🆎

🇬🇧🇹🇼 Solar, infosec, maker stuff, unlicensed pilot, avians, photography, science, ham radio M1AJB. In a personal capacity. GM at A&A | NED at LINX.

Blog: https://www.okcheersbye.co.uk
Old Twitter: twitter.com/alexbloor
Camera: Fuji X-H2S // X-100VI
Callsign: M1AJB

Public Key

npub1z23d8sfh0pe9zleml0qz3y8ws86sl020f45grqz0qf0f0wj28y3shfqh88

NIP-05 Address

bloor_at_bloor.tw@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsp9gkncymhsuj30ualhspgjrhgrag0h48566ypsp8syh5hhf9rjgcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsu8c2cq

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1z23d8sfh0pe9zleml0qz3y8ws86sl020f45grqz0qf0f0wj28y3shfqh88

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Last Notes

2026-07-17 15:24:25 UTC

Email into A&A technical support 7th July entitled : "Unable to access my Home Insurance policy".
Wrote back on the ticket, letting him know, wrong AA.
He emailed again **ON THE TICKET** 13th July : "As I have not had any communication..."
Wrote back again on the ticket, restating that he had the wrong AA.
Another email from him : "I have not had any updates from AAISP Technical Support Team since 07 July". So now he is asking AAISP for support for a home insurance policy. WILD.
My reply:
https://bloor.tw/system/media_attachments/files/116/936/006/228/142/695/original/b88cb4b0eb4e7455.png

2026-06-17 21:55:17 UTC

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No, it seems the Elegoo Neptune max claims to be able to resume but then makes no serious attempt; not heating anything up. Fuck. And I think I used too much of that reel to start again. Fucking fucking fucking fuck.
https://bloor.tw/system/media_attachments/files/116/767/671/931/734/958/original/0df9e12ff03a0d70.jpeg

2026-06-17 21:50:56 UTC

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ARGH power interruption. I switched on an aircon and the breaker popped. I think we have too many things with slight leakage on one side of our old split load board. Fuck. It’s interrupted the print. The printer is offering to continue where it left off, I’ll be impressed if it really can.

2026-06-17 19:42:58 UTC

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21% done.
https://bloor.tw/system/media_attachments/files/116/767/153/318/763/530/original/f72711bf9023f9ba.jpeg

2026-06-17 14:51:09 UTC

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This is a 168MB Gcode file. It's so big it won't load into Fluidd's web progress monitor thingy.

2026-06-17 14:50:01 UTC

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11% done.
https://bloor.tw/system/media_attachments/files/116/766/000/718/404/383/original/7f1872d91f9be08d.jpeg

2026-06-17 12:25:22 UTC

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I am sick and tired of my workshop vacuum cleaner's filter filling up and ruining performance. It's also an unpleasant job knocking the dust out, then jetting it with compressed air to fully clean it. This (should) just drop 90+% of the dust into an air tight bucket. What a win, if it works!

2026-06-17 12:24:08 UTC

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Five percent done. It’s a 40+ hour print.
https://bloor.tw/system/media_attachments/files/116/765/427/330/792/097/original/cdbbbaeefce4ed51.jpeg

2026-06-17 12:23:26 UTC

Today my 3d printer will mostly be quietly printing.... a dual cyclone dust separator.

2026-06-16 07:17:26 UTC

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I am lucky to have a workshop to do these things in. But I suspect there are physical-domain hobbies that almost anyone could do, without needing much space and tools.
I find I feel better about “digital” once it is a smaller component of a wider life.
Perhaps an unintended consequence of governmental fiddling will be a return to an approach more like dialup days, where you sat down for a contained amount of time, used “the internet” then stopped and went back to doing something else?

2026-06-16 07:11:29 UTC

For a mix of reasons I perceive the digital world getting worse.
Not just the services and applications but also all the regulatory things coming down the pipeline; likely wider-spread mandatory age verification, a recent example. Many others.
Though it can be sometimes frustrating, I have found “real world” domain stuff very relaxing and cathartic. You will have noticed my DIY game rising lately.
Rounding over the edges of a bit of oak is wonderfully “analogue”.
And tangible; physical.

2026-06-15 15:51:20 UTC

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DOH

2026-06-15 15:48:32 UTC

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is ringing the supplier up quickly and trying to get the necessary bits added last minute not an option?

2026-06-12 13:30:21 UTC

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2/2 - more photos
https://bloor.tw/system/media_attachments/files/116/737/373/150/935/470/original/d496c4e94864168d.jpeg
https://bloor.tw/system/media_attachments/files/116/737/374/638/696/870/original/7720d76d0886416d.jpeg
https://bloor.tw/system/media_attachments/files/116/737/375/457/216/896/original/1e799af8bc7318a8.jpeg

2026-06-12 13:27:45 UTC

This thing is a bit interesting. It isn’t mine, but I saw it working. It is a V2X receiver, plotting cars on a map, as they pass by, including their speeds, locations and some other stuff. Many modern cars broadcast this stuff. It feels like my TPMS thing of a few years ago, but almost more potentially problematic.
1/2
https://bloor.tw/system/media_attachments/files/116/737/363/070/732/273/original/ea9b64f9a96782e9.jpeg
https://bloor.tw/system/media_attachments/files/116/737/364/404/350/705/original/5f7541040ccc9a5b.jpeg
https://bloor.tw/system/media_attachments/files/116/737/362/562/380/856/original/dd20c945dea49a19.jpeg
https://bloor.tw/system/media_attachments/files/116/737/363/589/687/417/original/75561e5d2a3f9065.jpeg

2026-05-06 07:25:04 UTC

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golly it’s early in the day to have already reached that conclusion.
I hope it improves before the application of ramen, or, failing that, improves as a result of the application of ramen.

2026-05-03 23:35:29 UTC

Never let anyone try to talk you out of a quick half hour DIY project. Those three hours will be the best six days of your life.

2026-04-17 08:42:19 UTC

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@alisonw/116416887186716164
I don’t know? I assume “no”?

2026-03-19 16:57:42 UTC

If SQL is pronounced "sequel" then surely DNS is pronounced "Dennis"?

2026-03-09 09:50:09 UTC

Huh, I see the firm of solicitors, Wright Hassall LLP, went bust.
I bet that was a ...

2026-02-28 19:16:50 UTC

Holy fuck. I think I migrated my mastodon? No fucking way? WHAT.

2026-02-22 07:06:21 UTC

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It’s worse than I thought. I don’t blame Masto.host for this, but everywhere on their site it said 29 dollars. But now the email has come through from what I assume/guess is the payment processor it’s actually $34.80, I assume due to VAT that hasn’t been properly indicated at earlier stages. So I am paying £25.82 a month (at current exchange rates) to be on mastodon with my own instance.
That really does feel expensive.
Again, not criticising Masto.host.

2026-02-21 15:47:16 UTC

Hrmm due to filling up my database allocation I have had to increase my Masto.Host subscription to $29 a month. Which for what it is is fine value. But is still a fair bit more than I ever meant to be paying for a social media thingy. I'm back to pondering going self-hosted.

2026-02-13 08:28:39 UTC

I saw a pretty good and on-point comment the other day which I thought I’d share :
“There seems to be a certain kind of person who moves to Dubai… the great thing is, they all move to Dubai!”

2026-02-12 10:42:05 UTC

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ta - that is handy to know!

2026-02-12 09:58:49 UTC

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not saying no, but when I asked our tech team here in the office there were blank looks all round; nobody else saying they’re having issues afaics

2026-01-29 22:53:21 UTC

What the, and I cannot overstate this, fuck?
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/115/980/839/746/352/577/original/b176ae33734355b6.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/115/980/839/742/048/322/original/08c1437c79206e17.jpeg

2026-01-16 09:15:39 UTC

A practical downside of AI slop :
We, a company sometimes referred to by "AA" (or a near variant of) are now getting a really quite large number of complaints and contacts for "the AA" (the automobile association) because Google's shit AI keeps telling people that our email addresses are for the AA. It's more than one a day.
Given it is google who is sending out duff info causing us costs, we should be able to get them to correct, or bill them for our costs. I see no path for either.
--> cont

2026-01-11 10:21:35 UTC

How should I feel about this potential mandated block on X AI? On the one hand I am not in favour of a blocking requirement being dumped on eyeball networks. On the other hand, clearly X AI is making problematic and illegal content.
How to navigate this, morally and ethically?
I feel people are often too willing to bend their preciously-held principles when the target is someone they don’t like. And I’m trying to be careful not to be that kind of person.

2025-12-13 11:01:08 UTC

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So yeah. Different story if they come to your door yapping about crime prevention as a cover. Different story if they implicitly or explicitly threaten or warn of hellfire. Different story if the attempted indoctrination starts from the first breath.
But if they are nice?
Why be a cunt? It literally hurts the cause.
I haven’t always had this exact view, although I’ve never gone out of my way to be offensive, ever.
4/4

2025-12-13 10:57:04 UTC

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So why be overwhelmingly pleasant and friendly? Tactically?
Because a contingent, perhaps the “child” contingent, may really have been raised to believe that non believers are awful awful wrong sick evil people. And if you’re a cunt to them on the doorstop, you’re just furthering that meme.
Whereas if you’re nice as pie, and confidently so, you never know, that wall of assumption might start to break down. There might be just an inkling of “huh.. well that atheist seemed nice… what?”
3/n

2025-12-13 10:54:52 UTC

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I said in a very friendly/apologetic tone, “Ahh no, thank you! A Buddhist and an Atheist here I’m afraid! But thank you and have a lovely Christmas!”
And she said thank you and it was a perfectly pleasant interaction.
Now, I do still have a problem with people bothering people about this. And I do think that, in a way, if they do cop less friendly reactions from some, then arguably they put themselves in the cross-hairs so to speak. Obviously nothing justifies threatening responses.
2/n

2025-12-13 10:52:06 UTC

Nonbelievers: don’t be a cunt to nice religious people who come to your door at this time of year.
This is the first time, in a year and a half since moving here, that we have had a religious door knocker. Mother and youngish daughter, she started with a smile and after I had said “Hello!” said, “Sorry do disturb you! I won’t keep you!” And held out a small “free bible class” business card.
1/n

2025-11-26 09:34:09 UTC

Schadenfreude is seldom a positive emotion.
However, I will just allow myself a momentary tipple with it, just this once.
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/115/615/308/779/778/241/original/9f52ea14b0736c0e.png

2025-11-05 19:31:26 UTC

New tee.
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/115/498/744/495/703/170/original/233de8e12df877f6.jpg

2025-10-30 20:22:31 UTC

My hidden talents are so well hidden even I don’t know what they are.

2025-10-22 14:18:20 UTC

Physicists! A question:
Suppose I have a solar panel, sitting in bright sunlight, open circuit (i.e. no load) and I measure its surface temperature. And I note it down.
Now, with the same amount of sunlight still landing on the panel, I hook up an MPPT to the it and charge a battery at maximum power point. I measure the panel's surface temperature again after this has been running for a time and note down that reading.
Will the energy transfer cause the latter reading to be colder?

2025-10-21 09:20:19 UTC

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https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/115/411/412/334/506/741/original/e42847e5cc6356f4.png

2025-10-10 22:38:25 UTC

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Yeah, I agree to be honest. There is a lot of water turnover in a 200l domestic tank also. I get the feeling that legionella isn't a big risk, UNLESS water is staying static for a long period of time. ISTR some acquaintance had, as part of his duties as a university halls caretaker, to go around flushing all the loos during recess. For this reason.
Anyway, it seemed not to use loads of power, so I'll probably just leave it be. For now anyway.

2025-10-10 22:30:44 UTC

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FINALLY I am really quite confident the hot water tank did its legionella/get really hot briefly type cycle, as I am pretty sure it does it Friday mid-afternoon, and when I got home I was initially surprised to see the hot tank was at beyond 60 degrees C (it's usually 50). So it's good to see that that is being done.
I've booked our energy firm to come and remove the gas meter and cap off the gas. So that will save us £9 a month in standing charge.
3/ends.

2025-10-10 22:29:08 UTC

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With this, we'll (I think) have ended up with a total cost of £2860 for this whole thing, which includes a 12kW Samsung heatpump, a new hot water cylinder and associated pipework, and one new radiator. Hard to argue the value really.
That radiator still does not work, but the fitter has asked me to try locking off all other rads, and then force setting a flow temp. I've said I'll try this over the weekend.
2/some

2025-10-10 22:27:00 UTC

Heat pump saga.
I've now had the "insurance backed" 2 year workmanship guarantee through; which theoretically protects me if the installer goes bust.
And the installer also sent me the 7 year guarantee on the Samsung heat pump itself.
So, I mean, they are sort of doing some stuff properly, in terms of the "paperwork" aspects.
I also received good news from my mortgage lender that they've processed our application for the "Greener Home Reward", giving us £2k for free for some reason.
1/some

2025-10-01 15:16:32 UTC

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very small amount, on a cloth

2025-10-01 15:16:13 UTC

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olive oil

2025-09-18 23:24:36 UTC

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I don’t have any explicit *aim* to change on any given interval, and certainly never aim to have the latest (as ought to be obvious).
But when I do replace I generally replace with what is current.
I am currently on a 13 series iPhone, and I’m pondering a 17 series one.

2025-09-18 23:22:30 UTC

How often do people change their phones? I am on 1182 days, and just beginning to think I might change. 3 years and almost 3 months doesn’t seem *insane* to think about changing, does it?

2025-09-11 22:21:53 UTC

You buy an HP printer/scanner.
You want to use it to scan.
HP insist you sign up for one of their accounts, in order to use the equipment they sold you, in your own home, on your own network, to your own machine.
I am only able to conclude that HP are absolute fucking cunts.

2025-08-25 16:05:38 UTC

Turns out you can really really cause anxiety amongst gammons by :
1) Waiting until they crap on about how great it makes them feel that someone painted a St George’s cross on a mini roundabouts.
2) Say you think it’s really disrespectful to the flag and the country, people literally driving over it.
Serious upset caused.
Serious cognitive dissonance, bordering on anxiety.
Amazing. A total joy.

2025-08-12 10:42:38 UTC

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"Here is my modern slavery statement :
* Slavery is bad.
* We don't do slavery.
* We won't do slavery in future.
Here is our bribery policy :
https://www.aa.net.uk/legal/gifts-and-bribery/ "

2025-08-10 15:23:22 UTC

Can’t help feeling that, yet again, the government is really really screwing up by arresting *for terror offences* people carrying signs. The optics of five police all surrounding an old lady who has written a sign in sharpie is just fucking appalling. What on earth are they thinking? How does this help anyone? What is the stake I don’t understand?

2025-07-31 10:49:11 UTC

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I also advised the customer that I had tested the URL they were having trouble with via Mullvad VPN and that I *had* been able to access it via that.
FYI it was NOT porn. So this isn't about porn, really, is it... It's about surveillance and a misjudgement of comparative risk.

2025-07-31 10:41:13 UTC

First email (I think) today from a customer asking if there is a way we can turn off content filtering and that nobody in their house is under 18, so why are they impacted.
Had to reply that it isn't us doing the filtering.
CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE ADULTS? JUST FOR ONCE?

2025-03-10 12:08:50 UTC

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Statutory Late Payment Penalty, issued automatically, credited [the first time] cheerfully.

2025-03-04 16:34:39 UTC

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oh no, not at all

2025-03-04 15:53:55 UTC

Mastodon is not named after the Oligocene mammoth ancestor.
Actually, its original creator, James Donald (nickname "Don") wanted to create a microblogging site, and envisioned something akin to a ship's Mast hoisting semaphore flags for all to see.
So he called the software "Mast'o'Don". (Mast of Donald). And then took out the punctuation.
Resulting in what we know today as Mastodon.

2025-02-12 13:53:44 UTC

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Kinda weirdly captured same mood, almost spookily identically back in 2021...
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/113/991/248/700/730/459/original/c965797c7482642a.png

2025-02-06 11:26:21 UTC

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A base rate cut is forecast by some , too. Which may trickle through.

2025-02-05 16:35:34 UTC

Ofcom rn :
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/113/952/248/209/458/088/original/70921abae14cfdb9.png

2025-02-05 09:05:04 UTC

Take a bow, Lloyds, you absolute fucking cretins. Your own fucking moronic password rules have bounced a PERFECTLY GOOD password manager generated safe password, so now I'll probably end up with like AbC12345!hello instead. You absolute dicks :
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/113/950/474/802/915/730/original/5ca5ae8280b09583.png

2025-01-28 22:20:07 UTC

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(I ought to explain, a colleague and not me, because I’m not working for A&A tomorrow; apologies; any other day i’d take it over personally)

2025-01-28 22:16:27 UTC

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sorry it has not gone well so far. That sounds unlike our usual performance. We have quite a lot of practice at this, and though it hasn’t always been entirely smooth, the vast majority work fine now. If you email alex@aa.net.uk with your login / account / any ticket numbers I can get my colleague to look into it tomorrow. Apologies again.

2025-01-28 22:06:47 UTC

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I have no background here at all, and this is the first I am hearing of the situation. But I am here, and can certainly look into it for you. Sorry to hear you are having problems, obviously.

2024-11-20 17:21:41 UTC

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ahha so it was A and B. That’s why at least their initial letters are as they are.

2024-11-20 17:17:12 UTC

Why are all examples involving crypto always between “Alice” and “Bob”? Who first did that? Why did it stick?

2024-11-12 01:32:11 UTC

I’m seeing one particularly irksome, self-entitled bawl from some parents of kids at fee-paying schools at the prospect of paying vat :
“We don’t get a discount on the tax we pay even though our child isn’t using a state school place!”
Fuck you! I don’t have any kids at all! I pay tax, some of which pays for other people’s kids to go to school! And you know what? I’m not moaning about it. Because I’m not a dickhead, and because I recognise that an educated society is a better society for all.

2024-10-26 19:19:03 UTC

*DIY intensifies*
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/113/375/332/872/027/089/original/fe92ba4b266621ea.jpg
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/113/375/333/006/579/051/original/420eced498f169dd.jpg
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/113/375/333/118/769/838/original/5a8062879ebca1d0.jpg

2024-10-18 10:11:23 UTC

NEWSFLASH: Fragile billionaire wants to be able to see what his estranged kids tweet about him without bothering the Ops Team. More at ten.
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/113/327/880/592/497/974/original/970a18283355e8ca.png

2024-10-10 15:37:51 UTC

I love Linux, I do
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/113/283/869/123/375/610/original/357e85e246a81d7c.jpg

2024-10-08 10:30:35 UTC

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FYI here's the owl :
Assume I'll now get an expert testimony from an human academic ornithologist telling me, in fact, yes, it's fake.
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/113/271/334/526/913/919/original/3cf452943d0147c8.png

2024-10-08 10:29:35 UTC

We are now at a point where people are so used to AI fakery that they label stuff that (I think) is real as "AI Fake".
Just seen a video, which I've no reason to doubt, of a very large owl, being held by (presumably) a zoo keeper. The owl is gigantic. But it moves [is not a model] and hoots.
Comments under the video : "AI FAKE" "Owls are not that big" etc.
You can slag off AI for the fakery itself, but we almost never slag off AI for the "unable to trust anything ever again" aspect.

2024-09-24 08:58:58 UTC

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even though I am GM of A&A I’d still recommend Mythic for hosting/domain needs.
A&A does do these things, for sure, but not to the extent mythic does. OTOH if it’s broadband you are looking for, roll up roll up etc

2024-09-24 08:26:06 UTC

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This is unexpected as I, too, hold (held?) them in high regard.
They just got a new CEO, maybe worth reaching out to him?

2024-09-08 08:53:07 UTC

It must be a weird situation; to be so wealthy (or able to utilise the wealth of others) that you can buy a thing for 40 billion, ruin it so badly that it may be worth half of that in less than one year, and STILL be on track, by some accounts, to be worth one trillion by just a few years time.
It must be strange that how ever big your fuckup is, somehow inexorably, your wealth rises, almost as though it was a force of nature. What does that do to a person, mentally?

2024-09-05 21:48:06 UTC

Absolutely fucking stunning work Google AI.
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/113/087/140/935/301/460/original/7d1b143265d70a80.png

2024-09-03 19:57:08 UTC

How the fuck did "Gender Reveals" become a thing?
1. They aren't gender reveals at all; it ought to be "biological sex reveal" or perhaps even more cautiously, "assumed biological sex reveal".
2. The fact it matters to some people is just a fucking demonstration that equality still isn't a thing, and some people are gleeful about that.
3. It's just sickeningly wretchedly excessive, how far the "gender reveal celebrations" go. Hiring venues, catering, banners being dragged by aircraft etc.

2024-08-27 15:42:59 UTC

Amazon is convenient. But multiple times recently I've discovered stuff; ordinary stuff, cheaper elsewhere.
Example today:
Patterson & Ilford Film Processing Starter Kit
£99.00 on Amazon
or you could go (as I did) to a non-gigantic behemoth company, Bristol Cameras, who are literally a camera shop... in Bristol, and pay £81, including delivery, for the exact same item. And give the business to a small firm who might possibly appreciate it.

2024-08-27 08:25:01 UTC

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Which of course inevitably leads into …
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/113/033/023/580/229/388/original/fa91fe3a8f1f0671.jpg

2024-08-27 08:23:58 UTC

Update:
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/113/033/019/485/008/348/original/4bdd7b6d74d3866b.jpg

2024-08-26 21:20:38 UTC

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Gridfinity is what I am hoping will prove actually useful! And what I'm printing now; 7x7 grid.

2024-08-26 20:48:11 UTC

I am... perhaps unexpectedly... doing something actually useful with my 3D printer.

2024-08-16 06:39:22 UTC

“But a man on the internet said EVs don’t work very well when it’s cold?”
https://cdn.masto.host/bloortw/media_attachments/files/112/970/321/860/486/433/original/d56355db632719f4.jpeg

2024-08-10 23:44:24 UTC

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tbh Spotify, especially when driven by a voice prompt via Siri, can be just as shit.
I asked it to play “The Band” hoping to hear something from Music from Big Pink, Stage Fright or the brown album.
It played me Band Aid, Do they know it’s Christmas.