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Peter Hilton

@hilton.org.uk
930 followers 508 following 1.1K posts

Product manager @JetBrains, based in 🇳🇱 Rotterdam • speaker, writer, and musician • blogs software product management/design/development at hilton.org.uk/blog

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Reposted by Peter Hilton
kottke.org @kottke.org · 01/10/2026
Map of the Lighthouses of the World. Each lighthouse sweeps out its actual arc and the reach of the beams is true to scale. Very cool. [kottke.org]
kottke.org
Map of the Lighthouses of the World
From mapped.earth, a map of every lighthouse on the planet, along with other charted lights like lighted buoys and such. The screenshots above are static but the lights on the real map move: each lighthouse sweeps out it
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 29/09/2026
Book recommendation triage: book disappointment risk mitigation #booksky hilton.org.uk/blog/recomme...
hilton.org.uk
Book recommendation triage
book disappointment risk management mitigation
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 27/09/2026
Passing the Bechdel Test
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Reposted by Peter Hilton
Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The Hawaiian shirt is well known, but what is the official shirt for every other state?
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 26/09/2026
TIL ‘Smurf naming – Using the same base name repeatedly in variable or function names with minor variations’ via dillo.org/programming-... #naming
dillo.org
Programming Slang: A Language of Its Own - Dillo
Introduction Slang has long been a critical feature of almost any specialized profession, and programming is no exception. Over the years, developers have created a language of their own, full of quir...
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 22/09/2026
Take your time: finding better ways than faster ways #product #development hilton.org.uk/blog/take-yo...
hilton.org.uk
Take your time
finding better ways than faster ways
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 15/09/2026
Macaroni cheese recipe: a comfort-food winter lunch #cooking hilton.org.uk/blog/macaron...
hilton.org.uk
Macaroni cheese recipe
a comfort-food winter lunch
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 11/09/2026
BILLY remains the standard for booksmaxxing hilton.org.uk/blog/container-capaci…
hilton.org.uk
Shipping container library capacity
booksmaxxing by numbers
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 08/09/2026
The return of the business paperback: e-readers win on convenience, until they don’t #management #booksky hilton.org.uk/blog/busines...
hilton.org.uk
The return of the business paperback
e-readers win on convenience, until they don’t
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 03/09/2026
The two genres of wholesome Japanese fiction: 1. cats 2. bookshops #booksky
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 01/09/2026
I can recommend exploring charity shop bookcases, and accumulating unread books: hilton.org.uk/blog/unread-books 😅
hilton.org.uk
Accumulate unread books
why your wish list doesn’t belong in a database
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 01/09/2026
Yes, and sometimes it feels like half of the work, when you can’t do more product work because systemic barriers prevent addition impact
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Reposted by Peter Hilton
Amy Mitchell @amycmitchell.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Systems thinking is one way to grow your strategic product management skills. Systems thinkers don’t just ship work. They smooth the system around it.
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 01/09/2026
Yes, and for anyone who needs advice to share with the culprits: hilton.org.uk/blog/respect-personal…
hilton.org.uk
Respect people’s full names
Don’t call someone’s name ‘invalid’
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Reposted by Peter Hilton
Marit van Dijk @maritvandijk.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Falsehoods developers believe about names: Last names always start with a capital letter. (Many Dutch names, like my own, do not)
A form with filled name fields. First name: Marit, Last Name: Van Dijk.
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 01/09/2026
Book review: Reinventing organizations (illustrated): a different kind of business book for a different kind of business #booksky #review hilton.org.uk/blog/reinven...
hilton.org.uk
Book review: Reinventing organizations (illustrated)
a different kind of business book for a different kind of business
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 30/08/2026
Yes, and: youtu.be/_lTosGE5aIQ by @andersnoras.com
youtu.be
Ouvroir de Code Potentiel by Anders Norås
Please subscribe to our YouTube channel @ https://www.youtube.com/@DevoxxForeverSubscribe to LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/company/voxxed-days-amsterda...
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 25/08/2026
Mackerel & lentil curry: a tasty store-cupboard recipe #cooking hilton.org.uk/blog/mackere...
hilton.org.uk
Mackerel & lentil curry
a tasty store-cupboard recipe
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Reposted by Peter Hilton
Gretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcculloch.com · 23/05/2026
Just today I was telling someone that it's okay to have or start an infrequently updated blog, if you make an interesting post twice a year or whatever that's awesome, just don't apologize about it and I still think never explain or apologize for your posting schedule is my best piece of blog advice
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 18/08/2026
Read fiction before sleeping: wholesome relaxation that won’t keep you up at night #booksky hilton.org.uk/blog/read-be...
hilton.org.uk
Read fiction before sleeping
wholesome relaxation that won’t keep you up at night
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 15/08/2026
I just read a list of symptoms of insomnia. They’re a real wake-up call. 🙃 www.nhs.uk/conditions/i...
nhs.uk
Insomnia
Find out about insomnia, including why it might happen and how to treat it.
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 12/08/2026
Yes, and user stories were true stories, or at least ‘based on a true story’.
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 11/08/2026
Shipping container community libraries: librarymaxxing for philanthropists #booksky hilton.org.uk/blog/communi...
hilton.org.uk
Shipping container community libraries
librarymaxxing for philanthropists
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Reposted by Peter Hilton
The Linebreakers @linebreakers.band · 06/08/2026
You know what you want? You want a T-shirt with a crossover joke on it so incredibly nerdy that anybody who laughs it immediately becomes your new best friend... shop.codewithrockstar.com/product/line...
three musical staves. One, labelled "PROCEDURAL", depicts the key signature for C. One labelled "FUNCTIONAL" depicts a key signature with six sharps. One labelled "OBJECT ORIENTED" depicts a key signature with seven sharps. You should be able to figure it out from there... 😜
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 04/08/2026
Ah yes, reading a variable name (or talking to a developer) and not knowing what’s an English dictionary word, and what’s Special Category domain language #DDD
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 04/08/2026
Shipping container library capacity: booksmaxxing by numbers #booksky hilton.org.uk/blog/contain...
hilton.org.uk
Shipping container library capacity
booksmaxxing by numbers
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 02/08/2026
The first developer to say ‘special characters’ loses hilton.org.uk/blog/respect-personal…
hilton.org.uk
Respect people’s full names
Don’t call someone’s name ‘invalid’
010
Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 28/07/2026
Shipping container library layout: bookcasemaxxing by numbers #books hilton.org.uk/blog/contain...
hilton.org.uk
Shipping container library layout
bookcasemaxxing by numbers
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 21/07/2026
A shipping container library: building a personal library that you don’t have space for #books hilton.org.uk/blog/contain...
hilton.org.uk
A shipping container library
building a personal library that you don’t have space for
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 19/07/2026
What’s the collective noun for ISO intermodal (shipping) containers? 🙃
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 14/07/2026
Book review: Isaac Newton, James Gleick’s story of renaissance philosophy and mathematics #book hilton.org.uk/blog/isaac-n...
hilton.org.uk
Book review: Isaac Newton
James Gleick’s story of renaissance philosophy and mathematics
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 12/07/2026
Yes, exactly, and although it’s no consolation, it’s equally confusing for native speakers. As far as I know, it’s random for compound nouns, because in the long term, *some* become a single word.
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 12/07/2026
Also, unless you shop on your way down the stairs, they meant ‘downstairs’ 😬
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Reposted by Peter Hilton
Prof Laurie Stras @lauriestras.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
With the roll-out of Making Tax Digital going ahead, HMRC must provide an in-house, government-developed, fully-functional software that allows easy and confident compliance with MTD. Self-employed people should not be obliged to hand data to private companies. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
petition.parliament.uk
Petition: Create a government-owned, free software for Making Tax Digital (MTD)
With the roll-out of Making Tax Digital going ahead, HMRC must provide an in-house, government-developed, fully-functional software that allows easy and confident compliance with MTD. Self-employed pe...
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 09/07/2026
Control-click does a secondary click (right click) on macOS
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 09/07/2026
Another factor is that the Mac’s roots are mouse-first, rather than keyboard first. This leads to richer (but obscure) drag-and-drop interactions, e.g.: hilton.org.uk/blog/macos-file-drag-…
hilton.org.uk
Secret macOS file drag and drop
useful but hard-to-discover Mac interactions
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 09/07/2026
For what it’s worth, macOS has always put more emphasis on keyboard shortcut consistency across all apps, so if there’s a File/Open menu item, the shortcut is always Conmand-O. Different trade-offs, I guess.
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 07/07/2026
The metrics trap: analysis paralysis for product managers #product hilton.org.uk/blog/analysi...
hilton.org.uk
The metrics trap
analysis paralysis for product managers
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 05/07/2026
That takes me back! I went there (and took this photo) 30 years ago
A Parisian street with a hanging cafe sign that shows the text ‘Le Loir dans la Théière’ and a picture of a dormouse in a teapot
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 29/06/2026
Experimentation vs optimisation: an development team partition thought experiment #management hilton.org.uk/blog/experim...
hilton.org.uk
Experimentation vs optimisation
an development team partition thought experiment
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Reposted by Peter Hilton
William Gibson @greatdismal.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
🤣🤣🤣
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 16/06/2026
From the archive: ‘Business Class or Economy? … I suspect that many programmers do not understand the value of a flight that may cost the same as an economy flight plus the cost of the latest development workstation’ #product blog.lunatech.com/posts/2007-0...
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 16/06/2026
The book club problem: getting your colleagues to read your favourite book #reading #books hilton.org.uk/blog/book-club
hilton.org.uk
The book club problem
getting your colleagues to read your favourite book
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 15/06/2026
#TypoOfTheDay Technical debth
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 13/06/2026
Startup idea: solve the problem of everyone (who reads books) knowing which books their colleagues should read, but not knowing how to get them to read them. For example, launch Book Club as a Service: wholesome cloud and consulting services for the literate workforce.
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 13/06/2026
And 2:00 is when you successfully stayed up late
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 10/06/2026
Another reason why software development teams need technical writers:
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Reposted by Peter Hilton
Einar W. Høst @einarwh.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Hard to think of a more poignant expression of the state of affairs in the industry than the Joy of Coding conference taking a break this year.
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 02/06/2026
Talk to other team members more: trading efficiency against richer collaboration #product hilton.org.uk/blog/talk-more
hilton.org.uk
Talk to other team members more
trading efficiency against richer collaboration
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Peter Hilton @hilton.org.uk · 31/05/2026
When developers using an HTTP API want both API docs and an OpenAPI Description, is that because they want them for two different use cases, or because there are two different developers, who work differently? #API
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