Nostr notes by Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK

I regularly have similar dreams, but the cigs are tasteless ...

2026-10-27T15:52:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…58sy
_________________________

I regularly have similar dreams, but the cigs are tasteless and/or difficult to light, and also that I am using other substances but not getting the buzz from them (I've quit smoking since 2018 and been clean of other stuff for over a decade)

A young lad in #Yorkshire on an #Engineering #apprenticeship has ...

2026-10-25T16:10:50Z

A young lad in #Yorkshire on an #Engineering #apprenticeship has made a device that blocks #rats and other #wildlife from getting into #railway signal cabinets and gnawing #cables, which causes many delays to trains (it even protects the rats from electric shocks!)

#Education #MadeInYorkshire

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqz0vnle17rzo

I suspect tooting the results of the LLM was as much a cautionary ...

2026-10-25T14:05:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…9z3n
_________________________

I suspect tooting the results of the LLM was as much a cautionary tale to warn others how bad this can be and not to try it (he ended up having to manually count the teeth anyway)

I tried something similar with a car part I had replaced myself last year and got equally bad results.

Incidentally many of these bicycle sprockets have the number of teeth engraved on them, certainly the ones I replaced on my e-bike a few years back did (but many of us are now middle aged and might have to use a magnifier to see these)

maybe some parts of the world permanently lose skills for ...

2026-10-25T13:17:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…3umk
_________________________

maybe some parts of the world permanently lose skills for decades/centuries (although I suspect East Asian countries may already be choosing to retain traditional skills but this is hidden from the West due to language barriers)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism

Spoke to the staff today about cursed maps - they had been ...

2026-10-23T00:24:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…axaq
_________________________

Spoke to the staff today about cursed maps - they had been generated in a rush using #Copilot as office was busy due to holidays and fewer staff to answer phones.

Person who generated them realised how bad they were, to the point they were causing her confusion (two important regions were reversed 180° !)

I managed to edit #Wikipedia #SVG of postcode areas using #Inkscape (to remove Norfolk, Cambs and Essex + places we don't operate in) and added some placenames to get an accurate #map below which everyone is happy with - if things are quieter later today might see if we can salvage the pretty graphics for the rest of the poster (it was intended to be both a map and a motivational poster) from the Copilot prompt (assuming it even exports them correctly as SVG)

Went next door to drop off 3 mobile phones prepped for new staff, ...

2026-10-22T00:10:01Z

Went next door to drop off 3 mobile phones prepped for new staff, and saw two of most cursed #AI generated #maps on the walls.

I can see why the admin staff made them as they wanted "Canva girlboss aesthetics" and they aren't used for navigation but to give overview of areas we cover (split between 3 coordinators), but *many* things are off on these maps - A12 and A14 in wrong places, Felixstowe shifted some km to left, blanco space where it should be, bits of Babergh area clearly in Essex, wrong postcodes and other parts of Babergh/Mid Suffolk shifted around

Whats worse is they are partially correct which is likely why they weren't rejected outright.

Later today I will investigate where they came from and see if there's a way of salvaging the pretty graphics but using some better maps

this would be relatively easy for Americans to get as the cartoon ...

2026-10-20T16:58:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…7jcn
_________________________

this would be relatively easy for Americans to get as the cartoon was widely shown on both sides of the Atlantic..

On the way home a young lad was stopped with his broken down ...

2026-10-19T03:33:44Z

On the way home a young lad was stopped with his broken down motorcycle - pulled over to see if he was OK, and got out my LED mechanics lamp to help him see what was wrong. he had a rough noise from his rear wheel, turned out a bungee cord come loose and wrap itself around rear sprocket and chain. I lent him the side cutters I keep in the car and he was able to cut most of the bungee cord, another chap who turned up got out of his car and helped yoink the metal bit of the bungee cord hook and the lad was back on the road and could get to work..

I had to look that up, it is indeed a somewhat bizzare UI ...

2026-10-15T22:45:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…8h7d
_________________________

I had to look that up, it is indeed a somewhat bizzare UI compared to every other tape recorder I have encountered (even since I was a boy in 1970s) - maybe this was done to prevent accidentally recording over something you wanted to keep (I noticed the channel buttons are recessed as well)

I don't know if corporate law is same in mainland Europe as ...

2026-10-12T18:27:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…hwdm
_________________________

I don't know if corporate law is same in mainland Europe as UK, but there's a lot of "serial entrepreneurs" around who will simply let their business burn and walk away from all the creditors (using limited liability as a way of avoiding personal consequences) rather than do things properly or hire the right people.

And its not just in tech but across the board, to the point I do full audits on any suppliers I deal with, checking Companies House and all sorts (including any personal info I can find out about the directors)

AI is going to unearth way more of these, albeit with quite a bit of collateral damage along the line..

LB: This is Norfolk in Virginia USA (not the one here in ...

2026-10-10T17:30:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…s9x7
_________________________

LB: This is Norfolk in Virginia USA (not the one here in England), both areas are prone to flooding

AI6YR Ben (npub1ucv…5a8g)

in contrast there's only about 1 MHz bandwidth on the whole ...

2026-10-06T17:13:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…ny64
_________________________

in contrast there's only about 1 MHz bandwidth on the whole 433 and 868 allocations which are also shared with a ton of other stuff (for instance the security alarm in here uses 868 MHz), with mesh only uses a smaller portion of this band..

if I want to listen to music in the car I have to use whatever ...

2026-10-06T15:16:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…p2yr
_________________________

if I want to listen to music in the car I have to use whatever methods necessary to download it as MP3 as I've not found a music app on Android Auto which doesn't fight with the navi sound announcements to the point the volume changes are jarring and a distraction from safe driving..

a cassette single is only worth $1 (unless someone wanted it for ...

2026-10-06T15:01:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…9k5d
_________________________

a cassette single is only worth $1 (unless someone wanted it for the cover artwork), and even the 12" original would have been quite widespread - Guru Josh was initially a successful crossover artist and that track has been remixed and reissued countless times - it even outlived him (he committed suicide in 2015 following a battle with addiction, a relationship breakdown and a failed business venture, but Infinity still gets remixed to this day)

I quite often see old skool rave 12" vinyl being quoted at ...

2026-10-06T14:41:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…l7mn
_________________________

I quite often see old skool rave 12" vinyl being quoted at silly prices, but increasingly even a lot of DJs who play this genre are using digital controllers anyway.

Also it was (and maybe occasionally still is) relatively easy to find rave vinyl collections in charity shops due to someone from the scene who overdid the substances and OD'd or got locked up somewhere and their surviving relatives are clearing their belongings and don't want to be reminded about that aspect of their lives (although nowadays a lot of Gen X charity shop volunteers would have been involved with the scene and know the perceived value of such tunes)

I can still remember how CB was often made mostly unusable by the ...

2026-10-06T11:38:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…scgr
_________________________

I can still remember how CB was often made mostly unusable by the mid-late 80s by a relatively small minority, and even ham repeaters haven't been immune from abuse either..

it occasionally happens in England as well, with fish as well as ...

2026-09-23T21:14:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…unje
_________________________

it occasionally happens in England as well, with fish as well as meat (and often fish being sold in places like Haverhill which are miles away from the coast). Trading Standards and the local constabulary warn against buying anything this way as its definitely sub-par and likely to make you ill..

been going on for a good few decades/centuries (I once had a ...

2026-09-22T14:40:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…0atn
_________________________

been going on for a good few decades/centuries (I once had a 1950s cycling book, which said you should cut down to 5-10 cigs per day if training for a race, and avoid drinking whisky or other hard spirits *during* the event 😁 )

even before AI there was TL;DR culture (where folk whinged about ...

2026-09-19T01:49:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…0ly0
_________________________

even before AI there was TL;DR culture (where folk whinged about overly "long" posts, even when they contained valid detail), especially when folk insist on using small screen devices for all their "social" communication rather than full size computers.

At least its not so bad on places like specialist forums where someone is posting a how-to guide about a subject where its important you get everything exactly right (like building electronics or car maintenance)

the whole reason I was born in London and not Kuala Lumpur was ...

2026-09-08T16:44:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…q6fh
_________________________

the whole reason I was born in London and not Kuala Lumpur was both my parents refused to have arranged marriage and met by "Western style dating" which was considered scandalous in late 1960s, they both got disowned and migrated to England in the early 1970s, and I was born in 1972.

My grandmother on my mums side did reconcile some time in 1970s even though she didn't approve of my dad, I'm not sure if my dads side of the family totally forgave him as he never said much about them (and language barriers prevented me finding out a great deal about them, to this day I don't even know the full scale of my extended family)

and also whole of the rest of Asia (such as East/SE Asia)

2026-09-08T11:25:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…0f8n
_________________________

and also whole of the rest of Asia (such as East/SE Asia)

RNLI should be given the same level of security protection as the ...

2026-09-08T10:47:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…l57p
_________________________

RNLI should be given the same level of security protection as the rest of the Emergency Services and anything like this treated as seriously as it would be for publishing personal details of Police Officers..

it would be a bit like the Noddy setup, which every so often used ...

2026-08-21T16:34:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…ws6a
_________________________

it would be a bit like the Noddy setup, which every so often used to go spectacularly wrong..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noddy_(camera)

similar happened about 10 years ago in England and Wales, and ...

2026-08-20T14:42:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…gmsv
_________________________

similar happened about 10 years ago in England and Wales, and even today there are warnings from health authorities about measles (but little overt discussion over *why* this could be happening)

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5114485/

the problem here is it doesn't take super hacking skills to ...

2026-08-18T12:58:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…cex2
_________________________

the problem here is it doesn't take super hacking skills to get this info, and GDPR training seems to focus on major data breaches for commercial gain - whereas most people can remember a handful of street addresses in their own brain without even needing a computer or other device and pass them on to others.

The only thing that might make a difference is that this man is now in jail awaiting Court, but if its someone who considers themselves an activist and is willing to risk their career and do time then all the training in the country might not deter them..

as someone who does electrical safety tests and fire risk ...

2026-08-18T12:55:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…a7ve
_________________________

as someone who does electrical safety tests and fire risk assessments as part of work (and speaking to a work colleague whose young son had to be evacuated from a festival where a fire occured even before the heatwaves) I can understand this, but I wonder if folk are ignoring the real issue which is that *large* multi day festivals with 20-100k+ people travelling 100s of km and flocking to *same* area at once are no longer sustainable, instead there should be multiple smaller events where in local areas where its easier to keep folk safe - (but they often get refused licences due to nimbys complaining about a few hours of noise)

and in Britain, the right moan about both (and we are all in ...

2026-08-18T12:16:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…4xps
_________________________

and in Britain, the right moan about both (and we are all in windy Northern Europe, but there's still enough sun even in winter to keep solar going!)

I wonder though if the anomaly with Germany could be because the rightwing folk like cars (including EVs), the middle class ones often have houses with garages and 3-phase electric supply, so solar power is literally low cost fuel?

I can remember how the old DTI (forerunner to Ofcom) took a lot ...

2026-08-18T10:43:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…v06u
_________________________

I can remember how the old DTI (forerunner to Ofcom) took a lot of action against Laser 558 and Radio Caroline for pirate broadcasting in 1980s, in spite of neither being fully UK based (but both easily receivable in Britain).

Their owners claimed it was a "fun" project but both stations took advertising, and Laser was once partly funded by Philip Morris cigarettes and intended to get round EU-wide restriction on tobacco advertising (not the first time offshore pirates had done it). In the end the whole EU leaned on PM to pull the funding (and Laser eventually ran out of money not long afterwards)

lthough I don't think those are the ones, in 90s/00s my mates ...

2026-08-14T17:24:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…lph6
_________________________

lthough I don't think those are the ones, in 90s/00s my mates would have stopped to check if they were psilocybin shrooms (the smol ones grow wild in many parts of England).

Those with sense would have ridden back home *first* before consuming any (or else it would have become difficult and even risky to ride the bicycle..)

LTE mobile network is resilient provided base stations have power ...

2026-08-13T12:51:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…nvmy
_________________________

LTE mobile network is resilient provided base stations have power (which can be from both grid and solar/batteries), it would not be easy to fully destroy it (anywhere in the World) without bombing every Telephone Exchange in country flat and ground troops uprooting fibre optic cable, even in larger wars elsewhere (with older tech but similar locations required) combatants have struggled to achieve this.

I constantly have to use various security software to prevent what I assume is Israeli activists trying to overload the Gaza mobile telephone network by repeatedly dialling multiple numbers in the country all at once (they look for insecure VOIP telephone systems to target),which they wouldn't be doing if it didn't exist...

Trying to work out exactly what happened here - I suspect Ed got ...

2026-08-04T17:37:51Z

Trying to work out exactly what happened here - I suspect Ed got busted because he (or his personal assistant(s)?) simply forgot to SORN [1] the #AstonMartin *as soon as* it went in the garage for the conversion (not some years later) so continuous #insurance requirement kicked in (even though the vehicle was in bits in a workshop, DVLA won't know that if its not SORN) - a warning to anyone who is having long term restoration work done on their project #car !

I've had to take out temporary insurance myself for a car that was being assessed after a collision (on advice of insurers themselves, it was from different company so not even any gain to them)

[1] Statutory Off Road Notification, legal requirement in #GB

#cars #transport

https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2026-08-04/ed-sheeran-fined-for-failing-to-insure-classic-aston-martin

Not sure if a late middle aged man who has had several spells in ...

2026-08-04T00:50:45Z

Not sure if a late middle aged man who has had several spells in hospital (including emergency admission for heart problems stents fitted for blocked arteries) is a particularly good advertisement for this #food

https://archive.ph/yH8ij

some truck drivers across Europe use lower powered ones in an ...

2026-08-03T21:04:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…jwl0
_________________________

some truck drivers across Europe use lower powered ones in an attempt to fool GNSS based electronic tachograph recorders (used to check drivers aren't working over their safe hours) as those use GNSS for time reference

These aren't supposed to go much further than the truck, but are sometimes enough to cause havoc to GNSS based apps my employer uses for frontline staff (whilst not safety critical, they are part of the audit process to confirm care staff were at the location they are supposed to be at the allocated time)

I wonder why YouTube recommended me a 1989 episode of #BBC ...

2026-08-01T21:29:57Z

I wonder why YouTube recommended me a 1989 episode of #BBC #Crimewatch - turns out there was a 1982 #GolfGTI used as a getaway vehicle in one of the segments (multiple armed #robberies on train stations in South #London)

There was a lot more #crime then compared to today, much of it seemed to be fuelled by rampant inequality (as well as #cars being way less secure than today, and a lot more #cash being handled by businesses)

in 2025 someone in same part of London had their Mk1 Golf (just normal model, but now a #ClassicCar) nicked, but it was all over Facebook and multiple folk saw it and called #Metpol - thieves soon got nicked and he got his car back..

they glorify every aspect of what is bad / wrong with British ...

2026-07-13T13:04:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…g42z
_________________________

they glorify *every* aspect of what is bad / wrong with British society..

officially a Typ 181 and (unsurprisingly, given its appearance) ...

2026-07-10T14:58:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…cm0m
_________________________

officially a Typ 181 and (unsurprisingly, given its appearance) originally intended for use by the Bundeswehr...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Type_181

I didn't know Napa was an actual place until today, thought ...

2026-07-09T00:27:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…0h7d
_________________________

I didn't know Napa was an actual place until today, thought it was just a brand of car parts (they have started to sell them here in England too, the mechanic at the shop next door to my work said the parts were OK, and the battery he put in our fleet car seemed decent enough)

RE: https://social.coop/@cwebber/116862528952241826 TBH this just ...

2026-07-04T16:09:19Z

RE: https://social.coop/@cwebber/116862528952241826

TBH this just seems like normality on the Fedi 😀

quoting
note1vzm…58l3

RE: https://solarpunk.moe/@vv/116862340401012931

this is a real thing
note1ln0…3s9z

This #Court case from #Wales #UK clearly shows the difference in ...

2026-07-04T15:12:41Z

This #Court case from #Wales #UK clearly shows the difference in #sentencing where a #vehicle is used as a weapon to deliberately injure or kill someone following an argument, as opposed to deaths/injuries caused by "normal" road traffic collision (charges are #murder and #GBH with intent rather than causing death / injury by dangerous driving)

#law #CriminalJustice #driving

https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2026-07-03/19-year-old-who-took-nitrous-oxide-and-drove-into-woman-jailed-for-her-murder

seems what happened is rather than release on parole he reached ...

2026-07-03T15:40:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…kjmf
_________________________

seems what happened is rather than release on parole he reached the 66,67% automatic release point of his sentence (normal for all more serious crimes other than murder with minimum tarriff) and there seems to be no way of stopping the prisoner being early released without a further Court case?

This will cause a risk will all serious/violent offenders, and might also account for cases I've recently being monitored where a middle aged man commits a further violent crime or murder having previous served a substantial sentence in his youth (which also shows there is near 0 real rehabilitation in the prison estate)

An angry middle aged white man in #Birmingham attacked several ...

2026-07-01T17:15:30Z

An angry middle aged white man in #Birmingham attacked several #Police officers after being prevented by the arrival of authorities from attacking a Black man he had cornered in his garden.

He also threw boiling water at the Black man and a female Police officer (causing injury to both. It took multiple officers to arrest him (I'm surprised they didn't deploy Tasers, but maybe didn't have Taser trained units available)

He pleaded guilty at #Court and got a 14 year sentence (will likely serve about 8-9 years inside)

I couldn't find any previous for the offender, but this doesn't seem like normal behaviour at age 58 - I guess this is what these men mean by "take back are country?"

#Crime #Midlands

https://www.itv.com/news/central/2026-07-01/violent-thug-threw-boiling-water-over-police-officer-in-birmingham

the petition (which I have signed) is accurate - what has ...

2026-06-30T17:25:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…jmjn
_________________________

the petition (which I have signed) is accurate - what has happened since privatisation is that small parcels with tracked barcode have been cherry picked and prioritised, and letters delayed (whilst postage costs are still going up).

I can order a jiffy bag of vape juice or small car parts/accessories and Royal Mail will reliably deliver it the next day, but letters (even important stuff like NHS or DVLA) can take a good few days to arrive even if supposedly sent "first class"

I also remember a brief push for environmental awareness in high ...

2026-06-28T12:03:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…82rf
_________________________

I also remember a brief push for environmental awareness in high school (in SE England) around that exact same time, which seemed to originate from mainland Northern Europe, but not long afterwards the oil companies subsidised all our science education so it got pushed aside..

RE: https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/116770333053823108 I ...

2026-06-18T21:07:49Z

RE: https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/116770333053823108

I wouldn't sign up to this because Ursula is there, any more than I'd willingly listen to the Christian Schlager pop record she made with her family in the 1960s 😁

quoting
note1zhq…xfyw

Needless to say, do not sign up for W or give them your ID information no matter how simple they eventually manage to make it.

You simply don’t need to.

You’re already in a far superior – non-corporate, federated – space.

Do not sign up for W. And warn your friends.

The only time you have any power to stop this is now. If they succeed in gaining network effects, you will be as powerless to stop them as you are with X.

And yes, they’re just another venture capital funded surveillance capitalist, people farmer, and burgeoning Nazi Bar. They just happen to be based in the EU. (As Nazi Bars originally were.)

#WSocial #NoWNoX #surveillance #capitalism #BigTech #VC [@_elena](https://mastodon.social/@_elena ) https://mastodon.social/@_elena/116770291207686239

they may not be related, (George Hersee only had two daughters ...

2026-06-12T18:46:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…gvyh
_________________________

they may not be related, (George Hersee only had two daughters and not a son (who would be the right sort of age) but he turns up towards the end of this web page as a young trainee.

He's now retired / doing freelance work and living in Ipswich (I might check if anyone at the community radio station might know him)

http://tech-ops.co.uk/next/roger-bunces-behind-the-scenes-glimpses/

any car made before end 2018 generally doesn't have this ...

2026-06-12T14:42:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…gw0n
_________________________

any car made before end 2018 generally doesn't have this stuff (or if it does its been half implemented and abandoned as the mobile link used now obsolete 3G rather than LTE), so it doesn't even mean driving an old banger..

The criminals already do this, but they tend to pick older cars ...

2026-06-12T14:16:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…uk4q
_________________________

The criminals already do this, but they tend to pick older cars without this kind of tech.

At least some of them are linked to the modified car scene, so they know what is and isn't present in each variant of vehicle.

What often does get them nicked is carrying around their personal phone with the burner phone (as the burner phone can't do selfies, Facebook etc) and the two IMEIs being matched up in the same place by stingrays (or their LTE equivalents)

whilst it was (and probably still is) possible to identify an ...

2026-06-08T22:32:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…kj6s
_________________________

whilst it was (and probably still is) possible to identify an individual typewriter due to small and unique imperfections in the print, I suspect anyone with those skills is long retired or dead..

whilst I've not discussed technical stuff with a cat (I ...

2026-06-08T22:01:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…f95d
_________________________

whilst I've not discussed technical stuff with a cat (I don't even have one of my own, but a neighbours ginger tom regularly visits), we sit and meow together both indoors and out in the street, in full view of the neighbours, which makes far more sense than any AI 😸

I'm British but voted for CBC rather than BBC (I do have a ...

2026-06-08T18:31:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…npdj
_________________________

I'm British but voted for CBC rather than BBC (I do have a lot of Canadian mutuals and am curious about the country) - CBC seems to have a lot more no nonsense news reporting without the fake feel good filler material the UK's state broadcaster puts on its own website (although it might be as a foreigner I'm viewing a cut down version of what CBC publish due to copyright issues?)

yesterday I caught an #AI bot being used to send #marketing ...

2026-06-04T13:11:51Z

yesterday I caught an #AI bot being used to send #marketing replies to anyone discussing solar power infrastructure.

The admins of the instance yoinked the bot account very quickly indeed, and I'm not sure what whoever was running it hoped to achieve, although I do wonder if they were simply using #Fediverse as their test resource before they tried it in production (so this is something all #FediAdmins will have to keep a sharp eye out for)

gosh, there must be a lot of rats for the wildlife control to use ...

2026-06-03T15:03:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…vcg5
_________________________

gosh, there must be a lot of rats for the wildlife control to use such large traps a cat would fit into..

makes me think about this song I heard (about someone elses housing issues including rats)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTThKSPM6N0

why is there a cat trap in the park? (hopefully its just the folk ...

2026-06-03T14:46:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…wua7
_________________________

why is there a cat trap in the park? (hopefully its just the folk from the dierenasiel trying to catch ferals for TNR and rehominng?)

maybe ask them directly which University it is, and then when you ...

2026-06-01T22:16:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…wvgc
_________________________

maybe ask them directly which University it is, and then when you get the form telephone the Finance department of that University to confirm it is legit?

its interesting that both relatively liberal countries (Norway) ...

2026-05-31T22:32:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…x4p7
_________________________

its interesting that both relatively liberal countries (Norway) and harsh ones (Singapore) seem to have low recidivism rates - I suspect high rates in UK after 5-6 years are due to lack of employment opportunities for those with criminal records, but there's a dilemma for smaller companies and those dealing with general public/vulnerable folk as there is a real risk in hiring someone who has been capable of committing violence or serious dishonesty - although employers nowadays aren't that bothered about drug use or traffic offences (unless these are serious/repeated offences)

friend of mine went down for non payment of fines (repeated ...

2026-05-31T22:08:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…dlv6
_________________________

friend of mine went down for non payment of fines (repeated traffic offences, I don't think he even *got* a full driving licence until his 40s, although he was always in some motor!)

Wasn't a long stretch, but he taught himself to read and write better and to use a computer there (but had to take the initiative himself to do that).

Another friend was in for a bit of dealing, but since got clean and now works on maintaining critical national infrastructure.

Folk with serious mental health issues really should not be in prison at all, but in a hospital environment (maybe with more security if necessary), but the NHS doesn't get enough budget for the amount of cases, and once someone snaps and uses violence they are at risk of doing time..

the real problem leading to prisons being full (even putting ...

2026-05-31T21:30:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…jhtf
_________________________

the real problem leading to prisons being full (even putting aside "1970s hard men" who are serving life tariffs for historical crimes so are going to take up spaces for decades or more in a civilised country without death penalty) is there are not enough early interventions which should start at junior school age to strongly discourage young men from using violence to achieve their aims, and opportunities to earn money away from drugs or selling stolen goods,
as this is ultimately what lands many inside (its really not /that/ easy to get sent down unless you have actually hurt someone badly, sold a *lot* of drugs, caused an injury/fatal RTC through your own bad driving or repeatedly nicked high value items)

I was not 100% law abiding in my youth, nor were many of my ...

2026-05-31T21:08:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…66yg
_________________________

I was not 100% law abiding in my youth, nor were many of my friends - but we did have some morals and boundaries.

In some cases it was simply because we knew certain things like unjustified violence and predatory behaviour were simply wrong - but with others the hassle of arrest, Court etc and the risk of losing liberty ( as well as longer term consequences like reduced employment prospects and raised motor and house insurance premiums) did have at least have /some/ deterrent.

Most young lads, even if they push boundaries of what society considers acceptable, don't really want to be full on criminals - even those who lead hedonistic lifestyles with drugs, but it does mean they have to have something better to look forward to in later life..

this week I read about an incident where two young lads in ...

2026-05-31T17:27:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…5xqe
_________________________

this week I read about an incident where two young lads in Manchester (both likely from middle class backgrounds and at least one a University student) were driving a car at 130 mph in 30 mph city street.

Unsurprisingly, they were involved in a collision where another driver was killed.

Both got around 12 years each as well as being banned from driving for 5 years *after* they leave prison. They will serve about 6-9 years inside.

Why should a serious sexual assault *not* result in similar penalties? Of course it won't stop every offender who is impulsive or even mentally disturbed, but it *does* act as a deterrent to normal lads as prison is shit and boring, and there are usually other more enoyable things you could be doing with your life..

She's right, but dealing with it is not going to be easy - ...

2026-05-30T22:59:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…cckp
_________________________

She's right, but dealing with it is *not* going to be easy - there's far worse going on that isn't getting reported, and lads behaving as "local warlords", which has been happening in some areas 30+ years.

The older ones are now fathers and grandfathers of todays angry youth!

I can't see it being achievable without /some/ form of restriction of Internet "content" and/or other perceived freedoms of young men and if handled badly will cause yet more of a backlash that could bring Reform into power.

Already Reform seem increasingly popular with younger men, and its hardly as if Nigel Farage has much "rizz"...

I read a lot of crime reports from arrest until sentencing, ...

2026-05-30T22:25:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…m7g4
_________________________

I read a *lot* of crime reports from arrest until sentencing, have done so for 35+ years ( I once wanted to be a crime reporter), and there seems to be a wider problem where crimes of violence (including sexual violence) committed by both teens and young adult men get surprisingly light non-custodial penalties.

I see it all the time especially in news reports from Northern England, its as if "lads are expected to be violent", I also see a lot of repeat offenders for these violent crimes (including in my region) even after some have served time which shows there isn't even much true rehabilitation within the prison estate..

if its not complaining, its media (both in UK and NL) celebrating ...

2026-05-30T18:06:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…ppd0
_________________________

if its not complaining, its media (both in UK and NL) celebrating "good weather" with photos/footage of lasses in bikinis, packed beaches above other reports of realities of hot weather such as 10 drownings and multiple arrests for anti social behaviour/gang-related violence just last week, a rise in road traffic collisions (both on 4 and 2 wheeled vehicles as more folk decide to go out on bicycles and motorcycles, but motorists are still not looking out for these vehicles)

Hot weather also causes an increase in domestic violence..

https://www.eui.eu/news-hub?id=warmer-days-higher-tensions-how-temperature-affects-domestic-violence

ISTR Kenny had his own well equipped home studio so could well ...

2026-05-29T20:24:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…sfx9
_________________________

ISTR Kenny had his own well equipped home studio so could well have made the carts from there..

I think that's Kenny Everett? Also did the meows for Charlie ...

2026-05-29T20:20:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…3z9s
_________________________

I think that's Kenny Everett? Also did the meows for Charlie the Cat from the PIFs (and later sampled by the Prodigy)

I can slowly understand written Danish by translating it into ...

2026-05-07T19:22:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…q0vu
_________________________

I can slowly understand written Danish by translating it into Dutch, but found some free content from DR and tried to understand that and realised - gosh, folk there add stuff like å æ ø (I like ø, which appears in some Dutch dialects and I think should be included in Scots as well) - but they also seem to leave out all the consonants 😁

German girls do make passes at men who wear #glasses 😁 ...

2026-05-04T19:10:48Z

German girls *do* make passes at men who wear #glasses 😁

#Brille #Schlager #1970s #NRW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ezy3wVkCbg

folk from Britain have actually complained to Yorkshire Tea for ...

2026-05-01T18:00:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…ltlf
_________________________

folk from Britain have actually complained to Yorkshire Tea for using "foreign tea that wasn't actually grown in Yorkshire"

I deliberately collect dead tree books about cars (going back to ...

2026-04-17T23:23:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…hks7
_________________________

I deliberately collect dead tree books about cars (going back to 20th century, although I have a few more modern ones) and magazines published by reputable sources, and keep an eye on forums where there are real humans, as otherwise there is so much dubious AI-generated info around about car-maintenance (the worst part is its often 80% correct, but getting the other 20% right is *important*)

it might not be /immediate/ priority, but I'm Asian and food ...

2026-04-14T20:09:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…4sde
_________________________

it might not be /immediate/ priority, but I'm Asian and food is *important* in our culture (if I were to spend any time in Sweden I'd want to know all the vocabulary for food, both local and Asian) 😁

if you've got Asian friends who maybe recently arrived and ...

2026-04-14T20:03:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…sds2
_________________________

if you've got Asian friends who maybe recently arrived and are learning Swedish they might want the cookbooks (even if they aren't planning on following the recipes as they've got better ones of their own, it would help learning the words for the ingredients..)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiangqi

2026-04-13T15:00:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…4vz7
_________________________

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiangqi

I was a small boy when they happened and vaguely knew about them ...

2026-04-12T19:41:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…5vfe
_________________________

I was a small boy when they happened and vaguely knew about them and it was a reason *why* the EEC/EU was generally a good thing (as it was supposed to stop things like this happening too often) but didn't realise it had gone as far as live ordnance being discharged...

Metpol are flush with resources compared to other provincial ...

2026-04-12T15:46:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…y37z
_________________________

Metpol are flush with resources compared to other provincial constabularies - they can do this *and* nick the real criminals (for instance the same weekend they nicked the two lads who stabbed the rap video cameraman in Primrose hill)

Maybe the protestors should change tactics and hold the demos in provincial towns? Alas, I'm not sure though if the same level of support for them exists outside the big cities...

even in our lifetimes there have been conflicts over fishing ...

2026-04-12T15:03:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…jxx2
_________________________

even in our lifetimes there have been conflicts over fishing rights in the North Sea, including firing of live rounds at ships from fellow EEC/EU nations as recently as the 1970s...

RE: https://social.tchncs.de/@vfrmedia/209190 Slightly late to ...

2026-04-09T00:14:00Z

RE: https://social.tchncs.de/@vfrmedia/209190

Slightly late to announce this but now 9 (nine) years on #Fediverse for me 😸
nostr:note1h4fm2x3m8zj03tjjedreck5j6ds5hms4yzahyle0wewe5j6c3jvswfghzz

I think you have tech-related interests and hobbies, but what you ...

2026-04-05T17:16:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…6mtd
_________________________

I think you have tech-related interests and hobbies, but what you put together tends to be considered "shadow IT" in the industry (even though its now more widely used).

I suspect a lot of those aged 50-70+ do now have greater tech skills than younger generations as they *had* to learn a bit more about how the computer works (such as file and directory structures) and until 1990s computers with GUI weren't that commonplace..

By and large modern Mastodon / Fediverse is a welcoming and ...

2026-04-05T16:43:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…yd37
_________________________

By and large modern Mastodon / Fediverse *is* a welcoming and diverse place.

There have been historical issues with lack of timely moderation, ongoing issues about reply controls and a long standing problem that parts of Fediverse are run by edgelords that had already been yeeted from just about everywhere else (even corporate socials) and they actively try to disrupt things, but its endured this and even attracted interesting segments of folk such as older adults (age 60-70+) who are *not* all tech focused.

What is generally unpopular here is any kind of "hustle" or tech/AI bro culture (no matter who it is from), and those who push it too hard can end up being chased off to the sound of Yakety Sax 😁

I think its George Takei's social media team rather than him ...

2026-04-05T12:55:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…6s80
_________________________

I think its George Takei's social media team rather than him directly, but one thing I've noticed since 2017 is whilst I was initially one of the oldest on my Fedi group, now there are *many* folk on Fedi easily old enough to be my parents (and I'm 54!) and a lot who aren't from tech backgrounds, which shows the network has become accessible and usable for older people..

some slight strangeness on #LinuxMint 22.3, #XFCE desktop - today ...

2026-03-22T22:19:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…aq0n
_________________________

some slight strangeness on #LinuxMint 22.3, #XFCE desktop - today #Anydesk let me log in but password entry field unresponsive - checking PC directly showed the num lock was working but keyboard wouldn't type any numbers. PC was also still on network (but no SSH as its not there out of the box and I hadn't installed it yet!)

Had to press power button, PC came back up with lockscreen (not full Linux startup) and password so likely something to do with a power saving / resume setting - clearly the PC hadn't fully crashed as all the photos I had uploaded to Dropbox (from another machine on the network) had been picked up by the client..

I(how do you change this on #XFCE ? )

Left #LinuxMint PC switched on overnight again with both browsers ...

2026-03-21T02:54:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…kwke
_________________________

Left #LinuxMint PC switched on overnight again with both browsers open (but fewer tabs, just #MS365 on #Edge , a terminal window and two large PDFs (a scanned copy of 1981 Handbuch für Fernmeldehandwerker (training books from DBP-Telekom) and a draft of what appears to be a University textbook (in German) about VOIP (which seems to have a better explanation about how SIP works than many English texts!).

Everything remained stable, including the Dropbox client and even the Mastodon tab left open on Firefox didn't go OOM - I suspect yesterdays crash may have been an outlier due to multiple things hammering the system (or possibly a commercial news site and the adblockers eating memory)

Went to the village shop to get some food and returned to find ...

2026-03-19T22:02:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…z6wp
_________________________

Went to the village shop to get some food and returned to find the PC fully locked up ( needed a power cycle to restart!)

I suspect this is more fault of #browsers with multiple tabs left open (there's an open issue for this on #Firefox) than any flaw with #LinuxMint itself, on top of websites being more bloated and #adtech scripts and #adblockers fighting one another.

Successfully installed #Anydesk on #Linux PC, so can access #XFCE desktop remotely from my Windows laptop (we use Anydesk a lot for remote support)

Got smol SSD drive (250GB) and restarted #LinuxMint experiment ...

2026-03-19T19:55:14Z

Got smol SSD drive (250GB) and restarted #LinuxMint experiment (old #desktop was laggy using spinning rust) - this is actually now a usable PC!

Office #printer once again detected by #CUPS with driverless install, built in software handled printing a large graphics-intensive PDF well.

Both #Firefox and #Edge running without problems (only reason I have Edge on here is to test how well it works with if #MS365)

Only minor drawback is #Dropbox #Linux client wants to download entire Dropbox to the hard drive (which will fill it up very quickly), it doesn't have the "save hard drive space" functionality on #Windows

This would now be good enough to use as backup PC for general (non technical) office staff (many use web MS365 apps a lot more than desktop these days!)

Some reporter (presumably American) seemed to be disappointed ...

2026-03-18T20:48:32Z

Some reporter (presumably American) seemed to be disappointed that #Banksy turns out to be a middle aged British man.

WTF did they expect him to be? Especially given all the cultural clues / influences in his art, and that the British Establishment haven't nicked him for criminal damage (which is what would happen to a younger person or one from a less privileged middle class background)

BTW have a look at these (don't worry if your French isn't that good, the dialogue is minimal) and you will see where he got the inspiration for a lot of his art as a young lad 😁

#TonyHart #art #UK

https://www.youtube.com/@declicvisionon7961/videos

I remember reading about a UK driving instructor in NW England ...

2026-03-17T15:23:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…6crj
_________________________

I remember reading about a UK driving instructor in NW England mentioning how in the mid 2000s (when there was a lot of paranoia over terrorism), his candidate passed his driving test and said "Allah-u-Akhbar!" in celebration, a number of people at the test centre flinched and some even ducked (but not the instructor nor the examiner, both of whom had had cultural awareness training)

Now the other two are ported - all the #analogue #trunks are ...

2026-03-13T19:13:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…wpv7
_________________________

Now the other two are ported - all the #analogue #trunks are ceased and all traffic to and from the #PSTN from this #PBX is now #VOIP (using #PJSIP trunks on #FreePBX )

I disconnected all the analogue lines as #Openreach leave battery on them, that way they show as RED alarm on #Asterisk and won't be selected for any calls (worst case is they return a busy trunk status and the route will go to the next trunk, but I've taken away all the analogue circuits from every PSTN route)

#Telecoms #Telephony

the constabularies are losing officers even during probation ...

2026-03-12T19:08:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…0plr
_________________________

the constabularies are losing officers even during probation (having spent a fuckton of taxpayers money training them) as many are quitting due to considering policing "too woke" (the other worrying thing is what happens to these men *after* they quit the job, its not as if they disappear in to thin air)

they probably got sold on Ebay and are now ridden by your local ...

2026-03-07T21:05:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…kw4a
_________________________

they probably got sold on Ebay and are now ridden by your local "roadman" (young drug dealer), they are fast and have no registration mark so ideal for this sort of activity...

I went 30 years in my life without owning or needing a car, then ...

2026-03-07T21:04:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…0qmv
_________________________

I went 30 years in my life without owning or needing a car, then the last recession meant I had to leave SE England for East Anglia (which is geographically large and car-dependent) and finally got my driving licence and first car in 2019, at age 47.

I still remember passing my test and the examiner sheepishly handing me a "First Car" magazine along with my pass certificate which was clearly aimed at those 17-25 and had YouTubers, rappers etc in it (as well as propaganda for insurance spy boxes), I could barely keep a straight face 😁

I've already lived though a couple of recessions in UK where ...

2026-03-07T20:59:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…9y0w
_________________________

I've already lived though a couple of recessions in UK where folk were forced onto bikes/public transport - I didn't even have a car myself then and rode a bicycle everywhere, but I could tell that those who were doing it out of necessity rather than choice were thoroughly miserable, angry and often rode badly and aggressively..

Although its claimed that #cats don't #meow to each other, I ...

2026-03-02T20:07:02Z

Although its claimed that #cats don't #meow to each other, I saw and heard today the #tomcat from across the street (who hangs out with the other cats round here) enter the yard, sit down and give a single meow in the direction of where the other yard cats come from.

It wasn't the typical call tomcats make when calling for females, it sounded more like he was simply letting the other cats know he was around (like humans would send a text or similar message) - I've been watching these cats for years now and it definitely seemed like inter-cat #communication

#AnimalBehaviour #wildlife

I saw a quote from President Eisenhower about this a few days ago ...

2026-03-01T18:30:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…kvg7
_________________________

I saw a quote from President Eisenhower about this a few days ago - hardly the most "woke" of presidents either.

I remember about 15 years ago telling some lads who had been playing a 3D computer wargame about the Cold War how that when I grew up in 1980s we *could* have had all those 3D graphics cards but all the best tech was instead diverted to the military industrial complex because of the *real* Cold War (the same happened with telecoms, which delayed civillians getting the Internet until 1990s).

This is all starting to happen once again..

One (1) #telephone number successfully ported to #VOIP, one more ...

2026-02-25T17:24:08Z

One (1) #telephone number successfully ported to #VOIP, one more left to go (there's 2 pairs for main and aux line, provisioned on same number but those will go to 3 channel #SIP trunk)

For some reason #Openreach have left battery on the pair (I would have thought they would want to recover capacity on the line card and it would just go dis, as there are still going to be a handful of customers remaining on #PSTN circuits.

I thought a lot of "analogue" trunks these days were literally just a SIP ATA connected to the copper pair at the Telephone Exchange (or from a street cabinet) but it looks like Openreach really are getting the last out of the old #SystemX kit!

There is no dialtone or even NU tone, just some noise..

#Telecoms #Telephony

"We guarantee to make any bag air tight that is not actually ...

2026-02-05T19:57:47Z

"We guarantee to make any bag air tight that is not actually burst" (this should be read in a #Scottish accent)

#Bagpipe #Doedelzak #Düdelsack #Scotland

Nostr event nevent1qqsyjkazmgj9yjjuxgwxupsrv2jndmt4llck6k44nha9ag7fravpzkgzyphl2khjk9srytmma9hxnt5cjtzw7v8wfrq57ylltk5qclj0uflnk3slvuz

2026-02-03T23:28:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…4mx5
_________________________

https://social.tchncs.de/@vfrmedia/114966840070642784
nostr:note1qfhpgcvd37jhqdph0u580l2ft6wtfguczgah0hg3h0praf0nwphqx7hwkn

even the cat is not impressed by all those RAM errors 😸

2026-01-29T17:23:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…z5yt
_________________________

even the cat is not impressed by all those RAM errors 😸

This is bad - its not even that the #Police have been sitting on ...

2026-01-26T13:55:54Z

This is bad - its not even that the #Police have been sitting on their arses in #Sheffield but they have lost a local officer who kept an eye on the streets, and there seems to be a repeating problem with angry men across this part of #Yorkshire deliberately intimidating female owners of "woke" businesses (I suspect either they daren't target the shops run by Desi lads who will fight their corner, or these shops have already been priced out of the market in that street?)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx4rk5zy37o

Alas: black paint on the clasp still gets scratched up easily ...

2026-01-18T04:15:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…lgxa
_________________________

Alas: black paint on the clasp still gets scratched up easily (weak point of #design, its always going to be metal on metal contact and #Filofax is shaken about in bags during travelling (especially on Britain's roads!).

I sanded and polished it to bare metal, other than black dot in the middle and paint on sides (other bit probably doesnt go all the way down into the hole), which fits in with brushed metal of slimline #fountainpen (a cheap Chinese one from a set of 3) in pen holder

I'm toying with the idea of swapping all my daily stuff into the Wellington rather than my somewhat battle scarred #leather Winchester, but that has some sentimental value as its been with me since early 1990s and on all sorts of adventures when I was a younger man with way more of an IRL social life!

have a look here, its possible a good portion of pet cats in ...

2026-01-17T23:27:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…awgy
_________________________

have a look here, its possible a good portion of pet cats in Scotland already have some wildcat genes (I've already seen a picture of one hybrid that a lass in Dumfries and Galloway took in - unfortunately I can't find the digital picture as it was 20 years ago but he definitely had the broad tail and other attributs of a wildcat and she said he was a good cat and coexisted peacefully with other cats, dogs and humans (but was very protective to the family group and would see off anyone he didn't like the look of!)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159125003041?via%3Dihub

Unusually for any #Filofax of that era, it has a #magnetic clasp ...

2026-01-17T04:02:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…0t4w
_________________________

Unusually for any #Filofax of that era, it has a #magnetic clasp rather than a snap fastener (as is now common on mobile phone cases) - black paint on this was worn off so I resprayed it as I already had the part used rattle can from repainting the centre caps for my alloy wheels.

I wonder how many people here can work out *why* this particular variant, in spite of being robust (more so than fake or real #leather) and fitting in perfectly with late #1980s #aesthetics and #design may not have been that popular back in the day (its a rare find second hand, although possible some folk have held on to theirs as they are durable)

What mishap could befall someone using one, as offices started becoming more high tech?😉

#reuse #vintage

Cleaned up the #Filofax binder with same stuff used for car ...

2026-01-17T03:53:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…ezlp
_________________________

Cleaned up the #Filofax binder with same stuff used for car interiors (its very similar material) and a detailing brush, it looks a lot better now

#1980s #reuse