Spent some more time manually upgrading Laravel apps yesterday.
It was kinda tedious. But it reminded me how the apps and framework work, what features are in the new framework version, and my kid watched me for a bit and asked interesting questions.
It was chilled. Low pressure. Mindful. And we got better as people.
RE: https://fosstodon.org/@topher1kenobe/116089152697615955
So – reading between the lines – it’s an acceptance that LLM chatbots have killed (or are in the process of killing) content monetization, so we may as well at least try and maintain some reputational ranking by giving away content in the easiest possible way for bots to consume?
We’re just all going along with this?
Genuine question: Why does everyone suddenly want their website available in markdown for agents to read. What is the use case for this?
It can’t be marketing sites.
It can’t be content sites with any kind of monetisation strategy.
If it’s free content sites then sure, just give all your content to the LLMs. That makes sense? (It doesn’t)
What am I missing?
On a blogging spree and determined to say nice things and be creative without mentioning The Thing that everyone else is talking about!!!
I bought a £20 mini keyboard. And it's surprisingly good! Here's what it's like and how I use it with my phone.
https://rosswintle.uk/2026/02/a-tiny-20-keyboard-and-tips-for-using-it-on-ios/
I had to write about YouSky (see earlier post) as it's one of the main reasons for having this!
I made a big, long, technical post a short time back about building a 1-person "social network" app for "micro-journaling". This is a short post explaining what it is without all the technical details.
https://rosswintle.uk/2026/02/yousky-my-one-person-social-network-short-version/
On the parental controls topic… I recently discovered that in iOS, if you Spotlight-search your kid’s name and tap it you get this highly useful “Instant downtime” button that I’m sure is not anywhere else in iOS.
Apple/Google/Microsoft…
Here’s what we need.
Parental controls but based on a simple vote among the parents.
TOO MANY TIMES it’s like:
“No!”
“But dad said I could!!!”
So we BOTH need to approve it.
(Yes, this would be doubly annoying)
While I'm recommending things, I've been meaning to write a recommendation for the TickTick Todo app for ages. It's really good.
https://rosswintle.uk/2026/02/tick-tick-the-best-to-do-app-you-maybe-dont-know-about/
(No affiliate links here. I'm just trying to post about some things I like and use! 😃)
I got annoyed that my kitchen sponges were falling apart. I tried sustainable, plastic-free versions. And they were actually really good.
https://rosswintle.uk/2026/02/non-plastic-non-scratch-kitchen-sponges-are-pretty-good/
This is excellent. My friend @aurooba with a post in her Leadership topic.
I am finding Neurodivergent Insights incredibly helpful as we try to understand both diagnosed and undiagnosed neurodiversity in our family.
Really good stuff. Much of it free. But the printable workbooks are also good.
The response to the #AI pull request and blog thing is SO considered and mature.
It doesn’t surprise me that a maintainer of something like a Python plotting library is an absolute legend with a huge brain and a PhD-level of competence in being a nice person who wants to make the world better.
https://theshamblog.com/an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-me/
Before I start I should clarify that this is a commentary on my own state of mind, not a direct criticism of what has been created. Given that…
My immediate reaction to this was “Ah good. A list of things I should avoid installing on my computer. Thanks!”
My other reaction was an expression of surprise and disappointment that this might have come out of a conversation with … HANK GREEN???
This is an amusing juxtaposition of things…
So… side project hosting moves and upgrades round 1 done.
Next up:
I need to upgrade the map game thing to Laravel 12 and Livewire and move server.
I need to upgrade the card game thing to Laravel 12 and Livewire and move server.
THEN everything will be modern and safe I can do fun stuff!!!
Turbo Admin needs some attention.
Oh, and I need to prepare a meetup talk for early March! EEK! That should probably be first.
Well, the Science Museum’s warehouse that's 15 minute's drive from where I live is FASCINATING.
It houses 300,000 items representing 90% of the Science Museum's collection (the other 10% is on display in exhibits).
Everything from the World's Fastest Milk Float, to Stephen Hawking's “voice” (and the entire contents of his office).
I’m having a nerdy science night out… Hey, Robot!!
RE: https://mastodon.social/@davatron5000/116037194678687994
Data in URLs!!!
This is such a cool idea. I might have to steal it.
@davatron5000 I'd love to hear back if you use this. Do non-tech parents understand the mechanism for using it?
Oh the puns in my family.
My son and wife made a mixed-berry preserve today. As he's into coding video games I suggested this should be called:
"Game Jam"
After some thinking he decided this would be bad as it would taste of meat.
"Oh dear" I (accidentally!) replied.