Yup, the UK once again creating a needlessly convoluted and harmful solution to an already solved problem.

I would laugh if I didn’t live here.

The figures are the averages for the full trial period.

So it’s possible they were making more queries at the start of the trial, but then mostly stopped when if they found using Copilot was more a hindrance than a help.

So far I just keep recipes in whatever I’m using for notes.

Some of these dedicated programs look interesting though. Thinking about it, it would be handy to have some dedicated cooking features, like being able to search for recipes by ingredients.

Yeah, that’s it. It’s already a legal requirement for employers to check eligibility for work. But the dodgy ones know they can get away with not bothering, because there is so little enforcement of the laws we have.

Claiming ID cards will do anything to reduce migration is nothing more than an excuse to further expand the surveillance state.

I think the options either that combination are limited. IKEA Zigbee devices use removable batteries, but they don’t have a temperature sensor. They do have a USB air quality sensor but it’s a bit more complex/expensive.

There are some good WiFi, Bluetooth or RF options with removable batteries but they won’t be Zigbee.

I’ve heard of some people modifying the coin cell devices to used a wired power supply, maybe that would be an option.

It’s not mentioned in the release notes anywhere, but the 2025.8 update has subtly changed the shade of blue used in the UI:

It’s been throwing me off a bit ever since I updated.

I think some parents feel a bit disempowered about how to actually make their kids healthier online.

All of the time restrictions (and more) being proposed can already be done with parental controls that are built into devices now, and have been for years.

The state setting digital curfews is a ridiculous level of overreach. The OSA and now this, we are heading in a dangerous direction.

Single player RTS games. Mega-lo-mania on the Amiga/Mega Drive was my introduction, and Command & Conquer really got me hooked.

Sadly the genre is a shadow of its former self now, and what’s left is mostly multiplayer focused. I miss the days of good long campaigns with slightly campy FMV cutscenes.

Video rental shops. Going into town to pick a movie for the weekend used to be a weekly thing for us.

We have a cheap and reliable black and white laser printer at home for convenient printing of stuff like return labels.

On the rare occasion colour of photo prints are needed, there’s a great little independent print and photo place in town that does prints for pennies.

Seems to be the best of both worlds.

From 16 a British person can bear much of the responsibility of an adult (with some caveats) but receives none of the political rights in return. That’s always seemed incongruous to me, that someone can say, start a family, but have no say over their future.

It certainly seems much bigger change than messing with the edges, I don’t think any extension of the franchise could be seen as minor.

It think it’s an important step in the right direction, but yes we do need to go a lot further in other ways also.

This feels like a big shift for it actually to happen, but I think it’s the right decision overall.

The idea that 16 legally a person can (with some caveats) live independently in their own home and raise a family, and pay all the relevant tax along the way, but not have their say in elections has always seemed incongruous to me. It’s the young who feel the political outcomes the longest after all.

How many young people will actually turn out is another question politically though.

I thought the size of carry on luggage was checked at check in before boarding. It was the last time I flew.

The war in Ukraine seems quite real, and so does America’s growing isolationism and taste for autocracy. In a visibly more unstable and divided world, a greater focus on defence is sensible.

How we are going to pay for it however is another question.

The new windowing system looks like a big improvement.

I think I remember running that on a Live CD that came with a Linux magazine.

Bloody hell I’m old.

I would also recommend openSUSE Tumbleweed. I’m usually a Debian/Debian-based person but I’ve been running Tumbleweed on my desktop for a few years now and it’s been great.

It has a few peculiarities like any distro but it’s been very stable, with few issues even with things like Nvidia drivers. Docs and community seem good too.

The owner’s phone:

The problem with microblogging platforms is they revolve around following users and not topics.

Mastodon has tried to change that by encouraging following hashtags but with limited success.

They are great platforms for people who are already (internet) famous and want a soapbox. But for ordinary folk tooting or tweeting or whatever else it’s called is just shouting into the void. There’s no discussion because nobody ever sees what others post.

I like Mastodon but it seems it can’t escape the inherent problems of the platform model itself.

These Mavicas could become popular again now as retro tech. There’s a lo-fi aesthetic growing in photo and video that’s all about compression artefacts and old image sensors. Physical media and its inconveniences is also having a moment as a novelty and maybe even a broader movement.