James Frew
@jimjamfroo.bsky.social
The NHS taking out ads to counter a claim that, until last week, was never in doubt.
It's almost like when a powerful head of state makes clearly false statements, it causes a lot of actual, real world harm.
It's almost like when a powerful head of state makes clearly false statements, it causes a lot of actual, real world harm.
September 26, 2025 at 11:55 AM
The NHS taking out ads to counter a claim that, until last week, was never in doubt.
It's almost like when a powerful head of state makes clearly false statements, it causes a lot of actual, real world harm.
It's almost like when a powerful head of state makes clearly false statements, it causes a lot of actual, real world harm.
Always enjoy @davidgerard.co.uk's Pivot to AI stories, but this intro is probably the best, most concise description of nearly all AI discourse I've ever seen.
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/09/18/o...
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/09/18/o...
September 19, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Always enjoy @davidgerard.co.uk's Pivot to AI stories, but this intro is probably the best, most concise description of nearly all AI discourse I've ever seen.
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/09/18/o...
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/09/18/o...
So I just found out that Brand New have reformed and are touring again. I guess we’re all just pretending that Lacey wasn’t accused of abusing underage fans, which caused the band to abruptly end?
![In November 2017, Lacey was accused of sexual misconduct occurring during the early and mid-2000s with allegedly underage fans.[121] Lacey issued a public apology on Brand New's Facebook page, prompting touring guitarist Kevin Devine and supporting act Martha to pull out of the upcoming European tour dates. The band later announced the postponement of all of their upcoming tour dates, which were not rescheduled.[122][123][124] Aside from a few meetings at guitarist Accardi's Joshua Tree home and at a Texas studio, they remained publicly inactive since November 2017, neither confirming nor denying the break-up of the band.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fesqpxss3gljjpfrx2gxwpxg/bafkreiagmcbj3d2i5dhyrgpcq7cxzqdo3yrmxip7noi3k2h2e7re2y2kki@jpeg)
September 4, 2025 at 8:59 PM
So I just found out that Brand New have reformed and are touring again. I guess we’re all just pretending that Lacey wasn’t accused of abusing underage fans, which caused the band to abruptly end?
Oh no! 😲
My Oura account no longer exists. Wonder who did that.
My Oura account no longer exists. Wonder who did that.
September 2, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Oh no! 😲
My Oura account no longer exists. Wonder who did that.
My Oura account no longer exists. Wonder who did that.
September 2, 2025 at 12:40 PM
The woke brigade have come for the fruit pastilles chewy sweets.
August 26, 2025 at 8:47 PM
The woke brigade have come for the fruit pastilles chewy sweets.
And the actual data is even more underwhelming.
97 alerts, 61 arrests (any charges?), and 30 checks to check registered criminals were "complying with their conditions" — and since those aren't arrests, we can presume they were.
97 alerts, 61 arrests (any charges?), and 30 checks to check registered criminals were "complying with their conditions" — and since those aren't arrests, we can presume they were.
August 26, 2025 at 5:10 PM
And the actual data is even more underwhelming.
97 alerts, 61 arrests (any charges?), and 30 checks to check registered criminals were "complying with their conditions" — and since those aren't arrests, we can presume they were.
97 alerts, 61 arrests (any charges?), and 30 checks to check registered criminals were "complying with their conditions" — and since those aren't arrests, we can presume they were.
Even the Met's own news story hedges with fluffy language like "helping officers to identify almost 100 people of interest" who "would likely have been able to go unnoticed in the busy crowds."
*Almost 100*
*Would likely have*
That's conclusive, then.
news.met.police.uk/news/carniva...
*Almost 100*
*Would likely have*
That's conclusive, then.
news.met.police.uk/news/carniva...
August 26, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Even the Met's own news story hedges with fluffy language like "helping officers to identify almost 100 people of interest" who "would likely have been able to go unnoticed in the busy crowds."
*Almost 100*
*Would likely have*
That's conclusive, then.
news.met.police.uk/news/carniva...
*Almost 100*
*Would likely have*
That's conclusive, then.
news.met.police.uk/news/carniva...
Right, so ~10% of arrests. Or, another way, 90% of arrests during Notting Hill Carnival *did not* come from the use of live facial recognition — the expensive, privacy-invading, third-party tool.
Gee, I do wonder whether it's better value to have actual officers or these cameras?
Gee, I do wonder whether it's better value to have actual officers or these cameras?
August 26, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Right, so ~10% of arrests. Or, another way, 90% of arrests during Notting Hill Carnival *did not* come from the use of live facial recognition — the expensive, privacy-invading, third-party tool.
Gee, I do wonder whether it's better value to have actual officers or these cameras?
Gee, I do wonder whether it's better value to have actual officers or these cameras?
Our GP recently said your first contact with the surgery must be through an online form on its website, which is only operational during working hours. They triage the information, then you get a call from the surgery to schedule you an appointment, usually by phone. It's unbelievably exclusionary.
August 13, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Our GP recently said your first contact with the surgery must be through an online form on its website, which is only operational during working hours. They triage the information, then you get a call from the surgery to schedule you an appointment, usually by phone. It's unbelievably exclusionary.
It's exactly the point @matthewhughes.bsky.social made in his newsletter last week; that AI will ultimately make us less empathetic. I hate it so much.
whatwelost.substack.com/p/people-are...
whatwelost.substack.com/p/people-are...
July 20, 2025 at 3:41 PM
It's exactly the point @matthewhughes.bsky.social made in his newsletter last week; that AI will ultimately make us less empathetic. I hate it so much.
whatwelost.substack.com/p/people-are...
whatwelost.substack.com/p/people-are...
Just found a UK gov page with an info box that says:
"This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government."
Never seen that before? Feels very partisan.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
"This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government."
Never seen that before? Feels very partisan.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
July 11, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Just found a UK gov page with an info box that says:
"This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government."
Never seen that before? Feels very partisan.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
"This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government."
Never seen that before? Feels very partisan.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Strolled through central London, spent time at the farm in the morning.
@vauxhallcityfarm.bsky.social
@vauxhallcityfarm.bsky.social
July 9, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Strolled through central London, spent time at the farm in the morning.
@vauxhallcityfarm.bsky.social
@vauxhallcityfarm.bsky.social
Thanks to whoever opened an old news story I wrote a while back and left it open for a very, very long time. 😅
July 3, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Thanks to whoever opened an old news story I wrote a while back and left it open for a very, very long time. 😅
Pretty weird feeling to see my own site (jamesfrew.me) pop up as a source in ChatGPT.
June 10, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Pretty weird feeling to see my own site (jamesfrew.me) pop up as a source in ChatGPT.
Four years ago, got my first Covid vaccine at London @sciencemuseum.org.uk.
Still one of the most incredible things that just 18 months after it started to spread, there was a vaccine developed, approved, distributed and available for use.
Still one of the most incredible things that just 18 months after it started to spread, there was a vaccine developed, approved, distributed and available for use.
June 4, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Four years ago, got my first Covid vaccine at London @sciencemuseum.org.uk.
Still one of the most incredible things that just 18 months after it started to spread, there was a vaccine developed, approved, distributed and available for use.
Still one of the most incredible things that just 18 months after it started to spread, there was a vaccine developed, approved, distributed and available for use.
It's been how long!?
May 23, 2025 at 9:41 AM
It's been how long!?
Time travel is real! Woke up, ready to party like it's 1999 and the Backstreet Boys are about to drop the album of their lives.
May 23, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Time travel is real! Woke up, ready to party like it's 1999 and the Backstreet Boys are about to drop the album of their lives.
I know I could just go edit this myself, but who thought let's add nothing for those two but this mammoth paragraph for what is widely considered the most forgettable album in their catalogue?
![The review aggregator site Metacritic scored the album a 72 out of 100, based on the reviews of 6 critics, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[22] While praise has been generated around Howard Jones' vocals and the album's stylistic use of the metalcore and post-hardcore genres, criticism has been directed towards Adam Dutkiewicz's and Brendan O'Brien's production as well as the band's reliance on formula.
James Christopher Monger of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, scoring the album a 3.5 out of 5 and considering it "the group's most commercially viable collection of progressive/thrash/emo-metal to date. Where 2006's 'As Daylight Dies' hinted at an accelerated focus on the more melodic aspects of extreme metal, Killswitch Engage cements the notion."[23] Monger indicated "Starting Over", "Reckoning", and "A Light in a Darkened World" as his AMG track picks. Alternative Press gave a positive review as well, scoring the album a 4 out of 5, saying "this album isn't going to change the way you think about metal, but Killswitch Engage aren't Mastodon; they just want to get the pit going, and this album will surely accomplish that."[15]
However, Christa Titus of Billboard gave the album a mixed review, scoring it a 50 out of 100.[24] While positively commenting, "As an act that forsakes breakdowns and unintelligible screaming in favor of focused aggression and predictable melodic swells, you can't help but enjoy such quintessential Killswitch Engage tracks as 'Never Again' or the Metallica-esque chords that open 'The Forgotten,' the review concluded, "Aside from a few unique moments ('The Return,' 'Take Me Away'), there's not much new to report here."[25]
Adrien Begrand of PopMatters gave a mixed review as well, scoring the album a 5 out of 10.[21] While praising Howard Jones' vocals, commenting "With its contemplative tone and sense of melodrama, the contagious 'Starting Over' borders on post-hardcore and features some of Jones's strongest vocal m…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fesqpxss3gljjpfrx2gxwpxg/bafkreieeim5p22izazyjywdvk6kxiz7w4mz7vqwjxjy66y4zvv7ossx7ri@jpeg)
March 22, 2025 at 9:16 PM
I know I could just go edit this myself, but who thought let's add nothing for those two but this mammoth paragraph for what is widely considered the most forgettable album in their catalogue?
Wikipedia is wild. Was just reading about Killswitch Engage's End of Heartache and As Daylight Dies albums — arguably the most influential metalcore albums of all time — and the Critical Reception section is basically empty?
March 22, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Wikipedia is wild. Was just reading about Killswitch Engage's End of Heartache and As Daylight Dies albums — arguably the most influential metalcore albums of all time — and the Critical Reception section is basically empty?
Yeah, definitely not an expert on this, so could well be the case. I’d assumed it was okay as their FAQs say tax and customs charges sorted.
January 16, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Yeah, definitely not an expert on this, so could well be the case. I’d assumed it was okay as their FAQs say tax and customs charges sorted.
Went to subscribe to @derekberes.bsky.social new Siris Health podcast (Clarity Lab) and the placement next to Huberman Lab in the search results is extremely funny/sad.
January 14, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Went to subscribe to @derekberes.bsky.social new Siris Health podcast (Clarity Lab) and the placement next to Huberman Lab in the search results is extremely funny/sad.
Just tried it with ChatGPT 4o and it seems to work pretty well.
January 2, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Just tried it with ChatGPT 4o and it seems to work pretty well.
I've been using Plex for about a decade to stream my local media library, but it's been such a headache this year. Switched to Emby last week and it's been a revelation.
It's quick, has far less bloat, all the useful stuff is free, with premium for more customisation.
It's quick, has far less bloat, all the useful stuff is free, with premium for more customisation.
December 27, 2024 at 8:06 PM
I've been using Plex for about a decade to stream my local media library, but it's been such a headache this year. Switched to Emby last week and it's been a revelation.
It's quick, has far less bloat, all the useful stuff is free, with premium for more customisation.
It's quick, has far less bloat, all the useful stuff is free, with premium for more customisation.