Mark W

Started / Going

Says someone using social media funded in exactly the same way.

Holy Moly. The huge hay barn fire just next to the A1 near Durham is massive. The amount of heat you feel even when driving past is insane. My dashcam video doesn’t do it justice.

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A black-and-white portrait of David Lynch. He is looking straight into the camera. A headline reads: "1946-2025: David Lynch, Visionary Filmmaker, Dies at 78." Photo by Sara Hirakawa for The New York Times.

Breaking News: David Lynch, the visionary filmmaker, has died at 78. He was known for his surreal style in films like “Eraserhead” and “Mulholland Drive,” as well as the TV series “Twin Peaks.” nyti.ms/3WphQj8

I was there that day (out on a boat on the western atolls) and the rain was biblical. And just kept going for the best part of 24 hours. Never seen rain like it - neither had the staff on the boat. And the seasonal monsoon switch is getting later each year - from Dec to March now for 3 years.

Is a broken jet stream causing extreme weather that lasts longer? — New Scientist Scientists are scrambling to understand how climate change may be interfering with the winds that carry our weather, with potentially catastrophic consequences

Interesting article about the Jet Stream in @newscientist.bsky.social - apple.news/AJnFKYEoqSH2... - although they are also seeing wacky weather in the Indian Ocean. Usually January is 90mm per month in Hulhulemale, Maldives. Just on 3rd Jan in 2 hours they had 108mm of rain. en.mmtv.mv/1482

Yeah, ok. I could have been a bit quicker.

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I can categorically say that the new OK Go music video is clever, mind bending and excellent. The song has a good message about the state of the world too. (The video will be released later today on YouTube).

Ugh.

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Except tools like ‘Turnitin’ are easily able to detect AI generated content and students using it can be penalised.

Tony Slattery: Comedian and actor dies aged 65 He was known for his quick-witted improvisations on shows like Channel 4's Whose Line Is It Anyway.

So sad about Tony Slattery passing away. I used to love him on Who’s Line is it Anyway and the documentary about him recently was heartbreaking but fascinating. A huge loss. Comedian and actor Tony Slattery dies aged 65 www.bbc.com/news/article...

Hi - thanks for that. Have filled out the form 👍

Is anyone else having an issue with @octopus.energy Octopus Mini not pulling any data from their smart meter?
Mine had worked fine for 12 months until Sunday when it suddenly stopped working. Worked intermittently since then, more off than on, despite restarts etc. Emailed octopus - no reply 😞

It wouldn’t be hard to mine Facebook data for the same reason… People willingly share so much sensitive information on Social Media..

That was a phono preamplifier designed by a snake oil ‘audiophool’ salesman (Tom Evans) - he only sent it to Mark because the buyer asked him to for repair, and sent it with an arrogant note saying ‘you can’t fix this’ assuming that him grinding off the transistor ID’s would stop him. It didn’t.

Watching a documentary about the Carpenters and didn’t realise how much of their music is imprinted in my memory courtesy of my Dad’s family who loved them. You forget how beautiful Karen Carpenter’s voice was.

Here we find a Land Rover in its usual state, broken down mid carriageway in the most dangerous place in Yorkshire near the top of Sutton Bank, yet it seems the driver was in no rush to get it moved and no police in attendance. Two pictures taken 90 minutes apart.

As a scuba diver I can objectively say - in this case they have it pretty much bang on accurate. Slower movement, limited manoeuvrability and piss-poor visibility - welcome to my world.

Yes, that’s pretty much how it is every day. Not forgetting that they stole the whole idea from Only Connect.

Biggest challenge I have with doing @nytimes.com ‘connections’ is that I’m not American and many of the ‘connections’ are very specifically yank focussed, which sometimes mean absolutely nothing to the more discerning international audience.

Just checked the car’s charged (it has) but also curious about what it’s currently seeing as the outside temperature. -9C here!

The video is very clever as it sort of digs into the Pete Burns side of fame - do stars get surgery because they hate themselves? Probably. Uncomfortable to watch and he’s only missing the full on trout pout which seems very popular currently.

As an aside - the song is just outstanding.

YouTube video by MarkW Scuba Diving in the Maldives with Sharks & Manta Rays, January 2025

Here’s a simple video I shot of a couple of dives on the trip I just did to the Maldives. 2 hours of footage edited down somewhat - but pretty much as it happened. First dive was with 35+ reef sharks, second was a few Manta Rays at a cleaning station. youtu.be/rFDL1T3zAeE?...

But driving home from Manchester airport last night at 10pm was horrid. Roads weren’t busy, just the standing water made it terrible to drive, slush blocking carriageways, really varying driving standards. I’m lucky my Polestar has 4WD and winter tyres on being based on an XC40 underneath.

Blimey. I consider myself lucky as the Qatar flight I arrived on yesterday evening in Manchester was one of the only not diverted. Poor Singapore Airlines people waited hours for their bags due to no staff being available to take them off the plane (we waited an hour due to dnata being ‘useless’).

A short video of a Manta I was lucky enough to see on a cleaning station in the Maldives last week whilst on a week’s scuba diving trip. We were there for 70 minutes watching a few different manta turn up for their de-lousing. Something so moving about these beautiful creatures. #marinelife #scuba

Just listening to a new pressing of Fleetwood Mac’s self titled album from 1975 and I realised I used to love the embossed W logo on the sleeve of Warner Music Group releases. I wonder how many other people miss little things like that?

Had the pleasure of seeing Jurassic Park accompanied by a live orchestra this evening. Was rather magical and how much you take for granted how the mood and power of a movie is made or broken by the music.