When an entire class of technology states on the packaging that it was made in China but intended "for overseas use only," this should really give you pause before plugging it into your network. You will find this verbiage on a lot of Android TV streaming […] [Original post on infosec.exchange]

Get your 2026 self a little treat! Unch Issue 2 is out in January - you can ensure you don't miss out by pre-ordering a copy now... Go to unchcrosswords.com to reserve YOURS! This one has eight of our usual standard cryptics, plus a fun alphabetical *and* an exciting thematic as well!

[UK Politics] Hmmm. I wonder if the UK government ongoing failure to innovate on productivity could have anything to do with them regarding 'clocking in' as a performance metric… 🤔 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/dec/23/four-day-week-sign-of-failure-england-councils-told-steve-reed

I've seen a few people post on Mastodon about how they would love a model railway, but can't, cos of space limitations. What if I was to tell you that you can enjoy model railways, even if you live in a tiny apartment. This is a thread about standards and community. 1/n

Not that this limited change to re-enable downloads for some books would sway me, but too late Amazon, I've ditched my Kindle now (h/t @cubicgarden) https://www.pocket-lint.com/amazon-changing-kindle-drm/

Don't buy Apple gift cards. “It’s digital Russian roulette.” https://tidbits.com/2025/12/17/compromised-apple-gift-card-leads-to-apple-account-lockout/

RE: https://mastodon.social/@MonaApp/115727391556105570 Upgraded to Mona 7. Smooth process, simple to use my Pro Max discount to purchase Ultra - all my settings and customisations came across, only thing that didn't sync was my timelines. Already settled in nicely, every difference I've […]

I loved this viaduct. This is very sad. #speysideway #garmouthviaduct https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1m87jlv97ro

I still don't really see why a bridge-height bar across the road wouldn't also “detect over-height vehicles approaching a low railway bridge and] warn any driver that they will not be able to pass under an upcoming bridge” and be deployable more quickly… [ […]

Yay! The evenings are getting longer 🥳 (though I’m not convinced it’s 5 seconds… 0.5 maybe?) https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:vadc5ou2fobayi4fzmj3r5qc/post/3m7xirb5o5g23

“I read the CIA Factbook, Christine, written by you. Britain’s entry: ‘slightly smaller than Oregon.’” Oh, I did love the first couple of series of #Spooks. Great article by Melissa Beattie here on 2.6 and Anglo-American relationships @CSTonlinetv […]

Today I learned that Michael Palin (who was being interviewed, a bit randomly with Kylie Minogue on R2) was in Home and Away… 😮 https://youtu.be/261ugmDCcBU?si=JcDrNi3M_DVWKm_g

If you've not read them, I highly recommend picking up this Murderbot Diaries book bundle from Humble Bundle. Great books, I just polished off the last one and still want more! https://www.humblebundle.com/books/martha-wells-murderbot-and-more-tor-books-encore

Apple have finally announced an air date for #tehran season 3 (only a year after it aired in Israel) it starts 9 Jan. (Ok, Apple, now release The Savant) https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/tehran-lands-season-3-release-150000350.html

This looks genuinely excellent for #Cardiff and applaud @transportforwales.bsky.social for not proposing a value-engineered box (though let’s see the reality before judging!). One big problem here though is clearly an UNCOVERED route to the tram platform. It rains in Wales *a lot*, we need roofs!

Oh joy, another helpful AI infographic via LinkedIn. Off I go to my job as a liberaian, maybe to run some critical evaligane workshops and of course use New! Boulean! Logic!

“Until now, transferring my Signal account history from one phone to another always felt like delivering a crate full of eggs while riding a rickety old bicycle without brakes on a bumpy cobblestone street.” Very much this. I'm extremely glad to have the new backup feature, well worth £1.99 (and […]

Rewatching #thenightmanager is preparation for series 2 (arriving 1 Jan). Wow it is an amazingly good adaptation.

[UK politics, Your Party] Well this is going about as well as could be expected https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/29/corbyn-and-sultana-at-odds-over-your-party-leadership-as-conference-opens

Flabbergasted to discover #manxshearwater can live to 50 years old. Hung out with some Manxies this summer, and their landing/walking skills did not suggest longevity (indeed there was always a fresh crop of corpses in the morning…)

The Guardian quite rightly using this story about an Apple TV series pulled over plagiarism claims, to remind us they still haven't put out The Savant. Just release it you cowards! […]

[UK politics, budget, AI] The ”AI growth zones” for Wales remind me of the oil industry promise for Milford Haven (my closest town)in the 60s. The decline of fishing meant unemployment was running at double figures. But once the refineries were constructed, they were highly automated and only […]

This article is very confused. The subhead says chocolate mousse has just three basic ingredients. It has two. Although it refers to “obligatory whipped cream” it admits by saying “unless whipped cream has been omitted” that there's nothing obligatory about it. #moussedoctrine […]

The BBC has censored Rutger Bregman’s Reith Lecture “about the cowardice of today’s elites” by taking out the line that Trump is “the most openly corrupt president in American history”. Show don't tell, I guess? […]

Nooo! "Join CD tracks” is basically the only thing I actually use Apple Music for, and it's gone in Tahoe 😭😡 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/256142518?sortBy=rank

“Professor? Doctor? Who are you?” #silvernemesis Happy #doctorwhoday everyone. #doctorwho

You have a tax on international students, you have less of them, huh, you have less revenue, and whoopsdaisy, you're back to the taxes you didn't want to hike and everyone is cross.

“When. Oh, yes. Yes, of course. On the 23rd day of November in the Year of our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Eight.” I find it much harder to accept #silvernemesis is a whole 37 years ago then #doctorwho being 62. #doctorwhoday

“she said….her grandfather didn't like strangers.” “He's a doctor, isn't he? That's a bit of a lame excuse.” #doctorwhoday #anunearthlychild #doctorwho

Finland uses “Russia-gauge” rails. They are going to move to European compatible rail gauge for their own resilience. This is what we should be thinking about for moving to open social away from American platforms: it should come with significant spending commitments & is absolutely necessary.

## Now witness the power of this fully operational Fediverse! https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/11/now-witness-the-power-of-this-fully-operational-fediverse/ How can you measure the popularity of a social network site? Perhaps by counting the number of active […] [Original post on shkspr.mobi]

I actually like this a lot. Don’t hire jerks. (I’ll save you a click: she asks the receptionist whether the candidates treated them well. I agree that it speaks volumes.) https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/05/former-netflix-chief-talent-officer-used-this-test-to-weed-out-disastrous-hires.html

🎉🎉🎉 HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎉🎉🎉 Three years ago today gardenstate.social launched to the fediverse. Since then we have registered over 700 accounts with an average 80 active at a time. Today we operate with 9 community members contributing $44 of our operating […] [Original post on gardenstate.social]

“Off the top of my head, I'd say you're looking at a Boeske, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethros and a Leon Spinks. Not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever.”

Why aren’t there bars across roads approaching bridges (like you get in some car parks) so the idiots hit them first (and hopefully instead)? https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2025/11/railway-bridge-in-powys-hit-by-large-vehicles-numerous-times-this-year.html

Interop, drop by drop https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/the-eu-made-apple-adopt-new-wi-fi-standards-and-now-android-can-support-airdrop/

This is great (if it gets wider adoption on Android) as Airdrop is super useful. https://www.theverge.com/news/825228/iphone-airdrop-android-quick-share-pixel-10

My trusty MagSafe power bank just got recalled, so I need a new one. Anyone with an iPhone mini got any recommendations? (I had 10,000mAh and a kickstand, but I’d prefer slimmer and I’d settle for 5,000mAh)

Everyone seems to be releasing new Matter presence sensors this week. Aqara's FP300, Meross’ MS605, Switchbot’s… one. I think it's time to give one of these mmWave thingies a try (once I work out which one). #homeautomation

🎉 www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...

Hi! Today is my first official day as the Executive Director of Mastodon, replacing @[email protected] as CEO. I joined the Mastodon team more than 5 years ago, mostly working for Mastodon in the evenings on top of a 120% day job. I was the driving force behind the incorporation of the […]

We’re also looking ahead to what comes next. In another blog post published today, we introduced Mastodon’s new leadership team. Our Executive Director is @mellifluousbox (formerly, CFO of Mastodon gGmbH), who has already represented Mastodon on international stages. We also shared an […]

Our Founder, @Gargron is stepping down from his position as CEO. He shared a reflection on his time building and growing Mastodon on our blog. We want to take a moment to express the Mastodon team’s deep gratitude and admiration for Eugen, and for the technology and community he has built here […]

Over on #bluesky there was a bit of a controversy over the suspension of Sarah Kendzior. I thought it was an interestingly nontrivial moderation problem, so I wrote up a little case study on how this would have been handled on Mastodon […]

The absolutely stunning drama ‘Edge of Darkness’ produced by the BBC in the mid-80s is on iPlayer and is an excellent recommendation for a rainy weekend. Bob Peck is imperious in the lead role, Troy Kennedy Martin’s script is perfect, stunning cinematography and music by Eric Clapton. Just great! 👇

Tim Berners-Lee on Apple’s WebKit monopoly https://brucelawson.co.uk/2025/tim-berners-lee-on-apples-webkit-monopoly/

Just heard Hanan Issa (national poet of Wales) and Cory Doctorow at #hayafterhours. The latter very much the cognitive equivalent of a pan-galactic gargle blaster. Terrific.

First time on a class 756. Walked through the corridor of light.

Try my new file format, OCSV: Oxford Comma Separated Values

NEXT #doctorwho EPISODE ANNOUNCED (in 14 months) @LoneLocust https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/bbc-confirms-future-of-doctor-who-and-a-new-christmas-special-in-2026