Nick Taylor
@tienelle.bsky.social
Physics, polymers and composites, high-rate mechanics, and what I'll euphemistically call "software carpentry" and not "hideous hacks". Occasional uninspired photography.
Cheaper than champagne, dramatically nicer than all but the most expensive champagne.
December 4, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Cheaper than champagne, dramatically nicer than all but the most expensive champagne.
What *are* the recreational uses of plutonium? I guess someone's into really difficult disposal problems?
December 3, 2025 at 9:58 PM
What *are* the recreational uses of plutonium? I guess someone's into really difficult disposal problems?
Oh, is that what causes it? I'd been wondering what was ticking repeatedly in geological time.
December 2, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Oh, is that what causes it? I'd been wondering what was ticking repeatedly in geological time.
I hear that's a banning offence on this website.
December 1, 2025 at 7:48 AM
I hear that's a banning offence on this website.
They were real hot on the nationalism but when senior members said "So, how about some socialism now?" the party response was to murder them.
December 1, 2025 at 7:31 AM
They were real hot on the nationalism but when senior members said "So, how about some socialism now?" the party response was to murder them.
Absolutely delighted to have my house burn down because the AI's training data includes a lot of split-phase mains.
November 29, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Absolutely delighted to have my house burn down because the AI's training data includes a lot of split-phase mains.
I am deeply annoyed that we got the advanced gas reactor basically working, built two, then decided we didn't want a civil nuclear industry after all.
November 25, 2025 at 8:53 PM
I am deeply annoyed that we got the advanced gas reactor basically working, built two, then decided we didn't want a civil nuclear industry after all.
I respect that a lot.
November 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
I respect that a lot.
Or it was their own half-trained jamming operator forgetting to communicate before they use vast overkill on the target's domestic wifi.
November 23, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Or it was their own half-trained jamming operator forgetting to communicate before they use vast overkill on the target's domestic wifi.
It's not as though the Whips are a *secret* cadre.
November 17, 2025 at 11:29 PM
It's not as though the Whips are a *secret* cadre.
Amazon tightened up their DRM quite a bit in Spring; it's quite hard to remove the DRM from books published since then.
November 15, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Amazon tightened up their DRM quite a bit in Spring; it's quite hard to remove the DRM from books published since then.
Didn't we vote for that because we'd had a run of bad harvests and things were starting to look a bit famine-shaped?
November 14, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Didn't we vote for that because we'd had a run of bad harvests and things were starting to look a bit famine-shaped?
Far from incompatible with academia, though you'd probably be sneered at a bit for writing too approachably.
November 14, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Far from incompatible with academia, though you'd probably be sneered at a bit for writing too approachably.
Ah, I'd erroneously tagged you as working for a university and "no-one can use Teams now" sounded pretty plausible for Accidental IT Policy.
November 14, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Ah, I'd erroneously tagged you as working for a university and "no-one can use Teams now" sounded pretty plausible for Accidental IT Policy.
Is this an intentional policy, or has Teams just failed irretrievably?
November 14, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Is this an intentional policy, or has Teams just failed irretrievably?
If you allow “an individual is found criminally liable” to save the company they’ll get ablative executives. We already see this to a limited extent with CISOs, whose corporate role is at least 50% “resign after a breach that was inevitable given the company’s practices”.
November 8, 2025 at 8:38 PM
If you allow “an individual is found criminally liable” to save the company they’ll get ablative executives. We already see this to a limited extent with CISOs, whose corporate role is at least 50% “resign after a breach that was inevitable given the company’s practices”.
Thank you; that was a fun thread.
November 7, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Thank you; that was a fun thread.
It can help a bit with identification at a distance, I think? When you're searching for someone and you've only got their ID documents to go on. Though it'd really benefit, in that case, from adding a non-binary/non-conforming gender marker.
November 7, 2025 at 6:08 AM
It can help a bit with identification at a distance, I think? When you're searching for someone and you've only got their ID documents to go on. Though it'd really benefit, in that case, from adding a non-binary/non-conforming gender marker.
Making new isotopes with neutrons isn't a decay phenomenon so it doesn't show up on those charts. Basically decay is going to happen whatever you do, but you can throw more neutrons at something whenever you like.
November 7, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Making new isotopes with neutrons isn't a decay phenomenon so it doesn't show up on those charts. Basically decay is going to happen whatever you do, but you can throw more neutrons at something whenever you like.
Most of our carbon-14 comes from nitrogen-14 that had an unlucky encounter with a free neutron. Then it decays back to carbon-14.
Relatedly, this is why neutron sources are especially scary: they make stable atoms radioactive, really efficiently.
Relatedly, this is why neutron sources are especially scary: they make stable atoms radioactive, really efficiently.
November 6, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Most of our carbon-14 comes from nitrogen-14 that had an unlucky encounter with a free neutron. Then it decays back to carbon-14.
Relatedly, this is why neutron sources are especially scary: they make stable atoms radioactive, really efficiently.
Relatedly, this is why neutron sources are especially scary: they make stable atoms radioactive, really efficiently.
When I checked both "Extremist" and "Rude" were hidden, but also Bluesky thinks I'm a child because I live in the UK.
November 6, 2025 at 8:25 AM
When I checked both "Extremist" and "Rude" were hidden, but also Bluesky thinks I'm a child because I live in the UK.
I thought it was usually ammonium nitrate that took out Galveston?
"including fertilizer" oh great why not both?
"including fertilizer" oh great why not both?
November 6, 2025 at 6:52 AM
I thought it was usually ammonium nitrate that took out Galveston?
"including fertilizer" oh great why not both?
"including fertilizer" oh great why not both?
How I found out that (a) goats can be clicker trained and (b) my camera shutter sounds like a clicker:
November 5, 2025 at 7:27 AM
How I found out that (a) goats can be clicker trained and (b) my camera shutter sounds like a clicker:
But is it pronounced "stom-PED", or "stampede but with an expression suggesting the word tastes bad"?
November 5, 2025 at 12:54 AM
But is it pronounced "stom-PED", or "stampede but with an expression suggesting the word tastes bad"?
There's been a real push to get them to use tungsten instead, for environmental reasons.
November 4, 2025 at 9:08 PM
There's been a real push to get them to use tungsten instead, for environmental reasons.