Hieronymus Bob

“We have had the police knocking on every door,” said a dog walker and resident of Dean, as a helicopter buzzed overhead. “They wanted the names of everybody living there and details of their social media. I know several people refused. We asked them if they were protecting us, or Vance. At least they were honest and said it is for him and that it will all be passed on to the American security people.”

Buried in The Observer yesterday was this: UK police knocking on doors demanding details of social media accounts of people, to pass to a foreign government, simply because they happen to live near where a US politician wanted to have a holiday observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Once, as a TV reviewer, I remember watching the first episode of a new series and delighting in its lack of tedious exposition, how it allowed us to learn about characters by their actions, with no thick wodges of lore or backstory to digest. Turns out I'd started with Episode Two by mistake. 1/2

Labour to Reform UK defectors are hugely skewed in two ways that is contrary to certain myths about them - they are disproportionately 2019 Conservatives (not forever red Labourites) and much more Scottish than average Labour voter. Probably some overlap here too.

I spoke to one of the staff at the Prince Charles this week and apparently the landlords’ aim is to convert these successful cinema spaces into capsule hotels. For tourists, I presume, who’ve come to London to enjoy all its vibrant Nothing Fucking Happening Any More.

Man Who Thought He'd Lost All Hope Loses Last Additional Bit Of Hope He Didn't Even Know He Still Had

Man Who Thought He'd Lost All Hope Loses Last Additional Bit Of Hope He Didn't Even Know He Still Had theonion.com/man-who...

I would probably say the single most annoying thing about LLMs is that "okily-dokily doo, I goofed when I gave you that ludicrous answer, it's my bad that I said cheese comes from cats, I'll do better next time, would you like to know what sort of cat it comes from?" tone when it gets stuff wrong.

Screenshot of Spotify. Ed Sheeran is illustrated with a picture of Rupert Grint.

Genuinely don't know if Spotify are taking the piss or their AI is broken.

Homelessness minister threw out her tenants - then increased rent by £700 a month Rushanara Ali, who has spoken out against 'unreasonable rent increases', relisted her four-bedroom townhouse in east London for £4,000 a month

My view is that a landlord shouldn't have been the homelessness minister in the first place

inews.co.uk/news/homeles...

Mental health waiting lists: Amy has complex PTSD but has seen a psychiatrist once in 10 years Twelve times more mental health patients are waiting more than 18 months for treatment than those with physical health conditions in England, data analysis shows.

this is a familiar story. we have mental health awareness days & mental health awareness weeks, institutions talk about how seriously they take it, yet in the background actual treatment is hard to access. my own PTSD was supported by counselling from a charity initially before accessing NHS support

Pursue engagement at the cost of credibility and you’ll deserve neither and lose both.

Gordon Brown calls for gambling tax hikes to lift 500,000 kids out of poverty Gordon Brown said poverty was blighting the lives of Britain’s children as he called for 'massively undertaxed profits' of the gambling industry to be used to lift kids out of poverty

Gordon Brown calls for gambling tax hikes to lift 500,000 kids out of poverty

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Millionaire trophy hunter gored to death by 1.3 tonne bull on African safari Asher Watkins, 52, was tracking a 1.3 tonne Cape Buffalo bull, known as the Black Death, on Sunday when it suddenly charged at him at 35mph.

Ah that's lovely news.

metro.co.uk/2025/08/06/m...

Photo of a snail and its trail: it's climbed up the side of a brick, then made a sharp turn down again.

Parkour.

Should it be widely understood as a problem with books as an art form that most readers don't finish (or in many cases, start) all the books they buy?

Fuß Tattoo Motiv der Kopf von Dr. Zoidberg aus Futurama (farbig, rot) die Zehen dienen als Mund Tentakel

Das perfekte Tattoo existiert ni-

Heartfelt Apology Robs Man Of Cherished Grudge

Heartfelt Apology Robs Man Of Cherished Grudge theonion.com/heartfe...

More than fifty private schools shut since Labour put VAT on fees Department for Education defends ending tax breaks for independent institutions, after parents lost a legal battle at the High Court this year — view map

The headline here should say:

"Number of private schools increases by 35 - showing fears of an exodus to be unfounded".

(The increase is mentioned way down the article.)

www.thetimes.com/article/19ef...

AI obituaries will never be better than this.

Say hello!

#minipainting
#miniature
#diorama
#gencon2025
#teletubbies

"when I was 24, the town centre was safe, you could have a right raucous night out with your mates and then stagger home. Now I'm 55 and it's a scary place, full of thugs drunk out of their mind and shouting"

OUR FUTURE TOGETHER - I AM JOINING ADVANCE UK!!! I am sick and tired of being politically homeless, I am sick of the establishment lies of @Nigel_Farage , I am putting my faith in @benhabib6 and his new political party @_AdvanceUK Join us here - https://advanceuk.org.uk Give this a share to everyone you know. #UnitingTheKingdom

Tommy Robinson has joined the Advance UK party led by Ben Habib

This seems to me a very implausible political project, pitching for the niche market which is OK with these three propositions at once
- Reform + Farage are too woke
- Ethnic minority leadership is OK
- Tommy Robinson is not toxic

A two panel meme; on the left is an ornate horse capping the end of a wooden railing. The right is a toy horse taped to a pole at the bottom of stairs

What I think I wrote vs what I realize I wrote when I’m editing

Cross Westminster Bridge when the sun is low in the afternoon, and the shadows of the bridge on the pavement make perfect shapes of cocks with balls all the way along.
It is unknown whether this was intentional for the bridge right next to Parliament...
#London

Chris Mason's approach to reporting on Farage & Reform:

Tweet: "We went to the planetarium today and when the voicover said 'This is the Earth', one of the kids booed."

Today some people on a train waved at me and shouted 'IT'S HER!!!'

'Don't get big-headed,' warned a family member who could hear more clearly what they were saying, 'they think you're Philomena Cunk.'

Yes, because I am bloody minded about this bullshit. Check every single tab on a cookie tool and specifically check for a "legitimate interests" tab, because they will all be on by default, and there could literally be hundreds of them. And fuck the ICO for never tackling this abusive bullshit.

A post on X by Kyle Langford, with a composite photo showing him standing outside the gates of Auschwitz, and the caption: "My zero unemployment plan", with an emoji of factory chimneys.

I know there's a risk of amplifying the fascist horror show, but I think we need to be aware of just how far things are going, especially as this man is a Republican candidate for governor of California. All the old safeguards are being deliberately torn down, and the unspeakable normalised.

I will never not understand how a minority of people have decided that wind farms - significantly prettier than pylons, coal power plants, nuclear power plants, and almost certainly fusion power plants - are ugly. In terms of energy generation, what else are you hoping for that is better?