Patrick, traversed by lizards
@mrcormorant.bsky.social
Sailing on the Onion Sea and enjoying a game of failures. Protein or squirrels? 'I do not claim to know English. I claim to know Ruskin.' - Marcel Proust
Reposted by Patrick, traversed by lizards
I can give countless examples of failure points of machine translation. If I give real examples that I’ve encountered I’m told they are “anecdotal”. If I discuss principles that will consistently fail, I’m told that it’s “just a matter of time” before the solutions will magically appear.
January 10, 2026 at 6:31 AM
I can give countless examples of failure points of machine translation. If I give real examples that I’ve encountered I’m told they are “anecdotal”. If I discuss principles that will consistently fail, I’m told that it’s “just a matter of time” before the solutions will magically appear.
This is grim & not remotely funny, but it felt good to turn it on by accident & hear Graham Phillips being accurately and deservedly dismantled on air.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The History Podcast - Two Nottingham Lads - 3. Six Weeks in Mariupol - BBC Sounds
The siege of Mariupol leads to a grim choice for Aiden, and an opportunity for Graham.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 7, 2026 at 7:51 PM
This is grim & not remotely funny, but it felt good to turn it on by accident & hear Graham Phillips being accurately and deservedly dismantled on air.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Finally looked up 'Butlerian Jihad'. Turns out it's not a rebellion against performatively embodied gender roles.
December 26, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Finally looked up 'Butlerian Jihad'. Turns out it's not a rebellion against performatively embodied gender roles.
Reposted by Patrick, traversed by lizards
French publishing house Harlequin decided to use AI translation instead of human translations.
All their freelance translators (some of whom had been working with Harlequin for +30y!!!) were told they would no longer receive work from Harlequin
All their freelance translators (some of whom had been working with Harlequin for +30y!!!) were told they would no longer receive work from Harlequin
December 18, 2025 at 8:01 PM
French publishing house Harlequin decided to use AI translation instead of human translations.
All their freelance translators (some of whom had been working with Harlequin for +30y!!!) were told they would no longer receive work from Harlequin
All their freelance translators (some of whom had been working with Harlequin for +30y!!!) were told they would no longer receive work from Harlequin
I too enjoy getting cross at things that haven't been heard of since the 1970s.
And, allegedly, a lot of the 'detectors' that can 'tell' you've been watching are complete fiction, and just based on the fact that retail outlets are required to pass your data onto the BBC whenever you buy a telly. So if they see that you own one and don't pay a license, they just take a gamble.
November 10, 2025 at 8:19 PM
I too enjoy getting cross at things that haven't been heard of since the 1970s.
'All the key provisions on sovereignty...have been...removed [from the Constitution]. Even the ref to Tatarstan's non-participation in armed conflicts is gone. Still...it remains a symbol of the Tatar people's striving for state sovereignty' -Constitution Day msg by deputy PM in exile Marat Akhmerov
November 6, 2025 at 8:31 PM
'All the key provisions on sovereignty...have been...removed [from the Constitution]. Even the ref to Tatarstan's non-participation in armed conflicts is gone. Still...it remains a symbol of the Tatar people's striving for state sovereignty' -Constitution Day msg by deputy PM in exile Marat Akhmerov
That Sky interview with Khodorkovsky isn't going to dispel the accusation that the Russian opposition wants to reform the empire, not to dismantle it. news.sky.com/story/putin-...
Exiled Russian oligarch: Putin has sent signal to Trump that he's ready for Ukraine deal
Mikhail Khodorkovsky thinks a deal could be struck between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump over Ukraine, but it might involve ceding the Donbas region to Russia.
news.sky.com
October 19, 2025 at 8:56 AM
That Sky interview with Khodorkovsky isn't going to dispel the accusation that the Russian opposition wants to reform the empire, not to dismantle it. news.sky.com/story/putin-...
Actual robot wars. Presumably the Ukrainians (and NATO??) are far ahead of the Russians, despite the boasting.
Rus state media report (heavily edited) on Russian unmanned platforms during an engineering troop training session in the Volgograd Region. Courier UGV at 2:21, a light USV that carries an FPV around 4:27. t.me/boris_rozhin...
Colonelcassad
Репортаж «России 1» посвящённый демонстрации возможностей различных российских беспилотных платформ в ходе сбора инженерных войск в Волгоградской области. Засветилась и версия НРТК "Курьер" с лазерной...
t.me
October 5, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Actual robot wars. Presumably the Ukrainians (and NATO??) are far ahead of the Russians, despite the boasting.
Unsure whether I love this thread despite, or because of, having no clue what it means.
Words And Phrases Only Ever Used By Doctor Who Fans: Emblazoned, Pleasant Open Face, 'Wiped', Black-Clad, Saturnine Countenance, Telerecording, Telesnaps, The Villainous Paul Merrony, Smarmy Emilius, TV's Mr. Pastry, BBC Top Brass, Jon Pertwee's Old Sparring Partner.
September 29, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Unsure whether I love this thread despite, or because of, having no clue what it means.
This is the thought that should end all those 'films misrepresent my job' threads before they start, but it never does.
Exactly! These people are actors conveying meaning to an audience, not actual users operating actual machines!
August 17, 2025 at 2:31 PM
This is the thought that should end all those 'films misrepresent my job' threads before they start, but it never does.
1. No it isn't, and
2. No they don't.
2. No they don't.
August 9, 2025 at 2:34 PM
1. No it isn't, and
2. No they don't.
2. No they don't.
In March, D. Medvedev said 'Russomania (Russophobia)' could be treated with 'nuclear neuroleptics such as [Russian missles] Yars and Sarmat'. In June, he was unrepentant about 'whipping up nuclear hysteria'. Nobody cared. I wonder why Trump is getting het up about the alcoholic Underground Man now?
August 3, 2025 at 7:54 PM
In March, D. Medvedev said 'Russomania (Russophobia)' could be treated with 'nuclear neuroleptics such as [Russian missles] Yars and Sarmat'. In June, he was unrepentant about 'whipping up nuclear hysteria'. Nobody cared. I wonder why Trump is getting het up about the alcoholic Underground Man now?
Just read that Stalin insisted on adding 'In the USSR' to the title of the official History of the Civil War. You'd think he'd have known it was the RSFSR then, not the USSR.
August 3, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Just read that Stalin insisted on adding 'In the USSR' to the title of the official History of the Civil War. You'd think he'd have known it was the RSFSR then, not the USSR.
Hats off to the Archbishop of Wales, not too proud to carry on delivering groceries for Ocado.
August 3, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Hats off to the Archbishop of Wales, not too proud to carry on delivering groceries for Ocado.
Reposted by Patrick, traversed by lizards
Abandonné.e. À la recherche de la tombe de Wo & Ann. Le récit d'une quête carnetwo.hypotheses.org/1674
Abandonné.e. À la recherche de la tombe de Wo & Ann.
Paris, janvier 2022. Un mail venu de Jérusalem me rappelait à un devoir d’histoire et de mémoire mêlés, auquel je m’étais jusque-là soigneusement dérobée. Une question trop poignante pour qui tentait ...
carnetwo.hypotheses.org
June 22, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Abandonné.e. À la recherche de la tombe de Wo & Ann. Le récit d'une quête carnetwo.hypotheses.org/1674
Move over, Who Gives a Crap. There's a new player in the frankly named bogroll segment.
June 16, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Move over, Who Gives a Crap. There's a new player in the frankly named bogroll segment.
Disappointed at not learning whether everyone on the bus cheered.
May 18, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Disappointed at not learning whether everyone on the bus cheered.
It took ages to escape from its holed egg, but there's now a peregrine chick on Lister Mill - live at www.bradfordperegrines.com/listermills
May 2, 2025 at 7:41 AM
It took ages to escape from its holed egg, but there's now a peregrine chick on Lister Mill - live at www.bradfordperegrines.com/listermills
I've stumbled on the worst ever pseudo-Cyrillic book cover. Bonus points for 'Lieutenant General Ioi Minai Rasera'.
www.encounterbooks.com/books/operat...
www.encounterbooks.com/books/operat...
Operation Dragon - Encounter Books
Former director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey and former Romanian acting spy chief Lt. General Ion Mihai Pacepa, who was granted political asylum in the U.S. in 1978, describe why Russia re...
www.encounterbooks.com
May 1, 2025 at 11:11 AM
I've stumbled on the worst ever pseudo-Cyrillic book cover. Bonus points for 'Lieutenant General Ioi Minai Rasera'.
www.encounterbooks.com/books/operat...
www.encounterbooks.com/books/operat...
Reposted by Patrick, traversed by lizards
I was today years old when I learned about digital fossils.
#AI
#Translation
theconversation.com/a-weird-phra...
#AI
#Translation
theconversation.com/a-weird-phra...
A weird phrase is plaguing scientific papers – and we traced it back to a glitch in AI training data
Once errors creep into the AI knowledge base, they can be very hard to get out.
theconversation.com
April 15, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I was today years old when I learned about digital fossils.
#AI
#Translation
theconversation.com/a-weird-phra...
#AI
#Translation
theconversation.com/a-weird-phra...
Reposted by Patrick, traversed by lizards
🍴 How a #Spanish #translation glitch in an online survey replaced the word ‘yes’ with ‘forks’
www.pewresearch.org/decoded/2025...
via @pewresearch.org
www.pewresearch.org/decoded/2025...
via @pewresearch.org
How a glitch in an online survey replaced the word ‘yes’ with ‘forks’
Dating back to at least early 2023, a bizarre and alarming technical glitch started popping up in some organizations’ online surveys and forms.
www.pewresearch.org
March 27, 2025 at 6:51 PM
🍴 How a #Spanish #translation glitch in an online survey replaced the word ‘yes’ with ‘forks’
www.pewresearch.org/decoded/2025...
via @pewresearch.org
www.pewresearch.org/decoded/2025...
via @pewresearch.org
Nice to wake up to an egg. www.bradfordperegrines.com/listermills
Lister Mills | Bradford Peregrines
www.bradfordperegrines.com
March 22, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Nice to wake up to an egg. www.bradfordperegrines.com/listermills
LibGen guzzled the copyrighted work of *two* members of my immediate family. I'm indignant, sure, but mainly I'm defeated.
March 21, 2025 at 11:37 AM
LibGen guzzled the copyrighted work of *two* members of my immediate family. I'm indignant, sure, but mainly I'm defeated.
Lister Mill peregrines! www.bradfordperegrines.com/post/lister-...
Lister Mill Peregrine Camera is live!
It's been a very long journey but we're excited (and relieved) to announce that our live Peregrine Cam can now be viewed on our Lister Mills page here. It's taken just over a year to get to this point...
www.bradfordperegrines.com
March 19, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Lister Mill peregrines! www.bradfordperegrines.com/post/lister-...
Reposted by Patrick, traversed by lizards
'The Beginning of the End for the Cambridge Five'
@sandbaggerone.bsky.social writes for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Read in full ➡️ tinyurl.com/muwhue9z
Find out more about Dan and his research ⬇️ nottingham.ac.uk/politics/people/daniel.lomas
@sandbaggerone.bsky.social writes for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Read in full ➡️ tinyurl.com/muwhue9z
Find out more about Dan and his research ⬇️ nottingham.ac.uk/politics/people/daniel.lomas
The beginning of the end for the Cambridge Five
The Cambridge Five have achieved a near-mythical status in the history of espionage. Yet their story is about a bygone age whose ideological struggles no longer resonate with the same urgency.
tinyurl.com
February 27, 2025 at 2:25 PM
'The Beginning of the End for the Cambridge Five'
@sandbaggerone.bsky.social writes for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Read in full ➡️ tinyurl.com/muwhue9z
Find out more about Dan and his research ⬇️ nottingham.ac.uk/politics/people/daniel.lomas
@sandbaggerone.bsky.social writes for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Read in full ➡️ tinyurl.com/muwhue9z
Find out more about Dan and his research ⬇️ nottingham.ac.uk/politics/people/daniel.lomas