Heard yet another “LLMs understand words really well”. LLMs don’t “understand” shit.

Don’t let robber barons convince you that their priorities and your priorities are the same.

Do I know anyone who’s looking to hire a policy researcher / research manager? A friend of mine is looking - she’s super smart, she’s worked on some significant projects for the British Red Cross, Ada Lovelace and Which?. Open to perm and contract roles. Please share for reach ☺️

Twelve billion dollars would feed a lot of hungry people, shelter a lot of unhoused, and erase a lot of medical debt. www.wsj.com/livecoverage...

To round off series 2 I have got the MOTHER of all guests for you: Speaker, coach, author of Technically Wrong and Design for real life, Sara Wachter-Boettcher. In this episode, Sara and I talk a lot about burnout… Apple: apple.co/47rrJTk RSS: bit.ly/43gtLkB

Shantay, you stay! I loved chatting with @conniechiiiwa.bsky.social about her love for drag and drag queens.

but...you shouldn't use a calculator when you are learning elementary math...the whole point is to develop the language of math... letting elementary math students use a calculator to 'learn math' would be like letting elementary reading students use a voice reader to 'learn to read'

With the end of my current contract at Gymshark coming to an end in Feb…and with the holidays inbetween, I’m starting to put the feelings out for a potential next gig Give me a shout if you’re up for a chat!

I had an incredible time at Converge, hosted by @zeroheight.com Not only did I get to share my talk "Naming is hard, but have you tried working with people?" with a room full of passionate design system people, but I got to listen to talks by other amazing design system professionals.

Americans, I really need you to step up and do something about the Dodgers next year. You can't expect Canada to come and save you every time.

I am so proud of the Blue Jays, even if they eventually lost to "Los" "Angeles"

At least I know who I need to unfriend on here

No. Nope.

No offense to the Dodgers, but if they win it's the worst thing in the history of the world.

I have never wanted Toronto to win as much as I do right now

Every Mike talk is a gift. Do yourselves a favour and don’t miss it.

With all the Converge excitement, I almost forgot there’s a new FANTASTICAL episode of Design Downtime, with designer and artist Bahar Espiritu!

AS IF I snuck this episode of Systems of Harm out yesterday without posting about it - but 90% of the design systems community was at Converge. This week’s guest is none other than @bradfrost.com (‼️) talking about design systems and ADHD. Apple: apple.co/4qQfR50 RSS: bit.ly/43gtLkB

@guysegal.com delivered a wonderfully poignant talk on recognising the root cause of team frustration, safety and ultimately recognising being in a design system team can feel like an emotional merry go round

I was invited onto the rad podcast, Design Downtime, to talk about my passions outside of work to fight back against grind culture and slow work burn out. I obviously picked my special interest Minecraft. Huge thanks to @guysegal.com for having me on and for hosting such an important podcast!

The problem with "you can just do things" is that other people can also just do things. You can get into an arms race of just doing things, or learn how to build shared intent. One of those approaches is masculine and exciting. The other one actually works. Guess which one AI tools encourage?

Hello new followers! I'm a design director from Toronto, working on design systems. I also host a podcast called Design Downtime, where I talk to design professionals about a hobby or interest of theirs that has nothing to do with work, because it's ok to not be about productivity 24/7!

Explore the blocky world of Minecraft with @shellelittle.bsky.social! Finally an episode my kids will listen to.

Two of the best people being vulnerable and talking about human things? Yes please. Also, they fix every single thing that’s wrong with design.

Holy shit we in the world series

Okay, for the folks who asked: here's the majority AI view, writing up the reasonable, thoughtful view on AI that the vast majority of people in tech hold, that gets overshadowed by the bluster and hype of the tycoons trying to shill their nonsense. anildash.com/2025/10/17/t... Please share!

I see “thought leaders” recommending to tell a machine that statistically mimics patterns to “think deeply” and what are we even doing.

Define your music taste in 8 artists: 1. Sonic Youth 2. Kraftwerk 3. David Bowie 4. Pavement 5. The Breeders 6. Jimmy Smith 7. The Beatles 8. Beastie Boys

We’re going downhill fast, with Design Downtime’s 50th episode!

Trans rights are human rights. Amy’s podcast continues to be the best design systems podcast about humans.

Hot take: 90% of designers don't use their monkey's paw at full efficiency. Comment "Monkey" for a link to a free e-book on getting the most out of your monkey's paw.

At a consultancy, you enter an engagement with a fairly clear understanding of what's expected of you. In house, there's usually a gap between what you assume they hired you for and what they actually expect. That's when your "they don't understand design" and "seat at the table" issues start.

When did we decide that adding a comment to a jira ticket is better than talking to another human being?

“The PM rapid prototyped” “Vibe coding into production”

We’re back! In the first episode of season 4, @brownorama.bsky.social joins Design Downtime to talk about his love of board games. (I’m shocked it took me this long to get to this topic…)

Today is the day we launch! It's "Off the Path with Sam and Steve" (and that's @sladner.bsky.social in case you don't know). In this limited series, we talk about what a research career looks like, even when it goes "off the path." The first three episodes are live, and links follow.

Attention applied researchers: my friend @steveportigal.bsky.social and I have released our limited edition podcast, focusing on the research career. Off the Path with Sam and Steve starts with Ep 1: The Good Enough Career: open.spotify.com/episode/7pY4...

I'm (finally) working on new articles/talks. As a part of that, I'd like to hire a new artist for every article to create a unique hero image for each piece Do you all have any resources/sites to find artists for these purposes these days? I'd also like to hire those most in need of work.

We’re back! In the first episode of season 4, @brownorama.bsky.social joins Design Downtime to talk about his love of board games. (I’m shocked it took me this long to get to this topic…)

Design influencers still explaining on LinkedIn what “above the fold” is in the year 2025, is why the design industry is cooked.

It’s only 9am and I’ve already been exposed to so much AI booster content that I need a Silkwood shower.

The best Canadian export since ketchup chips

New article live: Evolving #designsystem Skills, how our tools are shaping the necessary skills needed to be a thriving design system practitioner and what we can do to bring up the next generation of systems thinkers. bit.ly/3KQLnz0

ALSO I wrote a thing for Zeroheight: When’s the right time to start documenting your design system? In here I talk about what type of documentation to aim for at each stage of your design system’s lifecycle. zeroheight.com/blog/whens-t...

What a lovely surprise to wake up to!

Listen to this song only if you like guitars and fun

Season 4 of the Design Downtime podcast is almost here! And it’s shaping out to be quite a nerdy one, too. (With cover art created, as always, by the amazing @raq.bsky.social) Until then, why not catch up on past episodes? designdowntime.com

A must read

The Question Episode 061 with this week's co host @natalyathree.bsky.social is LIVE! Answer here bit.ly/answerTheQue... and join us on Thursday at Noon Eastern for the deep dive into how our skills as #designsystems practitioners are evolving. See you Thursday!

Well done, Viagra Boys