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Tag: three rings

  • Kicking off 3Camp 2026, our annual volunteering event, with the traditional "receive and sort a ludicrous amount of groceries" activity.

    Full image of A large group of people stand around a pile of shopping in the centre of a nicely decorated kitchen.
    Alt

    A large group of people stand around a pile of shopping in the centre of a nicely decorated kitchen.

    • Note
    • posted 27 March, 2026
  • Dan, in the dark, stands in front of a number of road closure signs on a rural road.

    Found GC8YPVJ Finn1

    On the morning of the Three RIngs Christmas party, I took an early walk to a nearby geocache, just outside the area where the roads are closed for the Warwick leg of HS2's construction.

    Read more (204 words)

    • Checkin
    • to GC8YPVJ
    • posted 17 January, 2026
  • A boy wearing a white t-shirt and a VR headset holds a pair of controllers which on the screen behind him we can see appear to him as lightsabres.

    Roomscale VR Still Rocks

    I'd promised the kids I'd dig up my (ten-year-old!) original HTC Vive VR gear and hook it up in the living room over Christmas. Roomscale VR, even running on decade-old kit, still rocks and is as immersive as ever!

    Read more - about 3 minutes (529 words)

    • Article
    • posted 2 January, 2026
  • Somebody just called me and quickly decided it was a wrong number. The signal was bad and I wasn't sure I'd heard them right, so I followed up by replying by text.

    It turns out they asked Siri to call Three (the mobile network). Siri then presumably searched online, found Three Rings, managed to connect that to my mobile number, and called me.

    If Siri's decided that I represent Three, this could work out even worse than that time Google shared my phone number.

    • Note
    • posted 14 October, 2025
  • Screenshot showing a text field for an address, in which has been entered '2 Other Street, Somewherevilla, SO4 4ME'. An invalid phone number beginning 07803 can be seen below it.

    Doxxing an Imaginary Person?

    This morning, Google pulled a video from YouTube belonging to my nonprofit Three Rings. This was a bit of a surprise.
    Apparently the video - which is a demo of some Three Rings features - apparently fell foul of Google's anti-doxxing rules. I'm glad that they have anti-doxxing rules, of course. But in this case, the person we 'doxxed' lives on Some Street, Somewhereville. Which I'd like to imagine is clearly a made-up address, but maybe not!

    Read more (114 words)

    • Note
    • posted 9 July, 2025
  • 12 Caucasian people of a mix of ages and genders posing as a group in front of a Nightline Association banner. Dan is one of them.

    The Last Post for the Nightline Association. How does that make you feel?

    Fellow Nightline enthusiast James Buller has written a stirring piece about his decades of volunteering for and around Nightlines, and - as usual - underplays the importance and significance of his work. Here's my take.

    Read more - about 4 minutes (852 words)

    • Repost
    • of this original
    • posted 1 July, 2025
  • Image representing post: Google Shared My Phone Number!

    Google Shared My Phone Number!

    When people started calling my personal mobile number with questions about a voluntary organisation I'm involved with, I was confused: we weren't sharing that number. It turns out that Google had decided to take the number I used to verify my identity for Google Business some years prior and start putting it in Google Search results. WTF, Google?

    Read more - about 3 minutes (688 words)

    • Article
    • with an accompanying podcast
    • 16 comments
    • posted 21 May, 2025
  • Dan gestures at his laptop in a quiet pub function room, on which he's writing some code. In the background, two women are having a conversation.

    ๐Ÿ‘‹ Farewell, NLA

    Highlights of yesterday's Goodbye Nightline Association party in Manchester: ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ’ป๐Ÿคโœ๏ธ๐Ÿคž. Low points: ๐Ÿ˜ข.

    Read more (94 words)

    • Note
    • 1 comment
    • posted 12 May, 2025
  • Oxford Station. Catching a train to Manchester for a get-together in memory of the Nightline Association, which will sadly be closing this year (although individual Nightlines will doubtless soldier on just as they did before the Association).

    Carrying a big ol' bag of Three Rings swag to give to basically anybody who expresses even the slightest interest. ๐Ÿ˜…

    Three Rings has been supporting Nightlines since before the Nightline Association and nowadays underpins voluntary work by hundreds of other charities including helplines like Samaritans and Childline. Feeling sad that the Nightline Association is going away and looking for a new and rewarding way to volunteer? Come chat to me!

    Full image of Dan, with blue hair and wearing a black t-shirt, stands on a sunny train platform holding aloft a medium-sized tote bag.
    Alt

    Dan, with blue hair and wearing a black t-shirt, stands on a sunny train platform holding aloft a medium-sized tote bag.

    • Note
    • posted 11 May, 2025
  • Never underestimate the power of people who are motivated by the good they can do in the world.

    Today I was in awe of this team of unpaid volunteers who, having already given up their bank holiday weekend, worked through dinner and into the night to ensure the continued uptime of a piece software that enables the listening service of emotional support and suicide helplines.

    Full image of In a conference room, Dan stands in front of a group of people working on laptops.
    Alt

    In a conference room, Dan stands in front of a group of people working on laptops.

    • Note
    • 2 comments
    • posted 3 May, 2025
  • Dan looks shocked as he stands in front of a wooden door on which a brass plaque reads 'Welcome to Fairlawns 25'.

    Found GCA2025 Where's 25? - Locationless Cache

    Happy 25th birthday, geocaching.
    I'm spending the weekend volunteering for a nonprofit I founded (it's almost as old as geocaching, at 23). We're staying in a hotel at N 52ยฐ 36.184' W 001ยฐ 53.869'. I've also gotten out to find a couple of local geocaches.

    Read more (52 words)

    • Checkin
    • to GCA2025
    • posted 3 May, 2025
  • Found GC7H5M9 Hedge your bets

    This checkin to GC7H5M9 Hedge your bets reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs. Found following a short hunt and a brief rummage after walking up the nearby footpath, with the help of a previous log which talked about crossing a fence (which I didn't need to do, having come up โ€ฆ

    Read more (155 words)

    • Checkin
    • to GC7H5M9
    • posted 3 May, 2025
  • Found GC9QD6R Centurion

    Woke early, as usual, for the first day of a weekend of volunteering, while staying at nearby Fairlawns. I've already tapped out the most-local caches to that hotel on previous stays, so for this morning's walk I came further afield to find this (and one of the two puzzle caches not too far away; that's next, hopefully!)

    Read more (79 words)

    • Checkin
    • to GC9QD6R
    • posted 3 May, 2025
  • While adding an entry to OpenBenches (openbenches.org/bench/36677), I was struck by how much of an impact this woman - Jane Gregg - must have made on her local community.

    In this community garden in Bampton, in the Lake District, a bench dedicated to her includes not only a plaque summarising her achievements but it's also been hand-carved with the words "Jane an amazing human."

    Full image of Top of a simple wooden bench; an attached brass plaque on the front side can be seen, but is illegible from this angle. But on the top, somebody has carved "Jane an amazing human."
    Alt

    Top of a simple wooden bench; an attached brass plaque on the front side can be seen, but is illegible from this angle. But on the top, somebody has carved "Jane an amazing human."

    • Note
    • posted 10 April, 2025
  • Dan examines his GPSr on a sun-drenched craggy hillside.

    Found GC1DH2A Knipe Scar - Haweswater View

    Never one to let a hard day's voluntary work keep me from a geocaching expedition, this afternoon I took a hot brisk walk up the scar to find this (and hopefully next another nearby!) cache. Caught my breath sitting on a rock near the GZ, before pressing on. SL, TNLN, TFTC. FP awarded for such a delightful spot.

    Read more (105 words)

    • Checkin
    • to GC1DH2A
    • posted 8 April, 2025

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