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Finlay KM

@finkm.bsky.social
108 followers 843 following 127 posts

Electronics Engineer with an interest in a things sustainable transport, and also good food. Occasional ADHD advocate. Starter of many madcap projects.

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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
AI slop is when it’s low effort with no time spent refining in my mind. If you have a clear understanding of what you want as an output and can build a comprehensive prompt, then you can get something good out of it after an iteration or two.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
They really should just make it a percentage of the price rather than a fixed pound value, then it would naturally increase yearly but without the inevitable “they’ve increased fuel duty, the bastards!” headlines.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Some Cambridge parks have specific spots with large paving slabs you can use for disposable BBQs which is the cheap way of doing it. People seem to use them.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
"Please observe correct manual handling procedure when defenestrating your predecessor's ministers"
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
It just isn’t a pleasant place to spend much time - Herbert Manzoni really did a number on the place. Birmingham’s own mini-Robert Moses.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
“We can report that the overwhelming public opinion on this issue in London is: ‘no, get out of the bloody way’”
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
@andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social Andrew if there’s anything I can take from these files, it’s that a lot of people got stuck on the truly gargantuan email threads they probably lost interest in weeks before. Look at the state of this!
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
That assumes people are economically right wing as opposed to “fed up with the establishment” - Burnham is in theory campaigning to unseat the PM and drastically speed up the pace of government action to help with cost of living etc. so that may break through? Who knows.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
"Lighting pace, but round and round in circles"
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Honestly I am so ready for the Milifandom to resurface. Maybe even the Milibaes.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Look at Polanski though, yes the press are going after him, but it’s just not sticking in the same way because he’s a much more effective politician. Corbyn lost composure too easily when attacked, whilst also failing to grab the reigns of his own party.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
i.imgur.com/CIr7TvC.jpg
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
I’m more entertained by him than anything else. If he wants to spend a huge amount of time and money on being immortal, then hey, go for it. Might even get some interesting scientific papers dropping out of it at some point.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
This is also on a very very busy walking and cycling route from the central tourist street to the river, colleges, and main library, so if aesthetics matter anywhere it’s here.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
I have been working with Stagecoach for over a year to get the 4 to stop at Bourn Quarter so people don’t have to walk 10-20 minutes down a pitch black access road without a pavement. All signed off, 140 day notice period completed, and they’ve just pulled the plug with no notice at all. Not happy.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
I’m amazed Cambridgeshire is anything other than deepest red on that map after seeing this amazing patch job yesterday. Whatever system allows this to be an acceptable outcome is well and truly buggered.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
How do other western countries solve this? Feels like the UK is particularly terrible when it comes to joined up thinking on infrastructure. There’s always got to be these hard borders in responsibility…
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
Or even sacrificial steel structures either side - not the prettiest, but reduces the chance of the bridge being hit to basically zero.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
We don’t help ourselves in the UK by taking so long to build things either - it gives the NIMBYs a huge amount of time to organise against everything, and the more delays there are the more cost overruns they point to as a justification for canning the whole thing.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
See also: Labour trying to appease the far-right. Spoiler, they’ll always hate you and accuse you of not going far enough. Eventually you just have to draw a line and say “that’s our limit, sorry.”
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
The last one on that list seems a bit Scilly
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Yeah this seems like a somewhat sensible way of running things if you have to have private involvement. Concession-holders actually have to be competitive when it comes to renewal, and can’t take the public for a ride on ticket costs. I believe London buses are the same?
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
I could get behind the flag design mirrored on the leading and trailing carriages with the intermediate ones connecting visually, but repeated like that looks a bit odd.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Yes I admit I did wonder if they’d missed the “small” part of SMRs with that design. I remember seeing other proposals for far smaller units (10s of MW) - but we shall see if those go anywhere. Also keeping one eye on what commonwealth fusion systems are up to in the states…
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
True, but I’d like to think SMR’s are going to shift that conversation, and the current government do seem to be trying to tackle the absurd overheads of building, well, any infrastructure at all - but nuclear in particular.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
We’ll see how long the current Green Party structure lasts as well, maybe it won’t transfer well to being a more mainstream political force and will require more central directing, or maybe it will work better than other parties. One to watch at least!
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Valid points - I suppose my take it that Nuclear’s a touch paper issue for the green movement, so maybe as a new leader, building a bit more political capital and shifting the consensus slowly is better than immediately starting a party civil war.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
On another key issue - Nuclear Power - Polanski himself isn’t openly pro but has also said people should get involved and change that policy if they genuinely think it needs doing. I get the feeling he’s a lot more pragmatic about the party platform than other recent left leaders.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Setting up effectively run legal routes that people can access abroad would be a big one. Also not constantly preaching austerity so people don't feel like any basic accommodation for asylum seekers is a slap in the face.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
I saw a good take on elements of this government - they don't seem to disagree with the previous Conservative governments on a lot of core ideology, they just think the Tories were incompetent/slow at implementation. Not universally the case, but definitely true in parts.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Yup - watched "Zone of Interest" a few months back and this immediately reminded of some gut-churningly unpleasant scenes where the family and friends of the camp staff are picking through jewellery and clothing that's been taken from victims. Really grim to hear this from Labour.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Look at the litany of issues we’ve had in this country with CAF produced rolling stock and it’s a wonder we still buy trains from them. Aluminium fractures and software issues abound.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
I always think it would be fun to get into building genuinely excellent social housing in this country (the UK). We have a few great examples, but you look at the quality of projects on the continent and there’s no comparison.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Or 1 in 10 is one of those anti-ram bollards that’s concreted several feet underground, but painted to look identical…
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
This was 100% my reaction as well - how on earth did they get close enough to a military plane to chuck paint in the engines? That’s a huge security failure, and I wonder in part if that’s why the government is focussing on PA being “dangerous terrorists” so it seems like less of a screwup…
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
I hope we do actually get the giant orange ART obelisk…
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Reposted by Finlay KM
Qagggy! @qagggy.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
AMAZING. Westminster's pedestrianization plan for Regent Street St. James's, Waterloo Place, and the surrounding area is massive.
Aerial diagram showing streets pedestrianized.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Nice really impressed me when we visited earlier this year - so much new cycle infrastructure and pedestrianisation, and a really nice tram/metro system. And lots of new planting in the streets with tiny buses!
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Picked up some in King’s Cross, so will be spreading them a bit further afield in Cambridge! Lovely idea!
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
You say 1970s, but it looks like there was recognition of how dangerous the stuff was in the early 20th century. Just took a long time for people to decide the costs outweighed the benefits. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbesto...
en.wikipedia.org
Asbestos - Wikipedia
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Reposted by Finlay KM
Tom Holbrook @thomholbrook.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
The week ahead in UK economic policy:
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Also even without adjustment, I’d bet “we’d like to spend more on defence and public services, and fund it by small increases in borrowing and large increases on taxes for the top ~5% of society” would poll quite well. The issue is that Labour seem allergic to any serious reform of our tax system.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
This is the constant chorus from local news in Cambridge... “Locals FURIOUS at cycle lanes” …well yeah, like 5 of them who wrote to you, but the endless consultations show most people quite like them actually.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
They've had a lot of unforced errors and really didn't read the room with the winter fuel cuts and proposed cuts to all sorts of departments and local governments. People have had enough of austerity across the political spectrum it seems.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
. @acarpen.bsky.social just noticed that the election results line up remarkably well with the BRMA map you shared in your local government reform post. I’m guessing Newmarket would be yellow as well if it were included! @philrodgers.co.uk
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
It feels like local council elections would stand to benefit the most from multi-winner proportional representation. Wards already have multiple councillors, so ranked ballots could make people feel a lot more engaged in local democracy as you’d likely get most parties represented.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
They need to empower communities, but also sort out some of the boundaries otherwise you end up with cities like Cambridge lumped in with vast rural areas that have completely different political priorities and needs. Many boundaries are historic and not really fit for purpose at this point.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Agree completely, but just a note that this chart looks a bit AI generated and has some weird spelling and sizing errors…
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Here’s a great example from Scotland of what can be done. People got wind of an immigration enforcement van and physically blocked it until they gave up. Think someone even got underneath it.
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Finlay KM @finkm.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
“Bikes for everyone, even racists!”
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