Dr Kathleen Neal
@kbneal.bsky.social
Medievalist | Cricket tragic | Dog lover | Ex-scientist | Occasional tractor driver | Living on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung land | Long COVID sucks | She/her
Delighted to have an essay featured in this issue! Thanks Matt, Erin & Cassandra!
The next issue of @parergon.bsky.social is on its way, guest-edited by me, @erinsebo.bsky.social and Cassandra Schilling. There's a great group of scholars here who collectively consider, from multiple perspectives, questions of how medieval England perceived its place in a wide and complex world.
November 26, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Delighted to have an essay featured in this issue! Thanks Matt, Erin & Cassandra!
Ready for some #GoodNews? Sr sosige seems to have had only a temporary worsening of ♥️ issues, doesn't have to stay on the meds that were messing with his kidneys, & has responded really well to 2 days of iv fluids. We've gone from thinking he had days to "no reason to expect decline" soon!
November 26, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Ready for some #GoodNews? Sr sosige seems to have had only a temporary worsening of ♥️ issues, doesn't have to stay on the meds that were messing with his kidneys, & has responded really well to 2 days of iv fluids. We've gone from thinking he had days to "no reason to expect decline" soon!
Well this is a pleasant unforeseen outcome of the bizarre first test
November 26, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Well this is a pleasant unforeseen outcome of the bizarre first test
Reposted by Dr Kathleen Neal
Ireland has a military intelligence agency and police intelligence (including counterintelligence) like everyone else. The idea that every nation has to have an MI6/CIA analogue is not merely wrong, it's actively harmful.
And saying 'hello' is exactly what you're meant to do with suspicious ships.
And saying 'hello' is exactly what you're meant to do with suspicious ships.
Despite these high stakes, Ireland has no dedicated intelligence agency, just four working navy vessels and the smallest defence budget in the EU. In fact, the only thing the Irish navy can do when it spots a suspicious ship lurking is say “hello”.
November 26, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Ireland has a military intelligence agency and police intelligence (including counterintelligence) like everyone else. The idea that every nation has to have an MI6/CIA analogue is not merely wrong, it's actively harmful.
And saying 'hello' is exactly what you're meant to do with suspicious ships.
And saying 'hello' is exactly what you're meant to do with suspicious ships.
Reposted by Dr Kathleen Neal
ICYMI: we interviewed 2024 Ceræ essay prize winner, poet an academic Roxanne Bodsworth! She discusses medieval and modern poetry, her book recs, and women in Irish myth. #medievalsky
ceraejournal.com/2025/11/14/g...
ceraejournal.com/2025/11/14/g...
Guest Post: An Interview with Roxanne Bodsworth
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Roxanne Bodsworth to our interview series. Dr. Bodsworth holds a PhD from Victoria University, Melbourne, and is an academic and poet. Dr. Bodsworth is the winner of…
ceraejournal.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:18 AM
ICYMI: we interviewed 2024 Ceræ essay prize winner, poet an academic Roxanne Bodsworth! She discusses medieval and modern poetry, her book recs, and women in Irish myth. #medievalsky
ceraejournal.com/2025/11/14/g...
ceraejournal.com/2025/11/14/g...
Reposted by Dr Kathleen Neal
The Royal Historical Society has published a very helpful guide to its various membership categories, including the Fellowship. If you're engaged in History study, research or teaching (including in public history, journalism & GLAM) & keen to support the discipline, do have a look. #Skystorians
Joining the Fellowship of the Royal Historical Society: a brief guide if you’re considering an application | Historical Transactions
blog.royalhistsoc.org
November 24, 2025 at 10:07 AM
The Royal Historical Society has published a very helpful guide to its various membership categories, including the Fellowship. If you're engaged in History study, research or teaching (including in public history, journalism & GLAM) & keen to support the discipline, do have a look. #Skystorians
Someone is feeling a bit better after a day on iv fluids. We'll be keeping on giving him love and care as long as he shows he wants it. ♥️💔♥️
November 24, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Someone is feeling a bit better after a day on iv fluids. We'll be keeping on giving him love and care as long as he shows he wants it. ♥️💔♥️
Reposted by Dr Kathleen Neal
The State Library of Victoria’s ‘major’ proposed cuts include slashing the number of reference librarians and free computers for public access. Some staff are shocked.
Proposed cuts at State Library of Victoria go against its mission – and will hurt the disadvantaged
theconversation.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:40 AM
The State Library of Victoria’s ‘major’ proposed cuts include slashing the number of reference librarians and free computers for public access. Some staff are shocked.
Friends, sr sosige is not doing well. Jr knows something is up with his buddy and is very clingy, while I am living mainly on mini kit kats. Hugs welcome.
November 24, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Friends, sr sosige is not doing well. Jr knows something is up with his buddy and is very clingy, while I am living mainly on mini kit kats. Hugs welcome.
Reposted by Dr Kathleen Neal
Note to self: Be more carrot lady
An old lady steps from the queue. “it’s a carrot,” she says. Glares defiantly at the assistant. The assistant wilts. Enters the radish as a carrot. The elderly Polish gentleman leaves triumphant. Life resumes.
November 22, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Note to self: Be more carrot lady
Reposted by Dr Kathleen Neal
the multi-year lack of a truly functional manuscripts catalog at the BL is finally over!!!!
Latest update from @britishlibrary.bsky.social says they are launching a new version of their main catalogue on Monday 8 December and around that time also launch an interim version of their Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue. Hooray!
www.bl.uk/stories/news...
www.bl.uk/stories/news...
Restoring our services – November 2025 update
In the coming weeks and months we will be restoring a number of key functions.
www.bl.uk
November 22, 2025 at 2:32 PM
the multi-year lack of a truly functional manuscripts catalog at the BL is finally over!!!!
I feel sorry for the caterers at Perth stadium. They're going to have a lot of unsold chips and burgers on their hands...
November 22, 2025 at 9:20 AM
I feel sorry for the caterers at Perth stadium. They're going to have a lot of unsold chips and burgers on their hands...
And again
The cricket. WHAT is going on in Perth?? Scenes!
November 22, 2025 at 8:05 AM
And again
Strike that. Looks like he needs treatment. Will he play at the Gabba?
Khawaja looking sore but presumably he can't risk going off and repeating the chaos of the first innings... #Ashes
November 22, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Strike that. Looks like he needs treatment. Will he play at the Gabba?
Reposted by Dr Kathleen Neal
And the news is... We're recruiting! Applications are now open for our 2026 @leverhulme.ac.uk Doctoral Scholarships. So, if you want to study at PhD level pre-modern handwritten cultures and the organisation of knowledge and power within them, do investigate our refreshed website.
November 21, 2025 at 9:30 AM
And the news is... We're recruiting! Applications are now open for our 2026 @leverhulme.ac.uk Doctoral Scholarships. So, if you want to study at PhD level pre-modern handwritten cultures and the organisation of knowledge and power within them, do investigate our refreshed website.
Them: but wouldn't it be great if the kid's teddy could talk back to them?
Me: my teddy has never needed AI to talk to me in almost 50 years, he's super comforting, and the great thing was I developed a capacity for imaginative world making too!
Me: my teddy has never needed AI to talk to me in almost 50 years, he's super comforting, and the great thing was I developed a capacity for imaginative world making too!
November 20, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Them: but wouldn't it be great if the kid's teddy could talk back to them?
Me: my teddy has never needed AI to talk to me in almost 50 years, he's super comforting, and the great thing was I developed a capacity for imaginative world making too!
Me: my teddy has never needed AI to talk to me in almost 50 years, he's super comforting, and the great thing was I developed a capacity for imaginative world making too!
Reposted by Dr Kathleen Neal
5 ways to think about OpenAI in education 🧵
November 20, 2025 at 8:08 PM
5 ways to think about OpenAI in education 🧵
Reposted by Dr Kathleen Neal
2 OpenAI is *normalizing* use of genAI among students by encouraging and coercing them to use it "responsibly", while putting them at risk of accusations of academic malpractice by instututions concerned about upholding academic integrity www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
ChatGPT launches study mode to encourage ‘responsible’ academic use
Tool gives guidance rather than serving up complete essays or answers, amid rising AI misuse at universities
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:08 PM
2 OpenAI is *normalizing* use of genAI among students by encouraging and coercing them to use it "responsibly", while putting them at risk of accusations of academic malpractice by instututions concerned about upholding academic integrity www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
That's a Hell No from me.
Saw a post today that advised writers to stop writing as if a human will read it and start writing for an LLM that will be summarising.
As someone who really enjoyed trying to develop a peculiar but readable authorial voice, I find this incredibly depressing.
As someone who really enjoyed trying to develop a peculiar but readable authorial voice, I find this incredibly depressing.
November 20, 2025 at 10:35 PM
That's a Hell No from me.
Reposted by Dr Kathleen Neal
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.