Andrew Sissons

Sure, but any decisions we make now are based on future wind farms (generally at fairly competitive prices).

We can’t do anything about the contracts agreed back in the 2010s (short of ripping up contracts), and nor would we build renewables at those prices again

Ian makes a fair point here that the actual BTP position may be more nuanced than the story implies

Thanks - that makes sense.

My worry is that if you say this kind of thing publicly, you reduce the deterrent effect (in so far as it still exists). So better to retain ambiguity than admit you don’t investigate. But I can see the story doing a lot of that

Thanks - so BTP were saying they wouldn't spend more than 2 hours reviewing footage? Or was it just a general comment that they can't spend too much time reviewing footage?

Well yes, most of the currently active CfDs are from AR1 and before, before prices fell.
The most recent auction, AR6 (the one everyone is saying was expensive) came in at around £75 in 2024 prices.

The headline is obviously what campaigners say, but the statement from BTP seems to corroborate the “won’t investigate if left over 2 hours” substance, unless I’m missing something?

Bike thefts at stations 'decriminalised' The British Transport Police will not investigate many categories of bicycle theft, the BBC learns.

Policing is 100% not my area, but… it seems like a very bad idea to publicly announce that you won’t investigate most bike thefts from stations?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Mr Blobby patriotism Over recent weeks I have found myself thinking about the country we live in, what it feels like and what I like, and love, about it. I guess I found myself thinking about this because of the summer w...

"Most of us basically love our country, even if begrudgingly – not the version we’re told to, or even presented with, but the one we really see and live in every day. Silly Sausage Britain is the Britain most of us reside in, and love."

@sofiejenkinson.bsky.social on "Mr Blobby patriotism"

Zinedine Zidane

I’d have to check the supply and use tables for this, but my guess is: it’s a bit, but not the biggest factor.
Food inflation and wage growth (partly due to minimum wage) will be the major drivers I expect. But various cost-of-doing-business costs, including rates and utility bills a factor

I did an old thread on the enormous recent rise in insurance costs btw.
Insurance is a relatively small part of consumer and business spending, but the price increases since 2021 have been eye-watering, especially for car insurance

I’m sure we’ve talked about insurance before! And concluded it’s mainly higher claims with a bit of interest rates and other factors?

Hope you’re coping ok this weekend!

Did not know this - makes sense though!

(Of course, Arthur was up for most of the night and is struggling to regulate today. Pretty sure it’s the weather)

Changes in air pressure can have a big effect on our sensory systems. This is a big deal for most autistic people, but many neurotypical people have sensory preferences too. We should pay more attention to them!

www.autistica.org.uk/what-is-auti...

Another possible AI bubble I am worried about is all the start-ups and companies that have been pushed by investors to pivot to AI-based business models.

If that turns out to be a dead end for many of them, it could really hurt future productivity growth, perhaps more than if the big AI firms fail

I've been playing around with visualising CPI figures, and the striking thing about food and eating out is that they are such a big part of our consumption basket.
Both have gone up in price a fair bit since 2008, and that has made a big overall contribution to inflation...

So if a typical household is spending something like £150 a month on their energy bill, then they're spending something like £700 a month on food and eating out combined (or at least that's what the inflation basket includes)

The clickable chart here is much easier to use.
public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...

And if you missed the alt text:
- X axis is how much we consume (CPI weights)
- Size of bubbles is also how much we consume
- Y axis is 2008 - 2024 inflation
- Colour is 2021 - 2024 inflation

I've been playing around with visualising CPI figures, and the striking thing about food and eating out is that they are such a big part of our consumption basket.
Both have gone up in price a fair bit since 2008, and that has made a big overall contribution to inflation...

Roy Wood would be happy with that

They’re really nice aren’t they. I think this is the first one I’ve seen in the wild - makes a change from the not-very-wholesome graffiti phase on St Michael’s Hill

Yes, a very striking deep voice

A red postbox with a knitted Halloween themed cover on its top, which features pumpkins, toadstalls, spider webs and goggly eyes

Happy October

Haha, would take a bit of explaining!

But if you need to put TV on for some young children, choose Ben and Holly every time

Getting Killed, by Geese 11 track album

And I haven’t listened to this properly yet, heard the band for the first time today, but this new record by Geese sounds quite exciting

geesebandnyc.bandcamp.com/album/gettin...

NewDad - Altar Listen to Altar by NewDad.

New Dad (*another* good band from Ireland) have a new record, Altar, which is very good on first impression.
It’s a bit more upbeat than their debut - would say it’s often more dreampop than sheogaze - but I imagine they will be playing this a lot at the climbing wall

newdad.lnk.to/altarAW

Bleeds, by Wednesday 12 track album

Some big new albums have dropped in the last week or two…

Wednesday’s new record, Bleeds, is good (I have it down as a return to form). It’s noisy, fun, and back to having (imo) just enough, not too much of the country influence.

wednesdayband.bandcamp.com/album/bleeds

Yes, it’s a fair point this probably isn’t new, has been a continuous cycle of big new things. But the push to AI feels especially strong to me