Alistair
@perivale.bsky.social
Ex-astronomer, now cybersecurity consultant, millennial Londoner back in London. “The horrors persist but so do I” - someone in 2023 apparently
Reposted by Alistair
actually, a lot of it is the fact these guys are full steam ahead to fuck not just the internet but the economy and the environment, and if it works we get... what? unemployed? what's the best case scenario here?
Okay, but why *do* I feel so angry about this whole AI thing?
The Bullshit Maximiser
This week, a very quick take on what the Budget says about the state we are in; but mostly, a not-at-all quick list of all the reasons I despise AI.
jonn.substack.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:31 PM
actually, a lot of it is the fact these guys are full steam ahead to fuck not just the internet but the economy and the environment, and if it works we get... what? unemployed? what's the best case scenario here?
Reposted by Alistair
my “AI is over” anecdote is that my wife was hired over the summer to write scripts for a big tech company explaining how to use their AI tools and after many rounds of revisions, the latest notes said “we’re finding a lot of AI fatigue among our users” and to remove all references to AI
Anecdotally on twitter seeing a big shift the last few days from every AI slop account saying every other creative field is “over” and they’re in control now to now posting about how nobody likes them and it’s not fair and they’ll persevere and real artists respect and uplift eachother
November 30, 2025 at 12:27 AM
my “AI is over” anecdote is that my wife was hired over the summer to write scripts for a big tech company explaining how to use their AI tools and after many rounds of revisions, the latest notes said “we’re finding a lot of AI fatigue among our users” and to remove all references to AI
The rhetoric is just weird but so many people seem to believe that London is a stabby, phone theft nightmare with roaming gangs looking to mug you (just see that awful Ricky Gervais poster). I don’t get it at all, the disconnect from reality is so severe
Absolutely insane to have spent Saturday battling crowds of shoppers and tourists in the West End, seen hordes of teenagers queuing for Korean food and Hollister Black Friday sales and sent youngest daughter off to Wembley to see a sell-out women international - and then read headlines like this.
Are there any other countries whose "patriotic" publications pay foreigners to write about what a hellhole they think their country is?
November 30, 2025 at 11:57 AM
The rhetoric is just weird but so many people seem to believe that London is a stabby, phone theft nightmare with roaming gangs looking to mug you (just see that awful Ricky Gervais poster). I don’t get it at all, the disconnect from reality is so severe
Second that on Bad Moon! Also the point on GW. Warhammer 40K and The Old World (I can’t really speak of AoS) somehow still *feel* British despite being global brands and I do love that about it
Bad Moon is a great cafe.
Also, a genuinely serious test I have for anyone talking/writing about UK cultural exports is if they mention Games Workshop and Rockstar (who make GTA).
Because both in terms of commercial success and cultural impact, those two are bigger than almost anything else.
Also, a genuinely serious test I have for anyone talking/writing about UK cultural exports is if they mention Games Workshop and Rockstar (who make GTA).
Because both in terms of commercial success and cultural impact, those two are bigger than almost anything else.
November 30, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Second that on Bad Moon! Also the point on GW. Warhammer 40K and The Old World (I can’t really speak of AoS) somehow still *feel* British despite being global brands and I do love that about it
Got back into painting 40K in August(?) this year to discover I’m still as slow as ever but I never really disconnected totally from it. I think the things that make the hobby special is that there’s still physical *things* at its core and that it actively encourages people to spend time together
How Warhammer won - on.ft.com/3KpJycC via @financialtimes.com
This sounds incredible and totally absorbing
This sounds incredible and totally absorbing
How Warhammer won
The maker of the fantasy figurine game is now valued at £5.25bn. What keeps the battle raging on?
on.ft.com
November 30, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Got back into painting 40K in August(?) this year to discover I’m still as slow as ever but I never really disconnected totally from it. I think the things that make the hobby special is that there’s still physical *things* at its core and that it actively encourages people to spend time together
Reposted by Alistair
What I would really like to see from any of the so-called radicals in UK politics is to move from their comfort zones and actually home in on real unaddressed issues like the overwhelming government bias towards the largest companies - which could make a real difference.
November 30, 2025 at 10:16 AM
What I would really like to see from any of the so-called radicals in UK politics is to move from their comfort zones and actually home in on real unaddressed issues like the overwhelming government bias towards the largest companies - which could make a real difference.
Reposted by Alistair
This is the most alarming story I’ve read today. Giving up the fight before it’s started
November 30, 2025 at 9:57 AM
This is the most alarming story I’ve read today. Giving up the fight before it’s started
Reposted by Alistair
Seems like the real challenges the UK faces are too complex so instead everyone is going to choose to focus on complete inanities and who can be scapegoated next. Which is only going faster on the road to decline.
November 30, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Seems like the real challenges the UK faces are too complex so instead everyone is going to choose to focus on complete inanities and who can be scapegoated next. Which is only going faster on the road to decline.
Reposted by Alistair
YASSSSSSS! GET IN! MAXIMUM CHAOS!
November 30, 2025 at 10:48 AM
YASSSSSSS! GET IN! MAXIMUM CHAOS!
Reposted by Alistair
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
Bookselling is like the most "people go to the store and buy what looks cool to them without a particular agenda" type business left, and your purchases have a huge influence on what is ordered, what is displayed, and what is recommended.
November 29, 2025 at 6:44 PM
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
Reposted by Alistair
A study by Dayforce shows 87% of executives use AI for work, compared to 57% of managers and just 27% of employees.
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
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 28, 2025 at 10:58 AM
A study by Dayforce shows 87% of executives use AI for work, compared to 57% of managers and just 27% of employees.
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
Reposted by Alistair
it's important for children to learn about deep time, the inevitability of loss, and the end of all things.
If you loved THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, then you'll love its action-packed sequel, PRINCE CASPIAN! The Pevensie children are back, even Edmund, but what about all your favorite friends: Mr. Tumnus, the Beavers, the friendly giant? Well, they've been dead for a thousand years. Sorry.
November 28, 2025 at 7:15 PM
it's important for children to learn about deep time, the inevitability of loss, and the end of all things.
If you loved the HORUS HERESY, then you'll love its action-packed sequel, WARHAMMER 40,000! The Ultramarines are back, even Guilliman, but what about all your favorite friends: Sanguinius, Malcador, the Emperor? Well, they've been dead for ten thousand years. Sorry.
If you loved THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, then you'll love its action-packed sequel, PRINCE CASPIAN! The Pevensie children are back, even Edmund, but what about all your favorite friends: Mr. Tumnus, the Beavers, the friendly giant? Well, they've been dead for a thousand years. Sorry.
November 29, 2025 at 11:35 AM
If you loved the HORUS HERESY, then you'll love its action-packed sequel, WARHAMMER 40,000! The Ultramarines are back, even Guilliman, but what about all your favorite friends: Sanguinius, Malcador, the Emperor? Well, they've been dead for ten thousand years. Sorry.
Reposted by Alistair
One of the main reasons we need HS2 is to get passenger traffic off the existing lines so that freight can use them. That would remove lorries from the roads, make them safer, and reduce emissions.
November 29, 2025 at 8:28 AM
One of the main reasons we need HS2 is to get passenger traffic off the existing lines so that freight can use them. That would remove lorries from the roads, make them safer, and reduce emissions.
Wonder how much of that is “AI” and how much of that is just that today so much stuff is “content”. I’m significantly out of my student years and haven’t really “watched” anything since, probably, One Day when that came out. I do read a lot I guess but TV has become background noise (1/2)
When I ask them: "What are you reading? What are you watching? What are you listening to?" Often, the answer is: nothing. Which has a direct effect on their over-use of prompts and AI, because they can't think of ideas, because they are literally not engaging with a single figurative thing.
November 29, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Wonder how much of that is “AI” and how much of that is just that today so much stuff is “content”. I’m significantly out of my student years and haven’t really “watched” anything since, probably, One Day when that came out. I do read a lot I guess but TV has become background noise (1/2)
Reposted by Alistair
Reposted by Alistair
I am convinced a large part of the crusade against universities as hot beds of leftwing bias and sedition is because people like Goodwin feel the need to make Nobody Wants To Be My Friend an 'its everyone else's fault!' issue
With every outright racist things he says I think back to his former students and colleagues at a pretty diverse university who had to work with someone who clearly did not respect or value them.
Reflections on the budget from the head of Students4Reform
November 26, 2025 at 11:05 PM
I am convinced a large part of the crusade against universities as hot beds of leftwing bias and sedition is because people like Goodwin feel the need to make Nobody Wants To Be My Friend an 'its everyone else's fault!' issue
Reposted by Alistair
Sorry I haven't been active on social media today, I've been flat out making sure everything goes smoothly on my first day as website manager for the OBR.
November 26, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Sorry I haven't been active on social media today, I've been flat out making sure everything goes smoothly on my first day as website manager for the OBR.
Reposted by Alistair
Founders on LinkedIn still seem to be struggling with the difference between telling people about their humble beginnings and admitting to straight up committing fraud.
November 24, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Founders on LinkedIn still seem to be struggling with the difference between telling people about their humble beginnings and admitting to straight up committing fraud.
See this, this is cool, but thanks to the success in branding LLMs “AI” ends up tarred with the same “this stuff is slop” brush. I really despise what the “AI-industry” is doing
What does a “blend” of AI and physics mean for weather and climate modelling?
In this blog find out more about the potential future blend of AI and physics-based models, as well as steps the Met Office is taking to achieve ambitious aims.
www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2025/wh...
In this blog find out more about the potential future blend of AI and physics-based models, as well as steps the Met Office is taking to achieve ambitious aims.
www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2025/wh...
November 25, 2025 at 2:58 PM
See this, this is cool, but thanks to the success in branding LLMs “AI” ends up tarred with the same “this stuff is slop” brush. I really despise what the “AI-industry” is doing
Reposted by Alistair
My taxes bring all the boys to the yard.
And they're like "this is bad approach to fiscal policy".
And they're like "this is bad approach to fiscal policy".
November 25, 2025 at 11:55 AM
My taxes bring all the boys to the yard.
And they're like "this is bad approach to fiscal policy".
And they're like "this is bad approach to fiscal policy".
Did he just google “does Europe make batteries” get a bunch of results with actual country names (e.g., Germany) and go “well that’s not the country of Europe”?
Lutnick on the EU: "Another example -- they rule out diesel gas and you gotta have batteries here by 2035. But Europe doesn't make batteries! Only certain countries make batteries and Europe is not one of them. They gotta think better about themselves ... come on! Think correctly."
November 24, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Did he just google “does Europe make batteries” get a bunch of results with actual country names (e.g., Germany) and go “well that’s not the country of Europe”?
Reposted by Alistair
Just as a basic point of fact, Nick Clegg, the most globalist centrist you could possibly meet, knew full well that the referendum was not winnable and had privately resolved that he therefore had to make it a veto to continuing the coalition years before Brexit and the 2015 election.
November 23, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Just as a basic point of fact, Nick Clegg, the most globalist centrist you could possibly meet, knew full well that the referendum was not winnable and had privately resolved that he therefore had to make it a veto to continuing the coalition years before Brexit and the 2015 election.
Reposted by Alistair
To take my tongue out of my cheek, in addition to the 'don't put tariffs on your own exports' point that Anthony Painter makes well, so many of the revenue raisers in this budget are just visibly not going to raise the predicted amounts.
November 23, 2025 at 10:18 PM
To take my tongue out of my cheek, in addition to the 'don't put tariffs on your own exports' point that Anthony Painter makes well, so many of the revenue raisers in this budget are just visibly not going to raise the predicted amounts.