Microsoft Exchange MVP 2007-2011, IT professional, Christian, husband, father, elder, poet, West Wing fan, weekend cook, F1 fan, hill-walker, occasional geek.
Joined November 2008
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Kevin Ball retweeted
Wow! What a spectacular view this must have been. An amazing sun rise seen in Qatar.
The Devil Horns Solar Eclipse
Is one of the rarest sunrise ever photographed and was stunning.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
The sunrise shot was snapped by photographer Elias Chasiotis while on vacation in Qatar during the eclipse in December, 2019. This post presents an AI generated video based on the photograph.
fox10phoenix.com/news/devil-hor…
Kevin Ball retweeted
ICYMI: Quite possibly the most heartfelt intervention on a matter of national significance from such a sizeable group of respected signatories I’ve seen during my time as an editor.
I was so moved by it, I asked the designers to feature each and every name.
Superb job, team.
Kevin Ball retweeted
I don't understand the whole concept of "everyone needs to be in the office to communicate more"; I spend more time talking to the rest of the team remotely than I ever do when in the office.
The only time I see a real benefit for being in office full time is for junior folks.
Kevin Ball retweeted
To the London black cab driver who found me bloodied in the chaos of central London and drove me all the way to Reading: thank you.
Thank you for cleaning my face. For the sugary tea at the BP garage. For delivering me safely to my friend's front door and refusing to charge me a single penny.
In the trauma of that day, I never asked your name. I don’t think I even thanked you properly, and I am so sorry for that. But I hope you know that I remember you every single year.
You were a hero when London needed one most.
#SevenSeven
#NeverForget
#LondonBombings
Kevin Ball retweeted
If you were UK Defence Secretary for 2010’s disastrous defence cuts - as only one person in a country of ~63 million people actually was - your takes on who to blame for Britain’s current military weakness might entail some self-reflection.
Don't blame Britain's armed forces for our current international humiliation. We could have easily pre-positioned forces to defend our interests in Cyprus and Bahrain given that the writing has been on the wall for months that Iran's intransigence could result in US and Israeli military action.
We have left our allies bewildered and angry, our citizens and interests unprotected, and our international reputation in tatters because Keir Starmer, our "national embarrassment " did not want to send any "signals" to his Parliamentary left-wing and sections of his voter base that Britain might support US or Israeli action.
Cowering behind legal opinion and lacking any shred of leadership when we needed some political backbone, we have the most invertebrate government conceivable. Don't blame our proud and capable military who share our embarrassment, blame the shameful and useless Labour government which, nominally, governs our country.
Kevin Ball retweeted
Signal isn’t “questionable.” There are zero documented cryptographic failures, and multiple independent audits confirm it’s the gold standard for secure messaging.
X Chat fails basic security tests. It stores keys on servers, lacks forward secrecy, has no independent audit, and allows past messages to be decrypted if the server is compromised. That alone disqualifies it as true end-to-end encryption.
WhatsApp’s real issue is metadata, not broken encryption. It uses the same Signal Protocol, so criticizing WhatsApp does not undermine Signal’s security.
Signal has proven in court it doesn’t have user data to give. X has proven the opposite through GDPR violations, data harvesting, and AI training practices.
Bottom line:
Signal is audited, minimal-data, and hardened.
X Chat is unaudited, trust-based, and structurally weaker.
Calling Signal “questionable” isn’t a technical claim. It’s marketing.
Kevin Ball retweeted
This amazing little tool simply draws all streets in any city you want. As examples here are the town I grew up in (20k residents) and the city I live in (5M residents). Have a play with it. The exported screenshots make great desktop backgrounds. Source: buff.ly/2uht4vJ
Kevin Ball retweeted
Here's the Black Friday discount code to get 50% off the Office 365 for IT Pros eBook (including the Automating #Microsoft365 with #PowerShell eBook). Code terminates on Tuesday. If you're running a Microsoft 365 tenant, you need this book: o365itpros.gumroad.com/l/O36…
Kevin Ball retweeted
📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms).
It’s also concerning. 1/
Kevin Ball retweeted
Honest Bob said nothing when his mates closed the courts.
He campaigned for a PM who mocked justice for victims of sexual violence as “spaffing money up the wall”.
He supported the dismantling of criminal justice at every stage, as delays and backlogs grew to record levels.
Kevin Ball retweeted
Growing up, these were my boys
They took on every mission to the dry expanse of sandpit, they scaled the forbidding terrain of the rockery and they ambushed Jerry convoys on the hall carpet
There was no mission too dangerous, no enemy too fierce. I miss them. They were good men
Kevin Ball retweeted
In 1958, German inventor Artur Fischer transformed construction forever with the creation of the plastic wall plug-a deceptively simple tool that allowed screws to grip firmly in concrete, brick, and drywall. This humble invention revolutionized DIY and professional building alike, earning Fischer over 1,100 patents and a place among the most prolific inventors of the 20th century.
Kevin Ball retweeted
Russia's ancient aircraft fleets continue to crash and burn.
This is how Russians live while Putin enjoys expensive American plumbing and personal strip clubs in his palaces.
teapawt.net/PolymarketIntel/status…
Kevin Ball retweeted
Today is the eighth anniversary of the 'BBC Dad' blooper, so here are some recent family pictures. The kids are growing fast.
1
youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4f9AYR…
Kevin Ball retweeted
❗️“In this difficult situation, Ukraine has become a subject of international politics.
Ukraine must be reckoned with. This is now clear to everyone, even the strongest states.”
General Zaluzhny’s full speech at Chatham House.🧵
@ZaluzhnyiUA
