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Neil Turner's Blog

Neil Turner's Blog

@neilturner.me.uk

Technology and randomness, since 2002

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Updating firmware on a Nanoleaf Essentials smart bulb

Last week, Home Assistant notified me that there was a firmware update for the Nanoleaf Essentials smart bulb that I bought last year. Installing it turned out to be a bit of a palaver, hence me writing a blog post about it. If you want the short version: Trying to install the firmware over Thread...

Metrolink to the Trafford Centre, 2026 update

Back in 2013, I wrote a lament about how Manchester’s Metrolink tram network didn’t reach its biggest shopping centre, the Trafford Centre. Well, now it does, and I used it for our visits to the Legoland Discovery Centre and the Sea Life Centre. Two tram stops Being as it is Britain’s third largest shopping centre...

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Using then not using the AI WordPress plugin

I try to keep an open mind about generative AI. I’ve used it in the past for generating featured images on here, although I stopped over a year ago. I’ve also used ChatGPT to tackle a couple of issues that I’ve faced when I’ve not been able to find a solution using conventional means, such...

Sea Life Centre in Manchester

Next door to the Legoland Discovery Centre at the Trafford Palazzo is another Merlin attraction in the form of Manchester’s Sea Life Centre. We visited both on the same day. Sea Life Centres tend to vary. We’ve been to the one in Scarborough a few times, most recently in 2019, and it’s branded as a...

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Playlist of the month: songs from TV adverts

This month's themed playlist is songs that have later gone on to be featured in TV adverts. Some of these are songs that were already well-known, but others are from bands or artists that became popular because their songs were featured in TV adverts. I could have spent hours choosing hundreds of songs for this,...

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Legoland Discovery Centre in Manchester

A couple of weekends back, Christine had some coursework to do and wanted me and our ten-year-old out of the way for a day. So, we went to the Legoland Discovery Centre, located at the Trafford Palazzo in Manchester. This was actually our second visit; our first was in August 2017. Back then, our now...

Getting free prescriptions in England

As well as a free bus pass, one of the silver linings of being diagnosed with epilepsy is that I no longer have to pay for prescription medication. Epilepsy is one of several medical conditions which makes me eligible for a medical exemption certificate which you can get from the NHS Business Services Authority. There...

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Setting the Stage at the Media Museum

2026 marked 70 years since the very first Eurovision Song Contest, and so the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford is holding a special exhibition called Setting the Stage. I visited a couple of weeks ago, along with our ten-year-old and some friends from university. Setting the Stage spans two floors, taking up both...

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My disabled bus pass

As I'm currently unable to drive for health reasons, I've applied for a Disabled Person’s Travel Pass to give me free bus travel. Indeed, the letter I received from the DVLA notifying me that I was unfit to drive was sufficient proof that I'm eligible for a bus pass. I wish I'd known this when...

Recent ESPHome things

This is a miscellaneous post about recent things that have happened with the ESPHome project, and how I've implemented them at home. As well as a little bit of troubleshooting. ESPHome Remote Build server The fact that you can compile ESPHome binaries for each individual device is both a good thing and a bad thing....

I have new glasses now. These are my third pair since I started wearing glasses in 2021, and, for the first time, I have varifocal lenses in them. My eye test was actually back in July, and I picked up the new pair in August, so I've had almost two months to get used to...

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MCR Made Icons at the Manchester Arndale

If you fancy seeing a bit of free public art, head along to the Manchester Arndale Centre some time in the next three weeks to see the MCR Made Icons. These are massive balloons, suspended from the shopping centre's ceilings, depicting various famous Mancunians. All the designs are by Mancunian illustrator Stanley Chow. He's done...