William Neal
@williamneal.bsky.social
A self-taught software engineer (my next job was in fact cyber 🩰) l relocated to Brussels 🇬🇧🇪🇺 and between changing nappies, not learning French, being woken up at strange hours, l spend time learning about heterodox economics. The usual caveats apply
Reposted by William Neal
open.substack.com/pub/backofmi...
"It can be noted that supply and demand don’t have an obvious role in this model, which appears to drive some people crazy...for the very best locations, pricing will be almost completely inelastic to supply"
"It can be noted that supply and demand don’t have an obvious role in this model, which appears to drive some people crazy...for the very best locations, pricing will be almost completely inelastic to supply"
david ricardo is not easily denied
the law of rent and its implications
open.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:16 AM
open.substack.com/pub/backofmi...
"It can be noted that supply and demand don’t have an obvious role in this model, which appears to drive some people crazy...for the very best locations, pricing will be almost completely inelastic to supply"
"It can be noted that supply and demand don’t have an obvious role in this model, which appears to drive some people crazy...for the very best locations, pricing will be almost completely inelastic to supply"
Reposted by William Neal
Britain has set a new wind generation record.
"At 7:30pm on 11 November wind turbines...provided enough clean electricity to power more than 22 million homes"
"Wind was delivering 43.6% of all power on the system which means three quarters of Britain’s homes were effectively running on wind alone"
"At 7:30pm on 11 November wind turbines...provided enough clean electricity to power more than 22 million homes"
"Wind was delivering 43.6% of all power on the system which means three quarters of Britain’s homes were effectively running on wind alone"
Windpower sets new record for baseload - Energy Live News
Wind supplied 43% of all power last week setting a new record of 22.7 GW
www.energylivenews.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Britain has set a new wind generation record.
"At 7:30pm on 11 November wind turbines...provided enough clean electricity to power more than 22 million homes"
"Wind was delivering 43.6% of all power on the system which means three quarters of Britain’s homes were effectively running on wind alone"
"At 7:30pm on 11 November wind turbines...provided enough clean electricity to power more than 22 million homes"
"Wind was delivering 43.6% of all power on the system which means three quarters of Britain’s homes were effectively running on wind alone"
Reposted by William Neal
Missed this big news last week:
A bid for a stake in Germany's gas network collapsed because the bidder (Italian energy firm Snam) is 1/3-owned by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, an Italian investment vehicle, which is 35% owned by State Grid Corp. of China
A bid for a stake in Germany's gas network collapsed because the bidder (Italian energy firm Snam) is 1/3-owned by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, an Italian investment vehicle, which is 35% owned by State Grid Corp. of China
China’s Role in Powering Germany Draws Scrutiny
Berlin is taking a more cautious approach to Beijing’s influence over its energy infrastructure.
www.bloomberg.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Missed this big news last week:
A bid for a stake in Germany's gas network collapsed because the bidder (Italian energy firm Snam) is 1/3-owned by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, an Italian investment vehicle, which is 35% owned by State Grid Corp. of China
A bid for a stake in Germany's gas network collapsed because the bidder (Italian energy firm Snam) is 1/3-owned by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, an Italian investment vehicle, which is 35% owned by State Grid Corp. of China
Reposted by William Neal
The first episode of House of Cards was broadcast on this day in 1990.
November 18, 2025 at 7:12 PM
The first episode of House of Cards was broadcast on this day in 1990.
Reposted by William Neal
Numbers that aren’t divisible by two seem odd to me.
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Numbers that aren’t divisible by two seem odd to me.
“But one is that the Tories retained power over 14 years in part because of their divisions not despite them... shape-shifted in ways that helped them defy political gravity and win elections.” Bingo! Boris Johnson ejecting centralists/liberal/one nation tories sent them in a tail spin
open.substack.com/pub/geoffmul...
A lot of very important points in a short post
A lot of very important points in a short post
Hollowed out: can the centre hold?
Can the centre hold and resist the far right?
open.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:14 PM
“But one is that the Tories retained power over 14 years in part because of their divisions not despite them... shape-shifted in ways that helped them defy political gravity and win elections.” Bingo! Boris Johnson ejecting centralists/liberal/one nation tories sent them in a tail spin
Reposted by William Neal
Ah yes, Hallowe’en. Where the doors of the underworld open and all sorts of eldritch creatures spill out
October 31, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Ah yes, Hallowe’en. Where the doors of the underworld open and all sorts of eldritch creatures spill out
Reposted by William Neal
Most of you have seen this, but in these troubled times, I would like to ask that you open.substack.com/pub/sankaran...
Stop blaming neoliberals for neoconneries
One of the things long-time followers on Twitter know about me (besides the most important fact that I am the Stakhanov of the dad joke) is that I like to come up with definitions for neoliberalism.
open.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Most of you have seen this, but in these troubled times, I would like to ask that you open.substack.com/pub/sankaran...
Reposted by William Neal
MURDERER [sommelier]: *stabs me just a little, waits patiently*
ME: *grimaces in pain for a few seconds, thoughtfully* yes great
ME: *grimaces in pain for a few seconds, thoughtfully* yes great
October 24, 2025 at 1:10 PM
MURDERER [sommelier]: *stabs me just a little, waits patiently*
ME: *grimaces in pain for a few seconds, thoughtfully* yes great
ME: *grimaces in pain for a few seconds, thoughtfully* yes great
A bit of a coup for OpenAI, where Microsoft Copilot cleans up with the business use case
“The agreement will deploy ChatGPT Enterprise on the desktops of 2,500 employees for use in "routine tasks," such as writing support, compliance and legal work, data and research processes, and document analysis.” go.theregister.com/feed/www.the...
UK Ministry of Justice signs up to ChatGPT Enterprise
: OpenAI sweetens the deal with data residency
go.theregister.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:54 AM
A bit of a coup for OpenAI, where Microsoft Copilot cleans up with the business use case
Reposted by William Neal
Reposted by William Neal
The car crisis tops today’s EU summit but leaders keep staring at the wrong problem
The issue isn’t the 2035 engine ban - it’s demand falling off a cliff today
With @sandertordoir.bsky.social and @lucasguttenberg.bsky.social, we show why flipping regs won’t help - and what the EU can do instead.
The issue isn’t the 2035 engine ban - it’s demand falling off a cliff today
With @sandertordoir.bsky.social and @lucasguttenberg.bsky.social, we show why flipping regs won’t help - and what the EU can do instead.
October 23, 2025 at 8:04 AM
The car crisis tops today’s EU summit but leaders keep staring at the wrong problem
The issue isn’t the 2035 engine ban - it’s demand falling off a cliff today
With @sandertordoir.bsky.social and @lucasguttenberg.bsky.social, we show why flipping regs won’t help - and what the EU can do instead.
The issue isn’t the 2035 engine ban - it’s demand falling off a cliff today
With @sandertordoir.bsky.social and @lucasguttenberg.bsky.social, we show why flipping regs won’t help - and what the EU can do instead.
Reposted by William Neal
We need this. github.com/orgs/communi...
Petition for Multi-Approval Organization Ownership Controls on GitHub · community · Discussion #177729
Select Topic Area Product Feedback Body Summary We are requesting that GitHub implement a mandatory multi-person approval system for top-level organization ownership changes consistent with their a...
github.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:22 PM
We need this. github.com/orgs/communi...
Reposted by William Neal
The EU should trigger the anti-coercion instrument to respond to China's rare earth weapon
@jankaoertel.bsky.social and I show why this is necessary and what the EU could target
Goal: a political deal based on mutually assured economic destruction, buying Europe time to decouple from Chinese REEs.
@jankaoertel.bsky.social and I show why this is necessary and what the EU could target
Goal: a political deal based on mutually assured economic destruction, buying Europe time to decouple from Chinese REEs.
Beijing is turning its rare earth monopoly into a weapon. The EU needs to treat this as the emergency that it is and unleash its anti-coercion shield to bring China to the negotiating table, write @jankaoertel.bsky.social and @tobiasgehrke.bsky.social @ecfrasia.bsky.social
ecfr.eu/article/esca...
ecfr.eu/article/esca...
Escalate to negotiate: How Europe should respond to Chinese export restrictions
Beijing is turning its rare earth monopoly into a weapon. The EU needs to treat this as the emergency that it is and unleash its anti-coercion shield to bring China to the negotiating table…
ecfr.eu
October 21, 2025 at 3:27 PM
The EU should trigger the anti-coercion instrument to respond to China's rare earth weapon
@jankaoertel.bsky.social and I show why this is necessary and what the EU could target
Goal: a political deal based on mutually assured economic destruction, buying Europe time to decouple from Chinese REEs.
@jankaoertel.bsky.social and I show why this is necessary and what the EU could target
Goal: a political deal based on mutually assured economic destruction, buying Europe time to decouple from Chinese REEs.
Reposted by William Neal
GDP equation is now apparently:
GDP = C + G + I + NX - RT
With RT = red tape.
GDP = C + G + I + NX - RT
With RT = red tape.
October 21, 2025 at 1:58 PM
GDP equation is now apparently:
GDP = C + G + I + NX - RT
With RT = red tape.
GDP = C + G + I + NX - RT
With RT = red tape.
Reposted by William Neal
I've just discovered there's a chip shop in Llangynwyd called 'Frying Nemo' 😭
October 17, 2025 at 8:26 AM
I've just discovered there's a chip shop in Llangynwyd called 'Frying Nemo' 😭
Reposted by William Neal
Given current market power in the upstream AI market, those providers would be able to capture most of this additional value through increased licensing fees. This would effectively create a funnel through which UK wealth, productivity and consumer surplus is syphoned off to US tech companies.
September 25, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Given current market power in the upstream AI market, those providers would be able to capture most of this additional value through increased licensing fees. This would effectively create a funnel through which UK wealth, productivity and consumer surplus is syphoned off to US tech companies.
Reposted by William Neal
Would you say that the piece you’re referring to is this one and that I’m needlessly trying to think of an excuse to reply to you so I can gain possibly one or two subscribers by linking to it in the comments to this post?
www.londoncentric.media/p/host-kitch...
www.londoncentric.media/p/host-kitch...
Your upmarket Deliveroo might be made by your local kebab shop
"On one hand, it’s a lifeline... But on the other hand, it’s a harbinger of doom.”
www.londoncentric.media
October 11, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Would you say that the piece you’re referring to is this one and that I’m needlessly trying to think of an excuse to reply to you so I can gain possibly one or two subscribers by linking to it in the comments to this post?
www.londoncentric.media/p/host-kitch...
www.londoncentric.media/p/host-kitch...
Reposted by William Neal
The Uncanny Valet
our economy is currently being propped up by the promise of billions of fully autonomous robot butlers coming in a year or so
October 11, 2025 at 12:47 PM
The Uncanny Valet
Reposted by William Neal
It may have escaped your attention, but the Belgian energy system has quietly passed an important test. During the weekend of 4-5 October 2025, our consumption was almost entirely covered by renewable energy. And yet the system ticked like a Swiss watch. /
October 6, 2025 at 10:01 PM
It may have escaped your attention, but the Belgian energy system has quietly passed an important test. During the weekend of 4-5 October 2025, our consumption was almost entirely covered by renewable energy. And yet the system ticked like a Swiss watch. /
Reposted by William Neal
Turns out just 16 days. gem.coop
Let’s see how quickly the Ruby community can get a new viable Gemfile source.
Please contact me if you’re interested in collaborating on this or contributing hosting resources.
RubyGems is nothing without Ruby Gems.
Please contact me if you’re interested in collaborating on this or contributing hosting resources.
RubyGems is nothing without Ruby Gems.
October 6, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Turns out just 16 days. gem.coop
*sigh* my brakes have been stripped from my Daddy wagon bike. Looking forward to the fight with insurance who will simultaneously claim that they can’t be sure parts are stolen but also refuse roadside assistance as it doesn’t cover theft 🫠
October 5, 2025 at 10:17 AM
*sigh* my brakes have been stripped from my Daddy wagon bike. Looking forward to the fight with insurance who will simultaneously claim that they can’t be sure parts are stolen but also refuse roadside assistance as it doesn’t cover theft 🫠
This seems like a big deal when it comes to working with LLMs, Dependency Inversion Principle in action…
If you've been trying to figure out DSPy - the automatic prompt optimization system - this talk by @dbreunig is the clearest explanation I've seen yet, with a very useful real-world case study https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ZtkgYZnOw
My notes here […]
My notes here […]
Original post on fedi.simonwillison.net
fedi.simonwillison.net
October 5, 2025 at 5:29 AM
This seems like a big deal when it comes to working with LLMs, Dependency Inversion Principle in action…
This truley excellent stuff
Look back to my myth-busting blog from Storm Ewoyn in January "𝐀 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬" for the full context and facts of how wind turbines operate in high winds 🌪️👇
www.renewableuk.com/news-and-res...
www.renewableuk.com/news-and-res...
A guide to wind farms in storm conditions
renewableuk.com
October 3, 2025 at 8:29 PM
This truley excellent stuff
Reposted by William Neal
Look back to my myth-busting blog from Storm Ewoyn in January "𝐀 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬" for the full context and facts of how wind turbines operate in high winds 🌪️👇
www.renewableuk.com/news-and-res...
www.renewableuk.com/news-and-res...
A guide to wind farms in storm conditions
renewableuk.com
October 3, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Look back to my myth-busting blog from Storm Ewoyn in January "𝐀 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬" for the full context and facts of how wind turbines operate in high winds 🌪️👇
www.renewableuk.com/news-and-res...
www.renewableuk.com/news-and-res...