Tomorrow I have to do a long cross-country train journey, so today I'm really just refreshing the National Rail website and getting stressed.

The proportion of MPs who went to private school should not be more than the proportion of children nationally who do (about 7%).

"Thank Heavens Reeves froze the thresholds," says the median voter in 2029 as they walk past the derelict sports centre and down the empty high street to cast their vote.

Hung out with relatives I don't see often. Finished a sock. Good evening.

Oh I had so many of these as a kid!

Mandatory digital ID for all, but no phones for school kids. Also we’re making it so you can’t access the internet without giving all your information to the makers of Fortnite.

Nooooooooooo!

This whole piece is such a fundamental part of my personality. I've got legs!

YouTube video: Here's some abstract expressionism. Stan (border collie): [BIG SIGH] Simon: Well she can't see red so she probably doesn't get it.

Trying to figure out if Bath is in Children Of The Stones or the Sex Meridian.

Given that about 10% of Covid cases lead to "Long Covid" maybe making vaccinations free again* might be a thing to try. * Or at least the same price as the fly jab, that would be something.

Every time she comes up, I remind you all that Pamela Paul killed a pro trans paragraph in a review I wrote for the New York Times, lied about it in the press, then when I confronted her with receipts, said “Let’s keep this to ourselves.”

Some quality pumpkining spotted on the way home.

If you're a National Trust member, it's that time of year again: Midnight tonight is the deadline. It's a shame people have to keep doing this to keep a toehold on historical truth in this country, but here we are. Voting link: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...

Why is it apparently so hard to not be a landlord?

First day as a vampire hunter: This is easy lol First night as a vampire hunter: oh no

We currently have an hour every afternoon when Stan is utterly convinced we have forgotten to walk her.

Fifteen minutes counts as a long walk?

Anyone I know here going to BristolCon this weekend? Am thinking about going Sunday...

@bristolcon.bsky.social Will there be tickets on the door on Sunday? And if so how much will they be please?

Coming on quite nicely.

Admittedly I'm printing out magazine pages with quite a lot of background images etc, but I think I'm the only person who doesn't find the toner lasts forever in the magical Brother laser printer. An XL cartridge lasts less than two months.

I don't know Swift's work well enough to know if she compares, but there's this bloke called Dylan who actually won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his lyrics, just for a start.

A good friend has submitted this brilliant model of the library from Buffy to Lego Ideas. I’d be very grateful for your help in getting her to 5k supporters: beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea...

Having another go at a Christmas jumper.

I did my A Level Design Technology final project around Highlander, alas those pages are probably lost to time.

Am watching Highlander tonight because my boyfriend is the best boyfriend.

Explaining to my wife that I cannot simply “read the books I’ve already bought and haven’t read” like some kind of peasant.

Watching The Lost Bus and apparently Matthew McConaughey is 44 and primary schools don't have records of parents' phone numbers.

Watching The Hack and loving how many of the actors have been in Doctor Who. Also now have an agreement to watch Caves Of Androzani soon 😃

Reading Normally Weird And Weirdly Normal by @robinince.bsky.social and this bit very closely describes how me and my parents hang out.

Want to know how far-right views got mainstreamed to the point that we just had the biggest march organised by fascist and white supremacist groups in UK history? Exhibit A: Living conditions in asylum hotels are awful (some of which even reported in the article) but the BBC chose this headline.

imagine if a family of beavers randomly showed up right now and finished whatever thing you've been putting off

My teenage best friend was hugely into ancient Rome and we watched this many many times. She bought me the DVDs for my 30th birthday (13 years ago). So so brilliant and just feels like a big part of my whole life.

Partner's birthday today which meant book shopping trip. Apparently it's my day for buying books by comedians who have ADHD.

One of the most profound mistakes of the last 30 or so years was conceding the principle that one of the main purposes of education (at all levels, but especially university) was preparation for employment.

Freelance illustration gigs drying up. Ad agencies using Midjourney instead of hiring human artists. Costume design turned over to AI wholesale. Good work vanishing. These are the stories of working visual artists, who describe losing jobs, wages, and hope as their clients and bosses embrace AI.

Just had an email from the leader of my LibDem council excitedly reassuring me they are objecting to Labour's plans to build houses in my area. I… don't think I had the reaction they were expecting.

Doctor Who fans have better scarves

Hat tip @clownf1st.bsky.social

This is how the government justifies harming trans kids. It isn't looking at evidence or peer-reviewed scientific publications, it is asking transphobes their opinions.

@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social Look what just arrived! Can't wait to dive in.

"why does restaurant food taste better than food cooked at home" The cook does not care if you live or die and uses salt and butter accordingly

Would be nice if a journalist pulled him up on this while reporting how much he desperately cares about women's rights.

Have never come across Forvo before! Though it seems to think my name is both male and female in Welsh (it can be a male name in other cultures, but in Welsh it literally means maiden), and then only gets the pronunciation right for the supposed male name. Still v cool though.

Re: Linehan, very much this.

THANK YOU!

I mean, I have an easily stressed dog for this.