Simon
@simonxix.com
📚cultural & critical studies 📽️film critic 🐧open source developer 🐦birder 😐he/him
🔗 https://simonxix.com
🔗 https://simonxix.com
Reposted by Simon
In 4 years, China built 18,700km of railway (including 12,500km of high speed rail), whereas the UK is planning to build about 100km of railway in 20 years.
I was 20 when HS2 was announced. Great to know i’ll probably be in my late 60s when the Birmingham-Manchester section starts work let alone finishes. Seems like a country doing things the right way!
January 14, 2026 at 9:02 AM
In 4 years, China built 18,700km of railway (including 12,500km of high speed rail), whereas the UK is planning to build about 100km of railway in 20 years.
Reposted by Simon
I know this is hijacking a fun post with a serious point, but: the Feast of the Flight into Egypt is a commemoration of the fact that Jesus and his parents fled to Egypt as refugees, which should be more often remembered, particularly by those who say they want to defend the West’s Christian values.
So: happy... er, yes, well, happy this most holy of days to all who celebrate
January 14, 2026 at 10:30 AM
I know this is hijacking a fun post with a serious point, but: the Feast of the Flight into Egypt is a commemoration of the fact that Jesus and his parents fled to Egypt as refugees, which should be more often remembered, particularly by those who say they want to defend the West’s Christian values.
Reposted by Simon
Another clasic for the "don't understand the SF they are referencing" file. To make Star Trek real you first need communism.
"We want to make Star Trek real," said Elon Musk.
"We want to make Starfleet Academy real so that it's not always science fiction, but one day the science fiction turns to science fact."
"We want to make Starfleet Academy real so that it's not always science fiction, but one day the science fiction turns to science fact."
January 14, 2026 at 12:31 AM
Another clasic for the "don't understand the SF they are referencing" file. To make Star Trek real you first need communism.
Reposted by Simon
This is what happens when you get wiped out in your historic heartland of Scotland, then convince each other it means you are more awesome than even you could’ve expected, and you should absolutely double down on being as much of a horrific grandstanding crackdowns bastards as humanly possible
January 13, 2026 at 7:32 PM
This is what happens when you get wiped out in your historic heartland of Scotland, then convince each other it means you are more awesome than even you could’ve expected, and you should absolutely double down on being as much of a horrific grandstanding crackdowns bastards as humanly possible
Reposted by Simon
Reposted by Simon
We don’t dance on the grave of NFTs enough. I had a year where I was repeatedly told by bozos I was going to be irrelevant and extinct for not embracing them, I should be allowed a victory lap.
January 13, 2026 at 7:49 AM
We don’t dance on the grave of NFTs enough. I had a year where I was repeatedly told by bozos I was going to be irrelevant and extinct for not embracing them, I should be allowed a victory lap.
Reposted by Simon
🚨 Scottish Green MSPs have secured taxes on the super-rich to help fund schools and childcare in today's Scottish Budget.
✅ Private Jets: taxed
✅ Shooting estates: taxed
✅ Mansions: taxed
✅ Free breakfast clubs: delivered
✅ Private Jets: taxed
✅ Shooting estates: taxed
✅ Mansions: taxed
✅ Free breakfast clubs: delivered
January 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM
🚨 Scottish Green MSPs have secured taxes on the super-rich to help fund schools and childcare in today's Scottish Budget.
✅ Private Jets: taxed
✅ Shooting estates: taxed
✅ Mansions: taxed
✅ Free breakfast clubs: delivered
✅ Private Jets: taxed
✅ Shooting estates: taxed
✅ Mansions: taxed
✅ Free breakfast clubs: delivered
Reposted by Simon
💚Some key @scottishgreens.org wins in today's budget:
The Scottish Government has agreed to...
✈️A new tax on private jet flights
🏰 A 'Mansion Tax' on £1 million+ homes
🦌An end to the ridiculous tax breaks given to shooting estates will come into play on 1st April
The Scottish Government has agreed to...
✈️A new tax on private jet flights
🏰 A 'Mansion Tax' on £1 million+ homes
🦌An end to the ridiculous tax breaks given to shooting estates will come into play on 1st April
January 13, 2026 at 3:26 PM
💚Some key @scottishgreens.org wins in today's budget:
The Scottish Government has agreed to...
✈️A new tax on private jet flights
🏰 A 'Mansion Tax' on £1 million+ homes
🦌An end to the ridiculous tax breaks given to shooting estates will come into play on 1st April
The Scottish Government has agreed to...
✈️A new tax on private jet flights
🏰 A 'Mansion Tax' on £1 million+ homes
🦌An end to the ridiculous tax breaks given to shooting estates will come into play on 1st April
Reposted by Simon
cat's oot the bag then!
Life Without Buildings will reunite to perform their 2001 album Any Other City in full this November to mark fifty years since Rough Trade opened its first record store; tickets on sale from 16 January!
Life Without Buildings to reform for one-off show to celebrate Rough Trade's 50th anniversary
Glasgow art-rock band Life Without Buildings reunite to perform their 2001 album Any Other City in full to mark fifty years since Rough Trade opened its first record store.
buff.ly
January 13, 2026 at 4:08 PM
cat's oot the bag then!
I'm not convinced that those blurry tab logos are ChatGPT but my concern is why they're using Google Docs to write the script rather than actual screenwriting software. You don't even need to pay for Final Draft: Beat is free and open source!
January 13, 2026 at 2:14 PM
I'm not convinced that those blurry tab logos are ChatGPT but my concern is why they're using Google Docs to write the script rather than actual screenwriting software. You don't even need to pay for Final Draft: Beat is free and open source!
Reposted by Simon
While I love my niche stupid hobby of historical board gaming, sometimes it does just make me want to scream. Take the latest example, a board game about the Irish Potato Famine where you get to compete with friends to see who survives best (?)
www.kickstarter.com/projects/com...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/com...
The Great Hunger
Easy-to-learn, card-driven game, rich with historical detail; explores 19th-century Irish expansion, blight, famine, & emigration. 2-5P
www.kickstarter.com
January 13, 2026 at 9:15 AM
While I love my niche stupid hobby of historical board gaming, sometimes it does just make me want to scream. Take the latest example, a board game about the Irish Potato Famine where you get to compete with friends to see who survives best (?)
www.kickstarter.com/projects/com...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/com...
Reposted by Simon
Average salary among Russell Group vice-chancellors increased above £350,000 last year, despite these universities losing almost 7,000 staff members due to cost-cutting www.timeshighereducation.com/news/russell... via @patrickjack.bsky.social
Russell Group v-c salaries rise as 7,000 job losses confirmed
Leaders of research-intensive universities see pay top £350,000 despite financial strife faced by institutions
www.timeshighereducation.com
January 12, 2026 at 10:04 AM
Average salary among Russell Group vice-chancellors increased above £350,000 last year, despite these universities losing almost 7,000 staff members due to cost-cutting www.timeshighereducation.com/news/russell... via @patrickjack.bsky.social
Reposted by Simon
A spokesperson for T&F said “Researchers should be free to communicate their work in the journal that best suits their research, and proposing to cap [open access] funding threatens that freedom to publish."
Bold move to set prices high and then complain about freedom when people can't pay.
Bold move to set prices high and then complain about freedom when people can't pay.
Rising Publication Costs Strain Researchers
Open access publishing has led to researchers paying thousands of dollars to publish their work, limiting funds for research and leaving scientists with hard choices.
www.the-scientist.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:23 AM
A spokesperson for T&F said “Researchers should be free to communicate their work in the journal that best suits their research, and proposing to cap [open access] funding threatens that freedom to publish."
Bold move to set prices high and then complain about freedom when people can't pay.
Bold move to set prices high and then complain about freedom when people can't pay.
Reposted by Simon
Hey y’all: if you use Libby and you hate them allowing generative AI content and incorporating it in other ways you can go to your profile, scroll down to “help and support”, and take a survey to tell them that you hate it
Our official policy provides clarity on our AI usage and the broader impact of AI on the book industry as a whole. Read OverDrive's full policy here: https://bit.ly/4be33jB
January 13, 2026 at 5:53 AM
Hey y’all: if you use Libby and you hate them allowing generative AI content and incorporating it in other ways you can go to your profile, scroll down to “help and support”, and take a survey to tell them that you hate it
Reposted by Simon
There is always an XKCD
January 12, 2026 at 8:58 AM
There is always an XKCD
Reposted by Simon
greatest steam update of all time, because of one unnecessary detail
January 12, 2026 at 9:34 PM
greatest steam update of all time, because of one unnecessary detail
Reposted by Simon
black-crowned night heron said trans rights
January 12, 2026 at 7:41 PM
black-crowned night heron said trans rights
Reposted by Simon
“Deepfake child pornography is fine as long as only adults get to see it” is a curious place for the modern Conservative Party to find itself, but here we are
January 12, 2026 at 6:33 PM
“Deepfake child pornography is fine as long as only adults get to see it” is a curious place for the modern Conservative Party to find itself, but here we are
Reposted by Simon
Like okay but surely in a just world you ban this shit immediately to limit harm and THEN you communicate with Musk etc. it’s obvious what it’s being used for so what’s the hold up in guise of an investigation???
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
UK media regulator investigating Elon Musk’s X after outcry over sexualised AI images
Liz Kendall describes content as vile and illegal and says Ofcom has the government’s backing to use its full powers
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Like okay but surely in a just world you ban this shit immediately to limit harm and THEN you communicate with Musk etc. it’s obvious what it’s being used for so what’s the hold up in guise of an investigation???
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Simon
the only truly safe data is the kind that is not collected
it’s for exactly this reason that my library network’s catalog system does not retain patron borrowing data, or even permit the creation of linked “family” library accounts.
the “free” in “free public library” means, among other things, “free from government interference.”
the “free” in “free public library” means, among other things, “free from government interference.”
Officials in Tennessee aren't just banning books, they're now demanding information on who checked out contested (largely LGBTQ+) books, including names, addresses, and "household composition."
A librarian who was given the directive has come forward asking for whistleblower protections.
A librarian who was given the directive has come forward asking for whistleblower protections.
December 20, 2025 at 3:04 AM
the only truly safe data is the kind that is not collected
Reposted by Simon
Time is running out to register for #CopimConference ⏳
Our FREE 2--day hybrid event will bring together the people and projects shaping
the future of equitable, community-driven #OA book publishing
📆 26-27 February 2026
📍 Loughborough University | London [or online]
🔗 buff.ly/hpWCA6L
Our FREE 2--day hybrid event will bring together the people and projects shaping
the future of equitable, community-driven #OA book publishing
📆 26-27 February 2026
📍 Loughborough University | London [or online]
🔗 buff.ly/hpWCA6L
January 8, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Time is running out to register for #CopimConference ⏳
Our FREE 2--day hybrid event will bring together the people and projects shaping
the future of equitable, community-driven #OA book publishing
📆 26-27 February 2026
📍 Loughborough University | London [or online]
🔗 buff.ly/hpWCA6L
Our FREE 2--day hybrid event will bring together the people and projects shaping
the future of equitable, community-driven #OA book publishing
📆 26-27 February 2026
📍 Loughborough University | London [or online]
🔗 buff.ly/hpWCA6L
Reposted by Simon
The animating force at the heart of US conservatism currently is incandescent rage at the mere idea of women's autonomy and independence. An image of a smiling woman who looks insufficiently deferential for their tastes riles them up enough to tear up the social contract.
this is all it’s really about for them. Not domestic policy, not “economic anxiety”, just an endless desire to punish stand-ins for the Mommy who forced them take a bath, even if it tanks their own quality of life.
January 12, 2026 at 7:17 AM
The animating force at the heart of US conservatism currently is incandescent rage at the mere idea of women's autonomy and independence. An image of a smiling woman who looks insufficiently deferential for their tastes riles them up enough to tear up the social contract.
Reposted by Simon
The thing with the US and other countries going with all this overtly fascist imagery and rhetoric is that so much of it is lifted from regimes that infamously failed miserably
January 11, 2026 at 8:58 PM
The thing with the US and other countries going with all this overtly fascist imagery and rhetoric is that so much of it is lifted from regimes that infamously failed miserably
Reposted by Simon
American fascism is a hybrid belief that pulls from other regimes throughout history and one of their main inspirations is Franco Spain so this is one of those things that we put in the shocking but not surprising category
America is run by fascists waging war against the population
America is run by fascists waging war against the population
The sign on Kristi Noem's podium reads "One of ours, all of yours." The reader will recall that this was a fascist rallying cry in the Spanish Civil War. What it means is that one of "our" people is worth all of "your" people.
January 11, 2026 at 6:17 PM
American fascism is a hybrid belief that pulls from other regimes throughout history and one of their main inspirations is Franco Spain so this is one of those things that we put in the shocking but not surprising category
America is run by fascists waging war against the population
America is run by fascists waging war against the population