StevieM

My favourite online t-shirt emporium, Red Molotov, has now launched a range of face masks. This has to be my favourite:

I think the key phrase here is "without carrying out an assessment of its impact on privacy".

What a great idea! I may have to get myself a few of those. As well as a face covering, it can protect my bald head from the sun (if it ever returns)! I'm often described as 'the one who looks like a terrorist', anyway. And some bandages, a la 'The Invisible Man'. (You should just wear your hat at all times, anyway, as it is incredibly cool!)

@mikeprice - Can you remove that link as it now points to a different article which, without a trigger warning, could cause distress. Thanks

No, it's rice pudding like your grandma used to make.

Glad to have helped someone... for a change!

Thanks for confirmation, @Boredguy.

Well, that was a long slog through a muddy minefield! I've had an email from the head, today, informing me that he had received a laptop from the LA and wondered if there was a way to get it to me (WFH as asthmatic). Actually, it was given to our feeder infant school who thought it would be better if we 'set it up with our APPs /links etc.' Where better to start looking for guidance than Edugeek, eh? So, after trudging through all 31 pages, plus guidance from the Government and 'Computacenter', if I've understood correctly: the laptop is on loan to the pupil from the LA (rather than being owned by the pupil or the school); it is already configured with settings approved by the DfE; if it is a Windows laptop or tablet, no further setup is required by the school; if it is a Chromebook, it needs to be joined to a Google domain (which we don't have, but the LA may); a wireless 4G router may also have been provided, in which case, records of IMEI and SIM numbers should be kept; the pupil/parent/carer should sign a loan agreement before taking possession; the LA should provide support for end users - i.e. school, pupils and families. Does that pretty much sum it up? Any corrections or clarifications gratefully received. After emailing my findings to the head, asking him to call me in the morning if he needed, I sent a short follow-up suggesting that he should just give it back to the infant school. Would you agree?

I've been uploading work to our website and, even after 3 months, I still struggle with a list of URLs containing repeated occurrences of 'maths-mrsbarton'.

[pedant]Is it still "baking" if you do it in a microwave?[/pedant]

I didn't get that until I said it out loud!

Our local community cinema (a charity, staffed by volunteers) is desperate for funding. I hope that it will be able to re-open before too long. I don't use it often, as it doesn't show many films I'm interested in, but it's a great resource for the community. I hope they show Parasite, as I missed it first time around. The only other films on that list I'd want to see again are Bicycle Thieves, The Third Man and Pan's Labyrinth. Surely they must be reviving Cinema Paradiso, too!

FTFY! That reminds me of this Robot Chicken Star Wars sketch:

A mere 10 years after H1N1 (aka ‘swine flu’). Who’da thunk it?!

It think it might be Messiaen’s ‘Catalogue d’oiseaux’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOYic_kQTe8 Too niche?

There is a pair nesting in the just park down the road from me. Yesterday, I spotted a young one (lots of red on the crown) at the bottom of my garden, tentatively tapping away at the wooden post that supports my washing line. I went to get my camera, but the battery was flat - as was the spare. I tried taking a picture with my school iPad, but it was rubbish.

I'm TTO + 2 weeks and I've already worked through the Easter holidays, the summer half-term and the entire last Bank Holiday weekend. I'm not complaining, though. I'm happy to do what needs to be done, and I'd already planned to go in during the summer to do a load of upgrades. That will be more difficult if the school is going to be open the whole time.

There was also mention of a 'big summer of catch-up' before schools re-open to all pupils in September. That's going to go down well with school staff who have been slogging their guts out dealing with this (teachers and support staff). More details from Gavin 'Go Away and Shut Up' Williamson are to follow.

Now that I could possibly live with, but I'd want the maps available offline (like Windows Phone used to) and no WhatsApp. I'd also stick with my current tariff and pay £5 per month, plus any data at £1 per GB, charged by the MB - so still a fiver a month.

Joking aside, you're possibly right - but not in the way that you mean. If Windows Phone hadn't been pulled, I would have been more likely to get another one (although still probably not). What I wasn't going to do was commit myself to Apple's enclosed eco-system, or allow Google to sprunj even more of my information by getting an Android.

Thanks! That's all I wanted to know.

Is anybody else having trouble accessing the Microsoft 365 admin portal today or is it just me?

Please tell me that you copied and pasted that list, or I may think that you may just have a little bit too much time on your hands!

Your lucky just to get that message. I tested it in Hyper-V on 1909 and it crashed the whole VM every time!

I've realised I didn't answer the 'why' part of your question. They just annoy me! Seeing people constantly staring at their phones instead of looking where they are going/concentrating on the road/talking (and listening) to people/noticing the world around them/etc./ad infinitum... really winds me up. I mean, what is SO important on a phone that needs instant and constant attention? I've had a couple of Windows phones in the past and, yes, I did find the satnav helpful, from time to time, and I could take reasonable photos and videos. I could browse the Internet and know if anyone had sent me an email, but I began to find it all rather unnecessary. When my last phone stopped charging properly, I decided that I would go back to basics. 19 months on, I still don't want another smartphone. I don't need (nor want) emails popping up on my phone; they'll still be there when I decide to login and check. As for WhatsApp (which I never used), the constant pinging of group messages that neither concern nor interest me would drive me crazy! I wouldn't bother with a mobile at all, apart from the fact that it is much cheaper than using a landline (£5 a month for unlimited calls and texts) and also in case of emergency.