@bencurthoys@mastodon.social

Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · 5d ago

Replying to @TheBreadmonkey@beige.party

@TheBreadmonkey@beige.party spending £150,000 on failing to clean some paint off a wall is not the flex they evidently think it is. Rather, it's prima facie evidence of gross incompetence and everyone involved should be fired.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 31, 2026

Replying to @Soulshine@mastodon.social

@Soulshine@mastodon.social @kibcol1049@mstdn.social and if that was the nefarious plan behind pokemon go, just imagine what the wasps are up to! Gathering GIS data on all those picnics....

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 31, 2026

Replying to @bencurthoys@mastodon.social

@kibcol1049@mstdn.social in 2016 it was pokemon go that people couldn't see the point of, apart from "wasps" and "life".

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 31, 2026

Replying to @bencurthoys@mastodon.social

@kibcol1049@mstdn.social in 2022, pergola made a surprise entrance

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 31, 2026

Replying to @kibcol1049@mstdn.social

@kibcol1049@mstdn.social Google autocomplete still suggests wasps as 2nd most likely thing for people not to get the point of.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 23, 2026

Replying to @revk@toot.me.uk

@revk@toot.me.uk "One of the most common issues we’re seeing is directors assuming that providing their personal code as a director also covers their role as a PSC." or to rephrase, "One of the most common issues we’re seeing is directors assuming that we are not fucking morons. This is sadly not the case".

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 20, 2026

Replying to @jalefkowit@hachyderm.io

@jalefkowit@hachyderm.io I came here to wuther heights and chew gum and I'm all out of gum.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 19, 2026

Replying to @tbortels@infosec.exchange

@tbortels@infosec.exchange @kibcol1049@mstdn.social @codinghorror@infosec.exchange I know that and you know that. The hard part is how to explain that to my paying customer who thinks my software is dangerously insecure because it won't let him enforce his bullshit password rules on his customers, without offending him.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 19, 2026

Replying to @bencurthoys@mastodon.social

@kibcol1049@mstdn.social @codinghorror@infosec.exchange Just last month a new customer had a trustee who was an ex-PCIDSS QSA or something and it was very hard to refuse to add a "must include one symbol" rule without at the same time implying that his life's work had been in pursuit of a mirage made of bullshit.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 19, 2026

Replying to @kibcol1049@mstdn.social

@kibcol1049@mstdn.social I still have cause to refer to @codinghorror@infosec.exchange on the subject. https://blog.codinghorror.com/password-rules-are-bullshit/

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 14, 2026

Replying to @iFixit@mastodon.social

@iFixit@mastodon.social it's very weird to hear good news coming out of America. Did John Deere get behind on their bribe payments or something?

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 11, 2026

Replying to @jwz@mastodon.social

@jwz@mastodon.social from memory, I think that you can't just slap a WAF (web application firewall) in front of a single instance with a public IP address, because I tried once and there wasn't a way forward. Rebuilding my whole VPC is still on my list of things to do. Sorry this is light on detail but it's Saturday night.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 10, 2026

Replying to @kibcol1049@mstdn.social

@kibcol1049@mstdn.social I mean you could conclude that Facebook colludes with scammers and doesn't put the same effort into stopping them because they're a bunch of evil bastards, but you could also conclude from the same data that it's just because Facebook is disproportionately used by gullible idiots. I think what's really important is that we remember not to rule out the possibility that it be both.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 07, 2026

Replying to @david_chisnall@infosec.exchange

@david_chisnall@infosec.exchange people of voting age can protect themselves simply by voting for the anti-facebook candidate at the next election. ... facebook what? ALL the candidates? oh.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jul 02, 2026

Replying to @robpike@cosocial.ca

@robpike@cosocial.ca every time I think about this for me than two minutes, I remember that a better solution would have been to add a "usage type" to the cookie spec with values like "session state", "preference", "login", "advert tracking", and the website would set the type on the cookies they were sending, and then people could configure their browser to say which cookie types they accepted, and we need never have had a single fucking consent pop up.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jun 25, 2026

Replying to @jwz@mastodon.social

@jwz@mastodon.social that'll be an newfangled AI powered vulnerability scanner incompetently probing for WordPress exploits.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Jun 01, 2026

Replying to @kibcol1049@mstdn.social

@kibcol1049@mstdn.social the term for this is "bad faith".

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 26, 2026

Replying to @sarajw@front-end.social

@sarajw@front-end.social @tg@indieweb.social In trying to find a balance between "the addictive psychic poison of smartphone social media" and "the need to learn about and prepare for participation in online culture", my 11yo has a nokia and an email address like it's 2003. I should set her up a proper oldschool blog too.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 20, 2026

Replying to @cmconseils@mastodon.social

@cmconseils@mastodon.social the draughts pieces start singing in latin...

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 17, 2026

Replying to @TheBreadmonkey@beige.party

@TheBreadmonkey@beige.party don't open. dead inside.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 16, 2026

Replying to @davidgerard@circumstances.run

@davidgerard@circumstances.run wouldn't they be required to grant FRAND licences?

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 15, 2026

Replying to @otterlove@mastodon.art

@otterlove@mastodon.art... unfortunately one of them is going to have to starve to death. Such is nature's way.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 14, 2026

Replying to @sarahtaber@mastodon.online

@sarahtaber@mastodon.online we regret to inform you the milkshake duck is racist.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 12, 2026

Replying to @arratoon@beige.party

@arratoon@beige.party @TheBreadmonkey@beige.party love a bit of rhyming slang.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 11, 2026

Replying to @ExtinctionR@social.rebellion.global

@ExtinctionR@social.rebellion.global these are great for when the the fabric has worn too thin to sew.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 10, 2026

Replying to @aral@mastodon.ar.al

@aral@mastodon.ar.al this cartoon is never going to stop being relevant is it?

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 08, 2026

Replying to @Natasha_Jay@tech.lgbt

@Natasha_Jay@tech.lgbt Replace cyan soon Empty drums whisper softly Life almost over

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 07, 2026

Replying to @jalefkowit@vmst.io

@jalefkowit@vmst.io @davidgerard@circumstances.run @audunmb@todon.nl @tante@tldr.nettime.org Honestly if people stopped making new Javascript frameworks that I'm supposed to have an opinion about and am old-fashioned if I don't use, I would regard that as a massive win.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 06, 2026

Replying to @bencurthoys@mastodon.social

@pluralistic@mamot.fr something from a couple of months ago - https://www.quora.com/Why-do-some-still-claim-that-capitalism-works-while-all-industries-have-become-monopolized-and-most-people-suffer-from-precarious-employment-and-cannot-afford-basic-necessities-let-alone-start-a-family/answer/Ben-Curthoys

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 06, 2026

Replying to @bencurthoys@mastodon.social

@pluralistic@mamot.fr Which is to say, I thoroughly agree with you that capitalists hate capitalism - or they hate competition. And it's the state's job to set the rules by which the capitalists are permitted to play, to force them to compete and to break up monopolies. But the capitalists have been using their wealth to corrupt power and so need taking down a peg or two by a government prepared to do whatever it takes - including using the state's most treasured monopoly, the monopoly on violence.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 06, 2026

Replying to @bencurthoys@mastodon.social

@pluralistic@mamot.fr "When the two contaminate each other, both deprave".

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 06, 2026

Replying to @pluralistic@mamot.fr

@pluralistic@mamot.fr You mentioned the other day you don't see eye to eye with Mark Carney on much, but there is a tremendous bit by Tomaso Padoa-Schioppa quoted in his book "Values":

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 03, 2026

Replying to @TheBreadmonkey@beige.party

@TheBreadmonkey "he had a black belt in the martial arse"

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 03, 2026

Replying to @Cdespinosa@mastodon.social

@Cdespinosa last month my sci-fi book club read "War with the Newts" and thinking about it really brought home to me how many of these stories are about trying to recreate slaves on the sly. And how the moral of every single one of them is "don't". https://www.quora.com/profile/Ben-Curthoys/Book-Review-War-with-the-Newts-by-Karel-Capek-This-might-as-well-have-been-subtitled-How-Capitalism-Ruins-Everything (Except for Star Wars. Slave ownership is apparently fine in Star Wars.)

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 02, 2026

Replying to @fabriek@todon.eu

@fabriek I've recently been getting into a game called Turnarchist which reminds me a lot of nethack but I'm finding it more fun

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · May 02, 2026

Replying to @Nickiquote@mstdn.social

@Nickiquote@mstdn.social there are a number of these that I've tried to show to my children and sadly they aren't funny any more. The background levels of homophobia and misogyny in the 80s and 90s were hard to notice at the time, but now they really spoil the jokes. Like, the whole joke in the first episode of Blackadder II is "he's worried that he might be gay" and I found it hard to explain to the kids why that would be a bad thing.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 29, 2026

Replying to @lproven@social.vivaldi.net

@lproven we need effective anti-monopoly action from governments. You can own an operating system or an app store, not both. You can be a TV production company or a streaming platform, not both. You can be an advert broker or a content provider, not both. Forced unbundling now.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 28, 2026

Replying to @TheBreadmonkey@beige.party

@TheBreadmonkey it's very hard to tell whether "manky" is deliberate or a typo for "manly" because both work. Chicken Lumps make me feel both manky and manly.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 24, 2026

Replying to @bimmer@beige.party

RE: https://mastodon.social/@bencurthoys/109598575564657537 @bimmer

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 20, 2026

Replying to @Nickiquote@mstdn.social

@Nickiquote@mstdn.social

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 20, 2026

Replying to @pluralistic@mamot.fr

@pluralistic@mamot.fr UK planning is a game of snakes and ladders with no ladders. And a lot of snakes.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 20, 2026

Replying to @corduroy@aus.social

@corduroy 2016 called, they want their hot take on electric vehicles back. My 2p worth:

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 20, 2026

Silicon Valley has invented the Waterfall model again.

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 15, 2026

Replying to @andrewt@mathstodon.xyz

@andrewt I don't think he'd mind

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 15, 2026

Replying to @andrewt@mathstodon.xyz

@andrewt In the X-Men films, Magneto escapes from prison when one of his guards gets an iron injection from Mystique. How many tesla must Magneto be able to generate?

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 13, 2026

Replying to @sarahdalgulls@ecoevo.social

@sarahdalgulls idea: word based location system along the same lines, but instead of an algorithm there's just a database with a unique phrase for each location, and you can sell people the ability to change the words for their own (or any other) address like a domain name which is how you make money, and the whole point of it is that the one location that isn't up for sale is What Three Words head office, which is hard coded to #what #awful #wankers

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 13, 2026

Replying to @Nickiquote@mstdn.social

@Nickiquote if you are not familiar with The Arrogant Worms can I recommend "Jesus' Brother Bob", "Canada's Really Big", and their big hit "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate".

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 13, 2026

Replying to @Nickiquote@mstdn.social

@Nickiquote https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=xgun4yFSsuU

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 08, 2026

Replying to @Daojoan@mastodon.social

@Daojoan here is one instance of that joke: https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0135.html ...from 2005

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Ben Curthoys @bencurthoys@mastodon.social · Apr 03, 2026

Replying to @BrentToderian@mastodon.online

@BrentToderian The part of the equation most often left out is that shifting a journey from car to public transport benefits people other than the person travelling - not least, the people still in cars who have less congestion to deal with. Why should the ticket buyer have to pay for all those other benefits? I wrote elsewhere some time ago: https://qr.ae/pAyr4e

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