Posts by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
(DIR) Post #AaMmhfTlnvI0HTrvs0 by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2023-10-02T17:11:38Z
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(For the reply guys, I don't need advice on creating a throwaway BBC account. I also know that things like Instagram etc do this already. Uggh to them too. I'm complaining about the BBC copying the pattern.)
(DIR) Post #AaMmhgH2qihkkIvHfs by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2023-10-02T17:16:05Z
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A positive thing: it is good to see places like the BBC finally start to do this rather than just directly embed other websites which will track you.
(DIR) Post #AdhNWqbbDljjjPUsxU by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2024-01-10T09:14:36Z
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We may be in a year of the next UK General Election so it'd be great to improve our reusable hex cartogram of the new UK constituencies. Here's the background to creating the first draft https://open-innovations.org/blog/2023-08-03-hexes-for-the-next-general-election #hexmap #GeneralElection
(DIR) Post #AdhNWs3dozlIEfcnJ2 by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2024-01-10T09:16:49Z
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I made a hex map editor to let you rearrange hexes: https://open-innovations.org/projects/hexmaps/builder.html?maps/uk-constituencies-2023.hexjson Click on a hex to select it and then click in a gap to move it. When a hex is selected you can press "c" on your keyboard to select all the other hexes with that colour to move. You can save the output as HexJSON (button at the bottom) then you could either update https://github.com/odileeds/hexmaps/blob/gh-pages/maps/uk-constituencies-2023.hexjson or send me a copy of the file.
(DIR) Post #AdhNWu0sYEjyIgLcHI by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2024-01-10T09:20:58Z
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I made the first draft so it may need work in some parts of the country (particularly the south). Obviously all hex layouts are a compromise but if you can improve the feel of the layout where you are, that would be appreciated.A few guidelines I've tried to follow:* maintain the overall shape of the country and large scale features* keep the nations and regions as coherent blocks* make sure that any constituencies with compass directions in their names make sense.
(DIR) Post #AdhNWvtrXIJg9V52cS by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2024-01-10T09:23:28Z
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Some other organisations who've made UK constituency hex maps in the past have done things like have Glasgow North south of Glasgow South and that just seems wrong.I've made sure that the East Midlands separates the West Midlands from Yorkshire&Humber and that the South East separates London from the East Midlands. Also, the South East stops the East of England touching the West Midlands. Some hex layouts don't care about that.
(DIR) Post #AdhNWxxTsoOoXImxXM by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2024-01-10T09:29:59Z
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And for those wondering what HexJSON is; it is a simple JSON format for sharing hex layouts https://open-innovations.org/projects/hexmaps/hexjson People have made libraries/plugins for R/D3/Javascript to display it.
(DIR) Post #AjlGZ0iY0tsMNSnoky by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2024-07-09T17:37:15Z
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I've updated our Constituencies site with the #GE2024 results https://constituencies.open-innovations.org/themes/society/general-elections/ so you can compare with 2019, 2017, 2015, and 2010.
(DIR) Post #AjotaCuMebk6A6lrfM by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2024-07-11T07:38:00Z
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Can I request that people don't just provide QR codes for things? Also give the URL.
(DIR) Post #AkFZ97WMp1iwRwWCKu by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2024-07-24T08:25:29Z
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Only 11 people filled in my poll but 9 of them - when forced to make a binary choice - chose a vertical axis to go upwards rather than downwards.https://mastodon.me.uk/@slowe/112808292963552939
(DIR) Post #AkFZ98nQ56xUP7VKYS by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2024-07-24T08:32:29Z
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My contention is that most people would choose a vertical axis that goes upwards because, in the physical world, we are more used to being able to see things growing upwards. The ground often limits what we see downwards but we can see to the stars upwards. There is an asymmetry.Yes, computer graphics folks have got themselves used to a vertical axis that increases downwards but that is mostly a legacy of the choices made when designing cathode ray tubes a long time ago.
(DIR) Post #AoNi2PClkbickUjsC8 by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2024-11-24T21:38:34Z
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As a kid I liked pantos. I was in some pantos. But for some reason I always found the Blue Peter panto incredibly cringey.
(DIR) Post #AoNi73p0gFQrsUqTmi by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2024-11-24T22:20:09Z
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@drgeraint Oh yes I did!
(DIR) Post #AogMw1eXJS1ajmpxz6 by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2024-12-03T22:22:34Z
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@LordWoolamaloo Aren't LNER, Northern, and TransPennine all owned by the UK Government already? So it isn't the first in England. The BBC story at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ceqlnrgjr79o qualifies it as the first of the current UK Government (since July).
(DIR) Post #AwbfUr9xAwi4dighyy by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2025-07-28T20:03:51Z
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Oh yes, UK news sites are rolling out warnings about the security risks of VPN apps. At the same time they haven't been pointing out all the security risks created by the requirement to have everyone give their ID etc to any old random website/service. They aren't talking about the Online "Safety" Act vastly increasing the chances of data breaches of people's ID documents.
(DIR) Post #AxvOeQD2NtluKzuioa by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2025-09-04T13:04:14Z
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Hey #UKpol folks, we've created https://constituencies.org.uk/ as a hub for various projects we've done around constituencies/MPs.
(DIR) Post #AybX2op4QwQLXie5Ls by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2025-09-26T16:47:36Z
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Why is someone in Greater London far less likely to object to digital ID cards than the rest of England and Wales?
(DIR) Post #B0Ntvo6myMdWkwrHjU by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2025-11-18T22:57:56Z
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@futurebird I do this too
(DIR) Post #B0w4fB8TMqAAstcHeC by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2025-12-05T09:35:24Z
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Regarding what Jenny was talking about in that last boost, a lot of the TechBros seem to have a thing for pretending they are physicists (or would have been). It's an aesthetic. I don't think they actually care what anything means as long as they sound science-y enough to enough people. Perhaps part of it is to con themselves too.
(DIR) Post #B0w4fInqrOQCfG1vcG by slowe@mastodon.me.uk
2025-12-05T09:44:04Z
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There can be an arrogance/superiority-complex to physicists, historically, so perhaps that's some of the attraction of the aesthetic for TechBros.