I've always been a massive advocate for the 20mph speed limits in London, but I've never been so personally thankful for it.

Lower speed limits in urban centres save lives!

That sounds like a good idea. It would also mean instead of voting by proxy, those of us who can't attend (i.e. am chronically ill) could vote ourselves.

That does sound farcical! I hope the party clarifies to membership soon what happened & what steps are being taken to resolve the issues. Shit can happen, we just have to be honest & sort it out. Thanks for the info.

Given we had Velociraptor Awareness Day. Did you know, many species of famous theropods were named after Polish women in palaeontology. Velociraptor osmolskae & Citipati osmolskae are named after Halszka Osmólska, a Mongolian dinosaur expert, responsible for describing Deinocheirus and Gallimimus.

I keep seeing references to problems at the Spring conference, but what actually happened? Is there a summary anywhere that members can refer to?

How Thousands of Phone Snapshots Solved a Flower Colour Mystery Nearly 10,000 People Helped Confirm a Botanical Hunch. Were You One of Them?

How Thousands of Phone Snapshots Solved a Flower Colour Mystery
www.botany.one/how-thousand...

Nearly 10,000 People Helped Confirm a Botanical Hunch. Were You One of Them?
#Botany #PlantScience

I changed to John Lewis after previous M&S ones fell apart too quickly. Been happy with the change & colours.

Finland began trials on alleviating homelessness c30 years ago, showing positive results from the start. The rest of the world looked on and

Green Party MP, Hannah Spencer, holding a sign which says: I signed the letter... Not In Our Name: Women in support of the trans+ community NION logo NotInOurName.org.uk

A big thank you to Hannah Spencer MP for signing our letter and standing in clear support of the trans+ community.

Like Hannah, many women from across the political spectrum have joined the 101,000+ UK women who have already signed our letter - Women in support of the trans+ community.

Orange tabby cat with a sign over his head. If cats could text you back, they would not.

Truth. #Caturday

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...

Good pull quote:

#MECFS #PEM

In Pursuit of Understanding the Crash What Post-Exertional Physiology Tells Us About ME/CFS

Important post from Dr Todd Davenport about PEM.

likeannopeningbandforthesun.substack.com/p/in-pursuit...

A black cat w golden eyes half curled up on a blue sofa. She gazes gently into the middle distance, probably thinking it's high time she was fed.

Maggie being an absolute goddess today

These wondrous worms build their homes directly on the rocky vent chimneys where temperatures can reach up to 105 degrees Celsius (221 degrees Fahrenheit). 🔥⁠
⁠
Pompeii worms (Alvinella pompejana) live on hydrothermal vent “chimneys,” where superheated water belches from within the Earth’s crust.

Same text as in post. Via @UBIWorks.bsky.social #UBI #UniversalBasicincome

“Basic income has been shown to reduce health care costs, including an 8.5% reduction in hospitalizations. As Dr. Danielle Martin [the newly elected Liberal MP in today’s by-election] has so pointedly said, “If we discovered a drug that reduced hospitalizations by 8.5%, we’d put it in the water.”

Sauropod skeleton in uneven green uplighting in an ornate cathedral. Body is in a transept and neck is wrapping around the corner into the nave.

Looking up at sauropod head, with mouth open. Skull is bathed in green light.

Patagotitan cast is on display at Peterborough cathedral for a few weeks. There's a hell of a humanities essay in here about role of spectacle and awe in religious and secular spaces...

Photos from www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/whats-on/thi...

From 2026: the dinosaur-like reptile Nyasasaurus sprints after a tiny beaked reptile, a rhynchosaur, in Triassic Tanzania. Trees, living and dead, erupt from shallow banks surrounding a shallow stream, across which Nyasasaurus has splashed.

My old 2012 take on Nyasasaurs, produced in association with Sterling Nesbitt and Paul Barrett. Here, Nyasasaurus examines the remains of an uprooted cycad, while rhynchosaurs munch foliage in the distance. I'd been producing palaeoart semi-professionally for a few years when I created this, but drawing was still a side gig. It wasn't long after I made this image that I began taking my art more seriously, investing in better equipment and leaning more into it as a career.

I get a lot of licensing requests for my 2012 #paleoart of (what might be) the oldest known dinosaur, Nyasasaurus. 2012 was a professional lifetime ago, so I've prepared a nicer version for new clients. Nyasasaurus is so poorly known that you could take a recon. in several directions. #sciart

Blue badge holders: how are you treated by other members of the public when out? Have you experienced reactions from other people when using your blue badge? We’d like to hear from you

**CALL OUT** I’m looking to gather experiences of disabled people who have been criticised or harassed by the public about their Blue Badge or Motability car etc when out.

Click on link to fill in our form. Please do share to reach as many people as possible. www.the-guardian.com/world/2026/a...

A four-panel comic. In panel 1, two people are standing in the forest, wearing backpacks. The red-haired person says "I've never hiked with a naturalist before! I'm excited. I hope I brought enough water." The brown-haired person says "I'm sure you did. Let's go!" In panel 2, the brown-haired person points at various nature features. "Look, a red eft! It's the teenaged form of the Eastern Newt. Ooh, wintergreen! Wanna smell it? I hear a Chestnut-sided Warbler. Glacial till. Rubble of the last ice age!" In panel 3, the naturalist points to more nature items. "This forest seems early successional. Aw, a leafcutter bee with a piece of leaf! Wow, deer poor! Wow, fungi growing out of the deer poop!!" The red-haired person says "Okay, but..." In panel 4, the red-haired person continues, "It's been an hour and we've walked three feet." The brown-haired person exclaims, looking excited, "Three amazing feet!"

Sometimes you make a new comic, and sometimes you redraw an old one because you lost the original high res file 😅

Again, if you have a Substack, the best time to switch away was months ago -- but today's the second best time.

A Siamese cat in the circular door of a tumble dryer

It turns out the cat keeping warm in the empty tumble dryer looks like a scene from 2001 A Space Odyssey 😮 😺 🚀

#CatsInSpace #Artemis

"Over-diagnosis" is a fiction designed to cast doubt on historically under-researched diseases which disproportionately affect women. Patients either meet diagnostic criteria or they don't.

At last, a paper we can print, roll up and smack people with when they ask, "Have you tried yoga?"

[Very tongue in cheek/dark humour. I'm a yoga instructor with ME.]

Now Trudie Chalder says "recovery from CFS" through CBT doesn't mean absence of symptoms and getting back to regular life but is more about accepting and coming to terms with chronic illness. Huh??? Isn't that acknowledging that CBT doesn't really produce "recovery"? virology.ws/2026/04/03/t...

"This is a historic election for Wales. Things are going to change. We are going to deliver the hope we've promised."

Anthony Slaughter, @anthonyslaughter.bsky.social, launches the Green Party's manifesto for the Senedd elections - highlighting measures to end the housing crisis.

oh we bloomscrolling? hell yeah, hell yeah

So pretty!

I can do you a mossy rock and some bluebells.

Dear USA,

You know those lovely checks and balances you are so very proud of? Using some of them right about now would go down a treat.

Lots of love from
THE REST OF HUMANITY