Gavin Atkin
@gmatkin.bsky.social
Trad-leaning folkie; in England; likes to understand the world; sings and (in no special order) plays duet concertina, fiddle, guitar, melodeon, tenor banjo etc.
Governments can improve people's lives, if they're clever and they wish to do so.
Governments can improve people's lives, if they're clever and they wish to do so.
I was just thinking that.
January 21, 2026 at 11:46 PM
I was just thinking that.
Me too. It's a messy looking thing, and I'm still wondering how you eat one.
January 21, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Me too. It's a messy looking thing, and I'm still wondering how you eat one.
Obviously, though still not to my taste. But on their recent form, competence would be going some ;-)
January 17, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Obviously, though still not to my taste. But on their recent form, competence would be going some ;-)
A photo of a lifetime. I wonder whether Ponting forever wished he'd been able to lower his camera by another foot, so the mast didn't clash with the icicle. Or was that deliberate?
January 17, 2026 at 10:08 AM
A photo of a lifetime. I wonder whether Ponting forever wished he'd been able to lower his camera by another foot, so the mast didn't clash with the icicle. Or was that deliberate?
Wasn't the same argument often levelled at the series of ineffective Conservative governments that Labour replaced? Has something changed that forces governments to be this way? 24hr instant news, perhaps, or social media, or the most partisan news media I've ever seen in my lifetime?
January 15, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Wasn't the same argument often levelled at the series of ineffective Conservative governments that Labour replaced? Has something changed that forces governments to be this way? 24hr instant news, perhaps, or social media, or the most partisan news media I've ever seen in my lifetime?
Also, leftover mince pies make you slim. The clue is in the name; ask any French speaker.
December 27, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Also, leftover mince pies make you slim. The clue is in the name; ask any French speaker.
They're for carolling. Old local carols are best.
December 27, 2025 at 8:53 AM
They're for carolling. Old local carols are best.
Were the photos taken for blackmail purposes?
December 25, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Were the photos taken for blackmail purposes?
All true. They're good for all sorts of things, and take up very little space.
December 20, 2025 at 1:45 PM
All true. They're good for all sorts of things, and take up very little space.
It's the entire liberal middle classes who are to blame. But tell me, who reads her newspaper? Is there a little discussed group called 'the illiberal middle classes'?
December 17, 2025 at 11:03 PM
It's the entire liberal middle classes who are to blame. But tell me, who reads her newspaper? Is there a little discussed group called 'the illiberal middle classes'?
It's almost as if the EU is not a left wing organisation. Imagine that...
December 14, 2025 at 12:52 PM
It's almost as if the EU is not a left wing organisation. Imagine that...
Also, the Rode Procaster/WS1 combos that the New Statesman uses are pretty good, but I've found that they're even better with a gently modded windshield.
youtu.be/uVGD6N8hltI?...
youtu.be/uVGD6N8hltI?...
Procaster windshield test: no windshield, the WS2 windshield, a cut-down WS2 or a popper-stopper?
YouTube video by Gavin Atkin
youtu.be
December 13, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Also, the Rode Procaster/WS1 combos that the New Statesman uses are pretty good, but I've found that they're even better with a gently modded windshield.
youtu.be/uVGD6N8hltI?...
youtu.be/uVGD6N8hltI?...
Ditto, traffic sounds from the road outside your home.
December 13, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Ditto, traffic sounds from the road outside your home.
The AT4040's pickup pattern is w-i-d-e, and that's a problem.
Dynamic mics are generally made to be used close up, so room sounds can easily be swamped out and forgotten. Hence my sE Electronics suggestion.
Dynamic mics are generally made to be used close up, so room sounds can easily be swamped out and forgotten. Hence my sE Electronics suggestion.
December 13, 2025 at 10:48 PM
The AT4040's pickup pattern is w-i-d-e, and that's a problem.
Dynamic mics are generally made to be used close up, so room sounds can easily be swamped out and forgotten. Hence my sE Electronics suggestion.
Dynamic mics are generally made to be used close up, so room sounds can easily be swamped out and forgotten. Hence my sE Electronics suggestion.
They're both great mics in many ways, but on some folks (and banjos, check my YouTube on the matter) the AT4033a can be nasal and the AT4040 is nice in an acoustically treated room, but in a normal domestic room can pull in too much in the way of room resonances.
December 13, 2025 at 10:46 PM
They're both great mics in many ways, but on some folks (and banjos, check my YouTube on the matter) the AT4033a can be nasal and the AT4040 is nice in an acoustically treated room, but in a normal domestic room can pull in too much in the way of room resonances.
I've used the V7x. Haven't used the Dynacaster, but it has the same capsule, allegedly.
December 13, 2025 at 10:41 PM
I've used the V7x. Haven't used the Dynacaster, but it has the same capsule, allegedly.
sE V7 or V7x with a thin foam windscreen or a pop filter if you're not on video. It works really well.
youtu.be/R9jw0YT98ZU?...
youtu.be/1FccaspTUyU?...
If you're on camera, the sE Dynacaster will look better. youtu.be/0YsiLyZsnLY?...
youtu.be/R9jw0YT98ZU?...
youtu.be/1FccaspTUyU?...
If you're on camera, the sE Dynacaster will look better. youtu.be/0YsiLyZsnLY?...
VoiceOver On A Budget - Earthworks Ethos vs sE V7X
YouTube video by Anton Browne
youtu.be
December 13, 2025 at 10:39 PM
sE V7 or V7x with a thin foam windscreen or a pop filter if you're not on video. It works really well.
youtu.be/R9jw0YT98ZU?...
youtu.be/1FccaspTUyU?...
If you're on camera, the sE Dynacaster will look better. youtu.be/0YsiLyZsnLY?...
youtu.be/R9jw0YT98ZU?...
youtu.be/1FccaspTUyU?...
If you're on camera, the sE Dynacaster will look better. youtu.be/0YsiLyZsnLY?...
So actual law breaking is less of an issue than unpopular policies driven by financial problems. I see.
November 24, 2025 at 4:29 PM
So actual law breaking is less of an issue than unpopular policies driven by financial problems. I see.
Also... The first job of a government is to protect its citizens, isn't it? And isn't that protection and general sorting things out what we think we pay taxes for? (I realise economists have their own answers I that question.)
November 23, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Also... The first job of a government is to protect its citizens, isn't it? And isn't that protection and general sorting things out what we think we pay taxes for? (I realise economists have their own answers I that question.)
WWII, I think. If you can conduct a war that involves everyone in a home population, you can create homes and lives fit for heroes, and it became normal for politicians to pursue that principle. It takes a generation or two to forget such habits of mind, but I that's what happened during the 80s.
November 23, 2025 at 10:30 AM
WWII, I think. If you can conduct a war that involves everyone in a home population, you can create homes and lives fit for heroes, and it became normal for politicians to pursue that principle. It takes a generation or two to forget such habits of mind, but I that's what happened during the 80s.