Thomas Y. Jones
@teawhynot.bsky.social
Teacher of EAP & business English, Buddhist (Gelugpa), amateur translator (Tibetan>English), lover of nature, believer in social equity. Preference for music that goes bleep/grrr/toot. (he/him) 🏳️🌈🇪🇺🇬🇧🇹🇼🇰🇷🇮🇳🇳🇵🇴🇲
TIL that Insomnia is 10 years older than I thought. People were dancing to it when I was in 6th form.
November 27, 2025 at 1:37 PM
TIL that Insomnia is 10 years older than I thought. People were dancing to it when I was in 6th form.
Reposted by Thomas Y. Jones
This petition calling for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy already has over 30,000 signatures. Let’s get it to 100,000 this week.
Please sign and share 🙏
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
Please sign and share 🙏
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
Petition: Call a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy
We are concerned about reported efforts from Russia to influence democracy in the US, UK, Europe and elsewhere. We believe we must establish the depth and breadth of possible Russian influence campaig...
petition.parliament.uk
November 25, 2025 at 7:32 AM
This petition calling for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy already has over 30,000 signatures. Let’s get it to 100,000 this week.
Please sign and share 🙏
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
Please sign and share 🙏
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
I absolutely love light-jacket-in-the-evening weather and would love to spend a great deal more time outside. Shame about the pollution. Shame on all of us for not preventing this.
November 25, 2025 at 9:58 AM
I absolutely love light-jacket-in-the-evening weather and would love to spend a great deal more time outside. Shame about the pollution. Shame on all of us for not preventing this.
Didn't get a picture, but saw an oriental magpie-robin on my morning walk. Exquisite bird, and just as brave as a European robin, quite unintimidated by human attention.
November 25, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Didn't get a picture, but saw an oriental magpie-robin on my morning walk. Exquisite bird, and just as brave as a European robin, quite unintimidated by human attention.
Classic example of why I still can't return to my home country. This is one of the best jobs in my field in the UK I've seen advertised in ages, and the pay is completely unliveable-on. FML
United Kingdom, Reading: EFL Teacher
United Kingdom, Reading: EFL Teacher
Your role will involve ensuring that students receive the maximum benefit from their course by ensuring the highest possible level of academic standards in all aspects of the job to enhance the student learning experience.
dlvr.it
November 25, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Classic example of why I still can't return to my home country. This is one of the best jobs in my field in the UK I've seen advertised in ages, and the pay is completely unliveable-on. FML
Deeply annoyed to be barred from another relief pay-out due to my immigration status (first in Korea due to covid, now in Taiwan due to Krasnov's tariffs) despite paying the same taxes as citizens and permanent residents. FML
November 25, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Deeply annoyed to be barred from another relief pay-out due to my immigration status (first in Korea due to covid, now in Taiwan due to Krasnov's tariffs) despite paying the same taxes as citizens and permanent residents. FML
Reposted by Thomas Y. Jones
Happy World Philosophy Day! 🧡
November 20, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Happy World Philosophy Day! 🧡
Reposted by Thomas Y. Jones
The actual secret to why I know stuff is that I ask a question any time I don’t understand literally anything. I don’t care how simple it is. Anybody who makes fun of you for asking a simple question likely doesn’t know the answer either
November 20, 2025 at 12:32 AM
The actual secret to why I know stuff is that I ask a question any time I don’t understand literally anything. I don’t care how simple it is. Anybody who makes fun of you for asking a simple question likely doesn’t know the answer either
Reposted by Thomas Y. Jones
At the Budget, the Green Party's message is clear: Cut Bills. Tax Billionaires.
November 19, 2025 at 8:20 AM
At the Budget, the Green Party's message is clear: Cut Bills. Tax Billionaires.
This adorable elementary Tibetan vocab book just dropped. The style reminds me a lot of similar monolingual books used in the monasteries in India. www.loplao.com/product-page...
My First 650 Tibetan Words (ངའི་ཆེས་ཐོག་མའི་མིང་ཚིག ༦༥༠། | Loplao
My First 650 Tibetan Words is designed for both beginners and advanced learners of Tibetan. It contains 650 commonly used words with clear pronunciation guides, English translations, and example sente...
www.loplao.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:39 AM
This adorable elementary Tibetan vocab book just dropped. The style reminds me a lot of similar monolingual books used in the monasteries in India. www.loplao.com/product-page...
We do people clap after a group photo?
November 18, 2025 at 4:02 AM
We do people clap after a group photo?
Stumbled upon this quotation recently, and it's been popping up regularly ever since, in the way these things do. How apt for our times.
November 15, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Stumbled upon this quotation recently, and it's been popping up regularly ever since, in the way these things do. How apt for our times.
I really hope shouting "That's my pasty!" at seagulls becomes a thing.
theconversation.com/yes-shouting...
theconversation.com/yes-shouting...
Yes, shouting at seagulls actually works, scientists confirm
This is one of the few times shouting might actually help.
theconversation.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:52 AM
I really hope shouting "That's my pasty!" at seagulls becomes a thing.
theconversation.com/yes-shouting...
theconversation.com/yes-shouting...
Bhagavan Buddha's first teaching:
duḥkhaṃ parijñeyam | Suffering should be thoroughly known.
samudayaḥ prahātavyaḥ | Origins should be completely abandoned.
nirodhaḥ sākṣātkartavyaḥ | Cessation should be directly realized.
mārgaḥ bhāvayitavyaḥ | The path should be constantly cultivated.
duḥkhaṃ parijñeyam | Suffering should be thoroughly known.
samudayaḥ prahātavyaḥ | Origins should be completely abandoned.
nirodhaḥ sākṣātkartavyaḥ | Cessation should be directly realized.
mārgaḥ bhāvayitavyaḥ | The path should be constantly cultivated.
November 13, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Bhagavan Buddha's first teaching:
duḥkhaṃ parijñeyam | Suffering should be thoroughly known.
samudayaḥ prahātavyaḥ | Origins should be completely abandoned.
nirodhaḥ sākṣātkartavyaḥ | Cessation should be directly realized.
mārgaḥ bhāvayitavyaḥ | The path should be constantly cultivated.
duḥkhaṃ parijñeyam | Suffering should be thoroughly known.
samudayaḥ prahātavyaḥ | Origins should be completely abandoned.
nirodhaḥ sākṣātkartavyaḥ | Cessation should be directly realized.
mārgaḥ bhāvayitavyaḥ | The path should be constantly cultivated.
As someone very new to using reading glasses, I'm delighted to discover the sheer joy of taking them off at the end of the working day. It's akin to taking your tie off when you get home from work, back in the days when we used to wear such things.
November 12, 2025 at 10:54 AM
As someone very new to using reading glasses, I'm delighted to discover the sheer joy of taking them off at the end of the working day. It's akin to taking your tie off when you get home from work, back in the days when we used to wear such things.
It's 11/11, which is an especially auspicious day as one of the few dates of the year where USians align with the rest of the world, and also Lhabab Duchen, so tashi delek!
November 11, 2025 at 2:52 AM
It's 11/11, which is an especially auspicious day as one of the few dates of the year where USians align with the rest of the world, and also Lhabab Duchen, so tashi delek!
Reposted by Thomas Y. Jones
I like his mother too: “Art and museums are living spaces,” she said. “Life without art is not life.”
Also, "The fedora, angled just so, is his homage to French Resistance hero Jean Moulin." That's exactly the energy I needed. Especially from a 15-year-old French boy, in these uncertain times.
Also, "The fedora, angled just so, is his homage to French Resistance hero Jean Moulin." That's exactly the energy I needed. Especially from a 15-year-old French boy, in these uncertain times.
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
apnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:03 PM
I like his mother too: “Art and museums are living spaces,” she said. “Life without art is not life.”
Also, "The fedora, angled just so, is his homage to French Resistance hero Jean Moulin." That's exactly the energy I needed. Especially from a 15-year-old French boy, in these uncertain times.
Also, "The fedora, angled just so, is his homage to French Resistance hero Jean Moulin." That's exactly the energy I needed. Especially from a 15-year-old French boy, in these uncertain times.
Saw Frankenstein. Subtlety is dead. Why are people calling this a masterpiece?
November 10, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Saw Frankenstein. Subtlety is dead. Why are people calling this a masterpiece?
Someone managed to teach the entire island of Taiwan to say 'satisfication' instead of 'satisfaction' and it drives me nuts, but you've got to respect the level of inspiration, even if it is a fundamentally evil thing to do.
November 3, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Someone managed to teach the entire island of Taiwan to say 'satisfication' instead of 'satisfaction' and it drives me nuts, but you've got to respect the level of inspiration, even if it is a fundamentally evil thing to do.
Um... that's not what that usually means. Always check with a proficient speaker of the language you're using, or you could end up making a silent but deadly mistake!
November 3, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Um... that's not what that usually means. Always check with a proficient speaker of the language you're using, or you could end up making a silent but deadly mistake!
Reposted by Thomas Y. Jones
Taiwan's GDP per capita will surpass US$40,000 next year and its GDP per capita and cost of living is also similar to Spain, Slovenia and Japan today. But how do Taiwan's wages at the low and middle-income compare—I explore the data in this newest article.
ketagalanmedia.com/2025/10/31/t...
ketagalanmedia.com/2025/10/31/t...
Taiwan’s Wages Are Lower Than Countries with Similar GDP per Capita - Ketagalan Media
In short, Taiwan needs to be genuine about its practice of human rights, and align its labor rights with its advocacy of democracy.
ketagalanmedia.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Taiwan's GDP per capita will surpass US$40,000 next year and its GDP per capita and cost of living is also similar to Spain, Slovenia and Japan today. But how do Taiwan's wages at the low and middle-income compare—I explore the data in this newest article.
ketagalanmedia.com/2025/10/31/t...
ketagalanmedia.com/2025/10/31/t...
Tibetan translators rendered the dry Sanskrit term saṁāropa (superimposition) as the delightfully idiomatic "drodog" (སྒྲོ་འདོགས་), which literally means tying on feathers! We say 'imputation' in English, but the Tibetan term really evokes how much it is 'gilding the lily'.
November 2, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Tibetan translators rendered the dry Sanskrit term saṁāropa (superimposition) as the delightfully idiomatic "drodog" (སྒྲོ་འདོགས་), which literally means tying on feathers! We say 'imputation' in English, but the Tibetan term really evokes how much it is 'gilding the lily'.
Contemplating the implications of lalanā and rasanā as tongue and taste, subject and object.
October 24, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Contemplating the implications of lalanā and rasanā as tongue and taste, subject and object.
TIL durian-flavoured moon cakes are a thing. Don't feel particularly enriched by this knowledge. Mainly just a bit disappointed.
October 21, 2025 at 7:38 AM
TIL durian-flavoured moon cakes are a thing. Don't feel particularly enriched by this knowledge. Mainly just a bit disappointed.
TIL that the town of Keelung/Kelâng/Jīlóng, now written as 基隆 (base prosperous) used to be known as 雞籠 (chicken coop). Most likely a transliteration of an aboriginal word, but still awesome!
October 16, 2025 at 10:13 AM
TIL that the town of Keelung/Kelâng/Jīlóng, now written as 基隆 (base prosperous) used to be known as 雞籠 (chicken coop). Most likely a transliteration of an aboriginal word, but still awesome!