Bill Thompson
@billt.bsky.social
Hack and pundit. BBC Research & Development. Formerly Digital Planet.
Birthday. Cake. Kaffeine London. The finest coffee shop in town.
October 6, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Birthday. Cake. Kaffeine London. The finest coffee shop in town.
Great minds… from an internal note I wrote this week…
October 1, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Great minds… from an internal note I wrote this week…
Visited the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, new home of Oxford Internet institute @oiioxford. Spotted the fire escape: it seems the emergency escape from internet research is ‘through Philosophy’. Couldn’t agree more. (Image is a fire door in a corridor)
www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk
www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk
July 12, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Visited the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, new home of Oxford Internet institute @oiioxford. Spotted the fire escape: it seems the emergency escape from internet research is ‘through Philosophy’. Couldn’t agree more. (Image is a fire door in a corridor)
www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk
www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk
An authentic #28yearslater cinema experience with @basictypos as we enter via a deserted shopping mall in the centre of a city… (image shows Max alone in an empty mall)
June 21, 2025 at 7:01 PM
An authentic #28yearslater cinema experience with @basictypos as we enter via a deserted shopping mall in the centre of a city… (image shows Max alone in an empty mall)
Oh show me the way… (image is taken from the saloon bar side of The Geldart pub in Cambridge and shows the bottles behind the bar, and the corridor through to the other bar. Above is a prominent sign saying "Whiskey Bar". Bill's pint not visible.)
May 17, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Oh show me the way… (image is taken from the saloon bar side of The Geldart pub in Cambridge and shows the bottles behind the bar, and the corridor through to the other bar. Above is a prominent sign saying "Whiskey Bar". Bill's pint not visible.)
To Ascension Burial Ground on Wittgenstein’s birthday. Some tributes have been laid. And time to say hi to Anscombe and Ramsey too (three images, of three graves in an old cemetery. All have been kept clean of moss).
April 26, 2025 at 5:32 PM
To Ascension Burial Ground on Wittgenstein’s birthday. Some tributes have been laid. And time to say hi to Anscombe and Ramsey too (three images, of three graves in an old cemetery. All have been kept clean of moss).
@emmabclarke.bsky.social the sun is coming up over East Stonesdale here at the top of Swaledale, the sheep are rousing and the curlews shouting to the morning, and you (and my second espresso) are the perfect accompaniment. Thanks!
April 5, 2025 at 6:32 AM
@emmabclarke.bsky.social the sun is coming up over East Stonesdale here at the top of Swaledale, the sheep are rousing and the curlews shouting to the morning, and you (and my second espresso) are the perfect accompaniment. Thanks!
Thor the cat knows I’m not the same as the other things in the flat. When he looks at a robot the way he looks at me, then I’ll believe we have AGI. (Image is a Bengal cat looking suspiciously at the person behind the camera)
January 7, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Thor the cat knows I’m not the same as the other things in the flat. When he looks at a robot the way he looks at me, then I’ll believe we have AGI. (Image is a Bengal cat looking suspiciously at the person behind the camera)
The house in question (image is an Elizabethan manor which has been radically remodelled mostly in Georgian times. It’s brick and faux Tudor and splendid. And has a moat)
November 17, 2024 at 5:32 PM
The house in question (image is an Elizabethan manor which has been radically remodelled mostly in Georgian times. It’s brick and faux Tudor and splendid. And has a moat)
Coffee and a blank page in Pages, the (relatively) new coffee shop on Trumpington Street in Cambridge. Formerly a newsagent - I used to buy my academic pocket diary here each year.
November 9, 2024 at 1:35 PM
Coffee and a blank page in Pages, the (relatively) new coffee shop on Trumpington Street in Cambridge. Formerly a newsagent - I used to buy my academic pocket diary here each year.
This place is looking up
November 8, 2024 at 11:15 AM
This place is looking up
What is the probability of two people having the same layout and items on their phone Home Screen? Has it ever happened since the App Store?
November 4, 2024 at 1:27 PM
What is the probability of two people having the same layout and items on their phone Home Screen? Has it ever happened since the App Store?
What is the probability of two people having the same layout and items on their phone Home Screen? Has it ever happened since the App Store?
November 4, 2024 at 1:27 PM
What is the probability of two people having the same layout and items on their phone Home Screen? Has it ever happened since the App Store?
BREAKING NEWS
The 2024 #NobelPrize in Literature is awarded to the Large Language Model GPT-4 “for its intense poetic celebration of the frailty of language and the power of hallucination"
The 2024 #NobelPrize in Literature is awarded to the Large Language Model GPT-4 “for its intense poetic celebration of the frailty of language and the power of hallucination"
October 10, 2024 at 8:24 PM
BREAKING NEWS
The 2024 #NobelPrize in Literature is awarded to the Large Language Model GPT-4 “for its intense poetic celebration of the frailty of language and the power of hallucination"
The 2024 #NobelPrize in Literature is awarded to the Large Language Model GPT-4 “for its intense poetic celebration of the frailty of language and the power of hallucination"
Best work email ever
October 5, 2024 at 7:36 AM
Best work email ever
Morning. Coffee. The image is a Caffè Nero espresso macchiato in a proper cup, and a pain au raisin on a circular table. In the background is the porter’s lodge of King’s College. Bill, behind the camera, is thinking about the future of publishing. Come by.
September 21, 2024 at 9:31 AM
Morning. Coffee. The image is a Caffè Nero espresso macchiato in a proper cup, and a pain au raisin on a circular table. In the background is the porter’s lodge of King’s College. Bill, behind the camera, is thinking about the future of publishing. Come by.
Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #42,108! Early adopter!
September 18, 2024 at 2:08 PM
Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #42,108! Early adopter!
I said I'd look after my son's ferret while they are away. Turns out I got here too early so am getting on with work while waiting for her to get into the day.
August 31, 2024 at 7:15 AM
I said I'd look after my son's ferret while they are away. Turns out I got here too early so am getting on with work while waiting for her to get into the day.
About to fly. Some frantic device charging taking place :-)
August 7, 2024 at 4:34 PM
About to fly. Some frantic device charging taking place :-)
If you cut it into small squares we could send each one separately and put the whole cake back at the other end.. as long as nobody eats one.
July 18, 2024 at 9:19 AM
If you cut it into small squares we could send each one separately and put the whole cake back at the other end.. as long as nobody eats one.
Such times we had… the start of a beautiful friendship
April 29, 2024 at 3:20 PM
Such times we had… the start of a beautiful friendship
I have discovered something which may be commonplace: soft-boiled egg with crispy chilli is like a taste of heaven. Never going back to mere salt.
March 19, 2024 at 12:16 PM
I have discovered something which may be commonplace: soft-boiled egg with crispy chilli is like a taste of heaven. Never going back to mere salt.
First coffee early on a folkestone morning and waiting for the delights BBC's Elizabeth Alker will bring on Radio3 as I try to catch up on emails. Hope she hasn't been squeezed out of her usual studio by the visitors here for the 6 Music Festival.
March 9, 2024 at 6:41 AM
First coffee early on a folkestone morning and waiting for the delights BBC's Elizabeth Alker will bring on Radio3 as I try to catch up on emails. Hope she hasn't been squeezed out of her usual studio by the visitors here for the 6 Music Festival.