David Smith
@avaragado.org
Creative techie gay in Cambridge UK. Solution Architect/Technical Product Designer/Writer/Leader (looking for work). avaragado everywhere. Writes fiction as @anthonycamber.com 🏳️🌈
Pinned
David Smith
@avaragado.org
· 21d
BETWEEN TWO WORLDS - out now
A queer coming-of-age dystopian sci-fi adventure with light, shade, and a touch of romance. Set on the generation ship Capricorn, journeying across the stars, it's a story of secrets, lies, found family, and things you don't know you don't know.
📚👀🌈📚💙📚🌈🚀💫 🚫 NO AI
A queer coming-of-age dystopian sci-fi adventure with light, shade, and a touch of romance. Set on the generation ship Capricorn, journeying across the stars, it's a story of secrets, lies, found family, and things you don't know you don't know.
📚👀🌈📚💙📚🌈🚀💫 🚫 NO AI
Publication day has arrived for my new novel, Between Two Worlds.
This is my seventh book. The sequel is already drafted and will be out next year.
It’s unlike anything I’ve written before. Unlike most YA books. Unlike most queer books. I love it.
My publisher (me) adds: Buy it now on Amazon.
This is my seventh book. The sequel is already drafted and will be out next year.
It’s unlike anything I’ve written before. Unlike most YA books. Unlike most queer books. I love it.
My publisher (me) adds: Buy it now on Amazon.
Reposted by David Smith
Laura Kuenssberg's question at the weekend "Is it for people who are singers, songwriters, artists to be taking public positions on very very controversial, difficult, complicated issues" was the most insulting, patronising, appalling question I have had the misfortune to have heard in years.
September 21, 2026 at 8:41 AM
Laura Kuenssberg's question at the weekend "Is it for people who are singers, songwriters, artists to be taking public positions on very very controversial, difficult, complicated issues" was the most insulting, patronising, appalling question I have had the misfortune to have heard in years.
Reposted by David Smith
I'd never seen this Roy Lichtenstein painting before, but it's incredible how he manages unfailingly to make his copies worse than the original comics he's ripping off.
September 10, 2026 at 12:18 PM
I'd never seen this Roy Lichtenstein painting before, but it's incredible how he manages unfailingly to make his copies worse than the original comics he's ripping off.
Just saw one of those all-in-black masked teens slouching towards McDonald's. What are we calling them? Tweenjas? Winjas? Bruce Wee?
September 20, 2026 at 5:57 PM
Just saw one of those all-in-black masked teens slouching towards McDonald's. What are we calling them? Tweenjas? Winjas? Bruce Wee?
Reposted by David Smith
![1
Wide shot of the BRITISH MUSEUM. There are suggestions of fascism around the streets - tanks, barricades, an Orwellian 'Big Brother'-style poster on a wall. A voice of a TOUR GUIDE emanates from the museum:
TOUR GUIDE:
So the Tapestry tells acrucial chapter of our nation's history...
2
[Cut to interior of museum. A long Bayeaux-style TAPESTRY is on display, and the Tour Guide is speaking to a tour group]
TOUR GUIDE [smiling]:
How modern fascist Britain was created.
3
TOUR GUIDE:
The Tapestry begins here with the 2008 Crash, then austerity, then the AI Crash...
4
TOUR GUIDE:
...and by the end of the room it's just full-on fash.
5
CHILD IN TOUR GROUP [gesturing to the tapestry]:
What's this middle bit?
TOUR GUIDE:
This is the 2026 Battle of Legitimate Concerns
6
TOUR GUIDE:
[show a reporter standing next to the Dover protests]
Here's the media saying the government have got to do something about the legitimate concerns...
7
CHILD:
...About the failure of capitalism?
TOUR GUIDE:
No about brown people on boats
8
CHILD:
[pointing at boats crossing the sea on the tapestry]
Are these boats the mega-dinghies?
TOUR GUIDE:
Not all of them
9
[we see one of the boats is a giant yacht]
TOUR GUIDE:
That one's a superyacht,
carrying money from the American fascists to the British ones.
10
TOUR GUIDE:
You see really it's as much a story of convergence as it is of conflict.
[An alarm sounds in the museum]
DING DING DING DING
11
TOUR GUIDE:
Ok, tour over everyone
12
TOUR GUIDE:
It's time for the Two Minute Hate!
[They all leave the museum]
[ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreiboinypoonvak2nkagipcfwm22lge4gldp2iscz3leiptjxg4e63u)
Reposted by David Smith
So Netflix is using "AI" to upscale old movies and shows, with obvious results.
Using an algorithm to upscale old video isn't a terrible thing, but to do it right you need to have someone willing to go over every frame. Trouble is, dipshits think it's magic.
Using an algorithm to upscale old video isn't a terrible thing, but to do it right you need to have someone willing to go over every frame. Trouble is, dipshits think it's magic.
September 19, 2026 at 11:56 PM
So Netflix is using "AI" to upscale old movies and shows, with obvious results.
Using an algorithm to upscale old video isn't a terrible thing, but to do it right you need to have someone willing to go over every frame. Trouble is, dipshits think it's magic.
Using an algorithm to upscale old video isn't a terrible thing, but to do it right you need to have someone willing to go over every frame. Trouble is, dipshits think it's magic.
These posts will continue until someone dies.
Unless he’s raising an army in the Spanish Netherlands and claim the throne for himself with support of France and the Habsburg powers, this should not be leading the BBC headlines for the third day in a row.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Earl Spencer tells BBC Harry and Meghan's media treatment echoes what happened to Diana
Princess Diana's brother says she was "really brought low by all that criticism" and he saw her in "tears of despair".
www.bbc.co.uk
September 20, 2026 at 8:57 AM
These posts will continue until someone dies.
Today: Trump announces an "AI force" and will anoint an "AI czar"
Given that he destroys everything he touches, I guess the bubble's about to pop.
Given that he destroys everything he touches, I guess the bubble's about to pop.
September 19, 2026 at 5:41 PM
Today: Trump announces an "AI force" and will anoint an "AI czar"
Given that he destroys everything he touches, I guess the bubble's about to pop.
Given that he destroys everything he touches, I guess the bubble's about to pop.
Reposted by David Smith
every day of my life I think about the people using “she” to describe this computer program who still need to be convinced to use it for trans women
Tilly Norwood, a controversial AI “actor,” abruptly switched languages during an interview with Piers Morgan, though the company behind the AI creation denied she malfunctioned.
AI ‘Actor’ Tilly Norwood Abruptly Switches Languages Mid-Interview
Tilly Norwood, a controversial AI “actor,” abruptly switched languages during an interview with Piers Morgan, though the company behind the AI creation denied she malfunctioned.
www.forbes.com
September 19, 2026 at 4:29 AM
every day of my life I think about the people using “she” to describe this computer program who still need to be convinced to use it for trans women
Reposted by David Smith
David Heinemeier Hansson called for the extermination of Romani people, comparing them to animals. An entire roster of tech tycoons responded by each personally giving him $1 million for his open source software project, even though he’s already wealthy enough to have a personal race car team.
September 17, 2026 at 1:39 PM
David Heinemeier Hansson called for the extermination of Romani people, comparing them to animals. An entire roster of tech tycoons responded by each personally giving him $1 million for his open source software project, even though he’s already wealthy enough to have a personal race car team.
Reposted by David Smith
Hard to imagine a more emblematic fracturing of the British social order than people turning on the lifeboats, the most conservative-coded, traditional charity we have. If these scumbags will attack the RNLI, they'll attack anyone or anything. Absolutely feral.
What on earth is happening?
September 18, 2026 at 8:25 AM
Hard to imagine a more emblematic fracturing of the British social order than people turning on the lifeboats, the most conservative-coded, traditional charity we have. If these scumbags will attack the RNLI, they'll attack anyone or anything. Absolutely feral.
The Pitchfinders
The Tender Time
The Day of the Document
Planet of the Deadline
Terror Ofcom Regional Criteria
#DoctorWhoTender
The Tender Time
The Day of the Document
Planet of the Deadline
Terror Ofcom Regional Criteria
#DoctorWhoTender
September 17, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by David Smith
I remember outrage about Just Stop Oil blocking a street, just in case an ambulance had to drive down it. Not because an ambulance was prevented from doing so, you understand. Just the abstract idea that one might have to.
Lifeboat station in Portsmouth forced to temporarily shut after far-right action
Lifeboat station in Portsmouth forced to temporarily shut after far-right action
RNLI facility had been affected by attempts by activists to stop asylum seekers landing in boats from the Channel
A lifeboat station on the south coast of England near the spot where far-right activists tried to stop asylum seekers landing has been forced to temporarily close, it has emerged.
The station in Portsmouth shut after it and other sites run by the RNLI were targeted by people objecting to the lifeboat charity going to the aid of people trying to get to the UK on small boats. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
September 17, 2026 at 1:06 PM
I remember outrage about Just Stop Oil blocking a street, just in case an ambulance had to drive down it. Not because an ambulance was prevented from doing so, you understand. Just the abstract idea that one might have to.
We’ve held a village referendum
September 17, 2026 at 6:43 PM
We’ve held a village referendum
AI man: it's seeding a new silicon species
BBC: *transcribes gullibly*
Man: … with hydroplastic knees
BBC: *scribbles*
Man: … and underthermal marshmallow bags
BBC: *nods pensively*
Man: … and eight-pointed manticules
BBC: *taps pen on chin*
Man: …
BBC: And what do they think about immigration?
BBC: *transcribes gullibly*
Man: … with hydroplastic knees
BBC: *scribbles*
Man: … and underthermal marshmallow bags
BBC: *nods pensively*
Man: … and eight-pointed manticules
BBC: *taps pen on chin*
Man: …
BBC: And what do they think about immigration?
September 17, 2026 at 11:16 AM
AI man: it's seeding a new silicon species
BBC: *transcribes gullibly*
Man: … with hydroplastic knees
BBC: *scribbles*
Man: … and underthermal marshmallow bags
BBC: *nods pensively*
Man: … and eight-pointed manticules
BBC: *taps pen on chin*
Man: …
BBC: And what do they think about immigration?
BBC: *transcribes gullibly*
Man: … with hydroplastic knees
BBC: *scribbles*
Man: … and underthermal marshmallow bags
BBC: *nods pensively*
Man: … and eight-pointed manticules
BBC: *taps pen on chin*
Man: …
BBC: And what do they think about immigration?
Can someone wake up the ~1 journalist in BBC News with a science degree and ask them to remind their colleagues that CLIMATE AND WEATHER ARE DIFFERENT.
Lead story in the Climate section: "getting a bit parky innit"
Much farther down: "Climate change played role in Nepal-Tibet flood, study finds"
Lead story in the Climate section: "getting a bit parky innit"
Much farther down: "Climate change played role in Nepal-Tibet flood, study finds"
September 17, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Can someone wake up the ~1 journalist in BBC News with a science degree and ask them to remind their colleagues that CLIMATE AND WEATHER ARE DIFFERENT.
Lead story in the Climate section: "getting a bit parky innit"
Much farther down: "Climate change played role in Nepal-Tibet flood, study finds"
Lead story in the Climate section: "getting a bit parky innit"
Much farther down: "Climate change played role in Nepal-Tibet flood, study finds"
Reposted by David Smith
Blumineck lo ha vuelto a hacer 🥹 le aplaudo hasta que se me caigan las manos, bravo.
"Be masculine, be feminine, be neither, or be both. But be kind."
"Be masculine, be feminine, be neither, or be both. But be kind."
September 14, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Blumineck lo ha vuelto a hacer 🥹 le aplaudo hasta que se me caigan las manos, bravo.
"Be masculine, be feminine, be neither, or be both. But be kind."
"Be masculine, be feminine, be neither, or be both. But be kind."
Reposted by David Smith
Very pleased to have been an early reader for this novel, which has now been published. I’m a sucker for weird and wonderful sci-fi written in a future dialect.
September 15, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Very pleased to have been an early reader for this novel, which has now been published. I’m a sucker for weird and wonderful sci-fi written in a future dialect.
Maybe it'll be taken over by WHSmith.
September 15, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Maybe it'll be taken over by WHSmith.
Reposted by David Smith
My copy of @anthonycamber.com's new novel Between Two Worlds showed up!
One for the SF folks. YA-ish queer romance on a far future generational colony starship with more than a hint of creeping dystopia, and a really interesting idiom.
One for the SF folks. YA-ish queer romance on a far future generational colony starship with more than a hint of creeping dystopia, and a really interesting idiom.
September 14, 2026 at 9:57 AM
My copy of @anthonycamber.com's new novel Between Two Worlds showed up!
One for the SF folks. YA-ish queer romance on a far future generational colony starship with more than a hint of creeping dystopia, and a really interesting idiom.
One for the SF folks. YA-ish queer romance on a far future generational colony starship with more than a hint of creeping dystopia, and a really interesting idiom.
Reposted by David Smith
I did a somewhat deep dive into the recent OpenAI and Anthropic "hacks" for an upcoming interview.
IMO, the AI companies are better off running with the "rogue AI" story because the real story is actually pretty embarrassing.
Like making your Wi-Fi password "wifi" embarrassing. 🧵
IMO, the AI companies are better off running with the "rogue AI" story because the real story is actually pretty embarrassing.
Like making your Wi-Fi password "wifi" embarrassing. 🧵
September 13, 2026 at 1:12 PM
I did a somewhat deep dive into the recent OpenAI and Anthropic "hacks" for an upcoming interview.
IMO, the AI companies are better off running with the "rogue AI" story because the real story is actually pretty embarrassing.
Like making your Wi-Fi password "wifi" embarrassing. 🧵
IMO, the AI companies are better off running with the "rogue AI" story because the real story is actually pretty embarrassing.
Like making your Wi-Fi password "wifi" embarrassing. 🧵
Things I was frightened of as a child: (not shown: my bedroom wallpaper)
September 12, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Things I was frightened of as a child: (not shown: my bedroom wallpaper)
Reposted by David Smith
To be clear – I would argue this is almost certainly unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, even under the Code of Practice.
A trans man in the UK has been banned in the workplace restrooms after he was forced to use the women's restrooms to comply with the new EHRC guidance. The women complained because he is visibly male and so they told him he can't use any bathroom.
![A screenshot of a Reddit post from the r/LegalAdviceUK subreddit by user Dijstraanon, titled "FtM transgender facing two different issues at work? England."
The post text reads:
"Brother in law is trans FtM and presents fully as a man. He's now facing an impossible situation at work with his employer telling him that due to recent legislation he must use the toilet of his birth gender. BUT several female colleagues have raised a grievance about him using their gendered toilet.
His employer has told him that he cannot use the toilet while he is at work until they sort it out and cannot give him a timeframe to do so. They do [cut off] have disabled separate toilets.
In the mean time one of his female colleagues has accused him of sexual harassment because he was used their gendered toilet. His menstrual cycle meant he needed to use the toilet.
He's been with the employer for just over 5 years but only in this location for 18 months. The location is mainly male with just a handful of females, and his workshop only has male toilets.
I do not know how to support him and as he's not in a union there is no one to turn too right now."
The post has an orange "Comments Moderated" tag, 169 upvotes, and 134 comments.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:sefgphqp2xqwh2hawaixykwz/bafkreigy6jrfjxyegrf7h4wzz3yptwmzobhjrd3k5zjoxwd75r6ulxzsyq)
September 12, 2026 at 11:21 AM
To be clear – I would argue this is almost certainly unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, even under the Code of Practice.