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Andy Loughran

@andylockran.dev
297 followers 448 following 221 posts

Citizen focussed digital worker. Keeps fit, loves #parkrun, and is trying to work out what it means to be a good citizen so that I can be one.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Andy Loughran
John Angus Spencer-Barnes 🏳️‍🌈 @johnbarnes.org · 26/09/2026
It was wonderful to lead the Preston Pride parade today as the Town Crier and Bellman of the city and to make the opening proclamation. Love is love my friends.
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Andy Loughran @andylockran.dev · 19/09/2026
Oh oh. Getting a 404 when trying to access my QR code for Swim Serpentine later today. Hope the IT team can fix it and it’s not chaos down there!!
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Andy Loughran @andylockran.dev · 06/09/2026
Sad to see the demise of rain; the steady march if progress...
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 02/09/2026
This is exactly why privacy advocates have pushed back against age verification measures. These companies are reckless with their data and it can easily be compromised. It can leave people vulnerable to identity theft, doxing, and targeted harassment.
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Pingoru.io @pingoru.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
⚠️ Dynatrace is reporting a Incident since 11:54 UTC "Issue with Authentication Services" Affects: Dynatrace Product, Process-AWS-americas, Process-AWS-emea, +16 more Live timeline → pingoru.io/providers/dynatrace/inci… #Dynatrace #DynatraceDown
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Andreas Flierl @andreas.flierl.eu · 01/09/2026
BTW as a dev, you are not being "left behind" if you don't use LLMs. Everything you'd need to know about using agents and whatnot can be learned in one or two days. You could do that at any point later - or, you know, not at all. Don't let anyone install FOMO in you.
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Andy Loughran @andylockran.dev · 30/08/2026
@gridserve.bsky.social is there something up with your system? Luckily using contactless as back up but would prefer the lower rates
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Natasha Devon @natashadevon.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I’m delighted to be hosting a press conference organised by MIND and Rethink later today which introduces a pioneering new way of organising mental health care proven to reduce hospital admissions & improve quality of life for patients. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Treatment involving patient's family cuts mental health hospital admissions, study finds
The approach focuses on the patient priorities, seeing the same clinicians, and involving people close to them.
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Joel @itsjoels.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
This is the letter kids got at the end of Dolly’s Imagination Library. I defy you to read this and not cry.
Sorry, I can’t type that.
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Joel @joelskeetsos.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
My two-year-old son adores getting books in the mail from "Miss Dolly." She's a hero in our house. Safe home, Miss Dolly.
Celebrating 31 years of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Total books gifted
332,411,218
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I'd say "Something for nothing" culture is getting paid £100,000 a year of public money, plus expenses, for a job that you then fail to turn up to for months on end
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SwiftOnSecurity @swiftonsecurity.com · 31/07/2026
> Me in ServiceNow: Well this is an outage I better select "Expedited Change" > I have to do all the exact same shit as a Normal Change Sure thanks
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
The Norweigan Ambassador to the UK
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LiLBazula 👻 🎃 @lilbazza.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Really big fire on Vallentin Rd in Walthamstow. Multiple houses affected. Everyone being evacuated
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Andy Loughran @andylockran.dev · 04/07/2026
TIL that Renault have developed their electric motor technology using copper coils rather than rare earths. www.renaultgroup.com/en/magazine/... In my early career I remember doing IT support for a rewinding company on the Bootle docks. I wish I'd paid more attention and read up on that then...
renaultgroup.com
All about electric motors with no rare earths
As a pioneer of electric motors using no rare earths, Renault Group is unique on the automotive market, a position reasserted for strategic reasons.
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James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 29/06/2026
"Good growth in every postcode" – exactly! Liberate the PAF, empower small businesses and bedroom coders!
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Professor Peter Matthews @urbaneprofessor.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
the final point is the most important one for me, and that decline is relatively recent, with the collapse of the motor industry in the West Midlands. As a region, it's where Manchester was in the late 1980s, economically, I'd argue
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Hib Bird @hib-bird.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Serious answer: public transport. For a conurbation of that size the lack of a serious public transport system is both scandalous and bizarre. I mean underground/metro and/or S Bahn type local rail, not an apologetic couple of tram lines. It's a time-consuming city to get around for limited reward.
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Left Outside @leftoutside.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
They also tried to kill birmingham on purpose after the war
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Andy Loughran @andylockran.dev · 25/06/2026
Learning knots was a fun but pretty non-life threatening game pre-holiday. Now that I'm on a boat and the knots I've done are holding us from floating into other boats, it starts to make me feel like I should have practiced even more. It's holding for now...
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Melanie Jackson @mjjaxn.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
The Seven Social Sins are: Wealth without work. Pleasure without conscience. Knowledge without character. Commerce without morality. Science without humanity. Worship without sacrifice. Politics without principle. -Frederick Lewis Donaldson in Westminster Abbey, London, on March 20, 1925
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Andy Loughran @andylockran.dev · 17/06/2026
Loving northern Greece. Just over the border from our South Albania tour last year.
A river on the left and a path on the right of the image , terminating towards the middle where a green tree stands.
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Andy Loughran @andylockran.dev · 14/06/2026
Not sure if it's my algorithm, but disappointed in the lack of #KnickerbockerGlory puns in relation to the NY knicks victory in the NBA.
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Andy Loughran @andylockran.dev · 13/06/2026
Loved the penny drop moment earlier when I realised/saw that @sophieraworth2024.bsky.social and @kateraworth.bsky.social were sisters. Doughnuts and running. What's not to love.
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Lou Downe @loudowne.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
We’re on a Bad Services UK Book Tour. Actually we’re on it right now, with Glasgow tonight. We’re doing a short Bad Services UK Book Tour over June and July. The link has tour dates listed, with a few more to be updated in the next few days. good.services/badservicesb...
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caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Waterstones: “Imagine your favourite book! Quick! BUY IT FROM WATERSTONES.”
Waterstones later: “It turns out most of you already have a copy of your favourite book. We haven’t thought this marketing campaign through.”
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Andy Loughran @andylockran.dev · 07/06/2026
Saw this cute thing today. Bought 100 larvae about six weeks ago but have no idea whether this dude is wild or pet. 😜
A photo of an orange ladybird with black spots on a elder leaf. Other elder leaves are visible in the background.
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Rob Blackie @robblackie.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Lambeth is in a financial crisis. But the Greens, now leading the council, proposed: 1. A higher allowance for the council leader. 2. Higher allowances for the two deputy council leaders and 7 full time equivalent Cabinet Members.
lambethlibdems.org.uk
Councillor allowances - Lambeth Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats have consistently called for lower councillor allowances in Lambeth - reflecting the financial crisis that the borough faces.
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Codfather #FBPE 🇫🇷🇪🇺 @codfather.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
The package includes a new Open Source Strategy, updated chip legislation, and a Cloud and AI Development Act. The goal is clear: reduce structural dependency on Big Tech and build sovereign, interoperable, open infrastructure.
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Martin Lewis @martinlewis.moneysavingexpert.com · 05/06/2026
THEY ARE BASTARDS
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Rob Blackie @robblackie.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Labour defending Twitter is a good example of why they are so ineffective in government: utterly unwilling to take decisions which have any controversy attached.
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Debby Williams 💙♐️ @dwilliams1210.com · 03/06/2026
Albanian anti-corruption prosecutors on Tuesday froze the bank accounts of a landholding company tied to a controversial $4 billion luxury resort project backed by Jared Kushner,Trump’s son-in-law.
occrp.org
Albania Freezes Assets in Kushner Resort Probe
A widening property-fraud investigation into a $4 billion luxury resort linked to Jared Kushner has led Albanian authorities to freeze developer assets, compounding pressure from public protests and i...
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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
The worst heat pump is more efficient than the best gas boiler. A gas boiler turns one unit of energy into less than one unit of heat. A heat pump delivers 3 to 4 units of heat for every unit of input. More in future Substack long read. Sign up here: janrosenow.substack.com
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Purchase with Purpose @purchase-w-purpose.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
🇪🇺 Meet EuroOffice, Europe’s bold alternative to Microsoft 365, promising sovereignty and control It is based on OnlyOffice and offers a near-like-for-like experience as Microsoft for free. Something for everyone to check out, not only Europeans.
windowscentral.com
EuroOffice emerges as Europe’s sovereignty‑focused alternative to Microsoft 365
Europe’s biggest tech players debut EuroOffice, a sovereign suite designed to challenge Microsoft 365’s dominance.
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UK Gov Camp @ukgovcamp.com · 29/05/2026
Big news on the future of UK Gov Camp! We're officially registering as a non-profit company so give us a solid legal foundation for funding, grant making and contracts. A full blog post about how you can become an official voting Member of Gov Camp will be published soon.
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Iain Roberts @slowbikeiain.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
European alternative to Google Docs and Microsoft Office launches on 9 June: free, open source and online, using existing building blocks. An important step in freeing ourselves from US control. www.zdnet.com/article/euro...
zdnet.com
Euro-Office, Europe's open-source alternative to Microsoft Office and Google Docs, launches June 9
European tech firms will ship the first stable release of Euro-Office next month, giving governments and businesses worldwide a ready-to-run, sovereign alternative to Microsoft Office and Google Docs.
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Ben #ActNow 🔥🌳🌊 @benaldo.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
I have pretty well given up shouting about climate change. The odd social media post. I don't know what to do. I am hosting a screening of the National Emergency Briefing in my local village next weekend. I wonder what attendees will think and say. www.nebriefing.org
nebriefing.org
National Emergency Briefing on climate & nature
National Emergency Briefing | The UK’s leading climate and nature experts brief MP's on the risks, impacts and solutions to the climate emergency
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Michael LaFrance @mlafrance.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
A livestream of a volcano in the Philippines captured a meteor crashing to Earth today. What are the odds? Mayon Volcano, Location: Albay, Luzon, Philippines
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IIML @modernletters.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
‘When the government replaces a New Zealand public servant with AI, what really happens is this: money that used to be paid to someone living in Wellington, Lower Hutt or Palmerston North gets paid instead to a tech giant in California or Seattle’ newsroom.co.nz/2026/05/21/b...
newsroom.co.nz
Before we let AI run the public service, we need to know the full impact
New Zealand is badly under-prepared for mass deployment of AI in the public sector - and the latest Budget measures are being made without safeguards, writes Professor Alexandra Andhov
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Chris Person @papapishu.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
For @aftermath.site: Bambu Lab, a giant in the 3D printing space, threatened a developer for trying to restore their product's functionality using their own open source code. The blowback was enormous and may have exposed something far more consequential. aftermath.site/bambu-lab-ag...
aftermath.site
The Battle Over 3D Printer Software Licensing Matters For Everyone
Bambu Lab, a giant in the 3D printing space, took a swing at a smaller developer over open source code. The fallout may have exposed an ancient violation.
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James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 20/05/2026
Has Liam Byrne had his Weetabix? (Newly FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/has-liam-b...
takes.jamesomalley.co.uk
Has Liam Byrne had his Weetabix?
Open data is better for consumers than moralising.
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Kate Bevan @katebevan.com · 19/05/2026
And for God's sake include screenshots
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Matthew Somerville @dracos.co.uk · 18/05/2026
Whilst this is true, what is also true is that the “old” internet is still there and there’s nothing preventing us from making more of it. Everything I’ve created or am involved in tries to embody that. Maybe I could do more, I dunno. But I try
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Terence Eden @edent.tel · 17/05/2026
New blog post: GDS weighs in on the NHS's decision to retreat from Open Source shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/05/gds-weighs… Within the UK's Civil Service you occasionally hear the expression "being invited to a meeting without biscuits". It …
shkspr.mobi
GDS weighs in on the NHS's decision to retreat from Open Source
Within the UK's Civil Service you occasionally hear the expression "being invited to a meeting without biscuits". It implies a rather frosty discussion without any of the polite niceties of a normal meeting. In general though, even when people have severe disagreements, it is rare for tempers to fray. It is even rarer for those internal disagreements to spill over into public. Which is what…
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Dafydd Vaughan @daivaughan.uk · 14/05/2026
There's lots of important messaging in this new guidance from GDS / DSIT on AI, open code and vulnerability risk. In particular: "Private repositories can create a false sense of security" and "Openness can surface issues earlier" www.gov.uk/guidance/ai-...
gov.uk
AI, open code and vulnerability risk in the public sector
Guidance for safely publishing source code in the open, and reducing the risk of AI-accelerated vulnerability discovery.
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steve @visitmy.website · 14/05/2026
Making you pay for more things, and making you sign in for more things. My thesis is that weeknotes and public sector blogging can live on the open web, for free, and that you don’t need a big platform or your own website to do that.
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Ross Floate @rossfloate.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Oh my. This is spectacular. sinceyouarrived.world/taken
sinceyouarrived.world
taken.
A web page that tells you what your browser gave away the moment you arrived. No login, no form, no permission. Most pages do this. None of them tell you.
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James Abley @jabley.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
My "Make Things Open, It Makes Things Better" T-Shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt. And now you too can own one! govgeeks.myspreadshop.co.uk
govgeeks.myspreadshop.co.uk
GovGeeks
A collection of slogantastic shirts for the discerning GovGeek. All designs freely licenced under the OGL v3. Please remix these shirts. 0 commission.
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SwiftOnSecurity @swiftonsecurity.com · 30/04/2026
Our position is it's entirely possible this is going to lead to a waterfall of critical vulns, but our job in building general defenses and working towards efficiently doing vulnerability management was already correct and we just proceed like that.
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Marcus Hutchins @malwaretech.com · 30/04/2026
Ours too. It's just do the same thing we're doing but maybe do it faster, and if AI fear brings in more customers, then we have more budget to do it even faster
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