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Mark Howells-Mead

@permanenttourist.ch
166 followers 132 following 1.1K posts

Looking for as many little adventures as possible. Personal website: permanenttourist.ch, WordPress design, programming and consultancy: sayhello.ch/en

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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 28/09/2026
“The new $2,000 foldable iPhone folds just like a wallet that used to have $2,000 in it”. #OH
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Rhys Wynne @rhys.wales · 28/09/2026
Hey Folks, Bit of news this morning. We're happy to present WordCamp Manchester 2026! The event will take place in the Whitworth Locke Hotel on November 6th 2026. Launch Post: manchester.wordcamp.org/2026/alright... Buy Tickets: manchester.wordcamp.org/2026/tickets/ #wcmcr #wordcamp
WordCamp Manchester 2026, November 6th 2026, Whitworthe Locke Hotel...Press Start
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 21/09/2026
“God Fodder” was one of the first CDs I ever bought. It still slaps hard, 35 years later. open.spotify.com/album/3jkqrE...
open.spotify.com
God Fodder - Album by Ned's Atomic Dustbin | Spotify
Ned's Atomic Dustbin · album · 1991 · 13 songs
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 19/09/2026
Catching up on some blogging today. This time, a beautifully sunny and mercifully midge-free hike in the mountains of the north of Scotland last summer. permanenttourist.ch/2026/09/quin...
permanenttourist.ch
Quinag from the A894
A summer hike following the well-marked approach to Quinag, climbing steeply to its saddles for wide views across Assynt, Kylesku and the northwest coast.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 17/09/2026
Americans moaning about $4 per gallon when European diesel prices hit about $11 per gallon this week. Ironic that fossil fuel companies and their bought-and-paid-for political parties and president are pricing themselves out of business.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 17/09/2026
02:39 open.spotify.com/track/4VVtU8... #IYKYK
open.spotify.com
Insomniac - Radio Edit
Echobelly, Simon Vinestock · I Can't Imagine The World Without Me - The Best Of Echobelly · Song · 2001
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 14/09/2026
One of the aspects of London I miss: the brutalist architecture dotted around the city. nicolasheinzelmann.com/2026/09/13/b...
nicolasheinzelmann.com
Brutalismus in London
Der Anblick des unmöglich übersehbaren Trellick Towers während dem Notting Hill Carnival hat mich immer wieder gefesselt – und an den nächsten Tagen dazu geführt, dass ich mir etwas Brutalism…
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 10/09/2026
“People said that you were easily lead, and they were half right”. SUCH a good lyric. open.spotify.com/track/2AUmcd...
open.spotify.com
Reel Around the Fountain - John Peel Session 18/05/83
The Smiths · Hatful of Hollow · Song · 1984
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 07/09/2026
AI tools can speed up web design and content work, but they do not replace strategic judgment, client and customer understanding or long-term responsibility. Quality still depends on experienced people shaping the right solution. sayhello.ch/en/2026/09/a...
sayhello.ch
AI is a tool. Years of industry experience makes its suggestions work. - Say Hello GmbH
AI tools can speed up web design and content work, but they do not replace strategic judgment, client and customer understanding or long-term responsibility. Quality still depends on experienced peopl...
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trouteyes @trouteyes.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Have you seen my snooker table, Doris? No farmer Griffiths. I haven't seen any snooker tables at all this morning.
Old painting. Man and enormous rectangular sheep
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 04/09/2026
I have spoken to a few website clients recently about dark / light mode toggling, so it seemed to be time for me to write some thoughts on this surprisingly complex technical feature. (A German version is linked on the website.) sayhello.ch/en/2026/09/d...
sayhello.ch
Dark and Light Mode: Designing for More Comfortable Websites - Say Hello GmbH
How effective dark and light mode systems combine user preference, accessibility and semantic colour roles that adapt to different environments without weakening brand identity.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 02/09/2026
Just been in a chat with @keithdevon.com and he said how great is it to just have exchanges on social media with no ulterior motive. Just, ”here's something cool I found”. So, here's something cool I found: open.spotify.com/track/6PtIXI... #banger
open.spotify.com
Young Lady, You're Scaring Me
Ron Gallo · HEAVY META · Song · 2017
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 30/08/2026
Hiking from Stechelberg to Trachsellauenen yesterday afternoon. permanenttourist.ch/2026/08/trac...
permanenttourist.ch
Trachsellauenen from Stechelberg
A steady hike from Stechelberg to Trachsellauenen on a quiet afternoon, with waterfalls, mountain views and a reassuring test of improving fitness.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 28/08/2026
I've wrapped up a big rebuild of a client project, which I originally designed and built in 2019. I migrated the entire site, including a login-only area, from a hybrid theme to 100% Full Site Editing. The site will also be extended with a new shop area soon. sayhello.ch/en/portfolio...
sayhello.ch
Take off digitally with an information platform - Say Hello GmbH
The conception, design and programming of an information platform based on WordPress.
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Mitch Canter @that.mitchcanter.me · 26/08/2026
I've been playing around with WordPress 7.1's new "Responsive Block Styles" - it's powerful, but there's some limitations and "gotchas" that may be worth knowing. I did a deep dive below. Side note: it's good to be creating guides again! mitchcanter.me/wordpress-re...
mitchcanter.me
A Field Guide to Responsive Block Styles in WordPress 7.1 - Mitch Canter
How responsive styling works in WordPress 7.1 - viewports, theme.json syntax, custom breakpoints, pseudo states, and how it fits in a block theme.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 28/08/2026
Continuing our journey around Scotland and England during our autumn holiday in 2024. permanenttourist.ch/2026/08/fami...
permanenttourist.ch
Familiar Scottish territory and some new sights
Visiting Angus and Falkirk on our autumn holiday in 2024.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 28/08/2026
A little bit of Scotland in Switzerland. August 2018.
Blue lake in amongst green ferns and tall pine trees.
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WordPress Switzerland Community @wpswitzerland.ch · 27/08/2026
Share your knowledge and experience with the community! The Call for Speakers for #WordCamp Switzerland 2027 is now open! The deadline for submission is 30 September 2026 EN – More information: switzerland.wordcamp.org/2027/call-fo... (other languages available) #wordpress #wcch #wcch2027 #murten
switzerland.wordcamp.org
Call for Speakers
WordCamp Switzerland 2027 takes place on Saturday, 6 March 2027. We are looking for people who want to share their knowledge with the WordPress community – as a talk, lightning talk, or workshop.
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WordPress Switzerland Community @wpswitzerland.ch · 26/08/2026
Registration for #WordCamp Switzerland 2027 in #Murten is officially open! So don't wait and secure your admission. There's an "Early Bird" price for the first batch of tickets! Tickets here: switzerland.wordcamp.org/2027/tickets/ (page also available in DE, FR and IT) #wcch #wcch2027 #WordPress
switzerland.wordcamp.org
Tickets
Order your tickets Tickets for the conference day on Saturday 6th March 2027. A separate registration will later be required for the Contributor Day on Friday 5th March 2027.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 18/08/2026
I cam to this a lot later than all you cool kids. But it's become one of my top ten albums. So good. open.spotify.com/album/5xFZ4i...
open.spotify.com
Come Around Sundown (Expanded Edition) - Album by Kings of Leon | Spotify
Kings of Leon · album · 2010 · 16 songs
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 13/08/2026
I remember seeing the previous “once in a generation” solar eclipse when I was 27. I understand the maths of eclipse much better than the maths of “generations”.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 13/08/2026
“Edward Bellamy once imagined that music on demand would be 'the limit of human felicity.' A modern apartment is full of things that once drew the same kind of awe.” ordinaryabundance.com
ordinaryabundance.com
Ordinary Abundance
A walk through a modern apartment, through the eyes of the people for whom everything in it was new.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 11/08/2026
Did you know that if you connect your Macbook to a powered USB socket on a monitor using a USB-C cable, that charges the laptop battery? Therefore no need for the power adaptor. 🥸
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 07/08/2026
Don’t chase butterflies. Make yourself a beautiful garden and then they will come of their own accord. And if they don’t, then you still have a beautiful garden.
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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
‘The mayor of #NewYorkCity has assembled a crew of Silicon Valley and United States Digital Service veterans to overhaul city #Services with better software.’ www.wired.com/story/mamdan... #USDS
wired.com
Zohran Mamdani’s NYC Tech Team Is What DOGE Should Have Been
The mayor of New York City has assembled a crew of Silicon Valley and United States Digital Service veterans to overhaul city services with better software.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 07/08/2026
I love the Stereophonics: so much of their music has accompanied my wife and me through our life together. That being said, ”Pull The Pin” is one of the albums I listen to less often. It's a belter, though: I must remedy my omission. open.spotify.com/album/7hBCCA...
open.spotify.com
Pull The Pin - Album by Stereophonics | Spotify
Stereophonics · album · 2007 · 12 songs
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 30/07/2026
Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for this room?
Hotel room number 404. Found it.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 28/07/2026
Bin day.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 28/07/2026
A wonderful and honest insight into a terrifically British character. RIP Bill.
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Gaz @gazchap.com · 14/07/2026
Didn't realise that Lesley Phillips had his own food brand.
A supermarket shelf with multiple packs of "Ding Dong" branded snacks on it.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 17/07/2026
It took me six years to get around to watching “Tenet”, and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t really follow it at all, but it’s a superbly well-filmed story.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 16/07/2026
Not every project needs the latest framework, the most expensive plugin, or a feature list as long as your arm. sayhello.ch/en/2026/06/s...
sayhello.ch
Simplicity is a feature - Say Hello GmbH
Not every project needs the latest framework, the most expensive plugin, or a feature list as long as your arm.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 11/07/2026
Sweet.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 08/07/2026
I'm in the house where I grew up for a protracted stay and this banger from The Auteurs (1994) just came up on random play. Very odd to be sitting in my old bedroom (now an office space) listening to it, when I used to listen to the CD in here thirty-two years ago… open.spotify.com/track/52Col5...
open.spotify.com
Lenny Valentino
The Auteurs · Now I'm A Cowboy · Song · 1994
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 08/07/2026
…meaning that not only are LLMs unpredictable with their answers, but they will begin feeding information to users which are actively being pushed for commercial purposes by advertisers. This will accelerate the decline in the reliability of the internet as a channel of information.
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Jim Balsitis Photography @jimbalsitis.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
— “When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hopes seem hardly worth having, just mount a bicycle and go for a good spin down the road, without thought of anything but the ride you are taking.” — Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 05/07/2026
Being an adult is appreciating being in an environment where there are so many beautiful old established trees around, and getting the chance to sit at the base of one of them. Adulthood is also recognising that dogs also use the bases of these same trees, but for a completely different purpose.
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drawingtheline.bsky.social @drawingtheline.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
They can save even more if they cancelled the subscription altogether. And if they got back in time to before they started firing their employees to ‘replace’ them with AI they’d still have people who know how to do their job without it. Regrets, yet?
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zeldman @zeldman.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
The Human Story of the Open Web STOP ME if you’ve heard this one: The members of an extended family spend years curating a shared online photo album. Then the website they posted on vanishes, flushing their collective memories away forever....
zeldman.com
The Human Story of the Open Web
STOP ME if you’ve heard this one: The members of an extended family spend years curating a shared online photo album. Then the website they posted on vanishes, flushing their collective memories away forever.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 30/06/2026
I have loved the optimism of that lock since my school days in the 1980s.
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Tits McGee @scientits.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
‘Say yes and never do it’ Mel Brooks knew how to deal with the studios
You have some wonderful stories of basically getting away with stuff at the studios.

I’d learned one very simple trick: say yes. Simply say yes. Like Joseph E. Levine, on “The Producers,” said, “The curly-haired guy—he’s funny looking. Fire him.” He wanted me to fire Gene Wilder. And I said, “Yes, he’s gone. I’m firing him.” I never did. But he forgot. After the screening of “Blazing Saddles,” the head of Warner Bros. threw me into the manager’s office, gave me a legal pad and a pencil, and gave me maybe twenty notes. He would have changed “Blazing Saddles” from a daring, funny, crazy picture to a stultified, dull, dusty old Western. He said, “No farting.” I said, “It’s out.”That’s probably the most famous scene in the movie, the campfire scene.

I know. He said, “You can’t punch a horse.” I said, “You’ll never see it again.” I kept saying, “You’re absolutely right. It’s out!” Then, when he left, I crumpled up all his notes, and I tossed it in the wastepaper basket. And John Calley, who was running [production at] Warner Bros. at the time, said, “Good filing.” That was the end of it. You say yes, and you never do it.

That’s great advice for life.

It is. Don’t fight them. Don’t waste your time struggling with them and trying to make sense to them. They’ll never understand.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 26/06/2026
“I’ve got travel tummy.” “No, you’ve got three quarters of a box of salt and vinegar Pringles tummy…”
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 24/06/2026
I've taken a moment to update my company website with another example of a comparatively recent WordPress project, in which I stripped back the editorial experience to make management of the site more simple. sayhello.ch/en/portfolio...
sayhello.ch
Welcome to Lake Thun - Say Hello GmbH
Stripping back the WordPress Block Editor to create a simpler editorial experience, and collaborating on the UX for a project with a local hotelier.
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Thomas Fuchs 🫯 @thomasfuchs.at · 21/06/2026
(not mine)
Fake “Pantone Color of the Year 2026” showing algae and green as “American Flag Blue”
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 20/06/2026
Sitting amongst a group of international work colleagues yesterday afternoon, discussion turns to arranging a time to meet for dinner. The German said, “let’s meet up at 1945”. Hilarity all round!
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Ross Wintle @rosswintle.uk · 16/06/2026
The prompts/placeholders in the new post screen in the Indigo app are so good. 😆
A new post window with the placeholder text “This better not be slop”
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 12/06/2026
Finding a walk harder than it should've been last autumn has inspired me to get proper regular exercise. permanenttourist.ch/2026/06/a-wa...
permanenttourist.ch
A wake-up call on the Niederhorn ridge
Returning to the Gemmenalphorn for a timely reminder of the importance of staying fit.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 10/06/2026
This is the way. If using HTML5-standard functions and then enhancing them in a graceful way makes “a lot more work for you” then you have over-complicated your solution, and need to take a detailed look at how to use the features which web browsers already have built-in.
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Mark Howells-Mead @permanenttourist.ch · 10/06/2026
The greatest plague humanity has known is the invention of knowing what's going on in everyone's minds, often as soon as it happens. Don't forget: you don't HAVE to pay attention to it. Fifty years ago, no-one knew or cared about a whack-job radio DJ's opinions on cattle de-worming medication.
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