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Simon Hildrew

@sihil.net
135 followers 201 following 280 posts

Previously dev @theguardian.com; interested in Serverless, DevOps, AWS, Functional Programming; XR "extremist"; @sihil on Twitter

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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 27/06/2026
It would be something to see Iran get through the group stages and go on to win the World Cup. Imagine if opposing teams chose to let them, a positive protest, a shared statement...
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 20/04/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... Very much up your street I think @daviddark.bsky.social
theguardian.com
Trump’s presidency is what evil looks like: absurd, frightening, cruel | Nesrine Malik
Commentators have said that the US president’s clownishness and lack of ideology somehow make him less dangerous. They’re wrong, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 17/04/2026
The Opus 4.7 note saying “We’ve updated the tokenizer to improve how the model processes text” belies the monumental improvement that this model can now output typographical quotes. A frustration for my team for months and today we’ve removed our many workarounds! heads up @simonwillison.net
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 24/03/2026
BREAKING: Sources confirm Trump's "very good" Iran nuclear talks were actually with Melbourne radio duo Hamish & Andy, who spent three hours pretending to be Khamenei. Iran: "We have had zero contact with the United States." Trump: "The Ayatollah said I have the best hands he's ever seen."
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 25/01/2026
For a lot of the last year I’ve wondered if the UK would be better off forging close connections with China and starting to rollback connections with the US. Stability, leader in green technology, global influence via belt and road. What future does the US offer? www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
theguardian.com
Advantage China: Trump’s tantrums push US allies closer to Beijing
In the search for stability, some western nations are turning to a country that many in Washington see as an existential threat
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 07/01/2026
Glad to hear that @cajardinemp.bsky.social and others have jumped from X at last. My "last straw" was a long time ago now, but hopefully this will mark another exodus from the utterly toxic platform Twitter has morphed into.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 24/11/2025
I really hope that @ryanairofficial.bsky.social never asks for a doctor to make themselves known on a flight where there is a medical emergency. How incredibly heartless. Another reason I try extremely hard to avoid flying with them. www.theguardian.com/money/2025/n...
theguardian.com
Ryanair expects me to take the financial hit for helping others
As a doctor I stepped in to tend to an elderly passenger … but it won’t waive £100 transfer fee to rebook
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 13/11/2025
If there is one writer the @theguardian.com could greatly benefit from replacing with an LLM it is Adrian Chiles. Based on the latest column, I suspect this is already happening. #aislop www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle... This on the other hand is spectacular: bsky.app/profile/adri...
bsky.app
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 11/11/2025
Interesting observation from @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social. Having looked at the data, the Greens are already beating Labour in the under-50 demographic. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
What happens if the Greens overtake Labour in the polls? All bets are off | Gaby Hinsliff
They may lack Labour’s party machine, but Zack Polanski’s burgeoning popularity could have seismic consequences for British politics, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 03/11/2025
The PSU of my real pen plotter went yesterday, when I wanted to test a new app I was writing to drive it. So I wrote this mock pen plotter which can be connected to via a TCP socket and interpret Gcode just like my iDraw v2. It was fun to build and flawlessly ran my existing Gcode files. #penplotter
Screenshot of a Mock Plotter application on macOS showing a pen plotter simulator. The interface displays a 300x300mm work area with a complex plotting path visualised as approximately 40 black star-shaped points connected by red lines, creating an intricate pattern across the canvas. A green dot in the upper right marks the current plotter position. The left sidebar shows technical settings including position coordinates, feed rate of 8000 mm/min, and a list of recent G-code movement commands in green text. The command queue is currently empty.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 10/10/2025
@daviddark.bsky.social I sense that you would have an interesting and insightful reflection on Thiel's recent lectures. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Inside tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s off-the-record lectures about the antichrist
The political svengali and investor has been giving lectures on ‘an evil king or tyrant … who appears in the end times’
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 28/09/2025
Enjoying seeing transparent explanation of LLM usage in journalism in what seems like a great application of the technology by @porcelinad.bsky.social. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
theguardian.com
Reading the post-riot posts: how we traced far-right radicalisation across 51,000 Facebook messages
Tracing profiles of those charged with online offences in summer 2024 helped us map a thriving social ecosystem trading far-right sentiment and political disillusionment
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 26/09/2025
I no longer read or see the Economist, but my throwaway thread on how I feared this unfolding back in 2023 has turned out to be depressingly accurate.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 26/09/2025
Petition rejecting Digital ID cards in the UK has reached 1m shortly after it was announced. Labour can't win 🤷 petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
petition.parliament.uk
Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards
We demand that the UK Government immediately commits to not introducing a digital ID cards. There are reports that this is being looked at.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 24/09/2025
“The tyranny of the veto sabotages the very reason for the UN’s existence.” - Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
theguardian.com
Trump’s UN speech makes it clear: the world can no longer look to the US for strong leadership
US president’s speech made a mockery of UN values and highlights the need for strong anti-Trumpian alliances
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 22/09/2025
The video in this piece is terribly brilliant.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 20/09/2025
The gaping hole in this interesting piece by @jasperjolly.bsky.social and Dan Milmo is the extent to which this extends to the OTA systems that every recent JLR car on the road connects to. Could motivated attackers have shipped malicious updates to cars? www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
Inside the Jaguar Land Rover hack: stalled smart factories, outsourced cybersecurity and supply chain woes
Being a carmaker where ‘everything is connected’ has left JLR unable to isolate its plants or functions, forcing a shutdown of most systems
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 10/09/2025
My opinion of Nick Clegg continues to worsen - I'm not sure I need to read this book, but I do worry about those with power who do and decide to take what he says at face value 😨 www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
How to Save the Internet by Nick Clegg review – spinning Silicon Valley
Instead of recognising that social media harms mental health and democracy, the former deputy PM and Meta executive repeats company talking points
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 03/09/2025
Wow. Microsoft Teams is just bad right? Is it because I'm using it on macOS via Chrome or is it just terrible?
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Reposted by Simon Hildrew
Caitlin Johnstone @caitoz.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
"What Was Israel Supposed To Do After October 7?" Is Asking The Wrong Question A much more useful and interesting question is “What were Palestinians supposed to do in response to all of Israel’s abuses prior to October 7?” www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/what-was-i...
caitlinjohnst.one
"What Was Israel Supposed To Do After October 7?" Is Asking The Wrong Question
Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley):
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 23/07/2025
www.theguardian.com/world/live/2... The image at the top of this live blog makes me sick to my stomach. Enough is enough.
theguardian.com
Mass starvation spreading across Gaza, aid agencies warn, as pressure on Israel grows – Middle East crisis live
More than 100 aid agencies, including Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children and Oxfam, say ‘our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away’
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 15/07/2025
First time I’ve had an Amazon delivery stripped of the contents. Frustratingly Amazon are unable to replace it and can only offer a refund of the 21% off price (a price that is no longer available). That’s kind of annoying given that this is a problem in their supply chain. #firstworldproblems
Various bits of packaging laid out left to right with the Amazon envelope far left and empty torn Apple Watch packaging towards the right.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 07/07/2025
@jessicaelgot.bsky.social I’d really like to see some exploration into how many people who threatened to leave Massachusetts as a result of the wealth tax, actually left? Or similar wealth taxes elsewhere.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 16/06/2025
It seems that totaluptime.com (and the DNS service they offer) is errrr, down.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 13/05/2025
I'm more excited about the release of this later this week than I have been about any TV for a long time 🤖
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 13/05/2025
I'm honestly starting to wonder if we'll see the extinction of both the UK's main political parties in the next election cycle. I didn't vote for Labour, but didn't expect them to be as hapless as the Tory government they replaced. Who or what has this hold over Starmer? Maybe he's not sleeping. 😖
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 27/04/2025
If you want to read something to rejuvenate you hope in humanity then cast your eyes over this: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
Meet the lost jewellery hunters: ‘I will be for ever grateful. It wasn’t just a ring’
Metal detecting isn’t just about searching for ancient treasure – the missing belongings of living people are just as precious. Meet the volunteers reuniting the two
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 25/04/2025
Hey #penplotter Bluesky 👋 I won an UUNA TEK A0 pen plotter in a Christmas competition and I’ve made a video about unboxing it and using it for the first time to plot the famous Schotter. A lot of assembly, use of vpype to generate gcode, and a floor that isn’t flat. m.youtube.com/watch?v=VwX6...
m.youtube.com
Unboxing huge A0 iDraw V2 pen plotter / UUNA TEK Christmas competition prize!
YouTube video by Simon Plots
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 19/04/2025
I’ve followed the highly competent @molly.wiki for longer than I remember but I don’t think I have heard her speak until her highly articulate discussion with @racheldonald.bsky.social on Planet Critical this evening. Can recommend. www.planetcritical.com/p/molly-white
planetcritical.com
Popping the Tech Bro Bubble | Molly White
From libraries to online, our information system is being dismantled
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 13/04/2025
@teslatakedown.co.uk you should share www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/... It’s an excellent review of the latest Tesla. “At a glance Pros: good battery efficiency, AWD model is properly quick, great charging network Cons: uncomfortable ride, irritating cabin ergonomics, everyone will hate you”
carmagazine.co.uk
Tesla Model Y (2025) review: an exercise in irritation
Tesla Model Y (2025) review: an exercise in irritation
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Reposted by Simon Hildrew
Tesla Takedown UK @teslatakedownuk.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
So @everyonehateselon.bsky.social's Tesla smashing event went well: www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Sledgehammer-wielding Musk critics smash up Tesla in London art project
Campaign group Everyone Hates Elon organised protest with car bound for scrap heap ‘to create debate about wealth inequality’
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 05/04/2025
A question that I honestly think is in the public interest for Kier Starmer to be asked (we live in a new normal where he is cosying up to an authoritarian leader): “what will you do when Trump insists that the UK deploys troops to help the USA invade Greenland or Canada?”
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 30/03/2025
This letter in the Guardian misunderstands tech companies as benevolent or at worst inert. In reality children are a source of profit, and by having an age limit they don’t enforce can simultaneously make profits and point to the age limit when it all goes wrong. www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
Adolescence was hard-hitting TV, but online safety needs to be nuanced | Letter
Letter: Instead of banning phones in schools, teach online engagement as part of the curriculum, writes Mark Rowland
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 29/03/2025
This is outrageous and I hope it is brought up at PMQs or as an urgent question this week. Can't see anything on this in Guardian yet but seems like a important watershed moment @damiengayle.bsky.social.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 29/03/2025
Went along and held a sign at Edinburgh's #teslatakedown protest this morning. Friendly bunch of around 15 people. Lots of support from passing traffic; I'd say 40-50% of traffic that passed honked or gave thumbs up. About 5% obscene gestures. And two nazi salutes... really.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 18/03/2025
Seems plausible.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 18/03/2025
Just asked for our portfolio to be divested of a couple of iShares and Pictet funds that hold Tesla. At 0.6%, Tesla wasn’t a big portion of the portfolio, but I feel a little lighter for it. p.s. You should follow @teslatakedown.co.uk or it’s local kin
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 17/03/2025
This is a really excellent economy focused episode of Planet Critical. Strongly recommend.
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Reposted by Simon Hildrew
The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
US deports hundreds of Venezuelans "despite" court order. Meaning, of course: "in breach of". On the face of it, it looks like there is now a full constitutional crisis in United States, in that the executive is now freely ignoring court orders. Crisis point reached. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
US deports hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador despite court order
Their arrival comes less than 24 hours after a federal judge blocked a law Trump planned to use for the deportations.
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Reposted by Simon Hildrew
Tesla Takedown UK @teslatakedownuk.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
To be absolutely clear: Boycotting Tesla is boycotting Elon Musk, not boycotting EVs. Here's a great flier we remixed to leave under Tesla driver's windscreens with some suggestions of alternative EVs to buy in the UK. Please print and carry around! #TeslaTakedown www.teslatakedown.co.uk/flyers
teslatakedown.co.uk
Fliers | Tesla Takedown
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 05/03/2025
If nothing else, this seems like a compelling reason not to use Revolut bank. Really intrigued to not see Monzo on the list. www.theguardian.com/money/2025/m... Nice work @porcelinad.bsky.social et al.
theguardian.com
Deepfakes, cash and crypto: how call centre scammers duped 6,000 people
Nursing home resident and pensioners among thousands of victims of massive fraud network operating from Georgia
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 04/03/2025
Meeting our local (Scotland) minister to talk about preemptive steps in the local community in response to the looming rise of authoritarianism that we're seeing in many countries. Interested in hearing about other conversations, perhaps a year or 2 back & what worked/didn't @daviddark.bsky.social ?
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 03/03/2025
Fast forward four years by which time landlords will have successfully lobbied the red tories such that the impact of this is almost meaningless... www.theguardian.com/money/2025/m...
theguardian.com
Centuries-old leasehold system to be abolished in England and Wales
Exclusive: Housing minister says overhaul of feudal-era system would take place before end of this parliament
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 01/03/2025
I’m glad that they are pursuing this. I knew a couple of those on the list when I was a more impressionable age and attending a church in London. Whilst horrifying, I am surprised at how not at all shocked I am about this. Funny how certain impressions are given. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Ten Church of England clergy facing disciplinary action over abuse report
The report into prolific abuser John Smyth accuses several members of the Church of safeguarding failures.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 16/02/2025
This, and the stories with the “don’t buy a swasticar” stickers being put on Teslas make me joyful. Props to Sheryl Crow and others who make that stand. #toxifymusk www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Protesters target Tesla showrooms in US over Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting
Demonstrations across the US against tycoon’s ties to Trump highlight potential risks to firm’s reputation and sales
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 07/02/2025
Talking about Trump with my 5yo… Me: … so he might be evil or he might just be stupid 5yo: sounds like he’s evil to me … 5yo: … I think he might be a baddie … 5yo: … do you think he sounds like a baddie, daddy?
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 05/02/2025
Seriously? The USA is dooomed. I’m guessing that Elmo and cronies are banking (or aiming?) on having dismantled or crippled the justice system by the time the courts would have gotten around to putting them in jail. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Doge v USAid: how Elon Musk helped his acolytes infiltrate world’s biggest aid agency
Exclusive: Takeover of USAid agency by Doge operatives seen as pilot for large-scale overhaul of federal government
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 05/02/2025
Might be a good time for any of Wikipedia’s company structure to shift very quickly out of the USA, just a little further out of reach from Elmo.
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Simon Hildrew @sihil.net · 31/01/2025
I genuinely think that the government could approve a third runway at Heathrow, take climate seriously and kick off a future looking research and development if they make one tweak to the runway rules: any aircraft using the new runway (or perhaps capacity that it provides) must be fully electric.
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