The Other David Harper
theotherdavidh.bsky.social
The Other David Harper
@theotherdavidh.bsky.social
200 followers 59 following 300 posts
No, not that one. The other one. I'm mostly here for the cats.
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It makes me very happy that important science continues to come out of the Cassini mission, 8 years after the spacecraft itself was flown into the planet. I had a small role in the pre-launch planning for Cassini, so I follow news about it with great interest.
Reposted by The Other David Harper
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.

Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."

Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
Delivery tracking apps work in much the same way as the apps that tell you when the next bus is due. Both are demonstrations of the danger of extrapolation.
Reposted by The Other David Harper
When people celebrate the individual genius of folks in science, they should also
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
Reposted by The Other David Harper
Haha yesss. Japanese copyright law doesn't fuck around.

Since I get challenged on this a lot: U.S. and Japan are both Berne Convention signatories, meaning the copyright is recognized between countries. They CAN go after American companies. And they are. And I love it.

variety.com/2025/digital...
Trade Group Representing Studio Ghibli, Other Japanese Companies Tells OpenAI to Stop Using Their Content to Train Sora 2 Video Generator
Japanese content trade group CODA, whose members include Studio Ghibli, issued a letter to OpenAI demanding the AI company stop using their content to train Sora 2.
variety.com
Back in the 1970s, my school taught us about the African slave trade, including the diagram showing how enslaved Africans were packed into the hold of the Brooks. That's an image that I will never ever forget. But our school houses were named Drake, Clive etc, so, mixed messages.
And yet, it's obviously Boris Johnson.
That brings back happy memories of the astronomy seminars at QMW, held in a warm, dark room late on a Friday afternoon. Often an effective cure for insomnia. Always enlivened by IWR asking a really pointed question at the end.
Reposted by The Other David Harper
Always remember this place is run by Yanks, so this advice is vitally important. Remember those people will shoot each other in the face but absolutely freak out at the word 'cunt'.
If you aren't seeing skeets from some of your fave people, they might have been labeled "Rude" by bsky mods. Idk what they are thinking, I don't need a mommy to tell me who to be buddies with. Anyway, go into Settings > moderation > bluesky moderation (advanced) and turn Rude off.
That popping sound you can hear this morning is the sounds of racists' heads exploding in London and New York.
This actually makes me very happy. I learned Latin for two years at grammar school in the 1970s, and it's one of my lifelong regrets that I had to give it up because of timetabling clashes as I started my O-level studies and focussed on sciences. Latin is such an elegant language.
Wasn't Gerund the name of the gorilla in the "Not The Nine O'Clock News" sketch. (I may be showing my age here.)
So apparently there was supposed to be a giant beaver mooning the sky last night. Did anyone see the beaver? I missed it. Maybe it was only in Canada?
Reposted by The Other David Harper
Today marks 75 years of the European Convention on Human Rights. The product of high aspirations & the ultimate step in taking seriously the idea that every human being should be treated with equal dignity 🧵 #ECHR #ECHR75
Not acceptable. I'd write to the publisher and demand that all unsold copies are pulped without delay. There are standards, you know.
Reposted by The Other David Harper
“There are some people who hate London, and hate New York,” Mayor Sadiq Khan told me, on Bloomberg TV. “There's a reason why they demonize London, and now, indeed, New York. Why? Because we are progressive cities. We are liberal cities. We are multicultural cities. And we are incredibly successful.”
Yes, it still sets the gold standard for April Fool's pranks, although the Guardian's 1977 tourist guide to the island nation of San Seriffe deserves an honourable mention. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ser...
San Serriffe - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Reposted by The Other David Harper
Pied Wagtail over water. 😍
Taken recently at the Huntspill seawall in Somerset. 🐦
#birds 🪶

You can buy my exclusive 2026 birds calendars here;
www.carlbovis.com/2026-birds-c...
Reposted by The Other David Harper
Hannan and Frost in the Telegraph.
Sunak in the Times.
Kwasi Kwarteng in the iPaper.
Johnson in the Mail.
Gove editing the Spectator.
Farage everywhere.
All of them shamelessly honking out their ‘Listen to me!’ garbage, as the country flails around in the unbelievable mess they’ve made.
Nauseating.
A Brexiter writes...