If you’re building software, it’s generally a good idea to avoid the Not-Invented-Here syndrome. This is when you insist on writing absolutely everything from scratch even if it would make more sense to use a third-party provider. Need your app to take payments? Don’t try to bec … | Continue reading
“Fáilte go Knocka, fáilte go Knocka, gaelteacht nua i dtuisceart na cathrach!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH772P6YbMQ (Tá Kneecap ceart go leor, ach is fearr liom Kabin Crew!) | Continue reading
When you think about it, the phrase “earning a living” is really quite vile. | Continue reading
Reading I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. | Continue reading
Bhí RÓIS ar fheabhas anocht! Guth den scoth! | Continue reading
UX London will be back in 2026. It’s on June 2nd, 3rd, and 4th: Each day features a morning packed with inspiring talks followed by an afternoon of practical hands-on workshops. It’s the perfect blend! As with last year, each day will be themed: 2 June 2026: discovery day … | Continue reading
England is criss-crossed by routes that were originally laid down by the Romans. When it came time to construct modern roads, it often made sense to use these existing routes rather than trying to designate entirely new ones. So some of the roads in England are like an early kind … | Continue reading
Almost two months ago, I put out the call for speaker suggestions for Web Day Out. I got some good responses—thank you to everyone who took the time to get in touch. The response that really piqued my interest was from Aleth Gueguen. She proposed a talk on progressive web apps, … | Continue reading
56 years ago today: Talked to SRI Host to Host — IMP log, 1969-10-29 22:30, Charles S. Kline, Boelter Hall, UCLA The message: LO The ARPANET was born. | Continue reading
On the last day of UX London this year, I was sitting and chatting with Rachel Coldicutt who was going to be giving the closing keynote. Inevitably the topic of converstation worked its way ’round to “AI”. I remember Rachel having a good laugh when I summarised my overall feeling … | Continue reading
I had a very pleasant experience last week while I was reading through the RSS feeds I’m subscribed to. I came across two blog posts that were responding to blog posts of my own. Robin Sloan wrote a post clarifying his position after I linked to him in my post about the slipperi … | Continue reading
Reading Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield. | Continue reading
Saturday morning tunes and tea | Continue reading
I’m very happy to announce that the one and only Jake Jaffa-The-Cake Archibald will be speaking at Web Day Out! Given the agenda for this event, I think you’ll agree that Jake is a perfect fit. He’s been at the forefront of championing user-centred web standards, writing specs a … | Continue reading
Having a coffee with Mango. Confession: I can never remember the actual name of the coffee shop so in my mind it’s Mango’s. | Continue reading
Reading A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers. | Continue reading
Going to Cork (for real this time, I hope). brb | Continue reading
Tim recently gave a talk at Smashing Conference in New York called One Step Ahead. Based on the slides, it looks like it was an excellent talk. Towards the end, there’s a slide that could be the tagline for Web Day Out: Betting on the browser is our best chance at long-term … | Continue reading
I don’t get out to gigs as much as I’d like. But for some reason, the past week has been packed with live music. On Tuesday I saw Ye Vagabonds. I’m particularly partial to their nice mandolin playing. It was a nice concert that felt like being in a Greenwich Village folk club in … | Continue reading
Suppose somebody is using a blade. Perhaps they’re in the bathroom, shaving. Or maybe they’re in the kitchen, preparing food. Suppose they cut themselves with that blade. This might have happened because the blade was too sharp. Or perhaps the blade was too dull. Either way, it … | Continue reading
I was messing about with some images on a website recently and while I was happy enough with the arrangement on large screens, I thought it would be better to have the images in a kind of carousel on smaller screens—a swipable gallery. My old brain immediately thought this would … | Continue reading
When I talk about large language models, I make sure to call them large language models, not “AI”. I know it’s a lost battle, but the terminology matters to me. The term “AI” can encompass everything from a series of if/else statements right up to Skynet and HAL 9000. I’ve writt … | Continue reading
I was supposed to be in Cork over the weekend. Not only was it high time I paid my mother a visit, but the Cork Folk Festival was happening too. So I booked some relatively cheap plane tickets for myself and Jessica back in August and noted down the days in my calendar. We didn … | Continue reading
Reading The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy. | Continue reading
Not going to Cork after all, thanks to Storm Amy. Thanks, Amy. Thamy. | Continue reading
It’s October. Autumn is wrapping itself around us, squeezing the leaves from the trees. Summer has slipped away, though it gave us a parting gift of a few pleasant days this week to sit outside at lunchtime. I’ve got a bit of a ritual now for the end of September. I go to Spain … | Continue reading
Netflix’s House Of Guinness is schlocky trash but it’s schlocky trash with Irish subtitles available, so I’m thoroughly enjoying watching/reading it. | Continue reading
Clouds looming towards Brighton. | Continue reading
While I’ve been listening to Hounds Of Love, I’ve also been reading Orbital by Samantha Harvey. Here’s a passage from an early chapter as the crew of the International Space Station watch a typhoon forming: How wired and wakeful the earth seems suddenly. It’s not one of the … | Continue reading
The album Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush turned 40 years old this month. It has really stood the test of time. It still sounds like nothing else. It’s kind of two albums in one. There’s the A side with all those perfect pop songs—Running Up That Hill, Hounds Of Love, Cloudbusting, … | Continue reading
If you work at a clever company, then you should let them know about sponsoring Web Day Out. All the details are in this PDF sponsorship pack. Basically there are three (and only three) spots available, at three different levels of sponsorship. One of the best things about the … | Continue reading
Had cocido for lunch in Madrid yesterday and I’m still full today. | Continue reading
I clearly had a good time at the Irish fleadh in Cáceres. | Continue reading
Reading Orbital by Samantha Harvey. | Continue reading
Monday night session in Madrid | Continue reading