Tom Dewar

 Data science since before it was trendy. Ex-NHS, ex-civil servant. Wants you to use evidence to make better decisions.

Previously @tomdewar_ on the old bird site.

He/him.

Public Key

npub1lutpcutnkudgeauv0d5a9q5xgsfjx7qpvnqevyt4gwpugnjdhkxqnydehk

NIP-05 Address

tomdewar@mas-to.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs079suw9emwx5v77x8k6wjs2rygyer0qqkfsvkz9658q7yfexmmrqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dse5566k

Publishing to

relay.snort.social

nos.lol

relay.damus.io

Author Public Key

npub1lutpcutnkudgeauv0d5a9q5xgsfjx7qpvnqevyt4gwpugnjdhkxqnydehk

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Last Notes

2026-04-22 21:51:01 UTC

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@nprofile…r9vg @nprofile…kxem @nprofile…65q8 yeah, I’d love if there was a way to have a Yubikey required for sudo-ing, say, separate from user regular password. Is that a thing?

2026-04-22 19:38:35 UTC

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@nprofile…65q8 @nprofile…kxem yeah, me too; if I could get away with blanket retaining I would. Worth keeping an eye on guidance from https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/ with Linux use on the up.

2026-04-22 19:27:09 UTC

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@nprofile…65q8 @nprofile…kxem my idea is that the local admin account is only used to add or remove the user from wheel. And we have protocols for when that’s done: add when nec, remove when no longer. (Yes, I know this sounds barking mad but it’s the only thing I could think of that might pass muster, be not wholly impractical, and retain some reasonable security.) This is for single person laptops, not servers btw.

2026-04-22 16:46:31 UTC

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@nprofile…65q8 also, if you have any work stuff on your phone (email etc), they’ll want evidence it’s on latest iOS/Android. If you run something jailbroken or outside that Apple/Google ecosystem I would recommend declaring that you _don’t_ use it for work stuff. PS if you only use it for MFA, that’s fine: doesn’t put it in scope.

2026-04-22 16:38:44 UTC

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@nprofile…65q8 from discussions with them previously, the main annoyance will be: they expect the primary user account one each Linux device to not have sudo privileges. We handle that by having a separate “local admin” account that the staff member can use when they need to.

2026-04-22 16:34:09 UTC

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@nprofile…65q8 if you check back with me in a month or so’s time, I may have one. Just about to embark on our first assessment since switching. It’ll be with https://www.bulletproof.co.uk/.

2026-03-27 17:43:44 UTC

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@nprofile…65q8 Framework laptop fixed! The advantage of a machine designed for self repair is that you can easily do things like unplug screen from motherboard and plug it back in again. (And yes, that was the solution.) Kudos to Framework support who were prompt and helpful.

2026-03-23 22:06:04 UTC

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@nprofile…65q8 not sure yet, I think hardware a bit more likely. Will be contacting Framework support as soon as I’m confident it’s not some really dumb user error ;) It’s a lovely machine otherwise!

2026-03-23 21:50:35 UTC

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@nprofile…65q8 mine’s been less good: everything works seamlessly except the laptop screen which just stopped working randomly after a few weeks. Currently a laptop which can only be used as a desktop. (Brand new Framework.) Still better than anything I use with Windows 11 on it though.

2026-02-20 19:34:07 UTC

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@nprofile…7rg4 love these

2025-12-21 13:41:38 UTC

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@nprofile…fu94 stunning work, John

2025-12-09 19:22:01 UTC

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@nprofile…3g6z Excellent idea. I’d make it per project/product though. I think that would fit better with the way internal budgeting works in big cos. Probably needs something to make this as frictionless as possible for them; e.g., a service which reads your GitHub repo, calculates your obligation, collects fees by direct debit, provides you with an itemised invoice, passes on collected monies to devs, complies with relevant local tax laws.

2025-12-08 10:09:06 UTC

So, my iPhone just updated and imposed Apple’s liquid glass UI update and… it’s a horror show. Not only is it significantly more ugly, but it makes some things actively harder to read. Massive UX fail.

2025-05-16 08:15:24 UTC

Computers should not arbitrarily reboot themselves. Ask my permission first godamnit.

2025-01-08 16:17:04 UTC

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@nprofile…x759 @nprofile…xzjv As a profession, the tendency of lawyers to itemise and bill for every minor administrative element of the job quite annoying. Is it a professional standards thing or just evolved practice? A high per-hour rate is fair for a skilled profession, but adding a tenner to the bill because some photocopying was involved feels like a p-take.

2024-06-04 19:18:33 UTC

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@npub17lg…9uux if it is not off by default for all enterprise users they are grossly negligent

2024-06-02 11:16:35 UTC

Bit of macro in the garden the other weekend. #photography #macro
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/112/546/741/686/862/088/original/ac3ed4e1f7c2a10c.jpeg

2024-05-26 06:57:16 UTC

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@npub198t…hasj …to buy her some more games for it?

2024-05-05 07:33:16 UTC

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@npub178r…qekt when working with these slightly longer exposures, do you bracket widely or do you have a pretty good idea what duration will work best and just go for that (or a narrow range around it)?