Mark Webster
@markrennywebster.bsky.social
I'll always be a scientist. I used to be a forensic scientist and before that, a reproductive endocrinologist.
Staffordshire, UK
Staffordshire, UK
Wax caps on Pipe Green, ancient meadow Lichfield UK.
Some are like ruby cabochons nestling in the grass.
#fungifriends
Some are like ruby cabochons nestling in the grass.
#fungifriends
November 4, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Wax caps on Pipe Green, ancient meadow Lichfield UK.
Some are like ruby cabochons nestling in the grass.
#fungifriends
Some are like ruby cabochons nestling in the grass.
#fungifriends
I've just wasted nearly two hours of my life watching House of Dynamite.
Dr. Strangelove tells the same story, but is ten times more engaging.
Dr. Strangelove tells the same story, but is ten times more engaging.
October 25, 2025 at 8:13 PM
I've just wasted nearly two hours of my life watching House of Dynamite.
Dr. Strangelove tells the same story, but is ten times more engaging.
Dr. Strangelove tells the same story, but is ten times more engaging.
How the mighty have fallen. #fungifriends
October 21, 2025 at 2:51 PM
How the mighty have fallen. #fungifriends
Afternoon dog walk on Pipe Green ancient meadow #Lichfield #Staffordshire #fungifriends The wax caps aren't up yet.
October 15, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Afternoon dog walk on Pipe Green ancient meadow #Lichfield #Staffordshire #fungifriends The wax caps aren't up yet.
September 23, 2025 at 2:23 PM
I'm watching The Thursday Murder Club, quietly so as not to annoy my companion who enjoys this kind of film.
It's dreadful. Like something written by AI.
It's dreadful. Like something written by AI.
August 28, 2025 at 8:21 PM
I'm watching The Thursday Murder Club, quietly so as not to annoy my companion who enjoys this kind of film.
It's dreadful. Like something written by AI.
It's dreadful. Like something written by AI.
Just listened to Matthew Syed's BBC radio 4 programme "Sideways" exploring the interaction between language and thoughts ... incredibly without once (as I recall) mentioning the Sapir Whorf hypothesis.
August 6, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Just listened to Matthew Syed's BBC radio 4 programme "Sideways" exploring the interaction between language and thoughts ... incredibly without once (as I recall) mentioning the Sapir Whorf hypothesis.
The Pacman nebula, captured last night through an open window. The first starry sky in weeks round here.
August 1, 2025 at 10:30 AM
The Pacman nebula, captured last night through an open window. The first starry sky in weeks round here.
July 25, 2025 at 6:51 PM
I'm worried my postie will be prosecuted for possession and distribution of material supporting a designated terrorist group when he delivers my next Private Eye.
Are Private Eye jokes now... criminal?
PALESTINE Solidarity campaigner Jon Farley was arrested during a silent march in Leeds last weekend. What egregious act had prompted the police to act? He was, er, carrying a Private Eye joke piece as a placard!
(1/2)
PALESTINE Solidarity campaigner Jon Farley was arrested during a silent march in Leeds last weekend. What egregious act had prompted the police to act? He was, er, carrying a Private Eye joke piece as a placard!
(1/2)
July 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
I'm worried my postie will be prosecuted for possession and distribution of material supporting a designated terrorist group when he delivers my next Private Eye.
Appointing someone with apparently no experience as a forensic scientist to be the forensic science regulator!
www.gov.uk/government/n...
www.gov.uk/government/n...
New Forensic Science Regulator appointed for England and Wales
The regulator ensures that the highest standards in forensic science are met across the criminal justice system.
www.gov.uk
July 23, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Appointing someone with apparently no experience as a forensic scientist to be the forensic science regulator!
www.gov.uk/government/n...
www.gov.uk/government/n...
If Boeing 787 fuel cutoff switches are not meant to be used in normal flight, why are they situated immediately below the thrust controls, which are used in normal flight?
Looks like the designer took the simple approach of grouping controls according to the systems they control.
Looks like the designer took the simple approach of grouping controls according to the systems they control.
July 13, 2025 at 9:59 AM
If Boeing 787 fuel cutoff switches are not meant to be used in normal flight, why are they situated immediately below the thrust controls, which are used in normal flight?
Looks like the designer took the simple approach of grouping controls according to the systems they control.
Looks like the designer took the simple approach of grouping controls according to the systems they control.
Hoping for a dark cloudless sky tonight for real #astrophotography but the Moon in a clear blue sunlit evening sky is irresistible.
July 2, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Hoping for a dark cloudless sky tonight for real #astrophotography but the Moon in a clear blue sunlit evening sky is irresistible.
Man, 92, convicted of raping and murdering Bristol woman in 1967 www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Man, 92, convicted of raping and murdering Bristol woman in 1967
Ryland Headley found guilty of killing Louisa Dunne after DNA breakthrough in cold case review
www.theguardian.com
June 30, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Man, 92, convicted of raping and murdering Bristol woman in 1967 www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
"Reckless [policy] decisions" have put forensic science in a graveyard spiral. Who made those decisions? 1/3
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/jun...
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/jun...
Miscarriages of justice more likely due to forensic science crisis, report finds
Inquiry warns of rising risk in England and Wales of biased investigations, wrongful convictions and cases collapsing due to missing evidence
www.theguardian.com
June 9, 2025 at 10:39 AM
"Reckless [policy] decisions" have put forensic science in a graveyard spiral. Who made those decisions? 1/3
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/jun...
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/jun...
Precious of MPs to be angry at Rantzen's suggestion that some opposed to assisted dying have "undeclared personal religious beliefs which mean no precautions would satisfy them”
I want MPs to declare all "interests" that could potentially influence their votes. Nothing special about religion.
I want MPs to declare all "interests" that could potentially influence their votes. Nothing special about religion.
May 16, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Precious of MPs to be angry at Rantzen's suggestion that some opposed to assisted dying have "undeclared personal religious beliefs which mean no precautions would satisfy them”
I want MPs to declare all "interests" that could potentially influence their votes. Nothing special about religion.
I want MPs to declare all "interests" that could potentially influence their votes. Nothing special about religion.
"Mr Sullivan had previously applied to the CCRC in 2008 ... the Forensic Science Service (FSS) advised that any further testing would be very unlikely to produce a DNA profile"
Many lawyers & investigators (such as the CCRC) are unintelligent customers of forensic science ...
Many lawyers & investigators (such as the CCRC) are unintelligent customers of forensic science ...
May 13, 2025 at 12:52 PM
"Mr Sullivan had previously applied to the CCRC in 2008 ... the Forensic Science Service (FSS) advised that any further testing would be very unlikely to produce a DNA profile"
Many lawyers & investigators (such as the CCRC) are unintelligent customers of forensic science ...
Many lawyers & investigators (such as the CCRC) are unintelligent customers of forensic science ...
Did a SPAD use #AI to help draft the #Starmer #immigration speech? All the top #LLM s would have seen Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech & identified #stranger as a core theme. From #Gemini:
Powell presented anecdotes including...an elderly woman who...felt like a stranger in her own country
Powell presented anecdotes including...an elderly woman who...felt like a stranger in her own country
May 13, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Worth reading just for the first paragraph of Secretary of Education Linda McMahon's "stream of consciousness rant"
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Trump administration cuts off all future federal funding to Harvard
Odd letter ostensibly about funding asks Harvard “why is there so much HATE?”…
arstechnica.com
May 7, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Worth reading just for the first paragraph of Secretary of Education Linda McMahon's "stream of consciousness rant"
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Reposted by Mark Webster
I’ll be honest, I could’ve done without this news: I’m going on a stag do to Leeds on Friday, all 10 of us dressed as cardinals.
April 21, 2025 at 9:09 AM
I’ll be honest, I could’ve done without this news: I’m going on a stag do to Leeds on Friday, all 10 of us dressed as cardinals.