Matt Andrews
@mattandrews.info
Engineering manager at GitLab. Formerly Economist, BBC, Guardian etc. Music nerd, cyclist, tired dad. Run a 20+ year old music webzine and still blogs sometimes, too! https://mattandrews.info/
I was a pushy parent at today's swimming lesson: kid has been doing Stage 2 since September 2024 and the last update on his swimming record was months ago. I gently asked the instructor how much longer he'd be in this stage. 30 minutes later, every kid in the class miraculously passed Stage 2.
November 16, 2025 at 12:26 PM
I was a pushy parent at today's swimming lesson: kid has been doing Stage 2 since September 2024 and the last update on his swimming record was months ago. I gently asked the instructor how much longer he'd be in this stage. 30 minutes later, every kid in the class miraculously passed Stage 2.
Just had a cringe flashback to undergraduate English in 2005 and the sheer number of young men in blazers submitting essays titled "I'm On The Pavement Thinking About The Government"
November 16, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Just had a cringe flashback to undergraduate English in 2005 and the sheer number of young men in blazers submitting essays titled "I'm On The Pavement Thinking About The Government"
Reposted by Matt Andrews
The FT writing a headline that makes it sound like Starmer is going to strip to the waist and have it in the car park with anyone who wants it
November 13, 2025 at 8:23 AM
The FT writing a headline that makes it sound like Starmer is going to strip to the waist and have it in the car park with anyone who wants it
Google Photos has just cleverly notified me about this memory, which is a video of me practicing piano. Google has helpfully overlaid the sound of generic piano music over the top of the piano I'm actually playing in the clip, leading to a pointlessly broken video with double audio #enshittification
November 12, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Google Photos has just cleverly notified me about this memory, which is a video of me practicing piano. Google has helpfully overlaid the sound of generic piano music over the top of the piano I'm actually playing in the clip, leading to a pointlessly broken video with double audio #enshittification
Reposted by Matt Andrews
Amazing thread on the submarines subreddit where someone admits to adopting a live shrimp as an onboard pet when it somehow crept in via a torpedo tube: www.reddit.com/r/submarines...
The kicker is the comms update when crewmembers began emailing each other about the shrimp's "burial at sea".
The kicker is the comms update when crewmembers began emailing each other about the shrimp's "burial at sea".
From the submarines community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the submarines community
www.reddit.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Amazing thread on the submarines subreddit where someone admits to adopting a live shrimp as an onboard pet when it somehow crept in via a torpedo tube: www.reddit.com/r/submarines...
The kicker is the comms update when crewmembers began emailing each other about the shrimp's "burial at sea".
The kicker is the comms update when crewmembers began emailing each other about the shrimp's "burial at sea".
Amazing thread on the submarines subreddit where someone admits to adopting a live shrimp as an onboard pet when it somehow crept in via a torpedo tube: www.reddit.com/r/submarines...
The kicker is the comms update when crewmembers began emailing each other about the shrimp's "burial at sea".
The kicker is the comms update when crewmembers began emailing each other about the shrimp's "burial at sea".
From the submarines community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the submarines community
www.reddit.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Amazing thread on the submarines subreddit where someone admits to adopting a live shrimp as an onboard pet when it somehow crept in via a torpedo tube: www.reddit.com/r/submarines...
The kicker is the comms update when crewmembers began emailing each other about the shrimp's "burial at sea".
The kicker is the comms update when crewmembers began emailing each other about the shrimp's "burial at sea".
On the train and a bunch of people carrying bagpipes in hard cases got on. A few minutes later the carriage is regaled by the sound of what appears to be a Nokia 3210 monophonic ringtone playing the unmistakable sounds of Scotland The Brave.
November 8, 2025 at 8:47 AM
On the train and a bunch of people carrying bagpipes in hard cases got on. A few minutes later the carriage is regaled by the sound of what appears to be a Nokia 3210 monophonic ringtone playing the unmistakable sounds of Scotland The Brave.
Just saw a man carry four pints across the pub with two in each hand and I feel like we all should have stopped whatever we were doing to applaud him for his dexterity
November 7, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Just saw a man carry four pints across the pub with two in each hand and I feel like we all should have stopped whatever we were doing to applaud him for his dexterity
The Guardian has literally just published a setlist here:
Radiohead’s 2025 tour: the opening night setlist www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Radiohead’s 2025 tour: the opening night setlist www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Radiohead’s 2025 tour: the opening night setlist
From The Bends to A Moon Shaped Pool, nearly the whole album discography was accounted for at the art-rockers’ first gig since 2018
www.theguardian.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:05 PM
The Guardian has literally just published a setlist here:
Radiohead’s 2025 tour: the opening night setlist www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Radiohead’s 2025 tour: the opening night setlist www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Been reading the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to my six year old son and we're approaching the end. Extremely curious to see if he picks up on the metaphor because just reading it aloud is making me cringe with secondhand awkwardness at how obvious it is.
November 2, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Been reading the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to my six year old son and we're approaching the end. Extremely curious to see if he picks up on the metaphor because just reading it aloud is making me cringe with secondhand awkwardness at how obvious it is.
Just got an email from Spotify that my (family) subscription cost is going up. Here's the history of those price emails:
- April 2021: £14.99 to £16.99
- Sept 2023: £16.99 to £17.99
- June 2024: £17.99 to £19.99
- Dec 2025: £19.99 to £21.99
No real justification for the price rise.
- April 2021: £14.99 to £16.99
- Sept 2023: £16.99 to £17.99
- June 2024: £17.99 to £19.99
- Dec 2025: £19.99 to £21.99
No real justification for the price rise.
November 1, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Just got an email from Spotify that my (family) subscription cost is going up. Here's the history of those price emails:
- April 2021: £14.99 to £16.99
- Sept 2023: £16.99 to £17.99
- June 2024: £17.99 to £19.99
- Dec 2025: £19.99 to £21.99
No real justification for the price rise.
- April 2021: £14.99 to £16.99
- Sept 2023: £16.99 to £17.99
- June 2024: £17.99 to £19.99
- Dec 2025: £19.99 to £21.99
No real justification for the price rise.
Just remembered the driving instructor who told me to get in the car, waited until I sat down and buckled the seatbelt, then smugly said "you've just failed your driving test" and got filled once again with pure, unbridled rage despite this happening seven years ago.
October 31, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Just remembered the driving instructor who told me to get in the car, waited until I sat down and buckled the seatbelt, then smugly said "you've just failed your driving test" and got filled once again with pure, unbridled rage despite this happening seven years ago.
Been spending a lot of time just standing in the ocean letting the waves wash over me here in Portugal, and you can basically call me Legolas because the Sea-longing is affecting me powerfully.
October 30, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Been spending a lot of time just standing in the ocean letting the waves wash over me here in Portugal, and you can basically call me Legolas because the Sea-longing is affecting me powerfully.
Welcome to Portugal, I guess
October 26, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Welcome to Portugal, I guess
Took the 6 year old climbing to reward a good first term at school. Foolishly agreed to pay him a fiver if he made it to the top green pipe here. Forgot how motivated and determined he becomes when he can cash in.
Long story short I now owe him £40 after he climbed to the top of *every* wall.
Long story short I now owe him £40 after he climbed to the top of *every* wall.
October 25, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Took the 6 year old climbing to reward a good first term at school. Foolishly agreed to pay him a fiver if he made it to the top green pipe here. Forgot how motivated and determined he becomes when he can cash in.
Long story short I now owe him £40 after he climbed to the top of *every* wall.
Long story short I now owe him £40 after he climbed to the top of *every* wall.
Thank you Nick Mohammed for finally playing this game properly #celebritytraitors
October 23, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Thank you Nick Mohammed for finally playing this game properly #celebritytraitors
My six year old has entered his Hans Zimmer phase
October 21, 2025 at 9:01 PM
My six year old has entered his Hans Zimmer phase
Went to the Stirchley protest this morning against all the flag guys trying to impose themselves on our area.
The dozen or so pro-flag guys there were filming the protesters with professional cameras, which felt really weird/sinister.
The dozen or so pro-flag guys there were filming the protesters with professional cameras, which felt really weird/sinister.
October 18, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Went to the Stirchley protest this morning against all the flag guys trying to impose themselves on our area.
The dozen or so pro-flag guys there were filming the protesters with professional cameras, which felt really weird/sinister.
The dozen or so pro-flag guys there were filming the protesters with professional cameras, which felt really weird/sinister.
Reposted by Matt Andrews
📚 My current contract is coming to an end in Dec so I am now looking for new work!
⭐ I am an award-winning & expert/lead game writer & narrative designer.
🌎 I am interested in long & short term contracts & consultancy, ideally remote.
Let's chat!
hannahnicklin.com
linkedin.com/in/hannah-nicklin
⭐ I am an award-winning & expert/lead game writer & narrative designer.
🌎 I am interested in long & short term contracts & consultancy, ideally remote.
Let's chat!
hannahnicklin.com
linkedin.com/in/hannah-nicklin
October 15, 2025 at 6:46 PM
📚 My current contract is coming to an end in Dec so I am now looking for new work!
⭐ I am an award-winning & expert/lead game writer & narrative designer.
🌎 I am interested in long & short term contracts & consultancy, ideally remote.
Let's chat!
hannahnicklin.com
linkedin.com/in/hannah-nicklin
⭐ I am an award-winning & expert/lead game writer & narrative designer.
🌎 I am interested in long & short term contracts & consultancy, ideally remote.
Let's chat!
hannahnicklin.com
linkedin.com/in/hannah-nicklin
My six year old son asked me today "Dad, do you know what Firefox is?" and—
October 15, 2025 at 9:40 AM
My six year old son asked me today "Dad, do you know what Firefox is?" and—
Post you from a different era
(go on then, this is ~20 years ago at uni)
(go on then, this is ~20 years ago at uni)
October 14, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Post you from a different era
(go on then, this is ~20 years ago at uni)
(go on then, this is ~20 years ago at uni)
In the Harry Potter books, I'm fairly convinced that J.K. Rowling simply... forgot she invented the two-way mirror that Sirius gives Harry, until it came to the end of the book, by which stage she couldn't be arsed to rewrite and just left it in. Not going to bother to re-read the books to check.
Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat
October 14, 2025 at 9:25 AM
In the Harry Potter books, I'm fairly convinced that J.K. Rowling simply... forgot she invented the two-way mirror that Sirius gives Harry, until it came to the end of the book, by which stage she couldn't be arsed to rewrite and just left it in. Not going to bother to re-read the books to check.
This is an automatically-generated image (eg. the logo is added to the article's photo by a backend service) but this is a good example of how hiding that cleverness from the CMS users (who upload the image) allows stuff like this to slip through. If you're going to automate stuff, preview it first!
I’m sure they didn’t mean to eliminate the woman in this image.
October 13, 2025 at 8:58 AM
This is an automatically-generated image (eg. the logo is added to the article's photo by a backend service) but this is a good example of how hiding that cleverness from the CMS users (who upload the image) allows stuff like this to slip through. If you're going to automate stuff, preview it first!