Sauntering Vaguely Downward

In a rare, almost scientific move, I am following up on last week's poll. Here is my new phone case, simultaneously expressing my love of Japanese woodblock printing and Pokémon Go.



The Great British Bake Off has begun again. The first episode of the new season aired on Wednesday night. I livetweeted with the other fanpersons on my list. We all fell in love with Selasi Gbormittah. So...who is/are your favourite(s)? (A reminder of the contestants, with photos: Radio Times listing)

This ESA Rosetta mission shirt is only sold at the ESRIN site in Frascati, Italy. I call it the "Welcome to the gun show" shirt because I suspect its very form-fitting cut and perfunctory sleeves were designed for a svelte Italian man with large biceps to swan around on his scooter in his aviators. I'm better at eating gelato than hitting the gym regularly, so I'm afraid my guns aren't quite up to the task.

Anyway, I've been a bit busy lately what with updating several hundred requirements in our database (complete!) and submitting a grant application on behalf of the artist I'm hoping will be able to join me in January to document the final months of the Cassini mission (also complete!). Additionally, I acquired a new phone. I don't know what it is about new gizmos. Somehow even though it's running the same OS and is the same brand, just a bit bigger and faster, it has turned my fingers into hams and it's taken me the better part of two days to not be afraid to touch the damn thing. This was not helped by me forgetting which Google account I'd used to create my Pokémon Go account, logging in with the wrong one, and immediately being devastated to find I was back at Level 1. Eventually I figured out what had gone wrong, but not before a lot of lip-wobbling and wibbling unhappily at the bloke. I caught a Clefairy at Birmingham New Street station this morning, so I'm almost reconciled to the brief period of unnecessary mourning.

I decided not to port my Neko Atsume game data over from my old phone either, so I'm starting again from the beginning. AND I now have space to install The Room 3. WIN.

For the avoidance of doubt, I'm for RemaIN.

And here is a short linkspam, silveradept-style on staying in the EU.

Ben Goldacre on why Brexit is not a good choice.
Chart showing UK tax spending allocations. We spend less on the EU than on overseas aid.
Jobs, export and trade. Free movement. Freedom to live and work in Europe. Access to the single market. Access to EU research fund. Oh, and peace. Me, I'm particularly keen on peace, considering that the history of Europe contains an awful lot of war.
Lettuce Romaine.
ETA: No such thing as a Brusselo.