corvidaye
@corvidaye.bsky.social
Edinburgh-based programmer. I like politics, policy, economics, history and corvids 🐦⬛
Reposted by corvidaye
Thinking about why public services should
not be designed in the same way as private-sector ones. I've 5 points so far:
(1) CHOICE: with v few exceptions, we get to choose the private-sector digital services we use but most public services need to be universal at the point of access
(1/n)
not be designed in the same way as private-sector ones. I've 5 points so far:
(1) CHOICE: with v few exceptions, we get to choose the private-sector digital services we use but most public services need to be universal at the point of access
(1/n)
March 23, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Thinking about why public services should
not be designed in the same way as private-sector ones. I've 5 points so far:
(1) CHOICE: with v few exceptions, we get to choose the private-sector digital services we use but most public services need to be universal at the point of access
(1/n)
not be designed in the same way as private-sector ones. I've 5 points so far:
(1) CHOICE: with v few exceptions, we get to choose the private-sector digital services we use but most public services need to be universal at the point of access
(1/n)
Reposted by corvidaye
everything's computer
March 11, 2025 at 11:53 PM
everything's computer
Reposted by corvidaye
The new interactive maps of Scotland's census data were released this week. They are fascinating! I have already spent hours exploring them, and there is so much more to look at!
www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/atlas/
www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/atlas/
December 14, 2024 at 5:01 PM
The new interactive maps of Scotland's census data were released this week. They are fascinating! I have already spent hours exploring them, and there is so much more to look at!
www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/atlas/
www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/atlas/
Reposted by corvidaye
More Scots believe Scotland was a subject than a partner in the British empire, including a majority of 2014 Yes voters. It’s opinion which flies in the face of historical research.
Stories of the ‘woke’ offensive on imperial history look like they may have been grossly exaggerated.
Stories of the ‘woke’ offensive on imperial history look like they may have been grossly exaggerated.
January 29, 2025 at 9:57 PM
More Scots believe Scotland was a subject than a partner in the British empire, including a majority of 2014 Yes voters. It’s opinion which flies in the face of historical research.
Stories of the ‘woke’ offensive on imperial history look like they may have been grossly exaggerated.
Stories of the ‘woke’ offensive on imperial history look like they may have been grossly exaggerated.
Reposted by corvidaye
WEEKEND READ: I spent eight days on a container ship, travelling from Belgium to Finland and back through the North and Baltic seas.
Here’s what it’s like to be aboard these unseen worker ants upon which our global economy relies. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/econom...
Here’s what it’s like to be aboard these unseen worker ants upon which our global economy relies. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/econom...
Inside the supply chain: my week on a container ship
Vessels like the Timca are the unnoticed worker ants of our global economy, bringing us the cheap food, clothes and household items we buy every day w...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
January 25, 2025 at 1:20 PM
WEEKEND READ: I spent eight days on a container ship, travelling from Belgium to Finland and back through the North and Baltic seas.
Here’s what it’s like to be aboard these unseen worker ants upon which our global economy relies. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/econom...
Here’s what it’s like to be aboard these unseen worker ants upon which our global economy relies. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/econom...
Reposted by corvidaye
While I don'think I posted much about "AI potholes wtf", I definitely did an internal eyeroll.
So I stand corrected; this is a really interesting piece about what that "using AI to detect potholes" thing is actually about—and it sounds pretty awesome, ngl.
takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/ai-pothole...
So I stand corrected; this is a really interesting piece about what that "using AI to detect potholes" thing is actually about—and it sounds pretty awesome, ngl.
takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/ai-pothole...
Yes, AI really can be used to tackle potholes
It's not bullshit, it's already happening.
takes.jamesomalley.co.uk
January 17, 2025 at 10:39 AM
While I don'think I posted much about "AI potholes wtf", I definitely did an internal eyeroll.
So I stand corrected; this is a really interesting piece about what that "using AI to detect potholes" thing is actually about—and it sounds pretty awesome, ngl.
takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/ai-pothole...
So I stand corrected; this is a really interesting piece about what that "using AI to detect potholes" thing is actually about—and it sounds pretty awesome, ngl.
takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/ai-pothole...
Reposted by corvidaye
There are around 10k private school kids in Edinburgh.
51 have moved to state schools in January.
As I've repeatedly said the effects of VAT on fees are going to be minimal.
www.thetimes.com/article/ab42...
51 have moved to state schools in January.
As I've repeatedly said the effects of VAT on fees are going to be minimal.
www.thetimes.com/article/ab42...
VAT on private school fees puts Edinburgh state schools at capacity
Majority of the capital’s 15 private schools are understood to have lost pupils, dispersed to state schools throughout the city
www.thetimes.com
January 17, 2025 at 9:11 AM
There are around 10k private school kids in Edinburgh.
51 have moved to state schools in January.
As I've repeatedly said the effects of VAT on fees are going to be minimal.
www.thetimes.com/article/ab42...
51 have moved to state schools in January.
As I've repeatedly said the effects of VAT on fees are going to be minimal.
www.thetimes.com/article/ab42...
Reposted by corvidaye
Me, most of the year: “Oh yes… architectural conservation…. Victorian streets… from Glasgow to Tooting…. Astonishing… The legacy of the 19th century British builder…”
Me in winter: “This country is insane knock down all pre-1995 housing and replace it with thermally sealed concrete blocks.”
Me in winter: “This country is insane knock down all pre-1995 housing and replace it with thermally sealed concrete blocks.”
January 13, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Me, most of the year: “Oh yes… architectural conservation…. Victorian streets… from Glasgow to Tooting…. Astonishing… The legacy of the 19th century British builder…”
Me in winter: “This country is insane knock down all pre-1995 housing and replace it with thermally sealed concrete blocks.”
Me in winter: “This country is insane knock down all pre-1995 housing and replace it with thermally sealed concrete blocks.”
Reposted by corvidaye
This would be a big move and likely the single most effective policy to boost integration, reduce hotels & empower new arrivals. Would be great to see more voices across parties advocating for this
Excl: The government's top immigration adviser has urged ministers to lift the ban on asylum seekers working while they wait for their claim to be processed:
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
‘Let asylum seekers work if claim takes more than six months’
Professor Brian Bell, chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee, believes the move would save taxpayers money and help integration
www.thetimes.com
January 12, 2025 at 6:19 PM
This would be a big move and likely the single most effective policy to boost integration, reduce hotels & empower new arrivals. Would be great to see more voices across parties advocating for this
Reposted by corvidaye
We HAVE solved social care. Our soluition is 'you don't get any local government'.
I mean I never expected them to fix social care to begin with I’ll be honest
January 3, 2025 at 12:31 PM
We HAVE solved social care. Our soluition is 'you don't get any local government'.
Reposted by corvidaye
Is the UK’s electric vehicle target about to fall to pieces? And why might it all hinge on parking in East London?
I shouldn’t tell you – yet – because our report only goes online the new year. But, since it’s running in the papers, here’s a thread.
🧵🔌🚗
I shouldn’t tell you – yet – because our report only goes online the new year. But, since it’s running in the papers, here’s a thread.
🧵🔌🚗
December 31, 2024 at 9:05 AM
Is the UK’s electric vehicle target about to fall to pieces? And why might it all hinge on parking in East London?
I shouldn’t tell you – yet – because our report only goes online the new year. But, since it’s running in the papers, here’s a thread.
🧵🔌🚗
I shouldn’t tell you – yet – because our report only goes online the new year. But, since it’s running in the papers, here’s a thread.
🧵🔌🚗
Reposted by corvidaye
parents arguing over whether to take an agile or waterfall based approach to christmas dinner development
December 25, 2024 at 11:11 AM
parents arguing over whether to take an agile or waterfall based approach to christmas dinner development
Reposted by corvidaye
For years, the public has called them "fake artists." But internally at Spotify, the program has name: Perfect Fit Content. My investigation, and the first look into my book Mood Machine, is the January cover at @harpers.bsky.social
harpers.org/archive/2025...
harpers.org/archive/2025...
The Ghosts in the Machine, by Liz Pelly
Spotify’s plot against musicians
harpers.org
December 18, 2024 at 5:24 PM
For years, the public has called them "fake artists." But internally at Spotify, the program has name: Perfect Fit Content. My investigation, and the first look into my book Mood Machine, is the January cover at @harpers.bsky.social
harpers.org/archive/2025...
harpers.org/archive/2025...
Reposted by corvidaye
Newsletter: Our digital lives are unregulated growth-hacked ecological disasters. The modern tech ecosystem's growth-at-all-costs mindset is actively harming billions of people, pushing them toward authoritarianism for profit. We must fight back.
www.wheresyoured.at/never-forgive-them/
www.wheresyoured.at/never-forgive-them/
Never Forgive Them
In the last year, I’ve spent about 200,000 words on a kind of personal journey where I’ve tried again and again to work out why everything digital feels so broken, and why it seems to keep getting wor...
www.wheresyoured.at
December 16, 2024 at 5:31 PM
Newsletter: Our digital lives are unregulated growth-hacked ecological disasters. The modern tech ecosystem's growth-at-all-costs mindset is actively harming billions of people, pushing them toward authoritarianism for profit. We must fight back.
www.wheresyoured.at/never-forgive-them/
www.wheresyoured.at/never-forgive-them/
Reposted by corvidaye
Went to the speech this morning. A few thoughts. TL;DR - I thought it was really good, but of course lots of tricky challenges to work through. 🧵
I know people will be irked by the word ‘start-up’ here but I do think this is a meaningful step in the right direction. The basic principles they’re gesturing to must be right. 1/n
Government to set out £100m plan to make state 'like a start-up'
As well as urging a
www.bbc.co.uk
December 9, 2024 at 11:57 AM
Went to the speech this morning. A few thoughts. TL;DR - I thought it was really good, but of course lots of tricky challenges to work through. 🧵
Reposted by corvidaye
China flooding UK schools with cheap globes showing its control of Taiwan and the South China Sea is kinda neat. The soft power of Amazon drop shipping. (Story from the Sunday Times, seemingly not online yet.)
December 8, 2024 at 11:34 AM
China flooding UK schools with cheap globes showing its control of Taiwan and the South China Sea is kinda neat. The soft power of Amazon drop shipping. (Story from the Sunday Times, seemingly not online yet.)
Reposted by corvidaye
Good piece by JBM on economic inactivity and health www.ft.com/content/1409...
What if the UK isn’t actually the sick man of Europe?
Britain’s illness-related inactivity crisis looks increasingly like a mirage
www.ft.com
December 6, 2024 at 11:43 AM
Good piece by JBM on economic inactivity and health www.ft.com/content/1409...
It continues to terrify me how widely LLMs are being used for these kinds of factual queries, and often by people who ought to know better.
December 5, 2024 at 10:56 PM
It continues to terrify me how widely LLMs are being used for these kinds of factual queries, and often by people who ought to know better.
Reposted by corvidaye
Men will declare martial law and commence a coup rather than go to therapy.
December 4, 2024 at 10:04 PM
Men will declare martial law and commence a coup rather than go to therapy.
Reposted by corvidaye
'Yawn' by Ay-Ō, 1978. 🌈 www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smiths...
December 4, 2024 at 5:32 PM
'Yawn' by Ay-Ō, 1978. 🌈 www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smiths...
Reposted by corvidaye
On The Climate Brink: Stop emissions, stop warming: A climate reality check
This is a crucial point because it determines how much warming is already "locked in" and effectively unavoidable.
The answer is very little warming is locked in.
Also, this is our 100th post!
www.theclimatebrink....
This is a crucial point because it determines how much warming is already "locked in" and effectively unavoidable.
The answer is very little warming is locked in.
Also, this is our 100th post!
www.theclimatebrink....
Stop emissions, stop warming: A climate reality check
Why future warming isn't as "locked in" as you might think
www.theclimatebrink.com
December 2, 2024 at 3:45 PM
On The Climate Brink: Stop emissions, stop warming: A climate reality check
This is a crucial point because it determines how much warming is already "locked in" and effectively unavoidable.
The answer is very little warming is locked in.
Also, this is our 100th post!
www.theclimatebrink....
This is a crucial point because it determines how much warming is already "locked in" and effectively unavoidable.
The answer is very little warming is locked in.
Also, this is our 100th post!
www.theclimatebrink....
Reposted by corvidaye
This provides a nice illustration of both how elections have profound consequences and how our current model of local government is broken 1/?
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
Council funding to be redirected from England’s rich areas to most deprived
Ministers will also consider local authority requests to raise council tax above threshold on case-by-case basis
www.theguardian.com
December 2, 2024 at 11:57 AM
This provides a nice illustration of both how elections have profound consequences and how our current model of local government is broken 1/?
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
“Everything you need to know about genetics you can learn from your cat.”
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Gene behind orange fur in cats found at last
After 60 years, scientists know why gingers, calicos, and tortoiseshells look the way they do
www.science.org
December 2, 2024 at 10:55 AM
“Everything you need to know about genetics you can learn from your cat.”
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by corvidaye
I wrote a thing about "Storing time for human events" - how if you're building an events website used by actual human beings the standard advice of "convert times to UTC and just store that" isn't actually the best approach
simonwillison.net/2024/Nov/27/...
simonwillison.net/2024/Nov/27/...
Storing times for human events
I’ve worked on various event websites in the past, and one of the unintuitively difficult problems that inevitably comes up is the best way to store the time that an …
simonwillison.net
November 27, 2024 at 8:48 PM
I wrote a thing about "Storing time for human events" - how if you're building an events website used by actual human beings the standard advice of "convert times to UTC and just store that" isn't actually the best approach
simonwillison.net/2024/Nov/27/...
simonwillison.net/2024/Nov/27/...