Neil Young
@elderpegasus.bsky.social
Games coder, input in particular. Have opinions on UX and hype bubbles. (Also politics, planes, parenting, accessibility, musical theatre from all aspects. Several of those overlap!)
Reposted by Neil Young
A new problem with the UK’s libel laws in the digital age is that a fact can become widely known before it is publishable, it’s terrible for trust and accountability. And also ironically allows misinformation to flow freely.
December 20, 2025 at 10:00 AM
A new problem with the UK’s libel laws in the digital age is that a fact can become widely known before it is publishable, it’s terrible for trust and accountability. And also ironically allows misinformation to flow freely.
Reposted by Neil Young
Just completed final watch through of the finished ROGUE TROOPER film…
25 years of pestering @2000ad.bsky.social to let me give it a shot, 3 years of production to make the thing & now… it’s DONE!
Can’t wait for you to see it.
So, so proud of our team.
We’ve made something a bit special.
❤️
25 years of pestering @2000ad.bsky.social to let me give it a shot, 3 years of production to make the thing & now… it’s DONE!
Can’t wait for you to see it.
So, so proud of our team.
We’ve made something a bit special.
❤️
December 20, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Just completed final watch through of the finished ROGUE TROOPER film…
25 years of pestering @2000ad.bsky.social to let me give it a shot, 3 years of production to make the thing & now… it’s DONE!
Can’t wait for you to see it.
So, so proud of our team.
We’ve made something a bit special.
❤️
25 years of pestering @2000ad.bsky.social to let me give it a shot, 3 years of production to make the thing & now… it’s DONE!
Can’t wait for you to see it.
So, so proud of our team.
We’ve made something a bit special.
❤️
I think Aldi are deliberately trolling @jameshoffmann.bsky.social at this point.
December 20, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I think Aldi are deliberately trolling @jameshoffmann.bsky.social at this point.
Financial Times going for the full betteridge today asking "can chatGPT help with a midlife crisis?"
My dudes, chatGPT *is* a bloody midlife crisis!
My dudes, chatGPT *is* a bloody midlife crisis!
December 20, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Financial Times going for the full betteridge today asking "can chatGPT help with a midlife crisis?"
My dudes, chatGPT *is* a bloody midlife crisis!
My dudes, chatGPT *is* a bloody midlife crisis!
Don't want to panic anyone, but the guy who's supposed to be the grown up in the room for the UK economy is comparing a fecking hype bubble to the industrial revolution.
I just can't even...
BBC News - AI likely to displace jobs, says Bank of England governor
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I just can't even...
BBC News - AI likely to displace jobs, says Bank of England governor
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
AI likely to displace jobs, says Bank of England governor
Andrew Bailey says workers need to be trained to move into jobs that use AI, but adds it might not lead to mass unemployment.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Don't want to panic anyone, but the guy who's supposed to be the grown up in the room for the UK economy is comparing a fecking hype bubble to the industrial revolution.
I just can't even...
BBC News - AI likely to displace jobs, says Bank of England governor
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I just can't even...
BBC News - AI likely to displace jobs, says Bank of England governor
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I'm not saying not to play monopoly if you enjoy it, but tis is a good example of it's gameplay being a bit Bad: people don't play auctions because they're not fun, but the game doesn't function well without them.
(The version of monopoly with the fake card machine seems to play a lot better)
(The version of monopoly with the fake card machine seems to play a lot better)
Another 'speed up Monopoly' tip. Play the official rules, which includes Auctions. If a player doesn't buy a property it should then be put out to tender for the highest bidder to buy. Yet the vast majority of UK monopoly players ignore this rule.
December 19, 2025 at 12:29 PM
I'm not saying not to play monopoly if you enjoy it, but tis is a good example of it's gameplay being a bit Bad: people don't play auctions because they're not fun, but the game doesn't function well without them.
(The version of monopoly with the fake card machine seems to play a lot better)
(The version of monopoly with the fake card machine seems to play a lot better)
Reposted by Neil Young
"translation is an art"
Exactly. You can't have a single "correct" translation, so asking a computer will only ever be a rough guide. Fine for occasional use for the odd phrase or website, but you can't treat the result as anything remotely comparable to an actual translation.
Exactly. You can't have a single "correct" translation, so asking a computer will only ever be a rough guide. Fine for occasional use for the odd phrase or website, but you can't treat the result as anything remotely comparable to an actual translation.
This is diabolical. How can an AI justify or explain its choices, or use judgement and licence to translate in the context of the author’s overall style and intent? Translation is an art, not an exact science. One wrong word choice can change meaning entirely.
French publishing house Harlequin decided to use AI translation instead of human translations.
All their freelance translators (some of whom had been working with Harlequin for +30y!!!) were told they would no longer receive work from Harlequin
All their freelance translators (some of whom had been working with Harlequin for +30y!!!) were told they would no longer receive work from Harlequin
December 18, 2025 at 10:24 PM
"translation is an art"
Exactly. You can't have a single "correct" translation, so asking a computer will only ever be a rough guide. Fine for occasional use for the odd phrase or website, but you can't treat the result as anything remotely comparable to an actual translation.
Exactly. You can't have a single "correct" translation, so asking a computer will only ever be a rough guide. Fine for occasional use for the odd phrase or website, but you can't treat the result as anything remotely comparable to an actual translation.
Why on earth have the Wales's put out an official Christmas portrait where William is pulling a "take the fucking photo already" face?
December 18, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Why on earth have the Wales's put out an official Christmas portrait where William is pulling a "take the fucking photo already" face?
Good article, but also: anyone who thinks the answer to this question is *Burnham* is completely irredeemably delusional.
The sheer pointlessness of some of Starmer’s lies is extraordinary. Not even his own backbenchers believe him
✏️ @jamesrball.com
✏️ @jamesrball.com
Why are they such damned liars?
Everyone knows No 10 briefs against members of the cabinet, but Starmer told the Commons it doesn’t. That, in a nutshell, is why political trust is dying out
www.thenewworld.co.uk
December 18, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Good article, but also: anyone who thinks the answer to this question is *Burnham* is completely irredeemably delusional.
Having an "AGI" team is just embarrassing, sorry. You're not kids in the playground.
Amazon overhauls AI team as chief declares an ‘inflection point’ ft.trib.al/dtu4gby
Amazon overhauls AI team as chief declares an ‘inflection point’
Peter DeSantis appointed to oversee a new group leading the company’s artificial intelligence model development
ft.trib.al
December 17, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Having an "AGI" team is just embarrassing, sorry. You're not kids in the playground.
My main worry with the AI bubble right now is that legislators and investors who don't know (or, in the evil version, don't care) that it's a bubble might try and "shore it up", which would just be pouring fuel on the house of cards.
As it were.
As it were.
US tech stocks slide as Oracle data centre setback reignites AI concerns ft.trib.al/jWVV7Gx
US tech stocks slide as Oracle data centre setback reignites AI concerns
Software giant suffers renewed declines after backer Blue Owl pulls out of $10bn project
ft.trib.al
December 17, 2025 at 5:23 PM
My main worry with the AI bubble right now is that legislators and investors who don't know (or, in the evil version, don't care) that it's a bubble might try and "shore it up", which would just be pouring fuel on the house of cards.
As it were.
As it were.
"A historic" or "An 'istoric"
"An" goes before vowel sounds, this is *basic* stuff. Yes, it goes before some h words like honour *because you don't pronounce the damn h*.
Gah.....
"An" goes before vowel sounds, this is *basic* stuff. Yes, it goes before some h words like honour *because you don't pronounce the damn h*.
Gah.....
December 17, 2025 at 3:21 PM
"A historic" or "An 'istoric"
"An" goes before vowel sounds, this is *basic* stuff. Yes, it goes before some h words like honour *because you don't pronounce the damn h*.
Gah.....
"An" goes before vowel sounds, this is *basic* stuff. Yes, it goes before some h words like honour *because you don't pronounce the damn h*.
Gah.....
I doubt everyone will agree on the balance, but always useful to see the reasoning:
Following today’s sentencing of Paul Doyle, several people have understandably queried why he was not banned from driving for life.
It’s a good question, and one I attempted to grapple with in #NothingButTheTruth in the context of repeat driving offenders.
It’s a good question, and one I attempted to grapple with in #NothingButTheTruth in the context of repeat driving offenders.
December 16, 2025 at 8:18 PM
I doubt everyone will agree on the balance, but always useful to see the reasoning:
"democratic AI" is just word salad.
OpenAI has hired former UK chancellor George Osborne to lead the start-up's work building 'democratic' AI for the world. ft.trib.al/ZBRTezP
December 16, 2025 at 7:06 PM
"democratic AI" is just word salad.
This being the risk of the change was made clear at the time.
All this just to wriggle out of an ill thought out pledge, that people probably think they broke anyway.
All this just to wriggle out of an ill thought out pledge, that people probably think they broke anyway.
Another bad set of labour market data today. Don’t think it’s quite entered the public consciousness on here how badly the NICs rises plus soaring minimum wage is affecting employment. Uk labour market very soft now.
December 16, 2025 at 12:56 PM
This being the risk of the change was made clear at the time.
All this just to wriggle out of an ill thought out pledge, that people probably think they broke anyway.
All this just to wriggle out of an ill thought out pledge, that people probably think they broke anyway.
“No less an authority than the United Kingdom’s former Prime Minister, Liz Truss”
That’s a real sentence that someone wrote, which made it into Trump’s legal filing.
That’s a real sentence that someone wrote, which made it into Trump’s legal filing.
December 16, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Quite. HS2 was stuck with twin hurdles of government incompetence and having to cross the home counties. Getting stuff done round here is An Arse.
A question that lingers with me, now a hypothetical after consecutive governments (mostly spearheaded by Sunak's decisions to cut it) - would these same, mostly petty, grievances have been given the same coverage if the Phase 2a & 2b had commenced up North.
I doubt it.
I doubt it.
December 16, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Quite. HS2 was stuck with twin hurdles of government incompetence and having to cross the home counties. Getting stuff done round here is An Arse.
Discworld screen adaptations peaked with soul music, and have been downhill ever since - soul music was brilliant, hogfather came close. Wyrd sisters and colour of magic was good, going postal was fecking awful and We Don't Even Talk About The Other One.
There were some good early animations IIRC, but more recent adaptations are super crappy
December 15, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Discworld screen adaptations peaked with soul music, and have been downhill ever since - soul music was brilliant, hogfather came close. Wyrd sisters and colour of magic was good, going postal was fecking awful and We Don't Even Talk About The Other One.
Anyone seen a bloke with beard, a big boat, and no grasp of genetic diversity? Bit wet here.
December 15, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Anyone seen a bloke with beard, a big boat, and no grasp of genetic diversity? Bit wet here.
Reposted by Neil Young
This column by @stephenkb.bsky.social on the antisemitic mass murder in Australia, reflecting on the justifications for acting on ancient hatreds, is very good indeed. Depressingly comments have not been enabled. Because they couldn’t be.
www.ft.com/content/4209...
www.ft.com/content/4209...
Bondi attacks show old hatreds are flourishing again
A permissive environment has been created in which Israel is conflated with all Jews, everywhere
www.ft.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:57 PM
This column by @stephenkb.bsky.social on the antisemitic mass murder in Australia, reflecting on the justifications for acting on ancient hatreds, is very good indeed. Depressingly comments have not been enabled. Because they couldn’t be.
www.ft.com/content/4209...
www.ft.com/content/4209...
Reposted by Neil Young
The only response you actually need to make to the idea of breaking encryption is "don't be such fucking idiots". Short, succinct, gets the point across.
Breaking end-to-end encryption doesn't just put journalists at risk, it puts us all at risk. The Online Safety Act risks our privacy and safety. Read our new report setting out our position ⬇️
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/11/new-...
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/11/new-...
New report: Breaking encryption is legally and practically unworkable - Index on Censorship
Publication sets out our position on why governments should not break end-to-end encryption (E2EE), widely used to protect dissidents
www.indexoncensorship.org
December 15, 2025 at 4:40 PM
The only response you actually need to make to the idea of breaking encryption is "don't be such fucking idiots". Short, succinct, gets the point across.
I suspect the BMA have realised this, yet apparently Streeting and Starmer have not.
Yeah, I think they are consciously choosing between being popular and being better paid, and, ultimately, doctors aren't on the ballot.
It's true public support for strikes has fallen a lot. But I'm not sure how much it matters given there's a fixed labour supply. Being unpopular never stopped the RMT.
December 15, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I suspect the BMA have realised this, yet apparently Streeting and Starmer have not.
Good. A hard cutoff has always been idiotic, this isn't like the incandescent bulb situation.
Brussels plans to scrap 2035 combustion engine ban - www.ft.com/content/0e16...
Brussels plans to scrap 2035 combustion engine ban - www.ft.com/content/0e16...
Brussels plans to scrap 2035 combustion engine ban
Carmakers will be allowed to make a limited number of petrol and diesel-fuelled cars after deadline
www.ft.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Good. A hard cutoff has always been idiotic, this isn't like the incandescent bulb situation.
Brussels plans to scrap 2035 combustion engine ban - www.ft.com/content/0e16...
Brussels plans to scrap 2035 combustion engine ban - www.ft.com/content/0e16...