Kirsty
@kirstynicol.bsky.social
I still love patchwork, I still hate custard and I still make a mean toffee apple. History, sleep support and who knows what else besides, all in beautiful East Lothian.
Reposted by Kirsty
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
November 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
Reposted by Kirsty
Anyway time to post this again.
AI is a tool of fascism.
AI is a tool of fascism.
November 21, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Anyway time to post this again.
AI is a tool of fascism.
AI is a tool of fascism.
Reposted by Kirsty
When you've grown up in Wigan, the novelty of being able to swing past places like this on your way home from the weekly shop never really fades, even the best part of four decades later....
November 22, 2025 at 1:46 PM
When you've grown up in Wigan, the novelty of being able to swing past places like this on your way home from the weekly shop never really fades, even the best part of four decades later....
Arthur's Seat and the Royal Mile from the Cockenzie coastal path, just before the mist rolled in....
November 22, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Arthur's Seat and the Royal Mile from the Cockenzie coastal path, just before the mist rolled in....
... What other kind of Rembrandt is there...?
November 22, 2025 at 8:07 AM
... What other kind of Rembrandt is there...?
As a woman of course, my preferences are flighty and fickle and random.
What bollocks. What you are talking about here are PEOPLE
What bollocks. What you are talking about here are PEOPLE
November 21, 2025 at 5:06 PM
As a woman of course, my preferences are flighty and fickle and random.
What bollocks. What you are talking about here are PEOPLE
What bollocks. What you are talking about here are PEOPLE
Reposted by Kirsty
Meanwhile I'm over in West Edinburgh, nearly two miles from my nearest bookshop, which is also a Waterstones...
There are huge swathes of this city with no bookshops for miles around, including places with substantial shopping areas.
Waterstones would be welcome - and profitable - in any of those.
There are huge swathes of this city with no bookshops for miles around, including places with substantial shopping areas.
Waterstones would be welcome - and profitable - in any of those.
November 21, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Meanwhile I'm over in West Edinburgh, nearly two miles from my nearest bookshop, which is also a Waterstones...
There are huge swathes of this city with no bookshops for miles around, including places with substantial shopping areas.
Waterstones would be welcome - and profitable - in any of those.
There are huge swathes of this city with no bookshops for miles around, including places with substantial shopping areas.
Waterstones would be welcome - and profitable - in any of those.
Reposted by Kirsty
To “my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:22 AM
To “my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
Reposted by Kirsty
Fixed it for you. Idiots! If the exclusion is based on appearance then it will certainly impact cis folks as well as trans folks.
November 20, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Fixed it for you. Idiots! If the exclusion is based on appearance then it will certainly impact cis folks as well as trans folks.
When Waterstones sometimes do things well - this is not one of them. It shows no respect for the local community. Please rethink.
November 21, 2025 at 11:45 AM
When Waterstones sometimes do things well - this is not one of them. It shows no respect for the local community. Please rethink.
Reposted by Kirsty
Transgender Awareness Week with Jessica Kellgren-Fozard [TikTok @jessicaoutofthecloset ]
November 20, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Transgender Awareness Week with Jessica Kellgren-Fozard [TikTok @jessicaoutofthecloset ]
I know some parts of the internet would like to think Edinburgh in the autumn is all romantic and 'dark academia'.
Honestly.
It's chucking it down, people are coughing and it's only romantic if you have a thing for those see-through ponchos.....
Honestly.
It's chucking it down, people are coughing and it's only romantic if you have a thing for those see-through ponchos.....
November 18, 2025 at 4:48 PM
I know some parts of the internet would like to think Edinburgh in the autumn is all romantic and 'dark academia'.
Honestly.
It's chucking it down, people are coughing and it's only romantic if you have a thing for those see-through ponchos.....
Honestly.
It's chucking it down, people are coughing and it's only romantic if you have a thing for those see-through ponchos.....
Reposted by Kirsty
To paraphrase: they know they shouldn’t have included AI answers at the top of search and that it is rapidly devaluing the whole brand, and that other AI tools are better at that job too, but they can’t just remove it because it would be an admission of failure?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Don't blindly trust what AI tells you, Google boss tells BBC
Sundar Pichai candidly acknowledged concerns about inaccurate answers generated by Google's models.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 8:11 AM
To paraphrase: they know they shouldn’t have included AI answers at the top of search and that it is rapidly devaluing the whole brand, and that other AI tools are better at that job too, but they can’t just remove it because it would be an admission of failure?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Kirsty
As a vision impaired person, I cannot access my local news page due to this (illustratedon post below - a page covered by pop ups and fast moving ads that obscure text and cannot be closed unless you chase the X). If I do get past the pop ups, the page doesn’t have dynamic text or high contrast
This has become the normal ‘local news website’ reading experience.
November 17, 2025 at 9:32 PM
As a vision impaired person, I cannot access my local news page due to this (illustratedon post below - a page covered by pop ups and fast moving ads that obscure text and cannot be closed unless you chase the X). If I do get past the pop ups, the page doesn’t have dynamic text or high contrast
Reposted by Kirsty
Without asylum:
Marks and Spencer wouldn't exist
Queen would have been without a front man
The other queen wouldn't have had a husband
Judith Kerr would never have written The Tiger Who Came to Tea
And thousands of less famous people wouldn't have been teachers, politicians, neighbours, etc
Marks and Spencer wouldn't exist
Queen would have been without a front man
The other queen wouldn't have had a husband
Judith Kerr would never have written The Tiger Who Came to Tea
And thousands of less famous people wouldn't have been teachers, politicians, neighbours, etc
November 15, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Without asylum:
Marks and Spencer wouldn't exist
Queen would have been without a front man
The other queen wouldn't have had a husband
Judith Kerr would never have written The Tiger Who Came to Tea
And thousands of less famous people wouldn't have been teachers, politicians, neighbours, etc
Marks and Spencer wouldn't exist
Queen would have been without a front man
The other queen wouldn't have had a husband
Judith Kerr would never have written The Tiger Who Came to Tea
And thousands of less famous people wouldn't have been teachers, politicians, neighbours, etc
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
GF's name is a hissing in the darkness and the two decades I worked to undo her damage were well spent.
GF's name is a hissing in the darkness and the two decades I worked to undo her damage were well spent.
Who to prioritise, my partner or my baby? It’s a no-brainer | Polly Hudson
Parenting guru Gina Ford believes bending over backwards to please your children puts your marriage at risk. Sorry, Gina, but I’m not on board, writes Polly Hudson
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:02 AM
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
GF's name is a hissing in the darkness and the two decades I worked to undo her damage were well spent.
GF's name is a hissing in the darkness and the two decades I worked to undo her damage were well spent.
Reposted by Kirsty
Okay, I can't let this one go. I live in Ireland, not the UK, but the use of this image by a supposedly socialist party is so stupid and offensive, I'm going to get stuck in.
Let me explain to you why any experienced illustrator/designer could have stopped you making so many miserable mistakes. 1/
Let me explain to you why any experienced illustrator/designer could have stopped you making so many miserable mistakes. 1/
November 15, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Okay, I can't let this one go. I live in Ireland, not the UK, but the use of this image by a supposedly socialist party is so stupid and offensive, I'm going to get stuck in.
Let me explain to you why any experienced illustrator/designer could have stopped you making so many miserable mistakes. 1/
Let me explain to you why any experienced illustrator/designer could have stopped you making so many miserable mistakes. 1/
www.bbc.co.uk/writers/blog...
Not as insightful as it could be. Imo, cosy minimises the horror and maximises the restoration of order (which is explored here).
And Wimsey as cosy? Debatable. That's kinda the point of the early Wimseys especially. Don't get me started on Gaudy Night....
Not as insightful as it could be. Imo, cosy minimises the horror and maximises the restoration of order (which is explored here).
And Wimsey as cosy? Debatable. That's kinda the point of the early Wimseys especially. Don't get me started on Gaudy Night....
Writing the Detectives: What Makes Crime Cosy?
What puts the cosy into crime? And why do we love it so much?
www.bbc.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 11:18 AM
www.bbc.co.uk/writers/blog...
Not as insightful as it could be. Imo, cosy minimises the horror and maximises the restoration of order (which is explored here).
And Wimsey as cosy? Debatable. That's kinda the point of the early Wimseys especially. Don't get me started on Gaudy Night....
Not as insightful as it could be. Imo, cosy minimises the horror and maximises the restoration of order (which is explored here).
And Wimsey as cosy? Debatable. That's kinda the point of the early Wimseys especially. Don't get me started on Gaudy Night....
Reposted by Kirsty
The old proxies for trustworthiness no longer work.
Some thoughts on information in the Information Age
My dad called me yesterday. He received an invoice in an email for $899 for something he didn't remember ever ordering, and it upset him pretty badly. Fortunately, I've worked very hard over the years to educate him about scams, so he calls me before he does anything like call a number or click a…
tacit.livejournal.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:45 PM
The old proxies for trustworthiness no longer work.
Reposted by Kirsty
Some brave souls choose to face the feare of failure and the terror of a blanke page. Thrugh harde worke and luck thei come back wyth storyes that bringe us mirthe, or horror, or thrilles, or beautye, or wisdom, or delighteful surreal confusioun. Gen A.I. ys nothinge lyke that. Long live artists.
November 8, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Some brave souls choose to face the feare of failure and the terror of a blanke page. Thrugh harde worke and luck thei come back wyth storyes that bringe us mirthe, or horror, or thrilles, or beautye, or wisdom, or delighteful surreal confusioun. Gen A.I. ys nothinge lyke that. Long live artists.
It's all very well talking about the first Christmas trees, but it's not the festive season until I have reached for the switch on radio or tv because a celebrity is being interviewed about the publication of their new children's book.
November 7, 2025 at 9:02 AM
It's all very well talking about the first Christmas trees, but it's not the festive season until I have reached for the switch on radio or tv because a celebrity is being interviewed about the publication of their new children's book.
Reposted by Kirsty
Sharing this again. It's from four years ago, and censorship continues to rear its ugly head. Thank you, Meg, for stating this so well.
November 6, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Sharing this again. It's from four years ago, and censorship continues to rear its ugly head. Thank you, Meg, for stating this so well.
Gotta say: too many knitting patterns expect you to add crochet to the mix....
The shocking knitting scandal rocking Shetland deserves more attention. It's got everything - Fair Isle tank tops, cutting, "peeries", needle lengths, yarn thickness, and most controversially, crochet. 🐑 🐑
I don't know what Tom Daley is looking so smug about.
I don't know what Tom Daley is looking so smug about.
Shetland knitting group ‘shocked and saddened’ by representation in Channel 4 show
A GROUP protecting Shetland’s knitting heritage has criticised a new Channel 4 show for spreading “negative misconceptions about Fair Isle knitting...
www.shetnews.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Gotta say: too many knitting patterns expect you to add crochet to the mix....
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
One person isn't a 'dump culture'. One person is someone with a small car doing a house clearance. Someone bereaved. An older person or a woman of the 'sandwich generation'. Someone who needs support and compassion, not pillorying.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
One person isn't a 'dump culture'. One person is someone with a small car doing a house clearance. Someone bereaved. An older person or a woman of the 'sandwich generation'. Someone who needs support and compassion, not pillorying.
Customer booked 247 Dumfries and Galloway recycling centre visits
Dumfries and Galloway Council is now considering imposing a limit on the number of visits.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 11:19 AM
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
One person isn't a 'dump culture'. One person is someone with a small car doing a house clearance. Someone bereaved. An older person or a woman of the 'sandwich generation'. Someone who needs support and compassion, not pillorying.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
One person isn't a 'dump culture'. One person is someone with a small car doing a house clearance. Someone bereaved. An older person or a woman of the 'sandwich generation'. Someone who needs support and compassion, not pillorying.