John Owens
johnjowens.bsky.social
John Owens
@johnjowens.bsky.social
Web developer with a sense of humour. Loves films, books, and video games, especially from the horror genre. Interested in web development, accessibility and disability topics.

I was born deaf and can speak.
Rory Stewart, an Independent MP, has announced a UK Tour.

Most of the dates/venues are based near and in London. One date/venue is in Edinburgh. And that's it.

It's a bit unusual describing the tour as UK wide, when it's mostly Southern England.
December 2, 2023 at 6:09 AM
Reposted by John Owens
I def put a book down if it's not exciting me. I can tell immediately if something is high quality or sticky. Weirdly, it doesn't have to be both? But this also means that when I read a sentence that really sings, I have the highest respect for the writer. No book is for every person, and that's ok.
Have you found you like reading books less now that you know how the sausage is made so to speak

Like how game developers don't enjoy playing video games as much after being involved in making a game.
November 3, 2023 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by John Owens
Listen to the sewer.
even wipes labeled flushable shouldn’t be flushed. some claim to break down better than others but as a general rule we advocate only flush bodily waste and TP.
November 2, 2023 at 10:02 PM
Created this meme where you cross The Thing movie with Mariah Carey
November 2, 2023 at 9:52 PM
Reposted by John Owens
I had a ton of awesome Irish accounts on Twitter that I followed, some that posted in Gaeilge, and I fear I won't be able to find as many here. So if anyone knows any accounts, please tag them so I can follow here too.
November 2, 2023 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by John Owens
Nice that these new builds now come with your own private void to scream into.
November 2, 2023 at 5:47 PM
Reposted by John Owens
Since the Former President's ascent and subsequent decline, chaos has gripped the GOP. Understanding the implications of this seismic shift can be challenging, but this insightful piece is a great place to start. ⬇️
Is the GOP Disintegrating Before Our Eyes?
The current state of the Republican Party is akin to political party schisms of the past, which might signal a coming realignment.
thinkbigpicture.substack.com
November 2, 2023 at 5:50 PM
I didn't feel going to the office, I was going to work from home, but I decided to drag myself out, anyway.

On way to train station, I bumped into a school friend. Makes me think about missed opportunities if you don't get out there. :)
November 2, 2023 at 9:33 AM
Reposted by John Owens
Not quite as catchy as the Jimi Hendrix version.
October 31, 2023 at 8:59 AM
October 30, 2023 at 10:12 AM
Reposted by John Owens
If you don’t find the motivation to write. Just start writing anything. That’s what I’m doing right now. I’m writing to you. Doesn’t seem to work though.
October 18, 2023 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by John Owens
author royalties for books sold is 10% of cover price, and can even be lower,
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?

I'll start: Amazon makes more money out of their Cloud services than out of their e-commerce platform.
October 14, 2023 at 4:55 PM
I've created a new Javascript game and it's hosted on my GitHub Pages. It's called "Mahjong Roman".

You have to pair up a Roman number with their numeric counterpart.

jjowens.github.io/mahjongroman...
October 10, 2023 at 6:45 AM
Reposted by John Owens
a huge company with power saying actually, we'll go to the trouble of not just making bigotry easier, but legitimizing it,
making it one more anodyne choice in the process.

comemierdas.
Scholastic asks, "Do you want to opt out of 'diverse' books at your school's next book fair?" Your participation in white supremacy has never been easier, just uncheck the 'diverse' books box– poof, no problems. 🙄
Scholastic Under Fire for Allowing Schools to Opt Out of ‘Diverse Books’ for Book Fairs
Scholastic has been accused of bending to right-wing pressure, making having diverse books optional for school book fairs.
www.themarysue.com
October 9, 2023 at 5:51 PM
I've written an internal blog at work, detailing how I've developed my javascript based game.

Blogging is a great way of improving your articulation of your thoughts and identifying problems in hindsight.

If you haven't tried blogging, do it. It might open up doors. Who knows?
October 9, 2023 at 7:05 PM
Yesterday, I visited the Barras, Glasgow, I took some pictures of the area.
October 8, 2023 at 8:13 AM
Reposted by John Owens
Please RT!

A friend is looking for tech recruitment roles based in Madrid, Spain.

🇬🇧 Bilingual English speaker

👤 +7 years of experience

🗺️ Experience at international startups

👨‍💼 Management experience but open to individual contributor roles as well

Send me a skeet if you'd like to know more!
October 4, 2023 at 7:10 AM
Reposted by John Owens
I’d say this banned-books story horrifies me because I’m queer, but honestly I don’t think I’d be less horrified if I were straight. It’s the kind of insanity that should worry anyone who cares about a) living in a free society or b) other people. popular.info/p/florida-sc...
Florida school district orders librarians to purge all books with LGBTQ characters
Librarians in public schools in Charlotte County, Florida, were instructed by the school district superintendent to remove all books with LGBTQ characters or themes from school and classroom libraries...
popular.info
September 27, 2023 at 1:41 PM
#accessibility A musical called Mrs Doubtfire, taking place at Shaftebury Theatre, London. It will run until September 2024, almost a year.

There are over 300 dates to book from. There are only 4 dates for accessible performances; BSL, Captions, Audio described, relaxed 1/2
October 4, 2023 at 1:07 AM
Scala. I made another win in web development. I'm learning Scala and I've setting up unit tests to check my mock service returning fake employee data.
I was working out issues with class versus objects. I'm having fun again with web development.
October 3, 2023 at 5:10 PM
Reposted by John Owens
My beautiful murderbook is out today! Bloom has:
* Hannibalesque origins
* cottagecore style
* a sweet sapphic romance
* dark, creeping horror
* a really cool typewriter
* and the cat LIVES!
Please buy a copy today, wherever books are sold! And please reskeet to spread the word!
October 3, 2023 at 10:24 AM
Last night, I've been stuck on a javascript problem for a few hours. I've been banging my head against desk, (not literally!), trying to get past problem.
This morning, I revisited same problem and got it fixed in a few minutes.
Moral: Take regular breaks from your desk
October 3, 2023 at 6:39 AM
Relaxing, going through a music playlist. Listening to REM, "Man on the Moon".

"Mott the Hoople and the Game of Life, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Andy Kaufman in the wrestling match, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah"
October 1, 2023 at 10:53 AM