tom slists
@tomslists.bsky.social
of acquiescent temper, miscellaneous opinions, and uncertain vote.
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tom slists
@tomslists.bsky.social
· Jul 24
‘A world of disorderly notions, picked out of his books, crowded into his imagination.’
Reposted by tom slists
Finally had a chance to go through some of our finds from last year's excavation at #CerneAbbey & thought I would share this gem. Book clasps are quite common finds on monastic sites but this little fella is the finest I've ever excavated & must have come from a pretty fancy prayer book or psalter
January 21, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Finally had a chance to go through some of our finds from last year's excavation at #CerneAbbey & thought I would share this gem. Book clasps are quite common finds on monastic sites but this little fella is the finest I've ever excavated & must have come from a pretty fancy prayer book or psalter
Reposted by tom slists
The US granted visas to Jews but only allowed 30,000 in from Germany a year. You had to wait for your number to come up.
Meet Robert Smallbones. An unassuming British diplomat who 'hacked' this system so effectively (saving 48 THOUSAND Jews) the UK government kept his scheme secret for decades /1 🧵
Meet Robert Smallbones. An unassuming British diplomat who 'hacked' this system so effectively (saving 48 THOUSAND Jews) the UK government kept his scheme secret for decades /1 🧵
January 21, 2026 at 12:52 PM
The US granted visas to Jews but only allowed 30,000 in from Germany a year. You had to wait for your number to come up.
Meet Robert Smallbones. An unassuming British diplomat who 'hacked' this system so effectively (saving 48 THOUSAND Jews) the UK government kept his scheme secret for decades /1 🧵
Meet Robert Smallbones. An unassuming British diplomat who 'hacked' this system so effectively (saving 48 THOUSAND Jews) the UK government kept his scheme secret for decades /1 🧵
I call this installation
’Three Colours Egg’
’Three Colours Egg’
January 21, 2026 at 12:31 PM
I call this installation
’Three Colours Egg’
’Three Colours Egg’
Facing mortality, confronting death, and deciding: not today
POSTPONED: Please note that today's Fitch-Wiener seminar has been postponed due to the 'Red Code' weather alert and will take place on 25th February.
January 21, 2026 at 9:48 AM
Facing mortality, confronting death, and deciding: not today
Reposted by tom slists
This is great, but whoever filmed a cassowary at close quarters making that sound was taking their life in their hands, like someone in Jurassic Park stopping to film a velociraptor
January 21, 2026 at 9:04 AM
This is great, but whoever filmed a cassowary at close quarters making that sound was taking their life in their hands, like someone in Jurassic Park stopping to film a velociraptor
‘It can be fun to learn how much method there is in the madness’
January 20, 2026 at 8:29 AM
‘It can be fun to learn how much method there is in the madness’
Reposted by tom slists
January 19, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Today’s yoga position is called ‘Downward Cat’
January 19, 2026 at 9:43 PM
Today’s yoga position is called ‘Downward Cat’
Reposted by tom slists
“Beautiful books are written in a sort of foreign language. Beneath each word each one of us puts his own meaning or at least his own image, which is often a misinterpretation. But in beautiful books all our misinterpretations are beautiful.”
— Proust, Against Sainte-Beuve
— Proust, Against Sainte-Beuve
January 17, 2026 at 7:57 PM
“Beautiful books are written in a sort of foreign language. Beneath each word each one of us puts his own meaning or at least his own image, which is often a misinterpretation. But in beautiful books all our misinterpretations are beautiful.”
— Proust, Against Sainte-Beuve
— Proust, Against Sainte-Beuve
Reposted by tom slists
Something beautiful for the weekend! ✨
A rare rock crystal tool made by Neanderthals between 200,000 - 40,000 years ago.
From a Mousterian level at the Merveilles rockshelter, Sergeac, Dordogne, France. 6 x 3.3 x 1.5 cm.
Musée d’Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye 📷 by me
#Archaeology
A rare rock crystal tool made by Neanderthals between 200,000 - 40,000 years ago.
From a Mousterian level at the Merveilles rockshelter, Sergeac, Dordogne, France. 6 x 3.3 x 1.5 cm.
Musée d’Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye 📷 by me
#Archaeology
January 17, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Something beautiful for the weekend! ✨
A rare rock crystal tool made by Neanderthals between 200,000 - 40,000 years ago.
From a Mousterian level at the Merveilles rockshelter, Sergeac, Dordogne, France. 6 x 3.3 x 1.5 cm.
Musée d’Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye 📷 by me
#Archaeology
A rare rock crystal tool made by Neanderthals between 200,000 - 40,000 years ago.
From a Mousterian level at the Merveilles rockshelter, Sergeac, Dordogne, France. 6 x 3.3 x 1.5 cm.
Musée d’Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye 📷 by me
#Archaeology
I would like to live in a room like this
I mean, look at that wallpaper !!
I mean, look at that wallpaper !!
January 16, 2026 at 11:27 PM
I would like to live in a room like this
I mean, look at that wallpaper !!
I mean, look at that wallpaper !!
Storm clouds over parliament today
Not a heavy handed metaphor, just an observation
Not a heavy handed metaphor, just an observation
January 16, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Storm clouds over parliament today
Not a heavy handed metaphor, just an observation
Not a heavy handed metaphor, just an observation
1) Outside the Royal Academy
2) Inside the Royal Academy
2) Inside the Royal Academy
January 16, 2026 at 6:07 PM
1) Outside the Royal Academy
2) Inside the Royal Academy
2) Inside the Royal Academy
Spencer House in central London looking rather nice today seen over the hedge from Green Park
More attractive than the nearby Buckingham Palace in my opinion
More attractive than the nearby Buckingham Palace in my opinion
January 16, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Spencer House in central London looking rather nice today seen over the hedge from Green Park
More attractive than the nearby Buckingham Palace in my opinion
More attractive than the nearby Buckingham Palace in my opinion
Yesterday’s cormorant. They always look so posh with head held high and their beaks in the air
January 15, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Yesterday’s cormorant. They always look so posh with head held high and their beaks in the air
Reposted by tom slists
#ReliefWednesday reintroduces us to those toothy charmers, evil #Roman #dolphins, on the #frieze of the #BasilicaofNeptune at the back of the #Pantheon in #Rome. These marine elements, including shells and tridents, allude to the victory of #Augustus at the sea battle of #Actium. #AncientBluesky 🏺
January 14, 2026 at 1:04 PM
#ReliefWednesday reintroduces us to those toothy charmers, evil #Roman #dolphins, on the #frieze of the #BasilicaofNeptune at the back of the #Pantheon in #Rome. These marine elements, including shells and tridents, allude to the victory of #Augustus at the sea battle of #Actium. #AncientBluesky 🏺
Just like my cat when we tried on a jumper. First there was the frantic struggle to escape from the monster that had captured him, then despaired, decided that life was over and he played dead.
That was the ONLY occasion we tried dressing him.
That was the ONLY occasion we tried dressing him.
This is Dumpling. She got her very first sweater and promptly deactivated. 12/10 (TT: jmw495)
January 15, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Just like my cat when we tried on a jumper. First there was the frantic struggle to escape from the monster that had captured him, then despaired, decided that life was over and he played dead.
That was the ONLY occasion we tried dressing him.
That was the ONLY occasion we tried dressing him.
Chilli powder is going to be good for a few years after the *best* before date? Isn’t it?
January 14, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Chilli powder is going to be good for a few years after the *best* before date? Isn’t it?
Reposted by tom slists
9/x Those are the more traditional rudders, but engineers be engineers and they started designing some funky rudders. The first one is a FLAP rudder. Several companies have designed a flap rudder. The BECKER rudder is the most well known of those.
January 13, 2026 at 9:44 AM
9/x Those are the more traditional rudders, but engineers be engineers and they started designing some funky rudders. The first one is a FLAP rudder. Several companies have designed a flap rudder. The BECKER rudder is the most well known of those.
Reposted by tom slists
A shore, a shore,
My anagram for a horse
My anagram for a horse
January 12, 2026 at 3:30 PM
A shore, a shore,
My anagram for a horse
My anagram for a horse
Reposted by tom slists
The UK saw a 20% increase in public electric vehicle chargepoints in 2025, with ultra‑rapid chargers leading the growth and regional investments accelerating, signalling a strategic shift towards high‑power, clustered charging hubs
Full story: buff.ly/eQy8pGc
Full story: buff.ly/eQy8pGc
41% year‑on‑year expansion of ultra‑rapid charging network recorded in 2025 | New Civil Engineer
The UK’s public electric vehicle charging network passed 87,000 devices last year as deployment shifted towards higher‑power en‑route infrastructure,
www.newcivilengineer.com
January 12, 2026 at 1:34 PM
The UK saw a 20% increase in public electric vehicle chargepoints in 2025, with ultra‑rapid chargers leading the growth and regional investments accelerating, signalling a strategic shift towards high‑power, clustered charging hubs
Full story: buff.ly/eQy8pGc
Full story: buff.ly/eQy8pGc
Fading like a memory
January 12, 2026 at 9:27 AM
Fading like a memory
Reposted by tom slists
According to these figures London is safer than many if not all major North American cities. In 2025, there were 1.1 killings for every 100,000 residents of London, compared to 2.8 in New York, 5.6 in Los Angeles, 10.5 in Houston and 12.3 in Philadelphia
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
London’s homicide rate drops to lowest in more than a decade
Sadiq Khan says ‘public health’ approach has made the capital one of the safest cities in the western world
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2026 at 7:00 AM
According to these figures London is safer than many if not all major North American cities. In 2025, there were 1.1 killings for every 100,000 residents of London, compared to 2.8 in New York, 5.6 in Los Angeles, 10.5 in Houston and 12.3 in Philadelphia
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
“…and how does your horse feel about you playing the trumpet?”
January 11, 2026 at 6:31 PM
“…and how does your horse feel about you playing the trumpet?”
Search for constancy in life
Anyway to distract you from the latest round of horrors both acute and chronic, I offer this excellent video that can be enjoyed without any math knowledge:
youtu.be/M64HUIJFTZM?...
youtu.be/M64HUIJFTZM?...
The unexpectedly hard windmill question (2011 IMO, Q2)
YouTube video by 3Blue1Brown
youtu.be
January 11, 2026 at 12:27 PM
Search for constancy in life