Blog
I honestly thought I would write more
Some people, like Cory Doctorow and Richard Murphy, write incessantly. In a good way. I am not like this. I thought I would be but I‘m not, so I won‘t lose any sleep over it. Instead, you shall be treated to random nonsense with #hashtags Skomer Island delights Skomer Island (or as the locals call it, “Skomer“) is a nature reserve off the coast of Pembrokeshire, not far from Milford Haven. I was speaking with a Wildlife Tower pioneer (more of that later) called Wayne, and we got to talking about gabions, like you do. He said that there was a gabion retaining wall on the island, which the Petrels apparently love for nesting.
December 29, 2025
Cycle lane, what cycle lane?
Cycling posts. The latest National Travel Survey clearly questions that old myth about “Active travel is just for the middle classes, what about working people who have to drive?”
November 22, 2025
Economic questions: the Stephanie Kelton question
Read this article by Richard Murphy about Stephanie Kelton‘s contribution to Modern Monetary Theory https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11/20/economic-questions-the-stephanie-kelton-question/ Kelton’s core insight is not that governments should spend without limit, but that they can. The true limit to spending is the availability of real resources — skilled labour, energy, technology, materials — not the availability of money. Currency-issuing governments create money as a matter of routine when they spend. They delete, or cancel, money when they tax.
November 20, 2025
Critique of AI Benefits
This was posted in a group: AI Community @ CU Welsh Government has launched a new plan to embed the benefits of AI in various sectors and shape its influence to improve the lives of people across Wales - link to plan included in the following article: https://businesswales.gov.wales/news-and-blog/new-plan-embed-benefits-ai-across-wales This was my response: The problem is, AI has become so broad in meaning as to become meaningless, so that the same sense can be construed from the term “algorithm”, ie computers. There are applications where “algorithms” are incredibly useful, but a wholesale “let’s adopt AI” is damaging because it ignores the harms of generative AI and Large Language Models, eg a list from Emma Barnes:
November 20, 2025
Progress in adapting to climate change
Sobre immediate concerns from Climate Change Committee report: Over half of England’s top quality agricultural land is at risk of flooding today, with a further increase in total agriculture land at risk expected by 2050. Climate change also poses a major threat to UK biodiversity, at a time when it is degrading rapidly. 6.3 million properties in England are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, and surface water. This is predicted to rise to around 8 million (one in four) by 2050. Steadily rising sea levels at the UK’s coasts will increase the risk of coastal flooding and exacerbate coastal erosion. Over a third of railway and road kilometres are currently at flood risk, predicted to rise to around half by 2050. Extreme heat also disrupts infrastructure systems via rail buckling and power line sagging. Heat-related deaths already occur in the thousands each year but could rise several times over to exceed 10,000 in an average year by 2050. This increase is driven by the effect of climate change on a growing aging population, which is increasingly vulnerable to extreme heat. Estimates suggest that unchecked climate change could impact UK economic output by up to 7% of GDP by 2050, creating challenges for driving sustainable long-term growth across the country. https://www.theccc.org.uk/2025/04/30/the-country-is-not-prepared-for-climate-impacts-say-advisors/
November 13, 2025
Bacon snippet
“I’m not interested in fantasy, I’m interested in reality.” “And what is reality?“ “Reality is what exists.“ Francis Bacon and Melvyn Bragg, absolutely shitfaced on camera, a poignant moment.
November 12, 2025
Future Generations Act summary
Wellbeing of Future Generations Act 2015 My summary of the goals, ways of working and pillars. 7 goals for Wales Globally responsible Prosperous Resilient Healthier More equal Cohesive communities Vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language 5 ways of working The long term - Avoiding short-termism and considering how decisions will impact on the well-being of future as well as current generations. Prevention - How acting early–and with others–to tackle the root cause of problems before they arise or get worse can bring about better outcomes for individuals, public bodies and society as a whole. Integration - Ensuring that the full range of consequences of an action are considered so that activity in one area of work can be shaped to complement, rather than undermines, the activities in others. Collaboration - Working with others, both from within or outside your team or organisation, so that as many objectives as possible can be met with the resources and expertise available. Involvement - Not trying to solve problems alone but understanding the benefits of involving as wide a range of people as possible in helping shape the decisions and services that will affect their lives. 4 pillars Culture Society Environment Economy Resources A Guide to the Well-being of Future Generations Act PDF↗ WCVA guide to The [Five] Ways of Working of The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 PDF↗
November 9, 2025
I Am An AI Hater by Anthony Moser
Anthony Moser on AI: https://anthonymoser.github.io/writing/ai/haterdom/2025/08/26/i-am-an-ai-hater.html Most excellent, here is a precis of the harms, which I’ve summarised and put in a list, cos why not: “Critics have already written thoroughly about the Environmental harms Reinforcement of bias Generation of racist output Cognitive harms and AI supported suicides Problems with consent and copyright AI tech companies further the patterns of empire It’s a con that enables fraud and disinformation and harassment and surveillance The exploitation of workers An excuse to fire workers and de-skill work How they don’t actually reason and probability and association are inadequate to the goal of intelligence How people think it makes them faster when it makes them slower How it is inherently mediocre and fundamentally conservative How it is at its core a fascist technology rooted in the ideology of supremacy, defined not by its technical features but by its political ones.” Fuck yeah
November 9, 2025
Hacking at Leaves film
Hacking at Leavesby Johannes Grenzfurthner https://archive.org/details/hacking_at_leaves_release_version
November 5, 2025
Revolutionary Gardens
The community gardens of today are the revolutionary cells of tomorrow. You ever go home from a meeting and think “Fuck yeah we’re good at this and this is gonna slap ass”? Yeah me neither until I started this group with my partner and a friend. That just just under two years ago. Now we’re about 60 people and working together with half a dozen other orgs. Just had to get that snowball rolling.
November 5, 2025