Bristol, UK. Business Analyst working on Government IT systems. Adoptive parent. Interested in #Science #FOSS #LinuxMint #Philosophy #Humanism #StreetEpistemology #Sustainability #Permaculture #TherapeuticParenting #GreenPolitics #CommunityActivism #OpenStreetMap Pronouns: he/him
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2026-07-20T22:49:08+02:00 Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck Another day of tree and hedge planting at Chew valley farm. 120 whips planted along one hedge line. Coming to the end of planting season so rushing to get the remaining whips into the ground and patching up tree guards to defend against rabbits and deer. #treeplanting #AvonNeedsTrees https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/116/187/873/947/761/144/original/d2e4e31f56478ca2.jpg npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck a positive addendum to the diagram is that Palantir are no longer used at MHCLG (mentioned as Dept for Levelling up, which is the old name). I was part of a team who replaced Palantir with a new, in-house developed tool. It's not much, but every little helps! npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck do you know the most strategic choice to keep out Reform Ltd? Is it Labour, or do the greens have a reasonable chance to win? I'm a member of the Green party and have seen their messaging, especially regarding fund raising so know they plan to campaign hard in the seat. npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck Love this post from @npub1fdr…lvhs highlighting how politics in the UK appears to be moving to Greens vs Reform as the previous major parties are dying. I like how it frames the opportunity such as when Labour replaced can he Liberals. https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/15/how-the-light-gets-in/#theories-of-change #GPEW #greenpartyuk npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck Just a reminder of the madness of imperial measurements. 16 drams to 1oz, and then 16 ozs to 1lb. And 14 lbs to 1 stone. 2st to 1 qr. So how many drams to a cwt? https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/115/753/045/491/936/201/original/0d726e9d01429e7a.jpg npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck The "worlds biggest things" in 1955. Feels like any natural thing (like mountain height) has remained the same but all human made things have changed. https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/115/753/030/045/000/929/original/d47ae885a6699d93.jpg npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck 1955 thought it important to know military ranks and population count by race! https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/115/753/013/237/865/291/original/a2bc303e18bf9d00.jpg npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck What days were considered special in 1958. Including "Trafalgar day" and "Empire day". Just realised I never sent my "happy St Crispin's day" cards -oh well, will save them until next year. https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/115/752/992/651/217/704/original/c0854a1c3447fc70.jpg npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck At my parents place in Suffolk and found an old book called "everybody's pocket companion". Think its from 1955. Had a good page on collective nouns. Who knew a group of kittens is called a "kindle" or a group of snipe are called a "wisp" https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/115/752/485/895/243/022/original/7620b8510b8a2f0d.jpg https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/115/752/486/359/611/810/original/550e6031358da413.jpg npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck as an adoptive parent, I am in various social circles for adoption and I too have seen some of the families break down. All parents realise how damaging it is to the child(ren) so break up is like the nuclear option! I've recently been attending a course with an amazing child psychotherapist and learned that the majority of adoptive children have undiagnosed neurodiversity which combine with early age trauma. this needs lots of support that councils can't afford so extremely ration npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck The central list can be compared against DVLA or other central DBs (passport office, etc) and changes in one could trigger a message to the citizen prompting them to register. Or if a new person added to DVLA/HMPO that could be added to the central register and passed back to the Local Auth. 2/2. Ultimately, I think we could have a meta-dataset rather than one big DB. npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck its connected to a British aversion to ID cards and centralised databases and also due to meeting data protection. The driving licence list has many people, but not everyone and would we link voting rights to driving. Data protection prevents using data for other purposes unless agreed. I think a better approach is for local authorities to still own THE electoral role for their area, but to share it to central gov who can aggregate all into a combined register....1/2 npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck it is a good idea, its just the IT systems used across councils are clunky and there's no money to change them. There isn't a single electoral role. Each LA maintains their own and they use different, old systems. So if you move house you need to register again. Some councils send out voter reg forms when someone signs up for council tax and that is often quite effective. npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck I worked as a product manager on the citizen facing services for register to vote. We explored how we could expand the service to support pre-registration at 14 and also the automatic registration. Still some challenges to solve but great they are changing the Open register to opt-in rather than opt-out. If this bill gets passed my son (now 13) would be able to vote in the next GE (likely around 2028/29). npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck @npub1eae…z64n hello, just wanted to say how much I appreciate your Shinhanga posts. I find them all beautiful and it really brightens the moment to see them. 🙏 npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck I feel sorry for Ofsted in this matter. They are trying to make things better for parents by giving more nuance and detail, yet they get complaints it's too complex. Yes, judging a school is complex. Some institutions can be great at some things, yet poor at others. Can that all be munged together into one word. I don't think so. I wonder how much user testing they did with their new scales? I would expect some. npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck I think that's an interesting idea but it feels too imprecise or clunky. Wouldn't some form of land value tax be more elegant as it doesn't create artificial deadlines but applies pressure to develop. So if a developer still wanted to landbank, then they could - but they still pay. It also doesn't restrict land sales which a 10 year blockade could do. Or can a new owner restart the clock as that may lead to shell companies passing land around. npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck well done. That's an impressive amount of dedication. Maybe the green one's emotional manipulation is working. npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck Bedminster!!!! I'll have you know this is deepest Totterdown :) npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck #boingboing is now only accessible via paywall or disabling adblocker. That's disappointing, I liked browsing boing boing but I'm not keen on either option. Given their target audience I can't see this being a popular change. npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck @npub1hjz…0n2d I've just checked StreetComplete but it doesn't seem to have an option / overlay for street speed limits. npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck Hey #openstreetmap people, i need your help again. I'm using Overpass Turbo for the first time and struggling with a query that should be simple. I've checked various help files but can't find anything. I just want to show roads that have no speed limit. (So i know to go and fix that). Something like: nwr["highway"]["maxspeed"=null] npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck Question for #openstreetmap people. I'm in a different town and there are many houses added to OSM but they do not have addresses. Instead someone has added points with address details. My thought is to merge the point into the building and reduce duplication. Is that a good or bad idea? Is there a good reason to separate address from the building outlines? npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck I watched the video of Boyen presenting the work and he later said it could be done in 5 years and 4.5bn USD. This was based on being more targeted with where they clean. Either way, I agree with him that it would be such a great achievement. A real uplifting story for our age. npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck what does #letsgopens mean? I understand it to mean you really like pens for writing/drawing. Have I got that right? npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck I've been travelling to many different cities across the UK recently. In each place I have used #openStreetMap via Organic Maps and it has always been great. I've used #StreetComplete in a few places to add extra details so I help build the solution. So to all those who help update #OSM, I can only say - Thank you. npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck I agree that this is a soft way to get rid of people. But I wonder if it's really that new. Pre-pandemic companies could always tighten rules to encourage people to leave. E.g. office hours, dress code, strict usage of tech, etc. RTO is just an easier control measure (perhaps prerequisite for using those others). npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck hast du @npub1t2q…n4vh gesehen? Ich finde es toll. npub1uzu7qy25x2pu8gn0x4g5pzmeczpved4mqrn4mu5xt0h5y2laqqhs78jaff Simon Hobeck isn't his audience mostly right leaning people on twitter? So wouldn't this system disenfranchise Trump supporters more than Harris?