Richard Bown
@bownie.bsky.social
Author. Engineer. Brit in NL. "Human Software" is about burnout, AI, and the humans in tech. A dark "Unicorn Project”
“Freaked me out more than any Stephen King”
“Part thriller, part whodunnit and a fine dystopian parable”
https://linktr.ee/bown_richard
“Freaked me out more than any Stephen King”
“Part thriller, part whodunnit and a fine dystopian parable”
https://linktr.ee/bown_richard
Pinned
Richard Bown
@bownie.bsky.social
· Oct 22
Human Software is now available via Waterstones, Barnes and Noble, Amazon and many others including Kobo, Leanpub.
For all the ways to buy in paperback and e-book:
humansoftwarebook.com/how-to-purch...
#booksky #writingcommunity #selfpublished
For all the ways to buy in paperback and e-book:
humansoftwarebook.com/how-to-purch...
#booksky #writingcommunity #selfpublished
Fuck it, I’m writing a pilot #writingcommunity
December 9, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Fuck it, I’m writing a pilot #writingcommunity
I never thought I’d be a gym person but it’s taken over from running for me as top head fixer. I also never thought I’d be a running guy. #gofigure
December 9, 2025 at 7:47 AM
I never thought I’d be a gym person but it’s taken over from running for me as top head fixer. I also never thought I’d be a running guy. #gofigure
I'm appearing on a quite big podcast in a few days' time, one with editors and things. So I have to review the episode to ensure it's intelligible. Like it wasn't stressful enough recording the thing in the first place, now I have to listen to it? Please tell me why I do this to myself?
December 8, 2025 at 4:28 PM
I'm appearing on a quite big podcast in a few days' time, one with editors and things. So I have to review the episode to ensure it's intelligible. Like it wasn't stressful enough recording the thing in the first place, now I have to listen to it? Please tell me why I do this to myself?
Reposted by Richard Bown
Learning about AWS Config and Conformance Packs, and finally, I understand why my life as a DevOps engineer completely sucks these days. F*cking product managers f*cking with f*cking devops
December 8, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Learning about AWS Config and Conformance Packs, and finally, I understand why my life as a DevOps engineer completely sucks these days. F*cking product managers f*cking with f*cking devops
Had a lovely leaving meal with the team last week. It was great, but I have to say, I'm pleased to be moving on because I can't look at these pipelines anymore! Time for some pipelines somewhere else #devops
December 8, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Had a lovely leaving meal with the team last week. It was great, but I have to say, I'm pleased to be moving on because I can't look at these pipelines anymore! Time for some pipelines somewhere else #devops
Monday morning was made for reading all of these
"Later, I was thrown off a spaceship. Still in my dressing gown. Rather than the space suit one would normally expect. Shortly after that I discovered that my planet had originally been built for a bunch of mice. You can imagine how I feel about that."
December 8, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Monday morning was made for reading all of these
What is a weak man exactly, Ben? Is it one who blames people for their failures? Is it one who is under pressure himself and chooses to lash out? I’m confused.
December 8, 2025 at 6:25 AM
What is a weak man exactly, Ben? Is it one who blames people for their failures? Is it one who is under pressure himself and chooses to lash out? I’m confused.
Love this. This is why I'm hoping for HUMAN SOFTWARE. It's a genuine book. It's not flashy. I'm self-published. I'm promoting it myself. I'm very proud of it. It'll be ok in the long term, just got to stick with it ;)
Write the book you would like to see someone pull from a higgledy piggledy pile in a secondhand shop 63 years after your death and say, "This looks fucking weird. I think I will buy it for Joan."
December 6, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Love this. This is why I'm hoping for HUMAN SOFTWARE. It's a genuine book. It's not flashy. I'm self-published. I'm promoting it myself. I'm very proud of it. It'll be ok in the long term, just got to stick with it ;)
Sat down two hours ago to quickly update my book blurbs and category tweaks on Amazon. Still working on it... #writingcommunity #booksky
December 6, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Sat down two hours ago to quickly update my book blurbs and category tweaks on Amazon. Still working on it... #writingcommunity #booksky
Christmas may now commence
December 6, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Christmas may now commence
December 6, 2025 at 11:36 AM
It’s time to file my bedside pile. I’ve got to admit I’ve not read (or at least finished) a lot of these. Time for a reset for ‘26
December 6, 2025 at 10:43 AM
It’s time to file my bedside pile. I’ve got to admit I’ve not read (or at least finished) a lot of these. Time for a reset for ‘26
See ya, Baz. It’s been fun.
December 6, 2025 at 10:18 AM
See ya, Baz. It’s been fun.
How self-obsessed are writers? And of course I'm asking that question purely for myself. #writingcommunity
December 6, 2025 at 7:25 AM
How self-obsessed are writers? And of course I'm asking that question purely for myself. #writingcommunity
I wrote a book so that software engineers, those who spend time on-call, sitting in meetings, dealing with the fallout from poor company decisions, could feel seen and heard. I wrote HUMAN SOFTWARE because sometimes we feel powerless when we're doing a job that we love but has stopped loving us.
December 5, 2025 at 10:32 PM
I wrote a book so that software engineers, those who spend time on-call, sitting in meetings, dealing with the fallout from poor company decisions, could feel seen and heard. I wrote HUMAN SOFTWARE because sometimes we feel powerless when we're doing a job that we love but has stopped loving us.
It saddens me that throughout tech, there is a very "tech will fix it" all-pervading attitude, which is just absolutely wrong. Tech is just the tool; we fix things by talking to each other. Stop being tech-first, be human-first.
December 5, 2025 at 2:10 PM
It saddens me that throughout tech, there is a very "tech will fix it" all-pervading attitude, which is just absolutely wrong. Tech is just the tool; we fix things by talking to each other. Stop being tech-first, be human-first.
I did a tour of the local bookshops last week and already managed to get HUMAN SOFTWARE on the shelves in TWO SHOPS.
I've also ordered an optimistic number of copies to be sent to the Centraal Boekhuis to supply bookshops and individuals in NL and BE. Coming very soon!
#booksky #writingcommunity
I've also ordered an optimistic number of copies to be sent to the Centraal Boekhuis to supply bookshops and individuals in NL and BE. Coming very soon!
#booksky #writingcommunity
December 5, 2025 at 12:17 PM
I did a tour of the local bookshops last week and already managed to get HUMAN SOFTWARE on the shelves in TWO SHOPS.
I've also ordered an optimistic number of copies to be sent to the Centraal Boekhuis to supply bookshops and individuals in NL and BE. Coming very soon!
#booksky #writingcommunity
I've also ordered an optimistic number of copies to be sent to the Centraal Boekhuis to supply bookshops and individuals in NL and BE. Coming very soon!
#booksky #writingcommunity
Reposted by Richard Bown
Thinking this is wrong isn’t radical.
Thinking it isn’t is.
Thinking it isn’t is.
December 5, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Thinking this is wrong isn’t radical.
Thinking it isn’t is.
Thinking it isn’t is.
Gah today was both short and long *slump*
December 4, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Gah today was both short and long *slump*
Brexit explainer
does anyone else notice the giant lady doesnt cut up your hot dogs anymore!?
Because you're an adult you fucking muppet. You gotta pay the magic forward.
December 4, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Brexit explainer
Reposted by Richard Bown
New Homes In London Were Delayed By 'Energy-Hungry' Data Centers
https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/04/0449221/new-homes-in-london-were-delayed-by-energy-hungry-data-centers?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed
New Homes In London Were Delayed By 'Energy-Hungry' Data Centers
A London Assembly report warns that surging demand from "energy-hungry" data centers is straining the electricity grid and delaying new housing developments. With data-center electricity use expected to rise up to 600% by 2050, officials fear London's housing crisis could worsen without coordinated ...
news.slashdot.org
December 4, 2025 at 2:27 PM
New Homes In London Were Delayed By 'Energy-Hungry' Data Centers
https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/04/0449221/new-homes-in-london-were-delayed-by-energy-hungry-data-centers?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed
Social media is a force for good when it doesn’t make you doubt or second guess yourself.
December 4, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Social media is a force for good when it doesn’t make you doubt or second guess yourself.
At this stage of the century, we’re all just applying security updates for a living #devops #softwaredevelopment
December 4, 2025 at 12:30 PM
At this stage of the century, we’re all just applying security updates for a living #devops #softwaredevelopment