peterkwells
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peterkwells.com
peterkwells
@peterkwells.com
BlackpoolFC, books, tech, people, policy & delivery, realist. Hopes to make stuff work for everyone.

https://peterkwells.com
Life-size statues of Trump on buildings all across USA, not doing anything, just there

Like those Gormleys in London a few years back, but with tiny authoritarian hands...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Event_H...
January 11, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Head of Product for data.gov.uk

Irregular reminder that while everyone will say they want a single, national, data portal that - outside of political need - most ppl want a single portal w/data relevant to them & that fits into their workflows

www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi...
January 11, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by peterkwells
This interview of Fiona Hill by @meganjgibson.bsky.social is excellent and full of insight and zingers such as this on whether Trump is driven by his legacy
www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
January 11, 2026 at 3:48 PM
And this pothole map connects to pothole reporting services where people can report potholes in England (or wider UK)?

Or understand who's responsible for a particular pothole?

Or even track progress (if there's enough need for that...)?

Yes?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Potholes map rates council road repair progress
Thirteen local authorities received a
www.bbc.co.uk
January 11, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by peterkwells
I know its a long shot but to rub salt into the wounds of yesterday my youngest left his scarf somewhere at the match yesterday. Got a load of badges on from this seasons Home games. Hes gutted.
Any reposts appreciated in the hope it might be recovered.
January 11, 2026 at 11:37 AM
Well, quite and some of the chatbot developers are using their very human voices to to try and make that happen as default 'cos ££$$€€

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
January 11, 2026 at 11:07 AM
Reposted by peterkwells
Just the 31,000 stories later.... it was a cold day in 2009 when it all began(!).

Thanks to everyone who has supported us over the years. 🙌
17 years of Blog Preston – Blog Preston
<p>Just the 31,000 stories written later – thanks to everyone who has supported us.</p>
www.blogpreston.co.uk
January 11, 2026 at 8:23 AM
BBC/Laura K going from taking seriously Peter Mandelson's opinions on Trump's character to Mandelson's defence of his friendship with Epstein being that he misunderstood Epstein's character is so jarring

There's many foreign policy commentators out there who don't come with that offensive baggage
January 11, 2026 at 9:51 AM
Brb, I'm editing Wiki to show that Marty Supreme is a sports horror-drama

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_S...
January 10, 2026 at 8:51 PM
Reposted by peterkwells
Help us build a solidarity network for Hopeful Technologists ☀️hopeful.technology
January 10, 2026 at 5:45 PM
According to proper football rules Macclesfield mow hold on to the FA Cup until someone can beat them
January 10, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Well the Colombian Cafe San Juan in Stockport is all kinds of wonderful

confidentials.com/manchester/c...
Cafe Sanjuan, Stockport's amazing secret Colombian cafe
Luis Felipe Sanjuan tells us the secrets to his incredible food in Stockport
confidentials.com
January 10, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by peterkwells
One week to go until UKGovCamp 2026!

Take a look at the agenda to get a feel for what to expect on the day: ukgovcamp.com/agenda/

Check our FAQs for common questions: ukgovcamp.com/faq/
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, feel free to email us.
What should I expect from the day?
Location: Birmingham City Council House, Victoria Square, Birmingham B1 1BB
ukgovcamp.com
January 10, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by peterkwells
This ad appeared this week on our West Philly block. Read all the way down.
January 10, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Booking a trip to cinema provides a nice example of how increased availability of digital ID products can increase the bar on where strong ID checks happen

(& unless that effect slows, that also increases the need for very widely available forms of ID so society doesn't unnecessarily exclude ppl)
January 10, 2026 at 11:52 AM
This is exactly what it looks like when our cat decides she has had enough of the dogs effing nonsense
BIG FIGHT AT POLAND’S WROCLAW ZOO!!!
January 10, 2026 at 10:06 AM
Nerdy consultancy point. This isn't Palantir it's the mgmt consultants with a tech team on the side that they hope can bring in some recurring revenues but is actually still custom building everything: Deloitte, Accenture....
🚨 Exclusive: Tony Blair isn’t just a big fan of AI — he's now trying to build and sell AI tools to governments

Tony Blair Institute staff have described the plan as 'insane' and compared it to Palantir

New by D4S and @lighthousereports.com 🧵

democracyforsale.substack.com/p/blair-bids...
Blair bids to build own AI tools to rival Palantir
TBI insiders warn of “'insane” plan to transform think tank into a tech company
democracyforsale.substack.com
January 10, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Idly wondering if it will be A16Z, Anduril, Tesla or Palantir who first start offering jobs to people who worked at ICE
January 10, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Reposted by peterkwells
The immigration doom loop in full swing.

Chasing the xenophobes is a doomed strategy both economically *and* politically.

(1/3)

archive.ph/pyVLg
January 10, 2026 at 3:52 AM
For less technical ppl these proposed changes to gov.uk reduce the ability for users to share from gov.uk to X

Govt comms teams/ministers could make different decisions - if they wanted - & users could still share links - with a few more button presses - if they wanted to debate things on X
January 9, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Stuck outside of Stockport with the broken UK train blues again

(W/apologies to Dylan)
January 9, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by peterkwells
Great to see this report is available to read online.

It lays out pretty much the whole story of Teesworks over the last few years (and why it matters!).
As Tees Valley mayor Lord Houchen's defence of his deal with local businessmen crumbles, here's the Eye's recent special report on how Britain's flagship regeneration scheme secretly turned into one of the biggest giveaways of public money on record.

➡️ www.private-eye.co.uk/special-repo...
Special Report: Stripped Tees
IT WAS to be the UK’s largest regeneration scheme in decades, a model for regional devolution and the flagship post-Brexit freeport. But the redevelopment of the former steelworks on the south bank of...
www.private-eye.co.uk
January 9, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by peterkwells
Today's #openaddresses:

Royal Borough of Greenwich has released its Council Tax address list as open data owenboswarva.com/blog/post-ad...

Greenwich is the seventh London borough to unlock its CT list. Thanks @royalgreenwich.bsky.social!

I've geocoded the addresses

#UKhousing #FOI #opendata
January 9, 2026 at 2:06 PM
*looks at various news stories about X/xAI limiting use of Grok for image editing to paid subscribers*

*notes absence of any actual statements from X/xAI *

*wonders if they're just temporarily reducing the server load/cost*
January 9, 2026 at 11:45 AM
"we're rolling out a new product - called home internet access - next year. We expect it will be less popular than telephone and TV, but some nerds will like it."
Without revealing your actual age,what's something you remember that if you told a younger person they wouldn't understand?
January 9, 2026 at 11:06 AM