OxfordHacker
@oxfordhacker.bsky.social
Never knowingly under-thought
Reposted by OxfordHacker
I'm not saying the solutions are easy, but they would be a helluva lot nearer if you started with "What is the actual proplem?" and then moved to "What actions will in fact remedy it?"
'Is that true?' is an important question for governments to answer for many reasons, but from a 'actually getting re-elected' perspective, 'will this fix the problem we need it to?' is, you know, mission critical.
November 17, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I'm not saying the solutions are easy, but they would be a helluva lot nearer if you started with "What is the actual proplem?" and then moved to "What actions will in fact remedy it?"
Reposted by OxfordHacker
From MinuteEarth, a quick tour of all the different kinds of cats in the world, wild & domesticated, and how they are related to each other. TIL there was an American cheetah, almost as fast as its smaller African counterpart. [kottke.org]
All the Cats, Explained
From MinuteEarth, a quick tour of all the different kinds of cats in the world, extinct, wild, and domesticated, and how they are related to each other. Some interesting facts I learned:
The saber-toothed tiger was th
kottke.org
November 17, 2025 at 5:06 PM
From MinuteEarth, a quick tour of all the different kinds of cats in the world, wild & domesticated, and how they are related to each other. TIL there was an American cheetah, almost as fast as its smaller African counterpart. [kottke.org]
Reposted by OxfordHacker
Look, if you are trailing a budget and then immediately walking it back, before trailing an asylum bill and immediately walking it back, then you are just bad at politics and policy. There are no redeeming features here.
November 17, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Look, if you are trailing a budget and then immediately walking it back, before trailing an asylum bill and immediately walking it back, then you are just bad at politics and policy. There are no redeeming features here.
Reposted by OxfordHacker
Reposted by OxfordHacker
Oh cool, indentured servitude. Legally recognised throughout the democratic world as a form of unfree labour aka slavery. Also literally how the people traffickers that this legislation is supposedly meant to stop imprison their victims.
Watching the Mahmood announcement and debate. Tory backbencher (Karen Bradley) suggests putting refugees into debt and making them repay during the rest of their lives. Mahmood says she’ll think about it.
November 17, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Oh cool, indentured servitude. Legally recognised throughout the democratic world as a form of unfree labour aka slavery. Also literally how the people traffickers that this legislation is supposedly meant to stop imprison their victims.
Reposted by OxfordHacker
posted by a friend who is Professor of Molecular Biophysics. PM me if you have any ideas and want to be put in touch.
November 17, 2025 at 8:03 PM
posted by a friend who is Professor of Molecular Biophysics. PM me if you have any ideas and want to be put in touch.
Reposted by OxfordHacker
At least the 2008 crash was about a bet that housing would never decline. The next one will be about betting that six companies who sell each other magic beans would never decline
November 17, 2025 at 8:08 PM
At least the 2008 crash was about a bet that housing would never decline. The next one will be about betting that six companies who sell each other magic beans would never decline
Reposted by OxfordHacker
Fascinating that the cause of collapse of both major parties has not just been basically identical (cost of living and service failings creating unpopularity, chasing radical right tail on immigration fuelling in-bloc schism), but that doubling down has persisted long after failure became clear.
November 16, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Fascinating that the cause of collapse of both major parties has not just been basically identical (cost of living and service failings creating unpopularity, chasing radical right tail on immigration fuelling in-bloc schism), but that doubling down has persisted long after failure became clear.
Reposted by OxfordHacker
Antisemitism is a lot like Qanon child abuse conspiracies in that there’s this real and bad phenomenon and, parallel to that, what can only be described as a large scale mass psychosis about a mostly fictional version of the same phenomenon
November 16, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Antisemitism is a lot like Qanon child abuse conspiracies in that there’s this real and bad phenomenon and, parallel to that, what can only be described as a large scale mass psychosis about a mostly fictional version of the same phenomenon
Reposted by OxfordHacker
dont sleep on fusion. fusion has the juice. look at this shit. impeccable sci fi vibe. alien curvature for reasons u wouldnt understand bc u dont know what poincare sections of the plasma beam are. it's even greebled with ports and domes and shit. u can tell the physics nerds are really cooking here
November 16, 2025 at 5:06 AM
dont sleep on fusion. fusion has the juice. look at this shit. impeccable sci fi vibe. alien curvature for reasons u wouldnt understand bc u dont know what poincare sections of the plasma beam are. it's even greebled with ports and domes and shit. u can tell the physics nerds are really cooking here
Reposted by OxfordHacker
Reposted by OxfordHacker
remember, if lois mcmaster bujold calls you, insist she elaborate the entire vorkosigan family tree before you take the call
I've now heard from 3 authors targeted on X by a scammer impersonating Lois McMaster Bujold. Bujold impersonator refers author to "Eleanor Wood at Spectrum Literary", also an impersonation. Goal: to sell editing svcs. Scam is impersonating multiple authors & agents writerbeware.blog/2025/11/14/i...
If a Famous Author Calls, Hang Up: Anatomy of an Impersonation Scam - Writer Beware
You open your email program one morning. The usual work stuff. Some spam (annoying that it got past your filters!). A couple of newsletters (maybe later). You sip your coffee, scroll down. Wait. What’...
writerbeware.blog
November 17, 2025 at 12:38 AM
remember, if lois mcmaster bujold calls you, insist she elaborate the entire vorkosigan family tree before you take the call
So if you're transphobic for free, you're actually undermining hard-working professionals
November 17, 2025 at 8:34 AM
So if you're transphobic for free, you're actually undermining hard-working professionals
Reposted by OxfordHacker
Reposted by OxfordHacker
(spending 9 billion dollars to make a robot say "i have always loved you") hard times create strong men
November 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
(spending 9 billion dollars to make a robot say "i have always loved you") hard times create strong men
Reposted by OxfordHacker
This is the guy who said women are underrepresented in STEM because they’re stupid
November 17, 2025 at 4:41 AM
This is the guy who said women are underrepresented in STEM because they’re stupid
Reposted by OxfordHacker
When I encounter myself as a different colored cursor because I have the Google Doc open in two tabs
December 21, 2023 at 10:09 PM
When I encounter myself as a different colored cursor because I have the Google Doc open in two tabs
Reposted by OxfordHacker
A perfectly innocent question has led to the complete unravelling of an autistic man’s sense of self, it has been claimed.
Solicitous question leads to existential dread
A perfectly innocent question has led to the complete unravelling of an autistic man’s sense of self, it has been claimed. Anand Trivedi, 32, was reportedly minding his own business, sitting quietly…
thedailytism.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:30 PM
A perfectly innocent question has led to the complete unravelling of an autistic man’s sense of self, it has been claimed.
Reposted by OxfordHacker
The emergency brake on this train says "FINE FOR MISUSE" so I guess it's okay if you want to mess with it
November 16, 2025 at 5:38 PM
The emergency brake on this train says "FINE FOR MISUSE" so I guess it's okay if you want to mess with it
Reposted by OxfordHacker
"Wait a minute, Xena can't fly!" "I told you, I'm not Xena. I'm Lucy Lawless." "Oh."
October 1, 2025 at 11:34 PM
"Wait a minute, Xena can't fly!" "I told you, I'm not Xena. I'm Lucy Lawless." "Oh."
Reposted by OxfordHacker
Reposted by OxfordHacker
Reposted by OxfordHacker
If you’re on suburban Nextdoor, which is absolutely full of people who return their ballots, you will definitely know that the average American does believe in freedom and democracy: the freedom to do whatever they personally like to do, and vote down what other people should be able to do
"Average American believes in freedom and democracy" factoid actually just statistical error. Average American believes in cheap consumer goods and low wages.
Thaddeus Stevens, who believed in equality of man before his creator, was an outlier, and should not have been counted.
Thaddeus Stevens, who believed in equality of man before his creator, was an outlier, and should not have been counted.
July 13, 2025 at 4:02 PM
If you’re on suburban Nextdoor, which is absolutely full of people who return their ballots, you will definitely know that the average American does believe in freedom and democracy: the freedom to do whatever they personally like to do, and vote down what other people should be able to do
Reposted by OxfordHacker
Saw this post on tumblr with an actual poll attached to it and the overwhelming winner was "I don't believe life begins at conception but I would still sell liquor to the baby"
November 16, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Saw this post on tumblr with an actual poll attached to it and the overwhelming winner was "I don't believe life begins at conception but I would still sell liquor to the baby"