John Appleby

RIP Skittle. Haven’t blubbed like this for ages. Old cat dies. M’son said we had to show her her dead brother’s body to minimise pining/searching for him. Fuck me we were in tears

Sunder is correct here - the headline figure is quite misleading

Here are the profiles *over time*

Both care workers *and* dependents are fiscally positive for their first *20 years*.

Dependents are ultimately negative but only when old/sick/retired.

Middle East war could be decided by who runs out of missiles or interceptors first, analysts say Stockpiles of the most advanced US-made weapons are limited – while few know how large Iran’s arsenal is

Waiting for Zelenskyy to offer US Ukraine- developed anti drone technology (for a price) as US eats into its interceptor stock… www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Yet another datapoint confirming what George Stigler said: "regulation is acquired by the industry and is designed and operated primarily for its benefit." chrisdillow.substack.com/p/on-regulat...

Couldn’t think what to draw today so made the paper into a giant dart to satisfy m’creative urge

Cats: modes of sleeping…

c1970s Abbey Road Studios coffee machine as almost certainly used by The Beatles

Yes. My point that such funding not uncommon and (probably) not detrimental to regulator job. More problematic is ‘revolving door’ re jobs, overall level of funding, ownership of businesses, strength of punishments etc. Guardian piece implying some regulatory capture due to fees.

(Many industry regulators are funded by those they regulate of course.)

Auction closes 9pm tonight.

£23,785.27 raised towards £30,000.
£6,214.73 to go.

Featuring items by and from:

Aphex Twin, Iain Sinclair, Laetitia Sadier, Vivienne Westwood, Throbbing Gristle, Christian Louboutin, Cafe OTO, Loud Women, Open City + more.

www.zeffy.com/en-GB/ticket...

Thousands of pollution incidents in England downgraded without site visit, data suggests Exclusive: Whistleblower figures show large rise in ‘serious’ to ‘minor’ downgrades based on water company evidence

Re Environment Agency budget being 80% funded by orgs it regulates, worth noting that Care Quality Commission receives similar proportion from public and private healthcare providers that it regulates. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The Mountain (feat. Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash)

Liking this (and the rest) from the Gorillaz new album. Have to say ive had the main tune of this opener in my head for years. Cheers, Damian! open.spotify.com/track/3MebYJ...

Quince out

Very much enjoy R4 Strong Message Here when @aiannucci.bsky.social is joined Stewart Lee - the X and Y <insert double act of choice> of Radio 4.

Bored of Peace

Went to preview of Rose Wylie exhibition at the Royal Academy. Great pics, made me grin! (Realise who inspired David Shrigley)

Yes, but this is a written blog so guess the old printers’ long ‘s’ ok to use in this blog of a blog?

This is great!

Very WEIRD from WIRED (let alone the actual article)

Last year!

More importantly, what’s happening in the curling?

Is that it for the HSE, or will some org take over?

Heroism in a war not far from you…

Too early?

I guess today’s the day for the govt to sneak out a lot of stuff they think might be a bit unpopular.

Are we a republic yet?

Oh ffs, leak…

Keen to see late spring and a bit less rain (especially as just discovered leek in a wall)

As someone said, he’s a guest of his brother!

Do vets have access to pills that cats actively like to eat? If not why not?