bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦

Software developer, entrepreneur, former government regulator, current government advisor, amateur scientist.  https://berthub.eu/ - Nederlands account [email protected]

Website: https://berthub.eu/
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6317-0670
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bert-hubert-b05452/
Location: The Netherlands

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npub1x5rldse034lrakl92u9dxdq2fx5x8kdht7kaxc3dda4u2de29teswkzpt5

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[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsr2plkcvhc6l37m0j4wzknxs9yn2rrmxm4ltwnvgkk7679xu4z4ucppamhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d563hw5s

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nostr.mom

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npub1x5rldse034lrakl92u9dxdq2fx5x8kdht7kaxc3dda4u2de29teswkzpt5

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Last Notes

2026-10-09 18:49:56 GMT

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- perhaps of interest! From their initial report:
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/117/412/447/768/558/605/original/0d9d783ad3142db4.png

2026-10-09 18:39:32 GMT

I attended an electricity conference on Thursday, in which the Polish grid operator shared great data on how late 2025 various parts of their grid got hacked. They have bravely explained the mundane problems that got them hacked. Default passwords, password reuse, missing matches. And I assure you, everyone has these stupid mistakes. Fix the basics first and then worry about super-duper attackers. Glorious details in here: https://cert.pl/en/posts/2026/08/incident-follow-up-report-energy-sector-2025/

2026-10-08 12:57:52 GMT

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Marta again stresses managing dependencies. Minimise even, keep track of them. We may need additional suppliers so if one vendor drops out, we have other options. Mignot of Withthegrid notes that they supplied sensors to DSOs on non-critical sensors. LOADS of regulation. Now when he supplies electricity management and trading: no regulations at all. CRA is again going to help, but far to go.

2026-10-07 07:14:35 GMT

RE: https://eupolicy.social/@bert_hubert/117395698066384210
Just had occasion to use this abomination again. It works a lot better in daylight. But even then the process of having the app pick the moment to photograph your passport, and then telling you that was the wrong moment, is jarring.
#note18r8…07vs

2026-10-06 19:49:53 GMT

The UK Electronic Travel Authorization app is so ASTOUNDINGLY user hostile that I can only interpret this as that they do not want me to visit the UK. It takes WORK to make things suck this badly.

2026-10-04 08:49:29 GMT

With all the talk of "hybrid" warfare, this piece may be relevant again. In no way are our societies resilient against hostile disruption. A pre-war reality check: https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/cyber-security-pre-war-reality-check/

2026-09-19 11:46:37 GMT

https://danluu.com/brain-off/ by [@danluu](https://mastodon.social/@danluu ) has some good honest truths on LLM-based software development: "There's no point at which this methodology will work for the employee".

2026-09-09 20:55:03 GMT

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I recommend going for a swim in open water. And keep moving.

2026-09-07 15:56:03 GMT

RE: https://raru.re/@ocean/116235427788617987
"Calvinist cookies" - people buy this for real.
#note16dj…vy5y

2026-09-05 19:56:47 GMT

Launch attempt imminent in Norway, by German company ISAR. Last time they tried this the explosion was BEAUTIFUL but let's hope things are better now: https://www.youtube.com/live/Ss1DUqLjecc

2026-08-24 09:30:36 GMT

RE: https://beige.party/@TheBreadmonkey/117144551900022746
Is this a specifically Dutch thing? Don’t other countries do this?
#note12zs…w5tk

2026-08-23 21:54:02 GMT

I have converted my general dissatisfaction with the world tonight into two minor openstreetmap edits. I added my favorite local bench, and moved a picknick table from a ditch (which it actually sits next to). A remarkably soothing activity.

2026-08-22 18:15:03 GMT

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The author had previously committed very questionable code that inserted random sleeps to 'fix' problems & I'd managed to talk him out of that. I guess that should've been a warning already.

2026-08-22 18:11:06 GMT

:-( This is one of the key libraries I depend on, and now the slop has come for it.
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/117/140/487/565/410/217/original/54a065470b52a7ce.png

2026-08-19 10:45:01 GMT

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ask what tooling they use.

2026-08-19 07:58:45 GMT

RE: https://friendica.helvetet.eu/display/a7e70941-d4bcf4cd-aed4242dc87bd670
Finally we can get PoE on fiber! (No, but this still is very interesting)
#note1vyy…328t

2026-08-16 16:53:47 GMT

I need you to know I just did a software demo for a live audience, and it actually worked at the first attempt. In these dire times for software development, I like to celebrate these small wins.

2026-08-11 08:15:15 GMT

We can all learn from my heatpump's current status: "The appliance operates to reach the desired value."

2026-08-09 21:41:14 GMT

"A woman is loaned a ZX Spectrum from a library in the Netherlands, 1984." - Photo by Rob Bogaerts / Anefo. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrum
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/117/067/712/523/550/373/original/24562f5441f611a5.jpeg

2026-08-09 14:54:05 GMT

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fake citaat helaas, het is al vele malen uitgediept, het is verzonnen. Het woord populist bestond niet in 1937. @npub144f…3wln - dit zou de bron zijn, en daar staat dit ook niet: https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/braa002nati01_01/braa002nati01_01_0001.php

2026-08-08 14:16:29 GMT

I mean you could get a #heatpump to save money or because you care about the environment. You could also get one because it is CHOCK FULL OF SENSORS AND IT HAS MODBUS TO MAKE IT SING AND DANCE:
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/117/060/309/116/273/615/original/13ef16b37f7f54ba.png

2026-08-07 09:41:52 GMT

Food for thought.
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/117/053/561/670/678/839/original/dde19dfa5a831b01.png

2026-08-04 21:57:49 GMT

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As @npub1kpe…csgn pointed out, there is more lovely (Dutch) artwork of the Tower of Babel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Babel_(M._C._Escher)
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/117/039/471/606/546/720/original/dd376d798eb1c36a.jpeg

2026-08-04 13:31:07 GMT

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this changes all the time, and is/was very much an aspect of how a phone system worked at the time. It may have worked like that at some point, perhaps purely due to human logistics.

2026-08-04 11:09:53 GMT

RE: https://eupolicy.social/@bert_hubert/117036592675215710
Many people are responding with suggestions for solutions with many moving parts. I love the effort folks put into sending suggestions, but that is explicitly not what I said I was looking for! Keep this up and you’ll make LLMs look good.
#note1465…5nl0

2026-08-04 09:44:40 GMT

I'm sick of doing digital sovereignty video calls over Teams. Signal is not quite there in terms of video quality, and I'd love to self-host something. But things like Jitsi and BigBlueButton appear to have so many moving parts that I worry about running them (securely). Did anyone build something minimal perhaps?

2026-08-04 09:32:40 GMT

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I can guarantee a fun conversation in any case! not sure if I'm interesting enough, but I'm game!

2026-08-03 07:55:03 GMT

I read the comments

2026-07-29 21:59:40 GMT

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so I have a theory on how this happens. Almost no animals are able to recognize themselves in a mirror, like hey "that is me". Humans can do it, but for other animals it is hit and miss. It really is a great divider in the animal kingdom, can you do it it or not. 1/

2026-07-29 20:33:39 GMT

I know it is in Dutch, but through a translator you might still enjoy this piece that discusses the AI situation. It talks about the perceived rush that isn't real, and points out you'd do well to wait it out a bit. However, the article also details how AI can't be disregarded as useless. It actually does stuff for people. However, the post then also wonders if this is in fact helpful: https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/ai-voor-wie-erover-gaat/

2026-07-26 09:27:08 GMT

"Whichever way, AI scepticism now feels like the consensus. As for what to do in preparation for a crash, you’re basically on your own. But if the music does stop playing, an awful lot of people are positioned and ready to say they told you so." - https://ftav.substack.com/p/this-is-nuts-whens-the-crash

2026-07-22 21:45:55 GMT

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just reported it as you suggested on Dutch radio. 🫡

2026-07-20 07:10:12 GMT

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The original site is here, should the US government allow you to visit it: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-secures-landmark-legal-victory-lock-pornographic-website-domain-and

2026-07-20 07:04:22 GMT

Because a (terrible terrible no good) Dutch owned website contravened Texas law, Verisign was ordered to remove the domain name from the .COM zone, and they complied. This has happened before, and it will likely happen again. If a US state doesn't like what you do, your .COM domain name may disappear on you. Mirror of Texas statement, cuz the original is not accessible from the EU: https://archive.is/kOmc4#selection-838.0-838.1

2026-07-18 22:02:19 GMT

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Built this new screen (first image) which is a reimplementation of the Dutch government listing of internet law/regulation consultations (right). And unlike the government version, mine will send you targeted alerts.
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/943/224/618/839/834/original/5d6216c2eb58fbca.png
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/943/227/861/860/819/original/02704b71fd5113c6.png

2026-07-18 13:09:57 GMT

Behold, I'm doing some manual programming.

2026-07-17 14:03:25 GMT

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Nice. Dutch government briefly blocked me for 1 qps!

2026-07-15 11:51:50 GMT

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We love them here! They are known as "Neighbor & Neighbor" in The Netherlands. But unlike anywhere else, we made them talk! We also love Krtek btw!

2026-07-15 11:25:21 GMT

In Dutch, but applies to governments across Europe & beyond. Governments are *utterly* dependent on IT systems, but simultaneously keep their distance from IT. Here a comparison with how a large organization deals with a broken toilet: fighting with vendors. And this is exactly how they deal with IT problems too. Feast your translator on: https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/ben-je-van-de-it-of-niet/

2026-07-02 21:02:21 GMT

I still find this hard to believe, but there are NO HEDGEHOGS in the Americas. Here in Europe we get these extremely cute 🦔 visitors in our gardens, as a treat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgehog
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/852/385/082/315/820/original/3f59f7c5741619fa.png

2026-07-02 19:44:32 GMT

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For that Soviet vibe, they literally all signed off on it:
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/852/093/092/149/502/original/111e86e70e938973.png

2026-07-02 19:42:00 GMT

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Behold! This is an older version of their documentation, but it is actually better than later versions. https://www.unavco.org/help/glossary/docs/ICD_GLONASS_4.0_(1998)_en.pdf
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/852/080/219/716/348/original/beea45c4b9913748.png

2026-07-02 19:34:03 GMT

As I need some relaxation, I'm about to dive into Russian GLONASS navigation satellite internals.

2026-01-02 12:19:07 GMT

Nonsense in the FT: "Miguel De Bruycker, director of the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB), told the Financial Times that it was “currently impossible” to store data fully in Europe because US companies dominate digital infrastructure". Nonsense, yet policymakers believe this - I talk about our *Self-inflicted* cloud crisis in this piece: https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/our-self-inflicted-cloud-crisis/

2025-12-23 10:32:38 GMT

So how about Europe's cloud woes? A lot happened in 2025, and things became much clearer. We truly can't continue to wed our governments to 🇺🇸 clouds. While there are encouraging developments, it is incredibly odd that neither cloud buyers nor the European 🇪🇺 software/hosting industry are seeing the urgency to act. But, governments & regulators could forge a useful path towards a solution in 2026:
https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/the-european-cloud-2025/

2025-10-17 21:21:58 GMT

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Indeed - and here's a not entirely unrelated take from yesterday. There is fascinating stuff happening in AI, but it is overshadowed by ridiculous attitudes both pro and contra, and any bubble collapsing has no bearing on that: https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/an-ai-premortem/

2025-09-27 09:07:03 GMT

Regarding my rant on those share.google links, they definitely are not there for your benefit. Every URL they make for you is unique, and you can be sure they use this for tracking. https://share.google/QORPsGkbhYKRBUhz1 and https://share.google/N9M35AUGzdVsPijVw both point at exactly the same page. And carry 100 bits of entropy. The redirect goes past www.google.com so they can hoover up your google cookies also...