Just wanted to share this horror show with everyone. (Don’t worry, the first thing I did was disconnect the battery. Once I find the right kind of torx screwdriver, it’ll be removed and disposed of safely)

Upgrade this directly into my veins.

If we lived in a sane world, this would mark the end of Farage and Reform.

Good news klaxon: The UK Government has removed its backing from plans to make it easier for AI companies to steal copyright create content (including news articles). t.co/bI1w8F8PoG

📖 “Peak interest: Toronto’s snow mountains that refuse to melt are a toxic hazard”

Oooh, fascinating: an app that detects nearby smart glasses and trackers. apps.apple.com/us/app/nearb... is the iPhone version; there's also an Android one

📖 “Russia’s disinformation campaign tests Canada’s support for Ukraine”

Some impressive after effects of the ice storm here. #Montreal

📺 “The West is in Trouble”

Monday's Friday Reads for 16 March:

I can't draw any more circulation plan diagrams today (I'm dreaming of arrows and lines at night), so I made a quick visualization of my pet theory: "North America inherited teeny tiny main stations, with short platforms and narrow throats, and that's a problem for rail planning."

😲 "Local candidate George explained that the Green party’s big increase in membership nationally has been replicated in Barnet: “This time last year we had 220 members,” he said. “Now, we have over a thousand.” barnetpost.co.uk/2026/03/15/p...

They finally fixed that sign at Union Square

important

Sick of depressing and scary world news? Here’s a timeline cleanse… how many of my friend’s lurcher puppies fit on one person’s lap? They will be off to new homes from next weekend onwards and I will miss seeing them! (Still some available, btw - Herefordshire/Worcs/Shrops border)

"Faster than a speeding bullet." I love watching border collies work.

You can listen to Bluesky swears in realtime at swearsky.bagpuss.org

📖 “Leicester by train: Kings, curry and a city that surprises” I think by combining railway station reviews and food, this writer has made the perfect blog.

Ah yes, that thing where a Montreal mayor visits another city, comes back with lots of exciting ideas, and then realises they have no power to actually implement any of them because all the power lies with the province.

Can’t think of better custodians. This is surely going to end well. mjtsai.com/blog/2026/03/1…

We have now entered second winter Looking forward to spring of deception and third winter

Apparently they want to make the changes apply retroactively to existing requests that haven't been completed yet. Someone requested something good.

It would be nice if they’d link to the article they’re discussing. www.ifixit.com/News/116152/...

Friday Reads for 13 March:

Yay!

Just witnessed a REM train at McGill not giving enough time for even 50% of passengers to board. One passenger got momentarily trapped between doors before managing to back out. A REM security officer then gave him a telling off a lecture about boarding trains. Next train 5 mins away. WtF?!?

As someone who lived in London during the PPP era of the tube, can confirm it’s generally a bad idea.

My cat sleeps all day and then keeps me awake all night so this gave me a good laugh. Credit - @dagnylill on Instagram

Behold! Postcard from my collection, no date.

It's self proclaimed lock appreciation day! Locks are a marvel of engineering on the canals - see if you can name any of the locks pictured #canallock #inlandwaterways #lockappreciationday

Sun and ice #AlphabetChallenge #WeekJForJuxtaposition

Ron Cobb, near-forgotten genius political cartoonist. He also did visual design of technology for the first Alien film and countless other scifi movies in the 70s/80s. Including the Weyland-Yutani Semiotic Standard - a visual language used for Nostromo signage.

You want to state that you do not delegate your creativity and humanity to the AI bros broken bots? Use this logo on your work! Made by a human person #madebyahuman #noai #stopai

I think this is the first time we’ve experienced an orange alert under the new system? Hope this one won’t be as bad as the one two years ago, but just in case we have the candles ready for those extra-cosy power cut vibes. #Montreal #QCStorm

Cycling along Rachel just now, and I notice joggers in the cycle lane seem to outnumber cyclists 2:1. Is that a thing now? #Montreal

Memories… heliomass.com/posts/102-an-i…

Telegraph in even-a-broken-clock-right-twice-day moment:

If @sorayamartinezf.bsky.social and @villedemontreal.montreal.ca are serious about bike lane “safety” start with the low hanging fruit: • Safe detours around construction in the lanes • Stop bin collectors throwing the bins in the cycle lanes to create obstructions • Ticket cars blocking bike lanes

At Oxford Station, they have had the bright idea of completely plastering the bridge between the entrance and platform 4 with HSBC marketing, blocking out 80% of the light. Just another example how capitalism drives enshitification. Making a note to avoid HSBC from now on.

📖 “Can Canada find digital sovereignty in the Fediverse?” betakit.com/can-canada-f...

Monday's Friday Reads for 9 March:

I would have just wasted that hour anyway…

Timeline cleanser: Sunshine, snow and mist from the rear of a eurostar train heading from Paris to London.

📖 “Radiohead's corporate empire: inside the band's dollars and cents”

Montrez que vous ne déléguez pas votre humanité / Show that you are not delegating your humanity Si vous voulez utiliser le logo humain vous pouvez aller le chercher ici. If you want to use the human logo, you can download it from here. drive.proton.me/urls/P10CJ95...

FAO Time Magazine

📖 “What If Every City Had a London Overground?” #London #transit