Dr Vanessa

@hpsvanessa.bsky.social

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historian of science, medicine, sport and exploration; other content generally but not limited to: food, a weird bug, feminist beer, complaining about bad parking. Latest book: tinyurl.com/HigherColder

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I posted about this - apparently French exit polling is based on the pollsters being able to sample actual ballot boxes while voting is still underway, which means the exit polls are usually exemplary in terms of reliability.

Are french poll predictions better than ours b/c i sure would not be celebrating a victory until the votes were actually counted and the alliance made.

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University of Birmingham Appoints Sandie Okoro OBE as New Chancellor A graduate of Birmingham, Sandie Okoro is a distinguished lawyer and champion for equal rights. www.bellanaija.com/2024/07/birm...

University of Birmingham Appoints Sandie Okoro OBE as New Chancellor | BellaNaijawww.bellanaija.com The University of Birmingham has announced the appointment of Sandie Okoro OBE as its new chancellor. She becomes the university’s eighth chancellor, and - BellaNaija.com. July 7, 2024

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As I am impatiently waiting to board a 9 hour flight, please enjoy this baby duck I meet this week.

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Rare sighting of Nessie at Loch Ness!!!!

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Final holiday question: why are hotel rooms so hot!? In the middle of a cold snap in Scotland we’ve had to have windows open all night & no covers. Assuming it is for overseas tourists who like it hotter but 🥵

I’m the head !!!!

Rare sighting of Nessie at Loch Ness!!!!

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please help! I've been trying to train the cat to wear a harness and have slowly desensitised her to it so I can put it on her (which is huge, huge progress) but when I do she just goes floppy

Hard side eye for any academics blorping on about using AI, it’s an ethical disaster in every dimension and the failure to acknowledge that vs trying to look shiny & clever for the bandwagon is frankly embarrassing.

Google’s emissions are up 48% in 5 years. Microsoft’s are up 30% since 2020. Those soaring figures are being driven by mass investments in data centers to power AI tools. Generative AI is a climate disaster and data center expansion must be stopped.

Generative AI is a climate disasterdisconnect.blog Tech companies are abandoning emissions pledges to chase AI market share

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Sunak's wife looks like a vengeful ghost standing there.

No #DigitalFriday today as I'm on holiday - respecting the work/life balance even on social media. See you next week!

Last politics for the day: seems that where a tory went out labour gained in a landslide, but where labour were incumbent they were hard pressed by small parties, inc single issue indies or the socialist left. This seems the main message?

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two key moments for the new labour govt surely have to be the snide, horrible responses to their own voters from wes streeting and jess phillips when they got rattled about nearly losing their seats

No #DigitalFriday today as I'm on holiday - respecting the work/life balance even on social media. See you next week!

My labour MP got in but only because 2 indie candidates split the protest vote. In the next week or 2 I’ll be writing to him to say that if he wants my vote back I need to hear him stand up for trans people and immigrants against his leadership (he’s already done so for Gaza but 2/3 ain’t enough)

I forgot to take a “live” photo but I voted back on the 23rd June by post in a Glasgow postbox. Take ID if you’re going today & remember you can spoil a ballot. I hope you feel you can vote for someone or something you believe in, rather than just voting against the worst possible people.

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DC folks, there is a boil water advisory for the whole city! Plus the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery and Reagan National Airport. www.dcwater.com/about-dc-wat...

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I have genuinely not known peace since the next prime minister said I shouldn’t have rights ive had all my life two days ago

Even in the rain Scotland’s far north is doing its beach thing #Scourie #balnakeil

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When an article says "some scientists think" then remember this: I, a scientist, once thought I could fit a whole orange in my mouth. I could, it turns out, get it in there, but I hadn't given sufficient thought to the reverse operation.

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'Utrecht University quits X' www.uu.nl/en/news/utre...

Utrecht University quits Xwww.uu.nl As Utrecht University, we choose to no longer use X (formerly Twitter) as part of our communication strategy.

The people who have ruined the Destruction of the Tory Party Day are the Labour Party and their bigoted anti-trans anti-immigrant (etc) centrist nonsense that they’re spouting *despite* a likely landslide, not disenfranchised & human rights threatened bluesky users. Redirect your sulkiness elsewhere

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#WednesdayWonder - same brand of ?beer? Different styles of vulcanite (happy to get hints in what CB stands for here) #Beachcombing

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Hey! Loved the post. Mind if I add something unhelpful?

Furious that I can’t enjoy the long-earned destruction of the tories because Labour are trash now. Glad i live in a never-tory constituency so i can vote with my conscience (e.g. not labour)

Its the fact he said “shouldn’t” for me. Keir Starmer said I shouldn’t have the right to womens spaces And we’re about to watch a nation celebrate this man and grant him massive power

Extremely serious academic (carcinisation at 10%, rampant)

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Just used the ladies toilet at Heathrow. Under the incoming Labour government that will be made a crime.

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Ok I’m going to set up a Gideon bible style service to install shower shelves in all hotels and guesthouses. People will open the bathroom doors and say “oh great, a Vanessa Shelf”

After a week of hotels/hostels/guesthouses my big question remains: why don’t people put shelves in showers?!?! Where are my tiny bottles supposed to go? It is an epidemic. If it were 2007 I’d start a specialist blog rating just the shelf provision in holiday rentals.

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On that note: Trans authors (I mean authors who are trans, NOT cis people who write about trans people), drop your book links here and I'll try to repost as many as I can throughout the day. Cis people: Repost trans authors' book links. Cis people who want to complain about being excluded: gtfo

Being a trans author is fucking weird right now. Hell is actively unfolding all around us but I still need to be like, "hey, everyone, wanna buy my silly little queer book? It won't make anything better, but it's kinda fun?" So....hey, everyone, wanna buy my silly little queer book?