#Public Programme

[deepteawritesstuff]

south london monopoly : a game building and play workshop

This feels like long overdue homework but here's some documentation from the weekender at Tate Modern curated and facilitated by yours truly.

The workshop revolved around the idea of creating an alternative version to the much-loved board game, Monopoly. Dealing with ideas of memory and identity in the city, I invited participants to nominate places they would like to see on the board game. This proved most fruitful as people with shorter attention spans could participate comfortably. A surprising number of participants added visual aids alongside their nominations.

In addition to this, we reworked the character pieces that are moved around the board using clay, and repurposed material. Keeping in mind the sensory needs of participants, I introduced materials of varied textures and malleabilities. Participants drew out places and objects that resonated with them, including the Lewisham Clock Tower and Telegraph Hill.

For the chance and community chest decks, we discussed accidents and happenstances, and where community and the system come into play as a consequence. We talked about people's experiences with the NHS, and the role that community plays in supporting them, all through some comical anecdotes about chipped teeth. The group decided this deck worked better as a work-in-progress piece and kept adding to it through the weekend.

One of the participants, when introduced to this section, immediately, and quite enthusiastically might I add, penned down "Pickpocketing", which, if you've heard anything about London will instantaneously extend to draw up images of bicycle theft and cyclist phone thieves. The horrors of having your wallet robbed include paying for a new BRP and going through bureaucracy, inevitably needing you to skip two turns. My personal favourite was a "Get into a fight" card requiring two players to rock-paper-scissors their way out of a fine.

We reworked the rules from the original game to reconsider how our understanding of winning has changed. The original game relied on the logic that moving into Central London and owning property in Mayfair was the most surefire way to win; players often play against each other with the aim being to empty everyone else's pockets fastest. In our version, we questioned what logics implied about power, class, and our motivations. Our new (and improved) board constituted of pairs of properties wherein one was private and one public; the owner of the public property forfeiting the right to rent but being exempt from paying rent at its private counterpart.

[alongtidesoflight]

prayer circle i wanna talk to anora tonight so y'all need to send me the prayers babes

[auroras-void]

[aeolianblues]

I'm not an extrovert. At all. In everyday life, I'm a yapper, sure, but I need someone to first assure me I am okay to yap, so I don't start conversations, even when I really want to join in sometimes! It's just the social anxiety acting up. God knows where from and why I lose a lot of my inhibitions when it comes to talking to people about music. I don't know where the confidence has suddenly sprung from. I've made a crazy amount of friends in musical circles, either just talking to people about common music or (since it is after all in music circles) talking to bands about their own music. I let out a sigh of relief any time an interaction goes well, because in truth it's going against my every instinct. I wish I could do that in everyday life

[fixaidea]

I'm generally a firm believer of separation of church and state in all possible matters -

Except holidays.

In my opinion if a religion gets officially accepted then we should all collectively get their holidays off. All of them.

[sheltiechicago]

Infinite Accumulation, 2024. Liverpool Street station (Elizabeth line). Commissioned as part of The Crossrail Art Programme, 2017 © YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy Ota Fine Arts and Victoria Miro. (Photo: Thierry Bal)

Yayoi Kusama Reveals Her Largest Permanent Public Installation in London

Renowned artist Yayoi Kusama has revealed her largest permanent public sculpture, Infinite Accumulation. Located at London's Liverpool Street Station, it was commissioned as part of the Crossrail Art Programme. Reaching over 32 feet high and 39 feet wide, Kusama connects stainless steel mirrored spheres with winding lines that create arches to embrace commuters.

[orcelito]

Oh yeah yesterday I went to my C programming professor's office hours to ask about what's being covered in class tomorrow. Since I can't go bc of my PT appointment overlapping with it & I'm apparently the kind of student that cares about attending every single class now.

While I was there, I ended up chatting with him about a few things, including my current standing in the class. He asked what I got on the midterm exam, & I answered it was an 87, and he told me I was one of the top 5 or 6 scores in the Whole Class (this being a like. Maybe 70 or so person class). Top score was a 92 or 93 (idr lol) & the class average was a 72. Apparently there were a few of us in the upper 80s/lower 90s, but most people got 70s or lower. And once he does the curve on the exam, he said I'd probably end up with a 97 or so on the exam. So yay!!!

And then he told me how he's noticed how I come to class every day and am really active with taking notes and answering questions. Bc I also sit up front all the time lmao. Hadn't even realized how much of a damned teacher's pet I've been being, but I've been Trying to be a good student this year. But he said I was the type of student that if I got an 88% or smth in the class, he'd likely bump me up to a 90% so I'd get an A lol. But he also said so long as I keep up with how I have been, I could possibly get a 100% in the class by the end (bc I've been there for all the extra credit questions in class and whatever).

And just. I went there bc I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything important in class on Wednesday, and I ended up having my ego stroked for Real. Felt good to have my efforts be recognized.

[frog707]

Software Proverb

March testing and April documentation bring forth May publicity.

[quietmarie]

Anyone can program (yes, even you)

"Programming is easy"

I saw some variations of this statement shared around the site recently, always in good intentions of course, but it got me thinking.

Is that really true?

Well it certainly isn't hard in the way some developers would want to make you believe. A great skill bestowed only upon the greatest of minds, they're the ones making the world work. You better be thankful.

That is just elitist gibberish. If anyone ever tells you that programmers are "special people" in that way, or tries to sell you on the idea of "real" programmers that are somehow better than the rest, you can safely walk in the other direction. They have nothing of value to tell you.

But I think the answer is more complicated than a simple "Yes, programming is easy" too. In all honesty, I don't think it's an easy thing to "just pick up" at all. It can be very unintuitive at first to wrap your head around just how to tell a computer to solve certain problems.

One person in the codeblr Discord server likened it to cooking. That's a skill that can be very hard, but it's also something that everyone can learn. Anyone can cook. And anyone can program.

I really mean that. No need to be good at maths, to know what a bit is or whatever it is people told you you need. You're not too old to learn it either, or too young for that matter. If you want to start programming (and you can read this post), you already have everything you need. You can write your first little programs today!

One of the cool things about programming is that you can just fuck around and try lots of stuff, and it's fine. Realistically, the worst thing that can happen is that it doesn't work the way you imagined. But you'll never accidentally trigger the fire alarm or burn your house down, so feel free to just try a bunch of stuff.

"Okay I want to learn programming now, what do I do?"

That's awesome, I love the enthusiasm! As much as I'd love to just give you a resource and tell you to build a thing, you still have to make a choice what you want to learn first. The options I'd recommend are:

Scratch: A visual education tool. The main advantage is that you don't have to worry about the exact words you need to write down, you can just think about the structure of your program. The way it works is that you drag and drop program elements to be executed when they should be. You can relatively quickly learn to make cute little games in it. The downside is that this isn't really a "professional" programming language, so, while learning from Scratch will give you the basics that apply to most languages and will make switching to another language easier, you're still gonna have to switch sooner or later. Start here: https://scratch.mit.edu/

Python: The classic choice. Python is a very widely used, flexible programming language that is suited for beginners. It is what I would recommend if you want to skip right to or move on from Scratch to a more flexible language. https://automatetheboringstuff.com/ is your starting point, but there's also a longer list of resources here if you want to check that out at some point.

HTML/CSS/JavaScript: The web path. HTML and CSS are for creating the look of websites, and JavaScript is for the interactive elements. For example, if you ever played a game in your browser, that was probably written in JS. Since HTML and CSS are just for defining how the website should look, they're different from traditional programming languages, and you won't be able to write programs in them, that's what JS is for. You have to know HTML before you learn CSS, but otherwise the order in which you learn these is up to you. Your JavaScript resource is https://javascript.info/, and for HTML and CSS you can check out https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Getting_started_with_the_web.

I put some starting out resources here, but they're really just that - they're for starting out. You don't have to stick to them. If you find another path that suits you better, or if you want to get sidetracked with another resource or project, go for it! Your path doesn't have to be linear at all, and there's no "correct" way to learn things.

One of the most important things you'll want to do is talk to developers when you struggle. The journey is going to be frustrating at times, so search out beginner-friendly coding communities on Discord or wherever you're comfortable. The codeblr community certainly tends to be beginner-friendly and kind. My DMs and asks are also open on here.

[what-breaks-my-heart]

Public service announcement alert! They really wanted to spread awareness that you could get 6 movie tickets for a year by donating your blood to the blood bank!

[sagunpaudel]

Global tuberculosis report 2023

The WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2023 provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic, and of progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease, at global, regional and country levels. This is done in the context of global TB commitments, strategies and targets.The 2023 edition of the report is based primarily on data gathered by WHO from national ministries…

[tobacconist]

plumbing the depths of brazillian racism

[regedu]

Explore Regenesys' Undergraduate Public Management programmes designed to develop ethical and effective leaders in the public sector. Choose from diplomas and degrees to build a career in government, policy, or administration.

[10bmnews]

IMF urges end to federal funding for provincial projects - SUCH TV

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Pakistan to gradually phase out federal funding for provincial development projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). According to sources, the IMF made this demand during virtual discussions with provincial governments, focusing on expenditure plans for the 2025-26 fiscal budget, with provinces actively participating in these…

[naija247new]

FG Reaffirms Commitment to Ending AIDS in Children by 2030

Abuja, May 5, 2025 (NAN) – The Federal Government of Nigeria has reiterated its commitment to ending AIDS in children by 2030, with key stakeholders outlining the path forward at a workshop in Abuja on Monday. Dr. Adebobola Bashorun, the National Coordinator of the National AIDS and STDs Control Programme (NASCP), made the pledge during the event focused on the Global Alliance to End AIDS in…