The Telegraph’s frothing rage at art will never not be funny to me.

"So, I'm into vinyl. Pretty obscure stuff you've probably never heard of." "Yeah? Like what?"

Betcha no one from OnlyFans has been invited to a "how can we use technology to unlock growth" roundtable at No 10.

Old boxes. Ah, those were the days, when you'd form a band, make a noisy 7" record, ring up John Peel's producer, ask for a session, get a call back saying "yes, OK then," go to Maida Vale, spend the day recording ridiculous songs on extremely posh equipment and GET PAID £471.20 FOR THE PRIVILEGE.

Oh my. It’s almost as if there wasn’t a vivid history of terrible outcomes from industry lobbyists leaning heavily on regulators.

This is like standing in a street and asking the nearest human to give you food, instead of finding a cafe, selecting from a menu and ordering what you want. If you want Ai to complete a task define a role, recommend an approach and specify an output.

Reddit continues to be the internet’s Wild West

Our generation has the chance to eradicate polio. The key, writes my colleague @scientificdiscovery.dev, to achieving this goal are new polio vaccines. Here is her article: ourworldindata.org/new-polio-va...

Time for another post on my favourite art pieces, today “Piss Flowers” by Helen Chadwick. Created by urinating in the snow in subzero temps before plastering & casting in bronze with an enamel finish. A balance of beauty and repulsion as well as a challenge to the representation of female bodies.

We’re offering up to £150k Global Innovation Fellowships to UK based humanities and social sciences scholars on the below themes in eligible countries. You’d work with a (non academic) partner organisation of your choice - eg community organisation www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/oda-...

Good role at the Office for National Statistics. Would suit someone interested in the interface of data and policy. Includes being Head of the Policy profession in the ONS. £76k - £100k www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi...

It would be interesting to see the contract that oversaw the purchase of RM but I suspect that it was designed to prevent the PAF being easily transferred into public ownership again @jamesomalley.co.uk.

From Kherson. Hard to explain the grace and dignity of Ukrainians under fire. Their generosity to strangers (troops gave me a Kherson melon). The way they deal with grief, clear bomb damage, make playgrounds for their children, plant sunflowers in sandbags, sow hope in the soil of destruction

To Falmouth where The Bean Hive (www.falmouth.co.uk/shopsandbusi...) provides an excellent lesson in marketing.

This confidential government report proves that we need to liberate the Postcode Address File (FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/secret-paf...

Last year I accidentally ended up in a cooking competition in France. I live-tweeted it on the day... and the surprise outcome was: I won! (and the only person more surprised than me was the compère!) Today there's some news, and I'll tell you all about it... #food #cooking #france #UKinFrance

Bluesky hive mind! Does anyone know of a decent, free or *very* cheap venue: - In SW1 (Whitehall/Westminster) - Fits c.40 people - Either A/V or good wifi (Idea is a monthly evening meet-up for people into public sector reform, UKGovCamp-y/OneTeamGov-y vibes, a couple of talks, chat, pizza etc)

PwC braced for 6-month ban in China over Evergrande audit https://www.ft.com/content/6e165676-30b1-4567-8cb1-647c15bb015d

Another favourite artwork post. Tonight is Chuck Close’s “Big Self Portrait” 1968. A stunning photorealistic piece that is 2.7m tall. Painted using a fine airbrush each hair, pore and crease is rendered creating a stunning visual effect.

I’m 48 hours into my bluesky experience and @stephenkb.bsky.social appears to be part of every thread I read. I consider this to be a feature not a bug.

This must be utterly bewildering for local government folk, in many cases the cost of delivering their statutory requirements is equivalent to their budgets. Hard to see where the money comes from.

I’ve been thinking about some of the art I love. This is Cold Dark Matter by Cornelia Parker. Formed by blowing up a shed and then rehanging it as if she had caught the explosion in a moment in time.

A reminder that we can’t referender our way back into the EU. They have other things to worry about, we aren’t even item 12 on the agenda.

If any Spads are wondering how to go about talking to ordinary people, especially those at the sharpest end of poverty and deprivation? We have a network of 1400 food bank centres, thousands of volunteers & brilliant lived experience partners. We can help arrange ad hoc & more sustained engagement.

Agree with this. I also think that in general people underrate the importance of 'people who use the organisation's services come in for happy reasons' to an institution's culture. If your hub is run out of a library it will develop a better culture I think!

You no longer have to wonder what happens when you do Ozempic and weed at the same time.

Was in US for a couple of weeks last month and couldn’t get over how pervasive sports betting is now. The speed has been jaw dropping. Would, sadly, expect huge problems to flow equally fast.

The businesses that make money from LLMs

Phishing License xkcd.com/1694