Kate Watson
@loreandordure.com
Smallholder, writer, erstwhile vetn'ry, PhD student, ADHD+, lexicographer & alleged Pratchett witch.
Letterpress, photography & digital/analogue miniatures.
Long Covid victim. She/they.
🖋️ https://loreandordure.com/
🖼️ https://ko-fi.com/loreandordure/shop/
Letterpress, photography & digital/analogue miniatures.
Long Covid victim. She/they.
🖋️ https://loreandordure.com/
🖼️ https://ko-fi.com/loreandordure/shop/
Pinned
Hi! Would you like some of my lovely Christmas cards?
I still have a small number of packs available and sending out a couple of times a week.
You can find them here:
ko-fi.com/s/1af2e209ad
I still have a small number of packs available and sending out a couple of times a week.
You can find them here:
ko-fi.com/s/1af2e209ad
Reposted by Kate Watson
RIP the greatest British playwright of our time on.ft.com/4anfEQJ
British playwright Sir Tom Stoppard dies
[FREE TO READ] Czech-born author of witty, cerebral plays was also an award-winning screenwriter
on.ft.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:15 PM
RIP the greatest British playwright of our time on.ft.com/4anfEQJ
Reposted by Kate Watson
R.I.P. Tom Stoppard, playwright most famous for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
Born Tomas Straussler in Czechoslovakia he fled his home during the Nazi occupation and found refuge in Britain at the age of eight. He later discovered all four of his grandparents had died in the Holocaust.
Born Tomas Straussler in Czechoslovakia he fled his home during the Nazi occupation and found refuge in Britain at the age of eight. He later discovered all four of his grandparents had died in the Holocaust.
Sir Tom Stoppard, playwright famed for his wit and depth, dies at 88
Winning an Oscar for the screenplay for Shakespeare In Love, he captivated the hearts of audiences for more than six decades.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 29, 2025 at 9:13 PM
R.I.P. Tom Stoppard, playwright most famous for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
Born Tomas Straussler in Czechoslovakia he fled his home during the Nazi occupation and found refuge in Britain at the age of eight. He later discovered all four of his grandparents had died in the Holocaust.
Born Tomas Straussler in Czechoslovakia he fled his home during the Nazi occupation and found refuge in Britain at the age of eight. He later discovered all four of his grandparents had died in the Holocaust.
Reposted by Kate Watson
Ai text detectors worry me. Firstly, as here (apologies for the X post), they produce false positives. Secondly, I dislike the idea of putting my (or anyone else’s) writing into such a detector, because I’m not entirely convinced it won’t be used to further train something somewhere.
November 29, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Ai text detectors worry me. Firstly, as here (apologies for the X post), they produce false positives. Secondly, I dislike the idea of putting my (or anyone else’s) writing into such a detector, because I’m not entirely convinced it won’t be used to further train something somewhere.
Reposted by Kate Watson
"The historical precedent here is Flint, Michigan."
Amazon Data Center Linked to Cluster of Rare Cancers
A sprawling data center in eastern Oregon has been linked to a huge rise in rare cancers, muscle conditions, and miscarriages.
trib.al
November 29, 2025 at 8:57 PM
"The historical precedent here is Flint, Michigan."
Reposted by Kate Watson
Not coincidentally this is a pretty good list of Most Important Companies to Unionize.
The Boston Globe identified the companies in Massachusetts that employ the most SNAP recipients. A key stat: "In Massachusetts, 74% of working-age recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are employed, half of them full-time."
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
November 29, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Not coincidentally this is a pretty good list of Most Important Companies to Unionize.
Anyone know the timeline of the current BL strikes? I really really need to go (which will involve several hundred quid in expenditure) and I don’t cross picket lines.
November 29, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Anyone know the timeline of the current BL strikes? I really really need to go (which will involve several hundred quid in expenditure) and I don’t cross picket lines.
Reposted by Kate Watson
C4 are showing "Nordic Train at Christmas", the Bergen to Oslo line - my favourite (done 6 times). But edited down to 1 hour, and narrated (why?).
However, there's a full 7h 14m version on YouTube. Fond of the hour or so from 1h 57m when it's up in the mountains:
youtu.be/xisVS_DKpJg?...
#Norway
However, there's a full 7h 14m version on YouTube. Fond of the hour or so from 1h 57m when it's up in the mountains:
youtu.be/xisVS_DKpJg?...
#Norway
Scenic train ride from Bergen to Oslo (Norway)
YouTube video by 1slowtv
youtu.be
November 29, 2025 at 8:57 PM
C4 are showing "Nordic Train at Christmas", the Bergen to Oslo line - my favourite (done 6 times). But edited down to 1 hour, and narrated (why?).
However, there's a full 7h 14m version on YouTube. Fond of the hour or so from 1h 57m when it's up in the mountains:
youtu.be/xisVS_DKpJg?...
#Norway
However, there's a full 7h 14m version on YouTube. Fond of the hour or so from 1h 57m when it's up in the mountains:
youtu.be/xisVS_DKpJg?...
#Norway
Reposted by Kate Watson
Use deep pots (my neighbours gift me their spares), sow very thinly into sandy compost, water, cover with a plastic bag and uncover once they germinate. When they get going put them on a sheltered shelf outside, planting out once they fill the pots. This method has revolutionised my harvests! 🥕🌱
November 29, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Use deep pots (my neighbours gift me their spares), sow very thinly into sandy compost, water, cover with a plastic bag and uncover once they germinate. When they get going put them on a sheltered shelf outside, planting out once they fill the pots. This method has revolutionised my harvests! 🥕🌱
New Yorker’s accent and umlaut stylings will never not be entertaining to me.
When a cancelled performer reënters the culture, we expect them to offer us a great work, channelling their newfound clarity into the finest art they’ve ever made. With his new comedy show and début novel, has Louis C.K. met the bar?
www.newyorker.com/culture/crit...
www.newyorker.com/culture/crit...
Louis C.K.’s Next Chapter
In a new standup special, and a début novel, the comedian navigates murky, post-#MeToo terrain: not quite exiled, not quite welcomed back.
www.newyorker.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:31 PM
New Yorker’s accent and umlaut stylings will never not be entertaining to me.
Reposted by Kate Watson
A touchstone, as I try to convince those I care for (including myself) that we are precious & loved separate from labor or even effort.
Re-reading Becky Chambers’ *A Psalm for the Wild-Built* for class & moved again by:
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, & I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world & marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live”
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, & I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world & marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live”
November 29, 2025 at 5:53 PM
A touchstone, as I try to convince those I care for (including myself) that we are precious & loved separate from labor or even effort.
Reposted by Kate Watson
I remember when NFTs hit and once we understood how they worked (a receipt for a purchase without an establishment of ownership of anything at all) we immediately got it: you were selling star-naming as a tech scam.
And you said that wasn't true.
And it was.
We *remember,* assholes.
And you said that wasn't true.
And it was.
We *remember,* assholes.
November 28, 2025 at 6:26 PM
I remember when NFTs hit and once we understood how they worked (a receipt for a purchase without an establishment of ownership of anything at all) we immediately got it: you were selling star-naming as a tech scam.
And you said that wasn't true.
And it was.
We *remember,* assholes.
And you said that wasn't true.
And it was.
We *remember,* assholes.
Reposted by Kate Watson
“We shed as we pick up, like travelers who must carry everything in their arms, and what we let fall will be picked up by those left behind. The procession is very long and life is very short. We die on the march. But there is nothing outside the march so nothing can be lost to it.”
— Tom Stoppard.
— Tom Stoppard.
November 29, 2025 at 5:36 PM
“We shed as we pick up, like travelers who must carry everything in their arms, and what we let fall will be picked up by those left behind. The procession is very long and life is very short. We die on the march. But there is nothing outside the march so nothing can be lost to it.”
— Tom Stoppard.
— Tom Stoppard.
Reposted by Kate Watson
Is there a question more tragic than death?
Oof. He was truly a master, from Rosenkrantz & Guildenstern to Arcadia to Leopoldstadt—just a lifetime of tremendous, thought-provoking, hilarious work. RIP. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard dies at 88
www.bbc.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Is there a question more tragic than death?
Reposted by Kate Watson
Designed in my brain with movable type, vintage printing plates and linocut, and printed on a tiny press by hand, taking five impressions to print each card. Each has unique details making them one-off.
No AI, just real art made by a real person.
Last chance for shipping next week!
No AI, just real art made by a real person.
Last chance for shipping next week!
Hi! Would you like some of my lovely Christmas cards?
I still have a small number of packs available and sending out a couple of times a week.
You can find them here:
ko-fi.com/s/1af2e209ad
I still have a small number of packs available and sending out a couple of times a week.
You can find them here:
ko-fi.com/s/1af2e209ad
November 29, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Designed in my brain with movable type, vintage printing plates and linocut, and printed on a tiny press by hand, taking five impressions to print each card. Each has unique details making them one-off.
No AI, just real art made by a real person.
Last chance for shipping next week!
No AI, just real art made by a real person.
Last chance for shipping next week!
Reposted by Kate Watson
Eastern Polish airspace has snapped shut, with NATO aircraft likely scrambled as Russia mounts a major drone and cruise missile raid on Ukraine.
Multiple airports in Eastern Poland, including Lublin and Rzeszów, have closed due to "unplanned military activity."
Multiple airports in Eastern Poland, including Lublin and Rzeszów, have closed due to "unplanned military activity."
November 29, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Eastern Polish airspace has snapped shut, with NATO aircraft likely scrambled as Russia mounts a major drone and cruise missile raid on Ukraine.
Multiple airports in Eastern Poland, including Lublin and Rzeszów, have closed due to "unplanned military activity."
Multiple airports in Eastern Poland, including Lublin and Rzeszów, have closed due to "unplanned military activity."
Reposted by Kate Watson
Up until last night I have never owned a cardigan sweater in my life, but I recently decided that sometimes I might actually want to wear something warm around the house other than a bathrobe. Here is my Very First Cardigan, and I hope you appreciate the Very Serious Author Look accompanying it.
November 29, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Up until last night I have never owned a cardigan sweater in my life, but I recently decided that sometimes I might actually want to wear something warm around the house other than a bathrobe. Here is my Very First Cardigan, and I hope you appreciate the Very Serious Author Look accompanying it.
Reposted by Kate Watson
With a translation:
This image shows the same star field as Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) without cleaning.
In just 15 minutes of acquisition, we counted 1,659 satellite trails (about 400 individual ones).
Words cannot describe the pollution of near space.
This image shows the same star field as Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) without cleaning.
In just 15 minutes of acquisition, we counted 1,659 satellite trails (about 400 individual ones).
Words cannot describe the pollution of near space.
3/4. En esta imagen se muestra el mismo campo estelar del Cometa C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) sin limpiar.
En solo 15 minutos de adquisición, contamos 1659 trazas de satélites (unos 400 individuales).
Sobran las palabras para describir la contaminación del espacio cercano.
En solo 15 minutos de adquisición, contamos 1659 trazas de satélites (unos 400 individuales).
Sobran las palabras para describir la contaminación del espacio cercano.
November 29, 2025 at 4:22 PM
With a translation:
This image shows the same star field as Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) without cleaning.
In just 15 minutes of acquisition, we counted 1,659 satellite trails (about 400 individual ones).
Words cannot describe the pollution of near space.
This image shows the same star field as Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) without cleaning.
In just 15 minutes of acquisition, we counted 1,659 satellite trails (about 400 individual ones).
Words cannot describe the pollution of near space.
Designed in my brain with movable type, vintage printing plates and linocut, and printed on a tiny press by hand, taking five impressions to print each card. Each has unique details making them one-off.
No AI, just real art made by a real person.
Last chance for shipping next week!
No AI, just real art made by a real person.
Last chance for shipping next week!
Hi! Would you like some of my lovely Christmas cards?
I still have a small number of packs available and sending out a couple of times a week.
You can find them here:
ko-fi.com/s/1af2e209ad
I still have a small number of packs available and sending out a couple of times a week.
You can find them here:
ko-fi.com/s/1af2e209ad
November 29, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Designed in my brain with movable type, vintage printing plates and linocut, and printed on a tiny press by hand, taking five impressions to print each card. Each has unique details making them one-off.
No AI, just real art made by a real person.
Last chance for shipping next week!
No AI, just real art made by a real person.
Last chance for shipping next week!
Reposted by Kate Watson
Oh wow, this is an excellent point
You can't realistically have universal basic income in a society that tolerates the existence of the gambling lobby. For UBI to prosper, the gambling industry has to be smashed.
November 29, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Oh wow, this is an excellent point
Reposted by Kate Watson
The Age of Wool needs to begin.
(If you prepare the fiber right it's soft, fully washable, extremely flexible weaving-wise, and it literally grows on livestock we already raise for dairy and meat. Stays warm when wet, doesn't trap odors. How is wool NOT a smart fabric??)
(If you prepare the fiber right it's soft, fully washable, extremely flexible weaving-wise, and it literally grows on livestock we already raise for dairy and meat. Stays warm when wet, doesn't trap odors. How is wool NOT a smart fabric??)
Ok Black Friday surfing has demonstrated the following to me:
- wool trousers simply no longer exist
- even wool-blend trousers barely exist (and so few washable?? whyever not??)
- the tyranny of Smart Fabrics (wtf) must end, except where indicated. It's wearing plastic. Would you wear a ziplock??
- wool trousers simply no longer exist
- even wool-blend trousers barely exist (and so few washable?? whyever not??)
- the tyranny of Smart Fabrics (wtf) must end, except where indicated. It's wearing plastic. Would you wear a ziplock??
November 29, 2025 at 2:58 PM
The Age of Wool needs to begin.
(If you prepare the fiber right it's soft, fully washable, extremely flexible weaving-wise, and it literally grows on livestock we already raise for dairy and meat. Stays warm when wet, doesn't trap odors. How is wool NOT a smart fabric??)
(If you prepare the fiber right it's soft, fully washable, extremely flexible weaving-wise, and it literally grows on livestock we already raise for dairy and meat. Stays warm when wet, doesn't trap odors. How is wool NOT a smart fabric??)
Reposted by Kate Watson
...fire the dean and replacer her with a competent teacher and researcher. She herself believes she offers no more value than an openly available chatbot.
November 29, 2025 at 4:01 PM
...fire the dean and replacer her with a competent teacher and researcher. She herself believes she offers no more value than an openly available chatbot.
Reposted by Kate Watson
Reposted by Kate Watson
Shit flows downhill. When you're an executive, your outputs become someone else's problem. When you're doing the implementation, the gap in every half-assed idea and slipshod assumption becomes visible & it's your responsibility to fix it.
A new global study shows that AI adoption varies by seniority, with 87% of executives using it on the job, compared with 57% of managers and 27% of employees. It also finds that executives are 45% more likely to use the technology on the job than Gen Zers …
Execs are embracing AI more than their employees are, new research suggests
Research from HR software company Dayforce suggests that executives are leaning into AI far more than their employees.
www.businessinsider.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Shit flows downhill. When you're an executive, your outputs become someone else's problem. When you're doing the implementation, the gap in every half-assed idea and slipshod assumption becomes visible & it's your responsibility to fix it.
Reposted by Kate Watson
There are 3 canonical interpretations of Mommy kissing Santa:
1. The narrator’s mother and father are participating in Santa cosplay kink (family friendly)
2. Mama is cheating w a philanderer disguised as Santa (unclear if she knows)
3. Mama is hooking up w the ACTUAL Santa (moral gray area)
1. The narrator’s mother and father are participating in Santa cosplay kink (family friendly)
2. Mama is cheating w a philanderer disguised as Santa (unclear if she knows)
3. Mama is hooking up w the ACTUAL Santa (moral gray area)
November 29, 2025 at 3:55 PM
There are 3 canonical interpretations of Mommy kissing Santa:
1. The narrator’s mother and father are participating in Santa cosplay kink (family friendly)
2. Mama is cheating w a philanderer disguised as Santa (unclear if she knows)
3. Mama is hooking up w the ACTUAL Santa (moral gray area)
1. The narrator’s mother and father are participating in Santa cosplay kink (family friendly)
2. Mama is cheating w a philanderer disguised as Santa (unclear if she knows)
3. Mama is hooking up w the ACTUAL Santa (moral gray area)
Reposted by Kate Watson
Northwestern’s leaders will likely try to justify their choice to appease fascist extortion with some BS about needing to help researchers get federal funds that were illegally withheld, so it’s important to note that virtually all of the researchers said not to.
So apparently the administrators at Northwestern have caved to the extortionist demands of the Feds. Faculty voted 595-4 AGAINST this measure.
November 29, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Northwestern’s leaders will likely try to justify their choice to appease fascist extortion with some BS about needing to help researchers get federal funds that were illegally withheld, so it’s important to note that virtually all of the researchers said not to.