Ben Jackson
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jacksobc.bsky.social
Ben Jackson
@jacksobc.bsky.social
2K followers 2.4K following 2.6K posts
Welsh. Former central banker. Mostly skeeting about my cooking and LFC. Mostly. He/him. Almost died once and I wrote about my accident and the role Zwift had in my rehabilitation:

https://zwiftinsider.com/the-fresh-puncheur-of-watopia/
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jacksobc.bsky.social
Connections
Puzzle #909
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟨🟨🟨🟨

Picked up the badge for 350 games getting purple first.
It’s a screenshot of the NYT Games app on my phone. It shows the 350 Purple First badge. The text reads: EARNED DEC. 6, 2025 350 Purple First You earned this badge by successfully completing 350 Connections puzzles after getting the purple category first.
December 6, 2025 at 10:05 AM
jacksobc.bsky.social
I know it says it’s about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters, but it’s so much more. If you have any interest in Film & TV, or writing in any form, this is fascinating stuff. @johnaugust.bsky.social and @clmazin.bsky.social have produced a great book. 📚📖 #booksky
It’s a photo of my copy of the Scriptnotes book by John August and Craig Mazin. It is bright orange, with their names at the top, then a picture of an old fashioned type writer, then the word: SCRIPTNOTES At the bottom it reads: A Book About Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters
December 3, 2025 at 11:29 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
In Egypt, travellers seemingly need telling not to hang clothes on sprinklers. It’s so high that I, at 6’4”, can’t reach it. But someone must have done it to prompt the sign, right?
It’s a photo of the join between ceiling and wall in a hotel room in Cairo. There’s a small metal sprinkler very close to the ceiling. Just below it is a small sign with a clothes hanger with a red circular no symbol over it.
December 2, 2025 at 8:26 AM
jacksobc.bsky.social
Ancient relic found in The Egyptian Museum in Cairo. #LFC #YNWA
It’s a photo of an ancient statue, dug up from the sacred grounds of Egypt. It depicts a young Mo Salah, his arms out spread, as he celebrates what the ancients refer to as a goal. I remember them well. He’s is resplendent in the red kit of Liverpool FC
November 28, 2025 at 1:08 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
This is why Rachel Reeves has an impossible task. You already pay national insurance on your pension contributions. For most people this won’t change anything. If you currently do a salary sacrifice—receiving a lower salary and saving both income tax and NI contributions—then you’ll be hit by this.
The tax raid on companies will be less explicit this year than in Reeves' first Budget, although her plan to tighten the rules on salary sacrifice schemes has been described as a £2 billion take through the back door. Currently workers can pay up to £60,000 a year into their pension without being liable for national insurance but the Treasury plans to cap this to £2,000.
November 26, 2025 at 12:28 AM
jacksobc.bsky.social
Here’s the context from the paragraph before it:
The tax raid on companies will be less explicit this year than in Reeves' first Budget, although her plan to tighten the rules on salary sacrifice schemes has been described as a £2 billion take through the back door. Currently workers can pay up to £60,000 a year into their pension without being liable for national insurance but the Treasury plans to cap this to £2,000.
November 25, 2025 at 11:42 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
But this is just about salary sacrifice contributions, right? This doesn’t impact the standard minimum 3% employer and 5% employee contributions. This is only if you opt to contribute more in a salary sacrifice scheme.
The tax raid on companies will be less explicit this year than in Reeves' first Budget, although her plan to tighten the rules on salary sacrifice schemes has been described as a £2 billion take through the back door. Currently workers can pay up to £60,000 a year into their pension without being liable for national insurance but the Treasury plans to cap this to £2,000.
November 25, 2025 at 11:33 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
One magical animal, and some roast potatoes/garlic. 🍽️🍜 #foodsky
It’s a photo of a roasted shoulder of pork. It’s sitting on a dark gray chopping board. The cracking is orange and blistered. The meat facing the camera is browned and crispy. It’s a photo of the same roasted meat, this time from above to get a better very of the cracking. The score marks are apparent, as are some flakes of salt. It’s a photo of the sliced meat on the chopping board. It’s soft, tender, and laced with fat. It’s a bowl of roast potatoes. They have crispy edges, and tucked in between are roasted cloves of garlic.
November 23, 2025 at 6:20 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
What a guy #LFC #YNWA
November 18, 2025 at 11:26 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
What are travellers in Germany doing with the kettles?!
It’s a photo of a small sign in an Avani hotel room in Frankfurt. It reads: Kettle for water only
November 14, 2025 at 3:43 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
I ate this grilled octopus at Versículo d'O Faia and it was worth the trip for this alone.
It’s a photo of a large octopus, grilled to perfection. There is a pool of oil around the plate with three black olives and a clove of garlic in the top right corner.
November 11, 2025 at 9:52 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
An FT article engineered to trigger @michaelhobbes.bsky.social. It argues that Wikipedia is left-leaning because it claims the lab leak theory is controversial. We need something like Grokipedia because 2/3rds of Americans believe COVID-19 originated in a lab… on.ft.com/47m6GBB
Does he have a point about some Wikipedia articles having a "liberal" or left-leaning bias that obscures or fails to provide a full and fair version of the truth, though? Yes. Just look up the "COVID-19 Lab leak theory" entry as an example. Despite the fact that two-thirds of Americans in a 2023 study by YouGov and the Economist said they believed the virus originated in a Chinese laboratory and not, as originally thought, a wet market, this is described in the second sentence as a "highly controversial" claim, while it is stated that "many scenarios proposed for a lab leak are characteristic of conspiracy theories" - as if there were not legitimate and non-conspiratorial reasons for believing in it.
November 2, 2025 at 9:16 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
Luchador wresting at the York Hall tonight.
It’s a photo of a 64 year old man jumping of the top rung of a wrestling ring. He’s star shaped, wearing gray Lycra pants and a gray Luchador mask. He’s about to land on a wrestler wearing green pants and a green mask. Another wrestler in the ring looks on expectantly
November 2, 2025 at 12:44 AM
jacksobc.bsky.social
My brother is staying so I cooked him a big plate of lamb chops with chilli and salt. 🍜🍽️ #foodsky
It’s a photo of a white plate piled high with lamb chops. They’re a deep brown colour, and they’ve been finished in a wok with loads of garlic, chilli (green and red), spring onion, and a Sichuan peppercorn and salt mix.
October 16, 2025 at 9:33 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
I was fascinated by this bit. He’s a self-proclaimed dimwit, but smart enough so it’s not immediately obvious what side he comes down on with the flag wavers, although if he’s upset with someone being arrested for xenophobic tweets, I’ve got a good guess…
"I'm not massive on reading politics," Shelvey said. "I just see some of the things that go on. "I see people getting arrested for tweeting and, then, all of the flags and 'taking back the country. "I'm not going to sit here and comment on things like that because I'm not clever enough to, and I'll get myself into trouble if I carry on, but I just feel that the UK isn't what it was 10 to 15 years ago."
October 16, 2025 at 1:31 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
The FT limit the number of clicks. Here’s the full article.
Top US financiers have warned of an erosion in lending standards after credit markets were shaken by the collapse of First Brands Group and Tricolor Holdings. Apollo Global Management chief executive Marc Rowan said the unravelling of the two businesses followed years in which lenders had sought out riskier borrowers. "It does not surprise me that we are seeing late-cycle accidents," Rowan said on Tuesday. "I think it's a desire to win in a competitive market that sometimes leads to shorteuts." Last month's failure of First Brands and subprime auto lender Tricolor has reverberated across credit markets and left investors such as Blackstone and PGIM, as well as major banks including Jefferies, nursing heavy losses. It has also prompted further scrutiny of bank loans, private debt markets and the lack of transparency around borrowers, which tend to be highly levered with debt. "In some of these more levered credits, there's been a willingness to cut corners," Rowan told the Financial Times Private Capital Summit in London. Both Rowan and Blackstone president Jonathan Gray pointed the finger at banks for having amassed exposure to First Brands and Tricolor, but said the collapses were not signs of a systemic issue. "What's interesting is both of those were bank-led processes," Gray told the same FT conference, rejecting "100 per cent" the "idea that this was a canary in the coal mine" or a systemic problem. Far from championing First Brands, Apollo went so far as to build a short position against debt linked to the group prior to its collapse, meaning it would profit if the company failed to repay loans. "Most of the announced holders of risk are, in fact, financial institutions," said Rowan. Banks and private capital firms have been at odds in recent years as businesses have increasingly turned to private credit for their borrowing needs. Traditional lenders have labelled the shift regulatory arbitrage and complained that non-bank financial institutions are too lightly regulated. But First Brands and Tricolor have exposed how both sides are intertwined through complex financial structures that can obfuscate who holds the underwriting risk, especially as bank lenders aim to maintain their market share. JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon echoed some of the concerns on Tuesday as the bank reported strong earnings that were marred by a $170mn hit from Tricolor's collapse. "My antenna goes up when things like that happen. I probably shouldn't say this but when you see one cockroach there are probably more," he said. "There clearly was, in my opinion, fraud involved in a bunch of these things, but that doesn't mean we can't improve our procedures," he added, acknowledging that the Tricolor exposure "was not our finest moment" Meanwhile, the IMF on Tuesday called for regulators to focus on bank exposure to the sector, noting that "banks are increasingly lending to private credit funds because these loans often deliver higher returns on equity than traditional commercial and industrial lending".
October 16, 2025 at 7:17 AM
jacksobc.bsky.social
And Qatar was up on Russia as well.
The price list for the 2018 World Cup in Russia FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2018 BUY TICKETS MATCH CAT 1 CAT 2 CAT 3 CAT 4* OPENING MATCH (N° 1) USD 550 USD 390 USD 220 RUB 3 200 GROUP MATCHES (N° 2 TO 48) USD 210 USD 165 USD 105 RUB 1280 ROUND OF 16 (N° 49 TO 56) USD 245 USD 185 USD 115 RUB 2 240 QUARTER-FINALS (N° 57 TO 60) USD 365 USD 255 USD 175 RUB 3 800 SEMI-FINALS (N° 61 TO 62) USD 750 USD 480 USD 285 RUB 4 480 3*°/4™ PLACE MATCH (N° 63) USD 365 USD 255 USD 175 RUB 3 800 FINAL (N° 64) USD 1100 USD 710 USD 455 RUB 7040
October 15, 2025 at 9:55 AM
jacksobc.bsky.social
Caught up with Peacemaker S2 and, sure, a show just to promote a movie two years away… But mostly I was thinking about whether Frank Grillo could actually be Joel Kinnaman’s dad. Just about! Somehow Frank Grillo is 60, the same age as John Thaw when he died. Like a different species. 📺
Certified beefcake Frank Grillo dressed all in black leaning on the backs of two black leather chairs. There’s a hint of gray in his hair, but somehow this guy is 60 years old.
October 12, 2025 at 2:13 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
I agree, but also Gry Larsen did post this photo of herself five years ago.
It’s a photo of Gry Larsen from Facebook. It features a red cap, MAGA-style, reading MAKE HUMAN RIGHTS GREAT AGAIN.
October 10, 2025 at 9:59 AM
jacksobc.bsky.social
“When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.”

Surely the Portland Frog is a shoo-in for the Nobel Peace Prize next year. #Trump
October 10, 2025 at 9:32 AM
jacksobc.bsky.social
Thank Goodness You’re Here! is such a terrific game. Like Untitled Goose Game but Northern and crammed full of innuendo. Proper laugh out loud stuff. A perfect way to spend a Sunday evening 🎮🕹️
It’s a promotional image for the game, Thank Goodness You’re Here! Set against a blue, cloudy sky is a motley array of colourful characters. They’re all the people in the town you need to help out while they make smutty jokes.
October 5, 2025 at 9:32 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
Roast butterfly leg of lamb. Served with roasties, kale, peas, dripping gravy, and some mint sauce. Also accidentally set off the smoke alarm 🤦🏻‍♂️🍽️🍜 #foodsky
It is a photo of some lovely pink lamb, carved up, on a dark grey chopping board. It’s been roasted with lemon, garlic and rosemary, all of which are visible in the photo.
September 27, 2025 at 6:43 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
Oh, Rory.

Pegu Club

45 ml Gin
22.5 ml Lime juice
22.5 ml Curaçao (triple sec works fine)
1 dash Orange bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters

It’s a pretty good result. I believe in our boys. #RyderCup #Golf

🍸🍹 #Cocktail
It’s a photo of two Nick & Nora glasses full of a bright yellow cocktail. They have lime wheels sticking out the top. In the background is my mate Paul celebrating a European win
September 26, 2025 at 10:21 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
Corpse Reviver #2

30 ml Gin
30 ml Cointreau (or other triple sec)
30 ml Lillet Blanc (or Cocchi Americano)
30 ml Lemon juice

Has given me as much pep in my step as Europe’s performance.
It’s a photo of two coupe glasses, with a bright yellow liquid, sitting on a white marble surface. In the background is a fuzzy green shot of the Ryder Cup on TV.
September 26, 2025 at 9:43 PM
jacksobc.bsky.social
I’m using Antica Formula Vermouth. When I lived in Amsterdam I used a local Dutch Vermouth.

I actually don’t really like any cocktail with Campari but my mate staying with me loves them. I’m more a Manhattan kinda guy.
It’s a photo of my bottle of Antica Formula Vermouth
September 26, 2025 at 9:03 PM