Adactio: Notes
From the erratic behaviour of the seagulls on my street, I was able to deduce that it was Flying Ant Day.
Tuesday session
Reading Radiant Star by Ann Leckie.
Bidding farewell to Paxos!
My tuna brings all the cats to the yard đđ
On Paxos
Going to Corfu. brb
Thursday session
Reading Medea by Rosie Hewlett.
Mandolinists assemble!
Maestros of Irish mandolin: Macdara, Marla, and Sean.
Wednesday session in Cork
Itâs a beautiful day in Cobh.
Bain taitneamh as an grianstad inniu!
Going to Cork, like. brb
SlĂĄn, Baile Ătha Cliath!
Thursday afternoon session in Dublin
Going to Dublin. brb
Happy Sussex Day, Bloomsday, and Valentinaâs Day!
> Donât eat the yellow snow. âFrank Zappa > Donât tap on the sparkle emoji. âMe
People of Dublin: Iâm giving a talk on Thursday evening at Na PĂobairĂ Uilleann on Henrietta Streetâcome along if you want to know the story behind TheSession.org
Reading The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff.
300 racists came to Brighton today looking to cause trouble. 4000 Brightonians sent âem packing. With a ratio like that, all you fascists bound to lose.
Leaving #CSSday genuinely inspired (as in, I was inspired to whip out my laptop straight away and start programming some very cool CSS).
Pretty chuffed that Keithâs Law has been quoted twice on stage at this yearâs #CSSday: > JavaScript should do what only JavaScript can do.
Ana has gone above and beyond to match the branding for this yearâs #CSSday.
(if you think *thatâs* spicy, you havenât even seen the question I put to the representative from the Ladybird browser project âŠalas my question wasnât asked on stage) #CSSday
At #CSSday the Google Chrome team are asking developers âWhatâs missing from the web?â âŠI needed a few post-it notes for my answer.
Wednesday session in Amsterdam
Strolling through Amsterdam.
Reading Stories Of Ireland by Brien Friel.
Going to Amsterdam. brb
Monday session
Irgendwas geht los in Koblenz đ€
I had a thoroughly enjoyable three days of hosting UX London this week and met such lovely people at the eventâthank you to everyone who came!
Thursday session
Tuesday session in London
Thursday session
Wednesday session
Signing in solidarity with Wiki Workers United: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wiki_Workers_United_solidarity#Signatures
Monday session
Happy birthday, Star Wars, responsive design, and Douglas Adams!
Saturday session in London.
Londoning
At the Royal College of Music Museum, where the new exhibit features thesession.org!
Going to London. brb
Reading Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler.
Thursday session
Wednesday session
Sunday session
Is breĂĄ leat Ă© a fheiceĂĄil.
Hanging out with Sandy in the sunshine.
Reading Brigid by Kim Curran.
Going to San Diego. brb
If youâre voting in local elections in England today, donât forget to bring your photo ID. And when you get to the polling station, donât forget to make a formal complaint about having to bring your photo ID.
Thursday session
Wednesday session
Monday session
Taytos with Jack at Cork airport
I know people joke about everyone in Ireland knowing everyone else, but I just got off the plane in Cork and the customs officer is my cousin.
Going to Cork. brb
Friday session
Afternoon tea and tunes
Sunday session
Reading Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.
Thursday session
Wednesday session
Just heard the sad news about Moya Brennan passing. Some of the first records I ever bought were by ClannadâMacalla, Magical Ring, Legend. Ar dheis DĂ© go raibh a hanam.
Monday session
The bots are swarming hard today, laying waste to the meadows of the open web. This is what powers vibe-coding. The slop must flow.
I know a young student in Germany who needs to learn about relevance of the Entscheidungsproblem and Alan Turing to todayâs work in computationâwho should I put them in touch with?
Tuesday session
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Salter Cane gig on Saturday nightâthat was fun!
Sound checking Salter Cane
Salter Cane is ready to rock and/or roll! https://saltercane.com/tickets
Thursday session
This Saturday night in The Hope And Ruin in Brighton⊠https://saltercane.com/tickets
Wednesday session
People of Brighton, be sure to get your ticket for the Salter Cane gig this Saturday, April 4th featuring Skyscrapers and The Equatorial Group! https://saltercane.com/tickets
Cocoâs napping
Monday session
This Saturday, April 4th, come to The Hope And Ruin in Brighton to see Skyscrapers, Equatorial Group, and Salter Cane: https://saltercane.com/tickets Tickets are ÂŁ8 in advance, ÂŁ10 on the door.
Saturday evening session in Tullamore
Saturday afternoon session in Tullamore
Itâs gettinâ wild in Tullamore tonight!
Friday evening session in Tullamore
Going to Tullamore. brb
Wednesday session
Itâs a real missed opportunity in Project Hail Mary that at no point does anyone look to the camera with a steely gaze and declare, âItâs daylight saving time.â
Reading Finn Mac Cool by Morgan Llywelyn.
It feels like all my peers are experiencing Deep Blue and having to choose their future career path: expert in a dying field or collaborator in a fascist project.
Friday session
Having fun with https://pixelframe.design/dune-font-logo-generator/
Thursday session
These assholes https://www.openui.com/ did not do any due diligence before choosing a name. The only Open UI that counts is https://open-ui.org/
Second St. Patrickâs Day session
ââTis Saint Patrick himself!
Interlude with dancers
First St. Patrickâs Day session
Itâs weird how thereâs a subgenre of time-dilation folklore in Japan and Ireland⊠Urashima TarĆ: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urashima_Tar%C5%8D OisĂn in Tir na nĂg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ois%C3%ADn
Lå Fhéile Pådraig sona daoibh, a chairde!
Just heard the sad news of Dolores Keaneâs passing. Ar dheis DĂ© go raibh a hanam.
Sunday evening session
Sunday afternoon session
Reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
Tea and tunes
Tea and tunes
Tea and tunes
What a fantastic bunch of speakers! Thank you all for making #WebDayOut so great!
Lo-fi selfie with Manu
Sunday morning kitchen session in B
Thursday session
Wednesday session
Tuesday session
Monday session
Reading A Fisherman of the Inland Sea by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Curse you, Betteridgeâs Law! https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/articles/c1d6q1l5r6do
> But the soul is a floor. It is there to bear us up and keep us standing, not merely to be clean. â Patricia Lockwood, Will There Ever Be Another You
Birthday session
Streetwise
Thursday session
Wednesday session
Looking forward to going to State Of The Browser in ten days. I spoke at it eight years ago and I still like what I said then: https://adactio.com/articles/14321
Sunday session
> Knitting is the future of coding. Nobody knits because they want a quick or cheap jumper, they knit because they love the craft. This is the future of writing code by hand. â Alice Bartlett
Reading Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood.
Iâve been using (and enjoying) NetNewsWire for quite a while now⊠https://adactio.com/journal/350
Thursday session
Wednesday session
Tuesday session
Carlingford mussels and oysters
Carlingford
Going to Carlingford. brb
Wednesday session
Reading The Morrigan by Kim Curran.
Iâm sick. I think itâs manflu. Symptoms include aches, pains, pouts, and petulance. Please send pics/videos of your dogs and cats to cheer me up.
Wednesday session
Monday session
Sunday session
The best thing about the cold weather is seeing all the good doggos out walking in their winter outfits.
Saturday afternoon kitchen session
Kitty, the session dog!
Robâs farewell session
Thursday session
There should be a German word for the slightly smug warm feeling you get from using an obscure HTML element like `dfn` in your most recent blog post, like wot I did. ElementenrichtigkeitsgefĂŒhl
The best film I saw in the cinema in 2025 was definitelyâŠ
âł Replying to a post on snarfed.org
âł Replying to a post on chrisburnell.com
Sessioning
Wednesday session
Tuesday session
(TĂĄ sĂ© ag cur sneachta anoisâgo bogâi mBrighton)
> His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead. â James Joyce, The Dead
I may have found my people.
Monday session
Playing tunes in a kitchen on a Saturday night.
> The past is a foreign country that we should impose tariffs on. â Matt Webb
New yearâs day session.
Itâs surreal to see my name on this list: https://www.instagram.com/p/DS7VZUqiImo/
2026: The Year The Bubble Bursts
Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh, a cairde!
More mandolins
Reading Daughters of Sparta by Claire Heywood.
Found myself unexpectedly with a day to spend in Phoenix, so I went to the excellent Musical Instruments Museum and ogled the mandolins.
Good night!
Painting heaven and hell
On the road in Arizona.
Nollaig shona daoibh go léir, a chairde!
Christmas with Sandy
Sleepy Sandy
Arizona
Waking up in an airport hotel room with a runway view.
Going to Arizona. brb
Thursday session
> Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.
Wednesday session
Reading Prophet Song by Paul Lynch.
Pan-fried Irish salmon.
Sultans!
Going to Cobh. brb
Reading Rose/House by Arkady Martine.
Monday session
Sunday roast
Thursday session
Wednesday session
Fiddlers three
Tuesday session
Belfast TradFest back in July.
Today was my last working day for 2025. Iâm off until January. Christmas starts now!
Wednesday session
Reading The Bloody Chamber And Other Stories by Angela Carter.
Thursday session
Wednesday session
Never mind Cloudflare; the electricity has gone out in our street. Itâs actually kinda nice, playing mandolin by candlelight.
Front page of the BBC right now.
Reading The Country Girls by Edna OâBrien.
Closing out #ffconf with Erikaâs chickens.
Kicking off #ffconf!
Iâm definitely going to be sent on a side quest.
> Technology isnât destiny, no matter how inexorable its evolution may seem; the way its capabilities are used is as much a matter of cultural choice and historical accident as politics is, or fashion. â M. Mitchell Waldrop
> All Iâve ever wanted from life is a genuinely great SVG vector illustration of a pelican riding a bicycle. â Simon Willison, What happens if AI labs train for pelicans riding bicycles?
Hanging out with Coco.
Tuesday session
Gatehouse
Dan, Sue, and Jessica on Brighton beach.
Thursday session
âFĂĄilte go Knocka, fĂĄilte go Knocka, gaelteacht nua i dtuisceart na cathrach!â https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH772P6YbMQ (TĂĄ Kneecap ceart go leor, ach is fearr liom Kabin Crew!)
When you think about it, the phrase âearning a livingâ is really quite vile.
Reading I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.
BhĂ RĂIS ar fheabhas anocht! Guth den scoth!
Thursday session
56 years ago today: > Talked to SRI Host to Host â IMP log, 1969-10-29 22:30, Charles S. Kline, Boelter Hall, UCLA The message: > LO The ARPANET was born.
Reading Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield.
Coco in the sun.
Saturday morning tunes and tea
Having a coffee with Mango. Confession: I can never remember the actual name of the coffee shop so in my mind itâs Mangoâs.
Sunday session in Cork
Reading A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers.
Going to Cork (for real this time, I hope). brb
Thursday session
Wednesday session
âł Replying to a post on blog.jim-nielsen.com
Monday session
Reading The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy.
Not going to Cork after all, thanks to Storm Amy. Thanks, Amy. Thamy.
Going to Cork. brb
Wednesday session
Netflixâs House Of Guinness is schlocky trash but itâs schlocky trash with Irish subtitles available, so Iâm thoroughly enjoying watching/reading it.
Monday session
Clouds looming towards Brighton.
Thursday session
Wednesday session
Had cocido for lunch in Madrid yesterday and Iâm still full today.
I clearly had a good time at the Irish fleadh in CĂĄceres.
Best churros in town
Reading Orbital by Samantha Harvey.
Monday night session in Madrid
Adios, CĂĄceres!
Sunday night session
Saturday night late session
Serenaded at dinner by the Friel sisters and Polca4
Saturday evening session
Saturday session in the sun
Buenos dĂas, CĂĄceres!