@zkarj@mastodon.nz
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zkarj

@zkarj@mastodon.nz

Fifty-something geek; tech; aviation; ngā manu o aotearoa; photography

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

zkarj, to random
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@siracusa here’s the car for your daughter. It’s electric.

bananabob, to nz
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A few years ago we went up to Northland and took a walk through the forest to see Tane Mahuta. There was no sound from any birds. Speaking to the DOC guy in the car park, he told us the problem was pests.

I have just come back from a walk through an incredible small reserve near our house. The sound of birds here was almost deafening. They were mostly Tui, but I did spot some Fantails.

It is nice too no the eradication program is working.

#NZ #Birds #Pests #Eradication

zkarj,
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@bananabob @aligorith I was just thinking “I've been in to see Tane Mahuta, but I cannot remember whether I heard birdsong or not.”

Then I realised... it was 29.75 years ago. Probably about time I went back!

augieray, to random
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Shopping during #COVID19 is riskier than you might think. This interesting STUDY is locked behind a paywall, but the abstract is fascinating. It combined credit card data with testing data to track infections when people were in shops together.

“Exposure to an infected individual in a store is associated with a significantly higher infection rate in the following week… Transmissions between retail shoppers made a substantial contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2317589121

zkarj,
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@augieray @Phil_Tanner I've never stopped wearing a mask in shops. I'll stop when we have a truly preventive vaccine and enough of the population have it.

zkarj, to random
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LOL. Had been meaning to scale up my web server for a while but just not got around to it.

That federated post from earlier got ~6,000 requests in a very short space of time. Next highest in the same period was less than 300.

Server has been scaled. More $$$ but oh well.

zkarj, to random
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Ahhh, the dichotomy.

Not leaving the house for a month means I have had considerably more time for 'stuff’.

But not leaving the house for a month has been because I have had considerably less energy. For walking. Or, indeed, doing 'stuff’.

I have done some cool things, though. Like receive quite a few parcels for a project that I have actually managed to start.

And [REDACTED]. That's definitely been cool.

But my goal in the next four days... is to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE.

zkarj, to random
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I think there's a big problem with the media trying to be "impartial”. They take it too far and become “irrelevant”.

Because during the 1News item on the scrapping of the Auckland regional petrol tax, the guy they spoke to at the pump who said it was a good idea because “this is a thirsty vehicle” DESERVES to be ridiculed.

They ask the "person in the street" for their views but never call out the biases that so many people will miss.

It's misleading to them, and insulting to the rest of us.

zkarj, to random
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Any local woodworkers here willing to take on a small, and simple, commission from me? Basically a couple of square rails and a bunch of dowels. Whole thing easily held in one hand.

zkarj, to random
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Last time I took a photo of one 20 km from my camera. This was on a much closer track so only about 12 km from the camera.

I have been hoping to see this particular aircraft some day, but had hoped to be a little closer! Avgeeks will not only be able to tell the aircraft type and airline, but also the registration!

zkarj, to random
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So here's the thing. THREE people I know who are all wary of COVID19 and have managed for nearly four years to avoid catching it… have caught it in the last 4 weeks.

All fully vaccinated (well more than 2 doses). All still wearing masks in crowded public spaces (or otherwise avoiding them).

One lives with a vulnerable person and managed to avoid passing it on.

One IS a vulnerable person and was fortunately OK. Who knows what a different strain may have done.

It ain't over!

zkarj, to random
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Anyone in NZ (preferably Welly) got an old camera copy stand they don't want? In addition to being thin on the ground, they're bloody expensive new. It just needs to hold a standard DSLR sturdily at about 40 cm above the bed.

grammargirl, to random
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It's really hard to concentrate on while my husband is yelling at the insurance company over billing issue.

They are terrible, and he is fighting the valiant fight. I don't begrudge it at all, but I just can't think!

Our house is super open, so there's nowhere I can get away unless I actually leave the house, and I keep expecting him to be done soon. But as many of you probably know, calls to insurance companies can go on longer than you expect.

zkarj,
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@grammargirl I know the feeling! Our house isn't open at all, but it is wooden and without any internal insulation. Sound travels and it creaks. But the biggest two problems for me are:

  1. Every room bar one is either adjacent to or has a good audio path to my study.
  2. My hearing seems to be improving with age. If people talk clearly, and especially if anyone raises their voice, I can hear most of what they say.
zkarj, to random
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New Zealand had reasonably sensible rules and guidelines for COVID for nearly four years, including access to vaccines.

Five months after all that was thrown away, infection is spiking and I finally succumbed.I think I can attribute my infection to the lack of isolation requirements.

Yes, I'm fully vaccinated — six doses, the last in October. I can only hope it doesn't reach other household members, because I tested negative for the first two days of symptoms.

markrichard, to random
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@caseyliss This continues to be my favorite meme to get the point across.

zkarj,
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@markrichard @caseyliss I honestly support using whatever temperature scale you prefer. What I really hate is arguments over which is best. It’s the one time I considered quitting ATP.

gruber, to random
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The alt text for this image was created by AI. Amazing feature in Ice Cubes.

zkarj,
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@gruber try the Be My Eyes app's AI…

The image shows a claymation-style character resembling a man with reindeer features, standing in a snowy landscape. He has antlers, a bright red nose, and is wearing glasses. He's dressed in a red coat with white fur trim, a green shirt, blue pants, and black boots. Beside him is a small, brown claymation reindeer with white detailing and a surprised expression. In the background, there are snow-covered trees and a few animal tracks in the snow.

grammargirl, to random
@grammargirl@zirk.us avatar

I'm going to get personal for a second here:

My husband had surgery this morning, and I am just so damn grateful he's alive.

It wasn't anything extreme, but it was under full anesthesia, and there are few feelings that hit me harder than seeing someone I love being wheeled away into surgery looking completely vulnerable.

I'm wiped out and signing off for the night, but I hope I passed some of my relief-joy on to all of you.

zkarj,
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@grammargirl we hear you; we who have been in this situation.The feeling is real.

I usually turn into a machine right up until they're wheeled off, or I get home if they're staying in hospital, and then I just emotionally crash.

grammargirl, to random
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I sure do, and the free little cookie helps!

zkarj,
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@grammargirl I don’t often buy hot drinks but there was a time when I’d get a hot chocolate every day, and one time I got this after tiredly placing my order.

grammargirl, to random
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Does this make any sense to computer people?

My computer has been really slow, so I got some new RAM. When I installed it in two empty slots, one of the two cards started smoking.

I took the new cards out, and moved the old cards to the two slots where the smoking was just to see if those slots still worked.

And now … my computer is super zippy. No new RAM. I just moved two cards to the other two empty slots.

That seems super weird to me, but is it something people have heard of before?

zkarj,
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@grammargirl moving slots affecting speed, sure. Smoking from anywhere inside a computer? No!

grammargirl, to Etymology
@grammargirl@zirk.us avatar

I just heard someone say "chocker block" instead of "chock-a-block." That's a new one to me.

A chock is a piece or block of wood, and "chock-a-block" is a nautical term "said of two blocks of tackle run so closely that they touch," according to Etymonline.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/chock-full#etymonline_v_11300

Surprisingly, it doesn't look like it's from the same "chock" as "chock-full."

#etymology #WordNerd

zkarj,
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@grammargirl whaaaat? I’ve always thought of chock-a-block in terms of chock full. 🤯

zkarj, to random
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@ivory please make the very next feature a means of stopping a GIF from playing.

demofox, to random
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zkarj,
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@demofox @aligorith Wait'll they discover capital letters, and punctuation. 🤯

zkarj, to random
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Scourge!

Today's random air show photo is neither Corsair nor De Havilland!

Classic Fighters 2011 at Omaka is the scene, and the subjects are four Fokker Dr.1 Triplanes. Left to right: ZK-FOT, ZK-JOG, ZK-JOC, and ZK-JOB.

grammargirl, to random
@grammargirl@zirk.us avatar

OK, remember that I am a word person, and please don't mock me, but I learned something today about math that blew my mind.

I mentioned to my husband I have always struggled with multiplying by 9. He countered that 9 is the easiest number.

And I was all "No way, what are you talking about?" And then he told me these rules. 😲

There must be at least one or two other people who didn't know this and who will be as happy as I was to learn it!

zkarj,
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@grammargirl here's another trick for 9s… AND 11s.

1/9 = .11 11 11
2/9 = .22 22 22
3/9 = .33 33 33
etc

1/11 = .09 09 09
2/11 = .18 18 18
3/11 = .27 27 27
etc

I.e. the decimal digits of 9ths are multiples of 11 and vice versa.

zkarj, to random
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Pīwakawaka

Cute in every way.

https://justbirds.photo/2023/piwakawaka/

zkarj, to random
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I recently came across some old photos I took on a brief trip to Nürnberg, Germany. This was taken on New Years Day 1987. They have interesting ideas on subject material for sculptures in this city!

I recently learned that despite the city’s many very old features (one fountain I looked up dated to the 14th century!) this one was created in 1984, so was quite new when I saw it!

It is called Ehekarussell and depicts the “Marriage Merry-Go-Round, from courtship to skeletons”.

OK, then!

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