Nostr notes by New-Cleckit Dominie

This is just to say I have OCRed the text thet was in tne arch:ve ...

2026-07-28T18:45:34Z

This is just to say

I have OCRed
the text
thet was in
tne arch:ve

and whicb
yov were prabaldy
seamhing
for "breahtast"

Fargme ms
fheg mem debo:w5
sb ?mccf
mmb 5c oc1b

A few of the placards seen today as the fash got chased off ...

2026-06-13T16:13:01Z

A few of the placards seen today as the fash got chased off Buchanan Street.

Never forget: the far right are indeed dangerous and wicked; and they are also weird and pathetic, and we should say so.

George was starting to regret his decision to buy the cheaper ...

2026-05-24T17:08:01Z

George was starting to regret his decision to buy the cheaper brand of dragon treats.

A jackdaw in Whithorn demonstrating the ancient rural art of ...

2026-04-11T10:25:21Z

A jackdaw in Whithorn demonstrating the ancient rural art of opening an Ordnance Survey map in the wind.

The Heron of Disapproval would like a word with you. ...

2026-03-15T20:15:41Z

The Heron of Disapproval would like a word with you.

A rare sighting of Phalacrocorax ikea, the Badly-Assembled ...

2026-02-17T19:16:51Z

A rare sighting of Phalacrocorax ikea, the Badly-Assembled Cormorant.

Please be briefly cheered up by this perfume bottle (Greek; c. ...

2026-01-24T13:31:22Z

Please be briefly cheered up by this perfume bottle (Greek; c. 600BCE) from the Burrell Collection.

"Hey, big guy. We're looking for some muscle for a seed ...

2026-01-10T11:48:36Z

"Hey, big guy. We're looking for some muscle for a seed bank job. You in?"

Pretty sure that once upon a time, digging up an ancient war ...

2026-01-07T10:54:33Z

Pretty sure that once upon a time, digging up an ancient war trumpet associated with bloody resistance to an overbearing empire would have been seen as some kind of omen.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/07/iron-age-war-trumpet-find-britain-norfolk-boudicca-links

I take basically the same picture every time the light and the ...

2025-11-30T14:02:34Z

I take basically the same picture every time the light and the snaw are right for it, and I do not regret this.

"DEAD SLOW". ...

2025-08-24T14:53:05Z

"DEAD SLOW".

"We apologise for spamming half the University with a message ...

2025-08-04T15:29:07Z

"We apologise for spamming half the University with a message from an email address they'd never seen, telling them to log into a website they'd never seen to complete the mandatory cybersecurity training they had already completed. Please trust us next time."

Is there a name for the principle that if in the interests of ...

2025-07-30T15:47:02Z

Is there a name for the principle that if in the interests of security you make a process too onerous to follow then people will bypass it entirely, thus leaving you with worse security than when you started?

I would like to have a name for this principle so I can shout it at people.

Until you have seen several hundred people at the top of a hill ...

2025-07-28T17:17:58Z

Until you have seen several hundred people at the top of a hill in Yorkshire pretending to be Kate Bush, you find it difficult to imagine several hundred people at the top of a hill in Yorkshire pretending to be Kate Bush.

There is an angry wren in Rottenrow Gardens. ...

2025-07-09T17:49:48Z

There is an angry wren in Rottenrow Gardens.

The famous xenomorph on Paisley Abbey gets all the love, but the ...

2025-07-06T07:28:01Z

The famous xenomorph on Paisley Abbey gets all the love, but the other modern gargoyles are worth a look.

(If we're tagging ourselves, I'm Man Shouting From Inside Fish.)

I know things are bad and I don't have any particular ...

2025-06-29T16:16:15Z

I know things are bad and I don't have any particular insights to offer, but there are tufted ducklings on the wee pond today and they are practising diving, and this makes me a little happier.

I promise I was looking for something slightly more sensible on ...

2025-06-16T20:36:15Z

I promise I was looking for something slightly more sensible on the BnF website when I found these pictures of a keeper at London Zoo in 1925 feeding medicine to an extremely reluctant pelican.

New blog post. This was the first piece of local history I ever ...

2024-12-29T17:37:07Z

New blog post. This was the first piece of local history I ever put together for myself, and I still have a soft spot for it. It's the story of what may be Scottish higher education's only literal shipwreck.

https://new-cleckit.dominie.scot/abandon-ship/

The frieze isn't widely advertised, or included in most lists ...

2024-12-07T10:37:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…af5j
_________________________

The frieze isn't widely advertised, or included in most lists of Mitchell's work.

If you're a fan of such things, I recommend you pop in and see it fairly soon. Staff are currently being relocated from the McCance, and the building's likely to be fully mothballed at some point next year.

I rather like it and have no idea whatsoever what is going on. ...

2024-12-07T10:36:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…vv3p
_________________________

I rather like it and have no idea whatsoever what is going on.

The frieze is located in what was the library when the new ...

2024-12-07T10:34:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…me8r
_________________________

The frieze is located in what was the library when the new building was opened in June 1964.

Most of it has survived subsequent refits and the installation of some unhelpful uplighting.

[First pic: https://www.strath.ac.uk/professionalservices/library/researchrevise/collections/archivesspecialcollections/items/themccancebuilding/ ]

One of my favourite details from William Mitchell's big ...

2024-12-07T10:33:00Z

One of my favourite details from William Mitchell's big concrete frieze in the McCance Building, University of Strathclyde.

I see it's the season when they test the Cooncil death ray on ...

2024-12-04T17:42:40Z

I see it's the season when they test the Cooncil death ray on passing pigeons.

Don't worry... I was the pedestrian (and I always have a bit ...

2024-11-22T21:44:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…nw2m
_________________________

Don't worry... I was the pedestrian (and I always have a bit of zoom on the lens!)

Keeping the lights on. (From this morning's commute.) ...

2024-11-22T18:07:32Z

Keeping the lights on.

(From this morning's commute.)

"Adaptable modern premises with regular servicing, located in ...

2024-11-02T10:13:39Z

"Adaptable modern premises with regular servicing, located in desirable Southside neighbourhood. Access to green space and on-street parking. Potential for conversion to multiple units for student accommodation."

Dreaming of voyages. ...

2024-10-26T09:38:45Z

Dreaming of voyages.

Me in the mid-1990s, to people thirty years older than me: ...

2024-10-22T13:34:45Z

Me in the mid-1990s, to people thirty years older than me: "This is called a 'file' and this is a 'website'. Let me explain..."

Me in the mid-2020s, to people thirty years younger than me: "This is called a 'file' and this is a 'website'. Let me explain..."

The greyhound originated in the monasteries of early mediaeval ...

2024-09-24T07:05:30Z

The greyhound originated in the monasteries of early mediaeval Ireland, where it was bred by illuminators who needed a dog flexible enough to fit into the initials of their manuscripts.

I am frankly envious. If my department set out to advertise its ...

2024-08-31T10:16:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…m6m5
_________________________

I am frankly envious. If my department set out to advertise its academic values in the same way, we'd end up with a grant-application form fifteen storeys high.

Today's prize for on-brand academic behaviour goes to the ...

2024-08-31T10:15:43Z

Today's prize for on-brand academic behaviour goes to the School of Mathematics & Statistics, University of Glasgow, for disguising their building as a chalkboard.

(I'm informed that the elements were collected from working chalkboards in staff offices.)