Dan Q

I'm Dan Q (he/him). I've spent the last 26+ years creating and writing online.

While I'm considering a new paid role, I continue to volunteer with Three Rings. I live with my partner, her husband, two kids and a dog. I can sometimes be found geo*ing, performing magic, or recording the most pointless podcast.

I believe in open source, open relationships, and opening doors to marginalised groups. Black lives matter. Trans rights are human rights.
Be nice to humans, human.

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

  • Geocities Live

    Geocities.live transforms any web page into a 90s-Geocities-style variant of itself, and it does a surprisingly good (if slightly "samey") job of it. Its take on DanQ.me got me thinking, though: are there things I can learn from 1990s web design and apply to the next generation of my theme? Read more →

  • ChatGPT beats GeoGuessr

    Given nothing more than a screenshot or two of my game screen, from the starting position only, ChatGPT plays GeoGuessr better than I ever could. Apart from cheating at GeoGuessr, what else could this mean? Is this going to be a scary new weapon in the toolkit of Internet stalkers? Read more →

  • Change Your Star Sign

    The star sign associated with my birthday is Capricorn, and I really don't embody any of the typical Capricorn characteristics, so I changed my star sign to Aquarius. And today, I've launched a website to help others change their star signs, too. What will you change yours to? Read more →

  • 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... Read more →

  • Feed Readers Beat Doomscrolling

    If you're dodging news media because the alternative is catastrophic doomscrolling... perhaps you ought to be using a feed reader? It's a much healthier way to keep up with the Web. Read more →

  • WebDX: Does More Mean Better?

    I like the work that the WebDX Community Group have been doing, but I find myself asking: are we at risk of implying that giving the Web 'more' features invariably makes it 'better'? Read more →

  • 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! Read more →

  • A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

    Right after I finished A Psalm for the Wild-Built, I began reading its sequel A Prayer for the Crown-Shy and... it's also wonderful. It takes a different-but-similar approach to the philosophy of identity and purpose, and the story provides a deeper look into Dex's world, but it's still a familiar-feeling continuation of a beautiful story that's comforting and sweet. Read more →

  • 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? Read more →

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  • Found GCAR5HV Ivy

    The (long) log for Mossy describes the adventure to this geocache, too. Go read about it there. Read more →

  • Found GCB61ZC Mossy

    Saw GCB61ZC “Mossy” appear yesterday, but I’d already had an Easter Sunday beer or two and couldn’t drive out here… in fact, I realised, I probably wasn’t in a state to cycle out here either and so I resolved that I’d come out the following morning – that is, today – by car and give […] Read more →

  • Post: Easter Sunday Stone Circle

    The Devil’s Quoits (Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, UK) looks particularly striking in the bright sunlight of this Spring morning. × Read more →

  • Post: Map of the Titan

    Y’all seemed to enjoy the “overworld” map I shared the other day, so here’s another “feelie” from my kids’ ongoing D&D campaign.The party has just arranged for passage aboard a pioneering (and experimental) Elvish airship. Here’s a deck plan (only needs a “you are here” dot!) to help them get their bearings. × Read more →

  • Post: Family D&D's Overworld Map

    In preparation for Family D&D Night, I've finally completed an expanded "overworld" map for our game world. So far, the kids have mostly hung around on the North coast of the Central Sea, but they're picked up a hook that may take them all the way across to the other side... and beyond? Read more →

  • Note #26381

    Trip to Waddesdon Manor with the kids for an Easter Egg Hunt. × Read more →

  • Post: Sorry for any inconvenience

    Rarely seen nowadays, these UK road signs were eventually declared "too impolite" and "brusque" and have now almost entirely been replaced with the ones that Brits are familiar with today, which read "Terribly sorry for the inconvenience, I hope it's no bother, it's all our fault really, so sorry, really sorry, sorry, I'll put the kettle on shall I?"

  • Found GC3PP3Q LOL #2 – Swimming

    Second time lucky! As the pup and I approached the GZ we found a strange handwritten more on the ground, and, having not seen it on the way up, figured that it must belong to a woman we'd passed a little while ago. So we doubled back and returned it to her - turns out it was her shopping list - and chatted about tree beautiful bluebells (which is what she'd come out to see) before parting ways and returning to this cache. Read more →

  • Found GCB4774 LOL #5 – Shooting (revived)

    Success on the second attempt. The geohound “guarded” the buggy-trapping ruts while I searched three different hosts before finding the container. TFTC!× Read more →

  • Wrote note for GCB4774 LOL #5 – Shooting (revived)

    I let the man with the kids and the dog ahead of me so I'd be able to mount searches without having to stop and separate dogs, but I caught up with him literally at this cache! His buggy (which carried two of the kids - the third was strapped to his chest) had gotten stuck in a rut and he was busy extracting it. Read more →

  • Did not find GCB476P LOL #4 – Weightlifting (revived)

    Coordinates seemed solid, hint item seemed clear, but a good feel around didn't reveal anything to me except an alarming sign I had to walk past! (pictured)nnThen a man with kids and a dog came along and we needed to keep moving. Not sure where this could be hidden that I didn't already check! Read more →

  • Found GC3PP47 LOL #3 – Wrestling

    An excellent container in a picturesque spot. FP awarded. The geopup didn't want to come exploring off the path so I had to find this one by myself. SL, TFTC. Read more →

  • Wrote note for GC3PP3Q LOL #2 – Swimming

    Kids playing in the garden overlooking the GZ were watching, so I opted to give this one a miss. Maybe on the way back. Read more →

  • Found GC3PP1Z LOL #1 - Athletics

    Being between jobs, I decided to offer the geohound a longer then usual walk this morning and clear my head before an application form I need to fill out. We opted for the first leg of this series: let's see how far the little pooch's legs will carry her! Cache found easily, SL, TFTC. Read more →

  • Reply to: Rant about claims that LLMs will make you lose your programming skills

    Sérgio Isidoro said: Ok, I’m NOT an immediate fan of “vibe coding” and overusing LLMs in programming. I have a healthy amount of skepticism about the use of these tools, mostly related to the maintainability of the code, security, privacy, and a dozen other more factors. But some arguments I’ve seen from developers about not […] Read more →

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