Mark Nelson
@sphericalsquare.bsky.social
CTO in ecommerce. Cycling & active travel at the weekends.
Reposted by Mark Nelson
This is big 👇🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
hearing some v.good news declining collisions and injuries 🚑🤕 along the coast after the changes of the last few years. Just take a look at 2025 > compare with a few years ago! Each map dot means someone injured and the police attending to record information, each dot missing = someone spared
February 13, 2026 at 12:45 PM
This is big 👇🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
We could do with some of those snakes - they also snap cars the kid says.
Some politicians like that wouldn't go amiss either.
Some politicians like that wouldn't go amiss either.
From @acyn.bsky.social (posted on X)
"Reporter: Do any of you have a favorite animal?
Child: My favorite one is a gold snake that can move. It has gold eyes, and it has a super-duper tail…
Reporter: Mr. Mamdani, the second question for you.
Mamdani: Yes. It’s also the golden snake."
"Reporter: Do any of you have a favorite animal?
Child: My favorite one is a gold snake that can move. It has gold eyes, and it has a super-duper tail…
Reporter: Mr. Mamdani, the second question for you.
Mamdani: Yes. It’s also the golden snake."
February 6, 2026 at 10:43 PM
We could do with some of those snakes - they also snap cars the kid says.
Some politicians like that wouldn't go amiss either.
Some politicians like that wouldn't go amiss either.
It's been a fun Friday night so far.
February 6, 2026 at 10:12 PM
It's been a fun Friday night so far.
Reposted by Mark Nelson
📉 This street saw a drop of 500 vehicles per day when the Safer Heaton trial scheme was in place.
📈 The scheme was removed, traffic volumes returned.
💥Now drivers are having crashes on the pavement.
It's fortunate there was nobody trying to walk along the pavement at the time.
📈 The scheme was removed, traffic volumes returned.
💥Now drivers are having crashes on the pavement.
It's fortunate there was nobody trying to walk along the pavement at the time.
Police and paramedics were called to the collision, which occurred just after 4pm on Wednesday
Part of Newcastle street closed in both directions after two vehicle crash
Part of Newcastle street closed in both directions after two vehicle crash
www.chroniclelive.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 7:42 PM
📉 This street saw a drop of 500 vehicles per day when the Safer Heaton trial scheme was in place.
📈 The scheme was removed, traffic volumes returned.
💥Now drivers are having crashes on the pavement.
It's fortunate there was nobody trying to walk along the pavement at the time.
📈 The scheme was removed, traffic volumes returned.
💥Now drivers are having crashes on the pavement.
It's fortunate there was nobody trying to walk along the pavement at the time.
Reposted by Mark Nelson
It's fascinating that medics are making the effort to switch to anaesthetics with less greenhouse effect while people are driving alone in SUVs
When you go in for a medical procedure, the gas putting you to sleep may also be warming the planet. That's prompting regulators and hospitals around the world to move to less-polluting alternatives.
Read more in @bloomberg.com:
Read more in @bloomberg.com:
Why Hospitals Are Phasing Out a Popular Operating Room Anesthetic
Desflurane, which has put patients to sleep for decades, has an outsized footprint, and health care providers are switching to less-polluting alternatives.
www.bloomberg.com
February 3, 2026 at 8:27 PM
It's fascinating that medics are making the effort to switch to anaesthetics with less greenhouse effect while people are driving alone in SUVs
Reposted by Mark Nelson
Post a picture that would be your debut album cover.
February 1, 2026 at 11:20 PM
Post a picture that would be your debut album cover.
Reposted by Mark Nelson
This street passes a school with over 2000 students and prioritises vehicles. People are hemmed in to narrow pavements which are blocked by bus shelters, side roads have fast, sweeping entrances, crossing points have tiny islands, and the cycle lane is narrow, painted and has a rough surface.
January 29, 2026 at 1:34 PM
This street passes a school with over 2000 students and prioritises vehicles. People are hemmed in to narrow pavements which are blocked by bus shelters, side roads have fast, sweeping entrances, crossing points have tiny islands, and the cycle lane is narrow, painted and has a rough surface.
"Trying to make us into the Netherlands" is always funny, not least because the Netherlands has more cars per head of population than the UK, so the 'but my car' folks would probably prefer it.
archive.ourworldindata.org/20260119-070...
archive.ourworldindata.org/20260119-070...
January 26, 2026 at 2:30 PM
"Trying to make us into the Netherlands" is always funny, not least because the Netherlands has more cars per head of population than the UK, so the 'but my car' folks would probably prefer it.
archive.ourworldindata.org/20260119-070...
archive.ourworldindata.org/20260119-070...
Reposted by Mark Nelson
Hey Bluesky, the Bluesky CEO @jay.bsky.team has written for us at the @financialtimes.com arguing that smarter regulation is the key to fixing social media …
(Gift link, first 300 clicks free)
as.ft.com/r/5b6e4379-3...
(Gift link, first 300 clicks free)
as.ft.com/r/5b6e4379-3...
Banning under-16s won’t fix social media
[FREE TO READ] The toxic ecosystem we have today can be better addressed with competition than regulation
as.ft.com
January 24, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Hey Bluesky, the Bluesky CEO @jay.bsky.team has written for us at the @financialtimes.com arguing that smarter regulation is the key to fixing social media …
(Gift link, first 300 clicks free)
as.ft.com/r/5b6e4379-3...
(Gift link, first 300 clicks free)
as.ft.com/r/5b6e4379-3...
Reposted by Mark Nelson
At last night's council meeting there was a motion on winter maintenance.
An amendment to 'Investigate gritting those parts of major arterial pedestrian/cycle routes susceptible to freezing' was not passed, as more than half of those councillors present voted against it.
An amendment to 'Investigate gritting those parts of major arterial pedestrian/cycle routes susceptible to freezing' was not passed, as more than half of those councillors present voted against it.
January 22, 2026 at 8:37 AM
At last night's council meeting there was a motion on winter maintenance.
An amendment to 'Investigate gritting those parts of major arterial pedestrian/cycle routes susceptible to freezing' was not passed, as more than half of those councillors present voted against it.
An amendment to 'Investigate gritting those parts of major arterial pedestrian/cycle routes susceptible to freezing' was not passed, as more than half of those councillors present voted against it.
The machines are trying to be clever, but I can tell the difference between an image showing a bicycle and an image showing an image of a bicycle, so was allowed past.
January 20, 2026 at 9:11 AM
The machines are trying to be clever, but I can tell the difference between an image showing a bicycle and an image showing an image of a bicycle, so was allowed past.
This could easily be solved by giving Alaska to Canada.
Trump says he doesn’t want Russia as a neighbour. Could someone remind him about the Bering Strait?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
January 10, 2026 at 6:21 PM
This could easily be solved by giving Alaska to Canada.
Reposted by Mark Nelson
Pleased the government have finally published their response to the 2020 Pavement Parking Consultation.
However, it's disappointingly backwards facing.
Rather than a blanket ban and allow Local Authorities to apply for exceptions in specific circumstances,
Cont.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
However, it's disappointingly backwards facing.
Rather than a blanket ban and allow Local Authorities to apply for exceptions in specific circumstances,
Cont.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
Pavement parking options for change: government response
www.gov.uk
January 10, 2026 at 8:54 AM
Pleased the government have finally published their response to the 2020 Pavement Parking Consultation.
However, it's disappointingly backwards facing.
Rather than a blanket ban and allow Local Authorities to apply for exceptions in specific circumstances,
Cont.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
However, it's disappointingly backwards facing.
Rather than a blanket ban and allow Local Authorities to apply for exceptions in specific circumstances,
Cont.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
Reposted by Mark Nelson
24h average NO2 readings for Tue 6th Jan 2026
Gosforth: 27.63µg/m³
Coast Road: 48µg/m³
Tyne Bridge: 35.45µg/m³
https://sensors.spaceforheaton.com
Gosforth: 27.63µg/m³
Coast Road: 48µg/m³
Tyne Bridge: 35.45µg/m³
https://sensors.spaceforheaton.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:30 AM
24h average NO2 readings for Tue 6th Jan 2026
Gosforth: 27.63µg/m³
Coast Road: 48µg/m³
Tyne Bridge: 35.45µg/m³
https://sensors.spaceforheaton.com
Gosforth: 27.63µg/m³
Coast Road: 48µg/m³
Tyne Bridge: 35.45µg/m³
https://sensors.spaceforheaton.com
Reposted by Mark Nelson
A fun game for you all to play, but also a useful tool in the ongoing battle to remove traffic from Blackett Street and turn it into a safe space for people.
Back to work tomorrow, but I've been putting the holidays to good use and utilised a bit of AI object detection to create a game called 'Is somebody driving illegally on Blackett St?'.
Pretend you're a traffic warden see how much you earn in fines:
www.sphericalsquare.net/blackett-str...
Pretend you're a traffic warden see how much you earn in fines:
www.sphericalsquare.net/blackett-str...
January 5, 2026 at 1:13 PM
A fun game for you all to play, but also a useful tool in the ongoing battle to remove traffic from Blackett Street and turn it into a safe space for people.
Back to work tomorrow, but I've been putting the holidays to good use and utilised a bit of AI object detection to create a game called 'Is somebody driving illegally on Blackett St?'.
Pretend you're a traffic warden see how much you earn in fines:
www.sphericalsquare.net/blackett-str...
Pretend you're a traffic warden see how much you earn in fines:
www.sphericalsquare.net/blackett-str...
January 4, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Back to work tomorrow, but I've been putting the holidays to good use and utilised a bit of AI object detection to create a game called 'Is somebody driving illegally on Blackett St?'.
Pretend you're a traffic warden see how much you earn in fines:
www.sphericalsquare.net/blackett-str...
Pretend you're a traffic warden see how much you earn in fines:
www.sphericalsquare.net/blackett-str...
Reposted by Mark Nelson
I'm interested in public attitudes towards clearing footpaths (e.g. the road in your photo is clear, the path is not!) If you or your followers have time to complete my survey I'd love to hear from you.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
bsky.app/profile/did:...
Did you have snow overnight/today? #UKSnow
I’m researching public attitudes towards clearing Snow and Ice in the UK. Are you over the age of 18 and live in the UK? If so, you can take part in my research by clicking this link (details inside)
app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/liverpool/...
I’m researching public attitudes towards clearing Snow and Ice in the UK. Are you over the age of 18 and live in the UK? If so, you can take part in my research by clicking this link (details inside)
app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/liverpool/...
Public Attitudes to Snow and Ice on Pavements and Roads
Online surveys is a powerful, easy to use tool for creating online surveys. Run by Jisc, online surveys is used by over 300 different organisations in the UK...
app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk
January 3, 2026 at 1:34 PM
I'm interested in public attitudes towards clearing footpaths (e.g. the road in your photo is clear, the path is not!) If you or your followers have time to complete my survey I'd love to hear from you.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
bsky.app/profile/did:...
Reposted by Mark Nelson
When there's snow on the ground it's clear to see how often people drive on the pavement.
January 3, 2026 at 12:08 PM
When there's snow on the ground it's clear to see how often people drive on the pavement.
Reposted by Mark Nelson
Also, when reporters start talking about the chatbots this way, it is imperative to remind them they are basically asking a toaster for comment. They should be a lot more embarrassed about this than they currently are.
“Grok told CNN…” no it didn’t. You typed stuff into an unreliable calculator.
“Grok told CNN…” no it didn’t. You typed stuff into an unreliable calculator.
January 3, 2026 at 3:06 AM
Also, when reporters start talking about the chatbots this way, it is imperative to remind them they are basically asking a toaster for comment. They should be a lot more embarrassed about this than they currently are.
“Grok told CNN…” no it didn’t. You typed stuff into an unreliable calculator.
“Grok told CNN…” no it didn’t. You typed stuff into an unreliable calculator.
Cramlington politicians -
Tuesday: “This isn’t joined up transport planning."
[rail service reduced]
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...
Friday: “What are we doing?"
[campaigning for half a billion pounds to be spent on one roundabout]
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...
Tuesday: “This isn’t joined up transport planning."
[rail service reduced]
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...
Friday: “What are we doing?"
[campaigning for half a billion pounds to be spent on one roundabout]
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...
January 2, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Cramlington politicians -
Tuesday: “This isn’t joined up transport planning."
[rail service reduced]
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...
Friday: “What are we doing?"
[campaigning for half a billion pounds to be spent on one roundabout]
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...
Tuesday: “This isn’t joined up transport planning."
[rail service reduced]
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...
Friday: “What are we doing?"
[campaigning for half a billion pounds to be spent on one roundabout]
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...
Reposted by Mark Nelson
2025 has broken historical climate records, with provisional Met Office figures showing it has been both the warmest and sunniest year on record for the UK.
Find out more: www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...
Find out more: www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...
January 2, 2026 at 12:35 PM
2025 has broken historical climate records, with provisional Met Office figures showing it has been both the warmest and sunniest year on record for the UK.
Find out more: www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...
Find out more: www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...
Reposted by Mark Nelson
Here's an idea for 2026...
January 2, 2026 at 4:14 AM
Here's an idea for 2026...
Still a few days of work so continuing festivities with a pint with a view before the New Year's Day concert at the Glasshouse.
January 1, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Still a few days of work so continuing festivities with a pint with a view before the New Year's Day concert at the Glasshouse.
2025 was the sunniest of the last 5 years, just pipping 2022.
That meant I was 48% solar powered ⚡for the year.
As it was quite warm too export income was nearly 1/3 more than the gas bill, or just slightly less than the electric bill, including standing charges.
Embrace the ☀️save 💷💷
That meant I was 48% solar powered ⚡for the year.
As it was quite warm too export income was nearly 1/3 more than the gas bill, or just slightly less than the electric bill, including standing charges.
Embrace the ☀️save 💷💷
January 1, 2026 at 11:37 AM
2025 was the sunniest of the last 5 years, just pipping 2022.
That meant I was 48% solar powered ⚡for the year.
As it was quite warm too export income was nearly 1/3 more than the gas bill, or just slightly less than the electric bill, including standing charges.
Embrace the ☀️save 💷💷
That meant I was 48% solar powered ⚡for the year.
As it was quite warm too export income was nearly 1/3 more than the gas bill, or just slightly less than the electric bill, including standing charges.
Embrace the ☀️save 💷💷