John Tweedie
@johntweedie.bsky.social
Earth Sciences graduate. But studying for a second degree in History with the OU. Love birdwatching, getting outdoors or snuggling indoors with a good book.
We take things like paper for granted these days, but as is highlighted in this article from Darwin Online about the publication of Charles and Emma Darwin's address book, mass produced paper and notebooks were quite a new thing in Darwin's day. darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialInt...
The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online
darwin-online.org.uk
December 10, 2025 at 9:03 PM
We take things like paper for granted these days, but as is highlighted in this article from Darwin Online about the publication of Charles and Emma Darwin's address book, mass produced paper and notebooks were quite a new thing in Darwin's day. darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialInt...
Great to see.
Note: alt text for the image is that it is a painting of a middle-aged Charles Darwin sitting at a desk at home writing in a notebook. His desk holds a lamp and is piled up with papers.
Note: alt text for the image is that it is a painting of a middle-aged Charles Darwin sitting at a desk at home writing in a notebook. His desk holds a lamp and is piled up with papers.
Charles Darwin's Address Book published for the first time!
Full of surprises and new information.
One of Darwin's water-cure doctors was charged with manslaughter!? The fireworks manufacturer he ordered from later blew himself up?
darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialInt...
Full of surprises and new information.
One of Darwin's water-cure doctors was charged with manslaughter!? The fireworks manufacturer he ordered from later blew himself up?
darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialInt...
December 10, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Great to see.
Note: alt text for the image is that it is a painting of a middle-aged Charles Darwin sitting at a desk at home writing in a notebook. His desk holds a lamp and is piled up with papers.
Note: alt text for the image is that it is a painting of a middle-aged Charles Darwin sitting at a desk at home writing in a notebook. His desk holds a lamp and is piled up with papers.
Hey, Calibri works really well with assistive technologies, meaning more people can read our content.
Maga: "Woke nonsense. Get rid of it."
Maga: "Woke nonsense. Get rid of it."
Calibri: is this really the world’s wokest font?
Calibri: is this really the world’s wokest font?
It was the Windows typeface for 17 years – and adopted by the Biden administration for its readability for those with visual impairments. But Marco Rubio has ruled that Calibri lacks ‘decorum’
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Hey, Calibri works really well with assistive technologies, meaning more people can read our content.
Maga: "Woke nonsense. Get rid of it."
Maga: "Woke nonsense. Get rid of it."
I think Russell Crowe is right about this. Gladiator II was not only not needed, it was also a terrible film. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de...
Russell Crowe says makers of Gladiator II did not ‘understand what made the first one special’
The actor has criticised the creative team behind the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 2000 epic, saying it lacked the moral core that defined the original Oscar-winning film
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 6:02 PM
I think Russell Crowe is right about this. Gladiator II was not only not needed, it was also a terrible film. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de...
I was in so many meetings today that I never got time to get some actual work done. Getting beyond a joke.
And it looks like tomorrow will be much the same.
And it looks like tomorrow will be much the same.
December 10, 2025 at 5:56 PM
I was in so many meetings today that I never got time to get some actual work done. Getting beyond a joke.
And it looks like tomorrow will be much the same.
And it looks like tomorrow will be much the same.
The USA seems to me to already be operating a hostile environment, but it looks like for tourists you might be blocked from entering the country if you've ever made even a slightly anti-American comment. I thought Maga were all for freedom of speech? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Tourists to US would have to reveal five years of social media activity under new Trump plan
Proposed plan would apply to tourists of all countries, including those not required to get a visa to visit the US
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:47 PM
The USA seems to me to already be operating a hostile environment, but it looks like for tourists you might be blocked from entering the country if you've ever made even a slightly anti-American comment. I thought Maga were all for freedom of speech? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
How the retreat of a glacier in Kashmir is changing the ecology of the landscape below it. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Even the animals seem confused’: a retreating Kashmir glacier is creating an entire new world in its wake
Kolahoi is one of many glaciers whose decline is disrupting whole ecosystems – water, wildlife and human life that it has supported for centuries
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 12:32 PM
How the retreat of a glacier in Kashmir is changing the ecology of the landscape below it. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
I've been rewatching The West Wing and I always give a cheer with President Bartlet says he's a "National Park buff" and that's he's been to them all.
December 10, 2025 at 12:11 AM
I've been rewatching The West Wing and I always give a cheer with President Bartlet says he's a "National Park buff" and that's he's been to them all.
Another Glasgow-born artist wins the Turner Prize. Well done Nnena Kalu. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Turner Prize 2025: Nnena Kalu earns 'historic' win
Kalu wins for her sculptures and drawings, becoming the first learning disabled artist to scoop the award.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 10, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Another Glasgow-born artist wins the Turner Prize. Well done Nnena Kalu. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
There's a film coming up with Anthony Hopkins playing Charles Darwin and Charlotte Rampling playing Emma Darwin. It's called The Species. www.imdb.com/title/tt3886...
The Species | Biography, Drama, History
The Species: Directed by Justin Chadwick. With Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hollander, Charlotte Rampling, Billy Howle. Follows Emma Darwin, who while grieving her late husband Charles, battles with her son a...
www.imdb.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:46 PM
There's a film coming up with Anthony Hopkins playing Charles Darwin and Charlotte Rampling playing Emma Darwin. It's called The Species. www.imdb.com/title/tt3886...
Opening in January 2026, another new bookshop at Saltmarket, Glasgow.
Sector 7 Books, focusing on science fiction, fantasy and horror. #BookSky sector7books.com
Sector 7 Books, focusing on science fiction, fantasy and horror. #BookSky sector7books.com
Sector 7 Books
Enter Sector 7 Books - Your gateway to all things Horror, Sci Fi, and Fantasy. Inside you will find genre classics, new releases, and rare first editions.
sector7books.com
December 8, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Opening in January 2026, another new bookshop at Saltmarket, Glasgow.
Sector 7 Books, focusing on science fiction, fantasy and horror. #BookSky sector7books.com
Sector 7 Books, focusing on science fiction, fantasy and horror. #BookSky sector7books.com
The biosphere is forecast to last a billion years. Which considering there’s been life on Earth for nearly four billion years, then life is in the end times.
December 8, 2025 at 2:14 PM
The biosphere is forecast to last a billion years. Which considering there’s been life on Earth for nearly four billion years, then life is in the end times.
Two weeks today the days start getting longer again.
December 8, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Two weeks today the days start getting longer again.
Dear people, maybe you’re not familiar with buses but if you want them to stop and pick you up, you need to stick your hand out.
December 7, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Dear people, maybe you’re not familiar with buses but if you want them to stop and pick you up, you need to stick your hand out.
More interested in going to raves than studying hard at school, Caroline Smith flunked her school exams. Yet someone at St Andrews gave her a chance, and then via the Open University and Glasgow University, she became head of meteorites at the Natural History Museum. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - The Life Scientific, Caroline Smith on meteorites and potential ancient life on Mars
Caroline Smith on meteorites, rocks on Mars and the potential for ancient life there.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 6, 2025 at 6:23 PM
More interested in going to raves than studying hard at school, Caroline Smith flunked her school exams. Yet someone at St Andrews gave her a chance, and then via the Open University and Glasgow University, she became head of meteorites at the Natural History Museum. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Should we pick up litter? You can join planned litter picking events. You can pick up litter in your immediate neighbourhood. I remember a chap who always carried a bag with him and picked up litter he found at a nature reserve. www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2567...
Rosemary Goring: Rubbish reality - communities are taking on jobs councils can’t
With a group of volunteers in West Lothian collecting a record weight in rubbish this year, Herald columnist Rosemary Goring asks if we should…
www.heraldscotland.com
December 6, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Should we pick up litter? You can join planned litter picking events. You can pick up litter in your immediate neighbourhood. I remember a chap who always carried a bag with him and picked up litter he found at a nature reserve. www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2567...
Latest episode of Rare Earth is about urban wildlife. I wrote an article about this for my work's environmental group. I'd say it's the main way that most people encounter wildlife. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Rare Earth - Hiding in Plain Sight - BBC Sounds
A celebration of city wildlife from across the world.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 6, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Latest episode of Rare Earth is about urban wildlife. I wrote an article about this for my work's environmental group. I'd say it's the main way that most people encounter wildlife. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
I watched a David Attenborough-narrated documentary Deep Ocean: Kingdom of the Coelacanth last night. An interesting programme and great to see the fish alive in their natural habitat. It’s not made by the BBC as might be apparent from the dramatic music through it. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Two - Deep Ocean: Kingdom of the Coelacanth
David Attenborough discusses the coelacanth, a living fossil hidden for 400 million years.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 6, 2025 at 11:05 AM
I watched a David Attenborough-narrated documentary Deep Ocean: Kingdom of the Coelacanth last night. An interesting programme and great to see the fish alive in their natural habitat. It’s not made by the BBC as might be apparent from the dramatic music through it. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
I don't know if it's just me, but if a headline is written in a way that is very clearly click-baity, then I won't click on it. I really wish the key information could be put in the headline, rather than things like "Camera trap makes this important discovery".
December 5, 2025 at 1:04 PM
I don't know if it's just me, but if a headline is written in a way that is very clearly click-baity, then I won't click on it. I really wish the key information could be put in the headline, rather than things like "Camera trap makes this important discovery".
Climate change and overfishing of sardines led to deaths of 60,000 African Penguins between 2004 and 2012.
Some steps have been taken to address overfishing. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Some steps have been taken to address overfishing. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
60,000 African penguins starve to death after sardine numbers collapse – study
Climate crisis and overfishing contributed to loss of 95% of penguins in two breeding colonies in South Africa, research finds
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Climate change and overfishing of sardines led to deaths of 60,000 African Penguins between 2004 and 2012.
Some steps have been taken to address overfishing. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Some steps have been taken to address overfishing. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Nice to see Steve Brusatte's The Story of Birds available to pre-order. Nice cover too, I was hoping it would be in a similar style to his last two books. www.waterstones.com/book/the-sto...
December 5, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Nice to see Steve Brusatte's The Story of Birds available to pre-order. Nice cover too, I was hoping it would be in a similar style to his last two books. www.waterstones.com/book/the-sto...
Seeds of native trees including aspen, rowan, oak, alder and birch were dropped using a drone around a Scottish Borders reservoir to stabilise hard-to-reach surrounding slopes. It'll be good to see how many of the seeds are able to germinate. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Drones drop tree seeds to help protect Talla Reservoir
More than two million seeds are being sown to help protect water quality at the Talla Reservoir.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 4, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Seeds of native trees including aspen, rowan, oak, alder and birch were dropped using a drone around a Scottish Borders reservoir to stabilise hard-to-reach surrounding slopes. It'll be good to see how many of the seeds are able to germinate. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The most interesting aspect to this story is the idea that urban raccoons are becoming domesticated, and it seems that natural selection has made shorter snouts, smaller teeth, curlier tails and floppy ears (basically cuteness) things that make animals more appealing to humans.
December 3, 2025 at 6:32 PM
The most interesting aspect to this story is the idea that urban raccoons are becoming domesticated, and it seems that natural selection has made shorter snouts, smaller teeth, curlier tails and floppy ears (basically cuteness) things that make animals more appealing to humans.
Pleased to learn that 100% of the images I've shared here in 2025 have had alt text on them, and I haven't even turned on the option to force me to do so. It's just a habit, a thing I do.
December 2, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Pleased to learn that 100% of the images I've shared here in 2025 have had alt text on them, and I haven't even turned on the option to force me to do so. It's just a habit, a thing I do.
Man crossing the road in an electric wheelchair. He found it hard to get to the lowered kerb because the road was full of piled up rotting leaves. As much as people say leave the fallen vegetation, for accessibility on roads and pavements it should be cleared, especially at accessible crossings.
December 2, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Man crossing the road in an electric wheelchair. He found it hard to get to the lowered kerb because the road was full of piled up rotting leaves. As much as people say leave the fallen vegetation, for accessibility on roads and pavements it should be cleared, especially at accessible crossings.