Steph Gray
@lesteph.com
Digital, woodworking and eco dad living (repair cafe, EV, solar, heat pump) in south London. Work-wise now: still celebrating Railway200, digitising wartime letters and troubleshooting tech/supplier/team issues. https://stephgray.com/now
Reposted by Steph Gray
Do the hard work to make it short.
Today's officials' (and others') inability to write short focussed documents has serious damaging consequences:-
ukcivilservant.substack.com/p/document-l...
ukcivilservant.substack.com/p/document-l...
Document Length - A Cry of Anguish!
“Let us suppose that you are sitting at your desk considering applications to your Minister for licences.
ukcivilservant.substack.com
January 27, 2026 at 10:36 AM
Do the hard work to make it short.
I imagine the designers of this research project were either on a dare or drunk: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
h/t @whatleydude.com and the ever-excellent Five Things on a Friday
h/t @whatleydude.com and the ever-excellent Five Things on a Friday
Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect - npj Mental Health Research
npj Mental Health Research - Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect
www.nature.com
January 26, 2026 at 1:06 PM
I imagine the designers of this research project were either on a dare or drunk: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
h/t @whatleydude.com and the ever-excellent Five Things on a Friday
h/t @whatleydude.com and the ever-excellent Five Things on a Friday
There's a section in @lapope.bsky.social's recent newsletter which is really sticking with me this week. It's in the context of content design but I'm trying to apply it to following the news and social media - Control, Influence and Concern:
lapope.com/2026/01/16/o...
lapope.com/2026/01/16/o...
Overcoming the ‘everything everywhere all at once’ of content
Content people don't have to fix everything, everywhere, all at once. Really.
lapope.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:46 PM
There's a section in @lapope.bsky.social's recent newsletter which is really sticking with me this week. It's in the context of content design but I'm trying to apply it to following the news and social media - Control, Influence and Concern:
lapope.com/2026/01/16/o...
lapope.com/2026/01/16/o...
A client is so proud of their site being archived in the UK Government Web Archive - as virtually all UK gov domains are - they'd like to press release the news, to the pleasant bemusement of The National Archives. It's all rather lovely. (And absolutely right: the UKGWA is a magnificent thing)
January 21, 2026 at 12:01 PM
A client is so proud of their site being archived in the UK Government Web Archive - as virtually all UK gov domains are - they'd like to press release the news, to the pleasant bemusement of The National Archives. It's all rather lovely. (And absolutely right: the UKGWA is a magnificent thing)
Reposted by Steph Gray
ICYMI over the weekend, here's my latest look at charities on X and how this has shifted this month.
Another round of charity X-odus – January 2026
An update into the charity sector’s use of X in January 2026. Use it to help benchmark your use.
madlinblog.wordpress.com
January 19, 2026 at 9:26 AM
ICYMI over the weekend, here's my latest look at charities on X and how this has shifted this month.
So autocorrect, in my ongoing chat with 'Ashley', how likely is it I will want to open my message with 'Morning Asshole'?
January 8, 2026 at 9:36 AM
So autocorrect, in my ongoing chat with 'Ashley', how likely is it I will want to open my message with 'Morning Asshole'?
I mainly follow Jesper for the woodworking but this gentle video taught me a lot more about Denmark’s relationship with Greenland than I knew before: youtu.be/iRFIUG6mB4o?...
Greenland
YouTube video by Jesper Makes
youtu.be
January 7, 2026 at 5:20 PM
I mainly follow Jesper for the woodworking but this gentle video taught me a lot more about Denmark’s relationship with Greenland than I knew before: youtu.be/iRFIUG6mB4o?...
Reposted by Steph Gray
More from @markpackuk.bsky.social on his question about the government use of X: government will carry on prioritising X for government comms, despite the evidence about X's promotion + protection of unlawful activity. It no longer pays to advertise there
lordseyeview.substack.com/p/will-the-g...
lordseyeview.substack.com/p/will-the-g...
Will the government reduce its reliance on Elon Musk's X?
Welcome
lordseyeview.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 7:51 PM
More from @markpackuk.bsky.social on his question about the government use of X: government will carry on prioritising X for government comms, despite the evidence about X's promotion + protection of unlawful activity. It no longer pays to advertise there
lordseyeview.substack.com/p/will-the-g...
lordseyeview.substack.com/p/will-the-g...
Reposted by Steph Gray
I used to love Twitter, even if I had to really reign in my shitposting when I got elected. It used to be genuinely useful professionally too. It has long ceased to have any positive net benefit, either individually or societally, and anyone in public life who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves.
January 2, 2026 at 9:24 PM
I used to love Twitter, even if I had to really reign in my shitposting when I got elected. It used to be genuinely useful professionally too. It has long ceased to have any positive net benefit, either individually or societally, and anyone in public life who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves.
This on public holidays around the world is fun - I learned that Nepal has over 30 public holiday days/year, and presumably very little gets done in Sep/Oct there...
www.not-ship.com/when-do-most...
/via @puntofisso.bsky.social's newsletter (worth subscribing to even if you're not a 'data' person)
www.not-ship.com/when-do-most...
/via @puntofisso.bsky.social's newsletter (worth subscribing to even if you're not a 'data' person)
When do most people have the day off?
It's not the day you think.
www.not-ship.com
December 29, 2025 at 12:39 PM
This on public holidays around the world is fun - I learned that Nepal has over 30 public holiday days/year, and presumably very little gets done in Sep/Oct there...
www.not-ship.com/when-do-most...
/via @puntofisso.bsky.social's newsletter (worth subscribing to even if you're not a 'data' person)
www.not-ship.com/when-do-most...
/via @puntofisso.bsky.social's newsletter (worth subscribing to even if you're not a 'data' person)
Reposted by Steph Gray
Unbelievably, #DuvetKnowItsChristmas generates such good will on social media that over the years we've raised somewhere approaching a quarter of a million quid for homeless charities. If you can spare a bob or two, sling some to Centrepoint, and here's the link: www.gofundme.com/f/duvet-know...
Donate to Duvet Know It's Christmas, 2025, organized by Rhodri Marsden
Unbelievably, it's the 15th year of this thing.
What is it?
Improbably, the nig… Rhodri Marsden needs your support for Duvet Know It's Christmas, 2025
www.gofundme.com
December 24, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Unbelievably, #DuvetKnowItsChristmas generates such good will on social media that over the years we've raised somewhere approaching a quarter of a million quid for homeless charities. If you can spare a bob or two, sling some to Centrepoint, and here's the link: www.gofundme.com/f/duvet-know...
It’s starting… #duvetknowitschristmas
December 20, 2025 at 5:24 PM
It’s starting… #duvetknowitschristmas
As we get all reflective and #wrapped at this point in December, here's my little technique for looking back over year - my first (and so far only) TikTok:
www.tiktok.com/@lestephg/vi...
www.tiktok.com/@lestephg/vi...
How to get things in perspective by making a timeline of your year and looking back at the journey you’ve been on #reflection #mentalhealth #2025goals #coaching
TikTok video by Steph
www.tiktok.com
December 17, 2025 at 4:41 PM
As we get all reflective and #wrapped at this point in December, here's my little technique for looking back over year - my first (and so far only) TikTok:
www.tiktok.com/@lestephg/vi...
www.tiktok.com/@lestephg/vi...
Reposted by Steph Gray
A thread of how to say “nobody asked you” from around the world, starting with this one…
A Lithuanian way of telling someone to mind their own business is ne tavo kiaulės, ne tavo pupos. It means “not your pigs, not your beans.”
A Lithuanian way of telling someone to mind their own business is ne tavo kiaulės, ne tavo pupos. It means “not your pigs, not your beans.”
December 17, 2025 at 1:11 PM
A thread of how to say “nobody asked you” from around the world, starting with this one…
A Lithuanian way of telling someone to mind their own business is ne tavo kiaulės, ne tavo pupos. It means “not your pigs, not your beans.”
A Lithuanian way of telling someone to mind their own business is ne tavo kiaulės, ne tavo pupos. It means “not your pigs, not your beans.”
Installing solar panels won't automatically mean you get paid for surplus you export to the grid - you need to set up your export tariff. Just been sorting out my mother-in-law's tariff and export admin - though she's missed two summers-worth of export revenue. Installers should be on top of this.
December 12, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Installing solar panels won't automatically mean you get paid for surplus you export to the grid - you need to set up your export tariff. Just been sorting out my mother-in-law's tariff and export admin - though she's missed two summers-worth of export revenue. Installers should be on top of this.
Reposted by Steph Gray
The Top 10 (non job links) from my newsletter this year -
About the GOV Reuse Library
reuselibrary-dev.apps.cloud-platform.service.justice.gov.uk/about.html
...was top by a country mile.
About the GOV Reuse Library
reuselibrary-dev.apps.cloud-platform.service.justice.gov.uk/about.html
...was top by a country mile.
About the Reuse Library
reuselibrary-dev.apps.cloud-platform.service.justice.gov.uk
December 11, 2025 at 12:01 PM
The Top 10 (non job links) from my newsletter this year -
About the GOV Reuse Library
reuselibrary-dev.apps.cloud-platform.service.justice.gov.uk/about.html
...was top by a country mile.
About the GOV Reuse Library
reuselibrary-dev.apps.cloud-platform.service.justice.gov.uk/about.html
...was top by a country mile.
5G routers have come down in price a bit: today I’ve upgraded the shed internet from a 4G external router (8mbps) to a sub-£250 Cudy P5 plus a Maswell 4x4 MIMO antenna, and now see 100+mbps on my little hill in south London…
December 2, 2025 at 4:39 PM
5G routers have come down in price a bit: today I’ve upgraded the shed internet from a 4G external router (8mbps) to a sub-£250 Cudy P5 plus a Maswell 4x4 MIMO antenna, and now see 100+mbps on my little hill in south London…
Reposted by Steph Gray
I don’t think there is any read across - at all - from the OBR’s ability post a document to its website at the right time and the OBR’s ability to produce fiscal and economic forecasts.
December 1, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I don’t think there is any read across - at all - from the OBR’s ability post a document to its website at the right time and the OBR’s ability to produce fiscal and economic forecasts.
While we're all sneering at WordPress, I'm not sure this is really a story about CMS failings or technical incompetence. Lots of orgs do what - apparently - OBR did and the world keeps turning, it's just that the stakes were higher in this case than people had considered and resourced for.
December 1, 2025 at 4:00 PM
While we're all sneering at WordPress, I'm not sure this is really a story about CMS failings or technical incompetence. Lots of orgs do what - apparently - OBR did and the world keeps turning, it's just that the stakes were higher in this case than people had considered and resourced for.
Best thing about sharing your house with builders for 6 months is the daily reminder via FixFM of just how many classic 1980s hits I'd forgotten about #GoChesney
November 24, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Best thing about sharing your house with builders for 6 months is the daily reminder via FixFM of just how many classic 1980s hits I'd forgotten about #GoChesney
Enjoy 5 minutes listening to The Man In Seat 61 (aka Mark Smith) talking about adventures in train travel and how the Caledonian Sleeper is his favourite route: railway200.co.uk/podcast/mark...
Mark Smith – The Man in Seat 61
Inspired by a school trips by train to the then Lenningrad and todays Moscow Mark’s passion for rail travel has taken all over the globe.
railway200.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Enjoy 5 minutes listening to The Man In Seat 61 (aka Mark Smith) talking about adventures in train travel and how the Caledonian Sleeper is his favourite route: railway200.co.uk/podcast/mark...
Despite riding the social media wave pretty well over the first 10-15 years, I'm confused by what works and what doesn't now.
This is a thoughtful take on what effective social media strategy looks like in a world of FYPs vs followers:
www.milkkarten.net/p/social-med...
This is a thoughtful take on what effective social media strategy looks like in a world of FYPs vs followers:
www.milkkarten.net/p/social-med...
Post-social media
It's time to rethink what the feed is for.
www.milkkarten.net
November 19, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Despite riding the social media wave pretty well over the first 10-15 years, I'm confused by what works and what doesn't now.
This is a thoughtful take on what effective social media strategy looks like in a world of FYPs vs followers:
www.milkkarten.net/p/social-med...
This is a thoughtful take on what effective social media strategy looks like in a world of FYPs vs followers:
www.milkkarten.net/p/social-med...
I can’t help myself. My children are 17 and 14.
November 18, 2025 at 7:33 AM
I can’t help myself. My children are 17 and 14.
"This out-of-whack/back-in-whack cycle is not a source of motivation. It is motivation. Annoyance is the only truly renewable resource known to man."
Lots of quotable bits, which you may enjoy if you're having a frustrating day: www.experimental-history.com/p/thank-you-...
Lots of quotable bits, which you may enjoy if you're having a frustrating day: www.experimental-history.com/p/thank-you-...
Thank you for being annoying
OR: whack 'em if you got 'em
www.experimental-history.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:28 AM
"This out-of-whack/back-in-whack cycle is not a source of motivation. It is motivation. Annoyance is the only truly renewable resource known to man."
Lots of quotable bits, which you may enjoy if you're having a frustrating day: www.experimental-history.com/p/thank-you-...
Lots of quotable bits, which you may enjoy if you're having a frustrating day: www.experimental-history.com/p/thank-you-...
I’m part of this group coaching/support network of mid-career, mid-life men - someone described the sessions today as “nourishing” which is spot on. New people are joining soon, so if you’re interested (some £ involved) check out and contact Ben for a chat: www.leanmindway.com
LeanMind | Achieve Clarity Now
LeanMind: a private network to stop the drift and reclaim agency, impact and joy. Join the community for guidance and support today.
www.leanmindway.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:39 PM
I’m part of this group coaching/support network of mid-career, mid-life men - someone described the sessions today as “nourishing” which is spot on. New people are joining soon, so if you’re interested (some £ involved) check out and contact Ben for a chat: www.leanmindway.com