Owen Blacker
@owenblacker.bsky.social
🇪🇺🏳️🌈🏴🇵🇸♿⧖ he/him, cis.
Queer political geek; proud social justice warrior+trans ally. Queering Wikipedia (and chair of @wmlgbt.org), Open Rights Group, ex-mySociety. Dysgwr. My opinions, not my employer’s.
t.me/owenblacker
owen.blacker.me.uk
Queer political geek; proud social justice warrior+trans ally. Queering Wikipedia (and chair of @wmlgbt.org), Open Rights Group, ex-mySociety. Dysgwr. My opinions, not my employer’s.
t.me/owenblacker
owen.blacker.me.uk
Well, at least they're self-aware, I guess…
November 11, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Well, at least they're self-aware, I guess…
Just reading this piece by @clclark.bsky.social on “18 Books to Read after The Sovereign” and, well, no lies detected.
clclarkwrites.com/18-books-to-...
clclarkwrites.com/18-books-to-...
November 11, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Just reading this piece by @clclark.bsky.social on “18 Books to Read after The Sovereign” and, well, no lies detected.
clclarkwrites.com/18-books-to-...
clclarkwrites.com/18-books-to-...
I went to the University of East Anglia in Norwich, with beautiful brutalist 1960s architecture.
Along the Lasdun Teaching Wall, floor 0 is walkway level, floors above are 1, 2…, floors below are 01, 02… and ground level depends on the part of the building
purcellarchitecture.com/project/univ...
Along the Lasdun Teaching Wall, floor 0 is walkway level, floors above are 1, 2…, floors below are 01, 02… and ground level depends on the part of the building
purcellarchitecture.com/project/univ...
November 10, 2025 at 7:44 AM
I went to the University of East Anglia in Norwich, with beautiful brutalist 1960s architecture.
Along the Lasdun Teaching Wall, floor 0 is walkway level, floors above are 1, 2…, floors below are 01, 02… and ground level depends on the part of the building
purcellarchitecture.com/project/univ...
Along the Lasdun Teaching Wall, floor 0 is walkway level, floors above are 1, 2…, floors below are 01, 02… and ground level depends on the part of the building
purcellarchitecture.com/project/univ...
Pleased Transport Sec's response here seems pretty sensible >>
Metal detectors at train stations would ‘make life impossible’, says UK transport secretary
Heidi Alexander says security review after Cambridgeshire train stabbings will consider all other options
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Metal detectors at train stations would ‘make life impossible’, says UK transport secretary
Heidi Alexander says security review after Cambridgeshire train stabbings will consider all other options
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
November 3, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Pleased Transport Sec's response here seems pretty sensible >>
Metal detectors at train stations would ‘make life impossible’, says UK transport secretary
Heidi Alexander says security review after Cambridgeshire train stabbings will consider all other options
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Metal detectors at train stations would ‘make life impossible’, says UK transport secretary
Heidi Alexander says security review after Cambridgeshire train stabbings will consider all other options
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Seen this elsewhere — and Wales Online has posted a blur-censored version, so I assume its true.
Caerffili adding to the reasons why mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i fi.
Caerffili adding to the reasons why mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i fi.
October 26, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Seen this elsewhere — and Wales Online has posted a blur-censored version, so I assume its true.
Caerffili adding to the reasons why mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i fi.
Caerffili adding to the reasons why mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i fi.
Wow, proper fascist propaganda on the White House website now — and this is the only mention of events about minoritised people. Nothing about the signing of equality acts, for example
October 25, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Wow, proper fascist propaganda on the White House website now — and this is the only mention of events about minoritised people. Nothing about the signing of equality acts, for example
Interesting that Zoom has improved to handle their autocaptions better.
I am watching a #QueeringWikipedia presentation being given in Spanish and listening to the English live-interpretation and Zoom is showing both subtitles, but not showing the French, that I am not listening to.
I'm impressed!
I am watching a #QueeringWikipedia presentation being given in Spanish and listening to the English live-interpretation and Zoom is showing both subtitles, but not showing the French, that I am not listening to.
I'm impressed!
October 25, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Interesting that Zoom has improved to handle their autocaptions better.
I am watching a #QueeringWikipedia presentation being given in Spanish and listening to the English live-interpretation and Zoom is showing both subtitles, but not showing the French, that I am not listening to.
I'm impressed!
I am watching a #QueeringWikipedia presentation being given in Spanish and listening to the English live-interpretation and Zoom is showing both subtitles, but not showing the French, that I am not listening to.
I'm impressed!
Does Spotify use us-east-1 to serve adverts?
I'm finding the app player is crashing on me every few tracks…
(Apparently the problem is not limited to us-east-1 — a colleague posted this image to Slack earlier — but this might be because some AWS services are *only* supplied in us-east-1)
I'm finding the app player is crashing on me every few tracks…
(Apparently the problem is not limited to us-east-1 — a colleague posted this image to Slack earlier — but this might be because some AWS services are *only* supplied in us-east-1)
October 20, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Does Spotify use us-east-1 to serve adverts?
I'm finding the app player is crashing on me every few tracks…
(Apparently the problem is not limited to us-east-1 — a colleague posted this image to Slack earlier — but this might be because some AWS services are *only* supplied in us-east-1)
I'm finding the app player is crashing on me every few tracks…
(Apparently the problem is not limited to us-east-1 — a colleague posted this image to Slack earlier — but this might be because some AWS services are *only* supplied in us-east-1)
Best. Reactji. Ever.
October 20, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Best. Reactji. Ever.
I'm not sure where from, but a colleague posted this to our Slack thread about it earlier
October 20, 2025 at 9:52 AM
I'm not sure where from, but a colleague posted this to our Slack thread about it earlier
On the occasion of Margaret Thatcher's 100th birthday, I hope everyone here will join me in raising a toast to her still being dead
October 13, 2025 at 1:44 PM
On the occasion of Margaret Thatcher's 100th birthday, I hope everyone here will join me in raising a toast to her still being dead
All the President"s Men is on BBC4 still and it's a great film, proper "this is how the news is made" stuff. If you haven't seen it before, it's well worth catching it on iPlayer
But dear gods I had forgotten (already) quote how strikingly handsome Robert Redford was.
But dear gods I had forgotten (already) quote how strikingly handsome Robert Redford was.
October 9, 2025 at 10:16 PM
All the President"s Men is on BBC4 still and it's a great film, proper "this is how the news is made" stuff. If you haven't seen it before, it's well worth catching it on iPlayer
But dear gods I had forgotten (already) quote how strikingly handsome Robert Redford was.
But dear gods I had forgotten (already) quote how strikingly handsome Robert Redford was.
I don't have many 2026 books preordered yet, though I really enjoyed Queen of Faces by Petra Lord; I read an ARC of that recently.
Here's my spreadsheet of pre-orders from end-Sept 2025 onwards:
Here's my spreadsheet of pre-orders from end-Sept 2025 onwards:
October 7, 2025 at 4:52 PM
I don't have many 2026 books preordered yet, though I really enjoyed Queen of Faces by Petra Lord; I read an ARC of that recently.
Here's my spreadsheet of pre-orders from end-Sept 2025 onwards:
Here's my spreadsheet of pre-orders from end-Sept 2025 onwards:
Erm, Spotify?
One of these tracks is not like the others…
One of these tracks is not like the others…
October 7, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Erm, Spotify?
One of these tracks is not like the others…
One of these tracks is not like the others…
I just searched and it suggested a keyword; this is the result of clicking that
October 2, 2025 at 2:49 PM
I just searched and it suggested a keyword; this is the result of clicking that
Anyone got any idea why MacOS's Calendar.app might suddenly have stopped being able to sync with 1, but only 1, of the calendars from my Google account?
It is happily syncing with several others from the same Google account, but the only info is a Server error HTTP code. Are there logs somewhere?
It is happily syncing with several others from the same Google account, but the only info is a Server error HTTP code. Are there logs somewhere?
![Your calendar events couldn't be refreshed. The calendar "Owen (shared)" failed to update because of an unexpected error. The request for "Owen (shared)" in account [redacted] failed. The server responded with "500"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6w3amz23kj7iyksheryzmq2m/bafkreidrmauva47uzomgh46dezc3w2bhg6olru4fom4wz77aueo4dpdr7y@jpeg)
October 2, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Anyone got any idea why MacOS's Calendar.app might suddenly have stopped being able to sync with 1, but only 1, of the calendars from my Google account?
It is happily syncing with several others from the same Google account, but the only info is a Server error HTTP code. Are there logs somewhere?
It is happily syncing with several others from the same Google account, but the only info is a Server error HTTP code. Are there logs somewhere?
Apparently I am 60% hot, 31.67% crazy, which places me in the fun zone. This feels implausible.
www.idrlabs.com/hot-crazy-sc...
(I am not endorsing the chart segments or even the very idea of "crazy" people being with avoiding. I am definitely not endorsing the idea that I am more hot than crazy)
www.idrlabs.com/hot-crazy-sc...
(I am not endorsing the chart segments or even the very idea of "crazy" people being with avoiding. I am definitely not endorsing the idea that I am more hot than crazy)
September 30, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Apparently I am 60% hot, 31.67% crazy, which places me in the fun zone. This feels implausible.
www.idrlabs.com/hot-crazy-sc...
(I am not endorsing the chart segments or even the very idea of "crazy" people being with avoiding. I am definitely not endorsing the idea that I am more hot than crazy)
www.idrlabs.com/hot-crazy-sc...
(I am not endorsing the chart segments or even the very idea of "crazy" people being with avoiding. I am definitely not endorsing the idea that I am more hot than crazy)
And I thought they were attractive *before* realising they're all so tall!
(from www.reddit.com/r/strictlyco... )
(from www.reddit.com/r/strictlyco... )
September 27, 2025 at 7:50 PM
And I thought they were attractive *before* realising they're all so tall!
(from www.reddit.com/r/strictlyco... )
(from www.reddit.com/r/strictlyco... )
Ngl, kinda disappointed that nobody on any of today's calls has commented on my new t-shirt, with lots of kawaii versions of Derpy, the 바보호랑이 from K-Pop Demon Hunters
September 26, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Ngl, kinda disappointed that nobody on any of today's calls has commented on my new t-shirt, with lots of kawaii versions of Derpy, the 바보호랑이 from K-Pop Demon Hunters
Reading @willhaycardiff.bsky.social’s midweek newsletter. Struck by how all the candidates for the Caerffili by-election are cis white dudes — and that Reform are standing a candidate called Llŷr. An LL, “no vowels” and a to-bach? Seems dangerously foreign-looking for a party of English nationalists
September 26, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Reading @willhaycardiff.bsky.social’s midweek newsletter. Struck by how all the candidates for the Caerffili by-election are cis white dudes — and that Reform are standing a candidate called Llŷr. An LL, “no vowels” and a to-bach? Seems dangerously foreign-looking for a party of English nationalists
Oh, is it actually open now? Is this a different membership? No names on this email, so I suppose they're not technically leaving Zarah off, but there is a video thumbnail showing magic grandpa…
September 24, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Oh, is it actually open now? Is this a different membership? No names on this email, so I suppose they're not technically leaving Zarah off, but there is a video thumbnail showing magic grandpa…
I'm in Flying Tiger. I saw this and thought of some of y'all…
September 23, 2025 at 3:58 PM
I'm in Flying Tiger. I saw this and thought of some of y'all…
ChatGPT Goes Completely Haywire If You Ask It to Show You a Seahorse Emoji
Wait, there's no seahorse emoji, right? Right?
futurism.com/chatgpt-hayw...
Wait, there's no seahorse emoji, right? Right?
futurism.com/chatgpt-hayw...
September 18, 2025 at 8:27 AM
ChatGPT Goes Completely Haywire If You Ask It to Show You a Seahorse Emoji
Wait, there's no seahorse emoji, right? Right?
futurism.com/chatgpt-hayw...
Wait, there's no seahorse emoji, right? Right?
futurism.com/chatgpt-hayw...
Spain’s Vuelta cycling finale abandoned after massive pro-Palestine protest
“While race organisers denied they were considering cancelling earlier stages, they had suggested Israel-Premier Tech withdraw to protect the safety of other teams.”
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...
“While race organisers denied they were considering cancelling earlier stages, they had suggested Israel-Premier Tech withdraw to protect the safety of other teams.”
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...
![Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also voiced support for the pro-Palestine protesters. Speaking at a Socialist Party rally in Malaga on Sunday, he said: “Today marks the end of the Vuelta.”
“Our respect and recognition [is] for the athletes and our admiration for the Spanish people who are mobilising for just causes like Palestine,” he said. “Spain today shines as an example and as a source of pride, an example to an international community where it sees Spain taking a step forward in the defence of human rights.”
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6w3amz23kj7iyksheryzmq2m/bafkreidk3tywx6m5z6tyjhfb4bna4moonmfvcre5kybq2swgyptsuhff3q@jpeg)
September 15, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Spain’s Vuelta cycling finale abandoned after massive pro-Palestine protest
“While race organisers denied they were considering cancelling earlier stages, they had suggested Israel-Premier Tech withdraw to protect the safety of other teams.”
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...
“While race organisers denied they were considering cancelling earlier stages, they had suggested Israel-Premier Tech withdraw to protect the safety of other teams.”
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...