Ian Robinson

If you like the nonsense I post here on Bluesky, follow my bridged Mastodon account. It automatically posts what I post on Mastodon here on Bluesky. @ianRobinson.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy

Listening to Dear Hank & John: 471: Letters From Florida podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/d... Hank and John Green answer questions on saucepan shapes, author influence on books, animal ageing, job rejection emails and mammalian morning sickness. #Podcast

Scott Myers’s annual list of awards season screenplays to legally download has started. The script for Obsession kicks off the list this year. #Film #Scripts 2026 Award Season Screenplays —1 New Script https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2026-award-season-screenplays-1-new-script/

2026 Hey Siri Songs - Day 298 "Hey Siri. Play Savior Complex by Peyton Shay." #Nite #HomePod #Music #PeytonShay Apple Music: music.apple.com/gb/album/sav... Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/3v2V0X...

New candidate Dwarf Planet discovered using Vera Rubin telescope observations. Cool 😊 7-minute video: youtu.be/8NIwXWwKOpw #Science #Astronomy #SolarSystem

The FT has a detailed expose of Donald Trump Jr's corrupt visit to Mongolia with Putin-aligned oligarch Umar Kremlev (the same guy who paid for Don Jr's wedding celebration, yes). Note also that Don Jr. sold the right to accompany him on the trip literally to the highest bidder: by auction.

Highlights from Day One of the Third Test between South Africa and Australia at Cape Town. A remarkable bit of bowling by Mitchell Starc with the second new ball. After the Australians didn’t get the first new ball to do much. 21-minute video: https://youtu.be/-7CGQ3j4oPY #Cricket

The Dune Part 3 final trailer doesn’t give me much hope they haven’t changed the story in more nonsensical ways. The ending of Part 2 probably mandated more changes.

As the midterms approach, I would just remind everyone that US politics has become increasingly parliamentary and that what matters most is the *number* of Ds or Rs, not the idiosyncrasies or ideological quirks of individual candidates. If you want D outcomes, vote D up & down the ticket.

In Brazil as in the USA, the far-right has flooded into social media channels. But instead of just bemoaning the reactionary dominance, Lula and his team embraced social media, and it was why he won.

Watching this week’s Met Office Deep Dive. The best weather show each week. Fact! 33-minute video: youtu.be/t3YqY_zRmb4 #Weather #MetOffice

Watching this week’s Met Office Deep Dive. The best weather show each week. Fact! 33-minute video: youtu.be/t3YqY_zRmb4 #Weather #MetOffice

Fucking YouTubers complaining that the new iPad mini A20 has a 60 MHz refresh rate screen. Rage-bait click farming, arseholes. (Tell us what you really think, Ian!) #Apple

Brian Tyler Cohen chats with Congressman Raskin about the new report on evidence of Trump's alleged crimes against young women. 21-minute video: youtu.be/OEVCdif60yQ It’s very similar to how Weinstein operated. I hope I live long enough to see justice for the victims of these vile people.

Today we lost Walter Koenig. Some thoughts about a fine actor and genuinely nice guy....

I don't have much hope for Israel whoever wins but Netanyahu is one of the most disgusting politicians of modern times. He represents all of his country's foulest instincts. It can't even begin to recover until he and his fascist ministers have been rejected

New M6 iMac details available: https://www.apple.com/uk/imac/ #Apple #iMac

New M6 MacBook Pro details are out: https://www.apple.com/uk/macbook-pro/ #Mac #Apple

Nocturn by Kate Bush. That’s it. That’s the post. Apple Music: music.apple.com/gb/album/noc... Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/72PLLU... #Music #KateBush

My latest cartoon for @newscientist.com

On Industrial Placement, you could contribute to high-impact work, learn new skills, and meet new people. Read about previous placements: buff.ly/0vsceyx Our 2027 placements are live: buff.ly/tdJyjk2

Researchers have gained more insight into how the parasite that causes malaria gains entry into red blood cells. On the latest episode of The Quanta Podcast, writer @jojofoshosho.bsky.social dives into just how malaria got caught breaking and entering: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

The best of Sir Arnold from Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister. So good 😊 20-minute video: youtu.be/otYGs7GQX_g #BBC #Comedy

A week until the US electorate hands the Republican Party a huge defeat. Then we’ll have the perilous period of the lame duck Congress until the next one is sworn in next January. It’s going to be a tense Winter. Oh, and hopefully the Israeli electorate will vote for change today. 🤞🏻 #USPolitics

Scott Boland not in the Australian side? He was the top bowler and a passible batter in the previous Test. Is he injured? If I was him I’d rake in as much cash as I could on the franchise circuit rather than carry drinks in the Australian squad. #Cricket

Microsoft offers to buy out a quarter of its workforce - Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/10/microsoft-offers-voluntary-buyouts-to-60000-employees/

I’m going to order the WiFi 256GB iPad mini with Nano Texture glass and an Apple Pencil Pro, with a Smart Folio cover. I see the new model supports extended display on an external monitor. So I can use it as a Mac mini replacement for work if ever needed. They could have named it iPad mini Pro.

2026 Hey Siri Songs - Day 297 "Hey Siri. Play Couldn't Be Better by The Sweeplings." #Nite #HomePod #Music #TheSweeplings Apple Music: music.apple.com/gb/album/cou... Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/2u9e5o...

This week @adambecker.bsky.social speaks with @gilduran.com , author of the NYT bestseller, The Nerd Reich. Listen tomorrow morning starting at 5am. #datmpodcast #gilduran #nerdreich @multitudeshows.com

Apple Music has the new icon in iOS 27.2. I haven’t used it yet to see if the functionality has changed. #AppleMusic

Dead bodies of students lying on the ground in black body bags after Russia bombed students’ dorm in Kyiv. Monday .

I of course loved him as Chekov, but playing Bester on BABYLON 5 really showed his range. You really forgot the guy ever *was* Chekov in that role. RIP Walter Koenig.

Good grief.

Once more unto the breach

Roose does a very nice job signaling in the second paragraph what sort of book this will be. He decided to write it the night after partying with ketamine-snorting effective accelerationists. He isn’t e/acc himself, but he hangs with that crowd and accepts their premises as newsworthy,

iOS 27.2 is available.

In case facts still matter

Heaven. “OLED comes to iPad mini. The new Super Retina XDR display delivers deep, vivid colours and incredibly high contrast for your viewing pleasure. With 1,200 nits peak brightness and 1 nit minimum brightness, content is easy on the eyes in any light.”

This instrumental, Arvet by Sunnan, sounds like the result of a whiskey-fuelled jam session featuring Paul Simon, a spaghetti western soundtrack composer, and the folk band Incantation. Like 👍🏻 Apple Music: music.apple.com/gb/album/arv... Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/1UTQM2... #Music #Sunnan

People abroad don't understand the level of interference Meta & bots had in these elections. 5 days before the election a far-right politician posted a fake news video that got 157 MILLION views on Instagram in 24hs. For reference, GTA 6's reveal trailer got 90 million views on YouTube in 24hs.

Unsubscribed. There’s still about 9 months to go on my current subscription.

Kevin Roose on Decoder. Deleted. Very close to unsubscribing. It’s basically an AI booster podcast now.

Apple Music: music.apple.com/gb/playlist/... Spotify: open.spotify.com/playlist/1Yc...

Hand-picked new music for 25th October, 2026. The playlists below feature a selected track from each release I added to my music library this week. 23 new tracks, all chosen by me – 1 hour & 19 minutes of new music in no particular order! With more on the associated albums and EPs. #Music #NewMusic