James O'Malley
@jamesomalley.co.uk
@Psythor on Twitter. Freelance writer covering politics/tech/nerd stuff.
Read my content: takes.jamesomalley.co.uk
Yes, I inevitably have a podcast too: abundancepod.com
Free the Postcode Address File!
Read my content: takes.jamesomalley.co.uk
Yes, I inevitably have a podcast too: abundancepod.com
Free the Postcode Address File!
Maybe I just haven't noticed this before, but it's interesting that the BBC has created a "BBC News Live" studio, to presumably spin-up ad-hoc live UK coverage that BBC World doesn't want to take.
January 15, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Maybe I just haven't noticed this before, but it's interesting that the BBC has created a "BBC News Live" studio, to presumably spin-up ad-hoc live UK coverage that BBC World doesn't want to take.
It's absolutely mental that Greenland is now (correctly) described as a "hotspot" along with Iran.
January 14, 2026 at 7:02 PM
It's absolutely mental that Greenland is now (correctly) described as a "hotspot" along with Iran.
Today on the BBC News app, the government making essentially a long term £45bn spending commitment is considered less important than Kiefer Sutherland getting arrested.
January 14, 2026 at 9:01 AM
Today on the BBC News app, the government making essentially a long term £45bn spending commitment is considered less important than Kiefer Sutherland getting arrested.
“It is understood” here ironically reveals that the political reporters here don’t really understand the system they are writing about.
January 14, 2026 at 8:51 AM
“It is understood” here ironically reveals that the political reporters here don’t really understand the system they are writing about.
It's a real mystery why Apple didn't go with Grok for this.
January 12, 2026 at 8:16 PM
It's a real mystery why Apple didn't go with Grok for this.
Over on the Other Place where everyone has gone mental, it ”says it all” that the Golden Globes didn’t mention… Iran.
January 12, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Over on the Other Place where everyone has gone mental, it ”says it all” that the Golden Globes didn’t mention… Iran.
In other words, once you add on the time the actual work would take, it would mean East Halton is cut-off from the rest of civilisation, with 34 mile diversion for basically AN ENTIRE YEAR.
Here's the traffic orders that were created, to close the road for that long.
Here's the traffic orders that were created, to close the road for that long.
January 12, 2026 at 1:03 PM
In other words, once you add on the time the actual work would take, it would mean East Halton is cut-off from the rest of civilisation, with 34 mile diversion for basically AN ENTIRE YEAR.
Here's the traffic orders that were created, to close the road for that long.
Here's the traffic orders that were created, to close the road for that long.
As the road was no longer safe, it was quickly closed. This had the unfortunate side-effect of adding a *34 mile diversion* to anyone who wanted to reach the village.
That's around 45-55 minutes of extra driving, every time you go in and out of the village.
Needless. to say, it is very annoying.
That's around 45-55 minutes of extra driving, every time you go in and out of the village.
Needless. to say, it is very annoying.
January 12, 2026 at 1:03 PM
As the road was no longer safe, it was quickly closed. This had the unfortunate side-effect of adding a *34 mile diversion* to anyone who wanted to reach the village.
That's around 45-55 minutes of extra driving, every time you go in and out of the village.
Needless. to say, it is very annoying.
That's around 45-55 minutes of extra driving, every time you go in and out of the village.
Needless. to say, it is very annoying.
In North Lincolnshire, there is a village called East Halton. It is a very rural area.
Last October, the most direct road leading to the village started collapsing. Engineers found a series of tunnels underneath.
The culprit? Badgers!
Last October, the most direct road leading to the village started collapsing. Engineers found a series of tunnels underneath.
The culprit? Badgers!
January 12, 2026 at 1:03 PM
In North Lincolnshire, there is a village called East Halton. It is a very rural area.
Last October, the most direct road leading to the village started collapsing. Engineers found a series of tunnels underneath.
The culprit? Badgers!
Last October, the most direct road leading to the village started collapsing. Engineers found a series of tunnels underneath.
The culprit? Badgers!
🧵 Why does politics feel so stuck? Why does everyone think the government is useless?
Here's a short thread on why badgers are they key to understanding why.
Here's a short thread on why badgers are they key to understanding why.
January 12, 2026 at 1:03 PM
🧵 Why does politics feel so stuck? Why does everyone think the government is useless?
Here's a short thread on why badgers are they key to understanding why.
Here's a short thread on why badgers are they key to understanding why.
"Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi likened Mr Farage’s call to scrap race discrimination laws to Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda"
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
January 12, 2026 at 11:34 AM
"Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi likened Mr Farage’s call to scrap race discrimination laws to Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda"
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
Nadhim Zahawi MP: In Farage’s Britain, it would be legal to discriminate against me on the grounds of race
conservativehome.com/2015/03/23/n...
conservativehome.com/2015/03/23/n...
January 12, 2026 at 11:32 AM
Nadhim Zahawi MP: In Farage’s Britain, it would be legal to discriminate against me on the grounds of race
conservativehome.com/2015/03/23/n...
conservativehome.com/2015/03/23/n...
Another day, another example of BBC News's jarring Buzzfeed-esque feature content butting up against the real news.
Apatow "says the quiet part out loud" about America being a dictatorship, apparently.
Apatow "says the quiet part out loud" about America being a dictatorship, apparently.
January 12, 2026 at 10:16 AM
Another day, another example of BBC News's jarring Buzzfeed-esque feature content butting up against the real news.
Apatow "says the quiet part out loud" about America being a dictatorship, apparently.
Apatow "says the quiet part out loud" about America being a dictatorship, apparently.
I support the sentiment but I’m not sure such a statement needs to be made just because it’s a big news story in another country.
January 9, 2026 at 9:21 PM
I support the sentiment but I’m not sure such a statement needs to be made just because it’s a big news story in another country.
I've blocked him because life is too short, but it's almost like:
a) Compiling an enemies list is an insane thing to do
b) Governments might have different incentives to individuals with a medium-sized social media following? If only an economist could puzzle this out!
a) Compiling an enemies list is an insane thing to do
b) Governments might have different incentives to individuals with a medium-sized social media following? If only an economist could puzzle this out!
January 9, 2026 at 5:12 PM
I've blocked him because life is too short, but it's almost like:
a) Compiling an enemies list is an insane thing to do
b) Governments might have different incentives to individuals with a medium-sized social media following? If only an economist could puzzle this out!
a) Compiling an enemies list is an insane thing to do
b) Governments might have different incentives to individuals with a medium-sized social media following? If only an economist could puzzle this out!
This is a real photo, but I never realised just how much Chequers looks like something a not-very-good AI image model would generate.
January 8, 2026 at 2:38 PM
This is a real photo, but I never realised just how much Chequers looks like something a not-very-good AI image model would generate.
Weirdly I never have to explain to my ideological allies that racism is bad.
January 8, 2026 at 12:41 AM
Weirdly I never have to explain to my ideological allies that racism is bad.
Portcullis House was built in 2001! It should be a habitable office space!
Did they cheap out for optics reasons or is this just Britain’s perma-austerity mindset?
(Via Politico)
Did they cheap out for optics reasons or is this just Britain’s perma-austerity mindset?
(Via Politico)
January 6, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Portcullis House was built in 2001! It should be a habitable office space!
Did they cheap out for optics reasons or is this just Britain’s perma-austerity mindset?
(Via Politico)
Did they cheap out for optics reasons or is this just Britain’s perma-austerity mindset?
(Via Politico)
A guy whose entire schtick is hating technology has written a guide to ‘getting off US tech’, and in the piece he instead advocates people buy from… Chinese companies.
January 5, 2026 at 11:14 AM
A guy whose entire schtick is hating technology has written a guide to ‘getting off US tech’, and in the piece he instead advocates people buy from… Chinese companies.
Wrote this in 2023 (reposted in 2024), and still think it one of the most prescient things I've ever written.
takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/todays-emp...
takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/todays-emp...
January 3, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Wrote this in 2023 (reposted in 2024), and still think it one of the most prescient things I've ever written.
takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/todays-emp...
takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/todays-emp...
Last time around we got a tonne of great music out of the war. Where is the punk renaissance this time around?
January 3, 2026 at 10:28 AM
Last time around we got a tonne of great music out of the war. Where is the punk renaissance this time around?
Anyway the new ChatGPT image model is astonishingly good.
January 3, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Anyway the new ChatGPT image model is astonishingly good.
Thanks, HackerNews.
January 2, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Thanks, HackerNews.
Can't please everyone, I guess.
January 1, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Can't please everyone, I guess.
Here's what I said about the New Year fireworks last year.
January 1, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Here's what I said about the New Year fireworks last year.