Ben Werdmuller

Waterstones acquires Blackwell’s, the UK’s biggest independent bookseller

Very, very sad to see Blackwell’s purchased - by the hedge fund that owns Barnes and Noble, no less. [Link]

I'm common as muck and spent £150 in a Michelin star restaurant to see if it was worth it

“I've never grown up thinking of food as anything other than fuel to get through the day. I grew up on free school meals (chips and gravy, for the most part). As an adult, celebratory meals out are spent at Toby Carvery, where the all-you-can-eat

Build the smallest, simplest thing you can

Here’s how I think about software development: All code is an assumption until it meets its real-life context: its user, real-world data, the situation it’ll be used in. The goal in a startup should be to prove all your core assumptions as quickly as possible. Whereas

Fairness Friday: Equality Texas

I’m posting Fairness Fridays: a new community social justice organization each week. I donate to each featured organization. If you feel so inclined, please join me. This week I donated to Equality Texas. Based in Austin, Equality Texas “works to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and

Ukrainian refugees are already being driven out by the Russian invasion

“EU countries might be more open to absorbing Ukrainians fleeing the wrath of their adversary. But there might also be more willingness to accept Ukrainians because they are white, European, and majority Christian, revealing the “troubling rise of nationalist movements rooted in fear of the other,”” [Link]

Documenting and Debunking Dubious Footage from Ukraine’s Frontlines

“With every alleged provocation a potential pretext for conflict, Bellingcat has decided to track and detail such claims as well as the circumstances surrounding them.” [Link]

Facebook Allows Praise of Ukraine’s Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion

“Facebook will temporarily allow its billions of users to praise the Azov Battalion, a Ukrainian neo-Nazi military unit previously banned from being freely discussed under the company’s Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy, The Intercept has learned.” [Link]

America’s most widely consumed cooking oil causes genetic changes in the brain

“Used for fast food frying, added to packaged foods, and fed to livestock, soybean oil is by far the most widely produced and consumed edible oil in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In all likelihood, it is not healthy for humans.” [Link]

Ukraine

I’m not remotely qualified to talk about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in any level of competent detail, but I am qualified to discuss my feelings about it. These things seem to rarely be fought on real principles; instead, war puts ordinary peoples’ lives on the line in the

Twitter is sharing safety tips in Ukrainian — including how to delete your account

“On Wednesday night, as Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Twitter's Safety team began sharing tips in Ukrainian for how users in the country can cover their digital tracks to help keep themselves safe. That included details for deleting their accounts entirely.” [Link]

Protecting trans kids in Texas

NBC News: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling on “licensed professionals” and “members of the general public” to report the parents of transgender minors to state authorities if it appears the minors are receiving gender-affirming medical care. Trans kids and their supportive parents need to be protected. This is

Support open source that you use by paying the maintainers to talk to your team

“I think I’ve come up with a novel hack for the challenge of getting your company to financially support the open source projects that it uses: reach out to the maintainers and offer them generous speaking fees for remote talks to your engineering team.” This is really smart! [Link]