Hack advertising regulations by forming a political party?


Advert for a fictional brand of cigarettes.

The UK has some tough advertising regulations. There are restrictions placed on gambling adverts, alcohol, tobacco, and all sorts of other products. But there are no regulations on political advertising. There are dozens of smaller parties contesting the UK's General Election. Some are single issue parties, some are independents, some parties contest multiple seats, some […]

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VR Review: Moss 2


A mouse in a clockwork puzzle.

Did you enjoy the game Moss? This is a sequel which is identical to the original. The graphics are identical, the gameplay is identical, the puzzles are identical. There are a couple of slightly new mechanics and a new playable character (also a mouse). But it is fundamentally more of the same. So I suggest […]

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Review: USB Battery Charger (EBL C9010N)


Red and green LEDs above the batteries.

I'll review anything with a USB-C port. When hardware companies offer to send me a gadget to review, I'll always reply back with "only if it has USB-C". The EBL C9010N has a USB micro socket. *sigh* We live in the future now. Don't buy anything which requires you to have multiple cables and adapters. […]

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More thoughts on adding NFC to the Framework Laptop


I've got a fancy new Framework laptop. It comes with little expansion sockets - which allow you to plug in USB devices, HDMI ports, Ethernet cables, and all sorts. I want to add an NFC reader to it. So, step one was to find an NFC circuit board which worked with the hardware and was […]

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Book Review: The Soul of a New Machine - Tracy Kidder


Book cover with circuitry design.

I hate it when I DNF a book. But "Soul of a New Machine" is just dull. It's sort of a hagiography of an obscure company which once made a 32 bit computer. All the men (and it seems to be mostly men) are in turns dull, agressive, or just dicks. As a sample quote: […]

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Review: Framework 16 Laptop


Guts of a computer.

Several years ago, I purchased a Clevo N151CU laptop with the idea that I'd gradually upgrade the RAM, storage, and other bits. After my keyboard failed, I found it difficult to find replacement parts. The whole point of the Framework laptop is that it is specifically designed to be modular. It come in kit form, […]

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Getting lots of BIMI images using Python


Glowing computer text showing dot com dot info etc.

I've written before about the moribund BIMI specification. It's a way for brands to include a trusted logo when they send emails. It isn't much used and, apparently, is riddled with security issues. I thought it might be fun to grab all the BIMI images from the most popular websites, so I can potentially use […]

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I don't understand the sacrifices people make for work


A little Roman Centurion made out of Lego. He is grimacing fiercely.

Just before I graduated from University, I went to a careers fair to help me decide what I wanted to do with my life. At one of the stalls was our local Police force0 - advertising the exciting new world of digital forensics1. Here is - almost verbatim - the conversation I had with the […]

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EMF 2024 - A Quick Retrospective


Selfie of me in front of a Tesla Coil. A big metal tube shooting sparks.

Six years ago, I went to my first EMF Camp. The next event was cancelled by Covid. The one after that saw me come down with Covid - although I presented remotely. So I was beyond thrilled to be able to attend & speak this year. There's always a risk that you can never recapture […]

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Infrared Infrastructure


Portacabin with hotspots.

I recently went to EMF Camp (which is Glastonbury for geeks - lots of random electronics, talks, art, and camping). Naturally, I took along my Infrared camera and pointed it at interesting things! First up… sewage! Festivals often have big tanks to take away human effluence. But how can you, a normal human, tell how […]

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