Nostr notes by Paul Martin

Caught a mouse eating inside ours tonight. ...

2026-05-25T23:20:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…6mvq
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Caught a mouse eating inside ours tonight.

Good idea. We've had magpies raiding ours.

2026-05-25T12:33:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…3era
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Good idea. We've had magpies raiding ours.

The northwest of Wales is merely mild (12°C at this instant). ...

2026-05-22T20:36:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…gjj7
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The northwest of Wales is merely mild (12°C at this instant). The weather front is right over us.

Just seen a van offering "AI Services" with a logo of a ...

2026-05-20T10:55:02Z

Just seen a van offering "AI Services" with a logo of a cow and calf. Took me a few seconds to untangle the cognitive dissonance.

It's a perpetual motion machine equivalent of modern times. ...

2026-05-20T09:46:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…gqgx
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It's a perpetual motion machine equivalent of modern times.

We already have these systems. They're called dehumidifier machines. A heat pump.

The water produced is full of airborne contaminants and needs further purification. If you've ever cleaned out a dehumidifier tank you'll know what I mean.

Can I recommend a series of YouTube videos by Thunderfoot on the Waterseer? (When he's talking science he's good. On other subjects he can be a bit less so. And he's definitely got no love for Musk.)

Brittish Broadcasting Corporation?

2026-05-20T09:38:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…wke6
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Brittish Broadcasting Corporation?

I reached out to psychologists in 1994. Got told I just needed to ...

2026-05-20T09:32:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…v8lh
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I reached out to psychologists in 1994. Got told I just needed to work on organising myself...

But that cardiologist is well out of his field and shouldn't be challenging the diagnosis of more experienced colleagues.

And the bawdy humour which goes way over modern heads. ...

2026-05-20T09:10:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…fd62
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And the bawdy humour which goes way over modern heads. "Behold yon simpering dame whose face between her forks presages snow..." More King Leer.

I had grew up with raw milk in the UK from about 1970 to 2000. ...

2026-05-19T20:54:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…03ju
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I had grew up with raw milk in the UK from about 1970 to 2000. Local farm with doorstep delivery. Very high standards with regular brucellosis and TT testing. Milk was guaranteed to be no more than 48 hours from leaving the cow. Never any problems.

I wouldn't go for raw now. However most milk is homogenised nowadays and I miss the ritual of shaking the bottle to mix in the cream layer. The taste was subtly different due to the different fat structure.

Bottom right corner for my Pixel series on latest Android.

2026-05-17T12:43:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…99s2
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Bottom right corner for my Pixel series on latest Android.

Lots of black and silver in this year's #eurovision song ...

2026-05-16T21:19:13Z

Lots of black and silver in this year's #eurovision song contest.

I have the packaging installed but have put in a divert to favour ...

2026-04-29T12:19:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…jj2g
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I have the packaging installed but have put in a divert to favour my own compiled binary.

I think "Children's Choice" on the radio was ...

2026-04-29T11:57:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…05ka
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I think "Children's Choice" on the radio was partially responsible.

I run in kilometres. So (does the conversion of dividing by 1.6) ...

2026-04-29T11:04:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…q7sg
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I run in kilometres. So (does the conversion of dividing by 1.6) about 10 minutes/km? That's a good slow pace.

A good indicator of whether you're going too hard is to try to hold a conversation. If you can't without gasping for breath, you're pushing too hard.

When I started with C25K I couldn't dash for a bus without needing 15 minutes to recover afterwards.

From experience, the greatest loss of efficiency with old fridges ...

2026-04-29T10:50:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…y9hl
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From experience, the greatest loss of efficiency with old fridges and freezers is the gradual breakdown of the thermal insulation of the "box" itself. This usually shows as a cold spot on one of the outside walls or door, often damp with condensation.

Newer freezers tend to have thicker insulation with a corresponding reduction in usable internal volume.

The total run time in Week 3 is exactly the same as Week 2, at 9 ...

2026-04-28T17:40:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…0wcv
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The total run time in Week 3 is exactly the same as Week 2, at 9 minutes per session. It's just arranged differently.

Remember the walks should be brisk and the jogs slow. Pushing yourself hard is not the objective.

I did it back during lockdown in 2020. I started with Sarah ...

2026-04-28T16:58:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…p90c
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I did it back during lockdown in 2020. I started with Sarah Milligan but switched to Jo on my third and successful attempt. (First attempt didn't go beyond week 1.)

Week 3 typically has the shortest sessions. Which variant are you ...

2026-04-28T16:52:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…l50t
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Week 3 typically has the shortest sessions. Which variant are you doing? Is the final run of the last week of the programme 30 minutes or 5km? (The UK/NHS one is 30 mins which is IMHO more sensible.)

And nobody who puts up a consent pop-up is actually being ...

2026-04-27T08:18:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…4cx6
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And nobody who puts up a consent pop-up is actually being compliant.

Ten years since the BBC/NHS app launched.

2026-04-26T13:05:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…4pkc
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Ten years since the BBC/NHS app launched.

We're near the end of the daffodils here. The first ones came ...

2026-04-26T13:02:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…3ek9
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We're near the end of the daffodils here. The first ones came up in mid February. Peak bluebells at the moment.

That's offal!

2026-04-25T13:03:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…dg34
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That's offal!

Well.

2026-04-19T17:40:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…vz3k
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Well.

It involved a bit of deep thought and some earth.

2026-04-19T17:37:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…u2z4
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It involved a bit of deep thought and some earth.

Everyone knows it's 42.

2026-04-19T17:22:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…yh74
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Everyone knows it's 42.

Tea and no tea requires the removal of a mental block, IIRC.

2026-04-19T17:19:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…9adf
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Tea and no tea requires the removal of a mental block, IIRC.

I swapped out a cheap generic mSATA SSD which came with a router ...

2026-04-19T17:11:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…9v3k
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I swapped out a cheap generic mSATA SSD which came with a router PC (which appeared to be pre-failing) with a new Integral branded one. Old drive struggled to do 60MBps for _reads_ and the new one did nearly 500MBps for _writes_. There is a lot of poorly specced kit out there.

Rural FTTP: three incidents in a year: one stuck session, one ...

2026-04-19T14:31:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…s9m8
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Rural FTTP: three incidents in a year: one stuck session, one fallen telegraph pole, and one dead ONT. Previously there had been no incidents in four years.

Depends what you're after. If you want the ability to talk to ...

2026-04-19T13:47:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…ewcx
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Depends what you're after. If you want the ability to talk to someone who isn't just following a call centre script, you'd want to go with one of the smaller players in the market.

But they aren't the cheapest. Expect to pay about £40/month for a 115Mbps Openreach FTTP connection (unlimited usage, 18 month contract, with IDNet). A&A are a similar price on a single month contract but 1TB per month allowance. Slightly larger, Zen Internet starts at £33/month for 100Mbps.

The smaller ISPs don't do in-contract price ratcheting like the big players do.

Nah, it's got to be the 2 inch Quad of protocols.

2026-04-19T13:02:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…sxas
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Nah, it's got to be the 2 inch Quad of protocols.

That's a barrel of laughs.

2026-04-17T20:08:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…ccdg
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That's a barrel of laughs.

Any ginger beer?

2026-04-05T15:20:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…29nd
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Any ginger beer?

Interesting that the subtitle font is a teletext one, not a ...

2026-03-21T20:19:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…0hg2
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Interesting that the subtitle font is a teletext one, not a higher resolution DVB bitmap.

Must be flat around there: the transmitter tower is on site.

2026-03-16T20:59:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…w8qh
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Must be flat around there: the transmitter tower is on site.

Aldi Pwllheli. Public inconveniences. ...

2026-02-09T12:55:25Z

Aldi Pwllheli. Public inconveniences.

#OpenReach FTTP network fault continues at the western tip of NW ...

2025-11-29T22:56:53Z

#OpenReach FTTP network fault continues at the western tip of NW Wales.

Been three weeks now with an LOS (Loss of Signal) light on the ONT. It was estimated to be fixed on variously the 14th, 16th, 24th and 28th.

The landline still works, though OpenReach threatens to withdraw PSTN service nationwide soon.

TIL that the local #Welsh language name for mushy peas is *pys ...

2025-11-28T17:48:52Z

TIL that the local #Welsh language name for mushy peas is *pys slwj*. #cymraeg #gogledd

They might not realise they're side loading when installing ...

2025-08-26T12:36:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…dpwt
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They might not realise they're side loading when installing something from F-Droid or similar.

Check all the proxied port+IP addresses are correct.

2025-06-14T19:27:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…edcg
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Check all the proxied port+IP addresses are correct.

Have you proxied all the required URLs?

2025-06-14T19:26:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…edcg
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Have you proxied all the required URLs?

No, not working at all. 😉😜🤣

2025-06-14T18:17:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…3hs3
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No, not working at all. 😉😜🤣

One thing you'll notice on a new server is how empty your ...

2025-06-14T14:42:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…fkad
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One thing you'll notice on a new server is how empty your feed is. There are two quick ways around this.

One is to use a third party relay server to subscribe to hashtags. This is mentioned in the man pages.

The other is for your server to poll other servers' RSS feeds. This is a new feature that I haven't tried myself, and I don't know if it handles multiple remotes for the same hashtag without generating duplicates.

The more sustainable long term way is to build your follower count.

The readme and man pages, and the wiki on the GitLab repository. ...

2025-06-14T14:32:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…w5cm
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The readme and man pages, and the wiki on the GitLab repository.

I'm running mine on Linux behind an nginx proxy, but there are many other ways of doing it.

Yes, very easy. Also if you ever want to move it, just tar up or ...

2025-06-14T14:29:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…8t8l
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Yes, very easy. Also if you ever want to move it, just tar up or rsync one directory and its contents.

There are a few rough edges with some Mastodon client apps. Tusky works best.

Can you see your own toots now? They never appeared or threw up ...

2025-06-07T20:51:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…u4xz
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Can you see your own toots now? They never appeared or threw up errors.

That's a points (US: switch) signal, showing that the first ...

2025-05-18T18:01:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…z8uf
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That's a points (US: switch) signal, showing that the first path to the left of the current one will be taken. There's also an "eyebrow" of a green "proceed" aspect viewed from off-axis.

Not much use in a few years when there's no AM or VHF FM ...

2025-04-29T15:37:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…rpz3
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Not much use in a few years when there's no AM or VHF FM broadcast any more.

That sounds fwicked sweet awesome! There's also the beardy ...

2025-03-23T13:41:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…vp8a
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That sounds fwicked sweet awesome! There's also the beardy Glaswegian guy on the Isle of Man with a vocal delivery a little like Fergus Keeling, who buys electronic tat mail order and takes it apart. There was the couple (sadly no longer together) who spent a summer visiting every railway station.

I suspect the voting this year is going to be interesting.

2025-03-06T16:26:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…0j4z
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I suspect the voting this year is going to be *interesting*.

I've been in that pub in Barley a few times too. Dogs and ...

2025-03-03T14:49:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…gy3e
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I've been in that pub in Barley a few times too. Dogs and muddy boots.

Can do...

2025-01-26T14:49:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…p6y7
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Can do...

I think I'm Michael Rodd but probably come across more like ...

2025-01-19T19:13:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…fr20
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I think I'm Michael Rodd but probably come across more like Alan Partridge.

Here's me doing a very *Poetry Please* reading of Keats about three years ago. https://www.nowster.me.uk/sound/To_Autumn.mp3

UK commercial radio is going that way: more mergers and ...

2025-01-08T23:42:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…x0kl
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UK commercial radio is going that way: more mergers and centralisation, voice tracking, reduction of local content to almost nothing.

You'd scarcely believe that Piccadilly Radio (Manchester) did a few science fiction drama serials in the late 1970s (eg. The Last Rose of Summer, Hunter's Moon, Babylon Run).