Stuck in the house ill, so pruning my IT bookcase. Java is all but gone, and I'm almost ready to say goodbye to my Scala books. On the other hand I actually read (and wrote!) some Modern C++ this year. Not what I would have predicted a decade ago - history makes fools of us all.

This is it folks! Only two days remain to submit to @nidc.bsky.social After that our distinguished, impartial, and expert panel of reviewers will rate the talks, and an agenda will be constructed. You have to be in it to win it!

TFW The kids have been dropped to school, all the overnight messages have been answered, and you have 5 mins to yourself before the first meeting of the day...

Am on leave and going through a classic cinema phase. Have bought my first Blu-ray player because most of what I'm after isn't available online, and the DVD release is discontinued 😟. Today's viewing is this forgotten gem starring Ed Harris.

At Belfast Mela to support my boys and the Ojika Dojo. Always a great event! Music, food, culture, and swords. What's not to like? 😉🙂 If you've ever wanted to give Kendo a go come down and visit: ojikani.com

In with my Physio. He has a BLK BOX functional trainer with the ultimate chin-up bar. Any width any angle!!!! I had no idea such a thing existed...

Success! Last night's debate on GenAI went exceptionally well. Six excellent speeches leading to in-depth, impassioned, and enlightening discussion. The £665 in door fees all went directly to charity work at Farset Labs, thanks to the sponsorship of Liberty IT. Congratulations to everyone!!

Unboxing the shirt I've saved 3 months for just the right occasion. Come along tomorrow night for a public debate on "GenAI will revolutionise our lives for the good in the next 5 Years". 📣 When: Thursday 7th Aug 📍Where: Black Box in Belfast 🎟️ Get your ticket: lu.ma/d94zscul

This is on Thursday! Sign up via the link below for £10, all proceeds to charity. Tickets also available at the door (cash only). lu.ma/d94zscul Come along to hear passinate and informed debate, and to ask your own questions. Non-technologists especially welcome.

This has happened to me (and I believe @antonarhipov.bsky.social ) many times in hotel gyms. Fortunately ceiling tiles don't hurt that much 🙂. There seems to be some rule that "the rack with the weird bar goes under the lowest ceiling - clearly it's just for decoration". youtu.be/6BC1DS_38WU?...

This episode hit a nerve with me. 3 points: * You don't voluntarily abandon faith. You incrementally realise it's unsustainable * You have to choose between your beliefs and your community * There is a very real fear that you are loved only for believing the right things youtu.be/eDQoan2pm6U?...

If you need a train ticket to Dublin in Belfast's brand new £340 Million Grand Central Station you can't use the ticket machines. Instead you go to Customer Support at the other end of the cavernous hall, to queue behind folks paying for coach trips with loose change. Apparently, this is progress.

Not to burst anyone's bubble, but we had Specification Driven Development in the 1990s. We just called it Waterfall 😉.

The Larne line timetables have vanished from the NI Railways website this morning. A bit disconcerting to see your neighbourhood erased from the public record...

New event! I'm helping Farset Labs organise a public debate, based on the proposition "GenAI will revolutionise our lives for the good in the next 5 Years". We have an amazing panel and a great venue. Fun, informative and a chance to participate in debate as it was meant to be. lu.ma/d94zscul

Click to the story for Northern Ireland in a single infographic. Where else in the world do you build a bonfire between two major hospitals, adjacent to their power supply and near a pile of asbestos? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Excited about tomorrow, which will be the highlight of my summer here in beautiful, bright, Belfast. Can't wait for the series finale of Murderbot. Everything else not so much.

"The future of American politics may ultimately be defined by the struggle between the MAGA fascist movement and the newer resistance." My new Kibitizing with Lincoln. Please subscribe. lincolnmitchell.substack.com/p/the-new-hy...

For reasons best known to themselves, Sync NI were kind enough to do a profile of me 😉 syncni.com/interview/13...

Absolutely loved this book. Really hoping the movie lives up to it... www.youtube.com/watch?v=m08T...

The kind of thinking that implicitly promotes and condones this kind of insanity is why I left the north coast and became an atheist.

Every so often I reflect on how much of Demolition Man has come to pass. Freaky.

A customer told me she couldn't believe this store would put up a Pride display, because what if children see it?? Anyway, it was my display, and I'm proud of it, and you (and your children) should all see it. #BookSky 📚💙

Even if you don't like Kotlin or IDEA I would recommend this unreservedly. The exuberance, expertise, focus on quality, knowledge, mastery of the tooling, and sheer nerdiness just shine through 😉 🤣 . Thank you @dmitrykandalov.bsky.social and Duncan McGregor. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwNT...

“backrooms” and “liminal spaces” are the defining horror format for a generation who saw the facades of capitalism crumble to reveal the emptiness within

The final article in our series on manifestations of Imposter Syndrome, and how to mitigate them. We discuss the internalised shame associated with never having worked for a 'real software company' and never having done a 'real degree'. brightnessbalance.com/imposter-syn...

What's your sign?

The penultimate article in a 4 part series on manifestations of Imposter Syndrome, and how to mitigate them. Co-written with my therapist friend Catherine Browne. This article tackles two archetypes, the Full Stack and the Forever Young Developer. brightnessbalance.com/imposter-syn...

At the Belfast Waterfront Hall this evening to see the Waterboys, with their musical biography and tribute to Dennis Hopper. Definitely an immersive experience!

First of many @nidc.bsky.social Sunday afternoon workshops at Farset Labs. Louise, Josh, and myself labouring away under the skilled and loving supervision of @awflwafl.bsky.social It's tough renaming all those resources from NIDC24 to NIDC25 - we may need more baked goods...

Just published the second of four articles, dealing with manifestations of Imposter Syndrome in Tech. Written by my therapist friend Catherine Browne and myself. This one tackles fear of diversification, and of 'slacking off'. brightnessbalance.com/imposter-syn...

Delighted to announce that my wonderful wife Julie has been appointed as Deputy Mayor for Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. Apparently I am now a Consort!

whenever i encounter people who say they can't understand shakespeare verses I always send them this clip from the 2019 Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing

In Jan I wrote a personal blog about mental health. The feedback affirmed for me how many of us face such struggles, especially Imposter Syndrome. I discussed this with my friend Catherine and our chats became a plan for a series of articles. Here's the first. brightnessbalance.com/imposter-syn...

Not content with releasing Sapphire and Steel onto YouTube, ITV Retro have moved on to The Prisoner. Eagerly awaiting 'The Schizoid Man' so I can recommend it to a whole new generation... www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajvd...

In my personal view articles like this are a greater danger than AGI. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Sobering to listen to adverts aimed at a US audience, with the horrible caveat "if they will accept your insurance".

Reading pseudo-scholarly 'Java turns 30' articles with exasperation. As someone who wrote Applets, Servlets, Translets, BMP Entity Beans (shudder), and everything the Spring folks came out with for a decade I assure you it wasn't entirely a pre-ordained, trouble free journey to success.

This. *This* is the kind of thing that keeps me on social media...

“It doesn’t make any sense. I’m not autistic, and neither were your grandparents. My mother used to scream if you disturbed her porcelain doll collection, and Dad acted out the entirety of The Maltese Falcon – verbatim – the Christmas our TV broke, but autism didn’t exist back then.”

With Ciaran (leading), Art, Angie, and Andrew at Rapid7 for a 'How to respond to a CFP' session. The latest collaboration between BSides, ServerlessDays, NIDC, WTM, and ElevateNI. Great to see the momentum maintained! If you want to speak at BSides their CFP is now live: bsidesbelfast.org/speak/

Very much enjoying Murdebot, was already a fan of the books. 50% Marvin The Paranoid Android, 50% Deadpool. Truly an AI for our times...

Don't think this point can ever be stressed too much. The best medicine is prevention. The best lessons are where you think you discovered everything for yourself. The best self-defense is finding a safer place to park. But the fame and cash lies in putting out the fire 🙁 youtu.be/ndeB_BpsRGk?...

An honour and a pleasure to help organise ServerlessDays Belfast once again. Superb day with great talks, including keynotes from @swardley.bsky.social, @jedi.be, @julianwood.com, and Ronan Prenty. Thanks to all the speakers and organisers. Especially our indefatigable captain @theserverlessedge.com

Superb article on how DevRel is changing, as we all live through interesting times. "We don’t talk enough about the anxiety that comes from trying to maintain trust with both developers and stakeholders when those interests don’t always align."

As wonderful as GenAI is if your original bullets were wrong, then having an LLM rewrite them as fancy prose won't change their truth value. It's the "Pray, Mr Babbage" of our time...

The ServerlessDays Belfast agenda is now available! serverlessdaysbelfast.com/agenda/ Single track as usual, with a wide variety of excellent talks. Book now to avoid disappointment! 😉

Feral Historian does Blake's 7! youtu.be/1hM-H2EONxk

No, I'm not religious, but I believe in the holy trinity.