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  Very long shot. Do I know anyone in or near Phuket who can do me a favour? I left my wallet in a hotel earlier this year. They've just let me know they found it. Anyone over there willing to pick it up & post it back to me? Happy to pay, of course.

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  Well, at least the VCAF License v0.2 is honest 🫠 https://github.com/Darthagnon/azwreader-koreader/blob/master/SLOP.md

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  New toy day! Treated myself to a #UnaWatch - a modular and repairable smart watch. Has GPS, heart rate, notifications, and - most importantly - USB-C charging. Full review once it is charged and I've given it a spin.

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  I have a question about #Mastodon's "Mute Conversation" option. Consider the following: * I write a post. * Alice replies to me. * Bob replies to me. * Chuck replies to Bob. I click "Mute Conversation" on Chuck's reply. Does that mute the *whole* conversation? Does it just mute replies to Chuck's branch of the conversation? Can I see further replies to Alice's reply? (Poll in next post.)

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  Massive Qi chargers for cars! https://electrek.co/2026/09/18/its-finally-here-porsche-puts-wireless-ev-charging-into-production-video/ I can see the utility of using this for slow charging. But is it really that much of a faff to plug in a cable? I wonder how perfectly aligned the car needs to be. Still, interesting to see whether this gets picked up or standardised.

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  RE: https://solar.bots.edent.tel/posts/6a9c618e-1a00-e6c2-9362-e5c45b7b1d34.json This is what the future looks like. Every home in the UK being self sufficient in electricity production and selling the excess back to the grid.

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  RE: https://famichiki.jp/@salyavin/117298519330541433 😟 Might have to accelerate my FourSquare replacement for the Fediverse.

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  I'm going to the @webstandards@mastodon.world free meetup tonight. https://londonwebstandards.org/events/lws-sept-2026/ Anyone fancy joining me for a bite to eat beforehand?

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  Hey, UK folks looking to get #Fedihired - one of my old teammates is recruiting a technical architect. https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi?vxsys=4&vxvac=476261 Based outside London, pay up to £95k. (I am not the recruiter. Please do not ask me questions about this role.)

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  I've run into a weird #Unicode Nomalization problem with #WordPress. Thoughts and feedback welcome - https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/66093

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  🆕 blog! “Put an AV test at the start of your slides” For years, I've had a test-card at the start of my slides. Before I start my talk, I can immediately see if the aspect ratio is wrong, colours are off, or any other visual issues with the presentation. A few years ago I was invited to give a talk and was assured that the venue was set up for audio as well as video. I… 👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/09/put-an-av-test-at-the-start-of-your-slides/ ⸻ #presentations

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  Finally gave in to lifestyle inflation and bought a fizzy water maker. So far I have only carbonated tap water. What things have you successfully bubbled that I should try?

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  Yet another day of patching someone else's WordPress plugin code because they tried to parse HTML with a regex. In this case, I can see what they were going for, but sometimes there is a much simpler way. https://wordpress.org/support/topic/litespeed-dummy-removal-incorrect-regex/

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  🆕 blog! “ActivityBot is the recipient of an NLnet grant!” Back in February, I applied for NLnet's Next Generation Zero grant. They were looking for Fediverse projects to help rewild the social media landscape. Or, as they describe it: Reclaim the public nature of the internet Small and medium-sized R&D grants between 5.000 and 50.000 euro,… 👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/activitybot-is-the-recipient-of-an-nlnet-grant/ ⸻ #ActivityBot #ActivityPub #fediverse #NLnet

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  For those mourning the loss of #XCancel and #Nitter - I've written a guide to retrieving Tweets without using the Twitter API. https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/04/you-dont-need-an-api-key-to-archive-twitter-data/ You can use that to get individual posts + whatever they were in reply to. Enjoy!

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  I'm going to start doing some user research for #ActivityBot. I'd like to pay participants £20 / €20 for an hour of their time. This has to be a voucher (no cash or cash-like cards) so which would you prefer?

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  How do you deal with all your open tabs? I have a hundred "I'll look at that soon" tabs across three devices. Does anyone here use an (open source preferable) app for keeping track of all the things they want to get back to? They're not all articles, some are searches, IMDb pages, etc. So I dont think Wallabag will work (correct me if I'm wrong though). Any help to tame the madness appreciated 😄 (Looking for personal recommendations. I know how to search the web.)

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  Which *modern* computer cable has the strongest connector? Obviously VGA and Serial had screw fastenings, but most cables these days just seem to use friction (USB, HDMI). There are sprung latches on DisplayPort. A plastic tab on Ethernet. Is there anything more sturdy than those for a modern computer?

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  I need to get my passport notarised. The image on this Notary's website doesn't exactly fill me with confidence!

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  🆕 blog! “Why don't smart watches use USB-C to recharge?” It looks like the new Google's Pixel 4 watch comes with yet another incompatible change in charging technology. This is a ridiculous situation. The original Pixel Watch used one type of wireless charging. Then the Pixel Watch 2 & 3 removed wireless charging and swapped to a different charging mechanism. And… 👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/08/why-dont-smart-watches-use-usb-c-to-recharge/ ⸻ #gadget #usb-c #watch

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  🆕 blog! “Book Review: The Field Guide to Understanding 'Human Error' by Sidney Dekker” ★★★★☆ This is such a useful book. It makes the case that there's no such thing as "human error" - instead most catastrophes are caused by system issues, misaligned incentives, and unrealistic processes. You are not the custodian of an otherwise safe system that … 👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/book-review-the-field-guide-to-understanding-human-error-by-sidney-dekker/ ⸻ #...

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  AliExpress just refunded my order after it had sat in a Chinese airport for a week clearing customs. Do you think there's any chance it'll still ship or do I have to reorder all the pointless tat I crave?

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  Checked in to Shell Grotto, Grotto Hill (at Dane Rd.), United Kingdom Margate lives up to the hype! https://swarmapp.com/user/56367/checkin/6a6c6a8f3f7dbb7ca432bc2b?s=Hmsochvg_FuIOj3-fxM21rHfgys

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  Urgh. For some reason #WordPress has started injecting a script which says > You are using a browser that does not have Flash player enabled or installed. Please turn on your Flash player plugin or download the latest version from https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ In 2026?!?! Seriously?!?!?!?!?!?!? [Edit]: For the doubters - https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/940e7a357729f7683a11658fc841a42711321a5e/src/wp-includes/script-loader.php#L1102

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  🆕 blog! “Google Calendar "Unable to launch event" - caused by missing DTSTAMP” For several years, Google's product help forums have been littered with people trying to download a .ics event from their email, only to receive the error "Unable to launch event" when trying to add it to Google Calendar. It doesn't happen with all iCal… 👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/07/google-calendar-unable-to-launch-event-caused-by-missing-dtstamp/ ⸻ #android #bug #google...

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  The startup I worked at back in 2010 might finally be having an IPO this year. Cue a flurry of requests from them asking me for decade-old documents about my share options. Glad I never delete a document! I'm sure this will make for a "fun" CGT calculation if it ever happens.

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  🆕 blog! “Book Review: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman” ★★⯪☆☆ To call this derivative is an understatement. But that's what this genre demands; rehash all your favourite media properties into something new. It's the literary equivalent of having your Transformers™ fight your He-Man© toys. The plot, such as it is, features the Vogon Constructor Fleet destroying Ea… 👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/07/book-review-dungeon-crawler-carl-by-matt-dinniman/ ⸻ #BookReview

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  Hey #UK friends. Do you get annoyed by fireworks? Do your pets find them distressing? Do you think anyone should be able to buy them? The UK Government is running a consultation and want your views. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fireworks-and-pyrotechnics-in-the-uk/fireworks-and-pyrotechnics-in-the-uk (Please don't reply to me. This isn't my consultation. Click the link and fill in the survey.)

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  Today's repair task - fix the breadmaker. Belt had worn out after 11 years faithful service. Not the easiest thing to unscrew (needed a fair bit of WD40) but this iFixIt guide was mostly accurate. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Morphy+Richards+Fastbake+breadmaker+48280+belt+replacement/162561 New belt on order. Isn't it fun to take apart your toys 😄

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  Massive turn out for #TransPride London.