Matt Harwood

I’ve finally moved! And right next to the library 📚

I’ve created a feed for Luton Town on Surf Social. Any suggestions for sources to add? 🧡 surf.social/feed/surf… #coyh

Grieving Places: I have always assumed degrees of attachment to physical places and environments differ from person to person. Being neurodivergent, the signals of safety (or otherwise) and familiarity (or otherwise) from the space around me can play a large part in how I’m feeling, thinking and functioning. I’ve …

Just started touching a code base that was 100% Claude Code developed. I have no idea what anything does, there are a million random markdown files as “docs”, and I have no idea if the included skills/behaviours are doing the right thing. This is not how I want to use LLMs.

I’m very confused. Benidorm’s costume dept seems to have never won a BAFTA? Is this an admin error?

Surf Social: From the first Fast Company article I’ve read in years: All I know for sure is that using Surf leaves me feeling better about the state of the internet. I am aware that the net is rapidly filling up with AI-generated slop, and that, furthermore, the technology’s impact on search and …

I am trying a trial of Apple News. It just seems to be the shit magazines and rags? Is that really it?

The White House app does what you think it would do : From Thereallo: The official White House Android app has a cookie/paywall bypass injector, tracks your GPS every 4.5 minutes, and loads JavaScript from some guy’s GitHub Pages. Put me down as “unsurprised”.

Just upgraded my micro.blog account as a treat.

We Need to Talk About Green Party Spring Conference: I had other plans today, but illness confined me to the duvet and I decided to attend the Green Party Spring Conference I had tickets for. I’ve spent a couple of weeks absorbing the agenda, looking forward to hearing debate around issues that affect people’s lives and helping to shape …

I’m starting to think this #GPEW Spring Conference is being sabotaged. Greens are not this… disruptive.

Today is the Green Party of England and Wales Spring Conference. I’m ill, so tucked up with ginger shots and watching the Zoom call. First surprise, free menstrual products policy hasn’t been waived through 🤨

RSS is messaging?: Beeper + RSS, please: When I heard about Matt’s product Beeper I thought wow what if that were on the RSS network. I think RSS should be here. Makes sense doesn’t it? I agree with Dave. Blogs / RSS feeds to me feel like slow, considered group messaging.

Today’s ADHD kicker: have the idea to use the library to save money on books, continually forget to renew/return them, pay fines, defy the purpose 😄

I really love (and believe in) this comment from Ploum: It might have been an email thread. Or a lobste.rs comment. It was a discussion about yet another attempt at a new decentralized social protocol. And we reached the conclusion that with blogs and email, we already had a decentralized social …

I spent some time this week getting to grips with deep linking (App Links and Universal Links on Android and iOS respectively) and I just wish we had standards for these things. There’s no need for 2x engineering effort (maybe more to include other OSes) to solve the same “simple” …

Today I’ve used an agent to build a simple tracker to make finding a new place to rent easier. “Book Viewing” adds the viewing to iCal and invites my partner. Took 1hr. It really is a new world.

Had a great time becoming acquainted with TLA+ today. I’ve only just dipped my toe in but I am confident more formal proving systems will only become more useful in the brave new world.

Inkwell from Micro.blog helps grow the blogging community: One of my favourite parts of the blogging community is replies. Not comments, but replies on one blog to a post on another. Well thought out responses to well thought out points. The conversation evolves with patience and async joy - a stark contrast to the fast, short retorts of social media. …

Spent the evening watching the local chamber orchestra play Haydn, Finzi and Mozart in our medieval church. T’was beautiful. Though the clapping conventions were baffling 😂

Has anyone heard a cohesive argument of what Meta would do with an LLM that actually works? NYT: ‘Meta Delays Rollout of New AI Model After Performance Concerns’: The difference between Meta and Apple might be that Meta is merely a few months away from rolling out its own best-of-breed AI model. …

A charming little story for when you feel squished by the shell you’re in: unsquish.me Funnily enough, with moving home at the moment, this is what I needed ☺️

A very interesting conversation on the feeling of instability in software engineering caused by the robots: www.youtube.com/watch

Finished reading: The Owl and the Nightingale by Simon Armitage 📚

Finished reading: Crudo by Olivia Laing 📚 Read in one sitting - easily done with such dreamy writing. The chaotic feeling of 2017 described perfectly, reminding us it only feels worse now.

Boxing Daying solo today, started off with a bit of cleaning and now, of course, football. Hoping for a good result for The Hatters #COYH ⚽️

Watched: Urchin 🍿 Because for some reason I want to remove hope from life at Christmas. Apart from that, quite a piercing watch, great lead.

I’m heading in to Cambridge with multiple agendas, one being to replenish my fiction pile for the Christmas period. Any burning recommendations?

We’re off to buy a new telly. I’ve done without one for a while, but huddling round a 13” laptop is getting old. This will actually be the first TV I’ve ever bought (37yo!), as they always seemed to just appear when needed. It will not be half a mile wide 👀

Really nice overview of the Fediverse in numbers for 2025 (via predictions!) from @tchambers www.timothychambers.net/2025/12/2…

Finished reading: Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico 📚💙 If you’re over 30 and struggle to tell the difference between what you like, and what you like to think you like, this one’s for you.

The Silver Book (Olivia Laing): I just finished reading: The Silver Book by Olivia Laing 📚 The Silver Book is a beautiful novel that I couldn’t, won’t let go of. Queer love intertwined with 1970s Italian filmmaking, and the march of fascism in the background. The writing is exquisite, I ate up every word. The emotion was not just …

What Christmas Feels Like For Me (with Neurodivergence): Neurodiversity has a surprising large attack-surface on life. Diagnosed with ADHD in my 30s, and with autistic traits abound, I am learning every day a new way these things make my life more... interesting. Christmas doesn’t get to escape untouched. I have struggled to “accept” the whole month of …

Does anyone use and love iA Writer for writing long-form, maybe even novellas? Does it support you beyond the gorgeous typography?

Finished reading: Tomorrow They Won’t Dare to Murder Us by Joseph Andras 📚

It sounds like I should be grateful for my better sleep these days, and missing the dreadful TNT Ashes coverage overnight. I loved waking up with Test Match Special this morning, though! 🏏

A “me day” coming up. First job is to acquire melatonin, with a coffee somewhere while I’m out. Maybe a browse in Waterstones if I’ve been good. Then home to clean and have a roast (it’s Sunday, after all)

London a bit on the foggy side today

Off to Unity Diner today to (likely) eat far too much. It’s a foggy, gloomy day so I’ll bet the Thames is looking atmospheric too. I’ll try and snap a photo.

Claude Code used in large-scale cyber attacks: According to Anthropic: In mid-September 2025, we detected suspicious activity that later investigation determined to be a highly sophisticated espionage campaign. The attackers used AI’s “agentic” capabilities to an unprecedented degree—using AI not just as an advisor, but to execute the …

Currently reading: How to be You by Ellie Middleton 📚 I’ve took to using the library instead of spending… far too much in bookshops. This, and the prequel (https://micro.blog/books/9780241651988) are fantastically validating and useful companions for the neuro-wavey among us.

My throat was sore before last night’s #LTFC match. Now it’s wrecked 😂 I’m sure the neutrals loved it. Happy that we eeked out the win, though there’s a lot of work for Jack Wilshere to do, especially at the back ⚽️

Finished reading: Enshittification by Cory Doctorow 📚 I’ll hopefully write up some thoughts later!

Being nice is now radical: This week I took part in a focus group for Nationwide centred around neurodiverse experiences. Their interest seemed good-natured, and the few of us shared some of the pain points we might have in our financial lives as well as more generally. One neurodiverse trait I have found to be common in …

Currently reading: Enshittification by Cory Doctorow 📚 Already howling at Cory’s descriptions 🤭

This is For Everyone - Tim Berners-Lee: Finished reading: This is For Everyone by Tim Berners-Lee 📚 Firstly, I have no idea why, but I wasn’t aware of how intermingled Tim has been with high society. He doesn’t try and hide it in this book - quite the opposite - but it was a little startling to read about in current times. I …

Currently reading: This is For Everyone by Tim Berners-Lee 📚 “But if we are to prevent these systems from exploiting us, it is critical that we get the data layer right. We need a layer where we control our own data, and we can share anything with anyone, or any agent - or no one.”

Interesting time in the Apple Shop yesterday. Asking about power banks, which were behind a security cordon so I couldn’t see them up close (poor Apple, such slim profits to protect). Sales person audibly snorted when my cheap iPhone 14 case didn’t attach to the MagSafe. Won’t be rushing back.

My (current) thoughts on LLMs: We’ve lived with high-profile LLMs for a while now, and a lot has been written about their affect on our future as a society. I’ve read a lot of it. I’ve lurched from existential dread, to complete disdain and hatred. I feel my boat is steadying somewhat, and thought it may be …

Beautiful Autumnal colours all around 🍂

Hello Brighton 🌊

This year’s Super Thursday just gone, and my eyes see way too many new books than my reading time (nor wallet) can handle 📚

Bye Bye Tiny Tiny RSS : The main person behind Tiny Tiny RSS is to shut down the project on November 1st: The reasons for this are many but the tl;dr is that I no longer find it fun to maintain public-facing anything, be it open source projects or websites. As for tt-rss specifically, it has been ‘done’ for years now and …

On this rather yucky AI biography on yucky Amazon: “This predatory slop is understandably upsetting to his family and friends and fans and an affront to his specific life and to life itself. Especially days after his death. All week people have been eulogizing Kaleb as one of the best, although …

Finished reading: Empire of AI by Karen Hao 📚 I aim to write up some more extensive thoughts on this fantastic piece of journalism! But for now, I highly recommend getting a copy.

Does anyone else see eye tests as.. tests? Like you need to pass something? 👀

I’ve started reading Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey, inspired by the new book club within “Instant Classics” - a new podcast from Mary Beard and Charlotte Higgins. It’s great stuff (the podcast, that is!). Is anyone a particular fan of The Odyssey? If you’d like to read along: …

I have visited Techmeme every day (give or take) since it first launched. Gabe is pretty much responsible for all the tech news I’ve ever come across. I am so glad it’s still standing. crazystupidtech.com/2025/09/0… I take great issue with the description of a “dated …

I just reactivated my account, and had to change “hobbyist programmer” to “.NET developer” because I turned pro a few years ago. Prideful moment! Oh, and hi everyone! 👋