Doug Belshaw

"Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it." (Epictetus)

Notes: https://substrate.dougbelshaw.com

Setting up FIELD STATION https://fieldstation.xyz

Personal website: https://dougbelshaw.com
Location: Morpeth, UK

Public Key

npub1f5ak24h9d9wtqy78sdr4nmy6m8k9qlvmhptplhs7704zdfuxg6vsm6705y

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsy6wm92mjkjh9sz0rcx36eajddnmzs0kdms4slmc00863x57rydxgprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntdn9lv9

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub1f5ak24h9d9wtqy78sdr4nmy6m8k9qlvmhptplhs7704zdfuxg6vsm6705y

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Last Notes

2026-04-03 09:53:56 CEST

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Oh I think teachers are great. I used to be one, as was my dad and my wife (and most of her family). I'm coming at this from a "let's not blame schools for the ills of society" angle 👍

2026-04-03 09:24:52 CEST

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Indeed, the research shows this because schools are the source of the data.
Schools can play a role, but (as ever) *investing* in poorer areas helps massively.
It's a classic compounding feedback loop. If I'm a young person from an area with no jobs and people out of work, then I've no-one to ask for advice. Why wouldn't I want to just live at home and hang out with my mates?
The problem with schools as the locus of 'advice' for young people is that most teachers don't have much experience of the world outside of formal education.
Anyway, rant over 😉

2026-04-03 09:18:52 CEST

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I fail to see how schools hold "the" key. This is a systemic issue with multi-factor causes.

2026-04-01 17:10:09 CEST

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Anything that requires humans to remember to periodically update something that's not currently part of their everyday workflow is bound to fail.

2026-03-30 13:03:54 CEST

So where is your org at? Is it a boiling frog? Subject to a panopticon? https://techfreedom.eu/lenses/ #TechFreedom
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/116/317/646/229/974/423/original/4fb165bf78d72950.png

2026-03-29 10:09:52 CEST

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Oh, for sure. My main concern about AI is not that it replaces artists (unlikely) but that it replaces governance and decision-making (much more likely)

2026-03-28 23:28:03 CET

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I'm off to bed, as the clocks go forward here tonight - otherwise I'd be happy to discuss this further!
I would just say that this depends on whether you (or you think other people) consider AI as an end in itself, or just a means to an end.
My creativity and agency is greatly enhanced, I believe, by access to these tools. See: https://thoughtshrapnel.com/2026/03/28/if-a-computer-is-a.html

2026-03-28 23:12:39 CET

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This is absolutely untrue. It's akin to to believing you can only say things you've said before because you're a storehouse of your past experiences.

2026-03-26 16:14:35 CET

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Cheers! Loved seeing Sinners last week, and there's a bunch I'm looking forward to this year 🎬

2026-03-26 14:22:39 CET

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Glad you liked it! Seems most people did. I thought it was pretty meh

2026-03-26 13:38:23 CET

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Really?

2026-03-26 10:17:06 CET

I'm now using Stream on a daily basis, and I've just updated it to v0.4.0
https://dynamicskillset.github.io/stream
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/116/294/721/049/461/296/original/ff736e9cb45586cd.png

2026-03-20 17:51:13 CET

Creating apps for myself is pretty satisfying. In this case, a macOS app to play my Plex music library using an approach inspired by Apple's much-missed "coverflow" approach.
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/116/262/528/051/130/425/original/cda8c9ce635dfee4.mp4

2026-02-19 19:35:25 CET

RE: https://kolektiva.social/@danmcquillan/116098694142499511
TL;DR: AI keeps getting massive investment despite not working as promised. This is because AI isn't really a technology solution, but instead a way for existing power structures to maintain control as the old world order falls apart. It makes the problems it claims to solve *worse* rather than better.
The alternative is "decomputing": less tech, instead of more; slower, not faster; tools built around collective care rather than automation.
Instead of asking how to power bigger data centres, we should ask who should control society's energy and water in the first place.
#note1e4e…msls

2026-02-19 17:18:40 CET

RE: https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/116097712856639117
Every so often, Cory Doctorow explains the way he works and I greedily gobble up the words as either proof that I'm on the right track, or as evidence that I need to rethink my approach.
This time, thankfully, there's more of the former and less of the latter:
"The AI bubble sucks. AI itself is a normal technology:
[...]
It's not "unethical" to scrape the web in order to create and analyze data-sets. That's just "a search engine"
[...]
There's plenty of useful things people can do with AI. There's plenty of useful things people *will* do with AI. AI is bad because it's an economic bubble and a grift, but not because we've created a bunch of utilities that would – under normal circumstances – be called "plug-ins"."
#note17ph…cche

2026-02-13 09:13:22 CET

My mate Tom and I have been chatting for ages about what it really means to depend on US‑based tech when you are running an organisation in Europe.
We've now pulled those conversations into something concrete, called #TechFreedom. It is for organisations that want a clearer view of jurisdiction, business continuity, and 'quiet' surveillance in their stack.
Blog post: https://blog.dougbelshaw.com/techfreedom/
More info: https://techfreedom.eu
#TechFreedom #Fedi #DigitalSovereignty #BigTech
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/116/062/315/621/879/564/original/73bdcdfdaf32e21b.png

2026-02-10 07:24:44 CET

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Let's definitely reduce 'pubic' spending 😂

2026-02-02 20:08:33 CET

People complain, but then when organisations actually listen they don't share *that* story.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/02/firefox-will-soon-let-you-block-all-of-its-generative-ai-features/

2026-01-12 11:10:41 CET

AI writes the code. You’re still responsible. New post on what that means for non‑developers building software:
https://blog.dougbelshaw.com/ai-code/ #AI #DigitalLiteracies

2026-01-07 10:27:23 CET

Everyone: But, but, we can't see reality objectively as all observation is theory laden. Doesn't that just mean that everything is relative.
Charles Sanders Peirce: HOLD MY BEER
https://blog.dougbelshaw.com/cash-value/
#philosophy #pragmatism #epistemology

2025-09-19 12:52:04 CEST

Quick question with boosts appreciated for reach:
What would be a good budget range for pen-testing a Discourse install for a human rights org?

2025-09-16 21:04:42 CEST

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+1,000,000. When I grow up (as a writer) I want to be Cory.

2025-08-28 21:06:35 CEST

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Indeed, more like Mussolini than Stalin
@npub1xvh…a4dy @npub1fdr…lvhs

2025-08-24 10:49:19 CEST

Lol this thread
https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/115074431325055303
Geeks have *no* idea that "simple" things for them ("host your own relay," "spin up a VPS") sound like something from outta space for regular users.

2025-08-06 12:39:51 CEST

Since moving into our house last year I can often smell cannabis coming from next door. I assumed they were recreational users and went about my life.
But this morning, the postman gave me a knowing wink and said "nice smell down the side of your house" which prompted me to investigate further.
It seems to be coming from this plant which is right outside my office window and at the side of my neighbour's house.
Is it St John's wort? Something else? 🤔
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypericum_perforatum?wprov=sfla1
#gardening
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/114/981/372/651/983/749/original/05c59d3957fe1237.jpg
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/114/981/372/658/802/970/original/48e3da5316af0bf5.jpg
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/114/981/372/694/998/855/original/613e33b03e8828c1.jpg

2025-07-27 19:16:56 CEST

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Um, she? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Onwurah?wprov=sfla1

2025-07-27 10:40:55 CEST

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Think yourself lucky! I forgot about Dre.

2025-07-25 10:10:12 CEST

This is an interesting review of #GrapheneOS
https://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/1030004/898017c7953c0946/
Essentially, the reviewer says that it's great. But modern life pretty much requires proprietary software, which weakens the system.
For me, I'm willing to put up with the tradeoffs. So, for example, I use a bunch of Google Apps. But I'm doing so knowing that *overall* I'm in a better position than if I was using stock #Android.

2025-07-23 08:07:08 CEST

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Exactly, there's also the implication it has for age verification online in regards to the Online Safety Act.
It's an absolute shambles. I'm not sure what I'd do about the whole thing. But it wouldn't be this.

2025-07-23 07:49:53 CEST

Nothing, of course, can or will go wrong with this 🙄
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cglzrklp8jyo
"Border Security and Asylum Minster Angela Eagle said that the AI is trained on millions of images of faces and was "able to produce an age estimate with a known degree of accuracy for an individual whose age is unknown or disputed"."

2025-07-19 09:25:13 CEST

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Yeah, shifting it to "student as customer" has made the whole edifice systemically brittle.
Add in the impact of AI to the peer-review process, and the sector is on very shaky ground.

2025-07-09 18:30:25 CEST

"Artist Corporations" or, as the rest of the world calls them, "cooperatives"? 🤔
https://www.artistcorporations.com

2025-07-08 17:38:06 CEST

Where's my bitch at?
Sorry, what? Oh, *bitchat*. Got it 😅
https://cointelegraph.com/news/jack-dorsey-launches-bluetooth-relayed-decentralized-messaging-app-bitchat
What a stupid name for a potentially useful service.

2025-07-04 10:03:39 CEST

Just learned from an EFF podcast that *new* @npub1rkw…5q62 chats are post-quantum secure, avoiding "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks.
Might be time to reboot my years-old chats with various people (including my wife)
-----
How to Fix the Internet: Cryptography Makes a Post-Quantum Leap
Episode webpage: https://www.eff.org/how-to-fix-the-internet-podcast
Media file: https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/1c515ea8-cb6d-4f72-8d17-bc9b7a566869/episodes/cf786418-1f0e-452e-8026-ef1a38c77f4e/audio/35ea635d-9dd7-47cd-9414-a344bb4f83a5/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=r0ih__Uy

2025-06-30 13:42:37 CEST

My #FediverseForFreedom stickers arrived!
https://fediverseforfreedom.org
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/114/772/129/108/176/599/original/3cbe00078c4deb8b.jpg

2025-06-29 10:54:56 CEST

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Maybe. I'm someone who (other people tell me) writes well, and I've got... <counts on fingers> five university-level qualifications, but I'm not sure the future is people being able to write in an essay style.
c.f. Walter Ong's "secondary orality" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_orality

2025-06-29 10:42:11 CEST

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My dude, you started this by telling me (and I quote) "Whoever told you this was lying or hadn't read the study."
So before you accuse me of being snarky and condescending, perhaps check your own tone first.

2025-06-29 10:32:53 CEST

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Never rely on the abstract, especially for poorly-written (and partially AI-generated!) papers 😉
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/114/765/721/780/676/629/original/b5c4127ad643a3fa.png

2025-06-29 10:17:29 CEST

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The trouble is with treating AI as some kind of exceptional technology. It's very disruptive, but adapting to it feels like something edtech integration models such as Ruben Puentedura's SAMR model can handle.
If we use McLuhan's tetrads as well, we can see that AI integration in HE 'retrieves' previously obsolete practices such as a reliance on handwriting (for example)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrad_of_media_effects
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/114/765/653/838/079/248/original/b6119f6669660076.png

2025-06-29 09:55:03 CEST

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That's cool, but it's not as if people weren't questioning assessment practices in HE before AI came along.
Anyway, I'm no AI shill, but nor am I a defender of the status quo 🙂

2025-06-29 09:53:09 CEST

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I guess what I'm saying is that perhaps essays aren't the gold standard of assessing whether someone has read and understood something.

2025-06-29 09:51:59 CEST

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Er, *I* read the study. It's Sunday, so I can't be arsed to go back through it, but unless I've forgotten how to read, it definitely says that.

2025-06-29 09:41:09 CEST

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Really, you think that because AI exists young people's brains are going to turn to mush?
I doubt it. AI is, fundamentally, boring technology which is hyped by VC-backed tech companies.
Just as blockchain technologies have their uses, so AI does. It's just not as revolutionary as the hype would suggest.

2025-06-29 09:39:12 CEST

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I think that's why it's been shared so much.
But, from my perspective (ex-teacher and senior leader, have worke in unis) the issue is as much outdated assessment practices as it is Big Tech malfeasance.

2025-06-29 09:37:30 CEST

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Only 18 participants in *total* completed Session 4, from which the data and conclusions came.

2025-06-29 09:07:31 CEST

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You mean the yet-to-be-peer-reviewed MIT study featuring 18 research participants (in terms of those who attended all four sessions) and where writing a 20 minute essay was just one of the tasks? 🤔
https://thoughtshrapnel.com/2025/06/19/i-suppose-i-should-say.html
At least Naughton seems to have read the paper. Perhaps not closely enough, though...

2025-06-28 11:45:04 CEST

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Cheers, I agree in principle with that sentiment. I just know zero people using XMPP, sadly.

2025-06-28 08:58:44 CEST

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So I go to F-Droid and get these warnings. Why wouldn't I just continue to use @npub1rkw…5q62?
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/114/759/690/354/751/176/original/8937458db1f9fa04.png

2025-06-13 11:38:40 CEST

Seriously, though, how cringe is it when Microsoft Outlook users 'react' to your email with a thumbs up.

2025-05-18 13:38:48 CEST

2025: my son's listening to an AI-generated podcast he's created based on the Physics A Level specification while playing EA FC 25.
I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.

2025-04-11 14:00:35 CEST

Stolen from elsewhere
(my house, every day)
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/114/319/214/253/873/208/original/e6990764770ac29d.jpg

2025-04-10 14:51:56 CEST

There's a definite Jira mindset. Most sane people I know hate it, but it seems there's a particular demographic that get so excited by it they want to use it for *everything*.
https://toot.wales/@vic/114312603146494544

2025-04-10 09:20:34 CEST

After enjoying The Azores so much last year's Team Belshaw is heading to Madeira this summer! 🌞
Any recommendations on the following?
1. Guide books
2. Things to do for a family with two sporty teenagers
3. Advice you would only know from having visited

2025-03-24 10:27:56 CET

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Looks awesome, I assume Steam Deck compatible?

2025-03-20 19:19:21 CET

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Also, as a parent of an 18 year-old, the apprenticeship process is an absolute shitshow compared to the 'default', easy, and very streamlined university option that schools (and most parents) point teenagers toward.

2025-03-18 11:22:37 CET

I've only just caught up with Warren Ellis' newsletter and I'm *crying* at this image.
People are looking at me weirdly in this coffee shop 😂
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/114/182/933/019/200/556/original/09626c0d1a3e1c7c.jpg

2025-03-12 13:07:10 CET

Our response to the #ClimateEmergency in one image
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/114/149/371/682/530/355/original/06934d3fe98cf1e8.jpeg

2025-03-05 08:29:03 CET

Has anyone in the UK got an e-scooter that they (a) use regularly, and (b) use too go up significant hills?*
Which brand/model? Would you recommend it?
(I know they're technically illegal on roads and paths here, I hope that changes soon)
*14% and over

2025-03-04 10:00:13 CET

Stolen from Tumblr
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/114/103/333/455/841/516/original/8071655c5ffa54c3.png

2025-02-23 11:12:00 CET

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Cool, Octopus were great with our EV charger so I'm hoping they're pretty speedy 🤞

2025-02-23 09:51:02 CET

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That seems quite.... slow? The boiler seems to have come on OK this morning but it's definitely on its way out and I don't want to be cold and without hot water while we wait! 😅

2025-02-22 22:14:35 CET

UK people who have had a heat pump installed: how long did it take from initial visit to installatoin?
We've got Octopus Energy coming around next Wednesday, but I think our 17(!) year old gas boiler is on its way out.
(it was here when we moved in last April)

2025-02-14 18:43:28 CET

I already knew that founder of Brewdog was a twat, but it seems he's turned it up to 11
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24932406.james-watt-launches-shadow-doge-watchdog-take-uk-government/

2025-02-12 20:35:49 CET

*Please* CW your posts about US politics. The functionality exists so that people who are following you can selectively dip into rough / controversial topics and preserve some semblance of mental health.
I've got auto-filtering on based on keywords, but it can't catch anything 🥴

2025-02-05 19:51:59 CET

After my chest felt tight this afternoon, I went to hospital. The NHS is aces.
I was looked after really well and had a blood test, x-ray, and ECG within the space of three hours. Also got a cup of tea ☕
10/10 would recommend.
(they couldn't find anything wrong, going for further cardiac investigations in a couple of weeks' time)

2025-01-23 17:02:24 CET

I went to a funeral today for my next door neighbour who died suddenly of a cardiac arrest aged 64.
The place was packed out, with the eulogy providing example after example of him being an affable, good-natured guy who put others first and himself last.
He was 20 years older than me, but I've already got some potential heart troubles. The experience has, as they say, Made Me Think™

2025-01-18 20:20:25 CET

This Bluesky thread is wild. I use LLMs as part of my workflow, but I really *didn't* like having Gemini forced into my Google Docs, email, and everywhere else this week.
One person, who has written into their contracts that they're not allowed to use AI in their work tried to get it turned off...
https://bsky.app/profile/litbowl.bsky.social/post/3lfvlw656xs24

2025-01-18 15:59:54 CET

Novelty != Progress

2025-01-15 16:02:33 CET

Well, here we are. I'm much more available for work than I'd like to be right now, and therefore would appreciate boosts of this post which links to my /work page 🙏
https://dougbelshaw.com/work/
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/113/832/974/276/398/089/original/5805f40798ba155b.png

2025-01-11 17:14:49 CET

I've never used the #FediHired hashtag because I've mainly seen it used for devs.
But just putting it out there that I'm available for projects and consulting, with the kind of stuff I tend to do, from #OpenBadges and #VerifiableCredentials, through to #ProductManagement and helping organisations #WorkOpen available here:
https://dougbelshaw.com/work/

2024-11-26 08:12:20 CET

"When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck; when you invent the plane, you also invent the plane crash; and when you invent electricity, you invent electrocution. Every technology carries its own negativity, which is invented at the same time as technical progress."
(Paul Virilio)

2024-11-24 19:23:03 CET

No affiliation, but I only pay for stuff that I use and helps me live the life I want.
To that end, I've just re-subscribed to Pro version of Momentum Dash - which I think is the only browser extension I've ever paid for?
Currently 30% off with Black Friday sale. Recommended, even if you just use the free version!
https://momentumdash.com

2024-11-24 12:06:04 CET

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Oh you'll love this then: https://youtu.be/kYfNvmF0Bqw

2024-11-24 11:34:39 CET

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Indeed, I'd use the analogy of Blockchain and cryptocurrency. It wasn't that long ago that people were saying that we needed to teach that in schools.
I'd argue that we need to 'teach' all kinds of stuff in school, but the main thing is that young people realise that nothing is inevitable. And that, as Steve Jobs said, everything around you was invented by people who are no smarter than you.

2024-11-23 09:59:37 CET

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I'd say "send it to me anyway"

2024-11-23 09:51:16 CET

If your position about a new technology being used by the general population is "it has no place in schools" then who are you expecting to teach young people about it?
Because they will learn.
They'll learn from trial-and-error, they'll learn from their peers, they'll learn from TikTok videos.
And all of that will have the focus on minimising the effort they have to put into the more pointless parts of schooling.
Teachers and academics call this 'cheating'. And then blame the students.

2024-11-13 19:12:05 CET

🔥 Fancy a roast? In addition to my work through We Are Open Co-op, I'm working on a new venture through Dynamic Skillset Ltd. around #SystemsThinking
I'm looking for some people who might like to give me early feedback on a website I've created. I know it needs improving, and would appreciate honest, direct feedback on what's good, what's confusing, and what's missing.
DM me if you're interested.
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/113/476/959/172/252/796/original/e0f5a381a598c1eb.webp

2024-10-28 09:02:18 CET

I've just received the most lovely email from someone expressing thanks for the work I did (and shared) on my doctoral thesis around digital literacies.
They're now building on that to define AI literacies, including for UNESCO
https://openedculture.com/projects/dimensions-of-ai-literacies/

2024-09-19 15:47:40 CEST

This an incredible response by Taylor Swift (with lots of cameos!) to Trump and his merry band of American reactionaries.
10/10 no notes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkk9gvTmCXY

2024-09-14 16:38:54 CEST

I'm not saying that last night camping in Eskdale (Lake District) was wet, but a frog came to shelter from the rain inside my tent!
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/113/136/416/069/305/389/original/6d4185c7a94ab133.jpg

2024-09-08 12:41:01 CEST

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This is great! Would love a way to narrow down by language (if there is, can't see a way to do it on mobile) 🙂

2024-09-08 09:25:30 CEST

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Yeah, my wife was a contractor, as we're most NHS Digital staff. When they were subsumed into NHS England they were kinda-sorta-promised that whoever got the contract would take them on.
My wife saw the writing on the wall and left before Accenture son the contract and outsourced all the things.
Such a loss of organisational knowledge and memory. Pretty shocking really.

2024-08-27 13:42:34 CEST

I've been a Spotify Premium subscriber since I sold 99% of my CD collection in 2009. The algorithms they've developed have helped me find music I perhaps wouldn't otherwise have discovered.
They can fuck *right* off, though, if they're going to start promoting Sabrina Carpenter under the guise of 'Smart Shuffle' in my Hardcore Rap Gym playlist.