James Darling @abscond.org · 07/01/2026Where does London begin and end? Some say you're in London if you're within the M25, others say London ends at Zone 2. These arbitrary lines are too simple. My Londometer uses data to create a much more complicated %. I'm sure this will settle things and not enrage anyone. london.abscond.orglondon.abscond.orgLondon 132110
James Darling @abscond.org · 03/12/2025Methodist churches tend to have terrible websites, but for my very particular needs, they win a lot of points from me for having a clean, public geojson file of their districts on their website. Frustratingly rare for a civic institution. www.methodist.org.uk/_churchfinde... 220
James Darling @abscond.org · 09/11/2025Nice to learn the history of the place I went drinking as a teenager from @jim.londoncentric.media 030
Reposted by James DarlingSym Roe @symroe.bsky.social · 26/06/2025I've made a browser extension that replaces _that_ dot with a random emoji. github.com/symroe/GOV.U... 0277
James Darling @abscond.org · 26/04/2025Did you know that putting 12v through the 3.3v rail on a Raspberry Pi would break it? I mean, I did, but electricity is invisible, so I don't know how I'm supposed to know where it's going. 240
James Darling @abscond.org · 23/04/2025I love getting to think and communicate in prototype code alongside designers, so this was a dream project to work on. 0101
James Darling @abscond.org · 24/03/2025Would anyone be interested in joining this software engineer at a policy event? I'm too scared of all the PPEs to go by myself. We can sort linked lists in the back if it's too much. www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/sprin...resolutionfoundation.org 023
James Darling @abscond.org · 13/03/2025Are you sick of American references in NYT Connections? I made a quick London-themed one: connections.swellgarfo.com/game/-OL9EiI...connections.swellgarfo.comConnections – LondonCreate custom puzzles based on the game popularized by New York Times 050
James Darling @abscond.org · 01/03/2025I would have been convinced that Remar charity shops used generative AI for product development if they hadn’t been running since the 90s. 020
James Darling @abscond.org · 05/02/2025For a couple of work projects I've wanted an easy way to find out the English Indices of Deprivation for a location. This data is Open Government Licensed, but only available as a big download I put the data into an sqlite database and wrapped a micro-api around it: github.com/james/IMD_APIgithub.comGitHub - james/IMD_APIContribute to james/IMD_API development by creating an account on GitHub. 173
James Darling @abscond.org · 02/01/2025I've been a Spotify user since it was invite only in 2008, and contemplating trying the switchover to Apple Music. I thought they'd have honed the switching process, but had to pay for a 3rd party app to transfer playlists, and still Apple Music thinks I want David Guetta & Harry Styles. 050
Reposted by James DarlingRod McLaren @rodm.bsky.social · 11/12/2024great piece by @abscond.org on making Co-op membership matter more. In the same 2017ish era my take was: detach membership from Co-op-customer transactions and federate it www.holdfastprojects.com/radical-co-o...holdfastprojects.comRadical Co-op membership - Rod McLaren: Words that work11 December 2024 James Darling’s A Proposal to Transform Co-op Membership for the Internet Age is great. My favourite bits - local, community 053
James Darling @abscond.org · 06/12/20247 years ago I was asked by The Co-op to reimagine co-operative membership for the internet age. I think I had some nice ideas. I've published them in a blog post. abscond.org/2024/11/26/a... 060
James Darling @abscond.org · 28/11/2024I’ve used traintimes.org.uk for at least the last decade. There was a time I hoped it was the future, but now it… feels a bit hipster? 170
James Darling @abscond.org · 08/11/2024I'm very tempted to pay £85.50 to have an expert install these staples and see what happens. 040
James Darling @abscond.org · 23/10/2024Claude Computet Use was very easy to get running, but out of the box it gets stuck on the Google cookie consent modal. I think because it requires scrolling? Suddenly we’re caring about the fold again? 120
James Darling @abscond.org · 20/10/2024A note, 1 week after the last note? What is this called? abscond.org/2024/10/20/n...abscond.org Note #10: Brain - James Darling The personal website and blog of James Darling 010
James Darling @abscond.org · 16/10/2024on.ft.com/3NpZNo3 I’m assuming private equity will shut down the Silvertown factory and I want to be the first to put in a bid to buy the huge tin of syrup. 040
James Darling @abscond.org · 15/10/2024Trying to host a small non-HTTP service somewhere was proving surprisingly difficult. I was staring down the barrel of old-school VMs or Kubernetes. But then I found you can just the [http_service] block from your @fly.io config toml. @fly.io is not a heroku replacement. It's better. 000
James Darling @abscond.org · 14/10/2024For those software developers worried that LLMs will make their programming language trivia worthless: I have some IE6 box model CSS hack trivia for you. 030
James Darling @abscond.org · 13/10/2024Done a note. Cladding, board game, work, and journaling with @revdancatt.com’s kitty. abscond.org/2024/10/13/n...abscond.org Note #9: Journals - James Darling The personal website and blog of James Darling 010
Reposted by James DarlingEliot Fineberg @eliotf.bsky.social · 10/10/2024DDAT no longer works. Roles have become over-specialised, and current budgets no longer allow for the luxury of one person per skillset. We staffed the team with more generalist roles that resemble the 2010 design industry rather than the 2024 one. www.ff.studio/projects/spo... 363
James Darling @abscond.org · 09/10/2024This is slander. I vigorously deny any knowledge of this “PowerBI”. Keep it away from my CV. (I had fun too ❤️) 030
James Darling @abscond.org · 19/09/2024I have 1 night hyperfixating on bosanova, and I’m onto my third week of pure bosanova discover weeklies. 010
James Darling @abscond.org · 09/09/2024I'm in the beta to record.club (via @futurefabric.co) The premise appeals to the part of me fighting my older, discover weekly fed music existence and longing for a return of This Is My Jam. But I'm struggling to get into it. Anyone wanna be friends? record.club/abscond 350
Reposted by James DarlingTom Loosemore @tomski.com · 05/09/2024This is your regular reminder to pre-order Richard's forthcoming book on the future anatomy of public services. Free shiny stickers! 289
James Darling @abscond.org · 03/09/2024While some have been having a brat summer, I have found the band that I want to represent my autumn: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mildlife #mildlife 000
James Darling @abscond.org · 03/09/2024I love that the generally fantastic digital transformation of McDonalds still appears to use a pretty ropey iframe for the payment gateway on the ordering consoles. 020
James Darling @abscond.org · 02/09/2024Is there a reason I can't find an Adium for the bsky/mastadon/threads era? 210
James Darling @abscond.org · 28/08/2024The parakeets of London give a pleasant lurch to my sense of existence. I don't remember seeing them growing up, then they were novel in my young adult life, and now every Summer evening I watch swarms and swarms fly over my garden. Nothing is permanent. Nothing is natural. I am watching it happen. 161
James Darling @abscond.org · 22/08/2024I've been sucked into Office365's successful (and possibly illegal www.theverge.com/2024/6/25/24...) reassertion of it's dominance in government IT. I've spent the last couple of months working in it on a day-to-day basis, and I've tried to keep an open mind. Two things I’ve loved about Office365: 210
James Darling @abscond.org · 20/08/2024oh hi. I am back from a fun weekend at We Out Here running Murmuration. It was a very slick festival, both front and back of house. Murmuration was a big hit, being consistently packed all night with happy people. 140
James Darling @abscond.org · 05/01/2024My yearnote for 2023: abscond.org/2024/01/05/y...abscond.org Yearnote: 2023 - James Darling The personal website and blog of James Darling 000
James Darling @abscond.org · 12/08/2023MPVs are a part of my personal brand now. Here’s my review of my Ford Grand Tourneo Connect, a people mover/van/camper combo. abscond.org/2023/08/12/ford-grand-t…abscond.org Ford Grand Tourneo Connect - James Darling The personal website and blog of James Darling 010
James Darling @abscond.org · 22/07/2023I didn't have an Action Man or a Barbie as a child. I had this Cindy 4x4 because it had the most gadgets. Defying gender norms in the most normative way possible since the '90s. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfB_57Kqihwyoutube.comAdvert - Sindy Space 4x4 - 90sAn advert for the Sindy Space 4 x 4, aired in the mid 90s.~All my uploads are from my own collection of video clips taped on VHS from my childhood - please d... 010
Reposted by James DarlingJonty Wareing @jonty.bsky.social · 12/07/2023Despite an angry investor forum full of unanswered questions like "where are the financial projections", "why is turnover so low", and "what is the exit strategy", What3Words raised £4,530,890 from 6749 people today. Folks, this is not a good investment. You're propping up a nonviable business. 253
James Darling @abscond.org · 11/07/2023I’ll be in San Francisco and have no plans August 18-21. Who’s there now? Who should I catch up with, and who should I meet? 000
James Darling @abscond.org · 09/07/2023Just saw someone with a “data is the new bacon” T-shirt at Paddington, which is a flashback. 050
