Neil Brown

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.

💚 means I am empathising / supportive.

#NoBot / #NoSearch / #NoIndex / #NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoTheresNoLimit

Public Key

npub1waxkzn4ulrap2d5qtluxhkl8wcl5lye7y9sg79958s43j9hnsspsqdx0yw

NIP-05 Address

neil@mastodon-neilzone-co-uk.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs8wntpf67037s4x6q9l7rtm0nhv060jvlzzcy0zj6rc2cezmecgqcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds7d6u3t

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1waxkzn4ulrap2d5qtluxhkl8wcl5lye7y9sg79958s43j9hnsspsqdx0yw

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Last Notes

2026-04-09 11:36:24 UTC

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@nprofile…6ry5
"Neil wore pants to the meeting, so £3,000 for pants"

2026-04-09 09:37:02 UTC

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@nprofile…tdff
Do I read this correctly, that you recognise that you are breaching the UK GDPR, through failure to comply with Article 28, but nevertheless you are willing to proceed on a "risk" basis?
(For what it is worth, I'd have thought that the risk of enforcement action or a claim from a data subject is indeed incredibly low.)

2026-04-08 16:29:16 UTC

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@nprofile…q5hl
No?
Am I misunderstanding?

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

2026-04-06 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 @nprofile…lgr3'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 16:37:31 UTC

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"Mastodon" is a perfectly fine name.
There is no single Mastodon. This is a massive strength.
"Toots" is much better than "posts".
Where is everyone? Here! Loads of you. I have a feed full of fun and fascinating chat.
Apps are great. I like Tusky on Android, and the advanced / multi-column web interface or toot tui on my computer.

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.

2026-04-05 05:50:58 UTC

Neil has risen today.

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

2026-04-03 18:33:38 UTC

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No shade on anyone who, by dint of their circumstances, needs to move from deal to deal to get the cheapest price. But it is a mess that this needs to be an annual exercise in haggling and moving, as this penalises those who struggle with such things.

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, @aaisp, 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 15:12:35 UTC

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@nprofile…0ufy
Excellent!
Given what you do, I guess I'm surprised that that kind of networking is a thing, but that probably just shows my naivety.
I am reliant on my good looks, charm, and social media / blog posts...

2026-04-03 15:02:36 UTC

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@nprofile…0ufy @nprofile…k36z
But, honestly, I am rubbish at marketing.

2026-04-03 15:02:07 UTC

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@nprofile…0ufy @nprofile…k36z
> for business development (bringing in work) which it doesn't do - it just fills my inbox with emails from recruiters trying to get me interested in a job for half the pay I'm on now at the other side of the country.
Exactly this.
I know that some people here have found it useful for bringing in work, but I certainly did not.

2026-04-03 14:55:13 UTC

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@nprofile…k36z @nprofile…0ufy
Oh, this particular one was about LinkedIn and Chrome, and getting a list of browser extensions.
But, more generally, LinkedIn is a cesspit, IMHO:
https://neilzone.co.uk/2023/06/why-i-suspended-my-linkedin-account/

2026-04-03 14:10:12 UTC

While I am not enamoured with Ubiquiti generally (although I don't have a good idea for a replacement), I really can't grumble about these Ubiquiti point to point radios.
My neighbour and I set them up 5.5 years ago, roughly pointing them at each other, and aside from rebooting them perhaps once every couple of years, they have Just Worked, at ~600Mbit.
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/341/169/310/485/541/original/59ea89425a5edf94.jpg

2026-04-03 09:00:50 UTC

I am amazed that LinkedIn is not great for privacy.
Shocked, I tell you.

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 19:29:15 UTC

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And, yes:
> Unlike the bulk of internet commenters, Brown is a real solicitor and does not merely play one on the internet.
It me.

2026-04-02 19:28:00 UTC

# Forking frenzy ensues after launch of Euro-Office
By @nprofile…x7ye
This whole thing rather baffles me, and the twists and turns in Liam's comprehensive analysis show why. What a mess.
https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/02/eurooffice_forks_onlyoffice/

2026-04-02 15:52:25 UTC

Right, so what are you lot up to for the long weekend?
I have some plumbing to do, and I would quite like to pressure wash the patio, and I have a day's Airsoft on Sunday :)

2026-04-02 08:27:41 UTC

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Perhaps I should change careers and become Head of Questionable Slogans somewhere.

2026-04-02 08:23:08 UTC

I have just noticed that one cannot spell "artists" without "ass" and "tit", and immediately I thought of @nprofile…mt92.

2026-04-02 05:46:14 UTC

Apparently tomorrow is a holiday!

2026-04-01 18:21:50 UTC

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@nprofile…tdff
There is a lack of transparency information. It would be worth explaining why you need each field, and how you will use it, as well as the other information required by the UK GDPR. You could link out to a document containing this, if you did not want to include it in the form.
Iif you ask for someone's name, why do you also need "given name"? Isn't their "name" (or preferred name) sufficient?
If you require both "given name" and "last name", then you likely exclude people who do not go by their "given name", as well as those who have only one name.
Why do you need a home address?

2026-04-01 06:59:32 UTC

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@nprofile…kxem I am broadly content that, as long as my toots are not too sexy (and I can't help the way that I look, obviously!), what I write and boost does not bring my service within the scope of the OSA.
I have done what I reasonably can in terms of people being able to use my instance to access other people's content.

2026-03-31 16:10:59 UTC

In the light of today's confirmation decisions from Ofcom, I have updated my blogpost about what constitutes a "significant" number of users for the purposes of Part 3 #OnlineSafetyAct
Nothing ground-breaking in there, tbh.
But I do have concerns around some of the "target market" analysis, in terms of pornography services.
https://decoded.legal/blog/2026/03/what-number-of-uk-users-constitutes-a-significant-number-for-the-purposes-of-the-online-safety-act-2023/

2026-03-31 06:42:12 UTC

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Practical thoughts:
1) actively encourage trans people into your community and spaces. Be explicitly clear that they are welcome.
2) promote and enforce robust codes of conduct, and ask for this in events to which you contribute.
3) report anti-trans content to your own instance admins, and to the hosting instance admin if it makes sense to do so.
4) buy stuff (if you are in a position to do so) from trans people. Loads of trans people in the fediverse have small shops selling cool bits and pieces (drawings, books, jewellery, and more).
5) if you control the design of forms and systems, do not collect gender information unless necessary (and I don't have a good example of when this might be, but someone might)
6) push back against laws and policies which discriminate against, or make life harder for, trans people. Write to your MP, and be vocal in your support.
#TransDayOfVisibility

2026-03-31 06:30:16 UTC

Today is the annual #TransDayOfVisibility.
*waves at all the lovely trans people here*. I am delighted to share this space with you.
There is still so much more than we - cis people - can and must do to make the world safer and friendlier for trans people.

2026-03-30 18:06:33 UTC

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Not to be confused with:
* Op. 1, Rondo in C minor
* Op. 2, Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, in B♭ major, for piano and orchestra
* Op. 3, Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major for cello and piano
Which is, of course, a Chopin list.

2026-03-30 17:57:54 UTC

They see "an overview of gen AI tools".
I see "slopping list".

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/

2026-03-30 10:18:41 UTC

GrapheneOS runs very nicely on the Pixel Tablet.
I got a good deal, a while back, for what I think was an ex-school device, and it is a joy.

2026-03-29 17:02:32 UTC

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@nprofile…pdkv Immich comes close to that, I think.

2026-03-29 16:13:52 UTC

I spent a pleasant day in the woods, getting sweaty and muddy.
Sadly, this is about the only exercise that I do.
I finally - after carrying it around for several games - got to use my blank firing grenade. And... I missed :(

2026-03-29 06:49:24 UTC

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As an aside, while I'll happily write here / blog about sex in the context of legal issues / Internet culture, or seaside postcard style jokes, I self-censor in pretty much all other contexts as I'm not at all sure that the people who regulate solicitors would approve. Even though it is only sex.

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.
@nprofile…lgr3 knocks it out the park again.
(Obvs, her blogpost contains sexual references.)
https://www.girlonthenet.com/blog/embarrassed-talk-about-sex/

2026-03-28 18:16:57 UTC

From a couple of weeks ago :)
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/308/164/515/652/332/original/c547aa25fecf238b.jpg

2026-03-28 16:55:42 UTC

New blogpost:
"Implementing the somewhat whimsical human.json protocol on my website"
A bit of whimsty, or a lust for human connection in a sea of slop?
https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/03/implementing-the-somewhat-whimsical-human-json-protocol-on-my-website/
#blog #humanJson #noAI

2026-03-28 13:36:12 UTC

Slightly related to @nprofile…f654's toots about keyboard layouts / key shapes (ANSI and ISO), I'd love it if my ThinkPad had blank keycaps.
Just... Nothing on them.

2026-03-28 09:24:36 UTC

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Updated with the latest batch of people who I reasonably feel that I could vouch for / know :)
https://neilzone.co.uk/human.json

2026-03-28 07:03:23 UTC

Apropos this toot, what does it mean to "know" someone?
The biblical sense of "having had sex with them"? No point me having a human.json file in that case, as that person doesn't have a website or blog...
To have met someone AFK? Knowing means more than meeting to me, and anyway AFK is (to me) irrelevant.
I know lots of people only by a pseudonym, which is obviously fine.
Hard to define, but I guess I know if I know someone, when I see them.

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 20:17:36 UTC

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It should be just "human.json"; I will fix that tomorrow.

2026-03-27 19:44:19 UTC

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Here is my first humans.json:
https://neilzone.co.uk/humans.json
And because I wanted an easy way to update it:
```
#!/bin/bash
set -euxo pipefail
FILE=/home/neil/neilzone_bssg/static/humans.json
URL="$1"
SANITISEDURL="$(echo "$URL" | sed 's/\//\\\//g')"
VOUCHEDDATE="$(date -I)"
COMMAND=".vouches += [{
\"url\": \"$SANITISEDURL\",
\"vouched_at\": \"$VOUCHEDDATE\",
}]"
jq "$COMMAND" "$FILE" > temp.json && mv temp.json "$FILE"
```

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)

2026-03-27 08:49:56 UTC

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@nprofile…0ufy Airsoft - so tiny little balls (no sniggering) pushed at lower power, rather than great big sodding balls with paint in them pushed at a much higher power.
It still stings at close range, but the pain is gone within a few seconds and, from a pain point of view (as opposed to it being annoying from a game play point of view, being "out"), I don't worry about it!

2026-03-27 08:38:32 UTC

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@nprofile…0ufy
That sounds like an excellent plan for the day.
Tomorrow is getting chores done, and then Sunday is a running around in the woods with toy guns day :)

2026-03-27 08:21:43 UTC

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@nprofile…0ufy Then I hope that your Friday looks up, and that you have some fun plans for the weekend!

2026-03-27 07:06:22 UTC

Happy Friday, everyone!

2026-03-26 19:43:43 UTC

I sometimes wonder what I would do were I no longer a lawyer (but assuming that I still needed to work).
Virtually none of the work I do actually requires me to be a solicitor. I don't tend to touch any "reserved" stuff. So I could just carry on as I am today. But that aside...
I don't know.
Perhaps three or four different things (businesses), rather than just one main thing?

2026-03-26 19:17:57 UTC

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I am, it seems, one of the relatively few (not zero, but few) lawyers who actually enjoys what they do...

2026-03-26 19:14:11 UTC

Today was a very heavy investigatory powers day for me, which I always find interesting.
I got to read some legislation that I had never read before (and I can only assume that the people on the other end of the query had not read it before either). I learned something new, which was fun.
I turned down a request for an interview for a national news channel, as I was not going to fit it in.

2026-03-26 19:10:10 UTC

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@nprofile…0ufy
> having a side-hustle as a glamour model wasn't compatible with my prospective future career
Boring!

2026-03-25 18:51:51 UTC

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@nprofile…sflv I may be missing something - what are the data that might be incorrect here?

2026-03-25 18:40:51 UTC

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@nprofile…a8rk And indeed it may well be based on political expectations / "futureproofing", rather than immediate legal requirements.
It does seem to have been launched poorly though, from what I've seen here.

2026-03-25 18:32:35 UTC

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@nprofile…a8rk
> The mandatory age verification stuff the UK is requiring
The legal basis for Apple's move is unclear to me.
The Online Safety Act does not (currently) apply to operating systems or app stores.

2026-03-25 18:17:08 UTC

I have every sympathy for people with Apple devices, who find that Apple has locked them out of functions / features.
That is a heck of a lot of money for a device which is not yours.
(No, "use a non-Android Linux-based phone" is not the answer for most people.)

2026-03-24 17:18:24 UTC

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I am mildly irked about this.
If they had said up front that they required an NDA, I would not have signed up in the first place.
To slip it into a "oh, please sign our consent form" document feels slippery, even if it was not intended to be.
Oh well. An hour back in my day tomorrow.

2026-03-24 17:03:53 UTC

I've volunteered to help with some user feedback / research, for a publicly-funded website.
I was asked to complete a consent form, for the interview to be recorded. I'm fine with that.
But in the consent form, there is a perpetual non-disclosure obligation, which has nothing to do with research consent:
> By signing this consent form you agree not to discuss the details of this research with any other persons or organisations via any means (electronic or otherwise) following your research interview.
So that is me out then.

2026-03-24 15:41:18 UTC

Running #BSSG on my laptop, rather than on a Raspberry Pi 4, takes ~3 minute, rather than ~7 minutes.
And if I turned off descriptions / excerpts generation, it would cut that down even further.
I might go down this path, rsyncing everything back to the webserver, rather than just rsyncing the post across to the webserver and building and deploying the site on the webserver.

2026-03-24 11:58:31 UTC

I have not done well enough at looking after myself for quite a while, so it is no surprise that I am feeling run down and under the weather generally :(

2026-03-24 10:10:13 UTC

Ofcom is consulting on changes to #OnlineSafetyAct illegal content risk assessment requirements, to introduce a new harm of "cyberflashing":
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/new-priority-offences-serious-self-harm-and-cyberflashing

2026-03-23 21:51:32 UTC

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@nprofile…fc9d Yikes. Hardware, or software?

2026-03-23 18:34:30 UTC

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My 2026 Linux experience:
External display: just works
Screen rotation: just works
Webcam (internal, external): just works
Audio (internal, external, Bluetooth): just works
Bluetooth: just works
Wi-Fi: just works
Ethernet: just works
WWAN (integrated cellular modem): just works
Printing: just works
#Linux #Debian #Gnome

2026-03-23 18:21:58 UTC

Perhaps it is because I have used Linux for quite a long time now, and it did not always work so well, but I still smile when I plug my laptop (Debian, Gnome, Wayland) into a Thunderbolt dock via USB-C shaped connector, and its display appears on multiple 4K monitors within a couple of seconds.
I unplug it, and it comes back to the laptop screen.
Screen rotation on my laptop works flawlessly.
Thank you - genuinely - to everyone who has worked on making this happen so seamlessly.

2026-03-23 09:00:44 UTC

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@nprofile…0ufy
And, well, lots of fedizens use ThinkPads, and the little red nub in the middle of the keyboard has various anatomical alternative names...
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/277/669/150/652/123/original/eae2eb12478d449e.jpg

2026-03-23 08:58:23 UTC

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@nprofile…0ufy
You are treading a well trodden path in the fediverse.
@nprofile…usaf is well known for posting arty/provocative photos of themself posing with an IBM Model M keyboard, for instance.

2026-03-23 08:55:39 UTC

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@nprofile…0ufy
> Am I going to get sucked into a matrix of vintage typewriter geekery?
It has already happened.
Resistance is futile.

2026-03-23 07:36:29 UTC

Welcome to the fediverse, in which @nprofile…0ufy shows a hand-drawn sketch of herself in a strappy top, looking pensive in front of a vintage typewriter.
Comments ask for more information about the typewriter.
https://kinkycats.org/@Jaimieserotica/116274152389937441

2026-03-22 07:53:57 UTC

The UK government is talking about "reviving high streets".
I don't go the town centre very often, as there is little that draws me to it. Coffee shops, charity shops, barbers shops. And, okay, a lovely indie board game shop, but I don't buy board games regularly.
My feeling is that a "high street", or "town centre", is an anachronism?
At least, I don't know what would have to change about our town centre, for me to want to go.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/high-streets-revived-and-children-given-safe-places-to-play

2026-03-21 20:50:31 UTC

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@nprofile…cmam
> 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 19:52:21 UTC

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@nprofile…nkdp Thanks. I would need to find out which features require an Internet connection!

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 18:19:56 UTC

I have had a successful afternoon fixing a broken Airsoft gun, a WW2 replica, for an upcoming game.
I have a nasty feeling that "buying broken electronics cheaply, and fixing them" has taken yet another turn.
In other news, the space underneath our bed looks like an armoury...

2026-03-21 14:18:09 UTC

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out some clothes before the sun moves round.
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/267/592/062/802/335/original/facdc18e357daf4e.jpg

2026-03-21 14:13:13 UTC

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But I have done it.
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/267/572/442/007/450/original/b23c537be00ad877.jpg

2026-03-21 14:00:33 UTC

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To think that I had to *go out and buy a new hole*.
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/267/522/508/670/166/original/9b916964f305d72a.jpg

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 09:41:54 UTC

New, written-by-a-human (indeed, a slightly grumpy human), blogpost:
"Moving (for now?) from HomeAssistant in Python venvs to HomeAssistantOS"
https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/03/moving-for-now-from-homeassistant-in-python-venvs-to-homeassistantos/
#Linux #HomeAssistant #blog

2026-03-20 07:10:43 UTC

You may, or may not, like my blogposts. That's fine. To each, their own.
But they are *my* blogposts, warts and all, with no AI involved.

2026-03-19 20:25:39 UTC

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@nprofile…tjh5 A noticeable impact!
For your interest, here is my Mastodon VLAN graph.
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/257/710/198/612/765/original/ce02620e84e93d3f.png

2026-03-19 19:21:06 UTC

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@nprofile…xr5j
configuring local firewall policies

2026-03-19 19:18:10 UTC

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@nprofile…xr5j
Control over system package updates (timing, and notifications).
A separate user account to allow ssh login for greenbone. This might be doable.
Installing the wazuh agent, for SIEM log collection.
nginx, for my usual reverse proxy installation.

2026-03-19 19:03:07 UTC

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Selfishly, I will not be affected by this, because I use a version of Android without Google - GrapheneOS.
But will be of little solace for the myriad users stuck with Google-flavoured Android, who did not agree to this ludicrous dance simply to be able to install software on their own phone.
#KeepAndroidOpen

2026-03-19 18:39:43 UTC

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@nprofile…a8rk
That would be annoying, as I want to avoid running the HAOS image.

2026-03-19 18:32:55 UTC

I am not sure that HomeAssistantOS is for me.
It feels as if it will be a constant battle to get it to do what I want.
I might - *sigh* - have to look at using a container instead.

2026-03-19 17:33:22 UTC

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"Give us money and data, or your users' experience will suck" is, apparently, "balance".

2026-03-19 17:31:36 UTC

Google: pay and register as a developer with us, or your users must wait a day after deciding to install your app.
No surprise that the alternative to handing over ID, money, and contractual agreement to Google is a hostile experience for users.
https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2026/03/android-developer-verification.html?m=1
#keepandroidopen

2026-03-19 11:19:34 UTC

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It is quite glorious here today.
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/255/562/966/773/975/original/88ee564c756a9879.jpg

2026-03-19 11:16:13 UTC

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I mean, technically, my office is Windows-less, but - fortunately - not windowless.

2026-03-19 11:15:32 UTC

For the first time this week, I am not working in a windowless room.
I may go and lie in the sunshine for a bit, and recharge.

2026-03-19 10:27:04 UTC

Ofcom has fined 4Chan just over £500,000, for alleged breaches of the #OnlineSafetyAct
I expect that the cheque will be in the post any day now.
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/investigation-into-4chan-and-its-compliance-with-duties-to-protect-its-users-from-illegal-content

2026-03-19 08:50:25 UTC

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From the press release, some rather use notes:
> request was made not for the purpose of being aware of the processing of the data and verifying the lawfulness of that processing, but with the intention, which may be
characterised as ‘abusive’, of artificially creating the conditions laid down for obtaining compensation under the GDPR.
(The ICO has long taken the view that SARs are "purpose-blind.)
and
> , in order to obtain ... compensation, the data subject must demonstrate, inter alia, that he or she has actually suffered such damage
(Sensible, by some data subjects seemingly overlook this.)

2026-03-19 08:48:11 UTC

Oooh...
> A request for access to one’s own personal data may be considered abusive and refused if it is made for the sole purpose of subsequently claiming compensation for an alleged infringement of the GDPR
(Case C-526/24 | Brillen Rottler)
#DataProtection #GDPR

2026-03-19 08:28:41 UTC

Is it just me, or is Ubiquiti still signing its Debian apt repository with SHA1?
c.f. https://community.ui.com/releases/Security-Advisory-Bulletin-062-062/c29719c0-405e-4d4a-8f26-e343e99f931b
#Unifi #Ubiquiti