Alan Francis

https://masto.alancfrancis.com/@acf

Designed by Alan in Caledonia. Serial Enthusiast. Programmer. Dad. #adhd, he/him. Radical Kindness is my superpower. Glue person.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/possiblyalan/

Public Key

npub1k0saalggc24jpwje36nvt2nxfywmrszme2mjjfzpdx7d8z03qzzqnt6h0q

NIP-05 Address

acf_at_masto.alancfrancis.com@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqst8cw7l5yv92eqhfvcafk94fnyj8d3cpdu4defy3qkn0xn38csppqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsd6j9l3

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1k0saalggc24jpwje36nvt2nxfywmrszme2mjjfzpdx7d8z03qzzqnt6h0q

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Last Notes

2026-10-28 22:31:56 UTC

I have weirdly just kind of checked out of “hunting for work”. I’m still quietly working my CV and having a few conversations but I am *not* firing off 100 random job applications.
I am still very interested in finding the right role somewhere that makes the best use of me as a people person and a cross-functional, conversational thinker.
But I’d honestly rather just work at Amazon packing boxes than try and contort myself into some of the people the tech industry has wanted me to be. 🤷🏻‍♂️

2026-10-28 22:24:05 UTC

The one interesting use case I think I’d maybe enjoy on a touch screen Mac is iPhone simulators in Device Hub. Would be nice to be able to touch those.

2026-10-28 21:28:43 UTC

I’m still not a massive football fan but I love listening to open all mics on Radio Scotland. 6 games *simultaneously* with everyone shouting and oohing and ahing when there a chance or a goal

2026-10-28 17:55:18 UTC

Catching up on the SICPers podcast. I love Graham and this is great. https://www.sicpers.info/podcast/episode-64-using-pattern-languages-for-object-oriented-programs/

2026-10-28 15:57:58 UTC

Corrupt ruler flees to protection of other corrupt ruler. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c6x2wyndvq8gt

2026-10-28 13:31:34 UTC

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Don't really want to go the Tim Condon route and build an entirely new heating system :-)

2026-10-28 13:27:11 UTC

Anyone aware of any useful third party projects for the hive heating system. I'm keen to see something more useful than individual TRV schedules. Would be nice to see a graph essentially of when the boiler was on, and what rooms were forcing it on, or was it just hot water (it's a combi). Not even sure Hive would know when the water forced it on, its just a remote controlled on switch when it talks to the boiler.

2026-10-28 13:21:26 UTC

My gas+electric bill is £265 per month. Your £100 payment is nice and all but like the 40p/week grocery savings its hard to see how it will pull actually someone out of arrears or disaster.

2026-10-28 12:53:03 UTC

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I think I can probably make that. will check in with She Who Keeps The Calendar Because I Am Rubbish and confirm.

2026-10-28 11:53:33 UTC

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The sickness really kicks in when you feel like you have to find *all* the coloured variants to rest easy.

2026-10-28 11:37:48 UTC

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I dont have any money for a ticket, but I'd come into Edinburgh on Friday for a coffee or something ? :-)

2026-10-28 11:26:24 UTC

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even a cheap tin of the cheapest vegetable soup is 60p.

2026-10-28 11:24:55 UTC

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Oh I know, but given how much everything has gone up, I'm suggesting that 40p isn't even enough to stand still. And that 40p depends on what you're buying.

2026-10-28 10:08:48 UTC

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"Supermarket prices: The government plans to remove tariffs from 100 products which could result in a weekly saving of 40p for households - depending on which items you regularly purchase"
*slow blink*

2026-10-28 10:08:21 UTC

"Energy bills: Hours before the Budget, Healey announced standing charges for household gas bills would be scrapped and replaced with costs per unit".
So you could save money now by just freezing to death, whereas before you couldn't because they kept charging you anyway.

2026-10-28 10:05:25 UTC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckeq3vezxlx1o

2026-10-28 08:14:44 UTC

If I am really a *top applicant* for a job overseeing installation of power lines we’re all in trouble.
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/517/527/947/528/004/original/641aed4598c6bdc9.png
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/517/528/074/589/122/original/a12a7d5c35e62d91.png

2026-10-27 18:34:50 UTC

https://cbldf.myshopify.com/products/bill-gaines-was-right

2026-10-27 17:20:57 UTC

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I was just saying to Jane that I *desperately* need a non-computer related hobby, I work hard all day, then switch laptops and stare at a different screen all evening. I used to do Lego, but I have run out of space. I might take up painting Warhammer figures once I have a job again and can afford them.

2026-10-27 17:17:45 UTC

I'm oddly finding posting on LinkedIn quite therapeutic. My blog has been a graveyard for 30 years. A burst of a post or two and then nothing for years, then tear it down and start again. I always felt the pressure to wrote something ... complete.
Posting on LinkedIn these past few weeks I'm much more comfortable with a stray thought or observation, and idea or collision of ideas.
It feels kind of like longer-form twitter, not the pressure of Putting Something On My Website. 🤷‍♂️

2026-10-27 13:30:41 UTC

https://kottke.org/26/10/0049891-bunkering-down

2026-10-27 13:02:10 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.scot/@andrewducker/117512702227248681
Ah shit
#note10vs…zh8s

2026-10-27 12:19:09 UTC

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yup. Genuinely mystified.

2026-10-27 11:56:52 UTC

People on the radio keep saying that Trump has charisma and I’m a bit mystified.

2026-10-26 21:36:07 UTC

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all the hugs

2026-10-26 18:16:31 UTC

🎢

2026-10-25 22:02:32 UTC

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Yup, I did that and it cleared it. Was so weird!

2026-10-25 19:49:54 UTC

It’s still going. This is totally nuts.
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/503/280/297/084/024/original/2817b86524039f9d.mp4

2026-10-25 13:52:43 UTC

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I’ll get right on that

2026-10-25 12:38:29 UTC

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I meant to take the audio off so excuse Craig Finn covering the Mountain Goats “Fault Lines” in the background.

2026-10-25 12:34:29 UTC

🎼When you punish a person for dreaming their dreams, don’t expect them to thank or forgive you.
The best ever death metal band out of Denton will, in time, both outpace and outlive you.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AGHmr1NyBTw

2026-10-25 12:23:52 UTC

What is going on here? 12:xx is the correct time (since the clocks went back)
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/501/525/894/636/872/original/2088152368c63408.mp4

2026-10-25 10:06:12 UTC

Discretionary spending has dropped to zero, but I treated myself to breakfast. It’s a beautiful day, if windy, in South Queensferry and I have a skillet breakfast, coffee and “the psychology of software teams” to read.
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/500/981/388/734/227/original/ca6c40e18bc7b714.png

2026-10-23 16:33:46 UTC

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Hmm, keeps crashing for me :-(

2026-10-23 16:30:54 UTC

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http://www.zx81stuff.org.uk/zx81/emulate.php?track=3DMonsterMaze%28NGS%29.tzx.zip%400&title=3D+Monster+Maze

2026-10-23 16:22:17 UTC

3D Monster Maze on the ZX81
https://mastodon.social/@fmarini/117490638288461539
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/491/135/885/127/493/original/abcb0fef457fe1b3.png
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/491/135/885/127/494/original/d8402eed287fdcd9.jpeg

2026-10-23 08:20:04 UTC

🎢

2026-10-23 07:19:17 UTC

I wish I had kottke.org on a randomly sorted, infinite scroll so I had something to obsessively flick through in the morning that wasn’t full of bad news and layoffs and climate doom.

2026-10-22 21:33:37 UTC

While I’m looking for work, Jane is also looking for work. She has restricted vision and can’t drive. I think I’ve got it hard, trying to find a match. she’s really struggling.
Like me, her CV is all over the place. Unlike me, she’s an artist, a community organiser, she’s run retail shops and workshops.
Anyhoo, if anyone knows anyone in Fife or Edin who might take a chance on someone who’s incredibly creative and keen, but needs a little help, let me know. Galleries, bookshops, museums etc

2026-10-22 21:26:33 UTC

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there’s still time

2026-10-22 21:26:05 UTC

Another successful show for Hope. This week they talked about “Whalefall” which sounds totally nuts.

2026-10-22 13:16:05 UTC

Perhaps I should apply to be the BBCs new Cyber Correspondent. I've heard of PHP so I should be in.

2026-10-22 08:51:58 UTC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm4g1p347qgxo. More job threads being snipped.

2026-10-21 20:29:27 UTC

May have to forego covid jabs this winter for financial reasons :-/

2026-10-21 11:03:31 UTC

https://www.dorchester3d.com/printing/blog/2020/11/zx-spectrum-next-laptop-version-2

2026-10-21 10:13:46 UTC

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I didn't do it on purpose, just typed the question into google

2026-10-21 10:07:23 UTC

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And this is a quick way to check your browser. You want see lots of green ticks. https://emudhra.we-have-a-problem.com/#check

2026-10-21 10:05:48 UTC

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The google AI summary thing is a reasonable overview
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/478/335/313/548/411/original/f1c6f2b86aa26799.png
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/478/335/312/461/127/original/fd7304582d9e2fcc.png

2026-10-21 10:04:31 UTC

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Ah sorry, its for example where you connect to https rather than http from your browser. It means the conversation in between you and the server is encrypted and nobody can see it "in flight".
In practice the actual risk is very small for most people because the browsers all got patched. Geekier types with lots of weird gadgets and homegrown dinguses are more concerned.

2026-10-21 10:00:07 UTC

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Its pretty bad. It means anyone could theoretically sit in the middle of a TLS connection and intercept traffic by pretending to be "the other end". The certificates form a chain of trust from one to the other and one somewhere in the middle can now be faked. Most big name vendors will roll out fixes that, essentially, stop your browser from trusting that potentially bad one, but these certs could to be embedded in random things like, say, your doorbell or TV.

2026-10-21 08:22:56 UTC

Re the EMudhra certificate stuff ( https://emudhra.we-have-a-problem.com/#check ), Safari on my Mac (27.0.1) seems fine, but the built in curl on my Mac was still vulnerable. I was able to download the new cert bundle from curl.se and drop it in /etc/ssl.
Make sure you check your command line tools as well as your browsers.

2026-10-20 23:23:34 UTC

I started my career in control-engineering-adjacent work. PLCs and dams in FORTRAN. It might be interesting to get back into that kind of industry somehow and away from the hype cycles of “tech”.
(I assume there are different hype cycles)

2026-10-20 21:03:49 UTC

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I went back and tried another 15-20 minutes and it just annoyed differently.

2026-10-20 20:49:46 UTC

Didn't last past the first five minutes of Visionquest. Edinburgh? Really? And how does a Scottish actress still manage to sound like she has a fake Scottish accent.

2026-10-20 11:41:53 UTC

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the Grafton edition of Foundation and Earth which online used bookshops keep sending me when I’m trying to order the HarperCollins edition.
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/473/050/666/254/357/original/afaa97955f9e1c2d.png

2026-10-20 07:03:22 UTC

Woke up to another possible-job thread snipped :(

2026-10-19 23:31:31 UTC

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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JYeeQn65qPw

2026-10-19 23:21:57 UTC

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🎼It's good to be young, but let's not kid ourselves
It's better to pass on through those years and come out the other side
With our hearts still beating
Having stared down demons
Come back breathing
🎼I hope you love your life now
Like I love mine
I hope the painful memories only flex their power over you a little of the time
We held on to hope of better days coming
And when we did we were right
I hope the people who did you wrong
Have trouble sleeping at night

2026-10-19 23:19:29 UTC

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They played Amy and You Were Cool, two of my favourites.
🎼Play with matches if you think you need to play with matches
Seek out the hidden places where the fire burns hot and bright
Find where the heat's unbearable and stay there if you have to
Don't hurt anybody on your way up to the light

2026-10-19 22:26:17 UTC

I am just back from seeing the Mountain Goats with Hope and it was *splendid*. I forgot all my woes and sang and danced like an idiot.
Related: The iPhone 18Pro at distance, in the dark is a beast.
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/469/910/492/173/204/original/2450967542814396.jpg
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/469/910/493/025/892/original/af109e5f9fa37719.jpg
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/469/910/541/387/462/original/d730297d6eef964a.jpg

2026-10-19 14:00:18 UTC

GLASGOW I AM IN YOU

2026-10-18 21:20:24 UTC

Hadn’t heard this version before. Eddie Vedder adds something. https://music.apple.com/gb/album/throw-your-arms-around-me/1641077245?i=1641077259

2026-10-18 20:46:25 UTC

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yup yup. Such a stupid comparison to make.

2026-10-18 18:40:51 UTC

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Bread and Butter Pudding!

2026-10-18 18:12:07 UTC

Both the kids are home from college. It’s nice to think about something other than employment and finances. Hope and I are off to Glasgow tomorrow night to see the Mountain Goats at Barrowland.

2026-10-18 11:26:11 UTC

Have seen some scary people saying it doesn’t matter if you don’t know or understand what the LLM produced if you never understood what a compiler produced.
It’s not the same.

2026-10-18 08:49:46 UTC

I don’t want to retire from working, but I’d quite like to retire from looking for work.

2026-10-18 08:02:08 UTC

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am sending all the good vibes and warm hugs I can muster.

2026-10-18 07:17:48 UTC

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https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/460/685/913/574/675/original/a4e53e026baa2f43.png

2026-10-17 19:29:39 UTC

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this is the first time I’ve ever heard someone say “leaf peeping” outside of a west wing episode. 👍🏻

2026-10-17 17:44:37 UTC

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(My understating is that anthropic is close to a 996 culture so the hourly rate might not be quite so impressive 😂)

2026-10-17 15:46:13 UTC

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My dudes at anthropic, I’d do the job for a third of that range if I can do it remote.

2026-10-17 15:44:43 UTC

Just saw an engineering manager job at Anthropic. It’s onsite in London so wouldn’t even bother applying but the salary range is £255k-£325k which is insane and ridiculous.

2026-10-17 12:27:47 UTC

“And honestly, as a fan of collaborative thinking, distributed cognition, and the notion that innovation is most likely sparked in the interactions between people,” THIS IS THE WAY.
https://www.fightforthehuman.com/what-helps-an-identity-crisis/

2026-10-17 10:50:23 UTC

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I’d love to but cash is incredibly tight.

2026-10-16 16:43:40 UTC

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one of those random factoids that have rattling around for no obvious reason 😂

2026-10-16 13:39:43 UTC

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😂

2026-10-16 12:57:44 UTC

RE: https://cosocial.ca/@timbray/117445853827353147
The first programming I ever got paid for was a FORTRAN job.
#note1yn8…hyd3

2026-10-16 10:43:52 UTC

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Ah it was a course that ran in July, not an ongoing thing.

2026-10-16 10:42:12 UTC

Oh wow. This is interesting. I'm a Napier graduate :-)
https://www.brightredtriangle.co.uk/adhd-enterprise

2026-10-16 10:34:14 UTC

Trying to figure out ways to articulate the change in context from travelling consulting and project based work to more permanent team based roles and product work.
I was using "looking outwards" for that consulting and coaching, and "looking inwards" for the team based product work.
Matt Wynne has suggested "breathing in" and "breathing out", which I love.

2026-10-16 09:56:18 UTC

LinkedIn is a bit of a hellscape right now.
Posts are either AI super-hypers declaring all technical people pointless, "I'm part of the recent 10,000 person layoff at $COMPANY" or "I'm starting a gofundme because I've been jobless for two years now".
In the end though, I suspect whatever is next is going to come down to the network of friends and colleagues I've built over 30 years mentioning something random in passing.
The 🎢 is real but I still feel largely optimistic :)
#getfedihired

2026-10-16 09:43:23 UTC

There is a bug in the Xcode 27.1 Device Hub / Simulator (fixed in 27.2) where shift keys don't get passed through if there is more than one simulator open. This is great fun when you spend a lot of time with a phone and watch simulator open side by side and you generally use inbox subaddressed emails for your usernames.
Yes I am acf=testing2mydomain.com

2026-10-16 09:23:14 UTC

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is this the Van Der Valk theme thing?

2026-10-15 21:51:14 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@macrumors/117444898893958907
Somebody needs to make a giant sized Sport Band strap for this enormous Apple Watch.

2026-10-15 18:58:16 UTC

Thanks to a friend, I have work enough to see me through to end of December, which is great cause even if I find a new gig quickly, it seemed unlikely they'd want me to start in December. This way something that started in the new year would be fine.

2026-10-15 15:14:03 UTC

Hope's show went much more smoothly this week (audio wise). She and Thomas talked about Casino Royale.

2026-10-15 12:42:49 UTC

“If I can do it, it must be easy”
https://cdn.masto.host/mastoalancfranciscom/media_attachments/files/117/444/973/863/954/927/original/05d54d0e4cc05874.png

2026-05-11 18:46:56 UTC

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MAKES
ME SO ANGRY

2026-05-07 14:38:17 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.scot/@andrewducker/116532013573266987
They appear to tick all the boxes if you're an independence supporting, eco-friendly lefty. They're called "independent green voice" and the blurb on the ballot says something about "organic farming". Because the parties are listed in alpha order you see them well before you get to "Scottish Green Party".
I'm *stunned* this is allowed and I suspect its going to cost the Greens a LOT of votes.
#note1fld…hhhn

2025-12-20 23:40:10 UTC

I passed a thing in Edinburgh. Like a coat rack hanging outside with coats in it, and a sign that said “please leave a coat if you can and take one if you’re cold”

2025-08-21 21:38:30 UTC

Genuinely not interested at all in whether LLMs make you more productive or not. The energy and water they are wasting is immoral and I’ve no interest in being party to it.
This isn’t tabs vs spaces, it’s threatening the planet my kids have to live on.

2025-08-07 13:21:47 UTC

What a superdouche. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yp8l3z0g5o

2025-03-17 18:51:58 UTC

I still don’t understand how someone like the BBC can uncritically post a headline like this “We've never been closer to a Ukraine peace deal, White House says ahead of Trump-Putin talks”

2025-01-25 20:05:27 UTC

Stop talking about Trump and start talking about the Republicans.
First off he hates not being talked about and second, he doesn’t do all this stuff alone. He’s enabled in the White House, the Supreme Court, the house, and the senate by the entire republican party.
I think in four years they’re going to be doing their best to say “it wasn’t us, it was Trump”.
But it *was* them.