h2g2bob @h2g2bob@mastodon.dbatley.com

"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/

TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. https://pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-funding-statement.html
🧵
https://www.python.org/sponsors/application/

It's not all democratic backsliding. 2024's elections in Southern Africa suggest a maturing of democracy in the region.

In Botswana, the party which had governed the country since independence graciously accepted defeat and ensured a peaceful transition of power. In South Africa, the coalition Government of National Unity has increased public trust in governance (when was the last time you heard that?!).

https://europeandemocracyhub.epd.eu/democratic-shockwaves-in-southern-africa/

*** New blog post ***

Back in July, I went for a cycle around Leicester, 10 years after the last time I cycled around Leicester.

Here's my write up, with thanks to Leicester Cycling Campaign Group.

https://therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com/2025/10/liveable-leicester-redux.html

Microsoft are rolling out Gaming Copilot to all Windows 11 PCs (excluding in China).

Enabled by default, silent install, takes screenshots and trains MS AI by default.

It installed on my Windows 11 Professional PC 🫡 it’s also not dependent on an NPU or Copilot+

https://doublepulsar.com/microsoft-builds-on-recall-with-gaming-copilot-fails-basic-privacy-tests-52988576bcc8

Now is another great moment to ponder if making your business rely on Amazon is a great idea.

All jokes about the name redactions aside (I assume it's NTSB policy to redact the names of all uninvolved persons), James Cameron's interview in the Titan investigation is really interesting. That man knows a lot about deep-sea submersibles.

https://media.defense.gov/2025/Sep/17/2003800984/-1/-1/0/CG-115_INTERVIEW-DEEP-SEA-EXPLORER_REDACTED.PDF

Find my nearest postbox was just very handy, thank you @dracos https://postboxes.dracos.co.uk/

The full Capita report is available here:

https://ico.org.uk/media2/pv5nhks4/capita-plc-and-cpsl-monetary-penalty-notice.pdf

A significant portion of the report is Capita arguing with the ICO that it doesn’t have the remit, and the ICO saying “Sure Jan” and then Capita agreeing the fine.

Tl;dr love your SOC. And fix Active Directory. The threat actor actually deployed BloodHound before Capita. And don’t try to cover up your breaches.

#Capita

Monday's Most Read # 1 - Everything You Need To Know About SB 79 https://link.theoverheadwire.com/hgxdr

Interesting times in council politics. Labour have dropped below 6,000 councillors for the first time since 2022.

https://opencouncildata.co.uk/tracker.php

And if all that sounds a bit serious, I assure you we have a surprising amount of content relating to chips https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20091212101950/http://www.lovechips.co.uk/