Tom Lloyd

Not really worth a full Sunday but it was a test run that could have gone worse despite the best efforts of my payment system.

First book fair wasn't a total disaster, which is a relief. Sold a few, met some good people, maybe I'll do it again.

"My whole existence is flawed
You get me closer to God"

First attempt at siu mai seemed to work pretty well. Kids weren't impressed but the adults liked it, which is just as well as I've got another 12 in the freezer

If you're in Oxford tomorrow, do come along and buy some books!

Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/75ce2fba-f6df-4d72-a5a4-0a297d50891f?emailId=5ae282da-81cb-4162-8f99-b98a89b5f638&segmentId=22011ee7-896a-8c4c-22a0-7603348b7f22 Successful social democracies spread both taxation and spending across the population. Everyone pays their way and everyone reaps the benefits in the form of high-quality and well-funded public services, fostering socio-economic solidarity with buy-in from the top and bottom alike. At the other end of the spectrum, the US has lower taxes and public spending, but a far more dynamic economy and strong incentives for work and innovation. Its robust growth means high living standards are no longer confined to the top but increasingly shared across much of the population. The UK has the worst of both worlds: it collects much less tax revenue from the middle of the income distribution than its European neighbours with better-quality public services, while at the top the combination of high and rising taxes with the abrupt withdrawal of public goods creates bad incentives and resentment all round. The UK’s curious experiment in eating the rich while shrinking the state has left Britons less satisfied with their public services than not only Scandinavians but most Americans, and poorer than not only Americans but most Scandinavians.

This (from: www.ft.com/content/75ce...) is something you can *feel* if you are in the UK, especially if you've experienced living abroad. But infuriatingly successive governments and our entire media are somehow absolutely committed to suggesting anyone who wants to change this is the devil...

When this one gives out, my options seem to be too massive to fit comfortably in a pocket too

While I'm not quite at the point of losing my house, the harm ai has done to my animation work income is huge, like 80% gone and it makes me wonder how many freelance artists and animators ARE losing everything while billionaire con men continue to rake it in.

It's possible I'm more cross than I should be over the fact new phones don't have headphone sockets.

Having just started reading the first Jack Nightingale book, I'm hooked immediately, but also very glad I didn't read it while writing Devil Inside. I think it might have entirely derailed my plan for the book!

I doubt it, but I have no interest in engaging with it in case that counts as tacit acceptance it can start involving itself elsewhere

Still can't decide if it's nice or weird that I get a message saying where my blood has been sent. Still, I hope the good folk of Chertsey enjoy it.

I think here it's just the IT support company have been lazy about upgrades. Annoying when I don't have a proper personal laptop though and do everything on the work one.

Oh ffs, Co-Pilot has turned up in my apps and because this is a work computer it doesn't look there's any way to remove it, so that annoying little button just lingers on the screen

International Criminal Court judge, "sanctioned" by the USA for doing his job, blocked from using internet services worldwide, credit cards, banking... And nobody cares...

Ok but this is totally something Charlotte Church would do

Everything stop being on fire for one fucking minute challenge.

Wow, that's... I bet they felt stupid afterwards!

Idle comment from a colleague "it will always be pre 1997 in UK publishing"

We were talking about a certain large group's insistence on trying to get Hong Kong on a list of Commonwealth territories, but honestly it could have been a more general point.

Closing Central Madrid To Cars Resulted In 9.5% Boost To Retail Spending, Finds Bank Analysis City of Madrid significantly boosted the takings of its shops and restaurants last Christmas by banning cars from the CBD, finds an analysis by Spain's second largest bank.

Keep this in mind when people claim cars mean business — closing Central #Madrid to cars over holidays resulted in a 9.5% boost in retail spending on its main shopping street: STUDY.

There was also a 71% drop in air pollution.

Via @carltonreid.com in @forbes.com. #citymakingmath #citiesforpeople

A chain of hoops made from twigs hanging from a branch

Found this hanging across my path on the walk this morning. Probably fine, right? No curse about to ensnare me I'm sure.

yes, I've got a few of theirs!

Doesn't hit the heights Wardruna can, but sits well in the same space and there's some good stuff there from what I've heard so far

Munknorr

First email of the day is a rant to PRH Germany that someone senior's being incompetent if they can't hire enough staff to deal with their contracts backlog. Which I'm sure will go down well.

Was just thinking I could do with some new atmospheric music and then I stumble across another Nordic pagan musician offering their whole discography for $28. At that price I should probably wait for bandcamp Friday however

New: Reuters has tallied job losses, suspensions and investigations stemming from the reaction to Charlie Kirk's Sept. 10 assassination. Its findings: More than 600 Americans have been punished, and the figure is likely to be an under-count.

www.reuters.com/investigatio...

instead of making a pithy joke (which I really want to do), I'll say that if you're struggling, and trying to cope with the horrors of every day life and your taught masculinity is telling you to bottle things up, you should reach out for help.

Men need help too. It's okay to not be okay.

and it can't be that quite so many are content with that so long as they make the lives of others worse. Some, probably, but not 50% surely

makes sense. I think we've just switched because our renewal was higher than seemed reasonable