There's only one funny programmer joke. All the rest are just insightful.
This year's PyCon UK has been cancelled, but we're looking for a Conference Director to make PyCon UK 2027 happen - could it be you? Full details of what the role involves and how to apply here: buff.ly/j4cVItY #PyCon #Python #PyConUK #Community
This is really disappointing 😞 Open letter: keepthingsopen.com
An open letter asking NHS England to keep its code open.
Code paid for with public money should, by default, be open to the public.
keepthingsopen.com
Terence Eden@edent.tel · 6mo agoNew blog post: NHS Goes To War Against Open Source https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/05/nhs-goes-to-war-against-open-source/ The NHS is preparing to close nearly all of its Open Source repositories. Throughout my time working for the UK Government - in GDS, NHSX, i.AI, and others - I championed …
Is anyone else finding this Rachel Reeves / OBR / dishonesty business increasingly reminiscent of the Dominic Cummings / Barnard Castle thing? 1/
@simonwillison.net Have you ever tried your pelican benchmark with PostScript instead of SVG? I've just been playing with Gemini 3 Pro thinking and it's really good at PostScript, but it definitely can't one-shot it.
I was today years old when I realised why it's called firmware.
@drmaciver.bsky.social I enjoyed your email this morning. I too am a fountain pen user who had previously never thought about the principles of operation of the cap. It made me think of this Tim Harford post. timharford.com/2019/07/how-...
How the Brexit debate was flushed down the drain
On a scale of one to seven, how well do you understand how a flush lavatory works? This was a question asked by two Yale psychologists, Leonid Rozenblit and Frank Keil, almost two decades ago. Befo…
timharford.com
Has anyone got any experience of seriously using a vintage text terminal with modern Linux? I'm giving it a go, but I'm not sure if it's really viable today. 1/
It would be a small but meaningful improvement to the world if shoeboxes were built to be large enough for A4 paper. I've got lots kicking around, but they seem to be just slightly too narrow.
PyCon UK is in a couple of weeks, and it won't be the same without Michael. RIP.
Is it me, or is it getting harder and harder to find a beer mat in pubs these days? Some pubs seem to want to have them on the bar (why?), but it seems increasingly common for them not to exist at all. I'm in a 'spoons and people are using menus, lottery tickets, magazines. Madness.
Despite housing atomic clocks, GPS satellites have to have their time reset every day.
Meredith Rose (from the grave) 👻@mrose.ink · last yr.Ok folks: what is your favorite fact that you share with people (maybe a bit too) eagerly?
Just finished watching the Toolroom Takeover playlist on YouTube, and it's fantastic. Every one of the items they made is incredible. If someone gave you any of them it would instantly become your most treasured possession. #toolroomtakeover2025 youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Toolroom Takeover 2025 - YouTube
youtube.com
I sometimes get asked why my terminal has reminders of tools installed on my system, so I wrote a short blog post about why and how I did this. www.judy.co.uk/blog/using-f...
Using fortune to reinforce habits
judy.co.uk
My relationship with these issues is growing more nuanced as I get older. Today I would say that most conservative values are respectable and even admirable. Fine values to live by. It's when you try to use them as a basis for public policy that you end up with the wrong answer.
Steve Klabnik@steveklabnik.com · last yr.Definitely feel like a lot of my peers are suddenly being weirdly conservative in a way that’s been hard to adjust to
📣 Got a favourite must-see Manchester spot? Tell us! 📣 PyConUK2025 is coming to Manchester — and we're putting together a blog post of our favourite things to do and explore! 🖼️ Museums, 📚 libraries, 🌿 parks and more! 💬 Got suggestions? Tell us below! 👇 #PyConUK2025 #citylife #Manchester #tech
The use of the word "delve" in official congressional e-newsletters, over time, by party aka - how to observe the effects of ChatGPT on legislative staffer work.
Why is it that there seems to be a large and active campaign for the Oxford comma, but not for putting the el (or perhaps ells) in shan't.
Just randomly browsing the source for the new Microsoft edit.exe. It's pretty wild, containing specialised SIMD search routines, and an implementation of Oklab colour blending. A simple application in concept, but someone obviously cares a lot about doing it well.
I saw this in the cinema, and it was a real experience. The ending provoked a gasp of frustrated anticipation followed by a sad sigh from the whole audience, who then all laughed when they realised everyone else had done the same. If you watch it you'll understand.
David Brown@davidebrown.bsky.social · last yr.What We Left Behind, the documentary about the making and impact of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is now free to watch on YouTube, if you fancy getting teary-eyed and overly emotional on a Friday morning. #StarTrek #DS9 www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u3W...
1. Open the cupboard and see a cake or biscuit. 2. Think 'That would go well with a cup of tea' 3. Make a cup of tea 4. Realise I've long since finished the cake or biscuit
AI - Artificial Intelligence BI - Business Intelligence CI - Continuous Integration DI - Dependency Injection EI - Emotional Intelligence FI - ??? GI - Gastrointestinal ... - ??? MI - Michigan NI - National insurance OI - ??? PI - Private Investigator QI - ??? RI - Royal institution ...
We're nearing the end of the cling film. It's getting hard to pull off the roll. The box has collapsed and torn. The cutter no longer cuts. Every piece I get is ragged, the wrong size and doesn't fit the sandwich. It's been weeks like this. To bin it would be a mercy, to it and to me.
I've only just realised that ice-creams are included in the Sainsbury's meal deal.
here's an old school pen plot of the chip layout of a 555 timer! each mask layer is on a separate sheet of transparency film.
