Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 14hAnd did whinge about hospitals paying someone to turn 30 second voice notes into draft letters in the system. Which now makes expensive surgeons etc spend half an hour on something that used to be done by admin staff, instead of on their speciality. 020
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 04/10/2026Based on what I've read, though, there is a simple guideline for whether a uniform rule helps: does it hide the gap between PP/FSM kids (no brand logos, for example) or not (loose trousers)? If it does, it's slight help; if it doesn't, evidence is that it's a wash at best. 010
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 04/10/2026Looked into this as a secondary school governor; uniform is a mixed bag on the evidence. Some uniform rules (e.g. plain black trousers or skirt) help a little, believed to be due to a reduction in bullying. But strict rules (like tightness of trousers) are not helpful. 220
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 03/10/2026Complicated - high reach low audience can mean people who listen once a week, and pay attention, but don't tune in every day. High audience low reach means you're getting a loyal but limited audience. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 03/10/2026Audience is total simultaneous viewers; reach is unique viewers. Low reach, high audience is same people tuning in all the time. High reach, low audience is lots of different people tuning in less frequently. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 03/10/2026Yeah - there's tensions everywhere, and racial tension is just one aspect of it. If Birmingham were pure white English, there'd still be groupings that don't get on. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 03/10/2026Funny that - the areas with most immigrants are the ones most accepting of immigration. And also the ones where immigrants have integrated beautifully, making the area better for everyone. 1100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 03/10/2026Anti-Semitic stopped hitting as hard when they were deploying it against practicing Jews who vocally opposed Israel's use of the IDF against Palestinians. They need a slur that doesn't trigger people into thinking about the situation. 200
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 02/10/2026They do - as a parent, we get consent forms asking us about that, and asking for GP details so they can cross-check against GP records. Takes about 60 seconds to fill in the form, then vaccinations happen at school as Madeline describes 020
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 02/10/2026Biggest problem will be convincing those with £100 to £1,000/month disposable income that they have more in common with someone on £10/month than someone with £1m/month. 010
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 02/10/2026A more fundamental problem is convincing someone on £50kpa that fines of £1m for an offence they'd face a fine of £500 for is "fair". The fairness of someone on £20kpa paying £180 is fairly clear, but the other direction is not. 010
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 02/10/2026It's 4 weeks disposable income - if that's billions, so be it. Getting them to pay up is a different hard problem, yes, but fines that are meaningful penalties on paper is doable. 110
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 02/10/2026If you can drop £10k on a night in a hotel, then the fine for you is more likely to be in the millions, not the tens of thousands. The fine scales with your disposable income - so this example of yours would be "4 weeks disposable income", and could be millions for Epstein-class. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 02/10/2026Which leads to the question of why the level caps haven't been changed to match the ways we do bands. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 02/10/2026That could be fixed by moving to day-fines (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day-fine). There's details to get right (which is always the challenge), but a fine that's linked to your income has advantages. Your "living on benefits" might pay £40, where someone rich pays £10k for the same offence.en.wikipedia.orgDay-fine - Wikipedia 111
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 01/10/2026Indeed - and just to get a sense of how bad it can get, imagine that we were being pushed to adopt a Mandarin word list. 放缓 有名 当家 might be valid, for example, as a location. But if you can't read Mandarin at all, that's scary. 010
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 01/10/2026At the very least, their app should be able to detect which word list is in use, and automatically decode any language's codes to the right location. Then, my tourist would have entered the English words and been routed. But no, that's too hard for them. 110
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 01/10/2026Changing it based on geoIP is even worse; when I'm in a hotel abroad, I have a local IP (and will presumably get the local word list). When I leave the hotel, and rely on the mobile network, my mobile data is home routed, and I have a UK IP. So, just leaving the hotel would change the word list. 000
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 01/10/2026The reason I discovered this is that I was helping a non-English speaking tourist in London - who'd printed a Google Translate page, and could not work out why the translated W3W location did not work for him, and nor did the untranslated version in English. 110
Reposted by Simon Farnsworth👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 29/09/2026it's a lovely michaelmas day and you are a horrible goose 018026
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026I asked you a direct question, and you didn't answer, either, preferring to accuse me of Osbournism. Why can't you answer it? 000
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026And you are evading questions about the first order effects of either borrowing, printing money, or taxing people to pay for the triple-lock. At least taxation is affected by inflation - the triple lock means that pensions are unaffected by state spending, including pensions. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026You seem completely fixated on second order effects at the expense of first and higher order effects. Triple lock means that neither price inflation nor wage inflation bring down government spending on pensions slowly, instead requiring cuts to services the working age depend upon. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026Good question; how do you get growth by cutting worker's incomes to pay for pensions? That is, after all, the effect of the triple lock. 101
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026No, it's not - Osbornism is the idea that there should be no deficit, and spending should be cut to make that possible. I'm fine with a deficit in line with growth, and with increased taxation instead of decreased spending, both of which are opposed to Osbornism. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026We're running an overall deficit that's higher than can be sustained against growth - either we need to cut spending, or increase tax. If we're cutting spending, then the triple-lock's commitment to pension growth greater than UK growth needs to go. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026They're the second biggest single component of government spending, with only the NHS costing the government more. Either the government's total spend is affordable, or pensions aren't affordable right now. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026Get rid of the personal allowance completely. Everyone pays more tax as a result. Replace it with a universal payout to everyone that covers the basic rate tax on the old personal allowance. 000
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026A quite significant one, if you look at the figures - it's one of the reasons why the triple-lock is unaffordable in the long term, because inflation caused by currency devaluation isn't matched by wage growth. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026Yes - because it's matched by a government payout of £2,600 per year. Those on the lowest incomes gain more from that payout than they pay in extra tax. Those on higher incomes lose out. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026Immediate first order impact is that those on £12,570pa or less increase their take-home; those above £50,270 reduce it, those above £125,140 or between £12,570 and £50,270 are unaffected. Biggest reduction in take-home is at £99,999 pa 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026Best route I can see is to replace the Personal Allowance with a basic income - £2,600 per year to replace £12,570 in Personal Allowance. The very poorest gain from this, many more pay tax as a result. 000
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026It's one component of inflation in the last 10 years, yes. We're paying more for imports as the sellers want USD or EUR, and GBP going down in value against those currencies increases what we spend. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026Increases the state's income, which it can either use to repay state debt (inflating the currency indirectly), or pass onto the needy (e.g. by increasing the state pension or other benefits). 200
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026Indirectly, because we are an importing country. High state borrowing without matching tax revenue results in currency devaluation. Currency devaluation makes imported food and fuel more expensive. Essentials being more expensive results in inflation. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026We need to raise taxes on everyone, and that includes having a broad tax base (small Personal Allowance). Otherwise, we end up with an economy where most people don't pay tax (rich by leaving, poor by being exempt), and we can't afford a generous state. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026It does, unless you change tax policy - either we have a broad tax base and can afford decent benefits, or we aim to keep the poor out of the tax system. Doing both requires inflationary borrowing, which breaks the Treasury. 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026We have a problem there, too, with all the efforts to 'lift people out of tax' - that means that it's becoming politically impossible to tax people at a rate they can afford, unless they're wealthy enough to avoid paying... 100
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 29/09/2026And at this point, it should be well known that a decent chunk of people will care more about "cheats" getting something than about all the needy getting it. 5 people who need it not getting it is better to them than 5 people who don't need it getting it. 050
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 25/09/2026When looking, avoid 2.3 kW or lower rated power kettles - that implies that they're using one design for all 230V countries around the world, and either don't do the volume of sales needed for a UK-specific model, or don't care. 150
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 24/09/2026Even in the English system, I've worked somewhere with two men with the same first name, same middle name, same surname, same day and month of birth, and same preferred nicknames. Only year of birth and job title to distinguish them. That sort of coincidence is a pain to deal with. 270
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 24/09/2026I knew someone who uses a different name because he's called "Jon Venables" on his passport, and was about 12/13 when James Bulger was murdered. It's not that he doesn't like his passport name, it's just that it leads to awkwardness if people make the connection. 270
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 24/09/2026And in an extreme case, your friend whose new name came from Witness Protection is now terrified that you're going to find out and publish the link between the name that could get them killed and their new name. 051
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 24/09/2026Against that, you have the splash effect: being rude to Robinson the fascist is fine, but you're also being rude to nice people who've chosen a name they want to be known by and who have done nothing to deserve rudeness. 030
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 24/09/2026The press release does not say it delivered 1MW continuously, either - 1.1 MW during takeoff, and 10 kW at cruise, would fit the press release perfectly. 000
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 23/09/2026You have me imagining how removing concrete from fur would go. I suspect this would be a very unwanted "Finding Out" for both dog and owners. 130
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 22/09/2026Even if you make it entirely abstract, there are people who would say that it's better for an unspecified charity to help 95 people, of 100 who need help, than to help 105 people, 5 of whom don't need help. 000
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 21/09/2026One syntactic option you didn't explore: struct FnArgs { width: u32, height: u32 } fn foo(FnArgs { width, height }: FnArgs) I'm not quite sure which side that falls on in the argument, but it's definitely a point somewhere in there. 120
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 21/09/2026It used to be less centralised here, too - but local governments kept making decisions that were locally popular but didn't match central government goals, so powers got moved to the centre to prevent that. 010
Simon Farnsworth @simon.farnz.org.uk · 21/09/2026There's a unique British problem here; almost all state powers are reserved to the national level, so my town cannot, by law, create rules like the ones yours has. 120
