Why do arguments on SM make me want to not be here any more?

(Don't answer that. It's a rhetorical question.)

😭

Hmmm... there's an interesting argument there about how the overlaps in company structure might allow for a fair bit of siphoning. 👀
Dwr Cymru is not isolated from the rest of the UK in that regard. 😕

Hmm... yes, I see what you mean. But there's not a lot of detail about what mitigation measures they are intending to take.
I hope it doesn't make things worse elsewhere, but it's more that we're at the 'hold-onto-your-hats' stage.

Here we go...

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to outline what interim arrangements will be put in place to ensure care and support for people with very severe ME, following the decision to pause development of a national specialist service for this group. Disclaimer: This is a holding answer (below). It may be superseded/updated at a future date. Sharon Hodgson answered on 14 April 2026: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

14.3 (continued). Jo Platt's question has now been granted a holding answer.

As of 20 April 2026, the other questions asked about the pause in consideration of very severe ME services have not been answered.

questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...

Keir Starmer tells MPs: "I know many members across the house will find these facts to be incredible"

They laugh.

Scaredy me doesn't like this time of year when strangers come to the door wanting to talk politics.

(I hide and pretend I'm not here, which is what I do most of the time)

It used to be my thing.

Millions of US birth records uncover an autism risk surge tied to common drugs taken during pregnancy A landmark study led by researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and published in Molecular Psychiatry has identified a significant association between prenatal prescription of commonly utilized medications and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children.

Analysis of over 6 million US birth records links prenatal exposure to medications that inhibit cholesterol synthesis with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder in children. doi.org/hbxq8t

Tried again this morning. Took nearly 2 hours to complete one.
😳

I hope not.
They might find it!
😱

A Super-duper El Niño lurks below the Equatorial Pacific Ocean surface, with a large section of the ocean showing a temperature anomaly of >5°C.

Wait for it:

Just nope to the Killer!
Brain scrambled. 😩

My! However long does that little lot take you?

Mars soil is so toxic it kills tardigrades. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

I'd rather not. 😳

The extreme ones on Sudoku.com are usually too easy (or they're unsolvable).
I think I've only had to use the "master" techniques (X-wing, Swordfish) once.

I once had a really good app on my ipad, where you could do them with kanji, but it's gone. :(

Can't remember what it was called.

Morning brain games routine:

1. Birdle. 🦆
2. Codewords.
3. Quordle (Daily, Sequence, Rescue, in that order. Appearence of Weekly challenge always throws me off!)
4. Sudoku (Extreme).
5. Keep doing Sudoku until they actually show me a hard one.

Motorists will be required to install black boxes in their vehicles and download an application to the mobile phone of every person who drives the car. Vehicles will be fitted with telematics equipment that tracks driving conduct, including velocity and braking habits, producing a weekly rating of green, amber or red.

Those who receive four red ratings over 12-month timeframe could face removal from the Motability programme. A pilot scheme in Northern Ireland last year resulted in vehicles being taken away from 300 individuals. The scheme has now confirmed that if someone receives a 'red' week alert, followed by the same rating for two successive weeks, they could lose their car.

Motability has confirmed it will capture and transmit a driver's exact position heading and present velocity; trip length; braking and turning manoeuvres; mobile telephone use, including handset make and identification number and software platform, while behind the wheel: and device background positioning via network and GPS. In a fresh statement Motability has acknowledged that 'high usage' during a week can trigger a red alert. but stressed there are 'no limits' on the number of journeys. The organisation added that if elevated usage alone prompts a red score, 'it will not impact the lease'

This is a human rights issue. You can't have different laws for #disabled people leasing a car, than you would have if an able person leases a car.

#Disability #Motability #Pip

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/cost-of...

Mayor Mamdani and President Obama read a picture book to a group of children.

Mayor Mamdani and President Obama chat and laugh with a group of children.

Mayor Mamdani and President Obama chat and laugh.

Children hug Mayor Mamdani.

Today, President Barack Obama and I read to a group of toddlers at Learning Through Play Pre-K Center in the South Bronx. 

In between singing wheels on the bus, we discussed our administration’s vision for this City — one where New York’s Cutest have the strongest start possible.

A reminder, as Obama and Mamdani come together for the first time in person, that Mamdani is everything the GOP said Obama was... but wasn't: an African-born socialist Muslim.
#justsayin

So I'm here, looking after the seedlings, and making an enormous muffin/brioche/naan concoction to go with some curry I made yesterday. 😁

It's been 10 years since I last went. My night vision is so crap I can't really see anything any more. And I don't really like leaving the house.

Just sitting here. Doomscrolling. While the OH is in a field watching the stars (and possibly a few planets and galaxies).
🔭🌠

Today I learnt about the Udmurts. 👨‍🦰👩‍🦰

tbf my confidence baseline was already at zero. 🙄

Not working, because everyone is using AI to do the work you used to do, erodes your confidence.

CJ7 laid her second egg this morning at 08:48:40 🥳
www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/osprey-news/...
@careyssecretgarden.bsky.social

This is literally my OH's job. 😆

Welcome to the UK’s most zeitgeisty theme park: the Stephen Collins cartoon The ultimate metaphorical experience ride is here …

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...