I know an artist who *may* be able to confirm this... @JenJen

RE: https://booping.synth.download/notes/arzigpca7q8p0398

RE: https://mastodon.art/@JenJen/117262941599988832

I can indeed confirm that this does work 🥳

@not_a_label @alice

I'm honestly hoping that hashtag #BeMoreAlice now goes whatever the Fedi calls 'viral'. The original post was a work of genius, in my view. The follow-ups have, if anything, only reinforced that view.

Aside: And also, if we had more humans like @alice, I suspect there would be many fewer shite padlocks out there. (Note to self - I must start carrying my picks with me. I've ignored the picking for far too long. I pretty much gave it up when the legendary Bosnian Bill ceased their YouTube channel, to my shame. I still follow the LPL, of course, because he's basically mandatory. "Let's do that one more time to show that it was not a fluke...") 😂 🤣

In no way related to my previous toot…

Does anyone have good recommendations for a Mastodon app that works on GrapheneOS without Google Play Services?

#UKGov #Apple #iOS #GrapheneOS

Well done #UKGov and #Apple Inc…

You’ve succeeded in making me, an ex-IT professional, turn off automatic updates for the first time 😔

If you think I’m handing over govt ID to be able to use my phone you can fuck the fuck the off. And when you get there you can fuck off some more…

iOS 26 was bad enough before this age verification nonsense but 26.4 is a travesty. And don’t get me started on not being allowed to encrypt my iCloud storage because I should be “thinking of the children” 🤬

#iOS

Had a lovely evening at the HEX sex-positive market in an old church in Leeds with the artist known as @JenJen - so many cool people and entertaining items for sale, and the architecture wasn’t bad either - 10/10 recommend if you get the chance to attend the ones later in the year…

One hour in, 167 people... pray for me...

The dawning realisation that I have an 8 hour 150+ person zoom call tomorrow... on a Saturday... when the sun is shining... 😔

Current considerations for the initial 'private' stack are:

Syncthing and/or Nextcloud? for encrypted files
Immich for photos
Joplin for notes / todo lists
Vaultwarden for passwords
Kiwix for knowledge stuff

For the blog there's 11ty

Not sure if I want to go down the Mastodon/PeerTube/PixedFed route, or if this would be better off on a VPS if I do... 🤷‍♂️

Comments / suggestions / boosts welcome...

3/3

Dilemma 2:

The device will be connected to a home router which I assume means using either Tailscale, DynDNS or a VPN.

Most of it will be private (file storage, photos etc), but obviously the blog and maybe a mastodon instance would have to be publicly accessible... is this going to be a nightmare to configure or am I better off getting two devices to physically separate them?

2/n

So Fedi friends... I'm having a dilemma...

I'm looking at self-hosting some stuff (encrypted storage, photos, notes etc, and maybe a blog / eventually mastodon?) and have settled, I think, on #yunohost as I'm very low on spoons currently. Ideally I'd like to run the hardware rather than go with a VPS, but it needs to be quiet as I'm not blessed with a separate server room!

So dilemma 1:

Raspberry Pi 5 or Intel NUC ?
8Gb or 16Gb RAM

1/n

I was originally planning on having “I told you I was ill…”* as my epitaph but I feel it may now have to be “He never used AI”

*inspired by the legendary Spike Milligan

Apparently us special UK people are going to get an extra treat…

Apple will ship built-in 18+ age verification for UK users in iOS 26.4 in the coming weeks. There appears to be no way to ignore it… 😔

https://news.kagi.com/s/rfk6d3

#UKOnlineSafetyAct #Apple #iOS #AgeVerification

@alice I promised an update on the Lovense nipple clamps so here goes...

thl;dr - disappointing, 3/10

So, they're pretty good as clamps go - adjustable, nice large grippy rubber surfaces etc. However, the vibrations, for me at least, just aren't strong enough or 'low' enough.

For the purposes of science, I'm clearly a guy so there's a distinct possibility that my nipples are calibrated very differently to yours. That being said, I've been pumping and clamping mine for years ../cont

Watching the biathlon like a Good Bi…

#WinterOlympics
#BethMcCarthy
#Bi

@alice thanks Alice - all good to know! It's a shame about the Hush2 but I guess it could still work in a loud environment 🤷‍♂️

I did wonder if a harness would be needed - I can imagine it does indeed beome a 'thing' 😂 Love the walkies idea!

I'll let you know how I get on with the Gemini

This is why I love being on my little, supportive, exceptionally well moderated instance. Thanks mods of toot.lgbt 💖

RE: https://flipping.rocks/@nev/116021935310378477

Fedi-Nerds... I have a dilemma and need #PhoneAdvice

I'm going to need a new phone soon as my iPhone 11 has seen better days. I hate AI and trust Google about as far as I can throw them (I'm not saying Apple is much better but it's the 'lesser of two weevils' approach 🤷‍♂️).

I'd love a Linux phone but last I checked they're not quiet there yet as a daily driver and then there's the lack of apps issue. I've just pre-ordered a Jolla phone in hope as much as anything.

In the meantime, do I:

May the Frog of Happiness bring a moment of joy to your day 🐸

So, you mean our biggestest bestest bigliest friendliest ally in the whole wide world of THE WEST has never actually had any interest in our (UK, EU or Canada) well being, other than as a giant cash cow??

But they seemed so nice....

This piece by @pluralistic, although Canadian focused, applies equally to all the US's western allies:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/13/not-sorry/#mere-billions

For the EU talk:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/01/39c3/

It's time to ditch corporate USA for good.

#PostAmericanInternet #Disenshittification