Thomas Beagle

Civil liberties, geekery, politics, YA/SF books, tasty vegan food, family life, #NerdCryptic. Yes I do have a beagle, his name's Calcifer, and he'd really like to sniff you while you pat him. #nztwits

Pronouns: He/him
Private messages: Signal +64-21-805040
Location: Wairarapa, New Zealand

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thomasbeagle_at_mastodon.nz@momostr.pink

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Last Notes

2026-10-21 19:01:32 UTC

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Absolutely. Technical debt doesn't always warn you before it comes due!

2026-10-21 18:21:56 UTC

Looks like the PHP repositories used by Ubuntu aren't up to serving the vast quantity of PHP updates that everyone needs.

2026-10-12 02:27:04 UTC

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Mounted on little shields with plaques below them "Techbro, 2026" and "Neo-nazi, 2025"?

2026-10-12 00:29:46 UTC

Finally got Kim's hat storage sorted.
https://o.mastodon.nz/media_attachments/files/117/425/092/807/094/119/original/3272b5a50bbc5a7b.jpg

2026-10-07 20:15:29 UTC

Many years ago I used to work on a Cobol-based application that ran over an 80x25 green screen terminal. People running 30 or 40 users on a 486 PC running SCO Unix hooked up to a multi-port serial card.
We'd never have tolerated the amount of waiting between actions or screens that is now considered absolutely normal on web-based cloud-hosted applications.
Weird how things change.

2026-09-28 02:23:01 UTC

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I like my touchscreen-based smartphone! 😄
Turns out I don't mind the car prioritising touchscreen and voice over physical controls too. I find myself saying "open sunshade" rather than reaching for the button on the roof of the car.

2026-09-28 02:02:35 UTC

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I reckon a good third of complaints about invasive modern tech are really just "Old man shakes fist at cloud."
Not you of course. Yours are all totally reasonable and based on an insightful analysis of the power relationships between people, governments, and big tech.
Nothing to do with the fact that it was released after you turned 35.

2026-09-28 01:50:29 UTC

You can "I don't want smart appliances" all you like but I appreciate that my new Bosch dishwasher notifies my phone when it's finished.

2026-09-24 21:04:37 UTC

Last night I remembered that we didn't have classes or periods at high school - we had spells. First spell, second spell, etc.
Apparently this is uncommon.
Also, it's hard to search for without getting many links to blood magic.

2026-09-19 08:06:52 UTC

I've just reread The Atrocity Archive, the first of the Laundry series by Charles Stross.
It's as good as I remembered, with the central magical conceit still feeling fresh and original even though it's over twenty years old. I guess that's what happens when you simultaneously create and own your very own sub-genre.
What I didn't expect was the nostalgia - Usenet groups, LART, the alt.polyamory FAQ, a leading edge pre-smartphone PDA+ tech level, jokes about Dilbert fans, a certain tone of acerbic cynicism.
That's the geek culture that I was part of. Even the flatting with fellow nerds brought back pleasant memories!
All in all, 9/10, well worth the re-read.

2026-09-11 08:04:52 UTC

Idly wondering how USA evangelical puritans cope with working with daemons on Unix-like systems. Is there a distro where they’ve been renamed to be angels?

2026-08-24 10:08:22 UTC

Land of the Long White Firewall: "The regulator can also apply for an access restriction order if a service restriction order has not been, or is unlikely to be, effective at changing a platform’s behaviour. This would require internet service providers, app stores, and the platform itself to prevent all New Zealand users from accessing the platform."
https://legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2026/339/en/latest/#LMS1592866

2026-08-16 19:15:27 UTC

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Sounds like a knock-off - it probably doesn't really have 128GB capacity either.

2026-07-30 19:31:46 UTC

The more I think about Winston Peters and his recent behaviour, the more I think that he's no longer mentally fit to be a cabinet minister.
He loves playing Minister of Foreign Affairs but then he refers to one of our largest trading partners with "Go back to your own country, that's where they lie like a flat fish"? That's not only racist but also stupid.
His outburts are increasingly aggressive and often just weird. It's time for Winston Peters to retire.

2026-07-28 10:31:46 UTC

Hmm, weird long explosion-type noise to the north towards Masterton. Aliens again?
Edit: there are reports of a large fireball meteor explosion seen from both Upper Hutt and Wellington.

2026-07-21 04:49:47 UTC

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We bought a couple of IBM ThinkPad 760 ED laptops in 1996. 64MB and that top of the line 1024x768 active matrix colour screen. They were horrendously expensive, I think NZ$12k (would have been about US$6k I'm guessing).

2026-07-21 03:35:37 UTC

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I remember active matrix was a headline feature in the original Mac Portable, released in 1989. It really was noticeably better.
Edit: I should note that was *monochrome* active matrix.

2026-07-19 08:56:39 UTC

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It would be better for me if Facebook died rather than if I left it.
Facebook dying would mean that my family would also have to find somewhere new, whereas me leaving would just mean I vanished.
(My Facebook is down too.)

2026-07-11 02:28:54 UTC

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Oh, I still use Signal and support encryption and so on. Not least, I want to make it harder for them. Plus even if you can't protect against everyone, you can surely protect against most of them.

2026-07-10 22:42:44 UTC

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I now assume that everyone that touches the systems I use either wants to spy on me or is compelled to enable spying on me by their government. The most you can achieve is a) removing some but not all of them, b) having some influence over which government.
(Oh, there's also option C but I don't want to live in a cabin in the woods disconnected from the modern world).

2026-07-07 22:42:41 UTC

It might be time to write to your Labour MP and tell them not to do anything as stupid as supporting National's proposed ban on social media for the under 16s: https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361003311/national-labour-and-subscribe-our-new-bill

2026-06-20 02:13:14 UTC

Anyone got a favourite "point at a huge directory of photos on a network share so you can browse them" tool? For Windows, and I'm not against a client-server type arrangement. Free or cheap.
I've been using Photo Gallery from Windows Live for some years but surely it won't work for ever.

2026-06-10 00:53:43 UTC

Just did an interview with a student from Marcellin College about the proposed ban on social media for the under 16s.
I opposed it on three grounds:
1. People under the age of 16 have the rights to freedom of expression and to participate in society, and social media is where much of that happens.
2. Social media reduces social isolation and can provide support and fellowship for those who need it.
3. The tools used to enforce an age ban will also lead to privacy breaches and excess government control of everyone's use of the internet.

2026-05-26 23:30:26 UTC

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I'm now imagining a TV series where the two of you travel the country, deliberately setting up circumstances where you can push libraries on people. Lib1: "First library card is free!" Lib2: "...And so are all the next ones."

2026-05-12 01:49:34 UTC

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Musk for sure is a nerd. Trump might be one of the symptoms/outcomes of the nerd takeover (i.e. the Facebook problem).

2026-05-11 23:35:37 UTC

1990s: Things would be better if the nerds ruled the world!
2020s: Nope.

2026-04-04 07:56:35 UTC

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I watched the TV series on Netflix. Quite foodographic of you know what I mean.

2026-04-04 07:08:16 UTC

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Acceptable for red onion but not otherwise.

2026-03-24 21:04:29 UTC

<rolls dice> "Hmmm, climate, that'll be a nice change."
I've decided to only worry about one existential issue per day.

2026-03-18 22:23:36 UTC

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The real identity of Banksy is clearly Banksy, and I pity the people who don't understand this.

2026-03-13 21:12:11 UTC

And in that paper we have a paid advertisement/rant from Chris Gollins about Masterton District Council removing trees. He's a real estate agent so it's mostly about house values, but the amusing bit is:
"Not the boring, some say depressive, 'never anything but green' natives, but the technicolour, vibrant, seasonal display trees from the northern hemisphere. ... Such trees lift spirits. It's why the Oaks were planted. Not pathetic spindly kowhais."
https://o.mastodon.nz/media_attachments/files/116/223/918/712/211/147/original/7f431d1e2024a300.jpg

2026-03-13 21:01:05 UTC

"Well, why else would you have put it there?" #Catstodon
https://o.mastodon.nz/media_attachments/files/116/223/877/096/450/622/original/fb7db2c516b5d710.jpg

2026-03-03 21:02:17 UTC

I think it's important that you know that the kangaroo on the Qantas logo used to have wings.
https://o.mastodon.nz/media_attachments/files/116/167/257/158/226/165/original/c91f227aa6085954.jpg

2026-02-03 22:21:16 UTC

Unemployment up again, to 5.4%.
What would unemployment rates be like if so many potential workers hadn't already left for Australia?
The government seems to be doing their best to hollow out the country. Many of those workers are never going to come back.

2026-01-29 19:57:34 UTC

Anyone been roadside drug-tested under the new law? How did it go? How long did it take?

2025-12-02 19:08:21 UTC

A good article debunking some of the unscientific claims and poor analysis behind the "social media is rotting our children's minds" movement: https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/jonathan-haidt-anxious-generation-right-about-smartphones

2025-11-22 23:26:05 UTC

Good god. People were weird then too.
https://o.mastodon.nz/media_attachments/files/115/595/930/340/432/917/original/49dc60f92d7c7709.jpg

2025-10-24 02:29:06 UTC

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I used to just treat it as general rubbish and send it off to the tip, kept my green waste pure!
I also got very good at spotting new shoots. I think I eliminated it from an area after a couple of years of "spot'n'nip".

2025-10-07 22:06:17 UTC

Just a reminder that since August 2025, employers can't stop their employees from discussing their pay with each other: https://www.employment.govt.nz/news-and-updates/new-protections-for-employees-discussing-pay

2025-05-29 02:53:43 UTC

"nearly half of all mortgages are due to be refixed in the June and September quarters, according to the MPS. That means hundreds of thousands of households will soon find themselves with more discretionary income"
As one of those people, I don't see how going from a mortgage interest rate of 2.99% to one of 4.95% is going to give me more discretionary income!

2025-01-28 09:27:02 UTC

Sitting in bed and using my portable data terminal to read about USA billionaire vs China military backed battling AI systems suspected of stealing our data and spying on us is exactly the cyberpunk future I was promised.

2025-01-22 05:30:22 UTC

Librarians used to help us find information, but then came the internet and search engines and who needed them any more, right?!
Now we need librarians more than ever, not to help us find information but to help us find *real* information. Shortest obsolescence ever.
I hunger for information sources dedicated to accuracy as a defence against partisan lies and AI delusions.

2025-01-19 06:16:54 UTC

I hadn't seen my father for a few years but he asked me to visit after his terminal cancer diagnosis so today was the day.
After the health discussion he told me he wanted to acknowledge two things: 1) that he and everyone else in the 70s didn't really think about how to bring up children, 2) that he brought me up in the church. Kind of a non-apology apology.
At no point did he ask about me, my partner, or my child. I guess that'll be the last time I see him alive.

2025-01-15 08:45:29 UTC

Do you know what the Butlerian Jihad was and what they did?

2025-01-14 02:43:11 UTC

New artwork for the office! #AI
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/824/398/527/191/385/original/5936257b3ce76036.jpg

2025-01-09 02:16:46 UTC

With over 300,000 submissions so far, I'm wondering whether ACT's attempt to blow up the treaty consensus is backfiring. Rather than causing a surge of support for division, it's driving people to put pen to paper and stand up for Te Tiriti.
(I'm obviously making an assumption about the content of those 300k+ submissions, but I've seen very little support for the Bill.)

2024-12-20 00:07:55 UTC

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Any fruity alcohol will do. Last year I made it with calvados (apple brandy).

2024-12-17 04:22:59 UTC

So I knew the grass was encroaching on the pavers a bit, but I hadn't realised it was this bad!
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/666/248/674/848/706/original/50cbf74181709296.jpg

2024-12-14 04:41:34 UTC

"Contender Eliminated" #RetroGaming

2024-12-08 03:11:30 UTC

Us: You suck!
Them: No, you suck!
[years of cultural war]
CEO killer: Hey everybody, what about class war?
Us and them: Ooooh, class war!

2024-12-06 22:49:56 UTC

I am now even cooler! #RetroGaming #DadLevelUp
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/608/316/122/989/107/original/3310055314208075.jpg

2024-12-05 20:57:57 UTC

Life goal: live so that your murder doesn't spur ethical and moral debates about whether it was a good thing or not. #LowBar

2024-11-27 18:42:23 UTC

Playing old games and even the fancy pre-rendered use-the-entire-server-farm full-motion-video segments are nowhere near the graphical quality of gameplay on my Xbox Series X. #RetroGaming

2024-11-20 22:30:08 UTC

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Carbon steel is thinner and more likely to bend/distort whereas cast iron will be flat, so you might get better heat transference with cast iron.

2024-11-20 21:52:53 UTC

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I've got both - I couldnt lift a cast iron frying pan as big as my carbon steel one! This is for a gas stove.
I find caring for both to be pretty easy as long as you don't obsess over having the perfect seasoning, etc. Contrary to what the nerds say, you don't need a mirror finish. 😂

2024-11-13 02:31:23 UTC

I'm sorry, I want my money back, this timeline is shit. It's breaking up and nothing makes sense any more. Are the writers on strike?

2024-11-02 07:17:52 UTC

Sometimes I think about how Atari putting only one button on the 2600's joystick held back early computer gaming so much.
It's not like they needed a full modern suite of controls, but even just one or two more buttons would have allowed so many more gameplay options! #RetroGaming

2024-11-02 04:52:07 UTC

In a frantic attempt to stop myself from buying retro-nerdy video game hardware I have got the Amiga emulator going on my old Surface Pro 6, and Stunt Car Racer is still pretty good! Next is Pinball Dreams. #RetroGames
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/411/553/532/316/365/original/7b7db863b43bba25.jpg

2024-10-27 20:35:53 UTC

Dear people selling older smart watches, you should know that they depreciate like smartphones not like dumb watches.
Yes you paid $900 for it five years ago but the rechargeable battery is shot and it's practically e-waste now.

2024-10-13 21:53:52 UTC

Alien hunter hides in a teardrop (8)
#CrosswordClue #NerdCryptic #CrypticCrosswords #OldNerdCore 👵
Favourite if you get it, you'll know. Boost to share. Direct message for clues/answer. Answer and explanation tomorrow. More clues here: https://thomasbeagle.net/plaintext/

2024-10-13 19:53:02 UTC

So my little Plaintext nerd cryptic clue website is deliberately sparse but still has a 3KB source file along with a 60KB data file with the 257 clues and answers.
And then someone posts a picture of one of their favourite Sinclair Spectrum games, Fairlight, an isometric 3D adventure puzzle game. All of which fits into the 48KB total memory of the Spectrum, smaller than my tiny website.
My mind, it is boggled! And those early programmers were wizards. #RetroGaming
https://thomasbeagle.net/plaintext/

2024-10-12 21:45:13 UTC

How big is your bedroom? Just looking at LED mesh lighting for the ceiling and measured mine at 11.5m² which feels cosy.

2024-10-12 04:02:31 UTC

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Try and get him to list as many of the things he wants to do as possible, and pray that a few are achievable?
Possibly even break some of the nearly achievable ones down into "before you can do x you need to prove you can do y"?

2024-10-10 00:06:49 UTC

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Driving glasses? Investigate the DriveWare coatings - polarized, photo chromic (even behind glass), and just really very nice.
(Not a paid shill, honest.)

2024-10-05 09:40:40 UTC

The Substance.
Holy shit!
New levels of nightmare unlocked.
Recommended.

2024-10-05 00:09:09 UTC

[me, Kim, 13yo and friend in the car]
"Hmmm, I should skip Closer by NIN."
<skip>
This is Hardcore by Pulp.
<skip>
Rape Me by Nirvana.
"Thanks Tidal, great mix."

2024-10-03 22:24:29 UTC

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Fresh borer holes are just entry holes. You're seeing the side view, so I'm pretty sure that means that they were there when the boards were cut.

2024-09-30 21:49:27 UTC

Wow, apparently my opinion of John Key *can* go even lower.

2024-09-30 05:04:12 UTC

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I feel guilty for being relieved that my child literally grew out of it. 🥴
But yeah, our parents come out in us in the most unexpected ways.

2024-09-30 04:50:20 UTC

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No advice but damn I recognize that issue and it's a hard one.

2024-09-29 21:38:38 UTC

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Wow. All eight responses were of the "just do it!" type.
I was expecting at least a few "I know it feels pointless but I still try" or "it's about the message you send by not doing it" but.... nope.
We are so doomed.

2024-09-29 07:36:25 UTC

It feels harder to sacrifice personal aspirations for climate change when all around you it feels like people are ignoring it and governments are rolling back even the most lack lustre measures. Looks like we're going to ride this thing all the way down.
Which is another way of saying I'm tempted to finally do my European tour.

2024-09-22 00:20:46 UTC

Watching people play Dragon's Lair in the arcade upstairs in the Regent Center between Cuba St and Manners Mall in Wellington in the early 80s. Too difficult and expensive for me! #RetroGames #Memory

2024-09-18 23:13:31 UTC

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Automated reading of scans is one of the better uses for AI, and it's not really related to all that LLM/AI OpenAI stuff.

2024-09-17 23:32:04 UTC

Disappointing that Kobo doesn't allow book sharing even within a family.
Even Amazon aren't that tight!

2024-09-03 23:34:42 UTC

I'm sad to report that the Birdseye 'chicken' is slightly more expensive and not as good as the closed down Sunfed 'chicken'.
And I never even got to try the Plan*t one before they closed down too!
Not a good time for #vegan meat replacements in New Zealand.

2024-08-28 21:26:33 UTC

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That would make such a wonderful romanti-goth movie!

2024-08-22 05:19:45 UTC

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SecUnit would so hate to be 'bated to!
On the other hand, it'd probably quite like being a character on a serial show. 😀

2024-08-15 23:26:33 UTC

The problem with electing glory-seeking empty vessels is that there are people waiting to flatter them and fill them with their own agenda.

2024-08-14 02:24:16 UTC

Yay, $3k to fix up a problem tooth because some dentists years ago successfully argued that they shouldn't be part of the publicly funded health system.

2024-08-09 01:46:01 UTC

Are you happy?

2024-08-08 21:16:26 UTC

Advantage of standing desk becomes clear when the car steals your office chair. (Bonus inclusion of dragon tapestry my mother made for me years ago.)
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/112/928/471/525/954/523/original/0a148a809c205315.jpg

2024-08-08 02:56:56 UTC

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My favourite was the late night run to buy tampons, chocolate, and red wine. Such a cliche! 😄

2024-08-07 04:05:01 UTC

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You can't say that without telling us what it is! I demand full specs. 😀