Brian Probert

Brian Probert

@brianhprobert.bsky.social

Retired British software developer. Yorkshire (near) Dales 68%, Connecticut 32%. Identify as biological male primate.

283 followers449 following3.4K posts

Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

Lunch with @financialtimes.com on Saturday talked to Penny Dash, head of — soon to be abolished — NHS England. She expressed some scepticism of the urgent care centres which were extolled by Yvette Cooper in her very unimpressive interview with Kuenssberg

Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

Good day for renewables

British Electricity Tracker@mygridgb.bsky.social

British electricity mix at 11am on 9th Oct 2026 🔥 Gas 6.7% Biomass 3.6% 🍃 Wind 53.5% Solar 13.6% Hydro 1.9% ⚛️ Nuclear 12.6% 🪫 Storage 0.0% ➡️Imports 8.1% 🔌 Generation 32GW 🌍Carbon intensity 52 gCO2e/kWh Gas use very low

Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

From James Marriott in @thetimes.com "The encounter will remind viewers how much stranger right-wing politics has grown over the past decade. Rees-Mogg was once unsurpassed as a reactionary oddball; Carlson managed to make him seem almost conventional."

Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

Rental rates for supertankers take off due to Middle East wars bsky.app/profile/lemo...

Le Monde@lemonde.fr

« A cause des perturbations autour du détroit d’Ormuz, les pétroliers géants sont devenus des mines d’or flottantes »

lemonde.fr« A cause des perturbations autour du détroit d’Ormuz, les pétroliers géants sont devenus des mines d’or flottantes »Ces dernières semaines, des supertankers d’occasion, capables de transporter 2 millions de barils, ont été achetés plus cher que leur équivalent flambant neuf, constate Isabelle Chaperon, chroniqueuse au service Economie du « Monde ».
Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

On BBC iPlayer, “Children of the Blitz” is a bit too long but the last 15 minutes is particularly moving where they describe their own feelings about the bombing of Germany and their fears for the future

Brian Probert reposted

Walter Olson
@walterolson.bsky.social

"We find a significant and highly robust empirical relationship between gender conservatism and protectionism," since 2008, extending across parties and sexes and "robust to the inclusion of controls meant to isolate gender conservatism from other expressions of conservatism."

cambridge.orgGender-Role Traditionalism and Opposition to Trade in the United States | PS: Political Science & Politics | Cambridge CoreGender-Role Traditionalism and Opposition to Trade in the United States
Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

Just learnt the French for “heat pump” bsky.app/profile/lemo...

Le Monde@lemonde.fr

Pompes à chaleur : le gouvernement lance un leasing pour les ménages modestes

lemonde.frPompes à chaleur : le gouvernement lance un leasing pour les ménages modestesDisponible à partir du 1ᵉʳ octobre, le dispositif s’adresse aux propriétaires de maisons individuelles appartenant aux catégories de revenus modestes et très modestes, comme un couple avec un enfant habitant en Ile-de-France gagnant jusqu’à 4 750 euros par mois à deux.
Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

Asterix artwork auctioned for €1.5 million bsky.app/profile/lemo...

Le Monde@lemonde.fr

Astérix : une couverture originale en couleurs vendue près d’1,5 million d’euros aux enchères, un record

lemonde.frAstérix : une couverture originale en couleurs vendue près d’1,5 million d’euros aux enchères, un recordDédicacée à leur ami et éditeur Georges Dargaud, cette pièce avait initialement été estimée entre 150 000 et 200 000 euros.
Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

This comment about AI running amok breached @thetimes.com guidelines. I’ve no idea why I always think of the Monkey’s Paw where the protagonist makes a wish for £50 only to receive it as compensation for the death of his son in an industrial accident

Brian Probert reposted

Le Monde
@lemonde.fr

Le Rassemblement national s’accorde avec Reform UK sur un plan contre l’immigration clandestine

lemonde.frLe Rassemblement national s’accorde avec Reform UK sur un plan contre l’immigration clandestineSelon le protocole d’accord signé à Birmingham, les demandeurs d’asile arrivant au Royaume-Uni ‌en ayant traversé la Manche seraient placés en ‌détention puis renvoyés en France, dont les autorités se chargeraient de les reconduire dans leur pays ‌d’origine.
Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

from keypublishing.com After the deciding that 51 H bombs could kill 25% of the USSR population the USA amassed 32,193 adding up to 14,037 Megatons. Polaris was developed in only 2 years and a partially-built attack sub was stretched by 130 ft to carry 16 missiles. Weak on Soviet weapons though …

Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

Worth reading if interested in the arms race. Mostly US focussed but some articles about British and French deterrents. Good article about development of US IRBMs / ICBMs -- Thor, Jupiter, Atlas & Titan. Diagrams of bomb bays, dimensions and wts of various bombs. Nothing about China

Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

Last year there was a colossal glacial collapse into an Alaskan fjord regularly frequented by cruise ships but there were none there at the time www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

science.orgA 481-meter-high landslide-tsunami in a cruise ship–frequented Alaska fjordEarly in the morning of 10 August 2025, a >64 × 106–cubic meter landslide struck Tracy Arm fjord in Alaska. The landslide was preconditioned by glacial retreat caused by climate change. The resulting ...
Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

The future has arrived in the form of an ip phone handset and I’m hoping this will fix a problem we’ve had with our international calls randomly hanging up. It cost £20 compared to — as I recall — £45 I paid for the first phone I was able to own outright after BT was privatised back in about 1984

Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

For comparison, British First Class stamps are now £1.80 or about $2.40 bsky.app/profile/wash...

The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com

U.S. Postal Service stamp prices will increase on Sunday. Forever stamps will increase from 78 cents to 82 cents. Domestic and international postcards will cost 65 cents and $1.75, respectively.

washingtonpost.comU.S. Postal Service stamp prices are going up SundayThe agency has grappled with increasing operational costs and decreasing mail volumes.
Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

I’d be interested to hear from anyone who asked CoPilot to ID the characters because it initially misidentified Sikes as Sherlock Holmes! I put it straight on that so did it learn? After prompting it knew the dog was Bullseye but I think it’s a bit weak on image recognition

Brian Probert
@brianhprobert.bsky.social

Keir Starmer is going one better than this and getting rid of juries altogether for inconvenient cases bsky.app/profile/walt...

Walter Olson@walterolson.bsky.social

Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) has introduced a bill to strip federal funds from any group that promotes jury nullification -- or, as my colleague @foxmike90.bsky.social puts it, "dares to educate citizens on the historic conception of the criminal jury as an institution designed to prevent injustice."

cato.orgLawmaker Wants Jurors Kept in the Dark—and She’s Conditioning Federal Funds Upon ItFor generations, the endurance of American liberty has depended on the silent, unwavering resolve of everyday citizens seated in the jury box.