Paul Thurston
@paulthurston.bsky.social
Retired software engineer
Spurs, iRacing, aeromodelling, cars, motor racing, hi fi, home cinema
English breakfast reviews a speciality
He/Him
Spurs, iRacing, aeromodelling, cars, motor racing, hi fi, home cinema
English breakfast reviews a speciality
He/Him
Reposted by Paul Thurston
since the "google is now training gemini on your email contents" thing keeps bumping around here: it's _not happening_. I say this not to defend google but because I know a lot of people that have broken their filtering and made their lives much more annoying from sheer misinformation.
The malwarebytes Google opting-your-emails-into-ai-training thing is not true. The post is based on one bad tweet.
I know anti-tech lamenting is a Bluesky core principle, but please use the same judgement you would for any other clickbait.
www.theverge.com/news/826902/...
I know anti-tech lamenting is a Bluesky core principle, but please use the same judgement you would for any other clickbait.
www.theverge.com/news/826902/...
Google denies ‘misleading’ reports of Gmail using your emails to train AI
Google says “we do not use your Gmail content for training our Gemini AI model.”
www.theverge.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:30 PM
since the "google is now training gemini on your email contents" thing keeps bumping around here: it's _not happening_. I say this not to defend google but because I know a lot of people that have broken their filtering and made their lives much more annoying from sheer misinformation.
Reposted by Paul Thurston
Having Johnson & Cummings in Downing Street when Covid struck was, just like Brexit, an entirely avoidable disaster caused largely by utterly appalling journalism. And now exactly the same clowns, arses & bigots with bylines are rolling out the red carpet for Farage.
www.thetimes.com/article/1b15...
www.thetimes.com/article/1b15...
Covid inquiry live: ‘Inexcusable’ delays under Johnson led to 23,000 deaths
Lockdowns may have been avoided if Boris Johnson’s government had acted faster, damning report finds
www.thetimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Having Johnson & Cummings in Downing Street when Covid struck was, just like Brexit, an entirely avoidable disaster caused largely by utterly appalling journalism. And now exactly the same clowns, arses & bigots with bylines are rolling out the red carpet for Farage.
www.thetimes.com/article/1b15...
www.thetimes.com/article/1b15...
Reposted by Paul Thurston
Nigel Farage has been paid £330,000 by GB News in the last year alone.
He's deep in the pockets of a company that aims to replace the BBC.
He's deep in the pockets of a company that aims to replace the BBC.
November 20, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Nigel Farage has been paid £330,000 by GB News in the last year alone.
He's deep in the pockets of a company that aims to replace the BBC.
He's deep in the pockets of a company that aims to replace the BBC.
Reposted by Paul Thurston
Can we put the 'confiscating jewellery' thong to bed now?
It is something brought up by the media in a question. It is likely an attempt by someone with a long memory to create a story based on a comment about jewellery from a government minister 26 years ago.
1/3
It is something brought up by the media in a question. It is likely an attempt by someone with a long memory to create a story based on a comment about jewellery from a government minister 26 years ago.
1/3
November 18, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Can we put the 'confiscating jewellery' thong to bed now?
It is something brought up by the media in a question. It is likely an attempt by someone with a long memory to create a story based on a comment about jewellery from a government minister 26 years ago.
1/3
It is something brought up by the media in a question. It is likely an attempt by someone with a long memory to create a story based on a comment about jewellery from a government minister 26 years ago.
1/3
Reposted by Paul Thurston
Peter Crouch and his world class assist
November 18, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Peter Crouch and his world class assist
Reposted by Paul Thurston
Ahead of Veterans Day, I was honored to welcome a flight of veterans and their families as they arrived in DC.
November 11, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Ahead of Veterans Day, I was honored to welcome a flight of veterans and their families as they arrived in DC.
Reposted by Paul Thurston
The finale of the great TV comedy show Blackadder goes Forth.
Back then I didn't expect one of the funniest programmes ever to end with a scene that makes me cry every time I see it.
Every single time.
Back then I didn't expect one of the funniest programmes ever to end with a scene that makes me cry every time I see it.
Every single time.
November 11, 2025 at 12:33 PM
The finale of the great TV comedy show Blackadder goes Forth.
Back then I didn't expect one of the funniest programmes ever to end with a scene that makes me cry every time I see it.
Every single time.
Back then I didn't expect one of the funniest programmes ever to end with a scene that makes me cry every time I see it.
Every single time.
Reposted by Paul Thurston
Want to know why the prisons system seems to be suddenly falling apart?
Well, it's not sudden. It's just suddenly being REPORTED. This rot was a deliberate policy choice, and I kept the receipts. Because I'm not the BBC.
(A note on what Tories did to cause this, from The Decade In Tory)
Well, it's not sudden. It's just suddenly being REPORTED. This rot was a deliberate policy choice, and I kept the receipts. Because I'm not the BBC.
(A note on what Tories did to cause this, from The Decade In Tory)
November 10, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Want to know why the prisons system seems to be suddenly falling apart?
Well, it's not sudden. It's just suddenly being REPORTED. This rot was a deliberate policy choice, and I kept the receipts. Because I'm not the BBC.
(A note on what Tories did to cause this, from The Decade In Tory)
Well, it's not sudden. It's just suddenly being REPORTED. This rot was a deliberate policy choice, and I kept the receipts. Because I'm not the BBC.
(A note on what Tories did to cause this, from The Decade In Tory)
Reposted by Paul Thurston
no amount of state propaganda will ever convince me this man is my enemy
November 9, 2025 at 3:05 PM
no amount of state propaganda will ever convince me this man is my enemy
Reposted by Paul Thurston
succubus - female demon that seduces men
incubus - male demon that seduces women
vengabus - non-binary demon that likes to party
incubus - male demon that seduces women
vengabus - non-binary demon that likes to party
November 6, 2025 at 3:38 PM
succubus - female demon that seduces men
incubus - male demon that seduces women
vengabus - non-binary demon that likes to party
incubus - male demon that seduces women
vengabus - non-binary demon that likes to party
Reposted by Paul Thurston
Which one is more English?
November 6, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Which one is more English?
Reposted by Paul Thurston
BBC News bulletins leading on the story of an Algerian man being mistakenly released by the prison service.
Funnily enough I don't remember these cases ever leading the bulletins when an average of ten prisoners were mistakenly released a month in the final year of the last Government
Funnily enough I don't remember these cases ever leading the bulletins when an average of ten prisoners were mistakenly released a month in the final year of the last Government
November 5, 2025 at 2:55 PM
BBC News bulletins leading on the story of an Algerian man being mistakenly released by the prison service.
Funnily enough I don't remember these cases ever leading the bulletins when an average of ten prisoners were mistakenly released a month in the final year of the last Government
Funnily enough I don't remember these cases ever leading the bulletins when an average of ten prisoners were mistakenly released a month in the final year of the last Government
Reposted by Paul Thurston
Big day at U.S. District Court in D.C. where Sean Dunn, the D.C. Sandwich Guy, is on trial for misdemeanor assault of a federal officer.
Border Patrol agent Gregory Lairmore is on the stand narrating surveillance video of the sammie toss.
'Now he’s struck me with the sandwich,' Lairmore says.
Border Patrol agent Gregory Lairmore is on the stand narrating surveillance video of the sammie toss.
'Now he’s struck me with the sandwich,' Lairmore says.
November 4, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Big day at U.S. District Court in D.C. where Sean Dunn, the D.C. Sandwich Guy, is on trial for misdemeanor assault of a federal officer.
Border Patrol agent Gregory Lairmore is on the stand narrating surveillance video of the sammie toss.
'Now he’s struck me with the sandwich,' Lairmore says.
Border Patrol agent Gregory Lairmore is on the stand narrating surveillance video of the sammie toss.
'Now he’s struck me with the sandwich,' Lairmore says.
Reposted by Paul Thurston
Concludes with a deft analysis of what makes for good screenwriting.
Why is Casablanca considered such a classic? (Please provide reasons rather than just “great acting, great story, etc.”)
Ian Lang's answer: It wasn’t actually meant to be. They filled it with star names, but nobody expected more than a usual performance from Casablanca.
However, in adapting it from the play Everybody C...
qr.ae
November 1, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Concludes with a deft analysis of what makes for good screenwriting.
Reposted by Paul Thurston
If Minecraft YouTubers can include properly transcribed subtitles in their videos, then Netflix and Amazon should bloody put in some effort
October 31, 2025 at 12:18 PM
If Minecraft YouTubers can include properly transcribed subtitles in their videos, then Netflix and Amazon should bloody put in some effort
Reposted by Paul Thurston
Reposted by Paul Thurston
Great photo from Jason Cairnduff for Reuters at the Hill Dickinson Stadium yesterday
October 27, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Great photo from Jason Cairnduff for Reuters at the Hill Dickinson Stadium yesterday
Reposted by Paul Thurston
The fuss over who appears in TV adverts misses the point...
October 26, 2025 at 10:53 AM
The fuss over who appears in TV adverts misses the point...
Reposted by Paul Thurston
The home of the O'Donovan family is being used as a polling station in Coolmoyne, Co Tipperary. Around 250 people are eligible to vote at the house and after they cast their ballot, they will be treated to a cup of tea, a slice of apple or rhubarb tart, or a scone | More: rte.ie/b/1540324
October 24, 2025 at 10:51 AM
The home of the O'Donovan family is being used as a polling station in Coolmoyne, Co Tipperary. Around 250 people are eligible to vote at the house and after they cast their ballot, they will be treated to a cup of tea, a slice of apple or rhubarb tart, or a scone | More: rte.ie/b/1540324
Reposted by Paul Thurston
The legend that is the Japanese Ambassador to the UK enjoying a bowl of Scouse in Liverpool
October 25, 2025 at 9:55 AM
The legend that is the Japanese Ambassador to the UK enjoying a bowl of Scouse in Liverpool
Plusses? The virgin media tv app worked flawlessly through my phone's hot-spot throughout the match.
Negatives? The virgin media tv app worked flawlessly through my phone's hot-spot throughout the match.
Negatives? The virgin media tv app worked flawlessly through my phone's hot-spot throughout the match.
October 22, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Plusses? The virgin media tv app worked flawlessly through my phone's hot-spot throughout the match.
Negatives? The virgin media tv app worked flawlessly through my phone's hot-spot throughout the match.
Negatives? The virgin media tv app worked flawlessly through my phone's hot-spot throughout the match.
How is Archie Gray still standing, let alone running?
October 22, 2025 at 8:53 PM
How is Archie Gray still standing, let alone running?
How do professional footballers get such distance when they hit a stationary ball from only one or two steps? I used to be pleased if I got a goal kick out of the box.
October 22, 2025 at 8:42 PM
How do professional footballers get such distance when they hit a stationary ball from only one or two steps? I used to be pleased if I got a goal kick out of the box.
Kevin Danso is rapidly becoming one of my favourite players
October 22, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Kevin Danso is rapidly becoming one of my favourite players