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  100 years to the day since Houdini died, on Halloween 1926. Escapologist, magician, movie star, skeptic, debunker of fraudulent mediums, and all around absolute madlad.

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  Well this idiot has just jinxed England's chances, hasn't he? "Fan has huge £550 tattoo declaring England World Cup winners" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq616emqr51o

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  I get the feeling this incident at RAF Fairford is going to turn into a great big nothingburger and the "terrorists" (who have now been released on bail, which seems unlikely if the police still think they're terrorists) will be nothing of the sort. (Whatever fantasy Trump is having about "Scotland Yard" at the time.) Lots of speculation on UK Reddit that they were stealing fuel, which is apparently quite common in the area. They probably should have avoided a US airbase...

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  Interesting story about why childhood vaccination rates in the UK are lower than they should be, and how it's more about access to them than about anti-vax ideas. It highlights a drop-in vaccination clinic in Keighley, in a disused unit in a shopping centre that has helped bring the area's vaccination rate above the national average. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0qvlw2dd0no

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  Uefa pushes back strongly against FIFA's latest godawful proposal. You could say it's all kicking off... ⚽ BBC News - Fifa World Cup: Uefa to boycott tournament if Gianni Infantino's investment plans go through - BBC Sport https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c5y67zrrdddo

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  Just back from the optician. I only had my usual checkup a year ago and probably wouldn't have had another one until next year, but I've had an eye floater appear in the last couple of days. It's bigger and more noticeable than some teeny tiny ones I've had for a while, so since floaters can be a warning sign of imminent retinal detachment, got to get it checked out.

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  The washing machine install guys left me a little tool that's for adjusting the machine's feet. Before I put that away in my tool box I put a sticky label on it noting what it's for, so I don't declutter it in five years after totally forgetting what it is. If I ever think, "I don't need to label this, I'll remember what it's for," I immediately put a label on it, because history shows I absolutely will not remember what it's for.

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  A YouTube channel I found recently is the channel of Glasdon UK Ltd, a firm that makes street furniture like bins and benches. This does not sound very exciting, I know. And there are plenty of very dull product demos. But the ones to watch are the product test videos - which feature Glasdon employees absolutely whaling on bins with baseball bats to show how tough and vandal proof they are. Most fun job ever. https://youtu.be/Z6Ll9pTjpTw

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  Ugh, my washing machine has final turned up its toes and joined the choir invisible, after being dodgy for a while. It's really old, so I knew this day was coming. New one is coming on Wednesday and my brain is currently catastophising all the ways this process can go wrong. My logical side says it will almost certainly be fine. I've paid for the installation and, crucially, removal of the old machine, so everything will be done and dusted and I can relax afterwards.

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  @robpumphrey@mastodonapp.uk Definitely. That advice to make eye contact where possible with drivers at junctions etc is useful I think, though not perfect. It's the only way to be reasonably confident that they know you're there.

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  I'm continuing to simplify my life in lots of little ways. Reducing cognitive load and decision fatigue. One example, I used to have like ten types of tea and infusions in kitchen. And then not drink most of them, because I couldn't decide which to have. Now I've got one everyday strong black tea for the constant all-day brews I live on, and one (and only one) non-caffeinated option for evenings. Currently that's redbush and vanilla. I won't buy another type until those run o...

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  Horses man. Horses are crazy. Evolved in the Americas, and spread to Eurasia while the continents were joined. Then went extinct in America, about when humans first arrived, so maybe hunted as food or we just out-competed them or messed things up for them in some other way. Got domesticated in Eurasia, for riding and pulling stuff, then got reintroduced to the Americas after Europeans arrived, where some escaped and became the wild (actually feral) horses of America today. What a round trip!

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  Okay, it's time to do some editing, after that breakfast time discussion about how we're all DOOMED.

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  Tell us about a nonfiction book you've enjoyed #ScribesAndMakers I saw mention of an old favourite of mine today, The Cuckoo's Egg by Clifford Stoll. An astronomer at Berkley who was working in their computer department in the 1980s, started tracking down a hacker and found himself down a rabbit hole of international espionage. All about computer security before most people even had a PC. It's really entertaining, and fun. And one time he replied to me on Twitter, which made my day...

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  Why is it taking so long for them to start Luigi Mangione's trial? Are they having trouble finding twelve people who haven't had awful experiences with the US health insurance system?

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  OMG it's actually raining. Proper British summer day. 😁❤️

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  One thing (of many) I will never forgive today's asshole billionaires for is making people hate space travel and exploration. Landing people on Mars would/will be frigging cool. But not if bloody Elon Musk is involved, since so much that he touches turns to pure cringe.

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  RE: https://wandering.shop/@beecycling/116924669450144672 See! I called it. This bloke is to blame. Thanks, Sean. 🤨

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  Just nearly jumped out of my skin thinking my washing up sponge was covered in little bugs. Then realised they were chia seeds , which are tiny enough to get stuck in the holes of the sponge.

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  I see England have reached the stage where they go out on penalties. Or get "robbed" by a bad refereeing decision. I swear, if we actually won a World Cup we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves. We'd be like a dog that actually caught a squirrel. Like... Now what?

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  This is Picasso, who lives at Pet's Corner in Jesmond Dene in Newcastle upon Tyne. Named for the light spot of fur that makes it look like he's been putting his nose in paint. Which is fair enough, since how else would rabbits paint? #Bunny #Rabbit #Bunday

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  Another day, another chance for a brisk bout of sunstroke. We used to have proper British summers. It rained all the time.

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  @lienrag@mastodon.tedomum.net @randahl@mastodon.social I hope that counter effect is still going by November. I'm sure they will do many more terrible things by then. They're probably out to provoke a response that gives them an excuse to cancel the elections entirely. If they can't get that, they will steal them, however blatant they have to be about it. You're not going to get a normal election again until these people are gone, and they're not going to go quietly.

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  @lienrag@mastodon.tedomum.net @randahl@mastodon.social But they only have to do it in a few key places where the winning margin is usually small one way or the other. And they only have to be seen doing it in a few places and spread rumours that it's happening in more to put people off going anywhere near their voting location.

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  Blimey, this upcoming by-election - a.k.a. "Operation Make Burnham an MP in Time for a Summer Leadership Battle - will be an absolute bloodbath. The Labour majority is under 6000 and Reform swept all the local wards in the recent council elections. It's in no way going to be a formality. The level of smugness Farage will reach if Reform take the seat and throw a spanner in Burnham's works will be off the scale.

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  @oldrawgabbit The "Does that make sense?" in the middle of that is hilarious. No, Donald, it doesn't! You're spouting gibberish, again.

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  My publisher, JMS Books, has 40% off ebooks for Valentine's Day. If you fancy supporting a small indie publisher of queer romance and queer fiction, check it out! Sale runs through to Monday. 💝 https://www.jms-books.com/

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  Society: Have a full time job and do lots of overtime to get ahead. Get lots of sleep. Exercise regularly. Cook from scratch with fresh ingredients. Spend time with your kids. Maintain an active social circle. Stay connected with your extended family. Read books. Stay informed on issues & up to date with current affairs to be a responsible voter. Be active in your local community. Volunteer to do stuff for your kid's school. Pursue lifelong learning. Have hobbies. Why are you c...

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  Getting all choked up as the Artemis crew passes Apollo 13's record, taking humans the furthest from planet Earth anyone has ever been. Now they're proposing naming a previously unnamed crater Carroll, after the late wife of the mission commander Reid Wiseman. 😭

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  Phew, contact safely re-established with the crew of the Artemis mission, after being out of touch for 40 minutes on the dark side of the Moon. I can go to sleep now. #Artemis