Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK

Old roaming Tom Cat (zwerfkater) but still young at heart. Toots EN, (NL,FR,DE). #DevOpa - interested more in retro tech / culture / aesthetics than new stuff. Also transport and public infrastructure in general (with a UK/European focus)

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Avatar is a tabby point Siamese cat - header picture is a Stentor FM radio transmitter designed in the Netherlands; popular with small pirate radio broadcasters in late 1980s

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Last Notes

2026-07-24 03:05:42 CEST

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@nprofile…hxek maybe different if you grew up in Europe, but I didn't think "it would work out" for much of that time, constant angst over genuine risk of nuclear war, money issues, jobs, pressure from parents for academic success, and spent a good part of my youth blotting those fears out temporarily with alcohol and drugs like a lot of my peers did (many didn't make 30s or 40s)
have been clean from substances for over a decade though and almost teetotal (only drink very occasionally now) but I think our coping mechanisms have been overlooked by society..

2026-07-23 21:51:51 CEST

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@nprofile…vf6m I was watching a Youtube video of an auto bodyshop worker in Singapore (a country where they are stricter on health and safety).
I'd noticed though although he was wearing a mask when painting, it wasn't the full spec for isocyanate based paints, and in later videos I could hear him wheezing whilst speaking.
He was in his 40s/50s, working in a family business with his dad. This shop has since closed down, and I fully suspect they would have quit due to health problems..

2026-07-21 18:56:48 CEST

Looks like the M in B & M stands for #mice 🐁 😀
#Birmingham #wildlife #rodents #UK
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgvxm1n3keo

2026-07-21 00:23:13 CEST

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@nprofile…akrz @nprofile…d6ag @nprofile…twfg
these look fairly obvious to anyone who is driving at correct speed limit and paying attention. Maybe could do with a few more signs/reflective bits for night time, but it seems the highway authorities are indeed adding these..

2026-07-12 23:44:51 CEST

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@nprofile…u4je @nprofile…rxg6
my relatives have a solar + battery installation. It works well now, but it took near 2 years to get everything working reliably and them getting the payback for the grid export. The installers had to come back multiple times and there were at least two incidents of the house going off supply due to overloads / and some incorrect protection equipment initially installed which had to be replaced..

2026-07-12 23:43:01 CEST

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@nprofile…u4je @nprofile…rxg6
when you had your home solar installed, the installers checked with the DNO (distribution network operator) that the cables can handle both the power you are taking from grid and what you are putting back in, but a fair bit of this infrastructure is 50+ years old and already operating at its limit - its also likely the transformer the solar farm feeds was undersized assuming there wouldn't be /that/ much power being generated (these things are bulky and expensive)
There's also a lack of skills in the industry and folk learning on the job and making mistakes (for instance all the solar panels in Suffolk schools are disconnected as some had sub-par control kit and this has actually caught on fire..)

2026-07-12 23:24:22 CEST

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@nprofile…u4je @nprofile…rxg6
alas, its more complex than that (although the problem is indeed capitalism)
There is way more electricity going through the wires and transformers that can be easily used and not yet any battery to store it. If the feed isn't shut off, things get hot and maybe even catch fire.
This has happened at a point of the grid long before it reaches the communities who could use the power via the local distribution network.
The solution is to make the wires and transformers bigger to handle the extra solar power (so it can be fed to the grid), and invest in batteries, but there's no short term profit in doing that so its been delayed (it does at least seem that the upgrades should happen soon, hopefully before next summer)

2026-07-08 19:18:04 CEST

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@nprofile…sray @nprofile…9j57 this also makes me a bit suspicious, as taking away the public transport from seniors could be (and likely will be) used by neoliberal capitalists to boost the market for electric cars and e-bikes..

2026-07-05 20:47:38 CEST

I don't recall them either issuing much of a "mea culpa" after the Catholic priest from USA got outed by freelance investigators using Grindrs adtech (and simply buying data from their ad partners, including from "free" countries like Norway) to deanonymise him - ironically a lot of the more liberal leaning Catholic news sites refused to use the investigators findings as they considered the methods used unethical!

2026-07-05 18:52:10 CEST

#Sky / #Comcast will take over Britain's commercial public service broadcaster #ITV (which now falls into American hands)
They will still have their public service broadcasting obligation to make regional news until 2034 but ITV's regional programming has been heavily diluted compared even to 20-30 years ago anyway.
ITV Studios is not being sold to Sky, this remains in ownership of the original shareholders (so they will be competing with many other companies to get their programmes on ITV!)
I wonder if Comcast is gambling on the UK abandoning commercial linear public service broadcasting altogether in 2034?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c04yx44xq19o

2026-07-05 14:47:14 CEST

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@nprofile…3c9j @nprofile…cmq0 @nprofile…z4eq
15 seater minibuses are also readily available for hire from the usual companies.
A lot of Gen X who got their driving licence in their teens will still have a D1 entitlement, coded "not for hire or reward". So anyone of this age could theoretically drive such a bus, provided they aren't charging a fare for it, and thats a fair portion of the demographic of todays fash..

2026-07-05 14:42:57 CEST

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@nprofile…3c9j @nprofile…cmq0 @nprofile…z4eq
Also keep an eye out for 15 seat minibuses in private ownership - these often don't look immediately obvious, used ones aren't that pricey and can be kept in private hands (especially in rural areas), and can be driven by anyone with D1 licence (or even category B car licence if they are for "community organisations"), provided there isn't a charge made for transport.
Local community organisations would do well to keep an eye on what their vehicles are being used for at weekends!
my antifa friend from Denmark (sadly now deceased) used to drive buses to transport antifa to protests, his day job was a normal city bus driver.
Find comrades who have a special interest in transport, and get them to watch streets and carparks around times of demos..

2026-07-04 02:27:00 CEST

40 young people is probably about a third to half of entire population of youths in the whole of those two #Suffolk villages!
https://archive.ph/pCojx

2026-07-01 22:55:49 CEST

given the poor state of the road surface which is clearly visible even in a photo taken from the screen of a #speed detection device, there are valid #RoadSafety reasons not to hoon it round that area (also like most rural areas theres multiple side roads leading to villages with sharp turnings and junctions with limited visibility)
#A140 #Suffolk #Norfolk
https://archive.ph/3uioR

2026-06-26 14:16:28 CEST

Since Morrisey got outed as a rightwing reactionary, I've thought there's a much darker theme in the Smiths "Panic" - its often claimed the kids choir singing "Hang the DJ" is targeting Steve Wright and other bland middle of the road radio DJ's of the era, but the lyrics mention burning down a disco -
These presenters rarely played disco or what was still then called "Black music" (yes, we had /segregated charts/ in the UK until late 1980s!) *unless* it turned up on the BBC official playlist - a DJ playing dance music was and still is an entirely different animal..

2026-06-26 13:55:39 CEST

Ironically I bought the car last year (not a Lambo, a more modest Golf GTI), have moved away from coding (which I only do occasionally) to hardware support and maintenance and even fleet management, and now spend my time identifying and ignoring LLM-generated bullshit results when I'm researching car maintenance tasks (both for my own vehicle and the fleet cars)

2026-06-18 22:31:56 CEST

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@nprofile…h749 how even does USA, the land of cowboys and ranches, manage that?
Here in Britain with all our regulations, taxes, the big mistake of Brexit and the same potential risks of livestock diseases, whilst the price of beef has risen its still not anywhere as much as in USA..
The overall percentage rise in petrol (gasoline) prices in USA is also way higher in USA than UK (this surprised me too, given there is more domestic oil production)

2026-06-17 23:55:54 CEST

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@nprofile…4qhg In UK an organised political protest letter writing campaign is sometimes just treated as "one voice" rather than counting the actual number of letters and brushed off with a press release (usually justifying the authorities actions), but with a small town like this the impact of the protest would be more making the Council workers heartily sick of having to haul mailbags, and also worried that there could be further protests with "boots on the ground"

2026-06-17 23:24:31 CEST

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@nprofile…4qhg do you know how many admin staff they have and what their other workloads might be? is this on a public record somewhere?
That would give a start as to how many letters could overwhelm them (although its possible they have mitigation measures against this)

2026-06-17 15:29:30 CEST

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@nprofile…q8p3 @nprofile…slgg maybe LGBT+ literature / zines can be shared there for people living in areas with Reform Councils who might not be able to access it that easily, as although its still not yet not outright banned and the librarians *will* push back hard against this it may well be hidden..

2026-06-17 15:12:49 CEST

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@nprofile…q8p3 @nprofile…slgg whilst I don't think we even have any currently in UK, maybe it could be a way of distributing some that could be later securely shared with our American friends..

2026-06-16 23:15:55 CEST

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This is where the tanks would go (to be fair they are quite well hidden from the houses, as is the rest of the oilworks. I wonder if you get a discount if you live in those houses? 😁
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/761/794/863/479/382/original/3ddc50121c09ab82.png

2026-06-16 22:53:31 CEST

I only knew of #Brighouse in #Yorkshire for the #BrassBand and didn't realise they had a whole oilworks right in the middle of town that is still going strong ( the #oil has a good reputation amongst the tuned #car community and in #motorsports - I might even get some later this year if #Castrol starts to enshittify itself having been mostly sold by BP to a private equity firm, at least that way I would be supporting British #industry )
I even looked up the planning application, the new storage tanks don't make a big impact on the local area (and are a relatively small part of the whole site)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3p8zv5wz3o

2026-06-16 22:39:48 CEST

This conjures up the image of "serious #mice " rather than frivolous ones like Mickey #Mouse - I guess their seriousness paid off as they succesfully invaded the entire restaurant and got it locked off 🐁
#UrbanWildlife #Nature #UK
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-06-16/takeaway-closed-after-health-inspectors-find-serious-mouse-infestation

2026-06-15 13:49:03 CEST

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@nprofile…psdu I was thinking a few days ago about how lean just about every business (big or small) has become, and how many entry level jobs are permanently gone mostly due to technology advances (not just AI which is recent) and ruthless capitalism/competition - even in places like repair garages where there used to be service advisors / receptionists and/or apprentices now its just one or two middle aged men doing all the work (including the admin stuff), and they aren't hiring young people as they genuinely don't have the slack available to train them..

2026-06-13 21:34:47 CEST

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@nprofile…ras7 @nprofile…musx
I did wonder if the slowness in putting up the scaffolding was because some safety officer could have been checking the area for snipers, and communicating by radio to the workers to let them know when the area was considered clear/safe..

2026-06-12 23:00:37 CEST

This is a street in a small #Suffolk village some distance from Ipswich full of bungalows normally lived in by #seniors - you'd be hard pressed to find anyone younger than mid 50s in that street, with most in their 70s and older.
It seems most likely someone was taking #cannabis for medical reasons (maybe even with a prescription, but also supplementing low prescribed amounts with less legal sources), but their own neighbours disagreed with it, spent weeks or months gathering evidence and reported them to the Police (who then had to do *something*, but sensibly realised this clearly isn't major #crime )
https://archive.ph/xdNhm

2026-06-12 19:13:24 CEST

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@nprofile…fg6j I did wonder if that was the reason, but I looked at the whole motorway with online maps to get an idea of where it might be (and to research the traffic laws for NL), and there seem to be numerous safer rest stops along the route (which usually all have WCs available)

2026-06-12 18:29:50 CEST

Not clear why these Germans stop their entire bus on the layby to hang out, take selfies etc.
Its not allowed in DE, not in NL, nor in UK (unless your vehicle is actually broken down), likely forbidden throughout all of Europe and for good reason - it creates a hazard when they rejoin the live lanes!
(A broken down vehicle legitimately occupying the space would normally be attended to by recovery or emergency services with flashing lights, so it would be more obvious to drivers there was an emergency situation and to take care)

2026-06-11 17:43:04 CEST

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@nprofile…v2f9 I was allowed to watch TV news at very early age (and this was when my country had regular bomb attacks as well as sectarian war in Northern Ireland (which has started again)
But TV (and radio) news doesn't get age verification as there's a hard limit on what can be shown set by the Communications Ministry of each country, and the broadcasters generally obey it (or else they get fined or even restricted from broadcasting)
So there is already a tried and tested way of regulating such content, but governments seem scared to apply it to big tech companies like they already do for broadcasters..

2026-06-10 23:39:31 CEST

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@nprofile…gmuw @nprofile…l0np that was what encouraged me to learn German independently after a clash with options meant I couldn't study it at high school..
(unlike Falco's other tracks its in Hochdeutsch rather than Austrobavarian dialect)

2026-06-09 01:52:48 CEST

There is some truth in this but at a higher level - A high school friends Dad actually worked for #ThamesWater at their #Reading HQ and he had a TI Silentwriter teletype with acoustic coupler - with the right passcodes this could be used to remotely open up the sluices during certain weather conditions and allow sewage to go straight to River Thames to avoid flooding.
He referred to it as the "turd processor" 😁

2026-06-04 14:05:43 CEST

Saw a news report of a retired senior woman somewhere in England complaining about building maintenance issues, and her retirement house was referred to as her "forever home".
Whilst I can understand what they mean, I've always previously read this term in the context of rehomed cats, dogs and other pets from rescue shelters (presumably folk in England /aren't/ yet putting out their older relatives for rehoming..)

2026-06-04 13:03:51 CEST

County lines are not even that new and were starting to develop in 2006 when I first moved here.
One reason they are so prevalent today is authorities in #EastAnglia have been relatively *successful* at clamping down on the more noisy, hedonistic and long lasting aspects of #partydrugs use such as illegal raves, whilst not addressing reasons *why* folk are drawn to #drugs use in the first place.
So many young people are now going straight to the harder and addictive stuff, rather than staying with partydrugs which stop being fun anyway if you do too much of them, and folk usually *have* to grow out of the lifestyle when they start driving or getting a more responsible job / becoming parents (but that also assumes youth feel they have the opportunity to do those things)

2026-06-03 23:41:55 CEST

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@nprofile…g6q3 @nprofile…gk2a
I wonder if *anyone* will make an EV with just a normal controller (like you already have or had on ebikes) that isn't constantly online, or every manufacturer is too dependent on data gathering (even if not for adtech, a lot of them seem to have become dependent on using semi anomyised telemetry for debugging purposes rather than trying to get things "right first time"

2026-06-03 20:51:51 CEST

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@nprofile…yxhd this sort of thing happens with the Fire Brigade the world over, there's been a few arsonists in the service (especially amongst the retained (volunteer) firefighters) and regular purges of bullies, racists and misogynists.
Nearly all our main set radio channels are encrypted (apart from some legacy UHF fireground radios), but everything on the Airwave digital network seems to be logged and recorded /somewhere/..

2026-06-02 00:26:26 CEST

Even in my provincial town, some 80km away from #London , #teenagers decided to fight over the #sportsball
Saddest part of all this is one was also #nicked with class B (usually #cannabis , although sometimes other #partydrugs ) - when I was younger many lads who liked getting high were often also into #football but #drugs often *discouraged* them from fighting ( which is why the old bill to some extent turned a blind eye to the rampant use in the 90s and 00s ! )
#Ipswich #Suffolk #crime
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2026-06-01/large-fight-in-ipswich-after-arsenals-champions-league-final-defeat

2026-05-31 03:07:12 CEST

Some cat (?) dumped dead songbird outside my house - I didn't take pictures of this as it wasn't very pleasant, and was wondering how to deal with it as it would attract filth flies in this weather. I don't think its the ginger tom, as he's well fed and doesn't seem to have a high prey drive..
Earlier yesterday I went to my car to drive to the yard to work on the Corsa, I checked and bird was gone. I live alone and I doubt my neighbours would remove it - either cat decided "if I don't want it, I may as well hault it away and eat it" or something else (fox?) did
I feel sorry for the birb but I'm glad it helped feed some creature and curious what #wildlife was involved here (maybe #cats are inadvertantly helping feed other urban wildlife?)

2026-05-27 17:49:56 CEST

In UK a car without a working #horn will fail inspection (#MOT) and is not legal to use on the road, and existing one was goosed (in the context of *not* honking!)
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/647/268/733/887/268/original/6d3511613089c97f.jpg
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/647/270/752/379/235/original/ee242b58d77956a7.jpg
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/647/270/922/683/672/original/4ba7785ca8de5f1e.jpg

2026-05-27 00:58:13 CEST

I think this guitarist might end up being quizzed by the Communications Ministry of their country, unless they have a ham licence and even then its more often used for satellite downlink rather than uplink (maybe they would play "Starman" by David Bowie :grin)
(A good lesson on why getting correct #units matters 😁 )
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/643/333/306/469/166/original/11f55b9c7fda2893.png

2026-05-24 23:09:45 CEST

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Cooler today (only 25°C) so did exterior #valet of #Vauxhall / #Opel #Corsa - started with #snowfoam mix of Autoglym Polar Blast + BiltHamber Surfex HD at 10% (wouldn't normally use anything as heavy as that but you can see state car was in previously!)
Contact wash with CarPro Reset. No pics of snowfoam due to working fast because heat!
Single stage polish with Koch Chemie 3.01 mild compound+carnuba #wax, cheap cordless DA (compatible with #Makita batteries) and orange pad that came with it.
I'm fairly new to machine #polishing and didn't use best technique and too much polish (though some on YT recommend keeping pad saturated when working in hot weather to prevent polish drying out, and this seemed to work, #bodywork on this #car far from perfect anyway!)
#cars #valeting #detailing
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/631/529/517/235/048/original/cab9b0e4a839d201.jpg
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/631/536/345/919/603/original/47eeec31078eec68.jpg
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https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/631/541/073/777/336/original/457ed68bfde8d2b2.jpg

2026-05-24 01:00:24 CEST

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Wanted to get out of house but not deal with heat/crowds so did a bit more #valeting
Cleaned up #engine bay and tested against #WaterIngress - mechanic must have refreshed / checked seals on brake cylinder bulkhead (where water gets in) / or unblocked the drains (leaves and other muck stops them up) as I poured in 6 litres of water where rain would go and none of it got inside the #car
Everyone will be happy to see this back on the road, there's more demand for #automatic #cars than manual ones from our current staff (many of them are from Commonwealth countries where #driving with #AutomaticGearboxes is more popular)
Not the most refined but better than the other #Easytronic 'box in the other Corsa we had..
#Vauxhall #Opel #CorsaC
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/626/321/783/775/430/original/6edd6044d1850ea1.jpg
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/626/322/909/109/126/original/ae370781ae6d882b.jpg
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https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/626/332/202/010/363/original/8c081dd2a7e2f33c.jpg

2026-05-24 00:46:51 CEST

2006 #Vauxhall / #Opel #CorsaC (one of our fleet #cars sat in yard for over a year) saved from scrap - #WaterIngress (known issue with these cars) led to mould and airbag #ECU getting drowned (took ages to source one that wasn't already goosed for same reason but I found one from London a few days ago.).
Cleaned out mould a few days ago, mechanic next door fitted unit and new starter battery - car now runs and even passed MOT!
Still needs other work, fleet insurance and tax has expired so can only drive it around the yard at the moment or I risk being pulled over (random ANPR checks not uncommon here!), way too hot to do full exterior #detail today so did another extraction of interior seats and some more steam cleaning to get rid of moss growing in various places
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/626/256/439/575/826/original/420b69479f09b90d.jpg
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/626/266/711/609/822/original/0f62233080627d98.jpg
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https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/626/282/725/447/384/original/517e147fad2cf0d4.jpg

2026-05-23 15:07:12 CEST

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@nprofile…yrxm i would just keep an eye on them, if they don't keel over or look unwell then leave them be, if they do then either call for paramedics or notify staff at the clinic..
Drug use is rarely immediately lethal unless it's a gross overdose so if they were in the clinic it could be for other conditions or the facility is running a needle exchange (although it would be better if they had gone elsewhere before injecting as that's the sort of thing that gets these schemes closed down)

2026-05-22 03:36:19 CEST

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@nprofile…nj2n @nprofile…az0m as even superminis in Europe have got larger and heavier, it works out about the same weight (density of the wood can vary as well, it seems to be around 3 cars everywhere else than the USA, where its about 2)

2026-05-21 23:59:54 CEST

This is normal procedure - telephone numbers belong to national Communications Ministry (such as Ofcom / BNetZA etc) and blocks get leased to providers who have to pay for them so in the UK after about 2 years of a mobile number being ceased from one SIM its reallocated to another..

2026-05-21 23:16:38 CEST

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@nprofile…z4eq @nprofile…x58r
AI news broadcasts aren't uncommon in smaller radio stations, but the one I work with would use manual override for the playout for something like this.
We already had that when the Queen kicked the bucket and had to tell the lads on air "turn off the pop music now so we can switch the programme feeds - don't look at your phones either to check, she's definitely brown bread!
The main Royals are mostly old and not in the best of health, but they aren't likely to keel over suddenly and there's plenty of warning given (they would normally spend some time in hospital before and its obvious whats going on)

2026-05-21 01:36:08 CEST

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@nprofile…upxt almost as much as we pay for it over here, but at least we get national healthcare and public services from the taxes
Also I worked out the price rises in USA and those in Britain since the war started and for some inexplicable reason (unrestrained capitalism?) its more in percentage terms (about 50% vs 20%) in USA than over here..

2026-05-20 14:02:59 CEST

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LB: For those outside North America who are curious as to exactly how much wood this is, its a volume of 7,25 m3 and could weigh 4 000 to 4 500 kg (this is the weight of about 3 small European motor cars)
@nprofile…az0m

2026-05-19 21:04:53 CEST

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@nprofile…z4eq I was a teenager when they first talked about building Crossrail / Elizabeth Line.
By the time it was finished, I was over 50 and my nephew had already started school..

2026-05-17 23:45:38 CEST

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@nprofile…pt5r in Britain, where it is still illegal, even before the new laws were passed and drug testing introduced many drivers got nicked for driving unusually slow / cautiously
OTOH decrim/legalisation in USA does at least allow folk to select the levels of THC/CBD they want and balance that to avoid the tiredness/sluggishness and paranoia that cannabis can cause.
However I've heard from USA mutuals that a lot of younger people in "blue collar" jobs and even retail / service are forced to submit to drug testing as an employment condition even when its legal in their state..

2026-05-17 23:35:16 CEST

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@nprofile…pt5r I'm not sure if there's as much of an increase in cannabis use since legalisation, I think its the same folk doing it who would have before but they don't need to hide it any more (which isn't a bad thing).
Stats would have to be also compared with miles/km travelled - and in some urban areas there's also a decrease in /driving/ as folk select jobs that do not require it (such as remote IT work), or wait until later in life to get their driving licences (so aren't as interested in drugs, or even if they are have more maturity and can self regulate their use to reduce risks to themselves and others..)

2026-05-17 23:29:37 CEST

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@nprofile…pt5r also in USA, confusing situation of having multiple different state traffic laws, and lack of effective public sector (particularly health and social care authorities) mean any crashes caused by pot smokers are likely not recorded as such - especially low speed damage only collisions where no one is injured and insurance companies aren't notified.
Smoking pot /does/ affect reaction times, I still remember abruptly headbutting front seat when my stoner friends managed to rear end the car in front in the 1990s (on a notoriously bad road layout), he had misjudged traffic abruptly stopping in a jam.
Its less likely to result in major crashes with fatalities, but there's enough minor scrapes/prangs that insurers here don't like it and lobbied for stricter laws..

2026-05-17 23:20:24 CEST

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@nprofile…pt5r AFAIK its only partially legalised in USA, and even in countries where it is DUI remains an offence. As its not easy to test yourself unlike the alcotester you can buy just about anywhere which is similar to what the cops use and works like a vape in reverse, I suspect stoners are playing it safe and waiting until they are sober (about 4-8 hours is recommended by many sources) and would not be motivated to drive anyway when high.
Those in cities may well also be getting public transport or walking, where there isn't any safety risk..
UK and other European nations still have an unfortunate way of testing folk which will show positive even if they are sober and not impaired for driving, many people get their licenses yoinked for a year or more this way..

2026-05-17 16:45:20 CEST

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@nprofile…m3z3 even if the data is handled in accordance with GDPR and is more often semi anonymised and more about the behaviour of the cars components than that of the drivers and passengers, alongside OTA updates it helps create a culture (already rife in other parts of tech) where drivers are used as unpaid product testers rather than the manufacturer aiming to get things "right first time" (as otherwise they and their dealers have to swallow the costs of recalls and warranty repairs)

2026-05-17 15:06:15 CEST

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@nprofile…a006 maye it was in someones work van and left in the car park when the van was filled up in other items, or the outsourced company was instructed "deliver 20 recovered trolleys" and they only had 19 of the correct ones and used the Morrisons one to make up the number..

2026-05-17 14:53:05 CEST

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@nprofile…a006 A shopping trolley is often "liberated" by youths who have some heavy/bulky item to carry, but do not have access to a motor vehicle and can end up in any random place. Or even by someone with a rented van who is doing heavy work they don't normally do, but didn't invest in a sack trolley or other such item for carrying materials.
These days I expect a lot of the logistics of provision and recovery shopping trolleys are outsourced, and one company does the lot for all the supermarkets..

2026-05-17 14:45:57 CEST

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@nprofile…z4eq Reform really have only 2 clear policies.
Limiting immigration and making life harder for existing ethnic minority communities, and walking away from environmental regulations, especially those that restrict private vehicle owners and create extra work for small businesses.
Alas, thats enough to get a significant proportion of the British public to vote for them..

2026-05-17 14:22:14 CEST

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@nprofile…z4eq what also worries me is as useless as she is, how many ex-Tories are now likely supporting Reform simply because they are angry that a Black woman is in charge (and that the Tories produced Britain's first brown Prime Minister, even if he was also useless)

2026-05-15 23:39:53 CEST

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@nprofile…r3l3 panels are in this earlier article (I think there is some cover available to block the birds, and the Council are going to add it but its also illegal to disturb them during nesting season (even pigeons have wildlife protection here)
Although these solar panels aren't uncommon elsewhere in the same area and I've not seen them same complaints about pigeons..
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpdpjq35x41o

2026-05-15 22:00:44 CEST

The biggest irony of this is every street in that particular area of #Ipswich is named after a #bird (except #pigeons - maybe they are jealous at being left out 😁 )
(it seems that the Council had solar panels installed but didn't put anti-pigeon guarding around them, and the #birds have nested below these panels)
#Suffolk #UK
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3r2v8201q3o

2026-05-15 20:46:15 CEST

A Neo-Nazi teenage girl tried to behead a Kurdish barber in #Bristol as a vigilante act against #immigrants and a belief the barbershop was involved in money laundering.
She but failed as he was physically larger and managed to disarm her, and
#Police were nearby and quickly arrested her - she has been found guilty in #Court and sent to #prison for 15 years
What is also worrying is Bristol is considered to be one of the safer, more multicultural cities of #England
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2026-05-15/neo-nazi-teen-who-tried-to-behead-barber-jailed-for-more-than-15-years

2026-05-15 19:59:25 CEST

Why even is this video age-restricted?
Its exactly as described, a Northern lad rebuilt crashed #BMW #M5 (had to swap whole bodyshell) - there's nothing in the slightest explicit about it, the car parts are all legit and he is going to register the vehicle correctly - everything is above board..
Its a perfectly wholesome video, a young British man doing honest hard work - even if teens who aren't even old enough to drive watch it, this is the kind of thing that inspires them to become a mechanic when they are older..
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/579/653/805/989/173/original/18b081127bce338f.png

2026-05-14 23:20:09 CEST

This isn't a surprise - #automotive body #repair is physically demanding work with harsh working conditions, folk aren't going to want to carry on under constant time/budget pressures well into middle age, and it seems colleges are likely not training students in specialist #paintrepair as it requires most costs and expenses than general dismantling / prep of vehicles, and #bodyshops are often too lean to take on #apprentices (all the vacancies I see are wanting experienced techs)
https://www.catmag.co.uk/article/growing-worker-shortage-in-repair-sector-threatens-to-drive-up-insurance-costs

2026-05-14 23:10:41 CEST

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@nprofile…kdr8 the worst part of that is older folk often have money, resources and power and comfortable lives, so can get away with their hate even if they become estranged from their families.
The only time they might change their mind is when their health fails and the only people who end up caring for them turn out to be black and brown..

2026-05-12 17:38:44 CEST

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@nprofile…a2a9 @nprofile…54eq amny of the older ones have been waiting for this moment since the 1990s (as they were really angry when Britain finally started to become more diverse and inclusive)

2026-05-12 16:25:27 CEST

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@nprofile…x5pe regulation - the Communications Ministry (such as Ofcom) sets a watershed time (21:00 in UK) before which content which is considered unsuitable for minors may be broadcast.
There are fines for not complying with that (MTV had to fork out about £110 000 in the 2000s as they put wrong barcode on a video cassette and this led to Ray Cokes show (with a lot of swearing) going to TX at 11:00 rather than 23:00 - this may not seem like a lot but its a few peoples salaries (and indeed, there were layoffs not long afterwards)
non-linear content delivery creates a dilemma, as anyone of any age could be trying to access it 24/7..

2026-05-12 01:27:45 CEST

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@nprofile…pfuj most of them I have seen are simply a 50cm ruler of thicker metal (about 3-5mm) with a tassel on the end.
I suppose you *could* use it as some kind of ninja weapon if you wanted, but I suspect the Chinese are having a good laugh at the expense of American bros - especially for those rulers which have had the extra bits added (which makes them less useful as the handle won't lie flat) and are sold at premium prices - you can get the basic ruler for £10 and to be fair that does seem a bit more practical as an actual ruler.
Maybe it will even encourage Americans to use metric more😁

2026-05-10 21:53:36 CEST

Hangover from the past - I noticed #ITV #news are still using 3 letter region codes for some stills photos on their website (especially where they originate from news footage) - for instance ANG for Anglia, MER for Meridian, CEN for Central, WWC for West / West Country, WAL for ITV Wales, and YTV for Calendar (which curiously isn't branded with the regional name!)
A lot of other stills are however direct from emergency services / social media / families without any ITV news crew being involved, London gets a lot (or all of them?) from PA (Press Association - they might do a lot of the video as well), not even sure if ITV London *have* a news team any more since LNN (London News Network folded in the 2000s!)
#PublicServiceBroadcasting #England #Wales
@nprofile…c398

2026-05-10 20:26:10 CEST

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@nprofile…p7nf even Britain is better than that (I've found that if whatever you are buying weighs >10 kg (mostly car parts and larger tools) its often cheaper to get it direct from an online supplier than Amazon, and they can still provide next day delivery).
Ironically the battery smart charger and mechanics lamp I got were from Ring which is part of Osram, and two car batteries (for different vehicles) from Yorkshire in Northern England but using *German* online shop software (as there was "impressum" and the £ sign was shown after the amount in some places)

2026-05-10 19:23:39 CEST

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@nprofile…3sg0 @nprofile…uatj @nprofile…35pf
About £160 to £280 ($218 - $382) - these seem to be most reliable stats I could find but don't make any distinction between new and used cars (although used cars < £5000 are often purchased outright from savings)
https://www.moneyexpert.com/car-insurance/what-is-the-average-monthly-car-payment/

2026-05-10 19:03:15 CEST

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@nprofile…rs99 @nprofile…dqzr
I only started driving late in life (in 2019) - when I passed my test got handed govt approved "First Car" magazine clearly aimed at teenagers.
Magazine was *full* of ads from insurance companies advertising modern versions of this system, younger drivers (age 17-21) now invariably end up with it for a year or two.
This might work in short term, but many (especially young men) compensate for it by driving faster and more aggressively once its no longer required..

2026-05-10 17:02:14 CEST

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@nprofile…wmla @nprofile…47jv he gets votes for the same reasons Geert Wilders and younger "piano man" chap (Thierry Baudet?), and BBB do - in both our countries theres also about 33% of constantly angry people looking for someone to blame. They were angry about immigrants 30-50 years ago, but when neoliberalism provided short term economic gains hate got /temporarily/ pushed aside, but returned when the economy declined..

2026-05-10 02:05:04 CEST

An #arrest for attempt #murder rather than simply causing #injury by dangerous #driving is relatively unusual - and in line with #Norfolk and Suffolk Constabulary's own policies suggests this #collision in #Norwich between a car and cyclist was *deliberate* (at very least there appears to also be #DUI and both #alcohol and #drugs playing a factor)
#RoadSafety #UrbanRoadSafety #Norwich
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2026-05-09/driver-arrested-for-attempted-murder-after-cyclist-seriously-hurt-in-crash

2026-05-10 00:44:47 CEST

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@nprofile…m28f @nprofile…hh4j
At present it appears to be a concept rather than actual device but the girl is now a young woman in her 20s (I think she later went up to University) and still trying to push the construction forward
There would still be technical barriers reducing such a covert device to the size of an earring, but there are already spy glasses with similar tech that aren't obviously bigger than a normal pair of spectacles
https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/perspective/20260416-bohlale-mphahlele-inventor-of-alerting-earpiece-on-helping-save-women-s-lives

2026-05-07 21:22:44 CEST

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@nprofile…x7c5 I can slowly understand written Danish by translating it into Dutch, but found some free content from DR and tried to understand that and realised - gosh, folk there add stuff like å æ ø (I like ø, which appears in some Dutch dialects and I think should be included in Scots as well) - but they also seem to leave out all the consonants 😁

2026-05-07 19:07:38 CEST

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@nprofile…z4eq @nprofile…v2v2 @nprofile…s4ce
I suspect the migration can still fail silently halfway through if it encounters someone on an instance which no longer exists (it certainly was an issue a few years back)

2026-05-07 17:53:56 CEST

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@nprofile…7q7j @nprofile…gvek
to be fair it does cause collateral damage, as well as interfering with existing GSM/LTE comms for once the feds/Communications Ministry *aren't* exaggerating when they warn of interference to vital services, unless spammers correctly configure their kit to correctly route 112/999/911 calls (which is unlikely!)

2026-05-05 20:08:25 CEST

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@nprofile…8ee8 I moved here 20 years ago, have had to avoid potholes on foot (there are some rural roads without pavement), dodge them on my bicycle and in my car I clouted a wheel on the kerb when avoiding potholes (I'd already spend 4,5 hours last year replacing a wheel bearing on the other corner, which likely got knackered by previous owners going over potholes)
That said, I think Suffolk's red rating is more due to their early 2000s era reporting website and lack of communication with those who do report road defects which leads to reports for same defect being widely duplicated - if they are sending this data to London I'm hardly surprised they get a bad rating (they do recently seem to be fixing the potholes slightly quicker, but only after weeks/months of reports)

2026-05-04 23:44:25 CEST

So it seems #Nextcloud has got feature parity with #OneDrive 😁
One of my memories of using OneDrive on an older Android was the constant message
"Helaas. Onedrive is gestopt"
(I had the UI in Dutch on that phone)

2026-05-02 02:57:28 CEST

#Clownstep is an actual term for certain types of #DrumAndBass - over here its associated with lads who drive used BMWs from the 2000s (same era where it was most popular) badly (some of these lads aren't even *that* young, well into their 30s and 40s!)

2026-05-01 18:47:55 CEST

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@nprofile…udtr
Exactly, Palantir is nothing magic, it is only doing what ICL/Fujitsu would have done back in the day (and probably would still have been asked to do had they not outsourced their work and deskilled UK staff to the point they made a complete pigs ear of easier projects such as the Post Office systems..)
@nprofile…la7y

2026-05-01 18:45:12 CEST

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@nprofile…udtr @nprofile…la7y they already have computers monitoring the control rooms, algorithms to work out which areas have fewer demands and can supply officers to neighbouring constabularies, and with Airwave radios everything is linked up (this gets used all the time to deal with protests both inside and outside London, and also close down illegal raves (which get a response from about 3 forces rather than just one, so each individual force doesn't have to remove officers from policing the nightlife venues in their home area)

2026-05-01 18:13:15 CEST

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@nprofile…udtr @nprofile…la7y I don't think its even possible to ban all marches, only MetPol has the resources to attempt to enforce such a ban, provincial constabularies already struggle with day to day policing demand!
The alert state has been raised more than once to this level since the mid 2000s when the new civillian ones were set up, and when I was working in public service I never saw it go below Black Special and occasionally it went higher.
That said I'm unsurprised the level is raised, as there's plenty of groups of angry people who could take to the streets, irrespective of whether or not marches are banned - we could easily see repeats of 1981 or 2011 (which doesn't end well for anybody, and results in the country splitting along racial lines and further clampdowns)

2026-05-01 18:03:22 CEST

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@nprofile…la7y @nprofile…mkqf
until 1990s there were issues especially with male nurses getting a bit physical with non-compliant patients (and there weren't as many CCTV cameras around in those days) and stuff like heavy restraints and forcible injections - my uncle (who started his healthcare career in NHS mental health) told me all about it and he was not just one of the first ethnic minority quality managers in Essex, but also helped put a stop to all these practices..
I suspect the same men who would have become nurses or paramedics now end up joining MetPol instead or becoming nightclub bounders..

2026-04-28 19:37:11 CEST

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@nprofile…jzyc @nprofile…cj3j
exact same applies to the UK's Labour Party...

2026-04-27 21:49:08 CEST

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@nprofile…08j8 @nprofile…jnnp there was also an pop up on-site bar on Fridays only (after work) when I lived in Reading and was in the Civil Service, and occasionally alcohol was served in the office to celebrate completion of projects (I remember one occasion where one of the senior managers did at least say "I suggest you wheel that bicycle back to wherever you are headed next, rather than attempt to ride it" - which I did, I was going to my friends house and riding there would not merely be very inadvisable but risk ending up in the River Kennet..

2026-04-27 21:39:14 CEST

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@nprofile…jnnp Telephone Exchanges used to have on site staff bars until full privatisation of British Telecom in 1992 (some old engineers told me they mostly only served mild ale, and workplace drinking was OK provided the van didn't end up in the gutter (which was easy enough to do when sober anyway, so those who were driving generally didn't drink as much , in comparison to exchange based engineers)
Although that could be why there were often misroutes to wrong numbers and long delays to actually get a telephone (and why BT knocked the practice on the head)
Even places like media/creative industries no longer encourage or even permit afternoon drinking nowadays..

2026-04-27 20:21:21 CEST

I'm surprised they kept the shops running that long, thought #Claires had gone bust *ages* ago?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg4047qnpk2o

2026-04-26 22:44:19 CEST

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@nprofile…99sl @nprofile…appe presumably USA show?
School buses vary wildly in size here in Britain, they can be anything from the bus version of a panel van to a single decker or a full size double decker service bus on contract hire from the local bus company
(I have hybrid working and drive to the office in the afternoon, and I've seen every one of these being used for school transport in my town)

2026-04-24 18:38:06 CEST

Having now worked in #health/ #social care for 20 years I'm conflicted about this - the delay is also going to be held up as a victory for more theocratic minded folk, but I'd support human #euthanasia more if we had a less fractured society and fewer financial pressures on #healthcare
I'm already hearing of claims in NL, BE and CA (including from people I trust) there is pressure being put on patients to end their lives rather than have more complex/expensive forms of treatment, and really would *not* put it past some British families "having Grandad put to sleep to save on care home costs (and to keep hold of property that seniors might own outright, but is often sold to pay for care costs!)
Maybe #neoliberalism / #capitalism needs to die first?

2026-04-24 15:22:22 CEST

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@nprofile…sqq9 I did wonder about the power, as I've also seen others with a red DANGER 250V warning on them when the motor is wound for mains voltage (maybe only when they are used for generating ringing voltage on a PMBX, as if the mains was off the operator could still use the magneto generator?)

2026-04-21 22:24:30 CEST

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@nprofile…eumx the pub appeared to be doing fairly well before the crash - it would however be relatively easy to lose control of the Jag if someone was pushing on a bit too much (a witness in this video claims the driver was going at some speed)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vDwqlHfAmg

2026-04-21 21:44:47 CEST

presumably someone born in later 90s/00s, growing up in an environment where they felt unsafe to spend much time outdoors (due to traffic and/or personal safety issues?)- but even then, how can you *not* know what season it is by age *13*?
Starting from primary school we had regular lessons about the seasons and weather and even a notice board where the days weather as well as the day and month was put up - is this no longer a thing nowadays?

2026-04-21 18:28:40 CEST

found #bug on both #FireFox and #WaterFox - neither will display apps page on #MS365 - it doesn't appear on main portal menu with Copilot, nor on URL with
//m365.cloud.microsoft/apps
workaround is to go into outlook.office.com and use the square of 9 dots to get the app menu. Its curious as it *used* to work!
Looked for other reports or solutions but not found any - I guess Microsoft will just say "use Edge or Chrome", and Firefox/Waterfox users generally don't like MS365 so aren't interested in fixing it (I use Firefox to stay logged in to a different MS365 tenant on that particular browser rather than my main work one (which is left logged in on Edge)

2026-04-21 17:16:20 CEST

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@nprofile…99e4 on DOS both Wordperfect and IBM Displaywrite had a blue background and white/grey text, Lotus 123 sometimes had black background and green text (or was used on a monochrome green monitor).
Presentation software wasn't that common in DOS days, folk were still using slides and overhead projectors so anything from a computer was made into a 35mm slide (if folk had the budget), printed to a B&W laserjet on acetate film (there was some types specially made for this) but a lot of presentations were still folk in suits pointing at flipcharts like in 1980s...

2026-04-21 17:09:35 CEST

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@nprofile…99e4 Until mid 90s many folk were still using DOS office applications, although Wordpefect for Windows also had a blue UI and so did the Windows versions of Lotus 123 - there wasn't as much distinction in UI colours between 1990s office apps
(I was working in an office around the exact time everything changed over from DOS to Windows)

2026-04-20 17:29:23 CEST

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@nprofile…uk8k @nprofile…cdd3
I had a long discussion with a German about whether an archive photo of some lads repairing a car in the streets of England during 1970s was AI/KI - he was convinced of this for some time, until I pointed out things that confirmed it was a legit photo - such as the design of lamp posts and telephone poles, and that the car was a genuine model I recognised from my childhood and not the mashup of multiple makes you get if trying to generate "1970s British car" in AI, and the registration mark was in a legit format (another thing AI routinely gets wrong)

2026-04-20 01:26:34 CEST

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@nprofile…az0m @nprofile…c2ry
I remember some years ago when the oil spill happened in Gulf of Mexico a Sherriff from that area mentioning how they had the FBI on standby and all sorts, but what actually happened (other than big cleanup operation) was a massive rise in domestic violence and road traffic collisions, as folk couldn't cope with setbacks (particularly the loss of jobs and impact on the local economy), and everyone across the World seems to be being affected by some crisis or another and its played out on the roads.
Another less drastic (but equally risky) factor (maybe more in UK/Europe?) is flex/hybrid working hours, although these aren't a bad thing this has expanded the rush hour and also encouraged some to take more chances to get home early..

2026-04-20 01:12:48 CEST

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@nprofile…az0m @nprofile…c2ry
I turn down music at roundabouts and busy junctions (or other situations where there are greater hazards).
TBH in recent months I've been driving in silence - other than engine and ambient noises)at least during daytime/afternoon as there is almost always /some/ kind of sketchy stuff happening around me..
Athough UK roads are generally fairly safe, this is because traffic laws are strictly enforced with a *lot* of cameras and when those aren't around, some folk compensate for it out of spite by playing a game of brinkmanship with everyones lives on the road, and this has all got worse in recent years..