Niall O'Sullivan
@rustyniall.bsky.social
(in no particular order…) poet, essayist, lecturer, gamer, dad
buttondown.com/niall
niall.garden
buttondown.com/niall
niall.garden
Pinned
The Ballad of Binge-Purge
Binge-purge circa 2007 (image created from my own photo and the wonderful Retrospecs app) Back in the early 00s, my friends coined a nickname for me: Binge-...
buttondown.com
Back in the early 00s, my friends coined a nickname for me: Binge-Purge.
buttondown.com/niall/archiv...
buttondown.com/niall/archiv...
Recognised a cinema nemesis from 13 years ago at the parents evening. The tall woman who used to bunch her hair up at the top and sit in front of us at the bring your baby screenings. I was like, "She looks really familiar, wonder if she's on telly or something" and then I was like "YOU..."
December 10, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Recognised a cinema nemesis from 13 years ago at the parents evening. The tall woman who used to bunch her hair up at the top and sit in front of us at the bring your baby screenings. I was like, "She looks really familiar, wonder if she's on telly or something" and then I was like "YOU..."
“Are you going to Nikolai Gogol to the bathroom?” Words I just said to my eldest.
December 8, 2025 at 10:35 PM
“Are you going to Nikolai Gogol to the bathroom?” Words I just said to my eldest.
One reason why I think that we won't get a decent poem from an LLM is that they probably scraped all of poemhunter and poetry dot com and there's no coming back from that.
December 7, 2025 at 11:43 PM
One reason why I think that we won't get a decent poem from an LLM is that they probably scraped all of poemhunter and poetry dot com and there's no coming back from that.
Back in the early 00s, my friends coined a nickname for me: Binge-Purge.
buttondown.com/niall/archiv...
buttondown.com/niall/archiv...
The Ballad of Binge-Purge
Binge-purge circa 2007 (image created from my own photo and the wonderful Retrospecs app) Back in the early 00s, my friends coined a nickname for me: Binge-...
buttondown.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Back in the early 00s, my friends coined a nickname for me: Binge-Purge.
buttondown.com/niall/archiv...
buttondown.com/niall/archiv...
Reposted by Niall O'Sullivan
'I believe that maturity is not an outgrowing but a growing up: that an adult is not a dead child, but a child who survived... all the best faculties of a mature human being exist in the child... one of the most deeply human, and humane, of these faculties is the power of imagination’ Ursula le Guin
December 5, 2025 at 10:21 AM
'I believe that maturity is not an outgrowing but a growing up: that an adult is not a dead child, but a child who survived... all the best faculties of a mature human being exist in the child... one of the most deeply human, and humane, of these faculties is the power of imagination’ Ursula le Guin
Reposted by Niall O'Sullivan
i hate that i have to post this (and will likely delete after today), but please don't @ me with your spotify stats.
i appreciate the support & know it comes from a good place, but i really would like you to find another streaming service.
i appreciate the support & know it comes from a good place, but i really would like you to find another streaming service.
December 3, 2025 at 6:03 PM
i hate that i have to post this (and will likely delete after today), but please don't @ me with your spotify stats.
i appreciate the support & know it comes from a good place, but i really would like you to find another streaming service.
i appreciate the support & know it comes from a good place, but i really would like you to find another streaming service.
The Grauniad have spaffed out two overly credulous interviews in just as many days. The first allows an AI CEO to do the usual "This will change everything but could be really dangerous" sales pitch disguised as insight and today it's some lib friendly version of the same old manosphere bollocks.
December 3, 2025 at 5:55 PM
The Grauniad have spaffed out two overly credulous interviews in just as many days. The first allows an AI CEO to do the usual "This will change everything but could be really dangerous" sales pitch disguised as insight and today it's some lib friendly version of the same old manosphere bollocks.
Reposted by Niall O'Sullivan
Your annual reminder that the most revealing difference between Irish and Scottish Gaelic is definitely in the words for December: Mí na Nollag (Month of Christmas) in Ireland, and An Dubhlachd (the Blackness) in Scotland. So once again may I wish you all a lovely Blackness.
December 1, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Your annual reminder that the most revealing difference between Irish and Scottish Gaelic is definitely in the words for December: Mí na Nollag (Month of Christmas) in Ireland, and An Dubhlachd (the Blackness) in Scotland. So once again may I wish you all a lovely Blackness.
Reposted by Niall O'Sullivan
This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥
December 1, 2025 at 11:09 AM
This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥
I played Megaman 7, got lots of work done and now have carpal tunnel syndrome.
I'm going to try a bit of pomodoro today to get through some work that I find to be a slog. I'm thinking of playing a retro, pico-8 or UFO 50 game in short bursts during the five minute breaks. Something that can be played in short bursts that isn't tetris (don't hate it but played it too much).
December 1, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I played Megaman 7, got lots of work done and now have carpal tunnel syndrome.
I'm going to try a bit of pomodoro today to get through some work that I find to be a slog. I'm thinking of playing a retro, pico-8 or UFO 50 game in short bursts during the five minute breaks. Something that can be played in short bursts that isn't tetris (don't hate it but played it too much).
December 1, 2025 at 7:12 AM
I'm going to try a bit of pomodoro today to get through some work that I find to be a slog. I'm thinking of playing a retro, pico-8 or UFO 50 game in short bursts during the five minute breaks. Something that can be played in short bursts that isn't tetris (don't hate it but played it too much).
Reposted by Niall O'Sullivan
"oh, don't forget to highlight, in bright red, the two-letter word in the tagline! the two letter word that's kind of the whole point of this clever ad campaign! the two letter word that links this show to the horror movie of the same name!"
"no problem boss. i'm on it"
"no problem boss. i'm on it"
November 29, 2025 at 8:51 PM
"oh, don't forget to highlight, in bright red, the two-letter word in the tagline! the two letter word that's kind of the whole point of this clever ad campaign! the two letter word that links this show to the horror movie of the same name!"
"no problem boss. i'm on it"
"no problem boss. i'm on it"
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at our phones.
November 29, 2025 at 2:54 PM
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at our phones.
Reposted by Niall O'Sullivan
We are dealing with some threats to sue for defamation brought by Kate Clanchy against, it will surprise no one who has followed this unfortunate saga, a woman of colour.
I understand this isn't Ms Clanchy's first rodeo and if you've also received such a threat please do get in contact.
I understand this isn't Ms Clanchy's first rodeo and if you've also received such a threat please do get in contact.
November 25, 2025 at 5:42 PM
We are dealing with some threats to sue for defamation brought by Kate Clanchy against, it will surprise no one who has followed this unfortunate saga, a woman of colour.
I understand this isn't Ms Clanchy's first rodeo and if you've also received such a threat please do get in contact.
I understand this isn't Ms Clanchy's first rodeo and if you've also received such a threat please do get in contact.
Just had a "Goblincore" suggested playlist pop up on the streaming app and didn't know what it was so I clicked on it and it was just lots of stuff that I've already been listening to.
November 26, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Just had a "Goblincore" suggested playlist pop up on the streaming app and didn't know what it was so I clicked on it and it was just lots of stuff that I've already been listening to.
www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/...
Bookmarking this for the next time a student asks about the value of poetry.
Bookmarking this for the next time a student asks about the value of poetry.
Poets are now cybersecurity threats: Researchers used 'adversarial poetry' to trick AI into ignoring its safety guard rails and it worked 62% of the time
Hacking the planet with florid verse.
www.pcgamer.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:49 AM
www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/...
Bookmarking this for the next time a student asks about the value of poetry.
Bookmarking this for the next time a student asks about the value of poetry.
I was thinking of getting some new hardware next year and was thinking of a Framework laptop until I saw their inability to take back their promotion and support of a distro made by a racist. Now it looks like my Linux adventure will continue with a Steam Machine instead.
November 13, 2025 at 9:41 AM
I was thinking of getting some new hardware next year and was thinking of a Framework laptop until I saw their inability to take back their promotion and support of a distro made by a racist. Now it looks like my Linux adventure will continue with a Steam Machine instead.
So Trump is going to sue the BBC for editing a speech to make it look like he was encouraging the rioters that he later referred to as martyrs and pardoned?
November 10, 2025 at 4:29 PM
So Trump is going to sue the BBC for editing a speech to make it look like he was encouraging the rioters that he later referred to as martyrs and pardoned?
There as a man singing and toasting to reggae blasting from a speaker outside Brixton station this evening. The only lyrics I made out as I passed by were:
"Me lovin' in the mornin'...
me loving in the evenin'...
BLUDCLAAAT!!!"
It stayed in my head all the way home.
"Me lovin' in the mornin'...
me loving in the evenin'...
BLUDCLAAAT!!!"
It stayed in my head all the way home.
November 7, 2025 at 1:25 PM
There as a man singing and toasting to reggae blasting from a speaker outside Brixton station this evening. The only lyrics I made out as I passed by were:
"Me lovin' in the mornin'...
me loving in the evenin'...
BLUDCLAAAT!!!"
It stayed in my head all the way home.
"Me lovin' in the mornin'...
me loving in the evenin'...
BLUDCLAAAT!!!"
It stayed in my head all the way home.
There as a man singing and toasting to reggae blasting from a speaker outside Brixton station this evening. The only lyrics I made out as I passed by were:
"Me lovin' in the mornin'...
me loving in the evenin'...
BLUDCLAAAT!!!"
It stayed in my head all the way home.
"Me lovin' in the mornin'...
me loving in the evenin'...
BLUDCLAAAT!!!"
It stayed in my head all the way home.
November 6, 2025 at 8:36 PM
There as a man singing and toasting to reggae blasting from a speaker outside Brixton station this evening. The only lyrics I made out as I passed by were:
"Me lovin' in the mornin'...
me loving in the evenin'...
BLUDCLAAAT!!!"
It stayed in my head all the way home.
"Me lovin' in the mornin'...
me loving in the evenin'...
BLUDCLAAAT!!!"
It stayed in my head all the way home.
I have to remind myself that responding to a post from the Spectator on Bluesky is like responding to a turd someone posted through your letterbox in the middle of the night. They've already legged it.
November 5, 2025 at 1:56 PM
I have to remind myself that responding to a post from the Spectator on Bluesky is like responding to a turd someone posted through your letterbox in the middle of the night. They've already legged it.
Find someone who'll fight for you like the Oxbridge mafia at the broadsheets and BBC fight for someone that was accused of writing racist descriptions of schoolchildren.
[[notes - 2025]]
https://niall.garden/oxbridge_mafia
[[notes - 2025]]
https://niall.garden/oxbridge_mafia
November 4, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Find someone who'll fight for you like the Oxbridge mafia at the broadsheets and BBC fight for someone that was accused of writing racist descriptions of schoolchildren.
[[notes - 2025]]
https://niall.garden/oxbridge_mafia
[[notes - 2025]]
https://niall.garden/oxbridge_mafia
If my tinkering was successful, this post will appear on my digital garden (https://niall.garden) but also my Mastodon (https://sunny.garden/@rustyniall) and Bluesky (bsky.app/profile/rustyniall.bsky.social), meaning that I am a very clever boy (they probably won't https://niall.garden/a_little_test
November 4, 2025 at 4:44 PM
If my tinkering was successful, this post will appear on my digital garden (https://niall.garden) but also my Mastodon (https://sunny.garden/@rustyniall) and Bluesky (bsky.app/profile/rustyniall.bsky.social), meaning that I am a very clever boy (they probably won't https://niall.garden/a_little_test
Sometimes I think "Am I really qualified to write about this, have I done enough research?"Later, I read 800 inane, witless and uninformed words from a columnist in a national newspaper and realise that I'm fretting about the integrity of something that's going to be read by about 50 people.
November 3, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Sometimes I think "Am I really qualified to write about this, have I done enough research?"Later, I read 800 inane, witless and uninformed words from a columnist in a national newspaper and realise that I'm fretting about the integrity of something that's going to be read by about 50 people.
Every now and again I get recommended a video on YouTube, watch it for about a minute and slowly come to suspect that it's 100% AI generated, the script, the voice, the music, the visuals. Then I click on the channel page and it becomes obvious by merit of how many videos they're able to churn out.
October 31, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Every now and again I get recommended a video on YouTube, watch it for about a minute and slowly come to suspect that it's 100% AI generated, the script, the voice, the music, the visuals. Then I click on the channel page and it becomes obvious by merit of how many videos they're able to churn out.