Rarely entirely serious. Fond of otters and dogs. A bit obsessive about music. Partial to videogames and mucking about with old computers. Keen but inept archer (getting better though). English. British. European. A tech lawyer by trade but mostly tooting about other things. Tries to be a good ally. Definitely a bit over-privileged. He/him.
Public Key
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2026-08-24T11:41:55+02:00 Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Has anyone else found they're getting more and more left wing as they get older? npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders I mean, really. #DogsOfMastodon npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders It was the PS2. Piracy was a thing on all platforms, the DC actually had some great RPGs (Shenmue, Grandia 2, Phantasy Star Online), and the Saturn was only a commercial failure in the West. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Specifically, since David Cameron resigned in the wake of the Brexit referendum, we have had: npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders That's .... what, 7 prime ministers in 10 years? npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Can I ask the Fedi hive mind for some advice on a slightly weird topic please? Firstborn (17 going on 18, very autistic, quite introverted) likes to hide in their room a lot, which is at the other end of the house from the living room, kitchen etc. They also wear noise-cancelling headphones a lot. Calling them for dinner currently involves a lot of yelling and knocking hard on doors. Over lunch today, they floated the idea of a light or sign in their room we could turn on to summon them. "Like the Batsign," to quote. I guess I could do it with a simple light-up message board and a smart plug, but any more creative suggestions would be most welcome! npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders I don't interact much, but I always enjoy your posts and your lovely dog. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Little twat. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Do they have video? If so: moustaches. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders The difficulty one runs into is how you define social media. It seems obvious, but it really isn't once you dig into it. What actually counts as social media? Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc are all pretty obvious. Reddit, I guess. YouTube, presumably. Snapchat? WhatsApp? Yeah, maybe. Signal? Online forums? Usenet? Email lists? Anything where users can interact with other users? It gets tricky quite quickly. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders As I understand it, 45% of new Azure business, which Microsoft is expending large amounts of capital on building capacity to meet, is from just one customer, OpenAI. OpenAI doesn't actually have the money to pay for that new Azure spend on which Microsoft is relying unless it secures massive additional funding. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders It’s just what happens when you send a Very Very American presenter to interview a lad from Crawley. Culture clash innit. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders From memory, the thing about Golden Axe was just its impact as a statement of intent as to what the Megadrive could do, rather than its merits as a game. As a game, it’s obviously nowhere near as good as, say, the Streets of Rage series that came later. But I still recall seeing Golden Axe on the Megadrive for the first time and being gobsmacked by it. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders 🎵Never trust a man in a blue trenchcoat, never drive a car when you’re dead🎵 npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Suede. I was never the same again. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders that (very good) column also touches on a very, very important point about the Supreme Court judgment: the judgment is authority for the proposition that it is *lawful* to exclude trans women from women-only spaces. It is not authority for the proposition that one *must* do so. The EHRC’s assertion to the contrary is - to use the technical legal term - utter bollocks. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders RE: https://mastodon.social/@jonhicks/115662466196992390 npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders X is where you find the people who think they run the Internet. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders It’s easy: npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders One sees this assertion a lot. While one might *want* it to be true in order to make a point, it's important to keep in mind that the reality is more complicated, because the regime created by the Dublin Regulation (and its predecessors) hasn't ever really worked very well in practice. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Magnificent! npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders It never ceases to amuse me how the hard right just cannot cope with the fact of Angela Rayner’s existence. The notion of a capable woman with a regional accent having power just seems to make them kernel panic. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Is it confined to the old southern Confederacy states? npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders this has always fascinated me about the USA. Over here in the UK our racists mostly feel obliged to dress it up as other “issues” or “concerns”, because they know that racism is a shameful thing. Not so in the States. There, it seems politicians can say the quiet bit out loud and people vote for them anyway. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders The stupidest article doesn't exi- npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders yeah. They also pre-suppose a certain amount of space, which not everyone will have. I mean, CRTs are great, but now that I work from home I can’t spare the desk real estate. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders no worries, hope you get it sorted! npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Possibly dumb question but are you using the NTSC fixed version or the regular version? npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Sounds like the same basic problem that caused the Horizon scandal. Just like the Post Office, nobody in DWP will have consciously *set out* to do this, but just like the Post Office a blind focus on process coupled with jobsworthery, incompetence, laziness, incuriousness, a desire for a quiet life, and a near-total lack of accountability led inexorably, and just like the Post Office, to misery, ruin and death. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders A valuable tool to evaluate stools? npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Weird. Last thing: what happens if you run it with an ampersand at the end? i.e. libreoffice & npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders If I do a web search for “Bristol stool chart”, will I immediately regret it? npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Hmmm. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Dumb question but what’s the output of echo $DISPLAY ? npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Let's try something. I'm an English technology lawyer in private practice. I can help with tech contracts, software licensing (including FOSS), SaaS and the like, and data protection. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Pretty much. But with a few more sulks and a few more towels on the floor. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders You don't, basically. You just have to let it happen. All the tears, all the heartache, the whole shebang. And you guide and protect them as best you can, and try to make them feel loved and heard, and hope like hell you're not fucking them up too badly. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders A perfect illustration! npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders They do say that if you want to know why Brits and Americans don't really understand each other, you have to remember that Americans think 200 years is a long time, and Brits think 200 miles is a long way. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders this is the universe’s way of telling you that you need to start that band. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Completely different, but have you seen The Thick Of It? It's a fly-on-the-wall mockumentary about British politics and spin doctors. It's very fast, VERY foul-mouthed (seriously - they had a special consultant whose job it was to make the language as vulgar and offensive as possible) and one of the funniest things that British TV has ever produced. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders There’s something in that. I suspect that if we paid MPs shedloads - like, 500k a year or more - and gave them gold-plated pensions for life after they leave Parliament, but then absolutely banned any and all outside commercial interests, and limited the work they can do afterwards to academia, charities and writing books (so no lobbying, no NED-ships, no “consulting” etc), we would see corruption vanish and standards in public life rise enormously. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders that's a marvellous photo. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Suede, Manics and Depeche. My goodness, not easy. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Warm is normal, but too hot to touch definitely isn't! Can you return them as defective? npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Well, the late great Geordie Walker of Killing Joke has to be up there, as does James Hetfield. I'd also put in a small shout for Emppu Vuorinen of Nightwish; yes he plays leads as well, but he is a *very* good rhythm player. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders When Hank dies, I hope he leaves his collection to a museum or something, because he has some utterly incredible stuff. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Annabel, by Goldfrapp npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Well, quite. If they can still make records like Invincible Shield after 50 years, then they still have what it takes, so why not go on? npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Our Prayer by The Beach Boys. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Oh! Oh! Actually, I’ve got it. Realms of the Haunting, a 1996 PC first person fantasy horror adventure by Gremlin Graphics. Utterly bombed on release because it looked like Duke Nukem in a world where Quake existed and because it controlled with a bizarre mix of Doom keys and point-n-click, but is one of my absolute favourite games of all time. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders brilliant idea for a video series and a great question that’s had me racking my bleary post-nap brains. I did wonder about all those Magnetic Scrolls text adventures? Often brilliant writing and some very clever puzzles, hidden behind a wall of green text and a finicky command parser that responds to most things with “I can’t do that”. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders No band from my town itself, although Neil Gaiman grew up here. Closest is The Cure, who came from the next town over. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Amen. My teenage daughter and I watch Bluey religiously. It's humane, warm, insightful and incredibly relatable. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Fun fact. In the 1980s, my Dad was the press officer at the British Embassy in South Africa. He used to curry favour with the editors of the SA newspapers by inviting them to illicit screenings of Python movies at our house (which were banned in SA, but our house was technically British soil). Suffice it to say, the editors tended to look more favourably on the British line as a result. One could say, in a roundabout way, that The Life of Brian helped to end Apartheid. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders There have been many great bass players. But there has only ever been one Jaco Pastorius. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Soul Star! That's the one I was trying to remember! Thank you. npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders I wonder if it had more to do with the fact that Sega was quite focused on FMV games for much of the Mega CD’s life? There were other games that used the sprite scaling tech - Batman and Thunderhawk were especially impressive - but maybe it just wasn’t where Sega’s focus was? npub1n9j8duqjct52pndeu9wl9kqkdt2py6jsmvp6t7pvqpt07r6846kq4x6ztw Hedders Perhaps optimistically, I am still kind of thinking that the OSA is doomed to collapse under its own weight. Politically it can’t be repealed, of course, because (clutches pearls) THINK OF THE CHILDREN, but I suspect it will become one of those things that hangs around on the statute book looking vaguely embarrassed, rather than being meaningfully implemented.
