simplenomad, 3 hours ago to random

More #FirstWorldProblems as my new hybrid heat pump hot water heater failed city inspection. Apparently the plumbers will have to redo the condensate drainage, as the plan of "empty the bucket" isn't going to cut it, it must go into a sewer drain or be piped outside.

#GreenEnergy #heatpump

simplenomad, 3 hours ago to random

Okay this is a very #FirstWorldProblems kind of problem. The picture is of the back part of the directional tail fin to help determine wind direction on my Ambient Weather WS-2000. It broke off during a recent hail storm. I have a bunch of Ambient Weather gadgets and like them, so the question I’m considering is this - do I take this opportunity to move the WS-2000 during a repair for better positioning, do an upgrade to a WS-5000 (and better positioning), or repair in place? Normally I’d repair in place but to get to it I’d have to get on the roof via ladder, use a second ladder to crawl up onto the top of the chimney, then stand and stretch up to reach the WS-2000. A bit of a pain.

If I relocate this to a better spot I’d get more accurate wind direction and it would make it easier to change out the batteries when that is needed. Also the WS-5000 wind measurement system uses no moving parts, so definitely a step up.

The pole the WS-2000 is a metal pole that is attached to the chimney and was originally installed in the early ‘70s for a television antenna (which is long gone). It is slowly rotting away from decades of rust so I could also get rid of that as well.

Thoughts?

simplenomad, 4 hours ago to random

@mattferrell You seen this? I don't think it's an entire video's worth of discussion, but maybe a decent chunk of a larger discussion about gathering green from not-so-green.

https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/112530319792326783

mattferrell, 21 hours ago to random

Latest follow-up podcast is out! YouTube: https://youtu.be/qXl0kYiCuO0 Audio version: https://share.transistor.fm/s/e8b5b271 Sean and I talk about solid state batteries crawling into our lives and whether or not they’re actually here. Are they?

simplenomad, 1 day ago to random

I’m looking forward to the day that either mass transit grows and/or self-driving electric cars evolve to the point that large metropolitan television and radio stations no longer need traffic reporters.

At least I hope that’s the reason, and not some massive plague.

#green #greentech

simplenomad, 7 days ago to infosec

Hey #infosec and various old school #hacker types out there. Ages ago I read a tale about a print server that was the source of an intrusion into some system that the author of this tale was trying to secure. In other words, the print server (at some ISP in Australia) had been popped and from there the attacker was getting into other systems. If you were around in the last century and involved in tech and security you might have read this in some zine or blog. A pointer to a copy of this tale would be appreciated, and you will be rewarded in a large quantity of Zorkmids. And if you get the Zorkmids reference, surely you might recall this tale. Boosts appreciated.

simplenomad, 8 days ago to random

If you're wondering if the days are longer, they are, due to changes in the Earth's rotation. Scientists have tracked this down, and it is apparently because of Nikola Tesla spinning in his grave.

mattferrell, 8 days ago to random

Latest follow-up podcast is out! YouTube: https://youtu.be/JPGMBbBt9s8 Audio version: https://share.transistor.fm/s/1bad8d75 Sean and I talk about old designs, new designs, and the coincidences linking them. Wind turbine design goes back centuries, but are they actually linked to newer designs?

#StillTBD #Windturbine #Undecidedmf

simplenomad, 12 days ago to random

In case you were wondering, I flipped off Kid Rock while out getting takeout. Or at least his tour bus, as it turned to head up to the stadium near my house. Don’t worry right wingers, I also flipped off Taylor Swift heading to the same stadium on her last tour so I spread the angst around.

I really need to pay attention to the stadium schedule to avoid getting pissed off by sports teams, musical acts, and whatever the fuck that idiot Kid Rock is.

simplenomad, 13 days ago to tea

That thing, where it is early in the morning, you've fixed your breakfast of a single packet of instant oatmeal and dry wheat toast, you've added the boiling water to the oatmeal, poured a mug of water with Earl Grey to steep, you eat the toast to allow the hot water in the oatmeal to expand a bit, you start eating the oatmeal, and then BAM. You didn't stir the oatmeal enough so halfway through you get all of the sugar added to the packet in one bite and your world is UPSIDE DOWN.

That will wake you up much quicker than the Earl Grey could ever hope for.

#FirstWorldProblems #EarlGrey #tea

pluralistic, 14 days ago to ai

The big news in search this week is that Google is continuing its transition to "AI search" - instead of typing in search terms and getting links to websites, you'll ask Google a question and an AI will compose an answer based on things it finds on the web:

https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-google-search-may-2024/

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/15/they-trust-me-dumb-fucks/#ai-search

1/

simplenomad, 16 days ago to infosec

I recently deployed Wireguard, and have a blog post about it. It's more of a "real world" blog post than instructional, but I do enclose details about what I did and how I did it.

https://www.markloveless.net/blog/2024/5/14/installing-wireguard

#infosec #HackerLife #hacker #security #OldManYellsAtCloudflare

simplenomad, 17 days ago to random

Outside of GPS on certain tractors that impacted farming (at least here in North American), were there other #auroraborealis impacts to our technological world? Other than the slightly increased load to social media involving #aurora posts? Curious...

https://www.404media.co/solar-storm-knocks-out-tractor-gps-systems-during-peak-planting-season/

simplenomad, 19 days ago to random

No pics of a rare (for this region) aurora light display due to clouds. And a long day, so I’m tired and not going to wait and hope for a break in the cloud cover….

simplenomad, 22 days ago to random

Every once in a while you realize how weird the Internet is in an unusual way. For my blog site I got a report showing the most popular page landings based upon search terms. Last month the number one blog post was a review I did of my HP Dev One. In the blog post I had a picture of the inside captioned "nerd porn". The popular search term that generated all those hits was "porn hp" aka HP Porn. Let me just say if you're a Harry Potter fan in a weird way, feel free to search for that term.

The blog post in question for the curious: https://www.markloveless.net/blog/2023/3/10/my-hp-dev-one

#nerdporn #HPDevOne

simplenomad, 24 days ago to random

My main use for Amazon is to find products. Once I've found what I want, I look up the seller directly and see if I can get them some other way - usually simply getting it direct from them. It is usually about the same price but as they are not giving a chunk of it to Amazon they are making more money. Yes, I rarely get free shipping or whatever, but it helps support what it often a small business. I encourage all of you to do the same.

#StickItToTheMan #SupportSmallBusiness

simplenomad, 25 days ago to ubuntu

Here's your every 24th month reminder that do-release-upgrade will not work until the .1 LTS release is out.

#ubuntu #linux #LTS

simplenomad, 27 days ago to solar

Two things I want from a cloudy day when it comes to my solar panels and various batteries I want them charging - the house batteries get charged, and the EV gets charged. The latter has happened today, the former should be there with an hour or two. This is important during storm season here in Texas. Since the EV is fine for several days, I'll leave it unplugged for a few days so I can prioritize the house batteries with any excess being sold back to the grid.

#solar #FirstWorldProblems #RaSunGod #OldManYellsAtCloudsLiterally

simplenomad, 28 days ago to random

Yes I am mature. Why do you ask?

mattferrell, 29 days ago to solar

Latest follow-up podcast is out! YouTube: https://youtu.be/m0GfWX5sT4o Audio version: https://share.transistor.fm/s/ce9cce2d Sean and I talk about whether or not the distrust in sustainable tech, like home solar panels, is based on fact or fiction.

#Solar #StillTBD #Undecided

simplenomad, 1 month ago to tea

I might have enough tea to get me through the morning.

#tea #SecuriTea #Friday

simplenomad, 1 month ago to infosec

I sort of have opinions about TikTok and the ban, but not like everyone else...

https://www.markloveless.net/blog/2024/4/25/the-tiktok-implications

#infosec #apt #TinFoilHat #privacy

simplenomad, 1 month ago to random

Across the street from the car dealership where I’m currently at is this fine establishment.

simplenomad, 1 month ago to infosec

Question for #infosec fam and friends. I am looking at replacing my old Sony "smart" TV with something less "phone home" and less broken from a software standpoint. Something that doesn't require its own VLAN and is the number one blocked device by PiHole in the house. I'm considering something using Linux, something using a Mac, or an Apple TV+ (for ease-of-use interface). Any thoughts, advice, or "if I could do it over" stories are welcome.

As an FYI, the old television's app system is increasingly buggy, especially after upgrades to the Android OS and/or individual streaming apps, to the point of madness.

#smarthome #smarttv #television #streaming #security