Paul Oldham 🏴 💛 🇺🇦
@tallpaul.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
Semi-retired Internet geek living with my wife and dog in Nairn, Scotland.
I'm also the #SNP councillor for #Nairn & #Cawdor but I generally toot about that as […]
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://mastodon.scot/@tallpaul, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
I'm also the #SNP councillor for #Nairn & #Cawdor but I generally toot about that as […]
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://mastodon.scot/@tallpaul, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
I've been witttering on about books again. The #foliosociety this time.
https://aboutabook.uk/about-the-folio-society/
#books #blog
https://aboutabook.uk/about-the-folio-society/
#books #blog
About the Folio Society
I've been interested in the Folio Society since back in the day when I subscribed to the now long dead Punch magazine and it carried adverts for the society, which was then a book club. Book clubs seem to have gone out of fashion now but they were certainly a
aboutabook.uk
January 29, 2026 at 10:27 PM
I've been witttering on about books again. The #foliosociety this time.
https://aboutabook.uk/about-the-folio-society/
#books #blog
https://aboutabook.uk/about-the-folio-society/
#books #blog
I give unique email addresses to everyone who asked for one so I can track who's compromised the address. I'm with Bank of Scotland, so I gave them an address just for them.
Today I tried to register with Scottish Widows and they spotted that they knew me, as they're part of the same group as […]
Today I tried to register with Scottish Widows and they spotted that they knew me, as they're part of the same group as […]
Original post on mastodon.scot
mastodon.scot
January 26, 2026 at 11:19 AM
I give unique email addresses to everyone who asked for one so I can track who's compromised the address. I'm with Bank of Scotland, so I gave them an address just for them.
Today I tried to register with Scottish Widows and they spotted that they knew me, as they're part of the same group as […]
Today I tried to register with Scottish Widows and they spotted that they knew me, as they're part of the same group as […]
To turn off auto playing of videos (yes, that one) in #theguardian app go to Advanced Settings and there's a toggle switch.
January 25, 2026 at 6:23 PM
To turn off auto playing of videos (yes, that one) in #theguardian app go to Advanced Settings and there's a toggle switch.
Intraocular pressure (IOP) today was 15 in right eye, 13 in left. This is Good News™ as it means the new drugs are working and I don't need my lenses replaced any time soon, which was plan B. 👁️👁️ 🎉
#glaucoma
#glaucoma
January 22, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Intraocular pressure (IOP) today was 15 in right eye, 13 in left. This is Good News™ as it means the new drugs are working and I don't need my lenses replaced any time soon, which was plan B. 👁️👁️ 🎉
#glaucoma
#glaucoma
Reposted by Paul Oldham 🏴 💛 🇺🇦
They say AI isn’t profitable. That’s not true.
Twice just this past week, I’ve been contacted and paid to fix problems caused by developers who relied on AI to configure servers.
#ai
Twice just this past week, I’ve been contacted and paid to fix problems caused by developers who relied on AI to configure servers.
#ai
January 21, 2026 at 8:53 AM
They say AI isn’t profitable. That’s not true.
Twice just this past week, I’ve been contacted and paid to fix problems caused by developers who relied on AI to configure servers.
#ai
Twice just this past week, I’ve been contacted and paid to fix problems caused by developers who relied on AI to configure servers.
#ai
January 15, 2026 at 6:55 PM
Not that anyone probably cares now but I've just taken the news:cam.misc FAQ offline. Probably for good. A relic of another time on the Internet when all the Cambridge geeks hung out on Usenet.
January 14, 2026 at 9:38 PM
Not that anyone probably cares now but I've just taken the news:cam.misc FAQ offline. Probably for good. A relic of another time on the Internet when all the Cambridge geeks hung out on Usenet.
You know what's more annoying than Google giving me #ai Overviews on my phone at all is that it's wrong (that's the time of sunrise in Nairn *today* not on 28th February when it will be around 7am) so canna be trusted.
January 12, 2026 at 9:25 AM
You know what's more annoying than Google giving me #ai Overviews on my phone at all is that it's wrong (that's the time of sunrise in Nairn *today* not on 28th February when it will be around 7am) so canna be trusted.
January 11, 2026 at 11:19 AM
#wotd behouchie n. col. The behind, backside (Scots).
Also spelled 'bahookie' as in the DM I has this morning talking about something being "a pain in the bahookie".
Also spelled 'bahookie' as in the DM I has this morning talking about something being "a pain in the bahookie".
January 7, 2026 at 11:33 AM
#wotd behouchie n. col. The behind, backside (Scots).
Also spelled 'bahookie' as in the DM I has this morning talking about something being "a pain in the bahookie".
Also spelled 'bahookie' as in the DM I has this morning talking about something being "a pain in the bahookie".
Here we are in this brave new world where our every search and every purchase is being logged and Amazon still tries to interest me in radom shit which I've never purchased or even looked and which, given my demographic, I'd thought it's very unlikely that I […]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
January 4, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Here we are in this brave new world where our every search and every purchase is being logged and Amazon still tries to interest me in radom shit which I've never purchased or even looked and which, given my demographic, I'd thought it's very unlikely that I […]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
I'm a councillor on Highland Council and the laptop they've given me keeps offering me access to Copilot.
To try it I asked it how much I'm paid. This is its response and it's just wrong. I now get paid £37,173. I used to get paid £25,982. Copilot however has […]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
To try it I asked it how much I'm paid. This is its response and it's just wrong. I now get paid £37,173. I used to get paid £25,982. Copilot however has […]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
December 31, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I'm a councillor on Highland Council and the laptop they've given me keeps offering me access to Copilot.
To try it I asked it how much I'm paid. This is its response and it's just wrong. I now get paid £37,173. I used to get paid £25,982. Copilot however has […]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
To try it I asked it how much I'm paid. This is its response and it's just wrong. I now get paid £37,173. I used to get paid £25,982. Copilot however has […]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
After a long pause (council work has kept me very busy) my book blog is back. This time talking about two books in 'About some dams'.
https://aboutabook.uk/about-some-dams/
#books #nosheb
https://aboutabook.uk/about-some-dams/
#books #nosheb
About some dams
I've recently finished Emma Wood's book "The Hydro Boys: Pioneers of Renewable Energy". It's her examination of the Scottish hydro-electric power schemes and reading it provided an interesting contrast to Jim Miller's "The Dam Builders: Power from the Glens" which I read back in 2021 and covers the same subject.
aboutabook.uk
December 31, 2025 at 11:16 AM
After a long pause (council work has kept me very busy) my book blog is back. This time talking about two books in 'About some dams'.
https://aboutabook.uk/about-some-dams/
#books #nosheb
https://aboutabook.uk/about-some-dams/
#books #nosheb
Reposted by Paul Oldham 🏴 💛 🇺🇦
I have two unwritten rules.
1.
2.
(@thejeffputnam on Twitter)
1.
2.
(@thejeffputnam on Twitter)
December 30, 2025 at 12:58 AM
I have two unwritten rules.
1.
2.
(@thejeffputnam on Twitter)
1.
2.
(@thejeffputnam on Twitter)
We were parked alongside Loch Maree yesterday and this robin came and perched on the passenger side mirror. Twice. Didn't seem to mind me taking photos through the glass with my phone from only about a foot away.
December 30, 2025 at 11:24 AM
We were parked alongside Loch Maree yesterday and this robin came and perched on the passenger side mirror. Twice. Didn't seem to mind me taking photos through the glass with my phone from only about a foot away.
Reposted by Paul Oldham 🏴 💛 🇺🇦
I was recently reminded of this.
A couple decades ago, I wrote a short paper that described how the basic approaches of cryptography and computer security lead to an efficient and practical privilege escalation attack against master-keyed mechanical lock, which I published in IEEE Security and […]
A couple decades ago, I wrote a short paper that described how the basic approaches of cryptography and computer security lead to an efficient and practical privilege escalation attack against master-keyed mechanical lock, which I published in IEEE Security and […]
Original post on federate.social
federate.social
December 29, 2025 at 1:41 AM
I was recently reminded of this.
A couple decades ago, I wrote a short paper that described how the basic approaches of cryptography and computer security lead to an efficient and practical privilege escalation attack against master-keyed mechanical lock, which I published in IEEE Security and […]
A couple decades ago, I wrote a short paper that described how the basic approaches of cryptography and computer security lead to an efficient and practical privilege escalation attack against master-keyed mechanical lock, which I published in IEEE Security and […]
Ambulance just gone down our housing estate road with blues on. Someone not having a great Christmas I fear.
December 25, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Ambulance just gone down our housing estate road with blues on. Someone not having a great Christmas I fear.
One of my Christmas presents, a dozen new Jeeves & Wooster stories from different authors. Not sure about Frank Skinner transporting thrm into 2025 but John Finnemore (unsurprisingly IMO) is doing a very nice piece of business set in early WW2 which reads very […]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
December 25, 2025 at 12:35 PM
One of my Christmas presents, a dozen new Jeeves & Wooster stories from different authors. Not sure about Frank Skinner transporting thrm into 2025 but John Finnemore (unsurprisingly IMO) is doing a very nice piece of business set in early WW2 which reads very […]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
Self imposed #whamageddon ✅
It must be Christmas at last.
It must be Christmas at last.
December 25, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Self imposed #whamageddon ✅
It must be Christmas at last.
It must be Christmas at last.
It's less than an hour to Christmas Day and I've not heard That Song once this month so no need to hashtag this and well done me.
Last🎅I gave you my ❤️
Last🎅I gave you my ❤️
December 24, 2025 at 11:13 PM
It's less than an hour to Christmas Day and I've not heard That Song once this month so no need to hashtag this and well done me.
Last🎅I gave you my ❤️
Last🎅I gave you my ❤️
Had to phone #zeninternet our broadband provider this morning to update our bank account. Spoke to Carol who didn't sound rushed or as if she was working from a script but understood the issue and just Did The Right Thing.
There's a reason why they are the UK's most recommended broadband […]
There's a reason why they are the UK's most recommended broadband […]
Original post on mastodon.scot
mastodon.scot
December 22, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Had to phone #zeninternet our broadband provider this morning to update our bank account. Spoke to Carol who didn't sound rushed or as if she was working from a script but understood the issue and just Did The Right Thing.
There's a reason why they are the UK's most recommended broadband […]
There's a reason why they are the UK's most recommended broadband […]
Apparently I'm cool again and am now making a quiet act of opting out. Who knew?! 😎
(Now we just need to persuade phone manufacturers that this is true and make them bring back 3.5mm sockets.)
(Now we just need to persuade phone manufacturers that this is true and make them bring back 3.5mm sockets.)
December 19, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Apparently I'm cool again and am now making a quiet act of opting out. Who knew?! 😎
(Now we just need to persuade phone manufacturers that this is true and make them bring back 3.5mm sockets.)
(Now we just need to persuade phone manufacturers that this is true and make them bring back 3.5mm sockets.)
Reposted by Paul Oldham 🏴 💛 🇺🇦
"Hello, We're Firefox, The Only Browser That Hasn't Hit Itself In The Dick With A Hammer. For years now, folks use us because of our un-hammered dick. Now, you may be wondering why today we've brought this hammer and pulled out our dick. Well I'm glad you asked--"
February 28, 2025 at 3:22 PM
"Hello, We're Firefox, The Only Browser That Hasn't Hit Itself In The Dick With A Hammer. For years now, folks use us because of our un-hammered dick. Now, you may be wondering why today we've brought this hammer and pulled out our dick. Well I'm glad you asked--"
> I’ve said this before and I will say it again: I ask “AI” things about me all the time, because I know what the actual answer is, and “AI” will consistently and confidently get those things wrong. If I can’t trust it to get right the things I know, I cannot trust it to get right the things I […]
Original post on mastodon.scot
mastodon.scot
December 13, 2025 at 9:15 PM
> I’ve said this before and I will say it again: I ask “AI” things about me all the time, because I know what the actual answer is, and “AI” will consistently and confidently get those things wrong. If I can’t trust it to get right the things I know, I cannot trust it to get right the things I […]
Two years and one month ago I bought an APC Back UPS - BX750MI to replace the *very* reliable old APC UPS which I'd had *forever* (through multiple battery changes).
This one, with no warning, suddenly started sounding the alarm (and did again after power […]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
This one, with no warning, suddenly started sounding the alarm (and did again after power […]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
December 6, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Two years and one month ago I bought an APC Back UPS - BX750MI to replace the *very* reliable old APC UPS which I'd had *forever* (through multiple battery changes).
This one, with no warning, suddenly started sounding the alarm (and did again after power […]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]
This one, with no warning, suddenly started sounding the alarm (and did again after power […]
[Original post on mastodon.scot]