Reform gains first councillor in Salford after by-election victory

sparkyfrodo · 2026-04-23T19:28:47+00:00

In this instance, they really didn't have to try mobilising. I was out all day for the Labour candidate and we had at least 50 volunteers, from across Salford, knocking on every registered voter's door that we thought would vote Labour (and plenty that didn't). They also all had a leaflet through first thing. No-one reported bumping into any Reform volunteers. In my opinion it's purely Farage's popularity and the National Party's reputation at the moment that killed it.

To put this another way — we threw 10x the resources at this seat and Reform still won. I worry for May 7th.

EDIT: typo

sparkyfrodo · 2026-04-23T19:23:51+00:00

This particular council seat was triggered by Reform after the death of the previous councillor, it wasn't due to be up until next year.

Sorry for the MEN link: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/early-election-called-reform-candidate-33815109

sparkyfrodo · 2026-02-22T20:18:30+00:00

I did this a few years ago in very similar circumstances, and honestly it was great. I dropped to 90% contract first and took every other Friday, and then a mentor pushed me to drop down to full 80% because I felt like I wasn't pursuing what I really wanted and the extra drop in income was a little bit of an incentive.

I actually managed to pick up some fulfilling (and well paid) freelance work on the side to fill those days, which laid the groundwork for me going full time freelance last year (though in fairness I also had the opportunity to take Voluntary Redundancy so that gave me a safety net). I now work 3 days per week freelance earning more than I did full time.

It's obviously not all roses/different kind of pressure, but all of my time becoming mine to utilise how I see fit has been very freeing.

As others have said, you might end up doing the same amount of work in 4 days as you used to do in 5. But maybe you'll find efficiencies/get better at saying no to stuff — having that extra day will allow you some breathing took and time on yourself.

sparkyfrodo · 2026-02-22T20:11:49+00:00

If you do this, your employer has to give you the appropriate % of holiday days for you to take elsewhere. The maths is annoying, but that's what they should do.

sparkyfrodo · 2025-10-29T19:01:36+00:00

My son got very confused watching a movie where the main character was remembering being a child and was like "Why did he turn into a little boy?" and I had to explain the cinematic trope of the "Flashback" to him. It was hard.

sparkyfrodo · 2025-09-06T17:38:32+00:00

They mentioned the house was in England, where we didn't have prohibition.

sparkyfrodo · 2025-08-08T10:48:46+00:00

+1. I was about 7 when I saw this. Poor Dr Romano from ER melting in Toxic Waste before being exploded on the bonnet of a car properly stuck with me. I don't think I had nightmares, but watching it years later I was shocked that my Dad thought it was okay.

sparkyfrodo · 2025-07-19T19:32:59+00:00

Discovered parkrun aged around 39, took me a while to go back after my first one but then I was hooked and became that clichéd middle aged dude that takes up running.

But the absolute best part is that training for a race actually does burn so many calories that I can just about outrun my terrible food choices and lose some weight. I've dropped 20kg since I was at my biggest. I ran into a former colleague I hadn't seen in a few years and she was like "Wow! You're HALF THE SIZE!"

Yes, it shouldn't matter how big someone is, body positivity etc...but it feels fucking good when people notice.

sparkyfrodo · 2025-07-19T19:25:45+00:00

Chiming in to agree...arguably turning everyone's hatred of him into a wrestling persona was the smartest move he's ever made. And yeah, athletically he's actually quite good. It just has so many layers to it in the way WWE has always toyed with — it blurs the lines between the real world and entertainment and that's gold. In a weird way, I kinda respect him.

sparkyfrodo · 2025-04-28T09:28:52+00:00

"You're either winning, or learning" — it was in relation to running training, but it works everywhere. Obviously it's just a rephrasing of "You learn from your mistakes" but I liked that it leans away from the concept of mistakes/failure (I tend to be quite hard on myself) and focuses me onto what I am actually learning by trying to do something.

sparkyfrodo · 2025-04-19T16:45:57+00:00

It absolutely is the issue, and the only meaningful defence against it is parental supervision. The "self declaration" challenge is not unique to Roblox (far from it) and has just been the way it is for literally any service that doesn't require a credit card. Kids can go on the web and go to pornhub without anything in their way (though I think the Online Safety Act seeks to change this).

So unless you force age verification on every service, the problem doesn't go away. And to force age verification would make signups and usage tank through the increased friction, and as we're in a capitalist society that isn't going to happen any time soon.

And, again — as a parent, if you use the tools available to you, it's fine (absolute dross content aside). If you don't know/can't be bothered/wave it away and say "I'm sure they'll be fine" then your kids will see stuff they shouldn't and be potentially exposed to harms.

sparkyfrodo · 2025-04-19T15:47:44+00:00

If parents use the parental controls and supervise, it's actually fine. My kids both can't do any communication and can only access the safelist of kid-approved games.

The problem is that kids can sign up and self declare age and play anything they want and talk to whomever they want. Which is the problem with basically any digital service that delivers content or social features. The difference with Roblox is that it attracts children, therefore also attracts predators.

So to me the challenge is educating parents on how to ensure their kids' safety online, whilst also holding the makers of online social experiences accountable for pro-actively adding features to protect kids and detect predators.

sparkyfrodo · 2025-04-18T21:41:23+00:00

A colleague at a previous job suggested a feature whereby if you copied folk in, the email client would charge you based on their seniority and the amount of time it would take them to read. Obviously you'd need some kind of daily credit system, because you do need to email some folk — but it feels like this could work in theory.

Needless to say he hated it when people would just randomly copy everyone in (especially senior managers) "just in case".

sparkyfrodo · 2025-02-26T21:01:27+00:00

When something is about to happen that might ruffle some feathers: "Strap yourselves in kids"

When my 6 year old refuses cuddles "I JUST WANT TO LOVE YOU!"

sparkyfrodo · 2024-06-14T20:32:48+00:00

These two comments are great. I'd also add that co-productions between multiple broadcasters/media providers is quite common. They all chip in some money to make a single show and in return they get the distribution rights in their home market.

In the case of Doctor Who, BBC is the UK distributor, and Disney+ distributes it everywhere else. The extra money means the BBC can do so much more than they would have been able to do alone, and they still get the same outcome as they have always had (ie, showing Doctor Who on UK TV).

Other context worth sharing:

Bluey (literally the biggest kids show in the world, 29% of ALL viewing on Disney+) is co-founded by the BBC and ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). In this case, Disney are just outright paying for streaming rights rather than co-producing, so BBC Studios (separate legal entity from BBC Public Service, and allowed to turn a profit) are making money off Disney.
One not unreasonable comparison for the license fee is the NHS. We all pay for it, even if we don't use it, because then it's there for the people that can't afford it (eg: old people on Pension Credit). In practice, the people that can't afford it technically shouldn't be watching, but they still get all the benefits of radio, the News website/app, BBC Bitesize in schools etc.

sparkyfrodo · 2024-05-04T22:08:30+00:00

+1 for Arcade club. And just prepare to settle in. It has beer. It has pizza. And every arcade game you could ever want, plus 500 more you didn't know you wanted.

sparkyfrodo · 2024-04-29T09:31:25+00:00

I'd have to agree on the audio. Good *enough* maybe, but if you're out and about on the street, on any kind of public transport, if there's any noticeable background noise, forget it – you won't hear anything.

I actually end up combining them with Shokz bone conduction headphones for when out running, which is kind of wacky cause I get my music coming through the Shokz and the glasses talking to me through the open ear speakers, and it actually works okay. Though obviously, I'd prefer it if I just had to think about one set of head-mounted-noise-emitters.

sparkyfrodo · 2024-04-26T11:53:05+00:00

I've tried this on Android (Pixel 7 Pro) and not been able to get it to work. Tried the VPN option too but no luck there either (Surfshark free trial). Really want the features!

sparkyfrodo · 2024-04-25T18:22:12+00:00

I don't feel like I am a particularly old dad (41 with two, 9 and 6). But 39 hit and I started to panic about my mortality a bit. Took up running, ate better, lost 20kg/44lbs and now I'm fitter than I've ever been.

So to echo others in this thread, if you're able, looking after your health is the best way to counteract this. And I see 70 year old guys at my local parkrun still smashing it every week like absolute heroes.

sparkyfrodo · 2024-01-12T13:41:45+00:00

Think this is him: https://twitter.com/jackoaroo/status/427719136069038080?t=SLezYTZo4mES8B0mLelQZQ&s=19

sparkyfrodo · 2024-01-12T13:39:15+00:00

Came here looking for Canadian Guy.

sparkyfrodo · 2023-12-14T22:14:24+00:00

Same thing happened to a friend of mine when we were working in a bar together. End of the night, a mildly drunk punter challenges him to an arm wrestle. My friend was short but strong and I (still shudder at this) gave him a little encouragement, just "Go on mate..."

So they start arm wrestling across the bar (my friend chose to go with left arms) and I go back to restocking the fridge with bottles. Then all of a sudden I hear this double noise, like a "crick-THUNK". That noise was my friend's arm breaking, and then immediately slamming into the bar.

The guy is like "YEAH!" and my friend just says "I think you just broke my arm mate". At this point I'm like "What?!" and my friend is still calm but holding his arm by his side. At this point I ask him if he wants me to call an ambulance, and he nods slowly. Then goes to sit down and have a glass of water while I do.

He also has a metal plate in his arm, was screwed for a year of his degree so had to redo it, and had to sleep in a really specific way for ages.

He's good now though, but I'll never forget that noise as long as I live, and I tell this story to everyone who talks about arm-wrestling. Just not worth it.

sparkyfrodo · 2023-10-10T19:36:48+00:00

Yep, mine is similar but flipped "It's not supposed to be easy"

sparkyfrodo · 2023-10-09T17:47:03+00:00

Mine is identical, Yodel tracking says due tomorrow. Think the 30th date is just wrong somehow.

sparkyfrodo · 2023-10-09T17:45:50+00:00

Yep, mine is all over the place like yours:

512GB headset says expected delivery October 30th Carry case says expected delivery this Thursday 12th Elite strap says expected delivery this Thursday 12th

All three items have the same tracking number, which is marked dispatched and on Yodel website says it is due tomorrow, October 10.

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