h2g2bob @h2g2bob@mastodon.dbatley.com

on my blog!

one page of async Rust

https://dotat.at/@/2026-02-16-async.html

what is the least boilerplate needed to make a minimal async runtime?

Day 52 of 2026. Just finished watching Small Prophets on BBC iPlayer. What a joy. I'm sad that it is over. I'll just have to watch it again. #2026Journal

here, i thought of a drawing to make for you.

i feel like dozens of people must have made this exact comic before but has anyone attempted to do it SO SLOPPILY

If you're on LinkedIn and are thinking about verifying your account with them, maybe read this first. It walks through LinkedIn's privacy disclosure to identify 17 companies that may receive and process the data you submit, including name, passport photo, selfie, facial geometry, NFC data chip, national ID #, DoB, email, phone number, address, IP address, device type, MAC address, language, geolocation etc. Unsurprisingly, it seems the biggest recipients are US-based AI companies.

https://thelocalstack.eu/posts/linkedin-identity-verification-privacy/

"We all like to congregate... at boundary conditions. Where land meets water. Where earth meets air. Where body meets mind. Where time meets space. We like to be on one side, and look at the other."

#HitchhikersGuide #DouglasAdams #quotes #quote #bot

aTTEntiON pLEAse

If you are into #opensource and free culture then you should know about our unconference.

Coming to Manchester, UK on April 25-26.

Main track CfP is open, crew volunteering opportunities available, or just bring your projects and talks, and help make the weekend what it will be! Everyone welcome.

https://www.oggcamp.org/

Nice piece on energy in China — particularly the drones that help drop panels into place... and the Art Attack style opportunities... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-8d2b6944-4f7a-45b4-96fd-2d92499ff97d

Playing the Platform Piano

Portrait from my 'favourite stations' project. Here's Charlotte pretending to play the floor tiles which look a bit like piano keys.

It's amazing how many people have never noticed this feature at Waterloo tube station. The platform piano keys were added in 1986-1988 when the station was retiled based on artist Christopher Tipping's ‘theatrical themes’ design.

So, you might have heard about > or ≥. But are you ready for...

≩ U+2269 GREATER-THAN BUT NOT EQUAL TO

⋛ U+22DB GREATER-THAN EQUAL TO OR LESS-THAN (just remember that ⋛ is not equal to ⋚)

⪌ U+2A8C GREATER-THAN ABOVE DOUBLE-LINE EQUAL ABOVE LESS-THAN (compare to ⪋, ⪒, and ⪑)

And of course, let's not forget the classic ⪔ U+2A94 GREATER-THAN ABOVE SLANTED EQUAL ABOVE LESS-THAN ABOVE SLANTED EQUAL (don't mix that one up with ⪓)

From Penzance to Thurso (and Marazion to Hoy)… it’s finished.

After 25 years, I’m delighted to report that the New Adlestrop Railway Atlas now covers the whole of England, Scotland and Wales in one big PDF. Every* passenger line and station.

Download it here: https://www.systemed.net/atlas/

It's been raining for so long, even the roadworks sign guy has had enough.

Math trivia: the "B." in Benoit B. Mandelbrot stands for Benoit B. Mandelbrot

The voluntary nature of Internet standards means that the biggest power move may be to avoid playing the game. Let's take a look.

https://www.mnot.net/blog/2026/02/13/no

Thank you, #OnlineSafetyAct for failing to regulate #AgeVerification in any way at all. Now Discord users must hand their data to a Peter-Thiel-of-Palantir-linked system.

https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/oh-good-discords-age-verification-rollout-has-ties-to-palantir-co-founder-and-panopticon-architect-peter-thiel/

Elections bill published: votes at 16 confirmed for all UK elections, alongside a range of other changes.

- Press release: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tougher-rules-on-political-interference-to-keep-uk-elections-secure
- Policy summaries: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/representation-of-the-people-bill-policy-summaries
- The bill: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/4080

#ukpolitics #elections

A lot of people still believe that Medieval Europeans rarely or never bathed, didn’t have soap, were scared of water, lived up to their necks in faeces that they had thrown into the streets from their windows, shared their bedrooms with cattle, etc. The truth is very different. https://fakehistoryhunter.net/2025/11/26/articles-links-videos-about-medieval-hygiene/

New blog post!
Java based #Commodore #VIC20 emulator brings the classic 1980s computer to your browser. Now excuse me, I am off to play Gorf!
https://bigl.es/vic20-in-browser/