Liberal democracy just died. It’s been on life support for some time now. And when the alarm sounded, when the patient flatlined, did we call for the crash-cart? No, we ambled down the corridor to get fresh coffee.

Q: What will Labour centrist politicians do now that the collapse of neoliberalism into the degenerate matter of oligarchic authoritarianism is inevitable?

A: Leverage their networks to secure lucrative consultancies to revolve into at the end of their one-term government.

Preparations for Winter Lights

A gull keeps Bird Boy company

An English to English translation error in Windows 11

When a marginally less incompetent government begins the long, slow slog to address irregular maritime arrivals, we shouldn’t be surprised the right pivots to “grooming gangs”.

In the past I’ve used terms like “deep state” or “uniparty” on short-form media as a lazy shorthand. Whatever small use these terms had, they have now been fully captured by the manipulative conspiracist discourse of the hard right. I won’t be using them anymore. They are doing more harm than good.

I’m testing something - excuse the noise.

I have come to believe that stationery is hard.

Let’s start with the 2mm clutch pencil. The Staedtler Mars Technico 780C Clutch Pencil has its faults, but has fewer than its competitors. It is the best 2mm clutch pencil. It is easier to get the black one. Try to get the blue one, which is simpler.

I can’t use LinkedIn. It makes me feel too ill.

Owen Jones nails it here.

Here is the basic truth: the Labour right ran out of ideas long ago. For the permanently crisis-stricken Britain that emerged after the 2008 financial crisis, they have no solutions

The bigger problem is that this is true of the entire UK political class, not just the Labour right.

Crikey, Apple, for £150 quid couldn’t you at least have offered backlighting?

Burt Reynolds, Peter Falk: same actor, right?

Okay. Sitting here, listening to the thump, thump of the alien invasion and pretending it’s not happening.

ChatGPT can’t wield a broom, so how does AI help local authorities deliver non-statutory services? On way is to target street cleaning to the most politically salient wards, thus obscuring the overall failure of service delivery by ensuring local influencers are satisfied.

Starmer is doing a Sunak reset.

The Star Park crows first XI are playing football on the roof.

I’m not sure how we’ll find the solidarity to tackle climate change when no one will push the button on a pelican crossing as that helps other pedestrians to cross too.

Cannot find potimarron today; so am winging it with sweet potato and chestnuts. Wish me luck.

I used to hate peeling vegetables then I got a proper vegetable peeler instead of one of the cheap ones with the stupid orange string.

Farmers, who tugged their forelocks and voted for Brexit though it cut them off from their markets, their low-cost labour force and their subsidies, are now protesting a government tax change that prevents their land being used as a financial instrument to facilitate tax avoidance by the ultra-rich.