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Mat Bowles@matgb.bsky.social |
47 followers 241 following 400 posts
Displaced Devonian Yorkshireman with tendency to yawn lots
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Shepherd
@neolithicsheep.bsky.social
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There is absolutely no safe way to have a commercial size farm supplying raw dairy and if that contamination actually came from a single cow I will eat an entire sagebrush raw.
4 replies 11 reposts 119 likes
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Christopher Bird
@mightygodking.com
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THAT'S RIGHT MORNING PEOPLE WHO'S SMARTER NOW
2 replies 3 reposts 5 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Rob Reiner is the most culturally influential movie director of my lifetime No one else even comes close. There's a "goes to eleven" reference in Civilization 6 FFS, and that's not even his most quoted movie (also, back this kickstarter, it looks cool)
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Ah, yeah, I have heard it in that context come to think of it, so it might be a both sidesism, looks like "hand truck" searches redirect to sack truck on UK retail sites but a bit smaller. Meh, as long as we know what we're talking about I'm so very glad Cybertrucks'll never be UK road legal
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Ohhhhh... That's what they mean in shows if they reference a dolly Only drawback of that one is it's not all rust proof and I left it outside one winter, still works but won't last long, bought on expenses for a business shutdown clearance job but very useful in our car free household
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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I need a cargo bike. Got a sack truck tho, used it to walk home three whole bags of compost and some groceries once. That's MOAR than that pic (I do live ten minutes walk from the store but, y'know...)
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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I've carried more than that home from the store with my fucking sack truck FFS
(this one: www.screwfix.com/p/3-in-1-han... in case the US has a different name)
3 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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This GenXer would like to object to the description of Killing in the Name as Boomer music. I was going to object to Heaven's Door but found out it's a cover, um, a few minutes ago. Oops Never did get around to watching Devs, had somehow missed it was Garland, not sure how
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Kate Messner
@katemessner.bsky.social
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Hot take: I'm truly not interested in hand wringing over how much people will miss enjoying the books of men who have turned out to be abusers. I'm far more concerned about the missing art that women haven't been able to create/publish because they crossed paths with such men.
13 replies 250 reposts 1155 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Reminds me of the Amazon recruitment thing. "our ML recruitment tool turned out to be incredibly sexist so we discontinued it" Did you change the recruitment practices it learned the bias from? "oh no, no need for that" Rinse and repeat far too many times :-(
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Tade Thompson
@tadethompson.bsky.social
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If you give a Nigerian a drink with a straw in it, you might find that they'll take the straw out and blow through it rigorously before drinking with it. It's not voodoo. Sometimes, in warm climes, small insects take refuge in straws. So we would always blow through first. I still do it on reflex.
44 replies 48 reposts 680 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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I was raised to do that (Dad was a health inspector during the salmonella scandal), it's taken me decades to slowly allow myself runnier eggs, softer omelettes, etc I *know* British shop bought eggs are safe, but my brain still has qualms
0 replies 1 reposts 6 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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That's a gorgeous cover. So often I massively prefer US covers, they focus on the people more, this one's nice If you've not tried the Xuya setting before, there's short stories online or Tea Master and Detective is awesome, I love it, deep future space opera that's avowedly not western culturally
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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The only person I'm aware of they could do that with is Abrams, pretty sure she'd not accept without Harris's support
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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See, if I'd seen that I'd have been weirded out by the main cover, but wanted it anyway because Atic Atak map Admittedly playing the game with a map would mean you'd finish it really quickly and it'd be quite dull (ask me how I know), but still One of the most influential games, still fun
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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I read all the foundation books including the 80s sequels as a teen and… Oh boy, his editor told him he needed women characters. And probably regretted it afterwards
0 replies 0 reposts 4 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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A statue of the Buddha, found in an Egyptian Red Sea port founded by Ptolemy II (yay, sister-fucker is back), made with marble from just outside Constantinople A port linking the Roman world directly to India and beyond, thru which peppercorns traded ended up in Britain How cool is that?
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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I saw it several times in the cinema when I was 19 Because they banned it's release for home VHS for ages so several cinemas just kept a print for late night showings
0 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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I mean, I am very much expecting the Reform party to have an ending similar, politically, to that film but, um, yeah Some people only seem to remember the cafe scene and the walk out
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Years ago I went with a friend to a local castle, neither of us had been there since a school trip. We spent the best part of the day, lunch in the cafe, all the tours In the car park there was an American dude leaving. He was astounded we'd spent all day on ONE castle, he'd "done" 22 Nah mate...
0 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Jim Steinam did that one about 40 yrs ago tho ;-)
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Half an hour per day less than where I grew up (southern tip of South Devon), a whole hour less than me now (Yorkshire) It hadn't really occured to me the general affect hours of daylight would have in America on culture and stuff before Ought to be a plot point in Murder in Paradise really
1 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Preeti Chhibber
@runwithskizzers.bsky.social
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Elementary is a) the best Sherlock adaptation, and b) such an absolute delight to watch, 10000/10 do watch highly rec (ALSO has Lucy Liu dressed like this and come on COME ON)
19 replies 27 reposts 169 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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I have soft spots for stuff like The Blues Brothers, my first exposure to a whole world of music. I also love Joan Jett's Let's Do It from the Tank Girl ost. But currently?
youtu.be/E697J6MlCag?...
If you haven't yet, watch this show, it's great
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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I had no idea that was a cover. Had it one of those great rock songs tapes at school Joe Jackson? That's… not bad at all. Cool
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Dr Brooke Magnanti
@belledejour.bsky.social
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Seriously SERIOUSLY all we were allowed was a whiff of Geena Davis before they took her down. The occasional hint of Jamie Lee Curtis. I weep for what could have been. Imagine a Die Hard where Bonnie Bedelia saves Bruce WIllis's executive ass.
4 replies 5 reposts 60 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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This is how I felt about the Trumps and Ron Desantis when I first read about them We're used to our creepy weird right wingers and forget how utterly strange they are at times
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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It's where Warhammer comes from But didn't actually have much to do with said folk story, they stole it from Yorkshire ~300yrs later
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Mate, I regret to inform you you're almost certainly already in category 2, even if it's just the MEN or some music blog somewhere And given you actually pay attention to your health it probably won't be written by me
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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ryan cooper
@ryanlcooper.com
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reminded of a scene from Terry Pratchett's Going Postal
16 replies 354 reposts 1052 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Nah. They were toast in 1997. They, or something inhabiting their tradition, will rebuild. And Labour will, at some point, either fuck up massively or run out of steam, all govts do If the Tories/Reform are a viable alternative, people will vote for them eventually
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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When they did it in 2001/2005 it was a deliberate 'core votes strategy' to shore up and reassure the base while intentionally setting up to move to the centre when they thought they had a chance, which they did in 2010 This lot don't do strategy, they're going to cargo cult without undertanding
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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I grew up at the very south of England, right on the coast, moving up here to the middle in pennine foothills has been a culture shock Longer days in the summer (~half hour) and no coastal breezes is by far the worst. It's hotter, there's too much sun and I can't jump in the sea to cool
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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And St Paul gets an hour less daylight than me currently. This is one of those unspoken norms that confuse us all Californian houses in TV don't have blackout blinds &c because they don't have long summer nights like here and US schools start earlier because days are shorter, etc
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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They have viewers? That's new
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Micro SF/F by O. Westin
@microsff.com
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A squire rushed in to the great hall.
"Someone," he shouted, "has taken the sword from the stone!"
The assembled knights halted their dinner.
"At last, a king?"
"Who?"
"I don't know," the squire said. "The sword is gone!"
Elsewhere:
"This," Indy muttered, "belongs in a museum.
#MicroFiction
16 replies 139 reposts 555 likes
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Normal Stuart Houghton. Just Innocent Stuart Houghton.
@stuarthoughton.bsky.social
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The James Timpson appointment really shows Starmer's political acumen. He's had the keys to Number 10 for less than 24 hours and boom - he's scored a free spare set.
2 replies 41 reposts 142 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Someone has carved a model of Nobby Nobbs!
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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And more convinced they were against then but actually weren't My Dad telling me about the EEC referendum when I was a preteen compared to his memories of it during Brexit was illuminating about false memories, Europe was GREAT in the early 80s for virtually everyone then it'd always been bad
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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They went all in on Project Fear for No in Scotland, it worked so thought that was all the needed for Europe and actively stopped people and orgs campaigning with other, better messages Really fucking depressing, we knew we'd lost weeks before just from messaging
1 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Oh absolutely, our right wingers are left wing on gun control and very left wing on healthcare by their standards, etc I'm also thinking of the expansion in wind power, etc which is coming out of the infrastructure package but, y'know, it's quibbling. He means well, Cameron never did
1 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Also, it's elections to the '22 Executive, the Committee is all the MPs has been since it was founded (in 1924 IIRC, I forget) I thought I'd go see if I could politely correct but there are SO MANY WRONGNESS I mean, it's still going to be funny to watch
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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I'd put Biden slightly further left, the social programmes and infrastructure stuff he's done would be bafflingly profligate to most Tories, even the very moderate ones He's closer to Starmer, who's both on the right of Labour and very authoritarian
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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And the Loony party are no longer sponsored by a chain of bookmakers who did it for a bit to get their name on all the ballot papers Also they're frequently not funny anymore :-(
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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The weirdest thing is they increase turnout by more than the votes cast for them. "Sir Archibald" says "Remember the only wasted vote is one that’s not used, so if you don’t usually vote then vote unusually!" So people decide to vote for a joke, get there then vote for serious candidates
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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One of those traditions that won't die. You wear them when campaigning to let people know what party you're for, and on the results podium so viewers know who's face you need to read to get the result Each is in the colours of the party and each has to pick a colour that's different. I hated them
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Yup, not seen it but some spoof of Star Wars from the 80s, had some actual talent in it apparently
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Genuinely, Count Buckethead got sued by the owners of the rights to the Count Buckethead character so the guy changed to Binface He runs in by elections and against leaders and is frequently quite funny, although it's a little old now
2 replies 0 reposts 12 likes
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John Bull
@garius.bsky.social
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The bad news continues for the Tories as James Cleverly holds his seat.
1 replies 9 reposts 81 likes
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Mat Bowles
@matgb.bsky.social
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Prominent politicians frequently get joke candidates standing against them, you only need a handful of signatures and a deposit of £500, you get that back if you get 5% of the vote but the jokes don't do that Silly season is when there's very little domestic news, late July and August, different
0 replies 0 reposts 43 likes