narrator: it was a day ending in y, which meant chaos house had a surprise in store

the world’s scientists all go along with the asteroid story so the chickens don’t do to us what they did to the dinosaurs

Creating a personalised bin calendar Every year I use Python and a bit of CSS to create a fridge calendar that tells me about bin day.

Creating a personalised bin calendar: alexwlchan.net/2026/bin-cal...

I wrote a quick post about how I create my a fridge calendar that tells me about bin day.

Python stdlib + CSS = 🚮 💚

Creating a personalised bin calendar Every year I use Python and a bit of CSS to create a fridge calendar that tells me about bin day.

Creating a personalised bin calendar: alexwlchan.net/2026/bin-cal...

I wrote a quick post about how I create my a fridge calendar that tells me about bin day.

Python stdlib + CSS = 🚮 💚

every teacher who has ever taken students on a trip abroad: oh no

Monki Gras 2026 “Prepping Craft” When safety and normality are slipping away, how do we make our code, our communities, and our lives truly resilient?

Some highlights and reflections from this year’s #monkigras “Prepping Craft” alexwlchan.net/2026/monki-g...

Resisting ICE; stories of self-discovery; learning to be a parent of a trans child. So much fun; bring on 2027!

Monki Gras 2026 “Prepping Craft” When safety and normality are slipping away, how do we make our code, our communities, and our lives truly resilient?

Some highlights and reflections from this year’s #monkigras “Prepping Craft” alexwlchan.net/2026/monki-g...

Resisting ICE; stories of self-discovery; learning to be a parent of a trans child. So much fun; bring on 2027!

Everybody making suggestions in the replies is wrong; these names are disqualified because they’re memorably bad

The most boring place name is … hold on … I’m sure I remember it … it’s on the tip of my tongue

If somebody sincerely believes they have never made a mistake in the British bureaucratic process, j have a bridge to sell them

I fully believe in your ability to dislocate the hip of somebody not participating in the sex but just somewhere vaguely nearby

The selfish case for public libraries: alexwlchan.net/2026/selfish...

I wrote about why I love and use public libraries, and how they help me be a better reader.

Brit here, I would understand it to mean being resilient or standing firm against an adversarial situation

@grimalkina.bsky.social I don’t think you’re at Monki Gras today (if I’ve missed you around, sorry!), but your presence is being felt!

Your work has received glowing mentions in two talks already, and it’s not even lunch ☺️

The selfish case for public libraries: alexwlchan.net/2026/selfish...

I wrote about why I love and use public libraries, and how they help me be a better reader.

follow-up question: who’s gonna be the first college to discover one of their buildings is on land owned by a rival college

how many colleges are about to learn about land they own but had completely forgotten about because the only person who knew about it retired in 1967

that sofa will be unearthed in a decade or three by the next owners of chaos house, who’ll scratch their headers and wonder how a white sofa became a structural part of the garden drainage system

Dreaming of a ten-year computer Modern computers are more powerful than I know what to do with, but the norm is still to upgrade every few years. I want my current computer to last a decade, and I don't think that's unreasonable.

Dreaming of a ten-year computer: alexwlchan.net/2026/ten-yea...

I wrote about my current Mac mini, and why I’m trying to make it last for at least decade – modern machines are so powerful, and this should be more than enough computer for me for a long time.

Sanchez hires a longboat and just spends a week going up and down the Strait, just because he can

Certain breeds should be region-locked, eg Welsh corgis are only issued by bank branches in Wales (but are usable anywhere once they enter general circulation).

Larry is the rarest because you can only get him from somebody handling cash in London.

Correct the first time, Janet uses she/her!

Can we get a Brutus on a Boatus

Alternatively: we’re flying them all the one place, then they’ll be stranded and the rest of us can start putting the world back together

You can approximate this with "git apply"

1. Dump the diff to a file:

git --no-pager diff myfile.txt > /tmp/stageme

2. Edit the temporary file, either in your text editor or with a script that leaves only the chunks you want.

3. Stage those chunks:

git apply --cached /tmp/stageme

Jim Meets The Israeli Ambassador | Yes, Prime Minister | BBC Comedy Greats YouTube video by BBC Comedy Greats

This clip from Yes Minister comes to mind: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gjl...

okay but what’s it done for oxford’s ox-drawn cart industry

Their strategy of “steal Reform votes by copying Reform” has worked so well for them, I’m sure it will work with the Greens.

A photo of Jonn’s excellent book “A History of the World in 47 Borders” on a bookshop shelf, with a “staff pick” insert that reads “A lateral history with an abundance of fact (always a winner) and an equal abundance of anecdote. Elledge's easy-going style is informative without being dense, and refreshingly jovial for a genre that is too often parochial. In short, one of those rare, quite marvellous history books, from which you will take away as much as you could possibly hope to learn, and a great deal more you did not expect to.”

@jonnelledge.bsky.social Spotted in a bookshop next to London Bridge yesterday!

Congratulations! My partner is the sort of bus nerd who likes the same things as your granddad, I learnt about this book while forwarding her your hit bus post, and now I’ve preordered a copy for her birthday. (She’s not on Bluesky, nobody spoil pls.)

The bare minimum for syncing Git repos: alexwlchan.net/2026/bare-gi...

I’m trying to reduce my dependency on GitHub and cloud services, and it turns out that in plenty of cases, syncing Git with a local folder is plenty good enough for my repos.