Radio amateur, heritage railway volunteer, independent privacy researcher, Internet fiddler, retired in 2018 from IT and legal after 40 years+. Membership secretary for the British Railways Amateur Radio Society. Also https://mastodon.radio/@M0RVBhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3mwpulpqlsc2eMany people are having fun with the new America.gov - which claims "Whatever you need from government, start here." but clarifies that "Some answers on America.gov are generated with AI. They can be incomplete or wrong, and they can be out of date the moment a program changes." Honest at least. https://America.gov30 Sep 2026 07:56 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwpulpqlsc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3ms3pr37ndc2vAbout to do a spot of maintenance in the middle of nowhere...02 Aug 2026 09:56 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms3pr37ndc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3mq2rsg3c6c2s52 people should be 21 years older today and all I see is Farage whinging on TV07 Jul 2026 14:09 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq2rsg3c6c2shttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3mod33of2es2jThanks LinkedIn. I ventured back in after several years to set up a simple profile. Then it logged me out for no reason and now "We first need to verify your identity to ensure your account safety. To regain access to your account, please submit a government-issued ID." - yeah, never gonna happen!15 Jun 2026 10:26 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mod33of2es2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3ml6i4rgpfk2mSomewhat annoyed to announce that my iPhone finally knows I am over 18...06 May 2026 10:21 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml6i4rgpfk2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3mkwui4j7h22iAldi store finder: 'Our store locator uses Mapbox, which transmits data to the provider. To use all search features of the store locator, please agree to the use of Mapbox. To do so, click "Accept consent".' - nah... and the list of stores does not include our local ones. Do they even check?03 May 2026 09:40 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkwui4j7h22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3mjrckfbpm22eUnbelievable. Our local water company cannot accept first names with spaces in when signing up for an account.18 Apr 2026 11:11 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjrckfbpm22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3mitijvco6k2xBA's cookie popup is bust: "We are currently unable to show our full cookie consent banner due to a technical issue. ... In the meantime, we're only using the cookies and technologies that are essential for our website to function properly." - intrigued as to why it still sets a tracker then...06 Apr 2026 14:38 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mitijvco6k2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3mfuaihcs522fWell that's a first for me. The local council email newsletter has a link about bus service changes. When I click that it takes me to a website which then wants me to enter my email address so it can send me an access code. Nah. The bus company website has all the info anyway. Don't make things hard27 Feb 2026 17:31 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfuaihcs522fhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3m62pojweyc25I don't believe that I am forced to install and sign up to twitter in order to chat to HMRC because the only other way is to wait in a phone queue or physically write to them as they don't do email.20 Nov 2025 11:58 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3m62pojweyc25https://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3m4loq7thas2cI may be being too picky but our ISP's billing form cannot remove dashes from a sort code if someone adds them, plus their website does not work in Safari or Duck browser even with protections off - I had to use Brave. I would sack the designers if someone made that site for me.01 Nov 2025 19:06 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4loq7thas2chttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3m2jfnmfcms25After asking a ChatGPT-like thing to produce some academic references and twice getting non-existing ones I asked if it had made them up: "Yes, the citations provided in my previous messages were fabricated as illustrative examples and not actual references." Useful. We're doomed.06 Oct 2025 10:27 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2jfnmfcms25https://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3m27ej6rens2kHere we go again with the UKs attack on Apple + encryption. I've always been wary of what I put in the cloud - I mean effectively it's just someone else's computer. On the plus side this will save me £36 pa in iCloud fees once everything is finally on my local fully encrypted NAS.02 Oct 2025 10:40 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3m27ej6rens2khttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lzvsr6su7c2sIf we are forced to have digital ID cards let's make some demands: data shall be stored onshore and never exported elsewhere; no weakening of encryption; no politician shall in any way profit from this financially; the IDs shall be free and work on older phones; plus a way to work if no phone.28 Sep 2025 15:29 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lzvsr6su7c2shttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lz77qngfd226Always interesting to read t&c's "The University can accept no responsibility for injury to persons (however caused)...". I'm sorry but if your building falls on my head good luck with dodging your responsibility!19 Sep 2025 15:50 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lz77qngfd226https://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lygbi3fkds2fMany decades ago it became known at work that if one filed down the standard mortice key you can make it a master that fits any lock (it was a rather stupid key!). This reminds me a bit of the E2EE and lawful access debate - accessing the master key was easy.09 Sep 2025 17:44 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lygbi3fkds2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lycv5jdsek24"VPN software, browser extensions and internet connection issues may interfere with the functionality of the website - please turn them off if you are using any." - this is from a major UK financial website. I'm using Safari on a Mac and keep getting thrown off. Fix your website!08 Sep 2025 09:26 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lycv5jdsek24https://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lxrnecn24s2dPlaying with Tor (specifically because the university I used to work for always failed but works now) a number of .ac.uk sites work fine but notably two large red brick sites do not. Nor do they respond via https which I find incredible. Report card: D-, Must do better.01 Sep 2025 12:51 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxrnecn24s2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lxhmhvnqts2y"As part of our compliance program for the UK Online Safety Act and our ongoing investments in tools and technologies that help ensure age-appropriate experiences, we need you to verify your age so you can continue enjoying social features on Xbox." - er, ok but no.28 Aug 2025 13:08 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxhmhvnqts2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lwzbtbbzfs24Assuming the whispers are correct and the UK government are backing off from their demands to Apple we still don't know the details, not do we know if other providers caved in to their secret demands. In this post-truth post-privacy age trust has gone way out of the window and may never return.22 Aug 2025 20:21 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwzbtbbzfs24https://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lwyqltoqq22lWe had a dormant company. This year the confirmation statement filing cost £34, up from £13. Soon we are forced to file a tax return electronically so buy software or pay someone (currently free via the web), and will need to verify directors IDs. So we paid £33 to close it down instead.22 Aug 2025 15:12 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwyqltoqq22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lvxdbetdz22rThe ongoing age verification fiasco limiting access to material reminds me of a conversation I had with a school teacher 15+ years ago. She had to access material for teaching from home because the LEA firewall blocked keywords associated with sexual health so kids could not access while in class.09 Aug 2025 08:16 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvxdbetdz22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lrgsejnt3c24Well thank you LV for making me spend 10 minutes filling a form with details that every car insurer accepts except you: "we can’t offer you a quote because we don’t cover that occupation and vehicle usage"12 Jun 2025 20:50 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrgsejnt3c24https://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lr6ixra3yc2mAnother hotel where the safe is not fixed down and easy to carry…09 Jun 2025 13:41 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lr6ixra3yc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lpjofwvwoc2hRather odd that someone who has done postal votes before but was told to re-apply (3 year rule?), has been on the electoral register for 30+ years, same address, same NIN, same name finds, after 2 failed attempts that the council cannot confirm the person's identity from all that. Third time lucky?19 May 2025 13:27 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpjofwvwoc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lpc4x4hr622fI do get annoyed with website designers / UI / UX experts given I have worked with good designers... so when an airline membership form wants a mandatory post code but the box will only accept numbers when it already knows I am in the UK... well, you can imagine why I get annoyed.16 May 2025 13:26 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpc4x4hr622fhttps://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3lm2huvniuc23I see a little circle has appeared in WhatsApp that leads to their Meta AI offering... at least there is a reasonably short intro page that also warns not share anything you don't want the AI to 'retain and use'. It also sets out that some AI generated messages may be 'inaccurate or inappropriate'.05 Apr 2025 08:05 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lm2huvniuc23https://bsky.app/profile/m0rvb.bsky.social/post/3llmdalzdmk2bSometimes hotel reviews are fun to read. Just saw one complaining the hotel does not have a private beach. It's about 2 miles from the sea!30 Mar 2025 17:04 +0000at://did:plc:jj7lyo7fzfugorccbwxmbix7/app.bsky.feed.post/3llmdalzdmk2b