Matt Henry 🥄

@matthenry.fyi

977 Followers 1249 Following

Tech, law, philosophy, and abolition. Web optimist. I build design systems for governments. This is (obviously?) a personal account. he/him

Michael from The Good Place says to Janet: “Finance figured it out? Finance?! This is a real low point. Yeah, this one hurts”
Apple Music says, “trending with Elliott Smith fans: Elliott Smith”
A mobile safari error screen says “a problem repeatedly occurred on [a long URL]”
Some text is readable on a website, but most of the viewport is filled with ads, some of which are floating over top of the content. There are also buttons floating over the text making it even harder to read.
A screenshot of the ancient windows 3D pipes screensaver
Given and Vinton helped build a new portal for non-filers to claim their cash. Along the way, they came to see that America's social-safety net has been absorbed into the tax system—and that every year, the neediest families were unknowingly leaving billions of dollars in credit and deductions on the table. For Vinton, building something like Direct File was a moral and practical necessity.
The 2024 pilot was limited to "simple" tax situations, but it was a smashing success. More than 140,000 people across a dozen states submitted returns with Direct File. One in four users had been non-filers in the previous year. Fraud seemed to be a non-issue, due to burdensome ID verification processes; 94 percent of users preferred Direct File to their previous filing method, and 86 percent said it increased their trust in the IRS. For the first time in human history, tax administrators were receiving fan mail, rather than death threats. "We had retirees telling us they were going day-drinking to celebrate," Vinton says. "A guy in Texas completed his return in 24 minutes. We didn't even think that was possible."
Highlighted text reads “This problem does arise out of malice on the part of the AI tool, because it cannot”
yoda meme. yoda is laying down comfortably: after eating a pack of ultimate child shield batteries at 1:34am yoda, standing up, looking cheeky: 2:12 am going back for more ultimate child shield batteries
A picture of a page from the book Apple: The first 50 years, shows the Apple I. It’s a big circuit board with a keyboard, small black & white CRT monitor with an ASCII apple on the screen, and an audio cassette storage device.
ABA rule 3.8, Rule 3.8: Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor The prosecutor in a criminal case shall: (a) refrain from prosecuting a charge that the prosecutor knows is not supported by probable cause;
An article has the headline: Morrissey Cancels Concert Due to "Sleep Deprivation" Caused by Noisy Hotel The dek is the quote: "It will take me one year to recover. And that is an understatement." The art for the article is Morrissey looking dejected with his chin resting on his hand.
The cover page of a report by 18F reads: How to get started building a new CM/ECF. Today. A tactical approach to designing, building, and shipping products that solve real problems for real users in the federal Judiciary, immediately.
"As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have on several occasions clearly explained to Trump what is well known, namely that it is an independent Nobel Committee, and not the Norwegian government, that awards the prize," Mr. Store said.
A google lighthouse panel shows that the page is incorrectly using aria.
the HTML for a terrible website is all divs and SVGs.
A guy in an orange beanie and a Lankum t-shirt plays Fairytale of New York on a violin
1. *Winged Victory*, Willi Carlisle 2. *Straight Line was a Lie*, The Beths 3. *Patience, Moonbeam*, Great Grandpa 4. *Pain to Power*, Maruja 5. *Teeth of Time*, Joshua Burnside 6. *Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles*, Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles 7. *All Smiles Tonight*, Poor Creature 8. *Bleeds*, Wednesday 9. *Getting Killed*, Geese 10. *This was all fields when I was growing up*, Arabú
A screenshot of an article from FedScoop highlights the text: The Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets (SAMOSA)
Tiny text at the bottom of an email reads: We're fighting to elect Democrats and advance a progressive vision in the states. Our success depends on grassroots donors like you. Ninety-eight percent of our donors give less than $200, and two-thirds give less than $20. To make a contribution, please click here. To unsubscribe and stop receiving emails about our efforts, please click here. The “click here” to donate and the “click here” to unsubscribe are the same size and very close to each other.
Large white text reading WPA POSTER PROGRAM is obscured by a button/link that says “learn more.” Also there are animated snowflakes like it’s a geocities site (sorry geocities! No offense!). And for some reason the URL is merrychristmas.gov
A tweet from Big Balls, linking to techforce.gov reads: Our first website using the new America Design System! Building a framework for beautiful, performant, secure and inexpensive websites to be very easy to build in Government.
A banner at the top of a website shows a small Maryland flag and says “An official website of the State of Maryland.” The page’s top heading says “Paid family leave is coming to Maryland.”
A banner much like the one you’d see at the top of a US federal government website displays a Maryland state flag and says: “an official website of the state of Maryland”
A guy in a small office wearing an orange beanie plays guitar and sings “The Granite Gaze” by Lankum
A NYT headline reads “Inside Kennedy's Methodical Quest to Shake Up America's Vaccine System”
A NYT headline reads “Inside Kennedy's Methodical Quest to Undo America's Reliance on Vaccines” by Sheryl Gay Stolberg
a markdown file with a bunch of headings showing a rough outline # The Case for USWDS ## What is a design system? ### How is USWDS different from other design systems? ## What problem does a design system solve? ### What problems does USWDS solve for .gov sites? #### Works everywhere #### Will work forever #### More than just code #### Consistency - Increased trust; Reduced cognitive load ### Why plain old HTML ### Why not React? ## What is *not* great about using USWDS? ### Getting started & staying up-to-date ### Sass & gulp :( ## What's next? ### Technical direction ### Stewardship and "Governance"
A blonde schnauzer/chihuahua mix in a tan sweater looks like he’s scowling
A LinkedIn post from the “US DOGE Service” says that DOGE still exists because the EO establishing it is still in effect. The post also has a terrible shibe meme. Top text: I’M ALIVE; Bottom text: ALIVE
Marge Simpson smiles an unhinged smile while holding a piece of her brain in a jar. Text reads: join us it’s bliss.
A small bird sits on top of a 20kg bumper plate in a garage gym
A dog looks expectantly at the camera. In the foreground is a bowl of buttery popcorn. In the background, Gru from Despicable Me makes a similar face to the dog
A brief court order reads: In this post-judgment matter, a third party pleads for the return of a sacred thread, among other requests not always coherently stated but which appear to have been denied in actions pending in other jurisdictions, all these requests for relief now being made to all judges and senators and others beside (Dkt. No. 267). This court lacks jurisdiction to consider any of these requests. The third-party filing is DISMISSED. IT IS SO ORDERED.
Ben Wyatt (from Parks & Rec) shrugs, looking disheveled in his iconic Letters to Cleo t-shirt
The aide said that guys like me were 'in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' [...] 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors...and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do'.
A modifed dril tweet says "This Whole Thing Smack of Gender," i holler as I hand write some CSS
Claire Rousay plays to an almost empty club
A Reverb.com review of a guitar says: ***** Amazing budget guitar that punches way above it's weight Dana E. This is an incredible model that Guild just released in 2024 and it sounds and feels way more expensive than it's price tag. Easy to play, sounds woody and vibey, and very fun to record with i all different kinds of tunings and acoustic styles. Nick Drake fans will especially love this guitar!
a book excerpt reads: "Stuart!" she cried, and waved to him, smiling. Lesbian? he thought doubtfully. "I understand you're off on a little trip," he said.
A pencil sketch of a shaggy, bearded dog looking very sad
A note about some web component architecture includes a citation signal: "see, e.g."
A screenshot from doesthedogdie.com shows a question: "Is there gun violence?" and the answer "A man is shot and killed"
A man in a bulky costume with a blank, dejected expression says “I don’t even want to be around anymore.” (ie the Karl Havoc meme)
An episode of the Hard Fork podcast is titled “a mind-bending conversation with Peter Thiel”
"Why do you think we'd get most of the people?" "For a very unscientific reason," Glen said, riffling his tonsure of hair with one hand. "I like to believe most people are good. And I believe that whoever is running the show west of us is really bad. But I have a hunch..." He trailed off. "Go on, spill it." "I will because I'm drunk. But it stays be- tween us, Stuart." "All right." "Your word?" "My word," Stu said. "I think he's going to get most of the techies," Glen said finally. "Don't ask me why; it's just a hunch. Except that tech people like to work in an atmosphere of tight discipline and linear goals, for the most part. They like it when the trains run on time. What we've got here in Boulder right now is mass confusion, everyone bopping along and doing his own thing ... and we've got to do something about what my students would have
The screamed vocals problem: Why do appreciators of emotional hardcore music value screamed vocals, to the point of positively delighting in hearing them, while acknowledging that it would be inappropriate to hold similar attitudes towards their sonically similar everyday counterpart, i.e. actual human screaming?
It was that I'd finally been everywhere it felt reasonable to go in my bodily journey; I had finally found like minds and support and acceptance. I also had a firm sense that there wasn't some preternaturally gifted athlete inside me waiting to leap out and achieve, which was the kind of pressure under which I'd done everything up until then. Instead, I was filled with a small, tender little seedling of this relationship with myself, with this movement, that mattered only to me and was only for me, and most importantly, I did not care for it to matter to anyone else.
David Hills (who teaches at Stanford) describes philosophy as “the ungainly attempt to tackle questions that come naturally to children, using methods that come naturally to lawyers.”
An elder scrolls oblivion character is named “Contumeliorus Florius“
Bill Clinton, for instance. had spent so much of his career bashing civil servants that afrer the Oklahoma City bombing, he actually felt moved to remind Americans that public servants were human beings unto themselves, and promised never to use the word "bureaucrat"again
A shaggy blonde schnauzer/chihuahua mix sits patiently, looking up at the camera with a pleading face. A blurry banana is just visible in the frame
A tweet by Twitter user @afraidofwasps reads: Guy who has only seen The Boss Baby, watching his second movie: Getting a lot of 'Boss Baby' vibes from this...
A Duolingo exercise asks the user to translate the German sentence “Man soll nie lügen.” The answer below is: “you should never lie”
A CircleCI build status message says: Uh-oh, this workflow did not succeed. The associated commit message says: does this break everything? let's see!
A small shaggy blonde chihuahua/schnauzer mix sits on the back of a gray couch and howls along while an unseen fiddler plays a jig
A middle-aged bald white guy cleans and jerks a 67kg barbell but just before dropping it, a small dog runs right to where the bar is about to go, so the lifter has to catch the bar on his back.
A linkedin job posting for a "front-end web developer" at the Manhattan Institute
A sandy-haired schnauzer/chihuahua mix is extremely close to the camera lens. Only one big, brown eye and wiry fur are visible
He told a terrifying story of just how ingrained that myopia was: Reactors were almost always built in pairs; at some point, someone had realized that rather than customize two separate control rooms, it was cheaper to build one and then build its mirror image. Thus, the staff would have to work one day in one control room, and the next in a literal bizarro world, where everything was reversed. Those examples and others made Norman “realize that there wasn’t any understanding of technology combined with psychology. We were building technology for people, but the technologists didn’t understand people.” - User Friendly, by Cliff Kuang and Robert Fabricant