Without stamp duty, we'd probably consider moving to a bigger house. Now we extend instead (as forking out some 30k + moving expenses makes it financial folly to move). Have a property tax if needed instead (I am not against that).

For all of those going to APT today: youtu.be/ekr2nIex040?... @abbis.bsky.social @martc.bsky.social

Extremely proud to be shortlisted for the UCL Education Awards for my student-staff research work with @jesperhansen.bsky.social in the Impactful Partnerships category.- this has been almost five years of extremely rewarding discovery and counting! www.ucl.ac.uk/teaching-lea...

🚨New blog! 🚨 🔎 How do feedback & assessment shape student and staff experiences at UCL Arts & Humanities? We asked UCL's A&H's Abbi Shaw & @jesperhansen.bsky.social about their latest research on how to make feedback innovative and effective for staff & students. 📖 Read more via: bit.ly/3FsKU3G

“there are Neville Chamberlain’s in every generation” George Monbiot’s takedown of Matt Goodwin and the Reform party is a thing of beauty 👏 #bbcqt

What is being woke? It now seems to boil down to “believing that people who are not straight white men may be good at stuff too”

Inconsistent pay increments - I hate it!

At A&E with a family member who is now getting morphine for the pain And the staff has ordered me out due to overcrowding, so I cannot be there to help her and ensure she is taken care of (which has so far been anything but a given). What a complete joke of a health system.

Beginning to notice that the options: yes - later (rather than a 'no') is becoming more common.

I still sometimes get surprised by just how incompetent royal mail are.

What a lovely suggestion - and one that doesn't really add workload to either students or staff (which is rather important to consider these days). Thanks @abbis.bsky.social for directing my attention to it, as I had missed it!

So, week 1 after the sign 'closed, but not for long' went up in my local Bannatyne (toilet). That was after the toilet had been out of order for a while with a normal out of order sign. Let's see how long it takes :)

The infiltrator’s name is John Williams. To learn what he revealed about the paramilitary movement — and how a mole managed to become a senior leader in a major American militia — read the full story here: www.propublica.org/article/ap3-...

As a non-jacked guy who can cook and make people laugh, I would say that in my experience this is correct if you're 30+. But when I was 20, women were less impressed (and tended to prefer the non-cooking muscly dudes)...

Today I threw out a bunch of old cables! Haven't used them in more than a decade. Expect me to complain in the near future about needing a very specific cable that is difficult to get a hold on.

First spin of the new year - wasn't particularly motivated, and didn't push myself too much. But it sure does feel nice (now that it's done).

Unlocked a new piano skill today, learning the intro to Because (surprisingly easy, tbh, so probably prouder of myself than I ought to be :)

An hour at the trampoline park with the kids and I am ready to sleep for a fortnight.

'can't we cut out the designer and just ask the AI to create the new cuddly penguin?' 'Sure, no problems, boss!'

My life in a picture from Dog Man (Big Jim Begins)...

Getting a little tired of hearing 'can we check the Santa tracker..."

First post-Christmas spinning was hard but much needed!

My Christmas in two pictures...

Nice to get it done before Christmas - and hopefully it will spark conversations (but not now, in the new year!) :)

Last time I went abroad, I hid my back-up SSD (just so a burglar wouldn't snatch it, not that it's worth much). Today I wanted to do a new back up and found myself caught squarely between proud and annoyed when I couldn't locate it... Have checked between books, on top of shelves... /Sigh

Got my first spam account follower here today (e-coin one, blocked it). Hope this place doesn't turn into bot heaven too...

Maybe there's more to it than this, but otherwise it is a sad decision. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Had a go ( on a packed Elizabeth line train) at a starter pack. Really feeling need to grow in and with this space go.bsky.app/P7gPMbN

Quote of the day (about James Brown): 'his cousin ran a brothel, and it's safe to say it wasn't the best environment to raise a child in'. No shit ...