I can't believe it's been 6 years and we're still so fucking stuck in a mindset that thinks there's some natural pre-covid rest state to return to. we thought it was temporary so we didn't care, and now it's permanent so we're in denial.

When you hear it said
(and you will hear it said)
that the number of people
still wearing face masks
in the year 2026
is genuinely concerning,
kindly and firmly agree,
for it is genuinely concerning
in the year 2026
that the number of people
still wearing face masks
is so low

Oooh, a prior oil crisis is what turned the Netherlands from a driving country to a bicycling country.

The Guardian: Do we want to keep fixing the same issue? Unlearned lessons from the first big oil crisis

As energy prices tripled in the 1970s due to Middle Eastern wars, Scandinavia, France and the Netherlands sped up green transition

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/13/fixing-the-same-issue-first-big-oil-crisis-middle-eastern-wars

#IranWar #bicycling #BikeTooter #cycling

In other news, UK scientists hard at work in the search for the world's tiniest violin. Possibly actually subatomic for this story.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/british-expats-dubai-gulf-tax-hmrc-iran-war-b1274679.html

Anne Rice’s ‘The Vampire Lestat’ Sets Premiere Date On AMC
#News #AMC #InterviewwiththeVampire #TheVampireLestat

https://deadline.com/2026/03/anne-rice-the-vampire-lestat-premiere-date-amc-1236752232/

sam altman's delusion does not need rights. your living and breathing neighbor needs rights. trans women need rights.

Wheel good news: Thameslink bikes help fund skills for adults with learning disabilities

Bicycles abandoned at railway stations are now helping fund training and work experience for adults with learning disabilities.

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/wheel-good-news-thameslink-bikes-help-fund-skills-for-adults-with-learning-disabilities-88147/

For anyone interested in leading financial indicators, every helicopter in Britain is queueing to get into London Heliport this morning. A lot of very rich people are having a lot of important meetings today.

@andypiper heeyyyyyy, happy birthday! Hope you’re having a great day!

Oh sure, everyone believes Anthropic when they say Claude is now conscious and has “anxiety”

But when I say I have anxiety it’s all “have you tried mindfulness”

You boss needs to be convinced that the investment for #btconf for you is worth every cent? Here are arguments to tell him it‘s a great investment! https://beyondtellerrand.com/convince-your-boss

Does anyone have a *personal* recommendation for a sewing-machine engineer who will come to a house in South London to fix a non-working machine?

I’ve already done a websearch — no need to search on my behalf, I’m only looking for an engineer who someone here has used and would recommend.

(Asking for a friend, not for myself — I have someone local who picks mine up and services it and brings it back, but that’s because my house is on his commute, not because he does house calls in general.)

Boosts welcome — thanks!

#London #sewing

King's Digital Lab are looking for a Senior UI/UX Designer to join their RSE team.

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/139745-senior-research-software-uiux-designer

When they tell you
that if you do not
take off your mask,
that if you do not
start using AI,
that if you do not
get with the times,
that you will be
left behind,
remember:
it is perfectly acceptable
to respond by telling them
that you do not want
to go where they’re going.

🚨 Wide ranging powers to restrict Internet access in the UK have been voted through 🚨

Ministers will be able to impose digital ID checks, curfews and VPN restrictions without Parliamentary scrutiny.

This can be used on websites, social media, apps and games with no need to show there's any harm to children.

Find out more ⬇️

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/press-releases/mps-give-ministers-powers-to-restrict-entire-internet/

#onlinesafety #digitalid #id #privacy #ageverification #freedomofexpression #ukpolitics #ukpol

@cstross This is how they get us.

Writers would never use AI-generated slop writing, but they'll happily use AI-generated slop imagery.
Artists would never use AI-generated slop imagery, but they'll happily display art to AI-generated slop music.
Musicians would never use AI-generated slop music, but they'll happily use AI-generated slop writing for lyrics.

(And nobody cares about AI-generated slop code.)

I am one of the nearly 10,000 authors contributing our names to Don't Steal This Book; a protest launched today at the London Book Fair.

If AI developers wish to use our work in their software they can ask us for permission. If we agree, they can pay us to license it on clearly defined terms.

This is how copyright operates.

Tech companies ignoring copyright is theft. For the UK government to even consider allowing this to continue is a disgrace.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/10/thousands-authors-publish-empty-book-protest-ai-work-copyright

#books #writing

To restore democracy and create a fairer, safer, greener world, we need massive taxes on the ultra-rich. As in the 1940s. People get confused about this. The main purpose of such taxes is *not* to raise revenue. The point is to stop the few dominating the many. It's an essential democratic measure.

Since I got laid off from my Human-Centered Design job due to our government contract getting DOGE'd I've had lots of people say, "You're in tech, you should get a job in AI."

Politely nodding has turned out to be easier than getting into how "Big AI" isn't fucking hiring my skillset, IF I wanted to be associated with it (which I don't), most "AI" jobs (amid all the scam ghost jobs) are dead-end AI training bullshit, the AI certificates are scams, they're torching the middle class, etc etc etc