Katie Fenn

She/her. Talks about tech, bikes, trains and trans rights. Engineer (@npmjs, @monzo, @canonical). Speaker and co-organiser Front End North. General dogsbody for Greens for HS2. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈💚

Location: Sheffield, North of England

Public Key

npub1d34cr5ra0hr6zsmtpt50ych6j99vhjgkzgcpklf2emjj7g0kvf7qsfdlcx

NIP-05 Address

katiefenn_at_front-end.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsxc6up6p7hm3apgd4s468jvtafzjkteytpyvqm054vaef0y8mxylqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsln45ng

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1d34cr5ra0hr6zsmtpt50ych6j99vhjgkzgcpklf2emjj7g0kvf7qsfdlcx

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Last Notes

2026-10-29 21:22:47 UTC

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I saw them both in No Man’s Land. It was a gift to simply be in the same room as them.

2026-09-29 21:12:34 UTC

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I think so. From what I hear, those reserves are reaching critical levels.
I’m thinking of holding off booking flights until November to see what happens in the US mid-term elections, but I don’t think there’s been a time quite like this in the past 😬

2026-09-29 20:57:16 UTC

I’m thinking of booking a holiday to Japan in late 2027.
If I book my plane tickets now, what happens if (when?) fuel prices gets even worse? Can the airline demand more money? Can they cancel the flight?
As far as I am aware, I will be entitled to a refund at the very least, but I will need to make sure I pay for hotels I can cancel at late notice.

2026-09-20 12:48:49 UTC

My other half has just run a bath, so the heat pump has kicked in and started re-filling the hot water tank. The car is charging at the same time, and most of it is being covered by the sun. We’re pulling only 700w from the grid.
Renewables are amazing.
https://cdn.masto.host/frontendsocial/media_attachments/files/117/303/445/268/475/154/original/a4d1cd62acc821fb.mp4

2026-09-05 12:24:45 UTC

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I’ve often gotten feedback at work that I’ve spent too much time writing proposals and planning work.
It’s almost always ended up saving time, because what people don’t understand is that writing is a tool for structuring thinking, just as writing code is.

2026-09-03 09:14:26 UTC

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Which battery brand did you buy?
I’ve been looking at battery storage for years, but falling prices and a chaotic UK market warned me off. Only a few months ago, one of our biggest brands went bust and left users without a warranty and without tech support, just a couple of years after I got a quote for them! 😅
I recently saw Anker arrive in the British market, and feel excited about it. Needless to say, I won’t touch Tesla.

2026-04-17 16:10:19 UTC

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Yep - thankfully the cabbie took me all the way to my house from Kings Cross Station. Were four of us going to Yorkshire, he took all of us home

2026-04-17 12:29:31 UTC

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There were four of us in a Black Cab driving up the M1. I was the first drop off in South Sheffield, then another in the North, then one in Huddersfield, and then another in Leeds.

2026-04-17 04:53:14 UTC

Just got home after catching the 19:08 Kings Cross to Leeds.
The East Coast Main Line closed between Retford and Doncaster. We got turned round at Grantham and were taken back to Kings Cross. Caught a taxi at about 3am.
Now I’m home. Thank goodness LNER are picking up the bill.
https://cdn.masto.host/frontendsocial/media_attachments/files/116/418/254/763/566/570/original/f81a3b9f9214f122.jpeg

2026-03-13 18:03:11 UTC

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I got to episode 10 last night. Oh my god, it’s so good.

2026-03-13 18:02:40 UTC

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Seconding Black Books. It’s definitely up there with Father Ted.

2026-03-09 22:58:39 UTC

In addition to all the rest of the mess that’s happening in UK trans rights news today, Maki has somehow broken one of her long canine teeth, and is sneezing a lot more than usual.
Gonna ring the vets when they open. Not having fun today.

2026-01-31 18:53:30 UTC

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Yeah, small beginnings today but it was very satisfying seeing posters go up in shops down Stockport Road.
Labour and Reform were nowhere today. We only saw four Labour canvassers. Four!

2026-01-31 10:09:38 UTC

Gorton and Denton is heaving with Greens
https://cdn.masto.host/frontendsocial/media_attachments/files/115/989/163/224/883/619/original/5b60a637307e4969.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/frontendsocial/media_attachments/files/115/989/163/212/476/092/original/94a131d04411339a.jpeg

2025-11-19 08:40:42 UTC

Heat pump installation begins today!
The installation itself doesn’t begin until next week. First, we’re having a firm concrete slab being laid to mount it on.
Heat pumps are generally very quiet, but they can become loud if their bearings are damaged by the unit leaning.

2025-09-13 14:50:10 UTC

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I can hear this picture

2025-09-13 14:03:43 UTC

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https://youtu.be/G9LlXpy1u8A

2025-09-13 14:02:57 UTC

Can almost hear the big Channel 4 kaiju
https://cdn.masto.host/frontendsocial/media_attachments/files/115/197/357/183/869/082/original/d18ea92f185ce3f2.jpeg

2025-09-02 17:31:38 UTC

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It’s definitely slow for me too

2025-08-25 13:55:42 UTC

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Thanks for the tip!

2025-08-25 13:27:26 UTC

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Not yet, I was hoping to take my bike into the office in London tomorrow, but won’t be able to get a delivery in time. Really annoying when it’s unreliable, but hopefully the Marathon Plus will fix it!

2025-08-25 13:19:04 UTC

Two punctures in the space of three weeks on my Brompton 😔
The standard Schwalbe Marathon Racer tyres just seem to be made of dough. Have upgraded to the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre to see if it makes a difference.
https://cdn.masto.host/frontendsocial/media_attachments/files/115/089/600/849/073/528/original/34658170aee271cb.jpeg

2025-06-13 21:45:19 UTC

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This is my origin story with the rapids as well! I visited Sherwood Forest in 1988 when the Summer Olympics were in Seoul.
I could ride down the outdoors bit with wings on, but when it re-enters the dome it gets really very boisterous at Sherwood. It’s very old-skool, and hasn’t changed at all. I wasn’t allowed to go down that bit.
I went back for the first time when I was 25 years old and had a score to settle. It felt so good.
https://youtu.be/EVfy32QKG-o

2025-06-13 20:55:47 UTC

When I was a kid, I used to ride water slides and then immediately run around to ride them again. I was obsessed.
Yesterday I went to the Subtropical Swimming Paradise at Center Parcs and did the same thing for two and a half hours and now my legs hurt from climbing the steps a few dozen times.

2025-04-24 07:00:48 UTC

Here’s the letter which I have sent to my MP, and patron of LGBT+ Labour, Clive Betts.
If you would like to pinch parts for your own letter, please feel free.
Please, please, please consider writing to your own MP. Over twenty years of civil rights have been revoked, and Labour have made it absolutely clear that do not give a fuck about trans people.
https://docs.google.com/document/u/3/d/e/2PACX-1vSCN05YoXXNJ9KW593oUawWMWLJHOoHsEPDne00C2iEGkd780JjovL58mLY6ihECmOF7cklo1ZGvw5u/pub

2025-04-19 19:26:20 UTC

An incredible turnout in Sheffield today to protest the historic miscarriage of justice in the UK Supreme Court.
Made my heart sing to bump into friends there. Was in tears by the end of it.
A day we’ll all remember 🏳️‍⚧️
(photo: Now Then magazine)
https://cdn.masto.host/frontendsocial/media_attachments/files/114/366/269/118/014/946/original/234c594ac5994e98.jpeg

2025-04-18 12:39:11 UTC

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I can hear that picture

2025-04-11 07:40:58 UTC

It’s time for another @npub143g…na2r call for proposals update! As of April 9th (I’ve been a bit busy):
- 22 talks
- 17 people
- 11 he/him
- 5 she/her
- 1 they/them
- 0 accessibility needs
- 6 self-identified as underrepresented
- 2 identify as an underrepresented ethnicity
We would love to see more talk submissions from more underrepresented folks. If you’ve already put one talk in, don’t be discouraged to send another. Other people are, and that’s okay!

2025-04-01 07:25:46 UTC

Update on @npub143g…na2r’s CFP process:
- 11 submissions
- 2 from people who self-identify from underrepresented groups
- 4 weeks to go before CFP closes
We need more submissions from underrepresented people! Please boost, and please do reach out if you had any questions about speaking!

2025-03-27 09:05:20 UTC

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This was my assumption too!

2025-03-27 08:00:13 UTC

This is utterly fascinating, and something I’ve felt for years. If I listen to a piece of music that I’m very familiar with after a bike ride or a swim, the tempo definitely feels really slow. It’s downright weird.
I bet that if you asked me to tap to the rhythm from memory, I’d be off by about 10%, consistently.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/26/people-doing-intense-exercise-experience-time-warp-study-finds

2025-03-25 20:28:16 UTC

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You bet 🙂

2025-03-25 19:34:31 UTC

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I’ll be there! Come say hi. I’ll be the tall awkward looking one.

2025-03-24 13:05:52 UTC

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It’s happening in the UK as well.
Stonewall’s endorsement of the fight for trans rights was largely understood to be an effort to fill the void left by the campaign to enshrine gay marriage in the law.
They reneged on that commitment as soon as they were challenged by the establishment on it, despite the fact they were never really at the centre of the fight for trans rights.
Stonewall and LGBT Labour are still largely run by LGB people who don’t give a shit about trans people.

2025-03-17 08:33:07 UTC

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Want to know how we select our talks? We wrote a comprehensive blog post talking about how we ran our call for proposals process for Front End North 2020.
We're pretty proud of it, and we think it could help others.
Please boost and share!
https://frontendnorth.com/blog/2025/03/how-to-run-a-call-for-proposals-process/

2025-03-17 08:32:05 UTC

Today we're launching the call for proposals process for @npub143g…na2r 2025!
Do you want to speak at Front End North 2025? Apply to speak, and if we choose your talk, we'll pay your travel expenses to get here.
Full details here:
https://frontendnorth.com/blog/2025/03/apply-to-speak-at-front-end-north-2025/

2025-02-16 19:05:51 UTC

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The only verifiable thing that Brexit has ever changed. Other than economic stagnation and painful passport control queues.

2025-02-04 23:31:18 UTC

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Feels like a smart strategy to focus efforts on Musk. Seems like a likelihood of him doing something wrong that would incriminate Trump, and nobody voted for him.

2025-01-08 08:24:48 UTC

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It was my first time, and it was rehearsed and optimised to within an inch of its life 🙂
The prompts were carefully written to remind me what to write, and I had complete versions I could wheel out in case I got totally lost.

2025-01-07 23:14:33 UTC

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Thank you Sara, this means a lot 💜🙏

2025-01-06 23:09:39 UTC

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And yes, I go through making an oscillator using the Web Audio API from scratch 🙂
The code examples from my talks are on GitHub:
https://github.com/katiefenn/around-the-wwworld/tree/main/src/livecoding-examples

2025-01-06 23:01:14 UTC

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I can’t wait to find out what you think 💜

2024-12-25 18:06:24 UTC

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Yeah, that’s a very big part of it for me too 💜

2024-12-25 17:16:50 UTC

As someone who very much loves Christmas, I’ve found it incredibly hard to find that feeling this year. I’ve had to constantly remind myself that it’s coming. I’m sure it’ll come back one day, but today has been incredibly hard.
Shout out to all of you who find this time of year hard.

2024-12-15 21:39:45 UTC

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Not this one?
https://cdn.masto.host/frontendsocial/media_attachments/files/113/659/004/948/399/005/original/bb42adeb79c9ea64.jpeg

2024-11-16 08:03:22 UTC

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Happy birthday!

2024-11-14 23:56:08 UTC

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I want to try and fit two dates in the second part of their UK tour, but I don’t think I can.
I got to see Elfstedentocht Part 2 in Nottingham a couple of weeks ago - first time they’d played it in over five or six years. It was almost at the top of the songs I most wanted to hear - London Can Take It probably at the top.

2024-11-06 17:18:24 UTC

Trump has relentlessly attacked trans people throughout his campaign. Will Vercel and Next.js distance themselves from his repugnant comments?
https://cdn.masto.host/frontendsocial/media_attachments/files/113/437/147/143/861/913/original/e593c3a9aec6f910.jpeg

2024-11-03 20:00:58 UTC

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Completely agreed.
It came up at the recent Green Party conference, where people legitimately brought up the problem of people unlocking faster speeds on grey market bikes - usually by delivery riders who ride recklessly.
It was pointed out that it was neocapitalism that makes people do that, not necessarily being a cyclist. But still, I think the cat’s out of the bag now, and we’ll be seeing more clumsy public debate on this 😔

2024-11-03 19:35:24 UTC

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To be honest, I’m so glad that e-bikes are a thing now for this very reason.
I suspect we may see some regulation of them in the future because of how the technology is being abused by unscrupulous people. But, dammit, the technology is a game changer and needs to exist.
Hope you’re back in the saddle and feeling confident again soon 🫂

2024-11-03 18:58:17 UTC

Feeling a boatload of *oof* watching this video.
No, I’m not an elite athlete. No, I don’t push it as hard as these guys do. And no, mountain biking doesn’t take up the lion’s share of my riding.
But as the video shows, life changing injuries can come out of nowhere, and I couldn’t imagine being out of the saddle for six months, let alone a lifetime.
Cycling *defines* me now. It’s that important.
https://youtu.be/jeFqw1IB5E0

2024-11-03 08:05:38 UTC

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I live in a house that’s ten years newer than the one I grew up in, and 40 years newer than the last house I lived in, and it has much better thermal efficiency than both of them.
We’re looking at getting a heat pump next year, which usually means more consistent temperatures throughout the day and night.
Although it’s materially better, I hope it doesn’t mean losing thick winter duvets!

2024-11-03 00:00:11 UTC

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Ah the glory of double-digit tog season. So many people out there will never know the wonder of a hot water bottle.

2024-10-27 20:13:48 UTC

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Coool, where is this?

2024-10-26 12:26:13 UTC

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Corp’s was always Bohemian Rhapsody or Zorba the Greek

2024-10-26 11:24:45 UTC

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Ain’t that the truth! It’s like the “We are the Champions” or “Don’t Stop me Now” for kids born in the late 90s.

2024-10-26 10:41:12 UTC

This would make a fun research project. What is it about tracks which make the dance floor so rowdy?
(At Corporation in Sheffield, the track which set people off more than any other would be Hitching a Ride by Green Day. And sure, it has some of the obvious qualities of a mosh pit anthem, but it seemed to push beyond other likely candidates from Rage Against the Machine, Slipknot and Pantera)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdrdl83xp8go

2024-10-16 07:05:34 UTC

The video of my talk from #sotb2024 is up.
I live-code Daft Punk on stage to give a whirlwind tour of the Web Audio and Web MIDI APIs, and reflect on what the Web does better than any other platform.
Please watch and share!
https://mastodon.world/@webstandards/113265348879465866

2024-10-14 20:25:03 UTC

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So many school discos

2024-10-13 12:32:14 UTC

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Oops! My birthday was earlier in the year but I totally see why you’d see that.
It’s more that I’ve been doing so much reflection this year, for so many different reasons. But taking this holiday was a big declaration of how I intend to live the rest of my life.

2024-10-13 12:15:05 UTC

New profile photo and background photo.
I am exactly who I hoped to be at 40.
https://cdn.masto.host/frontendsocial/media_attachments/files/113/300/059/011/772/397/original/c5a2bfb17e6eeec6.jpeg

2024-09-14 12:43:18 UTC

Hey #sotb2024 👋
I co-organise a conference in Sheffield called Front End North. We’re back after five years on July 10th 2025!
Come stay with us to learn about the web in the gateway to the Peak District National Park 🏞️
https://frontendnorth.com/blog/2024/09/front-end-north-is-back-for-2025/

2024-08-29 18:54:31 UTC

Ran into no fewer than four different groups of men on off-road motorbikes, electric and petrol, who were ripping up footpaths and bridleways. The area around south east Sheffield is like Mad Max this evening 😔
Pedestrian gates not deterring them at all. We need to take them all out, because all it’s doing is saving lazy cops work.
Also urgently need a prohibition on motorised throttle-powered motorbikes, electric and otherwise.

2024-08-10 20:12:18 UTC

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“Duology”, I believe. The Lord of the Rings was originally going to be two films, but it was lengthened to three by request of the producers, though probably it made sense because the source material came in three books.
The Hobbit was also supposed to be two films, but it was lengthened to three for no reason other than studio greed.

2024-08-09 07:53:53 UTC

On Monday, the Scottish NHS are going to revoke the right of trans people in Scotland to self-refer to their gender identity service. They will have to convince a GP to refer them.
No clinical reason has been given. No trans people have apparently been consulted. We only know because this information was leaked ahead of time.
If you’re thinking of a referral to a Scottish GIC, do so TODAY.
https://x.com/PhilosophyTube/status/1821598135161917846