Chris Baraniuk

Back to hibernation for me 😂

share.googleOctopus unveils Cosy Cooler to add to the Cosy heat pump to provide coolingOctopus Energy has unveiled the Cosy Cooler – a new gadget that turns the Cosy heat pump into a home cooling system. Instead of installing an entirely sepa

Breaking out of social media hibernation to post about this: From next year, Octopus are going to sell a heat pump add-on that will circulate *cold* water around your radiators during hot weather... 🥶 This one will get people talking!! share.google/dkodQnC7mZDm...

Posting this here for clarity: bsky.app/profile/chri...

Chris Baraniuk@chrisbaraniuk.com

So, I have an update on this... A PR for Octopus gets in touch to say that the original press release about this product was inaccurate! It will *not* circulate cool water around rads as the means of cooling.

Chris Baraniuk@chrisbaraniuk.com

The spokesman explains: "The system actively draws in warm air from the room, removing the heat with a heat exchanger and blowing the cooler air back into the space. "The heat it removes is transferred through the heating pipework to the outdoor Cosy Heat Pump, which releases it outside."

They add: "This means it can actively cool a room without needing the exhaust duct" This makes a lot more sense!! They say that internal tests found the unit could drop a room's temp from 30C to 20C in 90 minutes.

the-scientist.comA Mysterious Fungus Threatens Cheese in the Northeast US | The ScientistA multi-year investigation identified Aspergillus westerdijkiae as the culprit behind decaying cheese rinds and provided a way to stop this fungal menace.

Friends, I'm taking a big step back from social media - it feels GREAT - but I am briefly posting here to alert you to my latest article about *fungus-infected cheese*. Enjoy! www.the-scientist.com/a-mysterious...

Chris Baraniuk reposted

bbc.co.ukEagles and wolves: The long-lost animals that live on in Irish place namesLong-standing Irish place names hark back to a world alive with cranes, wolves and eagles. Now these old names are piquing the interest of nature-lovers and ecologists.

NEW: Writing this meant a lot to me! Irish place names are extraordinarily rich wells of meaning. Many of them refer to wildlife or landscapes - often much more vividly than English translations. These names are even prompting discussions around nature restoration... www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

People just come off with stuff like this don't they. "Journalism? AI now babe!" As a journalist, this is wrong. While some journalists ARE using AI for certain tasks (I'm not), publications are actively asking me to avoid AI for most things for good reasons: accuracy, accountability, style, etc

hailey@hailey.at

journalism? ai is getting there medical? ai is getting there legal? ai is getting there farming? ai is getting there art? ai is getting there you can absolutely be a part of the creative and design process with ai, and you very well may keep a job! but your job is going to be very different

And, by the way, I hear quite a bit from readers who seem to agree with this!

chrisbaraniuk.medium.comHow this human writesWhen I was 17, I emailed an article, unsolicited, to the editor of a local newspaper. They never acknowledged my email, and they certainly…

If you want more from me on this, I wrote this recently: chrisbaraniuk.medium.com/how-this-hum...

hailey@hailey.at

I do think journalists are going to have to work harder to identify and ring fence areas of our work that are no-AI zones, and show why. Off the top of my head, things like: Interviewing victims, responding to reader concerns/queries, field reporting, and lots of aspects of fact-checking.

I could list a lot more but you get the idea. There's a lot we are going to continue to want human hands and eyes on. I don't doubt that fewer jobs will be there - that's been the case for decades folks - but we are still going to need more than one or two people on this stuff.

hailey@hailey.at

I just got an editorial policy through from a client on Friday spelling this out - and I made sure to emphasise that I was fully in support of it in my reply.

reddit.comFrom the Damnthatsinteresting community on Reddit: Wind turbines intentionally sway that to prevent it from snapping like a twig. This video shows it clearly from the inside.Explore this post and more from the Damnthatsinteresting community

Wind turbine towers sway in the wind and are designed to tolerate that motion. This video reveals what it looks like from the inside: www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsi...

12 Sept

My biggest tomatoes this year! They are all in the process of ripening. Sadly the largest of the three got a touch of blight but I have conducted very precise surgery and cut it out, and am hoping for the best. 🤞🏻

"There's a connection between the environment and the Irish language," says Mairéad Nic Craith. "It reflects a people who took more notice, and who had maybe more time to notice the environment than we do nowadays." www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

Chris Baraniuk reposted

Jenny Chase

@solarchase.bsky.social

@stephenjarvis.bsky.social

Replying to @solarchase.bsky.social

Everyone is all "batteries will save us" and the next phase is clearly batteries to reduce demand for dispatchable power, but the problem for getting to actual net-zero is still there: once we have enough batteries they will sit full all summer and empty all winter.

Chris Baraniuk reposted

Stephen Jarvis

businessgreen.comNational Audit Office: Britain faces 'very challenging' path to clean power by 2030Spending watchdog warns energy bills will rise, unless work to upgrade power grid rapidly accelerates

With zonal market reforms ruled out and a whole bunch more renewable generation on the way, failing to do more to upgrade the grid over the last decade is becoming increasingly costly. These network projects now really do need to happen as fast as possible.

James Murray@james-bg.bsky.social

NAO report on rising constraint costs and the pace of grid projects, plus the headlines it has triggered, will have alarm bells ringing in government. Although in fairness they have been ringing since day one. www.businessgreen.com/news/4535591...

thereengineer.proWhy don’t we make more use of the heat that lives in tunnels?This could be the start of a new underground movement

NEW: On the fascinating efforts to harvest heat from railway tunnels, train station commuters and the New York subway. Such schemes could be a lot more common. www.thereengineer.pro/p/why-dont-w...

Chris Baraniuk reposted

Damian Carrington

@dpcarrington.bsky.social

theguardian.comNHS reports busiest ever summer as heatwaves drive up hospital admissionsHealth secretary says extreme demand no longer confined to winter as service in England warns of knock-on effects

NHS England reports “busiest summer in its history” as heatwaves drive up hospital admissions #climatemergency www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

trib.alGas stations in America are starting to max out their displays with $9.999 pricesGas station displays typically only have four digits, meaning they can’t show $10 or more per gallon prices

Overflow error in the wild.

The Independent@the-independent.com

Gas stations in America are starting to max out their displays with $9.999 prices

bbc.co.ukThe number glitch that can lead to catastropheA simple and potentially dangerous bug afflicts computers controlling planes, spacecraft and more – they get confused by big numbers. Chris Baraniuk reports.

(Explanation here, in this very old article of mine! www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic... <- it includes a reference to Gandhi's behaviour in the video game Civilization, which has since been discredited!)

oh no they found my page

depths of wikipedia@depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social

never a good start

@caryocatactes.bsky.social Hello, I have a question about insects - would you mind following and sending a direct message?

theguardian.com‘That was all secret’: the ‘gay mole’ who fought the BBC to show the first queer kiss on kids’ TVEveryone thinks Byker Grove broke the taboo in 1994, but another teen drama got there first. Here’s the astonishing story of Two of Us, which put a gay relationship on UK screens – and was the origina...

This is absolutely fascinating, and sad also. "Two of Us" is such a bloody brilliant title as well

Scott Bryan@scottygb.bsky.social

An extract of my new book Out Now in The Guardian. It is the most astonishing story of how a same sex kiss was broadcast on the BBC back in 1990, without BBC executives knowing at the time. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Chris Baraniuk reposted

Prof Sheena Cruickshank

@sheencr.bsky.social

urldefense.comHow Immunology is Transforming Cancer CareA summary of recent highlights and emerging directions in immunotherapies and cancer care

There have been a few cancer stories in the press of late so I hope you enjoy my summary of some of the ways that immunology is transforming cancer care 🧪🧵

I watched this live. Not only did Alcaraz walk off from a gruelling late night match, which he lost, while beaming a huge smile... You see that guy at the tunnel entrance behind him? Carlos gave him a little fist bump too. What a sportsman. Greatest I've ever seen. www.reddit.com/r/tennis/s/Y...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.ukPolice launch criminal investigation into Reform UK donationsThe investigation, which follows a broadcast by Channel 4 News, is being folded into the inquiry that has been underway into other donations.

Chris Baraniuk reposted

Jake Kanter

@jakekanter.bsky.social

deadline.comChannel 4 Confirms Plans To Cut 340 Jobs'The Great British Bake Off' broadcaster Channel 4 has announced the deepest round of layoffs in its 43-year history.

Grim media news: Channel 4 will cut more than a quarter of its workforce before the end of the year. The 340 redundancies are the biggest round of layoffs in Channel 4's history. deadline.com/2026/09/chan...

If you're just waking up and have access to it, the US Open match between Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz is pretty amazing. #usopen I've been up since 4am lol

We're now in a fifth set tie break. Players have been going for 4 hours 15 minutes. It's 3.22am in New York. An absolute marathon. #usopen

Shelton wins! Massive kudos to him, and I say that as a Carlos fan! #usopen

bbc.co.ukMore than 40 parakeets killed in south-east London parkThe Greenwich Wildlife Network says the birds have been killed by young people using catapults.

Oh gosh this is awful. 43 birds in three weeks. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

medium.comHow this human writesWhen I was 17, I emailed an article, unsolicited, to the editor of a local newspaper. They never acknowledged my email, and they certainly…

Some reflections in the age of chatbots. medium.com/@chrisbarani...

bmj.comCoroner confirms US measles death while CDC count remains at zero amid row over the fatalitiesA child has been confirmed to have died of measles by the coroner of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania—the first such death in Pennsylvania for 35 years.1 It follows intense scrutiny over the case, in w...

NEW: My overview of where we are with the confusing, and concerning, situation around measles cases in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. www.bmj.com/content/394/...

Woah, big news. Have loved watching Gardeners' World in recent years. As I got into gardening during the worst years of the pandemic, the show was arguably at its height. People sending in videos from their lockdown gardens and so on. Really touching stuff. Monty has been a steady hand at the helm.

BBC Gardeners' World Mag@gardenersworldmag.bsky.social

Monty Don has announced he is stepping down as presenter of BBC Gardeners’ World, after 23 years.

Chris Baraniuk reposted

Amy Borrett

@amyborrett.ft.com

as.ft.comBritain’s grid operator gave Palantir contract without inviting rival bidsNeso cited a legal exemption that removes the requirement to consider other suppliers if dependencies leave no alternative

Britain’s state-owned electricity system operator has awarded Palantir a £21mn contract without inviting rival bids, arguing critical processes are too reliant on its tech to run a competitive procurement process Latest for @financialtimes.com: as.ft.com/r/7fe6c0b7-2...

bbc.co.ukDolly Parton's sister pleads for end to 'AI garbage' posts after singer's deathSince Parton's death in late August, dozens of AI-generated songs, images and videos have appeared online.

7 Sept

Dolly Parton's sister pleads for end to 'AI garbage' posts after singer's death www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

6 Sept

Fabulous to be watching Carlos Alcaraz at a grand slam again. A generational talent, just enthralling to behold. #usopen

6 Sept

Wildflowers = visiting colours.

trib.alThe eight-hour sleep rule is outdated. Here’s how much you really needThe idea dates back to the mid-19th century when the notion of eight hours of work, eight for recreation and eight for sleep first took hold

6 Sept

Yes but how much do I "really need" to be awake

The Independent@the-independent.com

The eight-hour sleep rule is outdated. Here’s how much you really need

thereengineer.proNepal tragedy: Satellite images could enable new warning systems for disasters like thisThe huge scale of the flash flood has perplexed scientists

5 Sept

"Climate change 'probably has an impact here,' he says. The Prime Minister of Nepal has said as much. And the British Antarctic Survey notes that ground temperatures in the area near the collapsed part of the mountain were unusually high before the landslide." www.thereengineer.pro/p/nepal-trag...

Random question. Does anyone know why the international version of Ken Burns' documentary series on the American Revolution has been cut by almost half its full length (as on PBS)? I can't see official confirmation of this but judging by episode lengths in the US versus elsewhere, it's true!

A friend said AI had confused them about this. I, of course, took the chance to try and be more helpful! And while I could find confirmation of episode lengths online, I couldn't find any statements / explanations...

I've seen a few people mention it on social media is all. Seems odd not to have a broadcaster or publisher just state "yeah the international version is shorter that's what we did".

motherjones.comChatGPT took our stories. We’re suing.Guess whose side he's on?

Really interesting. So simple as well. Just pointing out "We worked so hard to get these scoops - and that has been erased" (my phrasing). www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Chris Baraniuk reposted

thereengineer.proNepal tragedy: Satellite images could enable new warning systems for disasters like thisThe huge scale of the flash flood has perplexed scientists

NEW: I spoke to people combing through satellite images of the disaster in Nepal. They still have questions about how such a massive deluge unfolded. But there is also hope that we could use satellite data to build better warning systems for events like this. www.thereengineer.pro/p/nepal-trag...