This means I have been having fun with Ted my dog.

Have a great release day.

The image above is a post I made on all social networks that I use. The picture above is a screenshot from Threads.

I've been sent a cancer screening kit from the NHS. As I say in the post this is not a task I am looking forward to. The post on BlueSky got no response. The post on Mastodon got a couple of replies. The post on Threads though has almost a hundred replies at the time of writing this. It's become almost a support network of people who have also got to do theirs and people who have done it supplying advice.

Most people who know me on social media know I post bog standard boring day to day stuff. I thought this post was exactly the same, but it seems to have struck a chord with some who are heading off to do the same thing. It is also amazing that those that have been through this and got the results that nobody wants have also commented and encouraged.

As I say I thought I was posting a boring everyday thing. I was also kind of not wanting to go ahead and do the test. My uncle passed away a few days ago from cancer. My Dad has had a six year long battle with a couple of cancers. With that in the back of my mind of course I'm here thinking the writing is on the wall for me.

Anyway I am not making any points here, I just wanted to get the words out of my head. If a small post like mine can have people conversing about cancer in a healthy way then all's good.

The ironic thing is the results from this free NHS cancer test will come back quicker than the paid for Ancestry DNA test. Our NHS is amazing.

Yes that is a picture of my dog Ted wearing an ubuntu hat and made into a meme.

This is a quick update..

As for ubuntu. I am still waiting for the finalization of the UK LoCo handover. I am not taking anything for granted until the LoCo Council have said that I am officially the new lead. For now just waiting and hoping it all goes well. It's a process that needs to be completed transparently and in the open on the ubuntu Discourse platform.

#AudioMo has just had its 15th year. The challenge was successfully taken on by people on Mastodon and BlueSky. #AudioMo is my favourite part of the year. A small month long audio challenge in June brings a positive corner of the internet alive for the month. Such an inspiring and wonderful mix of people connecting over a simple hashtag. Amazes me every year that people turn up and want to get stuck in. #AudioMo is real community and I love it.

I have been thinking of what audio apps to use this year. Normally I used BackPack Studio on iOS then ping the audio to Spotify for sharing out to whatever platforms I am on.

This year though I will primarily be using Blipvox made by my mate Kosso. The app is in alpha testing at the moment. The app is for both iOS and Android. Benefit of this app is that it creates an mp4 video that can be shared direct to your social platform of choice. Blipvox can be found here https://blipvox.com/alpha

I will also be using the iOS app BossJock Jnr now that it is back in active development.

So 1st of June bring it on .... #AudioMo

“I'm all Quokked up, you took a whole lot of loving for a handful of.....” Oh I apologise for the bastardisation of an Alison Moyet song.

I promised myself that I would not alpha / beta test another Ubuntu release. Seems I have failed. I have installed Ubuntu Questing Quokka and am in the mix.

Nothing to report yet as it is extremely early in the release. Will I post updates about the testing here? Not sure, we will see.

I will definitely be reporting faults back to the build team via the appropriate method. I have done for every Ubuntu alpha / beta that I have tested.

I love the wallpaper challenge that they ask the community to take part in for each release.

The official wallpapers for Plucky Puffin (the next release of ubuntu) have hit the daily builds of said release.

This means I can now change my homemade Plucky Puffin wallpaper to one of the shiny swish official ones.

Cleaning out old unused accounts is a must for us self hosting. Accounts use up data, data costs money.

I've been on Mastodon for more years than I care to remember. I have hosted 3 servers and now on my 4th. This one will be my only Mastodon server from here in. You can find me on there, the only really active user there https://squatch.online/@ernmander

I noticed though that he has not posted to this platform for quite some time. I was wondering why. Maybe like a lot of us he just don't have the time to sit down at a keyboard and write a post.

This is my old write.as blog space, but all the stuff I used to post here has disappeared for some reason, maybe cause I no longer pay for the service.

I might revive this place, not sure yet.

I noticed there is an iOS app, but it hasn't been updated for 5 years, so I would be concerned about using that. I think that is what stopped me from using Write.as, the fact back then it didn't even have a mobile app. Now it does it's out of date.

This is of course me trying an alternative in the light of the Tumblr data selling saga.

I noticed there is an iOS app, but it hasn't been updated for 5 years, so I would be concerned about using that. I think that is what stopped me from using Write.as, the fact back then it didn't even have a mobile app. Now it does it's out of date.

This is of course me trying an alternative in the light of the Tumblr data selling saga.