2026-05-03T05:29:10Z https://yabu.me Paul https://yabu.me/npub1yslhdmayhshjsyazvttrtrxcsy794p0c7s8vdl2j85v4unumh5kqspt2sa https://cdn.masto.host/socialxk7net/accounts/avatars/114/400/335/438/559/090/original/5b4a68b4c114f662.png https://cdn.masto.host/socialxk7net/accounts/avatars/114/400/335/438/559/090/original/5b4a68b4c114f662.png https://yabu.me/nevent1qqswl79kt73f6u6cva9dy5a5j06dcfrmd962fgg2g6kgynrd0d3flhqzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jc9wlxsc TIL: JavaScript&#39;s Date is zero-indexed for months, so month 4 (April) is actually month 5 (May). I have just lost an hour trying to debug a problem because of this.<br/><br/>#JavaScript 2026-04-21T10:34:44Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs07xjyq3ju4wrvdhhnaawa8pw92pl3lstwul7qdyl987xpkvl7ztczyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jczrv37a In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsg6dy2yn0nv8savkt7qnkqpcw0e0k7vuccjupvkxa30grw03c0zsglc9zxv'>nevent1q…9zxv</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Lytham St Annes has a lot of cycle routes, an independent cycle shop and an active cycle club. It is pricey though as it&#39;s where all the rich old people go to retire, and it has a lot of golf courses. 😀 2026-04-04T12:19:31Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqspf2ldfgckplfzt05gqquzr0xsf8at777pv8m4k8wnshz2e4d8yxczyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcssvpm0 Has anyone heard of or had experience with Our Future Health? I&#39;ve received a letter from them with NHS branding (I thought it was an appointment letter based on the envelope), but they&#39;re actually an independent charity doing health research.<br/><br/>I am a bit sceptical about their data security in particular as they talk about &#39;de-identification&#39; by removing things like your name and address, which isn&#39;t necessarily the same as anonymisation. They also don&#39;t give you feedback on your samples. 2026-03-25T09:08:13Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsd00lsvx3psrzhwazmgx5vlnsqvy8n6t6s475gwu4vg0z5qk7nl7szyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jclcuqlg One disadvantage of being a transport nerd is that not only do I get the frustration everyone else does from delays etc., but also the frustration of thinking about all the ways it could be done more efficiently.<br/><br/>This toot brought to you by me having to wait 1 hour to board a tram because the transport operator didn&#39;t plan for the 3rd largest stadium disgorging over 70,000 people at the same time, many of whom decided to use public transport. 2026-02-01T18:48:29Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsw8dy09ehk3zhynu53u6s30czjaj84rgw9xd2zdrtn0c7rhl5y49szyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jc6yqu0y PSA: If you have a postal vote in England (and possibly other parts of the UK), you now have to renew it every 3 years instead of it being indefinite. The deadline for most existing postal voters is 31st January - if you don&#39;t renew by then your postal vote will be cancelled. You can renew online, but it&#39;s not automatic and you have to wait for approval.<br/><br/>This is to stop &#39;voter fraud&#39;, which is practically non-existent in the UK.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote">https://www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote</a> 2026-01-05T08:40:10Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsq9jntl0vrtsa5dv370k47vctcckxf8crlmx72svkxty8du6f3a4czyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcut78v9 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs0az0gyefqajtdsnjg6d0jq32jtfsa9k8ktx4779t72tcrjepynfspckxn5'>nevent1q…kxn5</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>It certainly has some advantages - I can use it to nudge users into finally signing up for MFA (&#39;this is a good idea&#39; vs &#39;you must do this because a Higher Power says so&#39;). 2025-12-05T15:25:18Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsymwslkcapffn5jt5e97flj3xsfpdntlfewnkjzzm99tvullqyc7szyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcrf2nj5 &#34;Backing up your data is not a technical requirement of Cyber Essentials&#34;<br/><br/>WTF?! Backups are absolutely essential, if you&#39;re claiming to do cyber security without backups then you&#39;re a fool.<br/><br/>(this is the first line in CE 3.3 / April 2026 after the introduction and definitions of terms) 2025-12-05T08:36:45Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs9l6qp5d80f606qwyn6urwd3s9x9gqk49xc2cjevyzxd0cfsa6uyczyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jchrv4yh I seem to be in the minority (if polls are to believed) in thinking that trial by jury is not a particularly good idea:<br/><br/>&#34;Let&#39;s get 12 random people with no legal background, no training on unconscious bias etc., and give them the decision of whether someone is guilty or not. Oh and we&#39;ll leave them out of pocket too, so they&#39;ll want to wrap things up ASAP.&#34;<br/><br/>Yes judges have their problems (bias, lack of diversity), but at least they can have training and experience and are committed to the role 2025-11-20T13:03:17Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsg2pmhj2q3ja27v4qksy8rsz8rpgkvwdpm77apdwv5arsesx7nshszyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcvqysdk Still struggling to find a secondary hosting provider in the UK who meets the following criteria:<br/><br/>1. Dedicated hosting (i.e. a server to ourselves)<br/><br/>2. Managed hosting (OS-level security updates, monitoring for disk use, failure etc.)<br/><br/>3. Enough members of staff to be resilient (not a one-person business)<br/><br/>4. Front-line staff who answer tickets know what they&#39;re talking about<br/><br/>5. Small enough to care about fellow SMEs<br/><br/>6. Not Mythic Beasts (because they&#39;re the primary provider) 2025-11-13T15:01:45Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqspl5mw6zw5h8xjgylz73z7tctsq0h553yeayte7jnk3y0z3n6x87czyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcr0s633 UK gov: I wonder how we can improve schools and make lives easier for teachers?<br/><br/>Teachers: Reduced workloads, better pay, clamp down on violence in classrooms.<br/><br/>UK gov: How about... attendance targets generated by AI?<br/><br/>Teachers: WTF?<br/><br/><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/nov/12/all-schools-in-england-to-be-given-ai-generated-pupil-attendance-targets">https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/nov/12/all-schools-in-england-to-be-given-ai-generated-pupil-attendance-targets</a> 2025-11-12T11:36:03Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqstm3d648n3h5hd8hcskdjdntz0fze4tce7ndzsf4qcyfazjmcxvpqzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jclqh69l Can anyone recommend a UK-based freelancer / micro-business who helps other freelancers to market their business? I am rubbish at this and have also seen a tail-off in enquiries via my website now that search engines serve up my technical blog posts as AI summaries so no one needs to click through to my site.<br/><br/>Looking for recommendations that people have actually used, rather than &#39;my mate Dave says he&#39;s great at this&#39;. 2025-10-15T11:13:52Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsrrsg7nvdanmq603a5ux4tt0v4f9u2amfzlkuag97gr27vngdk3uczyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcmsh8cs In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsxpmy7t7g2qcjzwjgugnang8p0tk6tc862hz2tu937ypqtp44s05sp2tsvx'>nevent1q…tsvx</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I don&#39;t even understand the cost-effectiveness argument. If a vaccine costs £100 to administer (I&#39;m using the cost of getting it privately - presumably the NHS cost is lower since they buy in bulk and aren&#39;t trying to make a profit), then even if vaccination prevents 1 case of Long Covid for every 1,000 people vaccinated, that&#39;s £100,000 to prevent a case of Long Covid. That feels worthwhile, given the cost to the economy and health service. 2025-10-07T11:03:29Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsxpmy7t7g2qcjzwjgugnang8p0tk6tc862hz2tu937ypqtp44s05szyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcympthj I really struggle to understand the reasoning of the JCVI when it comes to them deciding (technically advising but their advice has always been followed) who is eligible for a free vaccination in the UK.<br/><br/>They are experts but they also seem to think that Covid is now a &#39;relatively mild disease for most people&#39;. There is zero mention of Long Covid in their statement, even though numerous studies show that vaccination probably reduces the likelihood of developing it.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026-jcvi-advice/jcvi-statement-on-covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026-jcvi-advice/jcvi-statement-on-covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026</a> 2025-10-07T10:57:16Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs98t8xp0v48g3zywz0xds6ve80t4z9n5052smyu4lyclrvxsnxhmqzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcq6xsy7 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsrzsq7dets7jgm44eu0trkpru05wfxwxyl9gwkrvqf33eu4x5kejc2xej8j'>nevent1q…ej8j</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I really wish I still had access to the University so I could download these for free! 2025-09-24T11:58:48Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsgl0xkccvdjnzmngse7t0ql7d93vkct9jnla7efz6cy7gx4vyrksszyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcvgpe5m In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8qc2nkm8htjffww8v55ygwpeqqhkqjmadu8656nc7nw68yp2qcjcqxd8fm'>nevent1q…d8fm</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Thanks, I&#39;ll take a look at that.<br/><br/>I want mostly maths - I can always pick up the programming side. 2025-09-24T09:27:18Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsz9rgk8utfq3cefsqu729az5855q6secpp77lnmtzz7kv8fr8atrczyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jc4xjue5 Can anyone recommend a good book on data analysis which assumes that you know how to program but have forgotten most of the maths / stats you were taught at school?<br/><br/>I am likely to be doing some of this in the near future but a lot of books seem to assume you&#39;re a stats expert who wants to learn Python or R, rather than the other way round.<br/><br/>(I learn best from books rather than videos or websites)<br/><br/>#bookstodon #DataAnalysis 2025-09-24T09:18:23Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsfs3lj58ydchsvqlvahcuf4ugj4jrn3ggsjawfzu4ursynkdvm3tqzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jc8y7t62 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8awl8lfwh26d22xfek597kaqltdxjq0ml6tgfqmqxwdeqz2cxygcza94uj'>nevent1q…94uj</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>might be able to? 2025-09-17T15:41:45Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsf50qwcuu2yd3dr6cquzghsyxacqhrdx285rx847ddvvgyjjxu49szyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jc7zc27t In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsxpryr8k683jead0sfvhv0ug2v8q46c4fl869r8xdslj94w2rh4yq8hywcx'>nevent1q…ywcx</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Their furniture is still big and heavy, even if they deliver it. I want things that will fit in my flat and I can move unaided. 2025-09-12T18:16:01Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsq86cupsfs0sy4p25ddgrwwzky4ng4crjrswwwygyl0wmh52ns5aszyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcj8ynyv Business idea: small lightweight furniture for people who live alone in flats and can&#39;t fit a massive TV stand in their room or carry it unaided (like me). 2025-09-12T17:13:54Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsv5y634nnsxzzgjug9qahsx50wzdax8n3rvne7p94tccpghlrep2szyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jc3mgsra Has anyone done a systematic, wide-ranging evaluation of making public transport free to everyone? There would be a loss of fare revenue but I can think of lots of upsides:<br/><br/>1. Shorter dwell times = lower fuel costs<br/><br/>2. Fewer road accidents = saving to NHS and economy<br/><br/>3. Faster journeys due to reduced congestion<br/><br/>4. Lower air pollution = saves the NHS money on respiratory conditions<br/><br/>5. More people using = can charge advertisers higher rates<br/><br/>Would these offset the loss of fare revenue? 2025-09-10T11:47:12Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqspr4uhpq2pcla2p3nhdjz7tayx5q3rjql06u2azqpedp6jau82cdgzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcg8lgp4 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqswte9pmstz64uacgzfnra386x075ld767g3atcsflw4ypygp3m50cmcx42y'>nevent1q…x42y</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Yeah ebooks.com are really strict unfortunately and won&#39;t even entertain a refund. I bought again from the publisher who gave me one without DRM (but watermarked with my name so they know who has shared it).<br/><br/>Of course, I went looking for a discount code and got several results giving me a pirated version of the PDF... 2025-08-16T13:47:40Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsvnxcj7vza7zxc3pzfewlntvnl7pr9l453s68ew0u4w9q0zdqq8zszyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcs0xekv In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsf39za9n2lal0ufatrkaqazq7f5v0t4wrfcsw0rp9h4l0wtpns77qr0z8j2'>nevent1q…z8j2</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>It&#39;s particularly sneaky as the format used is Adobe Content Server Message, which isn&#39;t even a copy of the book - it&#39;s just a link to it. So when you &#39;download&#39; the book from the orders page you don&#39;t even get the book itself, just a link to the book. 2025-08-16T10:10:22Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsf39za9n2lal0ufatrkaqazq7f5v0t4wrfcsw0rp9h4l0wtpns77qzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcg72q6w Kicking myself for not checking the formats of a book from ebooks.com. All the ones I&#39;ve bought in the past have included a DRM-free PDF, but this one only has ePub + DRM, which means I officially* can&#39;t read it on Linux.<br/><br/>I should have checked so my fault, but it also feels very sneaky and it will be some time before I trust them again.<br/><br/>* yes I know about Calibre, I dislike this buyer-hostile approach though 2025-08-16T10:07:30Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsya4eu94dd4nekfqkrdkyf4a068rjjewsa8gcdm7w3z6skr8llswgzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcrfehh8 Can anyone recommend a reliable UK based hosting provider that isn&#39;t <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1wy538vq2ezvhg6vge72fdh4nnyk2l78hesm20pf84te3n260yngqud64vc" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Mythic Beasts</span> (<span class="italic">npub1wy5…64vc</span>)</a></span>? I have clients on Mythic who are happy with the service but need backups kept elsewhere in case Mythic disappear (low likelihood but high impact).<br/><br/>Basically someone like Mythic (UK, competent, front-line engineers who actually know what things like DNS are and don&#39;t try and blame the customer) but independent. 2025-08-14T10:31:11Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqstrxewjej6vj09vn0ncrg8lvpn3spv2hlmv5qz3kat6s2pt2ndmmczyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcc66v3j Great walk today through Lyme Park in Disley (ok I may be biased as the group princeps and primus inter pares). Bit too hot in parts but enough shade not to overheat completely and I picked up second hand books (COVID by Numbers, Thatcherism and British Politics). Nice, albeit rushed, pub lunch and just made the return train. And we had a new person !<br/><br/>If you&#39;d like to come on future walks, the mailing list is:<br/><br/><a href="https://lists.geekwalks.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/geek-walks">https://lists.geekwalks.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/geek-walks</a><br/><br/>#manchester #walks #walking 2025-07-12T16:09:38Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqszvfrecg2dxp057fqdgv7kvqfh54g2txfx3zdw3kyyz4gjaragpvgzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcxuen8d TfGM have totally underestimated the number of people travelling to Oasis (I&#39;m not sure how, it&#39;s not like it&#39;s a secret how many tickets were sold). Thankfully I know that you can get on the tram from the other side and didn&#39;t get caught in the chaos as they tried to funnel everyone through one route. And they&#39;re not even trying to enforce the &#39;no alcohol&#39; rule.<br/><br/>#manchester 2025-07-12T15:19:46Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs0f9m2cvulph4afva09c9smv0fjkhy0gshrgfc6xfeey7u03nfphqzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcy8vauy In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsp95n98fzqevv2yluv0elh5c7yth4gmh7unr9sw4zwf5lfv4xtfzgh3ykdc'>nevent1q…ykdc</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I don&#39;t count my calories (maybe I should, I wasn&#39;t aware of its effect on cholesterol) but I don&#39;t feel hungry and I eat three meals a day.<br/><br/>My weight does bounce around a lot in percentage terms, but that&#39;s partly from a low base.<br/><br/>I just find the whole weight / health thing tricky as nearly all the advice is how to lose weight rather than maintain a healthy weight. 2025-07-04T09:24:43Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsxacr2s07nf4ulta3699qauf6pjkdxk6e0xy6ausc4p46hm30qhxgzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcyztraa I was told a couple of months ago to lower my LDL cholesterol because it is &#39;too high&#39; (only just, and all the other measurements are fine, e.g. triglycerides).<br/><br/>But I am struggling because I like cheese, cake and chocolate, and they are all high in saturated fat and the RDA is 20g.<br/><br/>Can anyone recommend sweet treats and cheeses that aren&#39;t high in saturated fat? Ideally ones I can buy as I lack the patience or enthusiasm for making food from scratch (yes bad I know). 2025-07-01T11:33:12Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsz9mlcrzf2nc5mvhrmhmmzsp8hr8u2ag6x9rl9hwnv9duhzw8jj7szyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jc07p0s9 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqswkgnzrwt7aq07vc80wghdqhjz0jueavxcsyhpk2v2q0zl8ntpwpgy3p8jl'>nevent1q…p8jl</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I really hope we get the forecast rain today. The temperature in my flat has risen by 1 degree every day this week and nothing seems to bring it down. At least it&#39;s the weekend so I don&#39;t have to switch my computer on, which would generate even more heat. 2025-06-21T07:23:39Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqswkgnzrwt7aq07vc80wghdqhjz0jueavxcsyhpk2v2q0zl8ntpwpgzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jcznaknm Struggling to function today, it&#39;s been getting hotter and hotter, high humidity, very high pollen count. I don&#39;t know how to get the temperature in my flat down - opening the windows brings in more hot air and using a fan just pushes the air around. 🥵<br/><br/>Edit: I live in a town centre flat, opening windows at night isn&#39;t an option (ground floor + too much noise) 2025-06-20T10:06:03Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsvps2dyf9lvymvvxhys9a5trcxwdvhdaypuy4057jgaqglaa722gqzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jczfsj64 If you&#39;re planning on travelling south from Manchester Piccadilly by train in August, be aware that Stockport station is closed for most of the month (2-23) and there will be no trains running through it at all. Given how key Stockport is to that part of the WCML, this will create total chaos and is best avoided if possible.<br/><br/>Also there are no Metrolink trams to Piccadilly from most of the network from this week until mid-August (overlapping with the Stockport work).<br/><br/>#trains #manchester 2025-06-13T07:51:49Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqszv6g88qml8td9q207tza77r3xt5papp9a30855w3qwlsvjaw6gggzyqjr7ah05j7z72qn5f3dvdvvmzqnck59lr6qa3ha2g73jhj0nw7jc7xfh87 Currently dealing with a big hosting provider that not only charges you for &#39;SSL&#39; certificates, but also makes you install them yourself. They also tell you only to use SSL for sensitive pages, because it&#39;s slow, and it takes up to 24 hours for a DNS change to take effect (on their nameservers, not globally). 2025-04-29T12:50:25Z