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<title type="text">Terence Eden’s Blog</title>
<subtitle type="text">Regular nonsense about tech and its effects 🙃</subtitle>
<updated>2026-03-15T09:08:25Z</updated>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog"/>
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<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Robots in Space - The Secret Lives of Our Planetary Explorers by Dr Ezzy Pearson ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-robots-in-space-the-secret-lives-of-our-planetary-explorers-by-dr-ezzy-pearson/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68928</id>
<updated>2026-03-15T09:08:25Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-15T12:34:48Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="robots"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Mars is the only planet entirely populated by robots. This book is a catalogue of the history of robotic explorers. Nary a human-crewed mission is mentioned, except in passing. Instead, we get to look at the practicalities of landing a little robot a million miles away, the people that made it happen, and the politics which inevitably stymied things. And there is a lot of politics. One of the…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-robots-in-space-the-secret-lives-of-our-planetary-explorers-by-dr-ezzy-pearson/"><![CDATA[<p>Mars is the only planet entirely populated by robots. This book is a catalogue of the history of robotic explorers. Nary a human-crewed mission is mentioned, except in passing. Instead, we get to look at the practicalities of landing a little robot a million miles away, the people that made it happen, and the politics which inevitably stymied things.</p>
<p>And there is a <em>lot</em> of politics.</p>
<p>One of the weakest areas is the political analysis behind the stories. For example, a Soviet Lunar rover is described as being "daubed with the sickle and hammer" - but there's no derogatory mention of the stars, stipes, and eagles on American craft. Similarly we hear about "the Soviet plans to invade Mars proceeded unabated" - there's no deriding description of the American plans to colonise various planets. The efforts of the European Space Agency described as "[m]ore than fifty industrial contractors from fifteen nations were involved in construction. Safe to say, it was a logistical nightmare." - while ignoring the various back-room deals that led to the American space programme being distributed around their country and their resultant logistical problems.</p>
<p>It isn't relentlessly pro-American (there's lots of descriptions of their failures) but it feels a bit one-sided.</p>
<p>There are some gorgeous photos spread throughout the book. Sadly, the ebook relegates most of them to the end rather than interspersing them with the text. At least one of the images is incorrect although, thankfully, the attribution hyperlinks to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/technician-checks-soil-sampler-viking-lander/">the correct photo on NASA's site</a>.</p>
<p>I'm being a bit down on the book. It is a decent enough look at all the problems faced by space agencies as they tried to send machines into the void. For those of us in the computer industry, it is depressing to continually read about how we're often the weakest link:</p>
<blockquote><p>On 2 September, a computer command was sent to Phobos 1 to turn on the gamma ray spectrometer. A single hyphen had been left out of the code, transforming it into an order for Phobos 1 to shut down. There was no way to turn it back on.</p></blockquote>
<p>Yikes! The book is full of titbits like that - minor errors which led to major catastrophes.</p>
<p>It's a good starting point for anyone with an interest in space exploration and how technical and political challenges can be overcome.</p>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[How Can Governments Pay Open Source Maintainers?]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=53267</id>
<updated>2026-03-14T12:21:41Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-14T12:34:42Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="government"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="money"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Open Source"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[When I worked for the UK Government I was once asked if we could find a way to pay for all the Open Source Software we were using. It is a surprisingly hard problem and I want to talk about some of the issues we faced. The UK Government publishes a lot of Open Source code - nearly everything developed in-house by the state is available under an OSI Approved licence. The UK is generally pretty…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/"><![CDATA[<p>When I worked for the UK Government I was once asked if we could find a way to pay for all the Open Source Software we were using. It is a surprisingly hard problem and I want to talk about some of the issues we faced.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://github.com/alphagov/">UK Government publishes a </a><em><a href="https://github.com/alphagov/">lot</a></em><a href="https://github.com/alphagov/"> of Open Source code</a> - nearly everything developed in-house by the state is available under an OSI Approved licence. The UK is generally pretty relaxed about people, companies, and states re-using its code. There's no desire and little capability to monetise what has been developed with <a href="https://publiccode.eu/en/">public money so it becomes public code.</a></p>
<p>What about the Open Source that UK Government <em>uses</em>?</p>
<p>The state uses <a href="https://digital.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/digital-capabilities/websites/nightingale-theme-user-guide/">big projects like WordPress</a>, as well as <a href="https://github.com/alphagov/govuk-diff/blob/b62aba29f50915c9388110c2baed132b9f9f32df/diffgovuk.py#L81">moderately popular NPM packages</a>, and <a href="https://github.com/alphagov/ckanext-datagovuk/blob/1548325b7e28dd658f26ac68ba7ba990726ab485/bin/python_scripts/find_invalid_tags.py#L11">small Python libraries</a> and everything in between. But can it pay the maintainers of that software?</p>
<p><small>A version of this blog post was <a href="https://hackernoon.com/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers">originally published on Hackernoon</a>.</small></p>
<h2 id="fixing-the-plumbing"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/#fixing-the-plumbing">Fixing The Plumbing</a></h2>
<p>Open Source is facing a crisis. The code that the world relies on is often developed by underpaid engineers on the brink of burn-out. While I don't think anyone wants Open Source to have a paywall, it seems obvious that large organisation should pay their way and not rely solely on volunteer labour.</p>
<p>Here are some of the problems I faced when trying to get the UK Government to pay for OSS and how <em>you</em> as a maintainer can help make it easier for large organisations to pay you.</p>
<p>Firstly, lots of OSS doesn't have a well defined owner; so who gets the money?</p>
<p>I'm not saying that every little library you create needs to be published by a registered company, nor am I suggesting that you should remove your anonymity. But Governments and other organisations need to know <em>who</em> they are funding and <em>where</em> the money is going. The danger of accidentally funnelling money to a sanctioned state or person is just too big a risk for most organisations.</p>
<p>If you want to receive funding - make it <em>really</em> clear who you are.</p>
<h2 id="what-can-you-offer"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/#what-can-you-offer">What Can You Offer?</a></h2>
<p>Even when there is an owner, there often isn't an easy mechanism for paying people. Donation sites like GitHub Sponsors, Ko-Fi, and Patreon are great for individuals who want to throw a small amount of money to creators but they can be problematic for larger organisations. Many OSS projects get around this by offering support contracts. It makes it much easier for an organisation to justify their spend because they're no longer donating to something which can be obtained for free; they're paying for a service.</p>
<p>This doesn't have to be a contract offering a 24/7 response and guaranteed SLA. It can be as simple as offering best-effort email support.</p>
<p>The important thing is to offer an <em>easy</em> way for a larger organisation to buy your services. Many organisations have corporate credit cards for lower-cost discretionary spending which doesn't require a full business-case. How easily could a manager buy a £500 support contact from your site?</p>
<p>Maintainers don't only have to offer support contracts. Many choose to offer training packages which are a good way to raise money <em>and</em> get more people using your product. Some project maintainers will speak at your conference for a suitable fee.</p>
<p>Again, the aim here is for maintainers to offer a <em>plausible</em> reason for a payment to be made.</p>
<h2 id="playing-well-with-others"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/#playing-well-with-others">Playing Well With Others</a></h2>
<p>Open Source has a brilliant culture of allowing multiple (often anonymous) contributors. That's fine when there's no money involved, but how does a moderately sized project decide who receives what share of the funding? Services like <a href="https://opencollective.com/">OpenCollective</a> can make it easier to show <em>where</em> the money is going but it is better to discuss in advance with all contributors what they expect as a share.</p>
<p>If people think they're being taken advantage of, or that a project maintainer is unjustly enriching themselves, it can cause arguments. Be very clear to contributors what the funding is for and whether they're entitled to any of it.</p>
<p>Finally, we faced the issue that some OSS projects didn't <em>want</em> to take money from the "big bad state". They were worried that if people saw "Sponsored by the Government" they would assume that there were backdoors for spies, or that the developer might give in to pressure to add unwanted features. This (usually) isn't the case but it is easy to see why having a single large organisation as the main donor could give the impression of impropriety.</p>
<p>The best defence against this is to have <em>lot</em> of paying sponsors! Having the state as one of many partners makes it clear that a project isn't beholden to any one customer.</p>
<p>It isn't impossible to get Governments to spend on Open Source. But state spending is heavily scrutinised and, bluntly, they aren't set up to pay <i lang="la">ad hoc</i> amounts to non-suppliers, who aren't charging money. While large projects often have the resources to apply for Government grants and contracts, smaller projects rarely have the time or expertise. It is critical that maintainers remove the barriers which make it too hard for organisations to pay them.</p>
<h2 id="in-summary"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/#in-summary">In Summary</a></h2>
<ul>
<li>Make it easy for Governments and other large organisations to pay you.</li>
<li>Be as obvious as possible that you are able to accept payments from them.</li>
<li>Don't be afraid to put a large price on your talents.</li>
<li>Offer multiple paid-for options like speaker fees, support, and feature development funding.</li>
<li>Talk with your contributors to let them know how any funding will be shared.</li>
</ul>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[An odd font rendering bug in Firefox and Safari]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68692</id>
<updated>2026-03-13T15:18:22Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-13T12:34:09Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="bug"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="css"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="firefox"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="font"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[First up, you should go and watch The Importance of Being Earnest with Ncuti Gatwa. It is a brilliant set of performances and a joy to see. While perusing the programme on the National Theatre website I stumbled upon a little bug. The incredible Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ has her name rendered in a most unusual style: It rendered just fine in Chrome - but both Firefox and Safari misrendered some of t…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/"><![CDATA[<p>First up, you should go and watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obX-HGs-PS8">The Importance of Being Earnest</a> with Ncuti Gatwa. It is a brilliant set of performances and a joy to see.</p>
<p>While perusing the <a href="https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/the-importance-of-being-earnest/#cast">programme on the National Theatre website</a> I stumbled upon a little bug. The incredible Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ has her name rendered in a most unusual style:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ronke.webp" alt="Screenshot of a website. Contains a phone of a black woman next to her name. Any characters with accents in her name are rendered without boldface." width="2953" height="1798" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-68694">
<p>It rendered just fine in Chrome - but both Firefox and Safari misrendered <em>some</em> of the accented characters.</p>
<p>Here's a minimum viable demo to show what's happening:</p>
<iframe height="300" style="width: 100%;" scrolling="no" title="FF Font Rendering Issue?" src="https://codepen.io/edent/embed/qEaRyrz?default-tab=html%2Cresult" frameborder="no" loading="lazy" allowtransparency="true">
See the Pen <a href="https://codepen.io/edent/pen/qEaRyrz">
FF Font Rendering Issue?</a> by Terence Eden (<a href="https://codepen.io/edent">@edent</a>)
on <a href="https://codepen.io">CodePen</a>.
</iframe>
<h2 id="fonts-are-hard-ok"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/#fonts-are-hard-ok">Fonts are hard, OK?!?!</a></h2>
<p>Broadly speaking<sup id="fnref:complicated"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/#fn:complicated" class="footnote-ref" title="It is a lot more complicated than that." role="doc-noteref">0</a></sup>, accented characters can be made in two way.</p>
<ol>
<li>Pre-composed. There is a separate code for the character <code>é</code></li>
<li>Combining. The plain letter <code>e</code> is immediately followed by the <em>combining</em> character <code>◌́</code> and the computer smushes them together.</li>
</ol>
<p>Similarly, a font file can have separate little drawings for each accented character or it can have separate accents.</p>
<p>In this case, the National Theatre is using the font "Helvetica Now Display W04".</p>
<p>The web font contains <code>é</code> (U+00E9) and both <code>◌́</code> (U+0301) & <code>̣◌</code> (U+0323).</p>
<p>But doesn't include <code>ẹ</code> (U+1EB9) or <code>ọ</code> (U+1ECD).</p>
<p>So the ẹ́ and ọ́ have to be made by combining characters in the font.</p>
<p>On Chrome this works. On Firefox and Safari, it seems to break when the CSS is set to <code>font-weight: normal;</code>. This causes the browser to render those characters in the default fallback font - hence the slightly weird look.</p>
<h2 id="next-steps"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/#next-steps">Next Steps</a></h2>
<p>I've raised <a href="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2023126">a bug with Firefox</a> and one with <a href="https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=309889">WebKit</a>.</p>
<p>Of course, it might be that they're doing the right thing and Chrome is in the wrong - but I think that's unlikely.</p>
<p>Now, time to fix the font I use on this website to prevent any rendering errors!</p>
<div id="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes">
<hr>
<ol start="0">
<li id="fn:complicated">
<p>It is a <em>lot</em> more <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NPBIwQyPWE">complicated</a> than that. <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/#fnref:complicated" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>3</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Historic Energy Price Cap Data (FOI success!)]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/historic-energy-price-cap-data-foi-success/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68583</id>
<updated>2026-03-09T16:25:47Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-12T12:34:01Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="energy"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="FoI"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Ofgem, the UK's energy regulator, publishes the current energy price cap per region. Note that it is only the current price cap. I couldn't find the complete historic data on their site. So I sent a quick email asking for it which they treated as a Freedom of Information request. Please can you supply me with a complete list of all previous electricity price cap figures? I have searched your…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/historic-energy-price-cap-data-foi-success/"><![CDATA[<p>Ofgem, the UK's energy regulator, publishes <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/get-energy-price-cap-standing-charges-and-unit-rates-region">the current energy price cap</a> per region. Note that it is only the <em>current</em> price cap. I couldn't find the complete historic data on their site. So I sent a quick email asking for it which they treated as a Freedom of Information request.</p>
<blockquote><p>Please can you supply me with a complete list of all previous electricity price cap figures?</p>
<p>I have searched your website and can only find the current price-cap.</p>
<p>Specifically, I would like to know the per kWh price cap for electricity in the London region from its introduction until today.</p>
<p>If these are on your website, please point me in the right direction. If not, a CSV of the data would be appreciated.”</p></blockquote>
<p>A month later, and without any fuss, they emailed me a comprehensive spreadsheet. In Excel format, but let's not quibble!</p>
<p>There are a few formatting oddities - not least that the caps are expressed with 13 decimal places of precision. Was the daily cap <em>really</em> 60.9345205479452p?</p>
<p>Similarly, the dates are expressed as <code>1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022</code> rather than programmatic date ranges. It's also inconsistent, with some saying <code>1 July to 30 September 2025</code>.</p>
<p>Averages are hard-coded not calculated.</p>
<p>I've requested that they add these data to their website but, until they do, <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FOI2026_00323_Rates-Breakdown.xlsx">here's the original file they sent me</a>.</p>
<p>I've used a bit of R to tidy them up, giving proper start date and end date columns, rounding to 2 decimal places, and saving as CSV. You can <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FOI2026_00323_Rates-Breakdown-fixed.zip">download the tidied version</a>.</p>
<h2 id="copyright-and-copyleft"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/historic-energy-price-cap-data-foi-success/#copyright-and-copyleft">Copyright and Copyleft</a></h2>
<p>As per <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/copyright">their copyright page</a> these data are © Ofgem, 2026 and are licensed under the <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/">Open Government Licence 3.0</a>. This is <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/open-government-licence/">compatible with</a> CC BY and <a href="https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/by/">ODC-By</a>.</p>
<p>Please treat my update as <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution</a>.</p>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Game Review: It Takes Two ★★★★★]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-it-takes-two/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68494</id>
<updated>2026-03-08T15:42:47Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-11T12:34:02Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Game Review"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="PlayStation"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[A couple is facing the devastating prospect of divorce. Their young daughter is understandably distraught. In her fear, she doses both parents with a powerful hallucinogenic drug in the hope that tripping through therapy will save their marriage. Well, OK, that's not exactly what the game's about - but it might as well be! My aim this year is to play more co-operative games with my wife. So she …]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-it-takes-two/"><![CDATA[<p>A couple is facing the devastating prospect of divorce. Their young daughter is understandably distraught. In her fear, she doses both parents with a powerful hallucinogenic drug in the hope that tripping through therapy will save their marriage.</p>
<p>Well, OK, that's not <em>exactly</em> what the game's about - but it might as well be!</p>
<p>My aim this year is to play more <em>co-operative</em> games with my wife. So she picked up the controller to play as the shrewish May while I steered the lug-headed Cody. Both have been shrunk to the size of toy dolls and have to navigate their house in an attempt to regain human-form and comfort their daughter. The game is a series of puzzles which can only be solved if you <strong>work together</strong>. Only by <strong>working together</strong> can you escape the quagmire you find yourself in. A sentient marriage guidance book continually reminds you that you only beat the last level because you <strong>worked together</strong>.</p>
<p>And then you murder a toy elephant who pleads for its life after you brutally mutilate it. That isn't an exaggeration. It is easily the most traumatic media moment I've ever experienced.</p>
<p>Unlike <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-unravel-two/">Unravel Two</a>, the world is fully 3D and the quests are delightfully varied. Some are the usual "you jump there and I'll do the thing here" - others are more complex. There's logic, timed jumping, beat-em-ups, flight simulators, and a couple of dozen more inventive twists on familiar puzzles. Every single level seems to have a different game mechanic - and each level also has a unique æsthetic.</p>
<p>It is refreshing to play a game actually designed for adults. I don't mean "Rated 18 for blood and gore"; more like "grapples with the complexities of being a modern couple trying to raise a family". It's also great fun to collaborate on the puzzles, while also exploring the intricate world around you.</p>
<p>I don't know whether the game saved our marriage. There was certainly lots of <strong>working together</strong> to achieve a common goal.</p>
<p>The voice acting is excellent, the story isn't too cloying, and the animation is sumptuous.</p>
<iframe title="It Takes Two Official Reveal Trailer" width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ohClxMmNLQQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Unstructured Data and the Joy of having Something Else think for you]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/unstructured-data-and-the-joy-of-having-something-else-think-for-you/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68565</id>
<updated>2026-03-09T11:06:00Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-10T12:34:59Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="AI"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="culture"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I'm sure we have all met a person like this: People who have an AI habit use it by default. I have watched someone ask ChatGPT the weather for tomorrow rather than simply open the weather app. Another time, they asked AI the question even after I had shown them the website with the same information. It's a crutch.— Ibster (@ibster.bsky.social) 9 March 2026 at 09:46 At a recent tech event, I b…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/unstructured-data-and-the-joy-of-having-something-else-think-for-you/"><![CDATA[<p>I'm sure we have all met a person like this:</p>
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:o7ietxbf5efxnlvttt3obvr4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgml626jdc2z" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreig7f5x22t4zr4g4jlzj5tyupted2qe5jrkladd3e76auxkmkt3qxq" data-bluesky-embed-color-mode="system"><p lang="en">People who have an AI habit use it by default. I have watched someone ask ChatGPT the weather for tomorrow rather than simply open the weather app. Another time, they asked AI the question even after I had shown them the website with the same information. It's a crutch.</p>— Ibster (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:o7ietxbf5efxnlvttt3obvr4?ref_src=embed">@ibster.bsky.social</a>) <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:o7ietxbf5efxnlvttt3obvr4/post/3mgml626jdc2z?ref_src=embed">9 March 2026 at 09:46</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>At a recent tech event, I bumped into an old friend and invited him out for dinner the next evening. He proudly showed my the AI bot he'd built which responded to WhatsApp messages. "Remind me at 7pm tomorrow to go to Chalmun's Cantina for dinner with Terry."</p>
<p>"OK boss! That's locked in! I'll remind you tomorrow. Enjoy your dinner!" the digital sycophant replied.</p>
<p>I was flabbergasted. There was a perfectly good calendar app on his phone. It has an easy to use interface. There are clearly demarcated boxen to fill in. A swish time-picker, calendar scroller, and notification reminder all built-in.</p>
<p>Our conversation reached an ideological impasse. I couldn't understand why he was burning tokens and wasting time with a chatbot. He didn't understand why I wasn't embracing the future.</p>
<p>I've noticed this with a lot of technology and I think I've come up with a three-part hypothesis.</p>
<p>First, some people don't care for structure. Whereas some of us carefully shelve our books in Dewey Decimal order, some people just chuck a book on any shelf it'll fit. You craft a detailed personal knowledge graph in Obsidian, I have a series of increasingly erratic text documents. My blog is fully semantic, yours is just div-soup.</p>
<p>We all have different things we care about. You'd be aghast that I don't track my calories and I can't stand the way you store all your files on the desktop. Yes, some systems are obviously superior to chaos, but for lots of people the tedium of organisation isn't worth the effort.</p>
<p>Secondly, talking isn't as hard work as writing. Speaking is faster than writing - hence the popularity of voice notes. Speaking requires less mental effort than writing - you don't have to worry about spelling or grammar. Similarly, forcing yourself to organise your thoughts in the structure demanded by a form can be tiring. My calendar has event title at the top, but I think in terms of time first. So voice-chatting with an AI requires substantially less effort on your part. Just lob some words at it and it'll do the structuring for you.</p>
<p>Which gets me to the third and, I think, most distasteful aspect. People want servants. The long standing joke about Silicon Valley products is they're all trying to recreate having a mum to look after you. Uber to drive you, Just-Eat to bring you cooked meals, Task Rabbit to wash your pants, Tinder to be a matchmaker.</p>
<p>Being raised on a diet of Downton Abbey, Bridgerton, and a hundred other lives-of-the-rich-and-famous shows does a number on you. Why don't I have a social secretary to arrange my day? Don't I deserve a tireless chambermaid? Where's the smart-arse butler who can cater to my every whim?</p>
<p>"Jeeves! Book me a taxi to the club. Usual time."</p>
<p>That's the dream, isn't it? Yes, you could mash some buttons in the taxi app or - heaven forfend! - call them yourself. But isn't it much more sophisticated to have a servant?</p>
<p>I'm guilty of this, of course. I yell at my Alexii to turn on the lights, pre-heat my bed, and remind me when dinner is ready. My doorbell alerts me when a visitor calls so I don't have to make the arduous trip to the front door. My kitchen robot washes my clothes - next year it'll be able to order more washing supplies when I run low. I can basically chuck stuff into the machine without thinking about it, and everything comes out perfectly clean.</p>
<p>Is it <em>useful</em> for me to know how to properly wash clothes? Probably not. Do I struggle when I visit a house which only has physical light switches? Not really. Are some people going to suffer if they outsource all their thinking to servant machines? I guess we'll see.</p>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm ★★★★★]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-there-is-no-antimemetics-division-by-qntm/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68472</id>
<updated>2026-03-07T16:24:36Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-09T12:34:47Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Sci Fi"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Apparently I reviewed the previous version of this book four years ago but have no real memory of it. Did you ever have a dream which was vividly realistic yet somehow slightly askew from reality? Obviously there is no antimemetics division, nor could anyone write a book about it. If they did, their mind would instantly be liquefied and their mere existence would be purged. So, why is there a …]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-there-is-no-antimemetics-division-by-qntm/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/9781804954768-jacket-large.webp" alt="Book cover. A deer stares out at you. It has slightly too many eyes." width="311" height="500" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-68475">
<p>Apparently I reviewed the previous version of this book <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/04/book-review-there-is-no-antimemetics-division/">four years ago</a> but have no real memory of it. Did you ever have a dream which was vividly realistic yet somehow slightly askew from reality? Obviously there is no antimemetics division, nor could anyone write a book about it. If they did, their mind would instantly be liquefied and their mere existence would be purged.</p>
<p>So, why is there a new version of the book out and is it worth reading again?</p>
<p>As the copyright page says:</p>
<blockquote><p>Earlier versions of this material were previously published in serial form on the scp wiki under Creative Commons 3.0, and subsequently self-published by the author in ebook and paperback format. The work has been substantively revised and updated since.</p></blockquote>
<p>As <a href="https://qntm.org/antifaq">the FAQ</a> makes clear, getting a "proper" publisher to put money into a CC project is unlikely. So many of the original elements have been rewritten and reworked. The writing, plotting, and characters have all been substantially improved. The ending, in particular, has become something quite special.</p>
<p>The story itself is still recursively memetic and a metacommentary on itself. The bug-eyed-monsters are mindbending and the good guys are all morally compromised. The concepts are gorgeously impossible and the pacing is exciting.</p>
<p>There's simply nothing like it.</p>
<p>The eBook is mostly well formatted. Excellent use of monospace fonts for reports, there are accessible redactions where suitable, and the images all have alt text. Weirdly, one "monster" is named వ - a character which failed to render correctly on my eBook. That gave it a rather sinister appearance! The ghosting of eInk made it look like there were faint words behind the various redactions which was delightfully spooky. An excellent book and a satisfying update.</p>
<p>However, it is worth noting that <span aria-label="redacted text" style="word-break: break-all;">███████</span> this book will <span aria-label="redacted text" style="word-break: break-all;">██████████ ██████████ ██████████████</span> and could lead to <span aria-label="redacted text" style="word-break: break-all;">████ █████████████ ██████████████</span>. Although the retailer won't accept refunds on any book stained with <span aria-label="redacted text" style="word-break: break-all;">█████████ █████████████████ ████</span> or <span aria-label="redacted text" style="word-break: break-all;">████ ██████████</span>, it <em>is</em> possible to summon <span aria-label="redacted text" style="word-break: break-all;">██████ ████████████████████ ████████████ ███ ████ ███████████</span> in an emergency.</p>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[What's the source of Einstein's "citizen of the world" quip?]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=64039</id>
<updated>2026-03-08T11:56:46Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-08T12:34:03Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="politics"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="quote"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="yak shaving"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I like digging through old archives and tracing my way through quotes. Here's a particularly good one from Albert Einstein which is often peppered around the Internet without any sources. If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/"><![CDATA[<p>I like digging through old archives and tracing my way through quotes. Here's a particularly good one from Albert Einstein which is often peppered around the Internet without any sources.</p>
<blockquote><p>If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.</p></blockquote>
<p>Let's see if we can find it!</p>
<h2 id="1929-12-04"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#1929-12-04">1929-12-04</a></h2>
<p>The earliest I can find is in the <a href="https://www.jta.org/archive/if-true-hes-german-if-not-hes-jewish">archives of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency</a> who published this snippet:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/JTA-dec3.webp" alt="IF TRUE, HE'S GERMAN; IF NOT, HE'S JEWISH (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) Berlin, Dec. 3 — The local papers feature a summary of the brief address made by Prof. Albert Einstein when the Sorbonne recently conferred an honorary degree upon him. He is reported to have said that “if my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German, and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.”" width="422" height="390" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64040">
<p>Is this likely to be true? What other evidence is there that Einstein was there and made those remarks?</p>
<h2 id="1929-11-12"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#1929-11-12">1929-11-12</a></h2>
<p>Flicking back a few weeks in the JTA archives is this evidence - "<a href="https://www.jta.org/archive/sorbonne-bestows-degree-on-einstein">Sorbonne bestows degree on Einstein</a>."</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/JTA-Nov-12.webp" alt="SORBONNE BESTOWS DEGREE ON EINSTEIN (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) Paris, Nov. 11 — Prof. Albert Einstein was one of the five upon whom honoris causa degrees were bestowed by the Sorbonne on Saturday. Thousands of students assembled at the ceremonies and cheered Einstein. Professors, the praesidium and rector of the University of Paris joined in the ovation which continued in the streets when Einstein alighted from the German ambassador's car. The ambassador represented Germany at the ceremony." width="422" height="332" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64041">
<h2 id="1929-11-09"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#1929-11-09">1929-11-09</a></h2>
<p>There are also contemporary <a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b532232613/f1.item">photos of the ceremony</a> which are included in various <a href="https://ein-web.adlibhosting.com/aea/Details/archive/110067509">press clippings</a>.</p>
<p>Is there anything previous to 1929?</p>
<h2 id="1922"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#1922">1922??</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://assets.press.princeton.edu/chapters/s6908.pdf">Alice Calaprice's Quotable Einstein</a> has the quote but attributes it differently:</p>
<blockquote><p>From an address to the French Philosophical Society at the Sorbonne, April 6, 1922. See also French press clipping, April 7, 1922, Einstein Archive 36-378; and Berliner Tageblatt, April 8, 1922, Einstein Archive 79-535</p></blockquote>
<p>I wasn't able to find the French press clipping - but <a href="https://zefys.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/list/title/zdb/27646518/-/1922/">the German paper is available</a>.</p>
<p>My German is rusty and that font is <em>hard</em> but I don't think it says anything similar to the above quote. I think the 1922 date is merely the confusion between two different visits to the Sorbonne - which is the same conclusion as <a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Albert_Einstein#Paris_6_April_1922">Wikiquote editors came to</a></p>
<h2 id="contemporary-reports"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#contemporary-reports">Contemporary reports</a></h2>
<p>OK, so what other sources are there for the quote? The JTA says:</p>
<blockquote><p>The local papers feature a summary of the brief address made by Prof. Albert Einstein […]</p></blockquote>
<p>So I suppose they were just re-reporting what others had said. Let's take a look in some of those newspapers via <i lang="fr">Bibliothèque nationale de France</i> who have an excellent archive of newspapers.</p>
<p>There's a rather <a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4617682m/f4.item.r=Sorbonne%20Einstein.zoom">detailed report from <i lang="fr">L'Œuvre</i></a> - but that makes no mention of the anecdote.</p>
<p>Similarly, there are <a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4617687p/f1.item.r=Sorbonne%20Einstein.zoom">other interviews</a> and <a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k7640347d">contemporary commentary</a> - but this remark goes unnoticed by all of them.</p>
<p>I read through <a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/services/engine/search/sru?operation=searchRetrieve&exactSearch=false&collapsing=true&version=1.2&query=(text%20all%20%22Einstein%22%20and%20text%20all%20%22sorbonne%22%20)%20and%20(dc.type%20all%20%22fascicule%22)%20and%20(gallicapublication_date%3E=%221929/11/01%22%20and%20gallicapublication_date%3C=%221929/12/04%22)&suggest=10&keywords=Einstein%20sorbonne">several dozen French papers</a> from November 1929 until early December. I couldn't find anything resembling the remark in any of them.</p>
<p>OK, what about the German press?</p>
<p>Again it is possible to <a href="https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/search/newspaper?query=Einstein+sorbonne&fromDay=1&fromMonth=11&fromYear=1929&toDay=5&toMonth=12&toYear=1929">search German newspapers for those specific dates</a> - and there are plenty of <a href="https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/newspaper/item/XPR7GKHFSOA3PYC34FTDWSPRIE6LQS7O?issuepage=3">contemporary reports</a>.</p>
<p>Nothing about him being a <i lang="de">Weltbürger</i> that I could see.</p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1929-11-01/1929-12-05?basicsearch=einstein%20citizen%20of%20the%20world&exactsearch=false&retrievecountrycounts=false">British newspapers don't make reference to the joke</a> despite their <a href="https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1929-11-01/1929-12-05?basicsearch=einstein&exactsearch=false&retrievecountrycounts=false">endless coverage</a> of him.</p>
<p>Google's shitty AI hallucinates the quote as appearing in <a href="https://archive.org/details/sim_saturday-evening-post_1929-10-26_202_17">The Saturday Evening Post</a>.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AI-overview.webp" alt="In 1929, Einstein did not declare himself a "citizen of the world," but this concept is linked to him through a statement he made around that time. In an interview with the relativity were proven correct, "France will declare that | am a citizen of the world". He also famously stated, "Imagination encircles the world," in the same interview. The quote reflects his belief in the universal nature of scientific discovery and his own views on his place in a world without borders, a concept that became more strongly associated with his later activism for peace and global cooperation, as explained in Doubtnut." width="1316" height="500" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64045">
<p>While that issue does have an extensive interview with Einstein, there's nothing even vaguely similar to the sentiment about being a citizen of the world. Never trust an AI!</p>
<h2 id="is-it-likely"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#is-it-likely">Is it likely?</a></h2>
<p>Einstein is endlessly quotable - and had a good ear for a pithy turn of phrase. However, he was accompanied on this trip by the German Ambassador. Would it have been prudent for him to make such a politically charged joke in front of that audience?</p>
<h2 id="minced-oaths"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#minced-oaths">Minced Oaths</a></h2>
<p>Perhaps this is a mangled quotation? Einstein said something <em>similar</em> several years before the purported 1929 quote.</p>
<p>In Herman Bernstein's 1924 book "<a href="https://archive.org/details/celebritiesofour000452mbp/page/n285/mode/2up?q=citizen">Celebrities of Our Time Interviews</a>", there's the following quote:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/interview.webp" alt=""The description of me and my circumstances in the Times shows an amusing feat of imagination on the part of the writer. By an application of the theory of relativity to the taste of the readers, to-day in Germany I am called a German man of science, and in England I am represented as a Swiss Jew. If I come to be regarded as a bête noire, the description will be reversed and I shall become a Swiss Jew for the Germans and a German man of science for the English."" width="1300" height="500" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-68541">
<p>That's much less pithy, but carries largely the same sentiment.</p>
<p>The original can be seen in <a href="https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1919-11-21/1919-11-29?basicsearch=%22german%20man%20of%20science%22&phrasesearch=german%20man%20of%20science&exactsearch=true&retrievecountrycounts=false&sortorder=score">the British Newspaper Archive of 1919</a></p>
<blockquote><h3 id="dr-einsteins-theory"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#dr-einsteins-theory">Dr. Einstein's Theory.</a></h3>
<p>We publish to-day a translation of an article written for our readers by ALBERT EINSTEIN
</p><p>[…]
He adds that the different descriptions of him in England and Germany form an amusing example of relativity to the sentiments of the two countries. He is famous just now, and was described in our columns as a Swiss Jew, whereas in Germany he is called a German man of science. He suggests that were he suddenly to become a <i lang="fr">bête noire</i>, the descriptions would be reversed, and he would be stigmatized here as a German man of science and in Germany as a Swiss Jew. We concede him his little jest.</p></blockquote>
<p>However, do note that this is described as a translation. In his letter to Paul Ehrenfest on the 4th of December 1919, he says:</p>
<blockquote><p>By the way, I myself participated in the cackling by writing a short article in the Times, in which I thanked our English colleagues, said a few things to characterize the theory, and at the end produced the following witticism: A simple application of the theory of relativity: today German newspapers are calling me a German man of science, the English, a Swiss Jew. If I come to be represented as a bete noire to the readerships, I should be a Swiss Jew for German newspapers and a German man of science for the English.'</p></blockquote>
<p>See The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 9 The Berlin Years. I cannot find the original letter, but I assume Princeton's transcribers and translators are accurate.</p>
<p>Either way, that's two reputable sources which have Einstein expressing something similar. Perhaps the joke was repeated and refined by him as the years wore on? Perhaps an eager journalist took a half-remembered quote and gave it new life? Perhaps.</p>
<h2 id="where-next"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#where-next">Where next?</a></h2>
<p>Well, dear reader, that's where you come in! I've exhausted all my research prowess. If you can find a transcript of his remarks, or a report older than the JTA's of the 4th of December 1929 where Einstein talks about being a "citizen of the world", please drop a comment in the box!</p>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: The Electronic Criminals by Robert Farr (1975) ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-the-electronic-criminals-by-robert-farr-1975/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68324</id>
<updated>2026-02-27T00:57:41Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-07T12:34:04Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="CyberSecurity"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[What can a fifty-year-old book teach us about cybersecurity? Written just as computing was beginning to enter the mainstream, The Electronic Criminals takes us into a terrifying new world of crime! Fraud over Telex! Ransomware of physical tapes! Stealing passwords and hacking into mainframes! The books has a strong start, but gently runs out of steam because there simply weren't many…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-the-electronic-criminals-by-robert-farr-1975/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Electronic-Criminals.webp" alt="Book cover featuring a tape recorder and other electronic equipment." width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-68325">
<p>What can a fifty-year-old book teach us about cybersecurity? Written just as computing was beginning to enter the mainstream, The Electronic Criminals takes us into a terrifying new world of crime!</p>
<p>Fraud over Telex! Ransomware of physical tapes! Stealing passwords and hacking into mainframes!</p>
<p>The books has a strong start, but gently runs out of steam because there simply <em>weren't</em> many electronic criminals in the mid-1970s! Instead, the book is over-stuffed with "Catch Me If You Can" tales of chequebook fraud, stolen aeroplane tickets, and regular blackmail and bribery. It isn't quite a how-to guide for the budding fraudster, but it isn't too far off.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, there are some amazing and mind-boggling computer crimes described:</p>
<blockquote><p>Computer print-outs concealed the massive fraud and fakery. Tapes were programmed so that computers would reject incriminating data and accept and produce only what would support the conspiracy. Computers were also used in playing hide-and-seek with investigators by switching data damaging to the swindlers from one code to another, just a step ahead of the authorities.</p></blockquote>
<p>One common refrain is that the law of 1975 hadn't caught up with the reality of modern crime. In the above case, the…</p>
<blockquote><p>… investors decided to sue IBM for $4 billion, claiming that the company’s inability to manufacture a swindle-proof computer had contributed to their loss. Despite the fact that IBM had claimed their computers are virtually tamper proof, the case was thrown out of court. Obviously no one can be expected to be perfect, not even an IBM computer.</p></blockquote>
<p>And in another:</p>
<blockquote><p>In a recent case in France the accused was charged with sabotage. He had intentionally erased valuable information recorded on a magnetic tape by passing it through a strong magnetic field. However, since the tape itself was undamaged the court ruled that no offense had been committed. The jury was directed to issue a verdict of “not guilty.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Many of the "electronic" crimes are able to be facilitated by poor physical processes:</p>
<blockquote><p>Computer center near London, England: Unguarded side door hooked open to allow employees to step out for fresh air. Top secret military and industrial information was stored in the center’s files.</p></blockquote>
<p>Anyone who has done an ISO 27001 audit knows that pain!</p>
<p>It isn't just computers and data-tapes that are discussed. There's rather a large section on phone-tapping and eavesdropping bugs. Rather terrifyingly, there's also a section on what we might now call "Deep Fakes":</p>
<blockquote><p>On tape recordings, words can be rearranged and new words can be built up from an assortment of syllables. The process is somewhat like fitting together bits of a jigsaw puzzle. Simply by inserting or deleting “nots” in a taped voice recording, affirmatives can be changed to negatives and negatives to affirmatives. Words can be borrowed from one part of a tape and fitted into another so the entire meaning is changed. By the same techniques, inflections of words can be altered.</p></blockquote>
<p>Oh, and drone warfare!</p>
<blockquote><p>Today there are infrared cameras that can indeed see you in the dark, even portable TV cameras that can record pictures by moonlight, and radio-controlled miniature aircraft (some that can hover like helicopters) to carry these cameras to subjects that someone wants to photograph.</p></blockquote>
<p>As with any good book on the subject, it spends plenty of time talking about how to defend oneself from these attacks and the downside of protection:</p>
<blockquote><p>Another scheme, called “hand-shaking,” requires the inquirer seeking information from the computer to correctly answer a personal question, something known only to him, before he can find out what he wants to know. This slows down the running of a business. I remember sitting in the office of a man who has a computer terminal on his desk. In the middle of our conversation a question came up and he said: “Wait a minute. I'll get the answer from our computer.” He put the question in by typing on the keyboard. The terminal’s screen lit up and displayed another question: “In what month was your mother-in-law born?”</p></blockquote>
<p>It also predicts the rise of music and film piracy; albeit by analogue means.</p>
<p>Rather pleasingly, it doesn't just limit itself to crimes committed in the USA. It acknowledges the pervasive nature of criminality and goes into some detail about cases in the UK, France, Germany, and Italy.</p>
<p>It is always fascinating to look back on our industry's history. Much like <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/02/book-review-information-warfare-and-security-by-dorothy-e-denning/">1999's Information Warfare and Security by Dorothy E. Denning</a>, we have to constantly go back to see what assumptions we have baked in to our processes.</p>
<p>I'll leave you with this rather chilling excerpt from the prologue:</p>
<blockquote><p>Our world is still a fine place in which to live—a better one perhaps than any previous generation has enjoyed. But some of the people in it are causing serious problems. In 1974 many people experienced diminishing respect for persons in high places who acted as if they were above the law, and this led to a loss of respect for the concept of leadership itself. We should not confuse diminishing respect for a president with respect for the presidency, for example. Our society needs people in high places. It cannot function without leadership at every level, from the head of a household to the manager of a business to a chief of state.</p>
<p>What is missing in our society today is the necessary preparation and training for the responsibilities of authority in high places. If parents in the home and people in business and government never learned the lessons of fair play when they were growing up, we cannot expect them to know how to play fair when they reach high places. Consequently we all suffer every time “the boss” makes expedient judgments rather than proper moral decisions.</p>
<p>If coming generations are to be spared the tragic consequences of even more widespread corruption, the teaching of morality in the family and in the school ought to be as important to us as curbing inflation and other socioeconomic problems. Our children should be taught how to deal with everyday actions fairly and ethically. They should be exposed to those philosophical and ethical concepts, with practical examples that illustrate the alternatives of right and wrong so that they are better able to cope.</p></blockquote>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Firmware Update for the Treedix TRX5-0816 Cable Tester]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/firmware-update-for-the-treedix-trx5-0816-cable-tester/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68045</id>
<updated>2026-03-06T16:12:23Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-06T12:34:43Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="firmware"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gadget"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="upgrades"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="USB"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="usb-c"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Last year I reviewed the Treedix USB Cable Tester - a handy device for testing the capabilities of all your USB cables. I noted that it had a few minor bugs and contacted the manufacturer to see if there was an update. For some reason, lots of Chinese manufacturers don't like publishing updates on their websites. Instead they supplied me with a link to a Google Drive containing an instruction…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/firmware-update-for-the-treedix-trx5-0816-cable-tester/"><![CDATA[<p>Last year I reviewed the <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/06/gadget-review-treedix-usb-cable-tester/">Treedix USB Cable Tester</a> - a handy device for testing the capabilities of all your USB cables. I noted that it had a few minor bugs and contacted the manufacturer to see if there was an update.</p>
<p>For some reason, lots of Chinese manufacturers don't like publishing updates on their websites. Instead they supplied me with a link to a Google Drive containing <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/USB-Cable-Tester-Firmware-Update-Procedure.pdf">an instruction PDF</a> and an small .exe with <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2.4.06.zip">the 2.4.06 update</a> - no love for us Linux freaks. I've locally linked them if you want to install.</p>
<p>Through online chatter, I thought the latest version was v4.0, but Treedix said:</p>
<blockquote><p>Your device is currently running software version 2.3 and can be updated to the latest available version, v2.4.06. However, please note that version v4.0 includes minor hardware updates. Due to hardware incompatibility, existing devices cannot be upgraded to v4.0 via software.</p></blockquote>
<p>So, do be careful running this update. Make sure it is for the right version of the device. If in doubt, contact Treedix directly.</p>
<p>Upgrading was easy.</p>
<ol>
<li>Switch on the Treedix by flicking the switch up.</li>
<li>Plug a USB-C cable into the <strong>charging</strong> port of the Treedix.</li>
<li>Connect the other end of the USB cable to your computer.</li>
<li>On your computer, open the .exe.</li>
<li>On the Treedix, hold down the function button.</li>
<li>While holding down the function button, flick the Treedix switch to off.</li>
<li>The upgrade program should detect the device.</li>
<li>On your computer, click "Upgrade"</li>
<li>Wait until complete before disconnecting and restarting the Treedix.</li>
</ol>
<p>There are no release notes, but it does now appear to correctly read some of the more advanced eMarkers.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/eMarker.webp" alt="Small screen showing the eMarker information." width="1024" height="908" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-68048">
]]></content>
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<thr:total>3</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Katabasis by R. F. Kuang ★★★★⯪]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-katabasis-by-r-f-kuang/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68262</id>
<updated>2026-02-24T11:30:58Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-05T12:34:44Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I'm a fan of R.F. Kuang's books - but this is the first which I've found laugh-out-loud funny. What if your University advisor died and the only way to graduate was to descend into hell and bring him back? In a terrible sort of way, I'm glad that Kuang had such a miserable time at University. Being able to mine that psychotrauma has led to the brilliant Babel and now the excellent Katabasis.…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-katabasis-by-r-f-kuang/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/x400.jpg" alt="Book cover featuring an impossible staircase." width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-68264">
<p>I'm a fan of R.F. Kuang's books - but this is the first which I've found laugh-out-loud funny. What if your University advisor died and the only way to graduate was to descend into hell and bring him back?</p>
<p>In a terrible sort of way, I'm glad that Kuang had such a miserable time at University. Being able to mine that psychotrauma has led to the brilliant <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/01/book-review-babel-r-f-kuang/">Babel</a> and now the excellent Katabasis. This is <em>almost</em> a love affair to the idea of being the perfect student.</p>
<p>It's also deliciously catty:</p>
<blockquote><p>She had never gotten round to trying Proust, but Cambridge had made her the kind of person who wanted to have read Proust, and she figured Hell was a good place to start.</p></blockquote>
<p>The plot is, almost literally, Alice in Wonderlabyrinth. A metaphysical excursion through logic and fallacy, pausing lightly at revenge, with a quick diversion through intersectional feminism and its limits. Much like the play <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_(play)">Copenhagen</a>, the characters often exist as a way to explore the nature of reality and how it conflicts with academia.</p>
<p>Perhaps it is a smidgen too long, and there are some weird Americanisms which perhaps should have been caught in the edit. A few of the observations about Hell being a writers market or modelled on an essay crisis are a little too on the nose - but, you know what, it is tremendous fun.</p>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[How many hours do you need to work to afford a pint of beer?]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-many-hours-do-you-need-to-work-to-afford-a-pint-of-beer/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67114</id>
<updated>2026-02-18T00:01:05Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-04T12:34:22Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="beer"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="statistics"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I dropped into a pub in central London and ordered two pints of draught beer. Obviously the price of everything is nuts these days - and doubly so in London - so I only winced a little bit when the cost came to about twelve quid. Shocking, obviously. But as we supped on our pints and discussed the state of the world, I tried to remember how expensive it was to have a pint when I was a lad young…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-many-hours-do-you-need-to-work-to-afford-a-pint-of-beer/"><![CDATA[<p>I dropped into a pub in central London and ordered two pints of draught beer. Obviously the price of everything is nuts these days - and doubly so in London - so I only winced a little bit when the cost came to about twelve quid. Shocking, obviously. But as we supped on our pints and discussed the state of the world, I tried to remember how expensive it was to have a pint when I was a <del>lad</del> young man.</p>
<p>I seem to recall that our student pub charged about £2 per pint. And minimum wage around that time was £4 per hour. So a drink was 30 minutes' wages.</p>
<p>Today the minimum wage is about £12 and that pint cost me £6. So, again, about half an hour.</p>
<p>But the human memory is fickle! Let's get some actual historical data.</p>
<p>The UK's Office for National Statistics maintains a dataset of <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/czms/mm23">historic draught lager prices</a>.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Draught-lager-per-pint.webp" alt="Graph showing a gentle rise in the cost of draught beer." width="1368" height="573" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67116">
<p>Well, my memory wasn't <em>too</em> hazy! About £2 when I was at uni. The national average price now is about a fiver - so the London premium wasn't <em>too</em> outrageous.</p>
<p>But how does that compare to wages? The <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c9e0e72e5274a527faae38a/20_years_of_the_National_Minimum_Wage_-_a_history_of_the_UK_minimum_wage_and_its_effects.pdf">history of the minimum wage</a> is complicated - with several different bands being introduced. It ends up looking something like this:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/minwage.webp" alt="Graph showing step changes in wages for different age groups." width="1800" height="600" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67115">
<p>So I <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7735/CBP-7735.pdf">grabbed the most recent data</a> and plotted the ratio between the cost of draught lager and minimum wage:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ratio.webp" alt="Graph showing ratios of cost of lager vs minimum wage." width="782" height="398" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67117">
<p>Ah! It turns out that the cost of beer as a ratio to minimum wage is pretty consistent - somewhere between 27 to 40 minutes. Right now, draught lager is <em>cheaper</em> in terms of minimum wage than it has <em>ever</em> been!</p>
<p>Obviously, averages hide all sorts of sins. I'm sure your favourite brand of premium Bohemian pilsner has dramatically risen in price. And minimum wage doesn't necessarily mean disposable income. And you now have a student loan repayment rather than cash being dropped into your account. And the music they play in pubs is crap these days. And you back hurts ever since you tried to match your younger team members pint for pint and slipped in a puddle of your own sick.</p>
<p>Remember, nostalgia is actively dangerous to your mental health.</p>
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:eqh433fdh2bqhvt455e3tg67/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7bh3vii722h" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreif34a63kld5xgjhia2qpcvea3lehqutpll4yqpim554ilfx6noi34"><p lang="en">has anyone else noticed that food tasted better in the past? it was mushy and easy to eat. and the spoon would come at you like an airplane</p>— <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:eqh433fdh2bqhvt455e3tg67?ref_src=embed">leon (@leyawn.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:eqh433fdh2bqhvt455e3tg67/post/3m7bh3vii722h?ref_src=embed">2025-12-05T21:38:21.731Z</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>5</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Game Review: Unravel Two ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-unravel-two/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68032</id>
<updated>2026-03-03T11:59:27Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-03T12:34:43Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="co-op"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Game Review"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="PlayStation"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[My new year's resolution is to play more video games. Specifically co-operative games. I hate playing competitively; it's rubbish to achieve victory at the expense of someone else. So I asked for recommendations and picked the cheapest thing that looked reasonable. Unravel Two is a little gem! It's a 2D platform puzzler dressed up in a 3D engine. You and your friend play little string…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-unravel-two/"><![CDATA[<p>My new year's resolution is to play more video games. Specifically <em>co-operative</em> games.</p>
<p><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2009/12/when-did-you-last-beat-your-wife/">I hate playing competitively</a>; it's rubbish to achieve victory at the expense of someone else. So <a href="https://mastodon.social/@Edent/116051890335937906">I asked for recommendations</a> and picked the cheapest thing that looked reasonable.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/UnravelTwo.webp" alt="Two string creatures help each other climb a hill." width="256" height="576" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-68033">
<p>Unravel Two is a little gem! It's a 2D platform puzzler dressed up in a 3D engine. You and your friend play little string creatures and have to work together to swing between points, lift objects, and pull each other over the lush scenery. It's the sort of physics-based game which could have been made for the 16-bit consoles of my childhood.</p>
<p>As befits a game this cheap and simple, it's fairly short. Once you've got the hang of the mechanics there are only a limited number of ways to solve each section. But it is great for shouting "No! Go left and pull!" or "We've got to time our jumps together" or "You stand on the button and I'll try swinging". It's also possible to temporarily switch to one-player mode - if one of you doesn't want to do the jumping puzzles, the other player can carry you.</p>
<p>Weirdly, the game is deeply portentous in a rather pointless manner. There's a story going on in the background about some kids who are either being abused, chased, or getting into trouble. It is utterly superfluous and detracts from the fun of the puzzles. Similarly, the level titles all have subtitles like "In which we find our way out of the sullen darkness and are redeemed." WTF? This is a silly game of string puppets - not every indie game needs to be "Life Is Strange"!</p>
<p>There's some replayability. You can see how quickly you can do the levels, there are some hidden collectables, and some extra challenge levels. Which, for <a href="https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP0006-CUSA10416_00-COLDWOODPIKE0000">£3.51 at time of writing</a> is more than reasonable.</p>
<p>A good casual co-op game - just ignore the vague story playing out behind the action.</p>
<iframe title="Unravel Two: Official Reveal Trailer | EA Play 2018" width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j2TmLrTl6gs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>5</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Adding "Log In With Mastodon" to Auth0]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67308</id>
<updated>2026-01-23T12:13:07Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-02T12:34:48Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Auth0"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="HowTo"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="mastodon"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="MastodonAPI"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Social Media"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I use Auth0 to provide social logins for the OpenBenches website. I don't want to deal with creating user accounts, managing passwords, or anything like that, so Auth0 is perfect for my needs. There are a wide range of social media logins provided by Auth0 - including the usual suspects like Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, Discord, etc. Sadly, there's no support for Mastodon. All is not lost…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/"><![CDATA[<p>I use <a href="https://auth0.com/">Auth0</a> to provide social logins for the <a href="https://openbenches.org">OpenBenches</a> website. I don't want to deal with creating user accounts, managing passwords, or anything like that, so Auth0 is perfect for my needs.</p>
<p>There are a wide range of <a href="https://auth0.com/learn/social-login">social media logins provided by Auth0</a> - including the usual suspects like Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, Discord, etc. Sadly, there's <a href="https://community.auth0.com/t/custom-social-for-mastodon/103356">no support for Mastodon</a><sup id="fnref:blog"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#fn:blog" class="footnote-ref" title="Auth0 did blog about Mastodon a few years ago but never bothered implementing it!" role="doc-noteref">0</a></sup>.</p>
<p>All is not lost though. The Auth0 documentation says:</p>
<blockquote><p>However, you can use Auth0’s Connections API to add any OAuth2 Authorization Server as an identity provider.</p></blockquote>
<p>You can manually add a <em>single</em> Mastodon instance, but that doesn't work with the decentralised nature of the Fediverse. Instead, I've come up with a manual solution which works with <em>any</em> Mastodon server!</p>
<h2 id="background"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#background">Background</a></h2>
<p>Every Mastodon<sup id="fnref:masto"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#fn:masto" class="footnote-ref" title="I do mean Mastodon; not the wider Fediverse. This only works with sites which have implemented Mastodon's APIs." role="doc-noteref">1</a></sup> server is independent. I have an account on <code>mastodon.social</code> you have an account on <code>whatever.chaos</code>. They are separate servers, albeit running similar software. A generic authenticator needs to work with <em>all</em> these servers. There's no point only allowing log ins from a single server.</p>
<p>Fortuitously, Mastodon allows app developers to automatically create new apps. A few simple lines of code and you will have an API key suitable for <em>read-only</em> access to that server. You can <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/creating-a-generic-log-in-with-mastodon-service/">read how to instantly create Mastodon API keys</a> or you can <a href="https://github.com/openbenches/openbenches.org/blob/343e4c0169a2af8e567f9444c9cbf5d43d03011a/www/src/Controller/UserController.php#L26">steal my PHP code</a>.</p>
<h2 id="user-experience"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#user-experience">User Experience</a></h2>
<p>The user clicks the sign-in button on OpenBenches. They're taken to the Auth0 social login screen:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Auth0-Mastodon.webp" alt="Login screen with several social login buttons." width="1677" height="1258" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67317">
<p>The user clicks on Mastodon. This is where Auth0's involvement ends!</p>
<p>The user is asked to provide the URl of their instance:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Enter-server.webp" alt="Screenshot. The site asks for a Mastodon server URl." width="941" height="414" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67318">
<p>In the background, my server contacts the Mastodon instance and creates a read-only API key.</p>
<p>The user is asked to sign in to Mastodon.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Masto-login.webp" alt="Screenshot of a login page." width="800" height="900" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67319">
<p>The user is asked to authorise read-only access.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Authorisation.webp" alt="Screenshot. Page asks whether the user wants to authorise OpenBenches for read only access." width="720" height="656" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67320">
<p>The user is now signed in and OpenBenches can retrieve their name, avatar image, and other useful information. Hurrah!</p>
<h2 id="auth0"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#auth0">Auth0</a></h2>
<p>Once you have <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/creating-a-generic-log-in-with-mastodon-service/">created a service to generate API keys</a>, it will need to run on a publicly accessible web server. For example <code>https://example.com/mastodon_login</code>.</p>
<p>Here's what you need to do within your Auth0 tennant:</p>
<ul>
<li>Authentication → Social → Create Connection</li>
<li>At the bottom, choose "Create Custom".</li>
<li>Choose "Authentication" only.</li>
<li>Give your connection a name. This will be visible to users.</li>
<li>"Authorization URL" and "Token URL" have the same value - the URl of your service.</li>
<li>"Client ID" is only visible to you.</li>
<li>"Client Secret" any random password; it won't be used for anything.</li>
<li>Leave everything else in the default state.</li>
</ul>
<p>It should look something like this:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Example-Auth0.webp" alt="Screenshot of a form with all the settings filled in." width="891" height="1239" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67321">
<p>Click the "Create" button and you're (almost) done.</p>
<h2 id="auth0-icon"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#auth0-icon">Auth0 Icon</a></h2>
<p>You will need to <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/add-a-custom-icon-to-auth0s-custom-social-integrations/">add a custom icon to the social integration</a>. Annoyingly, there's no way to do it through the web interface, so follow that guide to use the command line.</p>
<h2 id="done"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#done">Done!</a></h2>
<p>I'll admit, this isn't the most straightforward thing to implement. Auth0 could make this easier - but it would still rely on users knowing the URl of their home instance.</p>
<p>That said, the Mastodon API is a delight to work with and the read-only permissions reduce risk for all parties.</p>
<div id="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes">
<hr>
<ol start="0">
<li id="fn:blog">
<p>Auth0 <a href="https://auth0.com/blog/mastdon-for-developers/">did blog about Mastodon a few years ago</a> but never bothered implementing it! <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#fnref:blog" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:masto">
<p>I <em>do</em> mean Mastodon; not the wider Fediverse. This only works with sites which have implemented Mastodon's APIs. <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#fnref:masto" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>4</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Under Fire - Black Britain in Wartime by Stephen Bourne ★★★★☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-under-fire-black-britain-in-wartime-by-stephen-bourne/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67762</id>
<updated>2026-03-01T09:18:53Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-01T12:34:27Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="history"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="race"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Everyone knows that Black people didn't exist in the UK until recently, right? Despite mountains of evidence of everything from Black Tudors and Victorian actors, some myths perniciously persist. What was the experience for Black Britons during the second world war? I find it fascinating how the US cultural hegemony rewrites history. I've heard people in the UK talk about "Jim Crow laws" as…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-under-fire-black-britain-in-wartime-by-stephen-bourne/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/underfire.webp" alt="Book cover. A black soldier in uniform stands in front of Big Ben." width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-67763">
<p><em>Everyone</em> knows that Black people didn't exist in the UK until recently, right? Despite mountains of evidence of everything from <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/07/book-review-black-tudors-the-untold-story-miranda-kaufmann/">Black Tudors</a> and <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/02/book-review-ira-aldridge-the-african-roscius-by-bernth-lindfors/">Victorian actors</a>, some myths perniciously persist.</p>
<p>What was the experience for Black Britons during the second world war?</p>
<p>I find it fascinating how the US cultural hegemony rewrites history. I've heard people in the UK talk about "Jim Crow laws" as though that was a thing that happened in the UK. It wasn't. While there <em>were</em> barriers and racism (as the book makes clear) the experience of Black people in the UK was vastly different than it was for African Americans. To the point that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCliC9MHSFg&t=422s">white American GIs were routinely castigated</a> for trying to impose their vile racism onto our country.</p>
<p>What makes this book special is the contemporary reports and modern interviews. There are some amazing stories to be told and it is fascinating to hear first-hand accounts. The book also contains a list of prominent Black people living in the UK (including their addresses) which feels a little like padding - but then this is fleshed out with mini-biographies of most of them. What is astounding is, given the range of people living in Britain, you occasionally get little revelations like this:</p>
<blockquote><p>Only one black evacuee has ever been interviewed for a television documentary.</p></blockquote>
<p>Some people profiled are, for want of a better word, ordinary. People who had normal lives, kept the home fires burning, and took part in ordinary civic life. And then there are guys like <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/54695641">Ras Prince Monolulu</a> who were bona-fide celebrities.</p>
<p>It is fair to say that modern Britain's relationship with the notion of "Empire" is complicated. When the call to arms came, people from the farthest colonies rushed to aide the "motherland". In many cases, they were initially rejected due to formal or informal colour-bars. The social acceptability of and legal ramifications of these practices is evidenced in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_v_Imperial_Hotels_Ltd">Constantine v Imperial Hotels Ltd</a>.</p>
<p>But for every story of casual and institutional racism towards people who came to help, there are stories of love and acceptance.</p>
<blockquote><p>The English people opened their homes to us, we were invited out for dinners, teas, no problems at all. There were problems with the American forces, but it didn’t hinder us.</p></blockquote>
<p>As with any history book, some of the language used can feel a little shocking or distasteful. History is never easy to engage with, but this book presents an even handed look at a turbulent period. It ends a little abruptly, but it is an excellent overview of the literature. Recommended for anyone who wants to understand <em>our</em> history.</p>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[30 months to 3MWh - some more home battery stats]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/30-months-to-3mwh-some-more-home-battery-stats/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67818</id>
<updated>2026-02-27T09:56:25Z</updated>
<published>2026-02-28T12:34:19Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="battery"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="moixa"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="solar"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Back in August 2023, we installed a Moixa 4.8kWh Solar Battery to pair with our solar panels. For the last year and a half it has chugged away slurping up electrons and sending them back as needed. Its little fan whirrs and the lights on its Ethernet port flicker happily as it does its duty. I estimate that it has saved us around 3 MegaWatt hours since it was commissioned. In monetary terms,…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/30-months-to-3mwh-some-more-home-battery-stats/"><![CDATA[<p>Back in August 2023, we installed a <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/08/review-moixa-4-8kwh-solar-battery/">Moixa 4.8kWh Solar Battery</a> to pair with our solar panels. For the last year and a half it has chugged away slurping up electrons and sending them back as needed. Its little fan whirrs and the lights on its Ethernet port flicker happily as it does its duty.</p>
<p>I estimate that it has saved us around 3 MegaWatt hours since it was commissioned. In monetary terms, that's roughly £1,000 taken off our electricity bills.</p>
<p>How did I work that out? Well, maths is hard, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOKhRVSriB0">as Barbie knows</a>, so take all this with a pinch of monosodium glutamate.</p>
<p>Here's a typical month - October 2025:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/October-Battery.webp" alt="Two squiggly graphs of dense complexity." width="2088" height="894" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67819">
<p>Yikes! What's going on here?</p>
<p>We use <a href="https://share.octopus.energy/metal-dove-988">a <em>variable</em> electricity tariff</a>. Prices fluctuate every 30 minutes. At peak times our electricity prices can shoot up to 60p per Kwh. Overnight or when the wind is high, prices can drop to zero. Yes, free electricity! Sometimes the excess in the grid means that prices go negative and we are <em>paid</em> to use electricity. Hurrah!</p>
<p>Our battery knows this. Its Internet connection allows it to download the tariff for the day ahead and plan accordingly. If the electricity prices are cheap, the battery fills up. The battery can decide to discharge when we're using more electricity than solar provides, or it can wait until prices are more expensive after the sun has gone down.</p>
<p>Here's an example, again from October:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Energy-Profile.webp" alt="Bar chart showing how energy was stored and used." width="2064" height="633" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67824">
<p>In October, about a third of the power stored in the battery came from the sun. About 92% was used by our house with the remainder being sold back to the grid if it was profitable to do so.</p>
<p>By contrast, here's June 2025 - a sunny month in the Northern Hemisphere:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/June.webp" alt="Chart showing a lot more solar usage." width="2052" height="633" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67825">
<p>Here, only 12% of the battery charging was done by the grid. 88% was done for free by solar power. But because solar was so plentiful, about 15% of the battery was sold back to the grid.</p>
<h2 id="maths-is-hard"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/30-months-to-3mwh-some-more-home-battery-stats/#maths-is-hard">Maths. Is. HARD!</a></h2>
<p>I've been playing around with various charts, graphs, spreadsheets, modellers, and a bit of calculus. I basically came to the conclusion that the easiest way was to assume I was saving the <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/get-energy-price-cap-standing-charges-and-unit-rates-region">energy price capped value of a kWh</a>.</p>
<p>That varies from 25p to 35p. If I fudge the numbers just right, it rounds off at an even grand.</p>
<h2 id="its-payback-time"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/30-months-to-3mwh-some-more-home-battery-stats/#its-payback-time">It's Payback Time</a></h2>
<p>No-one ever asks what the payback period is of buying a car vs taking public transport. You never see anyone amortising an engagement ring over the length of a marriage. Still, here we are.</p>
<p>We paid £2,700 for the supply, install, and commissioning of our battery.</p>
<p>That means the payback time for the battery will be between 6 and 7 years. If energy prices go up, the payback time goes down. Its capacity is showing no degradation yet and I hope it will provide us with many years of savings before it needs to be repaired or upgraded.</p>
<p>Solar batteries are getting cheaper and their capacity is getting bigger - although <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/09/how-big-a-solar-battery-do-i-need-to-store-all-my-homes-electricity/">not big enough to store <em>all</em> my home's electricity</a>.</p>
<p>If you can afford the upfront costs, it's like pre-paying for a chunk of your energy usage and can help protect you against sudden price rises.</p>
<p>You can <a href="https://share.octopus.energy/metal-dove-988">sign up to Octopus</a> and get a £50 bill credit if you want to switch to a variable tariff.</p>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>2</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell ★★☆☆☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-weird-things-customers-say-in-bookshops-by-jen-campbell/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=66620</id>
<updated>2026-02-27T09:52:46Z</updated>
<published>2026-02-27T12:34:11Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Remember back in the early 2010s when any moderately popular Twitter account could become a book (or even a TV series)? This is a collection of Tweet-sized "overheard in" stories. All set in book shops. Isn't it funny that some people don't know how books work! ROFL! Aren't the general public strange? LOLOL! That's a bit harsh of me. It only rarely becomes mean-spirited. But in a book this…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-weird-things-customers-say-in-bookshops-by-jen-campbell/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1366054116.webp" alt="Book cover" width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-66622">
<p>Remember back in the early 2010s when any moderately popular Twitter account could become a book (or even a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shit_My_Dad_Says">TV series</a>)?</p>
<p>This is a collection of Tweet-sized "overheard in" stories. All set in book shops.</p>
<p>Isn't it funny that some people don't know how books work! ROFL!</p>
<p>Aren't the general public strange? LOLOL!</p>
<p>That's a bit harsh of me. It only rarely becomes mean-spirited. But in a book this short, it rather contaminates the joy.</p>
<p>That said, this one will live rent-free in my head for a while:</p>
<blockquote><p>Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?</p></blockquote>
<p>It's the sort of stocking-filler book which is reasonable for perusing on the loo. Light-hearted but ultimately disposable.</p>
<p>Still, at least Neil Gaiman found it funny enough to leave a blurb…</p>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[This time is different]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/this-time-is-different/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=64559</id>
<updated>2026-01-21T11:06:30Z</updated>
<published>2026-02-26T12:34:39Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="AI"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="internet"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="technology"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[3D TV, AMP, Augmented Reality, Beanie Babies, Blockchain, Cartoon Avatars, Curved TVs, Frogans, Hoverboards, iBeacons, Jetpacks, Metaverse, NFTs, Physical Web, Quantum Computing, Quibi, Small and Safe Nuclear Reactors, Smart Glasses, Stadia, WiMAX. The problem is, the same dudes (and it was nearly always dudes) who were pumped for all of that bollocks now won't stop wanging on about Artificial…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/this-time-is-different/"><![CDATA[<p>3D TV, AMP, Augmented Reality, Beanie Babies, Blockchain, Cartoon Avatars, Curved TVs, Frogans, Hoverboards, iBeacons, Jetpacks, Metaverse, NFTs, Physical Web, Quantum Computing, Quibi, Small and Safe Nuclear Reactors, Smart Glasses, Stadia, WiMAX.</p>
<p>The problem is, the same dudes (and it was nearly always dudes) who were pumped for all of that bollocks now won't stop wanging on about Artificial Fucking Intelligence.</p>
<p>"It's gonna be the future bro, just trust me!"</p>
<p>"I dunno, man. Seems like you say that about every passing fancy - and they all end up being utterly underwhelming."</p>
<p>"This time is different!"</p>
<p><em>*sigh*</em></p>
<blockquote><p>The investor who says, “This time is different,” when in fact it’s virtually a repeat of an earlier situation, has uttered among the four most costly words in the annals of investing.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.franklintempleton.com/forms-literature/download/TL-R16">16 rules for investment success - Sir John Templeton</a></p></blockquote>
<p>All of the above technologies are still chugging along in some form or other (well, OK, not Quibi). Some are vaguely useful and others are propped up by weirdo cultists. I don't doubt that AI will be a <em>part</em> of the future - but it is obviously just going to be one of <em>many</em> technology which are in use.</p>
<blockquote><p>No enemies had ever taken Ankh-Morpork. Well technically they had, quite often; the city welcomed free-spending barbarian invaders, but somehow the puzzled raiders found, after a few days, that they didn't own their horses any more, and within a couple of months they were just another minority group with its own graffiti and food shops.</p>
<p>Terry Pratchet's <del>Faust</del> Eric</p></blockquote>
<p>The ideology of "winner takes all" is unsustainable and not supported by reality.</p>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Of Monsters and Mainframes - Barbara Truelove ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-of-monsters-and-mainframes-barbara-truelove/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67527</id>
<updated>2026-03-06T22:30:47Z</updated>
<published>2026-02-25T12:34:02Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Sci Fi"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This is fun, silly, charming, and much better than The Murderbot Diaries despite being superficially similar. Imagine you are an interstellar ship and, of course, your AI is conscious. What would you do if your passengers were killed - not by a terrifying alien, but by Count Dracula??? What if, on the return journey, another set of your passengers were similarly slaughtered. Except, this…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-of-monsters-and-mainframes-barbara-truelove/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/monsters.webp" alt="Book cover." width="225" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-67528">
<p>This is fun, silly, charming, and <em>much</em> better than <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-all-systems-red-the-murderbot-diaries-by-martha-wells/">The Murderbot Diaries</a> despite being superficially similar.</p>
<p>Imagine you are an interstellar ship and, of course, your AI is conscious. What would you do if your passengers were killed - not by a terrifying alien, but by Count Dracula???</p>
<p>What if, on the return journey, another set of your passengers were similarly slaughtered. Except, this time, by a Werewolf? How would that make you feel? Would it drive you mad? Could you cope with the bullying from other starships? Or would you feel the need… the need for REVENGE!</p>
<p>As I said, silly and campy fun. It is episodic adventure with just the right amount of Hammer-style horror and not too much technobabble. All the classic monsters are here - depression, intrusive thoughts, envy, fear.</p>
<p>Oh, and Frankenstein’s spider.</p>
<p>As an ebook, it makes great use of fonts - which give it a delightfully retrofuturistic feel. There are some fun binary Easter-Eggs as well.</p>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Adding OpenStreetMap login to Auth0]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/"/>
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67593</id>
<updated>2026-02-20T10:41:43Z</updated>
<published>2026-02-24T12:34:21Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Auth0"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="developers"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="oauth"/>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="OpenStreetMap"/>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[So you want to add OSM as an OAuth provider to Auth0? Here's a tip - you do not want to create a custom social connection! Instead, you need to create an "OpenID Connect" provider. Here's how. OpenSteetMap As per the OAuth documentation you will need to: Register a new app at https://www.openstreetmap.org/oauth2/applications/ Give it a name that users will recognise Give it a redirect of…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/"><![CDATA[<p>So you want to add OSM as an OAuth provider to Auth0? Here's a tip - you do <em>not</em> want to create a custom social connection!</p>
<p>Instead, you need to create an "OpenID Connect" provider. Here's how.</p>
<h2 id="opensteetmap"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/#opensteetmap">OpenSteetMap</a></h2>
<p>As per <a href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OAuth#Using_OpenStreetMap_as_identity_provider">the OAuth documentation</a> you will need to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Register a new app at <a href="https://www.openstreetmap.org/oauth2/applications/">https://www.openstreetmap.org/oauth2/applications/</a></li>
<li>Give it a name that users will recognise</li>
<li>Give it a redirect of <code>https://Your Auth0 Tenant.eu.auth0.com/login/callback</code></li>
<li>Tick the box for "Sign in using OpenStreetMap"</li>
</ul>
<p>Once created, you will need to securely save your Client ID and Client Secret.</p>
<h2 id="auth0"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/#auth0">Auth0</a></h2>
<p>These options change frequently, so use this guide with care.</p>
<ul>
<li>Once you have logged in to your Auth0 Tennant, go to Authentication → Enterprise → OpenID Connect → Create Connection</li>
<li>Provide the new connection with the Client ID and Client Secret</li>
<li>Set the "scope" to be <code>openid</code></li>
<li>Set the OpenID Connect Discovery URL to be <code>https://www.openstreetmap.org/.well-known/openid-configuration</code></li>
<li>In the "Login Experience" tick the box for "Display connection as a button"</li>
<li>Set the favicon to be <code>https://blog.openstreetmap.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/osm-favicon.png</code> or other suitable graphic</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="next-steps"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/#next-steps">Next Steps</a></h2>
<p>We're not quite done, sadly.</p>
<p>The details which OSM sends back to Auth0 are limited, so Auth0 is missing a few bits:</p>
<pre><code class="language-json">{
"created_at": "2026-02-29T12:34:56.772Z",
"identities": [
{
"user_id": "openstreetmap-openid|123456",
"provider": "oidc",
"connection": "openstreetmap-openid",
"isSocial": false
}
],
"name": "",
"nickname": "",
"picture": "https://cdn.auth0.com/avatars/default.png",
"preferred_username": "Terence Eden",
"updated_at": "2026-02-04T12:01:33.772Z",
"user_id": "oidc|openstreetmap-openid|123456",
"last_ip": "12.34.56.78",
"last_login": "2026-02-29T12:34:56.772Z",
"logins_count": 1,
"blocked_for": [],
"guardian_authenticators": [],
"passkeys": []
}
</code></pre>
<p>Annoyingly, Auth0 doesn't set a name or nickname - so you'll need to manually get the <code>preferred_username</code>, or create a "User Map":</p>
<pre><code class="language-json">{
"mapping_mode": "use_map",
"attributes": {
"nickname": "${context.tokenset.preferred_username}",
"name": "${context.tokenset.preferred_username}"
}
}
</code></pre>
<p>There's also no avatar image - only the default one.</p>
<h3 id="getting-the-avatar-image"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/#getting-the-avatar-image">Getting the Avatar Image</a></h3>
<p>The <a href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/API_v0.6">OSM API</a> has a method for <a href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/API_v0.6#Methods_for_user_data">getting user data</a>.</p>
<p>For example, here's all my public data: <a href="https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/user/98672.json">https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/user/98672.json</a> - thankfully no authorisation required!</p>
<pre><code class="language-json">{
"user": {
"id": 98672,
"display_name": "Terence Eden",
"img": {
"href": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/52cb49a66755f31abf4df9a6549f0f9c.jpg?s=100&d=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.openstreetmap.org%2Fassets%2Favatar_large-54d681ddaf47c4181b05dbfae378dc0201b393bbad3ff0e68143c3d5f3880ace.png"
}
}
}
</code></pre>
<p>Alternatively, you can <a href="https://github.com/microlinkhq/unavatar/issues/488">use the Unavatar service</a> to get the image indirectly.</p>
<p>I hope that's helpful to someone!</p>
]]></content>
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<title type="text">Terence Eden’s Blog</title>
<subtitle type="text">Regular nonsense about tech and its effects 🙃</subtitle>
<updated>2026-03-15T09:08:25Z</updated>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" />
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<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Robots in Space - The Secret Lives of Our Planetary Explorers by Dr Ezzy Pearson ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-robots-in-space-the-secret-lives-of-our-planetary-explorers-by-dr-ezzy-pearson/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68928</id>
<updated>2026-03-15T09:08:25Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-15T12:34:48Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="robots" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Mars is the only planet entirely populated by robots. This book is a catalogue of the history of robotic explorers. Nary a human-crewed mission is mentioned, except in passing. Instead, we get to look at the practicalities of landing a little robot a million miles away, the people that made it happen, and the politics which inevitably stymied things. And there is a lot of politics. One of the…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-robots-in-space-the-secret-lives-of-our-planetary-explorers-by-dr-ezzy-pearson/"><![CDATA[<p>Mars is the only planet entirely populated by robots. This book is a catalogue of the history of robotic explorers. Nary a human-crewed mission is mentioned, except in passing. Instead, we get to look at the practicalities of landing a little robot a million miles away, the people that made it happen, and the politics which inevitably stymied things.</p>
<p>And there is a <em>lot</em> of politics.</p>
<p>One of the weakest areas is the political analysis behind the stories. For example, a Soviet Lunar rover is described as being "daubed with the sickle and hammer" - but there's no derogatory mention of the stars, stipes, and eagles on American craft. Similarly we hear about "the Soviet plans to invade Mars proceeded unabated" - there's no deriding description of the American plans to colonise various planets. The efforts of the European Space Agency described as "[m]ore than fifty industrial contractors from fifteen nations were involved in construction. Safe to say, it was a logistical nightmare." - while ignoring the various back-room deals that led to the American space programme being distributed around their country and their resultant logistical problems.</p>
<p>It isn't relentlessly pro-American (there's lots of descriptions of their failures) but it feels a bit one-sided.</p>
<p>There are some gorgeous photos spread throughout the book. Sadly, the ebook relegates most of them to the end rather than interspersing them with the text. At least one of the images is incorrect although, thankfully, the attribution hyperlinks to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/technician-checks-soil-sampler-viking-lander/">the correct photo on NASA's site</a>.</p>
<p>I'm being a bit down on the book. It is a decent enough look at all the problems faced by space agencies as they tried to send machines into the void. For those of us in the computer industry, it is depressing to continually read about how we're often the weakest link:</p>
<blockquote><p>On 2 September, a computer command was sent to Phobos 1 to turn on the gamma ray spectrometer. A single hyphen had been left out of the code, transforming it into an order for Phobos 1 to shut down. There was no way to turn it back on.</p></blockquote>
<p>Yikes! The book is full of titbits like that - minor errors which led to major catastrophes.</p>
<p>It's a good starting point for anyone with an interest in space exploration and how technical and political challenges can be overcome.</p>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[How Can Governments Pay Open Source Maintainers?]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=53267</id>
<updated>2026-03-14T12:21:41Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-14T12:34:42Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="government" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="money" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Open Source" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[When I worked for the UK Government I was once asked if we could find a way to pay for all the Open Source Software we were using. It is a surprisingly hard problem and I want to talk about some of the issues we faced. The UK Government publishes a lot of Open Source code - nearly everything developed in-house by the state is available under an OSI Approved licence. The UK is generally pretty…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/"><![CDATA[<p>When I worked for the UK Government I was once asked if we could find a way to pay for all the Open Source Software we were using. It is a surprisingly hard problem and I want to talk about some of the issues we faced.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://github.com/alphagov/">UK Government publishes a </a><em><a href="https://github.com/alphagov/">lot</a></em><a href="https://github.com/alphagov/"> of Open Source code</a> - nearly everything developed in-house by the state is available under an OSI Approved licence. The UK is generally pretty relaxed about people, companies, and states re-using its code. There's no desire and little capability to monetise what has been developed with <a href="https://publiccode.eu/en/">public money so it becomes public code.</a></p>
<p>What about the Open Source that UK Government <em>uses</em>?</p>
<p>The state uses <a href="https://digital.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/digital-capabilities/websites/nightingale-theme-user-guide/">big projects like WordPress</a>, as well as <a href="https://github.com/alphagov/govuk-diff/blob/b62aba29f50915c9388110c2baed132b9f9f32df/diffgovuk.py#L81">moderately popular NPM packages</a>, and <a href="https://github.com/alphagov/ckanext-datagovuk/blob/1548325b7e28dd658f26ac68ba7ba990726ab485/bin/python_scripts/find_invalid_tags.py#L11">small Python libraries</a> and everything in between. But can it pay the maintainers of that software?</p>
<p><small>A version of this blog post was <a href="https://hackernoon.com/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers">originally published on Hackernoon</a>.</small></p>
<h2 id="fixing-the-plumbing"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/#fixing-the-plumbing">Fixing The Plumbing</a></h2>
<p>Open Source is facing a crisis. The code that the world relies on is often developed by underpaid engineers on the brink of burn-out. While I don't think anyone wants Open Source to have a paywall, it seems obvious that large organisation should pay their way and not rely solely on volunteer labour.</p>
<p>Here are some of the problems I faced when trying to get the UK Government to pay for OSS and how <em>you</em> as a maintainer can help make it easier for large organisations to pay you.</p>
<p>Firstly, lots of OSS doesn't have a well defined owner; so who gets the money?</p>
<p>I'm not saying that every little library you create needs to be published by a registered company, nor am I suggesting that you should remove your anonymity. But Governments and other organisations need to know <em>who</em> they are funding and <em>where</em> the money is going. The danger of accidentally funnelling money to a sanctioned state or person is just too big a risk for most organisations.</p>
<p>If you want to receive funding - make it <em>really</em> clear who you are.</p>
<h2 id="what-can-you-offer"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/#what-can-you-offer">What Can You Offer?</a></h2>
<p>Even when there is an owner, there often isn't an easy mechanism for paying people. Donation sites like GitHub Sponsors, Ko-Fi, and Patreon are great for individuals who want to throw a small amount of money to creators but they can be problematic for larger organisations. Many OSS projects get around this by offering support contracts. It makes it much easier for an organisation to justify their spend because they're no longer donating to something which can be obtained for free; they're paying for a service.</p>
<p>This doesn't have to be a contract offering a 24/7 response and guaranteed SLA. It can be as simple as offering best-effort email support.</p>
<p>The important thing is to offer an <em>easy</em> way for a larger organisation to buy your services. Many organisations have corporate credit cards for lower-cost discretionary spending which doesn't require a full business-case. How easily could a manager buy a £500 support contact from your site?</p>
<p>Maintainers don't only have to offer support contracts. Many choose to offer training packages which are a good way to raise money <em>and</em> get more people using your product. Some project maintainers will speak at your conference for a suitable fee.</p>
<p>Again, the aim here is for maintainers to offer a <em>plausible</em> reason for a payment to be made.</p>
<h2 id="playing-well-with-others"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/#playing-well-with-others">Playing Well With Others</a></h2>
<p>Open Source has a brilliant culture of allowing multiple (often anonymous) contributors. That's fine when there's no money involved, but how does a moderately sized project decide who receives what share of the funding? Services like <a href="https://opencollective.com/">OpenCollective</a> can make it easier to show <em>where</em> the money is going but it is better to discuss in advance with all contributors what they expect as a share.</p>
<p>If people think they're being taken advantage of, or that a project maintainer is unjustly enriching themselves, it can cause arguments. Be very clear to contributors what the funding is for and whether they're entitled to any of it.</p>
<p>Finally, we faced the issue that some OSS projects didn't <em>want</em> to take money from the "big bad state". They were worried that if people saw "Sponsored by the Government" they would assume that there were backdoors for spies, or that the developer might give in to pressure to add unwanted features. This (usually) isn't the case but it is easy to see why having a single large organisation as the main donor could give the impression of impropriety.</p>
<p>The best defence against this is to have <em>lot</em> of paying sponsors! Having the state as one of many partners makes it clear that a project isn't beholden to any one customer.</p>
<p>It isn't impossible to get Governments to spend on Open Source. But state spending is heavily scrutinised and, bluntly, they aren't set up to pay <i lang="la">ad hoc</i> amounts to non-suppliers, who aren't charging money. While large projects often have the resources to apply for Government grants and contracts, smaller projects rarely have the time or expertise. It is critical that maintainers remove the barriers which make it too hard for organisations to pay them.</p>
<h2 id="in-summary"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/#in-summary">In Summary</a></h2>
<ul>
<li>Make it easy for Governments and other large organisations to pay you.</li>
<li>Be as obvious as possible that you are able to accept payments from them.</li>
<li>Don't be afraid to put a large price on your talents.</li>
<li>Offer multiple paid-for options like speaker fees, support, and feature development funding.</li>
<li>Talk with your contributors to let them know how any funding will be shared.</li>
</ul>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[An odd font rendering bug in Firefox and Safari]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68692</id>
<updated>2026-03-13T15:18:22Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-13T12:34:09Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="bug" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="css" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="firefox" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="font" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[First up, you should go and watch The Importance of Being Earnest with Ncuti Gatwa. It is a brilliant set of performances and a joy to see. While perusing the programme on the National Theatre website I stumbled upon a little bug. The incredible Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ has her name rendered in a most unusual style: It rendered just fine in Chrome - but both Firefox and Safari misrendered some of t…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/"><![CDATA[<p>First up, you should go and watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obX-HGs-PS8">The Importance of Being Earnest</a> with Ncuti Gatwa. It is a brilliant set of performances and a joy to see.</p>
<p>While perusing the <a href="https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/the-importance-of-being-earnest/#cast">programme on the National Theatre website</a> I stumbled upon a little bug. The incredible Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ has her name rendered in a most unusual style:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ronke.webp" alt="Screenshot of a website. Contains a phone of a black woman next to her name. Any characters with accents in her name are rendered without boldface." width="2953" height="1798" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-68694">
<p>It rendered just fine in Chrome - but both Firefox and Safari misrendered <em>some</em> of the accented characters.</p>
<p>Here's a minimum viable demo to show what's happening:</p>
<iframe height="300" style="width: 100%;" scrolling="no" title="FF Font Rendering Issue?" src="https://codepen.io/edent/embed/qEaRyrz?default-tab=html%2Cresult" frameborder="no" loading="lazy" allowtransparency="true">
See the Pen <a href="https://codepen.io/edent/pen/qEaRyrz">
FF Font Rendering Issue?</a> by Terence Eden (<a href="https://codepen.io/edent">@edent</a>)
on <a href="https://codepen.io">CodePen</a>.
</iframe>
<h2 id="fonts-are-hard-ok"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/#fonts-are-hard-ok">Fonts are hard, OK?!?!</a></h2>
<p>Broadly speaking<sup id="fnref:complicated"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/#fn:complicated" class="footnote-ref" title="It is a lot more complicated than that." role="doc-noteref">0</a></sup>, accented characters can be made in two way.</p>
<ol>
<li>Pre-composed. There is a separate code for the character <code>é</code></li>
<li>Combining. The plain letter <code>e</code> is immediately followed by the <em>combining</em> character <code>◌́</code> and the computer smushes them together.</li>
</ol>
<p>Similarly, a font file can have separate little drawings for each accented character or it can have separate accents.</p>
<p>In this case, the National Theatre is using the font "Helvetica Now Display W04".</p>
<p>The web font contains <code>é</code> (U+00E9) and both <code>◌́</code> (U+0301) & <code>̣◌</code> (U+0323).</p>
<p>But doesn't include <code>ẹ</code> (U+1EB9) or <code>ọ</code> (U+1ECD).</p>
<p>So the ẹ́ and ọ́ have to be made by combining characters in the font.</p>
<p>On Chrome this works. On Firefox and Safari, it seems to break when the CSS is set to <code>font-weight: normal;</code>. This causes the browser to render those characters in the default fallback font - hence the slightly weird look.</p>
<h2 id="next-steps"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/#next-steps">Next Steps</a></h2>
<p>I've raised <a href="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2023126">a bug with Firefox</a> and one with <a href="https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=309889">WebKit</a>.</p>
<p>Of course, it might be that they're doing the right thing and Chrome is in the wrong - but I think that's unlikely.</p>
<p>Now, time to fix the font I use on this website to prevent any rendering errors!</p>
<div id="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes">
<hr>
<ol start="0">
<li id="fn:complicated">
<p>It is a <em>lot</em> more <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NPBIwQyPWE">complicated</a> than that. <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/#fnref:complicated" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Historic Energy Price Cap Data (FOI success!)]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/historic-energy-price-cap-data-foi-success/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68583</id>
<updated>2026-03-09T16:25:47Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-12T12:34:01Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="energy" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="FoI" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Ofgem, the UK's energy regulator, publishes the current energy price cap per region. Note that it is only the current price cap. I couldn't find the complete historic data on their site. So I sent a quick email asking for it which they treated as a Freedom of Information request. Please can you supply me with a complete list of all previous electricity price cap figures? I have searched your…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/historic-energy-price-cap-data-foi-success/"><![CDATA[<p>Ofgem, the UK's energy regulator, publishes <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/get-energy-price-cap-standing-charges-and-unit-rates-region">the current energy price cap</a> per region. Note that it is only the <em>current</em> price cap. I couldn't find the complete historic data on their site. So I sent a quick email asking for it which they treated as a Freedom of Information request.</p>
<blockquote><p>Please can you supply me with a complete list of all previous electricity price cap figures?</p>
<p>I have searched your website and can only find the current price-cap.</p>
<p>Specifically, I would like to know the per kWh price cap for electricity in the London region from its introduction until today.</p>
<p>If these are on your website, please point me in the right direction. If not, a CSV of the data would be appreciated.”</p></blockquote>
<p>A month later, and without any fuss, they emailed me a comprehensive spreadsheet. In Excel format, but let's not quibble!</p>
<p>There are a few formatting oddities - not least that the caps are expressed with 13 decimal places of precision. Was the daily cap <em>really</em> 60.9345205479452p?</p>
<p>Similarly, the dates are expressed as <code>1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022</code> rather than programmatic date ranges. It's also inconsistent, with some saying <code>1 July to 30 September 2025</code>.</p>
<p>Averages are hard-coded not calculated.</p>
<p>I've requested that they add these data to their website but, until they do, <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FOI2026_00323_Rates-Breakdown.xlsx">here's the original file they sent me</a>.</p>
<p>I've used a bit of R to tidy them up, giving proper start date and end date columns, rounding to 2 decimal places, and saving as CSV. You can <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FOI2026_00323_Rates-Breakdown-fixed.zip">download the tidied version</a>.</p>
<h2 id="copyright-and-copyleft"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/historic-energy-price-cap-data-foi-success/#copyright-and-copyleft">Copyright and Copyleft</a></h2>
<p>As per <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/copyright">their copyright page</a> these data are © Ofgem, 2026 and are licensed under the <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/">Open Government Licence 3.0</a>. This is <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/open-government-licence/">compatible with</a> CC BY and <a href="https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/by/">ODC-By</a>.</p>
<p>Please treat my update as <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution</a>.</p>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Game Review: It Takes Two ★★★★★]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-it-takes-two/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68494</id>
<updated>2026-03-08T15:42:47Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-11T12:34:02Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Game Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="PlayStation" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[A couple is facing the devastating prospect of divorce. Their young daughter is understandably distraught. In her fear, she doses both parents with a powerful hallucinogenic drug in the hope that tripping through therapy will save their marriage. Well, OK, that's not exactly what the game's about - but it might as well be! My aim this year is to play more co-operative games with my wife. So she …]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-it-takes-two/"><![CDATA[<p>A couple is facing the devastating prospect of divorce. Their young daughter is understandably distraught. In her fear, she doses both parents with a powerful hallucinogenic drug in the hope that tripping through therapy will save their marriage.</p>
<p>Well, OK, that's not <em>exactly</em> what the game's about - but it might as well be!</p>
<p>My aim this year is to play more <em>co-operative</em> games with my wife. So she picked up the controller to play as the shrewish May while I steered the lug-headed Cody. Both have been shrunk to the size of toy dolls and have to navigate their house in an attempt to regain human-form and comfort their daughter. The game is a series of puzzles which can only be solved if you <strong>work together</strong>. Only by <strong>working together</strong> can you escape the quagmire you find yourself in. A sentient marriage guidance book continually reminds you that you only beat the last level because you <strong>worked together</strong>.</p>
<p>And then you murder a toy elephant who pleads for its life after you brutally mutilate it. That isn't an exaggeration. It is easily the most traumatic media moment I've ever experienced.</p>
<p>Unlike <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-unravel-two/">Unravel Two</a>, the world is fully 3D and the quests are delightfully varied. Some are the usual "you jump there and I'll do the thing here" - others are more complex. There's logic, timed jumping, beat-em-ups, flight simulators, and a couple of dozen more inventive twists on familiar puzzles. Every single level seems to have a different game mechanic - and each level also has a unique æsthetic.</p>
<p>It is refreshing to play a game actually designed for adults. I don't mean "Rated 18 for blood and gore"; more like "grapples with the complexities of being a modern couple trying to raise a family". It's also great fun to collaborate on the puzzles, while also exploring the intricate world around you.</p>
<p>I don't know whether the game saved our marriage. There was certainly lots of <strong>working together</strong> to achieve a common goal.</p>
<p>The voice acting is excellent, the story isn't too cloying, and the animation is sumptuous.</p>
<iframe title="It Takes Two Official Reveal Trailer" width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ohClxMmNLQQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Unstructured Data and the Joy of having Something Else think for you]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/unstructured-data-and-the-joy-of-having-something-else-think-for-you/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68565</id>
<updated>2026-03-09T11:06:00Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-10T12:34:59Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="AI" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="culture" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I'm sure we have all met a person like this: People who have an AI habit use it by default. I have watched someone ask ChatGPT the weather for tomorrow rather than simply open the weather app. Another time, they asked AI the question even after I had shown them the website with the same information. It's a crutch.— Ibster (@ibster.bsky.social) 9 March 2026 at 09:46 At a recent tech event, I b…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/unstructured-data-and-the-joy-of-having-something-else-think-for-you/"><![CDATA[<p>I'm sure we have all met a person like this:</p>
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:o7ietxbf5efxnlvttt3obvr4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgml626jdc2z" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreig7f5x22t4zr4g4jlzj5tyupted2qe5jrkladd3e76auxkmkt3qxq" data-bluesky-embed-color-mode="system"><p lang="en">People who have an AI habit use it by default. I have watched someone ask ChatGPT the weather for tomorrow rather than simply open the weather app. Another time, they asked AI the question even after I had shown them the website with the same information. It's a crutch.</p>— Ibster (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:o7ietxbf5efxnlvttt3obvr4?ref_src=embed">@ibster.bsky.social</a>) <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:o7ietxbf5efxnlvttt3obvr4/post/3mgml626jdc2z?ref_src=embed">9 March 2026 at 09:46</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>At a recent tech event, I bumped into an old friend and invited him out for dinner the next evening. He proudly showed my the AI bot he'd built which responded to WhatsApp messages. "Remind me at 7pm tomorrow to go to Chalmun's Cantina for dinner with Terry."</p>
<p>"OK boss! That's locked in! I'll remind you tomorrow. Enjoy your dinner!" the digital sycophant replied.</p>
<p>I was flabbergasted. There was a perfectly good calendar app on his phone. It has an easy to use interface. There are clearly demarcated boxen to fill in. A swish time-picker, calendar scroller, and notification reminder all built-in.</p>
<p>Our conversation reached an ideological impasse. I couldn't understand why he was burning tokens and wasting time with a chatbot. He didn't understand why I wasn't embracing the future.</p>
<p>I've noticed this with a lot of technology and I think I've come up with a three-part hypothesis.</p>
<p>First, some people don't care for structure. Whereas some of us carefully shelve our books in Dewey Decimal order, some people just chuck a book on any shelf it'll fit. You craft a detailed personal knowledge graph in Obsidian, I have a series of increasingly erratic text documents. My blog is fully semantic, yours is just div-soup.</p>
<p>We all have different things we care about. You'd be aghast that I don't track my calories and I can't stand the way you store all your files on the desktop. Yes, some systems are obviously superior to chaos, but for lots of people the tedium of organisation isn't worth the effort.</p>
<p>Secondly, talking isn't as hard work as writing. Speaking is faster than writing - hence the popularity of voice notes. Speaking requires less mental effort than writing - you don't have to worry about spelling or grammar. Similarly, forcing yourself to organise your thoughts in the structure demanded by a form can be tiring. My calendar has event title at the top, but I think in terms of time first. So voice-chatting with an AI requires substantially less effort on your part. Just lob some words at it and it'll do the structuring for you.</p>
<p>Which gets me to the third and, I think, most distasteful aspect. People want servants. The long standing joke about Silicon Valley products is they're all trying to recreate having a mum to look after you. Uber to drive you, Just-Eat to bring you cooked meals, Task Rabbit to wash your pants, Tinder to be a matchmaker.</p>
<p>Being raised on a diet of Downton Abbey, Bridgerton, and a hundred other lives-of-the-rich-and-famous shows does a number on you. Why don't I have a social secretary to arrange my day? Don't I deserve a tireless chambermaid? Where's the smart-arse butler who can cater to my every whim?</p>
<p>"Jeeves! Book me a taxi to the club. Usual time."</p>
<p>That's the dream, isn't it? Yes, you could mash some buttons in the taxi app or - heaven forfend! - call them yourself. But isn't it much more sophisticated to have a servant?</p>
<p>I'm guilty of this, of course. I yell at my Alexii to turn on the lights, pre-heat my bed, and remind me when dinner is ready. My doorbell alerts me when a visitor calls so I don't have to make the arduous trip to the front door. My kitchen robot washes my clothes - next year it'll be able to order more washing supplies when I run low. I can basically chuck stuff into the machine without thinking about it, and everything comes out perfectly clean.</p>
<p>Is it <em>useful</em> for me to know how to properly wash clothes? Probably not. Do I struggle when I visit a house which only has physical light switches? Not really. Are some people going to suffer if they outsource all their thinking to servant machines? I guess we'll see.</p>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm ★★★★★]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-there-is-no-antimemetics-division-by-qntm/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68472</id>
<updated>2026-03-07T16:24:36Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-09T12:34:47Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Sci Fi" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Apparently I reviewed the previous version of this book four years ago but have no real memory of it. Did you ever have a dream which was vividly realistic yet somehow slightly askew from reality? Obviously there is no antimemetics division, nor could anyone write a book about it. If they did, their mind would instantly be liquefied and their mere existence would be purged. So, why is there a …]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-there-is-no-antimemetics-division-by-qntm/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/9781804954768-jacket-large.webp" alt="Book cover. A deer stares out at you. It has slightly too many eyes." width="311" height="500" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-68475">
<p>Apparently I reviewed the previous version of this book <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/04/book-review-there-is-no-antimemetics-division/">four years ago</a> but have no real memory of it. Did you ever have a dream which was vividly realistic yet somehow slightly askew from reality? Obviously there is no antimemetics division, nor could anyone write a book about it. If they did, their mind would instantly be liquefied and their mere existence would be purged.</p>
<p>So, why is there a new version of the book out and is it worth reading again?</p>
<p>As the copyright page says:</p>
<blockquote><p>Earlier versions of this material were previously published in serial form on the scp wiki under Creative Commons 3.0, and subsequently self-published by the author in ebook and paperback format. The work has been substantively revised and updated since.</p></blockquote>
<p>As <a href="https://qntm.org/antifaq">the FAQ</a> makes clear, getting a "proper" publisher to put money into a CC project is unlikely. So many of the original elements have been rewritten and reworked. The writing, plotting, and characters have all been substantially improved. The ending, in particular, has become something quite special.</p>
<p>The story itself is still recursively memetic and a metacommentary on itself. The bug-eyed-monsters are mindbending and the good guys are all morally compromised. The concepts are gorgeously impossible and the pacing is exciting.</p>
<p>There's simply nothing like it.</p>
<p>The eBook is mostly well formatted. Excellent use of monospace fonts for reports, there are accessible redactions where suitable, and the images all have alt text. Weirdly, one "monster" is named వ - a character which failed to render correctly on my eBook. That gave it a rather sinister appearance! The ghosting of eInk made it look like there were faint words behind the various redactions which was delightfully spooky. An excellent book and a satisfying update.</p>
<p>However, it is worth noting that <span aria-label="redacted text" style="word-break: break-all;">███████</span> this book will <span aria-label="redacted text" style="word-break: break-all;">██████████ ██████████ ██████████████</span> and could lead to <span aria-label="redacted text" style="word-break: break-all;">████ █████████████ ██████████████</span>. Although the retailer won't accept refunds on any book stained with <span aria-label="redacted text" style="word-break: break-all;">█████████ █████████████████ ████</span> or <span aria-label="redacted text" style="word-break: break-all;">████ ██████████</span>, it <em>is</em> possible to summon <span aria-label="redacted text" style="word-break: break-all;">██████ ████████████████████ ████████████ ███ ████ ███████████</span> in an emergency.</p>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[What's the source of Einstein's "citizen of the world" quip?]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=64039</id>
<updated>2026-03-08T11:56:46Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-08T12:34:03Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="politics" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="quote" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="yak shaving" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I like digging through old archives and tracing my way through quotes. Here's a particularly good one from Albert Einstein which is often peppered around the Internet without any sources. If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/"><![CDATA[<p>I like digging through old archives and tracing my way through quotes. Here's a particularly good one from Albert Einstein which is often peppered around the Internet without any sources.</p>
<blockquote><p>If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.</p></blockquote>
<p>Let's see if we can find it!</p>
<h2 id="1929-12-04"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#1929-12-04">1929-12-04</a></h2>
<p>The earliest I can find is in the <a href="https://www.jta.org/archive/if-true-hes-german-if-not-hes-jewish">archives of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency</a> who published this snippet:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/JTA-dec3.webp" alt="IF TRUE, HE'S GERMAN; IF NOT, HE'S JEWISH (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) Berlin, Dec. 3 — The local papers feature a summary of the brief address made by Prof. Albert Einstein when the Sorbonne recently conferred an honorary degree upon him. He is reported to have said that “if my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German, and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.”" width="422" height="390" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64040">
<p>Is this likely to be true? What other evidence is there that Einstein was there and made those remarks?</p>
<h2 id="1929-11-12"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#1929-11-12">1929-11-12</a></h2>
<p>Flicking back a few weeks in the JTA archives is this evidence - "<a href="https://www.jta.org/archive/sorbonne-bestows-degree-on-einstein">Sorbonne bestows degree on Einstein</a>."</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/JTA-Nov-12.webp" alt="SORBONNE BESTOWS DEGREE ON EINSTEIN (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) Paris, Nov. 11 — Prof. Albert Einstein was one of the five upon whom honoris causa degrees were bestowed by the Sorbonne on Saturday. Thousands of students assembled at the ceremonies and cheered Einstein. Professors, the praesidium and rector of the University of Paris joined in the ovation which continued in the streets when Einstein alighted from the German ambassador's car. The ambassador represented Germany at the ceremony." width="422" height="332" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64041">
<h2 id="1929-11-09"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#1929-11-09">1929-11-09</a></h2>
<p>There are also contemporary <a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b532232613/f1.item">photos of the ceremony</a> which are included in various <a href="https://ein-web.adlibhosting.com/aea/Details/archive/110067509">press clippings</a>.</p>
<p>Is there anything previous to 1929?</p>
<h2 id="1922"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#1922">1922??</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://assets.press.princeton.edu/chapters/s6908.pdf">Alice Calaprice's Quotable Einstein</a> has the quote but attributes it differently:</p>
<blockquote><p>From an address to the French Philosophical Society at the Sorbonne, April 6, 1922. See also French press clipping, April 7, 1922, Einstein Archive 36-378; and Berliner Tageblatt, April 8, 1922, Einstein Archive 79-535</p></blockquote>
<p>I wasn't able to find the French press clipping - but <a href="https://zefys.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/list/title/zdb/27646518/-/1922/">the German paper is available</a>.</p>
<p>My German is rusty and that font is <em>hard</em> but I don't think it says anything similar to the above quote. I think the 1922 date is merely the confusion between two different visits to the Sorbonne - which is the same conclusion as <a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Albert_Einstein#Paris_6_April_1922">Wikiquote editors came to</a></p>
<h2 id="contemporary-reports"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#contemporary-reports">Contemporary reports</a></h2>
<p>OK, so what other sources are there for the quote? The JTA says:</p>
<blockquote><p>The local papers feature a summary of the brief address made by Prof. Albert Einstein […]</p></blockquote>
<p>So I suppose they were just re-reporting what others had said. Let's take a look in some of those newspapers via <i lang="fr">Bibliothèque nationale de France</i> who have an excellent archive of newspapers.</p>
<p>There's a rather <a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4617682m/f4.item.r=Sorbonne%20Einstein.zoom">detailed report from <i lang="fr">L'Œuvre</i></a> - but that makes no mention of the anecdote.</p>
<p>Similarly, there are <a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4617687p/f1.item.r=Sorbonne%20Einstein.zoom">other interviews</a> and <a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k7640347d">contemporary commentary</a> - but this remark goes unnoticed by all of them.</p>
<p>I read through <a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/services/engine/search/sru?operation=searchRetrieve&exactSearch=false&collapsing=true&version=1.2&query=(text%20all%20%22Einstein%22%20and%20text%20all%20%22sorbonne%22%20)%20and%20(dc.type%20all%20%22fascicule%22)%20and%20(gallicapublication_date%3E=%221929/11/01%22%20and%20gallicapublication_date%3C=%221929/12/04%22)&suggest=10&keywords=Einstein%20sorbonne">several dozen French papers</a> from November 1929 until early December. I couldn't find anything resembling the remark in any of them.</p>
<p>OK, what about the German press?</p>
<p>Again it is possible to <a href="https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/search/newspaper?query=Einstein+sorbonne&fromDay=1&fromMonth=11&fromYear=1929&toDay=5&toMonth=12&toYear=1929">search German newspapers for those specific dates</a> - and there are plenty of <a href="https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/newspaper/item/XPR7GKHFSOA3PYC34FTDWSPRIE6LQS7O?issuepage=3">contemporary reports</a>.</p>
<p>Nothing about him being a <i lang="de">Weltbürger</i> that I could see.</p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1929-11-01/1929-12-05?basicsearch=einstein%20citizen%20of%20the%20world&exactsearch=false&retrievecountrycounts=false">British newspapers don't make reference to the joke</a> despite their <a href="https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1929-11-01/1929-12-05?basicsearch=einstein&exactsearch=false&retrievecountrycounts=false">endless coverage</a> of him.</p>
<p>Google's shitty AI hallucinates the quote as appearing in <a href="https://archive.org/details/sim_saturday-evening-post_1929-10-26_202_17">The Saturday Evening Post</a>.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AI-overview.webp" alt="In 1929, Einstein did not declare himself a "citizen of the world," but this concept is linked to him through a statement he made around that time. In an interview with the relativity were proven correct, "France will declare that | am a citizen of the world". He also famously stated, "Imagination encircles the world," in the same interview. The quote reflects his belief in the universal nature of scientific discovery and his own views on his place in a world without borders, a concept that became more strongly associated with his later activism for peace and global cooperation, as explained in Doubtnut." width="1316" height="500" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64045">
<p>While that issue does have an extensive interview with Einstein, there's nothing even vaguely similar to the sentiment about being a citizen of the world. Never trust an AI!</p>
<h2 id="is-it-likely"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#is-it-likely">Is it likely?</a></h2>
<p>Einstein is endlessly quotable - and had a good ear for a pithy turn of phrase. However, he was accompanied on this trip by the German Ambassador. Would it have been prudent for him to make such a politically charged joke in front of that audience?</p>
<h2 id="minced-oaths"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#minced-oaths">Minced Oaths</a></h2>
<p>Perhaps this is a mangled quotation? Einstein said something <em>similar</em> several years before the purported 1929 quote.</p>
<p>In Herman Bernstein's 1924 book "<a href="https://archive.org/details/celebritiesofour000452mbp/page/n285/mode/2up?q=citizen">Celebrities of Our Time Interviews</a>", there's the following quote:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/interview.webp" alt=""The description of me and my circumstances in the Times shows an amusing feat of imagination on the part of the writer. By an application of the theory of relativity to the taste of the readers, to-day in Germany I am called a German man of science, and in England I am represented as a Swiss Jew. If I come to be regarded as a bête noire, the description will be reversed and I shall become a Swiss Jew for the Germans and a German man of science for the English."" width="1300" height="500" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-68541">
<p>That's much less pithy, but carries largely the same sentiment.</p>
<p>The original can be seen in <a href="https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1919-11-21/1919-11-29?basicsearch=%22german%20man%20of%20science%22&phrasesearch=german%20man%20of%20science&exactsearch=true&retrievecountrycounts=false&sortorder=score">the British Newspaper Archive of 1919</a></p>
<blockquote><h3 id="dr-einsteins-theory"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#dr-einsteins-theory">Dr. Einstein's Theory.</a></h3>
<p>We publish to-day a translation of an article written for our readers by ALBERT EINSTEIN
</p><p>[…]
He adds that the different descriptions of him in England and Germany form an amusing example of relativity to the sentiments of the two countries. He is famous just now, and was described in our columns as a Swiss Jew, whereas in Germany he is called a German man of science. He suggests that were he suddenly to become a <i lang="fr">bête noire</i>, the descriptions would be reversed, and he would be stigmatized here as a German man of science and in Germany as a Swiss Jew. We concede him his little jest.</p></blockquote>
<p>However, do note that this is described as a translation. In his letter to Paul Ehrenfest on the 4th of December 1919, he says:</p>
<blockquote><p>By the way, I myself participated in the cackling by writing a short article in the Times, in which I thanked our English colleagues, said a few things to characterize the theory, and at the end produced the following witticism: A simple application of the theory of relativity: today German newspapers are calling me a German man of science, the English, a Swiss Jew. If I come to be represented as a bete noire to the readerships, I should be a Swiss Jew for German newspapers and a German man of science for the English.'</p></blockquote>
<p>See The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 9 The Berlin Years. I cannot find the original letter, but I assume Princeton's transcribers and translators are accurate.</p>
<p>Either way, that's two reputable sources which have Einstein expressing something similar. Perhaps the joke was repeated and refined by him as the years wore on? Perhaps an eager journalist took a half-remembered quote and gave it new life? Perhaps.</p>
<h2 id="where-next"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#where-next">Where next?</a></h2>
<p>Well, dear reader, that's where you come in! I've exhausted all my research prowess. If you can find a transcript of his remarks, or a report older than the JTA's of the 4th of December 1929 where Einstein talks about being a "citizen of the world", please drop a comment in the box!</p>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: The Electronic Criminals by Robert Farr (1975) ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-the-electronic-criminals-by-robert-farr-1975/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68324</id>
<updated>2026-02-27T00:57:41Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-07T12:34:04Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="CyberSecurity" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[What can a fifty-year-old book teach us about cybersecurity? Written just as computing was beginning to enter the mainstream, The Electronic Criminals takes us into a terrifying new world of crime! Fraud over Telex! Ransomware of physical tapes! Stealing passwords and hacking into mainframes! The books has a strong start, but gently runs out of steam because there simply weren't many…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-the-electronic-criminals-by-robert-farr-1975/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Electronic-Criminals.webp" alt="Book cover featuring a tape recorder and other electronic equipment." width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-68325">
<p>What can a fifty-year-old book teach us about cybersecurity? Written just as computing was beginning to enter the mainstream, The Electronic Criminals takes us into a terrifying new world of crime!</p>
<p>Fraud over Telex! Ransomware of physical tapes! Stealing passwords and hacking into mainframes!</p>
<p>The books has a strong start, but gently runs out of steam because there simply <em>weren't</em> many electronic criminals in the mid-1970s! Instead, the book is over-stuffed with "Catch Me If You Can" tales of chequebook fraud, stolen aeroplane tickets, and regular blackmail and bribery. It isn't quite a how-to guide for the budding fraudster, but it isn't too far off.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, there are some amazing and mind-boggling computer crimes described:</p>
<blockquote><p>Computer print-outs concealed the massive fraud and fakery. Tapes were programmed so that computers would reject incriminating data and accept and produce only what would support the conspiracy. Computers were also used in playing hide-and-seek with investigators by switching data damaging to the swindlers from one code to another, just a step ahead of the authorities.</p></blockquote>
<p>One common refrain is that the law of 1975 hadn't caught up with the reality of modern crime. In the above case, the…</p>
<blockquote><p>… investors decided to sue IBM for $4 billion, claiming that the company’s inability to manufacture a swindle-proof computer had contributed to their loss. Despite the fact that IBM had claimed their computers are virtually tamper proof, the case was thrown out of court. Obviously no one can be expected to be perfect, not even an IBM computer.</p></blockquote>
<p>And in another:</p>
<blockquote><p>In a recent case in France the accused was charged with sabotage. He had intentionally erased valuable information recorded on a magnetic tape by passing it through a strong magnetic field. However, since the tape itself was undamaged the court ruled that no offense had been committed. The jury was directed to issue a verdict of “not guilty.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Many of the "electronic" crimes are able to be facilitated by poor physical processes:</p>
<blockquote><p>Computer center near London, England: Unguarded side door hooked open to allow employees to step out for fresh air. Top secret military and industrial information was stored in the center’s files.</p></blockquote>
<p>Anyone who has done an ISO 27001 audit knows that pain!</p>
<p>It isn't just computers and data-tapes that are discussed. There's rather a large section on phone-tapping and eavesdropping bugs. Rather terrifyingly, there's also a section on what we might now call "Deep Fakes":</p>
<blockquote><p>On tape recordings, words can be rearranged and new words can be built up from an assortment of syllables. The process is somewhat like fitting together bits of a jigsaw puzzle. Simply by inserting or deleting “nots” in a taped voice recording, affirmatives can be changed to negatives and negatives to affirmatives. Words can be borrowed from one part of a tape and fitted into another so the entire meaning is changed. By the same techniques, inflections of words can be altered.</p></blockquote>
<p>Oh, and drone warfare!</p>
<blockquote><p>Today there are infrared cameras that can indeed see you in the dark, even portable TV cameras that can record pictures by moonlight, and radio-controlled miniature aircraft (some that can hover like helicopters) to carry these cameras to subjects that someone wants to photograph.</p></blockquote>
<p>As with any good book on the subject, it spends plenty of time talking about how to defend oneself from these attacks and the downside of protection:</p>
<blockquote><p>Another scheme, called “hand-shaking,” requires the inquirer seeking information from the computer to correctly answer a personal question, something known only to him, before he can find out what he wants to know. This slows down the running of a business. I remember sitting in the office of a man who has a computer terminal on his desk. In the middle of our conversation a question came up and he said: “Wait a minute. I'll get the answer from our computer.” He put the question in by typing on the keyboard. The terminal’s screen lit up and displayed another question: “In what month was your mother-in-law born?”</p></blockquote>
<p>It also predicts the rise of music and film piracy; albeit by analogue means.</p>
<p>Rather pleasingly, it doesn't just limit itself to crimes committed in the USA. It acknowledges the pervasive nature of criminality and goes into some detail about cases in the UK, France, Germany, and Italy.</p>
<p>It is always fascinating to look back on our industry's history. Much like <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/02/book-review-information-warfare-and-security-by-dorothy-e-denning/">1999's Information Warfare and Security by Dorothy E. Denning</a>, we have to constantly go back to see what assumptions we have baked in to our processes.</p>
<p>I'll leave you with this rather chilling excerpt from the prologue:</p>
<blockquote><p>Our world is still a fine place in which to live—a better one perhaps than any previous generation has enjoyed. But some of the people in it are causing serious problems. In 1974 many people experienced diminishing respect for persons in high places who acted as if they were above the law, and this led to a loss of respect for the concept of leadership itself. We should not confuse diminishing respect for a president with respect for the presidency, for example. Our society needs people in high places. It cannot function without leadership at every level, from the head of a household to the manager of a business to a chief of state.</p>
<p>What is missing in our society today is the necessary preparation and training for the responsibilities of authority in high places. If parents in the home and people in business and government never learned the lessons of fair play when they were growing up, we cannot expect them to know how to play fair when they reach high places. Consequently we all suffer every time “the boss” makes expedient judgments rather than proper moral decisions.</p>
<p>If coming generations are to be spared the tragic consequences of even more widespread corruption, the teaching of morality in the family and in the school ought to be as important to us as curbing inflation and other socioeconomic problems. Our children should be taught how to deal with everyday actions fairly and ethically. They should be exposed to those philosophical and ethical concepts, with practical examples that illustrate the alternatives of right and wrong so that they are better able to cope.</p></blockquote>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Firmware Update for the Treedix TRX5-0816 Cable Tester]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/firmware-update-for-the-treedix-trx5-0816-cable-tester/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68045</id>
<updated>2026-03-06T16:12:23Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-06T12:34:43Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="firmware" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="gadget" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="upgrades" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="USB" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="usb-c" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Last year I reviewed the Treedix USB Cable Tester - a handy device for testing the capabilities of all your USB cables. I noted that it had a few minor bugs and contacted the manufacturer to see if there was an update. For some reason, lots of Chinese manufacturers don't like publishing updates on their websites. Instead they supplied me with a link to a Google Drive containing an instruction…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/firmware-update-for-the-treedix-trx5-0816-cable-tester/"><![CDATA[<p>Last year I reviewed the <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/06/gadget-review-treedix-usb-cable-tester/">Treedix USB Cable Tester</a> - a handy device for testing the capabilities of all your USB cables. I noted that it had a few minor bugs and contacted the manufacturer to see if there was an update.</p>
<p>For some reason, lots of Chinese manufacturers don't like publishing updates on their websites. Instead they supplied me with a link to a Google Drive containing <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/USB-Cable-Tester-Firmware-Update-Procedure.pdf">an instruction PDF</a> and an small .exe with <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2.4.06.zip">the 2.4.06 update</a> - no love for us Linux freaks. I've locally linked them if you want to install.</p>
<p>Through online chatter, I thought the latest version was v4.0, but Treedix said:</p>
<blockquote><p>Your device is currently running software version 2.3 and can be updated to the latest available version, v2.4.06. However, please note that version v4.0 includes minor hardware updates. Due to hardware incompatibility, existing devices cannot be upgraded to v4.0 via software.</p></blockquote>
<p>So, do be careful running this update. Make sure it is for the right version of the device. If in doubt, contact Treedix directly.</p>
<p>Upgrading was easy.</p>
<ol>
<li>Switch on the Treedix by flicking the switch up.</li>
<li>Plug a USB-C cable into the <strong>charging</strong> port of the Treedix.</li>
<li>Connect the other end of the USB cable to your computer.</li>
<li>On your computer, open the .exe.</li>
<li>On the Treedix, hold down the function button.</li>
<li>While holding down the function button, flick the Treedix switch to off.</li>
<li>The upgrade program should detect the device.</li>
<li>On your computer, click "Upgrade"</li>
<li>Wait until complete before disconnecting and restarting the Treedix.</li>
</ol>
<p>There are no release notes, but it does now appear to correctly read some of the more advanced eMarkers.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/eMarker.webp" alt="Small screen showing the eMarker information." width="1024" height="908" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-68048">
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Katabasis by R. F. Kuang ★★★★⯪]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-katabasis-by-r-f-kuang/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68262</id>
<updated>2026-02-24T11:30:58Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-05T12:34:44Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I'm a fan of R.F. Kuang's books - but this is the first which I've found laugh-out-loud funny. What if your University advisor died and the only way to graduate was to descend into hell and bring him back? In a terrible sort of way, I'm glad that Kuang had such a miserable time at University. Being able to mine that psychotrauma has led to the brilliant Babel and now the excellent Katabasis.…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-katabasis-by-r-f-kuang/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/x400.jpg" alt="Book cover featuring an impossible staircase." width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-68264">
<p>I'm a fan of R.F. Kuang's books - but this is the first which I've found laugh-out-loud funny. What if your University advisor died and the only way to graduate was to descend into hell and bring him back?</p>
<p>In a terrible sort of way, I'm glad that Kuang had such a miserable time at University. Being able to mine that psychotrauma has led to the brilliant <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/01/book-review-babel-r-f-kuang/">Babel</a> and now the excellent Katabasis. This is <em>almost</em> a love affair to the idea of being the perfect student.</p>
<p>It's also deliciously catty:</p>
<blockquote><p>She had never gotten round to trying Proust, but Cambridge had made her the kind of person who wanted to have read Proust, and she figured Hell was a good place to start.</p></blockquote>
<p>The plot is, almost literally, Alice in Wonderlabyrinth. A metaphysical excursion through logic and fallacy, pausing lightly at revenge, with a quick diversion through intersectional feminism and its limits. Much like the play <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_(play)">Copenhagen</a>, the characters often exist as a way to explore the nature of reality and how it conflicts with academia.</p>
<p>Perhaps it is a smidgen too long, and there are some weird Americanisms which perhaps should have been caught in the edit. A few of the observations about Hell being a writers market or modelled on an essay crisis are a little too on the nose - but, you know what, it is tremendous fun.</p>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[How many hours do you need to work to afford a pint of beer?]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-many-hours-do-you-need-to-work-to-afford-a-pint-of-beer/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67114</id>
<updated>2026-02-18T00:01:05Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-04T12:34:22Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="beer" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="statistics" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I dropped into a pub in central London and ordered two pints of draught beer. Obviously the price of everything is nuts these days - and doubly so in London - so I only winced a little bit when the cost came to about twelve quid. Shocking, obviously. But as we supped on our pints and discussed the state of the world, I tried to remember how expensive it was to have a pint when I was a lad young…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-many-hours-do-you-need-to-work-to-afford-a-pint-of-beer/"><![CDATA[<p>I dropped into a pub in central London and ordered two pints of draught beer. Obviously the price of everything is nuts these days - and doubly so in London - so I only winced a little bit when the cost came to about twelve quid. Shocking, obviously. But as we supped on our pints and discussed the state of the world, I tried to remember how expensive it was to have a pint when I was a <del>lad</del> young man.</p>
<p>I seem to recall that our student pub charged about £2 per pint. And minimum wage around that time was £4 per hour. So a drink was 30 minutes' wages.</p>
<p>Today the minimum wage is about £12 and that pint cost me £6. So, again, about half an hour.</p>
<p>But the human memory is fickle! Let's get some actual historical data.</p>
<p>The UK's Office for National Statistics maintains a dataset of <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/czms/mm23">historic draught lager prices</a>.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Draught-lager-per-pint.webp" alt="Graph showing a gentle rise in the cost of draught beer." width="1368" height="573" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67116">
<p>Well, my memory wasn't <em>too</em> hazy! About £2 when I was at uni. The national average price now is about a fiver - so the London premium wasn't <em>too</em> outrageous.</p>
<p>But how does that compare to wages? The <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c9e0e72e5274a527faae38a/20_years_of_the_National_Minimum_Wage_-_a_history_of_the_UK_minimum_wage_and_its_effects.pdf">history of the minimum wage</a> is complicated - with several different bands being introduced. It ends up looking something like this:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/minwage.webp" alt="Graph showing step changes in wages for different age groups." width="1800" height="600" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67115">
<p>So I <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7735/CBP-7735.pdf">grabbed the most recent data</a> and plotted the ratio between the cost of draught lager and minimum wage:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ratio.webp" alt="Graph showing ratios of cost of lager vs minimum wage." width="782" height="398" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67117">
<p>Ah! It turns out that the cost of beer as a ratio to minimum wage is pretty consistent - somewhere between 27 to 40 minutes. Right now, draught lager is <em>cheaper</em> in terms of minimum wage than it has <em>ever</em> been!</p>
<p>Obviously, averages hide all sorts of sins. I'm sure your favourite brand of premium Bohemian pilsner has dramatically risen in price. And minimum wage doesn't necessarily mean disposable income. And you now have a student loan repayment rather than cash being dropped into your account. And the music they play in pubs is crap these days. And you back hurts ever since you tried to match your younger team members pint for pint and slipped in a puddle of your own sick.</p>
<p>Remember, nostalgia is actively dangerous to your mental health.</p>
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:eqh433fdh2bqhvt455e3tg67/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7bh3vii722h" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreif34a63kld5xgjhia2qpcvea3lehqutpll4yqpim554ilfx6noi34"><p lang="en">has anyone else noticed that food tasted better in the past? it was mushy and easy to eat. and the spoon would come at you like an airplane</p>— <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:eqh433fdh2bqhvt455e3tg67?ref_src=embed">leon (@leyawn.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:eqh433fdh2bqhvt455e3tg67/post/3m7bh3vii722h?ref_src=embed">2025-12-05T21:38:21.731Z</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>5</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Game Review: Unravel Two ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-unravel-two/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68032</id>
<updated>2026-03-03T11:59:27Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-03T12:34:43Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="co-op" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Game Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="PlayStation" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[My new year's resolution is to play more video games. Specifically co-operative games. I hate playing competitively; it's rubbish to achieve victory at the expense of someone else. So I asked for recommendations and picked the cheapest thing that looked reasonable. Unravel Two is a little gem! It's a 2D platform puzzler dressed up in a 3D engine. You and your friend play little string…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-unravel-two/"><![CDATA[<p>My new year's resolution is to play more video games. Specifically <em>co-operative</em> games.</p>
<p><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2009/12/when-did-you-last-beat-your-wife/">I hate playing competitively</a>; it's rubbish to achieve victory at the expense of someone else. So <a href="https://mastodon.social/@Edent/116051890335937906">I asked for recommendations</a> and picked the cheapest thing that looked reasonable.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/UnravelTwo.webp" alt="Two string creatures help each other climb a hill." width="256" height="576" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-68033">
<p>Unravel Two is a little gem! It's a 2D platform puzzler dressed up in a 3D engine. You and your friend play little string creatures and have to work together to swing between points, lift objects, and pull each other over the lush scenery. It's the sort of physics-based game which could have been made for the 16-bit consoles of my childhood.</p>
<p>As befits a game this cheap and simple, it's fairly short. Once you've got the hang of the mechanics there are only a limited number of ways to solve each section. But it is great for shouting "No! Go left and pull!" or "We've got to time our jumps together" or "You stand on the button and I'll try swinging". It's also possible to temporarily switch to one-player mode - if one of you doesn't want to do the jumping puzzles, the other player can carry you.</p>
<p>Weirdly, the game is deeply portentous in a rather pointless manner. There's a story going on in the background about some kids who are either being abused, chased, or getting into trouble. It is utterly superfluous and detracts from the fun of the puzzles. Similarly, the level titles all have subtitles like "In which we find our way out of the sullen darkness and are redeemed." WTF? This is a silly game of string puppets - not every indie game needs to be "Life Is Strange"!</p>
<p>There's some replayability. You can see how quickly you can do the levels, there are some hidden collectables, and some extra challenge levels. Which, for <a href="https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP0006-CUSA10416_00-COLDWOODPIKE0000">£3.51 at time of writing</a> is more than reasonable.</p>
<p>A good casual co-op game - just ignore the vague story playing out behind the action.</p>
<iframe title="Unravel Two: Official Reveal Trailer | EA Play 2018" width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j2TmLrTl6gs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Adding "Log In With Mastodon" to Auth0]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67308</id>
<updated>2026-01-23T12:13:07Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-02T12:34:48Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Auth0" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="HowTo" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="mastodon" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="MastodonAPI" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Social Media" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I use Auth0 to provide social logins for the OpenBenches website. I don't want to deal with creating user accounts, managing passwords, or anything like that, so Auth0 is perfect for my needs. There are a wide range of social media logins provided by Auth0 - including the usual suspects like Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, Discord, etc. Sadly, there's no support for Mastodon. All is not lost…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/"><![CDATA[<p>I use <a href="https://auth0.com/">Auth0</a> to provide social logins for the <a href="https://openbenches.org">OpenBenches</a> website. I don't want to deal with creating user accounts, managing passwords, or anything like that, so Auth0 is perfect for my needs.</p>
<p>There are a wide range of <a href="https://auth0.com/learn/social-login">social media logins provided by Auth0</a> - including the usual suspects like Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, Discord, etc. Sadly, there's <a href="https://community.auth0.com/t/custom-social-for-mastodon/103356">no support for Mastodon</a><sup id="fnref:blog"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#fn:blog" class="footnote-ref" title="Auth0 did blog about Mastodon a few years ago but never bothered implementing it!" role="doc-noteref">0</a></sup>.</p>
<p>All is not lost though. The Auth0 documentation says:</p>
<blockquote><p>However, you can use Auth0’s Connections API to add any OAuth2 Authorization Server as an identity provider.</p></blockquote>
<p>You can manually add a <em>single</em> Mastodon instance, but that doesn't work with the decentralised nature of the Fediverse. Instead, I've come up with a manual solution which works with <em>any</em> Mastodon server!</p>
<h2 id="background"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#background">Background</a></h2>
<p>Every Mastodon<sup id="fnref:masto"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#fn:masto" class="footnote-ref" title="I do mean Mastodon; not the wider Fediverse. This only works with sites which have implemented Mastodon's APIs." role="doc-noteref">1</a></sup> server is independent. I have an account on <code>mastodon.social</code> you have an account on <code>whatever.chaos</code>. They are separate servers, albeit running similar software. A generic authenticator needs to work with <em>all</em> these servers. There's no point only allowing log ins from a single server.</p>
<p>Fortuitously, Mastodon allows app developers to automatically create new apps. A few simple lines of code and you will have an API key suitable for <em>read-only</em> access to that server. You can <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/creating-a-generic-log-in-with-mastodon-service/">read how to instantly create Mastodon API keys</a> or you can <a href="https://github.com/openbenches/openbenches.org/blob/343e4c0169a2af8e567f9444c9cbf5d43d03011a/www/src/Controller/UserController.php#L26">steal my PHP code</a>.</p>
<h2 id="user-experience"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#user-experience">User Experience</a></h2>
<p>The user clicks the sign-in button on OpenBenches. They're taken to the Auth0 social login screen:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Auth0-Mastodon.webp" alt="Login screen with several social login buttons." width="1677" height="1258" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67317">
<p>The user clicks on Mastodon. This is where Auth0's involvement ends!</p>
<p>The user is asked to provide the URl of their instance:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Enter-server.webp" alt="Screenshot. The site asks for a Mastodon server URl." width="941" height="414" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67318">
<p>In the background, my server contacts the Mastodon instance and creates a read-only API key.</p>
<p>The user is asked to sign in to Mastodon.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Masto-login.webp" alt="Screenshot of a login page." width="800" height="900" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67319">
<p>The user is asked to authorise read-only access.</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Authorisation.webp" alt="Screenshot. Page asks whether the user wants to authorise OpenBenches for read only access." width="720" height="656" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67320">
<p>The user is now signed in and OpenBenches can retrieve their name, avatar image, and other useful information. Hurrah!</p>
<h2 id="auth0"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#auth0">Auth0</a></h2>
<p>Once you have <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/creating-a-generic-log-in-with-mastodon-service/">created a service to generate API keys</a>, it will need to run on a publicly accessible web server. For example <code>https://example.com/mastodon_login</code>.</p>
<p>Here's what you need to do within your Auth0 tennant:</p>
<ul>
<li>Authentication → Social → Create Connection</li>
<li>At the bottom, choose "Create Custom".</li>
<li>Choose "Authentication" only.</li>
<li>Give your connection a name. This will be visible to users.</li>
<li>"Authorization URL" and "Token URL" have the same value - the URl of your service.</li>
<li>"Client ID" is only visible to you.</li>
<li>"Client Secret" any random password; it won't be used for anything.</li>
<li>Leave everything else in the default state.</li>
</ul>
<p>It should look something like this:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Example-Auth0.webp" alt="Screenshot of a form with all the settings filled in." width="891" height="1239" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67321">
<p>Click the "Create" button and you're (almost) done.</p>
<h2 id="auth0-icon"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#auth0-icon">Auth0 Icon</a></h2>
<p>You will need to <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/add-a-custom-icon-to-auth0s-custom-social-integrations/">add a custom icon to the social integration</a>. Annoyingly, there's no way to do it through the web interface, so follow that guide to use the command line.</p>
<h2 id="done"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#done">Done!</a></h2>
<p>I'll admit, this isn't the most straightforward thing to implement. Auth0 could make this easier - but it would still rely on users knowing the URl of their home instance.</p>
<p>That said, the Mastodon API is a delight to work with and the read-only permissions reduce risk for all parties.</p>
<div id="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes">
<hr>
<ol start="0">
<li id="fn:blog">
<p>Auth0 <a href="https://auth0.com/blog/mastdon-for-developers/">did blog about Mastodon a few years ago</a> but never bothered implementing it! <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#fnref:blog" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:masto">
<p>I <em>do</em> mean Mastodon; not the wider Fediverse. This only works with sites which have implemented Mastodon's APIs. <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#fnref:masto" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
]]></content>
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</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Under Fire - Black Britain in Wartime by Stephen Bourne ★★★★☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-under-fire-black-britain-in-wartime-by-stephen-bourne/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67762</id>
<updated>2026-03-01T09:18:53Z</updated>
<published>2026-03-01T12:34:27Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="history" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="race" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Everyone knows that Black people didn't exist in the UK until recently, right? Despite mountains of evidence of everything from Black Tudors and Victorian actors, some myths perniciously persist. What was the experience for Black Britons during the second world war? I find it fascinating how the US cultural hegemony rewrites history. I've heard people in the UK talk about "Jim Crow laws" as…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-under-fire-black-britain-in-wartime-by-stephen-bourne/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/underfire.webp" alt="Book cover. A black soldier in uniform stands in front of Big Ben." width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-67763">
<p><em>Everyone</em> knows that Black people didn't exist in the UK until recently, right? Despite mountains of evidence of everything from <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/07/book-review-black-tudors-the-untold-story-miranda-kaufmann/">Black Tudors</a> and <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/02/book-review-ira-aldridge-the-african-roscius-by-bernth-lindfors/">Victorian actors</a>, some myths perniciously persist.</p>
<p>What was the experience for Black Britons during the second world war?</p>
<p>I find it fascinating how the US cultural hegemony rewrites history. I've heard people in the UK talk about "Jim Crow laws" as though that was a thing that happened in the UK. It wasn't. While there <em>were</em> barriers and racism (as the book makes clear) the experience of Black people in the UK was vastly different than it was for African Americans. To the point that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCliC9MHSFg&t=422s">white American GIs were routinely castigated</a> for trying to impose their vile racism onto our country.</p>
<p>What makes this book special is the contemporary reports and modern interviews. There are some amazing stories to be told and it is fascinating to hear first-hand accounts. The book also contains a list of prominent Black people living in the UK (including their addresses) which feels a little like padding - but then this is fleshed out with mini-biographies of most of them. What is astounding is, given the range of people living in Britain, you occasionally get little revelations like this:</p>
<blockquote><p>Only one black evacuee has ever been interviewed for a television documentary.</p></blockquote>
<p>Some people profiled are, for want of a better word, ordinary. People who had normal lives, kept the home fires burning, and took part in ordinary civic life. And then there are guys like <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/54695641">Ras Prince Monolulu</a> who were bona-fide celebrities.</p>
<p>It is fair to say that modern Britain's relationship with the notion of "Empire" is complicated. When the call to arms came, people from the farthest colonies rushed to aide the "motherland". In many cases, they were initially rejected due to formal or informal colour-bars. The social acceptability of and legal ramifications of these practices is evidenced in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_v_Imperial_Hotels_Ltd">Constantine v Imperial Hotels Ltd</a>.</p>
<p>But for every story of casual and institutional racism towards people who came to help, there are stories of love and acceptance.</p>
<blockquote><p>The English people opened their homes to us, we were invited out for dinners, teas, no problems at all. There were problems with the American forces, but it didn’t hinder us.</p></blockquote>
<p>As with any history book, some of the language used can feel a little shocking or distasteful. History is never easy to engage with, but this book presents an even handed look at a turbulent period. It ends a little abruptly, but it is an excellent overview of the literature. Recommended for anyone who wants to understand <em>our</em> history.</p>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[30 months to 3MWh - some more home battery stats]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/30-months-to-3mwh-some-more-home-battery-stats/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67818</id>
<updated>2026-02-27T09:56:25Z</updated>
<published>2026-02-28T12:34:19Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="battery" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="moixa" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="solar" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Back in August 2023, we installed a Moixa 4.8kWh Solar Battery to pair with our solar panels. For the last year and a half it has chugged away slurping up electrons and sending them back as needed. Its little fan whirrs and the lights on its Ethernet port flicker happily as it does its duty. I estimate that it has saved us around 3 MegaWatt hours since it was commissioned. In monetary terms,…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/30-months-to-3mwh-some-more-home-battery-stats/"><![CDATA[<p>Back in August 2023, we installed a <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/08/review-moixa-4-8kwh-solar-battery/">Moixa 4.8kWh Solar Battery</a> to pair with our solar panels. For the last year and a half it has chugged away slurping up electrons and sending them back as needed. Its little fan whirrs and the lights on its Ethernet port flicker happily as it does its duty.</p>
<p>I estimate that it has saved us around 3 MegaWatt hours since it was commissioned. In monetary terms, that's roughly £1,000 taken off our electricity bills.</p>
<p>How did I work that out? Well, maths is hard, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOKhRVSriB0">as Barbie knows</a>, so take all this with a pinch of monosodium glutamate.</p>
<p>Here's a typical month - October 2025:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/October-Battery.webp" alt="Two squiggly graphs of dense complexity." width="2088" height="894" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67819">
<p>Yikes! What's going on here?</p>
<p>We use <a href="https://share.octopus.energy/metal-dove-988">a <em>variable</em> electricity tariff</a>. Prices fluctuate every 30 minutes. At peak times our electricity prices can shoot up to 60p per Kwh. Overnight or when the wind is high, prices can drop to zero. Yes, free electricity! Sometimes the excess in the grid means that prices go negative and we are <em>paid</em> to use electricity. Hurrah!</p>
<p>Our battery knows this. Its Internet connection allows it to download the tariff for the day ahead and plan accordingly. If the electricity prices are cheap, the battery fills up. The battery can decide to discharge when we're using more electricity than solar provides, or it can wait until prices are more expensive after the sun has gone down.</p>
<p>Here's an example, again from October:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Energy-Profile.webp" alt="Bar chart showing how energy was stored and used." width="2064" height="633" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67824">
<p>In October, about a third of the power stored in the battery came from the sun. About 92% was used by our house with the remainder being sold back to the grid if it was profitable to do so.</p>
<p>By contrast, here's June 2025 - a sunny month in the Northern Hemisphere:</p>
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/June.webp" alt="Chart showing a lot more solar usage." width="2052" height="633" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-67825">
<p>Here, only 12% of the battery charging was done by the grid. 88% was done for free by solar power. But because solar was so plentiful, about 15% of the battery was sold back to the grid.</p>
<h2 id="maths-is-hard"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/30-months-to-3mwh-some-more-home-battery-stats/#maths-is-hard">Maths. Is. HARD!</a></h2>
<p>I've been playing around with various charts, graphs, spreadsheets, modellers, and a bit of calculus. I basically came to the conclusion that the easiest way was to assume I was saving the <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/get-energy-price-cap-standing-charges-and-unit-rates-region">energy price capped value of a kWh</a>.</p>
<p>That varies from 25p to 35p. If I fudge the numbers just right, it rounds off at an even grand.</p>
<h2 id="its-payback-time"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/30-months-to-3mwh-some-more-home-battery-stats/#its-payback-time">It's Payback Time</a></h2>
<p>No-one ever asks what the payback period is of buying a car vs taking public transport. You never see anyone amortising an engagement ring over the length of a marriage. Still, here we are.</p>
<p>We paid £2,700 for the supply, install, and commissioning of our battery.</p>
<p>That means the payback time for the battery will be between 6 and 7 years. If energy prices go up, the payback time goes down. Its capacity is showing no degradation yet and I hope it will provide us with many years of savings before it needs to be repaired or upgraded.</p>
<p>Solar batteries are getting cheaper and their capacity is getting bigger - although <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/09/how-big-a-solar-battery-do-i-need-to-store-all-my-homes-electricity/">not big enough to store <em>all</em> my home's electricity</a>.</p>
<p>If you can afford the upfront costs, it's like pre-paying for a chunk of your energy usage and can help protect you against sudden price rises.</p>
<p>You can <a href="https://share.octopus.energy/metal-dove-988">sign up to Octopus</a> and get a £50 bill credit if you want to switch to a variable tariff.</p>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>2</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell ★★☆☆☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-weird-things-customers-say-in-bookshops-by-jen-campbell/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=66620</id>
<updated>2026-02-27T09:52:46Z</updated>
<published>2026-02-27T12:34:11Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Remember back in the early 2010s when any moderately popular Twitter account could become a book (or even a TV series)? This is a collection of Tweet-sized "overheard in" stories. All set in book shops. Isn't it funny that some people don't know how books work! ROFL! Aren't the general public strange? LOLOL! That's a bit harsh of me. It only rarely becomes mean-spirited. But in a book this…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-weird-things-customers-say-in-bookshops-by-jen-campbell/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1366054116.webp" alt="Book cover" width="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-66622">
<p>Remember back in the early 2010s when any moderately popular Twitter account could become a book (or even a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shit_My_Dad_Says">TV series</a>)?</p>
<p>This is a collection of Tweet-sized "overheard in" stories. All set in book shops.</p>
<p>Isn't it funny that some people don't know how books work! ROFL!</p>
<p>Aren't the general public strange? LOLOL!</p>
<p>That's a bit harsh of me. It only rarely becomes mean-spirited. But in a book this short, it rather contaminates the joy.</p>
<p>That said, this one will live rent-free in my head for a while:</p>
<blockquote><p>Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?</p></blockquote>
<p>It's the sort of stocking-filler book which is reasonable for perusing on the loo. Light-hearted but ultimately disposable.</p>
<p>Still, at least Neil Gaiman found it funny enough to leave a blurb…</p>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>0</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[This time is different]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/this-time-is-different/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=64559</id>
<updated>2026-01-21T11:06:30Z</updated>
<published>2026-02-26T12:34:39Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="AI" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="internet" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="technology" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[3D TV, AMP, Augmented Reality, Beanie Babies, Blockchain, Cartoon Avatars, Curved TVs, Frogans, Hoverboards, iBeacons, Jetpacks, Metaverse, NFTs, Physical Web, Quantum Computing, Quibi, Small and Safe Nuclear Reactors, Smart Glasses, Stadia, WiMAX. The problem is, the same dudes (and it was nearly always dudes) who were pumped for all of that bollocks now won't stop wanging on about Artificial…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/this-time-is-different/"><![CDATA[<p>3D TV, AMP, Augmented Reality, Beanie Babies, Blockchain, Cartoon Avatars, Curved TVs, Frogans, Hoverboards, iBeacons, Jetpacks, Metaverse, NFTs, Physical Web, Quantum Computing, Quibi, Small and Safe Nuclear Reactors, Smart Glasses, Stadia, WiMAX.</p>
<p>The problem is, the same dudes (and it was nearly always dudes) who were pumped for all of that bollocks now won't stop wanging on about Artificial Fucking Intelligence.</p>
<p>"It's gonna be the future bro, just trust me!"</p>
<p>"I dunno, man. Seems like you say that about every passing fancy - and they all end up being utterly underwhelming."</p>
<p>"This time is different!"</p>
<p><em>*sigh*</em></p>
<blockquote><p>The investor who says, “This time is different,” when in fact it’s virtually a repeat of an earlier situation, has uttered among the four most costly words in the annals of investing.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.franklintempleton.com/forms-literature/download/TL-R16">16 rules for investment success - Sir John Templeton</a></p></blockquote>
<p>All of the above technologies are still chugging along in some form or other (well, OK, not Quibi). Some are vaguely useful and others are propped up by weirdo cultists. I don't doubt that AI will be a <em>part</em> of the future - but it is obviously just going to be one of <em>many</em> technology which are in use.</p>
<blockquote><p>No enemies had ever taken Ankh-Morpork. Well technically they had, quite often; the city welcomed free-spending barbarian invaders, but somehow the puzzled raiders found, after a few days, that they didn't own their horses any more, and within a couple of months they were just another minority group with its own graffiti and food shops.</p>
<p>Terry Pratchet's <del>Faust</del> Eric</p></blockquote>
<p>The ideology of "winner takes all" is unsustainable and not supported by reality.</p>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>5</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Book Review: Of Monsters and Mainframes - Barbara Truelove ★★★⯪☆]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-of-monsters-and-mainframes-barbara-truelove/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67527</id>
<updated>2026-03-06T22:30:47Z</updated>
<published>2026-02-25T12:34:02Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Book Review" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Sci Fi" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This is fun, silly, charming, and much better than The Murderbot Diaries despite being superficially similar. Imagine you are an interstellar ship and, of course, your AI is conscious. What would you do if your passengers were killed - not by a terrifying alien, but by Count Dracula??? What if, on the return journey, another set of your passengers were similarly slaughtered. Except, this…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-of-monsters-and-mainframes-barbara-truelove/"><![CDATA[<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/monsters.webp" alt="Book cover." width="225" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-67528">
<p>This is fun, silly, charming, and <em>much</em> better than <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-all-systems-red-the-murderbot-diaries-by-martha-wells/">The Murderbot Diaries</a> despite being superficially similar.</p>
<p>Imagine you are an interstellar ship and, of course, your AI is conscious. What would you do if your passengers were killed - not by a terrifying alien, but by Count Dracula???</p>
<p>What if, on the return journey, another set of your passengers were similarly slaughtered. Except, this time, by a Werewolf? How would that make you feel? Would it drive you mad? Could you cope with the bullying from other starships? Or would you feel the need… the need for REVENGE!</p>
<p>As I said, silly and campy fun. It is episodic adventure with just the right amount of Hammer-style horror and not too much technobabble. All the classic monsters are here - depression, intrusive thoughts, envy, fear.</p>
<p>Oh, and Frankenstein’s spider.</p>
<p>As an ebook, it makes great use of fonts - which give it a delightfully retrofuturistic feel. There are some fun binary Easter-Eggs as well.</p>
]]></content>
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<thr:total>1</thr:total>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>@edent</name>
<uri>https://edent.tel/</uri>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Adding OpenStreetMap login to Auth0]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/" />
<id>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67593</id>
<updated>2026-02-20T10:41:43Z</updated>
<published>2026-02-24T12:34:21Z</published>
<category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="/etc/" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="Auth0" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="developers" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="oauth" /><category scheme="https://shkspr.mobi/blog" term="OpenStreetMap" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[So you want to add OSM as an OAuth provider to Auth0? Here's a tip - you do not want to create a custom social connection! Instead, you need to create an "OpenID Connect" provider. Here's how. OpenSteetMap As per the OAuth documentation you will need to: Register a new app at https://www.openstreetmap.org/oauth2/applications/ Give it a name that users will recognise Give it a redirect of…]]></summary>
<content type="html" xml:base="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/"><![CDATA[<p>So you want to add OSM as an OAuth provider to Auth0? Here's a tip - you do <em>not</em> want to create a custom social connection!</p>
<p>Instead, you need to create an "OpenID Connect" provider. Here's how.</p>
<h2 id="opensteetmap"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/#opensteetmap">OpenSteetMap</a></h2>
<p>As per <a href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OAuth#Using_OpenStreetMap_as_identity_provider">the OAuth documentation</a> you will need to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Register a new app at <a href="https://www.openstreetmap.org/oauth2/applications/">https://www.openstreetmap.org/oauth2/applications/</a></li>
<li>Give it a name that users will recognise</li>
<li>Give it a redirect of <code>https://Your Auth0 Tenant.eu.auth0.com/login/callback</code></li>
<li>Tick the box for "Sign in using OpenStreetMap"</li>
</ul>
<p>Once created, you will need to securely save your Client ID and Client Secret.</p>
<h2 id="auth0"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/#auth0">Auth0</a></h2>
<p>These options change frequently, so use this guide with care.</p>
<ul>
<li>Once you have logged in to your Auth0 Tennant, go to Authentication → Enterprise → OpenID Connect → Create Connection</li>
<li>Provide the new connection with the Client ID and Client Secret</li>
<li>Set the "scope" to be <code>openid</code></li>
<li>Set the OpenID Connect Discovery URL to be <code>https://www.openstreetmap.org/.well-known/openid-configuration</code></li>
<li>In the "Login Experience" tick the box for "Display connection as a button"</li>
<li>Set the favicon to be <code>https://blog.openstreetmap.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/osm-favicon.png</code> or other suitable graphic</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="next-steps"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/#next-steps">Next Steps</a></h2>
<p>We're not quite done, sadly.</p>
<p>The details which OSM sends back to Auth0 are limited, so Auth0 is missing a few bits:</p>
<pre><code class="language-json">{
"created_at": "2026-02-29T12:34:56.772Z",
"identities": [
{
"user_id": "openstreetmap-openid|123456",
"provider": "oidc",
"connection": "openstreetmap-openid",
"isSocial": false
}
],
"name": "",
"nickname": "",
"picture": "https://cdn.auth0.com/avatars/default.png",
"preferred_username": "Terence Eden",
"updated_at": "2026-02-04T12:01:33.772Z",
"user_id": "oidc|openstreetmap-openid|123456",
"last_ip": "12.34.56.78",
"last_login": "2026-02-29T12:34:56.772Z",
"logins_count": 1,
"blocked_for": [],
"guardian_authenticators": [],
"passkeys": []
}
</code></pre>
<p>Annoyingly, Auth0 doesn't set a name or nickname - so you'll need to manually get the <code>preferred_username</code>, or create a "User Map":</p>
<pre><code class="language-json">{
"mapping_mode": "use_map",
"attributes": {
"nickname": "${context.tokenset.preferred_username}",
"name": "${context.tokenset.preferred_username}"
}
}
</code></pre>
<p>There's also no avatar image - only the default one.</p>
<h3 id="getting-the-avatar-image"><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/#getting-the-avatar-image">Getting the Avatar Image</a></h3>
<p>The <a href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/API_v0.6">OSM API</a> has a method for <a href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/API_v0.6#Methods_for_user_data">getting user data</a>.</p>
<p>For example, here's all my public data: <a href="https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/user/98672.json">https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/user/98672.json</a> - thankfully no authorisation required!</p>
<pre><code class="language-json">{
"user": {
"id": 98672,
"display_name": "Terence Eden",
"img": {
"href": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/52cb49a66755f31abf4df9a6549f0f9c.jpg?s=100&d=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.openstreetmap.org%2Fassets%2Favatar_large-54d681ddaf47c4181b05dbfae378dc0201b393bbad3ff0e68143c3d5f3880ace.png"
}
}
}
</code></pre>
<p>Alternatively, you can <a href="https://github.com/microlinkhq/unavatar/issues/488">use the Unavatar service</a> to get the image indirectly.</p>
<p>I hope that's helpful to someone!</p>
]]></content>
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68928",
"title": "Book Review: Robots in Space - The Secret Lives of Our Planetary Explorers by Dr Ezzy Pearson ★★★⯪☆",
"description": "Mars is the only planet entirely populated by robots. This book is a catalogue of the history of robotic explorers. Nary a human-crewed mission is mentioned, except in passing. Instead, we get to look at the practicalities of landing a little robot a million miles away, the people that made it happen, and the politics which inevitably stymied things. And there is a lot of politics. One of the…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-robots-in-space-the-secret-lives-of-our-planetary-explorers-by-dr-ezzy-pearson/",
"published": "2026-03-15T12:34:48.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-15T09:08:25.000Z",
"content": "<p>Mars is the only planet entirely populated by robots. This book is a catalogue of the history of robotic explorers. Nary a human-crewed mission is mentioned, except in passing. Instead, we get to look at the practicalities of landing a little robot a million miles away, the people that made it happen, and the politics which inevitably stymied things.</p>\n\n<p>And there is a <em>lot</em> of politics.</p>\n\n<p>One of the weakest areas is the political analysis behind the stories. For example, a Soviet Lunar rover is described as being \"daubed with the sickle and hammer\" - but there's no derogatory mention of the stars, stipes, and eagles on American craft. Similarly we hear about \"the Soviet plans to invade Mars proceeded unabated\" - there's no deriding description of the American plans to colonise various planets. The efforts of the European Space Agency described as \"[m]ore than fifty industrial contractors from fifteen nations were involved in construction. Safe to say, it was a logistical nightmare.\" - while ignoring the various back-room deals that led to the American space programme being distributed around their country and their resultant logistical problems.</p>\n\n<p>It isn't relentlessly pro-American (there's lots of descriptions of their failures) but it feels a bit one-sided.</p>\n\n<p>There are some gorgeous photos spread throughout the book. Sadly, the ebook relegates most of them to the end rather than interspersing them with the text. At least one of the images is incorrect although, thankfully, the attribution hyperlinks to <a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/technician-checks-soil-sampler-viking-lander/\">the correct photo on NASA's site</a>.</p>\n\n<p>I'm being a bit down on the book. It is a decent enough look at all the problems faced by space agencies as they tried to send machines into the void. For those of us in the computer industry, it is depressing to continually read about how we're often the weakest link:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>On 2 September, a computer command was sent to Phobos 1 to turn on the gamma ray spectrometer. A single hyphen had been left out of the code, transforming it into an order for Phobos 1 to shut down. There was no way to turn it back on.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>Yikes! The book is full of titbits like that - minor errors which led to major catastrophes.</p>\n\n<p>It's a good starting point for anyone with an interest in space exploration and how technical and political challenges can be overcome.</p>",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=53267",
"title": "How Can Governments Pay Open Source Maintainers?",
"description": "When I worked for the UK Government I was once asked if we could find a way to pay for all the Open Source Software we were using. It is a surprisingly hard problem and I want to talk about some of the issues we faced. The UK Government publishes a lot of Open Source code - nearly everything developed in-house by the state is available under an OSI Approved licence. The UK is generally pretty…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/",
"published": "2026-03-14T12:34:42.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-14T12:21:41.000Z",
"content": "<p>When I worked for the UK Government I was once asked if we could find a way to pay for all the Open Source Software we were using. It is a surprisingly hard problem and I want to talk about some of the issues we faced.</p>\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https://github.com/alphagov/\">UK Government publishes a </a><em><a href=\"https://github.com/alphagov/\">lot</a></em><a href=\"https://github.com/alphagov/\"> of Open Source code</a> - nearly everything developed in-house by the state is available under an OSI Approved licence. The UK is generally pretty relaxed about people, companies, and states re-using its code. There's no desire and little capability to monetise what has been developed with <a href=\"https://publiccode.eu/en/\">public money so it becomes public code.</a></p>\n\n<p>What about the Open Source that UK Government <em>uses</em>?</p>\n\n<p>The state uses <a href=\"https://digital.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/digital-capabilities/websites/nightingale-theme-user-guide/\">big projects like WordPress</a>, as well as <a href=\"https://github.com/alphagov/govuk-diff/blob/b62aba29f50915c9388110c2baed132b9f9f32df/diffgovuk.py#L81\">moderately popular NPM packages</a>, and <a href=\"https://github.com/alphagov/ckanext-datagovuk/blob/1548325b7e28dd658f26ac68ba7ba990726ab485/bin/python_scripts/find_invalid_tags.py#L11\">small Python libraries</a> and everything in between. But can it pay the maintainers of that software?</p>\n\n<p><small>A version of this blog post was <a href=\"https://hackernoon.com/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers\">originally published on Hackernoon</a>.</small></p>\n\n<h2 id=\"fixing-the-plumbing\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/#fixing-the-plumbing\">Fixing The Plumbing</a></h2>\n\n<p>Open Source is facing a crisis. The code that the world relies on is often developed by underpaid engineers on the brink of burn-out. While I don't think anyone wants Open Source to have a paywall, it seems obvious that large organisation should pay their way and not rely solely on volunteer labour.</p>\n\n<p>Here are some of the problems I faced when trying to get the UK Government to pay for OSS and how <em>you</em> as a maintainer can help make it easier for large organisations to pay you.</p>\n\n<p>Firstly, lots of OSS doesn't have a well defined owner; so who gets the money?</p>\n\n<p>I'm not saying that every little library you create needs to be published by a registered company, nor am I suggesting that you should remove your anonymity. But Governments and other organisations need to know <em>who</em> they are funding and <em>where</em> the money is going. The danger of accidentally funnelling money to a sanctioned state or person is just too big a risk for most organisations.</p>\n\n<p>If you want to receive funding - make it <em>really</em> clear who you are.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"what-can-you-offer\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/#what-can-you-offer\">What Can You Offer?</a></h2>\n\n<p>Even when there is an owner, there often isn't an easy mechanism for paying people. Donation sites like GitHub Sponsors, Ko-Fi, and Patreon are great for individuals who want to throw a small amount of money to creators but they can be problematic for larger organisations. Many OSS projects get around this by offering support contracts. It makes it much easier for an organisation to justify their spend because they're no longer donating to something which can be obtained for free; they're paying for a service.</p>\n\n<p>This doesn't have to be a contract offering a 24/7 response and guaranteed SLA. It can be as simple as offering best-effort email support.</p>\n\n<p>The important thing is to offer an <em>easy</em> way for a larger organisation to buy your services. Many organisations have corporate credit cards for lower-cost discretionary spending which doesn't require a full business-case. How easily could a manager buy a £500 support contact from your site?</p>\n\n<p>Maintainers don't only have to offer support contracts. Many choose to offer training packages which are a good way to raise money <em>and</em> get more people using your product. Some project maintainers will speak at your conference for a suitable fee.</p>\n\n<p>Again, the aim here is for maintainers to offer a <em>plausible</em> reason for a payment to be made.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"playing-well-with-others\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/#playing-well-with-others\">Playing Well With Others</a></h2>\n\n<p>Open Source has a brilliant culture of allowing multiple (often anonymous) contributors. That's fine when there's no money involved, but how does a moderately sized project decide who receives what share of the funding? Services like <a href=\"https://opencollective.com/\">OpenCollective</a> can make it easier to show <em>where</em> the money is going but it is better to discuss in advance with all contributors what they expect as a share.</p>\n\n<p>If people think they're being taken advantage of, or that a project maintainer is unjustly enriching themselves, it can cause arguments. Be very clear to contributors what the funding is for and whether they're entitled to any of it.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, we faced the issue that some OSS projects didn't <em>want</em> to take money from the \"big bad state\". They were worried that if people saw \"Sponsored by the Government\" they would assume that there were backdoors for spies, or that the developer might give in to pressure to add unwanted features. This (usually) isn't the case but it is easy to see why having a single large organisation as the main donor could give the impression of impropriety.</p>\n\n<p>The best defence against this is to have <em>lot</em> of paying sponsors! Having the state as one of many partners makes it clear that a project isn't beholden to any one customer.</p>\n\n<p>It isn't impossible to get Governments to spend on Open Source. But state spending is heavily scrutinised and, bluntly, they aren't set up to pay <i lang=\"la\">ad hoc</i> amounts to non-suppliers, who aren't charging money. While large projects often have the resources to apply for Government grants and contracts, smaller projects rarely have the time or expertise. It is critical that maintainers remove the barriers which make it too hard for organisations to pay them.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"in-summary\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-can-governments-pay-open-source-maintainers/#in-summary\">In Summary</a></h2>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Make it easy for Governments and other large organisations to pay you.</li>\n<li>Be as obvious as possible that you are able to accept payments from them.</li>\n<li>Don't be afraid to put a large price on your talents.</li>\n<li>Offer multiple paid-for options like speaker fees, support, and feature development funding.</li>\n<li>Talk with your contributors to let them know how any funding will be shared.</li>\n</ul>",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68692",
"title": "An odd font rendering bug in Firefox and Safari",
"description": "First up, you should go and watch The Importance of Being Earnest with Ncuti Gatwa. It is a brilliant set of performances and a joy to see. While perusing the programme on the National Theatre website I stumbled upon a little bug. The incredible Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ has her name rendered in a most unusual style: It rendered just fine in Chrome - but both Firefox and Safari misrendered some of t…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/",
"published": "2026-03-13T12:34:09.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-13T15:18:22.000Z",
"content": "<p>First up, you should go and watch <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obX-HGs-PS8\">The Importance of Being Earnest</a> with Ncuti Gatwa. It is a brilliant set of performances and a joy to see.</p>\n\n<p>While perusing the <a href=\"https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/the-importance-of-being-earnest/#cast\">programme on the National Theatre website</a> I stumbled upon a little bug. The incredible Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ has her name rendered in a most unusual style:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ronke.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot of a website. Contains a phone of a black woman next to her name. Any characters with accents in her name are rendered without boldface.\" width=\"2953\" height=\"1798\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-68694\">\n\n<p>It rendered just fine in Chrome - but both Firefox and Safari misrendered <em>some</em> of the accented characters.</p>\n\n<p>Here's a minimum viable demo to show what's happening:</p>\n\n<iframe height=\"300\" style=\"width: 100%;\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"FF Font Rendering Issue?\" src=\"https://codepen.io/edent/embed/qEaRyrz?default-tab=html%2Cresult\" frameborder=\"no\" loading=\"lazy\" allowtransparency=\"true\">\n See the Pen <a href=\"https://codepen.io/edent/pen/qEaRyrz\">\n FF Font Rendering Issue?</a> by Terence Eden (<a href=\"https://codepen.io/edent\">@edent</a>)\n on <a href=\"https://codepen.io\">CodePen</a>.\n</iframe>\n\n<h2 id=\"fonts-are-hard-ok\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/#fonts-are-hard-ok\">Fonts are hard, OK?!?!</a></h2>\n\n<p>Broadly speaking<sup id=\"fnref:complicated\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/#fn:complicated\" class=\"footnote-ref\" title=\"It is a lot more complicated than that.\" role=\"doc-noteref\">0</a></sup>, accented characters can be made in two way.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Pre-composed. There is a separate code for the character <code>é</code></li>\n<li>Combining. The plain letter <code>e</code> is immediately followed by the <em>combining</em> character <code>◌́</code> and the computer smushes them together.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Similarly, a font file can have separate little drawings for each accented character or it can have separate accents.</p>\n\n<p>In this case, the National Theatre is using the font \"Helvetica Now Display W04\".</p>\n\n<p>The web font contains <code>é</code> (U+00E9) and both <code>◌́</code> (U+0301) & <code>̣◌</code> (U+0323).</p>\n\n<p>But doesn't include <code>ẹ</code> (U+1EB9) or <code>ọ</code> (U+1ECD).</p>\n\n<p>So the ẹ́ and ọ́ have to be made by combining characters in the font.</p>\n\n<p>On Chrome this works. On Firefox and Safari, it seems to break when the CSS is set to <code>font-weight: normal;</code>. This causes the browser to render those characters in the default fallback font - hence the slightly weird look.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"next-steps\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/#next-steps\">Next Steps</a></h2>\n\n<p>I've raised <a href=\"https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2023126\">a bug with Firefox</a> and one with <a href=\"https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=309889\">WebKit</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, it might be that they're doing the right thing and Chrome is in the wrong - but I think that's unlikely.</p>\n\n<p>Now, time to fix the font I use on this website to prevent any rendering errors!</p>\n\n<div id=\"footnotes\" role=\"doc-endnotes\">\n<hr>\n<ol start=\"0\">\n\n<li id=\"fn:complicated\">\n<p>It is a <em>lot</em> more <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NPBIwQyPWE\">complicated</a> than that. <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/an-odd-font-rendering-bug-in-firefox-and-safari/#fnref:complicated\" class=\"footnote-backref\" role=\"doc-backlink\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n</ol>\n</div>",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68583",
"title": "Historic Energy Price Cap Data (FOI success!)",
"description": "Ofgem, the UK's energy regulator, publishes the current energy price cap per region. Note that it is only the current price cap. I couldn't find the complete historic data on their site. So I sent a quick email asking for it which they treated as a Freedom of Information request. Please can you supply me with a complete list of all previous electricity price cap figures? I have searched your…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/historic-energy-price-cap-data-foi-success/",
"published": "2026-03-12T12:34:01.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-09T16:25:47.000Z",
"content": "<p>Ofgem, the UK's energy regulator, publishes <a href=\"https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/get-energy-price-cap-standing-charges-and-unit-rates-region\">the current energy price cap</a> per region. Note that it is only the <em>current</em> price cap. I couldn't find the complete historic data on their site. So I sent a quick email asking for it which they treated as a Freedom of Information request.</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Please can you supply me with a complete list of all previous electricity price cap figures?</p>\n\n<p>I have searched your website and can only find the current price-cap.</p>\n\n<p>Specifically, I would like to know the per kWh price cap for electricity in the London region from its introduction until today.</p>\n\n<p>If these are on your website, please point me in the right direction. If not, a CSV of the data would be appreciated.”</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>A month later, and without any fuss, they emailed me a comprehensive spreadsheet. In Excel format, but let's not quibble!</p>\n\n<p>There are a few formatting oddities - not least that the caps are expressed with 13 decimal places of precision. Was the daily cap <em>really</em> 60.9345205479452p?</p>\n\n<p>Similarly, the dates are expressed as <code>1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022</code> rather than programmatic date ranges. It's also inconsistent, with some saying <code>1 July to 30 September 2025</code>.</p>\n\n<p>Averages are hard-coded not calculated.</p>\n\n<p>I've requested that they add these data to their website but, until they do, <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FOI2026_00323_Rates-Breakdown.xlsx\">here's the original file they sent me</a>.</p>\n\n<p>I've used a bit of R to tidy them up, giving proper start date and end date columns, rounding to 2 decimal places, and saving as CSV. You can <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FOI2026_00323_Rates-Breakdown-fixed.zip\">download the tidied version</a>.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"copyright-and-copyleft\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/historic-energy-price-cap-data-foi-success/#copyright-and-copyleft\">Copyright and Copyleft</a></h2>\n\n<p>As per <a href=\"https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/copyright\">their copyright page</a> these data are © Ofgem, 2026 and are licensed under the <a href=\"https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/\">Open Government Licence 3.0</a>. This is <a href=\"https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/open-government-licence/\">compatible with</a> CC BY and <a href=\"https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/by/\">ODC-By</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Please treat my update as <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution</a>.</p>",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68494",
"title": "Game Review: It Takes Two ★★★★★",
"description": "A couple is facing the devastating prospect of divorce. Their young daughter is understandably distraught. In her fear, she doses both parents with a powerful hallucinogenic drug in the hope that tripping through therapy will save their marriage. Well, OK, that's not exactly what the game's about - but it might as well be! My aim this year is to play more co-operative games with my wife. So she …",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-it-takes-two/",
"published": "2026-03-11T12:34:02.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-08T15:42:47.000Z",
"content": "<p>A couple is facing the devastating prospect of divorce. Their young daughter is understandably distraught. In her fear, she doses both parents with a powerful hallucinogenic drug in the hope that tripping through therapy will save their marriage.</p>\n\n<p>Well, OK, that's not <em>exactly</em> what the game's about - but it might as well be!</p>\n\n<p>My aim this year is to play more <em>co-operative</em> games with my wife. So she picked up the controller to play as the shrewish May while I steered the lug-headed Cody. Both have been shrunk to the size of toy dolls and have to navigate their house in an attempt to regain human-form and comfort their daughter. The game is a series of puzzles which can only be solved if you <strong>work together</strong>. Only by <strong>working together</strong> can you escape the quagmire you find yourself in. A sentient marriage guidance book continually reminds you that you only beat the last level because you <strong>worked together</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>And then you murder a toy elephant who pleads for its life after you brutally mutilate it. That isn't an exaggeration. It is easily the most traumatic media moment I've ever experienced.</p>\n\n<p>Unlike <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-unravel-two/\">Unravel Two</a>, the world is fully 3D and the quests are delightfully varied. Some are the usual \"you jump there and I'll do the thing here\" - others are more complex. There's logic, timed jumping, beat-em-ups, flight simulators, and a couple of dozen more inventive twists on familiar puzzles. Every single level seems to have a different game mechanic - and each level also has a unique æsthetic.</p>\n\n<p>It is refreshing to play a game actually designed for adults. I don't mean \"Rated 18 for blood and gore\"; more like \"grapples with the complexities of being a modern couple trying to raise a family\". It's also great fun to collaborate on the puzzles, while also exploring the intricate world around you.</p>\n\n<p>I don't know whether the game saved our marriage. There was certainly lots of <strong>working together</strong> to achieve a common goal.</p>\n\n<p>The voice acting is excellent, the story isn't too cloying, and the animation is sumptuous.</p>\n\n<iframe title=\"It Takes Two Official Reveal Trailer\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/ohClxMmNLQQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"></iframe>",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68565",
"title": "Unstructured Data and the Joy of having Something Else think for you",
"description": "I'm sure we have all met a person like this: People who have an AI habit use it by default. I have watched someone ask ChatGPT the weather for tomorrow rather than simply open the weather app. Another time, they asked AI the question even after I had shown them the website with the same information. It's a crutch.— Ibster (@ibster.bsky.social) 9 March 2026 at 09:46 At a recent tech event, I b…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/unstructured-data-and-the-joy-of-having-something-else-think-for-you/",
"published": "2026-03-10T12:34:59.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-09T11:06:00.000Z",
"content": "<p>I'm sure we have all met a person like this:</p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at://did:plc:o7ietxbf5efxnlvttt3obvr4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgml626jdc2z\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreig7f5x22t4zr4g4jlzj5tyupted2qe5jrkladd3e76auxkmkt3qxq\" data-bluesky-embed-color-mode=\"system\"><p lang=\"en\">People who have an AI habit use it by default. I have watched someone ask ChatGPT the weather for tomorrow rather than simply open the weather app. Another time, they asked AI the question even after I had shown them the website with the same information. It's a crutch.</p>— Ibster (<a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:o7ietxbf5efxnlvttt3obvr4?ref_src=embed\">@ibster.bsky.social</a>) <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:o7ietxbf5efxnlvttt3obvr4/post/3mgml626jdc2z?ref_src=embed\">9 March 2026 at 09:46</a></blockquote>\n\n<script async=\"\" src=\"https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n<p>At a recent tech event, I bumped into an old friend and invited him out for dinner the next evening. He proudly showed my the AI bot he'd built which responded to WhatsApp messages. \"Remind me at 7pm tomorrow to go to Chalmun's Cantina for dinner with Terry.\"</p>\n\n<p>\"OK boss! That's locked in! I'll remind you tomorrow. Enjoy your dinner!\" the digital sycophant replied.</p>\n\n<p>I was flabbergasted. There was a perfectly good calendar app on his phone. It has an easy to use interface. There are clearly demarcated boxen to fill in. A swish time-picker, calendar scroller, and notification reminder all built-in.</p>\n\n<p>Our conversation reached an ideological impasse. I couldn't understand why he was burning tokens and wasting time with a chatbot. He didn't understand why I wasn't embracing the future.</p>\n\n<p>I've noticed this with a lot of technology and I think I've come up with a three-part hypothesis.</p>\n\n<p>First, some people don't care for structure. Whereas some of us carefully shelve our books in Dewey Decimal order, some people just chuck a book on any shelf it'll fit. You craft a detailed personal knowledge graph in Obsidian, I have a series of increasingly erratic text documents. My blog is fully semantic, yours is just div-soup.</p>\n\n<p>We all have different things we care about. You'd be aghast that I don't track my calories and I can't stand the way you store all your files on the desktop. Yes, some systems are obviously superior to chaos, but for lots of people the tedium of organisation isn't worth the effort.</p>\n\n<p>Secondly, talking isn't as hard work as writing. Speaking is faster than writing - hence the popularity of voice notes. Speaking requires less mental effort than writing - you don't have to worry about spelling or grammar. Similarly, forcing yourself to organise your thoughts in the structure demanded by a form can be tiring. My calendar has event title at the top, but I think in terms of time first. So voice-chatting with an AI requires substantially less effort on your part. Just lob some words at it and it'll do the structuring for you.</p>\n\n<p>Which gets me to the third and, I think, most distasteful aspect. People want servants. The long standing joke about Silicon Valley products is they're all trying to recreate having a mum to look after you. Uber to drive you, Just-Eat to bring you cooked meals, Task Rabbit to wash your pants, Tinder to be a matchmaker.</p>\n\n<p>Being raised on a diet of Downton Abbey, Bridgerton, and a hundred other lives-of-the-rich-and-famous shows does a number on you. Why don't I have a social secretary to arrange my day? Don't I deserve a tireless chambermaid? Where's the smart-arse butler who can cater to my every whim?</p>\n\n<p>\"Jeeves! Book me a taxi to the club. Usual time.\"</p>\n\n<p>That's the dream, isn't it? Yes, you could mash some buttons in the taxi app or - heaven forfend! - call them yourself. But isn't it much more sophisticated to have a servant?</p>\n\n<p>I'm guilty of this, of course. I yell at my Alexii to turn on the lights, pre-heat my bed, and remind me when dinner is ready. My doorbell alerts me when a visitor calls so I don't have to make the arduous trip to the front door. My kitchen robot washes my clothes - next year it'll be able to order more washing supplies when I run low. I can basically chuck stuff into the machine without thinking about it, and everything comes out perfectly clean.</p>\n\n<p>Is it <em>useful</em> for me to know how to properly wash clothes? Probably not. Do I struggle when I visit a house which only has physical light switches? Not really. Are some people going to suffer if they outsource all their thinking to servant machines? I guess we'll see.</p>",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68472",
"title": "Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm ★★★★★",
"description": "Apparently I reviewed the previous version of this book four years ago but have no real memory of it. Did you ever have a dream which was vividly realistic yet somehow slightly askew from reality? Obviously there is no antimemetics division, nor could anyone write a book about it. If they did, their mind would instantly be liquefied and their mere existence would be purged. So, why is there a …",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-there-is-no-antimemetics-division-by-qntm/",
"published": "2026-03-09T12:34:47.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-07T16:24:36.000Z",
"content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/9781804954768-jacket-large.webp\" alt=\"Book cover. A deer stares out at you. It has slightly too many eyes.\" width=\"311\" height=\"500\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-68475\">\n\n<p>Apparently I reviewed the previous version of this book <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/04/book-review-there-is-no-antimemetics-division/\">four years ago</a> but have no real memory of it. Did you ever have a dream which was vividly realistic yet somehow slightly askew from reality? Obviously there is no antimemetics division, nor could anyone write a book about it. If they did, their mind would instantly be liquefied and their mere existence would be purged.</p>\n\n<p>So, why is there a new version of the book out and is it worth reading again?</p>\n\n<p>As the copyright page says:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Earlier versions of this material were previously published in serial form on the scp wiki under Creative Commons 3.0, and subsequently self-published by the author in ebook and paperback format. The work has been substantively revised and updated since.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>As <a href=\"https://qntm.org/antifaq\">the FAQ</a> makes clear, getting a \"proper\" publisher to put money into a CC project is unlikely. So many of the original elements have been rewritten and reworked. The writing, plotting, and characters have all been substantially improved. The ending, in particular, has become something quite special.</p>\n\n<p>The story itself is still recursively memetic and a metacommentary on itself. The bug-eyed-monsters are mindbending and the good guys are all morally compromised. The concepts are gorgeously impossible and the pacing is exciting.</p>\n\n<p>There's simply nothing like it.</p>\n\n<p>The eBook is mostly well formatted. Excellent use of monospace fonts for reports, there are accessible redactions where suitable, and the images all have alt text. Weirdly, one \"monster\" is named వ - a character which failed to render correctly on my eBook. That gave it a rather sinister appearance! The ghosting of eInk made it look like there were faint words behind the various redactions which was delightfully spooky. An excellent book and a satisfying update.</p>\n\n<p>However, it is worth noting that <span aria-label=\"redacted text\" style=\"word-break: break-all;\">███████</span> this book will <span aria-label=\"redacted text\" style=\"word-break: break-all;\">██████████ ██████████ ██████████████</span> and could lead to <span aria-label=\"redacted text\" style=\"word-break: break-all;\">████ █████████████ ██████████████</span>. Although the retailer won't accept refunds on any book stained with <span aria-label=\"redacted text\" style=\"word-break: break-all;\">█████████ █████████████████ ████</span> or <span aria-label=\"redacted text\" style=\"word-break: break-all;\">████ ██████████</span>, it <em>is</em> possible to summon <span aria-label=\"redacted text\" style=\"word-break: break-all;\">██████ ████████████████████ ████████████ ███ ████ ███████████</span> in an emergency.</p>",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=64039",
"title": "What's the source of Einstein's \"citizen of the world\" quip?",
"description": "I like digging through old archives and tracing my way through quotes. Here's a particularly good one from Albert Einstein which is often peppered around the Internet without any sources. If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/",
"published": "2026-03-08T12:34:03.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-08T11:56:46.000Z",
"content": "<p>I like digging through old archives and tracing my way through quotes. Here's a particularly good one from Albert Einstein which is often peppered around the Internet without any sources.</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>Let's see if we can find it!</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"1929-12-04\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#1929-12-04\">1929-12-04</a></h2>\n\n<p>The earliest I can find is in the <a href=\"https://www.jta.org/archive/if-true-hes-german-if-not-hes-jewish\">archives of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency</a> who published this snippet:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/JTA-dec3.webp\" alt=\"IF TRUE, HE'S GERMAN; IF NOT, HE'S JEWISH (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) Berlin, Dec. 3 — The local papers feature a summary of the brief address made by Prof. Albert Einstein when the Sorbonne recently conferred an honorary degree upon him. He is reported to have said that “if my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German, and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.”\" width=\"422\" height=\"390\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-64040\">\n\n<p>Is this likely to be true? What other evidence is there that Einstein was there and made those remarks?</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"1929-11-12\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#1929-11-12\">1929-11-12</a></h2>\n\n<p>Flicking back a few weeks in the JTA archives is this evidence - \"<a href=\"https://www.jta.org/archive/sorbonne-bestows-degree-on-einstein\">Sorbonne bestows degree on Einstein</a>.\"</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/JTA-Nov-12.webp\" alt=\"SORBONNE BESTOWS DEGREE ON EINSTEIN (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) Paris, Nov. 11 — Prof. Albert Einstein was one of the five upon whom honoris causa degrees were bestowed by the Sorbonne on Saturday. Thousands of students assembled at the ceremonies and cheered Einstein. Professors, the praesidium and rector of the University of Paris joined in the ovation which continued in the streets when Einstein alighted from the German ambassador's car. The ambassador represented Germany at the ceremony.\" width=\"422\" height=\"332\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-64041\">\n\n<h2 id=\"1929-11-09\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#1929-11-09\">1929-11-09</a></h2>\n\n<p>There are also contemporary <a href=\"https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b532232613/f1.item\">photos of the ceremony</a> which are included in various <a href=\"https://ein-web.adlibhosting.com/aea/Details/archive/110067509\">press clippings</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Is there anything previous to 1929?</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"1922\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#1922\">1922??</a></h2>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://assets.press.princeton.edu/chapters/s6908.pdf\">Alice Calaprice's Quotable Einstein</a> has the quote but attributes it differently:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>From an address to the French Philosophical Society at the Sorbonne, April 6, 1922. See also French press clipping, April 7, 1922, Einstein Archive 36-378; and Berliner Tageblatt, April 8, 1922, Einstein Archive 79-535</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>I wasn't able to find the French press clipping - but <a href=\"https://zefys.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/list/title/zdb/27646518/-/1922/\">the German paper is available</a>.</p>\n\n<p>My German is rusty and that font is <em>hard</em> but I don't think it says anything similar to the above quote. I think the 1922 date is merely the confusion between two different visits to the Sorbonne - which is the same conclusion as <a href=\"https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Albert_Einstein#Paris_6_April_1922\">Wikiquote editors came to</a></p>\n\n<h2 id=\"contemporary-reports\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#contemporary-reports\">Contemporary reports</a></h2>\n\n<p>OK, so what other sources are there for the quote? The JTA says:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>The local papers feature a summary of the brief address made by Prof. Albert Einstein […]</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>So I suppose they were just re-reporting what others had said. Let's take a look in some of those newspapers via <i lang=\"fr\">Bibliothèque nationale de France</i> who have an excellent archive of newspapers.</p>\n\n<p>There's a rather <a href=\"https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4617682m/f4.item.r=Sorbonne%20Einstein.zoom\">detailed report from <i lang=\"fr\">L'Œuvre</i></a> - but that makes no mention of the anecdote.</p>\n\n<p>Similarly, there are <a href=\"https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4617687p/f1.item.r=Sorbonne%20Einstein.zoom\">other interviews</a> and <a href=\"https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k7640347d\">contemporary commentary</a> - but this remark goes unnoticed by all of them.</p>\n\n<p>I read through <a href=\"https://gallica.bnf.fr/services/engine/search/sru?operation=searchRetrieve&exactSearch=false&collapsing=true&version=1.2&query=(text%20all%20%22Einstein%22%20and%20text%20all%20%22sorbonne%22%20)%20and%20(dc.type%20all%20%22fascicule%22)%20and%20(gallicapublication_date%3E=%221929/11/01%22%20and%20gallicapublication_date%3C=%221929/12/04%22)&suggest=10&keywords=Einstein%20sorbonne\">several dozen French papers</a> from November 1929 until early December. I couldn't find anything resembling the remark in any of them.</p>\n\n<p>OK, what about the German press?</p>\n\n<p>Again it is possible to <a href=\"https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/search/newspaper?query=Einstein+sorbonne&fromDay=1&fromMonth=11&fromYear=1929&toDay=5&toMonth=12&toYear=1929\">search German newspapers for those specific dates</a> - and there are plenty of <a href=\"https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/newspaper/item/XPR7GKHFSOA3PYC34FTDWSPRIE6LQS7O?issuepage=3\">contemporary reports</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Nothing about him being a <i lang=\"de\">Weltbürger</i> that I could see.</p>\n\n<p>Similarly, <a href=\"https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1929-11-01/1929-12-05?basicsearch=einstein%20citizen%20of%20the%20world&exactsearch=false&retrievecountrycounts=false\">British newspapers don't make reference to the joke</a> despite their <a href=\"https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1929-11-01/1929-12-05?basicsearch=einstein&exactsearch=false&retrievecountrycounts=false\">endless coverage</a> of him.</p>\n\n<p>Google's shitty AI hallucinates the quote as appearing in <a href=\"https://archive.org/details/sim_saturday-evening-post_1929-10-26_202_17\">The Saturday Evening Post</a>.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AI-overview.webp\" alt=\"In 1929, Einstein did not declare himself a \"citizen of the world,\" but this concept is linked to him through a statement he made around that time. In an interview with the relativity were proven correct, \"France will declare that | am a citizen of the world\". He also famously stated, \"Imagination encircles the world,\" in the same interview. The quote reflects his belief in the universal nature of scientific discovery and his own views on his place in a world without borders, a concept that became more strongly associated with his later activism for peace and global cooperation, as explained in Doubtnut.\" width=\"1316\" height=\"500\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-64045\">\n\n<p>While that issue does have an extensive interview with Einstein, there's nothing even vaguely similar to the sentiment about being a citizen of the world. Never trust an AI!</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"is-it-likely\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#is-it-likely\">Is it likely?</a></h2>\n\n<p>Einstein is endlessly quotable - and had a good ear for a pithy turn of phrase. However, he was accompanied on this trip by the German Ambassador. Would it have been prudent for him to make such a politically charged joke in front of that audience?</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"minced-oaths\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#minced-oaths\">Minced Oaths</a></h2>\n\n<p>Perhaps this is a mangled quotation? Einstein said something <em>similar</em> several years before the purported 1929 quote.</p>\n\n<p>In Herman Bernstein's 1924 book \"<a href=\"https://archive.org/details/celebritiesofour000452mbp/page/n285/mode/2up?q=citizen\">Celebrities of Our Time Interviews</a>\", there's the following quote:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/interview.webp\" alt=\"\"The description of me and my circumstances in the Times shows an amusing feat of imagination on the part of the writer. By an application of the theory of relativity to the taste of the readers, to-day in Germany I am called a German man of science, and in England I am represented as a Swiss Jew. If I come to be regarded as a bête noire, the description will be reversed and I shall become a Swiss Jew for the Germans and a German man of science for the English.\"\" width=\"1300\" height=\"500\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-68541\">\n\n<p>That's much less pithy, but carries largely the same sentiment.</p>\n\n<p>The original can be seen in <a href=\"https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1919-11-21/1919-11-29?basicsearch=%22german%20man%20of%20science%22&phrasesearch=german%20man%20of%20science&exactsearch=true&retrievecountrycounts=false&sortorder=score\">the British Newspaper Archive of 1919</a></p>\n\n<blockquote><h3 id=\"dr-einsteins-theory\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#dr-einsteins-theory\">Dr. Einstein's Theory.</a></h3> \n<p>We publish to-day a translation of an article written for our readers by ALBERT EINSTEIN\n</p><p>[…]\nHe adds that the different descriptions of him in England and Germany form an amusing example of relativity to the sentiments of the two countries. He is famous just now, and was described in our columns as a Swiss Jew, whereas in Germany he is called a German man of science. He suggests that were he suddenly to become a <i lang=\"fr\">bête noire</i>, the descriptions would be reversed, and he would be stigmatized here as a German man of science and in Germany as a Swiss Jew. We concede him his little jest.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>However, do note that this is described as a translation. In his letter to Paul Ehrenfest on the 4th of December 1919, he says:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>By the way, I myself participated in the cackling by writing a short article in the Times, in which I thanked our English colleagues, said a few things to characterize the theory, and at the end produced the following witticism: A simple application of the theory of relativity: today German newspapers are calling me a German man of science, the English, a Swiss Jew. If I come to be represented as a bete noire to the readerships, I should be a Swiss Jew for German newspapers and a German man of science for the English.'</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>See The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 9 The Berlin Years. I cannot find the original letter, but I assume Princeton's transcribers and translators are accurate.</p>\n\n<p>Either way, that's two reputable sources which have Einstein expressing something similar. Perhaps the joke was repeated and refined by him as the years wore on? Perhaps an eager journalist took a half-remembered quote and gave it new life? Perhaps.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"where-next\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/whats-the-source-of-einsteins-citizen-of-the-world-quip/#where-next\">Where next?</a></h2>\n\n<p>Well, dear reader, that's where you come in! I've exhausted all my research prowess. If you can find a transcript of his remarks, or a report older than the JTA's of the 4th of December 1929 where Einstein talks about being a \"citizen of the world\", please drop a comment in the box!</p>",
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"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68324",
"title": "Book Review: The Electronic Criminals by Robert Farr (1975) ★★★⯪☆",
"description": "What can a fifty-year-old book teach us about cybersecurity? Written just as computing was beginning to enter the mainstream, The Electronic Criminals takes us into a terrifying new world of crime! Fraud over Telex! Ransomware of physical tapes! Stealing passwords and hacking into mainframes! The books has a strong start, but gently runs out of steam because there simply weren't many…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-the-electronic-criminals-by-robert-farr-1975/",
"published": "2026-03-07T12:34:04.000Z",
"updated": "2026-02-27T00:57:41.000Z",
"content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Electronic-Criminals.webp\" alt=\"Book cover featuring a tape recorder and other electronic equipment.\" width=\"200\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-68325\">\n\n<p>What can a fifty-year-old book teach us about cybersecurity? Written just as computing was beginning to enter the mainstream, The Electronic Criminals takes us into a terrifying new world of crime!</p>\n\n<p>Fraud over Telex! Ransomware of physical tapes! Stealing passwords and hacking into mainframes!</p>\n\n<p>The books has a strong start, but gently runs out of steam because there simply <em>weren't</em> many electronic criminals in the mid-1970s! Instead, the book is over-stuffed with \"Catch Me If You Can\" tales of chequebook fraud, stolen aeroplane tickets, and regular blackmail and bribery. It isn't quite a how-to guide for the budding fraudster, but it isn't too far off.</p>\n\n<p>Nevertheless, there are some amazing and mind-boggling computer crimes described:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Computer print-outs concealed the massive fraud and fakery. Tapes were programmed so that computers would reject incriminating data and accept and produce only what would support the conspiracy. Computers were also used in playing hide-and-seek with investigators by switching data damaging to the swindlers from one code to another, just a step ahead of the authorities.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>One common refrain is that the law of 1975 hadn't caught up with the reality of modern crime. In the above case, the…</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>… investors decided to sue IBM for $4 billion, claiming that the company’s inability to manufacture a swindle-proof computer had contributed to their loss. Despite the fact that IBM had claimed their computers are virtually tamper proof, the case was thrown out of court. Obviously no one can be expected to be perfect, not even an IBM computer.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>And in another:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>In a recent case in France the accused was charged with sabotage. He had intentionally erased valuable information recorded on a magnetic tape by passing it through a strong magnetic field. However, since the tape itself was undamaged the court ruled that no offense had been committed. The jury was directed to issue a verdict of “not guilty.”</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>Many of the \"electronic\" crimes are able to be facilitated by poor physical processes:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Computer center near London, England: Unguarded side door hooked open to allow employees to step out for fresh air. Top secret military and industrial information was stored in the center’s files.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>Anyone who has done an ISO 27001 audit knows that pain!</p>\n\n<p>It isn't just computers and data-tapes that are discussed. There's rather a large section on phone-tapping and eavesdropping bugs. Rather terrifyingly, there's also a section on what we might now call \"Deep Fakes\":</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>On tape recordings, words can be rearranged and new words can be built up from an assortment of syllables. The process is somewhat like fitting together bits of a jigsaw puzzle. Simply by inserting or deleting “nots” in a taped voice recording, affirmatives can be changed to negatives and negatives to affirmatives. Words can be borrowed from one part of a tape and fitted into another so the entire meaning is changed. By the same techniques, inflections of words can be altered.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>Oh, and drone warfare!</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Today there are infrared cameras that can indeed see you in the dark, even portable TV cameras that can record pictures by moonlight, and radio-controlled miniature aircraft (some that can hover like helicopters) to carry these cameras to subjects that someone wants to photograph.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>As with any good book on the subject, it spends plenty of time talking about how to defend oneself from these attacks and the downside of protection:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Another scheme, called “hand-shaking,” requires the inquirer seeking information from the computer to correctly answer a personal question, something known only to him, before he can find out what he wants to know. This slows down the running of a business. I remember sitting in the office of a man who has a computer terminal on his desk. In the middle of our conversation a question came up and he said: “Wait a minute. I'll get the answer from our computer.” He put the question in by typing on the keyboard. The terminal’s screen lit up and displayed another question: “In what month was your mother-in-law born?”</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>It also predicts the rise of music and film piracy; albeit by analogue means.</p>\n\n<p>Rather pleasingly, it doesn't just limit itself to crimes committed in the USA. It acknowledges the pervasive nature of criminality and goes into some detail about cases in the UK, France, Germany, and Italy.</p>\n\n<p>It is always fascinating to look back on our industry's history. Much like <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/02/book-review-information-warfare-and-security-by-dorothy-e-denning/\">1999's Information Warfare and Security by Dorothy E. Denning</a>, we have to constantly go back to see what assumptions we have baked in to our processes.</p>\n\n<p>I'll leave you with this rather chilling excerpt from the prologue:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Our world is still a fine place in which to live—a better one perhaps than any previous generation has enjoyed. But some of the people in it are causing serious problems. In 1974 many people experienced diminishing respect for persons in high places who acted as if they were above the law, and this led to a loss of respect for the concept of leadership itself. We should not confuse diminishing respect for a president with respect for the presidency, for example. Our society needs people in high places. It cannot function without leadership at every level, from the head of a household to the manager of a business to a chief of state.</p>\n\n<p>What is missing in our society today is the necessary preparation and training for the responsibilities of authority in high places. If parents in the home and people in business and government never learned the lessons of fair play when they were growing up, we cannot expect them to know how to play fair when they reach high places. Consequently we all suffer every time “the boss” makes expedient judgments rather than proper moral decisions.</p>\n\n<p>If coming generations are to be spared the tragic consequences of even more widespread corruption, the teaching of morality in the family and in the school ought to be as important to us as curbing inflation and other socioeconomic problems. Our children should be taught how to deal with everyday actions fairly and ethically. They should be exposed to those philosophical and ethical concepts, with practical examples that illustrate the alternatives of right and wrong so that they are better able to cope.</p></blockquote>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
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{
"name": "@edent",
"email": null,
"url": "https://edent.tel/"
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"categories": [
{
"label": "/etc/",
"term": "/etc/",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
},
{
"label": "Book Review",
"term": "Book Review",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
},
{
"label": "CyberSecurity",
"term": "CyberSecurity",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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},
{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68045",
"title": "Firmware Update for the Treedix TRX5-0816 Cable Tester",
"description": "Last year I reviewed the Treedix USB Cable Tester - a handy device for testing the capabilities of all your USB cables. I noted that it had a few minor bugs and contacted the manufacturer to see if there was an update. For some reason, lots of Chinese manufacturers don't like publishing updates on their websites. Instead they supplied me with a link to a Google Drive containing an instruction…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/firmware-update-for-the-treedix-trx5-0816-cable-tester/",
"published": "2026-03-06T12:34:43.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-06T16:12:23.000Z",
"content": "<p>Last year I reviewed the <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/06/gadget-review-treedix-usb-cable-tester/\">Treedix USB Cable Tester</a> - a handy device for testing the capabilities of all your USB cables. I noted that it had a few minor bugs and contacted the manufacturer to see if there was an update.</p>\n\n<p>For some reason, lots of Chinese manufacturers don't like publishing updates on their websites. Instead they supplied me with a link to a Google Drive containing <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/USB-Cable-Tester-Firmware-Update-Procedure.pdf\">an instruction PDF</a> and an small .exe with <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2.4.06.zip\">the 2.4.06 update</a> - no love for us Linux freaks. I've locally linked them if you want to install.</p>\n\n<p>Through online chatter, I thought the latest version was v4.0, but Treedix said:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Your device is currently running software version 2.3 and can be updated to the latest available version, v2.4.06. However, please note that version v4.0 includes minor hardware updates. Due to hardware incompatibility, existing devices cannot be upgraded to v4.0 via software.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>So, do be careful running this update. Make sure it is for the right version of the device. If in doubt, contact Treedix directly.</p>\n\n<p>Upgrading was easy.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Switch on the Treedix by flicking the switch up.</li>\n<li>Plug a USB-C cable into the <strong>charging</strong> port of the Treedix.</li>\n<li>Connect the other end of the USB cable to your computer.</li>\n<li>On your computer, open the .exe.</li>\n<li>On the Treedix, hold down the function button.</li>\n<li>While holding down the function button, flick the Treedix switch to off.</li>\n<li>The upgrade program should detect the device.</li>\n<li>On your computer, click \"Upgrade\"</li>\n<li>Wait until complete before disconnecting and restarting the Treedix.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>There are no release notes, but it does now appear to correctly read some of the more advanced eMarkers.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/eMarker.webp\" alt=\"Small screen showing the eMarker information.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"908\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-68048\">",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "@edent",
"email": null,
"url": "https://edent.tel/"
}
],
"categories": [
{
"label": "/etc/",
"term": "/etc/",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "firmware",
"term": "firmware",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "gadget",
"term": "gadget",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "upgrades",
"term": "upgrades",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "USB",
"term": "USB",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "usb-c",
"term": "usb-c",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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]
},
{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68262",
"title": "Book Review: Katabasis by R. F. Kuang ★★★★⯪",
"description": "I'm a fan of R.F. Kuang's books - but this is the first which I've found laugh-out-loud funny. What if your University advisor died and the only way to graduate was to descend into hell and bring him back? In a terrible sort of way, I'm glad that Kuang had such a miserable time at University. Being able to mine that psychotrauma has led to the brilliant Babel and now the excellent Katabasis.…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-katabasis-by-r-f-kuang/",
"published": "2026-03-05T12:34:44.000Z",
"updated": "2026-02-24T11:30:58.000Z",
"content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/x400.jpg\" alt=\"Book cover featuring an impossible staircase.\" width=\"200\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-68264\">\n\n<p>I'm a fan of R.F. Kuang's books - but this is the first which I've found laugh-out-loud funny. What if your University advisor died and the only way to graduate was to descend into hell and bring him back?</p>\n\n<p>In a terrible sort of way, I'm glad that Kuang had such a miserable time at University. Being able to mine that psychotrauma has led to the brilliant <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/01/book-review-babel-r-f-kuang/\">Babel</a> and now the excellent Katabasis. This is <em>almost</em> a love affair to the idea of being the perfect student.</p>\n\n<p>It's also deliciously catty:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>She had never gotten round to trying Proust, but Cambridge had made her the kind of person who wanted to have read Proust, and she figured Hell was a good place to start.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>The plot is, almost literally, Alice in Wonderlabyrinth. A metaphysical excursion through logic and fallacy, pausing lightly at revenge, with a quick diversion through intersectional feminism and its limits. Much like the play <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_(play)\">Copenhagen</a>, the characters often exist as a way to explore the nature of reality and how it conflicts with academia.</p>\n\n<p>Perhaps it is a smidgen too long, and there are some weird Americanisms which perhaps should have been caught in the edit. A few of the observations about Hell being a writers market or modelled on an essay crisis are a little too on the nose - but, you know what, it is tremendous fun.</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "@edent",
"email": null,
"url": "https://edent.tel/"
}
],
"categories": [
{
"label": "/etc/",
"term": "/etc/",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "Book Review",
"term": "Book Review",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
}
]
},
{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67114",
"title": "How many hours do you need to work to afford a pint of beer?",
"description": "I dropped into a pub in central London and ordered two pints of draught beer. Obviously the price of everything is nuts these days - and doubly so in London - so I only winced a little bit when the cost came to about twelve quid. Shocking, obviously. But as we supped on our pints and discussed the state of the world, I tried to remember how expensive it was to have a pint when I was a lad young…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-many-hours-do-you-need-to-work-to-afford-a-pint-of-beer/",
"published": "2026-03-04T12:34:22.000Z",
"updated": "2026-02-18T00:01:05.000Z",
"content": "<p>I dropped into a pub in central London and ordered two pints of draught beer. Obviously the price of everything is nuts these days - and doubly so in London - so I only winced a little bit when the cost came to about twelve quid. Shocking, obviously. But as we supped on our pints and discussed the state of the world, I tried to remember how expensive it was to have a pint when I was a <del>lad</del> young man.</p>\n\n<p>I seem to recall that our student pub charged about £2 per pint. And minimum wage around that time was £4 per hour. So a drink was 30 minutes' wages.</p>\n\n<p>Today the minimum wage is about £12 and that pint cost me £6. So, again, about half an hour.</p>\n\n<p>But the human memory is fickle! Let's get some actual historical data.</p>\n\n<p>The UK's Office for National Statistics maintains a dataset of <a href=\"https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/czms/mm23\">historic draught lager prices</a>.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Draught-lager-per-pint.webp\" alt=\"Graph showing a gentle rise in the cost of draught beer.\" width=\"1368\" height=\"573\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-67116\">\n\n<p>Well, my memory wasn't <em>too</em> hazy! About £2 when I was at uni. The national average price now is about a fiver - so the London premium wasn't <em>too</em> outrageous.</p>\n\n<p>But how does that compare to wages? The <a href=\"https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c9e0e72e5274a527faae38a/20_years_of_the_National_Minimum_Wage_-_a_history_of_the_UK_minimum_wage_and_its_effects.pdf\">history of the minimum wage</a> is complicated - with several different bands being introduced. It ends up looking something like this:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/minwage.webp\" alt=\"Graph showing step changes in wages for different age groups.\" width=\"1800\" height=\"600\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-67115\">\n\n<p>So I <a href=\"https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7735/CBP-7735.pdf\">grabbed the most recent data</a> and plotted the ratio between the cost of draught lager and minimum wage:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ratio.webp\" alt=\"Graph showing ratios of cost of lager vs minimum wage.\" width=\"782\" height=\"398\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-67117\">\n\n<p>Ah! It turns out that the cost of beer as a ratio to minimum wage is pretty consistent - somewhere between 27 to 40 minutes. Right now, draught lager is <em>cheaper</em> in terms of minimum wage than it has <em>ever</em> been!</p>\n\n<p>Obviously, averages hide all sorts of sins. I'm sure your favourite brand of premium Bohemian pilsner has dramatically risen in price. And minimum wage doesn't necessarily mean disposable income. And you now have a student loan repayment rather than cash being dropped into your account. And the music they play in pubs is crap these days. And you back hurts ever since you tried to match your younger team members pint for pint and slipped in a puddle of your own sick.</p>\n\n<p>Remember, nostalgia is actively dangerous to your mental health.</p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at://did:plc:eqh433fdh2bqhvt455e3tg67/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7bh3vii722h\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreif34a63kld5xgjhia2qpcvea3lehqutpll4yqpim554ilfx6noi34\"><p lang=\"en\">has anyone else noticed that food tasted better in the past? it was mushy and easy to eat. and the spoon would come at you like an airplane</p>— <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:eqh433fdh2bqhvt455e3tg67?ref_src=embed\">leon (@leyawn.bsky.social)</a> <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:eqh433fdh2bqhvt455e3tg67/post/3m7bh3vii722h?ref_src=embed\">2025-12-05T21:38:21.731Z</a></blockquote>\n\n<script async=\"\" src=\"https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "@edent",
"email": null,
"url": "https://edent.tel/"
}
],
"categories": [
{
"label": "/etc/",
"term": "/etc/",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
},
{
"label": "beer",
"term": "beer",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
},
{
"label": "statistics",
"term": "statistics",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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]
},
{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=68032",
"title": "Game Review: Unravel Two ★★★⯪☆",
"description": "My new year's resolution is to play more video games. Specifically co-operative games. I hate playing competitively; it's rubbish to achieve victory at the expense of someone else. So I asked for recommendations and picked the cheapest thing that looked reasonable. Unravel Two is a little gem! It's a 2D platform puzzler dressed up in a 3D engine. You and your friend play little string…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/game-review-unravel-two/",
"published": "2026-03-03T12:34:43.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-03T11:59:27.000Z",
"content": "<p>My new year's resolution is to play more video games. Specifically <em>co-operative</em> games.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2009/12/when-did-you-last-beat-your-wife/\">I hate playing competitively</a>; it's rubbish to achieve victory at the expense of someone else. So <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/@Edent/116051890335937906\">I asked for recommendations</a> and picked the cheapest thing that looked reasonable.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/UnravelTwo.webp\" alt=\"Two string creatures help each other climb a hill.\" width=\"256\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-68033\">\n\n<p>Unravel Two is a little gem! It's a 2D platform puzzler dressed up in a 3D engine. You and your friend play little string creatures and have to work together to swing between points, lift objects, and pull each other over the lush scenery. It's the sort of physics-based game which could have been made for the 16-bit consoles of my childhood.</p>\n\n<p>As befits a game this cheap and simple, it's fairly short. Once you've got the hang of the mechanics there are only a limited number of ways to solve each section. But it is great for shouting \"No! Go left and pull!\" or \"We've got to time our jumps together\" or \"You stand on the button and I'll try swinging\". It's also possible to temporarily switch to one-player mode - if one of you doesn't want to do the jumping puzzles, the other player can carry you.</p>\n\n<p>Weirdly, the game is deeply portentous in a rather pointless manner. There's a story going on in the background about some kids who are either being abused, chased, or getting into trouble. It is utterly superfluous and detracts from the fun of the puzzles. Similarly, the level titles all have subtitles like \"In which we find our way out of the sullen darkness and are redeemed.\" WTF? This is a silly game of string puppets - not every indie game needs to be \"Life Is Strange\"!</p>\n\n<p>There's some replayability. You can see how quickly you can do the levels, there are some hidden collectables, and some extra challenge levels. Which, for <a href=\"https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP0006-CUSA10416_00-COLDWOODPIKE0000\">£3.51 at time of writing</a> is more than reasonable.</p>\n\n<p>A good casual co-op game - just ignore the vague story playing out behind the action.</p>\n\n<iframe title=\"Unravel Two: Official Reveal Trailer | EA Play 2018\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/j2TmLrTl6gs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"></iframe>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "@edent",
"email": null,
"url": "https://edent.tel/"
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],
"categories": [
{
"label": "/etc/",
"term": "/etc/",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
},
{
"label": "co-op",
"term": "co-op",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
},
{
"label": "Game Review",
"term": "Game Review",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "PlayStation",
"term": "PlayStation",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67308",
"title": "Adding \"Log In With Mastodon\" to Auth0",
"description": "I use Auth0 to provide social logins for the OpenBenches website. I don't want to deal with creating user accounts, managing passwords, or anything like that, so Auth0 is perfect for my needs. There are a wide range of social media logins provided by Auth0 - including the usual suspects like Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, Discord, etc. Sadly, there's no support for Mastodon. All is not lost…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/",
"published": "2026-03-02T12:34:48.000Z",
"updated": "2026-01-23T12:13:07.000Z",
"content": "<p>I use <a href=\"https://auth0.com/\">Auth0</a> to provide social logins for the <a href=\"https://openbenches.org\">OpenBenches</a> website. I don't want to deal with creating user accounts, managing passwords, or anything like that, so Auth0 is perfect for my needs.</p>\n\n<p>There are a wide range of <a href=\"https://auth0.com/learn/social-login\">social media logins provided by Auth0</a> - including the usual suspects like Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, Discord, etc. Sadly, there's <a href=\"https://community.auth0.com/t/custom-social-for-mastodon/103356\">no support for Mastodon</a><sup id=\"fnref:blog\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#fn:blog\" class=\"footnote-ref\" title=\"Auth0 did blog about Mastodon a few years ago but never bothered implementing it!\" role=\"doc-noteref\">0</a></sup>.</p>\n\n<p>All is not lost though. The Auth0 documentation says:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>However, you can use Auth0’s Connections API to add any OAuth2 Authorization Server as an identity provider.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>You can manually add a <em>single</em> Mastodon instance, but that doesn't work with the decentralised nature of the Fediverse. Instead, I've come up with a manual solution which works with <em>any</em> Mastodon server!</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"background\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#background\">Background</a></h2>\n\n<p>Every Mastodon<sup id=\"fnref:masto\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#fn:masto\" class=\"footnote-ref\" title=\"I do mean Mastodon; not the wider Fediverse. This only works with sites which have implemented Mastodon's APIs.\" role=\"doc-noteref\">1</a></sup> server is independent. I have an account on <code>mastodon.social</code> you have an account on <code>whatever.chaos</code>. They are separate servers, albeit running similar software. A generic authenticator needs to work with <em>all</em> these servers. There's no point only allowing log ins from a single server.</p>\n\n<p>Fortuitously, Mastodon allows app developers to automatically create new apps. A few simple lines of code and you will have an API key suitable for <em>read-only</em> access to that server. You can <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/creating-a-generic-log-in-with-mastodon-service/\">read how to instantly create Mastodon API keys</a> or you can <a href=\"https://github.com/openbenches/openbenches.org/blob/343e4c0169a2af8e567f9444c9cbf5d43d03011a/www/src/Controller/UserController.php#L26\">steal my PHP code</a>.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"user-experience\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#user-experience\">User Experience</a></h2>\n\n<p>The user clicks the sign-in button on OpenBenches. They're taken to the Auth0 social login screen:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Auth0-Mastodon.webp\" alt=\"Login screen with several social login buttons.\" width=\"1677\" height=\"1258\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-67317\">\n\n<p>The user clicks on Mastodon. This is where Auth0's involvement ends!</p>\n\n<p>The user is asked to provide the URl of their instance:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Enter-server.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot. The site asks for a Mastodon server URl.\" width=\"941\" height=\"414\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-67318\">\n\n<p>In the background, my server contacts the Mastodon instance and creates a read-only API key.</p>\n\n<p>The user is asked to sign in to Mastodon.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Masto-login.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot of a login page.\" width=\"800\" height=\"900\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-67319\">\n\n<p>The user is asked to authorise read-only access.</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Authorisation.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot. Page asks whether the user wants to authorise OpenBenches for read only access.\" width=\"720\" height=\"656\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-67320\">\n\n<p>The user is now signed in and OpenBenches can retrieve their name, avatar image, and other useful information. Hurrah!</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"auth0\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#auth0\">Auth0</a></h2>\n\n<p>Once you have <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/creating-a-generic-log-in-with-mastodon-service/\">created a service to generate API keys</a>, it will need to run on a publicly accessible web server. For example <code>https://example.com/mastodon_login</code>.</p>\n\n<p>Here's what you need to do within your Auth0 tennant:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Authentication → Social → Create Connection</li>\n<li>At the bottom, choose \"Create Custom\".</li>\n<li>Choose \"Authentication\" only.</li>\n<li>Give your connection a name. This will be visible to users.</li>\n<li>\"Authorization URL\" and \"Token URL\" have the same value - the URl of your service.</li>\n<li>\"Client ID\" is only visible to you.</li>\n<li>\"Client Secret\" any random password; it won't be used for anything.</li>\n<li>Leave everything else in the default state.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>It should look something like this:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Example-Auth0.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot of a form with all the settings filled in.\" width=\"891\" height=\"1239\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-67321\">\n\n<p>Click the \"Create\" button and you're (almost) done.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"auth0-icon\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#auth0-icon\">Auth0 Icon</a></h2>\n\n<p>You will need to <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/add-a-custom-icon-to-auth0s-custom-social-integrations/\">add a custom icon to the social integration</a>. Annoyingly, there's no way to do it through the web interface, so follow that guide to use the command line.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"done\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#done\">Done!</a></h2>\n\n<p>I'll admit, this isn't the most straightforward thing to implement. Auth0 could make this easier - but it would still rely on users knowing the URl of their home instance.</p>\n\n<p>That said, the Mastodon API is a delight to work with and the read-only permissions reduce risk for all parties.</p>\n\n<div id=\"footnotes\" role=\"doc-endnotes\">\n<hr>\n<ol start=\"0\">\n\n<li id=\"fn:blog\">\n<p>Auth0 <a href=\"https://auth0.com/blog/mastdon-for-developers/\">did blog about Mastodon a few years ago</a> but never bothered implementing it! <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#fnref:blog\" class=\"footnote-backref\" role=\"doc-backlink\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n<li id=\"fn:masto\">\n<p>I <em>do</em> mean Mastodon; not the wider Fediverse. This only works with sites which have implemented Mastodon's APIs. <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/adding-log-in-with-mastodon-to-auth0/#fnref:masto\" class=\"footnote-backref\" role=\"doc-backlink\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n</ol>\n</div>",
"image": null,
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"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "Social Media",
"term": "Social Media",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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},
{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67762",
"title": "Book Review: Under Fire - Black Britain in Wartime by Stephen Bourne ★★★★☆",
"description": "Everyone knows that Black people didn't exist in the UK until recently, right? Despite mountains of evidence of everything from Black Tudors and Victorian actors, some myths perniciously persist. What was the experience for Black Britons during the second world war? I find it fascinating how the US cultural hegemony rewrites history. I've heard people in the UK talk about \"Jim Crow laws\" as…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/book-review-under-fire-black-britain-in-wartime-by-stephen-bourne/",
"published": "2026-03-01T12:34:27.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-01T09:18:53.000Z",
"content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/underfire.webp\" alt=\"Book cover. A black soldier in uniform stands in front of Big Ben.\" width=\"200\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-67763\">\n\n<p><em>Everyone</em> knows that Black people didn't exist in the UK until recently, right? Despite mountains of evidence of everything from <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/07/book-review-black-tudors-the-untold-story-miranda-kaufmann/\">Black Tudors</a> and <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/02/book-review-ira-aldridge-the-african-roscius-by-bernth-lindfors/\">Victorian actors</a>, some myths perniciously persist.</p>\n\n<p>What was the experience for Black Britons during the second world war?</p>\n\n<p>I find it fascinating how the US cultural hegemony rewrites history. I've heard people in the UK talk about \"Jim Crow laws\" as though that was a thing that happened in the UK. It wasn't. While there <em>were</em> barriers and racism (as the book makes clear) the experience of Black people in the UK was vastly different than it was for African Americans. To the point that <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCliC9MHSFg&t=422s\">white American GIs were routinely castigated</a> for trying to impose their vile racism onto our country.</p>\n\n<p>What makes this book special is the contemporary reports and modern interviews. There are some amazing stories to be told and it is fascinating to hear first-hand accounts. The book also contains a list of prominent Black people living in the UK (including their addresses) which feels a little like padding - but then this is fleshed out with mini-biographies of most of them. What is astounding is, given the range of people living in Britain, you occasionally get little revelations like this:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Only one black evacuee has ever been interviewed for a television documentary.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>Some people profiled are, for want of a better word, ordinary. People who had normal lives, kept the home fires burning, and took part in ordinary civic life. And then there are guys like <a href=\"https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/54695641\">Ras Prince Monolulu</a> who were bona-fide celebrities.</p>\n\n<p>It is fair to say that modern Britain's relationship with the notion of \"Empire\" is complicated. When the call to arms came, people from the farthest colonies rushed to aide the \"motherland\". In many cases, they were initially rejected due to formal or informal colour-bars. The social acceptability of and legal ramifications of these practices is evidenced in <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_v_Imperial_Hotels_Ltd\">Constantine v Imperial Hotels Ltd</a>.</p>\n\n<p>But for every story of casual and institutional racism towards people who came to help, there are stories of love and acceptance.</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>The English people opened their homes to us, we were invited out for dinners, teas, no problems at all. There were problems with the American forces, but it didn’t hinder us.</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>As with any history book, some of the language used can feel a little shocking or distasteful. History is never easy to engage with, but this book presents an even handed look at a turbulent period. It ends a little abruptly, but it is an excellent overview of the literature. Recommended for anyone who wants to understand <em>our</em> history.</p>",
"image": null,
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"label": "/etc/",
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"label": "Book Review",
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"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "history",
"term": "history",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "race",
"term": "race",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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},
{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67818",
"title": "30 months to 3MWh - some more home battery stats",
"description": "Back in August 2023, we installed a Moixa 4.8kWh Solar Battery to pair with our solar panels. For the last year and a half it has chugged away slurping up electrons and sending them back as needed. Its little fan whirrs and the lights on its Ethernet port flicker happily as it does its duty. I estimate that it has saved us around 3 MegaWatt hours since it was commissioned. In monetary terms,…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/30-months-to-3mwh-some-more-home-battery-stats/",
"published": "2026-02-28T12:34:19.000Z",
"updated": "2026-02-27T09:56:25.000Z",
"content": "<p>Back in August 2023, we installed a <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/08/review-moixa-4-8kwh-solar-battery/\">Moixa 4.8kWh Solar Battery</a> to pair with our solar panels. For the last year and a half it has chugged away slurping up electrons and sending them back as needed. Its little fan whirrs and the lights on its Ethernet port flicker happily as it does its duty.</p>\n\n<p>I estimate that it has saved us around 3 MegaWatt hours since it was commissioned. In monetary terms, that's roughly £1,000 taken off our electricity bills.</p>\n\n<p>How did I work that out? Well, maths is hard, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOKhRVSriB0\">as Barbie knows</a>, so take all this with a pinch of monosodium glutamate.</p>\n\n<p>Here's a typical month - October 2025:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/October-Battery.webp\" alt=\"Two squiggly graphs of dense complexity.\" width=\"2088\" height=\"894\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-67819\">\n\n<p>Yikes! What's going on here?</p>\n\n<p>We use <a href=\"https://share.octopus.energy/metal-dove-988\">a <em>variable</em> electricity tariff</a>. Prices fluctuate every 30 minutes. At peak times our electricity prices can shoot up to 60p per Kwh. Overnight or when the wind is high, prices can drop to zero. Yes, free electricity! Sometimes the excess in the grid means that prices go negative and we are <em>paid</em> to use electricity. Hurrah!</p>\n\n<p>Our battery knows this. Its Internet connection allows it to download the tariff for the day ahead and plan accordingly. If the electricity prices are cheap, the battery fills up. The battery can decide to discharge when we're using more electricity than solar provides, or it can wait until prices are more expensive after the sun has gone down.</p>\n\n<p>Here's an example, again from October:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Energy-Profile.webp\" alt=\"Bar chart showing how energy was stored and used.\" width=\"2064\" height=\"633\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-67824\">\n\n<p>In October, about a third of the power stored in the battery came from the sun. About 92% was used by our house with the remainder being sold back to the grid if it was profitable to do so.</p>\n\n<p>By contrast, here's June 2025 - a sunny month in the Northern Hemisphere:</p>\n\n<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/June.webp\" alt=\"Chart showing a lot more solar usage.\" width=\"2052\" height=\"633\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-67825\">\n\n<p>Here, only 12% of the battery charging was done by the grid. 88% was done for free by solar power. But because solar was so plentiful, about 15% of the battery was sold back to the grid.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"maths-is-hard\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/30-months-to-3mwh-some-more-home-battery-stats/#maths-is-hard\">Maths. Is. HARD!</a></h2>\n\n<p>I've been playing around with various charts, graphs, spreadsheets, modellers, and a bit of calculus. I basically came to the conclusion that the easiest way was to assume I was saving the <a href=\"https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/get-energy-price-cap-standing-charges-and-unit-rates-region\">energy price capped value of a kWh</a>.</p>\n\n<p>That varies from 25p to 35p. If I fudge the numbers just right, it rounds off at an even grand.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"its-payback-time\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/30-months-to-3mwh-some-more-home-battery-stats/#its-payback-time\">It's Payback Time</a></h2>\n\n<p>No-one ever asks what the payback period is of buying a car vs taking public transport. You never see anyone amortising an engagement ring over the length of a marriage. Still, here we are.</p>\n\n<p>We paid £2,700 for the supply, install, and commissioning of our battery.</p>\n\n<p>That means the payback time for the battery will be between 6 and 7 years. If energy prices go up, the payback time goes down. Its capacity is showing no degradation yet and I hope it will provide us with many years of savings before it needs to be repaired or upgraded.</p>\n\n<p>Solar batteries are getting cheaper and their capacity is getting bigger - although <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/09/how-big-a-solar-battery-do-i-need-to-store-all-my-homes-electricity/\">not big enough to store <em>all</em> my home's electricity</a>.</p>\n\n<p>If you can afford the upfront costs, it's like pre-paying for a chunk of your energy usage and can help protect you against sudden price rises.</p>\n\n<p>You can <a href=\"https://share.octopus.energy/metal-dove-988\">sign up to Octopus</a> and get a £50 bill credit if you want to switch to a variable tariff.</p>",
"image": null,
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{
"name": "@edent",
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"url": "https://edent.tel/"
}
],
"categories": [
{
"label": "/etc/",
"term": "/etc/",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
},
{
"label": "battery",
"term": "battery",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "moixa",
"term": "moixa",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=66620",
"title": "Book Review: Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell ★★☆☆☆",
"description": "Remember back in the early 2010s when any moderately popular Twitter account could become a book (or even a TV series)? This is a collection of Tweet-sized \"overheard in\" stories. All set in book shops. Isn't it funny that some people don't know how books work! ROFL! Aren't the general public strange? LOLOL! That's a bit harsh of me. It only rarely becomes mean-spirited. But in a book this…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-weird-things-customers-say-in-bookshops-by-jen-campbell/",
"published": "2026-02-27T12:34:11.000Z",
"updated": "2026-02-27T09:52:46.000Z",
"content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1366054116.webp\" alt=\"Book cover\" width=\"200\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-66622\">\n\n<p>Remember back in the early 2010s when any moderately popular Twitter account could become a book (or even a <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shit_My_Dad_Says\">TV series</a>)?</p>\n\n<p>This is a collection of Tweet-sized \"overheard in\" stories. All set in book shops.</p>\n\n<p>Isn't it funny that some people don't know how books work! ROFL!</p>\n\n<p>Aren't the general public strange? LOLOL!</p>\n\n<p>That's a bit harsh of me. It only rarely becomes mean-spirited. But in a book this short, it rather contaminates the joy.</p>\n\n<p>That said, this one will live rent-free in my head for a while:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>It's the sort of stocking-filler book which is reasonable for perusing on the loo. Light-hearted but ultimately disposable.</p>\n\n<p>Still, at least Neil Gaiman found it funny enough to leave a blurb…</p>",
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"label": "/etc/",
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},
{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=64559",
"title": "This time is different",
"description": "3D TV, AMP, Augmented Reality, Beanie Babies, Blockchain, Cartoon Avatars, Curved TVs, Frogans, Hoverboards, iBeacons, Jetpacks, Metaverse, NFTs, Physical Web, Quantum Computing, Quibi, Small and Safe Nuclear Reactors, Smart Glasses, Stadia, WiMAX. The problem is, the same dudes (and it was nearly always dudes) who were pumped for all of that bollocks now won't stop wanging on about Artificial…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/this-time-is-different/",
"published": "2026-02-26T12:34:39.000Z",
"updated": "2026-01-21T11:06:30.000Z",
"content": "<p>3D TV, AMP, Augmented Reality, Beanie Babies, Blockchain, Cartoon Avatars, Curved TVs, Frogans, Hoverboards, iBeacons, Jetpacks, Metaverse, NFTs, Physical Web, Quantum Computing, Quibi, Small and Safe Nuclear Reactors, Smart Glasses, Stadia, WiMAX.</p>\n\n<p>The problem is, the same dudes (and it was nearly always dudes) who were pumped for all of that bollocks now won't stop wanging on about Artificial Fucking Intelligence.</p>\n\n<p>\"It's gonna be the future bro, just trust me!\"</p>\n\n<p>\"I dunno, man. Seems like you say that about every passing fancy - and they all end up being utterly underwhelming.\"</p>\n\n<p>\"This time is different!\"</p>\n\n<p><em>*sigh*</em></p>\n\n<blockquote><p>The investor who says, “This time is different,” when in fact it’s virtually a repeat of an earlier situation, has uttered among the four most costly words in the annals of investing.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.franklintempleton.com/forms-literature/download/TL-R16\">16 rules for investment success - Sir John Templeton</a></p></blockquote>\n\n<p>All of the above technologies are still chugging along in some form or other (well, OK, not Quibi). Some are vaguely useful and others are propped up by weirdo cultists. I don't doubt that AI will be a <em>part</em> of the future - but it is obviously just going to be one of <em>many</em> technology which are in use.</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>No enemies had ever taken Ankh-Morpork. Well technically they had, quite often; the city welcomed free-spending barbarian invaders, but somehow the puzzled raiders found, after a few days, that they didn't own their horses any more, and within a couple of months they were just another minority group with its own graffiti and food shops.</p>\n\n<p>Terry Pratchet's <del>Faust</del> Eric</p></blockquote>\n\n<p>The ideology of \"winner takes all\" is unsustainable and not supported by reality.</p>",
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"label": "/etc/",
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"label": "AI",
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"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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{
"label": "internet",
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"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog"
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"term": "technology",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67527",
"title": "Book Review: Of Monsters and Mainframes - Barbara Truelove ★★★⯪☆",
"description": "This is fun, silly, charming, and much better than The Murderbot Diaries despite being superficially similar. Imagine you are an interstellar ship and, of course, your AI is conscious. What would you do if your passengers were killed - not by a terrifying alien, but by Count Dracula??? What if, on the return journey, another set of your passengers were similarly slaughtered. Except, this…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-of-monsters-and-mainframes-barbara-truelove/",
"published": "2026-02-25T12:34:02.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-06T22:30:47.000Z",
"content": "<img src=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/monsters.webp\" alt=\"Book cover.\" width=\"225\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-67528\">\n\n<p>This is fun, silly, charming, and <em>much</em> better than <a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-all-systems-red-the-murderbot-diaries-by-martha-wells/\">The Murderbot Diaries</a> despite being superficially similar.</p>\n\n<p>Imagine you are an interstellar ship and, of course, your AI is conscious. What would you do if your passengers were killed - not by a terrifying alien, but by Count Dracula???</p>\n\n<p>What if, on the return journey, another set of your passengers were similarly slaughtered. Except, this time, by a Werewolf? How would that make you feel? Would it drive you mad? Could you cope with the bullying from other starships? Or would you feel the need… the need for REVENGE!</p>\n\n<p>As I said, silly and campy fun. It is episodic adventure with just the right amount of Hammer-style horror and not too much technobabble. All the classic monsters are here - depression, intrusive thoughts, envy, fear.</p>\n\n<p>Oh, and Frankenstein’s spider.</p>\n\n<p>As an ebook, it makes great use of fonts - which give it a delightfully retrofuturistic feel. There are some fun binary Easter-Eggs as well.</p>",
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{
"name": "@edent",
"email": null,
"url": "https://edent.tel/"
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"label": "Sci Fi",
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{
"id": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=67593",
"title": "Adding OpenStreetMap login to Auth0",
"description": "So you want to add OSM as an OAuth provider to Auth0? Here's a tip - you do not want to create a custom social connection! Instead, you need to create an \"OpenID Connect\" provider. Here's how. OpenSteetMap As per the OAuth documentation you will need to: Register a new app at https://www.openstreetmap.org/oauth2/applications/ Give it a name that users will recognise Give it a redirect of…",
"url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/",
"published": "2026-02-24T12:34:21.000Z",
"updated": "2026-02-20T10:41:43.000Z",
"content": "<p>So you want to add OSM as an OAuth provider to Auth0? Here's a tip - you do <em>not</em> want to create a custom social connection!</p>\n\n<p>Instead, you need to create an \"OpenID Connect\" provider. Here's how.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"opensteetmap\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/#opensteetmap\">OpenSteetMap</a></h2>\n\n<p>As per <a href=\"https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OAuth#Using_OpenStreetMap_as_identity_provider\">the OAuth documentation</a> you will need to:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Register a new app at <a href=\"https://www.openstreetmap.org/oauth2/applications/\">https://www.openstreetmap.org/oauth2/applications/</a></li>\n<li>Give it a name that users will recognise</li>\n<li>Give it a redirect of <code>https://Your Auth0 Tenant.eu.auth0.com/login/callback</code></li>\n<li>Tick the box for \"Sign in using OpenStreetMap\"</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Once created, you will need to securely save your Client ID and Client Secret.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"auth0\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/#auth0\">Auth0</a></h2>\n\n<p>These options change frequently, so use this guide with care.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Once you have logged in to your Auth0 Tennant, go to Authentication → Enterprise → OpenID Connect → Create Connection</li>\n<li>Provide the new connection with the Client ID and Client Secret</li>\n<li>Set the \"scope\" to be <code>openid</code></li>\n<li>Set the OpenID Connect Discovery URL to be <code>https://www.openstreetmap.org/.well-known/openid-configuration</code></li>\n<li>In the \"Login Experience\" tick the box for \"Display connection as a button\"</li>\n<li>Set the favicon to be <code>https://blog.openstreetmap.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/osm-favicon.png</code> or other suitable graphic</li>\n</ul>\n\n<h2 id=\"next-steps\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/#next-steps\">Next Steps</a></h2>\n\n<p>We're not quite done, sadly.</p>\n\n<p>The details which OSM sends back to Auth0 are limited, so Auth0 is missing a few bits:</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-json\">{\n \"created_at\": \"2026-02-29T12:34:56.772Z\",\n \"identities\": [\n {\n \"user_id\": \"openstreetmap-openid|123456\",\n \"provider\": \"oidc\",\n \"connection\": \"openstreetmap-openid\",\n \"isSocial\": false\n }\n ],\n \"name\": \"\",\n \"nickname\": \"\",\n \"picture\": \"https://cdn.auth0.com/avatars/default.png\",\n \"preferred_username\": \"Terence Eden\",\n \"updated_at\": \"2026-02-04T12:01:33.772Z\",\n \"user_id\": \"oidc|openstreetmap-openid|123456\",\n \"last_ip\": \"12.34.56.78\",\n \"last_login\": \"2026-02-29T12:34:56.772Z\",\n \"logins_count\": 1,\n \"blocked_for\": [],\n \"guardian_authenticators\": [],\n \"passkeys\": []\n}\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Annoyingly, Auth0 doesn't set a name or nickname - so you'll need to manually get the <code>preferred_username</code>, or create a \"User Map\":</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-json\">{\n \"mapping_mode\": \"use_map\",\n \"attributes\": {\n \"nickname\": \"${context.tokenset.preferred_username}\",\n \"name\": \"${context.tokenset.preferred_username}\"\n }\n}\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>There's also no avatar image - only the default one.</p>\n\n<h3 id=\"getting-the-avatar-image\"><a href=\"https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/adding-openstreetmap-login-to-auth0/#getting-the-avatar-image\">Getting the Avatar Image</a></h3>\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/API_v0.6\">OSM API</a> has a method for <a href=\"https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/API_v0.6#Methods_for_user_data\">getting user data</a>.</p>\n\n<p>For example, here's all my public data: <a href=\"https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/user/98672.json\">https://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/user/98672.json</a> - thankfully no authorisation required!</p>\n\n<pre><code class=\"language-json\">{\n \"user\": {\n \"id\": 98672,\n \"display_name\": \"Terence Eden\",\n \"img\": {\n \"href\": \"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/52cb49a66755f31abf4df9a6549f0f9c.jpg?s=100&d=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.openstreetmap.org%2Fassets%2Favatar_large-54d681ddaf47c4181b05dbfae378dc0201b393bbad3ff0e68143c3d5f3880ace.png\"\n }\n }\n}\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Alternatively, you can <a href=\"https://github.com/microlinkhq/unavatar/issues/488\">use the Unavatar service</a> to get the image indirectly.</p>\n\n<p>I hope that's helpful to someone!</p>",
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