What I'm up to RIGHT NOW...
Dec 14, 2024
So, I guess I'm a game developer now.
While it's true that I have previously written and released IF games on Android, creating a PC game (Windows and Linux) feels somehow more real, and Steam is more grown-up than the Google Play store.
Nov 29, 2024
Building a cigar box laptop.
The radio will select a random volume and lock it in, then scan through the bands and frequencies until it gets stuck on something, and it will stay like that for days.
Nov 17, 2024
Somebody broke my car radio and now I just sit in silence
The radio will select a random volume and lock it in, then scan through the bands and frequencies until it gets stuck on something, and it will stay like that for days.
Oct 11, 2024
No northern lights here!
Taking a longer exposure photo probably would have helped, but that's not the same as actually seeing the phenomenon with my own eyes.
Jul 10, 2024
New bicycle!
It has 27 gears, and is neither a racing style bike, nor a mountain bike.
Jun 22, 2024
A different kind of new deck
It's a platform for barbeques, or hammocks, or for lounging. So far, the dogs have been hogging the space.
May 27, 2024
That time of year again
The feelgood factor kicks in at the end of the first run, when I realise that, yes, I *can* do this. But by the end of the second, it's pain for the next few weeks.
May 9, 2024
Urban wildlife
For my birthday, the daughter bought me a squirrel feeder. It's shaped like a miniature picnic table and has a cute red umbrella. After assembling it atop the roof of my B&M arbour, I discovered the perfect place for the one remaining camera
Mar 27, 2024
A new deck
I've been eyeing up a Danish 1973 Bush Arena RTA 2000 for some time now. It has a Swiss-made rim-drive Lenco B55 turntable with a continuous speed setting between 10RPM and 86RPM, a built-in FM tuner, a pre-amp, and a set of big-ass speakers.
Nov 16, 2023
The internet is a graveyard
I'm not the first owner of LinuxImpact.com, and through the internet archive, I can gain some kind of insight into the previous owners, their lives, careers, businesses, and what happened to them. After a couple of bottles of wine last night, that's what I decided to do.
The domain name itself is 22 years old, and the first archive.org snapshot appears in 2001..
Oct 25, 2023
Addressing the misaddressing issue
Setting up my server as a catch-all means that I can give a unique email address to any company, service, or individual, recieve emails from them, and not have to worry too much. In the event of a data breach or my details being sold to marketers, I also know who to blame. Any email sent to any address at rutland.org.uk will land in my inbox. Unfortunately, this means that people who aren't paying attention, and want to send an email to Rutland County Council, frequently land in my inbox, too.
Oct 20, 2023
Getting fit and feeling fast
I've started running with the daughter again. Couch to 5k. Nothing serious. This is the third time I've done it and the first time since losing ~ 20lb. I'm faster; I have more energy; I don't hurt in a way that indicates damage. It is fucking great.
Sep 30, 2023
Retro gaming with the leapster GS
The Leapster GS is a surprisingly competent beast. It runs a 500 MHz processor that can be overclocked to 880MHz, and about a gigabyte of internal storage. Oh, and it will also take Linux.
Aug 30, 2023
Busted axle and other motoring woes :(
Using the remote control to back the caravan into it's home, the wheel buckled. A subsequent visit by a caravan engineer revealed that the drum brakes had worn out, generating excessive heat, and cause the axle to snap.
Jul 20, 2023
Running out of arm
Recently, I've found that I have to hold things further and further away in order to read the small print. It's rapidly approaching a situation where my arms aren't long enough.
Apr 2, 2023
Space at the O2 Academy
A guy fives rows from the front - close to where we were - spent most of the opening two acts scrolling through foot fetish websites on his phone, and when the main act came on, spent most of his time crouching on the floor to get a better look, or a whiff of the sweaty real things.
Jan 30, 2023
A new hobby for 2023
This year I think I'm going to try JavaScript. It ties in nicely with my love of self-hosted services, and I will be able to build complete apps for local and web. I already have some coding experience with Python and Java, and I imagine (but have no real idea) that the basics will be more-or-less the same.
Dec 18, 2022
Dreaming of a white Christmas
Hooray! We've survived the year so far, and it's nearly Christmas 2022. We've been in a sustained cold snap for weeks now, and driving is a hazard due to the snow, ice, and impacted slush. I'm just about getting used to it now (which probably means the weather is going to improve soon), and we may just have a white Chrismas this year.
Nov 27, 2022
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Candles are everywhere at the moment. There are entire aisles dedicated to them in Asda, Tesco, and Home Bargains. You can get scented candles, candles with wooden wicks, candles with beautiful glass enclosures, and so on. The problem with these is that candles become unusable after a while. They burn down so far that they're not practical to light, but still have around one fifth of their mass remaining.
Oct 29, 2022
Saturday night at the movies (who cares what picture you see?)
This year, we decided to actually celebrate Hallow'een a couple of days early by visiting the Woodside Drive-in Cinema, in Woodside, Birkenhead.
Sep 23, 2022
That's a big jellyfish!
This isn't an isolated jellyfish (except in the most literal sense), they've been washing up all summer. If I had to guess, I'd say they would have a diameter of more than 2ft, and they have long nasty tendrils.
Sep 10, 2022
The queen is late!
What happens after the mourning period is over. Are they incinerated on site, or packaged up and sent to King Charles III to read through?
Feb 15, 2022
The joys of collecting antique crockery
This kind of stuff isn't particularly rare, but it's kind of cool. They're physical artefacts which connect the owner to a particular time, space, and sentiment. I was never at any of these events, and wasn't even alive for most of them. And yet, thanks to the ownership of these ceramic drinking vessels, I am, in some way, connected.
Jan 5, 2022
Helping the police with their enquiries
Someone had presumably been planning to go to work or college this morning, and had their heart drop into their shoes on finding their pride and joy (currently valued at around £2,000 according to Gumtree) had been nicked
Dec 22, 2021
What time travel novels rarely consider
If someone offered me a time machine set to 200 years in the past along with a chestful of gold, I'd turn them down.I don't fancy rubbing mouldy melon into my face in 1821 as I scream about the lack of decent painkillers and abundant syphilis before being shanked to death by some chimney sweep with testicle cancer and gonorrhoea.
Dec 14, 2021
What Makes Me David Rutland?
I have zero conscientiousness, am highly likely to become addicted, and possess a tendency to annoy my wife by coming to bed at 3AM, then prevent her from sleeping with my snores and nocturnal movements
Nov 30, 2021
Mildly Embarassing the Government
It's now almost a week later, and if you look at Google News for Department of Transport, you will see dozens of links to articles all based on my original story. The Mail, The Sun, The Star - Hell, even Russia Today and Sputnik picked it up
Oct 5, 2021
Sep 18, 2021
Slowing down The Crow
I think that work I'm being paid for should have first dibs over a blog which exists for my own shits and giggles.
Jun 25, 2021
New dog day with Molly the Collie
So far they're getting on well. We go on walks together - he stays on lead with me, walking slowly, while she runs mile wide laps around us. It's a good arrangement.
Jun 14, 2021
Printing ALL the things
My new 3D printer is a genuine consumer level device. No messing, no fuss, no advanced knowledge or engineering needed. No fumes, only one (really quiet) motor. You can have it running in your kitchen. With very few exceptions, it's been so unobtrusively easy. It's like a stand mixer - just there, does what you want it to do, minimum fuss.
May 16, 2021
Google has just reminded me just how little privacy it offers users
It's easy to forget that apart from mining the contents of your private documents and emails for advertising and tracker, Google also scans the contents for its own purposes. I was abruptly reminded of this on Friday, when it blocked my sharing of a document for its own misguided purposes.
May 4, 2021
Another artice in Linux Format magazine - this time with a picture!
It's always good to see my face staring back at me from the pages of a magazine. Especially if it's attached to an article I've written. If I were regarding myself across the centrefold of 'Mafia Hitman Targets Quarterly,' I doubt I'd be quite so pleased.
Apr 24, 2021
David Rutland is now immune to demon attack
Following a pleasant 90 minutes in a tattoo parlour last Wednesday, bystanders are now given a free pass when evil spirits evacuate my nostrils at 70 MPH
Apr 14, 2021
Mar 30, 2021
Car Troubles
It's very difficult for me to actually get on with a project when I'm waiting to hear if my car is in roadworthy condition.
Mar 23, 2021
About my setup
The Pi is a wonderful beast when used as a server and can handle pretty much anything I throw at it. Right now there it's handling a metric shit-tonne of web facing software for me, and it's not even breaking a sweat. All of this software is Free and Open Source and none of it costs me a penny beyond the very low electricity costs for the Pi, and keeping on top of whatever domains I use.
Mar 21, 2021
New article at cyberpunks.com: Love Machines - At Home with a Sex Robot Engineer
The article came about when the person behind Luxbotics left a spammy comment on the site - and I followed it up by email. What followed was a fascinating insight into the development of a sex robot and the ideas and ideals of its creator, the practicalities, and the challenges.
Mar 19, 2021
Preparing for the Rutland anniversary tomorrow
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As we're still in lockdown here, options are limited, and we'll probably have a Turkish takeout along with a movie on the projector in our back room.
Mar 18, 2021
Finishing up a few articles. God, I'm so tired
Today, I should be finishing off my second article for Linux Format Magazine. It's an honest-to-goodness print-only monthly magazine for the discerning Linux enthusiast, and you need to actually go down to your corner shop if you want to buy a copy.
Mar 12, 2021
Building a new site for davidrutland.com.
David Rutland was very gracious in letting his site expire. I'd better do something with it.
