Dr Mark Dolan
@drdolan.bsky.social
Big book person, archaeologist (PhD in Ancient Cypriot boat models), Fulham FC fan, freelance writer and aspiring novelist. Unable to resist a pun.
Pinned
Dr Mark Dolan
@drdolan.bsky.social
· Mar 26
Ceci n'est pas un bateau: Reassessing terracotta boat models in Late Bronze and Iron Age Cyprus - ePrints Soton
eprints.soton.ac.uk
I've realised I never put this here, but my PhD thesis is available in full here (eprints.soton.ac.uk/492373/) should anyone have any interest in what I spent a good five years faffing around with
Quite pleased with today's find of a first edition Normal People for the princely sum of £4
October 19, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Quite pleased with today's find of a first edition Normal People for the princely sum of £4
I say this as a guy with non-negligible insecurity about both height and body image, but I'd love to see the stats of the average height of regular gym-going men compared with overall population figures
July 28, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I say this as a guy with non-negligible insecurity about both height and body image, but I'd love to see the stats of the average height of regular gym-going men compared with overall population figures
I wonder whether Yorkshire Tea higher-ups refer to themselves as being in 'Proper tea management'
July 19, 2025 at 11:26 AM
I wonder whether Yorkshire Tea higher-ups refer to themselves as being in 'Proper tea management'
I don't know whether it's a symptom of my reading taste or something else entirely, but I seem to be coming across more books that feature a massive pyramidal building. So far I've got Malarkoi, The Three-Body Problem, and Y/N. Anyone got more to add to the collection?
July 15, 2025 at 10:43 AM
I don't know whether it's a symptom of my reading taste or something else entirely, but I seem to be coming across more books that feature a massive pyramidal building. So far I've got Malarkoi, The Three-Body Problem, and Y/N. Anyone got more to add to the collection?
Today's purple Connections category is appallingly weak, I mean, caf??
July 6, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Today's purple Connections category is appallingly weak, I mean, caf??
Very specific rental conditions
June 26, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Very specific rental conditions
Moment of appreciation for the German for heart pain being "herzschmerz"
German is like that too: Lungenentzündung - lungs inflammation - pneumonia; Herzschmerz - heart pain - cardialgia. Similarly a lot of technical terms in other fields are much more transparent to the everyday person.
June 23, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Moment of appreciation for the German for heart pain being "herzschmerz"
I always want to write longhand because it feels proper, authory, but then I'm met with the challenge of reading my handwriting
June 23, 2025 at 2:50 PM
I always want to write longhand because it feels proper, authory, but then I'm met with the challenge of reading my handwriting
I enjoy the NYT puzzle Tiles, but when you boil it down to its basics - matching shapes and colours - it does feel like I'm playing a game for 3 year olds
May 13, 2025 at 8:51 AM
I enjoy the NYT puzzle Tiles, but when you boil it down to its basics - matching shapes and colours - it does feel like I'm playing a game for 3 year olds
Reposted by Dr Mark Dolan
Percival Everett's (current) publisher saying people hadn't heard of him until James. He was nominated for the Booker for The Trees, which was also a Pulitzer runner up. And it was UK indie publisher @influxpress.bsky.social who did the heavy lifting in the UK in celebrating/publishing him.
May 12, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Percival Everett's (current) publisher saying people hadn't heard of him until James. He was nominated for the Booker for The Trees, which was also a Pulitzer runner up. And it was UK indie publisher @influxpress.bsky.social who did the heavy lifting in the UK in celebrating/publishing him.
Off the back of a recent typo, I'm considering starting a petition to rename biographies 'lifetomes'
April 22, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Off the back of a recent typo, I'm considering starting a petition to rename biographies 'lifetomes'
Friday: Your order will be delivered on Tuesday.
Today: Your order will arrive today!
Also Today: Your order will arrive on Wednesday.
Today: Your order will arrive today!
Also Today: Your order will arrive on Wednesday.
April 21, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Friday: Your order will be delivered on Tuesday.
Today: Your order will arrive today!
Also Today: Your order will arrive on Wednesday.
Today: Your order will arrive today!
Also Today: Your order will arrive on Wednesday.
Buying a laptop raiser for my desk because I'm very much in my 30s now
April 20, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Buying a laptop raiser for my desk because I'm very much in my 30s now
V exciting book post today! New Murata!
April 4, 2025 at 11:29 AM
V exciting book post today! New Murata!
This is a fascinating, balanced and entertaining(!) piece on men in publishing from @samjordison.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/samj/p/b...
open.substack.com/pub/samj/p/b...
Balancing the books
Publishing's problem with men
open.substack.com
April 2, 2025 at 11:05 AM
This is a fascinating, balanced and entertaining(!) piece on men in publishing from @samjordison.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/samj/p/b...
open.substack.com/pub/samj/p/b...
I've realised I never put this here, but my PhD thesis is available in full here (eprints.soton.ac.uk/492373/) should anyone have any interest in what I spent a good five years faffing around with
Ceci n'est pas un bateau: Reassessing terracotta boat models in Late Bronze and Iron Age Cyprus - ePrints Soton
eprints.soton.ac.uk
March 26, 2025 at 3:40 PM
I've realised I never put this here, but my PhD thesis is available in full here (eprints.soton.ac.uk/492373/) should anyone have any interest in what I spent a good five years faffing around with
Reposted by Dr Mark Dolan
I successfully employed this trick when stuck in a loop with an automated answering machine for a delivery company, being finally put through when I told it in no uncertain terms to put me through to a f'ing human
Sick of the 'AI Overview' result at the top of every Google search?
Turns out there's a simple and enjoyable way to stop it...
Turns out there's a simple and enjoyable way to stop it...
January 30, 2025 at 9:28 PM
I successfully employed this trick when stuck in a loop with an automated answering machine for a delivery company, being finally put through when I told it in no uncertain terms to put me through to a f'ing human
Just seen someone post a "Cool London Travel Hack" on Instagram. The hack? The Tesco meal deal.
January 27, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Just seen someone post a "Cool London Travel Hack" on Instagram. The hack? The Tesco meal deal.
It's January, it's wet and cold. I'm unemployed. I'm trudging morosely to the gym for a shower because our hot water tank has sprung a leak. Soon it will surely become apparent that I'm in a scandi noir film.
January 23, 2025 at 10:55 AM
It's January, it's wet and cold. I'm unemployed. I'm trudging morosely to the gym for a shower because our hot water tank has sprung a leak. Soon it will surely become apparent that I'm in a scandi noir film.
Yeah, that's about right.
January 1, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Yeah, that's about right.
Discovered this beer today, and I know what's going to happen. I'm going to fall in love with it, I'll go to stock up, and it will be sold out, never to return
December 14, 2024 at 2:37 PM
Discovered this beer today, and I know what's going to happen. I'm going to fall in love with it, I'll go to stock up, and it will be sold out, never to return
Elon Musk is just Kirk van Houten with money
December 5, 2024 at 8:55 PM
Elon Musk is just Kirk van Houten with money
I like these Word Cloud Classics editions, I think they're nice, but the quotes on the cover of this are from a different translation than the text inside, and that is just an insane thing to do
November 28, 2024 at 10:40 AM
I like these Word Cloud Classics editions, I think they're nice, but the quotes on the cover of this are from a different translation than the text inside, and that is just an insane thing to do
If this number plate is owned by a primary school teacher, it's genius. If not, it's a baffling choice.
November 22, 2024 at 9:45 AM
If this number plate is owned by a primary school teacher, it's genius. If not, it's a baffling choice.