Mark Boulton
@markboulton.co.uk
Head of product design @checkout.com. Typographer. Cyclist. Likes tea.
Reposted by Mark Boulton
Seeing as it's 5 November, something about Bonfire Night...
The topsy-turvy celebration of Guy Fawkes
interconnected.org/home/2022/11...
The topsy-turvy celebration of Guy Fawkes
interconnected.org/home/2022/11...
The topsy-turvy celebration of Guy Fawkes
Posted on Thursday 3 Nov 2022. 646 words, 1 link. By Matt Webb.
interconnected.org
November 5, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Seeing as it's 5 November, something about Bonfire Night...
The topsy-turvy celebration of Guy Fawkes
interconnected.org/home/2022/11...
The topsy-turvy celebration of Guy Fawkes
interconnected.org/home/2022/11...
Youngest daughter and her friends are watching The Shining on their Halloween sleep over. It’s been going like this…
‘Omg, is so boring!’
‘What *is* this film about!?’
‘Shit! Oh, it’s so creepy’
‘I don’t like it’
‘Can we come and sit with you?’
‘Don’t turn the lights off!’
‘Did you hear that?’
‘Omg, is so boring!’
‘What *is* this film about!?’
‘Shit! Oh, it’s so creepy’
‘I don’t like it’
‘Can we come and sit with you?’
‘Don’t turn the lights off!’
‘Did you hear that?’
October 31, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Youngest daughter and her friends are watching The Shining on their Halloween sleep over. It’s been going like this…
‘Omg, is so boring!’
‘What *is* this film about!?’
‘Shit! Oh, it’s so creepy’
‘I don’t like it’
‘Can we come and sit with you?’
‘Don’t turn the lights off!’
‘Did you hear that?’
‘Omg, is so boring!’
‘What *is* this film about!?’
‘Shit! Oh, it’s so creepy’
‘I don’t like it’
‘Can we come and sit with you?’
‘Don’t turn the lights off!’
‘Did you hear that?’
Been vibe coding a cycling app. It’s like a cross between being a hovering art director and a baby sitter.
October 13, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Been vibe coding a cycling app. It’s like a cross between being a hovering art director and a baby sitter.
Superman. Superdog. Funny droids. Clearly I’m 42 years too old for this film.
September 27, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Superman. Superdog. Funny droids. Clearly I’m 42 years too old for this film.
Carb loading for a bike ride tomorrow and am approx 80% bagel and jam, 10% banana bread, 7% orange juice, and 3% gaviscon.
September 20, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Carb loading for a bike ride tomorrow and am approx 80% bagel and jam, 10% banana bread, 7% orange juice, and 3% gaviscon.
Liquid Glass is upsetting.
September 18, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Liquid Glass is upsetting.
Made a thing on my website.
markboulton.co.uk/rides/
For a while I’ve been wanting to continue to own my own data and I do a fair bit of riding with a lot of data. So putting them up on my site and tinkering felt like a nice thing to do.
markboulton.co.uk/rides/
For a while I’ve been wanting to continue to own my own data and I do a fair bit of riding with a lot of data. So putting them up on my site and tinkering felt like a nice thing to do.
September 10, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Made a thing on my website.
markboulton.co.uk/rides/
For a while I’ve been wanting to continue to own my own data and I do a fair bit of riding with a lot of data. So putting them up on my site and tinkering felt like a nice thing to do.
markboulton.co.uk/rides/
For a while I’ve been wanting to continue to own my own data and I do a fair bit of riding with a lot of data. So putting them up on my site and tinkering felt like a nice thing to do.
I have opinions about notebooks. The Midori MD A5 gridded notebook is almost perfect. From its lay-flat design and the weight of the paper. But its cover is rubbish. Light weight and gets destroyed by travel. And the separate covers aren’t that great.
I’m not going to make my own but I’m tempted.
I’m not going to make my own but I’m tempted.
September 9, 2025 at 9:03 AM
I have opinions about notebooks. The Midori MD A5 gridded notebook is almost perfect. From its lay-flat design and the weight of the paper. But its cover is rubbish. Light weight and gets destroyed by travel. And the separate covers aren’t that great.
I’m not going to make my own but I’m tempted.
I’m not going to make my own but I’m tempted.
It’s been 25 years since I’ve seen G Love & Special Sauce and tonight they treated us to the entire first album and a few extras. Just a wonderful experience.
August 28, 2025 at 10:14 PM
It’s been 25 years since I’ve seen G Love & Special Sauce and tonight they treated us to the entire first album and a few extras. Just a wonderful experience.
During the first lockdown, I blogged about making a bit of an aggregated feed reader (I guess I was doing a lot of doomscrolling).
markboulton.co.uk/journal/my-o...
I hadn't looked at it ages, but it feels like a scary, depressing, triggering time capsule.
broadsheet.markboulton.co.uk
markboulton.co.uk/journal/my-o...
I hadn't looked at it ages, but it feels like a scary, depressing, triggering time capsule.
broadsheet.markboulton.co.uk
August 26, 2025 at 2:16 PM
During the first lockdown, I blogged about making a bit of an aggregated feed reader (I guess I was doing a lot of doomscrolling).
markboulton.co.uk/journal/my-o...
I hadn't looked at it ages, but it feels like a scary, depressing, triggering time capsule.
broadsheet.markboulton.co.uk
markboulton.co.uk/journal/my-o...
I hadn't looked at it ages, but it feels like a scary, depressing, triggering time capsule.
broadsheet.markboulton.co.uk
I hope Alien Earth gets better.
I think what it hasn’t nailed is that, like the shark in Jaws, the xenomorph’s horror lies in its absence. It was so quiet, so fast, so stealthy, that you have no chance of witnessing it take someone.
I think what it hasn’t nailed is that, like the shark in Jaws, the xenomorph’s horror lies in its absence. It was so quiet, so fast, so stealthy, that you have no chance of witnessing it take someone.
August 17, 2025 at 8:16 PM
I hope Alien Earth gets better.
I think what it hasn’t nailed is that, like the shark in Jaws, the xenomorph’s horror lies in its absence. It was so quiet, so fast, so stealthy, that you have no chance of witnessing it take someone.
I think what it hasn’t nailed is that, like the shark in Jaws, the xenomorph’s horror lies in its absence. It was so quiet, so fast, so stealthy, that you have no chance of witnessing it take someone.
Back on the weeknotes. markboulton.co.uk/journal/week...
Weeknotes 39 - Mark Boulton
Some notes of the week
markboulton.co.uk
August 15, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Back on the weeknotes. markboulton.co.uk/journal/week...
Just digging around a four year old Eleventy build of my blog going ‘huh?’. I reckon I may have to zero the desk if I’m going to rebuild this thing
(Zeroing the desk: markboulton.co.uk/journal/zero...)
(Zeroing the desk: markboulton.co.uk/journal/zero...)
August 11, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Just digging around a four year old Eleventy build of my blog going ‘huh?’. I reckon I may have to zero the desk if I’m going to rebuild this thing
(Zeroing the desk: markboulton.co.uk/journal/zero...)
(Zeroing the desk: markboulton.co.uk/journal/zero...)
In my ‘shake up my blog and get back to reading and writing’ renewed energy I’ve now tweaked my reading workflow. RSS, for things I like, save to Instapaper, IFTTT to raindrop with a specific collection, Eleventy builds from the raindrop API.
Enjoying some tinkering.
Enjoying some tinkering.
August 11, 2025 at 2:06 PM
In my ‘shake up my blog and get back to reading and writing’ renewed energy I’ve now tweaked my reading workflow. RSS, for things I like, save to Instapaper, IFTTT to raindrop with a specific collection, Eleventy builds from the raindrop API.
Enjoying some tinkering.
Enjoying some tinkering.
In my ‘I’m going to redesign my blog’ frame of mind I’ve been going back through some blog posts of mine. Weeknotes, in particular. I’m going to start writing them again. Nice to look back, but also a really good habit if I make it stick again.
August 10, 2025 at 9:33 AM
In my ‘I’m going to redesign my blog’ frame of mind I’ve been going back through some blog posts of mine. Weeknotes, in particular. I’m going to start writing them again. Nice to look back, but also a really good habit if I make it stick again.
Well, it's only taken me about two years to get back on the RSS horse. Blank slate. Who are your go-to reads?
August 8, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Well, it's only taken me about two years to get back on the RSS horse. Blank slate. Who are your go-to reads?
After all these years I’ve finally bought a little rice cooker. Game changer. Why? Perfectly cooked rice every time. Dead easy setup. Rice is healthy and good for your gut (even white rice, but, yes, less than brown).
August 5, 2025 at 2:42 PM
After all these years I’ve finally bought a little rice cooker. Game changer. Why? Perfectly cooked rice every time. Dead easy setup. Rice is healthy and good for your gut (even white rice, but, yes, less than brown).
Reposted by Mark Boulton
microsoft paper essentially says that AI is best used for management and sales tasks not creative or specialist ones
arxiv.org/pdf/2507.07935
arxiv.org/pdf/2507.07935
July 29, 2025 at 3:18 PM
microsoft paper essentially says that AI is best used for management and sales tasks not creative or specialist ones
arxiv.org/pdf/2507.07935
arxiv.org/pdf/2507.07935
All the feels about Ozzy. The world owes him a great debt. His band launched the careers of thousands and inspired probably hundreds of thousands to pick up their first instrument, me included. Rest up.
July 22, 2025 at 6:26 PM
All the feels about Ozzy. The world owes him a great debt. His band launched the careers of thousands and inspired probably hundreds of thousands to pick up their first instrument, me included. Rest up.
Le Tour on tv whilst I’m finishing up work ahead of holidays. Today they climb up Mont Ventoux. I climbed it a few times in 2018. Hard but not the hardest climb I did. Galibier was harder for me. Valley of Tears in the canaries was the worst. Long, hot, fiercely steep, remote, no shade.
July 22, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Le Tour on tv whilst I’m finishing up work ahead of holidays. Today they climb up Mont Ventoux. I climbed it a few times in 2018. Hard but not the hardest climb I did. Galibier was harder for me. Valley of Tears in the canaries was the worst. Long, hot, fiercely steep, remote, no shade.
Browsing Goodreads for a fairly recent excellent fantasy novel/series and 95% are Romantasy. I get that they are commercially successful, but has there been any really good fantasy published in the last 12 months that doesn’t look like some Twilight/50 Shades/GOT hybrid?
July 22, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Browsing Goodreads for a fairly recent excellent fantasy novel/series and 95% are Romantasy. I get that they are commercially successful, but has there been any really good fantasy published in the last 12 months that doesn’t look like some Twilight/50 Shades/GOT hybrid?
I don’t know what part of my stupid lizard brain thinks it’s acceptable to get anxious about a connecting flight two days out. Brains, eh?
July 21, 2025 at 7:43 PM
I don’t know what part of my stupid lizard brain thinks it’s acceptable to get anxious about a connecting flight two days out. Brains, eh?
Sonos send me an email telling me how they now have AI.
Please, Sonos, fix your app. Just make it usable. Then you can muck about with the latest and greatest.
Please, Sonos, fix your hardware. I lose count (and patience) with the drops, the hangs, the disappearing speakers.
That is all
Please, Sonos, fix your app. Just make it usable. Then you can muck about with the latest and greatest.
Please, Sonos, fix your hardware. I lose count (and patience) with the drops, the hangs, the disappearing speakers.
That is all
July 16, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Sonos send me an email telling me how they now have AI.
Please, Sonos, fix your app. Just make it usable. Then you can muck about with the latest and greatest.
Please, Sonos, fix your hardware. I lose count (and patience) with the drops, the hangs, the disappearing speakers.
That is all
Please, Sonos, fix your app. Just make it usable. Then you can muck about with the latest and greatest.
Please, Sonos, fix your hardware. I lose count (and patience) with the drops, the hangs, the disappearing speakers.
That is all
Day 5 of being sick. Films watched:
Prospect. Excellent 4*
Rocky. Again. 4*
Longlegs. Junk. 0*
Jurassic World: Rebirth. Urgh. 0*
Warfare. Excellent. 4*
Mickey 17. On the fence. 3*
Next up:
The Brutalist
Poor Things
The Vast of Night
And stage 3 of the Tour de France. Even if it’s a sprint stage
Prospect. Excellent 4*
Rocky. Again. 4*
Longlegs. Junk. 0*
Jurassic World: Rebirth. Urgh. 0*
Warfare. Excellent. 4*
Mickey 17. On the fence. 3*
Next up:
The Brutalist
Poor Things
The Vast of Night
And stage 3 of the Tour de France. Even if it’s a sprint stage
July 7, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Day 5 of being sick. Films watched:
Prospect. Excellent 4*
Rocky. Again. 4*
Longlegs. Junk. 0*
Jurassic World: Rebirth. Urgh. 0*
Warfare. Excellent. 4*
Mickey 17. On the fence. 3*
Next up:
The Brutalist
Poor Things
The Vast of Night
And stage 3 of the Tour de France. Even if it’s a sprint stage
Prospect. Excellent 4*
Rocky. Again. 4*
Longlegs. Junk. 0*
Jurassic World: Rebirth. Urgh. 0*
Warfare. Excellent. 4*
Mickey 17. On the fence. 3*
Next up:
The Brutalist
Poor Things
The Vast of Night
And stage 3 of the Tour de France. Even if it’s a sprint stage