Pinned
Portentious
@portentious.bsky.social
· Jul 24
Hi friends, you may know me from my previous incantations as owning my own business, maps, GIS, tech, strategy, IT, green stuff and renewable energy. Glad to see familiar folk here! :)
Reposted by Portentious
Don't steal pies this Christmas.
December 16, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Don't steal pies this Christmas.
Reposted by Portentious
We're in a brief golden era where journalists can do straight-faced, deadpan reporting on AI and get hilarious results.
December 18, 2025 at 11:41 PM
We're in a brief golden era where journalists can do straight-faced, deadpan reporting on AI and get hilarious results.
Reposted by Portentious
saying that Russia is at war with Ukraine is misleading. It’s an ongoing invasion. It may have stalled out on several occasions, but fundamentally it remains just that: an invasion
December 18, 2025 at 11:31 PM
saying that Russia is at war with Ukraine is misleading. It’s an ongoing invasion. It may have stalled out on several occasions, but fundamentally it remains just that: an invasion
Reposted by Portentious
NEW: My Udemy course 'Propaganda & Disinformation for Beginners' has helped students in 26 countries worldwide strengthen their armour against disinformation since it launched 2 years ago. Techniques Cambridge Analytica used to secretly profile millions have become a vastly profitable industry.. /1
November 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
NEW: My Udemy course 'Propaganda & Disinformation for Beginners' has helped students in 26 countries worldwide strengthen their armour against disinformation since it launched 2 years ago. Techniques Cambridge Analytica used to secretly profile millions have become a vastly profitable industry.. /1
Reposted by Portentious
Good ventilation and air filtration are critical tools in preventing respiratory infections.
The Government must assess current standards in hospitals and schools — and act where they fall short.
#Flu #Covid #Ventilation
Full response 👉 hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2025-1...
The Government must assess current standards in hospitals and schools — and act where they fall short.
#Flu #Covid #Ventilation
Full response 👉 hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2025-1...
December 17, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Good ventilation and air filtration are critical tools in preventing respiratory infections.
The Government must assess current standards in hospitals and schools — and act where they fall short.
#Flu #Covid #Ventilation
Full response 👉 hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2025-1...
The Government must assess current standards in hospitals and schools — and act where they fall short.
#Flu #Covid #Ventilation
Full response 👉 hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2025-1...
Reposted by Portentious
👇🇪🇪🇷🇺 "Nato on alert after Russian border guards ‘illegally cross border into Estonia’ on hovercraft"
#NATO #Estonia #RussianIncursion
#NATO #Estonia #RussianIncursion
Nato on alert after Russian border guards ‘illegally cross border into Estonia’
Russia has been accused of repeated incursions into Nato territory by fighter jets and drones in recent months
www.independent.co.uk
December 18, 2025 at 4:42 PM
👇🇪🇪🇷🇺 "Nato on alert after Russian border guards ‘illegally cross border into Estonia’ on hovercraft"
#NATO #Estonia #RussianIncursion
#NATO #Estonia #RussianIncursion
Reposted by Portentious
EPCC is hiring!
We have the following vacancies:
Collaboration Manager
edin.ac/4oZHnuw
Applications Developers
edin.ac/491r4HA
Closing date for both posts is 14 January 2026.
We have the following vacancies:
Collaboration Manager
edin.ac/4oZHnuw
Applications Developers
edin.ac/491r4HA
Closing date for both posts is 14 January 2026.
December 18, 2025 at 12:03 PM
EPCC is hiring!
We have the following vacancies:
Collaboration Manager
edin.ac/4oZHnuw
Applications Developers
edin.ac/491r4HA
Closing date for both posts is 14 January 2026.
We have the following vacancies:
Collaboration Manager
edin.ac/4oZHnuw
Applications Developers
edin.ac/491r4HA
Closing date for both posts is 14 January 2026.
Reposted by Portentious
Reminding everyone for no particular reason that Section 230 is one of the last things standing between free speech online and Trump having control over everything you see and say on the internet
December 18, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Reminding everyone for no particular reason that Section 230 is one of the last things standing between free speech online and Trump having control over everything you see and say on the internet
Reposted by Portentious
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the Dutch parliament in The Hague, calling for accountability, justice, and the use of frozen Russian assets to end Moscow’s war. He warns against false peace deals and urges Europe to uphold rules-based order and security guarantees.
FULL SPEECH: Zelenskiy Names Putin a “Career Criminal” in Stunning Netherlands Parliament | AC1B
YouTube video by DRM News
youtu.be
December 17, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the Dutch parliament in The Hague, calling for accountability, justice, and the use of frozen Russian assets to end Moscow’s war. He warns against false peace deals and urges Europe to uphold rules-based order and security guarantees.
Reposted by Portentious
The European Parliament has approved legislation to end imports of Russian gas by the end of 2027.
December 17, 2025 at 12:28 PM
The European Parliament has approved legislation to end imports of Russian gas by the end of 2027.
Reposted by Portentious
And my personal favourite: St Paul’s of London. Burned down in 1087 and 1135, both times along with half of London. A lightning strike burns the spire in 1561 but the rest is saved. In 1666, the Great Fire starts.
December 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
And my personal favourite: St Paul’s of London. Burned down in 1087 and 1135, both times along with half of London. A lightning strike burns the spire in 1561 but the rest is saved. In 1666, the Great Fire starts.
Reposted by Portentious
Salisbury was rebuilt for aesthetic reasons, but they decided to build the new one on top of a gravel waterbed for insane reasons and it immediately began sinking, so they engineered more water underneath and now they check the water level twice a day with a Holy Dipstick. I dunno
December 18, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Salisbury was rebuilt for aesthetic reasons, but they decided to build the new one on top of a gravel waterbed for insane reasons and it immediately began sinking, so they engineered more water underneath and now they check the water level twice a day with a Holy Dipstick. I dunno
Not just a novelist, @ursulakleguin.com was also a cartographer. Her fictional geographies were on display this fall at London’s Architectural Association Gallery, and a companion book on Silver Press sheds new light on her peerless world-building. Read our interview with editor/curator Sarah Shin.
Maps and Legends: The Spectacular Cartography of Ursula K. Le Guin - Library of America
Mapmaking lay at the heart of Ursula K. Le Guin’s worldbuilding. An able illustrator whose subjects ranged from realist watercolors to cartoon cats, the author of such SFF classics as The Left Hand of...
www.loa.org
December 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Portentious
AOC: I want to remind you where the real crime is. It's in the oligarchs taking $170 billion of our money from health care and food assistance and public programs and taking that and funneling it into a secret police program.
December 16, 2025 at 4:20 PM
AOC: I want to remind you where the real crime is. It's in the oligarchs taking $170 billion of our money from health care and food assistance and public programs and taking that and funneling it into a secret police program.
Reposted by Portentious
If you are in the US and you would like to send a message to your elected representative about the proposed dissolution of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, @agu.org makes it easy with a template here: agu.quorum.us/campaign/151... #AGU25
Save NCAR from being dismantled today!
The Trump Administration has vowed to dissolve the center that provides critical extreme weather and climate data for our nation.
agu.quorum.us
December 18, 2025 at 8:01 PM
If you are in the US and you would like to send a message to your elected representative about the proposed dissolution of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, @agu.org makes it easy with a template here: agu.quorum.us/campaign/151... #AGU25
Reposted by Portentious
👇 whichever statistics you want to use, the wealthy few are killing us and the planet. They don’t care even though they could use their wealth to solve the climate crisis and global poverty.
December 18, 2025 at 9:09 PM
👇 whichever statistics you want to use, the wealthy few are killing us and the planet. They don’t care even though they could use their wealth to solve the climate crisis and global poverty.
Reposted by Portentious
TL;DR: Russia has decided that the UK is Russia's enemy, and there's nothing we can do to change that as long as Putin is in power. The choice is whether to be an undefeated enemy or a defeated one. That's all the choice we get.
December 18, 2025 at 8:33 PM
TL;DR: Russia has decided that the UK is Russia's enemy, and there's nothing we can do to change that as long as Putin is in power. The choice is whether to be an undefeated enemy or a defeated one. That's all the choice we get.
Reposted by Portentious
On both right and left, there's anger about the recent assessments of Russia's threat to the UK and the rest of Europe, and about the need for us to prepare to meet it. There's a lot I could say here (as my students know), but most of it boils down to two things. 🧵
December 18, 2025 at 8:33 PM
On both right and left, there's anger about the recent assessments of Russia's threat to the UK and the rest of Europe, and about the need for us to prepare to meet it. There's a lot I could say here (as my students know), but most of it boils down to two things. 🧵
Reposted by Portentious
Today, Trump declared that the nation will host the first-ever “Patriot Games,” an “unprecedented four-day athletic event” featuring high school athletes, one boy and one girl, from each state and territory.
If you think this sounds like The Hunger Games, you're not alone.
If you think this sounds like The Hunger Games, you're not alone.
Trump just announced his own Hunger Games
In case you needed a reminder that we're living in a fascist hellscape.
www.motherjones.com
December 18, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Today, Trump declared that the nation will host the first-ever “Patriot Games,” an “unprecedented four-day athletic event” featuring high school athletes, one boy and one girl, from each state and territory.
If you think this sounds like The Hunger Games, you're not alone.
If you think this sounds like The Hunger Games, you're not alone.
Reposted by Portentious
The EU is not valid, based on law & the European Convention on Human Rights, if it does not face up to the dehumanisation & persecution of LGBTQ ppl in Hungary.
The Commission needs to answer, why are the 9.7% LGBTQ Europeans, valued less than other Europeans?
👉Teacher facing jail
The Commission needs to answer, why are the 9.7% LGBTQ Europeans, valued less than other Europeans?
👉Teacher facing jail
Teacher facing jail for throwing Pride march regrets nothing: 'Queer people exist'
A teacher in Hungary facing a prison sentence for organising a Pride march remains defiant amid criminal charges.
www.thepinknews.com
December 18, 2025 at 8:42 PM
The EU is not valid, based on law & the European Convention on Human Rights, if it does not face up to the dehumanisation & persecution of LGBTQ ppl in Hungary.
The Commission needs to answer, why are the 9.7% LGBTQ Europeans, valued less than other Europeans?
👉Teacher facing jail
The Commission needs to answer, why are the 9.7% LGBTQ Europeans, valued less than other Europeans?
👉Teacher facing jail
Reposted by Portentious
“Everyday, #Ukraine is fighting..also for the freedom of the Western world.Ukrainians are protecting values of the West.I would like to appreciate the great warriors&people of Ukraine,”said Director General of the NATO International Military Staff Lieutenant General Baltrėnas
📹🖊️NATO in Ukraine
📹🖊️NATO in Ukraine
December 18, 2025 at 8:26 PM
“Everyday, #Ukraine is fighting..also for the freedom of the Western world.Ukrainians are protecting values of the West.I would like to appreciate the great warriors&people of Ukraine,”said Director General of the NATO International Military Staff Lieutenant General Baltrėnas
📹🖊️NATO in Ukraine
📹🖊️NATO in Ukraine
Reposted by Portentious
"The all-stock deal, announced on Thursday, is an ambitious bet on the power boom spurred by artificial intelligence (AI) data centres and adds to the Trump family’s growing roster of diverse ventures from cryptocurrency to real estate holdings and mobile services."
December 18, 2025 at 6:57 PM
"The all-stock deal, announced on Thursday, is an ambitious bet on the power boom spurred by artificial intelligence (AI) data centres and adds to the Trump family’s growing roster of diverse ventures from cryptocurrency to real estate holdings and mobile services."
Reposted by Portentious
Peter Thiel's cronies are freaking out about my book.
Here's Garry Tan—an early Palantir employee who designed its logo—launching yet another attack.
Make a tech lord cry! Pre-Order "The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and The War On Democracy"
👉 www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
Here's Garry Tan—an early Palantir employee who designed its logo—launching yet another attack.
Make a tech lord cry! Pre-Order "The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and The War On Democracy"
👉 www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
December 17, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Peter Thiel's cronies are freaking out about my book.
Here's Garry Tan—an early Palantir employee who designed its logo—launching yet another attack.
Make a tech lord cry! Pre-Order "The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and The War On Democracy"
👉 www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
Here's Garry Tan—an early Palantir employee who designed its logo—launching yet another attack.
Make a tech lord cry! Pre-Order "The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and The War On Democracy"
👉 www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
Reposted by Portentious
"EU leaders are racing to secure a funding deal for Ukraine that has been cast as a choice between 'money today or blood tomorrow', but Belgium continues to oppose a loan secured against Russia’s frozen assets."
@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
‘Money today or blood tomorrow’: EU leaders race to secure deal for Ukraine
Summit divided on idea of loan secured against Russian assets, as Belgium seeks guarantees if scheme goes wrong
www.theguardian.com
December 18, 2025 at 7:05 PM
"EU leaders are racing to secure a funding deal for Ukraine that has been cast as a choice between 'money today or blood tomorrow', but Belgium continues to oppose a loan secured against Russia’s frozen assets."
@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Reposted by Portentious
I take it all back we should absolutely let AI run the vending machines
December 18, 2025 at 4:55 PM
I take it all back we should absolutely let AI run the vending machines