BoxOfRain
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aboxofrain.bsky.social
BoxOfRain
@aboxofrain.bsky.social
Cyclist, meadow walker, music enthusiast. Deadhead.
Interested in the environments we make for ourselves.
Drinker of coffee & sometimes beer. Often tired these days. 

Work involves identity, assurance & distributed scientific computing.
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A man who probably didn't exist is credited with a story that was originally oral about a sailor around the Mediterranean and Red Sea from a culture that originated the word "Ethiopia" three thousand years before the concept of race was invented. About shagging swans.

But teh raciAl acCuraNcies!
February 2, 2026 at 8:57 PM
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Pay
Your
Staff
February 2, 2026 at 5:02 PM
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Remember that Mandelson quote? "We are intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich, as long as they pay their taxes". By "we" he meant the Labour government. Turns out that he - as a government minister - was lobbying on behalf of his filthy rich chums to ensure they paid less tax.
February 2, 2026 at 10:21 AM
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It shouldn’t have to happen to you to matter to you, but remember, we’re a test balloon. So anything they do to immigrants, they’ll do to the majority population if they can get away with it.

And the “we have to because of bad apples” argument is also bad. Even “bad apples” deserve human rights!
February 2, 2026 at 2:34 PM
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The extent to which Labour has doubled down on a transphobia policy that it didn’t run on, and was bounced into by a Supreme Court ruling that woefully misunderstood the intent of the law, is genuinely shocking to me. I know there will be an “I told you so” but I don’t think this was foreseeable.
February 2, 2026 at 1:45 PM
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This is one of my favorite optical illusions, because even when you know specifically HOW IT WORKS, it's still hard to make your brain believe it.

The image below is real-world video, but you're being tricked into believing it's an elaborate miniature by the DIORAMA EFFECT.

Let's talk about it.
February 2, 2026 at 1:57 PM
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You heard. Five thousand. Ha ha ha. BUT. If 1 in 3 of my Bluesky followers promised (not even 'coughed up' but 'pledged to cough up') to risk the equivalent of TWO LONDON PINTS, we'd be on! And let me know if you do, I can't see a list of backers on the site.

HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY THAT I LOVE YOU?
Today’s Smelt post. You liked The Thick Of It and Veep and The Death of Stalin, right? Well @ianmartin.bsky.social wrote on all of those AND wrote the amazing audio drama The Hartlepool Spy.

We need ~5,000 of you to buy his new scripted comedy, Tamworth, so we can make it.
SMELT — Lead Mojo
Leadmojo.co.uk
February 2, 2026 at 12:10 PM
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This one was of Alec’s all time best honestly. Both in import and in substance.
February 2, 2026 at 7:42 AM
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Please can I urge you to read the document, and respond appropriately to the consultation: the proposed changes are cruel and unfair.
Please fill out this consultation on the "earned settlement" immigration proposals in the UK, which would see many people waiting 20 or 30 years for settled status in the UK and even then having "no recourse to public funds" despite working and paying tax. migrantsrights.org.uk/2026/01/29/e...
Call to Allies: Complete the ‘Earned Settlement’ Consultation - Migrants' Rights Network
New 'earned settlement' proposals left members of our Network feeling incredibly distressed. We're calling on allies to respond.
migrantsrights.org.uk
February 2, 2026 at 8:18 AM
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Why am I completely unsurprised that this out and out quack is backed financially by Marc Andreessen and David Sacks?
"Among the hires at CBS News announced by Weiss is a doctor who claims he reduced his biological age by 20 years with cold plunges; that cod liver oil treats autism; and that Alzheimer’s and dementia can be reversed with supplements he sells on his online store."

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Bari Weiss’s new CBS hires include ‘germ theory denialist’ doctor
Dr Mark Hyman, who claimed he reduced his biological age by 20 years, brought on as a contributor
www.theguardian.com
February 1, 2026 at 8:34 PM
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“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit."

"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now."

🌱🌳
February 1, 2026 at 8:37 PM
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This is a bit of a rubbish photo but the late afternoon sun caught my acer in the last minutes of a rainy day. Couldn't resist a quick snap. ♥️🌱
February 1, 2026 at 8:25 PM
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flamingo motel sign, oklahoma city, oklahoma, 1979
February 1, 2026 at 8:36 PM
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One ham shank = ten meals (two broths, two dinners, two soups, two stotties, two stocks).
January 20, 2026 at 10:20 AM
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Make traditional food not war.
January 20, 2026 at 10:15 AM
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January 25, 2026 at 2:33 AM
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Not in the middle of the write-up, though, surely? I can understand an argument for tools that can optimize literature searches in earlier stages of the work, but not in the drafting stage
February 1, 2026 at 3:16 AM
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What is the point of these LaTeX editors with a chatbot built in. To help search for references? If you aren't familiar with a reference, you shouldn't be citing it (if it even exists). And if you haven't thought carefully about how it relates to what you're doing, IT IS NOT REALLY A CITATION. 🧪
January 31, 2026 at 6:42 PM
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Ray Morimura • Title Unknown •
January 31, 2026 at 11:18 PM
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1. So I could tell you about the wonderful places you can find Burmese food in London ❤️

2. To remind you that Myanmar is still f*cked and very much in need of your support - tomorrow marks 5 years since the military coup 💔

Ways you can help here linktr.ee/meemalee

#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar
January 31, 2026 at 12:06 PM
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I was very glad to be asked by @vittles.bsky.social to contribute to this weekend’s Six of One - Myanmar Special.

I did so for two main reasons

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/six-of-one... (1/2)
January 31, 2026 at 11:55 AM
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Union workers solved the trolley problem, you're welcome
January 31, 2026 at 1:45 AM
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Life rules:
January 31, 2026 at 2:03 PM
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"Att det blir premiär på nydöpta Trump-Kennedy Center är lök på en redan tillräckligt världsfrånvänd och surrealistisk lyxlax.

Det luktar Roms sista dagar, och läge för fler wine moms att marschera mot EPA-Versailles."

Skrev om Melania-visningen i Vita huset:

www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/...
Det luktar Roms sista dagar över "Melania"
KRÖNIKA. Bara timmar efter att en aktivist dödats av ICE-agenter fick VIP-gäster se Melania Trump-dokumentären i Vita huset. Brett Ratner – som inte gjort film
www.aftonbladet.se
January 29, 2026 at 2:19 PM