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Kind: Notes

Short content: a post or status update with just plain content and typically without a title.

  • The unrepentant bleppy face of a dog who, without fail, steals the warm spot I've left behind on the sofa within like three seconds of me standing up.

    Full image of A champagne-coloured French bulldog sits askew on a blue blanket atop a grey sofa, her tongue sticking out and to the side, as she looks at the photographer.
    Alt

    A champagne-coloured French bulldog sits askew on a blue blanket atop a grey sofa, her tongue sticking out and to the side, as she looks at the photographer.

    • Note
    • 1 comment
    • posted 6 July, 2025
  • ο»ΏHave I posted this joke before? It's all a Blur.

    ο»Ώ

    Accessible description: Dan, a white man with a goatee beard and a faded blue ponytail, stands in a darkened kitchen. Turning to the camera, he says "I get up when I want, except on Wednesdays when I get rudely awakened by the tadpoles." Then he holds up a book entitled "Pond Life".

    • Note
    • posted 4 July, 2025
  • Sometimes LinkedIn's approach to anonymising who looks you up isn't very effective.

    Full image of 'Anonymised' LinkedIn notification advising that 1 hour ago, 'Founder at WordPress viewed your profile'.
    Alt

    'Anonymised' LinkedIn notification advising that 1 hour ago, 'Founder at WordPress viewed your profile'.

    I wonder who that could be? πŸ˜‚

    • Note
    • posted 1 July, 2025
  • Sometimes all you need to complete the perfect offset geocache is a GPSr, some hand tools... and the willingness to unilaterally declare a remote bench to be a memorial to a fictional person, just to get a particular set of numbers out into the world!

    Full image of Dan, a white man with a beard and long, blue-tinted hair, sits sideways on a wooden bench behind which overgrown tree planting can be seen. On the back of the bench is perched a handheld GPS receiver, and in Dan's hand is a small screwdriver and a hand drill. The bench has a plaque attached (parts of which have been censored for the photo), which reads: In memory of George Oscar Cacher who spent ... years exploring the world. Died aged ..., ... July ....
    Alt

    Dan, a white man with a beard and long, blue-tinted hair, sits sideways on a wooden bench behind which overgrown tree planting can be seen. On the back of the bench is perched a handheld GPS receiver, and in Dan's hand is a small screwdriver and a hand drill. The bench has a plaque attached (parts of which have been censored for the photo), which reads: In memory of George Oscar Cacher who spent ... years exploring the world. Died aged ..., ... July ....

    • Note
    • posted 26 June, 2025
  • Pretty sure there isn't a prize for Throwing Wet Sponges At Children during the graduating year's "fun run" at the school sports day... but just like the kids are asked to, I'm going to try my best. 😁

    • Note
    • posted 25 June, 2025
  • Not just a global issue but a local one too. A local one... almost everywhere.

    Full image of Series of coloured bars trending from blue to red, representing relative temperature change in Oxford, UK, for the last 111 years, showing a clear average increase of a couple of ℃.
    Alt

    Series of coloured bars trending from blue to red, representing relative temperature change in Oxford, UK, for the last 111 years, showing a clear average increase of a couple of ℃.

    #ShowYourStripes

    • Note
    • posted 23 June, 2025
  • Happy Stone Circle Sunday! The youngest and I went out to Avebury Henge, the world's largest neolithic standing stone circle and henge.

    Full image of On verdant grass and under clear skies, a boy in a white-and-blue 'Sonic the Hedgehog' t-shirt strolls in front of a line of about half a dozen enormous standing stones.
    Alt

    On verdant grass and under clear skies, a boy in a white-and-blue 'Sonic the Hedgehog' t-shirt strolls in front of a line of about half a dozen enormous standing stones.

    • Note
    • posted 15 June, 2025
  • Note to future self: when you want git to tell you all the files you've modified, but not those you've deleted (e.g. to pipe through xargs and feed to your linter for bulk-linting), the command you're looking for is -

    git diff --name-only --diff-filter=M

    • Note
    • posted 14 June, 2025
  • In case you weren't already a little nervous or uneasy going in to the dental clinic, the doorstop at my dentist's front door will fix that for you.

    Full image of Sculpture of a rock with a zipper mouth behind which can be seen an uncannily-realistic set of teeth.
    Alt

    Sculpture of a rock with a zipper mouth behind which can be seen an uncannily-realistic set of teeth.

    • Note
    • posted 9 June, 2025
  • I'm applying for a few roles that might be the next step in my career. And to my surprise, updating my CV and tweaking my portfolio is doing a world of good for my feelings of self-worth!

    Seriously: looking back over the last ~25 years of my career and enumerating the highlights is giving me a better "big picture" view of everything I've achieved than I ever got from the near-focus of daily work. I should do this more often!

    • Note
    • posted 3 June, 2025
  • I don't want to withdraw any of our children from sec [sic] education lessons.

    Full image of Part of an email, written in Comic Sans, reading: Ages 10 – 11 Puberty for boys and girls revisited. Understanding conception to the birth of a baby. Becoming a teenager. All lessons are taught using correct terminology, child-friendly language and diagrams. / Content on relationships is compulsory for all children as well as work on reproduction and body parts, which is also covered as part of science lessons. However, parents can decide to withdraw their child from sex education lessons. Class teachers can provide more information if you wish to discuss this with your child’s teacher. / If you would like to withdraw your child from sec education lessons, then please put this in writing by the end of this week 6th June.
    Alt

    Part of an email, written in Comic Sans, reading: Ages 10 – 11 Puberty for boys and girls revisited. Understanding conception to the birth of a baby. Becoming a teenager. All lessons are taught using correct terminology, child-friendly language and diagrams. / Content on relationships is compulsory for all children as well as work on reproduction and body parts, which is also covered as part of science lessons. However, parents can decide to withdraw their child from sex education lessons. Class teachers can provide more information if you wish to discuss this with your child’s teacher. / If you would like to withdraw your child from sec education lessons, then please put this in writing by the end of this week 6th June.

    However they're spelled, they're a great idea, and I'm grateful to live in a part of the world where their existence isn't the target of religious politics.

    But if I can withdraw consent to receiving emails about sex education in Comic Sans then that'd be great, thanks. πŸ˜…

    • Note
    • 1 comment
    • posted 2 June, 2025
  • Fellow Abnibbers and I, who see each other extraordinary infrequently in our diaspora, have a tradition of sharing a group selfie when we happen to coincide. I forgot to take one when @garethbowker@infosec.exchange and I met today, and by way of penance I tried to draw what I should have done.

    Full image of Badly drawn pen sketch of Dan, a man with a goatee, taking a selfie of himself and a round-cheeked man with a dog, while the pair drink hot drinks.
    Alt

    Badly drawn pen sketch of Dan, a man with a goatee, taking a selfie of himself and a round-cheeked man with a dog, while the pair drink hot drinks.

    Unfortunately I can't draw. He looks much less like a potato in real life! Think I got his dog right, though.

    • Note
    • posted 30 May, 2025
  • Out for a dog walk this morning along the Nevern Estuary, I spotted this brave fellow rowing his way (at least) half naked across the bay, on a route that pitted him against the wind, rain, and tide!

    Full image of A shirtless white bald man rows a small white boat past bouys in a choppy estuary.
    Alt

    A shirtless white bald man rows a small white boat past bouys in a choppy estuary.

    • Note
    • posted 29 May, 2025
  • I'd like to nominate DB13W3 for Most Cursed Connector. I mean, just look at that thing!

    Full image of Cable with 'male' DB13W3 connector, featuring a D-sub body containing three analogue RGB connectors but with a gap between the second and third into which 10 regular D-sub style pins have been sandwiched in two rows of five).
    Alt

    Cable with 'male' DB13W3 connector, featuring a D-sub body containing three analogue RGB connectors but with a gap between the second and third into which 10 regular D-sub style pins have been sandwiched in two rows of five).

    Bonus: there were at least two different, incompatible, pinout "standards" for this thing, so there was no guarantee that a random monitor with this cable would connect to your workstation, even if it had the right port.

    • Note
    • posted 27 May, 2025
  • Today's Hide And Seek With The Kids is brought to you by the Bishop's Palace, St. David's, Wales.

    Full image of Dan crouches on a stone spiral staircase.
    Alt

    Dan crouches on a stone spiral staircase.

    • Note
    • posted 25 May, 2025

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