Todayβs random topics during our weekly #OnTheSide Office Hours:
WordPress is a loop of custom fields. π±οΈ
Basic AirPods are banned for podcasting. Tin can audio is a crime. ποΈ
Multi-bay storage boxes beat an expensive NAS. πΎ
Daylight savings remains a confusing mess for everyone. π΄
Ever measured productivity using the highly scientific method of βhow stressed everyone looksβ?
Yeah⦠we talk about that.
π§ open.spotify.com/episode/2dXT...
#ManagingEngineers #metrics
Donβt become an Engineering Manager.
Its quite a sensational headline with interesting observations but personally, I think itβs a tricky route to weigh up at the moment and always comes back with the classic engineering answer of βit dependsβ.
open.substack.com/pub/zaidesan...
Todayβs theme for Celebrate Your Name Week is βFun facts about your nameβ.
Simon comes from the Hebrew βShimonβ, meaning βto listenβ.
Jobling means βdescendant of Jobβ; an old English surname with northern roots.
TIL my name actually has some meaning.
Whatβs a fun fact about yours?
#CYNW
Find out about the candidates, what they stand for and how it aligns to your beliefs.
If they get emotional on their victory speech, that says so much more.
Don't just do it on popularity either. It's not a TV reality show, it's real life.
Political opinion warning β οΈ
This morning's result for the Green Party in Gorton & Denton should be a wake up call for everyone, not just the government.Β
There are other options to the typical "safe votes".
#poltics #GreenParty
Engineering leaders:
Are your metrics driving insightβ¦
or behaviour you didnβt intend?
New episode of Managing Engineers is out now.
We talk DORA, SPACE, Monte Carlo and the dark side of dashboards.
Tell us your strongest opinions.
open.spotify.com/episode/2dXT...
Why is Slack discontinuing support for Safari/MacOS in May?
It's such a popular default browser for so many people, I'd love to know the real business justification behind it.
Most the time, I use the native app but that's not an option for everyone.
Are there any local companies providing apprenticeship schemes in their tech teams around the Midlands?
Iβm researching options for young people in the area as some friendsβ kids with loads of potential are looking for jobs.
#apprenticeship #techtalent
Discord rolls out age verification, someone finds a work around.
age-verifier.kibty.town
Whilst I completely agree that age verification is important for social media platforms, I do love how every time a solution is rolled out, someone manages to hack it.
Kids will always outwit the adults.
AI copy is getting so easy to spot.
Too many em dashes, not enough (Oxford) commas or semi-colons.
Pro tip: if you really want to prove youβre human, go full chaos with a double βΈΊ or triple βΈ» dash.
Or even add a bit of personality with the wavy dash γ which is closer to theamdash.com
#mdash
It's been a while since I made any video content for my PETALSΒ project after the (intense) Christmas advent series.
But I want to know what people would find useful.Β
Would it be deep-dives into some common team health topics?Β
How to use our PETALS app?
Some hot topics from across the industry?
1. 45 minute dog walk with an uplifting podcast
2. Post-weekend debrief with my team
3. Organise my todo list for the week
4. Casual lunch-time chat with friendsΒ
5. Bounce around some ideas with peers to refine my list
How do you like to start your week on the front foot?
Most people struggle to get going on Monday mornings, coffee just doesn't cut it and the sheer scale of what you have to do is just demoralising.
But I like to mix my Mondays up withβ¦
But Daddy Pig is a legend.
Sat 7 Feb 14:10 Italy vs Scotland
Sat 7 Feb 16:40 England v Wales
Trying something different for 6nationscalendar.com this year with some simple word-based images for other social media platforms.
What do you think?
#6nations #design
(3/3)
Artwork is created in Canva, newsletters distributed on Substack, podcast media on Pinecast which syndicates to all the channels, then some socials using Zapier + Buffer.
Obviously this can be refined but it's a workflow that works well for me and keeps the podcast going with minimal effort.
(2/3)
Luckily, we've got a large loyal following who listen every week so that continues to motivate us to bring the joy every weekend.
Because we all share the content creation, my job is just to make sure it's distributed every Friday which only takes about 30 minutes with my current workflow.
How have I kept a weekly podcast going for over 20 years?
The key is building a passionate community who enjoy contributing towards it. We all love the music we feature so it doesn't even matter if nobody listens.
(1/3)
6 Nations 2026 kicks off this Thursday evening between France and Ireland.
Add it to your calendar along with all the other fixtures so you don't miss all the fun and excitement. No emails required (like the official website)
6nationscalendar.com/2026/france-...
#6nations #rugby #sportscalendars
Weβll be inviting companies from around Milton Keynes to join us as we explore what everyone currently does provide at all levels and also identify further improvements, even legal requirements in the UK.
Iβm sure itβll get emotional for many of us too.
As a father to two neurodivergent kids and probably on a spectrum myself, Iβm really looking forward to an event Iβm coordinating with my wife and cousin for supporting Neurodiversity in the workplace.
#neurodiversity #miltonkeynes
I often find I have a wave of ideas to share in Slack channels but hate bombarding them with all my noise.
I've started making better use of the "scheduled posts" instead, spreading messages or threads out on the most suitable days.
All the 6 Nations fun starts next Friday so I've updated 6nationscalendar.com/2026 with all the fixtures for your personal calendar without having to give away your email address.
Just hit the ADD TO CALENDAR button
(If you're feeling super kind, send me a drink to enjoy during the games). πΊ
@ramsreviewpod.bsky.social Love what you do on your pod and here. Fancy talking about some sort of collab on SuperRams.com?
Weβre back from our festive break.
Testing isnβt dead.
QA isnβt a checkbox.
Quality is everyoneβs problem.
Episode 2.4 of Managing Engineers is out.
From QA to Quality Engineering.
If youβve ever shipped something and thought βthatβll be fineββ¦ it wasnβt.
π§ Wherever you get your podcasts.
Currently overused emoji reaction to messages is π«‘
What's yours?
"Top down, bottom up" sounds so rude from management sometimes. #officehumour
And it turns out Big Bastards FC worked a treat in the end. Stronger team stood out despite our good start.
Back to the Champβ¦
Fair point but at least it got your attention.
Bring on that healthy rivalry and hopefully a tense / exciting game. If yesterday is anything to go by, we could be down to a stupid amount of pens.
