Paul Pod

@paulpod.bsky.social

783 Followers 759 Following

Designer. Ex GOV, NHS, startups. Lives in Wales, London @paulpod on most things 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 website: Neuromantics.net 📨 signal: paulpod.404

Weather chart. A list of days from Monday thru a week on Tuesday 50% rain by next Saturday, only increasing on the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
A light wicker basket
30° for days on end in South Wales
Frankly insane Government poster from the bizarre "cultural recovery" campaign in the post covid marketplace of bonkers ideas
Google bloody Al Overview Whether you mean a vacuum cleaner designed specifically for delicate studio electronics or a synth-based "Hoover" sound patch used in electronic music, the solutions are highly distinct:
The new CDJ-1500x ... It's a little black box with a big screen and a jog wheel
Wombo dream prompt - Gove blobby glasses
Bkackpool and it's "tower"
VPNs are illegal in: Belarus Iraq North Korea Turkmenistan VPN use is restricted in: China Iran Oman Russia Turkey United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Two paragraphs : An apparent sighting of a Canadian lynx was reported to DPP on 13 May 2025 in Port Henri, Carmarthenshire, and no action was taken. A "puma-sized cat" was also reported in Fairy Falls, Trefnant, Denbighshire on 25 October 2023, but no action was taken after an investigation by North Wales Police confirmed it was not a real cat.
Instagram post by Sizemore / pic of Tardis, Ray Purchase, Stephen Toast. Caption: Just cast Steven Toast as the Doctor. You do a crossover event between the BBC and Ch4. Friday night is an episode of Toast on 4 showing the shenanigans behind the scenes as they make the episode. Steven hates the role, has never seen the show and hates his co star, Ray Purchase, who plays The Master. Saturday night is the actual episode of Dr Who on the Beeb. Bonus: Ray has form after being cast opposite Troughton back in the 60s.
Guardian Live Snippet No 10 declines to say what Starmer meant by PMQs pledge to crack down on people like Musk fuelling division online At the post-PMQs lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson was asked what Keir Starmer meant at PMQS when he told Ed Davey that the government would crack down on “anyone who is fuelling this division” on social media. (See 12.30pm.) This was in response to a question about Elon Musk. The spokesperson refused to give details about what a crackdown like this might involve, but he did say: “We’ve taken action before and we won’t hesitate to do that again.”
News about the next apple Ui we all* were patiently waiting for (ie not upgrading because fuck that, right?) Apple said it has heard user feedback, which it "deeply appreciates," and is now making adjustments to the underlying foundations of how Liquid Glass is constructed. Chief among those changes is a new slider that lets users control transparency, ranging from fully opaque to completely clear.
A COMPUTER CAN NEVER BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE THEREFORE A COMPUTER MUST NEVER MAKE A MANAGEMENT DECISION
Marketers chose the slogan after consulting an AI tool, looking for suggestions, Shinsegae Group said. It turned out some managers who approved the campaign never opened the email attachments showing the marketing material.
Google not-actual-search but complete fucking fiction Question: does Bono like squirrels Yes, Bono appears to like squirrels. In fact, U2 fans have long celebrated his endearing reaction to seeing them in nature, often affectionately referring to a popular fan-favorite clip as the "Elvis Squirrel video" because of his sheer joy watching the animals. While we know the U2 frontman enjoys watching them scamper around, it's not clear if he is familiar with the grey squirrels often found locally in the Treharris area, or if he prefers the native red squirrels he might see closer to his home in Ireland. Would you like to hear about the different types of squirrels found in the UK, or are you just looking to see if your favorite musician shares
Close up of an LG tv remote with the 4th button "Rakuten tv"
Looking up at blue sky and perfect green canopy while lying on green thick grass is working out great
ChrisO_wiki @chriso-wiki.bsky.social Chart with a line showing global oil inventories going down sharply from April through June (operational stress level - bad) and September (operational floor level - catastrophic ) 1/ The world faces a catastrophic cliff-edge shortage of oil due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade in the next four weeks, analysts warn. This will cause a deep recession, fuel rationing, the shutdown of entire industries, and oil prices potentially as high as $370 per barrel.
Headlines on iran IRAN'S FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON SAYS THE POTENTIAL MOU HAS NO SPECIFIC DETAILS ABOUT THE MANAGEMENT OF THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ Fin Twitter @fintwitter.bsky.social • 32s IRAN'S FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON SAYS WE DO NOT HAVE CURRENTLY A PLAN TO SEND A DELEGATION TO PAKISTAN S FinTwitter@fintwitter.bsky.social • 1m IRAN'S FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON SAYS WE'VE REACHED A FRAMEWORK BUT NO BODY CAN SAY THAT AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE U.S. AND IRAN IS IMMINENT
Chunks of processed uranium
Chart with pink and green bars mostly between 4pm and 7pm showing Electricity exported, where you get paid the most for it. Total £1.95
Guardian Headline Reeves cuts VAT on summer days out to 5% as part of cost of living support
The 2001 toilet instructions
A picture of Andy Burnham looking like some has pissed on his chips alongside headline "Burnham allies warn against quick 'coronation' of Streeting if Starmer quits"
big grey fluffy cat and owner
Tweet reads Beth Rigby @ @BethRigby •2h g This coming from a government source. A less supportive assessment of cabinet meeting "Keir said in Cabinet that he wouldn't discuss the elections or his leadership, and that he will only speak to cabinet ministers about that individually. Then after the meeting he refused to see Cabinet ministers individually" Q506. 17894 02.8K 1ll 176K
Random space people hanging out having a space party
A skeet from chrisO-Wiki 1/ The world faces a catastrophic cliff-edge shortage of oil due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade in the next four weeks, analysts warn. This will cause a deep recession, fuel rationing, the shutdown of entire industries, and oil prices potentially as high as $370 per barrel. Graph - source JPM pointing out the stress level for the fuel infra goes south fast June thru Sept
The incredible djx900 for £190 - usb digital all the goodies. Yeah ok it's Behringer but a lot for the £££
A snippet of WhatsApp UI showing "swipe up to talk" on the *group chat* jesus which psychopath designed that fucking helllll
Leon in his interview from Bladerunner You're not helping. What do you mean, I'm not helping? I mean: vou're not helping! Why is that, Leon? (not helping intensifies]
Full text: Dear Farming Family. April 17th 2026 I'm writing to you not just as a candidate, but as someone with farming at the heart of my family. My wife grew up on a farm here in the constituency - as did her father, and his father before him. We still have immediate family living and working on a local farm today. So when I talk about what farming means to a family, to a community, to a way of life, I'm not speaking from a briefing note. I know the land, the seasons, the pressure, and the pride - and that connection is central to why I'm standing in this election. PROTECTING WHAT YOU'VE BUILT The changes to Agricultural Property Relief announced by the UK Labour Government have sent a shockwave through farming communities here and across Wales. The threat of inheritance tax on family farms - assets that are land-rich but cash-poor - risks forcing the next generation to sell up just to settle a tax bill. I am firmly opposed to these changes and will campaign relentlessly to see them reversed. Your family farm should pass to your children, not to HMRC. STANDING UP TO CARDIFF BAY The Welsh Labour Government has consistently placed burdens on our farmers - through the Sustainable Farming Scheme and a raft of regulations that feel designed in offices far from any farmyard. Welsh Conservatives believe that farmers are the best stewards of our land, and that policy should support you, not punish you. I will hold the Welsh Government to account and push for a farming policy that is practical, fair, and shaped by the people who actually work the RURAL COMMUNITIES DESERVE BETTER Living and working in a rural area brings its own challenges - unreliable broadband, patchy mobile coverage, long distances to services, and roads that are too often left to deteriorate. These aren't minor inconveniences; they affect your business, your safety, and your quality of life. I will be a consistent advocate for investment in rural infrastructure, because strong farming communities depen…
A very complicated election flyer for the Welsh Tories
Amlen B Envelope B Postal voting ephemera
a spinner denoting an image is loading. the centre point of rotation is off, by quite a bit, so it wobbles like a drunk chicken on a spinning top
Farage and Orban getting along like good pawns in the great game
Front cover of Enki Magazine Jan/Feb 2025 a lovely modern villa on the front cover surrounded by greenery and trees. Nice.
Supposedly Macron as a Manga character
Ram Doubler install disk - must have for mac users circa 1995
Screengrab of the complex menu screen from the UMI midi software on BBC micro Prompt at the top is What now?
A clean minimal dining room in an old welsh cottage
Snippet of the OP link The evidence shows that those from low socio-economic backgrounds (SEBs) are less likely to work in areas of the Civil Service that accelerate progression, notably departments including Her Majesty's Treasury, professions like policy, and the roles which give exposure to the political epicentre of Whitehall. For example: Only 12% of those working at the Treasury are from a low SEB versus 45% at the Department for Work and Pensions. • Only 19% of those working in policy are from low SEBs versus 40% in operational roles (for example, running front-line services). There are strong regional divides too: Only 22% of London-based civil servants are from working class or low SE This compares to 48% in the north-east.
Pie chart: 19% of the SCS from low socio-economic backgrounds in 1967
Job posting off linked in your rate 450 vs customer rate 650 now that is what i call a margin
Screengrab from Spotify - a playlist with no songs just the description and prompt to generate it ... except it hasnt My First Plays on Spotify Prompted by Spotify What you will get The first songs you streamed on Spotify, starting with the very first one. Prompt Create a playlist of the first songs I ever listened to on Spotify. Start with my very first streamed track, including the date and time I listened to it, and continue chronologically through my earliest listening history so it feels like revisiting the beginning of my Spotify journey•
Power diagram showing 9.7kwH generation off solar, and the near empty battery having time-shifted demand 13kwh across the day
Living room shot in cottage, pale raw plaster walls, black beams, iron stove, glass coffee table, modular leather sofa. Zero clutter
Big red welsh dragon via https://www.deviantart.com/andyfairhurst/art/Welsh-Flag-The-Red-Dragon-141016695
Guardian headline PM vows to 'keep fighting' after Greens sweep past Labour and Reform to win byelection -
A limp grey fluffy cat has decided to snooze on my lap
Description of Lavazza "One of my guilty penny-pinching options is a big 1kg bag of Lavazza Rossa beans or similar. These occasionally come up on a deal for around £10 to £12, and although they're by no means a refined pick - the experience is akin to someone smearing burnt toast and intensely bitter chocolate all over your taste buds - they make a mean Italian-style espresso and similarly potent cappuccino."
just want to style a bit of text... oh, a Text Styles popup ... search for style "link" ... result: No styles match this search Well. fuck this
end screen of dialed.gg my score 44.01/50
Lock Screen on ios, big chunk of blue sky, low bank of sand dune, and beach. Obscuring the date at the top is a tennisball in motion, out of focus
The Gartner curve of technology hype cycle
@paulpod on a bluesky map, appears to be on the fringe of "UK Government Digital & Service Design". I don't do service design sorry.
4g directional outdoor antenna Poynting XPOL-1-5G-PLUS Cross Polarised Omni-Directional Antenna
Para from that guardian link I still don't understand the reason for this level of public dislike for a good and serious man, but it's hard to find MPs who think Starmer can revive his own or his party's fortunes. The cut-through over this affair is phenomenal in a population not over-bothered by the news: YouGov finds an astonishing 95% of British adults know about the Mandelson/Epstein scandal. There is no escaping public disgust.
Text from linked article: The quiet pivot to forced adoption is softened by the euphemism of diffusion, a term both Fink and Nadella use ad nauseum. "It's going to require real leadership from the private sector and the public sector" Nadella says early on, "to ensure that diffusion happens." Elsewhere, he reveals that that phrase, "ensure that diffusion happens," he lifted verbatim from an exchange with Fink in advance of the public event. And they are not alone in hammering this vocabulary. Diffusion seems to have been part of the script of the 2026 WEF, as questions eerily similar to Fink's - "How do we make sure that diffusion happens and is spread evenly?" - came from the mouths of Niall Ferguson, Jessica Lessin, and others.