Nuke

i dont think id spend anything less than 400, so dont ask me. been wanting to replace the aging ch gear, but then again i really dont play flight sims much any more. i usually just use the space mouse for kerbal.

its like they took all the good stuff out. i want my spices irradiated! one of the perks of being in an alaskan fishing town, is you can go to the docks during the fishing season and buy it right off the boat. or get it yourself if you can get out to the fishing hole. and you can get everything, shrimp, crab, salmon, halibut, etc.

i cant imagine it would be too difficult to build a cargo pod for the stratolaunch. but its going to eat into its payload capacity. however it does make it so you can swap pods for different tradeoffs between bulk and mass. though im not sure if the stratolaunch was designed to land with its payload. i suppose you could either reinforce the landing gear, or drop the cargo. i suppose deployable parafoils can be used to soft land the cargo if its packaged well enough, and that may be a good option for relief supplies for natural disasters and whatnot. also the an225 was really just a mod to the an124. you could take any one of the still operating heavy lift aircaft and add bigger wings with more engines. the a380 isnt great at cargo (a plane that large and it can only manage 84 tons), but apparently they aren't great for passengers either. airlines want to get rid of them. they will go the way of the 747 and spend much of their lives hauling cargo. gut em and do wing/engine upgrade. its not like the world doesn't have a need for at least a couple heavy lift platforms.

and now for something really technical. some months ago our cable company stopped cabling, and so we were forced to go with streaming services. i have an old i5 machine doing media center duty. the problem is, we are getting sick and tired of getting up to turn on the pc when we want to watch tv. try as i might i cant get the thing to wake up via wireless keyboard. rummaging through my components ive discovered i have everything i need to make an ir toggled switch. i found a 3.3v arduino pro micro. its a atmega32u4 board, which means i can use it as a usb keyboard/mouse (il connect this to an internal usb header). then i rummaged around for an ir sensor and found one that works. this thing will have a list of bindings on its eeprom to bind remote codes to keys, etc. if it detects the right ir code it will forward the appropriate command to the pc. however the main function will be to turn on the pc from an off state. enter the purple wire. the purple wire is the 5v standby supply on the psu. this delivers 5v all the time, even when the computer is off. the arduino on the other hand will be wide awake and looking for remote codes. if it finds one it will turn on the pc by bridging the power on pins on the mobo front panel header. first issue (more of a sanity check really) that i can see is that the board will be connected to both 5v standby by the raw pin and 5v via usb. ground is also sourced from the usb (i think its good practice to source ground in only one place so as not to cause ground loops). i found a schematic of the pro micro and i think this is actually fine. there is a diode between the 5v on usb and the raw in pin (both go to the 3.3v regulator). i figure because the voltages will both be 5v, the diode wont switch on. also the 5vsb cannot feed back into the usb header. i cant think of a situation where the reverse would happen, unless something was really out of spec. is this correct or am i insane? the second is how to go about switching on the pc. i dont have a schematic for my mobo, so im kind of flying blind on this one. my instinct is that the pw+ is active low (pulled up to the standby voltage internally) and that the pw- is really just ground, shorting them starts the pc. if this is the case then i just need to connect a single pin header between the pw+ and an io pin on the arduino and i should be able to start it up by connecting the io pin to ground for a few ms, and then z-state it. alternatively i could bridge the pins with a mosfet and forget about the logic levels of the pins. the latter seems like the safest bet (says the guy always blowing up transistors), but the former would be simpler. if its active high, then im going to have to use a mosfet anyway as i cant switch 5v with 3.3v. e: i think i was overthinking this. i did a not too exotic dry run with an arduino leonardo. just plugged into the usb port acting as a mouse/keyboard. the tv remote had a number of unused buttons, more after i went through the tv settings and disabled some stuff. ended up with 16 available remote buttons which dont do anything more than put an unobtrusive "not available" box in the corner of the screen . i scanned the remote codes and put them in a switch statement. initial plan was to store bindings on the eeprom, but this solution is simpler. after binding every keyboard command for hulu to every button (with a couple to spare, hulu's player sucks) i realized that what i had made was a convoluted mess. so i ended up just using the mouse library. i got four cursor keys and an enter for scroll and click, ch+/- (which arent used because im on hdmi) controll scrolling. and a closed caption toggle serves as a probibly not needed mouse 2. i wish i could use the numbers for 8-way control, but they keep changing the channels. moving at a rate of 1 pixel 11.1 times a second is slow. a 90 ms delay was the lowest i could use where the codes were still readable (remote codes are in the 10s of kilohertz and are as far as i can tell 32 bits long). i may have to raise that because the pro micro only runs 8mhz as opposed to 16. so i wrote some acceleration code. i need to tweak the numbers but i like it. dedicating 8 of the available buttons to the mouse seems overkill, but it worked out better than the available keyboard commands. im gonna keep a few though, the ff/rw commands for example (left and right arrows on the keeb) and pause (space) are in. mom cant get through an episode of jeopardy without going back at least four times, and she has to pause during final (the cheater). these commands are pretty standard on media players, vlc and youtube at least, idk about disney+, but probibly. a dedicated gtfo command is essential on any ui. the escape key fits the bill and is mapped to eject, which seemed fitting. also i found a way to make the chrome app launch full screen, which eliminates some clicks and makes they guide easier to read. but i needed a way out of it, so alt+f4 is in, bound simply to exit. i still got a play button, a stop button, 2 skip buttons, and an info. probibly do the skips as the up and down arrows, play an enter, and stop as the win key, so i can shut the computer down when im done. info will probibly be the power button for the pc. purple wire shenanigans are not needed. apparently my usb ports stay powered when the machine is off. while the bios setting for wake on keeb is enabled, i figure the arduino is too exotic (to much root complex) for that to work. but at least it solves the first issue entirely. some reserch into the second issue seems to validate my suspicions. connecting the pin to ground for a tiny fraction of a second wouldnt hurt it much and it cant do anything in the z-state. this should be a one wire solution. il connect the power button to some io pins and just pass through the start command to the ground strobe. i might also add some indicator lights to the front of the pc, and perhaps an ir-out if i find a better remote. i can bypass the tv entirely, and scan out codes to the tv for power mute and volume, which are the only ones the tv actually needs and bypass the "not available" popup, future upgrade stuff. building my own remote is also an option. e again: i was definitely overthinking it. the 3.3v to 5v conversion was rendered moot when i discovered a solder jumper on the board to make it run 5v right off the usb port. thus eliminated the power problems i was forseeing. also overthought starting the computer. simply setting the pin from input to output and back again was enough to ground the pin and then return it to a high impedance state when i no longer needed it, only needing to run a single wire. internal usb connection required cutting the big end off of a microusb cable, and crimping some dupont connectors to the end. props to the usb standards people for being extremely consistent with wire colors. i also added a pair of wires with some male dupont headers to connect it to the fp power button. the actual build turned out to be very tight, sitting entirely inside the rather shallow front panel. i only had to drill out a hole for the ir sensor. i used a larger drill bit to form a dimple around the ir receiver dome to give it a wider field of view. i was going to epoxy it in place, but electrical tape worked out fine. routed the wires through the cutout where the slim drive would go if i was so inclined to install one (im not). code changes were minimal. i tried to do a watchdog timer, but it wasnt restarting correctly. if the arduino goes wonky il have to restart it by unplugging the computer. a hard reset button would be a nice to have but this case doesnt have one. now for the hard part, teaching mom to use 4 arrows and an enter button. so far its not going so well.

finally got it. its bigger than i thought it would be. it looks good. i played some mwo at full settings and got 90 fps. i think i can do better, as the game is terribly optimized and the default full settings turns on things im better off without (for competitive reasons). but i only had enough time for a couple games. i think its improved my aim a little, i was poptarting erppcs like a boss. i need to install doom eternal now, its probibly the only game i have that stands a chance of pushing it. the sound feels a little bit cheap for what i paid for this thing though. the bass is weak and the midranges are downed out by the higher pitch sounds. i was hoping to get the ginormous full range speakers off my desk, but they stay for now. its funny, i found the speakers on the side of the road and connected them to a $10 chinese no-name amp, and it still sounds better than most modern audio devices. the FI32U supposidly has better sound, but i doubt even that would be as good as my full ranges.

this is why we cant have nice things.

i got to get up and pre cook my pork ribs. i like to rub them down with seasoned salt and smoked paprika. then i seal them in aluminum foil and cook em slow and low for about 4 hours. then i make a batch of my rib sauce (its a spicy tangy bbq sauce) and reduce it down until its thick as mud. then i slather it on there and put the ribs under the broiler (its still too cold to use the grill). then i serve with beans and a baked tater. thems good eats. id say i make the best ribs on the island.

i was mostly speaking of the tactical rather than the political. just so were clear. its an important chess piece to take off the board. both sides probibly want the decommissioning to go on as planned. but then again, things happen in war.

russia seems to have made securing the reactor facilities a priority. i cant imagine that any country interested in taking over another would do any differently. if we had to invade north korea, i think their nuclear facilities would also be priority targets. i think they are off the board unless the ukrainians plan on taking it back. why anyone would want a broken down old reactor complex is beyond me. whoever owns it has to foot the bills. i worry that russia might attempt to demolish it if they cant hold it. i dont know what the feasibility of turning a busted old powerplant into a nuke factory is, but its something i dont think anyone wants to find out.

i figure most people are going to be planet bound peasantry. people may spend decades to save up for that ticket off world, only to realize they have grown fond of the place and don't want to leave. the ability to leave planet might be the new bar for the middle class. you are getting off world for bigger opportunities in space. and living on planets might come with some limits to your personal wealth. for example the planetary government wants to keep their planet's ecosystem stable, and there for imposes limits on how locals can spend their money, no fancy cars or private jets. most of the real estate is owned by somone, much like it is in most cities, except planet scale. so you have a lot of supply limits on what you can buy. scarcity does not apply to land. there is always a finite amount available. so the upper crusts of society might pay the space tax and move off world and buy that asteroid they always wanted. planets which are not so good at supporting ecosystems are going to be much more industrialized and there wouldn't be much room for people not working in the factories or mines and little reason for anyone else to live there other than the usual support jobs that tend to follow such industry. leaving would probibly be the first thing on the agenda of anyone born there (humans do what humans do). though they might have the option to buy a ship right off the assembly line once they have earned enough company script from years of factory work. something not as available to those living on more bucolic worlds, who might consider living on a desolate rock an upgrade. despite the grittiness of life on an airless industrial rock, their income would be a lot more significant than on farm world, and their access to space would be more available and a lot cheaper. getting your own ship opens you up to a broader economy. you can now run goods, passengers, etc. on your first voyage you might be taking a load of ex factory workers looking to take a cushy administrative job in one of the orbital stations. cash in your script at the warehouse and take a load of stuff to farm world. this trip would pay for itself a couple times over. pick up a load of grain, meat, and other farmables, while the locals gawk at you for being a rich snob. run it back to your former industrial jobsite. do that a few times and you might be able to expand your trade routes. do that for a couple decades and you might be able to build your own station or at least get a plot on a big ring station. there might also be a whole subset of people who get to the top by swinging stocks and other financial vehicles all without turning a single screw or picking a single ear of corn. they are the ones who buys a ship and then hires a crew, mostly to sit around in space dock until its owner wants to go on a pleasure cruise. in all cases your wealth really is represented by your upward mobility, taken literally. every planet will get to a point where it just cannot support any more population and people will start taking a hit to their quality of life as the available resources get split up more and more. so being planet bound will be a strong hallmark for poverty. each planet may have its fare share of rejects who never advance much further than the most menial of jobs, and everyone will still have a homeless problem. living outdoors may be an option on farmworld. but on industrial worlds they might be rounded up for "airlock maintenance" as there is no room for those unwilling to pull their own weight. corporate may be unwilling to pay for their air or even opt to ship them off world and sell them to slavers in some backwater. but for most, life is what it is now.

on of my neighbors is having a fight with one of their other neighbors. unfortunately getting them evicted them will require starting ww3.

amazon finally handed it off to ups. its coming from michigan so it probibly got held up in the freedom convoy.

i bought a game in the 90s, forget which, and it had a coupon for a free copy of either that game, or carmageddon. i chose the latter. i do not regret the decision.

my own use of profanity has diminished significantly from grade school. when i do use it i try to avoid going for the usual four letter words and express my vulgarity with a much more refined vocabulary. if i am disappointed at hearing children swear. its usually for their lack of imagination.

i made a really spicy serano chilli once that burns you three times. the first is when you cut the peppers, the second was when you eat the chilli. the third, well il let you use your imagination. i dubbed it "apocalypse later chilli"

define sharp. i can get something called "sharp cheddar" at the grocery store. but i can also get a 4-year aged sharp from a gourmet food catalog. its so good it dominates the flavor of anything you put it on. i used some (with equal parts pepperjack and colby) on a batch of shredded beef enchiladas i made a few weeks ago. it worked out really well. the enchaladas themselves were nothing fancy, just a thing i do the day after we have a pot roast. you can also use canned roast beef. you can also use shredded pork or chicken, though i prefer a green sauce with chicken rather than a red sauce. shred the meat with a fork, throw in a can of chilis, some minced onions, a bit of cumin, chili powder and seasoned salt, stew that in a pot for about a half hour. then your roll it up in corn tortillias (you can steam or microwave them to make them more pliable so they wont tear). arrange them in a square or rectangular baking pan trying to fill up the whole pan (protip, if you have more pan than enchaladas, you can fill the unused areas up with refried beans for a side dish). then cover it with a can of enchalada sauce and your cheese mixture (any cheese you like really), then bake it around 375 until the cheese is crispy. we also got a swiss wheel which i use mostly for cooking. best thing is my monte christo, which ive calculated to be a 900-calorie sandwhich. just get some turkey and ham from the deli, and an uncut french loaf. cut the loaf diagonally in 3/4 inch slices. you then dip 2 of them in an egg and cream mixture (as if making french toast) and place on a griddle. when the first side cooks heat up your turkey and ham. after the first side has cooked completely, flip them over and add a generous slice of swiss to each side, put the now warmed turkey on one side and the ham on the other. once they are done enough to flip, flip one on top of the other, finish cooking flip again and finish the other side until the cheese is melted. reject any notions you have about watching your weight and dig in. i also make cheese steak sandwiches, malibu chicken and a few other things with it. its amazing what you can do with good cheese.

there were a couple games in mwo where i killed a top competitive player. there was also my ace of spades run where i got 9 kills in a single match (the cheevo only required 8). keep in mind its a 12v12 with no respawn. there was also a game of combat flight sim 2 where i landed a very damaged zero on the carrier while my gf at the time was getting frisky and kept putting her mammaries in my face. i set the breaks and i was gone. when i came back my plane had rolled off the deck and was in the drink. i still count it as a win.

i dont know. amazon still hasnt shipped it yet. tracking says it will arrive next week. the tracking gives zero indication of where it actually is at.

so what you are saying is that rather than young you's mind being flat out replaced for a copy of old you's mind, they would still be young you with only your present knowledge but not your memories. you might whip out calculus to solve a problem in gradeschool math class and not have a clue how you knew how to do that. or perhaps any memory of the future you have would be vague, and subject to interpretation by young you. even if you have prophetic visions of the future, you do not have the ability to discern them from your own imagination. you have a premonition about 9/11 for example. how do you know that's going to happen and that your mind just didnt pull elements from various tom clancy movie adaptations? and would know it well enough to be able to stop it? you might have a weird feeling when you see google come out of the woodwork, but would you buy stock because of that or would you have written it off as deja vu and missed the boat completely?

well when i say i wouldn't have gone to college i think id have adopted a trade instead. tradesmen make tons of money. welder or machinist. growing up nobody ever told be jobs like those exist, 'thats a blue collar job, you dont want that! you will die poor if you do that.' i think student adviser people get kickbacks from the universities to say stuff like that. a big name university was never an option for me and i ended up in a hole in the wall tech school. i wanted something better but had no support from my family. i could have gotten that tradesmen education in the military. had i attempted to join the usmc after high school instead of after college, i probibly wouldn't have come up 4-f. my family was trying to get me on disability on bogus childhood disorders, so i had a lot of crap on my medical records that the marines didnt like. but i was already busted by that time, id have to go back to my terrible twos to stand a chance at a proper reset. the only thing of value in my life is any knowledge ive obtained, and in this scenario i get to keep that. the rest can burn. you would definitely regret it. while that tends to work better than any conceivable alternative. throw in the towel about trying to understand them, nobody with manparts ever will.

i think id have skipped college entirely if were being honest. it contributed jack beans to any personal success on my part. maybe going to a less scammy college and taking a major not subject to tech rot. an it degree from 2002 isnt worth much these days.

id hate to wake up a blueshirt.

does this involve time travel or am i just suddenly young again? if so id probibly jump on the crypto bandwagon 10 years sooner and buy stock in google. of course im a lot more jaded now than i was back then, so i dont know if it would be much of an improvement.

i wrote a gui script in lua to control an arduino over a serial connection. i kept having this problem where the serial library i was using would randomly stop working, and i got fed up with re-launching the script from the command line (i kept instinctively closing the cmd window when i was done). so i came up with the bright idea to add a button to launch another instance of the script with a shell command. somehow i accidently used the idle callback instead of the click callback. needless to say when i loaded the script, i was immediately greeted to thousends of instances of my script as the thing spawned exponential instances until i ran out of memory. ikt was reminiscent of some of the computer viruses we had in the '90s.

encode it as base 64. however that imposes increased data requirements on the forum software. however if you compress the source image really well such that its no bigger than a typical forum post. idk if the admins would approve of that. otherwise find an image hosting site that supports hotlinking. i gave up on those after photobucket started demanding everyone pay to continue to use the service.