Dr Joanna McKenzie
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jobob.bsky.social
Dr Joanna McKenzie
@jobob.bsky.social
170 followers 120 following 1.6K posts
Data nerd with a PhD in particle physics from before they discovered the Higgs. Loves Fantasy books and TV, drawing and painting, and sometimes I do running and cycling. Glasgow based. Tha mi ag ionnsachadh Gàidhlig.
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jobob.bsky.social
I for one think the whole incel "dating coach" influencer thing is *terrible* for boys and men. We should absolutely make sure they hear that women are people, that they should be desired for themselves and not their paycheck, and that it's okay and normal to look for or need support.
goodlawproject.org Jolyon Maugham KC @goodlawproject.org · 12h
This is the second story in three days The Times has carried arguing against misogyny lessons in schools, which it describes as "some weird feminist attack on male children".
Camilla Long. Britain has found a new ideological enemy: 14-year-old boys. There is no evidence telling children not to be misogynists will stop them attacking women. Misogyny lessons will now be rolled out to 11-year-old precrimers by the end of this parliament. I’m sorry, but in what way isn’t this some weird feminist attack on male children? They’ll be taught about AI and “deepfakes”. They will be told about “involuntary celibates (incels) and misogynistic influencers”. “External providers” will come in and provide, I’m guessing, a whole load of damaging ideological slurry. How did that work out for trans?
December 21, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Reposted by Dr Joanna McKenzie
redscharlach.bsky.social
Rare footage of St Paul’s Cathedral testing its giant flamethrower
The sun rising over the London skyline this morning, only it’s a very cloudy sky and the sun is visible only as an orange streak of fire that coincidentally seems to be emanating from the spire on the top of St Paul’s dome
December 21, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Reposted by Dr Joanna McKenzie
davemck.bsky.social
What is a sausage. Thankfully the d&d alignment chart is here to save the day.
Alignment chart, but for sausage. No you can't see the alignment factory.
December 20, 2025 at 7:34 PM
jobob.bsky.social
If a sausage is a "cylindrical thing containing meat" what does this mean for the square sausage? That's what comes off Brexit, no one is asking the Scots about these things.
December 20, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Dr Joanna McKenzie
bethanyblack.bsky.social
This is my most searched video on TikTok, it’s how to use physics to open a chocolate orange without banging it on anything
December 20, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Reposted by Dr Joanna McKenzie
thedailytism.com
Breaking: Autistic community preemptively rejects David Walliams
June 12, 2025 at 12:04 PM
jobob.bsky.social
Isn't this pretty much exactly what they said about Chicago? And possibly LA before that?
It just feels like part of the playbook now, honestly.
disabilitystor1.bsky.social Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 2d
meanwhile, the Twitterati are calling for a ban on all travel from Europe
Amy Mek @AmyMek President Trump must act - now. It is time to impose a travel ban on most European countries, because Europe is no longer exporting tourists and allies - it is exporting the consequences of Islamic mass migration and civilizational collapse. We just saw it again. The man who carried out the attack at Brown University has been identified by police as a 48-year-old Portuguese national, whose last known address was in Miami, Florida. He was in the United States on a student visa. He was reportedly shouting the ISLAMIC WAR CRY - "Allahu Akbar" while killing two students at Brown and injuring many others. And the media wants you to believe this is an isolated incident. It isn’t. What they refuse to tell you is that Europe is already lost, not just the UK, Germany, France, and Sweden, but far beyond that. Spain is gone. Portugal is being overtaken. Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, and large parts of Ireland are following the same path.
December 19, 2025 at 9:16 PM
jobob.bsky.social
GLOM OF NIT is in Men At Arms! Glom of nit is in Men At Arms??

That's... (hang on while I count)... Like thirteen entire books before Going Postal! #gnuTerryPratchett
A photo of a page from Men At Arms that I'm not going to transcribe, sorry, in which Vimes and Carrot stand outside the Post Office in Ankh Morpork and read the signs on the door. One is the "Neither rain nor snow nor glom of nit" sign that will later be a minor plot point in Going Postal.
December 19, 2025 at 3:04 PM
jobob.bsky.social
"I saw you had a half hour free between eleven and eleven thirty so do you mind if we just... "
Yes. I mind. It can wait. You do not have to fill every half hour slot with meetings. Honestly.
garius.bsky.social John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 2d
Well done to past me, who had the foresight to block out all of today (my last day befofe Xmas break) with a fake all day meeting.

It has fooled the tricksy people who like to prey on empty calendars.
December 19, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Reposted by Dr Joanna McKenzie
davidallengreen.bsky.social
The first step of course is to watch this wonderful video by @ramsesthepigeon.bsky.social

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxfx...

>
Where Is The Comma In "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" Supposed To Go?
YouTube video by RamsesThePigeon
www.youtube.com
December 19, 2025 at 10:45 AM
jobob.bsky.social
Oh my god there's totally a whole dystopian novel in the idea about the Tech Bro emperor and his immortality subscription service.
Like a modern day Emperor's New Clothes.
effies.bsky.social Effie Seiberg @effies.bsky.social · 2d
5. To monopolize the immortality market (which I guess you can only monopolize once? Note to self, make immortality a subscription service).

6. A media empire that I can regift to my adult son, he needs to be useful if he’s going to be around forever.

5/
December 19, 2025 at 10:47 AM
jobob.bsky.social
It's generally a bad sign too. If we can't afford to rebuild are we just letting infrastructure collapse now? Sounds unsafe.
December 17, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Reposted by Dr Joanna McKenzie
pimlicat.bsky.social
GRIN AND SHARE IT
December 16, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Reposted by Dr Joanna McKenzie
aliettedebodard.com
I can't find the thread anymore so I'll paraphrase but
People pushing AI in the arts dont understand that art is the process not the result
Writing is about the words and the meaning and how they slot together. Painting is about colour and texture and the physicality of the paintbrush on paper
(1/?)
December 16, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Reposted by Dr Joanna McKenzie
theguardian.com
Don't call it a 'super flu' - but the NHS is right to be worried this winter | Devi Sridhar
Don't call it a 'super flu' - but the NHS is right to be worried this winter | Devi Sridhar
An early flu season, a new variant and poor takeup of vaccines leave the already vulnerable health service in a dangerous position, says Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
www.theguardian.com
December 15, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by Dr Joanna McKenzie
ednewtonrex.bsky.social
🚨 The UK government just published a breakdown of the responses to its consultation on AI & copyright:

- 95% of respondents want AI companies to pay for their training data (made up of 88% saying strengthen copyright law, & 7% saying leave it as is)

🧵 1/2
December 15, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Reposted by Dr Joanna McKenzie
fozmeadows.bsky.social
new blog up: in which I am angry about gen AI fozmeadows.substack.com/p/generative...
Generative AI Is Made By Sociopaths
Increasingly, I’m convinced that generative AI is the brainchild of sociopaths.
fozmeadows.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:44 AM
jobob.bsky.social
Don't think I've ever seen a map that put Iceland there before...
rincewind.run Micah @rincewind.run · 6d
obligatory map, I suppose he could fall under “sexy” but I feel he deserves a new category involving accents
Will the detective investigating your murder be sad? options: sad & cold, sad & wet, sad & drunk, and sexy
December 14, 2025 at 9:26 PM
jobob.bsky.social
Power cut. It's dark. This is when you sort of wish you had a gas hob. Or a manual kettle, I dunno.
December 14, 2025 at 5:43 PM
jobob.bsky.social
Lovely to see friends last night at @lordofthemoon.com's Christmas party. Really nice brownies too!
December 14, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Reposted by Dr Joanna McKenzie
ascolotl.bsky.social
Learned today that “Galápagos” comes from a Spanish word for tortoise, meaning that “Galápagos Tortoise” is,

in fact,

a tortology
December 13, 2025 at 9:49 PM
jobob.bsky.social
I was the three wise men's second assistant. The assistants were packing for the journey and I got to say "I've got enough to worry about with a wife and five boys to look out for."
In fairness they had to make the parts stretch across four classes 😂
dymvue.bsky.social Dymvue @dymvue.bsky.social · 9d
So - did you take part in a nativity play at school and if so, what part did you play?

I got the part of the frankincense guy - I was the only child in the class who could pronounce the word ...!
handhyorkshire.bsky.social History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 9d
Nativity plays have been a much-loved part of the school year in infant and junior schools across the UK for many years. These performances brought the Christmas story to life with a mix of earnestness and unintentional comedy. Classrooms buzzed with excitement as tea towels and
December 13, 2025 at 6:00 PM
jobob.bsky.social
Ah, they broke Diablo 4. Not enormously happy with the changes they made to this season at all. Massive changes to stats, healing, bosses. Feels like I don't know how to play it any more.
Question is will I keep trying or move on to some other game? Only the special interest fairy knows...
December 13, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Dr Joanna McKenzie
robinince.bsky.social
Not easy to get to sleep tonight - have burnt the bridge of whatever career I had left and really don’t feel that my opinions are so extreme that that should have been necessary
robinince.bsky.social Robin Ince @robinince.bsky.social · 8d
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
This is the saddest day of my professional life. Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage. I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys. I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show, A show that I named and helped develop over all those years. Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry. These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices. Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'. • I chose the latter. It broke my heart. I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make. I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence. One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career. I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more. I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost". James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice. Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences. I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness. Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire. I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal. I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that you can understand my reasoning. I have to accept that I am not what the current BBC expects of their freelance presenters. Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not "just a job" I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world. From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too. The strawberry is dead. Long live the strawberry. B
December 13, 2025 at 1:23 AM
jobob.bsky.social
Batman is often criticised for going vigilante when his billions of dollars could fight crime in more effective ways. Imagine a world where instead of raising awareness the King set aside some of his massive estate profits to find the NHS in perpetuity.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
King Charles praised for 'powerful' early cancer detection message
The King says an early diagnosis was key to the
www.bbc.co.uk
December 13, 2025 at 11:14 AM