@jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org

Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Jun 04, 2026

Replying to @datenwolf@chaos.social

@datenwolf@chaos.social @freakboy3742@cloudisland.nz absolutely! Text on slides means people are too busy reading to listen. Full talk content on slides means you needn't bother being there. Images on slides illustrate and illuminate.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 24, 2026

Replying to @susankayequinn@wandering.shop

@susankayequinn@wandering.shop this difficulty in being discoverable is exactly why @rpbook@gts.phillipsuk.org and I came up with the Indy Ad Network. It's a way of sharing book ads on author websites. No tracking, no targeting, no AI, no payments, no popups, no noise. Just books by real authors, made visible on websites of real authors. It's in beta at the moment, but we're hoping that it will be one way for authors to help each other reach more readers.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 14, 2026

Replying to @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu

@EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu yes! We need more and better public transit everywhere. This sounds like a step towards "better". I look forward to seeing other ways you can build on this.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 14, 2026

Replying to @EndlessMason@hachyderm.io

@EndlessMason@hachyderm.io @TeflonTrout@beige.party @malte@radikal.social @afewbugs@social.coop "mastodon't make a quick quip on something that could be a full thesis."

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 14, 2026

Replying to @malte@radikal.social

@malte@radikal.social @afewbugs@social.coop when people do that it's a mastodon't, as in "mastodon't use URL shortners," or "mastodon't take away my universally bad option."

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 14, 2026

Replying to @afewbugs@social.coop

@afewbugs@social.coop we are, collectively, so traumatised from the ongoing omnicrisis that we can no longer recognise good news.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 13, 2026

Replying to @ciggysmokebringer@kolektiva.social

@ciggysmokebringer@kolektiva.social @matt@toot.cafe @WeirdWriter@caneandable.social yep, absolutely situational. Like making all players use a wheelchair during a wheelchair basketball game. But it doesn't make sense to have everyone use a wheelchair generally. Text is great when slow communication is enough or when there's a lot of information to share. It's fine when it's a short, factual exchange like a basic helpdesk thing. It's less helpful for a nervous person who needs to see a reassuring smile and open body language to talk about what's up, and it's inefficient in a six-way conversation that needs detail and nuance.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 13, 2026

Replying to @WeirdWriter@caneandable.social

@WeirdWriter@caneandable.social there is a fascinating bit of perspective involved here, I think. People typically make deliberate presentation choices when going to a meeting (online or otherwise). We decide which clothes to wear, how to do our hair, and (online) what to do with what's behind us. We make these choices to give signals. But at the same time, we assume others don't do this. We somehow think that what other people look like is random chance. And chance is easy to dismiss as unimportant. I was once in a meeting between developers for two companies that were thinking about working together. Several of our devs took their brews to the meeting room. We didn't notice until too late that one of the mugs was sweary. When we did, we worried it could have a major detrimental impact on how things went. But someone from the other company joked about it. It broke the ice, both sides saw the humanity in each other, and recognised that the content of the meeting was more important than the slickness of presentation. Instead of posturing, everyone started collaborating. All because of a small visual cue as to who a person in the room really was. So it seems to me like they can be pretty important. We shouldn't block some people from them just because most don't need help to perceive them. That sounds suspiciously like "we don't need a ramp because most people are fine with the steps."

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 12, 2026

Replying to @DejahEntendu@dice.camp

@DejahEntendu@dice.camp @Ashedryden@xoxo.zone I'm not convinced there's any such thing as "just" anxiety. It always comes from somewhere.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 10, 2026

Replying to @keyboardpipette@genomic.social

@keyboardpipette@genomic.social Trainline is ok IF you can book in advance, be flexible on when, and then stick to the exact trains. If you buy on the day (including if you miss the train you booked) it can be several times more expensive. One good thing Trainline does is split tickets - book one seat on one train, but pay for separate tickets to and from a stop partway along. There is no sensible world in which A-C&C-B should be cheaper than A-B, but UK ticketing is not sensible.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 09, 2026

Replying to @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org even the boxes look pretty down about the situation.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 09, 2026

Replying to @dan@axillae.telent.net

@dan@axillae.telent.net @Natasha_Jay@tech.lgbt yup. I had to go turn up the brightness to be able to read. But apparently they "would have noticed' me navigating away, and they didn't.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 09, 2026

Replying to @eclectech@things.uk

@eclectech@things.uk yes! Staycation used to be used to encourage a reduction in travel, to make day trips and spending local seem more fun and appealing. Now it's being used to subtly discredit holidays in the UK, suggesting only abroad "counts". It stinks.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 06, 2026

Replying to @aral@mastodon.ar.al

@aral@mastodon.ar.al the Israeli government loves to use human shields.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 06, 2026

Replying to @ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us

@ChrisMayLA6 one of many ways that GDP as the main measure of country-scale success undermines any more meaningful measure. We can't upset the profits of the food, diet and fitness industries by making them actually useful to people!

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 05, 2026

Replying to @TimWardCam@c.im

@TimWardCam @Frieke72 @infobeautiful the dribs and drabs issue was (and is) an issue in Cumbria. But it isn't in Staffordshire. We've got Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme at one end, and Lichfield and Tamworth at the other. The only real discussion should be which side of the boundary the various towns in the middle should be.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 05, 2026

Replying to @TimWardCam@c.im

@TimWardCam @Frieke72 @infobeautiful that's good to know. Our county suffers from being long and thin, with the two ends barely being aware the other exists. Some suggestions would see us cut lengthways, which is an utter nonsense in on-the-ground reality. Others are an obvious attempt to foist the worst deprived areas (and their voting patterns) onto someone else. And it's all happening when we seem to have the most effective council in decades!

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 05, 2026

Replying to @MamaLake@beige.party

@MamaLake I always find the accessing libraries question a little counterintuitive. It was right there, I could go whenever I wanted. But the main reason I didn't was the large selection of books I had access to at home. Both parents and big sister were all readers. The family went to charity shops and car boot sales regularly. We didn't have much fancy, but we did have many, many books.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 05, 2026

Replying to @TimWardCam@c.im

@TimWardCam @Frieke72 @infobeautiful the county I live in is currently being redrawn. Some of the suggestions definitely look political. I hope you're right and we end up with one of the fair and reasonable ones.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 04, 2026

Replying to @GamingWithEars@mastodon.stickbear.me

@GamingWithEars we did a survey of people who came to our thing and 100% of them saw it on Facebook, so there's no need to post anywhere else.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 04, 2026

Replying to @infobeautiful@vis.social

@Frieke72 @infobeautiful it's not very often that electoral boundaries get redrawn in the UK. But when they do, you can be damn sure some of the people involved are trying to pull this shit. Edit: it is not easy for them to manage, because of how the decisions are made. See replies.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 04, 2026

Replying to @gallifreygal@blorbo.social

@gallifreygal@blorbo.social I'm so glad it's not just me. (Mum is the lapsed Catholic, but I've been to enough family weddings, funerals and baptisms over the years that the response is automatic)

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 04, 2026

Replying to @Anomnomnomaly@beige.party

@Anomnomnomaly @quixoticgeek yeah, this is not the future we were promised 🙁

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 04, 2026

Replying to @bazbt3@appdot.net

@bazbt3 @afewbugs @quixoticgeek well, if it happens to pop up on a service you have access to, now you know it's worth watching. I think it is a little obscure, though. I've only ever heard of it from a friend whose Plex server we have an account on. It deserves to have a wider audience.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 04, 2026

Replying to @bazbt3@appdot.net

@bazbt3 @afewbugs @quixoticgeek I'm rewatching Warehouse 13 and enjoying a similar interplay between the two lead characters of that. One reads all the briefing material, follows all the protocols, and works on information and logic. The other is a pantser who works on gut instinct. They frustrate each other no end, but they make one hell of a team. (BTW, if you don't know Warehouse 13, it's about people who find, neutralise and store Artifacts that have spontaneously developed dangerous superpowers. It's vibe is Indiana Jones meets Supernatural.)

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 03, 2026

Replying to @OrdRadical@beige.party

@OrdRadical @CurtAdams @cstross dosemaxxing.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 03, 2026

Replying to @afewbugs@social.coop

@afewbugs @quixoticgeek I found it equally fascinating and frustrating that he was always right but never had proof. It would have been nice for it to step out of that formula from time to time.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 03, 2026

Replying to @neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk

@neil I am a big fan of an intermission. Which is why I rarely see films outside home, and when I do it's at the local cult film club. They always have an intermission, usually at a well-chosen point, and the cafe serves tea and cake. It's very civilised and £5 a ticket, including a brief introduction on the making of the film. Why would I go anywhere else?

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 03, 2026

Replying to @afewbugs@social.coop

@afewbugs @quixoticgeek at the time, I was so sure it was just a fascination with the concept of a very competent woman scientist. Then I grew to appreciate that she was good friends with a man who respected her. Looking back, there may have been (even) more too it.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 03, 2026

Replying to @wyatt_h_knott@mstdn.social

@wyatt_h_knott @eniko yes, I think direction of travel was good, then. Thatcher was gone, the rest of the Tories were on the way out, opposition to Section 28 was growing, there were mainstream TV shows with kickass girls (Buffy) and respect for all (ST:TNG), we were fixing the hole in the ozone layer, the Berlin Wall fell, the economic mess of the 80s was subsiding... But now, a lot of things are going backwards and we're working hard to tread water on others. This is not the future the 90s promised us.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 03, 2026

Replying to @smallsolar@techhub.social

@smallsolar my solar panels are impossible to see unless you're on the roof or flying. I've only ever seen them in photos. We didn't hide them on purpose, it was just an accident of the shape of our roof. We live in a terrace, without space between houses to step back and see the south-ish facing slope. This is pretty common for terraced houses, so there's a fair amount of potential stealth solar there.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 01, 2026

Replying to @stufromoz@aus.social

@stufromoz @GinevraCat @threecoloured yep, a general reduction in stress makes a difference across the board.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 01, 2026

Replying to @GinevraCat@toot.community

@GinevraCat @threecoloured @stufromoz yeah, lots of things end up with the thought, "I can't outsource $Thing, but if I paid someone to do $OtherThing, I'd have time and energy to do $Thing, so it could be solved with money."

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · May 01, 2026

Replying to @sinituulia@eldritch.cafe

@sinituulia @Maker_of_Things I need to get a cat.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 30, 2026

Replying to @jeffowski@mastodon.world

@jeffowski it took me a full two decades to get over my "I'm not sporty" hangups. I was just starting to get somewhere, running three times a week and actually enjoying it. Then I got covid and lost all ability to run. I could have had two decades of running as an adult. It could have had a lifelong improvement in my overall health. But I was shit at PE, hated everything about it, and shunned anything that looked like exercise or sport as a self-defense mechanism.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 30, 2026

Replying to @pathfinder@beige.party

@pathfinder @autistics we always have and continue to do our best, based on principles of gentle parenting. Autonomy is definitely a key word in that first post. I need to remember it next time we're talking about independence.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 30, 2026

Replying to @pathfinder@beige.party

@pathfinder @autistics oh, gosh, yes. Independence is a concept that has caused huge damage to my son. Towards the end of primary school, he and his peers were encouraged to be independent. He, undiagnosed at the time, took the autistic understanding of total independence in all ways on all matters. But *nobody* can do that, certainly not a 10 year old autistic kid in our unforgiving world. Trying broke him. We talked a lot about how independence did not imply isolation, and working together to help each other was good for everyone. I pointed out some of the many ways I, an independent adult, relied on others - every product and service I paid for, for a start. We discussed the idea that knowing when to ask for help instead of watching things collapse is itself a form of independence. And we talked about the value of giving things a go, versus not even trying, and how *that* is the kind of independence his teachers were really talking about. He's now at college and the I-word is cropping up again. But this time, instead of just cutting everyone out, he's articulating his desire for increased independence and we're working together on what that looks like. It has taken a lot of work over the last decade to get to that level of communication and collaboration.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 27, 2026

Replying to @mattly@hachyderm.io

@mattly you've got the wording slightly wrong, but in a way that matters. "... which is *adequately* explained by stupidity." In many scenarios where Hanlon's Razor is used to let people off the hook it's misapplied because stupidity is not an *adequate* explanation.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 26, 2026

Replying to @pascaline@mastodon.nl

@pascaline @Nickiquote I like to imagine it's similar to the Emperor's New Clothes. Maybe the original designer did it on purpose, maybe they didn't. But once it got presented with enough gravitas, nobody wanted to be the one to point it out. Some were too embarrassed to admit they thought that, others were driven to play along because omg flying bum! But ultimately, a whole chain of people saw it, knew exactly what they were looking at, and said "yes, that will do nicely."

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 26, 2026

Replying to @pogon@fed.qaz.red

@pogon @AimeeMaroux human drivers can help confirm you're on the right bus. Help getting a buggy, wheelchair, etc on or off. Share a hello with a friendly human for possibly the only time all day. Help work things out when the payment machine doesn't work. Give you a shout when you've reached your stop. It's just so helpful having a knowledgeable and capable human being around. You know how self-service checkouts always have a staff member supervising in case something needs human intervention? Yeah, you can't have one person available on ten buses spread across a bunch of routes.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 25, 2026

Replying to @alexglow@chaos.social

@alexglow @jessebot @petrillic nice, thanks! I've done the banana icecream bit before, so I know that works well. I've never tried making Mochi, though. If I see the flour anywhere I might give it a go.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 25, 2026

Replying to @alexglow@chaos.social

@alexglow earl grey and banana cake genuinely sounds amazing and I really want to try it.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 24, 2026

Replying to @catileptic@chaos.social

@catileptic I can recommend a couple of places to look. I can also recommend charity shop bedding for very cheap practice fabric. Twig & Tail (https://www.twigandtale.com/collections/all-products?uff_39tj8u_collections=465624105255) is a small business that makes printable patterns with lots of adjustments. They have quite a few video tutorials to help, too. Free Sewing (https://freesewing.eu/) is a free pattern generator. You choose a style, put in some measurements, and it makes a pattern.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 24, 2026

Replying to @tj@howse.social

@tj@howse.social I sincerely hope that experience puts your kid off playing Roblox ever again. I have heard so many awful things about them and their attitudes towards their players.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 24, 2026

Replying to @coldclimate@hachyderm.io

@coldclimate @mattkenworthy yes, time spent in the "thinking room" is often productive.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 23, 2026

Replying to @alex_p_roe@mastodon.world

@alex_p_roe @ChrisMayLA6 nah, they're mostly white. The bias inherent in how AI is built and trained will protect them.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 22, 2026

Replying to @ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us

@ChrisMayLA6 more and more I wonder why anyone does trust the police. They keep proving that they cannot be trusted around black people, women, or disabled people, and neither can they be trusted to solve crimes.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 21, 2026

Replying to @antiaall3s@chaos.social

@antiaall3s maybe it's a nostalgia thing? The world felt good and hopeful when they were young, and now everyone hates everything. Maybe, if they pretend they're young, things feel hopeful again? Maybe they've had their fill of being responsible adults and now the kids have left home they can have the freedom to act out?

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 19, 2026

Replying to @lorepozo@tech.lgbt

@lorepozo@tech.lgbt we have yet to find a decent word for our kids' other parent. It's straightforward for me to be Mum, but every option for them feels either gendered, or silly, or contrived, or forced. They've ended up being Dad for lack of better options. It's what people tend to assume from their generally masc presentation, so at least it's easy.

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Jen @jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org · Apr 18, 2026

Replying to @KimSJ@mastodon.social

@KimSJ @eniko and to keep it small and neat, instead of sprawling out all over the place.

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