iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Factor in that this is the generation of parents that had babies during COVID too and it's a recipe for disaster. The long term effect of this is going to be painful. Any mention of hot weather again this year and attendance is going to drop off a cliff.

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Apparently, school was not a safe place to be at 36°C. So what about today? At what temperature did it become safe again? How was that decision reached? It's all very well sending round an email to parents saying that school is now "safe", but many of them don't believe that.

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Yes, schools need to have air conditioning. And closures will help the money to be found (cynically is that really what's driving the union's stance?) But the question is, was it really safer for kids to be at home than at school on Wednesday and Thursday? We were told no.

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That's assuming kids are staying in their own home and not with grandparents, who are already at higher risk in the heat. Or being left to fend for themselves. Or only being half-watched while parents try to work from home or whatever.

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but I can't tell because no risk assessment has been shared. I certainly find it weird seeing headteachers/unions complaining about school buildings not being designed to deal with heat, as if all the homes kids were having to stay in are any better.

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 10/06/2026

Son's school is back open as usual today. However, a narrative has emerged in the parents WhatsApp that school is not a safe place for their children to be, so some parents will not be sending their kids in today. Maybe at 36°C it was safer for kids to be at home(?) than school...

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Somehow I ended up with three floppy disks at #umbraco #codegarden

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 16/05/2026

If you're berating science-deniers for their stupidity instead of trying to build (or rebuild) their trust then you're part of the problem, not the solution.

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 16/05/2026

The problem isn't that people don't believe in science. The problem is that some people don't trust the scientists/institutions that they *should*. And, sorry, but no amount of pithy Carl Sagan quotes or Neil deGrasse Tyson GIFs will fix that. That's not how trust is built.

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 16/05/2026

I #BelieveTheScience, but I'm only able to personally verify a tiny fraction of the science I believe in using the scientific method. To believe the science, I have to believe in other people and institutions and their processes. I have to trust them.

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 22/04/2026

Run a few small Umbraco sites for non-profits, they've never paid a penny for hosting thanks to the Azure grant from the Microsoft nonprofit program. Only works out free for "smaller" sites mind. www.microsoft.com/en-us/nonpro...

microsoft.com

Azure cloud solutions | Microsoft for Nonprofits

Learn about the Azure grant for nonprofits and discover how Azure can help your nonprofit move to the cloud, unify your data, and build AI-powered apps.

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 31/03/2026

I hear you, and there's definitely a viable version of the NHS where this problem doesn't need solving, but... Seeing AI deliver real problem-solving software that wouldn't exist otherwise for "ordinary" (i.e. non-engineer) users and increasing their efficiency is, I think, a good thing.

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 31/03/2026

A friend of mine is an NHS pediatrician. They shared with me, somewhat nervously, that they've been using AI to write software to speed up admin tasks. It's hard to be a naysayer about something that's freeing up doctors' time to treat sick kids.

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 30/03/2026

There's a happy ending, of course. He finds new friends and a wife (ahem, yes, a wife) that aren't bothered by the fact he struggles to complete everyday tasks, like eating, because of his choice of facial hair. And he has three kids and lives happily ever after.

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 30/03/2026

Just read my kids a book about a moose who gets teased for having a long moustache. The moustache negatively impacts his quality of life. Obviously there's only one solution! Go no-contact with his moose friends and family and run off to live in a cave. What's the moral of the story?

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 26/02/2026

Re-watching Stargate SG1 now it's on netflix. Much harder to suspend the disbelief in 2026 - not the sci-fi/alien/alternate-history aspects, but the bit where the US military altruistically rescues the alien refugees and brings them back to earth.

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 19/02/2026

Since when did spinning up an Azure Web App require sending a business case to a support engineer - for a service that I want to pay @microsoft.com for 🤯

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 08/02/2026

Was thinking that theoretically there must be backwards compatibility with thunderbolt and an adapter... Turns out it's a few adapters, but if you have thunderbolt there's a video guide here: youtu.be/yT0oDYbqwwk?...

youtu.be

How to capture DV & HDV video tapes on a Windows 11 PC using FireWire to Thunderbolt 3/USB-C

YouTube video by Scott Schramm

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 04/02/2026

Even though CVE-2025-627288 is nonsense, you might still need to mitigate it in #Umbraco. Here's how you can. As well as a bit of a breakdown of why it's nonsense. dev.to/jasonelkin/m...

dev.to

Mitigating CVE-2025-67288 in Umbraco 13 (if you feel you need to)

Firstly, this is a really ill-informed CVE. If you've not read my comment on the Umbraco Forum, I'll...

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 26/01/2026

I have eaten so much cheese this weekend.

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Good point, and good examples! In both of those cases you need other files that only exist for the purpose of tracking where users are keeping their files. Also in both those cases I can have any folder structure I want, and send you either main.js or main.mp4 and you'll know what to do with it.

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because they're MY folders. I think more importantly though, without extensions the file loses its type when it's outside the context of it's folder. Attach it to an email, pop it on a USB stick, and the file no longer contains all the information you need to use it.

I think that depends on if you're thinking as a software engineer or as a person who owns a computer. A key principle of files/folders in the world of personal computing is not just that I own the files, but that I own the structure/system. I.E. word doesn't care what folders I put my files in...

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An SVG file actually contains XML - I think this is relevant to your example. You don't need an extension for your app to read it, you need it to tell the system what type of file it is. A true filesystem approach should be: doesnt-matter/doesnt-matter/filename.post Rather than: posts/filename

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 13/01/2026

I like where this is going, but since you use folders for metadata(e.g. type, provider) you've really defined a database, and kind of broken the concept of files/folders. It doesn't matter where I keep my .svg files - my PC knows what to do with it because it has a .svg file extension...

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If he hadn't name checked Starfleet Academy I'd have assumed he meant he wanted to make Star Trek real except where we are the Cardassians.

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 31/12/2025

Would love to know how many people actually install Adobe Genuine Service. Surely there can't be enough people using BOTH pirated Adobe software and installing Creative Cloud to make this "feature" worthwhile?

The Adobe Creative Cloud installer. Circled in yellow is a checkbox, with text that reads:

Adobe Genuine Service (AGS)
Install Adobe Genuine Service (AGS) which periodically checks whether Adobe apps on this machine are genuine and may notify you if they are not.

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 29/12/2025

Replacing the sound is a Russian roulette of BSODs... I assume the cap is blown but have yet to look inside and see. Surprised it still boots and works at all if that's the case though.

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 29/12/2025

My laptop used to have a noisy capacitor. I kinda liked it, it made different frequency noises under different workloads. It would occasionally chug like an old HDD - bringing a little bit of nostalgia with it. My laptop no longer makes this sound. I miss it.

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 23/12/2025

Worked on Usborne book's websites some years ago. Keeping track of links was a serious undertaking and a major feature of some of their books. They'd buy a TLD for every book of note too - never known anyone before or since spend so much on domain renewals. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Cornwall libraries remove Humphrey books over phishing web links

Librarians take Humphrey books off shelves after a link inside them lead to phishing websites.

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 23/12/2025

A bit of both, was suspicious and felt I'd seen it before - though that might have been on another Christmas card! So went on a hunt through Google images - a similar image of a similar image got to the photo.

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 22/12/2025

I believe it's based on another painting, which is based on a photo of this bridge in the snow but with the buildings mirrored. maps.app.goo.gl/BYWwE5LzAvQi...

maps.app.goo.gl

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 18/12/2025

If you let this information fall into the hands of your family, they will find tech for you to fix. I'm not saying do or don't do this, just making it clear that you do have that choice 😅

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 16/12/2025

Totally, and the owner of a company that sells batteries as a solution for intermittent renewables knows this.

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 13/12/2025

Can relate - have had recurring, sometimes very painful, epididymal cysts since I was a kid. The doctors really do love a good feel, and they're not very gentle about it either.

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 08/12/2025

More like nerd cannoned.

Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 07/12/2025

Thanks Gareth, wasn't tempted to switch and watch Gary's service then 😂

Mary Branscombe @marypcbuk.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Reposted by Jason Elkin

hey, former JavaScript hater here! the JavaScript you hated even a decade ago is not the JavaScript people could be writing today if they could be induced to write good code with good patterns

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Jason Elkin @jasonelkin.uk · 26/11/2025

Interesting correlation with this map of religious demographics. From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religio...

Dominant religious affiliation at district level according to the 2022 census in Germany. Mauve: Protestant, yellow: Catholic, green: Others (no denomination, other religion or not given). Dark: absolute majority (> 50 %), light: relative majority. Hatchings: Population share of Catholics and Protestants (right-inclined hatchings), and Others (left-inclined hatchings) at least 75 %. The “others” group nowhere is represented by more than 90 %, but nowhere by less than 10 % either.