Professor Tom Crick

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!

Very sad news…

Very fun read: “How far back in time can you understand English? An experiment in language change”

www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/how-far-ba...

A collage of traditional illustrations celebrating Zelda 1’s 40th anniversary. A gleeok, Zelda and Link holding up pieces of the Triforce, Pink Link, and three Link illustrations surround the Zelda 1 title screen logo.

Happy 40th Anniversary, Zelda 1 and The Legend of Zelda!! 🔺💕💣✨🧚🏼‍♀️

#Zelda #Artposting

Director General for Emerging Technology and Artificial Intelligence Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 22nd March 2026 Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Apply at advertiser's site Reference number 450276 Salary £174,000

Significant job this one. A chance to shape tech to work for the public interest.

Director General for Emerging Technology and Artificial Intelligence at the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. (£174k)
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi...

What happens to a car when the company behind its software goes under? Connected car servers won't be online indefinitely, and startups often go bust.

What happens to a car when the company behind its software goes under? arstechnica.com/cars/2026/02...

New report urges broader definition of “open research" to include arts, humanities and social science practices As Open Research gains traction across the research landscape, a new report challenges funders and institutions to expand their understanding of openness to better reflect arts, humanities and social ...

New report urges broader definition of “open research" to include arts, humanities and social science practices www.lib.cam.ac.uk/stories/morp... #openresearch

The RAM shortage is coming for everything you care about Did you think you could escape?

In related news: "The RAM shortage is coming for everything you care about" www.theverge.com/tech/880812/...

Thanks Eerke — I had completely forgotten to reply to Jon’s post so will do so! Keen to have wider engagement from the CS community as this work progresses, especially from both a technical and metascience perspective.

👌

WD and Seagate confirm: Hard drives for 2026 sold out Hyperscalers are tearing hard drives out of the hands of manufacturers. Prices are therefore also rising for SSDs.

WD and Seagate confirm: Hard drives for 2026 sold out

[Email to journal editors after manuscript rejection]

Old burgundy UK passport and new navy blue UK passport

End of an era

North London measles outbreak hits several schools with tens of children infected A number of children have been hospitalised as officials urge families to check they are up to date with their vaccines.

'Fast-spreading' measles outbreak hits several schools in London www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘Regrets? Number one: smoking. Number two: taking it up the wrong hole’: Tracey Emin on reputation, radical honesty – and Reform She scandalised the art world in the 1990s with her unmade bed, partied hard in the 2000s – then a brush with death turned the artist’s life upside down. Now she’s as frank as ever

‘Regrets? Number one: smoking. Number two: taking it up the wrong hole’: Tracey Emin on reputation, radical honesty – and Reform

A post on threads from user stephens_bens. It reads 'I'll always remember an interview with Steve Buscemi on Bulleye, Jesse Thorn asked him "As an actor with many decades of varied and outstanding roles across your career, does it ever bother you that one of the things you will most be remembered for is a 3-second gif in which you're wearing a backwards baseball cap and carrying a skateboard?" And without missing a beat, Buscemi replied "I'm carrying *two* skateboards." And you know what? He is.' Below that is a screen cap of Buscemi's famous "fellow kids" moment.

I never noticed this either.

Wales is fixing its ambulance service — by sending out fewer ambulances The Welsh ambulance service was in a dangerous crisis. Now drones, volunteers, video calls and AI are helping call handlers in Newport send ambulances only to the 999 callers who really need one

Wales is fixing its ambulance service — by sending out fewer ambulances www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...

The last nuclear weapons treaty between the US and Russia is about to fall—and no one seems to care Experts warn there will be no legally-binding limits on the two countries' nuclear forces for the first time in 50 years. Is a new arms race breaking ...

“When the New START treaty lapses [in Feb 2026], there will be no legally-binding limits on the two countries’ nuclear forces for the first time in nearly 50 years…” www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/essays/39579...

“Data steward” is just one of the missing 21st-century professions that universities could be creating At King's College London the Data Empowerment Clinic is building a new profession: the data steward. Sylvie Delacroix posits the example as a model for other "missing" professional roles

Interesting article by Sylvie Delacroix on @wonkhe.bsky.social: “Data steward” is just one of the missing 21st-century professions that universities could be creating wonkhe.com/blogs/data-s... <— important prominence on data governance and stewardship

Time flies: 10 year anniversary* of being a Professor...

(*well, yesterday)

Open letter from Ian Chapman to research and innovation community UKRI Chief Executive outlines changes to UKRI investment approach, addressing concerns about research funding and the financial position of STFC.

Today, we're sharing an open letter from our Chief Executive, Professor Sir Ian Chapman, outlining changes to UKRI investment approach, and addressing concerns about research funding and the financial position of STFC. Read his letter here: www.ukri.org/news/open-le...

‘It’s ridiculous’: publicans bemused by rise of single-file queues to get served Bar owners say they struggle to dissuade people from forming a line as behavioural experts point to post-pandemic ‘new norms’

‘It’s ridiculous’: publicans bemused by rise of single-file queues to get served www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Massive role: Executive Chair - Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi... @ukri.org

Welsh higher education is running out of wriggle room Jim Dickinson gets across a candid Welsh Government document that identifies problems that others are less willing to confront – from market redistribution to the graduate brain drain Jim Dickinson ge...

A brutally honest but important article by @jimdickinson.bsky.social on how “Welsh higher education is running out of wriggle room” wonkhe.com/blogs/welsh-... @wonkhe.bsky.social

Someone said to me, "I'm sorry but I got your book from a library." Nobody should ever apologise for that. You read my book! That's brilliant! I grew up hanging out in libraries and the idea of a world without them fills me with dread. Without libraries, authors, like readers, will only suffer.

Sienna Rose: AI suspicions surround mysterious singer She has millions of Spotify listeners, but fans don't know what to believe about whether she's real.

The mysterious singer with millions of streams - but who (or what) is she? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

In memory of Sir Roland Jackson, 1954-2026

In memory of Sir Roland Jackson, 1954-2026 www.rigb.org/explore-scie...

Happy New Year! Look forward to catching up in 2026!

Watch the Royal Institution CHRISTMAS LECTURES archive Watch all the Royal Institution CHRISTMAS LECTURES back to 1966, when the lectures were first televised.

Guys guys guys, I found the archive of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (it's not an achievement, they've not hidden them) - you can watch every single one since they started televising them in the 60s:

www.rigb.org/christmas-le...

I love watching them every year, now I can see them all!

Do it! No, Newport is a nice flat one at Tredegar House (NT)…the next closest for me (Coed Cefn-pwll-du) is the monster!