knirirr

After that brief break, back to checking my emails.

For some reason I'm reminded of a certain computing project, for which I had to deliver a web application, funded via a prestigious EU programme. The funds for computing hardware and electricity were zero. "Just get it from your overheads," they said. The university will not provide servers […]

RE: https://pdx.social/@agnes/116175423338503014

I'm more pleased now that I cancelled my subscription.

Palantir Sues Swiss Magazine For Accurately Reporting That The Swiss Government Didn’t Want Palantir
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/27/palantir-sues-swiss-magazine-for-accurately-reporting-that-the-swiss-government-didnt-want-palantir/

Please note that Palantir would rather that you didn't […]

Biking to work tips: cycling to work made easy with BikeRadar's guide to commuting Our top commuter tips for getting to work by bike

10 tips to make cycling to work a breeze, from bike choice to how to avoid getting sweaty www.bikeradar.com/advice/fitne... Our top commuter tips for getting to work by bike

[Shooting sports.]

Interestingly, I did better than usual despite the gun being unfamiliar.

A grass field with an earth bank in the distance, upon which are some orange clay pigeons. In the foreground is a wooden bench upon which are three shotguns. One is broken open in the usual manner, one is a converted bolt-action rifle, and the third has an unusual (outside France) straight-pull breech.

[Shooting sports.]

This morning I tried some clay shooting with a Darne shotgun made c. 1925-36. Very nice indeed; light, but little recoil. It's the one on the left, next to a German rifle converted to a .410 shotgun, and a German shotgun from 1906.

And it has happened: Hegseth and Trump declare Anthropic a supply chain risk.

Every company that has government contracts will be barred from using Claude code.

It is an attempt to outright destroy the company because they did not consent to mass surveillance of Americans and AI kill bots.

Wow.

I went on an AI course yesterday. It turned out to involve code for a task with which I am completely unfamiliar (image analysis) involving biological data I'm not qualified to understand. The point, apparently, was simply to tell the AI to fix the tests in the code.
This seems rather dodgy to […]

PSA: The Amazon wishlist doxing threat is much greater and more immediate than folks might realize. Attack works like this:

Stalker who wants your address opens an Amazon seller account and lists themselves as a third party seller for any item on your public wishlist. Then, they order the item […]

A pair of dashing red wool trousers suffering from the depredations of moths.

I thought that hanging woollen closing in the garage might be safe as the freezing winter temperatures would kill moths. Apparently that is not the case.

@kerravonsen yes, that's a fair point. Far too often I find it where I would expect the real thing. Not always just caramel either; sometimes it may be surprise salt crystals in a chocolate bar.

A supermarket shelf showing caramel sauce defiled with Marmite.

Salted caramel is bad enough, but this is obscene. I like caramel and Marmite yet I'd not touch this horror with a bargepole.

The attempt by "Meta" to harvest more information, including from people who don't use their products, is unsurprising, as is their shameless mention of why they're doing it now:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/meta-plans-name-tag-facial-recognition-for-ray-ban-smart-glasses.2477636/

Emailed a second-hand-goods website to point out that there were bugs with their password reset and account creation code which would not recognise my nice strong password.

Their response: "if you are creating a new account, please try using a simple password such as shg123456. This is a […]

RE: https://mastodon.social/@eatyourgreens/115974227096622834

We’re expanding the Oxford RSE group. The deadline for applications is tomorrow.

Any prior experience working with frontend/backend web development, machine learning, or high performance computing would be desirable, as would any […]

This is still not resolved. I day across from the bank manager with my driving licence and passport yet they still made me phone up and answer "security questions".

My answers were wrong, of course.

As part of an ongoing saga trying to regain access to a club bank account, the bank's agent told me that I need to move to an app to generate codes, which I don't want to do. They asked why and I explained about issues with banking app support on degoogled Android phones. Apparently this is "not […]

MEP: 'The EU runs on Microsoft', Uncle Sam could turn it off Open Source Policy Summit 2026: Open source gains urgency as Europe reassesses reliance on US tech

'The EU runs on Microsoft' – and Uncle Sam could turn it off, claims MEP

https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/04/eu_foss_fears/

Open source gains urgency as Europe reassesses reliance on US tech

<- by me on @theregister

Vacancies

Come and work with me! We’re looking for a Research Software Engineer to join the Oxford RSE group. Deadline 13th February.

https://www.rse.ox.ac.uk/vacancies

Just in case anyone is interested in hearing my amateur (and amateurish) playing during this gig, a specimen can be heard here: https://youtu.be/XDO9acDBgTg

A jazz quartet on stage. The pianist and drummer are obscured but the bassist and saxophonist can be seen. The saxophonist is playing with his eyes closed as he concentrates on the music. Above the musicians various white fairy lights illuminate the scene.

A good session tonight at The Shed in Charlbury.

@bjn indeed, from the quick glance I just had there would appear to be physical evidence to be investigated.

Les pubs vont arriver dans Whatsapp cette année en Europe.

Il est temps de passer à la version Premium qui:
- n’a pas de pub
- n’a pas d’IA intégrée obligatoire
- ne vous espionne pas et ne récolte pas vos données
- améliore grandement votre sécurité et votre vie privée.
- permet de discuter […]

A while ago it was suggested that I distribute a book on Kindle as well as via Lulu, and I ended up doing this. Now Amazon are demanding a copy of government ID in order to do anything with that Kindle book, so it will no longer be available.

A commute > 90 minutes in the rain to sit in an office with two people with headsets on in meetings. Fun stuff.

5pm on a Friday. It's beer o'clock, but users have just opened two bug tickets. Luckily not serious so I can do them on Monday.

GitHub - Helium314/HeliBoard: Customizable and privacy-conscious open-source keyboard Customizable and privacy-conscious open-source keyboard - Helium314/HeliBoard

@kerravonsen as it happens I was mistaken; such a feature can be enabled: https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard?tab=readme-ov-file

@kerravonsen thanks. Doesn't look like it can Swype, but I'll give it a try.

On-screen phone keyboards have never been good. Gboard appears to be the least unpleasant to use on Android at the moment. I tried FUTO but ended up in swypo hell and had to switch back. Is there anything else worth trying? Not being controlled by an American corporation would be a big bonus.