Simon Laycock
@notsofastmatey.bsky.social
Teacher, geek, crafter, board gamer.
@breakintoprogram.co.uk If you haven't seen it, I think you'd enjoy The Rubber Keyed wonder - it's currently free on Amazon Prime video.
September 28, 2025 at 2:07 PM
@breakintoprogram.co.uk If you haven't seen it, I think you'd enjoy The Rubber Keyed wonder - it's currently free on Amazon Prime video.
Big thank you to @roxley.bsky.social for replacing my missing Burton-On-Trent card from Brass:Birmingham at no cost.
August 28, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Big thank you to @roxley.bsky.social for replacing my missing Burton-On-Trent card from Brass:Birmingham at no cost.
Reposted by Simon Laycock
I’m not normally one to share these petitions but this would remove so many of the hoops parents have to jump through to continue to have a voice in their children’s lives once they become adults.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
Petition: Continue Parental Responsibility Automatically when disabled children turn 18
Change the law to automatically allow parents or carers to retain parental responsibility when their disabled child turns 18, if the child lacks capacity and remains in the parent’s care. We think thi...
petition.parliament.uk
August 15, 2025 at 7:39 PM
I’m not normally one to share these petitions but this would remove so many of the hoops parents have to jump through to continue to have a voice in their children’s lives once they become adults.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
Really sick of saving things in the Documents folder on my Windows 11 laptop, only to find they're not really there. There seems to be 3 locations for Documents. It's needlessly difficult to get to the c: drive as well.
June 9, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Really sick of saving things in the Documents folder on my Windows 11 laptop, only to find they're not really there. There seems to be 3 locations for Documents. It's needlessly difficult to get to the c: drive as well.
How are passkeys meant to work? I keep getting asked to sign in with one, scan a barcode etc, but how? I'm pretty tech-savvy. This should be much better explained if it's going to be generally adopted.
May 29, 2025 at 8:51 AM
How are passkeys meant to work? I keep getting asked to sign in with one, scan a barcode etc, but how? I'm pretty tech-savvy. This should be much better explained if it's going to be generally adopted.
Had a nice half term board games day yesterday. Played The Great Wall for the first time, then immediately played it again.
May 28, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Had a nice half term board games day yesterday. Played The Great Wall for the first time, then immediately played it again.
My GCSE Computing class took a look at the components inside my old ZX Spectrum under the visualiser, marvelled at tapes and floppy disks, then had a quick go at Manic Miner. What a day!
March 18, 2025 at 12:54 PM
My GCSE Computing class took a look at the components inside my old ZX Spectrum under the visualiser, marvelled at tapes and floppy disks, then had a quick go at Manic Miner. What a day!
Had a fun day trying to get my old ZX Spectrum (48k) working. I've owned this since 1984. Successfully did the mod to output composite video and game it all a good clean, but it crashes after a few minutes of use. Multimeter ordered. Now I need to learn how to use it.
March 16, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Had a fun day trying to get my old ZX Spectrum (48k) working. I've owned this since 1984. Successfully did the mod to output composite video and game it all a good clean, but it crashes after a few minutes of use. Multimeter ordered. Now I need to learn how to use it.
Really enjoyed Mickey 7 (the book). Enjoyed the first half of Mickey 17 (the film), then it deviated from the book and quickly became rubbish.
March 16, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Really enjoyed Mickey 7 (the book). Enjoyed the first half of Mickey 17 (the film), then it deviated from the book and quickly became rubbish.
Reposted by Simon Laycock
This is Marco Rubio explaining how the USA promised to defend Ukraine forever if they got rid of their nuclear arsenal left after the Soviet Union fell.
This is why lil marco was sinking into the couch. He was hoping we wouldn’t find it…so don’t RT right now this very second.
This is why lil marco was sinking into the couch. He was hoping we wouldn’t find it…so don’t RT right now this very second.
March 2, 2025 at 4:55 PM
This is Marco Rubio explaining how the USA promised to defend Ukraine forever if they got rid of their nuclear arsenal left after the Soviet Union fell.
This is why lil marco was sinking into the couch. He was hoping we wouldn’t find it…so don’t RT right now this very second.
This is why lil marco was sinking into the couch. He was hoping we wouldn’t find it…so don’t RT right now this very second.
Surely pinnace and plaice are words, @nytimes.com #spellingbee ?
February 23, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Surely pinnace and plaice are words, @nytimes.com #spellingbee ?
Reposted by Simon Laycock
Gave blood this afternoon; met the loveliest people & heard stories of inspiration & compassion for others ❤️
There's so much good in this world. Find the glimmers & maintain hope ❤️
(Register to give blood in the UK here: ow.ly/G7hz30bLhww )
There's so much good in this world. Find the glimmers & maintain hope ❤️
(Register to give blood in the UK here: ow.ly/G7hz30bLhww )
January 20, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Gave blood this afternoon; met the loveliest people & heard stories of inspiration & compassion for others ❤️
There's so much good in this world. Find the glimmers & maintain hope ❤️
(Register to give blood in the UK here: ow.ly/G7hz30bLhww )
There's so much good in this world. Find the glimmers & maintain hope ❤️
(Register to give blood in the UK here: ow.ly/G7hz30bLhww )
Had an idea for a Christmas -themed game, so I knocked up a prototype. Needs work, but there are some interesting decisions already.
December 24, 2024 at 1:29 PM
Had an idea for a Christmas -themed game, so I knocked up a prototype. Needs work, but there are some interesting decisions already.
2 player games tonight: Ahoy, Sky Team and a homemade version of High Tide. Enjoyed them all - we like placing dice for actions. I might make a nicer version of High Tide.
December 3, 2024 at 10:49 PM
2 player games tonight: Ahoy, Sky Team and a homemade version of High Tide. Enjoyed them all - we like placing dice for actions. I might make a nicer version of High Tide.
Apart from the buzz of completing the puzzles in #AdventofCode, what I really enjoy is learning new things. Today I learnt how to use map(), any(), all() and the pattern for generating a new list without a given item in it. It also helps to consolidate things I've used before, but don't use often.
December 2, 2024 at 6:23 PM
Apart from the buzz of completing the puzzles in #AdventofCode, what I really enjoy is learning new things. Today I learnt how to use map(), any(), all() and the pattern for generating a new list without a given item in it. It also helps to consolidate things I've used before, but don't use often.
Been busy all day and suddenly remembered #AdventOfCode. Relieved to find that day one was fine. Phew.
December 1, 2024 at 9:56 PM
Been busy all day and suddenly remembered #AdventOfCode. Relieved to find that day one was fine. Phew.
December 1, 2024 at 5:07 PM
Imagine you're enough of an idiot to throw away the doors from Undaunted Callisto, assuming they're just part of the punchboard. 3D printer to the rescue!
November 30, 2024 at 10:50 AM
Imagine you're enough of an idiot to throw away the doors from Undaunted Callisto, assuming they're just part of the punchboard. 3D printer to the rescue!
Played New Bedford and Bausack this week at #boardgames night. I really enjoy the amount of game in a relatively small box (New Bedford) and Bausack is just very silly. Pay to refuse?
November 21, 2024 at 4:44 PM
Played New Bedford and Bausack this week at #boardgames night. I really enjoy the amount of game in a relatively small box (New Bedford) and Bausack is just very silly. Pay to refuse?
All of a sudden my Bluesky feed is full of content I really like. Feels like a tipping point.
November 16, 2024 at 9:00 PM
All of a sudden my Bluesky feed is full of content I really like. Feels like a tipping point.
Today I had to order a new phone. My OnePlus Nord still does everything I need, performance is great, but battery life is terrible. A new battery is £12, but I haven't had a security update for 11 months and there won't be any more. Maybe manufacturers could charge a monthly fee for updates?
November 16, 2024 at 5:25 PM
Today I had to order a new phone. My OnePlus Nord still does everything I need, performance is great, but battery life is terrible. A new battery is £12, but I haven't had a security update for 11 months and there won't be any more. Maybe manufacturers could charge a monthly fee for updates?
Working our way through Undaunted Callisto. Today was scenario 5, with bridges and doors. Tense finale with victory for the LFA as they destroyed the escape pod with the prisoner waiting next to it to board. Does the red line indicate you can't shoot through it? #boardgames
November 16, 2024 at 12:47 PM
Working our way through Undaunted Callisto. Today was scenario 5, with bridges and doors. Tense finale with victory for the LFA as they destroyed the escape pod with the prisoner waiting next to it to board. Does the red line indicate you can't shoot through it? #boardgames
Played the first scenario of Undaunted Callisto today - twice. Enjoying the new elevation rules and the quick, familiar play in a fun new environment. Felt like there should be a line of sight rule given elevated areas, but there isn't.
October 12, 2024 at 12:12 PM
Played the first scenario of Undaunted Callisto today - twice. Enjoying the new elevation rules and the quick, familiar play in a fun new environment. Felt like there should be a line of sight rule given elevated areas, but there isn't.
Fantastic game of Root last night. Lizards, otters and rats all kept each other in check, the board a desolate wasteland. Rats won.
September 25, 2024 at 6:55 PM
Fantastic game of Root last night. Lizards, otters and rats all kept each other in check, the board a desolate wasteland. Rats won.