I wrote about why I quit my job, and how weird and tiring tech feels these days.

Do I belong in tech anymore?

On quitting, the spread of AI, and the loss of an ideal.

ky.fyi

THREE TUNNOCKS TEACAKES

I’ve posted it before, but it feels evergreen The two hardest problems in Computer Science are 1. Human communication 2. Getting people in tech to believe that human communication is important

Jake Anbinder@jakeanbinder.bsky.social · 4mo ago

I think we need an inverse thread where we talk about things that normal intelligent people universally agree upon that are for some reason hot takes within your profession

I have just noticed that Nationwide's Green Additional Borrowing now explicitly includes #MVHR in it's list of acceptable improvements. Source: www.nationwide-intermediary.co.uk/products/gre... #PassiveHouse #Retrofit

Nokia 5110(?) (Something like this was my first in ~2002/3) Nokia 6310i Nokia N95 Nokia C5 (Left in a lorry while hitchhiking in 2012) HTC ? iPhone 5 (Bought when I got my first proper job) iPhone 6 iPhone 8 Pro iPhone 13 Pro

Katie Fenn@katiefenn.bsky.social · 6mo ago

1999: Nokia nk402 200?: Nokia 3510 2003: Motorola MPx200 2004: Nokia 6600 2006: Orange SPV-500 (HTC Typhoon) 2009: iPhone 3G 2011: iPhone 4S 2014: iPhone 6 2017: iPhone X 2020: iPhone 12 Pro 2023: iPhone 15 Pro Max

I really, really love Look Mum No Computer. I own quite a lot of his vinyl. I’m really disappointed he’s standing while the boycott is happening. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Eurovision 2026: Electronic artist and YouTuber Look Mum No Computer to represent UK in Vienna

The synth artist and Eurovision fan says he finds it

bbc.co.uk

So that was decent. Worth finding on catch up if you missed it. Props to Hannah from Progress in Practice for representing women working in retrofit - I promise despite the impression that might have been given, there are a few of us!

Marianne Heaslip@marianneh.bsky.social · 6mo ago

This is on tonight on Channel 4 at 9pm. Very interested to see how they make telly out of retrofit.

Watching "Guy Martin's House Without Bills" on #Channel4. Been looking forward to this!

While watching RTÉ's "Heat my Home", I was wishing that there was going to be a UK equivalent. Seems like Channel4 had read my mind. Not only with a great presenter like Guy Martin, but also @aecb.bsky.social Greater Manchester's local group ran by Progress in Practice Looking forward to watching.

Passivhaus Trust@passivhaustrust.bsky.social · 6mo ago

📺 Guy Martin's 'House Without Bills' Passivhaus retrofit takes centre stage in the Channel 4 programme Guy Martin’s 'House Without Bills' on Monday 9 February 2026 at 9pm. Read more: https://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/news/detail/?nId=1534 AECB Passive House Plus Nesta Passive House Accelerator

I have both of Marion's "Residential Retrofit" books, so already knew this would be a good episode, even then it blew me away. Myth busting that low energy buildings require the occupant to "manage" their environment and the "rebound effect" is a non-issue. www.buzzsprout.com/2394957/epis...

Mark talks to Marion Baeli - The Building Podcast

The retro-fit market for domestic homes in the UK is enormous.  We have some of the oldest housing stock in Europe that accounts for 20% of national carbon emissions.  There are 27 million h...

buzzsprout.com

imagine looking up at the vast and harrowing beauty of outer space and thinking not about how short and fleeting and precious our intertwined existence in this realm is but instead ‘wow this place needs some fuckin data centres’

I'm so excited for the Tour de France Femmes coming to Sheffield. I hope they close Snake Pass so we can cycle up there to watch them race. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Tour de France Femmes in Yorkshire 'will boost women's cycling'

The start of the annual elite women’s cycling race will take place in Yorkshire.

bbc.co.uk

DIYers bringing #PassiveHouse to the masses? youtube.com/watch?v=v854... Absolutely loved this. So refreshing to hear people talk about this sorta stuff, in such depth, when they aren’t in the trade. Hopefully it might teach others to not to build crap leaky buildings with PIR. I can only hope.

INSULATING MORE DOESN'T ALWAYS MAKE SENSE! - How we built our home using science

YouTube video by The Restoration Couple

m.youtube.com

@benadamsmith.bsky.social Catching up with HPH over Christmas; sad to hear The Hub is no more. I was just thinking about joining too, as after listening to so many eps, I recently figured self-build is for me in the future. My question is: could the resources& case studies be available as a one off?

It's been COLD. What flow temperatures are you folks using? (And for oil / gas / heat pump, or what? And to achieve what room temp?) Currently still working fine at 45C here in Belfast, gas combi, 19-20C target room temp.

people starting the new year with a shiny new substack when @ghost.org is literally right there smdh my head

I just posted some (a lot of?) pictures from my cycling trip through the length of Japan on my blog. sebastiandahl.com/blog/2025124... #japancyclingnavigator #bikepacking #cycletouring #japan

Cycling the length of Japan — Sébastian Dahl

Marie and I spent 3 months in Japan this summer. It’s hard to summarise such a long trip in such an interesting country, but here goes an attempt. Planning the trip started more than a year before. ...

sebastiandahl.com

Got my work cut out for the weekend. Bedroom bay window is a stud wall filled with brick off cuts. To be insulated with 160mm of the finest German made woodfibre. New book for if I get bored too. More details in alt text. Current U-value is ~2.1W/(m²K), will be ~0.22W/(m²K) #retrofit #aecb

Good. George Clarke wants homeowners and businesses to shun ‘dishonest’ firms Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Architect George Clarke calls for boycott of firms criticised by Grenfell inquiry

TV personality wants homeowners and businesses to shun ‘dishonest’ firms Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex

theguardian.com

There’s some very bad news hidden in the Ofgem price cap for January announced yesterday: the electricity to gas price ratio has jumped to 4.67, its highest level since before the energy crisis. This is a big barrier to households adopting heat pumps in Britain, and threatens our climate goals

Saw a video yesterday, someone talking about new Vaillant aroTHERM Plus #ashp : www.vaillant-group.com/news-stories... Distance req either side reduced: 100cm to 50cm Sound level (5kW): 51dB(A) to 44.3dB(A) Data: www.vaillant.de/heizung/prod... The video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czwk...

@archtesta.bsky.social Good to chat to you at the Homebuilding show! ubakus.de was the site I mentioned, and this was the data I got about phase shift: bsky.app/profile/snhd... PIR was even worse than my memory served at 6.5hr. Not a replacement for WUFI but feels useful for a layperson.

Sean Hood@snhd.co · last yr.

"Phase shift" was the phrase I was looking for. And this was the outputs I have saved for both. Left 240mm woodfibre ~0.17W/(m²K). Right 130mm kingspan ~0.18W/(m²K). WF has much more density which it can then hold onto that heat, resulting in narrower temperature fluctuations is my understanding.

Wishing wood fibre insulation was as readily available in the UK as it was in France (this was at Brico Depot). This is something I should be able to buy from B&Q or Wickes not limited to specialist suppliers where postage is 3x the item price in some cases. #retrofit

Sean Hood@snhd.co · last yr.

They even stock wood fibre insulation batts, cellulose too. I’d have got some but i would have preferred 375mm wide

Just starting your self build journey? I recommend listening to this podcast first. Andy Mitchell from 21 Degrees outlines the challenges of finding a healthy, comfortable and energy-efficient home. And he explains it all in simple language! www.houseplanninghelp.com/andymitchell #SelfBuild

"If it takes longer to make your coffee than it does for you build pipeline to complete, you're doing one of them wrong" - @abangser.bsky.social

A good day to re-read this post: charity.wtf/2019/05/01/f...

Friday Deploy Freezes Are Exactly Like Murdering Puppies

VOICEOVER: “Previously, on twitter …” So, that happened. I hadn’t seen anyone say something like this in quite a while.  I remember saying things like this myself as recentl…

charity.wtf

#passivehouse peeps, is the ~new "easyPH" compatible with #PHPP "Variants" worksheet? I see it's there but hidden, and I didn't see a mention in the manual. Alternatively, is modeling in easyPH then exporting into the full variants sheet an option. NB: not being used for certification just fiddling

PassiveHouse peeps, is the ~new "easyPH" comptatible with #PHPP "Variants" worksheet? I see it's there but hidden, and I didn't see a mention in the manual.

Spent an evening in Walkley at an SY Ecofit event. Chatting all things retrofit, insulation, moisture in buildings and also enjoyed this lovely curry. #sheffield #retrofit

She walked 6.5km for this photo but we forgot the biscuits.