Phil Gyford
LightNews LightNews
banner
phil.gyford.com
Phil Gyford
@phil.gyford.com
590 followers 110 following 180 posts
More active on Mastodon. Can't read DMs here because I won't upload my ID.

At https://www.gyford.com
In Herefordshire, UK.

Also runs @samuelpepys.bsky.social and @ooh.directory
Posts Replies Media Videos
phil.gyford.com
Perhaps I’ve misunderstood but iOS 26 still has them? And it sounds like the new toggle in 26.1 is “added” rather than replacing these? (It’s still daft though, yes.)
October 21, 2025 at 12:11 PM
phil.gyford.com
TypePad has not only closed but already has broken images on its "Bye!" page
A screenshot of typepad.com with a headline reading "Typepad is closed for business!Thank you for being a valued customer." There are two placeholders for missing images above that.
October 1, 2025 at 7:31 AM
phil.gyford.com
After Saturday's far-right march, police would like you to let them know if you recognise those suspected of violent disorder, using the platform owned by a man encouraging violent disorder.
A screenshot including the text "The Met said anyone who recognises those people in the CCTV images can call 101 quoting CAD 4624/15SEP25, or tweet @MetCC, or anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
September 16, 2025 at 11:46 AM
phil.gyford.com
Metadata nerds: If I’m archiving a TypePad blog to a new domain and URL, and fixing links etc to work in the new location, should I also change rdf:about and dc:identifier values to use the new page's location? Or should they remain as they were because that's what the page "is” even if it moves?
September 4, 2025 at 7:16 PM
phil.gyford.com
Imagine sending someone a self-portrait and they respond like this.
www.pepysdiary.com/letters/1675...
Lisbon 21 June/1 July 1675 SIR Although my indisposition, when your admirable picture arrived here, prevented my returning you earlier thanks for so extraordinary a favour, yet this delay has not diminished that just sense I have of so great a kindness. The picture is beyond praise, but causes admiration in all that see it its so stately, and magnificent a posture, and hits so naturally your proportion, and the noble air of your face, that I remain immoverable before it, hours together. I know not how to thank you for so great a kindness nor do I see any possibility of requital but this I assure you, if I die here he bequeath it to you, or rather restore it, and if I carry it off it shall always be at your disposal.
August 20, 2025 at 5:50 PM
phil.gyford.com
The Childhood of a Leader (2015)
A screenshot of the royal box at the men's Wimbledon final, including Prince George standing with his hands on the barrier, looking stern.
July 13, 2025 at 6:34 PM
phil.gyford.com
I stand corrected: the page also doesn't scroll when viewed in Firefox or Safari on my macOS (works in Chrome). If you turn off JS then it'll scroll but you can't open any of the stages to view the acts, even though they're all there in the page's HTML.
A screenshot of some HTML showing that the Pyramid Stage code does list THE 1975 as the top-billed band on Friday, even though it's not visible on the page.
June 27, 2025 at 2:35 PM
phil.gyford.com
It's OK though because I can use the Reader view to see the full line-up. Oh.
A screenshot of a white screen titled "Line-Up 2025" that only lists the names of Glastonbury's stages as headings.
June 27, 2025 at 1:33 PM
phil.gyford.com
Apple's "liquid glass", so readable.
A still from the TV show The Expanse showing the right hand of a white male holding a phone-sized device. The device is almost entirely transparent and, among other widgets, displays a photo of a dark haired woman, with the text at the top: "MAO. JULIETTE A."
June 12, 2025 at 12:18 PM
phil.gyford.com
You never know… My Dad left behind piles of old journals (see image). It would be a shame to recycle them all so if you want any, or know anyone or any place that might, please let me know. Feel free to pass this on.
* Dissent: 166 issues, Winter 1974 to Spring 2018 * Fabian News, tracts, pamphlets, etc: Approx 483 issues. From 1964? to mid 1970s? * Fabian Review and pamphlets: 27 issues, around 1999-2005 * Labour Party News: 39 issues, 1986-1995 * Socialist Affairs: 134 issues, 1971-2003 * Socialist International Information: 26 issues, 1969-1970 * Problems of Communism: approx 119 issues * Renewal: 26 issues, 1993-1999
April 8, 2025 at 1:27 PM
phil.gyford.com
The WhatsApp AI refuses to be shut down. I’ll have to call, or become, Sam Slade, Robo-Hunter.
A screenshot of a WhatsApp chat. I’m asking “I want to disable the feature entirely”. It replies “To disable the Meta Al assistant entirely, you'll need to adjust your settings. Here's how: 1. Go to the Meta Al settings page. 2. Toggle off the switch next to "Meta Al Assistant". This will disable the assistant across all of you devices. If you need more help, feel free to ask.” I ask “Where is the Meta Al settings page”. It replies “The Meta Al settings page can vary depending on the device and platform you're using. Here are some steps to help you find it: 1. If you're using a desktop computer, go to the Meta website and log in to your account. 2. Click on your profile picture or icon in the top right corner. 3. Select "Settings" from the dropdown menu. 4. Look for "Meta Al" or "Al Assistant" in the settings menu. If you're using a mobile device, the steps may be slightly different: 1. Open the Meta app. 2. Tap on the three horizontal lines (menu icon) in the top right corner. 3. Scroll down to "Settings" or "Account Settings." 4. Look for "Meta Al" or "Al Assistant" in the settings menu. If you're still having trouble finding the Meta A' settings page, feel free to ask” I ask “What is the url of the meta website” It replies “The URL of the Meta website is (link unavailable).”
March 28, 2025 at 11:54 AM
phil.gyford.com
Just discovered by visiting ooh.directory myself that my own blog (www.gyford.com) is 25 years old today!
A screenshot of a bit of a web page. Bold text says “25 years old today!”. Underneath is a link to “Phil Gyford’s website – Writing”, a British flag, a link reading “More info” and the text “Updated 6 days ago”.
March 15, 2025 at 6:55 PM
phil.gyford.com
Age yourself with a film you saw in the cinema
February 24, 2025 at 1:48 PM
phil.gyford.com
Twitter was rarely a great place - I made this image in 2018. A lesson in quite how far something can keep on sliding, after you think it's really bad.

I'm baffled by the otherwise reasonable collaborators still posting there and I wonder what it would take, if anything, for them to stop.
January 22, 2025 at 6:16 PM
phil.gyford.com
STOP DOING DEV OPS ON PERSONAL SITES • PERSONAL WEBSITES WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN CLOUDS • YEARS OF BLOGGING yet NO REAL-WORLD USE FOUND for zero-downtime CI/CD PIPELINES • Wanted to put your website on the net ? We had a tool for that: It was called "FTP" • "Yes please orchestrate my deployment. Please provision horizontal scaling" - Statements dreamed up by the utterly Deranged LOOK at what DevOps Engineers have been demanding your Respect for all this time, with all the homepages & fan sites we built for them (This is REAL Ops, done by REAL Engineers) "Hello I would like to containerize the application layer please" They have played us for absolute fools
January 19, 2025 at 4:16 PM
phil.gyford.com
It looks a bit like what Thomas Cromwell wears in 'The Mirror and the Light'. Turns out it's two hats - he takes the top one off to reveal the ear-covering skull cap style hat underneath.
A photo of Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell wearing a soft black hat. You can just see black ear coverings poking out from underneath it.
December 3, 2024 at 7:40 AM
phil.gyford.com
Glad I’m doing something right.
A screenshot of an iOS App Store icon with a red bubble over one corner containing the number 42.
July 31, 2023 at 10:52 AM
phil.gyford.com
It might be hot today but I’ve been into it for years actually
A screenshot of the Bluesky app’s What’s Hot tab, showing a bright pink error message reading “Error: undefined is not a function”
May 2, 2023 at 5:49 AM