Weeknote 2025/16

*Papieneiland on a beautiful spring day. Photo: me.*

Easter weekend, and while I don’t mark it in any religious sense, I’m grateful for the long weekend all the same. It’s a well-timed pause in a year that already feels like it’s moving at double speed. We’re supposedly in spring now, though the weather hasn’t quite got the memo. Still, a bit of space to slow down and take stock has been welcome after a week that’s been emotionally intense, creatively energising, and, at points, quietly sad.

This week at work

An emotional rollercoaster of a week. We’re helping an organisation re-align and re-plan their digital transformation programme after a difficult-but-necessary pivot. Ahead of a team workshop, we’ve run a series of one-to-one interviews so people can share—confidentially—what’s happened and how they feel about it.

Being external gives us some distance and objectivity. We don’t carry the same baggage, which means people have been refreshingly honest. But at times it’s felt like being everyone’s therapist.

Despite the short working week, by Thursday I was absolutely wrung out.

And yet, also buzzing, because we officially signed contracts on a very exciting something. Which means I can stop being cryptic about it and, y’know, actually start doing the work. But not before a small celebratory toast.

I put the finishing touches on my presentation for LumApps Bright in Chicago next week. A few practice runs still needed, but I’m feeling pretty well prepped.

Oh, and I may have said yes to another side project, because apparently I’ve learned nothing.

Also this week

As mentioned in last week’s weeknote, I took to the stage on Sunday for PowerPints, the PowerPoint-based comedy show. My presentation—Hotels and their Design Crimes—didn’t win Best in Show (robbed, obviously), but I did get to say “jizz-stained wank blanket” repeatedly into a microphone in front of actual humans, so I’m calling that a win anyway.

Ciara Murphy’s winning prezzo (“DuoLingo: Smash or Pass?”) had me properly howling. The whole evening was a joy. Would do again.

Some sad news too: Nick Booth died suddenly this week, far too young. Nick—aka Podnosh—was one of the first people I connected with when I joined Twitter back in my local gov days. He welcomed me into the digital government fold at the first LocalGovCamp in 2009. Kind, generous, funny, and full of heart, Nick was one of the good ones. He’ll be missed by so many.

Lloyd Davis wrote a beautiful tribute here.

Consuming

👩🏻‍💻 Internetting

This week I fell down a delightful rabbit hole watching fish on a webcam. Not just any webcam: Utrecht’s Visdeurbel (fish doorbell). It’s a live stream of a canal lock, and with spring migration underway, volunteers are asked to ring a virtual doorbell when they spot a fish. Enough rings and someone opens the lock to let them through.

It’s charming. It’s weird. It’s very early-internet vibes. And yes, I pressed the button

📺 Watching

Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare, the Netflix retelling of that truly bananas case that spawned the podcast. Years of fake Facebook accounts, phantom illnesses, and even Skype calls with someone who refused to show their face. Kirat Assi is a calm, sympathetic narrator—but I still spent most of it yelling “HOW did you fall for this for ten years?” at the screen. “Witness protection? Come on.”

Glossy production, plenty of unanswered questions, and a resolution that lands with more of a shrug than a punch.

📚 Reading

Absolutely nothing. My brain said no thank you.

🎧 Listening

Caught French psych-rockers The Limiñanas at Tolhuistuin. Channelling Gainsbourg, Morricone and The Cramps, they delivered fuzzed-out riffs, retro cool, and pure groove with barely a word spoken. Like a Tarantino soundtrack come to life.