Rob Vaughan
@coffee-cat.bsky.social
An engineer in Bristol, UK. I like cats and coffee
That's plenty enough info for a search engine
Profile pic really is me
insta/threads=@coffeecat_photo
@coffeecatdotorg@mastodonapp.uk
Signal: TLMJLQDYBN.72
(X=@coffeecatdotorg) - out of use, obv...
That's plenty enough info for a search engine
Profile pic really is me
insta/threads=@coffeecat_photo
@coffeecatdotorg@mastodonapp.uk
Signal: TLMJLQDYBN.72
(X=@coffeecatdotorg) - out of use, obv...
I have Chrome on my Mac for occasional use if a website needs it (rare). But I've just noticed it's got 4GB of LLM model files lurking on my hard drive. It'll have to go, not having that!
November 14, 2025 at 7:04 PM
I have Chrome on my Mac for occasional use if a website needs it (rare). But I've just noticed it's got 4GB of LLM model files lurking on my hard drive. It'll have to go, not having that!
Weirdest thing! My 10 year old Intel Atom powered Surface 3, which is FAR from Windows 11 compliant, has just auto-updated itself to Windows 11...
November 8, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Weirdest thing! My 10 year old Intel Atom powered Surface 3, which is FAR from Windows 11 compliant, has just auto-updated itself to Windows 11...
Woah - just got the Meta offer to pay £3.99 per month for no ads. Read the stuff on what data they collect and realised there's more app locking down required! Tempted to delete tbh
October 24, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Woah - just got the Meta offer to pay £3.99 per month for no ads. Read the stuff on what data they collect and realised there's more app locking down required! Tempted to delete tbh
Reposted by Rob Vaughan
@bearlypolitics.co.uk:
~ Are Foreigners Draining the Welfare State? | Bearly Politics ~
https://www.bearlypolitics.co.uk/p/foreigners-are-claiming-benefits
~ Are Foreigners Draining the Welfare State? | Bearly Politics ~
https://www.bearlypolitics.co.uk/p/foreigners-are-claiming-benefits
Are Foreigners Draining the Welfare State? | Bearly Politics
The Times turns data into dog whistles - here's what those numbers actually mean.
www.bearlypolitics.co.uk
October 23, 2025 at 12:06 PM
@bearlypolitics.co.uk:
~ Are Foreigners Draining the Welfare State? | Bearly Politics ~
https://www.bearlypolitics.co.uk/p/foreigners-are-claiming-benefits
~ Are Foreigners Draining the Welfare State? | Bearly Politics ~
https://www.bearlypolitics.co.uk/p/foreigners-are-claiming-benefits
Reposted by Rob Vaughan
Updating my LEGO White House
October 23, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Updating my LEGO White House
Our cat, helping with some test marking, circa 2017
October 20, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Our cat, helping with some test marking, circa 2017
Recently sold our car we'd had the past 11 years. Pretty sure it's still rocking the same software as when it left the factory 15 years ago. Whereas our "new" (used) car is internet connected...To AWS as I discovered this morning 🤪. So its geolocation is being tracked 24/7 on a server in the US 😭
October 20, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Recently sold our car we'd had the past 11 years. Pretty sure it's still rocking the same software as when it left the factory 15 years ago. Whereas our "new" (used) car is internet connected...To AWS as I discovered this morning 🤪. So its geolocation is being tracked 24/7 on a server in the US 😭
I haven't posted on here for several weeks. So here's a pic I took in Naantali back in the summer
October 13, 2025 at 11:57 AM
I haven't posted on here for several weeks. So here's a pic I took in Naantali back in the summer
Took the afternoon off yesterday and we walked up on Black Down in the Mendips. There was no-one else there apart from horses. Bliss.
September 19, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Took the afternoon off yesterday and we walked up on Black Down in the Mendips. There was no-one else there apart from horses. Bliss.
Reposted by Rob Vaughan
Today the Church of England remembers Theodore of Tarsus, second Archbishop of Canterbury, who had never set foot in these isles before being appointed, and who had to learn the local tongue on the journey here.
There would be no British Christianity without immigrants.
There would be no British Christianity without immigrants.
September 19, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Today the Church of England remembers Theodore of Tarsus, second Archbishop of Canterbury, who had never set foot in these isles before being appointed, and who had to learn the local tongue on the journey here.
There would be no British Christianity without immigrants.
There would be no British Christianity without immigrants.
Microsoft fixing things worse (that weren't broken):
I wrote "this experiment was a just concept deomstrator" & MS Word suggests I fix the typo by changing it to "protester" 🤪🤪🤪
Another AI benefit I guess
I wrote "this experiment was a just concept deomstrator" & MS Word suggests I fix the typo by changing it to "protester" 🤪🤪🤪
Another AI benefit I guess
September 10, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Microsoft fixing things worse (that weren't broken):
I wrote "this experiment was a just concept deomstrator" & MS Word suggests I fix the typo by changing it to "protester" 🤪🤪🤪
Another AI benefit I guess
I wrote "this experiment was a just concept deomstrator" & MS Word suggests I fix the typo by changing it to "protester" 🤪🤪🤪
Another AI benefit I guess
Macclesfield last weekend.
September 6, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Macclesfield last weekend.
I am reading the pdf manual for a newish car. It's ridiculously complicated ~600 pages, covers features which are different depending on model.
I am having huge difficulty resisting the urge to click the Adobe AI button that says "explain this document to me" just for laughs
I am having huge difficulty resisting the urge to click the Adobe AI button that says "explain this document to me" just for laughs
September 6, 2025 at 11:52 AM
I am reading the pdf manual for a newish car. It's ridiculously complicated ~600 pages, covers features which are different depending on model.
I am having huge difficulty resisting the urge to click the Adobe AI button that says "explain this document to me" just for laughs
I am having huge difficulty resisting the urge to click the Adobe AI button that says "explain this document to me" just for laughs
Reposted by Rob Vaughan
Led By Donkeys have got Fartrage's number.
September 5, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Led By Donkeys have got Fartrage's number.
What an absolute steaming load of tosh. The number of Euros cities with fantastic integrated public transport, good cycling infra etc. this is just shilling for US tech firms trying to sell a product that doesn't work as advertised, and which no-one wants
Will the absence of robotaxis in Europe mark the moment its citizens notice how far their continent has fallen behind?
Robotaxis will be the Sputnik Moment for a declining Europe
A slow-motion car crash on Europe’s roads
econ.st
September 5, 2025 at 10:23 AM
What an absolute steaming load of tosh. The number of Euros cities with fantastic integrated public transport, good cycling infra etc. this is just shilling for US tech firms trying to sell a product that doesn't work as advertised, and which no-one wants
No photo of me exists which was not taken "when I was younger"
August 26, 2025 at 3:40 PM
No photo of me exists which was not taken "when I was younger"
I was annoyed last year when I was forced to buy a front+back mudguard set to replace the rear one on my bike. So when the front mudguard broke last week I was perversely pleased.
Shame I can't budge the eccentric bottom bracket to fix the loose chain tho
Shame I can't budge the eccentric bottom bracket to fix the loose chain tho
August 18, 2025 at 9:51 AM
I was annoyed last year when I was forced to buy a front+back mudguard set to replace the rear one on my bike. So when the front mudguard broke last week I was perversely pleased.
Shame I can't budge the eccentric bottom bracket to fix the loose chain tho
Shame I can't budge the eccentric bottom bracket to fix the loose chain tho
Reposted by Rob Vaughan
Why A-levels don’t matter, by celebrities with careers based on luck and total crap buff.ly/SX03YQB
August 14, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Why A-levels don’t matter, by celebrities with careers based on luck and total crap buff.ly/SX03YQB
Linköping was brilliant. Tiny, only about 3 flights per day. Efficient. Friendly staff. Perfect.
August 14, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Linköping was brilliant. Tiny, only about 3 flights per day. Efficient. Friendly staff. Perfect.
Reposted by Rob Vaughan
Modern AI tools emulate the classic con-man tricks of mentalism, tricking people into believing that they’re far more clever - and sapient - than they actually are.
Fantastic piece by @baldurbjarnason.com :
softwarecrisis.dev/letters/llme...
Fantastic piece by @baldurbjarnason.com :
softwarecrisis.dev/letters/llme...
The LLMentalist Effect: how chat-based Large Language Models rep…
The new era of tech seems to be built on superstitious behaviour
softwarecrisis.dev
August 12, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Modern AI tools emulate the classic con-man tricks of mentalism, tricking people into believing that they’re far more clever - and sapient - than they actually are.
Fantastic piece by @baldurbjarnason.com :
softwarecrisis.dev/letters/llme...
Fantastic piece by @baldurbjarnason.com :
softwarecrisis.dev/letters/llme...
Slightly diminish a band:
CRT Soundsystem
CRT Soundsystem
Slightly diminish a band:
Half Direction
Half Direction
Slightly diminish a band:
The Cousins of Mercy
The Cousins of Mercy
August 13, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Slightly diminish a band:
CRT Soundsystem
CRT Soundsystem
Social media is getting depressing today. Here's some pictures of birds I took recently
August 8, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Social media is getting depressing today. Here's some pictures of birds I took recently
I think I must be dreaming or something. This can't be real...
As the US hits a 33-year high in measles infections, there is now a "race" to find a treatment for the disease.
One pharma company "is banking on a continuing decline in vaccination rates to fuel a need for measles treatments—and in turn, more investor interest"
🎁 link
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
One pharma company "is banking on a continuing decline in vaccination rates to fuel a need for measles treatments—and in turn, more investor interest"
🎁 link
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
The Race to Find a Measles Treatment as Infections Surge
The measles vaccine was so effective the disease was considered eliminated in the U.S., but a resurgence of outbreaks is spurring a need for drugs.
www.wsj.com
August 8, 2025 at 3:31 PM
I think I must be dreaming or something. This can't be real...
Feels surprising that it's almost a month since I took this, on my "Summer" holiday 😎
August 8, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Feels surprising that it's almost a month since I took this, on my "Summer" holiday 😎
On the one hand this is clearly V bad. OTOH I have location permissions turned off for virtually all the apps on my phone via the main OS settings so hopefully already protected against these sorts of shenanigans. But Meta's covert browsing tracking via localhost shows they can't be trusted
Instagram adding a map feature where you can literally find the address someone is at feels bad!
Anyway... here's an article telling you how to turn that off.
mashable.com/article/how-...
Anyway... here's an article telling you how to turn that off.
mashable.com/article/how-...
How to turn your Instagram location on or off
It's up to you whether you appear on Maps.
mashable.com
August 8, 2025 at 1:10 PM
On the one hand this is clearly V bad. OTOH I have location permissions turned off for virtually all the apps on my phone via the main OS settings so hopefully already protected against these sorts of shenanigans. But Meta's covert browsing tracking via localhost shows they can't be trusted