Hot new social networking site BlueSky has an interesting approach to usernames. Rather than just being @example you can verify your domain name and be @example.com! Isn't that exciting? Some people are @whatever.tld and others are @cool.subdomain.funny.lol.fwd.boring.tld I wanted to know what the distribution is of these domain names. For example, are there more .uk users than .org users? …
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Once in a while, there is a disaster. Phone lines go out, the Internet breaks down, and mobiles don't work. Then the Ham Radio Operators save the day. Amateur radio is one of those things I'm only vaguely aware of. It chugs along in the background unnoticed. It doesn't follow the fashion of today's industry, nor does it chase growth at all costs. It is an open standard, run by a decentralised…
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Both Mastodon and BlueSky have the concept of "self-verification". Rather than trust a central authority to assess your notability and then bless your account (as Twitter used to do), they let anyone self-attest using Domain Verification. What does that mean? You tell the service what your website is. The service gives you a secret code. You upload that secret code onto your website. The…
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These are little biographies of characters who tried to inveigle their way into stories that were inappropriate for them. Perhaps they'll graduate to full stories one day. For now, regretfully, they are stuck in the Writer's Waiting Room leafing through dusty magazines until inspiration strikes. Who knows, maybe one will become your new favourite. I first started breastfeeding cats when I…
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[Content Note: death, colonialism, racist views, the dog dies.] Carter was dying - that much was clear. Although he didn't believe in "the curse" it seems his body did. He was once a dynamic presence on the world stage and was now reduced to little more than a quivering jelly. He wasn't the first to be hit by the so-called curse. The wrath of the ancient Egyptians was a persistent rumour -…
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A glistening stream of blood gently wept from the body's jagged holes. The crimson gore sparkled under rapid flash photography as it loosely clung to the wounds. So many wounds. Far too many for this to have been an accident. Under the forensic lights it appeared ethereal. The skin a dull shade of nothing and the hair a pale motif of sadness. The lights washed out any shadows, making the scene …
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[Content Note: Drugs, Violence Sexual Assault, Death] Silphium isn't extinct; it's just a tightly guarded secret. If you go spelunking through the bio-history of this planet you'll find a range of plants which don't make sense. The avocado has a humongous fruit which can't easily be digested by modern animals because it was designed to be plucked and eaten by long-dead megafauna. Whole…
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Asbestos was the material that built the future! Strong, long lasting, fire-proof, and - above all - completely safe for humans. Every house in the land had beautiful sheets of gloriously white asbestos installed in the walls and ceilings. All the better to keep your loved ones safe. The magic mineral was woven into cloth and turned into hard wearing uniforms. You could even get an asbestos…
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While I was at OggCamp, I noticed a few people had repurposed supermarket eInk shelf displays as name-tags. Nifty! I wondered if there was a retail version I could hack around with. I found the HSN371. It is a colour eInk screen with a lanyard hole. The picture quality is amazing given the technology, the update speed is acceptable, and the supplied app is crap. Let's take a look! Picture…
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Mathew Duggan has a brilliant post called "Self-Hosting Isn't a Solution; It's A Patch". In it, he (correctly and convincingly) argues that compelling people to run their own computer services is a complex and distracting crutch for the current problems we face. It's expensive to self-host, there are moderation problems, and the difficulty level is too high for most people. But, in my opinion,…
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As every good geek knows, Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope was originally called… "Star Wars". That's it. No subtitle. No episode number. When Empire Strikes Back came out, it was called "Star Wars Episode V" - which necessitated rewriting history and calling the original film "Episode IV". But at what point did the second Star Wars movie become known as Episode V? I've been reading "The M…
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Everyone on the spaceship was dead. And I can't help wondering if it was my fault. "So, Macy, I understand something funny happened to you while you were filming a scene on your latest movie, right?" The talk-show host is warmly genial and his generous smile hides the dead eyes of boredom. "Hey, yeah! So, me and Hank were trying something new and he turns and says to me..." The starlet bursts …
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