James Holden

Husband/Dad of three+doge. Old school geek, maker and tinkerer. Based in #Leeds. I'm into #3Dprinting, DIY #drones, #RetroComputing, #filmphotography (colour and B&W developing and printing). Sometimes these hobbies collide and combine in interesting ways. Films and all kinds of music, low budget audio and home cinema. I still buy vinyl and the occasional CD. Cycle commuter. Send me your #borderCollie pictures!

Location: Leeds, United Kingdom
WWW: https://jamesholden.net

Public Key

npub1rnmkmtrfx28gpj5p5npjjr2v5k48rfdtypvyw368h37y96e4xj3swmvwt0

NIP-05 Address

jamesholden_at_mas.to@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqspeamd435n9r5qe2q6fsefp4x2t2n35k4jqkz8garmclzzav6nfgcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds97h6hv

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1rnmkmtrfx28gpj5p5npjjr2v5k48rfdtypvyw368h37y96e4xj3swmvwt0

Show more details

Last Notes

2026-04-27 17:04:47 UTC

Bought a hot air rework station because I wanted to fix some surface mount stuff, but wanted something to practice on, so I stopped by the e-waste bin outside the local supermarket and found a small TV. Of course, it works perfectly! But I wanted something broken! Damn! #electronics #maker #repair

2026-04-17 12:47:20 UTC

- reply

Despite the colours being fine, I still wasn’t happy with the quality. So when I saw a used OSSC on eBay, I put a lowball offer in and they accepted. It just arrived and honestly it’s like night and day, the cheap Amazon scaler really is garbage by comparison. Super happy!

2026-04-12 19:47:59 UTC

- reply

Well, thanks for prompting me to look into it again. Enjoy your beeb!

2026-04-12 19:13:03 UTC

- reply

So I bought another one, and it turns out the one I had was just a bit shit?!
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/116/393/319/562/937/870/original/95bf571253e1eeb5.png
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/116/393/319/707/056/913/original/ec9adb1ab87d943e.png

2026-04-12 07:42:39 UTC

- reply

No worries! It’s just a bit annoying, but that said - the folks on Startdot are always very helpful, so maybe I will take some comparison pictures and ask anyway.

2026-04-12 07:27:14 UTC

- reply

Thanks, but it’s definitely the converter as it’s poor regardless of which computer I connect to it. They all display fine on an old LCD TV I have which has a SCART socket built in, but I’d rather use the monitor that’s already on my desk, which is HDMI only.

2026-04-11 22:41:41 UTC

- reply

I have the same HDMI adapter and I seem to get a washed out image, with the whites shifted towards blue and the blacks shifted towards red. Is yours OK or are they all like that?

2024-12-07 09:55:48 UTC

- reply

I just grabbed the file to put on the NAS where the O2 can see it. But first I checked the file using the `file` utility on my Mac and it said it was "MDEC video stream, 320x256" which seems to be a proprietary format specific to the PS hardware. Have you seen this document? https://psx.arthus.net/sdk/Psy-Q/DOCS/Devrefs/Dataconv.pdf

2024-12-06 23:04:46 UTC

- reply

The double standards just boggle my mind. Can you imagine if a democrat nomination said they answered only to Biden? They’d lose their shit completely.

2024-12-05 23:29:45 UTC

“We value your privacy” lmao what???! #privacy #spam #cookies
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/602/812/457/494/688/original/9b67de2190242563.jpeg

2024-12-03 20:57:14 UTC

- reply

Share one and I’ll give it a go on a real #sgi O2.

2024-12-03 00:19:41 UTC

- reply

it’s concentrated onto a small number of gigantic sites. You used to have a blog, now you have an Instagram like everyone else.

2024-12-01 23:10:55 UTC

- reply

My ISP @npub1sv0…rq9x does IPv6, and one time due to misconfiguration my part, I inadvertently left the kids (yeah 18+) at home with no IPv4 for the weekend. You know what? Most things just worked with only IPv6.

2024-12-01 09:17:45 UTC

- reply

How loud do you have to turn it up to cover the noise generated by 12 spinning rust drives?

2024-11-30 23:32:07 UTC

- reply

A bit of context required here. Bradford is approximately 5 miles away from me in that 👈 direction right now. It ain’t Beverley Hills. You can buy a terraced house in Bradford for the price of a second hand car. I’m happy for her, and I don’t get the point of slating people for moderate amounts of well earned success.

2024-11-30 10:35:29 UTC

- reply

Same. I use two email domains, one with the TMDA setup for online shopping, forums, websites, mailing lists etc, and an iCloud hosted one for actual human correspondence because it’s much shorter. Just how it’s ended up after being online for 30 years I guess.

2024-11-30 09:24:37 UTC

- reply

Ive used TMDA for years, same idea but you can do things like time limited addresses. It seems a bit unmaintained now though.

2024-11-27 22:23:02 UTC

- reply

Half what and half what? Half gravy and half vodka? Half ketchup and half mustard? Half looks weird now I’ve written it so many times.

2024-11-26 17:58:28 UTC

- reply

Excellent! Same here, and I works well for me. Price on variable tariff is high right now, 44.94p/kWh (€0.54), but that doesn’t matter because it charged the battery earlier in the day when it was cheap. Importing nothing at all right now.

2024-11-20 23:23:49 UTC

- reply

Detachable leads would be preferable. Easier to store, can be replaced if damaged, or swapped for one with a different plug if used abroad etc.

2024-11-20 23:22:08 UTC

- reply

They seem to have different definitions of those words. “Free” means “as long as I’m covered positively”, and “fair” means “only showing my point of view”. It’s like when religions use words like truth and light.

2024-11-20 23:15:10 UTC

- reply

Oof. Just adding to this thread that you should NEVER (and I use all-caps sparingly) vacuum up spilled toner. It’ll ruin the vacuum cleaner and the toner will go through the filter and into the air, and it’s carcinogenic. You are probably already having a bad day and this will make it 100x worse. Wipe it up with a cloth moistened with cold water only, not warm.

2024-11-20 23:09:25 UTC

- reply

Boop, if you’re on a Mac. But yeah, WTF?

2024-11-20 22:43:26 UTC

- reply

The only thing that stopped Trump giving the job to Hannibal Lecter is that he’s not a real person.

2024-11-17 14:57:22 UTC

- reply

I deleted mine about a year ago. About 10k tweets, but it is what it is. All Musk ever wanted was a ready-to-roll right-wing disinformation machine. It was never about anything else.

2024-11-16 09:48:38 UTC

- reply

It should only take as long as the TTL on the record. General beat practice is to reduce the TTL in advance of making a change, then increase it again afterwards. It’s possible that some servers are caching the record longer than the TTL, but I can’t say I’ve ever experienced it. You can use the “dig” command line tool to check how much longer a given server will cache a record for.

2024-11-14 23:38:30 UTC

- reply

Enjoy!

2024-11-13 23:59:44 UTC

- reply

Tiger bread doesn’t have cheese on it. The crazed pattern is a result of painting it with rice paste.

2024-11-13 23:27:22 UTC

- reply

I’ve done this for a long time, particularly with DateTime objects.

2024-11-12 08:37:09 UTC

- reply

Electron Black Hole is a pretty decent band name.

2024-11-12 08:03:23 UTC

- reply

Yes it’s just like that. I’ve shot a few rolls. I quite like it but it’s not for everyone. It looks very cool and vintage like when RA4 printed, but you need loads of correction because it doesn’t have the usual orange base.

2024-11-09 08:22:32 UTC

- reply

Yep, same. Most of my stuff is in the Tuya ecosystem, with a bit of Alexa to glue it all together. It’s a lot less terrible than I was ever expecting it to be. Buying the cheapest Wi-Fi IoT stuff and controlling it with free platforms has actually turned out well, despite a few limitations.

2024-11-09 08:19:00 UTC

- reply

I saw this the other week. It’s a really cool idea, and I’m glad to see it’s getting the backing it deserves. Looking forward to seeing your prints!

2024-11-08 16:15:27 UTC

- reply

Same here. Provided you have SPF, DKIM, DMARC and rDNS set up correctly, and adequately secure against spammers relaying, it will work fine.

2024-11-08 15:36:10 UTC

- reply

Well, I do have a severe nut allergy and I just try to avoid licking the armrests. I try not to inconvenience other passengers because it's not their fault.

2024-11-06 08:14:21 UTC

Oh.

2024-11-03 23:51:46 UTC

- reply

We’ve tried a lot of things, but ultimately he knows the difference. The problem with the sedatives is that they bung him up, and combined with reluctance to go outside after dark led to some big problems last year, so I don’t really want to resort to the sedatives unless I have to. Can do loud hifi, but even the Netflix ba-dum noise sends him running.

2024-11-03 23:35:49 UTC

- reply

Oscar was fine with fireworks until about two years old when one went off very loud and very close, and he’s been bad with loud noises since then. So far so good this year, but we have sedatives on standby for Tuesday.

2024-11-03 20:37:41 UTC

- reply

I had forgotten all about the bus periscope. I can vouch that you’re not making it up to troll anyone.

2024-11-03 20:29:59 UTC

- reply

I used to work with someone who didn’t like food. Just ate to stay alive. Bland, dull food. Can’t imagine either really!

2024-11-03 20:21:20 UTC

- reply

2024-11-03 20:17:22 UTC

- reply

Ah, takes me back to all the shitbox Italian rental cars I’ve had trying to get up to 110kmh with four people in 😂

2024-11-03 00:26:16 UTC

- reply

That’s amazing. Never seen one of those before.

2024-11-02 11:19:48 UTC

The thing I love most about airports is they have such big windows #windows #fail travel
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/413/085/499/867/873/original/67a6359cd681416b.jpeg

2024-10-31 21:10:44 UTC

- reply

People definitely use small domestic dehydrators to dry filament. Damp filament prints badly because the moisture boils as it’s extruded at ~200°C and ruins the finish and integrity of the print. You can tell if you have damp filament because it crackles as it prints.

2024-10-30 15:29:08 UTC

I’m on an island in the Mediterranean and my dishwasher at home in the UK just sent me a notification saying that it’s installed a software update. What a time to be alive, eh? I was hoping for flying cars by now, but no. #technology #futurism

2024-10-29 22:37:03 UTC

- reply

When I was 19, my then-boss arranged a surprise work Christmas party. He kept it secret until the last minute but was obviously very excited about it. It was Showaddywaddy at the Frontier Club in Batley. Had a really good night actually. Ended up on stage dancing with them at one point, absolutely shitfaced.

2024-10-29 22:13:42 UTC

I’m in Italy. Three UK just vomited this pile of gibberish onto my phone. I have no idea what it’s meant to mean.
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/393/009/198/927/524/original/a8a1fd4716844f00.jpeg

2024-10-29 15:45:16 UTC

Just been through security at #stansted airport with films and a loaded film camera. They have CT scanners and were perfectly happy to hand check my film and camera. #filmphotography #believeinfilm #travel #photography #analogphotography

2024-10-28 22:44:14 UTC

- reply

If it was working fine before the mod then I would say no. If it was broken anyway then yes. Just my 2 cents.

2024-10-28 07:44:45 UTC

- reply

You could get away with a 26W5 instead of a 26W6 if you put one of the RGB pins in the centre. Sorry, I’ll stop it now.

2024-10-27 20:36:11 UTC

- reply

pfBlockerNG and Suricata on my firewall here, plus VPN server so I can egress via my home connection when I’m away. It’s genuinely horrific when I have to use someone else’s computer and/or internet. And of course, they have an entire zoo of all the malware, and all the ads are tailored to what they last ate.

2024-10-26 22:31:15 UTC

- reply

My theory is that most people don’t understand what a billion is (even if they can say it’s 1 followed by nine zeros). Musk spending tens of millions to effectively buy off the government is like me spending £2. Billionaires should not exist.

2024-10-25 12:01:52 UTC

- reply

The dog wouldn’t fetch his ball at the park because he doesn’t like the wet grass. Now I’ll have a wet dog at home who wants to play fetch indoors all afternoon.

2024-10-22 17:13:57 UTC

- reply

This morning when I got to the main road, my brain went “Oh no, look at the traffic... oh, you’re on a bike you idiot, go round it” 😂

2024-10-22 16:17:48 UTC

- reply

It’s much nicer with proper cycle lanes. Leicester is actually my home town, and in the mid 90s I used to cycle from Evington to WQE college every day too.

2024-10-22 16:14:26 UTC

- reply

Same here in Leeds. If I want to get to my office in the city centre for 8:30, from home about 5 miles out, I would need to set off at 7:30 for the bus, 7:45 in the car or 8:10 on my bike.

2024-10-22 06:13:10 UTC

- reply

It’s not particularly difficult, fortunately.

2024-10-22 05:51:16 UTC

- reply

Good idea. My MU80 is hooked up to the digital piano at the moment. Did you replace the internal battery yet?

2024-10-21 21:59:21 UTC

- reply

Triplets!!
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/347/654/780/774/374/original/3ade205a279ea7d6.jpeg

2024-10-21 21:55:32 UTC

- reply

Doom???! A tiny bit overkill for Doom, but yeah it’s kind of weird how most hardware from the last 15 or so years is still quite usable. It’s almost as if hardware got “good enough” a decade ago. My wife’s iMac is 12 years old. The only thing I’ve changed is putting an SSD in it. Fastest machine I own is my work M2 MBP, but I run a full dev stack on it so it needs a some speed.

2024-10-20 14:32:11 UTC

- reply

Doggles, surely 😎

2024-10-18 23:36:50 UTC

- reply

Amiga A4000?

2024-10-18 22:57:54 UTC

- reply

It’s always interesting to hear what kit people have running at home 24/7 for self hosting. I have a couple of Lenovo ThinkCenter M700 Tiny machines for firewall and web/mail.

2024-10-18 12:46:21 UTC

- reply

Manchester were happy to check ISO 800 and above, as they have the old scanners. I only had ISO 200 with me so they didn't check and said it'd be OK, which it was.

2024-10-18 11:31:50 UTC

- reply

They replied! It's not a problem apparently, which is great news.
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/328/197/999/635/468/original/3afcc44b2649f536.png

2024-10-18 11:26:38 UTC

- reply

LBA has the Clearscan ones, shown at the top of that video thumbnail.

2024-10-18 11:24:04 UTC

- reply

Manchester were prepared to hand check ISO 800 and above when I flew in August, but they don’t have CT scanners. They seemed clued up about it. I’m flying out via Stansted in a couple of weeks, and they don’t have CT as far as I know, so probably no need to hand check. If I hear back from LBA I’ll let you know what they say. If they confirm that they will hand check, I’ll publish it for anyone to refer to.

2024-10-18 06:47:48 UTC

Last week I flew out of Leeds Bradford Airport, and their new scanners allow you to keep liquids in your bag. Unfortunately, I realised too late that they’re CT scanners and didn’t ask for my film to be hand checked. It was 400 ISO colour film. I will be super annoyed if the scanners have ruined it. I’ve contacted #lba customer services, their press office and the scanner manufacturer for comment and had no response. #filmphotography #believeinfilm #analogphotography #travel

2024-10-16 14:58:45 UTC

- reply

I agree.

2024-10-16 11:29:58 UTC

These #cookies popus that enumerate the cookies and report on the total number really do bother me. Does nobody operating these sites stop and wonder *why* they’re sharing data with 195 3rd parties? What could they possibly be trying to achieve? #privacy #web #enshittification
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/316/867/294/094/905/original/ba2fda26a60a925b.jpeg

2024-10-15 07:05:53 UTC

- reply

Wise move. They were never going to stick to the approved plans anyway, so nip that shit in the bud early.

2024-10-14 21:13:10 UTC

- reply

Oh yes I know, I’ve been following. But flat film is infinitely easier to deal with that curly stuff, regardless of what you’re trying to do with it.

2024-10-14 21:08:46 UTC

- reply

Curl is thine enemy. After I develop, I hang it to dry and then roll it emulsion side out to about a diameter of 4cm and pop it into 100ml glass lab beaker overnight. Then I scan with an Epson 4490, which is old but good enough for me.

2024-10-14 20:54:17 UTC

- reply

Amazing. I used to visit my local ISP in about 1994 to pay my subscription in cash. They literally had a cupboards sized office with a single 64k leased line and a stack of modems just like that. Good times!

2024-10-14 20:40:40 UTC

- reply

Also from Morley, and was hoping never to hear of her ever again. An absolute embarrassment indeed.

2024-10-14 07:44:25 UTC

- reply

I like the idea of two different horn sounds. For a while I had a car horn on my e-bike as well as a bell. Pedestrians in the bike lane got a gentle ring, cars got a HONK, which was genuinely hilarious watching them trying to figure out where the other car was as I rode past.

2024-10-14 07:39:16 UTC

- reply

Same! On my graphing calculator when I was bored in maths class in about ‘95.

2024-10-13 16:41:27 UTC

- reply

I have a plastic box of assorted 20mm fuses for this sort of occasion. It was about £4 off eBay and has more fuses than I’ll ever need.

2024-10-12 13:57:40 UTC

- reply

wash the last bit out with hot water and put it in your gravy

2024-10-11 20:11:25 UTC

- reply

It is illegal. There are no exceptions for taxis. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5b2d09bae5274a55bb5790cb/payment-surcharges-guidance-update.pdf

2024-10-11 20:01:49 UTC

- reply

Saw OMD a couple of years ago as the support act to A-Ha. They’re brilliant live. Sorry Morten, OMD were miles better.

2024-10-10 23:13:25 UTC

- reply

Yes, LOAD DATA INFILE is rather slow. Our monthly PAF import at $day job takes about 20 minutes for 30m rows on a beefy Aurora cluster. No service interruption because we use a staging table and then a rename. M

2024-10-10 21:03:25 UTC

#northernlights clearly visible over #leeds right now

2024-10-10 20:06:51 UTC

- reply

My ISP doesn’t block it, and it’s still usable with an ad blocker. But you’re right that it used to be a lot better.

2024-10-10 19:42:27 UTC

- reply

Pretty sure we still do have the boat site?

2024-10-09 22:05:08 UTC

I do believe I’m starting to get the hang of RA4 printing. How very satisfying it is too. #believeinfilm #filmphotography #darkroom #analogphotography #ra4 #leeds
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/279/726/990/226/158/original/e608717784ae1865.jpeg

2024-10-09 18:41:42 UTC

- reply

And yet, the party of “fiscal responsibility” and “the economy” balks at the very thought of it.

2024-10-08 18:28:41 UTC

- reply

Contractor 1: The options are 90, 180 or 270. Which do I pick again?
Contractor 2: Eh, probably doesn’t matter.

2024-10-08 18:09:53 UTC

- reply

Always amazes me that this kind of signage runs in a browser on garbage OSes. Here’s Manchester Airport baggage claim trying and failing to do an update instead of telling me where my suitcase is.
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/273/140/765/243/877/original/1b0ac818b5561a24.jpeg

2024-10-08 08:55:59 UTC

- reply

A few pictures of #Leeds landmarks I took for a project. 10/n
📷 Minolta Dynax 7xi + 70-210 "Beercan" lens
🎞️ Kodak Gold 200
#believeinfilm #filmphotography
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/270/963/743/593/591/original/3939fc79f0fda63f.jpg

2024-10-08 08:55:36 UTC

- reply

A few pictures of #Leeds landmarks I took for a project. 9/n
📷 Minolta Dynax 7xi + 70-210 "Beercan" lens
🎞️ Kodak Gold 200
#believeinfilm #filmphotography
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/270/960/647/611/608/original/894e098cb3759494.jpg

2024-10-08 08:54:48 UTC

- reply

A few pictures of #Leeds landmarks I took for a project. 8/n
📷 Minolta Dynax 7xi + 70-210 "Beercan" lens
🎞️ Kodak Gold 200
#believeinfilm #filmphotography
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/270/958/268/615/435/original/0c8138464bb54a9a.jpg

2024-10-08 08:44:59 UTC

- reply

A few pictures of #Leeds landmarks I took for a project. 7/n
📷 Minolta Dynax 7xi + 70-210 "Beercan" lens
🎞️ Kodak Gold 200
#believeinfilm #filmphotography
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/270/919/401/395/440/original/d9022b77427e5158.jpg

2024-10-08 08:43:48 UTC

- reply

A few pictures of #Leeds landmarks I took for a project. 6/n
📷 Minolta Dynax 7xi + 70-210 "Beercan" lens
🎞️ Kodak Gold 200
#believeinfilm #filmphotography
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/270/914/415/624/000/original/4722d6a7bb1f1720.jpg

2024-10-08 08:42:44 UTC

- reply

A few pictures of #Leeds landmarks I took for a project. 5/n
📷 Minolta Dynax 7xi + 70-210 "Beercan" lens
🎞️ Kodak Gold 200
#believeinfilm #filmphotography
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/270/911/272/811/434/original/3bb3c7baede22a4b.jpg

2024-10-08 08:42:06 UTC

- reply

A few pictures of #Leeds landmarks I took for a project. 4/n
📷 Minolta Dynax 7xi + 70-210 "Beercan" lens
🎞️ Kodak Gold 200
#believeinfilm #filmphotography
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/270/909/164/855/563/original/2ebf7c36c29d9447.jpg

2024-10-08 08:41:33 UTC

- reply

A few pictures of #Leeds landmarks I took for a project. 3/n
📷 Minolta Dynax 7xi + 70-210 "Beercan" lens
🎞️ Kodak Gold 200
#believeinfilm #filmphotography
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/270/906/536/221/775/original/a7039d61246a5455.jpg

2024-10-08 08:40:56 UTC

- reply

A few pictures of #Leeds landmarks I took for a project. 2/n
📷 Minolta Dynax 7xi + 70-210 "Beercan" lens
🎞️ Kodak Gold 200
#believeinfilm #filmphotography
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/270/904/749/528/628/original/926e8b18eff2093a.jpg

2024-10-05 07:45:25 UTC

- reply

Are you absolutely sure that’s what’s happened? The winder mechanism on 35s is dependant on the shutter release state because it also re-cocks the shutter spring. What happens if you turn the film rewind knob? Does it eventually tighten up?