The complexity is the attraction - reflections on trying to use crypto


A fiver and some coins on a table.

A few weeks ago, someone wanted to send me some crypto. After spending months studying for a Blockchain exam, I usually avoid such things. But, hey, $20 is $20. So I signed up for a wallet, installed an extension, verified my credentials, saved a seed phrase, and - without too much technical fuss - had […]

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The Bite


3D printed jaw with resin scaffolding.

A glistening pool of blood gently wept from the body. Crimson gore sparkled under rapid flash photography as it loosely clung to the wounds. So many wounds. Too many for this to have been an accident. "Bite marks," said the forensics officer. "A lot of bite marks." The detective peered at the ragged corpse. It […]

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Review: dbrand skin for FrameWork laptop


Stickers attacked to the underside of the laptop.

I love putting stickers on my laptops. But when it's time to move to a different laptop, what happens to all those cool stickers? After spending too many nights with a scraper and isopropanol, I decided to get a pre-cut dbrand skin. It'll protect the laptop and it will peel off in one piece, allowing […]

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The irony of TicketMaster's breach notification email


What is Ticketmaster doing to protect customers? We have been working with industry-leading cybersecurity experts, the relevant authorities, including law enforcement, as well as credit card companies and banks. No further unauthorised activity has been seen in the cloud database since we began our investigation. We are offering you a free 12-month identity monitoring service with TransUnion. These services will be provided by Cyberscout, a TransUnion company specialising in fraud assistance and remediation services. You can sign up for this service through the following link: https://bit.ly/TU-sign-up What can I do? There is nothing you need to do. However, exposure of personal information can, in some cases, increase the risk of identity theft or fraud, so it’s always a good idea to monitor your bank accounts. If you notice any suspicious activity, contact your bank and/or credit card companies. Be cautious of unsolicited emails from unknown senders, especially those with unusual content, links, attachments, or requests for personal information over the phone. If you have any questions, you can visit https://bit.ly/Ticketmaster-Data-Security-Incident or contact us at ticketmastersupport@ticketmaster.com. Ticketmaster understands the importance of your personal information and we take its protection very seriously. We apologise for having to write to you in these circumstances.

TicketMaster has joined the long list of companies to lose their customers' information. As is common, they sent out an email to warn poor sods like me who might have had our details snaffled. Their email is particularly poor and contains a delightful example of how not to communicate issues like this. See if you […]

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Book Review: Dystopia X - A.E. Currie


Book cover.

Another one in the Panopticon series. Bouncy sci-fi which scattershoots its plots all over the place. VR, Mission to Mars, evil AI, underwater cities, eyeless technomages - this has it all. It probably has a little too much crammed in. But, hey, it's a great ride. A cliffhanger every other chapter, vaguely plausible science, and […]

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Who can reply?


Who can reply? Choose "Everybody" or "Nobody" Or combine these options: Mentioned users, Followed users.

Vague thoughts as they enter my brainbox. The BlueSky social network has introduced "Reply Gating" - it looks like this: You can write your hot take on Taylor Swift and not be inundated by weirdos replying to you. Nifty! This is nothing new. Twitter has it. Facebook has the concept of "audiences" to restrict who […]

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Theatre Review: Swan Lake in-the-round


Ballet dancers dressed as swans.

I thought I didn't know Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. But, like all truly great cultural phenomena, it had disseminated itself through the cultureweb so thoroughly that I felt completely familiar with it. Performed in the round, from our nosebleed seats we had a stunning view of the action. The full floor of the Royal Albert Hall […]

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Mobile Phones of Doctor Who - Season 14


Ruby holding a phone.

Guess who's back, back again! If you're new to the blog series, this is where I attempt to identify all the mobile phones used by The Doctor and their companions. The 2024 series is incredible. Lots of plot, not too much exposition, and a whole bunch of mystery. I love it when Doctor Who goes […]

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How to cope with a broken HDMI port during a presentation


Laptop rotated 90 degrees so the screen is on the visualiser and the keyboard is pointing in the air. I'm giving the thumbs up.

Last week, I was part of the BarCamp London Hackathon. It had all the usual ups and downs of a Hackathon - laptops crashing, APIs failing, and HDMI ports breaking. We had a massive projector for participants to show off their work. The HDMI connection was… shit. Sorry, there's no better way to put it. […]

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3D Printing My Teeth


A tiny 3D printed Jaw.

As previously mentioned, I recently had a some dental issues and learned how to view a CT Scan in 3D using Linux. At a hackathon last week, my friend Sidd brought along a 3D printer. How hard is it to convert a CT scan to a file suitable for printing? Slightly trickier than I expected! […]

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