Alex R

Tech lead pretending I know what I’m doing, currently using #Svelte, #Golang, and a bit of #Ruby and #Angular. Into bicycles and urbanism (I just want some better bike lanes, please!). My brain is approximately 63% Nintendo games by weight. Partner to the sweet Antaine Mac Aoidh (npub166x…qq52) 🏳️‍🌈

Profile pic by [@yesjohn](https://mastodon.social/@yesjohn )

Pronouns: He/him
Location: Belfast, Ireland
Languages: English, Español (B1), Deutsch (A1)
Website: https://alexreid.org

Public Key

npub1frxs548za2qwm60y49qtxqjs9mtc639h72pgp5mypqet7wm4ve8sgnc2f2

NIP-05 Address

alex_at_tech.lgbt@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsy3ng22n3w4q8da8j2js9nqfgza4udgjml9q5q6djqsv4l8d6kvncpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsftfchx

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1frxs548za2qwm60y49qtxqjs9mtc639h72pgp5mypqet7wm4ve8sgnc2f2

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Last Notes

2026-06-26 14:00:37 UTC

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new unhinged SoftBank presentation just dropped https://discuss.systems/@dev/116807460725864716

2026-06-26 13:51:01 UTC

The law locks up the man or woman
Who steals the goose from off the common
But leaves the greater villain loose
Who does not think to value goose
#goose

2026-05-15 18:48:32 UTC

#golang
https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/116/580/083/936/819/239/original/230af68368d74b1a.png
https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/116/580/083/982/074/562/original/71a7acdfa2c977df.png

2026-03-14 19:28:34 UTC

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the moustache of an inveterate ankle biter if ever there was one

2026-03-14 19:04:15 UTC

'Oh, he's not normally like that', you say, as your red-eyed miniature hellhound attempts to take a chunk out of my ankles in a manner that suggests he is, in fact, deeply accustomed to the taste of human flesh

2026-02-26 15:17:25 UTC

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@dalias/116137460475754133
I got the email from Amazon about this today and *immediately* deleted all my wishlists. Just not worth the risk in the slightest.

2026-02-05 19:12:24 UTC

Because I'm in my feelings: thank you to everyone who fills this place with art, or music, or prose, or poetry, or game prototypes, or fun new apps, or jokes.
We're dancing apes that live to smear ochre on the cave walls and imagine it a herd of bison. To tell ghost stories around the fire and shiver in mock fear. To build a world in our heads and then spool it out and into the oral tradition, where it can grow and change with each retelling.
The art *is* the point.

2025-12-10 13:30:50 UTC

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I'm guessing the implication is that the UK's current constitutional arrangements would no longer be considered sufficiently aligned with the criteria? I'd be especially interested in the case law around formal constitutions – presumably both the UK and Sweden were/are considered to have a robust enough constitution despite it not being contained in a single document and retaining hereditary heads of state?

2025-11-22 12:14:15 UTC

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A hardened criminal. You can tell they'd do it again in a heartbeat.

2025-10-18 15:41:54 UTC

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like I'm sure you get used to the weird groaning sounds coming from the walls

2025-10-15 18:05:17 UTC

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https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/115/379/504/124/066/120/original/fbba4344d5b750e3.jpg

2025-10-15 17:36:13 UTC

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it **hungers**

2025-10-15 17:34:59 UTC

Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should, exhibit P: M&S's horrifying chimera pumpkins
https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/115/379/384/952/726/110/original/525a550f05197fba.jpg

2025-10-05 10:41:07 UTC

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what if I enjoy having my feet remoulded into non-euclidean shapes overnight, Ash?

2025-10-05 10:31:58 UTC

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> If it were a web app instead, I could drop the developer membership, but I’d have to pay way more money for web and database hosting. Probably need a CDN too, and who knows what else. (I don’t have recent web app experience, so I don’t even know what my requirements would be, but I’m sure they’d cost substantially more than a couple hundred bucks a year.)
It's interesting that people default to thinking of web apps as exclusively the sort of thing where the logic lives on the server. I do think it would be possible to build a NetNewsWire-esque PWA with all the logic and storage client-side, which would cost basically the same to host as a downloadable Mac app.

2025-09-18 10:43:40 UTC

OP: I’m enjoying using Signal for messaging!
flossdingus at fosstodon dot social: You fool. You utter incompetent. I can’t believe you’d use Signal when LibreSquirt is right there.

2025-09-11 14:50:28 UTC

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yeah, if it's available in the UK, which has essentially identical GDPR rules to the EU, it's not likely to be that.

2025-08-22 17:42:54 UTC

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I’m hoping, for your sake, that this is a dynamically-constructed regex rather than a handcrafted one

2025-07-21 08:58:15 UTC

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‘and other fauna’ => RC bin chickens

2025-07-17 17:03:32 UTC

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I always think it’s impressive that what amounts to an art project managed to create a much better auxiliary language than most people who deliberately set out to do that

2025-07-09 19:56:06 UTC

bed that slowly turns you like a rotisserie chicken so you can be evenly exposed to the fan

2025-07-03 11:10:32 UTC

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I do enjoy the ‘just add more stars on top’ approach to increasing energy efficiency

2025-07-03 00:00:18 UTC

Just saw a huge fireball streak through the sky to the northwest of #Belfast. Meteorite? Deorbiting space junk?

2025-07-01 12:22:53 UTC

I went through and cleared out a load of unnecessary subscriptions, and put some of that to become a [Friend of GNOME](https://donate.gnome.org/ ). It’s important to me to support my favourite thoughtful, usable open-source desktop environment (and who knows, perhaps one day my favourite phone environment too)
#gnome
https://social.ndlug.org/@pnutzh4x0r/114772899988030604

2025-06-21 22:14:42 UTC

Went to the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh and demanded to see their most haunted doll
https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/114/723/656/741/208/872/original/0d35d21b9dcf675d.jpeg

2025-05-29 20:30:30 UTC

I think not enough technical people recognise that thanks to SEO spam, search ads, and good ol’-fashioned malware, the web was broken for many people years before LLMs were a thing

2025-05-28 07:58:10 UTC

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They’re somewhat derogatorily called ‘granny trollies’ in the UK, but I’d call it a shopping caddy in polite society

2025-05-16 17:57:07 UTC

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I've seen the Covid hypothesis a fair bit, and there are some reasonable mechanisms and some extant research that could be relevant, but I'd be very reluctant to treat it as more than that yet, personally. I've seen more than one person getting very scared, angry, or judgemental of others over entirely anecdotal evidence (and worse, evidence they were expecting to see).
I also wonder if it's (partly/wholly/not at all) a pandemic effect, rather than particularly a Covid one. We're still seeing social and political upheavals that've been influenced or accelerated by living in pandemic times.

2025-05-03 01:19:43 UTC

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I would have this 24 hours a day. For democracy, of course, no sacrifice is too great

2025-05-03 01:16:50 UTC

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can it ever be too early for sausages? I may be biased on this matter, due to Englishness

2025-04-14 14:17:54 UTC

they should make asthma inhalers in cool ranch flavour

2025-04-08 23:14:06 UTC

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this seems much better than the much more cursed side of Japanese electrical innovation: the continuous rail powerbar/multipoint
https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/114/304/866/881/792/973/original/5e91bd3c191cb849.png

2025-03-11 20:47:20 UTC

How often do languages *stop* being self-hosting?
https://fosstodon.org/@rauschma/114144377664704212

2025-03-09 15:53:56 UTC

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I’m impressed that it works without mains power! Our heating stops completely during power cuts because there’s nothing to run various pumps

2025-03-06 03:03:43 UTC

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Oh no! I hope it's just a sprain and it'll heal up quickly :blobhaj_sad_reach:

2024-12-12 12:00:51 UTC

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is this for when @npub1m0e…mqsy sets up a self hosted instance running on a smart microwave

2024-12-08 21:32:44 UTC

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Ah, interesting! All the named storms around Ireland, Britain, and the Netherlands are what I’d call ‘winter storms’ – invariably high winds and lots of rain (and rarely snow). I don’t think I’ve ever heard the term ‘windstorm’. So perhaps it’s a different cultural expectation around what would be considered a storm?

2024-12-08 01:36:06 UTC

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[@me_valentijn](https://m.ai6yr.org/@me_valentijn ) @npub1ucv…5a8g I might be missing something, but surely for public comms knowing the likely impacts is far more useful than exactly what sort of weather system we’re dealing with? The harmonised European warning systems run by national met agencies gives you the detail of what to expect in your area and when: https://meteoalarm.org/en/live/

2024-09-21 09:00:55 UTC

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I didn’t know that advertisers sliding into your DMs was a thing now

2024-09-09 12:39:55 UTC

The wind in the alders is balm for my soul
https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/113/107/637/482/505/293/original/d5b01a0f1f4ca1d0.mp4

2024-08-27 22:23:57 UTC

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this has been happening for me across two laptops and three Fedora releases. Really just adds to the general cursed vibes that are FDE on Linux

2024-08-22 12:32:41 UTC

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there’s always something special about a train on a bridge – there’s a pedestrian/cycle bridge here that parallels the railway over the river and it’s always special when there’s a train crossing at the same time as you

2024-08-21 15:14:45 UTC

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you *might* be able to get one privately in the north – they’re certainly available that way in GB. I’m going to be trying to get one here sometime this autumn, I think

2024-08-17 21:27:23 UTC

@npub1t2q…n4vh Just wanted to say that I read and enjoy the release notes on iOS – and I also very much enjoy the app!

2024-03-19 17:34:24 UTC

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[6/x] For a palate cleanser, let's head to the Baltic Sea and Estonia, who bring us this magnificent symbolic bovine. I especially like the way the head is turned towards you as if in greeting, or perhaps calling you out on your reckless driving. This one's full of personality. Score: 8/10
https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/112/123/543/766/035/958/original/fdc9075227d895be.png

2024-03-19 17:30:57 UTC

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[5/x] Let's move on to Spain, the home of *el toro bravo*. Regrettably, their road sign of the same resembles an under-inflated pool toy. The legs aren't even level with each other. Disappointing. Score: 2/10
https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/112/123/527/524/396/290/original/5344328645a2960f.png

2024-03-19 17:26:25 UTC

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[4/x] Next door in Austria we have a very different, almost photo-realistic cow. Honestly, there might be a bit *too* much detail to be appreciated at speed, though I do like the very distinct eyelashes. Score: 7/10
https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/112/123/520/405/637/238/original/3d0fc2b81bfad6b7.png

2024-03-19 17:25:12 UTC

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[3/x] Moving onto Germany, we have a more stylised take. I love the way the tail is parallel to the hindquarters, and the alert-looking ears. Wirklich schön! Score: 8/10
https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/112/123/514/791/395/581/original/8c4d6b8d5437c0f8.png

2024-03-19 17:22:47 UTC

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[2/x] Ireland's cow may look familiar, because it's the same symbol as used in the UK. It does perhaps look a bit lost in Ireland's spicy yellow diamond warning signs. These two are our only rightwards-facing cattle, as Malta, the only remaining left-hand traffic country in Europe, seems to not have a sign. Score: 7/10
https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/112/123/498/416/033/575/original/a9800a26bd385413.png

2024-03-19 17:19:13 UTC

[1/x] Because I'm an enormous #RoadSign nerd, today we're going to take a magical tour of a selection of signs in use in Europe to warn road users about domesticated animals in and around the carriageway. This most commonly takes the form of a black cow symbol inside a red triangle.
We're starting in the UK, with a very decent example. Nice sweep on the horns, a good swishy tail, and a very planted feeling that suggests you'll have a bad day if you choose to mess with her. You can also see her in fellow left-hand traffic country Cyprus, where she is presumably enjoying somewhat nicer weather. Score: 7/10
https://media.tech.lgbt/media_attachments/files/112/123/467/609/823/691/original/967963034dfa23fc.png