Matt Hill

My way of dealing with the current state of things is with non-tech side projects. In the last couple of months I've taken on a part in the local pantomime and have started studying for genealogy qualifications. Anyone else doing side quests as coping mechanism?

There ain't no history without natural history. If we don't protect nature and raise awareness of our duty to do so, you can kiss human history goodbye. If even one child ends up a life-long champion for the natural world because of a hedgehog on our currency, it's a win for all of us.

We're celebrating! 🎉 Our brand new Impact report is out, an inspiring snapshot of the vital progress and real-world impact we've made together for rewilding in Britain.  Read the report: https://f.mtr.cool/nix1f7nfe1

Quake Rooftops is out now! Download below and go gib some shamblers! www.slipseer.com/index.php?re...

I'm immensely proud to announce that my texture library that's been in the making for nearly a decade is now available on my itchio store for indie devs to purchase commercial licenses. makkon.itch.io

Apparently there's a HUGE backup of JAZ drives that were recently put on the Internet Archive. One of them (at least) includes the original Maya 3D models used in the The Iron Giant.

pulling every kind of resource off forums and websites to shove them in discord servers with no alternative way to access at least a decade's worth of information was a good idea. i promise

Co-pilot is down and it's perplexing to see many colleagues now unable to do their jobs. I don't use AI tools, so I'm completely unaffected. Amazing that we've fallen so far, so fast.

2 months from TODAY is the beginning of the end of the Orange Embarrassment. Check out these Screenshots (as if you needed any more motivation to VOTE on 11/3/26!) Register- Iwillvote.com vote.org Get involved at- Rockthevote.org GoodParty.org DemCast.com Postcardstovoters.org movement.vote

Check out my trip to the Dutch Pinball Museum where I discover a new FPS, possibly the first FPS. dutchpinballmuseum.com

An essay I've just written for @nytimes on why Big Tech is the 21st Century’s equivalent of the East India Company: "What It Would Take to Dismantle the Most Powerful Companies in the World" www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/o...

As many others have pointed out, one way to think about what’s been happening to tech—software, especially—is that the entire industry is being “Boeinged” (or Jack Welched). And, as with an airplane, a faulty part can sit in a system for a decade before it snaps and brings the whole thing down.

@makkon.bsky.social Quick question, did this vine texture ever make it into a wad? It looks great and I'd love to use it if poss...

We have a family holiday to Crete in two weeks, but I feel very uncomfortable about it. It doesn't feel right given the situation. But if we don't go and instead obtain a refund (itself unlikely), removing tourism money from a country that depends on it doesn't seem right either.

@strideh.bsky.social Hey, hope you're well. A quick Quake question: I'm still a mapping noob, and wanted to re-create something like the pumpkin counter you made for the start map of Snack Pack 3. Is that all in-map, or does it need new Quake C? Thanks!

A shout-out to any other digital designer / developer who feels deeply conflicted about the future of their career in the face of AI and *everything else*... What are your plans? Are you trying to escape, or resigned to it all? I've no appetite for any of this and wondering what's next...

As I get older the thing I think is most important to humans as a species is our relationship to one another and to nature. Everything else is secondary. This is fundamental to our survival as individuals and as a species. Call me an old hippy if you like.

I think it's taken me like 20 years to truly internalize why creativity thrives under constraints I used to conflate creativity with some notion of competence and the ability to realize your vision, but creativity is more about being able to find a meaningful artistic path in spite of constraints

In an era of LLM powered junk AI replacing previously good tools, are there still tools that haven't succumbed to the rot? Are there still good auto-corrects or spell checkers? Or is it all just slop now? I feel a kind of grief about all this. It's such a shame and was all completely unnecessary.

Before the president gets on television tonight to peddle lies and conspiracy theories, here is what you need to know: The 2020 election was not stolen. We won, and he lost.

We get a month of fireworks in November around us. It's miserable. www.gov.uk/government/c...

Please blow up the public comment (included below): BREAKING NEWS (7/15) — The administration wants to destroy Chaco Canyon without consulting Tribal Nations. It’s an irreplaceable historic & cultural site with 4,700 archeological sites that could be lost to the bulldozers of oil & gas development

“"Useful" is not sufficient” https://tante.cc/2026/07/15/useful-is-not-sufficient/ > Usefulness is not an objective, fully abstract property: A thing is not useful for everyone or in general but mostly just for specific people in specific contexts. And useful never comes for free.

A most urgent read, please take some time out to read this. "We cannot have a rational debate about technology." Dr.Hilary Agro is becoming a powerful voice to help us unite in our dissent against harmful technological progress.

People are always talking about the things we have today that our ancestors didn't, but nobody wants to look at the things our ancestors had that we've lost. Like community, and free time, and environmental sustainability, and a collective that cares whether we live or die

My niece had a baby daughter early this morning. So now I'm a great uncle again. Which makes me think of Great Uncle Merry from Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" books. Nicknamed "Gummery" by Barney, he was old and wise. I should now be called "Gumatty" but it doesn't have the same ring to it...

launching a substack in 2026 sends several messages, none of them good 1. you're not politically attentive enough to know the company is run by white supremacist coddling assholes 2. you know the company is run by white supremacist coddling assholes and don't care 3. you're getting paid, see #2.

Great thread. Love the comments!

This thread about Quake Brutalist Jam #3. Imagine if everyone working on that had been paid. These folks did it all for fun in their spare time, despite what was obviously a huge and difficult workload. Mod communities like this should be honoured at the highest level:

This is some excellent climate reporting. You should read this. Well done, @eroston.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

When this AI apocalypse is over, we're going to need many Developers Anonymous recovery groups. It'll be quite the journey to repair not only ourselves, but also everything that this thieving technology took from us.

No one really wants to admit this, but it *is* the truth:

Our six year old was sooooooooo happy that he got BOTH me and his mum with "Pinch, Punch, First Day of the Month!" this morning. He was beaming with happiness. 😀 He's such a ray of sunshine, love him to bits.

The three largest RAM manufacturers in the world are being sued for allegedly working together to fix the supply and price of memory, leading to the recent surge in price for consumers. www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ram-man...

I suppose that it's that time of the month again where I need to say I'm looking for contract work again. My full portfolio is at thatartisan.carrd.co I'm also opening commissions for static sprites. DM me on Bluesky or email me if you'd like to get in touch.

#caturday #cats

What a brilliant resource! Readers can help secure the future of the Biodiversity Heritage Library, and keep its collections free and open to the world, via the Donate button at biodiversitylibrary.org.

A judge ordered the Admin to restore all National Parks signs it removed—including info at Acadia about indigenous history + climate change.   Visiting these parks isn’t just about the scenery. It’s also about knowing our history, the natural forces that shaped these places + the threats they face.

I'm attending a digital humanities event in Montreal. There was a keynote on AI and something about the talk made me wonder if it had been written by Claude. I said as much in the Q&A. As I posed the question, the speaker shifted, looking slightly uncomfortable. What he said next shocked the room +