Dr Michael Fraser
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ffinlo.bsky.social
Dr Michael Fraser
@ffinlo.bsky.social
130 followers 80 following 490 posts
Personal account. Works in a university. Non-resident Manx 🇮🇲. Supports Ukraine 🇺🇦.
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ffinlo.bsky.social
Google Alert?
www.google.com/alerts
The image shows the setup for a Google Alert. Google Alerts is a free service that sends email notifications when new content matching specific search terms appears on the web. Based on the image, the alert is set to: Search query: "samuel beckett" play OR performance OR theatre OR review. Frequency: At most once a day. Sources: Automatic. Region: United Kingdom. Results: Only the best results.
November 9, 2025 at 1:40 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
Old building in even newer building (from last week).
Radcliffe Observatory reflected in the windows of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.
November 2, 2025 at 6:57 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
#HopTuNaa
Two carved turnips (moots) lit from within by candelight. The outline of a figure is in the foreground making it look like particularly large turnips.
October 31, 2025 at 7:46 AM
ffinlo.bsky.social
Appropriate time to repost this.

xkcd.com/2347/
"Someday ImageMagick will finally break for good and we'll have a long period of scrambling as we try to reassemble civilization from the rubble." XKCD 2347: showing stack of digital infrastructure balanced precariously on a single strut described as, "A project some random person in Nebraska had been thanklessly maintaining since 2003". Explainxkcd.com: The stack in this cartoon bears a striking resemblance to a physical block tower, suggesting the danger that the tower will lose its balance when a critical piece is removed, in this case a piece near the bottom, labeled as being maintained by a single semi-anonymous person located somewhere relatively unimportant doing it for their own unknown reasons without fame or acknowledgement. Example: The bash shell, which is used by virtually every Unix-like and Linux derivatives and that is used by many system administrators has been maintained since around 1993 by one single person from Ohio, US for over 30 years (as of 2025): Chet Ramey.
October 26, 2025 at 4:37 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
I was a tad confused by the point relating to ChatGPT & the VC. Whilst overuse of an em-dash (—) is apparently a ChatGPT 'tell', the usage there is actually an en-dash (–), which e.g. Word will auto-correct from a double hyphen (--).

(See University style guide, www.ox.ac.uk/public-affai..., p.13)
In a statement that suggests the University’s new partnership with ChatGPT is already bearing fruit, Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey said “The Life & Mind building isn’t just a world-class facility – it’s a place designed to bring people together.”
October 19, 2025 at 8:09 AM
ffinlo.bsky.social
A flying what, you say?
A photorrealistic image showing an electric taxi plane flying between Oxford and Cambridge. The plane has the subtle appearance of a pig.
October 1, 2025 at 7:25 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
Jane Goodall, "My Life Among Wild Chimpanzees", National Geographic Magazine 124:2 (August 1963), pp. 272-308.
www.cuttersguide.com/pdf/National...
My Life Among Wild Chimpanzees, By JANE GOODALL A courageous young British scientist lives among these great apes in Tanganyika and learns hitherto unknown details of their behavior. SUN'S FADING GLOW ON Lake Tanganyika silhouettes the author, preparing for a lonely nightlong vigil among the chimpanzees. Photographs by Baron Hugo van Lawick and the author
October 1, 2025 at 6:37 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities -- What's on in those fantastic new performance spaces?

Quite a lot! (From April 2026)

www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/whats-on
September 30, 2025 at 12:47 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, looking up at the atrium dome. (Taken at about 0830 yesterday.)
Atrium dome of the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.
September 30, 2025 at 4:24 AM
ffinlo.bsky.social
Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, Oxford University, at 0630 this morning, in anticipation of its opening day.
Part of the Schwarzman Centre of the Humanities at dawn with navigation board in foreground. Schwarzman Centre of the Humanities at dawn with Radcliffe Observatory site in foreground. Part of the Schwarzman Centre of the Humanities highlighting inscription, "For the Humanities". Schwarzman Centre of the Humanities at dawn with landscaping and figure walking to right of picture.
September 29, 2025 at 6:58 AM
ffinlo.bsky.social
You may have a point...
Image from estate agent listing showing open but lightless entrance to basement or morgue beneath the fixer-upper or tear-down property.
September 28, 2025 at 7:58 AM
ffinlo.bsky.social
Tech bros.
President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer hold hands whilst facing each other centimetres apart. Above them the words, "Tech Prosperity Deal" together with British & United States flags. Picture by Simon Dawson / Number 10 Downing Street. Date picture taken: 2025-09-18, 14:21:52.
September 19, 2025 at 3:21 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
Dinner's going ok.
Shot of state banquet with footman in foreground displaying double thumbs-up. Sorry if he is not actually a footman.
September 17, 2025 at 8:27 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
"Cheese!"
TITLE Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets US President Donald Trump DESCRIPTION 17/09/2025. Windsor, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria meets US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania as they are hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla during the President's historic second State visit at Windsor Castle. Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street DATE TAKEN 2000-01-01 00:06:12 [sic]
September 17, 2025 at 6:57 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
Can I have a "P" please, Bob? (Reference to British quiz show Blockbusters hosted by the late great Bob Holness (pictured))
September 17, 2025 at 6:40 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
UK fighter jets to join NATO operation to bolster European security

The UK will contribute Typhoons to NATO's Eastern Sentry mission, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace

www.gov.uk/government/n...

@darthputinkgb.bsky.social
Screenshot from X: Darth Putin @DarthPutinKGB The supreme art of war is to able to answer question "what air defense doing?" I remain a master strategist 8:40 PM · Aug 10, 2022
September 15, 2025 at 5:58 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
[prompted to xkcd...]
A stick figure points at a whiteboard labeled “AI = Just Guessing the Next Word.” Another figure, wearing a lab coat, responds: “Yes, but it’s guessing with 175 billion neurons and a memory of the entire internet.” In the corner, a parrot with a calculator says, “I passed the bar exam.” Caption: Oversimplifying AI is technically correct… and wildly misleading. This alt text and the cartoon was generated by Microsoft Copilot in response to a prompt asking for an xkcd-style cartoon to explain the over-simplification of AI.
September 5, 2025 at 7:29 AM
ffinlo.bsky.social
"The Guardian is printing the names of all Palestinian journalists listed by the CPJ as having died as a result of Israeli military action since Oct 2023 as part of a day of action in condemnation of the killings & in solidarity with those journalists who remain."
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Ahmed Abu Aziz,Mohammed Salama,Moaz Abu Taha,Hussam al-Masri,Mariam Abu Dagga,Anas al-Sharif,Mohammed Noufal,Ibrahim Zaher,Mohammed Qreiqeh,Moamen Aliwa,Mohammad al-Khaldi,Ismail Abu Hatab,Moamen Abu AlOuf,Ahmad Qalaja,Ismail Baddah,Suleiman Hajjaj,Hassan Abu Warda,Hassan Samour,Ahmed al-Helou,Yahya Sobeih,Noureddine Abdo,Fatma Hassouna,Hilmi al-Faqaawi,Ahmed Mansour,Mohammed Mansour,Hossam Shabat,Mahmoud Islim al-Basos,Ahmed al-Shayyah,Ahmed Abu al-Rous,Mohammed al-Talmas,Saed Abu Nabhan,Omar al-Dirawi,Areej Shaheen,Hassan al-Qishawi,Ayman al-Gedi,Faisal Abu al-Qumsan,Mohammed al-Ladaa,Fadi Hassouna,Ibrahim Sheikh Ali,Mohammed al-Sharafi,Ahmed al-Louh,Mohammed al-Qrinawi,Mohammed Balousha,Iman al-Shanti,Maisara Ahmed Salah,Mamdouh Qanita,Ahmed Abu Sharia,Mahdi al-Mamluk,Ahmed Abu Skheil,Zahraa Abu Skheil,Bilal Rajab,Amr Abu Odeh,Saed Radwan,Nadia Emad al-Sayed,Haneen Baroud,Tareq AlSalhi,Mohammed al-Tanani,AlHassan Hamad,Abdul Rahman Bahr,Nour Abu Oweimer,Wafa al-Udaini,Mohammed Abed Rabbo,Hussam al-Dabbaka,Hamza Murtaja,Ibrahim Muhareb,Tamim Abu Muammar,Mohammed Issa Abu Saada,Rami al-Refee,Ismail al-Ghoul,Mohammed Abu Daqqa,Mohammed Abu Jasser,Mohamed Meshmesh,Mohamed Manhal Abu Armana,Amjad Juhjouh,Wafaa Abu Dabaan,Rizq Abu Shakian,Saadi Madoukh,Mohammed al-Sakani,Mohammed Abu Sharia,Rasheed Albably,Ola Al Dahdouh,Mahmoud Juhjouh,Bahaaddine Yassine,Mustafa Ayyad,Salem Abu Toyour,Ibrahim al-Gharbawi,Ayman al-Gharbawi,Mohammed Bassam al-Jamal,Mustafa Bahr,Mohamed Adel Abu Skheil,Saher Akram Rayan,Mohamed el Sayed Abu Skheil,Tarek El Sayed Abu Skheil,Mohamed el-Reefi,Abdul Rahman Saima,Muhammad Salama,Mohamed Yaghi,Zayd Abu Zayed,Ayman al-Rafati,Angam Ahmad Edwan,Alaa al-Hams,Yasser Mamdouh el-Fady,Nafez Abdel Jawad,Rizq al-Gharabli,Mohammed Atallah,Tariq al-Maidna,Iyad el-Ruwagh,Yazan al-Zuweidi,Mohamed Jamal Sobhi al-Thalathini,Ahmed Bdeir,Shareef Okasha,Heba al-Abadla,Abdallah Iyad Breis,Mustafa Thuraya,Hamza al-Dahdouh,Akram ElShafie,Jabr Abu Hadrous,Ahmed Khai…
September 1, 2025 at 6:37 AM
ffinlo.bsky.social
xkcd explainer, in case anyone needs it...

www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.p...
[Blondie is lecturing, pointing at a futuristic holographic display emanating upwards from a unit on the floor. It shows a presentation that features a timeline with two visible dates, 1899 and 1970. At the top of the hologram are two lines of text, above "1899" are three lines of text, above "1970" is one line of text, below "1899" are two lines of text, and below "1970" is one line of text; all of these lines of text are illegible.] Blondie: Historical records show millions of business transactions occurred on Dec 30th, 1899. Blondie: This economic activity sparked the digital age, culminating in a "data festival" on Jan 1st, 1970, when many early digital files were created. [Caption under the panel:] It's going to be weird when historians forget why some dates show up a lot.
August 29, 2025 at 8:13 AM
ffinlo.bsky.social
Back to the future with the Grauniad.
Ghislaine Maxwell Maxwell honored at Clinton event years after sexual abuse allegations emerged Jeffrey Epstein associate attended Clinton Global Initiative conference in 2103 as advocate for ocean conservation Edward Helmore
August 25, 2025 at 3:22 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
"The Prime Minister hosted President Zelenskyy in Downing Street 🌻🇺🇦

They looked ahead to tomorrow’s talks between President Trump & President Putin in Alaska, which present a viable chance to make progress as long as Putin takes action to prove he is serious about peace."
www.gov.uk/government/n...
TITLE Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy DESCRIPTION 14/08/2025. London, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine for a bilateral meeting in 10 Downing Street. Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street DATE TAKEN 2025-08-14 09:46:39
August 14, 2025 at 12:21 PM
ffinlo.bsky.social
on.ft.com/3Hp8XSh
Can we just have one day when no one mentions AI?
August 10, 2025 at 8:31 AM
ffinlo.bsky.social
Naturally old first editions can never be dusted in @bodleianlibraries.bsky.social

#MyOxfordYear #SpoofLikeThatHollywoodIrishTrailer
[Screenshot of the statue of Thomas Bodley and the entrance to Old Bodleian Library] "There's something I'd like to show you. I think it's quite special." -- Netflix Film My Oxford Year 2025 1h 52m HD Coming on Friday An ambitious American fulfilling her dream of studying at Oxford falls for a charming Brit hiding a secret that may upend her perfectly planned life. Starring: Sofia Carson, Corey Mylchreest, Dougray Scott... Director: lain Morris [Screenshot of lead actor (female)] "I just love being among those dusty old first editions."
July 29, 2025 at 6:52 AM
ffinlo.bsky.social
"It is thus my opinion, tragically, that a genocide is indeed being perpetrated in Gaza – even if it becomes clear in the future that the events do not entirely meet the legal requirements of that crime."

Goldberg, A. (2024). The Problematic Return of Intent. JGR
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
What is happening in Gaza is a genocide, in my opinion, because the level and pace of indiscriminate killing, destruction, mass expulsion, displacement, deliberate famine, executions, the wiping out of universities, cultural and religious institutions, the crushing of elites (including the killing of journalists), and the sweeping dehumanization of the Palestinians create an overall picture of genocide, of the intentional and conscious shattering of Palestinian existence in Gaza. Palestinian Gaza, as a geographical, political, cultural, and human entity no longer exists. Genocide is the deliberate destruction of a collective or part of it, not of all of its individual members – and that is what is happening in Gaza today. This is as we already hinted by alluding to Confino’s work, one more phase in a long history of Zionism political imagination of a greater Israel without (or with much less) Palestinians. The result is undoubtedly genocidal, and that is what counts to my mind, from a historical perspective that is neither entirely detached from nor identical to the legal perspective, which gives “intent to destroy … as such” centre stage.
July 8, 2025 at 7:38 AM
ffinlo.bsky.social
A pint of what exactly? We could do with some rigour here, including column labeling.
Top 5 Cheapest Areas for a Pint In some parts of the country, you can still enjoy a classic pint for the same price it would’ve cost a decade ago. Here are the top five cheapest locations to buy a pint in the UK: [Table with third column labeled, "Three course meal price average (2 people) followed by per-pint prices] Expensive Pint Arun, in West Sussex, comes out as the most affordable place for a pint at just £2. Despite being a southern location where prices are often higher, Arun bucks the trend, which is great news for locals and visitors alike. Top 5 Most Expensive Areas for a Pint At the other end of the bar, some areas are charging upwards of £6 per pint, a price that might make you wince before ordering a second round. [Table with third column labeled, "Three course meal price average (2 people) followed by per-pint prices] Most Expensive Pints Witney, located in the otherwise Oxfordshire countryside, leads the list at a steep £7 a pint, over three times the price found in Arun. Meanwhile, Lewisham, Brighton and Godalming all reflect rising costs in more urban and commuter-heavy areas.
June 30, 2025 at 5:09 PM