Mark Elliott
@thatmarkelliott.bsky.social
Music, cycling, political and other random ramblings. Work: computer scientist/language tester/psychometrican in some order. Once drew trees and was told it was "better than felling them", which is a start, I guess. Views my own, cat photos will happen.
Pinned
Mark Elliott
@thatmarkelliott.bsky.social
· Jan 11
This is Hněvín Castle – a picturesque little Czech castle atop a hill, poking out above a sea of clouds. But what fairytale village lies beneath those clouds – are you perhaps already packing your bags to visit? If so, hold on for one moment before you do, for this is The Most 🧵. It will be long. 1/
My cat is the best cat
January 6, 2026 at 6:34 PM
My cat is the best cat
An interesting perspective, arguing that the US attack on Venezuela is not in fact a Trump-specific act, but rather the seamless continuation of long-standing US policy.
A very long and important THREAD -
The real reason the US is invading Venezuela goes back to a deal Henry Kissinger made with Saudi Arabia in 1974.
And I'm going to explain why this is actually about the SURVIVAL of the US dollar itself.
Not drugs. Not terrorism. Not "democracy." 1/
The real reason the US is invading Venezuela goes back to a deal Henry Kissinger made with Saudi Arabia in 1974.
And I'm going to explain why this is actually about the SURVIVAL of the US dollar itself.
Not drugs. Not terrorism. Not "democracy." 1/
January 5, 2026 at 12:44 PM
An interesting perspective, arguing that the US attack on Venezuela is not in fact a Trump-specific act, but rather the seamless continuation of long-standing US policy.
The only trouble with LinkedIn is that I want to block about 99% of the people there on the basis of the first post I see from them.
January 4, 2026 at 8:23 PM
The only trouble with LinkedIn is that I want to block about 99% of the people there on the basis of the first post I see from them.
I keep hearing people say that we should listen more than we speak, but what happens if everyone does that?
January 4, 2026 at 6:14 PM
I keep hearing people say that we should listen more than we speak, but what happens if everyone does that?
OK - so can we just skip 2026 and try 2027 instead?
January 3, 2026 at 11:45 AM
OK - so can we just skip 2026 and try 2027 instead?
Ringing in the New Year with three big changes:
1) I have promoted Comté to the status of Best French cheese - this is now official.
2) I'm going to buy some proper winter cycling gloves - my fingers turned to frozen sausages today.
3) I will block anyone who uses the word "pushbike" unironically.
1) I have promoted Comté to the status of Best French cheese - this is now official.
2) I'm going to buy some proper winter cycling gloves - my fingers turned to frozen sausages today.
3) I will block anyone who uses the word "pushbike" unironically.
January 2, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Ringing in the New Year with three big changes:
1) I have promoted Comté to the status of Best French cheese - this is now official.
2) I'm going to buy some proper winter cycling gloves - my fingers turned to frozen sausages today.
3) I will block anyone who uses the word "pushbike" unironically.
1) I have promoted Comté to the status of Best French cheese - this is now official.
2) I'm going to buy some proper winter cycling gloves - my fingers turned to frozen sausages today.
3) I will block anyone who uses the word "pushbike" unironically.
So now it's 2026. It's now exactly 100 years since these books were published:
1 Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
1 Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
January 2, 2026 at 1:43 PM
So now it's 2026. It's now exactly 100 years since these books were published:
1 Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
1 Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
This whole piece speaks to a toxic mindset IMO: stop troubling us with your petty concerns, for we have Great Plans to enact. That's not how a healthy democracy works - lots of people have voices about lots of issues that arise; we don't just elect a gov to enact a manifesto, important as that is.
Distractions over Abd el-Fattah were running joke, says ex-Starmer adviser
Paul Ovenden argues time spent discussing political prisoner was symptom of government struggling to focus
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 12:32 PM
This whole piece speaks to a toxic mindset IMO: stop troubling us with your petty concerns, for we have Great Plans to enact. That's not how a healthy democracy works - lots of people have voices about lots of issues that arise; we don't just elect a gov to enact a manifesto, important as that is.
At last someone else agrees with me 😂
January 1, 2026 at 8:40 PM
At last someone else agrees with me 😂
It's all good - just ignore your knees and carry on.
One of the weird things about entering your late 30s is seeing your friends age: losing a bit of vitality, withdrawing, becoming set or worn
Its one thing to notice in yourself, its another to see it in those you love
Its one thing to notice in yourself, its another to see it in those you love
January 1, 2026 at 6:57 PM
It's all good - just ignore your knees and carry on.
Reposted by Mark Elliott
I suppose the reason Nigel has never known Britain feel gloomier is he has terrible trouble remembering the 70s and 80s
Farage's new year message is strikingly bullish
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
January 1, 2026 at 12:36 PM
I suppose the reason Nigel has never known Britain feel gloomier is he has terrible trouble remembering the 70s and 80s
You could go on Mastermind and have ONE SINGLE FILM as your specialist subject and it's MULHOLLAND DRIVE and you probably still WOULDN'T HAVE A CLUE about any of the answers
"It's for charity, it's celebrities, it doesn't matter that much".
No. Wrong. You can't go on Mastermind and have ONE SINGLE FILM as your specialist subject.
No. Wrong. You can't go on Mastermind and have ONE SINGLE FILM as your specialist subject.
January 1, 2026 at 11:41 AM
You could go on Mastermind and have ONE SINGLE FILM as your specialist subject and it's MULHOLLAND DRIVE and you probably still WOULDN'T HAVE A CLUE about any of the answers
Can really feel the evenings drawing out now
January 1, 2026 at 11:24 AM
Can really feel the evenings drawing out now
Benji wishes everyone a Happy New Year
January 1, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Benji wishes everyone a Happy New Year
Watching the original Mission: Impossible on the Beeb, and noticing a few new details - like a roomful of Americans insulting a Frenchwoman's coffee-making abilties. Is this not an outright declaration of war?
December 31, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Watching the original Mission: Impossible on the Beeb, and noticing a few new details - like a roomful of Americans insulting a Frenchwoman's coffee-making abilties. Is this not an outright declaration of war?
IMO, there's a lack of attention to detail in these lines "showing the route the Ukranian drones took to Putin's house". They should really have drawn them starting in Lithuania - you now, forward planning and all. Mind you, at least they didn't use a Sharpie.
December 31, 2025 at 3:21 PM
IMO, there's a lack of attention to detail in these lines "showing the route the Ukranian drones took to Putin's house". They should really have drawn them starting in Lithuania - you now, forward planning and all. Mind you, at least they didn't use a Sharpie.
The volcano is a metaphor for Bracknell.
In the geologically accurate (not) 'Thames Valley Catastrophe' by Grant Allen ('The Strand', 1896), the huge volcano which, as we all know, lurks beneath #Berkshire, finally erupts, causing death and destruction which Martians (who invaded the same year) could only dream of.
#WyrdWednesday #sci-fi
#WyrdWednesday #sci-fi
December 31, 2025 at 11:57 AM
The volcano is a metaphor for Bracknell.
Reposted by Mark Elliott
Can this competition still go on when this has just happened on 30 December 2025
December 30, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Can this competition still go on when this has just happened on 30 December 2025
Now, there are lots of voices making noises about AI, most of them in reality money men (looking at you, Sam Altman). But Joshua Bengio is someone we really should hear out - he's one of the most important computer scientists, arguably the most important, in the development of deep learning.
AI showing signs of self-preservation and humans should be ready to pull plug, says pioneer
Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio warns against granting legal rights to cutting-edge technology
www.theguardian.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Now, there are lots of voices making noises about AI, most of them in reality money men (looking at you, Sam Altman). But Joshua Bengio is someone we really should hear out - he's one of the most important computer scientists, arguably the most important, in the development of deep learning.
It's that quiet time between Christmas and New Year when not much is going on. Does anyone fancy a spot of Internet Beef to liven things up?
December 30, 2025 at 1:17 PM
It's that quiet time between Christmas and New Year when not much is going on. Does anyone fancy a spot of Internet Beef to liven things up?
Reposted by Mark Elliott
Ask this question and its follow-up. Like Begum before him, Alaa el-Fattah is being used as a crowbar to shift reasonable people - even some progressives - into a space of thinking that full citizenship, if granted recently or dual, is retroactively conditional or attracts a lower class of rights.
December 29, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Ask this question and its follow-up. Like Begum before him, Alaa el-Fattah is being used as a crowbar to shift reasonable people - even some progressives - into a space of thinking that full citizenship, if granted recently or dual, is retroactively conditional or attracts a lower class of rights.
Reposted by Mark Elliott
It would seem that I am now a prostitute...
Well, now I'm an English professor...
December 30, 2025 at 10:30 AM
It would seem that I am now a prostitute...
Pro tip for Volodymyr Zelenskyy:
Establish the Ukraine Peace Prize already, to be awarded to the individual who returns the most land annexed by Russia to Ukraine during a 12-month period. You could even make it a monthly prize.
Establish the Ukraine Peace Prize already, to be awarded to the individual who returns the most land annexed by Russia to Ukraine during a 12-month period. You could even make it a monthly prize.
December 29, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Pro tip for Volodymyr Zelenskyy:
Establish the Ukraine Peace Prize already, to be awarded to the individual who returns the most land annexed by Russia to Ukraine during a 12-month period. You could even make it a monthly prize.
Establish the Ukraine Peace Prize already, to be awarded to the individual who returns the most land annexed by Russia to Ukraine during a 12-month period. You could even make it a monthly prize.