Ron Manton
@ronmanton.bsky.social
Unit of capitalist production. Never TPFP. Aspiring musician. Keeper of wolves.
I must stop engaging with this absurdity. I plan to (again). For now though, it appears some UK Labour MPs are unhappy the Prime Minister ditched Digital ID. Instead they were hoping his replacement would, "...to signal a change in direction". I guess they will have to create a new u-turn, then.
January 14, 2026 at 4:41 PM
I must stop engaging with this absurdity. I plan to (again). For now though, it appears some UK Labour MPs are unhappy the Prime Minister ditched Digital ID. Instead they were hoping his replacement would, "...to signal a change in direction". I guess they will have to create a new u-turn, then.
BBC. '[The Chief Constable]...admitted the mistake was the "result of a use of Microsoft Co Pilot" - an AI tool.'
So, it would appear the UK West Midlands force is on the bleeding edge, and has moved from "community" to "hallucinatory" policing methods.
You couldn't make it up. Oh, hold on...
So, it would appear the UK West Midlands force is on the bleeding edge, and has moved from "community" to "hallucinatory" policing methods.
You couldn't make it up. Oh, hold on...
January 14, 2026 at 4:10 PM
BBC. '[The Chief Constable]...admitted the mistake was the "result of a use of Microsoft Co Pilot" - an AI tool.'
So, it would appear the UK West Midlands force is on the bleeding edge, and has moved from "community" to "hallucinatory" policing methods.
You couldn't make it up. Oh, hold on...
So, it would appear the UK West Midlands force is on the bleeding edge, and has moved from "community" to "hallucinatory" policing methods.
You couldn't make it up. Oh, hold on...
UK Digital ID will no longer be required to apply for work in the UK, but, according to a government spokesperson, is now a "route to the digital transformation of customer-facing public services". My guess is for "the digital transformation of" you can just read "access".
January 13, 2026 at 10:28 PM
UK Digital ID will no longer be required to apply for work in the UK, but, according to a government spokesperson, is now a "route to the digital transformation of customer-facing public services". My guess is for "the digital transformation of" you can just read "access".
I suppose it could be useful in some ways to have all the rats in one barrel.
January 12, 2026 at 12:02 PM
I suppose it could be useful in some ways to have all the rats in one barrel.
A few years ago, through a friend in Florida, I bought a large supply of Ernie Ball "Super Slinky" 9s. This is the last packet. I'm not buying any more - and not for musical reasons. I used to love travelling to and in the U.S., but I can't imagine it now. Sad, really.
January 10, 2026 at 5:11 PM
A few years ago, through a friend in Florida, I bought a large supply of Ernie Ball "Super Slinky" 9s. This is the last packet. I'm not buying any more - and not for musical reasons. I used to love travelling to and in the U.S., but I can't imagine it now. Sad, really.
"Strange attractors" in phase space, and *universality* across different non-linear dynamic systems. The concepts are mind-blowing. The idea of some deep, underlying pattern(s) to chaos. This is some of the most philosophically interesting material I have ever encountered. But, man, it's hard.
January 8, 2026 at 11:44 PM
"Strange attractors" in phase space, and *universality* across different non-linear dynamic systems. The concepts are mind-blowing. The idea of some deep, underlying pattern(s) to chaos. This is some of the most philosophically interesting material I have ever encountered. But, man, it's hard.
If you cannot assert, when questioned, that something which is illegal under international law is illegal, you cannot reasonably claim to be "sovereign" in a practical sense. Brexit recovered no real sovereignty; nor did membership of the EU cede any. Starmer will claim the realpolitik defence.
January 5, 2026 at 4:52 PM
If you cannot assert, when questioned, that something which is illegal under international law is illegal, you cannot reasonably claim to be "sovereign" in a practical sense. Brexit recovered no real sovereignty; nor did membership of the EU cede any. Starmer will claim the realpolitik defence.
I note a man has admitted dressing up as a fake admiral and attending an annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony. This, clearly, is extremely disrespectful. As is the behaviour of Charles III, who routinely, throughout the year, masquerades as a fake head of state.
#RepublicUK
#RepublicUK
January 5, 2026 at 11:55 AM
I note a man has admitted dressing up as a fake admiral and attending an annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony. This, clearly, is extremely disrespectful. As is the behaviour of Charles III, who routinely, throughout the year, masquerades as a fake head of state.
#RepublicUK
#RepublicUK
If someone in the US military hasn't telephoned ICE, he won't get into the country.
January 3, 2026 at 9:51 PM
If someone in the US military hasn't telephoned ICE, he won't get into the country.
#NYE is a time for reflection. So, I was thinking about my mate, @chrisr2001.bsky.social, and standing around in N. Sydney (Oval) for 26 miles of pain. Foo Fighters "Times Like These" was, well, made for times like those. Thanks, Chris, mate. #RightArmInTheFire #Sydney2025.
youtu.be/rhzmNRtIp8k?...
youtu.be/rhzmNRtIp8k?...
Foo Fighters - Times Like These (Official HD Video)
YouTube video by foofightersVEVO
youtu.be
December 31, 2025 at 10:16 PM
#NYE is a time for reflection. So, I was thinking about my mate, @chrisr2001.bsky.social, and standing around in N. Sydney (Oval) for 26 miles of pain. Foo Fighters "Times Like These" was, well, made for times like those. Thanks, Chris, mate. #RightArmInTheFire #Sydney2025.
youtu.be/rhzmNRtIp8k?...
youtu.be/rhzmNRtIp8k?...
Have retreated from the festive nonsense being offered up by BBC TV (note NOT Radio 3, which remains magnificent) to "Moon Zero Two" on YouTube. Saw this as a kid at the cinema in Sheldon (distant past), and it is an exquisitely kitsch sci-fi film (q.v.). No, look, it's not Fellini, but love it.
December 27, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Have retreated from the festive nonsense being offered up by BBC TV (note NOT Radio 3, which remains magnificent) to "Moon Zero Two" on YouTube. Saw this as a kid at the cinema in Sheldon (distant past), and it is an exquisitely kitsch sci-fi film (q.v.). No, look, it's not Fellini, but love it.
New UK inheritance tax planning advice: just buy a tractor.
December 23, 2025 at 1:51 PM
New UK inheritance tax planning advice: just buy a tractor.
Word of the year 2025? I think there's a reasonable case to be made for 'red**ted'.
December 20, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Word of the year 2025? I think there's a reasonable case to be made for 'red**ted'.
O.K. I was all right in the head up until, "The three-dimensional analogue [of the Sierpinski carpet] is the Menger sponge, a solid-looking lattice that has an infinite surface area, yet zero volume".
(From "Chaos" by James Gleick).
Please let it stop. I'll try again tomorrow.
(From "Chaos" by James Gleick).
Please let it stop. I'll try again tomorrow.
December 17, 2025 at 10:40 PM
O.K. I was all right in the head up until, "The three-dimensional analogue [of the Sierpinski carpet] is the Menger sponge, a solid-looking lattice that has an infinite surface area, yet zero volume".
(From "Chaos" by James Gleick).
Please let it stop. I'll try again tomorrow.
(From "Chaos" by James Gleick).
Please let it stop. I'll try again tomorrow.
It's alive! EU Erasmus rises from the dead for UK students. A chink of light breaks into the isolationist darkness of Brexit. (And it will be such a benefit to welcome European students, too). 🌞🇪🇺
December 17, 2025 at 10:54 AM
It's alive! EU Erasmus rises from the dead for UK students. A chink of light breaks into the isolationist darkness of Brexit. (And it will be such a benefit to welcome European students, too). 🌞🇪🇺
My piano reaches the grand (no pun intended) old age of 90 this year. Still going, still creating sparkling bright tones. I'd love to do it justice, maybe with "Stardust".
December 13, 2025 at 10:46 PM
My piano reaches the grand (no pun intended) old age of 90 this year. Still going, still creating sparkling bright tones. I'd love to do it justice, maybe with "Stardust".
Winter Solstice present to myself. I think this might be edging towards the very best of @supergrasshq.bsky.social. Darker and more introspective to my ear. A real shift in gear.
#MusicSky #NowPlaying "Kick in the Teeth".
#MusicSky #NowPlaying "Kick in the Teeth".
December 11, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Winter Solstice present to myself. I think this might be edging towards the very best of @supergrasshq.bsky.social. Darker and more introspective to my ear. A real shift in gear.
#MusicSky #NowPlaying "Kick in the Teeth".
#MusicSky #NowPlaying "Kick in the Teeth".
Having greatly enjoyed Julian Simpson's "Lovecraft Investigations" on BBC Sounds, I thought I would go back to source. I'm now very afraid. #PleasantGreen #BookSky
December 9, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Having greatly enjoyed Julian Simpson's "Lovecraft Investigations" on BBC Sounds, I thought I would go back to source. I'm now very afraid. #PleasantGreen #BookSky
I stand to be corrected, but I'm expecting to hear something from the UK Govt. along the lines that "the Eurovision Song Contest isn't political, and so the UK will not boycott the 2026 event". Getting up in the morning is political. #EurovisionSongContest #EBU #Waterloo
December 4, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I stand to be corrected, but I'm expecting to hear something from the UK Govt. along the lines that "the Eurovision Song Contest isn't political, and so the UK will not boycott the 2026 event". Getting up in the morning is political. #EurovisionSongContest #EBU #Waterloo
(Hopefully, this doesn't count as advice). I'd be exceptionally happy if @dreugeniacheng.bsky.social could do something on "randomness". Infinity hurt my head, but I've made a recovery. Randomness is confusing me, and it seems to be everywhere. Anyway...
December 3, 2025 at 3:22 PM
(Hopefully, this doesn't count as advice). I'd be exceptionally happy if @dreugeniacheng.bsky.social could do something on "randomness". Infinity hurt my head, but I've made a recovery. Randomness is confusing me, and it seems to be everywhere. Anyway...
Festive season quiz. Name the London pub which sports this chandelier. For those of a certain age you can send answers on a postcard to London W1A 1AA. Clue: think "Monopoly", yellow, £280.
December 2, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Festive season quiz. Name the London pub which sports this chandelier. For those of a certain age you can send answers on a postcard to London W1A 1AA. Clue: think "Monopoly", yellow, £280.
Obits. in French are somehow more poignant than in English. When I shuffle off this mortal coil I think I would like a few centimetres in "Le Monde" or, even better, "Libération". Then I would know I had arrived.
December 1, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Obits. in French are somehow more poignant than in English. When I shuffle off this mortal coil I think I would like a few centimetres in "Le Monde" or, even better, "Libération". Then I would know I had arrived.