I'm not a zoologist, but has nobody theorised that polar bears are getting fatter because they don't use as much energy keeping themselves warm since it has become less cold in the arctic?

I'm a bit concerned about what tragedy Trump might realise if he attacks Iran. Can nobody stop him?

This seems a rather important blow for the Kennedy Center.

A very listenable podcast, especially enjoyable for those who were online in the early nineties, and maybe got a bit burnt by the dot com crash.

I had rather assumed that this had been banned for some years. Presumably just banning Russian 'oil' was considered enough.

Israel’s government is funding an ad campaign in Britain to attack medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which provides crucial medical care in Gaza. www.declassifieduk.org/israel-pays-...

Laptop stopped charging yesterday, and I couldn't persaude it before I went to bed. This morning I tried the charger using the 4th different shaver cable to power it, and voilà. I suppose I'm lucky to have many shaver cables on hand ... which live in a box labelled razor wires!

Here is Salvini, vice premier of Italy, a nasty piece of work, greeting Tommy Robinson. Meloni, the premier, has many critics, but she's nowhere close to Salvini (a major coalition partner) in nastiness.

Just entertained myself by reading a thread where passionate Fahrenheit devotees were dissing Celsius, and it struck me that in the UK IF we used kilometres instead of miles people would drive more slowly!

I'm inordinately pleased that Prince Harry spoke out about UK soldiers in Afghanistan after the crass and insulting comments by Trump. Of course he has personal experience, and is uniquely positioned within the British Royal Family to comment, but I rather hope that he got the nod from the King.

Emily Thornberry having an extremely helpful "Prescott" moment. Well done.

I have to hand it to Jeremy Hunt tonight on #Newsnight - being asked about what Trump is intending for Greenland he answered (I summarise) "Fuck knows".

Is nobody going to pull the plug on this Trump party political broadcast aimed primarily at the US domestic audience?

Le sublimi vette dell'italico nepotismo Bufera curling, Angela Romei fuori dalle Olimpiadi: “Al mio posto la figlia del direttore tecnico” La denuncia dell’atleta pinerolese: «Sono in Nazionale dal 2017, fatta fuori con una telefonata»

Apologies to everybody who has seen this one, MAGA = Make America Go Away I like it!

Interesting short film on the UK chemical industry, by @edconway.bsky.social Worth a watch.

#Wordle 1,674 4/6* ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟩⬜🟨🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I was very lucky, in desperation, to make up a word which worked!

I am more enraged by Trump's demand to 'buy' Greenland than almost anything else he has done. It's as if you turned up at an old car do with your beloved chariot and an arsehole wouldn't accept your statement 'it is NOT for sale'.

Here is a lovely cat, snapped at the Inari shrine in Kyoto.

This is a thought provoking 'take'. Evidently positioned to make Japan's case, but definitely worth a read.

Greenland is 2,166 million sq km. The contiguous US is 8,080 million sq km. So Greenland is a little more than a quarter of the size of the US (exc Alaska + Hawaii). Not as hugely huge as the maps might lead people to believe.

The undocking from the ISS is due at 22.05 (UK) this evening, and the splashdown is estimated for 08.40 tomorrow morning. It will be on YouTube (and other places).

The analysis in this programme of the "reliance on X for news" is most interesting - it turns out that the "news source relied on by most people" is the BBC!

The BBC1 News tonight has told me that "Greenland is part of North America" I guess that is in he same way as Mexico, and Canada.

Can anybody direct me to the site where I can opine on proposed changes to UK car and driver proposals? My beef is about fog lights, and the nonsensical UK specification that you can't use them on full beam.

A New York Times video analysis of an ICE agent’s fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis contradicts the Trump administration’s account. Watch our investigation here. nyti.ms/4sEdp2r

We've put together a frame-by-frame analysis of the shooting of Renee Nicole Good, at the same time that Vice President JD Vance held a press conference stressing that what you're going to see in this video did not happen.

Have gloves gone out of fashion? I was out in the cold, and noticed that I was the only person wearing them. Most odd.

Sound on for this one! What a shouty cat 🙂

Wordle 1,662 4/6* ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜ 🟨🟩⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Well, that was a process of elimination!

In 1976, the government of oil-rich Venezuela assumed control of the country’s petroleum industry, nationalizing hundreds of private businesses and foreign-owned assets, including projects operated by the American giant ExxonMobil. Read more on the history: https://wapo.st/48URPxi

I inadvertently shut this little twerp in my sitting room for about 18 hours. He's normally a very quiet cat, and it was only when he knocked something big onto the floor that I realised he was in there. He managed to miaow noisily as soon as I opened the door!

Jesus Christ did not return to Earth in 2025 — returning a tidy annualized profit for some bettors on Polymarket and even beating US Treasury bills before fees. Wagers are now open for 2026, with a potential 5,700% gain in the event of a Second Coming: bloom.bg/3LgMhW8 📷️: Egberto Ras/AFP via Getty

How long is it going to take for me to visualise Camilla when the news mentions 'The Queen'?

Debauched cat #Caturday

It is pretty inconceivable to recommend an advert, but "Foxy Bingo" have an incredible one, involving mid-western(?) Americans dancing around their over long beards and moustaches. Absolutely rivetting!

Cat (with hugely hairy tail) snuck into the fire while I was lighting it. Zero harm done, but the room now smells strongly of singed cat. She is an imbecile.

I listened to a radio programme (probably BBC Radio 4) where there was a discussion about the lack of longevity of modern clothing. One 'culprit' which was identified was the inclusion of elastomers in the cocktail of modern fabric mixtures, and this polymer degrades quickly. 1/2

#TheArchers This prog is treading water, and is terminally boring. Probably the script writers have twigged that over Christmas the radio schedules are so distorted that nobody expects an episode, so nobody will hear it, but come on - better to take a few days off than this dross.

This would be a diverting listen for tomorrow, if you don't feel inclined to #joinin with the conventional nonsense.

The morning after the Icelandic habit of giving books for Christmas Jólabókaflóð - I can hear the cat purring out this word!

Please, no more books at Christmas, I'm exhausted.

I remember a #joinin some many years ago, and a home aloner posted a pic of a fillet steak he was preparing for Christmas dinner. Poor chap, he hasn't even got a chafing dish in his bedsit, he's cooking with a hairdryer. (Silly me.) There followed a really good thread about sous-vide cookery 🙂

This is a spectacular creation seen in a nearby bar this week. Far to big for anyone other than a giant to sit in - but an amazing spot-welded patchwork. Do bring the snap up full screen to appreciate it!

The plot thickens - per BBC ".. On Wednesday, 19 Nov ... Met Police firearms licensing officers attended an address in Windsor to request that a man in his 60s voluntarily surrender his firearms and shotgun certificate." The force said the certificate was surrendered but did not comment further.

Great to see #joinin being promoted here on Bluesky (for the second or maybe third year). It was started when Twitter was a good place by UK comedian Sarah Millican, and it is always great fun and genuinely friendly.

Cosa non si fa per risparmiare... www.dagospia.com/cronache/han...

This has to be a wind-up, surely?

🚨 THE FINAL TWO 🚨 From thirty-two candidates, we’ve now made it to the final round where Elon Musk and Peter Thiel will face off for the crown. Who will win? You decide! 🗳️ Cast your ballot: twsu.forms.app/wpit25-final

I have 'the builders in', on quite a big job. I had hoped that I could leave them to it - but today I had a small query, and the builder (good man) showed me 'the drawings'. They were not of my house!