Margaret Nelson 🌦
@flashmaggie.bsky.social
Old, knackered. Cloud-spotter and dendrophile. Suffolk UK. Cat's mother.
"The cure for boredom is curiousity. There is no cure for curiousity."
- Dorothy Parker
https://deadinteresting.blogspot.com/2018/01/death-doesnt-misgender-you-die-as-you.html
"The cure for boredom is curiousity. There is no cure for curiousity."
- Dorothy Parker
https://deadinteresting.blogspot.com/2018/01/death-doesnt-misgender-you-die-as-you.html
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warned of AI "Pull the plug!" over two years ago.
He's not the only one.
But as AI relies on data centres, which we can't afford because of their energy and water demands, will it even be necessary? Or will only a few small data centres keep it going?
He's not the only one.
But as AI relies on data centres, which we can't afford because of their energy and water demands, will it even be necessary? Or will only a few small data centres keep it going?
Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt warns: Within 5 years, AI could … - The Times of India
The Times of India brings the Latest & Top Breaking News on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Cricket, Sports, Business, Bollywood News and Entertainment, Science, Technology, ...
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
September 20, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warned of AI "Pull the plug!" over two years ago.
He's not the only one.
But as AI relies on data centres, which we can't afford because of their energy and water demands, will it even be necessary? Or will only a few small data centres keep it going?
He's not the only one.
But as AI relies on data centres, which we can't afford because of their energy and water demands, will it even be necessary? Or will only a few small data centres keep it going?
What can the super-wealthy do with all their hard-accumulated money, in whatever form, apart from using it for bribery and influence? Just count it?
We're heading for devastating fires, floods, a sea-level rise, and an international food shortage.
How will they buy their way out of that?
We're heading for devastating fires, floods, a sea-level rise, and an international food shortage.
How will they buy their way out of that?
September 20, 2026 at 12:01 PM
What can the super-wealthy do with all their hard-accumulated money, in whatever form, apart from using it for bribery and influence? Just count it?
We're heading for devastating fires, floods, a sea-level rise, and an international food shortage.
How will they buy their way out of that?
We're heading for devastating fires, floods, a sea-level rise, and an international food shortage.
How will they buy their way out of that?
Reposted by Margaret Nelson 🌦
The only 4 constituencies where rejoining the EU wasn’t the preferred option were those of Lee Anderson, Farage, Tice and Lowe. In those 4, the top answer was ‘don’t know’.
Confirming that Brexit has no real support at all. Not surprising for a total shitshow. And makes red lines seem very silly.
Confirming that Brexit has no real support at all. Not surprising for a total shitshow. And makes red lines seem very silly.
September 20, 2026 at 8:21 AM
The only 4 constituencies where rejoining the EU wasn’t the preferred option were those of Lee Anderson, Farage, Tice and Lowe. In those 4, the top answer was ‘don’t know’.
Confirming that Brexit has no real support at all. Not surprising for a total shitshow. And makes red lines seem very silly.
Confirming that Brexit has no real support at all. Not surprising for a total shitshow. And makes red lines seem very silly.
Reposted by Margaret Nelson 🌦
American academic abroad finds that foreign countries have their own currencies. And then explains it to the rest of us.
The world’s wrongest man, John Mearsheimer, says he was effectively penniless during his recent visit to Russia because the “Russia expert” didn’t know his US credit card wouldn’t work there.
September 20, 2026 at 7:54 AM
American academic abroad finds that foreign countries have their own currencies. And then explains it to the rest of us.
I feel sorry for wasps. They've always been treated as the villains of the garden but they're only doing what they need to do, which is forage and defend themselves. The numbers have declined and that's true of most insects. Fewer insects means fewer pollinators and fewer birds.
Comment: Where have all the wasps gone this summer?
Writing in The Conversation, Professor Seirian Sumner (UCL Genetics, Evolution and Environment) highlights the lower-than-normal abundance of wasps this summer and urges members of the public to watch...
www.ucl.ac.uk
September 20, 2026 at 10:15 AM
I feel sorry for wasps. They've always been treated as the villains of the garden but they're only doing what they need to do, which is forage and defend themselves. The numbers have declined and that's true of most insects. Fewer insects means fewer pollinators and fewer birds.
Read a post referring to the increase in the cost of living of thousands, due to Trump's activities in the Middle East.
The cost of living?
Shouldn't we be far angrier about the dead?
His actions at home and abroad have cost millions of lives.
Covid, Kennedy, ICE agents, war, aid cuts, Gaza, etc.
The cost of living?
Shouldn't we be far angrier about the dead?
His actions at home and abroad have cost millions of lives.
Covid, Kennedy, ICE agents, war, aid cuts, Gaza, etc.
September 19, 2026 at 10:22 PM
Read a post referring to the increase in the cost of living of thousands, due to Trump's activities in the Middle East.
The cost of living?
Shouldn't we be far angrier about the dead?
His actions at home and abroad have cost millions of lives.
Covid, Kennedy, ICE agents, war, aid cuts, Gaza, etc.
The cost of living?
Shouldn't we be far angrier about the dead?
His actions at home and abroad have cost millions of lives.
Covid, Kennedy, ICE agents, war, aid cuts, Gaza, etc.
Reposted by Margaret Nelson 🌦
3. If anyone asks what you're doing reply: "I'm afraid I can't say."
September 19, 2026 at 10:01 AM
3. If anyone asks what you're doing reply: "I'm afraid I can't say."
Reposted by Margaret Nelson 🌦
A fun, affordable hobby is:
1. Turning up in random well-to-do Cotswold villages wearing a hi-vis vest with a picture of a wind turbine on it, and a hard hat.
2. Taking measurements of the village green and any other open space, and enthusiastically writing notes on a clipboard.
1. Turning up in random well-to-do Cotswold villages wearing a hi-vis vest with a picture of a wind turbine on it, and a hard hat.
2. Taking measurements of the village green and any other open space, and enthusiastically writing notes on a clipboard.
September 19, 2026 at 10:00 AM
A fun, affordable hobby is:
1. Turning up in random well-to-do Cotswold villages wearing a hi-vis vest with a picture of a wind turbine on it, and a hard hat.
2. Taking measurements of the village green and any other open space, and enthusiastically writing notes on a clipboard.
1. Turning up in random well-to-do Cotswold villages wearing a hi-vis vest with a picture of a wind turbine on it, and a hard hat.
2. Taking measurements of the village green and any other open space, and enthusiastically writing notes on a clipboard.
Reposted by Margaret Nelson 🌦
"In mainland China a 100-day campaign has been launched to prepare for extreme weather and help safeguard harvests against the opposing extremes of drought and intense rainfall"
And in the UK?????
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
And in the UK?????
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Forcing a reckoning’: How Asia is preparing for a ‘supersized’ El Niño
From Sri Lanka to South Korea, governments are preparing for droughts, wildfires, typhoons and floods – with climate plans facing their biggest challenge to date
www.theguardian.com
September 18, 2026 at 8:34 AM
"In mainland China a 100-day campaign has been launched to prepare for extreme weather and help safeguard harvests against the opposing extremes of drought and intense rainfall"
And in the UK?????
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
And in the UK?????
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Margaret Nelson 🌦
Reposted by Margaret Nelson 🌦
Reposted by Margaret Nelson 🌦
We really need to make absolutely sure of the risks and how we could mitigate them. If something is too risky we should call a halt -but have we ever done this?
committees.parliament.uk/committee/93...
committees.parliament.uk/committee/93...
Wide-ranging AI Bill needed to address severe human rights risks posed by AI - Committees - UK Parliament
The Joint Committee on Human Rights has called for a new AI Bill to address the scale and seriousness of threats posed to human rights by artificial intelligence systems.
committees.parliament.uk
September 18, 2026 at 3:48 PM
We really need to make absolutely sure of the risks and how we could mitigate them. If something is too risky we should call a halt -but have we ever done this?
committees.parliament.uk/committee/93...
committees.parliament.uk/committee/93...
I've signed up with this, "a trades and membership directory for women gardeners", and almost immediately found 3 men had listed themselves.
Told the founder, and she's deleted them, but really!
Hoping none of the gardeners in my area are faux females, or I'll object to them too.
Told the founder, and she's deleted them, but really!
Hoping none of the gardeners in my area are faux females, or I'll object to them too.
WeWeed | Find & Connect with Female Gardeners in UK
WeWeed is a trades and community membership directory championing female gardeners, supporting and connecting new, companion and professional gardeners UK.
www.weweed.co.uk
September 18, 2026 at 12:28 PM
I've signed up with this, "a trades and membership directory for women gardeners", and almost immediately found 3 men had listed themselves.
Told the founder, and she's deleted them, but really!
Hoping none of the gardeners in my area are faux females, or I'll object to them too.
Told the founder, and she's deleted them, but really!
Hoping none of the gardeners in my area are faux females, or I'll object to them too.
Maybe AI can't kill humanity, as humans don't want data centres.
And even if we did, we can't power and cool them with limited energy and water resources.
Hmm. How can the tech companies solve that problem?
Oh, and hot summers will make the fans' struggle even harder.
Imagine all those blown fuses.
And even if we did, we can't power and cool them with limited energy and water resources.
Hmm. How can the tech companies solve that problem?
Oh, and hot summers will make the fans' struggle even harder.
Imagine all those blown fuses.
A backlash over data centres is another threat to the AI juggernaut
The global AI race is being hit by very localised political and environmental concerns
www.bbc.co.uk
September 16, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Maybe AI can't kill humanity, as humans don't want data centres.
And even if we did, we can't power and cool them with limited energy and water resources.
Hmm. How can the tech companies solve that problem?
Oh, and hot summers will make the fans' struggle even harder.
Imagine all those blown fuses.
And even if we did, we can't power and cool them with limited energy and water resources.
Hmm. How can the tech companies solve that problem?
Oh, and hot summers will make the fans' struggle even harder.
Imagine all those blown fuses.
Reposted by Margaret Nelson 🌦
What an incredibly thoughtful human being. Her point that over 1000 men being moved into a rural community would cause anxiety whatever their race feels like an essential one. I'd be way more worried about 1000 Tommy/Tommo white goons than I would be 1000 asylum seekers.
September 16, 2026 at 9:04 AM
What an incredibly thoughtful human being. Her point that over 1000 men being moved into a rural community would cause anxiety whatever their race feels like an essential one. I'd be way more worried about 1000 Tommy/Tommo white goons than I would be 1000 asylum seekers.
Nadia Whittom MP is a naive and foolish young woman who's been strongly influenced by the trans lobby and has come to believe that the Equality Act should be changed in their favour and that the EHRC guidance is unenforceable.
www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
September 15, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Nadia Whittom MP is a naive and foolish young woman who's been strongly influenced by the trans lobby and has come to believe that the Equality Act should be changed in their favour and that the EHRC guidance is unenforceable.
www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
Sir Jeffrey Hinton seems to think that AI will finish us off quite soo.
From my limited experience of AI, which frequently makes false assumptions, I anticipate a clusterfuck of consequences but not a master plan.
And they still haven't explained how they'll build their hardware.
From my limited experience of AI, which frequently makes false assumptions, I anticipate a clusterfuck of consequences but not a master plan.
And they still haven't explained how they'll build their hardware.
September 15, 2026 at 12:50 PM
Sir Jeffrey Hinton seems to think that AI will finish us off quite soo.
From my limited experience of AI, which frequently makes false assumptions, I anticipate a clusterfuck of consequences but not a master plan.
And they still haven't explained how they'll build their hardware.
From my limited experience of AI, which frequently makes false assumptions, I anticipate a clusterfuck of consequences but not a master plan.
And they still haven't explained how they'll build their hardware.
Someone told me the other day that we don't have freedom of speech here on this platform but they do on X, formerly Twitter.
That's what Elon Musk would have you believe.
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."
Søren Kierkegaard
That's what Elon Musk would have you believe.
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."
Søren Kierkegaard
September 15, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Someone told me the other day that we don't have freedom of speech here on this platform but they do on X, formerly Twitter.
That's what Elon Musk would have you believe.
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."
Søren Kierkegaard
That's what Elon Musk would have you believe.
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."
Søren Kierkegaard
President Trump is very annoying. There are so many things about him that are bloody annoying. One of the most irritating things is that he can't even talk properly. I just listened to him in a recording saying, "Gad bless America." It's God with an O not an A, you moron!
Not that there is one.
Not that there is one.
September 15, 2026 at 10:43 AM
President Trump is very annoying. There are so many things about him that are bloody annoying. One of the most irritating things is that he can't even talk properly. I just listened to him in a recording saying, "Gad bless America." It's God with an O not an A, you moron!
Not that there is one.
Not that there is one.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'll leave this thread here for a little while to demonstrate the lengths that some people will go to to try to disprove reality. It's awfully hard work, isn't it?
September 14, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Ladies and gentlemen, I'll leave this thread here for a little while to demonstrate the lengths that some people will go to to try to disprove reality. It's awfully hard work, isn't it?
If I were still a teacher I'd find it very difficult, if not impossible, to regard any child as transgender.
But then I regard it all as nonsense, whatever someone's age.
But then I regard it all as nonsense, whatever someone's age.
NSPCC’s changing-room guidance fails girls
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is the country’s best-known child-protection charity, and the only one with
share.google
September 14, 2026 at 10:38 AM
If I were still a teacher I'd find it very difficult, if not impossible, to regard any child as transgender.
But then I regard it all as nonsense, whatever someone's age.
But then I regard it all as nonsense, whatever someone's age.
🧵 So, which is the biggest threat to humanity, AI or climate change?
The AI panic-mongers who say we could all be killed by it aren't specific about how, apart from mentioning the invention of lethal viruses.
At the end of The Matrix, the resistance, from what I can remember, were based in Zion,
The AI panic-mongers who say we could all be killed by it aren't specific about how, apart from mentioning the invention of lethal viruses.
At the end of The Matrix, the resistance, from what I can remember, were based in Zion,
The World This Weekend - No 'effective theory of safety' in AI - BBC Sounds
Tech leaders call for a slowdown in AI development.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 13, 2026 at 3:27 PM
🧵 So, which is the biggest threat to humanity, AI or climate change?
The AI panic-mongers who say we could all be killed by it aren't specific about how, apart from mentioning the invention of lethal viruses.
At the end of The Matrix, the resistance, from what I can remember, were based in Zion,
The AI panic-mongers who say we could all be killed by it aren't specific about how, apart from mentioning the invention of lethal viruses.
At the end of The Matrix, the resistance, from what I can remember, were based in Zion,
Now that Reform UK has got all that money, what are they going to do with it? I got 11 leaflets from them in the last election. I'm guessing there'll be a deluge next time.
What will their election broadcasts be like? How will they zhuzh up the same boring old twaddle?
What will their election broadcasts be like? How will they zhuzh up the same boring old twaddle?
September 13, 2026 at 1:54 AM
Now that Reform UK has got all that money, what are they going to do with it? I got 11 leaflets from them in the last election. I'm guessing there'll be a deluge next time.
What will their election broadcasts be like? How will they zhuzh up the same boring old twaddle?
What will their election broadcasts be like? How will they zhuzh up the same boring old twaddle?
Climate change doesn't respect anyone, and you can't eat money. From the 16th century it became the basis of capitalism, which accelerated with the Industrial Revolution. In the latter half of the 20th century it grew out of control. Economic growth and its consequences aren't sustainable.
Naomi Klein: ‘Extreme wealth has a deranging effect. It turns you into a supremacist’
She’s tackled neoliberalism and the digital world, now the writer and activist is taking on tech billionaires. She explains how the super-rich are capitalising on climate and financial chaos in pursui...
www.theguardian.com
September 12, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Climate change doesn't respect anyone, and you can't eat money. From the 16th century it became the basis of capitalism, which accelerated with the Industrial Revolution. In the latter half of the 20th century it grew out of control. Economic growth and its consequences aren't sustainable.
What's the point of posts like this when we know he'll probably change his mind about whatever it is within a few days?
President Donald Trump expressed optimism about resolving a trade war with Canada, saying that a deal could come “fairly soon"
Trump Says US, Canada Will Probably Reach Deal ‘Fairly Soon’
President Donald Trump expressed optimism about resolving a trade war with Canada, saying that a deal could come “fairly soon,” but provided no details into whether formal talks between the two economies had resumed.
bloom.bg
September 12, 2026 at 1:27 PM
What's the point of posts like this when we know he'll probably change his mind about whatever it is within a few days?