Category: geek

  • Adjusting the magnetic resistance on an Echelon EX-3

    I recently acquired a (very second hand) EX-3 to use with Peloton. It’s a solid, sturdy spin bike – but the resistance felt off; it was far too soft compared to what I expected based on the Watts / Peloton conversion charts available. One solution is to adjust the resistance magnets – but I couldn’t…

  • Updating DigitalOcean Mastodon Droplet from 3.1.3 to 4.0.2

    Mastodon v4.0.2 is out, and has some handy-looking new features. But if you’re using the old DigitalOcean droplet, which was based on v3.1.3, upgrading is a bit of a faff. Here’s how I did it – in two stages. I should not upfront that this isn’t a *recomended* method – it’s just what worked for…

  • Deploying a tiny Mastodon server on DigitalOcean

    Given the current bin-fire state of Twitter it seems entirely reasonable that everyone I know there is building a survivalist-style-bunker on Mastodon. But there’s a pretty immediate roadblock that faces every person trying to set up a new account: which server to choose? While Twitter is monolithic – one site, one account, one @name –…

  • Community Fibre – FTTP installation and equipment

    Community Fibre – FTTP installation and equipment

    Some information and photos on the equipment and installation of a Community Fibre FTTP broadband connection in London SE12

  • Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock on MacOS 11.x Big Sur

    Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock on MacOS 11.x Big Sur

    For some time now I’ve had my desk wired up using an Elgato Thunderbolt 2 dock. It’s supposed to be incompatible with Mac OS 11 Big Sur, but here’s what I found.

  • How to bulk upload Apple In App Purchases (IAPs) via Transporter

    It’s easy to create single In App Purchases via iTunes Connect – but if you want to add tens or hundreds, here’s how to upload them in bulk using Transporter v2.1.x on Mac.

  • Simple Console Games for Small People

    I’ve been playing games with Small since he was a little over three, and now that he’s four, and we’re all locked inside for the foreseeable future, I’m doing it for a few minutes almost every day. And so, as others might be doing the same, maybe for the first time, I thought I’d share…

  • How to archive, then delete, old Tweets

    I joined Twitter in January 2009 for what might not have been the best of reasons – I was being miserable about it on BBC Radio, and thought I should at least make an effort to try the thing I was being professionally miserable about – and, somehow, have kept using it ever since. But,…