Dan Q

I'm Dan Q. I've spent the last 25+ years creating and writing on the Internet.

I work at Automattic and volunteer with Three Rings. I live with my partner, her husband, two kids and a dog. I can sometimes be found out geo*ing, cycling, or performing magic.

I believe in open source, open relationships, and opening doors to marginalised groups.

Photograph of Dan, his ponytail hanging over the shoulder of his black t-shirt, smiling from behind his beard and waving to the camera.

  • D20 with Advantage

    D&D players spend a lot of time rolling D20s. Sometimes they 'roll with advantage' - that is, roll two dice and take the largest. Last night I dreamed I derived the probability matrix for such rolls, and it got me thinking... could you construct a single die that rolls 'D20 with Advantage'? Read more →

  • Idea: Meeting Spoofer

    Coworkers keep scheduling meetings in periods you've blocked-off for no-meetings, head-down focus time? Maybe you should try scheduling fake meetings in those slots instead and see if they respect those any better! (But perhaps there's a bigger cultural issue you oughta look at instead.) Read more →

  • Roll Your Own Antispam

    The Web contact form of a nonprofit I founded started attracting a huge volume of spam, and conventional tools weren't helping. But a little analysis allowed us to block almost all of it without compromising on accessibility, privacy, or the false-positive rate. Read more →

  • 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. Read more →

  • So... I'm A 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... Read more →

  • Even More 1999!

    Regular commenter Spencer wrote an SVG filter to improve my "1999 Mode", and it's excellent. But it got me thinking about how it doesn't exactly replicate the feel of my 90s Web pages, which featured extensive dithering. Read more →

  • Easy Socialising

    This weekend a bunch of old Abnibbers - folks I spent much of my time with 20 years ago - plus their children and dogs came over to visit, and I was delighted with how relatively-effortless it was to hang out with them despite not seeing some of them in-person for multiple years. Read more →

  • Draw Me a Comment!

    Instead of typing a comment for me to read, you can now draw one! Please don't make me regret this, Internet (🍆). Read more →

  • Permanent Record

    I spent my school years being told that things would go on my permanent record. But it looks like that's not so-permanent as I was lead to believe. Read more →

  • More articles →
    (articles are traditional long-form blog posts)

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  • Note #24461

    Does there exist a more contented moment for this bleppy doggo than getting to lounge on the sofa with her favourite humans? × Read more →

  • Note #24459

    Some days… you’re just so dog-tired you can’t even find the energy to pull your head into your basket with the rest of you. This Twelfth of Bleptember’s a bit like that for me, too. I feel you, dog.× Read more →

  • How to Monetize a Blog

    Tyler's written about How To Monetize A Blog, and it's excellent reading for anybody w̵͓͒h̶̤̉o̵̩͘ ̸̮̀h̷̗̓a̴̫͆s̶̢̓ ̷͔̏ȩ̴͛v̷͍̐ĕ̵̟r̷̤̈́ ̷͖̎c̴̟̓o̵͉̚ñ̴̮s̸͈̊i̴̞͆d̵̳̀ẹ̸̀r̷͉̃e̷̫͛d̶̘̈́ t̷̖͇̭̭̠͙̭̙̓̇̾̒̂͝ḩ̴̨̱͙͇͉̫̘̻̎̔į̴̛̲̪̜͈̜̻͉͖̲̰̥̘̩͕͒̈͑͂̔̆̆̍̊̕͜r̵̼͇̲͎̰̓̅͂͛̅͗͜d̷̞̃̀͊͜͝-̴̛̖̱̬̣͍͙̠̰̽̂͌̈̉̆͊̈́͘͝p̷̲̅̀̑̈́̕͝a̵̢̙͉̱͈̬͈̝̲̪͈͉̺̣̤̎̓͑͊͂͝r̸̹̳͇̦̫̿̽̈́̑͗̀͒̎̚͘͝t̵̢̖͈̺̺̻̳͔̹̩̀̐̀̿͛͛͒͂̂̌͝y̶̨̹̗̹̐͗̍͊̐̏̏̾͂̀͆͋̇̀͊ ̷̡̺̩̫̣̦̤̹͓̺̬̑͜ã̵̺͔̬̟̭̻͉̺̘̖͉̜̹̳͎̲̌͋̂͆͋̄͝d̸̢̨̢̳̗̭͍̞̣̗̯̖͚͇͔͊̉͒̓͂s̸̡̨̛̰̘̠̘̣̦̘̼͇̫͔̹͇͛̾͊͘͝͝ ̴̥̗͙̣̈́̐́̐͛̓͗͛̈́͋̇̊̐̕͘a̴̲̼͎͍̮̪͑̂̀̇̿̿͛͝ ̸̨̘̼̤̭̱̩̱̞͋̿̓̕͘g̷͉͇̰̰̰̰̻͖̫̠̹͖̅ơ̴̻̩̹̹͂̂́̇̈́̏͒́́̃̓͗͝͝͝͠ó̷̤̝͔̞͙̽̍̌͐́̈͘͠ͅd̵̼̂̀̃͒͂͐̏͌̅̈̈̒̈́ ̵̡̢͎̬̠̭̪̭̪̼̭̠̰͍̠̜̓̈́̓̀͑̍͒̏̌͂̀͂̀i̴̡̜͕͇͖̤̬̜̼̹̟͇̤̞̝̪͐́͑̋͠d̷̟̬͛͛̉̀̇̐͊̈͒͒̈́̅̽͝ę̸̛̛̹̦͇̰̱͚̮͎̟̞͇̙͖̎̐̂̌̅͊͑̐͛̈́͝ȁ̷̠̳͙̊̈̌͋͂̎́̌̌̐͝.̷͖͓͉̠͍̝̭̘́̋̈͛͒̔̂͝͝ͅ. Read more →

  • Note #24437

    Such poise! Such grace! While out for a run around with her doggy pals this Eleventh of Bleptember, our dog takes every opportunity to show off her elegance and style and definitely not just look like a derpy little wazzock.Photo courtesy Lisa from Muddy Paws.× Read more →

  • Note #24435

    According to news media: today, a billionaire is being taken into space, where the crew will open the rocket door and put him outside. This seems like a great start, and I hope that the remaining 1,780+ billionaires left here on earth will be following suit soon.× Read more →

  • Why don’t I like pickled onion crisps? I like pickled onions. And I imagine that the flavourings used in pickled onion crisps are basically the onion flavouring from cheese & onion and the vinegar flavouring from salt & vinegar, both of which are varieties I like. Read more →

  • AI posts on social media are the chicken nuggets of human interaction

    Ruth shares her thoughts on the current state of generative AI, and I had a surprising amount to say about them. But mostly, I just love her metaphor about AI-generated social media posts! Read more →

  • Note #24429

    How is it the Tenth of Bleptember already? This young lady has so-far put off her morning nap and is instead intently watching me to see what I do next with my workday. Maybe it’ll involve dog treats! (Spoiler: it probably won’t. But you never know…) × Read more →

  • The biggest problem with “AI” is probably that it’s used as label for two completely different things: 1. Specialized neural networks trained to do highly specific tasks (e.g. cancer screening) which often work reasonably well as a tool to support human experts. 2. Generative AI which thoroughly produces the most mid bullshit. It doesn’t help that neither are intelligent in any way, they’re both statistical pattern matching. - Thomas Read more →

  • Note #24420

    Happy Ninth of Bleptember! Today’s picture of our bleppy pupper comes from the rug near the front door. It’s certainly not as comfortable as her basket or bed, but it affords an excellent view of the comings-and-goings of the house. She flops down here, like a pancake, when she wants to be able to audit […] Read more →

  • Note #24418

    Rainy Sundays like this Eighth of Bleptember are for bleppy cuddles on the sofa, not for running around outside. × Read more →

  • Note #24416

    There’s a squirrel over there and it Can’t. Be. Trusted. Demmy tries to explain her logic regarding the little furry tree-dwellers on a morning walk this Seventh of Bleptember. × Read more →

  • Post: Alcoholic Alcohol-Free Beer

    This evening, I’m reduced to re-alcoholising my alcohol-free beer. Unfortunately the cleanest-tasting vodka I have is “only” 40% ABV, so by adding enough of it to bring the beer back to its correct ABV… I’m technically watering-down the beer. This might be the strangest cocktail I’ve ever made. × Read more →

  • Note #24412

    A wet and grey school run this Sixth of Bleptember isn’t enough to take the spirit of adventure out of this dog. But neither will it encourage her to put her tongue away. × Read more →

  • Note #24402

    Jogging home after the school run has left the little pupper tired out this Fifth of Bleptember. She’ll need a long nap to save her energy for some zoomies later. × Read more →

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