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Posts by Mike Simpson

A photo of a single Cadbury Twirl in a wrapper - not a double one, a SINGLE Twirl!

A photo of a single Cadbury Twirl in a wrapper - not a double one, a SINGLE Twirl!

So, I'm working my way through my Easter eggs and I just got to the Cadbury one and... WHAT IN THE SHRINKFLATION AND ENSHITTIFIATION HELL IS THIS!? One Twirl? And not even a normal packet, but ONE. SINGULAR. 🤬ing Twirl?

2 days ago 0 0 1 0
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Having “The Talk” A question I get asked regularly when I give my mental health talk is “If I’m struggling, how do I start a conversation with my line manager?” This has proved to be one of the hardest questions to…

If you're struggling with your mental health, admitting that to your colleagues can be a daunting prospect. In this blog post, I discuss some of the tips and solutions that have come up during my travels, plus there's the opportunity to have your say.

mdsimpson42.github.io/converse/202...

4 days ago 0 0 0 0

Another blog post will follow with additional data from the other recent talks I've given.

1 week ago 0 0 0 0
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Mental Health Challenges and Solutions from the Research Software Community | Software Sustainability Institute I’ve been giving a talk called “ConveRSE - Let’s Talk About Mental Health” as part of my SSI Fellowship.

In my recent talks, I mentioned a blog post summarising the data and suggestions I've been collecting on Mental Health in the Research Software Community via Mentimeter.

This is actually the blog post the SSI published a few months ago: www.software.ac.uk/blog/mental-...

1 week ago 1 0 1 0
A photo of some pink cherry blossom, backlight by the sun

A photo of some pink cherry blossom, backlight by the sun

Brightening up your timeline with one of my favourite pictures from this time of year. 🌸

2 weeks ago 0 0 0 0
A Feathers McGraw water bottle on a table at a conference, with other tables and lots of people in the background.

A Feathers McGraw water bottle on a table at a conference, with other tables and lots of people in the background.

This week, we're in Manchester for the N8 CIR's Digital Research Infrastructure Retreat. It's my first time, so I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm looking forward to some interesting discussions over the next few days! 🤓

3 weeks ago 2 0 0 0
A photo of a Feathers McGraw water bottle in front of a train window. In the background are grey skies, Scottish fields and a rainbow.

A photo of a Feathers McGraw water bottle in front of a train window. In the background are grey skies, Scottish fields and a rainbow.

Spotted a rainbow on our way up to meet the other @society-rse.org trustees in Edinburgh, where we'll be collaborating on key challenges and making plans for the future.

1 month ago 2 0 0 0
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🌊 We are delighted to announce the full list of lightning talks that will be delivered at Collaborations Workshop 2026. Find out more at
www.software.ac.uk/news/cw26-fi...

And if you haven't registered yet, hurry up an secure your #CollabW26 spot now!

1 month ago 2 1 0 0
A screenshot of Shadowheart from Baldur's Gate 3 saying "After all, we've faced down bigger threats than wrangling together a few social calendars".

A screenshot of Shadowheart from Baldur's Gate 3 saying "After all, we've faced down bigger threats than wrangling together a few social calendars".

Shadowheart has clearly never tried to arrange a regular DnD game with adult friends! #BaldursGate3 #DungeonsAndDragons

1 month ago 2 0 0 0
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A water bottle in the shape of Feathers McGraw from Wallace and Gromit, next to a laptop with a slide on it that says "Let's Talk About Mental Health"

A water bottle in the shape of Feathers McGraw from Wallace and Gromit, next to a laptop with a slide on it that says "Let's Talk About Mental Health"

Feathers and I are experiencing sunshine for what feels like the first time this year!

We're also in Oxfordshire to talk about mental health with RSEs and their colleagues at UKAEA.

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ConveRSE - Let's Talk About Mental Health - Mike Simpson
ConveRSE - Let's Talk About Mental Health - Mike Simpson Recorded at RSECon25 at Warwick University Sep 9-11 2025 https://rsecon25.society-rse.org/ Slides and full citation details: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17968167

The recording of my "Let's Talk About Mental Health" talk from #RSECon25 is now online. The audio quality isn't great, but this is the full, extended discussion of what I've been up to on my @softwaresaved.bsky.social fellowship.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zup4...

3 months ago 0 2 1 1
A water bottle in the shape of Feathers McGraw from Wallace and Gromit, next to a laptop and a digital notebook on a desk in a meeting room.

A water bottle in the shape of Feathers McGraw from Wallace and Gromit, next to a laptop and a digital notebook on a desk in a meeting room.

This week, Feathers and I have been on a long and exhausting journey... upstairs, to join some visiting colleagues for a workshop on Greening Digital Research and the DIRECT Framework.

2 months ago 1 0 0 0
A water bottle in the shape of Feathers McGraw from the Wallace and Gromit films sitting on a table in a meeting

A water bottle in the shape of Feathers McGraw from the Wallace and Gromit films sitting on a table in a meeting

This week, Feathers and I are at a meeting for RSE Leaders & Aspiring Leaders in Leeds, hosted by the N8CIR

2 months ago 2 0 0 1
The Discworld reading blanket, a tapestry style blanket in golds and steel blues, lying on a bed watched over by a giant sized IKEA Djungelskōg

The Discworld reading blanket, a tapestry style blanket in golds and steel blues, lying on a bed watched over by a giant sized IKEA Djungelskōg

Snagged the Discworld reading blanket in the restock and oh my word it's even more gorgeous in real life

2 months ago 11 2 2 0
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Reflections on the Year of Gaming Challenge – Mike Simpson Last year, I set myself a challenge: to play a game that I’ve never played before from my Steam Backlog every month. And I succeeded… sort of! I tried games and genres that I’ve never played before.…

New blog post: Reflections on my 2025 "Year of Gaming" challenge. mdsimpson.co.uk/2026/01/refl...

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A water bottle with Feathers McGraw from the Wallace and Gromit films sitting on a train

A water bottle with Feathers McGraw from the Wallace and Gromit films sitting on a train

A water bottle with Feathers McGraw from the Wallace and Gromit films sitting on a table in a meeting room with people in the background

A water bottle with Feathers McGraw from the Wallace and Gromit films sitting on a table in a meeting room with people in the background

Feathers is on the road again! This time we're attending a DisCouRSE focus group on Team Culture and Leadership in the dRTP space.

2 months ago 3 0 0 0
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💬 In our latest blog post #SSIFellow @mdsimpson.co.uk tells us more about delivering his “ConveRSE - Let’s Talk About Mental Health” talk at The Alan Turing Institute. Find out more about it and read the full story at www.software.ac.uk/blog/mental-...

3 months ago 5 4 0 0
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Welcome ConveRSE - a hub for mental health resources for RSEs.

Read more about the ConveRSE project on the website: mdsimpson42.github.io/converse/

3 months ago 0 0 0 0
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ConveRSE - Let's Talk About Mental Health - Mike Simpson
ConveRSE - Let's Talk About Mental Health - Mike Simpson Recorded at RSECon25 at Warwick University Sep 9-11 2025 https://rsecon25.society-rse.org/ Slides and full citation details: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17968167

The recording of my "Let's Talk About Mental Health" talk from #RSECon25 is now online. The audio quality isn't great, but this is the full, extended discussion of what I've been up to on my @softwaresaved.bsky.social fellowship.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zup4...

3 months ago 0 2 1 1
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Labour has good idea shock

From the new Private Eye, out now.

3 months ago 219 47 4 4
A scene from Futurama. Leela is saying "Second, everything else that's horribly wrong with what you're doing".

A scene from Futurama. Leela is saying "Second, everything else that's horribly wrong with what you're doing".

The fact that these morons haven't realised yet that arresting her is only amplifying her message! 🤦🏻‍♂️

3 months ago 0 0 0 0
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Deliver Us Mars – Year of Gaming 2025 – Mike Simpson And so we reach month 12 and game 12(ish) of my 2025 Year of Gaming challenge. This month, I decided to play another game that’s been sitting in my library for a while; something a little different…

The 12th (ish) and final game of my Year of Gaming challenge is Deliver Us Mars, an atmospheric, single-player story that I really enjoyed, despite not having played its predecessor.

mdsimpson.co.uk/2025/12/deli...

3 months ago 0 0 0 0
A package covered in Discworld stamps. One says "Ankh-Morpork Post Office" another says "Happy Hogswatch" and it has a stamp with a picture of Lord Vetinari.

A package covered in Discworld stamps. One says "Ankh-Morpork Post Office" another says "Happy Hogswatch" and it has a stamp with a picture of Lord Vetinari.

A certificate saying that my package has been inspected by the Ankh-Morpork Guild of Thieves.

A certificate saying that my package has been inspected by the Ankh-Morpork Guild of Thieves.

I do so love getting packages from The Discworld Emporium (@discworldemporium.bsky.social).

(Spoiler alert, some of you may be getting Hogswatch presents from the #Discworld Emporium!)

3 months ago 1 0 0 0
A basset hound looking grumpily out of the window with a Christmas tree in the background

A basset hound looking grumpily out of the window with a Christmas tree in the background

In this year's production of A Christmas Carol, the role of Scrooge will be played by... #Dog #BassetHound

4 months ago 6 0 0 0

I know what I'm using as my out of office message this year! 🎄

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It's that time of year, when every app I open is trying to force me to look back on a year I'd rather not think about ever again! 🎁

4 months ago 0 0 0 0

Only slightly disappointed not to be one of the new fellows anymore!

Congratulations everyone!

4 months ago 1 0 0 0
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💬 In our latest blog post #SSIFellow @mdsimpson.co.uk tells us more about his many roles at RSECon25 and his experience delivering a talk about mental health and the ConveRSE project. Find out more at
www.software.ac.uk/blog/convers...

4 months ago 1 1 0 0
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Mike's talking about himself in the third-person again! 😉

As an added bonus, there are some ConveRSE stickers on our stand and the SSI stand too.

4 months ago 2 0 0 0
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Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock – Year of Gaming 2025 – Mike Simpson I had a few things lined up on my to-do list, but I wanted to try something a bit different from the other games I’ve been playing recently. And so, I started playing Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock.

The next game I chose for the challenge is Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock - a game that you can no longer actually buy. But I'm going to review it anyway!

mdsimpson.co.uk/2025/12/batt...

4 months ago 0 0 0 0