Squiffy-Marie von Bladet, PhD
@vonbladet.bsky.social
Dull old man; now Dutch
Anyway: my current British passport is nearing the end of its life and it looks like I will in fact be trying to renew it from Abroad which I'm sure won't be an expensive pain in the arse.
February 13, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Anyway: my current British passport is nearing the end of its life and it looks like I will in fact be trying to renew it from Abroad which I'm sure won't be an expensive pain in the arse.
(Last couple of times I travelled to Blighty I took both passports and rendered them unto the local jobsworths as applicable; Mrs Squiffy handed the Dutch outgoing passport checkpoint my British passport by accident and they did ask if I also had a Dutch one, but I don't know exactly why)
February 13, 2026 at 2:11 PM
(Last couple of times I travelled to Blighty I took both passports and rendered them unto the local jobsworths as applicable; Mrs Squiffy handed the Dutch outgoing passport checkpoint my British passport by accident and they did ask if I also had a Dutch one, but I don't know exactly why)
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?
Now I am idly wondering if you (for example) know of the late 80s band Loop who are at least part of the collective unconscious/morphic resonance field that this channels
February 13, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Now I am idly wondering if you (for example) know of the late 80s band Loop who are at least part of the collective unconscious/morphic resonance field that this channels
Emmy Noether is a member of my four-person pantheon of mathematical physics; her sister Emma not so much
February 13, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Emmy Noether is a member of my four-person pantheon of mathematical physics; her sister Emma not so much
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 am going to pay up, though; beisból radio is very good commuting radio.)
February 13, 2026 at 9:26 AM
(I am going to pay up, though; beisból radio is very good commuting radio.)
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
They really oughta have usenet style "kill-files" or bluesky style blocking for legacy media; she is an exemplary specimen of someone with nothing of value to contribute to the discourse
February 12, 2026 at 9:59 AM
They really oughta have usenet style "kill-files" or bluesky style blocking for legacy media; she is an exemplary specimen of someone with nothing of value to contribute to the discourse
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.
You would also have to learn to close Emacs except why would you ever want to close Emacs? M-x all-hail-emacs
February 12, 2026 at 8:59 AM
You would also have to learn to close Emacs except why would you ever want to close Emacs? M-x all-hail-emacs
Reposted by Squiffy-Marie von Bladet, PhD
Please boost. Im doing delivery to make a little money but it's barely keeping food on the table. It could be another two months before all of the issues with my bank will be settled if they are at all. Thank you and I love you 🖤
February 11, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Please boost. Im doing delivery to make a little money but it's barely keeping food on the table. It could be another two months before all of the issues with my bank will be settled if they are at all. Thank you and I love you 🖤
I watched the "9/11" aftermath unfold in real time via text on Slashdot in my office in a university maths department, because all the "real" news websites collapsed under the load
February 11, 2026 at 4:30 PM
I watched the "9/11" aftermath unfold in real time via text on Slashdot in my office in a university maths department, because all the "real" news websites collapsed under the load
In my defence, it was a *better* city and it actually worked out pretty well
February 11, 2026 at 4:27 PM
In my defence, it was a *better* city and it actually worked out pretty well
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
"Kruidenier, ik heb graag een pak slag een twee pond smeerlappen, aub" [van _Wat en Hoe Niet Nederlands_, nog niet uitgegeven]
February 11, 2026 at 2:56 PM
"Kruidenier, ik heb graag een pak slag een twee pond smeerlappen, aub" [van _Wat en Hoe Niet Nederlands_, nog niet uitgegeven]
Ik vind dat een beetje taalkunde (vooral fonologie) nuttig kan zijn als je van plan ben om een nieuwe taal te leren; Nederlands was zowiezo niet m'n eerste tweede taal
February 11, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Ik vind dat een beetje taalkunde (vooral fonologie) nuttig kan zijn als je van plan ben om een nieuwe taal te leren; Nederlands was zowiezo niet m'n eerste tweede taal
This is an excellent choice; in most retail outlets you don't have to talk to anyone about anything these days so all my textbooks' chapters on "kruidenieren en groenteboeren" were of modest use, but you do actually have to talk to Bicycle Repair Man
LMAO the Swede's Dutch text book this week has an entire chapter that is called "at the bike repair shop" ["Bij de fietsenmaker"]
@sundance.bikesky.social
@sundance.bikesky.social
February 11, 2026 at 2:51 PM
This is an excellent choice; in most retail outlets you don't have to talk to anyone about anything these days so all my textbooks' chapters on "kruidenieren en groenteboeren" were of modest use, but you do actually have to talk to Bicycle Repair Man
(Als anderstaliger was ik snel van mening dat het eigenlijk gaat over stemloos/stemhebbende medeklinkers en nam verder geen moiete over ezelbruggetjes
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stemloos)
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stemloos)
February 11, 2026 at 2:48 PM
(Als anderstaliger was ik snel van mening dat het eigenlijk gaat over stemloos/stemhebbende medeklinkers en nam verder geen moiete over ezelbruggetjes
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stemloos)
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stemloos)