Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 8h

As someone whose PhD partly built on STS ideas, there are interesting research avenues thinking about these ‘invisible’ internet infrastructures - their place undergirding so many services; their taken-for-grantedness; the socio-technical networks of how they came to be cc @ctimmermann.bsky.social

Andrew Rover @andrewrover.bsky.social · 14h

The Major AWS Outage of October 20, 2025

A single configuration update inside Amazon Web Services’ us-east-1 region triggered a chain reaction.

📖 Read the full analysis on Substack:
open.substack.com/pub/arover/p...

#AWS #CloudInfrastructure #CyberResilience #CloudComputing #TechMindHub

The Major AWS Outage of October 20, 2025

Causes, Consequences, and Hidden Lessons of Global Infrastructure

open.substack.com

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 3d

Ooft. Will make time to read this properly. Immediate thought based on personal experience: the way universities often infantilise PhD students (rules, working/pay/conditions, policies, and the way that some staff treat them) can have a massive negative impact.

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 4d

A great teaching example for an undergrad research methods module. Importance of checking the entire transcript for Identifiable information when reme acting… 🤦‍♂️

Waffle 🧇 @wafflecut.bsky.social · 4d

Learned that an anonymous outside expert on submersibles did an interview with the OceanGate Titan investigation, and they released a transcript, with all the names redacted. The first line of his first answer? "I'm sure you're familiar with my film Titanic."

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD
*****************
Investigation of:
LOSS OF THE SUBMARINE TITAN
IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
ON JUNE 18, 2023
*
*
*
*
*
*
Accident No.:
*********** * * * * * *
Interview of:
Co-designer/Pilot
Deepsea Challenger
DCA23FM036
via Microsoft Teams
Friday,
July 26, 2024

INTERVIEW OF
10
BY LCDR
11 Q. So how did you get yourself started into submersible
12 operations?
13
A.
Well, I'm sure you're familiar with my film Titanic.
When I
14
set down the path to make that film, the first thing that I did
15
was arrange to be introduced to the head of the submersible
16
program at the P.P. Shirshov Institute in Moscow, a guy named
17|
Professor
I. I did that through a mutual friend
18
of ours, a guy named
, who is one of the preeminent
underwater cinematographers in the world. And had been on a
20
submersible expedition out to Titanic the previous year with the
21
Russians. And that was organized by a Canadian company that was
22 doing an IMAX film which was released under the title Titanica.

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 5d

Many congratulations!

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 5d

Yes precisely - seniority isn’t super contentious by comparison, but across employers?!

Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 6d

I think that’s a peculiarly US thing (as, I think, are other aspects of unionisation over there - like mandatory union dues which AFAIK don’t exist in the U.K.). Labour history in the US is fascinating but to British eyes really odd.

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 7d

As a kid my parents rented a terraced house in Cambridge for a year. If I recall it was 01223 321023 - one digit off one of the Marshalls aerospace (Cambridge airport) numbers. Had at least a couple of misdials a month.

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 13d

It's not-quite-astroturfing, but it's a sign that there is at the very least a non-authentic effort on Bluesky to influence opinions via mass-replies to a website that certainly obscures its political leanings.

Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 13d

Came across lots of similar/identical replies to posts about Michael Heseltine's comments today with a link to an 'alternative view'. On closer examination the article is by a rabble rouser, on a highly partisan news site funded by a major donor to a political party with a very specific agenda... 🤔

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 18d

Any #Manchester folk want to see Deaf Havana tonight at New Century Hall? I’ve spent the day coughing and sneezing so my ticket is available. I’d rather it didn’t go to waste. Free, but given yesterday’s events, a donation to a charity promoting dialogue and community cohesion would be welcomed.

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 26d

Thank you! And thank you for all your work more generally, too!

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 26d

Would be very interested to hear your experience of developing the RAP from an “organisational change” perspective, and any tips on achieving this, if that’s something that you might be able to share eg via a public blog?

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 26d

We were told to allow 3hrs when we went. It ended up being about 2 due to heavy traffic which worked fine (especially as we had fast track, and there was a late delay to the flight), but it seemed an bit unpredictable. I prefer to minimise time lost in airports but would err on side of caution

Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 26d

Earlier post should read “considered”, sorry. Trying to type while bouncing around on (terrible) buses in Cambridge…

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 26d

I may well be misremembering and am happy to be corrected. I just remember it stood out as what seemed to be a glaring omission - ie that consideration of airport demand should include potential for HSR to lead to mode shift and wider externalities (eg postponing need for additional runway)

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 26d

Justification for cancellation of HS2 Heathrow spur: airport demand not good use of London-the north train paths.

But this always struck me as backwards logic: HSR link would enable most domestic flights to be replaced by through-ticketed rail - freeing runway slots. IIRC this angle not consifeted

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 27d

I’ve had some severe wisdom tooth pain in the last few days. Over the counter Benzocaine and I’m right as rain, but it made me think of how many deaths through history have been caused by things which are now of trifling importance thanks to antibiotics and modern medicine more generally.

Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 28d

Does “type accurately at 80-100wpm without looking at the keyboard, but never unlearnt the bad habits of growing up on IRC chat and therefore doesn’t use all fingers in the way Mavis Beacon told us to” count… 👀

(I’ve considered relearning “properly” but would be so unproductive in the interim…)

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 29d

Above should read peak ex London train, sorry (not peak ex London ticket)

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 29d

It’s unclear whether it’s letting me buy a ticket that will be invalid if I get on a peak ex-London ticket (ie that when I get to London I’d have to wait until after peak to continue my journey) or if I am indeed allowed to do this (as my train would arrive in London after AM peak).

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · 29d

Can Any followers in the rail industry (ticketing, RP etc) clarify a Q about off peak 2C restrictions via London? LNER’s website seems to let me buy an Off Peak Return MCR-CBG for today, arriving in Cambridge on a train that leaves KGX during peak. It greys out invalid routes

Bug, or can I do this?

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · Sep 21

Thank you. It was my aunt - that side of my family is geographically very dispersed, so the emotional impact is mostly on my mum, her brother in law, and my cousins.

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · Sep 21

A sudden family death reminds one of how things can change in an instant.

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Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · Sep 20

It was going so well until I got back to Manchester to find the trams are a mess…

Sunil @sdvr.bsky.social · Sep 20

Day trip to London. Hopefully transport strike in Manchester and the interminable rain won’t cause any issues…

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