Phil Himsworth
@philhimsworth.bsky.social
Software - bikes - energy - transport - climate - he/him
I got stuck in that John Lewis once, I found my way in but couldn't find my way out! Turns out the lifts didn't go to the same set of floors...
January 23, 2026 at 12:15 AM
I got stuck in that John Lewis once, I found my way in but couldn't find my way out! Turns out the lifts didn't go to the same set of floors...
"After NPR is completed"... by then we'll all just take the teleporter, no need for the train.
January 13, 2026 at 2:49 PM
"After NPR is completed"... by then we'll all just take the teleporter, no need for the train.
This was before such things, I forget what kind of phone it was now but it was the Nokia 3310 era. You either didn't have to unlock it at all or just holding "*" did it.
I guess my number must have been at the top of the recent calls list that something managed to press enough buttons to access...
I guess my number must have been at the top of the recent calls list that something managed to press enough buttons to access...
January 12, 2026 at 11:20 AM
This was before such things, I forget what kind of phone it was now but it was the Nokia 3310 era. You either didn't have to unlock it at all or just holding "*" did it.
I guess my number must have been at the top of the recent calls list that something managed to press enough buttons to access...
I guess my number must have been at the top of the recent calls list that something managed to press enough buttons to access...
Years ago we lost a phone on a hill in Snowdonia. The next day I had a 40 minute voicemail from it that was just a lot of snuffling noises. I don't speak sheep but I bet it said "if you want your phone back better pay up".
January 12, 2026 at 9:42 AM
Years ago we lost a phone on a hill in Snowdonia. The next day I had a 40 minute voicemail from it that was just a lot of snuffling noises. I don't speak sheep but I bet it said "if you want your phone back better pay up".
WTF were they thinking? "We look forward to working with local authorities"? Do they actually think that will do *anything*, let alone make pavement parking "a thing of the past"?
I agree, they should be livid, not welcoming.
I agree, they should be livid, not welcoming.
January 8, 2026 at 11:26 AM
WTF were they thinking? "We look forward to working with local authorities"? Do they actually think that will do *anything*, let alone make pavement parking "a thing of the past"?
I agree, they should be livid, not welcoming.
I agree, they should be livid, not welcoming.
New high-speed internet strategy for rural Britain: encourage war, wait for everywhere to be buried under discarded FPV drone fibre lines stretching between Ukraine and Greenland, plug into computers instead.
Probably more realistic than waiting for Openreach to do it.
Probably more realistic than waiting for Openreach to do it.
January 7, 2026 at 1:23 PM
New high-speed internet strategy for rural Britain: encourage war, wait for everywhere to be buried under discarded FPV drone fibre lines stretching between Ukraine and Greenland, plug into computers instead.
Probably more realistic than waiting for Openreach to do it.
Probably more realistic than waiting for Openreach to do it.
I remember when we replaced a Dyson with a Shark, I realised vacuums didn't actually have to be so loud as to risk hearing damage every time you used them. A revelation.
December 27, 2025 at 7:23 PM
I remember when we replaced a Dyson with a Shark, I realised vacuums didn't actually have to be so loud as to risk hearing damage every time you used them. A revelation.
Ha, I remembered about this video yesterday and watched it another thousand times. It is a true classic.
December 27, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Ha, I remembered about this video yesterday and watched it another thousand times. It is a true classic.
The railways seem to acknowledge that this will only get worse with climate change, but money is generally, grudgingly found to repair failed railway embankments, landslides and the like. Will money be found for canals that aren't so important for transport?
December 22, 2025 at 1:53 PM
The railways seem to acknowledge that this will only get worse with climate change, but money is generally, grudgingly found to repair failed railway embankments, landslides and the like. Will money be found for canals that aren't so important for transport?
Yes. If kids can't walk or bike to school safely, the roads are unsafe, not fit for purpose and need redesigning.
December 20, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Yes. If kids can't walk or bike to school safely, the roads are unsafe, not fit for purpose and need redesigning.
"but why do the left always use such violent language..." 🤪
December 19, 2025 at 7:24 PM
"but why do the left always use such violent language..." 🤪
It is incredible that despite cyclists riding on pavements at 70mph it's still car drivers that kill orders of magnitude more people.
If high speed pavement cycling is that safe it might as well be legal, surely?
If high speed pavement cycling is that safe it might as well be legal, surely?
December 19, 2025 at 10:16 AM
It is incredible that despite cyclists riding on pavements at 70mph it's still car drivers that kill orders of magnitude more people.
If high speed pavement cycling is that safe it might as well be legal, surely?
If high speed pavement cycling is that safe it might as well be legal, surely?
Yes me too! I was wondering how you secure a child with bungy cords 🤪
December 17, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Yes me too! I was wondering how you secure a child with bungy cords 🤪
The problem is that the vast majority of paved space is roads, and roads are too dangerous. We need to make roads safer for basically any other form of transport to work.
December 16, 2025 at 4:00 PM
The problem is that the vast majority of paved space is roads, and roads are too dangerous. We need to make roads safer for basically any other form of transport to work.
Best wishes. I have a mask like that (from on-one?); I thought I had lost it years ago, until I found it in a back pocket of some trousers last week! One of those memories of when the world totally changed.
December 15, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Best wishes. I have a mask like that (from on-one?); I thought I had lost it years ago, until I found it in a back pocket of some trousers last week! One of those memories of when the world totally changed.
In winter I bet she could have biked in in less time than she spent de-icing the car.
December 9, 2025 at 11:26 AM
In winter I bet she could have biked in in less time than she spent de-icing the car.
I assumed if you did a "bump charge" during the cheap period now it would still use the cheap rate?
Octopus do like to come up with interesting schemes but are pretty rubbish at explaining how they actually work 🙃
Octopus do like to come up with interesting schemes but are pretty rubbish at explaining how they actually work 🙃
December 5, 2025 at 10:36 AM
I assumed if you did a "bump charge" during the cheap period now it would still use the cheap rate?
Octopus do like to come up with interesting schemes but are pretty rubbish at explaining how they actually work 🙃
Octopus do like to come up with interesting schemes but are pretty rubbish at explaining how they actually work 🙃
There are people round us who drive to school; with traffic and parking we almost always get there faster walking. They still do it anyway, I've no idea why.
November 28, 2025 at 9:48 AM
There are people round us who drive to school; with traffic and parking we almost always get there faster walking. They still do it anyway, I've no idea why.
I have occasionally had to work on a certain brand of industrial weigh scale that sometimes throws a wobbler so when you try to do something it just says "can't".
November 26, 2025 at 1:08 PM
I have occasionally had to work on a certain brand of industrial weigh scale that sometimes throws a wobbler so when you try to do something it just says "can't".
Rejoining the single market? 🙃
November 26, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Rejoining the single market? 🙃
If you have a robot vacuum and haven't stuck googly eyes to it, what are you even doing?
November 25, 2025 at 9:32 PM
If you have a robot vacuum and haven't stuck googly eyes to it, what are you even doing?
Jeez sounds like they had better drive really carefully then in order to prevent risking other people's lives.
November 24, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Jeez sounds like they had better drive really carefully then in order to prevent risking other people's lives.
I was going to say it should turn a traffic light red so they have to stop, but tbh I like your idea better.
November 24, 2025 at 12:37 PM
I was going to say it should turn a traffic light red so they have to stop, but tbh I like your idea better.
I don't remember ever having to press "refresh" on a file explorer window before windows 11 came along, now it's all the time. How did they break the file explorer?!
November 22, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I don't remember ever having to press "refresh" on a file explorer window before windows 11 came along, now it's all the time. How did they break the file explorer?!
People would ride on the road if they weren't full of lunatic drivers. Stop complaining about people trying to keep themselves safe and fix that.
November 20, 2025 at 9:49 PM
People would ride on the road if they weren't full of lunatic drivers. Stop complaining about people trying to keep themselves safe and fix that.