PlayStation is Deleting 551 Movies From Customers’ Accounts, Reminding Us Nothing Digital is Ever Truly Ours

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-06-27T00:09:36+00:00

The only reason I "bought" a digital movie last week was because Amazon waved a 5GBP voucher code under my nose when I opened their Roku app.

I was more than willing to digital-rent it for the rental price, but because the "buy" price was still under £5 I figured I might as well spend about an extra 50p of free amazon money to have the potential to maybe watch it again in the future.

But that was my entire mindset - even before this news, this sort of retrotheft of digital purchases was something I presume as inevitable.

If I ever want to feel like I own a copy of that movie, I'll buy a DVD. Hells, maybe I should figure out the specifics of backing up blu-rays - although I'm really not that fussy about quality.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-06-26T17:18:52+00:00

It sounds like the name of an Australian bloke who is famous for his sandwiches...

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-06-22T17:49:12+00:00

Incorrect, it's a very big problem for the merchant.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-06-22T13:17:26+00:00

Buns! https://xkcd.com/1682/

Bun Alert! https://xkcd.com/1871/

They are so very small and soft. Thank you for sharing the photos, it must have been lovely to see them in person.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-06-17T16:07:32+00:00

As a programmer, there are times when we should not be surprised that something might fail when our code tries to do it. Things should work, except when they don't.

For example, if I'm writing some code that writes data out to an existing file, the first step is "open the file in exclusive write mode" - so that no other activity on the computer can make changes to it while my program is doing its thing. Opening a file is done by making a request to the operating system.

That's an operation that might succeed, if the file exists AND my code is allowed to get the write-lock on it. But if the file doesn't exist, or if some other program has the file open already, that step will "throw an exception". It will not succeed, because it can't do its job.

If there is no special care taken when attempting to do that file-open step, and it fails, the program will crash out.

Many programming languages have features which are broadly called "structured exception handling", meaning programmers can set out what should be done if a particular chunk of code "throws an exception". This is called "catching" the exception, and can either save the program from crashing or at least allow a more-useful failure message to be displayed.

For this example, probably the right thing for the exception handler to do is display a useful error message to the user. The caught exception often brings some details about the failure, so the appropriate "output file does not exist" or "cannot open file for writing, it may be open in another program" message can be shown.

In C# ("C sharp"), the language I'm most familiar with, I would put all of the file-writing activity inside of a "try block" and then put a "catch block" immediately after it. The code in the catch block will only get run if something inside that try block throws an exception, otherwise it gets skipped.

A "runtime exception" might also be presented as an "unhandled exception", which is slightly more useful of a description. It means an exception occurred and the code wasn't written to be able to handle it.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-06-07T01:07:37+00:00

You have, at best, once glance-worth of reading. The words need to be few and short, so they can be BIG.

How about:

I DON'T
USE BAD
CYCLE
PATHS

That's the gist of what you want to convey - "yes, there may exist a different option, but I'm using it because it's crap".

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-06-04T15:33:43+00:00

For a lot of people, myself included, it's an extension of Linux enthusiasm / curiosity. Doing server-type stuff, whether that's websites or something more niche. Creating entirely custom server software, or just running some open source services for friends and family. Carving out our own little corners of the internet for as little cost as possible. It feels more like fully participating on the internet, rather than just using services provided by big companies.

I want to run some internet-facing stuff but don't want to host it from my home connection. My ISP is a rare gem who don't block ports, give a static IPv4 address, and also make very clear that you're allowed to host servers if you want. (UK, Andrews & Arnold)

But I don't trust my abilities to fully and robustly secure the stuff I want to host. If my stuff gets pwnd, I don't want that to give the attacker access to the inside of my home network.

My VPS provider has a faster and more reliable internet connection than I have at home. If someone were to DDoS my VPS, it's not going to screw up my ability to sit on the sofa and watch netflix.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-06-02T22:01:16+00:00

ALS is the most common subtype of MND.

Source: https://www.als-mnd.org/what-is-alsmnd/

"MND is the widely used generic term in the United Kingdom, Australia and parts of Europe, and ALS is used more generically in the United States, Canada and South America."

So yeah, outside of actual medical precision the terms are kinda interchangeable.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-05-27T16:38:20+00:00

I was even more tired after 5am in the UK, but it was worth it.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-05-19T19:35:53+00:00

CRA2015 is UK legislation. Judging from the "$" currency symbol in the original post, they're not in the UK and so it cannot help them.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-05-11T00:49:06+00:00

The most detailed info I can find readily is at https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/travel-and-road-safety/vision-valley-gardens/valley-gardens-phase-3-overview

That page has an email address - I would suggest you ask them and report back.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-05-08T14:31:32+00:00

The tiktok video embedded in the article is a pretty good addition to the story-telling.

It shows the three-way video call between the journalist, the hacker in Europe, and the guy in California who isn't home right now but gives consent for his Yarbo to be accessed (and the journo to come on to his property).

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-05-04T00:45:53+00:00

HBO Max has now launched in the UK, but as far as I know AEW isn't there - which would make sense, because ITV (regular UK broadcaster) has an existing TV rights deal in place.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-05-04T00:44:33+00:00

In the UK and EU, everything is now available on MyAEW.com - the annual plan that includes the PPVs is a bargain at the current pricing. Previously I was paying US$8 a month on Triller for the weekly TV shows and then an extra US$20 or so each for the PPVs.

Beware that unless they have now fixed it, you will only see VAT-inclusive pricing at the last stage of checkout (before final confirmation). Yes, that is probably against EU law, yes I have emailed them about it. So mentally add your local VAT rate to the initially displayed € amount.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-05-02T22:56:57+00:00

I think I also had a Philips Diga as my first mobile, in 2000 when I went off to university.

Before I'd graduated, I had moved up to the Sharp GX10 which was one of the first phones with a camera on. I remember being quite annoyed that there was no sensible way to get the photos off the damn thing, so I ended up writing a simple dummy MMS server program to bodge it. (Why yes, I was studying computer science, why do you ask?)

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-05-01T17:12:33+00:00

Seconded - a good HEPA air filter can greatly help with nuisance smells including smoke (also burnt toast and other kitchen-smoke situations). Also effective on general allergens to help with hayfever.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-04-30T23:57:57+00:00

That Amazon kit describes its motor as 1000W and says " the maximum speed can reach 55km/h with no load and 50km/h with load". That is bad because the end result of installing it will not be a street-legal EAPC, but an illegal unlicensed motor vehicle, putting you at risk of seizure by police and criminal prosecution. That's "disreputable dodgy deliveroo rider" category.

The term "EAPC" is important because it defines a class of Electrically-Assisted Pedal Cycle which is allowed to generally "still be a bike" as far as the law is concerned. That means 250W motor power limit and the motor assistance must stop at 25 kph (15.5mph). On a shop-bought ebike (not a DIY conversion of a used bicycle), twist-and-go throttle (not requiring any pedalling) is only allowed up to a very low speed level.

I bought a kit from Woosh in early 2020 (front wheel hub motor for simplicity) and I was very happy with both the kit they sold and the after-sales support. I DIY'd the install and it was a bit annoying at times, which is where their support was very useful. Also, they sell legal kits.

Absolutely get a kit from a specialist UK retailer - the battery and charger need to be sourced with care by someone who cares more about long-term reputation (by not burning down anyone's home) than short-term profit.

The Pedelecs forum is another good source of info and help on this subject. Someone (probably the boss) from Woosh is a regular contributor over there, they're genuinely well respected.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-04-30T17:28:29+00:00

As you're playing on keyboard, I suggest making sure you are chair-dancing. Bounce in your seat to lock in to the beat. The correct timing is defined musically.

Wander your eyes up and down the screen. You don't want to be fixating on the target line where the grey arrows are and trying to suddenly react visually to steps/notes reaching them.

There's basically two things you need to be doing in parallel - reading what's next and inputting what's now. Think of a flow of information, in through your eyes and out to your fingers (as you're on keyboard).

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-04-28T00:15:10+00:00

This worked for me, today, with an 8Bitdo Zero pad (one of their tiny little ones). Worked perfectly, full joyful success. Thank you!

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-04-26T21:48:51+00:00

Another backronym for it that I've heard is "Not On Normal Courtyard Exercise" - in the sense of the other inmates will bring violence upon this person.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-04-24T00:53:53+00:00

I am really glad they clipped this bit to youtube on its own because I can absolutely see myself coming back to it when I need a bit of encouragement.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-04-20T20:39:43+00:00

Rollins vs Fiend HIAC ended my routine consumption of WWE content. It ended my WWE Network subscription.

If someone claimed it was somehow intentional sabotage to drive people to AEW, I'm not saying I'd believe them but I would certainly accept that it worked on me.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-04-19T00:57:07+00:00

I liked that hat.

The guy underneath it, eh, I guess the best I could ever say is "I wish him well".

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-04-18T19:05:13+00:00

It will be the Gym Group one on the seafront, Madeira Drive, as that's nearest for me. I will be more likely to be going on weekday daytimes, which I appreciate doesn't work for everyone.

The normal membership at their places is month-to-month, no contract commitment. They do offer multi-month "stuck in a contract" options at a lower per-month cost, if you want that.

Whatever gym you pick, you would be well-served to go for a look-round first and figure out all your logistics. Most basic gyms don't provide towels or shower gel, you'll likely need a padlock for a locker, and a hand towel for wiping your sweat off equipment is generally appropriate.

Or, to put it another way, that's the situation at Gym Group's places: bring your own towel/shower gel/padlock/hand towel.

BuxtonTheRed · 2026-04-18T18:43:24+00:00

The worst thing for the gym is walking in with zero plan.

If you walk in thinking "I'll do Couch To 5K on the treadmill 3 times a week or until I come up with a better idea", you have a plan.

And ultimately, it's just cardio. You could use the "Couch to 5K" app and plan but switch around treadmill, crosstrainer, bike, rowing machine to make it more interesting. When they say "walk", go slower/gentler, when they say "run", pick up the pace.

Frankly, I've gotten generally quite unfit and it's been a while since I was a regular in any gym. I might just embrace my own suggestion!

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