Hyperspecific zines are fun for you, but they can also be palcatchers. I made a quartersheet sketchbook when I was first tabling that was just little bust portraits of writers of pulp & romantic adventure stories and only a handful of folks picked it up, but one of those has become a longtime friend

The UK Government's #KCSIE 2026 guidance retains serious human rights concerns, especially for trans, non-binary, and intersex young people. We urge the UK Government to ensure compliance with equality and human rights obligations https://bit.ly/3T6kjAc

Got the level of burnout exhaustion that no amount of caffeine can shift past "chilled". I know I should be bouncing off the walls chemically speaking but I'm just at "restful". In other news, ADHD assessment this week, I'm not taking any more bets on the result

The queen giving books to children just seems like a symbolic gesture for the actual government to follow up meaningfully, then we can talk about what to do with which books for who exactly. That act seems more like a substantial greetings card and, one might hope, a promise

Recently I have had to do my accounts every month because I got suckered into doing the ONS survey. I am lucky enough to have a brilliant accountant but it still takes half a day out of every month to prepare my receipts etc. Self employed people cannot afford to lose that time to admin.

This was one of the most enjoyable moments on Science Twitter, it was such a delight to see all the tiny cups!

??? How am I supposed to know ??? How much ??? I'm making ??? Next month????!

One of the reasons we won't get AI disclosures in media is because AI currently isn't defined or even real. It's solely a marketing term, but one people broadly apply to anything from chatbots and image generation to predictive text options.

A new example of Meta shithousery. This is a post of mine on Instagram (left). Click the dots top right and this advisory note appears (right). I never use ai, never will. Why would they do this? Who benefits? Are they just trying to make viewers think everything is genAI so they just accept it?

just a small fraction of the brioches I made while working on my bread book

I once asked a priest to bless a printer that I was in the middle of fighting with and he went "I only bless things when there's a chance it'll take" and then turned and walked out of the room.

You guys know about Egyptian potato salad? I think you’ll like Egyptian potato salad www.seriouseats.com/salatet-bata...

People are desperate for tangible things that can’t be taken away by greedy billionaires. CDs are cheaper and more portable than vinyl, and a greater portion of the money spent goes to musicians compared to the pennies provided by Spotify and Apple Music.

Am missing the British Library picnic today because I need to rest up, boo. I hope people will report back

🔈

Every time there's handwashing/food washing advice shared like it's a new idea... I feel like all I can do is smile and nod because I don't know what to say What more can be done We have taps in the house Why not Use It It's Right there So Just Maybe Just 🙂

I've switched back to paper for notes and lists and am doing all my writing offline, ditched Gmail - for this reason. I can't cope with the attention grabbing UI wrecking AI nonsense of it all

The creator of Roger Rabbit (who is 85 years old by the way) is a good sort Crossposted with @openvibe.social

Reminder! There are alternatives to Substack! Which do not have its ethical problems! (My newsletter is on Ghost, which is fabulous, and Buttondown is among the others I've heard praised.) Thread--

The great RPG Trader has launched another amazing bundle: 106 GMless RPGs for a PWYW price of $20+. Plus it includes the very first GMless RPG, 1998's The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen (by, uh, me), in its beautiful 3rd edition. rpg-trader.com/products/670...

Have I missed something, why would people not buy fresh vegetables that they are going to cook? I see how they'd worry that washing/peeling isn't enough when there are parasites about (or they might just refuse to wash produce for whatever reason, don't ask me) but... cook it? Worms ded

Glad people are telling me to drink more water in the heatwave as I quietly lower my crisp glass of piping hot rawlplugs

I know you know this on bluesky, but I posted it on insta so I thought I should post here too. And if it makes someone second guess using AI for these things then maybe it helps.

The 13th annual international Gender Census 2026 is now open until at least 13th August 2026! survey.gendercensus.com It's for anyone whose gender (or lack thereof) isn't described by the M/F binary. It's short and easy, and results are useful in academia, business and self-advocacy. #LGBTQ

I'm on my way to the Crick Institute where they announced a great archaeological find, there's an exhibition and I worked on two of the exhibits... With a little lock there will be some very silly pictures of me standing next to some giant teeth in my Arthur Dent outfit

Hey I think I've spent an entire week hardly thinking about AI at all. Not because it got less awful or worrying, it's just so boring. It really does feel like it's all one substance, and it doesn't spook me any more than mold in a damp house would. A profoundly boring infestation.

Encounter

Today I leaned that you can think you're on an ADHD assessment waiting list for three months when actually you missed the text message that said "one last thing before we put you in the waiting list, click here" and can't they just skip the rest of the diagnostic process now

I've kept a window open to cool down the flat and every so often there's a big air movement that's less like wind and more like a large cough. I think the house is coughing

Almost every order I've made online in the last month was misdelivered, mixed up with something random, left out in the street or had half the contents missing, and to sort it out I needed to go through a procedure every time that involved talking to bots that congratulate me at random

Experimenting on some cotton fabric, I'll collect different marks and colours and make a quilt eventually

I’m really heartbroken by this news. I never knew them. They did so much for so many. My condolences to all who loved them.

Every so often you got to make a list of the things you truly honestly love and check that they're still in your life and that you're still spending some time with them every day that you can. In my case, mostly potatoes and paper

I got a particularly nice dress in the Toast sale which I figured might be my new Respectable Outfit and literally everyone who sees what it actually looks on here says "Arthur Dent" and also tells me to absolutely keep it though

Another good thing is when a friend suprise visits with cold ginger beer and says "I never heard of Harry Nilsson, what did he do then" and you get a bottle opener and record collection out

New Decemberist album arrived, it's a beautiful double vinyl and YES it's got the special Illimat card. I love that game. Look it up if you like card games.. It's flawless

In other news it's time to crack the two eggs that have been sitting in the egg basket for some time, stopping me from buying more eggs before I've checked whether those two final eggs are still good, so they can't get mixed in with fresh eggs, but I can't face cracking a possibly bad egg

At home folding so much laundry. I'm camped out on a quilt among piles of laundry, taking little naps intermittently like some laundry goblin

DID YOU KNOW IF YOU FIND A HORSESHOE CRAB THATS BEEN TAGGED BY THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AND SUBMIT THE LOCATION YOU SAW IT USING THE FORM ON FWS DOT GOV SLASH CRABTAG THEY SEND YOU A BEAUTIFUL CRAB PIN

I have no idea where this came from, but

Please get my books from libraries. Get SO MANY books from libraries. I promise you, authors appreciate it so much!

Cat School by @roserobbins.bsky.social is so good. Big recommendation for parents, teachers, librarians... A book I would've needed as a child to encourage me to think about what school should be, and how to navigate friendships of any neurotype. It's so funny and caring and USEFUL.

Keep calling this AI crap out. It works

Also Anne Frank herself wrote about multi gender attraction, let’s not forget that bit just because most schools edit it out

I'm quite proud that I managed to buy and install a blackout blind for the bathroom window today. Had to saw it shorter and it was quite a battle to install, but I did it and now maybe my flat can boil a little less?

WiFi struggling with the heat, but we got tapes and vinyl. Ha

The switchover was BAD. People driving with a paper map and a car GPS and then sometimes several early smartphones talking out loud AT THE SAME TIME because "they like the choice" was a bad time

Friends who come round with a substantial salad and chilled pink wine on a too-hot day where you just had to close down part of your small business and then cried about pottery and nearly knocked yourself out putting up blackout blinds are good friends

For those who don't know (other white ppl?), this is more administrative racism; pseudofolliculitis mostly affects Black men and other people of color, so ending permanent shaving wavers will make the armed forces more white