Squiffy-Marie von Bladet, PhD
@vonbladet.bsky.social
Dull old man; now Dutch
Reposted by Squiffy-Marie von Bladet, PhD
Historian of medicine here. Yes. Yes, they did.
before antibiotics did people just die all the time from everything?
February 17, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Historian of medicine here. Yes. Yes, they did.
Reposted by Squiffy-Marie von Bladet, PhD
this is one of my favorite anecdotes about the early history of CAD: an engineer at Boeing in 1960 thought "wait, instead of having the computer print tables of numbers and we draw out the curves and lines by hand, can we just have the computer draw the curves directly?"
dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
February 17, 2026 at 6:17 AM
this is one of my favorite anecdotes about the early history of CAD: an engineer at Boeing in 1960 thought "wait, instead of having the computer print tables of numbers and we draw out the curves and lines by hand, can we just have the computer draw the curves directly?"
dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
Reposted by Squiffy-Marie von Bladet, PhD
Pancake expert here. The annual rush to harvest pancakes on a single day has extremely deleterious effects on the local pancake ecosystem. By all means pick a few pancakes for your own use, but please leave some on the bush so that it can recover in its own time.
February 17, 2026 at 10:11 AM
Pancake expert here. The annual rush to harvest pancakes on a single day has extremely deleterious effects on the local pancake ecosystem. By all means pick a few pancakes for your own use, but please leave some on the bush so that it can recover in its own time.
It's Shrove Tuesday, chat; are *you* shriven?
February 17, 2026 at 10:11 AM
It's Shrove Tuesday, chat; are *you* shriven?
To the extent that this alleged movie was an investment, the return on it was never going to be crowd-funded
February 17, 2026 at 8:55 AM
To the extent that this alleged movie was an investment, the return on it was never going to be crowd-funded
"We put a right-wing lickspittle cunt in charge of the NHS. What happened next will* astonish you!"
Patients were forced to go private at great personal cost because NHS assessments for ADHD have waitlists up to 8 years long. And now, despite having those diagnoses, GPs are just refusing to give people meds they need for a diagnosis they have because... fuck you, that's why.
Cool!
Cool!
Henry Shelford, chief executive of charity ADHD UK: it is "hateful and cruel how badly the overall NHS treats people with ADHD”.
February 17, 2026 at 8:46 AM
"We put a right-wing lickspittle cunt in charge of the NHS. What happened next will* astonish you!"
"Johnny's in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
With Bob Dylan foot content"
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
With Bob Dylan foot content"
Bob Dylan foot content
Bob Dylan foot content
February 16, 2026 at 4:05 PM
"Johnny's in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
With Bob Dylan foot content"
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
With Bob Dylan foot content"
I'll tell you what, though; I wouldn't be a huge rush to take advice on user interface design for numerical systems from people who still think the 12-hour clock is a really good idea. Parsing Christmas TV guides in Blighty remains a pretty sore point.
February 16, 2026 at 3:24 PM
I'll tell you what, though; I wouldn't be a huge rush to take advice on user interface design for numerical systems from people who still think the 12-hour clock is a really good idea. Parsing Christmas TV guides in Blighty remains a pretty sore point.
I remember when The Edge seemed hip and uh edgy; I also remember thinking it had all got a bit Reddit Atheist/EvoPsycho; it is startling to be belated briefed on what was going on behind the scenes, and also that even L Smolin's loop quantum gravity was hooked into J Epstein's money
MUST READ:
The best synthesis I have seen so far of things I knew or had put together from various sources but had not really seen pulled together 🧪
Importantly, I don’t think these academics were an aberration. I think a lot of scientists would have entered these circles, given the option.
The best synthesis I have seen so far of things I knew or had put together from various sources but had not really seen pulled together 🧪
Importantly, I don’t think these academics were an aberration. I think a lot of scientists would have entered these circles, given the option.
The billionaires' eugenics project: how Epstein infiltrated Harvard, muzzled the humanities and preached master-race science
Edge - Jeffrey Epstein's favourite intellectual salon - was sold to me as a gathering of the world's finest minds, writes Virginia Heffernan. The files reveal it was something far darker: a decades-lo...
www.thenerve.news
February 16, 2026 at 2:08 PM
I remember when The Edge seemed hip and uh edgy; I also remember thinking it had all got a bit Reddit Atheist/EvoPsycho; it is startling to be belated briefed on what was going on behind the scenes, and also that even L Smolin's loop quantum gravity was hooked into J Epstein's money
As a bonus, W Fuckley apparently doesn't actually know how these scales work:
"The Fahrenheit and Celsius scales intersect numerically at −40 in the respective unit (i.e., −40 °F corresponds to −40 °C)."
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit>
"The Fahrenheit and Celsius scales intersect numerically at −40 in the respective unit (i.e., −40 °F corresponds to −40 °C)."
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit>
C habitable range: -20 to maybe 35
F habitable range: -89 to maybe 120
Much more useful granularity in Fahrenheit
F habitable range: -89 to maybe 120
Much more useful granularity in Fahrenheit
February 16, 2026 at 8:59 AM
As a bonus, W Fuckley apparently doesn't actually know how these scales work:
"The Fahrenheit and Celsius scales intersect numerically at −40 in the respective unit (i.e., −40 °F corresponds to −40 °C)."
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit>
"The Fahrenheit and Celsius scales intersect numerically at −40 in the respective unit (i.e., −40 °F corresponds to −40 °C)."
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit>
I grew up in Britain when Fahrenheit was still routinely used in weather forecasts; I now live on the Continong where Celsius rules supreme.
As a veteran of both systems, then, I am perhaps uniquely qualified to remark: both scales are completely fine for this application and most others
As a veteran of both systems, then, I am perhaps uniquely qualified to remark: both scales are completely fine for this application and most others
Celsius is the scientist temperature measurement in that it’s the most conceptually coherent , Fahrenheit is the engineer temperature measurement in that it’s actually optimized to be useful for it’s main use case of communicating everyday temperatures.
February 16, 2026 at 8:57 AM
I grew up in Britain when Fahrenheit was still routinely used in weather forecasts; I now live on the Continong where Celsius rules supreme.
As a veteran of both systems, then, I am perhaps uniquely qualified to remark: both scales are completely fine for this application and most others
As a veteran of both systems, then, I am perhaps uniquely qualified to remark: both scales are completely fine for this application and most others
I do not trouble to watch the Sportsball On Ice show*, but could someone alert me when the Netflix miniseries of this drops? Thanks very!
*not out of moral superiority I just don't really care about it; I am keeping my sportsball powder warm and dry for the return of beisból
*not out of moral superiority I just don't really care about it; I am keeping my sportsball powder warm and dry for the return of beisból
Sweden curling set up a sting operation to catch Canada cheating i’m fucking losing it
February 16, 2026 at 8:31 AM
I do not trouble to watch the Sportsball On Ice show*, but could someone alert me when the Netflix miniseries of this drops? Thanks very!
*not out of moral superiority I just don't really care about it; I am keeping my sportsball powder warm and dry for the return of beisból
*not out of moral superiority I just don't really care about it; I am keeping my sportsball powder warm and dry for the return of beisból
Reposted by Squiffy-Marie von Bladet, PhD
have you a moment of your day to hear the word of the good lord Bhaal?
February 14, 2026 at 11:01 AM
have you a moment of your day to hear the word of the good lord Bhaal?
Since this actually applies to me I actually read the article, but it doesn't really clarify my personal edge-case very well: as an EU citizen who occasionally pays brief visits to Britain, could I just pay the ETA fee each time instead?
Dual nationals to be denied entry to UK from 25 February unless they have British passport
Dual nationals to be denied entry to UK from 25 February unless they have British passport
New border controls require ‘certificate of entitlement’ to attach to second nationality passport that costs £589
Dual British nationals have been warned they may be denied boarding a flight, ferry or train to the UK after 25 February unless they carry a valid British passport.
The warning by the Home Office comes amid scores of complaints from British people living or travelling abroad who have suddenly found themselves at risk of not being allowed into the country.
If you are affected by the change and want to share your story, email lisa.ocarroll@theguardian.com Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Since this actually applies to me I actually read the article, but it doesn't really clarify my personal edge-case very well: as an EU citizen who occasionally pays brief visits to Britain, could I just pay the ETA fee each time instead?
Reposted by Squiffy-Marie von Bladet, PhD
Unclear if the politician here is lying, or simply west wing brained so they think our Supreme Court is the same as the American one? Because the UK government can, in fact, simply change the law on which a judgement rests. It absolutely can do that.
Angeliki Stogia (Labour). Angeliki broadly performed well, but she felt very hemmed in by her government's record. When questioned about trans rights, for instance, she stated that the Labour Party would always stand against transphobia and that they couldn't just change the supreme court decision
February 13, 2026 at 9:53 AM
Unclear if the politician here is lying, or simply west wing brained so they think our Supreme Court is the same as the American one? Because the UK government can, in fact, simply change the law on which a judgement rests. It absolutely can do that.
_Caliban and the Witch_ is a very well-known feminism but (it turns out) not a particularly good historical scholarship
Systematically and brutally. Caliban and the Witch is utter utter bullshit start to finish which has been obvious to anyone with even a passing interest in the history forever but no one has ever written it up as a subject specialist. This piece is glorious.
February 13, 2026 at 10:38 AM
_Caliban and the Witch_ is a very well-known feminism but (it turns out) not a particularly good historical scholarship
"Between Sydney and Groningen" includes by my reckoning pretty much anywhere on earth, so that's nice.
(I live in Groningen and have enough PhDs for now, so I won't be competing for this.)
(I live in Groningen and have enough PhDs for now, so I won't be competing for this.)
Medievalist friends! Applications are open until end of Feb for a fully-funded PhD in Arthurian Literature with the brilliant Louise D'Arcens @medievalafterlives.bsky.social and myself, based between Sydney (Australia) and Groningen (The Netherlands).
Please share widely!
tinyurl.com/f7su6urv
Please share widely!
tinyurl.com/f7su6urv
Global PhD on Middle English Arthurian romance
The University of Groningen and Macquarie are offering a co-funded scholarship to support a student undertaking doctoral research in medieval literature.
tinyurl.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:36 AM
"Between Sydney and Groningen" includes by my reckoning pretty much anywhere on earth, so that's nice.
(I live in Groningen and have enough PhDs for now, so I won't be competing for this.)
(I live in Groningen and have enough PhDs for now, so I won't be competing for this.)
Y Cooper's brand was always the Lawful Evil; she'd deport people just as hard as the Tories but at least the paperwork would be filled in correctly. Now it turns out she wasn't even serious about the "lawful" bit, so I guess her brand is just "evil" now
May Labour's Yvette Cooper, the former Home Secretary, be remembered always as the politician who imposed the ban at the behest of Britain's powerful weapons industry, so it could continue to profit from the deliberate massacre of the people of Gaza
February 13, 2026 at 10:34 AM
Y Cooper's brand was always the Lawful Evil; she'd deport people just as hard as the Tories but at least the paperwork would be filled in correctly. Now it turns out she wasn't even serious about the "lawful" bit, so I guess her brand is just "evil" now
I only subscribe to the radio version of Big League Beisból, because I like to listen to it on my commute to The Forest.
This year they are bundling some new features that aren't available outside US&A, but to keep the admin simple they are doubling the price for everyone. So that's nice.
This year they are bundling some new features that aren't available outside US&A, but to keep the admin simple they are doubling the price for everyone. So that's nice.
February 13, 2026 at 9:23 AM
I only subscribe to the radio version of Big League Beisból, because I like to listen to it on my commute to The Forest.
This year they are bundling some new features that aren't available outside US&A, but to keep the admin simple they are doubling the price for everyone. So that's nice.
This year they are bundling some new features that aren't available outside US&A, but to keep the admin simple they are doubling the price for everyone. So that's nice.
Reposted by Squiffy-Marie von Bladet, PhD
Sweden deports eight month old baby to Iran without his parents, national public radio reports. The ruling is a consequence of the harsh immigration laws initiated by the success of the nazi-originated party that is now crucial to the government’s mandate, but most parties are behind these laws.
Born in Sweden, baby Emanuel to be deported to Iran - Radio Sweden
After a ruling by the Migration Agency, eight month old baby Emanuel, who was born in Sweden, is facing a deportation order to his family's homeland of ...
www.sverigesradio.se
February 13, 2026 at 6:22 AM
Sweden deports eight month old baby to Iran without his parents, national public radio reports. The ruling is a consequence of the harsh immigration laws initiated by the success of the nazi-originated party that is now crucial to the government’s mandate, but most parties are behind these laws.
This is going to be Kieth Labour's legacy and it is a foul thing
New School Guidance announces:
Full bathroom ban.
Full PE ban.
Full school trip accommodation ban.
Trans kids will not go to the bathroom, do PE or go on any school trips. 1/
Full bathroom ban.
Full PE ban.
Full school trip accommodation ban.
Trans kids will not go to the bathroom, do PE or go on any school trips. 1/
February 12, 2026 at 7:36 PM
This is going to be Kieth Labour's legacy and it is a foul thing
Reposted by Squiffy-Marie von Bladet, PhD
Sam Altman was right - this unironically is PhD-level intelligence
February 12, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Sam Altman was right - this unironically is PhD-level intelligence
Reposted by Squiffy-Marie von Bladet, PhD
This is the FINAL time I will explain the difference between ice dance and pairs. Ice dancers have wider, U-shaped snouts, while pair skater snouts are more pointed and V-shaped. Pair skaters prefer saltwater habitats, while ice dancers inhabit freshwater marshes and lakes.
February 12, 2026 at 5:41 AM
This is the FINAL time I will explain the difference between ice dance and pairs. Ice dancers have wider, U-shaped snouts, while pair skater snouts are more pointed and V-shaped. Pair skaters prefer saltwater habitats, while ice dancers inhabit freshwater marshes and lakes.
I played Adventure on a green-screen terminal in a computer lab; I stuck a rubber strip to my ZX81's 16Kb ram pack to reduce wobble; I installed Slackware Linux from floppies; l wrote CGI* code in Perl before the first Internet bubble burst; I thought iso-latin-? encodings were neat
* Not graphics
* Not graphics
Age verification? I have pulled out a disk, flipped it over and re-inserted it when leaving the Brittania overworld to enter a town.
Age verification? My first computer game was zork.
February 11, 2026 at 4:25 PM
I played Adventure on a green-screen terminal in a computer lab; I stuck a rubber strip to my ZX81's 16Kb ram pack to reduce wobble; I installed Slackware Linux from floppies; l wrote CGI* code in Perl before the first Internet bubble burst; I thought iso-latin-? encodings were neat
* Not graphics
* Not graphics