Sign in

Peter Russell

@qwertyface.uk
53 followers 167 following 111 posts

I like Computers and Beer.

PostsRepliesMedia
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 24/08/2026
There's only one funny programmer joke. All the rest are just insightful.
000
Reposted by Peter Russell
PyCon UK @pyconuk.org · 09/05/2026
This year's PyCon UK has been cancelled, but we're looking for a Conference Director to make PyCon UK 2027 happen - could it be you? Full details of what the role involves and how to apply here: buff.ly/j4cVItY #PyCon #Python #PyConUK #Community
A view of the main auditorium at PyCon UK 2025. Photo by Mark Hawkins, CC BY.
0126
Reposted by Peter Russell
Marko Bevc @marko.social · 02/05/2026
This is really disappointing 😞 Open letter: keepthingsopen.com
keepthingsopen.com
An open letter asking NHS England to keep its code open.
Code paid for with public money should, by default, be open to the public.
011
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 01/12/2025
Is anyone else finding this Rachel Reeves / OBR / dishonesty business increasingly reminiscent of the Dominic Cummings / Barnard Castle thing? 1/
121
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 01/12/2025
Felt cute, might delete later.
A screenshot of the app Libra, showing a consistent downward trend in a person's weight over a period of three months.
010
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 25/11/2025
@simonwillison.net Have you ever tried your pelican benchmark with PostScript instead of SVG? I've just been playing with Gemini 3 Pro thinking and it's really good at PostScript, but it definitely can't one-shot it.
010
Reposted by Peter Russell
Star Trek Minus Context @nocontexttrek1.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Star Trek The Next Generation scene. Riker is sitting in quarters, probably in November but we cannot be sure. Some nice gentle orange mood lighting glows in from the future space window. That's about all that's happening visually. Closed caption reads, "The beard is an ancient and proud tradition."
261240241
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 17/11/2025
I was today years old when I realised why it's called firmware.
010
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 16/10/2025
@drmaciver.bsky.social I enjoyed your email this morning. I too am a fountain pen user who had previously never thought about the principles of operation of the cap. It made me think of this Tim Harford post. timharford.com/2019/07/how-...
timharford.com
How the Brexit debate was flushed down the drain
On a scale of one to seven, how well do you understand how a flush lavatory works? This was a question asked by two Yale psychologists, Leonid Rozenblit and Frank Keil, almost two decades ago. Befo…
120
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 05/09/2025
Has anyone got any experience of seriously using a vintage text terminal with modern Linux? I'm giving it a go, but I'm not sure if it's really viable today. 1/
100
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 05/09/2025
It would be a small but meaningful improvement to the world if shoeboxes were built to be large enough for A4 paper. I've got lots kicking around, but they seem to be just slightly too narrow.
000
Reposted by Peter Russell
Gold Yoshi @goldyoshi.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
enshittification definition covered in ads
5768052223
Reposted by Peter Russell
Simon Davy @bloodearnest.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
PyCon UK is in a couple of weeks, and it won't be the same without Michael. RIP.
131
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 23/08/2025
Is it me, or is it getting harder and harder to find a beer mat in pubs these days? Some pubs seem to want to have them on the bar (why?), but it seems increasingly common for them not to exist at all. I'm in a 'spoons and people are using menus, lottery tickets, magazines. Madness.
110
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 20/08/2025
Despite housing atomic clocks, GPS satellites have to have their time reset every day.
110
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 16/08/2025
Just finished watching the Toolroom Takeover playlist on YouTube, and it's fantastic. Every one of the items they made is incredible. If someone gave you any of them it would instantly become your most treasured possession. #toolroomtakeover2025 youtube.com/playlist?lis...
youtube.com
Toolroom Takeover 2025 - YouTube
020
Reposted by Peter Russell
Judy2k @judy.co.uk · 23/07/2025
I sometimes get asked why my terminal has reminders of tools installed on my system, so I wrote a short blog post about why and how I did this. www.judy.co.uk/blog/using-f...
judy.co.uk
Using fortune to reinforce habits
4125
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 27/07/2025
My relationship with these issues is growing more nuanced as I get older. Today I would say that most conservative values are respectable and even admirable. Fine values to live by. It's when you try to use them as a basis for public policy that you end up with the wrong answer.
100
Reposted by Peter Russell
PyCon UK @pyconuk.org · 23/06/2025
📣 Got a favourite must-see Manchester spot? Tell us! 📣 PyConUK2025 is coming to Manchester — and we're putting together a blog post of our favourite things to do and explore! 🖼️ Museums, 📚 libraries, 🌿 parks and more! 💬 Got suggestions? Tell us below! 👇 #PyConUK2025 #citylife #Manchester #tech
153
Reposted by Peter Russell
Lindsey Cormack @dcinbox.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
The use of the word "delve" in official congressional e-newsletters, over time, by party aka - how to observe the effects of ChatGPT on legislative staffer work.
1236464
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 06/06/2025
Why is it that there seems to be a large and active campaign for the Oxford comma, but not for putting the el (or perhaps ells) in shan't.
100
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 02/06/2025
Just randomly browsing the source for the new Microsoft edit.exe. It's pretty wild, containing specialised SIMD search routines, and an implementation of Oklab colour blending. A simple application in concept, but someone obviously cares a lot about doing it well.
110
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 30/05/2025
I saw this in the cinema, and it was a real experience. The ending provoked a gasp of frustrated anticipation followed by a sad sigh from the whole audience, who then all laughed when they realised everyone else had done the same. If you watch it you'll understand.
010
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 29/05/2025
1. Open the cupboard and see a cake or biscuit. 2. Think 'That would go well with a cup of tea' 3. Make a cup of tea 4. Realise I've long since finished the cake or biscuit
000
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 25/05/2025
AI - Artificial Intelligence BI - Business Intelligence CI - Continuous Integration DI - Dependency Injection EI - Emotional Intelligence FI - ??? GI - Gastrointestinal ... - ??? MI - Michigan NI - National insurance OI - ??? PI - Private Investigator QI - ??? RI - Royal institution ...
110
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 04/05/2025
Never gets old youtu.be/M_ZRsf9sneQ?...
youtu.be
Star Trek's Tim Russ Explains Star Wars Day | by Pocketwatch
YouTube video by Upright Citizens Brigade
010
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 02/05/2025
We're nearing the end of the cling film. It's getting hard to pull off the roll. The box has collapsed and torn. The cutter no longer cuts. Every piece I get is ragged, the wrong size and doesn't fit the sandwich. It's been weeks like this. To bin it would be a mercy, to it and to me.
100
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 17/04/2025
I've only just realised that ice-creams are included in the Sainsbury's meal deal.
000
Reposted by Peter Russell
Tomb💀Time @tubetime.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
here's an old school pen plot of the chip layout of a 555 timer! each mask layer is on a separate sheet of transparency film.
colorful layers of lines and patterns representing mask layers of a chip. there are squiggly crosshatched traces representing conductive metal and rectangular areas representing various diffusions. at the bottom of the layout is a cross-sectional view of an NPN transistor showing how the layers interact to form a transistor.
524833
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 09/12/2024
Thanks, I hate it.
020
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 25/11/2024
I'm certainly not complaining, but does everyone else get a surprising amount of fox and fungus photos in their discover feeds? If not, I guess I'm lucky! I'm kinda pleased that the anatomically implausible drawings of manga girls seem to have gone now though.
110
Reposted by Peter Russell
Ken Shirriff @righto.com · 25/11/2024
I recently saw an amazing Navajo rug at the National Gallery of Art. It looks abstract at first, but it is a detailed representation of the Intel Pentium processor. Called "Replica of a Chip", it was created in 1994 by Marilou Schultz, a Navajo/Diné weaver and math teacher. 1/n
A Navajo rug with a complex pattern with muted reds, pinks and blues. The pattern consists of various vertical and horizontal rectangles with stripes. Around the border are small alternating black and colored rectangles. The weaving is mounted in a wooden frame and hanging on the museum wall.
352913911
Reposted by Peter Russell
Paul Rickards @paulrickards.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
I’ve been exploring pen plotters for over 10 years (more if you count my first plotter, a Commodore 1520). What started as a curiosity has kept me engaged as a retro computing enthusiast and captivated as an artist. Lets go back in time with some of the plotters I’ve used in various ways. 🧵
A Commodore 1520 pen plotter with 4” wide paper and a color stripped Commodore logo printed on it.
1221229
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 21/11/2024
Just saw a post about companies returning to the office. It was couched, as these things often are in terms of "How can management be so stupid", and lots of responses were basically conspiracy theories (e.g. it's about property prices)... 🧵
110
Reposted by Peter Russell
Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Because some damn fool asked, here's a thread about Baxter. This was taken on the day I brought home Baxter and threw away all hope of an easy life. Look at him. Absolutely irresistible. And that's how they get you, the utter bastards
Baxter looking unbearably cute
1592230399
Peter Russell @qwertyface.uk · 07/11/2024
I have one of these. The way the pen appears to skip from position to position without moving through the intervening space is not an artefact of the video.
010