Mal Ross 🌈
banner
malross.bsky.social
Mal Ross 🌈
@malross.bsky.social
User experience person. Motorsport fan. Lover of hills and forests. Board gamer. AFOL. Humanist. Husband. Dad.
Pinned
TL;DR: I'm looking for work as a #UX Designer or Interaction Designer, located in Newcastle upon Tyne (UK), preferably in a hybrid role.

Do you know of any opportunities that I might have missed? I'd love to hear about them.

Portfolio: uxfol.io/malross
Whooooah... 😍
Fantastic photo of a Ford Raptor T1 taken during the Dakar Rally by Marian Chytka. #photography #motorsport
January 11, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Two #motorsport stories worth watching in 2026:

Kalle Rovanperä's move into single seaters
www.toyota.co.nz/toyota-racin...

Colton Herta's move into F2, with the intent of getting an #F1 superlicense
www.fiaformula2.com/Drivers/1269...

Hope they both do well; I love a bit of crossover. 🏎️
Kalle Rovanperä
www.toyota.co.nz
January 9, 2026 at 9:53 AM
This form really should've been simple. It's ONE field. Yet it appears to ask for my first OR last name. Really? Or does it want my name in " / " format i.e. with a slash between the parts? Or has it wrongly used a slash instead of an ampersand? God knows. One for #FixTheForms, perhaps?
January 8, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by Mal Ross 🌈
In my talks, I’ve been saying for a while now that as AI continues to dominate “innovation”, accessibility is going to pay the price!

In this awesome article by Tracy Stine, you can see first-hand how many people are affected!

vocal.media/01/the-acces...

#accessibility #ai #a11y
The Accessibility Crisis of 2026: What No One Wants to Admit
Innovation is speeding up, but disabled people are the ones paying the price.
vocal.media
January 8, 2026 at 7:45 AM
Too much snow for a #parkrun? I would've happily done it, but sadly Blyth Links parkrun had to be called off at the last minute this morning. I still ran the course, but I understand their need to keep people safe. ♥️
January 3, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Ended the year with 62 bird species spotted since June, according to the #Merlin Bird ID app. Added great spotted woodpecker, nuthatch, and bullfinch on the final day. Crisps ahoy!!! 😋

Oh, and started 2026 with an eider duck in Amble harbour. Can I hit 100 species by the end of this year...? 🎯
Reached bird species #59 on my #Merlin Bird ID app, finding a curlew on the estuary at Blyth this afternoon. www.birdingplaces.eu/en/birdingpl...

One more species in the next 3 days and I get another packet of crisps from Daughter the Second... 🤞
River Blyth Estuary | Birdingplaces
Tidal river estuary just upstream from the Port of Blyth..
www.birdingplaces.eu
January 2, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Played a prototype tile laying game with Daughter the Second tonight for the first time in years. Nice bit of nostalgia to play something that helped pique her interest in #boardgames, but boy... it STANK! 😮

On the up side, it's finally put an end to my thoughts of refining it. There's no point! 😂
December 29, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Reached bird species #59 on my #Merlin Bird ID app, finding a curlew on the estuary at Blyth this afternoon. www.birdingplaces.eu/en/birdingpl...

One more species in the next 3 days and I get another packet of crisps from Daughter the Second... 🤞
River Blyth Estuary | Birdingplaces
Tidal river estuary just upstream from the Port of Blyth..
www.birdingplaces.eu
December 28, 2025 at 10:47 PM
I've seen a lot of moaning online about the ground effect rules we've had in #F1 for the last few years, with people making out they knew they were going to be crap.

Absolute nonsense.

The reality is they were really well thought out and were fairly effective... at first. youtu.be/gZe4tXxJIf8?...
How F1 teams broke the ground effect era
YouTube video by THE RACE
youtu.be
December 26, 2025 at 11:28 PM
I love that my local library stocks proper board games.

The games I've borrowed this year:
Pickomino/Heckmeck
Azul
Ticket to Ride: First Journey (Europe)
Jaipur
Welcome To...
Hey That's My Fish!
Cat Café
Railroad Ink
Cascadia
Ticket to Ride: London
Heat: Pedal to the Metal
Bandida
Dragonwood
December 23, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Wow. #F1 actually did a good thing. 🤯 #PlainEnglish (and presumably other languages)
NEW: Forget the ‘Manual Override Mode’: F1 renames its new 2026 technologies

'Manual Override Mode', 'Z-mode' and 'X-mode' are among the terms Formula 1 has dropped for 2026 in favour of simpler names.

More:
Forget the 'Manual Override Mode': F1 renames its new 2026 technologies
'Manual Override Mode', 'Z-mode' and 'X-mode' are among the terms Formula 1 has dropped for 2026 in favour of simpler names.
www.racefans.net
December 17, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Think my latest game borrowed from Newcastle City Library might have hit the sweet spot for dragon-loving Daughter the Second; she's properly schooling me at Dragonwood. 😅

boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17...
Dragonwood
Roll to defeat monsters and collect items! Will you be able to defeat the dragon?
boardgamegeek.com
December 14, 2025 at 11:15 AM
This didn’t age well. Almost… but not quite. At least I didn’t place the bet. 😅
Ok, let's just call it now, as it's not exactly sticking my neck out: Max Verstappen WILL win the #F1 driver's title this year.

Wonder what pitiful odds I could get on that at the bookies... 🤔

Also: I'll repost this when the time comes and I'm proven righ^H^H^H^H wrong. 😉
December 10, 2025 at 1:26 PM
I’m liking The Race less and less, feeling they’re far too soft on the morally bankrupt. Case in point, this video describes Helmut Marko’s comments about Sergio Perez as being about him “being Mexican”. youtu.be/vduqQswOkS4

Let’s be clear: Marko’s comments were not about Perez “being Mexican”.
What Marko's Red Bull F1 exit means for Max Verstappen
YouTube video by THE RACE
youtu.be
December 10, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Have seen all of these recently on Killingworth Lake 😍
Enjoy a selection of winter birds you can spot this season.❄️

Canada Geese, Goldeneye, Coot and Greylag Geese are all species you can spot in a pond, lake or wetland near you.

Did you know, the Latin name for Goldeneye, Bucephala, means Bull's head which refers to its unusual head shape?🦆
December 10, 2025 at 12:18 PM
I'm not much of a videogame player, but there are a handful I've played that elevated themselves into the videogame-as-art category—for me, at least:
• Another World (1991)
• Outlaws (1997)
• GTA Vice City (2002)
• Ōkami (2006)
• Monument Valley (2014)
• Bury Me, My Love (2017)
December 9, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Reposted by Mal Ross 🌈
FINAL book giveaway of the year.

To enter: reply below & repost this extract.

Up for grabs:

THREE signed Villager paperbacks with free art (bookmarks & postcards) by my parents.

Enter if you enjoy
Folklore
Nature
Rivers
Hills
Social history
Lost art
Ghost
Tangled psychedelic narratives
Silliness
December 8, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Borrowed #Bandida from the library recently and finally played it with Daughter the Second tonight. boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29...

Verdict? It is HARD! So hard that I can see us never winning. I'm all for returning it asap, but the little one has more steel than me and wants to win first. 😂😩
Bandida
Try to catch Bandida or help her to escape!
boardgamegeek.com
December 9, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Amen. Briatore out next please. #F1

Oh, and an electoral process at the #FIA that actually works would be nice too.
Was out at the cinema when the Marko news came through.

Time for a new era.
December 9, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Individuals shouldn't be able to buy a bigger voice in politics. Add your name to ‪@electoralreform.bsky.social‬'s call to put a cap on how much they can donate in the #ElectionsBill
action.electoral-reform.org.uk/page/179420/...
Sign now to demand an end to big money in politics
It takes 30 seconds
action.electoral-reform.org.uk
December 5, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Farewell, Yuki. Loved your energy. Hope you find a good seat somewhere for your next chapter. 👋

As for Hadjar, I wish him all the best. Hopefully the 2026 car reset will work in his favour compared to other recent Red Bull promotions. 🍀
NEW: Official: Hadjar to replace Tsunoda at Red Bull in 2026, Lindblad joins Racing Bulls

Red Bull has confirmed Max Verstappen will have another new team mate next year. Isack Hadjar will replace Yuki Tsunoda in their line-up.

More:
Official: Hadjar to replace Tsunoda at Red Bull in 2026, Lindblad joins Racing Bulls
Red Bull has confirmed Max Verstappen will have another new team mate next year. Isack Hadjar will replace Yuki Tsunoda in their line-up.
www.racefans.net
December 2, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Wish my kids' school would sign up for this kind of outdoor, nature-y, creative thing rather than endless trips to the same museum (he says, after Daughter the Second visited the Hancock for about the third time yesterday).
The snow wasn't putting these nature lovers off!

Last week students from Milecastle Primary school joined us at Gosforth Nature Reserve, exploring prints in the snow, spotting birds and getting creative with some nature based art!❄️
December 2, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Bird species #53 in my Merlin Bird ID app's Lifer List, the Common Pochard. Spotted this morning at Killingworth Lake, UK. Lovely chestnut head and red eye (though too far from my camera to tell in the photo).

Two more species and Daughter the Second gives me another packet of reward crisps. 😄
December 2, 2025 at 9:25 AM
This... this is a frankly terrifying prospect for any McLaren-leaning #F1 fan. (Hi! 👋🧡) It's even quite possible and I'd fully expect the team to mismanage the situation and lose the WDC. Fingers crossed it's not prophetic. 😬
Papaya Rules, baby!

Will they, if necessary, issue team orders? What if Max is in first, Oscar 3rd, and Lando 4th with 3 laps to go?
December 1, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Thanks again for your weakness, David Cameron. I mean, it all started long before that, but that move was critical.
According to a new study from a respected US think tank, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Britain’s decision to leave the EU has meant that its GDP is between 6 per cent and 8 per cent smaller than it would have been.
November 25, 2025 at 1:13 PM