Yep, my home page. Just a collection of bits and pieces.
Links
Latest talks
- Real Time Bidding (how targeted ads work)In this talk we look at the Real Time Bidding (RTB) system – this is the mechanism that provides targeted ads to your web pages and devices. We’ll cover the basic mechanism, what data is held, how do they know it’s you, main companies involved, pros & cons and what can be done. The presentation… Read more: Real Time Bidding (how targeted ads work)
- Installing GNU/LinuxIn this talk we look at why you might want to migrate from Windows to Linux, a demo of actually doing the migration and finish with some special cases. The presentation is : ( use https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1w7C1EPCxPOL9T_AdQCl-IHhIII7GTqkhV_IPAoV9LT4/edit?usp=sharing to add comments )
- Local Generative AIIn this talk, we discuss some of the options and issues about running your own Generative AI at home. As well as avoiding privacy issues with online Generative AI and reducing AI bills, it’s always fun to have a tinker to find out what’s possible. Will include several demos. First presented at U3ACommunities Computing Forum,… Read more: Local Generative AI
Latest blog
- Home electricity – 1 year updateA year or so ago I presented How to reduce your electricity bill to zero talk (initially over on u3acommunities.org computing group) – it’s now been running for a year, so time to check progress. General approach After getting my solar + house battery installed, I’ve tried to reduce my electricity (£ and carbon footprint)… Read more: Home electricity – 1 year update
- Getting RSS feeds into your Fediverse accountHere are some ideas to get RSS feeds into your Fediverse account. Sites that provide RSS Many sites already provide an RSS feed … look for the RSS symbol. Use your browsers Copy Link facility to get the link. Finally, in your Fediverse account, do a private mention of @birb with the link you’ve copied.… Read more: Getting RSS feeds into your Fediverse account
- ISP’sThis is my recent experience with ISP’s. VirginMedia over cable Link broadbands over CityFibre 4th Utility over CityFibre Toob Research For 900Mbit/sec to 1,000Mbit/sec. CityFibre require 2 weeks to switch. Name Link Price / month Public IP Comment Link Broadbands https://linkbroadbands.com/ £30, 1 month contract free Very slow in evening 4th Utility https://the4thutility.co.uk/ £25 (black… Read more: ISP’s
Daily power use

Yesterdays electricity grid consumption was 13.0kWh, costing £0.92 + standing charge £0.44.
Yesterdays solar generation was 23.0kWh.
Yesterdays export was approx 19.1kWh earning £2.87.
Total electric £-1.51.
Local air quality

Data is from a SEN5x module.
- PM 2.5 unhealthy above 35.5 μg/m3
- VOC and NOx index max in 500
Broadband speed


Recent fediverse posts
- Emails go out today for next weeks U3ACommunities computing talk on "real time bidding (or, how targeted ads work)". See […] 08:29
- 156 attendees … not too shabby Aug 11
- When, exactly 200 years ago in 1825, the young Charles Darwin arrived in Edinburgh to train to be a doctor, […] Aug 11
- Today, at 2pm BST, I'll be presenting "Exploring Alternatives to Mainstream Social Media" to u3a online learning events. Will include […] Aug 11
- Speaker: Dr. Dan Wilkins Kavli Institute, Stanford University On Monday, 29th September at 5:00 PM hear groundbreaking perspectives from a […] Aug 10
- Enough of the billionaires and their big tech. ‘Frugal tech’ will build us all a better world | Eleanor Drage […] Aug 10
- @khleedril For me I think its about 4.9 years on current electricity prices. See https://plord.co.uk/blog/home-electricity-1-year-update/ Aug 10
- New #octopusenergy #freeelectricity annouced. It starts at 14:00 to 15:00 on 9/8 (note that I'm in the Southern region) Aug 8
- New blog post! Bridging vs cross-posting. They’re similar, but bridged conversations tend to be more unified across networks, while cross-posting […] Aug 6
- @monotoneTesco I have a #myenergi hybrid inverter/battery (https://www.myenergi.com/product/libbi-battery-storage/) and #marley integrated panels (https://www.marley.co.uk/solar-roof-tiles/solartile) A little more here https://plord.co.uk/blog/home-electricity-1-year-update/ Tue 5, 07:30