Tessera

I've just installed this LibreOffice extension to allow me to control a slide show from my phone or tablet. It looks really useful. I can see my notes on my phone, and move between slides. https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2026/08/04/new-libreoffice-extension-impress-remote/ [1/2]

New LibreOffice extension: Impress Remote - TDF Community Blog

LibreOffice extensions are optional, third-party addons for the suite, that add extra functionality. Bora Yarkın has been working on a new extension for LibreOffice Impress, so let’s hear from him about it… Tell us about it! The extension lets you control a LibreOffice Impress presentation from your phone or any other device with a modern web browser. When you start the remote, LibreOffice displays a QR code. Scan it with your phone and the presentation starts from the first slide. The phone interface then shows the current slide, presenter notes, elapsed time and navigation controls. I tried to make the process as simple as possible: no separate mobile application and no manual pairing codes. The remote can be opened from the Slide Show menu in LibreOffice’s top application menu bar—the menu alongside File, Edit, View and the other main menus. This should not be confused with the Slide Show tab inside LibreOffice’s Tabbed user interface. LibreOffice’s UNO extension API does not currently let me add commands to that built-in tab. When using the Tabbed interface, the remote commands are therefore available under the Extensions tab instead. The extension currently provides several connection modes: Local network: The phone connects directly to

blog.documentfoundation.org

An interesting and thoughtful piece on how to react when an artist whose work you love reveals themself to be an arsehole. https://centralbylines.co.uk/opinion/what-do-you-do-when-your-heroes-become-villains/

What do you do when your heroes become villains?

What do you do when the thing you love turns out to have been created by someone whose ideology or behaviour repulses you?

centralbylines.co.uk

I went to my first repair cafe today. I took this, thinking that they'd probably be unable to repair it, but in that case I'd be no worse off. Happily, they were able to repair it, and I am now the proud owner of a working 26-year-old PDA 🙂 [1/2]

A slightly battered Palm m100 PDA. It is switched on, and icons for various programs are visible on the screen.

Russell Phillips @rpbook.bsky.social · 4w ago

I've been self hosting email for years. This morning, an email to a Gmail account was blocked because of "the very low reputation of the sending domain". [1/2]

It's ten years since this incredible piece of https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/journalism .

Screenshot of s newspaper story. Picture is of a Royal Navy warship.

Headline is "We just blew £183 million on a five inch gun, but it's 'good value for taxpayers'"

Text below headline claims the gun is "the size of a toothbrush"

Russell Phillips @rpbook.bsky.social · 4w ago

I'm setting up a #Kickstarter for my next book, about Operation Colossus, the first time the British used paratroopers during the #SecondWorldWar. The pre-launch page is now available, so you can sign up to be informed when the campaign starts. www.kickstarter.com/projects/rus... #WWII #history

Coming soon: Daring and Determined

Britain sent paratroopers on a brave and experimental mission in 1941. Get the full story of what happened to these courageous men.

kickstarter.com

I finished my book this afternoon. Fortunately, my pre-order of Murder on Donut Station arrived this morning 🙂 https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/bookstodon https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/scifi https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/sciencefiction

Book cover: Murder on Donut Station by Si Clarke.

The cover has a silhouette of a person falling and a view of a space station with a central ring and a concentric outer ring, a bit like a ring doughnut.

The DriveThruRPG Christmas in July sale has started, and some of my titles are included 🙂 https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/3798/shilka-publishing?promo=31815&src=browse3798&affiliate_id=235519 [1/2]

After 22 years, Ubuntu is no longer my desktop OS of choice. https://robin.phillipsuk.org/moving-away-from-ubuntu.html

Moving away from Ubuntu

I’ve been using Ubuntu on my desktop machines since 2004. At some point, I can’t remember when, I switched from standard Ubuntu to Ubuntu Mate. Until recently, I had no complaints. I know some people hate snaps, but I’ve never had much of an issue…

robin.phillipsuk.org

This is an interesting episode. Here For The History: Why don’t women’s clothes have pockets? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0nxhmrm https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/history

BBC Sounds - Here For The History, Why don’t women’s clothes have pockets?

The surprising history of how women’s pockets fell in and out of fashion over time.

bbc.co.uk

Count Binface has a Ko-Fi page, so if you want to help him defeat Farage, you can donate there. https://ko-fi.com/countbinface

Support Count Binface

ko-fi.com

I'm at Stafford library today. Last month, the Reform-led council made the local libraries remove all pride displays. So I was pleased to see that there's a member of staff wearing a lanyard in trans pride flag colours. And I'm wearing my "Protect trans kids" t-shirt. [1/3]

This evening, I finished the first draft of my next book. 🎉 https://robin.phillipsuk.org/first-draft-complete.html

First draft complete

I’ve finally finished the first draft of my next military history book, Daring and determined: The first British paratroop raid. I started researching this in 2021 or 2022, and I’ve published two RPG books since then. My most recent military history book, A Strange Campaign:…

robin.phillipsuk.org

I'll admit that I feel a little bad about how hard I laughed at this.

Photo of Malaysian and US flags. Underneath is a key showing the meanings of the colours:
Red: Hardiness and valour
White: Purity and innocence
Blue: Unity (Malaysia), Vigilance and justice (USA)
Yellow: (Malaysia only): Not losing against Vietnamese farmers in a war

We bought an ebike for my youngest son today. Trying to get him to come for lunch, I jokingly told him that the shop wouldn't let him buy an ebike if he hadn't had lunch. "I'll be very surprised if they ask me about that," he said. [1/3]

An interesting blog on writing in British English. This blog is written in en-GB – Terence Eden’s Blog https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/07/this-blog-is-written-in-en-gb/#fnref:accent

This blog is written in en-GB

Someone left a comment on my blog recently asking if I'd mind making my language more inclusive. They didn't get some of the cultural references I'd used and suggested it would be easier if I used tropes which were more globally known. Here's the thing. No. All my blog posts start with a simple declaration: ⧉ HTML<!doctype html> <html lang=en-GB> There's a reason for that. It is more than t…

shkspr.mobi

I believe there are some Psion fans here, so I should mention that I've listed a Series 3, a Series 3a, and a Series 3a programming manual on Ebay. https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_ssn=avantman42 https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/psion https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/retrocomputing

Phillips UK Fediverse Server - GoToSocial

Private fediverse server.

gts.phillipsuk.org

CW: Bit of a whinge I'm all over the place today. I usually buy smart tickets for the bus because they're more expensive, but I don't have to deal with any people. My wife says I should use the tap on, tap off functionality, because I still won't have to talk to anyone, but it's cheaper. [1/8]

Central Bylines: Why people queue for the Reform ghost train https://centralbylines.co.uk/opinion/why-people-queue-for-the-reform-ghost-train/

Why people queue for the Reform ghost train

Why do people queue for political ghost rides that feed them fear instead of truth?

centralbylines.co.uk

CW: UK politics, petition UK people: there is a petition to disapprove the draft Equality Act guidance. I've signed it, and I suggest you do so too. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/770527 [1/2]

Petition: Disapprove the draft Equality Act 2010 guidance laid on 21 May 2026

I want the House of Commons to disapprove the Equality Act 2010: Draft Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations, 2026 laid on 21 May 2026.

petition.parliament.uk

Challenger 3 - The best britain can do? — Totally Tanked https://www.totallytanked.net/blog/challenger-3-the-best-britain-can-do https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/militaryhistory

Challenger 3 - The best britain can do? — Totally Tanked

Britain is trying to build a new tank. But they're doing it with a gun that entered service in the 1970s and re-tread hulls that ended production a quarter century ago. And they're building fewer than 150, which for a completely orphan fleet is a "courageous" approach. Our halft

totallytanked.net

So apparently Anthony Head has died. I've seen people mention that he was in Buffy and Ted Lasso, and I enjoyed him in both. But I'm old enough to remember when he advertised coffee 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzGkRnAD-G8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Blend_couple [1/2]

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtube.com

I'm staying at a flat in Chester for a few days. Yesterday I saw two Roman soldiers. This morning I looked out of my window to see a trans flag flying from a window opposite. https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/trans https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/pride

A block of houses. A trans flag is flying from a third-floor window.

CW: CW: Misgendering (but also an ally pushing back) This is what being an ally looks like. https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/trans https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/transally https://gts.phillipsuk.org/tags/lgbt Video: https://gts.phillipsuk.org/@rpbook/statuses/01KT4618D3Q2NXMD81WEQG95J8