h2g2bob @h2g2bob@mastodon.dbatley.com

🆕 blog! “My Wikipedia account is now old enough to vote”

I have no idea what I was doing on the 28th of November 2007 but, apparently, that's when I first logged in to Wikipedia. Which means, as of right now, my Wikipedia account is 18 years old!

I didn't make my first edit until April 2009. That was for the nascent Ada Lovelace Day.

Since then, I've racked up a bit over…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/11/my-wikipedia-account-is-now-old-enough-to-vote/
⸻
#wikipedia

The best engineering projects are the super complex ones which you only hear about afterwards.

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/the-hidden-chemical-attack-that-forced-the-northern-lines-extraordinary-repair-85682/

TODAY on "Science Friday": The day-after-Thanksgiving specially selected highlights from this year's Ig Nobel Prize ceremony https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ig-nobel-prize-2025/

"Is Matrix Multiplication Ugly?” [Jim Propp] https://mathenchant.wordpress.com/2025/11/21/is-matrix-multiplication-ugly/

"How SETI Designed A Telescope To Look For Extraterrestrial Civilizations" – Scott Manley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnWR7A0Qiy8

HTTP has a new method: QUERY. Tl;dr: GET with a body.

https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-ietf-httpbis-safe-method-w-body-14.html

#ietf

Zork I, Zork II and Zork III are now officially open source https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/11/zork-i-zork-ii-and-zork-iii-are-now-officially-open-source/

#Zork #Microsoft #Retro #OpenSource #RetroGaming

🆒 NEW GAME! 🆒
Only the coolest people can draw a Cool S really fast
https://vole.wtf/cool-s/

"Self-hosting DNS for no fun, but a little profit!" – Morten Linderud

https://linderud.dev/blog/self-hosting-dns-for-no-fun-but-a-little-profit/

🚓 The government has announced that it plans to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners. The next PCC elections were due to happen in 2028. The powers will be handed over to combined authority mayors or councils.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93d4dd3l3lo

@theolodian @mia This maps all the actual bomb damage, it should be on there if true: https://www.layersoflondon.org/map/overlays/bomb-damage-1945

🚀 NEW MAGAZINE ⌨️
Back in the ’80s there were printed mags of BASIC programs to type in, we’ve brought that back but for web pages!
10 amazing games, toys, puzzles and utilities, no coding knowledge needed
https://vole.wtf/doctype/

About AI..

No not that AI. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI), or bird flu, is hitting our wildlife hard again and the winter hasn't yet started. I've heard reports from various places in Greater Manchester about deaths from (mainly) swans and geese.

If you see a sick or dead bird, don't touch it.

Report any dead birds:
• In England, Wales & Scotland https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-dead-wild-birds;
• In Northern Ireland https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/services/daera-dead-wild-bird-online-reporting-tool?brid=hGNqm2_eP38oDRgWaeRS6Q
• In Republic of Ireland https://aviancheck.apps.services.agriculture.gov.ie/report

#birds #UKBirds

Updated "greek task list":

orphean task: when you almost succeed, but lose everything the moment you turn around to check your progress.

daedalean task: when you’re forced to design something brilliant and functional… that you yourself will inevitably become trapped inside.

medusan task: when your project becomes so horrifying that everyone involved freezes in place rather than deal with it.

tantaline task: when success is right there, but bureaucracy or budget cuts keep snatching it away at the last moment, forever.

pandoran task: when fixing one small issue unleashes a thousand new ones, but hey — at least there’s still hope somewhere in the ticket backlog.

odyssean task: when the assignment technically has an end, but it’s buried under so many side quests that you forget what the original goal was.

narcissian task: when the entire effort is about maintaining appearances rather than achieving anything of substance.

promethean task: when you give people a powerful new tool that could transform their work — and are punished eternally for doing so.

orestian task: when the mess you’re cleaning up is the direct result of the last cleanup you performed.

thesean task: when the only way to finish is to disassemble everything piece by piece — until you’re no longer sure if what’s left is the same project you started.

achillean task: when your work is flawless except for that one fatal oversight that will, inevitably, destroy you.

penelopean task: when you diligently undo by night what you accomplish by day, just to keep the stakeholders pacified.

midasean task: when everything you touch turns into paperwork, compliance documents, or gold-plated nonsense nobody actually needs.

gordian task: not intended to be actually done, but violence is the answer.

Keep Android Open
https://keepandroidopen.org/

This is important. We already have a basic duopoly in mobile operating systems, now Google is trying to lock down their platform even more. Nobody benefits from this other than Google's shareholders.

Whether you are a device owner, a developer, or a public institution, this affects you and should matter to you.

Everyone can meaningfully help to push back.

#FuckGoogle #Android #FOSS #Mobile

"The Bus Services (No. 2) Bill became law on 27th October, enabling local transport authorities to implement franchising schemes for bus services in England – reversing the deregulation of buses which has contributed to spiralling prices and worsening, reduced services while transport firms pay millions to shareholders.

It will also end the ban on councils setting up their own bus companies to directly compete with private firms."

Hurrah for big, quiet wins!

https://bylinetimes.com/2025/10/28/all-the-big-government-reforms-the-media-hasnt-been-telling-you-about/