Dan Q - The Podcast

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2026/05/27/wp25-carl-person/As I continue my 25-consecutive-days-of-Wikipedia, today's random article of the day was Carl Person, a lawyer with an interesting history.00:00 Intro 00:22 Wikipedia's 25th Birthday 01:01 Carl Person 05:39 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2026/05/25/wp25-cirrothauma-murrayi/Today, Wikipedia introduced me to a mysterious deep-dwelling octopus. So cool!00:00 Intro 00:25 Wikiedpia's 25th Birthday 01:01 Cirrothauma Murrayi 03:36 Aside: pluralisation of octopus 04:23 Octopus eyes 07:11 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2026/05/21/wp25-yousuf-karsh/Wikipedia is 25 years old this year, and in celebration of that I found my way via a Mercurial crater to the article about Yousuf Karsh, one of the most-important portrait photographers of the 20th century.00:00 Intro 00:20 Wikipedia's 25th Birthday 01:03 Karsh (crater) 02:33 Yousuf Karsh 04:40 Karsh's life 06:36 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2026/05/20/wp25-necker-island/Today, thanks to Wikipedia, I learned a lot about a miniscule Hawaiian island with an interesting cultural and archaeological history... after I found my way there from a random page about a hip hop album!00:00 Intro 00:34 Wikipedia's 25th Birthday 01:08 Here & Now (Pop Shuvit album) 02:06 Pop Shove-It (the skateboarding trick) 04:38 A history of skateboarding technology and tricks 07:50 Mākaha, Kāne’āki Heiau and other heiau 09:04 Necker Island 12:13 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2026/05/19/wp25-lake-baikal/Today's random Wikipedia article was about a kind of seal that lives only in Lake Baikal in Siberia, which turns out to be a really, really big lake. Like: it's got about a fifth of the world's fresh water in it; that's how big it is!00:00 Intro 00:21 Wikipedia's 25th Birthday 01:03 Baikal Seals and Lake Baikal 03:11 Omul and Raskolotka 03:52 Baikal Deep Water Neutrino Telescope (BDWNT) 05:15 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2026/05/17/wp25-yo-yo/This year is Wikipedia's 25th birthday, and as part of the celebrations I learned who Marcus Koh is... but that wasn't remotely as interesting as learning about the long history of the yo-yo!00:00 Intro 00:28 Wikipedia's 25th Birthday 01:12 Marcus Koh and the yo-yo 02:09 The long history of the yo-yo 03:10 An Ancient Greek wine-drinking party 05:20 Ancient Greek yo-yos 05:47 The modern yo-yo 06:50 The Eskimo yo-yo and other articles 08:15 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2026/05/15/wp25-rail-in-indonesia/Wikipedia is celebrating its 25th birthday, and today I'm celebrating by discovering what the Argo Wilis is, along with a dive into a rabbithole about rail transport in Indonesia!00:00 Intro 00:25 Wikipedia's 25th Birthday 01:18 Rail Transport in Indonesia 07:00 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2026/05/14/wp25-wesley-merritt/Wikipedia is celebrating its 25th birthday, and somehow as a result I ended up reading about Wesley Merritt, who was the shortest-lived Governor-General of the Philippines!00:00 Intro 00:25 Wikipedia's 25th Birthday 01:24 Colonial History of the Philippines 02:55 Wesley Merritt 03:57 Prelude to the Spanish-American War 05:09 What caused the USS Maine to sink? 06:26 Declaration of War 07:13 The (Mock) Battle of Manilla 09:00 Aftermath 10:03 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2026/01/15/nostalgia-music-and-computers/It turns out that I get nostalgic about technology in the same way as I get nostalgic about music. Here's some things that take me right back to being nine, eleven, thirteen and fifteen years old.00:00 Intro 00:24 Nostalgia, Music, and Computers 00:46 When I hear "Dawnbreaker", I feel like I'm nine years old... 05:13 When I start a new Ruby project, I feel like I'm eleven years old... 07:45 When I hear "In Yer Face", I feel like I'm thirteen years old... 13:23 When I see a personal Web page, I feel like I'm fifteen years old... 17:34 Wrapup and reflection 18:02 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2026/01/09/why-i-am-so-tired/After dusting off and modernising a joke I first read in a chain email from 1996, I can tell you conclusively that the reason that I'm tired is because I'm overworked.00:00 Intro 00:32 Why I'm So Tired 01:59 That leaves... 02:14 History of the joke

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/12/18/actually-yes/There's a certain kind of person who, upon hearing my unusual name, immediately asks whether that's what's on my birth certificate (with an underlying implication that it's not my 'real' name, whatever that means, if it isn't). Well: as of this week, thanks to a quirk in Scottish law, the name I've used every day for almost two decades DOES appear my birth certificate. Fuck the haters.00:00 Intro 00:26 Actually, Yes! (that IS what my birth certificate says) 04:59 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/09/04/the-beer-token/Thanks to the success of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy, we can never forget quite how much beer you used to be able to get for a fiver (plus an exceptionally-generous tip). Nowadays, it'll get you one pint, if you're lucky... and that offers us an exciting opportunity...00:00 Intro 00:37 The Beer Token 01:17 Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy, extract from Chapter 2 03:17 1979: The price of a pint of beer 05:12 1990: The price of a pint of beer 06:17 1998: The £2 Coin, or Original Beer Token 08:00 2023: Beer now more likely to be £5 than £4 08:30 An opportunity 09:10 The £5 Coin, or a New Beer Token? 10:20 Would a politician support this? 10:45 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/08/28/hexagonal-cheese-scones/A poem about the shape of a scone.00:00 Intro 00:30 Hexagonal Cheese Scones 01:13 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/05/21/google-shared-my-phone-number/When people started calling my personal mobile number with questions about a voluntary organisation I'm involved with, I was confused: we weren't sharing that number. It turns out that Google had decided to take the number I used to verify my identity for Google Business some years prior and start putting it in Google Search results. WTF, Google?00:00 Intro 00:31 Google shared my phone number! 00:53 [Self-ad!] Plug for volunteering opportunities at Three Rings CIC 01:08 Unexpected phone calls 02:06 "Where did you find this number?" 02:33 Finding myself on Google 03:25 How Google first got my phone number 04:47 The second time this month a company leaked my PII! 05:02 "Did I click the wrong button on a popup?" and sarcasm 05:42 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/03/29/delivery-songs/In the UK, ice cream vans are perhaps the only delivery service with their own jingle. Turkey and India are WAY ahead of us in this regard, and I've got a few ideas about how we fix that...00:00 Intro 00:20 Ice cream vans 01:14 Water, propane, and vegetables 03:37 Other delivery services? 06:34 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/03/14/work-slippers/Last month, the dog ate my slippers, and in the week it took me to replace them my work productivity took a dip. Coincidence? Nope! They were my 'work slippers', and it turns out I needed them!00:00 Intro 00:21 Work Slippers 00:58 Routines are important 02:19 Work slippers as part of my routine 04:10 A new pair of slippers 04:28 My 100th blog post of this year! 05:07 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/02/28/ai-vs-the-expert/Inspired by an 11-year old comedy sketch, I asked a GenAI to solve an unsolvable programming problem... and (for at least some models) it failed in exactly the way I anticipated: claiming to be able to solve it and delivering code that just... didn't. What does this teach us about AI trustworthiness for problems that might be solvable, but for which the human operator doesn't have sufficient comprehension to verify?00:00 Intro 00:21 AI versus The Expert 02:45 gpt-4o's attempt 04:52 Claude 2.7 Sonnet's attempt 06:25 What's the point of all this? 08:16 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/02/27/a-psalm-for-the-wild-built-by-becky-chambers/While I've been ill I read A Psalm for the Wild-built by Becky Chambers, which had been on my reading list for a while. It's a comforting and compelling story about purpose and identity in an environmentally-conscious utopia, and it's flipping awesome.00:00 Intro 00:25 Micro-review of A Psalm for The Wild-Built 05:20 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/02/06/gods-adviser/When I was a young child I took part in a school nativity play, and was so insistent about picking holes in the theological inconsistencies implied by the script that I had to be expelled from the classroom. Here's how it went down.00:00 Intro 00:23 Nativity Plays 01:51 Adorable or Unbearable 02:48 A Different Spin on The First Christmas 04:17 The Meteor Strike of Bethlehem 04:27 Adviser #1 05:09 Theological Absurdity 06:17 Biting on and not letting go 06:51 Thrown out of class 07:09 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/12/05/ivd-2024/It's International Volunteer Day, and thanks to being on sabbatical I got to spend most of the day volunteering with Three Rings. I liveblogged everything I got up to in a series of notes to try to shine a light on what volunteering (in a developer/devops role) with Three Rings can look like; this post is a summary of all that liveblogging, plus a few extra thoughts.00:00 Intro 00:31 International Volunteer Day 02:31 Bugfixing mail merges 04:08 Code reviews 04:45 New server infrastructure 06:16 Sorting the post 07:09 Contact form improvements 08:13 A new feature 11:10 Sabbatical joy 12:24 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/11/29/stuck/About twenty years ago, I spent three hours playing I-Spy in a broken-down elevator. And in doing so, I learned two things about my friend Fiona.00:00 Intro 00:25 Stuck In A Lift 01:36 How to break/brake a lift 02:08 Getting stuck in a lift with my friend Fiona 03:35 What reminded me of this anecdote? 04:03 A four hour wait... 04:28 Discovering that Fiona is mildly claustrophobic 04:51 "...something beginning with N." 05:34 "...something beginning with S." 07:03 Three hours later, and the arrival of our rescuer 07:46 A second discovery about Fiona 08:25 Karma 08:36 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/11/16/fiction/There's a short story that I tried on-and-off to write, but I've now given up on it. The concepts it makes light of all feel a bit too close-to-home, as conspiracy theorists increasingly migrate from the 'harmless nutjob' to the 'dangerous political leader' category.00:00 Intro 00:43 Sadder Than Fiction 01:38 My never-completed short story 03:50 My influences 04:37 My intentions 05:05 How conspiracy theorists ruined my concept by making it not-funny-anymore 06:52 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/10/24/munch/I like pickled onions. And I like the vinegar flavouring and the onion flavouring from salt & vinegar and cheese & onion crisps, respectively. So I ought to like pickled onion crisps too. So why don't I... and can I rationally persuade my brain that it's wrong?00:00 Introduction 00:26 I ought to enjoy Pickled Onion Monster Munch already, right? 02:36 Restating the Theory 03:23 Worst ASMR Audio You Ever Heard 03:50 Results 04:10 Outro 04:31 Post-outro sounds of Dan continuing to eat a packet of crisps

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/10/14/firsts-and-lasts/I was listening to the bats flying silently above me while I watched the Perseids, the other month. When was the last time I was actually capable of hearing their echolocation? I simply can't remember, because it didn't feel significant at the time.00:00 Intro 00:24 Firsts and Lasts 03:47 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/09/26/wp-engine/Matt Mullenweg kicked off a battle of words between Automattic and the WordPress Foundation and hosting company WP Engine. Without weighing in on the legal aspects (IANAL), I've written up my thoughts.00:00 Intro 00:23 WP Engine & WordPress drama 01:58 The three arguments against WP Engine: moral, ethical, legal 02:27 Moral: don't take without giving back 04:21 Ethical: don't exploit open source's liberties as weaknesses 07:46 Legal: trademarks have value; don't steal them 09:50 Summary of my opinion 10:40 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/08/27/2024-in-videogames/With my busy schedule, I appreciate a video game that I can pick-up-and-drop at will and a prefer depth rather than quantity of content. This year, I've played and can recommend three games in particular - Horizon: Forbidden West, Thank Goodness You're Here!, and Tactical Breach Wizards.Post: https://danq.link/2024 00:00 Intro 00:26 What I (now) look for in a videogame 02:30 Horizon: Forbidden West 06:29 Thank Goodness You're Here! 08:25 Tactical Breach Wizards 11:33 Summary & Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/08/22/dan-q-the-podcast/As you might have already noticed, I started a podcast. Let's take a look (or listen!) into how and why I adapted my WordPress installation to double as a podcast host, and discuss what kind of content you're likely to find on it...Original post: https://danq.link/podcast Source code: https://danq.link/podcastcode 00:00 Intro 00:28 Soo... I'm a podcast? 00:54 Why? (are you doing this, Dan!) 02:24 How? (does WordPress become a podcasting platform) 07:52 What? (to podcast about) 09:39 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/07/21/ascii/ASCII, a standard whose legacy defines to this day how most of the letters and numbers in your computer get encoded into ones and zeroes, is elegant and beautiful. Via lessons in computer history, punched tape, and typewriters, I'd love to share some of its logic with you.00:00 Introduction 00:23 The Elegance of the ASCII Table 02:03 History of ASCII 03:36 ASCII Table Layouts 03:54 Control Codes 08:27 Space 09:37 Numbers 10:44 Shifted Numbers 11:54 Uppercase Letters 12:55 Lowercase Letters 14:02 The Beauty of the ASCII Table 14:53 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/07/09/tea-pressure/I'm told that black tea brewed at 90℃ is bad, but brewed at 100℃ is good. What if we built a specialised pressure cooker that released tea into superheated water at, say, 110℃? Could that be... even better?00:00 Intro 00:23 A Pressure Cooker... for Tea 00:52 The importance of water temperature 02:13 Let's invent something! 03:09 It's not just for high-altitude tea 03:32 What IS the ideal temperature for brewing black tea? 04:52 Outro

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/06/28/elephant-joke/It was too hot to sleep, so I learned about how to differentiate species' of elephant from one another instead. And then I thought of a really, really stupid joke, which you now get to experience too...

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/06/20/special-roads/Today I learned why some British roads have seemingly-unnecessary speed limit signs, e.g. "70" signs on something that appears to be a motorway.

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2024/04/28/window-tax/Britain and the Netherlands both had window taxes at various times. But the social and architectural effects were quite different.

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2022/12/01/automation/A friend of mine used to do railway station announcements and was so good that he could do it from memory. That job now belongs to a computer. And that's fine.

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2022/10/02/my-first-mp3/I ripped my first MP3 file back in 1995. Where could it be now? I'd recognise it if I found it!

Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2021/07/05/goose-language/Geese seem to work their way all over our language. Let's take a look at the etymology of some goosey terminology.