h2g2bob @h2g2bob@mastodon.dbatley.com

📄 Candidate lists were published yesterday for the two UK parliamentary by-elections being held on 15 Feb.

🗳️ Voters in Kingswood (South Gloucestershire) have six candidates to choose from, and voters in Wellingborough (North Northamptonshire) have eleven candidates.

👀 Learn more about the candidates on WhoCanIVoteFor: https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/parl.2024-02-15/uk-parliament-elections/

#byelection #ukpolitics #northamptonshire #gloucestershire @elections

Clip taken from The National Ferret School's excellent video on training ferrets for cable laying, of course.

https://www.ferretbusiness.honeybank.com/working-ferrets/video

https://www.danlynch.org/blog/2024/01/embedding-a-mastodon-feed/ - I blogged about how I embedded my Mastodon activity feed into my Wordpress site. If you're looking to do the same you might find this useful.

#wordpress

CC @popey

Chengdu worldcon Hugo nomination statistics suggest the 2023 Hugo awards were rigged: http://corabuhlert.com/2024/01/21/the-2023-hugo-nomination-statistics-have-finally-been-release-and-we-have-questions/

I've also seen it alleged that the concom offered some attendees "special guest" treatment … and stole their Hugo voting rights in return, without telling them about that part of the "deal" first. (I will not cite a source on this until the attendee in question goes public.)

It's been *40 years* since #EmmanuelGoldstein launched the seminal, essential, world-changing *@2600: The #Hacker Quarterly*. *2600* wasn't the first #phreak/hacker zine, but it was the most important, spawning a global subculture dedicated to the noble pursuit of technological self-determination:

https://www.2600.com/

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Canadian Man Stuck in Triangle of E-Commerce Fraud

A Canadian man who says he's been falsely charged with orchestrating a complex e-commerce scam is seeking to clear his name. His case appears to involve "triangulation fraud," which occurs when a consumer purchases something online -- from a seller on Amazon or eBay, for example -- but the seller doesn't actually own the item for sale. Instead, the seller purchases the item from an online retailer using stolen payment card data. In this scam, the unwitting buyer pays the scammer and receives what they ordered, and very often the only party left to dispute the transaction is the owner of the stolen payment card.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/01/canadian-man-stuck-in-triangle-of-e-commerce-fraud/

You can see the #InternationalSpaceStation in #Southend tonight
Date: Friday Jan 19, 2024
Time: 5:02 PM
Duration: 4 minutes
Maximum Elevation: 15°
Approach: 10° above S
Departure: 10° above ESE

https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/view.cfm?country=United_Kingdom&region=England&city=Canvey_Island

Our detailed report is now out, with evidence that we believe shows Douglas Barrowman's businesses committed fraud. https://www.taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/01/18/barrowman_fraud/

Today is a good day to make sure you are on the electoral register 🗳️

https://www.danlynch.org/blog/2024/01/arrowesound-hospital-radio/ - I blogged about my show on Arrowesound Hospital Radio with a bit of background about the station and more info. #radio #music

I’ve updated my historical UK price conversion calculator with 2023’s inflation rate. Prices have doubled since 2005 and tripled since 1991: https://iamkate.com/data/uk-inflation/

Are you bored? Would you like to play with an interactive map showing all the 38,590 overseas entities holding English/Welsh real estate? With clickable thingies that let you identify where someone has unlawfully hidden their ownership...

https://www.taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/01/16/overseas/

“Spot the Danger Mouse Blue Plaque at Baker Street” https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/spot-the-danger-mouse-blue-plaque-at-baker-street-69173/ /by @ianvisits

I can’t tell you how awesome this is.

#London

A bit of Johnny Cash on the turntable this morning. It goes well with my coffee. #vinyl

My latest post on what is happening with Covid in England right now:

https://christinapagel.substack.com/p/latest-covid-situation-in-england

Flash emulation has finally reached a point where we can accurately restore some of the most important cultural sites from the early days of the web, and its only going to get better.

I proudly present: https://welcometozombo.com

What makes a good prophecy?

A couple of years ago, taking questions on stage in front of a live audience, I was asked to do my duty as an economist and make an economic forecast. But the questioner had a demanding benchmark for what made a good prediction, informing me that the previous keynote speaker at this conference had been a prominent scientist, who warned of a deadly global pandemic. That was i

https://timharford.com/2024/01/what-makes-a-good-prophecy/

#UndercoverEconomist

We've a new report: the Post Office claimed £934m tax relief for its compensation payments to the postmasters it persecuted. That's outrageous. It's also unlawful - so the Post Office now faces an unexpected £100m tax bill. It may be insolvent. https://www.taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/01/12/934m/

The UK government is consulting on "Street vote development orders". The proposal is to introduce a local #referendum mechanism when certain planning proposals are made for a "street area".

You can view and respond to the consultation using the link below. The consultation closes on 2 February.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/street-vote-development-orders-consultation