Michael Rosen: Ha! I've just been refused entry on a plane from Stansted to Bologna. The expiry date on my passport is August 2026 but the issue date is March 2016. More than 10 years from issue date. Thems is the regs. Thanks to Brexit. Apparently. Gotta go home. I miss the Bologna children's book fair. Hard cheese, Michael.

A random Facebook feed post from Michael Rosen may just have saved my summer holiday (my passport's valid until January but issued in May 2016...). It's not just 3 months' validity that matters, folks!

do you have a way to access what you’ve put there on your phone? that feels like the only drawback so far

Heynote looks like exactly how I (not brilliantly) use Apple Notes right now. Downloading it to give it a go.

I think hearing other people's approaches and strategies is helpful, if only to compare notes at this stage in AI's evolution.

My reply to @da.vebrig.gs earlier read "you can only fuck with WordPress so far before it bites you back"

George Baxter’s Print of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs (ca. 1854) A Baxter process print of Hawkins’ re-creations of prehistoric life, which still stand today.

publicdomainreview.org/collection/c...

Crystal Palace dinosaurs by George Baxter, c.1854

While looking for open licensed 18th/19th century views of London this week, I came across this corking view of the Crystal Palace dinosaurs by George Baxter, c.1854. They're a phenomenon now, must have been crazy back then when they really dominated the landscape

Give it a go! squiffy.io/projects/fre...

Screenshot showing artifact helping crop a flyer, and generate social media caption

I'm enjoying using Claude artifacts to build myself little tools and shortcuts. I've ended up doing social media as a community centre volunteer, and my new 'Frequent Flyers' artifact helps me crop a usable section from the steady stream of A4 flyers I get sent, and generate an accompanying caption.

glad to hear you retained your trousers throughout

Secure Digital Legacy Planning — Tidy Affairs Tidy Affairs is a private, secure way to share information with the people you trust. Your modern, digital letter of wishes.

My friend Matt has been iterating his really interesting secret-keeping product, Tidy Affairs. You can try it out for free with a 7 day trial using the code TIDYTRIAL.

I think it has potential to fill a gap in how we prepare for the end in a digital world:

tidyaffairs.com

Phew. Hope they can rebuild you Vader-style for an imperial return soon. Also, I’m left wondering how far does the Very scale go? 😱

I've been listening back on BBC Sounds weeks later while painting up a ladder which puts it all into perspective. What japes have Prince Andrew and Mandelson been up to? Goodness, Venezuela! Hey ho.

I always wonder how many 6music listeners really want the news. On there it's always an irritating interruption of the trivial to something more valuable.

That looks very elegant!

*NEW* stories in April, including positive stories to balance the bad times. Articles with and by: @touretteshero.bsky.social @oskabright.bsky.social @maryohara1.bsky.social @georgejulian.bsky.social @sabasalman.com and many more.

communitylivingmagazine.com

Hitachi TRK-510E FM MW Cassette Recorder Radio

A propos of nothing, what's the first thing you listened to music on? Apart from a brief stint with a dubious robot-shaped radio with scary red eyes, this Hitachi did me for my first 7 or 8 years.

I've been professionally observing how people use tech since the 90s, and it is simply not possible to make universal digital tools. Some things work or are necessary for some people some of the time, nothing works for everyone all of the time. And yet, something in us wants us all to be the same.

Feeling pretty politically homeless rn, and I suspect that's the story behind this chart for a lot of folk.

Mr. Chatterbox is a really fun project. It's not great to talk to but it's a fun demo of what you can build using entirely out-of-copyright training data

It's a 2GB nanochat model - I released a new llm-mrchatterbox plugin that can run it on my Mac simonwillison.net/2026/Mar/30/...

It’s all about the For You Page now, granddad 😉

Scary mannequin head with hair

Love Olio. Tempted to get this and put it my freezer drawer smeared with strawberry jam to freak out the family

Glad you've been let loose. Wishing you well!

Can we get to 4000 followers before our birthday on Sunday?

Can you help us to help fill ears with quiet rather than noise.

🎧🦉🌊🌳🐝🌧️🎧

Heat pumps work for me - but they're not yet a money saver The government wants Britons to embrace heat pumps. But will they ever make financial sense for the average user?

This is a good, readable intro to heat pumps by Evan Davis: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

With you on the dust. So good to be able to reuse rooms again after months out of action though! Enjoy

A lovely post by Madeleine - I'm so glad you found the letters as moving as I have. "Being in the middle of all these lives, bought it to life. The boring, endless days. The cold, hunger, longing. The joy and adventure. The children born and lost. The hope for the future."

Do you know of any shed previously owned by a famous person?

Would like to do a new feature on famous sheddies and their spaces.

Pilsner label: “we aren’t just a brewery, we’re a community”

it’s everywhere…

Help us improve Open Government Licensing guidance The National Archives oversees the UK Government Licensing Framework, helping both public sector information providers and people who re-use this data to understand their rights and responsibilities. ...

If you’re interested in open government data, please read (and repost) www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blogs/digita...