated. I keep a work/research NB and a life/personal thinking NB and I’ve even started indexing their content.
Reposted by Katherine Firth
I've hidden it.
January 8, 2026 at 7:39 AM
I've hidden it.
It's January! New diary time. New year. New notebook time.
We often joke about the new notebook, and how the perfect notebook will fix you. And maybe it will, at least when it comes to taking notes.
We often joke about the new notebook, and how the perfect notebook will fix you. And maybe it will, at least when it comes to taking notes.
Is the perfect notebook out there, and will it fix you?
It's January! New diary time. New year. New notebook time. We often joke about the new notebook, and how the perfect notebook will fix you. And maybe it will, at least when it comes to taking notes.
researchinsiders.blog
January 8, 2026 at 5:49 AM
It's January! New diary time. New year. New notebook time.
We often joke about the new notebook, and how the perfect notebook will fix you. And maybe it will, at least when it comes to taking notes.
We often joke about the new notebook, and how the perfect notebook will fix you. And maybe it will, at least when it comes to taking notes.
Reposted by Katherine Firth
Also, they sound *way* more musical than you might expect. www.youtube.com/watch?v=auR-...
The sound of the carnyx
YouTube video by NationalMuseumsScotland
www.youtube.com
January 7, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Also, they sound *way* more musical than you might expect. www.youtube.com/watch?v=auR-...
Reposted by Katherine Firth
Having the great privilege of being part of Operation Nightingale RAF Valley project on Anglesey also means we hear Paul Hemingway play his carnyx by the sacred lake of Llyn Cerrig Bach, where a different type of IA horn has been recovered. Whenever he plays, I half expect to hear a faint reply
4/..
4/..
January 7, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Having the great privilege of being part of Operation Nightingale RAF Valley project on Anglesey also means we hear Paul Hemingway play his carnyx by the sacred lake of Llyn Cerrig Bach, where a different type of IA horn has been recovered. Whenever he plays, I half expect to hear a faint reply
4/..
4/..
Reposted by Katherine Firth
@profaliceroberts.bsky.social !! I know you said there was a spectacular Iron Age fund, but you could have warned us!!!
@theduncanmackay.bsky.social and me are going to be fit for nowt today!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
@theduncanmackay.bsky.social and me are going to be fit for nowt today!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
‘Extraordinary’ iron age war trumpet find in Britain may have Boudicca links
Bronze instrument or carnyx dug up in Norfolk in area inhabited by Celtic tribe led by warrior who fought Romans
www.theguardian.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:58 AM
@profaliceroberts.bsky.social !! I know you said there was a spectacular Iron Age fund, but you could have warned us!!!
@theduncanmackay.bsky.social and me are going to be fit for nowt today!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
@theduncanmackay.bsky.social and me are going to be fit for nowt today!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Reposted by Katherine Firth
The idea that digitization is a preservation strategy is not at all popular among archivists (including us digital specialists) and as organizational policy basically always originates from administrators (even with disciplinary training) who don’t understand the issue.
The extremely easy capture of tech leaders, platforms, and initiatives by fascists interested in shutting knowledge production down should force us to rethink digitization as a sufficient or secure strategy for maintaining access to knowledge.
This story reminds us that:
a) Not everything has been digitized
b) Not everything digitized is accessible to the public
Also: What's happening at NASA is part of a broader trend of library closures in government & industry. (Even university libraries are moving away from physical books & journals)
a) Not everything has been digitized
b) Not everything digitized is accessible to the public
Also: What's happening at NASA is part of a broader trend of library closures in government & industry. (Even university libraries are moving away from physical books & journals)
January 6, 2026 at 9:37 PM
The idea that digitization is a preservation strategy is not at all popular among archivists (including us digital specialists) and as organizational policy basically always originates from administrators (even with disciplinary training) who don’t understand the issue.
Ahem, so it’s the New Year and you think the perfect notebook is still out there.
Are you in your 20s?
(Yes? then it’s still likely!)
Have you yet tried the Good Brands™️
(Moleskine, Leuchtturm1917, Rhodia, Midori, Hobonichi etc? No? Then it’s still likely!)
✨📚
1/5 🧵
#AcademicSky
Are you in your 20s?
(Yes? then it’s still likely!)
Have you yet tried the Good Brands™️
(Moleskine, Leuchtturm1917, Rhodia, Midori, Hobonichi etc? No? Then it’s still likely!)
✨📚
1/5 🧵
#AcademicSky
January 6, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Ahem, so it’s the New Year and you think the perfect notebook is still out there.
Are you in your 20s?
(Yes? then it’s still likely!)
Have you yet tried the Good Brands™️
(Moleskine, Leuchtturm1917, Rhodia, Midori, Hobonichi etc? No? Then it’s still likely!)
✨📚
1/5 🧵
#AcademicSky
Are you in your 20s?
(Yes? then it’s still likely!)
Have you yet tried the Good Brands™️
(Moleskine, Leuchtturm1917, Rhodia, Midori, Hobonichi etc? No? Then it’s still likely!)
✨📚
1/5 🧵
#AcademicSky
Reposted by Katherine Firth
Another exodus from the other site, from the sounds of it? If you're looking for the #EarlyModern gang, we've got three starter packs that compile a bunch of them. I can keep adding to the third, just poke.
Here's the OG: go.bsky.app/VQeQbbF 1/3
Here's the OG: go.bsky.app/VQeQbbF 1/3
January 5, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Another exodus from the other site, from the sounds of it? If you're looking for the #EarlyModern gang, we've got three starter packs that compile a bunch of them. I can keep adding to the third, just poke.
Here's the OG: go.bsky.app/VQeQbbF 1/3
Here's the OG: go.bsky.app/VQeQbbF 1/3
Yay Libraries (also fund libraries! they do so much beyond books—they really are about collectives)
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Libraries have bounced back after COVID. Here's how they did it
Public libraries in Australia are experimenting with inventive ways to attract new members — but a lack of funding means they must do more with less.
www.abc.net.au
January 6, 2026 at 7:27 AM
Yay Libraries (also fund libraries! they do so much beyond books—they really are about collectives)
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Reposted by Katherine Firth
A Melbourne man says this year will be the year he stops getting uptight about grammar, errors.
Man Resolves to be Fewer Pedantic About Grammar This Year — The Shovel
"I'm totally relaxed about, it"
theshovel.com.au
January 2, 2026 at 5:53 AM
A Melbourne man says this year will be the year he stops getting uptight about grammar, errors.
This year, my word for the year is ‘reconnect’.
I like a word, it sets a tone, a theme, an intention without the KPIs and potential failures of a to-do list.
Do I plan to reconnect with people, with communities, with breath, with things that bring me joy, with the great task at hand? Yes.
I like a word, it sets a tone, a theme, an intention without the KPIs and potential failures of a to-do list.
Do I plan to reconnect with people, with communities, with breath, with things that bring me joy, with the great task at hand? Yes.
January 1, 2026 at 6:57 AM
This year, my word for the year is ‘reconnect’.
I like a word, it sets a tone, a theme, an intention without the KPIs and potential failures of a to-do list.
Do I plan to reconnect with people, with communities, with breath, with things that bring me joy, with the great task at hand? Yes.
I like a word, it sets a tone, a theme, an intention without the KPIs and potential failures of a to-do list.
Do I plan to reconnect with people, with communities, with breath, with things that bring me joy, with the great task at hand? Yes.
Reposted by Katherine Firth
Always worth a post
December 31, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Always worth a post
Reposted by Katherine Firth
November on The Sphinx…
This is the Internationalisation Strategy. And this
Is the Impact Strategy, whose use you will see,
When you are assessed for REF preparedness.
And this is the Future Priorities Strategy,
Which in your case you have not got.
thesphinxblog.com/2025/11/07/t...
This is the Internationalisation Strategy. And this
Is the Impact Strategy, whose use you will see,
When you are assessed for REF preparedness.
And this is the Future Priorities Strategy,
Which in your case you have not got.
thesphinxblog.com/2025/11/07/t...
The Naming of Parts
Today we have Strategic Vision. Yesterday,We had financial imperatives. And tomorrow morning,We shall have what to do after firing. But today,Today we have Strategic Vision. The quiet girlAt the ba…
thesphinxblog.com
December 31, 2025 at 8:04 PM
November on The Sphinx…
This is the Internationalisation Strategy. And this
Is the Impact Strategy, whose use you will see,
When you are assessed for REF preparedness.
And this is the Future Priorities Strategy,
Which in your case you have not got.
thesphinxblog.com/2025/11/07/t...
This is the Internationalisation Strategy. And this
Is the Impact Strategy, whose use you will see,
When you are assessed for REF preparedness.
And this is the Future Priorities Strategy,
Which in your case you have not got.
thesphinxblog.com/2025/11/07/t...
Reposted by Katherine Firth
This set of observations is produced by my scrolling Reddit and otherwise listening to people talk about "how to write."
A) there is no requirement that any of your characters has any sort of "arc" let alone a redemption.
B) there is also no requirement that your fiction has a plot.
A) there is no requirement that any of your characters has any sort of "arc" let alone a redemption.
B) there is also no requirement that your fiction has a plot.
December 31, 2025 at 4:47 PM
This set of observations is produced by my scrolling Reddit and otherwise listening to people talk about "how to write."
A) there is no requirement that any of your characters has any sort of "arc" let alone a redemption.
B) there is also no requirement that your fiction has a plot.
A) there is no requirement that any of your characters has any sort of "arc" let alone a redemption.
B) there is also no requirement that your fiction has a plot.
Reposted by Katherine Firth
This thread is just as good as people have promised
ALMOST EVERYTHING about penguins is cute.
There is *one exception*: they are champion poop producers. Specifically, they would win the long-distance contest.
Humboldt penguins can propel poop well over twice their own height (picture is unrelated).
Warning: thread contains penguin defecation.
There is *one exception*: they are champion poop producers. Specifically, they would win the long-distance contest.
Humboldt penguins can propel poop well over twice their own height (picture is unrelated).
Warning: thread contains penguin defecation.
a group of penguins standing on top of a pile of ice .
Alt: a group of penguins standing on top of a pile of ice . One suddenly steps on thin ice and faceplants into soft spot, disappearing beneath the water.
media.tenor.com
December 30, 2025 at 11:10 AM
This thread is just as good as people have promised
Reposted by Katherine Firth
I learn via @andreloez.bsky.social of these 18th-c. model monastic cells, made by their inhabitants for their families. This one is about 37cm wide.
December 30, 2025 at 9:21 AM
I learn via @andreloez.bsky.social of these 18th-c. model monastic cells, made by their inhabitants for their families. This one is about 37cm wide.
Reposted by Katherine Firth
Friends, I have now closed 100 browser tabs, from across multiple windows. I did the thing the open tab required, or downloaded/filed it, or decided I didn't need it. #TabClosed2026 is going well! Now to start a fourth thread. You're welcome to make your own!
Well, 71 browser tabs closed so far in #TabClosed2026! And I've chosen a new wallpaper, from the Giancarlo Menotti opera A Bride From Pluto. So, on to my third thread of closed tabs. Trying to stay ruthless.
December 28, 2025 at 7:21 AM
Friends, I have now closed 100 browser tabs, from across multiple windows. I did the thing the open tab required, or downloaded/filed it, or decided I didn't need it. #TabClosed2026 is going well! Now to start a fourth thread. You're welcome to make your own!
So @thesiswhisperer.bsky.social and I have SUBMITTED the second edition manuscript to our publishers! And on time.
If you loved How to Fix your Academic Writing Trouble you will love MOAR WRITING TROUBLE 2FAST 2FURIOUS out next year.
If you can’t wait that long, it’s probably in your library ✨📚
If you loved How to Fix your Academic Writing Trouble you will love MOAR WRITING TROUBLE 2FAST 2FURIOUS out next year.
If you can’t wait that long, it’s probably in your library ✨📚
December 29, 2025 at 12:23 AM
So @thesiswhisperer.bsky.social and I have SUBMITTED the second edition manuscript to our publishers! And on time.
If you loved How to Fix your Academic Writing Trouble you will love MOAR WRITING TROUBLE 2FAST 2FURIOUS out next year.
If you can’t wait that long, it’s probably in your library ✨📚
If you loved How to Fix your Academic Writing Trouble you will love MOAR WRITING TROUBLE 2FAST 2FURIOUS out next year.
If you can’t wait that long, it’s probably in your library ✨📚
Fascinating reporting on what ‘gold standard’ and ‘high quality’ means in medical research—and what ‘low quality’ does NOT mean (you can and should use low quality research to treat patients apparently !?!?)
Also of relevance to educational researchers who often use these terms incorrectly too
Also of relevance to educational researchers who often use these terms incorrectly too
For self-described skeptics of transgender health care, the words “weak” and “low-quality” do indispensable work.
To medical academics like Guyatt, they’re professional terms of art.
To medical academics like Guyatt, they’re professional terms of art.
Trans health care "skeptics" lost a key ally—now they're having a meltdown
The godfather of evidence-based medicine on rejecting anti-trans "misuse" of his work.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Fascinating reporting on what ‘gold standard’ and ‘high quality’ means in medical research—and what ‘low quality’ does NOT mean (you can and should use low quality research to treat patients apparently !?!?)
Also of relevance to educational researchers who often use these terms incorrectly too
Also of relevance to educational researchers who often use these terms incorrectly too
Reposted by Katherine Firth
wanna see a ~200-word wiki entry that somehow manages to cover Yiddish, contract bridge, chess, Go, Schafkopf, Omar Sharif, lapwings, NIST, 1930 cinema and Jane Jacobs' theory of urban safety
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibitzer
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibitzer
Kibitzer - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 26, 2025 at 12:02 AM
wanna see a ~200-word wiki entry that somehow manages to cover Yiddish, contract bridge, chess, Go, Schafkopf, Omar Sharif, lapwings, NIST, 1930 cinema and Jane Jacobs' theory of urban safety
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibitzer
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibitzer
Reposted by Katherine Firth
Reposted by Katherine Firth
I’ve used the BBC Written Archives Centre for research and I deplore the new restrictive rules and the sneaky way they were introduced. It’s unbecoming of a public institution that is supposed to be about informing people to effectively close off proper archival research.
Just up on the Telegraph, a thorough and thoughtful piece about the wrongheaded policy changes at WAC. Thanks to Kate Murphy, @illuminations.bsky.social, @unamccormack.bsky.social and @marklewisohn.bsky.social for giving up their time. Gift link here
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/65a1031...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/65a1031...
The BBC scandal of 2025 that went unnoticed
The Written Archives Centre has closed its doors to the public, despite being funded by the licence fee
www.telegraph.co.uk
December 24, 2025 at 11:52 AM
I’ve used the BBC Written Archives Centre for research and I deplore the new restrictive rules and the sneaky way they were introduced. It’s unbecoming of a public institution that is supposed to be about informing people to effectively close off proper archival research.
Reposted by Katherine Firth
Potato chip flavors on sale for the Hong Kong market. A thread 🧵
Steamed Garlic Shrimp
Steamed Garlic Shrimp
December 13, 2024 at 10:05 AM
Potato chip flavors on sale for the Hong Kong market. A thread 🧵
Steamed Garlic Shrimp
Steamed Garlic Shrimp
Reposted by Katherine Firth
The point of writing crap is not that you should barf out anything.
It's that you should be aware as you are writing it what the flaws are, and you need to get through it the first time, because the act of doing so informs you what is wrong.
It's that you should be aware as you are writing it what the flaws are, and you need to get through it the first time, because the act of doing so informs you what is wrong.
December 24, 2025 at 3:59 AM
The point of writing crap is not that you should barf out anything.
It's that you should be aware as you are writing it what the flaws are, and you need to get through it the first time, because the act of doing so informs you what is wrong.
It's that you should be aware as you are writing it what the flaws are, and you need to get through it the first time, because the act of doing so informs you what is wrong.