bensmithuk

bensmithuk, 7 months ago to random

Whilst I like the idea of the ‘2 pizza team’ as originated by Amazon, at some point we are going to need more than just me on this.

bensmithuk, 2 months ago to random

A short memory of how I built 38 useful Twitter bots in 2009: https://bensmith.blog/posts/i-invented-tweeting-trains-probably

Edent, 1 month ago to DigitalNomadHub

🆕 blog! “Pushing The Button”

This is a retropost. Written contemporaneously in 2020, but published four years after the events. It's May 2020 as I write this. I'm typing to capture the moment. Right now, I've no idea what the impact is. This is the exact moment, on Thursday May 7th, I hit the Big Red Button - three of […]

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/05/pushing-the-button/
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#covid19 #nhsx #retropost #WeekNotes #work

Edent, 2 months ago to random

The problem is, people who I probably agree with politically, are hugely susceptible to believing any old nonsense as long as it is delivered as a screenshot which stokes rage against "the baddies".

When I point out that it can be debunked in 5 seconds, that apparently makes me complicit in [insert thing they're angry about].

bensmithuk, 11 months ago to random

I would like a badge or a ribbon for my LinkedIn profile that says ‘Here reluctantly and very much against my better judgement’.

bensmithuk, 9 months ago to random

My home EV charger has died after years and the supplier wants £££ to replace it 🙁

UK people who have EV’s: Which charger do you have and do you like it?

bensmithuk, 28 days ago to random

In the spirit of writing what interests me and not for an audience, I have produced what is probably the most boring blog post ever: https://bensmith.blog/posts/south-western-railway-s-logo-font-is-weissenhof-grotesk-medium

bensmithuk, 1 month ago to random

<breathes deeply>

Today's "Taxpayers' Alliance" press release about 'fat cat' council bosses has my local Nextdoor group frothing wildly. As if this year's >£100m budget deficit is due to salaries at council HQ.

"What do they even do?" they foam, under an article that shows they manage a budget of >£2bn.

bensmithuk, 11 months ago to random

I’m not in this world any more but proud of colleagues who made this happen.

Internally it felt much more iterative and incremental than this article makes it sound but the results speak for themselves.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/12df1162-1ce8-11ee-a69a-3a9a8ad4baeb?shareToken=ab12c64854348e23f0c3e95d27f7bd7c

bensmithuk, 10 months ago to random

Next week I intend to be sipping my morning coffee from an OpenBenches mug and if that gives you FOMO you should get your own: https://openbenches.myspreadshop.co.uk

@openbenches is one of my favourite things on the internet.

bensmithuk, 9 months ago to random

As bad days at work go…

https://metro.co.uk/2023/09/05/turkey-accidentally-declares-war-on-russia-during-translation-error-19448983/

bensmithuk, 6 months ago to coffee

Having a good clear-out of the the freezer #coffee pre-Christmas and found a few more bags of this Yellow Bourbon from Brazil.

It’s got tasting notes of 'chocolate, caramel, peanut’ which are nearly as good as the real thing 🤔 TBH I get more nut than chocolate from my first brew this time around.

https://coffee.bensmith.uk/details-coffee/dear-green-fazenda-pantano/r/recu95GZqdDzfUPiF

bensmithuk, 3 months ago to random

Things QA managers have told me at the end of over-running waterfall projects:

> "The issue that occurred during the test was specific to the event and would not have occurred during a live armed fire," the source said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68355395

bensmithuk, 2 months ago to random

I wish there was a key combination I could press when clicking a link that told 'the algorithm' I was just clicking it for a laugh / curiosity and that it didn't need to recommend more houses costing £20m or jobs tending remote island lighthouses.

bensmithuk, 2 months ago to random

It's all hotting-up in the world of bench inscriptions (paging @openbenches and @Edent ): https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/mar/25/its-not-banksys-its-mine-artist-says-bristol-plaque-to-adulterer-is-a-copy

bensmithuk, 11 months ago to random

Whilst it’s finely balanced, I agree with the Mastodon admins planning to de-federate Meta servers (for now).

The fediverse is a combination of open protocols and codes of conduct. That last bit is easily forgotten.

And regardless what Meta says it will do, it’s repeatedly broken the law and harmed users by managing ‘community standards’ badly. It’s reasonable to assume they will so again.

So the people are welcome, but not a new unreliable admin.

Edent, 11 days ago to politics

🆕 blog! “Here's what happened to that podium!”

This is a retropost. Written in January 2023 but published long after I left the Civil Service. One of the weird things about working in Westminster is how terrifyingly normal it becomes to work in grand old buildings, stuffed with grand old artworks, and staffed with grand old politicians. You turn a corner and there's ……

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/05/heres-what-happened-to-that-podium/
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[#GE2024 #politics #retropost

girlonthenet, 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago) to random

UK millennials: if someone handed you a wooden recorder, could you play a song?

(Bonus points in comments if you can tell me which one. This Q brought to you by my confident assertion in group chat that even after 25+ years, I could still smash out Lord of the Dance)

LoneLocust, 2 months ago to random

The “problem” with yesterday’s corned beef was that there was only enough for me to get one sandwich.

This leaves me with a loaf of Jewish Rye, and since the panini press was still out on the counter… voilà!

Ham, bacon, and Swiss on rye panini.

dannotdaniel, 2 months ago to random

dear fedi

can this old aluminum 27 inch iMac be used as just a display?

thank you 🧀

rear of aluminum iMac with what looks like some kind of mini DisplayPort plug or something I don't recognize..

bensmithuk, 15 days ago to random

UK politics nerds: AIUI most government advertising except 'essentials' should be paused in the pre-election period. Does this include arms-length bodies?

OFGEM is advertising an energy price cap on social media and that feels like a bigger impact than stuff we've been asked to stop.

joelanman, 1 month ago to random

"This means services created for internal users are assessed in the wrong way. Sometimes meeting user needs is not the most important thing"

mm nah. Any service needs to meet user needs otherwise it won't achieve what it needs to achieve. Makes no difference if they are 'internal'

bensmithuk, 2 months ago to random

When transferring a domain I own to a different registrar, do I lose any time remaining that I paid for at the 'old' registrar?

bensmithuk, 1 month ago to random

When something you warned was ill-conceived does turn into precisely the shit-show you anticipated for the reasons you said, how do you say 'told you so' to people who dismissed your advice as 'overly pessimistic' without seeming petty?

Asking for a friend 😒