Matthew Cain
@mcaino.bsky.social
Previously CDIO, Crown Prosecution Service. Personally: LFC, Barnet rugby ‘coach’ and cello.
Just finished another recommendation from @mrbsemporium.bsky.social. Cleverly constructed, rich characters and a big ending
May 31, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Just finished another recommendation from @mrbsemporium.bsky.social. Cleverly constructed, rich characters and a big ending
There are good reasons to spell out acronyms
DOGE has closed IRS’s IT modernization office, which was funded by the IRA.
Beyond moronic.
www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-to...
Beyond moronic.
www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-to...
IRS to Close Modernization Office | Tax Notes
Tax Notes is the first source of essential daily news, analysis, and commentary for tax professionals whose success depends on being trusted for their expertise.
www.taxnotes.com
April 1, 2025 at 1:28 PM
There are good reasons to spell out acronyms
Amazon is famously frugal as a Leadership Principle but today I discovered two things we didn’t get at the MOJ. Not only do you get a towel in the shower, there’s also a nozzle on the hairdryer
February 7, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Amazon is famously frugal as a Leadership Principle but today I discovered two things we didn’t get at the MOJ. Not only do you get a towel in the shower, there’s also a nozzle on the hairdryer
Enjoying this new feature from Gmail. It’d be churlish to wonder how long it’s been since the previous update
February 5, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Enjoying this new feature from Gmail. It’d be churlish to wonder how long it’s been since the previous update
The (coincidental) intersection of reading Prophet Song, visiting Derry and seeing the exhibition @nationalportraitgallery of people affected by the Troubles made for a moving 24 hours
January 30, 2025 at 9:00 PM
The (coincidental) intersection of reading Prophet Song, visiting Derry and seeing the exhibition @nationalportraitgallery of people affected by the Troubles made for a moving 24 hours
I’ve reached that stage of not being at work where I’m trying to engineer banter with a scammer
January 29, 2025 at 12:04 PM
I’ve reached that stage of not being at work where I’m trying to engineer banter with a scammer
Spotify has correctly judged I’d bring Mendelssohn’s Octet on a desert island open.spotify.com/site/playlis...
Playlist in a Bottle by Spotify
The only playlist you can't hear for a year.
open.spotify.com
January 28, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Spotify has correctly judged I’d bring Mendelssohn’s Octet on a desert island open.spotify.com/site/playlis...
Moving experience to visit Notre Dame cathedral. If St
Paul’s had been destroyed in 2019, would the bat survey have been completed? Or would the construction tender been awarded yet?
Paul’s had been destroyed in 2019, would the bat survey have been completed? Or would the construction tender been awarded yet?
January 28, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Moving experience to visit Notre Dame cathedral. If St
Paul’s had been destroyed in 2019, would the bat survey have been completed? Or would the construction tender been awarded yet?
Paul’s had been destroyed in 2019, would the bat survey have been completed? Or would the construction tender been awarded yet?
Thanks to @mrbsemporium.bsky.social I got to read this stunning book this week. Memorable experience
January 17, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Thanks to @mrbsemporium.bsky.social I got to read this stunning book this week. Memorable experience
Am sharing what I read on holiday in case it helps anyone prioritise their reading. In order of usefulness and beauty, they were:
1. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
2. A history of the world in 47 borders by John Elledge
3. Supremacy by Palmy Olson
4. Expectation by Anna Hope
1. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
2. A history of the world in 47 borders by John Elledge
3. Supremacy by Palmy Olson
4. Expectation by Anna Hope
January 6, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Am sharing what I read on holiday in case it helps anyone prioritise their reading. In order of usefulness and beauty, they were:
1. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
2. A history of the world in 47 borders by John Elledge
3. Supremacy by Palmy Olson
4. Expectation by Anna Hope
1. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
2. A history of the world in 47 borders by John Elledge
3. Supremacy by Palmy Olson
4. Expectation by Anna Hope
Got to see this last night. It’s spectacular but found I needed to check myself when it didn’t look as dramatic as the classic Insta shots
January 1, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Got to see this last night. It’s spectacular but found I needed to check myself when it didn’t look as dramatic as the classic Insta shots
I had a moment earlier this week where I thought: my younger self would’ve been delighted to be doing this. That I was on my own. half cut in a Soho pub reading a book whilst waiting for my daughter to finish a dance class, meant it was important not to get lost in the details of the moment!
December 25, 2024 at 11:17 AM
I had a moment earlier this week where I thought: my younger self would’ve been delighted to be doing this. That I was on my own. half cut in a Soho pub reading a book whilst waiting for my daughter to finish a dance class, meant it was important not to get lost in the details of the moment!
I assume you’d have got long odds in August on Bashar Al-Assad and Dan Ashworth going on the same weekend
December 8, 2024 at 1:35 PM
I assume you’d have got long odds in August on Bashar Al-Assad and Dan Ashworth going on the same weekend
This is an extraordinary translation (I assume) of a tense, tragic thriller.
Thanks for sponsoring @mrbsemporium.bsky.social
Thanks for sponsoring @mrbsemporium.bsky.social
November 29, 2024 at 7:06 PM
This is an extraordinary translation (I assume) of a tense, tragic thriller.
Thanks for sponsoring @mrbsemporium.bsky.social
Thanks for sponsoring @mrbsemporium.bsky.social
Night in black tie with the best ever leaving gift
November 22, 2024 at 6:59 PM
Night in black tie with the best ever leaving gift
In five paragraphs about confusing accountability in local government there’s not one mention of voters or democracy
November 22, 2024 at 12:24 PM
In five paragraphs about confusing accountability in local government there’s not one mention of voters or democracy
Do academics have a concept of bureaucratic debt? Similar to tech debt it would describe how a new rule might be well designed and well intentioned but when bolted on to a sprawling rules base slows the operating system and occasionally leads to crashes
November 21, 2024 at 7:55 AM
Do academics have a concept of bureaucratic debt? Similar to tech debt it would describe how a new rule might be well designed and well intentioned but when bolted on to a sprawling rules base slows the operating system and occasionally leads to crashes
vimeo.com/886475620
I really enjoyed this talk by @karakane-kk.bsky.social & @martinjordan.com. Made me reflect on the role of the digital centre
I really enjoyed this talk by @karakane-kk.bsky.social & @martinjordan.com. Made me reflect on the role of the digital centre
Martin Jordan & Kara Kane: The long slog of public service design
Revisit Martin & Kara’s session from 2023. To join our mailing list, where you can find out about future events; please visit: govservicedesign.net/mailing-list?utm_source=website&utm_medium=archive...
vimeo.com
November 18, 2024 at 3:37 PM
vimeo.com/886475620
I really enjoyed this talk by @karakane-kk.bsky.social & @martinjordan.com. Made me reflect on the role of the digital centre
I really enjoyed this talk by @karakane-kk.bsky.social & @martinjordan.com. Made me reflect on the role of the digital centre
Iconic branding from Hackney. And fair play to my former colleagues! I can only imagine the challenge posed by someone _actually_ trying to gift a goat
Gromit lives in a London park. Sometimes I visit the park with my baby. The baby likes goats. ‘There are two goats in this enclosure’, I tell Baby excitedly. Except.
No. No there are not.
No. No there are not.
November 16, 2024 at 9:24 PM
Iconic branding from Hackney. And fair play to my former colleagues! I can only imagine the challenge posed by someone _actually_ trying to gift a goat
Which sport is killing itself more quickly: England cricket or rugby?
November 16, 2024 at 7:56 PM
Which sport is killing itself more quickly: England cricket or rugby?
Had a play with Suno AI today to test its music generating capabilities. Save yourself the £8 for the week
November 2, 2024 at 1:58 PM
Had a play with Suno AI today to test its music generating capabilities. Save yourself the £8 for the week
My colleague @anthull.bsky.social and I have written a thing in a about Agile and dependencies to get your advice on what we can do differently mcain.co.uk/dependencies...
Dependencies: the toxic Agile anti-pattern – Matthew Cain
mcain.co.uk
September 16, 2024 at 4:12 PM
My colleague @anthull.bsky.social and I have written a thing in a about Agile and dependencies to get your advice on what we can do differently mcain.co.uk/dependencies...
Entry #728 in the directory of school IT system problems: we have amended our policy to no longer conform with NCSC security guidelines. Genius, ‘Wise’Pay
September 4, 2024 at 3:43 PM
Entry #728 in the directory of school IT system problems: we have amended our policy to no longer conform with NCSC security guidelines. Genius, ‘Wise’Pay
How might we build the capacity and resilience of institutions and civil society to respond to cyber attacks and so change the incentives around ransomware?
My best attempt at making sense of what has been happening at the British Library and more importantly how to learn from it
ciaranmartin.substack.com/p/on-the-mat...
ciaranmartin.substack.com/p/on-the-mat...
On the matter of the British Library cyber incident
The most important lesson to figure out is why it is taking so long to restore services. That will tell us how to prevent such a calamity in other vital national institutions.
ciaranmartin.substack.com
January 20, 2024 at 2:59 PM
How might we build the capacity and resilience of institutions and civil society to respond to cyber attacks and so change the incentives around ransomware?