David Booty

@kristenrudd I must confess I always find the very windy dialogue in Dickens is a tough read, no matter how true to life it might be

One of my students is trolling me by writing parts of his current essay in the style of Dickens. His essay is on Treasure Island. He knows I am not a fan of Dickens. Full marks.

A very clear, although unwelcome illustration of the precision accuracy of liquid N application

@DavidPRushmer Actually I am already in overtime now David. Still doing the day job because I can and I enjoy it (mostly), but looking to reduce to part time later this year and pass on the bits of the job I don't like!

@dp_booty Ooops! You cannot be pension age yet David? I have been retired for over a year and can fully recommend it! I love being a ‘doddery old sod!’ Best regards DR.

These two arrived in the post together today. The end is nigh!

@history99917180 Actually I have to do this ****y thing now because I have hearing aids and the phone links to them via bluetooth, but they have no microphone. Great improvement on struggling to hear callers BUT I am not going to inflict this on others in public as it is annoying.

I’m in the library studying. A bloke is talking on his phone. He’s doing that cunty thing of holding his phone at 90° to his mouth and it’s on loud speaker. Why the f’ck do people do that? Just use the phone like a f’cking phone you moron. As you can tell, I’m not bothered.

@BigBearF1 Most likely filled with nitrogen for preservation purposes, so not even breathable air.

I bought a little bag of air today. The company that made it was kind enough to put some crisps in it as well.

All ready to learn what’s new in potatoes at the CUPGRA conference in Cambridge. I’m chairing the potato nutrition presentations tomorrow

@Lucy_Worsley @BBC Your goodness is not an excuse for the badness of others, sorry

I know from my inbox that some people find that history on the @BBC stimulates their minds, fills in gaps in their education, sends them off on fulfilling careers, and even helps them get through illness and bereavement. I'm proud of the work we do.

@sturgios Wow you are so wrong. His government was an awful mess it just looks better in retrospect because of what came after

Seeing John Major at the Cenotaph - recalling how desperate we all were to get him out…and now he seems a bastion, representing a lost era of moderation, decency and even possibly semi competence

The real benefits of biostimulants in crop programmes are continually discredited by legions of grifters selling their wares with overblown and unproven claims. The notion that a few litres of angel dust can substitute for fertilisers by replenishing crop offtakes is absurd

@pubsignsbritain Ironic then that the Britons in this picture are not being protected at all. Looks like a representation of the Peterloo massacre

The Britons Protection, Great Bridgewater Street, Manchester. Dating from 1806 and Grade II listed with a three star, nationally historic interior. #Manchester #Pubs #PubSigns #PubSignThursday

Worlds longest-running agricultural experiments shows that long-term fertiliser use boosts soil carbon - so much for "fertilisers damage soil health" rothamsted.ac.uk/news/fertilise…

@MikeNeaverson They look good. We've seen quite a lot of sprouting and secondary growth in recent digs, has that been a problem for you this year?

Having a dabble in some Markies

@FXMC1957 Guinness really nailed the Smiley character. Although I think the later film version brilliantly evoked the smelly dirty shabby old city of London as I remember it was in the 1970's

10 September 1979. The 1st part of the BBC TV 7-part drama series Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was broadcast. It starred Alec Guinness as George Smiley and was based on John le Carré's 1974 spy novel. Le Carré said the series was his favourite adaptation of his work.

No job for an old man! Last @OMEXCompanies potato trials dig of the season done and dusted

Why the emphasis on "soil biodiversity" when proof is lacking? "The presence of individual species, rather than diversity per se, determined the soil binding capacity of the system" doi.org/10.1016/j.iswc…

At least we picked a good morning to harvest the @OMEXCompanies potato trial plots in North Norfolk

@bo66ie29 No! Shut in a compartment with dodgy characters and unable to move. Remember that nightmare, thanks.

Bring back trains that look like this.

@agronomistag @CPLF88 @simonmaechling @russellm81 Fertiliser manufacturers are very keen to use recovered waste as raw materials if possible, but the high dilution of nutrients and possible issues with microplastics, heavy metals etc. cause difficulties

I found the paper. "N fertilizer from human feces would only generate about 2% (2.0 to 2.4 Tg N y−1) of current global N application, whereas including urine could increase this fraction to 16 to 17% (15.7 to 16.9 Tg N y−1)." I have no idea if their estimates are realistic. pnas.org/doi/abs/10.107…

One of the things that shocked me most about defending synthetic fertilizers… …is that while the narrative says “chemicals are killing us,” SO many scientists quietly remind me it’s why billions of us are alive today. It’s absolutely wild.

After a couple of months on the bench followiung a random low iron test, we are back in the game. Off goes donation #123. @GiveBloodNHS