Neil Brown

https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/@neil

English Internet, telecoms, and tech lawyer, running a law firm (https://decoded.legal) on Free software.

Linux / FOSS, legal stuff, Airsoft, and puns. Terrible puns.

He/him. Cishet, lucky husband.

#NoBot / #NoSearch / #NoIndex / #NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoTheresNoLimit

My business: https://decoded.legal/
Business onion: http://dlegal66uj5u2dvcbrev7vv6fjtwnd4moqu7j6jnd42rmbypv3coigyd.onion
Personal (mostly tech stuff): https://neilzone.co.uk
Personal onion: http://6x27vvtf5vic2slpfe3yr7p2w37vbum2w5edt7ghw477mwxnnazjl2yd.onion/
Online Safety Act: https://onlinesafetyact.co.uk
Online Safety Act onion: http://3kj5hg5j2qxm7hgwrymerh7xerzn3bowmfflfjovm6hycbyfuhe6lrqd.onion/
Pronouns: he/him/his

Public Key

npub1huw9tr0cwmrnezvkg439zpqydp9sws2hphv0z6w6dlzus04ft59s6jc5x7

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqst78z43hu8d3eu3xty2cj3qszxsjc8g9tsmk83d8dxl3wg86546zcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dstqdn2m

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1huw9tr0cwmrnezvkg439zpqydp9sws2hphv0z6w6dlzus04ft59s6jc5x7

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Last Notes

2026-04-30 18:11:49 UTC

# Meta in row after workers, who say they saw smart glasses users having sex, lose jobs
I am kind of surprised that people might wear glasses while having sex... But perhaps it is only people wearing spy glasses?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y7yvgy0w6o

2026-04-30 15:34:29 UTC

Well isn't learning how to run your own CA a lot of fun?
And by "fun", I mean "debugging".
And by "a lot", I mean "a looooooooooot".
I am making progress, today around SAN and Firefox, but this is a bit like plodding around in treacle.
(I'm not looking for advice, although sympathy is welcome :))

2026-04-30 05:59:07 UTC

People who like musicals: what are some of your favourites?
I like loads, but some of my highlights are:
* The Rocky Horror Show (I prefer the stage show to the film)
* Whistle Down The Wind
* Return to the Forbidden Planet
* Fame
* Wicked
#music #shows

2026-04-29 18:05:31 UTC

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If nothing else, it fails validation because the first 24 lines are blank:
https://validator.w3.org/feed/check.cgi?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.troed.se%2Frss.xml

2026-04-29 17:36:14 UTC

New blogpost:
"Please consider publishing a full-text RSS feed for your website or blog"
If you don't already have a full-text RSS feed, please do add one, and then tell me about it and your blog in the replies!
And if you've already got one, amazing, tell me about it too please!
https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/04/please-consider-publishing-a-full-text-rss-feed-for-your-website-or-blog/
#blog #POSSE #RSS

2026-04-28 19:57:39 UTC

~~Greece to ban anonymity on social media~~
Greece to make using social media impossible for all manner of people, while doing nothing to inhibit those who spread bile and lies under their own names.
Timeō Danaōs et dōna ferentēs.
https://www.euractiv.com/news/greece-to-ban-anonymity-on-social-media/

2026-04-28 15:46:32 UTC

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I don't think that I have seen this set out quite so starkly.
But... it also makes little sense (policy wise; the sentence doesn't work but that's an aside).
One cannot consult meaningfully on the "how" without having a clear problem statement.
We do not have a clear problem statement.
What is it that the UK is trying to solve here?
Which means we will end up - once again - "doing something" because "something is better than nothing", rather than a coherent plan.

2026-04-28 15:41:01 UTC

The UK's plan to further censor people's Internet access continues:
> We are consulting on the mechanism, which is the right thing to do, but we are clear that under any outcome we will impose some form of age or functionality for children under 16. .. we aim to do so by the end of the year.
*sigh*
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026-04-27/debates/09FEE6E7-FF12-45A0-A358-1E18BE4A44DF/Children%E2%80%99SWellbeingAndSchoolsBill

2026-04-28 07:30:06 UTC

I am surprised by how few people running websites support a dark mode theme.
How is this not just basic good practice?
Thank goodness for a browser extension which can force a basic dark mode.

2026-04-28 07:07:53 UTC

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Quite possibly but whether they are more energy efficient than the cost of manufacturing them and disposing of the old ones, especially if what has failed is a part designed to fail after a particular term, I don't know.

2026-04-28 05:53:28 UTC

There is something joyful, and perhaps slightly rebellious, about taking old hardware and giving it a renewed purpose today.
It is somewhat frustrating that this is not the norm, and that so many things are built to be disposable, or are treated as disposable, within such a short time frame.
The constant push to sell people a new thing is wildly unhelpful.

2026-04-27 08:14:13 UTC

The (EU) GDPR is ten years old today!
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32016R0679
(It was not published in the OJ until May though.)
Doesn't time fly when you are having fun :)
#GDPR

2026-04-25 07:11:56 UTC

A regular reminder to check, or get someone else to check, your:
* balls
* breasts
* backups
* batteries (UPS, smoke alarm etc)

2026-04-22 05:40:54 UTC

It's Wednesday!

2026-04-21 17:37:53 UTC

If you run a publicly available online service *which is not available over IPv6*, might you share why not, please?

2026-04-20 19:01:44 UTC

Age verification, but you just have to say how much RAM sounds like an awful lot of RAM to you.

2026-04-20 18:17:49 UTC

A while back, someone kept explaining copyleft and Free software licensing to me.
I indicated that I was familiar with the subject matter, but nevertheless, the lecture continued.
Only now do I realise that this was an example of stallmansplaining.

2026-04-19 21:24:49 UTC

Google Play Integrity: what if Google dictated what software ran on your computer.
Open source implementations of attestation: what if a bunch of other people dictated what software ran on your computer.
Look, these handcuffs are permissively licensed!
No, thank you.

2026-04-19 17:13:32 UTC

Neil: Would you like a cup of tea?
Another: I had one earlier.
N: Yes, me too! Would you like one now?
A: It's getting late.
N: So is that a "no, thanks"?
A: Yes.
N: As in "Yes, that's a 'no, thanks'"?
A: Yes.
--- Some minutes pass ---
A: Did you say you were making tea?
N: I did, and you said that you did not want a cup. But no problem, I can sort it.
A: Do you have decaf tea?
N: Yes.
A: In which case, no, thanks.
N: *walks into the sea*

2026-04-19 08:16:56 UTC

Today, I am helping a local farmer get rid of some creatures often confused with rabbits, by shooting them with a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation.
That's right.
Laser hare removal.

2026-04-18 09:28:13 UTC

Just let me compute in peace.
https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/04/just-let-me-compute-in-peace/
#blog

2026-04-17 19:00:43 UTC

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I am sure that I will not be the only lawyer looking at this, and I look forward to speaking with others in due course.
I've a nasty feeling that this could well be where my FOSS project pro bono time goes this year.

2026-04-17 18:55:29 UTC

Things that I really do not have time for: looking into various countries' proposals around age verification requirements for computer operating systems.
Things that I am, nevertheless, doing: looking into various countries' proposals around age verification requirements for computer operating systems.

2026-04-16 13:16:16 UTC

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I have a gut feeling that this might be trying to wedge a blockchain into something where no blockchain is needed.
But if there is a way for going beyond individual developers / projects asking donations, and Tidelift in the more corporate space, excellent!

2026-04-15 09:34:57 UTC

> I just did a fact check with ChatGPT on your post, and...
ROFLMAOBLOCK

2026-04-14 20:12:13 UTC

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If I had to put my money on something other than GrapheneOS, it would probably be postmarketOS.
But I was pretty impressed with Ubuntu Touch when I tried it again recently after a few years.
I've also wondered about a better separation of connected and non-connected mobile devices, and whether that would be worth exploring.

2026-04-14 19:58:11 UTC

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I must admit that, thanks to Google, I am not massively optimistic about the future of Android and Free software.
I'm also spending some of my volunteering time on non-Android mobile Linux projects, because I think that they are increasingly important and necessary.

2026-04-14 19:53:47 UTC

I have just started the second year of my two year term on the F-Droid board.
One of my goals for my first year was to improve the board's diversity, and I am pretty darned happy with how that is turning out.
I have also helped drive forward some important policy-related stuff.
Let's see what this year brings.

2026-04-13 11:14:15 UTC

I am looking for reading recommendations, for a *partner* of someone who is going through the perimenopause / menopause.
Any recommendations for stuff from your own personal experience, please?

2026-04-11 09:12:23 UTC

# I thought that we (men) were better than this, but I was wrong
I wrote this a year ago, but in the last 24 hours multiple people have used the ageist, sexist trope of "grandmother" as a shorthand for "non-technical person", so here we go again...
I am still wrong, it appears.
https://neilzone.co.uk/2025/03/i-thought-that-we-men-were-better-than-this-but-i-was-wrong/

2026-04-10 20:00:51 UTC

That Microsoft has restored WireGuard's ability to release updates is good, sure.
But should we really accept a situation in which Microsoft was able to take it away in the first place?
Different people will have different takes, I appreciate, but so much power concentrated in the hands of one private commercial organisation seems... unwise.

2026-04-09 19:23:37 UTC

That is enough poking around with Mastodon's Collections for tonight :)

2026-04-09 06:23:02 UTC

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I haven't seen how the survey defined "AI". I use Bayesian spam filtering, but wouldn't consider that "AI" in the sense likely intended here.
(c.f. https://decoded.legal/ai/)

2026-04-09 05:58:46 UTC

# WireGuard VPN developer can't ship software updates after Microsoft locks account
I should be surprised if Windows will ever be suitable outside niche hobbyist communities with this kind of unreliable behaviour.
Real users need consistency and stability.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/08/wireguard-vpn-developer-cant-ship-software-updates-after-microsoft-locks-account/

2026-04-08 16:52:40 UTC

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Interesting - thank you!
(FWIW, I would absolutely want to know if a doctor was using AI, or even automatic transcription, as part of treating/assessing me!)

2026-04-08 16:48:28 UTC

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But, in practice, you wouldn't feel the need to be told?

2026-04-08 16:39:29 UTC

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So is your answer that you would not want to be told about it (because, to you, "AI" is just a tool)?

2026-04-08 16:23:25 UTC

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If your lawyer was using "AI", would you want to be told explicitly?

2026-04-08 16:16:33 UTC

"Nearly nine out of 10 legal professionals say they use AI in some capacity ..."
Eh?
"... according to a survey for a legal tech company"
Oh. Right.
If it is important that your lawyer uses "AI", I'm afraid that I am not the lawyer for you.
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/ai-is-mainstream-in-law-but-clients-are-not-told/5126414.article

2026-04-08 06:30:56 UTC

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> the package having been misrouted
A lovely use of the passive voice to avoid responsibility!

2026-04-08 06:03:33 UTC

Reflecting on @npub17pm…kws7's thread (https://lgbtqia.space/@alice/116364914347035018) that
> I've never met a femme-presenting¹ person who didn't have a sexual harassment/assault story.
This jives with my own experience, and is horrific.
But more than just expressing sympathy, perhaps men here can share actual, tangible steps they will / already take to bring this to an end. (It is our responsibility to solve it.)
I've tooted this before but, IMHO, it is a pretty good resource in terms of helping men do better offline:
https://metro.co.uk/2024/11/28/small-things-can-make-a-woman-feel-safer-22039888/
Annoyingly, I can't find the link that I wanted in terms of men doing better online, so links / suggestions welcome!

2026-04-07 18:20:46 UTC

If you were waiting for a bloke with an English accent to read
"A Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace"
aloud, well today is your lucky day.
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/364/798/455/498/132/original/85ac6f84277fdb4c.mp3

2026-04-07 16:03:52 UTC

New blogpost (based on a discussion here over the weekend, so some of it might be familiar):
"Sex and the Fedi"
https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/04/sex-and-the-fedi/
#blog #sex #fediverse

2026-04-07 07:58:30 UTC

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Well, the proclamation, anyway...
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/362/358/957/220/102/original/d950f5757220122e.mp3

2026-04-07 07:44:08 UTC

Have you have heard of the saying "to read someone the Riot Act", in the sense of warning someone / telling someone off?
Have you *actually read* the Riot Act?

2026-04-06 19:18:27 UTC

I left our picnic rug outside this afternoon.
Apparently, it was quite attractive to ants and woodlice.
I am now debugging it.

2026-04-06 16:05:54 UTC

No, we don't need to make the tent bigger.
We need to make the tent safer.

2026-04-06 12:34:27 UTC

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More seriously, if someone wants to set up an instance dedicated to discussions about AI, they can.
If they want to set up an account on someone else's server and toot about AI, they can, assuming that the server rules permit it.
They can share their opinions to their heart's content.
What they cannot do is ensure that anyone else engages with them, boosts them, makes them feel important etc.
I unfollow people who post about vibe coding / slop / AI, and mute or block if needed.

2026-04-06 12:29:37 UTC

*waves at everyone else in this echo chamber, which actually makes it a delightful place for civilized discussion*.
Apparently the fediverse is not a place for people to debate different opinions about technology.
That is untrue. I even saw someone using emacs the other day.

2026-04-06 10:58:35 UTC

It is a beautiful day on the common!
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/357/402/747/216/567/original/319f01a6dc48c899.jpg

2026-04-06 08:27:50 UTC

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> not wanting to be blocked by whole servers or booted off one for boosting something they see as not ok.
Yes, I can see the challenge there.

2026-04-06 07:01:00 UTC

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I've broken my self-imposed rule of "more than three toots means it should be a blogpost", so perhaps I should do that.
Although whether anyone will share it is a different matter :)

2026-04-06 06:57:30 UTC

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Hmm... I wonder (I told you that I was pondering!) if there is an added factor here, of the fedi demographic: of older people, perhaps especially men (don't laugh), being self-aware of engaging with younger adults posting sex-related stuff, and coming across as creepy. Perhaps?

2026-04-06 06:46:21 UTC

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But this also comes against a backdrop of increasing difficulties for sex workers and other people post sex-related stuff.
Payment processors denying income streams.
Platform operators enforcing their ever more restrictive morality rules, making working harder, and requiring more admin just to keep going.
But if people take, take, take, without giving back in some meaningful way, then that is challenging even for those who create and share for fun (for apprecistion, perhaps, rather than tooting into the void), let alone those for whom this is their livelihood.

2026-04-06 06:38:49 UTC

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I suspect that it comes down to a mix of:
* stigma about sex as pleasure / being embarrassed about what others here might think
* concerns relating to professional expectations and obligations
* sex as being in the sphere of one's private life
I can understand each of these, and why they might lead to a "like" rather than a "boost".
None of them inhibit paying or tipping someone, as a thank you for their work though, which is another way of being supportive.

2026-04-06 06:29:28 UTC

I woke up still pondering @npub10gl…seww's lamentation (I think; https://mastodon.social/@girlonthenet/116353766078817354), that while lots of people enjoy her sex blog, few people boost her toots about it.
I follow and chat with quite a lot of sex positive / sex-related people here, and many have expressed similar sentiments. It must be demoralising.
I don't have good ideas here, but it would be such a shame to lose this wonderful diverse friendly bunch of creative people.

2026-04-05 16:32:50 UTC

This day in 2017 - nine years ago - Mashable published an article saying that Mastodon would not survive (https://mashable.com/article/mastodon-wont-survive).
Thank goodness it was wrong.
If Mastodon, and indeed the broader fediverse, had not survived, I would not have all you fantastic, amazing, fun, interesting, and diverse people to share things and chat with.
Yes, that includes *you*!
It is a genuinely delightful social media experience, and I am incredibly grateful for it.

2026-04-04 17:19:37 UTC

The thing about camgirls in the fediverse is that many of them wrote their own webcam drivers too.

2026-04-04 16:12:34 UTC

Have you ever...

2026-04-04 15:00:52 UTC

If it is indeed the case that any country's EIDAS (electronic identification, authentication, and trust services) implementation requires an account with a third party tech company - Apple, or Google, or whatever - then that is repugnant and reprehensible.

2026-04-04 14:48:50 UTC

Large Language Model
Extra Large Language Model
Plus-Sized Language Model
Family-Sized Language Model
Party-Sized Language Model
Cadbury's Language Model For Sharing (contains 24 servings)

2026-04-04 13:21:22 UTC

Sorry folks. New global alcohol ban has landed.
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/346/639/762/413/409/original/94b91561c8819c2b.jpg

2026-04-04 06:13:43 UTC

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It may vary by country, but phone books have not been a thing here for years.

2026-04-04 05:36:35 UTC

"DNS is the Internet's phone book"
This ceased to be a useful analogy many, many years ago!

2026-04-03 18:32:19 UTC

I am reading some of Ofcom's switching information and somewhat ruing the state of the UK connectivity market.
Churn appears to be a sign of market / regulatory success, resulting in promotional prices and a race to the bottom, and a need for end of contract reminders because of how poorly customer loyalty is treated by those providers.
Conversely, I have stayed with the best UK ISP, @npub1sv0…rq9x, for goodness knows how many years, without giving any thought to churning, because I am very happy with the service and the price, with no annual penalty, and yet that loyalty makes me an uninformed consumer from a regs perspective.

2026-04-03 08:39:17 UTC

Thoughts for tickets for oversubscribed recurring events, without just "making it bigger", to lessen the need to be clicking on a website at a specific time, for all or some tickets:
- a raffle-based approach (but open to gaming, with multiple email addresses etc?)?
- batches of tickets reserved for first time attendees (good faith self-attestation?)?
- no more than two events in a row before you have to sit out an event?

2026-04-02 10:13:12 UTC

You wot?
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/334/576/455/396/499/original/3990e3143307504a.png

2026-04-01 10:08:33 UTC

[Yes, I am old. Yes, I am grumpy.]
I am in an office today.
Two people here want a cup of coffee.
Yes, there is a kitchen with free coffee. Yes, there is a coffee shop on site, two minutes away.
But... Starbucks will deliver them two cups of coffee, at normal retail price (£10!), with no additional delivery charge.
How on *earth* can it make any sort of sense - environmental or economic - to offer this service.

2026-04-01 09:35:15 UTC

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This might help:
https://neilzone.co.uk/2023/11/a-web-ui-for-label-creation-and-printing-on-a-brother-ql-710w-on-linux/
I have used a roll of pre-sized labels rather than a continuous roll of label paper, but the slicer works, so I suspect that this is "just" a config thing.

2026-03-31 15:00:57 UTC

Places are often named according to what happened there.
Newcastle, for example, changed its named to reflect a new castle built in 1080.
Basingstoke was the western settlement of Basa's people, the Basingas.
And then there is this little village...
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/324/361/789/748/943/original/4f6e0ea8c0334351.jpg

2026-03-30 21:30:42 UTC

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`gopher decoded.legal` should do it :)

2026-03-30 21:27:13 UTC

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Could you just use gopher, please?
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/320/238/658/873/864/original/ee0015bfcd79d4cc.png

2026-03-30 21:23:26 UTC

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I use but a fraction of what I have already :(
In theory, more would be nice, but in practice, I host text files...

2026-03-30 21:13:18 UTC

It looks like Openreach is running a trial of a 8.5Gbps line.
I have zero need for it, much less the kit to take advantage of it, but then I doubt many, if any, services could upload at more than a fraction of that.
Still...

2026-03-30 12:17:43 UTC

New blogpost:
"Three months of not reading the news"
I can't *prove* that this experiment has been good for my mental health, but it certainly feels that way.
https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/03/three-months-of-not-reading-the-news/

2026-03-29 06:45:35 UTC

> I believe that talking about sex without shame is not only a positive thing, it is actually a moral good. In a society where we weren’t ashamed of sex it would be a morally neutral act, but given that sex has been steeped in stigma for centuries, right now I’m going to say it’s outright good.
@npub10gl…seww knocks it out the park again.
(Obvs, her blogpost contains sexual references.)
https://www.girlonthenet.com/blog/embarrassed-talk-about-sex/

2026-03-28 09:36:40 UTC

Fancy some RSS inspiration?
I *love* RSS, as a way of reading a range of wonderful blogposts from interesting people, in a convenient interface.
I self-host FreshRSS, and read using a variety of different clients (usually NewsBoat and Readrops).
Here's my current list of feeds:
https://forge.neilzone.co.uk/neil/rss/src/branch/main/neil_rss_feed.opml.xml
I've found some fun new blogs today, which I will add when I get a moment!
#RSS #blog #SmallWeb

2026-03-28 06:45:47 UTC

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Perhaps I am some kind of dangerous computer radical these days, thinking that one should be able to buy or make a computer, install one's choice of OSs and software, create a local user account, and get on with one's affairs, privately and without interference.
Quiet enjoyment of one's computer.
* No age or ID verification
* No jumping through hoops to install software, or third parties restricting the software that one can run
* No third party accounts

2026-03-28 06:27:31 UTC

The idea that one should be forced to verify one's age or identity to use one's own computer absolutely baffles me.

2026-03-27 18:09:29 UTC

If you meet *all* the following criteria, please let me know here!
* I know you
* You have a blog, which is not on substack
* You do not use AI in any way as part of creating your blog
* You are willing to be listed in a humans.json file by me (https://codeberg.org/robida/human.json)

2026-03-25 18:19:08 UTC

Em dashes.
Especially if she needs a wee.

2026-03-25 18:00:09 UTC

Often, I ask "what is the problem that this is trying to solve" or "why would a user want this".
If the answer is vague, I am immediately sceptical.
If the answer is not forthcoming, I may as well stop reading at that point.

2026-03-25 13:43:51 UTC

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Yes - I am using a secondhand Tolino Shine (which has a backlight) for that!

2026-03-25 13:34:31 UTC

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Here it is.
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/290/067/312/358/974/original/7f508c4a4502cd30.jpg

2026-03-25 13:32:35 UTC

What fits nicely in my hand and gives me hours of pleasure? A tiny ereader!
New blogpost:
"Initial thoughts on the tiny XTEINK X4 ereader"
https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/03/initial-thoughts-on-the-tiny-xteink-x4-ereader/
#ereader #bookstodon #books #xteinkx4

2026-03-25 09:54:20 UTC

Excuse me, ma'am. I just need to search your bag for *checks notes* illegal routers.

2026-03-24 21:59:18 UTC

I just misread "massive spam attack" as "massive sperm attack", which suggests that it is time for me to stop reading things for the night.
(Q. whether the attack was massive, or each sperm was massive.)

2026-03-21 20:59:13 UTC

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I imagine that, if I lived in a city, I'd likely use a car share.
It would also be lovely if we had north/south trains, rather than east/west (from Newbury).

2026-03-21 20:50:31 UTC

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> Do you have a car already, just not an electric one?
Yes - an old Honda Jazz. And I quite like it, but I am attracted by an EV.

2026-03-21 19:27:21 UTC

I am quite keen on the idea of an electric car.
I am less keen on the idea of a car which spies on me.

2026-03-21 16:10:14 UTC

It has been brought to my attention that some of my posts about DIY from earlier today could be misinterpreted as containing innuendo.
While the English language can indeed be a bit of a mouthful, this feels like a bit of a stretch.
Nevertheless, I will take myself firmly in hand, and get to the bottom of it.
I will report back when I have come to a conclusion.

2026-03-21 09:54:44 UTC

Where the rotary washing line goes.
It has gone missing over winter.
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/266/554/682/931/851/original/41775f0fa6afff7c.jpg

2026-03-21 08:17:11 UTC

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For the last 25 years, I've relied on RSS for a lot of blogs that I read regularly.
If some of those have adopted slop images, I won't necessarily know, as I don't see their images.
And, if your blog does not have (full text, please) RSS, please do consider adding it! It is the future.
And the past.
#rss

2026-03-21 08:13:26 UTC

*sigh*
No matter how good the blogpost or article itself might *actually* be, if I spot, or suspect, that it has a slop header image, I probably won't read it.
Sure, perhaps I am missing out, but that is a boundary for me.
I appreciate that not everyone has the time, skill, or spoons to create or search for a CC-licensed image. My approach is just not to use a header image, which is a simple and free approach.

2026-03-20 19:41:51 UTC

📹
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/263/200/898/633/531/original/b3397ec52ebfe90e.mp4

2026-03-20 13:12:44 UTC

- reply

https://neilzone.co.uk/2024/07/attempting-to-stop-microsoft-users-sending-reactions-to-email-from-me-by-adding-a-postfix-header/
:)

2026-03-18 21:18:30 UTC

New blogpost:
"Musings on 'digital sovereignty'"
I wanted to jot down some of my thoughts, before I forgot them.
The more I think about it, the less clear the whole thing seems...
https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/03/musings-on-digital-sovereignty/
#DigitalSovereignty #FOSS #SelfHosting

2026-03-18 14:45:59 UTC

Walk around spraying salty water on metal, and you too have experience as a rust developer.

2026-03-17 07:35:22 UTC

An appropriate T-shirt for today.
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/243/355/190/031/281/original/196ba6802ee062cc.jpg

2026-03-17 07:16:38 UTC

- reply

I'd happily pay ~£10/month for a local news website, which:
- has informative, not clickbait, headlines
- was ad-free (a classifieds section is fine)
- does not require an app, and works well in all browsers including text mode browsers
- has full text RSS
Our local news site is none of these.