Matthew Balaam
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matthewbalaam.co.uk
Matthew Balaam
@matthewbalaam.co.uk
220 followers 440 following 100 posts
Frontend developer by day (for hire). DJ by night. Brighton. www.matthewbalaam.co.uk

I DJ with
www.totallyradio.com/shows/special-treatment
www.instagram.com/theflexdisko/
inter~mission show on 1BTN: https://soundcloud.com/glocknspiel/reposts
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
matuzo.at
It's December 1st, which means that throughout the entire month you should reserve 5-10 minutes every day to read a fantastic article about HTML. ❤️‍🔥

Check out what's hidden behind the first door.

htmhell.dev/adventcalendar
December 1, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
ironeconomist.bsky.social
Every version of this story is some version of ‘well you couldn’t expect me to be able to afford to buy the house I currently own’ and yes that is the point welcome to the housing crisis.
November 27, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
bell.bz
A bit of a vulnerable post by me but we need your help to get us through what has been a more difficult period than 2020.

It would be really appreciated if you could read and share in your networks too 💛

bell.bz/its-been-a-v...
It’s been a very hard year - Andy Bell
Unlike a lot of places in tech, my company, Set Studio/Piccalilli has no outside funding. Bootstrapped is what the LinkedIn people say, I think. It’s been a hard year this year. A very hard year...
bell.bz
November 27, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
spavel.bsky.social
Extremely upset that a throw-away XKCD joke somehow became the organizing principle for the Internet.
Stack of blocks labeled, all modern digital infrastructure. A ratchet tipping over the entire stack is labeled AI. A load bearing pillar is labeled unpaid open source development. Another label is AWS, and Cloudflare and Unpaid Open Source Developers.
November 20, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
darkentries.bsky.social
Jungle Jump by Patrick Cowley ♨️ an interstellar floor-filler, which pits whirling beats with dub-laced swirls of synth 🪩
“Jungle Jump” has a clammy drum breakdown that draws a line from mid-‘80s Chicago to early ‘90s London. - @andrewryce.bsky.social

🎥 "The Grease Monkeys" (1979)
November 18, 2025 at 4:26 PM
matthewbalaam.co.uk
Enjoyed playing a warm up set at Renae in Manchester earlier this month. I’ve put the recording up online here: plyr.fm/track/70
Matthew Balaam DJing with some Technics 1200s at Renae in Manchester with a wall of vinyl behind him.
November 18, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
robpalmer.bsky.social
ECMAScript excitement 😉

Congrats to my coworker @ashley-c.bsky.social at TechAtBloomberg on advancing Await Dictionary to Stage 2.7 at TC39 today 🎉

Promise.all returns positional results as an array. Promise.allKeyed allows named results inside an object 👍

github.com/tc39/proposa...
const { shape, color, mass, } = await Promise.allKeyed({ shape: getShape(), color: getColor(), mass: getMass(), });
November 18, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
piccalil.li
The URL is so overpowered and so often under-utilised. This article does a great job of explaining how much power you really have.

alfy.blog/2025/10/31/y...
Your URL Is Your State
A deep dive into how thoughtful URL design can enhance usability, shareability, and performance. Learn what state belongs in URLs, common pitfalls to avoid, and practical patterns for modern web apps.
alfy.blog
November 17, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
stefanjudis.com
New on the blog: I learned that Node.js includes a native method for marking other methods as deprecated. 🎉

www.stefanjudis.com/today-i-lear...
import { deprecate } from "node:util"; /** * Returns a string value. * @deprecated This function is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. * @returns {string} The string 'something' */ export const getSomething = deprecate(() => { return 'something' }, 'watch out! something is deprecated!')
November 17, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
amyhoy.bsky.social
this goes right along with my theory that the AI obsession in *users* is often bc…

1. they were never educated (esp "ipad generation") & don't know how computers work

2. our tools and services are all SO AWFUL NOW, degraded at best, actively user-hostile at worst
Mariya Delano @mariyadelano@hachyderm.io I've been testing a theory: many people who are high on #AI and #LLMs are just new to automation and don't realize you can automate processes with simple programming, if/then conditions, and API calls with zero Al involved. So far it's been working! Whenever I've been asked to make an Al flow or find a way to implement Al in our work with a client, I've returned back with an automation flow that uses 0 Al. Things like "when a new document is added here, add a link to it in this spreadsheet and then create a task in our project management software assigned to X with label Y". And the people who were frothing at the mouth at how I must change my mind on Al have (so far) all responded with resounding enthusiasm and excitement. They think it's the same thing. They just don't understand how much automation is possible without any generative tools. Nov 14, 2025 at 08:29 AM • 830 boosts • 9 quotes • 1.2K favorites
November 15, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
smoothdunk2.bsky.social
your dead AI mother loves you so much ❤️
4 panel comic Panel 1: An AI generated version of Purple Guy’s dead mother is speaking to him on his phone. She says “Look, darling. With AI we can be together forever” Panel 2: Purple Guy looking very upset. He asks “Do you love me, mum?” Panel 3: The disgusting AI fake mum replies “I do. Almost as much…” Panel 4: AI mum turns into an advert for online gambling. She yells: “…As I love getting 10 free spins when I sign up to pocket casino.com”
November 15, 2025 at 12:50 AM
matthewbalaam.co.uk
Listen again at: soundcloud.com/1btn/inter-m...
November 15, 2025 at 11:01 AM
matthewbalaam.co.uk
One more try to get Roxxy on the wall #ffconf
November 14, 2025 at 4:15 PM
matthewbalaam.co.uk
#ffconf OK, I’ll join in too
November 14, 2025 at 4:12 PM
matthewbalaam.co.uk
I feel seen #ffconf
Conference presenter Asim Hussain at FFConf 2025 with words on screen: “don’t be an idiot”
November 14, 2025 at 2:41 PM
matthewbalaam.co.uk
First time at #ffconf - looking forward to the more philosopical angle the conference explores to other developer events I have been to.
Remy introducing FF Conf 2025 at the Duke of Yorks cinema in Brighton.
November 14, 2025 at 9:55 AM
matthewbalaam.co.uk
Back on air with Clara tonight from 8pm on www.1btn.fm or radio in the Brighton area.
Inter-mission on 1btn.fm Friday 14th November. 20:00 - 22:00 GMT
November 14, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
theonion.com
Trump Writes Netanyahu Strongly Worded Check
Trump Writes Netanyahu Strongly Worded Check
November 3, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
matthewbalaam.co.uk
Who’s back on the airwaves with 2 hours of nonsense again this Friday on 1BTN

🤘This guy
Inter-mission Friday 10th October 20:00 to 22:00 BST 1BTN.FM or 101.4fm and DAB around the Brighton area
October 10, 2025 at 5:48 AM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
fesshole.bsky.social
I hate the "rounding up for charity" campaigns because I think it's the capitalists who own the supermarkets who should contribute, yet sometimes I want to support a good cause. So I round up at the self-checkout and steal an item of equivalent value.
October 22, 2025 at 8:20 AM
matthewbalaam.co.uk
Listen again at: soundcloud.com/1btn/inter-m...
October 17, 2025 at 6:33 AM
matthewbalaam.co.uk
Who’s back on the airwaves with 2 hours of nonsense again this Friday on 1BTN

🤘This guy
Inter-mission Friday 10th October 20:00 to 22:00 BST 1BTN.FM or 101.4fm and DAB around the Brighton area
October 10, 2025 at 5:48 AM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
bradfordgreens.bsky.social
Don't threaten us with a good time, Daily Express.
Image featuring a graphic from the Bradford District Green Party. The background is green with the Daily Express logo in the upper left and a photo of Zack Polanski speaking into a microphone on the right, holding a cartoon-style bundle of cash with a pound sign. Below, a mocked-up newspaper headline reads: “Zack Polanski wants to redistribute our money and turn Britain into a Left-wing haven.” At the bottom, the Green Party logo and web address Join.greenparty.org.uk are displayed.
October 9, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Reposted by Matthew Balaam
matoswk.bsky.social
Five Mixes by Optimo (Espacio)/JD Twich--it's really ten, but who deserves it more? R.I.P. to one of the greatest selectors ever.
michaelangelo.substack.com/p/bc138-five...
BC138 - Five Mixes: Optimo (Espacio)/JD Twitch, 2004-23
R.I.P. Keith McIvor, a.k.a. Twitch
michaelangelo.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 1:47 AM
matthewbalaam.co.uk
Listen again now up: soundcloud.com/1btn/inter-m...
September 17, 2025 at 10:43 AM