h2g2bob @h2g2bob@mastodon.dbatley.com

Unpopular opinion: Numbered streets can be wonderful. (An important consideration as US cities rename hundreds of streets named for César Chávez.) My take: https://humantransit.org/2026/03/the-joy-of-numbered-streets-or-call-it-39th-avenue.html

To fully confirm that I am middle aged and live in a bungalow. I am very pleased to announce that my tea and coffee shelf is now organised.

Final report on last year's Iberian blackout has been released, including this very interesting diagram showing the contributing factors

https://eepublicdownloads.blob.core.windows.net/public-cdn-container/clean-documents/Publications/2025/iberian-blackout/Final%20Report%20on%20the%20Grid%20Incident%20in%20Spain%20and%20Portugal%20on%2028%20April%202025.pdf

Whoa: <https://terathon.com/blog/decade-slug.html>

> What is now known as the Slug Algorithm for rendering fonts directly from Bézier curves on the GPU was developed in the Fall of 2016, so this year marks a full decade since its inception.
…
> Therefore, effective today, I am permanently and irrevocably dedicating the Slug patent to the public domain.

One of my proudest moments in the field of #eyebombing

I just managed to make another watchface, this time (pun intended) it's always 11 AM, but the timezone changes every hour to where it's 11 AM in the world.

The Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society https://improbable.com/2026/03/17/the-telephone-appreciation-society/

Flightradar24 is doing a really good job of aviation/logistics documentaries these days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d2uN7XCc4g

Nice piece by Sarah Wride on May Day traditions and UK elections (which typically happen in May).

https://historyofparliament.com/2026/03/10/re-membering-the-medieval-parliament-1769-1886/

#mayday

👓 NEW THING 🧽
Using advanced simulation technology, we’ve accurately reproduced what every glasses wearer experiences
https://vole.wtf/glasses-cleaning/

TIL. In April 1974, in the middle of the night, a small group of conspirators secretly installed a large tensegrity icosahedron made from discarded telephone poles on the campus of Twente University in the Netherlands.

It’s still there. People call it Het Ding (“the thing”).

https://www.utwente.nl/en/alumni/inspiring-alumni/ut-canon/stories/het-ding/