A little reminder that your iPhone can tell you how much mobile data you’ve used and since when, in Settings ▸ Mobile Service, which can be handy for knowing if your mobile contract is appropriate.
(Me, I’m on about 35GB mobile data a month. How about you?)
For Various Reasons, finally have a VPN. I went with Nord; referral link: refer-nordvpn.com/MpPriBVTToR
One of the two fans inside the laptop, with the vanes of the fan almost entirely gunked up with dust.
A close-up of the dust-jammed fans; it's really quite bad…
The whole of the inside of the laptop, after cleaning, looking basically like new (if you don't look TOO closely…). The fan from the first photo is the one at the bottom left of this shot.
…and though I tried blowing in some compressed air, it made no difference.
Admitted that I’ve lost my P5 Pentalobe screwdriver, bought a new @ifixit.com set, and, um, it’s running much better now…
(Should have done this years ago. Don’t be me…)
My 2019 Intel MacBook Pro (which is in a semi-retired state) has been struggling for a long time, with the fans always running and performance apparently being thermally throttled. “So clean the fans, Phin?” Yes. I couldn’t see any dust at the hinge vents, though…
Two small but perfect pancakes on a plate with sugar and lemon juice — from a plastic lemon dispenser, sat behind the plate beside a cup of black coffee.
Miss me with anything that isn’t cheap granulated sugar and Jif lemon. #ShroveTuesday #PancakeDay
I can… skate…? I mean, I’m not saying ‘well’, but ‘not falling over and shattering a hip’ is a win at 45.
I can… skate…? I mean, I’m not saying ‘well’, but ‘not falling over and shattering a hip’ is a win at 45.
Short version: hydrogen is really cool! But it perpetuates a capitalist (and resource-depleting) model of powering vehicles en-masse. Decentralising energy production is socialism!
(Framing is messed up in the vid, but “the perfect is the enemy of the good”.)
The one thing (I think) that Alec didn’t mention in the threaded video was hydrogen, which is often held up as a superior energy source for moving vehicles compared to battery-electric cars… so I wanted to! youtu.be/2Qt5iAS_5vs
The problem’s not billionaires. The problem is patriarchy.
As always, @judedoyle.bsky.social says it better than I could: jude-doyle.ghost.io/y/
(I mean, billionaires are still ‘a’ problem, just not the relevant one to the discussion about Epstein and child rape.)
And then it ends. Or rather, fake-ends, and then we shift gears.
It’s still a bit ‘U-S-A! 🦅🇺🇸’ for me, but still:
Damn.
It might not be obvious if you haven’t been watching him for years, but I was really struck by how Alec clearly decided this was a topic too important to be sarcastic and playfully ranty about, and it’s calm, measured, clear.
Damn. I’ve been watching (and enjoying) Technology Connections for a long time, but only just made time to watch his latest: youtu.be/KtQ9nt2ZeGM
The view out of the front of a car on a motorway, with a Osmo Pocket 3 mounted on a Joby Gorillapod filming the view.
This one was filmed on @indoorbee.bsky.social’s DJI Osmo Pocket 3 (which dealt well with the movement of the car) with a paired wireless DJI Mic 2 clipped to the back of my seat. Cropped to 21:9 in part to give it an epic, widescreen quality, but also to cut off the most egregious reflections.
I keep making attempts to record some brown noise driving stuff for a friend who likes to fall asleep to this kind of #asmr. My latest:
Me holding a large crocheted blanket. It’s in squares, with cream borders, and concentric squares of Pride-adjacent but not exact colours.
This has been a godsawful year but I draw such strength from my friends. One of them, Matthew, crocheted me this beautiful blanket for Christmas and I’ll be taking it to my parents’ tomorrow where I’ll be doing solo caring for a couple of weeks; it will help to wrap myself in queer community. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
After last night, I’m officially designating 2025 the worst year of my life. Of course I still have a lot to be thankful for and to cherish, and I’m not going anywhere, but jesus fucking christ.
Still really proud of this little video I made with my friend Stuart, sharing some queer joy from an unexpected source. Can be consumed audio-only too, and I humbly recommend it to you if you want some queer hope and happiness. youtu.be/Wt1ArezeaiQ
Looks like my mum won’t be with us that much longer, and one thing I’m most concerned about it helping my kid cope with her grandma’s passing. It would be the first major death she’s experienced, at 10. Do you have any gentle, kind advice?
Today is #TransDayOfRemembrance, and I fucking hate it. youtu.be/HrTW0n6HW1Q
#TransgenderDayOfRemembrance
Did Alfie ever work out what it’s all about, and is there, like, a Substack or something?
whoever selected the photos for this article deserves an award for photo selection, this is peak photo selection, unsurpassable perfection, all other photo selector people can just get their coats and go home because this selection will never be bettered
Selfie in a mask
ig it was always a vain hope, but I really did hope that one lesson we’d learn from Covid was wearing a mask when you have a cold or other similar transmissible ailment
Selfie on a bus in an open-necked white shirt and dark jacket, sunglasses, pearl necklace and ‘diamond’ earring, holding a Keep Cup of black coffee. The early morning sun is bathing me in golden light.
I’ve never looked straighter
In other words, my simple solution to resolving how we ensure the dignity and inclusion of all athletes in competitive sport is just to abandon the lame-ass concept of competitive sport altogether. 😘
“Look at this human do an amazing/inspiring feat” is fine. “This human is 0.0026% better than any other human we’ve measured at doing this feat” just seems kinda dumb to me.
And then we have the problem of tribalism in sports like football. Just: yawn, honestly.
Y’know, one area that’s always been unsettled for me in the fight for trans rights is competitive sport, but I guess for me it’s the whole ‘ranking of humans based on physical prowess’ that seems kinda pointless and arbitrary.
One of my annoyances with Sony’s handy Product Showcase mode is that I don’t always want to have the camera focussing on whatever’s closest to it in a video; most of the time, I want it focussed on me. Here’s the fix – with a text step-by-step underneath it! youtu.be/DQdhe-m_4Ao
