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• Post #3991321

  JFC. Now they're feeding rare books to AI and destroying them in the process? A curse! A curse on them! https://www.404media.co/ai-companies-are-buying-tons-of-old-books-because-theyre-free-of-ai-slop/

• Post #3691817

  RE: https://mstdn.social/@stephenfarrow/116885930683264306 For anyone wondering what Reeves is going on about, MPs can't resign. However, taking on the position of the Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead (or the Chiltern Hundreds) automatically disqualifies someone from serving in the Commons by law, effectively meaning they can no longer be an MP. UK politics occasionally shows its archaic roots. This rule dates to 1623.

• Post #3519525

  I find myself wondering if most people think that new supplies of oil and other fossil fuels are being created, we'll just have to wait for them to be ready. No, not since fungi worked out how to break down lignin about 300 million years ago.

• Post #2218209

  Ugh. Look at this. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/cant-be-bothered-meals Number 5. There is NO WAY you can make that in 15 minutes. You have to wash and chop the veg. Wash and cook the rice. You have to clear away the peelings. You have to caramelise the onions -- which will take more than 15 minutes alone when done properly. You have to clear down after yourself. Chefs who give timings for meals that only work in a professional kitchen where there's a sous chef and potwashers sh...

• Post #2218110

  While avoiding looking at the news, I was idly searching for something to make for dinner that wouldn't take much time, and happened across a suggestion entitled "green butterbean mac and fibre cheese", and now even looking for recipes isn't safe. WHAT THE HECK IS "FIBRE CHEESE"???

• Post #2175393

  Managed to escape from today's back to back meetings long enough to run across the road and #vote. Mr Bait does his by post, and occasionally I'm tempted, but I feel like if someone is going to go to the effort of manning a polling station, I should make use of it. You still have a few hours left, so if you haven't done so, make sure you exercise your democratic right. #UKpol

• Post #1934067

  You know those bits of cable that look like gear cables but you can screw the ends together? They usually get sold as keychains, or for attaching those little tritium vials to things. I'm trying to find an uncoated 300mm long one for hanging my chain up during waxing, but the Bay of E keeps sneaking PVC coatings in there, and I don't want to be dipping PVC into hot wax (no judgement if that's your thing). Anyone know a reliable supplier? Or have any other suggestions? #B...

• Post #1882698

  RE: https://mastodon.social/@neuronakaya/116499875220012807 Have seen this stated quite a lot of late, and can confirm. Scientists want to tell you everything about their pet subject. In detail. Until you're bored. This is how I ended up with a surprise trip to a biology lab to look at a tardigrade one time. If you think someone is keeping something to themselves that should be shared with the world, you've probably got a billionaire on your hands, and they hoard money, not fac...

• Post #1831918

  It starts with looking at a cyclist with all the bullshit "war on motorists" running through their head, and ends with having their passenger lean out of a window to shove a cyclist off their bike while filming it for social media. It starts with stickers and ends with wire strung at neck height along mountain bike trails. So no. Its not "just a joke." It's never "just a joke." 6/6 Better put in a hashtag #motornormativity #BikeToot...

• Post #1831917

  Road.cc publishes a short article on a driver who has a tally sticker on his vehicle and posts the link to feckbook. Cue eleventy comments about how it's just a joke, cyclists have no sense of humour, and the inevitable escalation into wishing actual harm and violence on people just because they choose to travel on non-motorised (or electrically assisted) two wheels. https://road.cc/news/cycling-live-blog-29-april-2026#comment-927287 I won't link to the feckbook post, because i...

• Post #1144694

  It might seem like I mostly post frivolous stuff, but my day job is immediately involved with tackling the big threats facing the environment, and lots of very clever people are talking about things more openly than I can, so my posts will mostly be about other things. I will boost where I see something I feel is worthwhile. Don't take frivolity as lack of care.

• Post #960595

  Absolutely agree that sentencing for driving offences needs a complete overhaul, starting with getting rid of the "extreme hardship" loophole and the subjective competency standard. If being allowed to drive is that important to you, don't drive like a twat. It's not hard. Also, operating a couple of tonnes of heavy machinery at speed in shared public space shouldn't be treated as casually as making dinner. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026...

• Post #885957

  I fucking hate April Fool's.

• Post #794653

  Mostly posting this so I don't forget where I found it, but this is an important read for anyone involved in a command and control managerial model, where processes are being fixed and then pushed into automation in the name of efficiency. Particularly where decisions are reserved for managers who have been put in place for their managerial skills rather than their knowledge of what the goal is and what will achieve or hinder it. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/mar/26/ai-got-the-b...

• Post #780191

  Quite pleased with the teaser image for my next #MonsterOfTheWeek game.

• Post #731478

  Mr Bait and I are now entertaining ourselves by replacing the word "Hello" with "Ahoy hoy" in things, the latter being Edison's preferred telephone greeting. Leslie Phillips: Oh ahoy *hoy*.

• Post #731477

  Went out for a walk and was caught in unexpected thunder snow earlier, just to add mustard to the custard. Pretty, though.

• Post #731476

  Some days I feel like Veronica Cartwirght at the end of 1978's Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. And almost immediately realise it's actually the other way around. I'm the odd one out and always have been. It's just that I get the wrong idea about some humans on occasion.

• Post #731474

  I'm having to come to terms with there being ongoing psychological effects from nearly dying at Christmas. Suppose this shouldn't be a surprise. But one of the things I've been thinking about a lot is asymmetric friendship. Recently, I had a friend who was seriously ill. The expectation was that they would receive all the support their friends could give. I was actively berated by their partner when what I was able to offer did not live up to their expectation. 1/

• Post #731473

  I was once at a pagan gathering thing (the New Forest camp about 25 years ago going by which bicycle I was riding) and was chatting to this guy who told me how he was chucked out of the last pagan camp he went to. Some dudebro had come up to him and threatened him with an evil spell/curse/hex (they had disagreed about some item under discussion). 1/

• Post #313556

  I am SO FUCKING TIRED of the excuses made for aggressive, even violent drivers, just because their victim is a cyclist and their weapon of choice is a motor vehicle. If you got into an argument with someone, then went after them with a baseball bat, no one would say you were a "decent individual." https://road.cc/news/driver-described-as-otherwise-decent-individual-spared-jail-after-ramming-cyclist-off-the-road #motornormativity #cycling