Alastair Coote
@alastair.is
British, in Brooklyn. Software engineer making newsy, phone sized things for the @nytimes.com Interactive News team. Infrequently blog about code stuff at https://alastair.is
Don’t worry, with autoplay video no one even has to hit the play button! Instead they just need to have, uhh, 50% of the video visible for two seconds www.socialstatus.io/twitter-metr...
November 27, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Don’t worry, with autoplay video no one even has to hit the play button! Instead they just need to have, uhh, 50% of the video visible for two seconds www.socialstatus.io/twitter-metr...
It begins: the elevators at Prospect Park station will be out for *eight months* while they are replaced. Thankfully the new elevators at Church Ave just opened but that's quite the walk for folks living north of the station.
November 21, 2025 at 10:40 PM
It begins: the elevators at Prospect Park station will be out for *eight months* while they are replaced. Thankfully the new elevators at Church Ave just opened but that's quite the walk for folks living north of the station.
Been working on some new stuff at NYT lately: video! A new vertical scrolling feed you'll find both in the apps and at nytimes.com/video/watch. Been a fun technical challenge too, finally got to use the View Transitions API in production to go from home to feed:
November 20, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Been working on some new stuff at NYT lately: video! A new vertical scrolling feed you'll find both in the apps and at nytimes.com/video/watch. Been a fun technical challenge too, finally got to use the View Transitions API in production to go from home to feed:
If I worked in this doctors office I’d learn just enough Middle English to make someone regret choosing it, because you know multiple people have
November 17, 2025 at 2:50 AM
If I worked in this doctors office I’d learn just enough Middle English to make someone regret choosing it, because you know multiple people have
Must be frustrating when you post your April Fools joke almost six months ahead of time by mistake
November 11, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Must be frustrating when you post your April Fools joke almost six months ahead of time by mistake
Well, I’d like to see Ole Donny Trump wriggle his way out of this legal obligation!
*Trump wriggles his way out of legal obligation by completely ignoring it*
Ah! Well. Nevertheless,
*Trump wriggles his way out of legal obligation by completely ignoring it*
Ah! Well. Nevertheless,
November 10, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Well, I’d like to see Ole Donny Trump wriggle his way out of this legal obligation!
*Trump wriggles his way out of legal obligation by completely ignoring it*
Ah! Well. Nevertheless,
*Trump wriggles his way out of legal obligation by completely ignoring it*
Ah! Well. Nevertheless,
The Post has had an extended meltdown about Mamdani since election day and it is something to behold
November 9, 2025 at 12:14 AM
The Post has had an extended meltdown about Mamdani since election day and it is something to behold
This kind of stuff is all over my Facebook feed
November 7, 2025 at 11:29 PM
This kind of stuff is all over my Facebook feed
I was under the impression that Tesla stock had been declining. Turns out, wrong. It’s higher than it was in January, despite continuing bad news about the company. Untethered from reality in both proportion *and* direction.
November 7, 2025 at 2:02 AM
I was under the impression that Tesla stock had been declining. Turns out, wrong. It’s higher than it was in January, despite continuing bad news about the company. Untethered from reality in both proportion *and* direction.
Bonus scenes. It looks photoshopped on but the screen truly is that bright
November 2, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Bonus scenes. It looks photoshopped on but the screen truly is that bright
The view out the window on Sunday before the election
November 2, 2025 at 9:38 PM
The view out the window on Sunday before the election
Kudos to the NYC DOT who have a map online with all the street closures for Halloween tonight. But man, we ought to be able to give kids more than just this www.nyc.gov/trickorstreets
October 31, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Kudos to the NYC DOT who have a map online with all the street closures for Halloween tonight. But man, we ought to be able to give kids more than just this www.nyc.gov/trickorstreets
Not surprising that NYPost did it but telling that CNN is joining in. And naturally leaving out crucial detail in the Facebook post.
October 29, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Not surprising that NYPost did it but telling that CNN is joining in. And naturally leaving out crucial detail in the Facebook post.
![Grokipedia (vo.1
=
Economically, the apartheid era witnessed robust growth, with South Africa's GDP expanding at an average annual rate of around 3-4% from 1950 to 1970, driven by
industrialization, mining, and agriculture, which benefited from segregated labor markets providing cheap Black workforce while reserving skilled jobs for whites. 14] Per capita incomes for non-whites rose relative to whites
over time, though stark disparities persisted, as Black incomes remained a fraction of white
levels due to restricted access to education and opportunities. 5] Controversies centered on](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:snc2xx35bz63rsm5zuy44ldf/bafkreiavq5rpzjbjmqwzawgbhdwcnaxlxzk5syingznflyjctsne7bb2km@jpeg)
Kind of wild city money is being used to pay for this
October 25, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Kind of wild city money is being used to pay for this
Been using Terminus, a basic SSH app on my phone for years. It’s a terminal. You type commands into it. And even it has become infected with AI prompts
October 11, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Been using Terminus, a basic SSH app on my phone for years. It’s a terminal. You type commands into it. And even it has become infected with AI prompts
This is a great metric to work by. If I have to look up a timetable in order to use a bus or subway line then it's a failure. Most of the NYC subway passes this test, a lot of buses don't. Like, for example
October 9, 2025 at 6:01 PM
This is a great metric to work by. If I have to look up a timetable in order to use a bus or subway line then it's a failure. Most of the NYC subway passes this test, a lot of buses don't. Like, for example
Early prediction that the next Democratic presidential primary is going to be absolutely insane
October 8, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Early prediction that the next Democratic presidential primary is going to be absolutely insane
I had to Google how to enable portrait mode in iOS 26. The standard camera view has a tab toggle between photo and video with the tiiiinyest hint of other options when you tap… which only appear when you slide. Completely unintuitive
September 28, 2025 at 10:04 PM
I had to Google how to enable portrait mode in iOS 26. The standard camera view has a tab toggle between photo and video with the tiiiinyest hint of other options when you tap… which only appear when you slide. Completely unintuitive
