John Payne
@johngpayne.bsky.social
Game developer, currently working for a big tech company. Interested in UK politics with a generally liberal / leftish / moderate outlook. Also keeping an eye on the Rust language for game development one day.
Might be engineering bias but Srouji would be significantly bigger than the others in my view.
December 6, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Might be engineering bias but Srouji would be significantly bigger than the others in my view.
One thing I’ve learned as someone who makes complex things: never watch the adverts for your own product.
December 6, 2025 at 3:42 PM
One thing I’ve learned as someone who makes complex things: never watch the adverts for your own product.
this is crazy, but what about if it went *through* St Pancras station rather than over it…?
December 6, 2025 at 8:40 AM
this is crazy, but what about if it went *through* St Pancras station rather than over it…?
Youngest child peering out the window while we drove along the Pembrokeshire coast on way to a holiday cottage many years ago: “I can’t see no whales”. We all say it every time we go on holiday now.
December 4, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Youngest child peering out the window while we drove along the Pembrokeshire coast on way to a holiday cottage many years ago: “I can’t see no whales”. We all say it every time we go on holiday now.
Wolverine and cyclops definitely vote Republican, Jean Grey votes green, professor X doesn’t vote. This checks out.
December 3, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Wolverine and cyclops definitely vote Republican, Jean Grey votes green, professor X doesn’t vote. This checks out.
Specifically gen X men isn’t it?
December 3, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Specifically gen X men isn’t it?
Wouldn’t this really obviously make targeting the NHS and other critical national security infrastructure more appealing?
December 3, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Wouldn’t this really obviously make targeting the NHS and other critical national security infrastructure more appealing?
I guess the Tory hope is it ends up being an AOL / Time Warner style thing, reform (AOL) are the new vote-rich party who think they’re buying the Tories (TW) but its maybe actually the Tory side that have the party infrastructure / history so end up dominant as reform’s inflated numbers die off.
December 3, 2025 at 12:20 AM
I guess the Tory hope is it ends up being an AOL / Time Warner style thing, reform (AOL) are the new vote-rich party who think they’re buying the Tories (TW) but its maybe actually the Tory side that have the party infrastructure / history so end up dominant as reform’s inflated numbers die off.
Also if it *was* the BBCs job you suspect we’d have never had the Boris Johnson premiership. He only got away with it for so long *because* the BBC were never prepared to outright call him a liar.
December 1, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Also if it *was* the BBCs job you suspect we’d have never had the Boris Johnson premiership. He only got away with it for so long *because* the BBC were never prepared to outright call him a liar.
Even better! I’m signing up.
December 1, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Even better! I’m signing up.
Fair I think. I was wondering about maybe The Starmerati (like illuminati, get it?).
December 1, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Fair I think. I was wondering about maybe The Starmerati (like illuminati, get it?).
I was going to sign up as an online cultist until I learned the gang name just now from this post. Can we not workshop something better?
December 1, 2025 at 12:37 AM
I was going to sign up as an online cultist until I learned the gang name just now from this post. Can we not workshop something better?
Ah nice to see Dare here. I worked with him a bit recently.
November 30, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Ah nice to see Dare here. I worked with him a bit recently.
I love that the first two options are essentially opposites. I think everyone involved is a joke at this point, but Sultana was right about the name, these are all terrible.
November 29, 2025 at 2:50 PM
I love that the first two options are essentially opposites. I think everyone involved is a joke at this point, but Sultana was right about the name, these are all terrible.
I’m sometimes critical of the unions for being a bit “absolute” but I thought it reflected really well on everyone that they sat round the table and came up with something sensible and then all owned it. It feels like one of very few instances in recent years of the country working properly
to.how
November 29, 2025 at 2:46 PM
I’m sometimes critical of the unions for being a bit “absolute” but I thought it reflected really well on everyone that they sat round the table and came up with something sensible and then all owned it. It feels like one of very few instances in recent years of the country working properly
(You could sort of see the May plan: win a big majority against an unpopular Labour Party, do a soft brexit with that big majority, head to the Winchester & have a nice cold pint until it all blows over”)
November 28, 2025 at 12:54 AM
(You could sort of see the May plan: win a big majority against an unpopular Labour Party, do a soft brexit with that big majority, head to the Winchester & have a nice cold pint until it all blows over”)
I might be misremembering but I’m sure the general consensus (which I wouldn’t accuse Stephen of subscribing to, but like a sheep I quite often do) right up to the locals just before was that she would win 2017 quite easily (rather than it being inevitable that it would be an unsatisfactory result)
November 28, 2025 at 12:52 AM
I might be misremembering but I’m sure the general consensus (which I wouldn’t accuse Stephen of subscribing to, but like a sheep I quite often do) right up to the locals just before was that she would win 2017 quite easily (rather than it being inevitable that it would be an unsatisfactory result)
Was she 100% damned from then, or from the disastrous 2017 campaign?
November 28, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Was she 100% damned from then, or from the disastrous 2017 campaign?
I think I’m trying to articulate the distinction between “important” vs “immediate” and the BBC have got used to only doing “immediate” (budget leaked!) and got really bad at “important problem” (increase in borrowing)
November 28, 2025 at 12:35 AM
I think I’m trying to articulate the distinction between “important” vs “immediate” and the BBC have got used to only doing “immediate” (budget leaked!) and got really bad at “important problem” (increase in borrowing)
3.5 years from an election! (I don’t disagree as strongly as I sound like I do, I guess I’m seeing a distinction between “they’re doing really quite badly” and “oh god we’re going to close down parliament tomorrow to avoid having a vote and the chancellor just resigned!!!”)
November 28, 2025 at 12:25 AM
3.5 years from an election! (I don’t disagree as strongly as I sound like I do, I guess I’m seeing a distinction between “they’re doing really quite badly” and “oh god we’re going to close down parliament tomorrow to avoid having a vote and the chancellor just resigned!!!”)
Except they seem currently to get the coverage that the *last* lot deserved. The BBC in particular got addicted to government being in permanent crisis (“we’re doing an emergency brexitcast!!!!” Every. Bloody. Night) and really visibility struggles now with any mode that isn’t perma-crisis
November 28, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Except they seem currently to get the coverage that the *last* lot deserved. The BBC in particular got addicted to government being in permanent crisis (“we’re doing an emergency brexitcast!!!!” Every. Bloody. Night) and really visibility struggles now with any mode that isn’t perma-crisis
Isn’t it also the standard difference with polling a big central thing vs your individual experience of it? (my local hospital is great / the nhs is broken, my MP is decent / all MPs are corrupt, each budget measure is good / the budget as a whole is bad)
November 27, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Isn’t it also the standard difference with polling a big central thing vs your individual experience of it? (my local hospital is great / the nhs is broken, my MP is decent / all MPs are corrupt, each budget measure is good / the budget as a whole is bad)
Reading your tweet I was expecting the polling to go back to somewhere in the 70s at least but it’s since 2010..
November 27, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Reading your tweet I was expecting the polling to go back to somewhere in the 70s at least but it’s since 2010..