Alan

Alan

@apertum.ie

Moved to Ireland from the UK, I do technology stuff (web, 3d printing, electronics) and a bit of tourism hosting on the side.

305 followers671 following1.3K posts

Alan reposted

After refueling in Ireland (yes, Irish people called the gardaí), this ICE removal flight landed in India. Migrant passengers onboard were shackled at the ankles, wrists, and waist for at least 20 hours. Expecting two more private jet ICE flights to leave Mesa, AZ today. Follow this thread.

Gillian Brockell@gillianbrockell.com

HEADS-UP, IRELAND. Another ICE flight headed your way. Based on info from human source, I expect this ICE flight — and/or another one tomorrow — to be unlawfully refouling Ukrainians through Poland.

Alan reposted

My heart is heavy. Walter Koenig, our Ensign Pavel Chekov, passed away early today. Walter and I met on the bridge of the Enterprise in the 1960s, and we stayed friends for nearly six decades. When Brad and I married in 2008, Walter stood beside us as our best man.

Alan reposted

We acknowledge that no one has the bandwidth for this, but if it helps: -It’s ‘sleight of hand’ -It’s ‘bated breath’ -It’s ‘lo and behold’ -It's 'buck naked' -It’s ‘brass tacks’ -It’s ‘free rein’ -It’s ‘toe the line'

aw, come on, Clare deserves some Orange too, surely? #speirgorm

Irish Weather Alerts@weather.apertum.ie

orange Weather warning issued by met.ie 🟠 🍃 🌀 Status Orange - Wind warning for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo From 24/10/2026 14:00 to 25/10/2026 09:00

Alan reposted

70 percent of the internet was vulnerable yesterday to very bad security flaws inside a coding language. Turns out, *one volunteer* is mostly responsible for maintaining that code & helping push updates. Yesterday Ondřej Surý saved the internet. So I called him up www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

theatlantic.comThe Man Who Saved the Internet YesterdayOndřej Surý was a relatively anonymous volunteer working on PHP security. Then the internet exploded.

I am still not used to "jeep" being a generic Irish word for any 4x4 or SUV. Even the garage used to phone me to say that my Jeep was ready, it was a a Hyundai. #speirgorm

Cosáin Climate@cosaingalway.bsky.social

High vis is for unimportant little people.

Everyone is confused between starlink and starshield.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Q: If it wasn't you, then who gave the order for Starlink to go down in Ukraine? TRUMP: I don't know

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Another possible scenario is that the Starlink receiver speed limit enforcement code was broken, since forever, and someone fixed it.

It is not even clear whether the issue is data bandwidth or disconnecting fast moving receivers.

Everyone is confused between starlink and starshield.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Q: If it wasn't you, then who gave the order for Starlink to go down in Ukraine? TRUMP: I don't know

View full thread

Ukraine may have been using Starlink for many things and maybe Starshield on some fast things. Or maybe Starlink on some fast things? We don't know and the confusion causes non-specific questions that can be dodged.

I suspect Ukraine has been using Starlink on some fast things, and Elon turned it off because he wants that on Starshield which pays better. I don't know if Ukraine has access to Starshield.

Everyone is confused between starlink and starshield.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Q: If it wasn't you, then who gave the order for Starlink to go down in Ukraine? TRUMP: I don't know

I think you have to read Musk's statements like Bill Clinton explaining what he didn't do with that woman. Musk didn't turn off *Starshield*. But he may have tweaked the *Starlink* speed limit.

She could have found more accurate guidance by watching Legally Blonde.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Zacharia: "A lot of the misinformation, miscommunication is around the fact that I labeled myself a lawyer. I consulted for a long time many people in the field -- 'Is it ok if I label myself a lawyer?' -- and they said, 'Absolutely. You can call yourself a lawyer. You have a JD'"

bit late to the party, but I finally took a look at the artcraft suite of applications getartcraft.com which are lets say "heavily inspired" by some popular proprietary products that I haven't used. AI was used to write them fast in Rust.

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I would like them to look a bit more native, using the GTK windowing features, but they run fast and install easily. I don't really do any of the things that they help with, although the PDFcraft tool looks quite handy.

I am still trying to work out whether this is really bad, or really good.

bit late to the party, but I finally took a look at the artcraft suite of applications getartcraft.com which are lets say "heavily inspired" by some popular proprietary products that I haven't used. AI was used to write them fast in Rust.

They are really quite impressive. This is an incredible feature list, and what seems to be a solid architecture. I had a look at the code and it is well commented and looks pretty decent, no AI weirdness that I saw.

I see the Green party over in the UK has its eyes firmly averted from the climate change ball.

Off to the continent for a few days, and herself has packed some Barrys teabags in Irish Mammy tradition. There will be a Lidl round the corner, it is quite civilized these days I protest, but no arguments will be heard, the teabags go in. #speirgorm

Taking a quick look at the updated google satellite images of the Commonwealth graveyards in Gaza. My great grandmother's first financee was buried there somewhere in 1918 when it was called Mandatory Palestine.

What happens to the Parades Commission in the event of a United Ireland? #speirgorm Who would appoint members?

There probably won't be a SoS NI in the UK government, can it work with an Irish government role appointing members?

I got myself a thermal camera, which is great fun to point at all sorts of things. I now know why my underfloor heating is a bit pants. The thermostats don't appear to control the pipes in their own rooms. All good prep for a heat pump next year. #speirgorm

I am now going to spend a week mapping out one circuit at a time to find out where the pipes actually go, then I will connect the thermostats to the correct valves.

ooh, and one circuit is flowing when the valve is off. That isn't great. Wonder where that one goes.

Checking my own zombie apocalypse plan against the one the government just sent me. #speirghorm

Big news for makers of golden ghillie suits. Snipers don't normally inform you which building they are going to be on in advance. Probably never in history has a snipers position been revealed before the building existed.

Bloomberg News@bloomberg.com

Donald Trump suggested he would modify plans for a large triumphal arch in the capital by adding staging areas for US military snipers and to launch drones.

Has anyone done the song from her point of view? She just had an average Friday, met an unremarkable English lad who couldn't play pool and was a danger at darts. Had a bit of a shift and a couple of drinks but didn't give him her number. #speirgorm

Darach Ó Séaghdha@darach.bsky.social

This week in my #calling353 piece for @thejournal.ie I consider the Ed Sheeran song “Galway Girl” and what its lyrics reveal about its composer. Ed Sheeran has given the Irish a chance to air gripes with Galway Girl jrnl.ie/7166379

Alan reposted

@irishtimes.com Can you please learn to distinguish between e-bikes (legal, safe, convenient, limited to 25km/h, you have to pedal) and electric motorbikes. The picture is of the first type, the story is about the second www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/20...

irishtimes.comMan and teenager arrested after reports of e-bikes being driven dangerously in BelfastPolice chief commends actions of officers that ‘prevented further immediate danger to road users’

I imagine this would be like the jelly donut scene in full metal jacket.

MeidasTouch@meidastouch.com

NEWS: The Pentagon has announced mandatory low-testosterone screenings for male troops 30 and older, including screening for symptoms such as “reduced libido, loss of spontaneous morning erections, erectile dysfunction,” and other symptoms.

First use of my new chainsaw today. I counted my fingers out, and I counted them all back.