By @edent · solar · 1 comment · 500 words
Just as the UK was entering the first COVID19 lockdown, we got solar panels installed on our roof. Four years later and our generation meter shows they have produced 15,480kWh of electricity. That's a rather impressive 3,870kWh per year. This is what the average UK household uses in electricity: Our roof is non-optimal. We have […]
Continue reading →By @edent · HomeAssistant IoT SmartHome · 3 comments · 500 words
I have a lovely, and reasonably priced, Mini Panda Rice Cooker. It does not have any SmartHome features. You put in water and rice, press a button, it cooks rice. Nice! The only problem is - I don't know how long the rice will take to cook. It uses "Fuzzy Logic" to work out exactly […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Restaurant Review vegan vegetarian · 200 words
There's nothing finer to do in Brighton than walk along the promenade eating a wodge of chips the size of your face. But it was raining, so we sat inside and ate all the chips instead. This is Brighton's 100% vegan chippie. As well as big fluffy chips, battered (veggie) sausage, and all the standard […]
Continue reading →By @edent · CyberSecurity mobile opsec sim · 4 comments · 450 words · read ~281 times.
It is tempting to think that users are to blame for their own misfortune. If only they'd had a stronger password! If only they didn't re-use credentials! If only they had perfect OpSec! If only...! Yes, users should probably take better care of their digital credentials and bury them in a digital vault. But there […]
Continue reading →By @edent · WordPress yak shaving · 350 words
I use a self-built WordPress theme for this blog. I also use a variety of self-developed WordPress plugins for various enhancements. I used to publish these plugins, but I get terribly confused by the SVN shenanigans involved, and they weren't used by many people, so I stopped. Recently, I've been moving all my plugin code […]
Continue reading →By @edent · android gsm mobile · 1 comment · 200 words
Android's user-hostile interface never fails to disappoint! I was struggling to get a new eSIM working. I could make and receive calls / texts, but data just wasn't connecting. I tried rebooting, flipping to aeroplane mode, changing bearer, manually selecting the network. Nothing! Then, I remembered my ancient GSM knowledge. All mobile networks need an […]
Continue reading →By @edent · blogging IndieWebCamp · 450 words
In the IndieWeb movement there's a concept of "POSSE" - Publish Once, Simultaneously Syndicate Elsewhere. You should publish your words, pictures, songs, reviews on your own site. And then you can choose to share them out to where your audience is. Perhaps that's posting the link on Facebook, or a copy of a photo on […]
Continue reading →By @edent · domains gov.uk privacy QR Codes security · 12 comments · 650 words · read ~301 times.
One of my most memorable experiences in the Civil Service1 was discussing link shortening services with a very friendly2 person from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I was trying to explain why link shortners like bit.ly and ow.ly weren't sensible for Government use. They didn't seem to particularly care about the privacy implications or the […]
Continue reading →By @edent · health teeth · 7 comments · 400 words · read ~151 times.
You know that ice-breaker game "Two Truths And A Lie"? When I'm forced into some mandatory office fun, I always say... I've sat in the seat of a space shuttle. I still have two of my baby teeth. I used to be a voice-over artist. Well, one of those truths is about to come crashing […]
Continue reading →By @edent · review theatre · 2 comments · 450 words · read ~146 times.
Overwrought melodrama in London's most uncomfortable theatre. This show has been done countless times before. You, the audience, watch extracts from a murder trial. At the end, you vote on whether she done it or not. It feels more suited to a Channel 5 show which asks punters to text their verdict in to a […]
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