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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him)

@duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social

2.5K followers 2.9K following 9.2K posts

Computer programmer with interest in CQRS and event sourcing and green technologies. (especially #HempCrete and #heatpumps) Living in Dublin, Ireland. Tóg go bog é Profile picture: Photo of me and a small black dog in the cab of a MF150 tractor

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 2h

One of the really powerful aspects of SQL is that we don't tell the computer how to do it's job, just what we want from it. We use a well understood and consistent syntax to do that and, as a result, get predictable results.

You can use AI code assistants in the same way.

Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 2h

Agreed..

Gergely Orosz @gergely.pragmaticengineer.com · 3h

And yes, this is my point.

Whenever I say “AI” I mean “AI in software engineering.” I do think it’s silly to completely ignore it. And I’m not saying it’s magical or always use it. But experiment with it if you’re a tech professional and decide when to use, when to ignore

bsky.app/profile/lizt...

Liz Fong-Jones (方禮真) @lizthegrey.com · 3h

I think: knowing how to code with AI assistance: absolutely an essential skill for developers to have.

enshittifying everything by putting AI into everything consumer-facing? no, thanks.

Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 2h

I am, yes, but he is a large white man on the down slope of his relevance, so any attention we give him might reward his gombeen pronouncements. Instead, attribute them to - lets say - a decaying pumpkin....or turnip.

Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 2h

I have completely forgotten about his existence. I would recommend it - you gain a small amount of your brain back and lose absolutely nothing whatsoever.

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 2h

It would just be the same person again and again and again...and that fecker is never off the TV anyway.

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 2h

It's a mausoleum.

Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 2h

We did miss a potential tag of #smeargorm though.

Gutted.

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 3h

Catherine Connolly (who, I understand, is resident in this parish) is a lovely committed person who will make a good president for Ireland.

Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 3h

She would be delighted. This is a gentle ribbing but more importantly what we are taking the pee out of is the FG person who said it was time to attack her...which, if we all do with feather pillows, drowns out the attempted attacks wit gloved fists.

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 6h

The thing that I remember is that the last trace of us as a species that would remain, if we were to all vanish today, would be our porcelain toilet bowls.

I just love the idea of spacemen archeologists finding these all round the planet and trying to extrapolate what made them and why.

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 6h

Nice.

I also enjoyed "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman and this:-

bsky.app/profile/dunc...

Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · Sep 1

Next book off the "to read" stack..

The book cover for "Entangled Life - how fungi make our world's, change our minds and shape our futures" by Merlin Sheldrake.

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 7h

Ooh - what would you recommend?

I'd recommend Richard Feynman and Stephen Jay Gould are excellent non fiction writers even if you don't have a direct interest in their specialisms.

Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 7h

Catherine Connolly was meeting a friend for a cup of tea and a scone and the friend got up to pay and didn't Catherine just let her pay. No quarrel, nothing.

#SpéirGorm #SmeartheBejaysis

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 8h

I think that the people who are going to be wiped out in the coming AI crash (which is also a private debt crash) will be the very wealthy and very stupid. The existence of a (huge) private debt bubble is, in part, because the rules put in to protect the rest of us are working.

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 8h

My *own* job is absurdly exposed to the US stock market but the general Irish economy less so.

We (Irish) do own far too much US corporate and federal debt but that is mainly people who can afford to lose a few euro.

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 8h

Well, all the other players shifting to the crowded right wing has left the new fellah plenty of space to exploit down the left and if you give him a ball and a yard of grass....

Reposted by Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him)

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 11h

I used to be disparaging of the Green Party media operation, but it’s fair to say that since Polanski took over in England and Wales it’s now firing on all cylinders.

The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 1d

“Britain is a nation of neighbours, not strangers — and it’s time we built a politics of hope that reflects that.”

Zack Polanski with a message of unity and hope having been out door knocking Handsworth today.

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 9h

Obviously it would not be great for the people employed by those companies, but Ireland's economy has become a lot mor diverse over the last decade, with pharma and aircraft leasing being major growth areas.

USA is the only country where we have a services deficit.

www.cso.ie/en/releasesa...

International Trade in Services 2023 - Central Statistics Office

Ireland’s Trade in Services recorded a surplus of €11.7bn in 2023, up €2bn from a surplus of €9.7bn in 2022.

www.cso.ie

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 9h

I am close to finishing this. Enjoying it so far

bsky.app/profile/dunc...

Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 5d

Next book off my to-read list comes highly recommended (by my wife). Question 7 by Richard Flanagan.

#bookclub

The cover to the book "Question 7" by Richard Flanagan. The cover is in two solid colour halves vertically, white above black. On the white section is a large capital letter Q with a red centre above the author name in red text. On the lower half is the book title above a number 7 on a red background in a white circle.

Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 10h

I can't even manage a proper vegetarian diet although I do try.
My 3 bean lasagna is a legend amongst the local sanitation workers.

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 10h

Sorry - I should have added a smiley emoticon.

It is a reference to this:-
youtu.be/joh37lrvf-s?...

Althea & Donna - Uptown Top Ranking

YouTube video by viktortik

youtu.be

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 12h

Catherine Connolly walked past this and didn't give out to any kids about it.
#smearthebejaysis

An immersion heater switch in the on position with the indicator light illuminated.

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 12h

I have been experimenting with an extreme form of vegetarianism called "Reggaetarianism".

No seeds, no leaves,
It's strictly roots.

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Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 14h

It is now the season to put the car up in the loft.

Fortunately it is an autumn attic.

Duncan Jones (aka Merrion) (he/him) @duncanjonesmerrion.bsky.social · 14h

You can always tell a trouble maker...

An Aberdeen Angus (dark coloured) bullock in a grass field. He has an ear tag in his left ear but has already managed to shed his right ear tab.

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