Itsbetteronabike

Baby doll looking a bit worse for wear, mould patches growing on the plastic.

Baby doll peeking out of a washing machine.

Nice clean baby doll looking pleased with itself.

Baby was looking a bit poorly, but nothing that a 30° C wash couldn't fix.
Putting my doctorate degree to good use.

“And exclaims”. Politely.

Ooh thank you. I might end up spending A LOT of time on that site!

I often wonder who in the local council I can contact to ask them
(1) to arrange to sweep the detritus off the cycle paths
(2) to change the wait time at the pelican crossings so that I don’t have to wait for traffic that is over 1/4 mile away and completely out of sight when I press the button

It's a big piece of work, so you might expect there to be some little infelicities. But on the other hand, they've been working (or sitting?) on it since October 2025! 3/3

and there's some inconsistency around the language of short-time and short-term placements. There's some laughable naivete about the gains to be made through AI (they're very excited about an "AI enabled search tool") and some real messiness over exactly what they mean by "assistive technology" 2/

It definitely has the feel of AI produced, or "edited in a hurry". for example, the phrase "for almost every challenge our system faces, there is excellent practice somewhere, or the ingenuity to develop it" on page 91 is repeated almost, but not quite verbatim on the next page. 1/

Yes. I can’t understand how the conversation about SEND doesn’t focus on mainly on the breadth and flexibility of the regular curriculum. As you say, what we’re having is instead a (hopefully kind) conversation about the cyp that don’t fit.

I predict that more resources into exisiting SEND orthodoxies will drive more demand and even further overwhelm schools. There will be less consistency and predictability in schools, which will make quality first teaching harder to achieve. This will also drive more demand for specialist help.

Speed limits are crucial. I had to ride through Greater London boroughs y/day. No segregated bike lanes, only paint. But the 20mph limit meant that I moved at same speed as cars, made me feel so much safer and meant that nobody (apart from speeders) was closing at > 5mph even when I slowed.

Yes. Just like Kurt Lewin said that behaviour is a function of the interaction between person and environment, neither does SEND exist purely within the child/young person.

I have the same feeling every time I see someone on a ride on mower.

Empirical evidence of Large Language Model's influence on human spoken communication From the invention of writing and the printing press, to television and social media, human history is punctuated by major innovations in communication technology, which fundamentally altered how idea...

Humans copying AI that’s copying humans.
We’ve now gone full circle.
I’ve delved into this swiftly but meticulously and think I can boast that I fully comprehend it.
arxiv.org/abs/2409.01754

Good luck. It took me quite a while!

www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1...

Well, I started in August…
But I have made some other projects in between.
I’m very slow, though.

Cover of crochet book. Shows a small bear hiding behind a bush, with a fir tree behind it, and sun in the sky.

Crochet book, spread open to show two pages. Left hand page shows fish jumping from a river as it passes through a woodland meadow. Right hand page shows bear playing hide and seek behind a tree. In the top of the tree is part of a hidden bird, and there’s a flap on the bottom corner hiding something…who knows what?

Crochet book spread open to show to show a double page. Left hand page shows flowers growing and being pollinated by bees. Right hand page shows the baby bear investigating a bee hive from which two bees have flown towards a flower.

The rear cover of the crochet book showing little bear’s day. He’s all snuggled up at night time in the woods with Mumma bear cuddling him with her arm. Stars twinkle in the night sky.

They say that everyone has at least one book in them.
In my case, it turns out to be made by #crochet

Peanut butter.
Surely the most confusing of foodstuffs.
I keep eating it but I still have no idea whether I love it or hate it.

A sunset view of a coast line with two cyclists. Text says” I know we aren’t supposed to self diagnose but I googled my symptoms and I am pretty sure I just need a bike ride”

Who’s coming with me?

Those music choices…

Rethinking the Origins of Greatness A new review paper challenges our assumptions about how exceptional performance develops.

As we marvel at the skill of the #Olympic athletes, @sbkaufman.bsky.social has some fascinating thoughts about talent development.
It’s often range of diverse interest & practice, not hours of single channel focus, that supports talent development.
www.beautifulminds-newsletter.com/p/rethinking...

And when was the last time you heard someone described in flattering terms as “combobulated”?

Chart by Neil Kaye showing the lengthening and shortening of daylight hours in southern Britain each week through the year. Each bar represents how much daylight is gained or lost each week. The line is roughly a sine curve (head blown emoji), with the fastest daylight gains in Feb, March and April, and the fastest losses in Aug, Sep and October.

A quick reminder of what #BigFebruary is about…
Thanks to the magic of the cosmos, we start gaining daylight much faster in Feb than in Jan. Over 20 mins a week - setting us up for Spring.

This chart is by @neilrkaye.bsky.social and is one of my all time favourites.

Diurnal and Seasonal Mood Vary with Work, Sleep, and Daylength Across Diverse Cultures Across the world the collective mood heightens at breakfast time and during the weekend.

It's a great time of year. Analysis of tweets (remember them?!) finds mood most strongly associated NOT with absolute daylight but with relative change of daylight length, i.e., pace of change. So when each day is significantly lighter than previous, our mood lifts. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Interesting study on teacher talk suggests it varies more by teacher style than as result of school systems or instructional format. Novices reprimand more, experienced command more. And classes with more black students experience more exclusionary discipline. #edpsychs

doi.org/10.3102/0013...

Ramp test screenshot from Training Peaks Virtual

Ramp test.
What a way to start the weekend.
#cycling #turbo #ramptest

Cover image of Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights”

I first read #WutheringHeights as a 14 year old schoolboy. I was so struck by its raw power that I vowed to reread it annually.

I failed in that but have since read it tens of times, each time revelling, and scaring myself, in its visceral, painful, unbridled and fated passion.

What. A. Book.

Uni life can be serious and stressful.

So it brought me much pleasure today to run into a bunch of male and female students playing in the male toilets in my dept., running water etc. I gently asked them, “Are you guys all right?” at which they all ran out pink & giggling.

Student life lives on!

Having to constantly readjust the clip on mudguards as they fill up with crud. Having to block my ears to the sound of the grinding paste of brake blocks against rims. Sick of it.

Crochet blanket with multiple repeating different rows and colours.

Been a long time since I posted #crochet evidence. This last blanket is my favourite ever but had to be kept under wraps as it was a Xmas present.
There’s another WIP on its way, also started in August. Some works are slow to grow!

One of the great things about my job is that I get to work with great people and learn so much from them. It was a genuine pleasure, Dr Anna.