Nostr notes by Raymond Russell

This episode of "Skeptics with a K" has a great segment ...

2026-10-24T21:45:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…csqt
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This episode of "Skeptics with a K" has a great segment about the infiltration of Academia by such people.

https://www.merseysideskeptics.org.uk/podcasts/skeptics-with-a-k/episode-480

Also it may be this episode where Dr Alice points out that in the UK DEI is mostly referred to as EDI by those in the field.

This suggests to me that one should be extra wary of someone talking about "DEI" in a UK context, if they don't even use the localised acronym.

Their hubris is off the scale. Having a fundamentally profitable ...

2026-10-24T17:55:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…28ah
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Their hubris is off the scale.
Having a fundamentally profitable business means they may weather the storm for a while but a lot of the money is just being shuffled within a closed system. You can only pay yourself with your own (or borrowed) money for so long.

My prediction about a year ago was that Nvidia as it is at the ...

2026-10-24T17:29:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…9r8j
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My prediction about a year ago was that Nvidia as it is at the moment won't exist in 5 years time.
When the big crash happens some other companie(s) will buy the name, patents and stock for pennies.

I still stand by that prediction,

THEY have also removed Conspiracy-Theory.

2026-10-06T14:36:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…ccl8
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THEY have also removed Conspiracy-Theory.

I remember when the automation/computer age was happening in the ...

2026-10-02T18:26:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…zd76
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I remember when the automation/computer age was happening in the latter half of the 20th Century, we were all gonna have so much leisure time it was going to be fantastic...turns out the capitalists took all the extra wealth generated and expected the workers to work harder, for less money and longer hours.

Yes, this is a toot about #AI

What makes me laugh is that paying your workers more puts more ...

2026-09-26T21:28:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…2gnx
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What makes me laugh is that paying your workers more puts more money into the actual real economy.
This allows workers as customers of businesses to spend more money. It is the virtual circle of the velocity of money.

Public spending also has the same effect. Austerity has harmed businesses as it removed a tonne of money from the economy for no real benefit.

One thing that no one talks about then the want to 'get rid ...

2026-09-25T16:16:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…fjmj
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One thing that no one talks about then the want to 'get rid of BBC' is that the broadcast industry in the UK punches way above its weight worldwide and it could be destroyed if £4 billion per annum suddenly disappeared. It would have strong knock on affects for ITV, C4 and C5. Lots of the independent producers could really struggle if they lost BBC.

At the moment funding is only one step removed from direct ...

2026-09-25T16:02:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…ljaf
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At the moment funding is only one step removed from direct control. Imagine what a Reform UK PLC government would do to the BBC.

We could have direct government funding but still have a similar system to Charter renew periodically.

Is there really much difference between "have a load of cash from us directly" or "here is law that allows the BBC to collect a load of cash under pain of prosecution".
You are still at the whim of the power that be for funding.

I don't pay a license fee as I dumped it about 5 years ago. I ...

2026-09-25T15:54:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…vfp0
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I don't pay a license fee as I dumped it about 5 years ago.
I also switched to a 4g router for my home internet years ago.

The BBC takes in just under £4 billion per year. That could easily be paid for out of general taxation. It's a tiny amount of gov't spending and would allow it to be a proper universal service and secure the BBC's future.
It would also stop Capita from making a fortune in collection fees and harassing folk who don't pay.

I don't use many services that seem like they will require ...

2026-09-14T19:51:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…cq6l
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I don't use many services that seem like they will require age verification but the ones that do can just fuck off and I will have to do without or get an alternative.

So far only my Sony Playstation account has asked for age verification to continue using in game chat but strangely I can still chat on Fortnite on my PS4 without issue. I don't have a card associated with my account so they can't even use that as a proxy.

Yup, I have seen that video where Sam Altman is on stage and that ...

2026-09-13T21:10:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…nsjw
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Yup, I have seen that video where Sam Altman is on stage and that was his serious answer to how they were gonna make money.
There was quite a bit of laughter in the room and he said "I know some you are laughing but I am quite serious".

I don't even accept the premise that it was peaceful. They ...

2026-09-07T14:15:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…fps3
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I don't even accept the premise that it was peaceful.

They dressed and acted in a way that was meant to intimidate while disguising their identities.
The last bit is important because they were coming mob handed and were messaging that they were emboldened with the veil of relative anonymity.

You don't have to punch someone on the nose to commit an act of violence.

You just have to come looking for it and let those who would get in your way know it.

UK petrol stations are often fully stocked convenience stores ...

2026-08-14T20:47:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…r6xg
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UK petrol stations are often fully stocked convenience stores that do the classic sandwich meal deal. They also sell a pretty good range of groceries. In most you could get about 75% of your weekly shop if really have to.

The main downsides it they can be expensive and have much less variety compared to regular supermarkets.

But not on Wednesday afternoons - half day closing.

2026-08-09T16:17:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…60ua
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But not on Wednesday afternoons - half day closing.

Nice, here my version using (emulated) hardware from 1982 so no ...

2026-08-07T09:50:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…hac3
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Nice, here my version using (emulated) hardware from 1982 so no AI.
The 15x15 grid would require 255 numbers to represent each square. I have used a manual compression algorithm to squeeze it down to 99 numbers. Starting at the top left hand corner each horizontal line of colour is represented by 2 numbers - length and colour. Top line is 4,w,8,b,3,w and 254 denotes the end of the line and 255 is end of picture.
This not textart as such but pokes the colours directly to screen

Serious question, what are you gonna do about a new one?

2026-08-03T19:35:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…ycsz
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Serious question, what are you gonna do about a new one?

No Mr Youtube Advert, your "NASA inspired" smaller than a ...

2026-07-13T16:56:05Z

No Mr Youtube Advert, your "NASA inspired" smaller than a toaster AC is not gonna cool a room in less that 90 seconds no matter how loudly and quickly you shout about it.

Nostr event nevent1qqsyhprdty2q2gzl0ganz8nursvdg4e6l2hv49r73ng49f0tu7qh3lszyq929eky8pg3rgz832a9vx4aan6n4m4ygnrxrh2rs2tf69ch28ylq9ey5nz

2026-07-09T18:25:57Z

Popping out for milk soon.
Anyone needing anything?

The leaflet was a waste of time. It was posing as information but ...

2026-06-30T15:05:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…6t0t
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The leaflet was a waste of time.
It was posing as information but told no details just that 2nd class post would be every other day and not on Saturdays. So what days can we expect 2nd class post?
No specificity, just telling us what was already announced with an apologetic that it would improve the service as a whole.
Fucking nonsense.

They could do a Sir Clive Sinclair. The original ZX Spectrum used ...

2026-06-21T16:50:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…nuzd
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They could do a Sir Clive Sinclair. The original ZX Spectrum used 'faulty' RAM which were configured in such a way to work using half their manufacture capacity by the use of jumpers on the PCB's to ignore the faulty part of the chips.

This is the reason the phrase "free press" really rips my ...

2026-06-11T23:08:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…4r37
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This is the reason the phrase "free press" really rips my knitting. Its the billionaires press.

I understand the concept of a plethora of media sources and the view that they should not be unnecessarily restrained by the state.
But when hyper wealthy folk are making media a business loss leader to impose their own politics to drown out others and actually harming others in the process is not freedom of the press.

This is how to break the news to the kids (both old and young) ...

2026-06-11T22:49:56Z

This is how to break the news to the kids (both old and young) that Doctor Who has been cancelled.

Doctor Who has had to go and live on streaming platform in a different country that Geolocks it content in such a way the even a VPN doesn't work, so you won't be able to see them any more.

Bonkers. Where I live in he West of Scotland I could get to at ...

2026-06-08T21:35:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…307k
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Bonkers.
Where I live in he West of Scotland I could get to at least 5 professional football clubs stadiums on public transport within an hour.
Most of them require a bus journey then some walking, with a trip on the Glasgow subway for one of them

For most of thes journeys the last stage is on foot of between 10-20 minutes.

In alpahbetical order the clubs are;
Celtic,Hamilton, Motherwell, Queens Park and Rangers.

This exactly what vulture capitalists want to do with the NHS. ...

2026-05-31T14:38:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…e28p
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This exactly what vulture capitalists want to do with the NHS. Privatise it for most folk then jack up charges. The vet situation should be a warning to all of us if even toy with idea of voting for a party that does not value the NHS.

Lol, I did this with a puzzle game (BlockZ) I wrote for the 8 bit ...

2026-05-22T21:15:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…8rl0
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Lol, I did this with a puzzle game (BlockZ) I wrote for the 8 bit Micro - ZX Spectrum during the covid lockdown.

I held the score as an unsigned 16 bit value so it could only range from 0 to 65535, so a ghost zero at the end made the scores seem bigger.

It is surprisingly convoluted to efficiently convert an integer value held in 16 bits (or variation thereof) to a string of text to display to the screen.

They have called it that since they started the worlds first ...

2026-05-18T14:46:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…sy83
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They have called it that since they started the worlds first regular TV service in the mid 1930's, I doubt they are gonna change its name now 😃

Yes, in the UK if you watch ANY live TV channels or use the BBC ...

2026-05-18T14:33:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…xcwg
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Yes, in the UK if you watch ANY live TV channels or use the BBC catchup service then you need to buy a license.

This pays for the BBC to make programs without taking any advertising. It keeps them fairly independent from gov't as they don't directly rely on the gov't for funding.

They collect about £4 billion per year in this manner and have other income selling programs a formats.

The license is £180 per year, so that is approx $240 USD.

I don't buy a TV license cos I don't watch live TV or BBC ...

2026-05-18T12:46:11Z

I don't buy a TV license cos I don't watch live TV or BBC iPLayer.

Had a supposed visit from a inspector today.
How do I know?

I heard something pushed thru my letterbox.

"Thank you for your declaration that you do not need a TV license, we visited today to check if that was still the case but no one was at home.

We may visit again."

I literally heard the documentation getting pushed thru my letterbox. No attempt was made to knock on my door.

Sheer fucking nonsense.

Even after all these years it still annoys me that classically ...

2026-05-17T21:32:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…ktfw
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Even after all these years it still annoys me that classically trained English Actor Patrick Stewart pronounces Robin Hood the American way and not his native English pronunciation.

The American way is to run the Robin and Hood together as if they are one word and the British English subtly splits it in two.

You have me at manky jaiket wearer 😁😂😂

2026-05-12T13:17:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…ulcl
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You have me at manky jaiket wearer 😁😂😂

How much RAM does the C64 have that is realistically available ...

2026-05-09T19:42:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…wyll
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How much RAM does the C64 have that is realistically available for the user?
Being a speccy coder, there is about 40K of the 48K available for code and data. 7K is for the screen that is fixed and cannot be changed. There are some system variables and stack that be written to if you desperate but careful.

The classic paradox, workers so vital you consider removing their ...

2026-04-10T06:27:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…r69m
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The classic paradox, workers so vital you consider removing their ability to strike but not vital enough that you can pay them what they are worth.

Yes, it almost like an optical illusion (sic) of the mind.

2026-03-30T21:28:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…a6gg
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Yes, it almost like an optical illusion (sic) of the mind.

I am really sick of hearing about "The Mandela Effect". I ...

2026-03-30T21:23:32Z

I am really sick of hearing about "The Mandela Effect".
I am absolutely convinced that anyone "remembering" that Mandela died in Jail in the 80's is remembering the film "Cry Freedom" which was the biopic of Steve Biko.
Steve Biko was Anti-Apartheid activist who died (likely murdered by the state) in jail in 1977.
His story was not widely known in popular culture until the Oscar nominated film was released in 1987.
The 1st time I heard of the Mandela Effect my immediate thought was Steve Biko.

Maybe I am misunderstanding something but it seems to me that ...

2026-03-22T20:43:32Z

Maybe I am misunderstanding something but it seems to me that laws in various places which require age declarations for OS's are going to make all vintage machines with ROM based fixed OS's illegal in those locales.

I cannot tell my ZX Spectrum my age so that it will only load age appropriate software when I use it.

I lost a small sliver of tooth about 2 weeks before I was due for ...

2026-03-17T14:11:50Z

I lost a small sliver of tooth about 2 weeks before I was due for my regular checkup. It wasn't bothering me other than a roughness on my tongue when I touched it.
So today was the big day.
Turns out it was small piece of filling that I lost and I had forgotten was a filled tooth.
It was fixed in 5 mins, no numbing needed. In a way I am glad it was an old filling rather than a bit of actual tooth that had gone bad.
The rest of my mouth was fine.

Thats fine if you are in the position to do so. I am a cyclist ...

2026-03-11T19:09:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…mrm7
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Thats fine if you are in the position to do so.
I am a cyclist and cant drive but I appreciated that a vehicle can be a necessity in many circumstances both personal and business use.
One could suggest EV's but that is not without cost implications.
If a business is profiteering the easiest counter is for the state to not allow it.

The player routine has a pointer that lets it know where the ...

2026-03-05T18:41:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…2eg3
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The player routine has a pointer that lets it know where the module (tune) is located in RAM so you could locate several tunes in RAM and change the pointer. I went a slightly lazier route and kept the default pointer location and just copied the mods from there own memory location to the default location as required. I have plenty of RAM so it wasn't an issue.

I would assume that there some trackers available for the C64. I ...

2026-03-05T18:20:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…3kcl
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I would assume that there some trackers available for the C64.
I lucked out and got some great AY tunes created by a fella online when I was making my speccy game BlockZ.

To integrate the music into my own program is simple.
The player routine and music module (tune) are loaded in.
The player has 3 entry points start, stop and play next note.
Call the start routine then within a interrupt routine call the next note routine for continuous music
The C64 may have similar software,

So a law that has been declared as illegal, is no longer being ...

2026-02-25T23:39:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…kafp
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So a law that has been declared as illegal, is no longer being used to arrest folk at the moment but remains on the books and if it reinstated fully at some future date on appeal and if there is evidence that the law was broken between it being declared illegal and that being reversed on appeal THEN you could be arrested if you were deemed to have broken the declared illegal law (but not really) during the interregnum period.

Confused? You soon will be.

Speaking as a Brit there is literally the phrase "Dot Dot ...

2026-02-19T06:23:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…067j
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Speaking as a Brit there is literally the phrase "Dot Dot Dot" to add a verbal ellipsis to what you are saying so I don't see where the 4 dots is British thing came from.

Yeah, all those TV cash-for-gold adverts are gonna get dislodged ...

2026-02-15T23:21:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…uexw
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Yeah, all those TV cash-for-gold adverts are gonna get dislodged by cash-for-RAM and cash-for-hdd's/sdd's

Its time the working Parliament was moved away from London. We ...

2026-02-05T19:00:42Z

Its time the working Parliament was moved away from London.
We can slowly repair the old building as a tourist attraction and move to a custom campus in the middle of the country.

Include some very nice "dormitories" for MP's so they can live comfortably while working there.

We would soon see the centre of gravity of power move from London to the new place.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgp2pzqr84o

Shock Horror!!! Nigel Farage wears his ignorance as a badge of ...

2026-01-21T11:23:16Z

Shock Horror!!!

Nigel Farage wears his ignorance as a badge of honour.
I know its not the worst thing he has ever done, but one his excuses for not registering his financial interests as an MP is

"I don't do computers...I am not computer literate, which makes me more of an oddball.."

Farage also said the system for registering interests was "not designed for anybody in business".

Sorry, but sorry. The ability
to semi-competently use a computer is a genuinely valuable real world skill

There is also a STAC code which works in the same way but does ...

2026-01-19T16:23:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…datv
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There is also a STAC code which works in the same way but does not take your old number. So you can switch and use the new number from your new supplier.

One thing in the UK that comms regulator brought in that has made ...

2026-01-19T16:19:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…8px9
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One thing in the UK that comms regulator brought in that has made a positive impact is the ability to switch your mobile phone supplier and take your number by use of a PAC (code). You can get this number by text no matter which network you are on. You then give this code to your new supplier and they switch you and your number within 24 hours. This also cancels the contract with the previous supplier (exit fees still apply if you leave early).

Squared paper truly was the graphics killer app in the early 8 ...

2026-01-03T16:10:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…gtfe
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Squared paper truly was the graphics killer app in the early 8 bit era.

You'll be getting a Spectrum, next 😂😆

2025-12-24T20:52:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…0mup
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You'll be getting a Spectrum, next 😂😆

That time you spent $1Trillion on Tulips and put Tulips in all ...

2025-11-21T11:51:58Z

That time you spent $1Trillion on Tulips and put Tulips in all your products even though it didn't make any sense and people were becoming weary of products that had fully integrated Tulips, even when given away for free.
Your massive warehouses where store all your Tulips were costing more in water and plant food to maintain than Tulips sales. So you borrow money using your Tulips as assets despite their finite life.
Now customers don't want Tulips because THEY are ignorant fools.

The #buses in #Glasgow often display the Start of #Unix Epoch ...

2025-11-17T23:08:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…t02z
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The #buses in #Glasgow often display the Start of #Unix Epoch when their on board displays are going a bit wonky.

"get the North Sea Operating" If the ignore the ...

2025-11-03T18:10:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…t98d
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"get the North Sea Operating"

If the ignore the destruction of the planet aspect of that statement, the only way it would truly "benefit Britain" would be if oil was Nationalised and a sovereign wealth fund created from the profits - This will never happen but should have 40 years ago.

Events, Dear Boy, Events. Mr Starmer and Ms Badenoch are starting ...

2025-10-19T22:18:08Z

Events, Dear Boy, Events.

Mr Starmer and Ms Badenoch are starting to look rather foolish to go against police advice et al about a certain upcoming football match.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cgr4n07509wo

It really makes you wonder whats the point of being in power if ...

2025-10-13T14:53:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…3yzc
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It really makes you wonder whats the point of being in power if you pander to folk that are never gonna be on your side rather than doing something meaningful to help the vast majority of the country.

The most annoying thing is the lack of ambition and vision. We ...

2025-10-13T14:18:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…rpyh
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The most annoying thing is the lack of ambition and vision.
We came out of WW2 almost bankrupt yet within a couple of decades the welfare state, with council housing and the NHS making life better for vast swathes of the population.

That is an observation that is difficult to disagree with. We ...

2025-10-08T21:09:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…5qdl
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That is an observation that is difficult to disagree with.

We need to make it so that public housing is of such a quality that doing anything else would be silly. Not as a choice you make when you have no other choice.

Slightly more radical than my twin ideas of massive public house ...

2025-10-08T20:57:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…8z2d
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Slightly more radical than my twin ideas of massive public house building and no person/entity/corp can own a house that isn't their primary residence.

We can build dormitories for MP's instead of the nonsense that goes on at the moment.

I fucking hate that nearly every policy the main parties do ...

2025-10-08T14:20:24Z

I fucking hate that nearly every policy the main parties do basically inflate house prices even more they are already.

What will the Tories latest wheeze of getting rid of stamp duty on your main home do?
It will bump up house prices cos that money that was previously spent of stamp duty will be added to bids on homes.

Where are these homes that you will no longer have to pay stamp duty on coming from?

We need a massive public housing build project.

The feels like a reheat of the national ID card system that Tony ...

2025-10-01T11:23:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…t246
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The feels like a reheat of the national ID card system that Tony Blairs gov't wanted to introduce and a lot of the old pro/con arguments still stand.
For me the Digital aspect adds a whole layer of Noooo! but you don't even need to go that far.
Its the mission creep that kills it for me.
The classic mission creep around Ant-terrorism legislation should be a lesson to us all.
Just ask Walter Wolfgang

My original mission creep toot can be seen here
https://mastodon.scot/@raymierussell/115265924118305758

I know it has fallen out of the news but the UK Govt's ...

2025-09-30T22:10:24Z

I know it has fallen out of the news but the UK Govt's proposed Digital ID has not gone away.
The petition to stop it is stubbornly sitting around 2.6 million signatures.
If you feel inclined and have not already done so it is still open for signatures.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/730194

One phrase "Mission Creep" Stage 1: You must have one ...

2025-09-25T16:40:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…xx5f
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One phrase "Mission Creep"

Stage 1: You must have one
Stage 2 :You must present it to get access to certain public services.
Stage 3: You must carry it at all times and present on request by increasing list of public servants.
Stage 4: Private companies will start to use it in the same way as the state.

small HDMI is called mini HDMI 🤔 😂

2025-09-20T15:26:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…48jr
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small HDMI is called mini HDMI 🤔 😂

My sister has cashed cheques by taking photographs of them for ...

2025-09-08T17:09:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…qlxc
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My sister has cashed cheques by taking photographs of them for her banking app.
I have deposited a couple into my bank account via the Post Office.
The UK PO provides some banking facilities for the bigger banks. The PO has different envelopes belonging to the various banks. They give you appropriate envelope, you fill out some information on it and put the cheque inside and return it to the PO clerk. It is deposited into your account within a couple of days.

My old dad had to write a cheque last month but his hands ...

2025-09-08T16:29:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…jqmh
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My old dad had to write a cheque last month but his hands aren't so good since his stroke so I wrote it out for him and he dated and signed it. Got cashed by the recipient without issue.

Its amazing how just about every gov't policy on housing ...

2025-08-29T09:55:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…8d5e
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Its amazing how just about every gov't policy on housing since the right to buy in the 80's had simply accelerated property values, even this one will have a double whammy effect. Private landlords will increase rents to cover the extra cost and the market will increase house prices as it sees higher rental value can be extracted.

A massive public house building scheme is needed but too many people rely on gouging renters/home buyers for that to happen.

I worked for UPS when 911 happened and there was disruption for a ...

2025-08-25T22:41:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…68jr
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I worked for UPS when 911 happened and there was disruption for a relatively short period.

This looks as if it could last longer.

I have no inside knowledge as I have long since left the UPS and the courier industry.

The UK Royal mail and DHL have also suspended USA deliveries.

2025-08-25T22:37:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…ha43
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The UK Royal mail and DHL have also suspended USA deliveries.

A polish railway company had their trains hobbled because they ...

2025-08-11T19:45:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…kvns
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A polish railway company had their trains hobbled because they had the audacity to try to use their regular 3rd party train maintenance company to do work in their trains rather than pay a fortune to the manufacture in maintenance contracts.

Whats the first headline I see about assisted dying not related ...

2025-06-23T09:05:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…fxkh
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Whats the first headline I see about assisted dying not related to its passing through Parliament?

"No budget for assisted dying service, Streeting says"

2nd Paragraph

"Streeting, who was one of the most senior opponents of the legislation, posted a lengthy message on his Facebook page explaining why he voted against the legislation."

Lol, my 82 y/o dad dropped his remote the other day and pressed ...

2025-05-18T19:14:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…l2dz
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Lol, my 82 y/o dad dropped his remote the other day and pressed some buttons that deleted some channels from his TV Guide.
Yesterday, I spent about 10 minutes finding the correct menu to retune and add the channels back.
I am computer geek from the DOS days and I am struggling with alleged "smart TV's"

Michael Moore has made his 2007 Oscar nominated documentary ...

2024-12-15T21:50:17Z

Michael Moore has made his 2007 Oscar nominated documentary "Sicko" available for free to watch on You Tube.

It is a critique of the US Health system which has arguably gotten much worse since the Doc was made 15 years ago.

As is to be expected some of this is a tough watch but Moore does sprinkle his usual humour throughout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbEQ7acb0IE

The Milkshakes were done to Nigel Farage the Reform ...

2024-12-13T19:26:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…cvau
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The Milkshakes were done to Nigel Farage the Reform 'Party' guy.
I use the word Party in a loose sense as it not like an ordinary political party where you can be a member and have say in its running. Its literally a Public Limited Company that parades as political party.
He is not technically the CEO but Co-Director along with the guy who bankrolls it. So close enough.

Fuck, last week we were being told that sandwich fillings are ...

2024-12-12T23:06:34Z

Fuck, last week we were being told that sandwich fillings are going woke, this week we are told they are "not real food". I wish the culture warriors would make up their minds about stuff - oh that's right, they simply make up stuff.

I tried to get a photo of this but I was outsmarted. Our local ...

2024-12-12T20:00:55Z

I tried to get a photo of this but I was outsmarted.

Our local Morrisons supermarket has an autonomous floor cleaner, a sort of industrial size Roomba.

And today I noticed that some wag (must be a staff member) has cellotaped a handwritten sign onto the front of it which reads "HAL 9000".

I did try to take a photo but every time I got in front to take a photo it veered off to the side to avoid hitting me.

Top tech tip If turning it off, then on again fails to get ...

2024-12-12T19:17:09Z

***Top tech tip***

If turning it off, then on again fails to get the desired effect then try reversing the polarity of the neutron flow.

For @npub1j9l…jvxt Christmas may have come early this year. ...

2024-11-30T18:13:08Z

For Technology Connections (npub1j9l…jvxt) Christmas may have come early this year.

https://youtu.be/qSFNufruSKw?si=nRN1BN9hTsgEoTuY

Nothing is foolproof - never underestimate the ingenuity of your ...

2024-11-18T14:10:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…rkc7
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Nothing is foolproof - never underestimate the ingenuity of your average fool.

When "how many feet are in a hand?" is a bone fide ...

2024-11-08T22:45:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…ugj6
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When "how many feet are in a hand?" is a bone fide enquiry in your measurement system you really need to think again 😜

Maybe I am overstating but I think the tech stuff that still ...

2024-11-08T21:22:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…j0e6
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Maybe I am overstating but I think the tech stuff that still remains purely as fiction in TNG probably are not actually gonna be possible ever. Transporters, warp speed, subspace comms, anti-grav devices.

Absolutely. The pads are just such a familiar form factor to us ...

2024-11-08T21:07:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…qny7
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Absolutely. The pads are just such a familiar form factor to us nowadays.
Its strange to think when TNG was being made 'Computers' were mostly desktop PC's running DOS for doing business spreadsheets or micro's for the home.

I am a bit concerned that according to TNG at some point in the ...

2024-11-08T21:01:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…vzfk
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I am a bit concerned that according to TNG at some point in the future we are gonna mostly favour 4:3 ratio screens again, with the main viewscreen in the bridge being the exception. Hope its well after I am dead, don't think I could face another screen ratio change in my lifetime.

The C64 ROM loader is notorious for being slow. Think it does a ...

2024-11-08T20:44:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…nh3u
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The C64 ROM loader is notorious for being slow. Think it does a load and verify cycle every time.
The 48K ZX Spectrum had a speedy ROM loader. You could basically (sic) LOAD/SAVE the full available RAM in less than 5 mins without doing anything fancy. Later with 128k software some companies created software fastloads to get them to load in a more timely manner.

Floppy disk? T'luxury. In my day it was cassettes on the ...

2024-11-08T20:40:09Z

Floppy disk?
T'luxury.
In my day it was cassettes on the front of magazine covers.

The universe disappears and is replaced by something more bizarre ...

2024-11-04T10:46:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…hmuq
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The universe disappears and is replaced by something more bizarre and inexplicable.

I know can be but of an acquired taste but Taskmaster is very ...

2024-10-24T23:26:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…f250
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I know can be but of an acquired taste but Taskmaster is very watchable once you 'get it'.

I suppose the most annoying thing about the imperial measurement ...

2024-10-24T21:46:05Z

I suppose the most annoying thing about the imperial measurement system is the arbitrary nature of what units make up other units.

There are 14 rinky dinks in a mackle sploog and 7 mackle sploog's in a blinky blonk.

The rinky dink metric equivalent is 2.4 centi randoms.

Lock up yer Wankpuffins and get ready for some football ...

2024-10-19T22:14:12Z

Lock up yer Wankpuffins and get ready for some football violence...yes it has to be another #ZXSpectrum random #Retrogaming stream from Jim Blimey (npub1zdu…8wqy) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT2ysp3uuNY

Need a #ZXSpectrum #BASIC program to convert an unsigned 16 ...

2024-10-18T22:46:52Z

Need a #ZXSpectrum #BASIC program to convert an unsigned 16 integer to binary.
Look no further.
Type in this program.

On the ZX Spectrum I think the Frequency Analysis of a string of ...

2024-10-03T22:02:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…a2n2
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On the ZX Spectrum I think the Frequency Analysis of a string of text may be the easiest bit.
I cheated a bit and POKED memory addresses (still all BASIC) rather than get messy and chuck arrays of strings around.

#ZXSpectum #BASIC #Huffman #FrequencyAnalysis

Famous last words, but I am gonna try and find a Huffman for ...

2024-10-03T20:29:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…ejcz
_________________________

Famous last words, but I am gonna try and find a Huffman for dummies post and see if I can understand it.
If I can do a BASIC version I may then try a Z80.

But I will probs reads some stuff and my brain will explode.

I wonder if it would be possible to take a string of text in ...

2024-10-03T20:18:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…2pwn
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I wonder if it would be possible to take a string of text in BASIC and do a bit of Huffman on it. Just as proof of concept.

Any other UK punters getting annoyed with former recent PM's ...

2024-10-03T20:05:59Z

Any other UK punters getting annoyed with former recent PM's telling us how they would have been brilliant and won the last election if they just hadn't been kicked out for being a shit PM and/or lying to Parliament.

Morse code sounds a bit Huffman-esque.

2024-10-03T19:43:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…777x
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Morse code sounds a bit Huffman-esque.

I was bitten by a radioactive Casio calculator, that could do ...

2024-09-28T12:40:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…team
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I was bitten by a radioactive Casio calculator, that could do Binary, Hex and Octal, in the late 80's, it turned me into a tech nerd.

We were all lied to ;-) The 1st gen 4G phones mostly were not ...

2024-09-28T10:44:32Z

We were all lied to ;-)

The 1st gen 4G phones mostly were not fully 4G

These older phones (pre 2020-ish) have 4g data (internet) connection but relied on 3G for calls.

Once 3g is switched off these older phones lose the ability to make/receive phone calls.

Modern 4g phones use #VoLTE (4G voice) calling.

This has happened to a couple of family members with 5/6 year old '4g' phones who now have to buy a new phone.

Add to that direct subsidies that some corps brazenly attempt to ...

2024-09-23T06:13:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…2ttq
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Add to that direct subsidies that some corps brazenly attempt to get by threatening to close, for example, a steel plant. The wider corp is massively profitable but wants a half billion quid to keep it's plant open.
https://www.unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2024/january/tata-s-pleas-of-poverty-exposed-as-a-sham-by-unite

Had a rather scary thought I have worked in both factory ...

2024-09-19T20:17:50Z

Had a rather scary thought

I have worked in both factory production line, warehouse and courier environments in my time and it is well known that stuff has a habit of 'going missing'.

If the Israeli gov't have modified devices to include explosives in them you can almost guarantee that some have 'gone missing' in the distribution chain and are out in the wild, with unsuspecting owners having potential bombs.

Lol, the 1986 Comedy Drama "A Very Peculiar Practice" has ...

2024-09-16T13:47:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…0wt9
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Lol, the 1986 Comedy Drama "A Very Peculiar Practice" has one episode where Dr Bob Buzzard carries out a less than ethical drugs trial for the price of a Free Suit from the pharma and promise of private consultancy and travel if the trials return the correct results.

Donald Trump claims he overwhelmingly beat Harris in the debate ...

2024-09-15T14:47:09Z

Donald Trump claims he overwhelmingly beat Harris in the debate and subsequently made the following 2 demands

1) Broadcaster ABC lose its license
2) The moderators were so bad they should be criminally charged

Makes one wonder what he would have demanded if he thought he had lost.

Every one on the bus has their phone on their hands and are ...

2024-09-14T15:30:09Z

Every one on the bus has their phone on their hands and are tapping and pressing away. (Including me now). We really are living in the episode of ST:TNG called "The Game"

#StarTrek #TNG

I did not know that they have switched ends. I also find the ...

2024-08-27T15:23:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…fvu7
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I did not know that they have switched ends.
I also find the names quirky as most Americans should be in favour of Democracy and the Republic so a typical US citizen are in favour of the Democratic Republic.