Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK

Old roaming Tom Cat (zwerfkater) but still young at heart. Toots EN, (NL,FR,DE). #DevOpa - interested more in retro tech / culture / aesthetics than new stuff. Also transport and public infrastructure in general (with a UK/European focus)

Welcome to the secret goose shed!

Avatar is a tabby point Siamese cat - header picture is a Stentor FM radio transmitter designed in the Netherlands; popular with small pirate radio broadcasters in late 1980s

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Last Notes

2026-04-07 11:49:57 UTC

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@nprofile…la7y @nprofile…nl0g what concerns me is we are increasingly becoming dependent on folk at the Pentagon baulking at actually starting WW3 (which may or may not happen, as Hegseth is replacing the more sensible generals with those who are more compliant).
Trump could kick the bucket on the loo tonight but all his supporters and enablers would still be around..

2026-04-05 12:36:49 UTC

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@nprofile…g5d5 @nprofile…tld0 worst part of this is these days when I read about such a collision (not only in USA but in UK, Germany etc) and its someone of one skin colour crashing into a group of people of another (or mixed ethnicity) my first thoughts are often "at least its *only* a DUI rather than a targeted attack" (although maybe deliberate targeted collisions are more common here in UK as guns are heavily restricted, but SUVs are easy enough to get)

2026-04-04 14:30:27 UTC

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@nprofile…kdma what pisses me off is the attacks on the Greens during the Manchester elections, claiming they were going to give everyone free heroin and other bullshit. It seemed like the same tactics Reform use.
I've been a Labour supporter since age 18 - but it is increasingly likely I am going to vote Green (especially as it seems the party are realising they have to be more realistic about the timescale for completely banning petrol/diesel vehicles (whilst not abandoning this altogether, its probably feasible for 2045-2050)

2026-04-02 18:11:27 UTC

A truck driver has ignored warnings that his vehicle is too high to get through the Schipoltunnel - officers of the Netherlands highway authority stop all the live lanes and escort the truck to a safe place.
Unfortunately this happens too often, and costs everyone a lot of time, especially during busy periods!

2026-03-31 20:13:28 UTC

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@nprofile…30yh not surprising this happens with all the work being so fucking precarious and production companies being too cheap to hire drivers they can trust - someone who could also be valuable to such an organisation if they want to shoot footage from inside vehicles, I see this too often being done in a sketchy and unsafe way - especially on YouTube but the legacy broadcasters can be equally bad...

2026-03-27 23:51:54 UTC

£50 000 worth of #windows busted by *one* angry man in #Kent - unclear what the motive was for this (nothing was stolen from either business), and it doesn't seem the businesses (a motor factors and a funeral director) were targeted for their nature (it may simply be they were in a corner of town that has an easy getaway route, as the Police turned up fairly quickly according to Facebook reports about same incident)
#vandalism #crime SE #England
The #CCTV these days is of really good quality, as sharp as ITV's own news cameras!
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-03-27/cctv-captures-hooded-man-smashing-shop-windows-with-hammer

2026-03-27 23:18:58 UTC

The worst bit about these #crimes is surely the #thieves must have some links to the fandom, I barely know one #Pokémon card from the other or which ones are common and which are rare..
#crime #Cambridgeshire
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2026-03-27/pokmon-cards-worth-thousands-stole-from-family-run-shop

2026-03-27 02:40:45 UTC

This is a good initiative - Laser make decent #tools - I didn't even realise they had been around 50 years!
In UK #apprentices are expected to swallow the cost of buying their own tools, which is partly why there is a shortage of #mechanics in the whole country (the toolkit is worth about £500)
https://garagewire.co.uk/news/company/laser/laser-tools-launches-future50-initiative-to-support-apprentices/

2026-03-27 02:21:30 UTC

Doesn't seem to be *that* many #crimes TBH, and stats aren't much good without being compared against the population of each district - also main town centre area is obviously going to be on top, as its got the most people in it late at night, some of whom may have consumed #alcohol or #drugs and be more prone to impulsive behaviour?
I wouldn't say #Ipswich is that bad for #crime I've lived in worse places and the bulk of the violence is either between folk who know one another or if going to nightlife areas with heavy booze consumption, which I don't do these days (and 20 years ago it was just as sketchy at night if not worse, but if you keep your head down you are generally OK)
#Suffolk #UK
https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/25926853.dangerous-area-ipswich-revealed/

2026-03-27 02:12:18 UTC

Thankfully it doesn't seem like this #doctor is on UK GMC (General Medical Council) - and knowing the poor quality of journalism these days he could equally be just a University Professor or just some techbro with a PhD - you don't want dishonest folk like that looking after actual patients..
#parking #traffic #Reading
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-03-25/doctor-caught-using-dead-fathers-disabled-blue-badge-to-park-for-free

2026-03-27 01:29:24 UTC

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@nprofile…08e5 alas, I've found many non-Amazon UK retail sites to be notoriously sketchy and flaky (as well as their customer service), with the exception of a handful for things like network/VOIP equipment, power tools and car detailing supplies / accessories / parts, but I don't buy stuff like that every week..

2026-03-27 01:23:11 UTC

This seems a bizzare thing to get yourself in trouble for if you are a fairly well off celeb - surely James May would have enough money to keep his #oldtimer #motorcycle off the public roads until it was properly insured? Its not even a particularly uncommon or unusual machine...
https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/national/25970695.james-may-settles-court-motorcycle-insurance-charge/

2026-03-27 01:16:00 UTC

#Gammons complain that #immigrants are men of "fighting age" and "running away" from conflict in their home countries - but here a family in #Felixstowe #Suffolk has abandoned their successful local business to go *back* to #Iran - in spite of the obvious personal danger in doing so..
https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/25964560.quick-stop-felixstowe-repossessed-due-rent-non-payment/

2026-03-27 00:30:47 UTC

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@nprofile…nrlp I boycotted a local radio station which plays electronic dance music (which I was a big fan of, even used to be a DJ) as they have become near fully dependent on funding from a sketchy online casino
Its hardly any better from the days of pirate stations funded by laundered drugs money, and I'm surprised the Communications Ministry permit it to stay on air, given the exact same govt are wanting to clamp down on all social media for teenagers yet saying "anything goes" as soon as they are 18

2026-03-27 00:26:55 UTC

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@nprofile…raga @nprofile…4hde I like to read stuff in other languages, one dead giveaway I've seen is for instance looking at a site in German and even with adblockers running some articles randomly appear in English (as they have been inserted by adtech companies, which assume that as my IP is geolocated to UK I am there)

2026-03-27 00:21:04 UTC

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@nprofile…la7y @nprofile…x0tx the impression I get is kids would, and do still play outdoors when they are allowed to, but parents are worried about them being knocked down by cars (probably due to the horrendous driving they witness every day on the school run, over here it sometimes looks like a 1980s wildlife documentary from Anglia TV where animals in the jungle are fighting for space at a watering hole).
Teenagers also would go outdoors, but many are worried of bullying/violence from their own peers plus (in towns/cities, especially London) getting hassle from old bill for "hanging around".
So its a vicious circle and young people can't be blamed for staying indoors with their phones and other devices..

2026-03-26 22:38:10 UTC

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@nprofile…yec9 I once sent some to a friend in an AOL CD during the time when these were always sent free in the post.
Even then this was from a post box completely the other side of town where I lived, and keeping an eye out for CCTV cameras (which had started to appear where I then lived by the late 1990s)

2026-03-26 22:34:07 UTC

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@nprofile…yec9 a few years back (even when we were in the EU) some old boys into prog rock told me that their vinyl albums ordered from the Netherlands were often delayed and the package sometimes even opened up by Border Force and resealed, who were convinced that LSD tabs or other contraband would be shipped along with them..

2026-03-26 22:27:10 UTC

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@nprofile…24n7 also its way more likely to be left alone on the back (which often also contains a manufacturers marketing label) than the front of the road sign (highways authorities don't like that for understandable reasons, particularly if its a safety related sign)
You could get away with wearing full hi vis and putting up the stickers, 99% of passers by will think its a legit highways worker, and the back of a sign is going to be on the other side of the road to where folk are driving so they won't be looking that closely)

2026-03-26 22:15:33 UTC

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@nprofile…3mz6 @nprofile…5rsp
I was always partly sceptical about it, but if anything its at least a credit to Chinese motorists (and/or their civil engineering) that all the doggos were able to walk next to a 100-120 km/h highway with live traffic and all got home safely..

2026-03-26 22:08:50 UTC

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@nprofile…c5mz @nprofile…cmq0
Even in summer if I am shining a large mechanics LED lamp around at night (which is not uncommon when working on my car) I'd struggle to attract that many (and wouldn't want to catch them for fear of hurting them, as it is I already relocate and release those which land on my car!)
Also projectors are much brighter these days and often used in a building with the house lights still on, reducing the level of disruption caused.

2026-03-26 21:58:08 UTC

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@nprofile…dpdc its based in TX, I really wouldn't put it past these apps being used to collect data by the oil companies to work out just how much they can push up the prices.
My experience of "free" motoring-related apps is they are only given away so companies can try and market you car-related services (my country has compulsory yearly inspection and insurance, so there's loads of companies fighting like rats to try and get this business)

2026-03-26 21:55:26 UTC

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@nprofile…m666 @nprofile…550p
I'm not a healthcare professional, but I spent 15 years working on the tech/maintenance team of a senior care home.
I know how old men (often with dementia) act and behave, and particularly in recent months Trump is behaving more like the patients at my former employers (who of course are *not* trusted with starting wars and atom bombs)

2026-03-26 21:32:33 UTC

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@nprofile…6rny decrim/legalisation would remove at least some of the cartels (although coca leaves can't grow in Northern Europe!), but would have to be done carefully in stages.
My country (UK) and others in Europe, possibly by accident, experimented with a liberalised drug market for what are known as new psychoactive substances - they were in a legal loophole for some years you could buy them online and get them delivered as easily as an Amazon parcel, and they were as strong and pure as any illegal stuff.
It *did* partly reduce illegal drug usage and dealing (and there was a reduction in associated violence) but health service was overwhelmed with overdoses (rarely fatal, but took up a lot of resources) and consequences of addictions, so this stuff all got controlled around 2016..

2026-03-26 21:11:36 UTC

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@nprofile…6rny driving under influence of drugs (even legally prescribed ones) is already illegal worldwide - its part of UN road safety guidelines same as speed limits, road signs and markings, driving tests and licences, obeying stop signs etc.
The problem is some folk already tend not to do these things if they think laws aren't going to be enforced (and/or live in areas where the traffic authorities are already overwhelmed) and are more likely to take a chance with DUI if there isn't an easy alternative transport method...

2026-03-26 20:54:50 UTC

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@nprofile…5g9u @nprofile…pd8p
They get hauled out either for re-use or the scrap metal value.
(I've helped put on raves in actual abandoned tech buildings in the early 2000s, I used to live in a town called Reading in SE England which is basically "British Seattle" and had all the tech companies in it (it still does to some extent), but quite a few folded in early 00s and/or sent all their work to lower income countries..
By the time the tech company is gone, all thats left is the empty warehouse and maybe some legacy telecoms kit (by mid 2000s I had so much of it from these places BITD that there were phones and network in every room, and you had to dial 9 for an outside line when making a phone call 😁 )

2026-03-26 20:04:18 UTC

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@nprofile…68m4 helium used in balloon gas is impure and often a byproduct from decommissioning old medical and scientific equipment - it is still not feasible (or cost effective) to refine it to a standard where it could be reused in the more critical applications..

2026-03-26 19:29:36 UTC

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@nprofile…czq4 TBH it could be *anyone* from Tehran, Tel Aviv or Moscow paying those "kids" (they may not be young, could equally be our age!) to light up the ambulances for a variety of motives, plenty of angry men around who would like to see everything/anything burn..

2026-03-26 18:43:42 UTC

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@nprofile…pygh it is - and where there have been partial successes (electricity, gas and telecoms) there's a problem where the infrastructure is still a monopoly and the "free market" companies want to cherry pick the revenue generating part but delay investing in infrastructure until it actually falls apart or becomes unsafe..

2026-03-26 18:11:44 UTC

Such a calculator can even exist (due to defective 7-segment displays), but in any rational environment it is either repaired, consigned to the WEEE disposal or harvested for parts (I have one somewhere which I was going to yoink the solar cell from for experiments, but I can't find it as I quite deliberately put it in a place where it won't be inadvertently picked up by someone as an accurate calculator..)

2026-03-26 18:01:22 UTC

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@nprofile…jnnp about 11 years ago I asked Ofcom UK about a then new kind of wireless link and its tech requirements for licensing - they referred me to CEPT/ERO (European Radiocommunications Office) in Denmark, who then directed me to the South Korea Communications and Cybersecurity Ministry (they had already started developing this equipment *and* were sharing the important tech info to Europe and the World for free, whilst the West was barely bothering to update their websites with this info)

2026-03-26 17:49:58 UTC

Not sure if it was intentional on the part of the artist (it possibly was) but if the man does not run away in time, he will eventually be flattened by the largest domino (and I think a lot of older generations in UK/Europe are very belatedly realising this, but its been left a bit late to reverse things and doing so is difficult (UK has at least started to renationalise the railways, but now high fares and car dependency are baked in to society)

2026-03-26 17:27:35 UTC

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@nprofile…6rny although only in a society where folk are able to self-regulate rather than binging, and which isn't as dependent on motorised transport - otherwise you would have a big problem with DUI and associated casualties as well as health and social care services being overwhelmed (which TBH is one the main reason there are still some restrictions on these, even in supposedly progressive European nations with national healthcare services)
(was a former drug user for 20 years, and also did a lot of online and IRL outreach work for harm reduction)

2026-03-26 17:21:43 UTC

This is Salford in Montgomery, Pennsylvania USA, *not* Salford in Manchester, NW England (a large city suburb, where things are equally likely to catch fire for a variety of reasons)

2026-03-26 15:18:23 UTC

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@nprofile…0awt @nprofile…sqs7 🐕

2026-03-26 00:55:20 UTC

TIL: #Automotive #research centre Thatcham Research is indeed called that because its based in #Thatcham (near #Newbury in Southern England)
I'm surprised so many people don't wear a #seatBelt in #cars even today - I can remember when they were uncomfortable and ill-fitting but they have vastly improved over the years and I almost feel naked if I haven't put mine on..
#RoadSafety #UK
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-03-24/why-uk-drivers-could-face-tougher-penalties-for-not-wearing-a-seat-belt

2026-03-25 23:41:18 UTC

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@nprofile…la7y I suspect a few folk will keep oldtimers on the road in outer suburbs/rural areas as second / weekend cars - as I keep getting recommended YouTube videos of Chinese mechanics restoring 1990s/00s European cars in an area by the coast (its in the South, near the border with Hong Kong), but I suspect they will probably go back to how it was in 1900s where you bought petrol from the pharmacy (or bulk chemical supplies places, of which there are a lot around that part of China)

2026-03-25 22:44:59 UTC

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@nprofile…acy3 @nprofile…u8z9
this happened on the British £2 coin until 2015 (the gears were supposed to represent British industry and technology 😁 )
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/292/231/003/253/083/original/6aa3f992e738354d.png

2026-03-25 21:29:44 UTC

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@nprofile…eqsh its fairly normal for occupants of modern vehicles to survive a rollover crash without major injuries unless it occurs at very high speeds. But I looked at the street on Street View and thought the driver must have fully passed out at the wheel, as it appears to be wide enough to drive along on either side even with parked cars....

2026-03-25 20:08:40 UTC

Apparently #NorthernIreland is considered the most dangerous place to be a #woman in the entire #UK - according to the country's own senior politicians and Police officers!
#Femicide #ToxicMasculinity
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cge09xqj971o

2026-03-25 18:32:43 UTC

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@nprofile…c00k I'm not a planespotter, but every so often I activate the VHF airband on my radio scanner to check its working (as there is always some traffic, I live and work below flightpaths to/from EGSS and EGLL). Ryanair pilots *always* sound stressed and pissed off compared to those of all other airlines (which would make me wary of them, although I avoid flying anyway on environment and personal safety grounds)

2026-03-25 18:29:53 UTC

Sometimes a #cigar is just a cigar - but thats an #absoluteunit.
If I've read it correctly they sell 1000 cigars for 100 Mark, so relatively cheap individually for a decent size cigar
Maybe thats why my older versions of Handbuch für Fernmeldehandwerker have a safety warning "never bring a lit Cigar into the battery room" [1] as they would have been affordable even to apprentices.
Cigars are bad for you, try not to smoke them (I quit in 2018, and they were already way expensive here)
[1] lead acid accumulators give off hydrogen gas when charging and there are a *lot* of them in a Telephone Exchange, so such a mistake could easily end up as a last smoke.. 💥 🚒

2026-03-25 18:19:10 UTC

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@nprofile…zw5l I've literally got one on my desk here (connected to a long range DECT base station and this 1982 British Telecom 8746 dial telephone set), as well as an HT818 and a few more 1980s phones on the table next door - I'm experimenting with these part of business continuity/resilience plans (in case some of our staff need to work at other locations due to fuel shortages/transport/power disruption) to see how well the cloud PBX copes with various endpoints.
They even handle loop disconnect dialling and BT caller ID protocol (which is partly CEPT/ETSI standard but has its own quirks, such as a polarity reversal and FSK burst *before* ringing..
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/291/134/709/874/014/original/a26fefbcab24888d.jpg

2026-03-25 17:44:46 UTC

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@nprofile…xukg @nprofile…rtua
thats the biggest problem - many local businesses don't even answer the phone or allow you to speak to a human (and a lot of them try to hide the physical address of where they are based as well)

2026-03-25 17:28:49 UTC

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@nprofile…jnnp he seemed to want to hold onto the privileges of being a Tory for some reason (even our former local MP in my region who was a Tory "wet" with surprisingly leftwing views defected to Labour)

2026-03-25 17:24:28 UTC

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@nprofile…jnnp its apparently popular amongst some gay men - TBH if he wasn't a Tory (even though he claimed that drugs should be legalised, he's still supporting the party which increased prohibition) I'd be impressed he's managing such activities at his age (he's no spring chicken!)

2026-03-25 16:48:30 UTC

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@nprofile…s4ce there is *already* a working age-verification scheme for UK, I use it to get vape juice delivered and the company has never asked for any other info than my address (OK you have to hand this over but if you're having physical products delivered you would have to do that anyway)

2026-03-25 15:42:02 UTC

This is a bizzare #crime - what even would he gain from nicking an #ASDA #van ? He doesn't even appear to have any major previous record, although he might have had mental health issues (was previously reported as missing person a few years back)
Don't overdo it with #drugs - it can clearly lead to impulsive and irrational behaviour..
#RoadSafety #Sussex #England
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-03-24/drug-driver-jailed-after-leading-police-on-chase-in-stolen-asda-van

2026-03-24 23:48:58 UTC

Young #fash openly making nazi-salutes in a University lecture theatre in #Paris #France (this appears to be quite a large and prestigious University too!)

2026-03-24 23:14:15 UTC

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@nprofile…c2c8 probably just for seeing things? He mentions symptoms of presbyopia even in columns from 2010 and would likely need them for reading cue cards or possibly small autocue screens hidden around the set ..

2026-03-24 23:10:15 UTC

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@nprofile…f4gm A few days ago I read entire 50 page document from Police of latest strategy against "unlicensed music events".
Now national policy headed by MetPol.
What dismayed me was a lot of thought and effort went into it, they logged every bad incident at such events over 30 years as justification to close them down, and openly use social media monitoring to detect and discourage them.
Strategy covers *everything* from teens blaring music on Bluetooth speaker in car park and and even neighbourhood block parties to full on raves with 5 000 people.
it doesn't mean smaller gatherings always get locked off but advice is for *all* of them and organisers to be investigated as soon as someone complains.
A large restriction on freedom of movement compared to 90s/00s..

2026-03-24 15:33:59 UTC

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@nprofile…tfur I always believed the whole idea of a radical or alternative choice was that it was supposed to be *better* than existing society, not simply repeat all the same mistakes..

2026-03-23 20:20:49 UTC

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@nprofile…t34k for all the faults of UK society, it is *extremely* difficult to get away with serious violence/murder in the modern era - we have very good quality forensic investigations.
Also I don't know if its same in Germany (it may well be), but our Communications Ministry (Ofcom) as part of broadcast regulations insists that true crime shows on TV do not give away enough details to teach folk how to attempt to get away with a crime (and in this case he also left blatant clues in is supposed alibi)

2026-03-23 20:06:57 UTC

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@nprofile…jnnp both Tehran and Moscow are now leveraging local edgelords/"roadman" type criminals who just enjoy creating chaos and fear for a bit of money - its the same reason why the drugs scene (even partydrugs) has become more chaotic and violent - these lads simply enjoy the conflict as much as or more than getting high, and are constantly looking for the next beef/drama to get involved in..

2026-03-23 19:47:44 UTC

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@nprofile…gp0u reminds me of the judge you would see in Taggart who has the big red "X" on his robes and always looked and seemed a bit scarier than the Crown Court judges in England..

2026-03-23 19:43:05 UTC

I'd expected a #murder case like this to occur in USA, not part of the #UK ( #NorthernIreland ) - its a warning as to how deep #ToxicMasculinity is embedded into the "gamer" community worldwide..
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g8d8pz0xyo

2026-03-23 19:04:47 UTC

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@nprofile…56gn any roadworthy car from mid 1980s to early 1990s (which often wouldn't have had such things as airbags, front fog lamp, high level brake lamps etc..

2026-03-23 18:09:58 UTC

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@nprofile…gj0l and the only way out of the study appears to be guarded by a large rat 🐀

2026-03-23 16:39:41 UTC

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@nprofile…3h99 @nprofile…lknd
somehow this reminds me of "butchers pigs" (ceramic ornaments of pigs in a butchers uniform and apron smiling and wielding meat cleavers, which were often on display in butchers here in England)

2026-03-23 16:18:35 UTC

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@nprofile…gu7x seems like an unusually specific target TBH - I wonder if it was done simply because their systems were weak, or were they singled out for what they do (and that the victims wouldn't get as much sympathy compared to something like a hospital or school?)

2026-03-23 13:51:06 UTC

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@nprofile…5wee thanks! I had already found this setting and had it set to "Never", but so far the PC is behaving today (it seems to be some weird edge case causing this)

2026-03-23 00:00:15 UTC

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@nprofile…nrlp @nprofile…ru8t this would be straight up illegal here (I once got a memory card for a discount because the shelf price was lower, even though this was a mistake but only by about £20 - if the tag is something blatantly wrong like £2 and nowhere near a fair market price then the shop can refuse to sell the item)

2026-03-22 23:55:48 UTC

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@nprofile…nrlp although its also possible to update the e-ink type of shelf price label dynamically, I wonder if (legalities aside) it would even be possible in physically smaller shops (particularly those in Europe), as surely folk would notice if the price tags started changing like fruit machines (especially when the shop got crowded)

2026-03-22 23:46:35 UTC

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@nprofile…f4gm a cellular mobile phone (without a GNSS receiver) has always created a trackable data trail (its a by product of how it works and why you don't have to manually select a new radio channel each time you go to a different area) but this data was only easily available to specialist engineers at the mobile provider, and they didn't hand it over to authorities for free and without a warrant. The location data was only accurate for about 200m to 2km depending on cell site locations.
The trend to put GNSS receivers into these devices *and* make such location data available to anyone who pays for it is relatively recent (started from late 2000s onwards)

2026-03-22 23:41:34 UTC

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@nprofile…f4gm by late 1990s everyone had a mobile phone and calls were cheaper (often with a good amount of free minutes) but SMS messages were unreliable and initially didn't even work across networks - people actually talked to each other on them!
One difference was access to physical spaces wasn't as heavily controlled as today - even though there was still CCTV and locals would call old bill on youths "hanging around", there was neither sufficient boots on the ground nor interconnected CCTV (a real security guard had to watch the footage locally, and property owners generally didn't want to pay for these folk at evenings and weekends.
There were also fewer cops on duty in outer suburbs during nights/weekends - they were all deployed into the town centres)

2026-03-22 23:32:25 UTC

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@nprofile…f4gm at least in my friend circle mobile phones not uncommon from early 90s, but they cost a *lot* to call from a landline (so if you were living at home your parents would discourage it), and until 1995-1999 were insecure, anyone with a radio scanner could (and often did) listen to them.
Whilst radio scanners were out of the price range of youths, many older folk had them, and until late 90s were often the kind of radio enthusiast who was a Tory bootlicker and supported the Police and other Establishment organisations, so you if discussing anything subversive on a mobile phone you risked being grassed up..
Ironically the tide turned by late 90s when scanners became affordable, and the Police were still on analogue radios 😁

2026-03-22 22:32:24 UTC

#AbsoluteUnit of #DECT #telephone set from #Motorola - updated version of BT Elements with rugged case, long antenna and separate (analogue) base unit (not shown in photos as its currently hanging off map pins on my office notice board with confidential stuff on it)
Got 200+ metres range even with base unit quite low down (my office is in a dip) and position not exactly optimised for RF, could make calls from adjacent housing estate - from a distance it does look rather like an #Airwave terminal, resisting temptation to stand at top of road and watch leadfoots slow down 😁
Connected to #Grandstream ATA, also works well in next door office, so I can now move between both and keep same extension number
About £70 with base station, might also be good for #CCC and #EMF type events?
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/275/128/812/496/093/original/0329e31680f4a04e.jpeg
https://f2.tchncs.de/media_attachments/files/116/275/154/202/906/338/original/b2af9b0ec333fd48.jpeg

2026-03-22 22:19:55 UTC

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some slight strangeness - today #Anydesk let me log in but password entry field unresponsive - checking PC directly showed the num lock was working but keyboard wouldn't type any numbers. PC was also still on network (but no SSH as its not there out of the box and I hadn't installed it yet!)
Had to press power button, PC came back up with lockscreen (not full Linux startup) and password so likely something to do with a power saving / resume setting - clearly the PC hadn't fully crashed as all the photos I had uploaded to Dropbox (from another machine on the network) had been picked up by the client..
I(how do you change this on #XFCE ? )

2026-03-22 21:03:35 UTC

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@nprofile…cmq0 I find the village I work in (and am more likely to be walking around, as I'm not driving <1km to the village shop) to be much friendlier than the town - possibly because of ageing population and seniors who view brown and Black folk as healthcare workers or doing "useful" jobs like mechanics, maintenance engineers (that they are themselves too old to do), whereas in town you are viewed as competition for jobs and resources..

2026-03-22 20:40:51 UTC

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@nprofile…7ana @nprofile…28zq
A rescue in NYC did this with a tomcat as far back as late 1990s, and sold the art as "modern art" - they got $100 per canvas and covered food and vets fees for the entire shelter for some time..😁

2026-03-22 20:16:17 UTC

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@nprofile…j0gw it can also be read as the name of a Chinese "auntie" (especially from ESEA countries like Hong Kong, Malaysia or Singapore, where folk quite often have a Western given name and a Chinese family name..

2026-03-22 20:09:39 UTC

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@nprofile…rh7q in my region (Suffolk, England) you need your library card number to log on to the computer.
This leads to a borrower record that already contains my date of birth (they ask this when you get a library card so ascertain whether you get a junior or adult borrowers record)

2026-03-22 19:51:13 UTC

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@nprofile…j0gw this is almost certain to be intentional - many Chinese (especially those from Southern China) have a very similar sense of humour to the British, and like puns 😁

2026-03-22 19:48:12 UTC

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@nprofile…a6su @nprofile…v7rf
the Royal Mail will normally paint a postbox black if its going to be fully decommissioned.
I would keep an eye on these locations, it may be the case that they are going to replace the old post box with the new digital one which can accept parcels (which would explain why only the front is removed and its been left as red)

2026-03-22 19:46:39 UTC

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@nprofile…cmq0 as a brown person I've had varying experiences - interestingly *old* people (aged around 70+) are generally cool, but both on foot and on a bike I've had outright hostility from people my age or younger (including other cyclists).
This is in Eastern England from 2006 onwards (and goes in parallel with the political/social situation) - experiences may vary depending on ethnicity/gender etc and in other parts of the country..

2026-03-22 19:12:16 UTC

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@nprofile…x9tq I remember in 80s/90s when even many of the Tories considered ending up on Spitting Image as a badge of honour and a sign that they had "made it", as those puppets were *not* cheap to make..

2026-03-22 19:09:15 UTC

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@nprofile…4lut I would strongly recommend joining PSR if you are eligible - this means if your neighbour *does* manage to flood your house to the extent it puts you off supply, its going to cost the DNO more money to fix it (as they have to arrange alternative supplies) and they do have some clout with Social Services, Scottish Fire and Rescue (who may also become involved) etc..
https://www.energynetworks.org/customers/find-my-network-operator

2026-03-22 18:59:58 UTC

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@nprofile…r8cz @nprofile…9kr2
also the cats name (Kater) is German or Dutch for tomcat 😸

2026-03-22 18:46:24 UTC

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@nprofile…4lut there is /some/ danger, although if you have an RCD and water gets into the distribution board this should open before anything bad happens (it will mean you are off supply and have to call an electrician).
Water ingress can cause heating and degradation of the service cable and service head fuse. This bit before the meter belongs to the DNO (distribution network operator), it may be worth calling them on 105 and explaining to them the situation (which might also prompt them to report to the Council safeguarding about the danger to others from your neighbours activity).
If you are above a certain age and have health issues you can also get the DNO to put you on "priority service register" which means they respond quicker should any incident put you off supply.

2026-03-22 18:30:23 UTC

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@nprofile…nrlp bizzarely every time I've been to a USA public service website to try and help friends there with adulting stuff (assuming that I'm not outright blocked for trying to access from a foreign country, which is very common nowadays), it looks like they've used the cheapest commercial service possible to deliver the actual service (maybe the budgets are swallowed by multiple layers of management and outsourcing contracts) and UI is different across every service/state or even local region (although maybe in UK we are used to having a *very* good govt web UI, although behind the scenes the services are run on string and gaffer tape and everything feeds into Azure databases and MS365)

2026-03-22 18:22:30 UTC

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@nprofile…nrlp Canada is more than likely to try UK tactics with a USA public sector budget, so it most probably *is* Excel (possibly with VBA, or worse a whole load of VLOOKUP/INDEX functions all nested) being used to make the decisions..

2026-03-22 18:08:35 UTC

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@nprofile…yd40 its not your fault, more that of the BBC crime reporter for not researching dates correctly and/or seemingly being unaware of how the criminal justice system actually works in England and Wales (or no one actually checking up on whether these facts are correct).
As loathsome as they are, the Daily Mail do a way better job of getting crime reporting right (maybe because they are used to delving a *lot* deeper into the backgrounds of suspects and victims to the point it borders on what is legal/ethical, and they are thus *expecting* legal challenges for their reporting)

2026-03-22 17:08:42 UTC

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@nprofile…t20x @nprofile…tvhz
here is a more detailed video of the experiment - you need 20 000 volts for it to happen - it is likely that magnetic fields are attracting the balls, although the paths they take are still under investigation (unfortunately Professor Alfred Hübler passed away in 2018).
It *is* possible to try it at home if you can get a 20 kV supply and have the space and knowledge to do the experiment safely 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeHWqr9dz3c

2026-03-22 15:24:13 UTC

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@nprofile…yd40 I found the full report, the 2024 dates all relate to the charges from the same incident (which occured in 2023)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-misconduct-panel-outcome-mr-declan-sealy

2026-03-22 15:16:29 UTC

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@nprofile…0pnv @nprofile…a638
I prefer the Franquin comics (Gaston Lagaffe etc), at least Franquin moved on from those stereotypes in 1980s and started making some very left-wing content (including criticising fossil fuel use and pollution, as well as working with human rights organisations)
Gaston Lagaffe is quite subversive/anarchist to be fair..

2026-03-22 15:13:14 UTC

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@nprofile…yd40 it appears to be from the same incident - it just took 2 years for the TRA to take action after the case in the criminal courts..

2026-03-22 15:05:38 UTC

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@nprofile…yd40 and a long standing alcohol problem, but hadn't so far managed to act in a way that got him in serious trouble..

2026-03-22 15:00:04 UTC

A #maths teacher in NW #England has been banned for 2 years for getting drunk at a workplace social outing to the point he consumed 10 pints ( 5760 ml ) of beer, attacked 2 police officers and a security guard, and got a suspended prison sentence!
He has to do 25 days rehabilitation activity and 200 hours of unpaid work.
you could make a maths question out of all this, but its probably a better lesson for PHSE and a warning of why overindulgence in #alcohol is a bad thing..
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1mk9zggjryo

2026-03-22 14:35:32 UTC

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@nprofile…ajnd very few people are awake and equipped to go around searching for lost kids (or even pet animals) at 04:00, and those who are either *already* belong to a uniformed service or search volunteer group, and plenty of real time messaging tech exists to alert such folk without using the full scale alert on mobile devices..
UK does not currently use the alert system for missing kids (or it would be going off every few days!), and the relatively small size of our country means the search usually is confined to a few km radius (and if its a wayward teen who has got on a train, there is often CCTV footage that the authorities can look through)

2026-03-21 02:54:34 UTC

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Left #LinuxMint PC switched on overnight again with both browsers open (but fewer tabs, just #MS365 on #Edge , a terminal window and two large PDFs (a scanned copy of 1981 Handbuch für Fernmeldehandwerker (training books from DBP-Telekom) and a draft of what appears to be a University textbook (in German) about VOIP (which seems to have a better explanation about how SIP works than many English texts!).
Everything remained stable, including the Dropbox client and even the Mastodon tab left open on Firefox didn't go OOM - I suspect yesterdays crash may have been an outlier due to multiple things hammering the system (or possibly a commercial news site and the adblockers eating memory)

2026-03-21 00:07:34 UTC

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@nprofile…f4gm the commercial stations use the same big towers as the mobile networks, what would be more likely to be allowed on the windmill would be a low budget community broadcaster (unlike mobile base stations, many are unlikely to even notice the antenna unless they are looking very closely for it)

2026-03-20 23:56:24 UTC

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@nprofile…hh4j indeed, the kid spelt tequila incorrectly 😁

2026-03-20 23:55:47 UTC

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@nprofile…f4gm would be ideal for a radio ham (could also rent some of the roofspace to a community broadcaster, although I suspect the locals and Council would understandably baulk at mobile phone base stations unless they were *very* discreet)

2026-03-20 01:30:18 UTC

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@nprofile…ttga this was only there because my employers use MS365 (in normal use they would be unlikely to open 2 browsers at once, and I'd only done it to see if it would even work and to download a couple of files from OneDrive)

2026-03-20 01:13:11 UTC

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@nprofile…30yh its already been slang for a fart in British English for centuries...
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/264355/in-what-english-speaking-communities-does-trump-refer-to-the-breaking-of-wind

2026-03-20 01:12:14 UTC

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@nprofile…ttga I suspect it would only take one memory leak in either of the 2 browsers simultaneously running (both Firefox and Edge) *or* the Dropbox client to cause the whole lot to fall over, and because its intermittent and every dev is chasing features/AI/adtech rather than reliability no one really cares about tracking down the exact cause..

2026-03-20 00:59:59 UTC

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@nprofile…ttga I did a quick check (although not the full 8 gig of RAM), although I suspect more that I left lots of random tabs open on 2 browsers when I went to the shop as well as Dropbox trying to pull 100 gigs of various files down the network at the same time..
Now I have reconfigured the Dropbox client for a more limited set of directories and have Anydesk running I've left the PC switched on and connected to the network so I can keep an eye on it remotely to see if it behaves..

2026-03-19 22:22:10 UTC

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@nprofile…v9wr My employers pay for the Anydesk licence I use - I've used Rustdesk as a backup solution (especially for the community radio station PCs) since about 2 years ago - at the time Rustdesk still lacked some features and could be occasionally flaky, although it seems to have matured.
I didn't realise the development of Rustdesk was based in Singapore!

2026-03-19 22:09:24 UTC

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@nprofile…ne7g In the end I activated "selective sync" on Dropbox client to only pick up folders I wanted (mostly pictures from my mobile phone and camera) but that info will come in useful if I start adding other user profiles to this PC..

2026-03-19 22:02:16 UTC

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Went to the village shop to get some food and returned to find the PC fully locked up ( needed a power cycle to restart!)
I suspect this is more fault of #browsers with multiple tabs left open (there's an open issue for this on #Firefox) than any flaw with #LinuxMint itself, on top of websites being more bloated and #adtech scripts and #adblockers fighting one another.
Successfully installed #Anydesk on #Linux PC, so can access #XFCE desktop remotely from my Windows laptop (we use Anydesk a lot for remote support)