Natalie Downe

Simon sat in front of a heart shaped mousse cake

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! but especially to my lovely husband of 6 years, who this October we will have been together for 25 years!

In a normal government, this results in the resignation of multiple cabinet officials (Transportation, Defense, and Homeland Security), and the closure or (at least!) radical reorg of the cartoonishly incompetent agency at the center of it: CBP.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...

WEARING A MASK IS NOT FUCKING EXTREME YOU FUCKING ABLEIST DISEASE LOVING PIECES OF SHIT

Incantation bowl with an Aramaic inscription around a demon. From Nippur, Mesopotamia 6th–7th ce

My contribution to Super Bowl Sunday is this Jewish Aramaic incantation bowl with a demon on it. From Nippur, Mesopotamia, circa 6th-7th century CE.

Truly a super bowl.

A simply spectacular sgraffito ceramic mug with a bold, charismatic Kākāpō parrot taking up most of the visible space. It has a yellow beard and green feathers.

Another side of the mug, two cute grey Kākāpō chicks are visible and three red rimu fruit that look like berries, one on the floor and two hanging from wiry branches.

In celebration of the 2026 breeding season ceramic artist Karen James made me a Kākāpō mug! simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/8/k...

an owl is flying over a grassy field with a disney junior logo behind it Alt: an owl is flying over a grassy field

Happy Superb Owl Sunday!

🦉 are vital to keeping ecosystems in balance by preventing overpopulation of prey.

During my sunset walk last night, an owl flew right over me. I think I heard it ask, “whooo do you want to win the 🏈 game?”*

Enjoy the game, & be safe: get a ride if you’re buzzed.

Wow, that would be very bad.

Homeland Security is trying to force tech companies to hand over data about Trump critics | TechCrunch The use of administrative subpoenas, which are not subject to judicial oversight, are used to demand a wealth of information from tech companies, including the owners of anonymous online accounts documenting ICE operations.

The Department of Homeland Security is using administrative subpoenas, a secretive tool issued without a judge's signature, to go after people lawfully reporting ICE activity or criticizing DHS policies.

This is a direct attack on our First Amendment rights and we're fighting back.

Wow that is a very pretty chicken!

A Social Network for A.I. Bots Only. No Humans Allowed.

My laptop got its photo in the NYT!

(There's a photo of me later on in the story too) www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/t...

De-catastrophizing What is my anxious thought? What evidence do I have for this thought? What evidence do I have against this thought? What is the likelihood of this happening? Best possible outcome? Worst possible outcome? How would I cope if the worst outcome happens? Would it matter in a week? Would it matter in a month? Would it matter in a year? After examining the evidence how has my thought changed?

I've shared this before but sharing again since a lot of y'all are going through it lately 🫂

Minecraft complex oven situation

For when you need to cook more stuff than fits in a regular oven!

General Strike

US General Strike and nationwide shutdown today. If you are at work, go home, if you need to shop wait for another day, are you sitting in school? walk out right now.

Those outside of the US, boycott. #3E #Goodvsevil #generalstrike #iceout #justiceforpretti #justiceforgood

That’s the best idea Ive heard all day!

Thank you for continuing to fight on both these fronts. We caught covid for the first time at a protest in sf two weeks ago, pretty sure it was from a woman who was coughing and not covering her mouth. We have been ever so careful to avoid getting it.

Voting NO on the DHS funding bill is the bare minimum.

Backing Kristi Noem’s impeachment is the bare minimum.

Holding law-breaking ICE agents legally accountable is the bare minimum.

ICE is beyond reform. Abolish it.

The ender dragon was defeated, realm event

Do I know anyone else who plays Minecraft bedrock?

So floofy!

We had a buff orphinton like that, I think she struggled to preen herself. We had to trim her and give her baths and blowdries

Snowy shows off her clean white fluffy butt

I think they’ve been having lots of dust baths recently!

The are very pleasant companions aren’t they!

Kākāpō Cam: Rakiura live stream Critical update for this year's Kākāpō breeding season: the New Zealand Department of Conservation have a livestream running of Rakiura's nest! You’re looking at the underground nest of 23-year-old Ra...

In important kākāpō breeding season news... the New Zealand Department of Conservation have a livestream running of Rakiura's nest

I grabbed a timelapse video of the past few hours, you can get a glimpse of her first egg! simonwillison.net/2026/Jan/25/...

Who would like to look at some fluffy chicken butts?

Well that’s just the cutest

Let me say something very directly.

We are objectively in a fascist authoritarian moment here in this country.

Academics and historians have established indicators for this. We are well over the line on many of them.

We cannot go on like this for three more years.