HoffmanLabs

@HoffmanLabs@infosec.exchange

VSI OpenVMS, Apple macOS, iOS, iPadOS; Server & Network Security; IP & DECnet Networking; TLS, DNS, C et al. ⌘ irc·2600·net #vms pwd:VMS

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HoffmanLabs, to Astronomy

This recently-reported exoplanet TOI-715 b purportedly located in its local habitable zone, and sized roughly 1.5 times Earth and triple earth mass, left me to wonder…

How much the gravity there might differ, and how much (more?) energy is involved in launching spacecraft from there.

Terrestrial delta-v is most of ten kilometers per second. That’s how fast you need to be going to climb out of the gravity well.

If that exoplanet well is deep enough and it seems plenty deep, getting off that rock gets much harder.

At some point the gravity well effectively becomes a one-way trip down.

(Not that Earth and its planetary politics doesn’t have its own version of the Schwarzschild radius.)

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1774/discovery-alert-a-super-earth-in-the-habitable-zone/

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/exoplanet-catalog/8921/toi-715-b/

That 0.083AU distance and that ~463.2 hour long year are both entirely disconcerting, but three earth masses just doesn’t seem all that habitable. For us.

lcamtuf, (edited ) to random

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    HoffmanLabs,

    @lcamtuf sailing the learned leadership on the river of innovation and wisdom, brain-quaffing the finest artisanal innovations extant.

    jfmezei, to random
    @jfmezei@mstdn.ca avatar

    @HoffmanLabs I've worked on IBM assembler but never really on vax and always with integers.
    If code says (float) C = (int) A / (float) B, then at sone point before division, A gets converted to float, right?
    Do CPUs have assembler instructions to convert from int to float and back? or does compiler generate code to set the 64 bits of a float with sign, exponent and mantissa based on value of integer, after which floating point instructions can treat those 64 bits as a float?

    HoffmanLabs,

    @jfmezei Usually, yes. But like most things in IT, details can vary.

    VAX has a wad of CVT conversion instructions, among other wads of instructions including the vector extensions, for instance. VAX offers instructions for pretty much everything to everything (everything circa 1978) and either has an instruction, or maybe has a macro.

    For VAX floating point details, see section 9.9 here:

    https://docs.vmssoftware.com/docs/VAX_MACRO_INSTRUCTION_SET_REF.pdf#page236

    Details here will vary by architecture, and often by implementation within architecture. (q.v. Alpha extensions including the byte-word extension, and Arm SBSA, etc.)

    Here’s an Alpha intro, as Alpha was effectively VAX with most of the latent VAX limits removed (not the least of which were the condition codes):

    https://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/academic/class/15213-f98/doc/alpha-guide.pdf

    Alpha too has a wad of CVT conversion instructions.

    The wrinkle with C code can be the implicit conversions that can (necessarily) arise when mixing data types. I’m not entirely certain a compound if {} else {} and a ?: ternary will produce the same outcome for all possible variations, and I’ve been using C for... for a while.

    <voice=buzzlightyear>And UB, UB everywhere.

    C looks kinda like a weird PDP-11 in various ways.

    If you want to view the instructions of recent architectures, visit godbolt.

    https://godbolt.org

    #c

    ai6yr, to cycling
    @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

    Well, that explains a lot. Stripped pedal thread. Pretty sure this was old damage exacerbated by having to use a lot of force to remove 30 year old pedals. Already replaced it with a new one.

    HoffmanLabs,

    @gparker @ai6yr Dodge did that with their wheel lug nuts aeons ago. The astute mechanic would notice the L and R on the bolt end. I was not astute.

    HoffmanLabs,

    @MHowell @gparker @ai6yr Beware certain Shimano cranks:

    https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2023/Shimano-Recalls-Cranksets-for-Bicycles-Due-to-Crash-Hazard

    HoffmanLabs, to random

    Solaris versions circa 10 and 11 have support extended until 2037…

    Hmmm. 2037?

    Such an epochly odd choice…

    But slightly seriously, that also implies I want to be off those Solaris versions by 03:14:07 UTC on 19 January 2038.

    https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/29/oracle_extends_solaris_support/

    jfmezei, to random
    @jfmezei@mstdn.ca avatar

    @HoffmanLabs I got offered some VAX in case I ran a museum. Apparently a microvax 1000 they say. Do you know anyone who is running such a museum who might be interested ?

    HoffmanLabs,

    @jfmezei I’ve never heard of a MicroVAX 1000.

    There was an AlphaServer 1000, a VAX 10000, and a few others.

    But not a MicroVAX 1000.

    Some folks that might be interested in a VAX:

    https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/from-passion-project-to-computer-museum-a-tech-geek-s-dream-realized-1.6210605

    http://emusee.org//

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island_Computer_Museum

    jerry, to random

    deleted_by_author

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    HoffmanLabs,

    @jerry The fediverse isn’t awash with info operations, nor is Reddit, certainly not Meta or the rest.

    My phone, snail mailbox and SMS certainly haven’t all been awash with info ops, either.

    YouTube badly missed with their ads (again? still?), but Google is still getting paid for their misses.

    It’s all just another chilly January in the Apocalypse. No info ops here. Nope.

    schwa, to random
    @schwa@mastodon.social avatar

    deleted_by_author

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    HoffmanLabs,

    @schwa @incanus Reposado?

    ai6yr, to delhi
    @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

    Ooopsie, another semi got stuck on the Potrero Grade.

    CHP log notice showing "Semi Blocking Roadway"

    HoffmanLabs,

    @ai6yr Smuggler’s Notch has similar problems, all warning signage included:

    https://www.thedrive.com/news/semi-trucks-keep-taking-this-scenic-vermont-road-even-though-they-all-get-stuck

    https://www.wamc.org/news/2023-08-02/another-truck-gets-stuck-in-vermonts-smugglers-notch

    HoffmanLabs, to history

    Random DEC and Maynard History:

    Atari had a video game Major Havoc, where a clone battled the evil Vaxxian empire located on Planet Maynard.

    Entirely coincidentally, the headquarters of the producer of VAX supermini computers, Digital Equipment, was located in Maynard Massachusetts.

    The pub located across Main Street from DEC’s Maynard Mill headquarters had a Major Havoc game for a while, too.

    DEC used an addressing system that identified each site, building, floor, and pillar and mailstop within each DEC complex worldwide. Within the many buildings located in the Maynard Mill, the aforementioned pub self-allocated the next highest available building number for themselves, “becoming” (IIRC) MLO25; building 25.

    Of course, various meetings were then held in building 25.

    An image of mine showing a quiet evening in Maynard is included below.

    https://web.archive.org/web/20200129064604/https://web.maynard.ma.us/history/mill-history.htm

    https://collection.maynardhistory.org/items/show/7291

    whitequark, (edited ) to random
    @whitequark@mastodon.social avatar

    stares the chrome devtools console... supports ANSI terminal escape sequences?

    HoffmanLabs,

    @whitequark One wonders whether it supports DECTST, and then what happens when DECTST is set for continuous testing?

    ESC [ 2 ; Ps y

    ai6yr, to linux
    @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

    Hmm, I feel like I have reached some kind of secret level of geekdom, figured out you can play Internet radio stations on your command line in Linux. (using a package called pyradio). #pyradio #linux #geek

    HoffmanLabs,

    @ai6yr Command-line video: https://github.com/uvipen/ASCII-generator

    HoffmanLabs,

    @ai6yr Moving ASCII terminal art was common as far back as DEC.

    There was an adorable animated ASCII art Christmas tree circled by a toy train that played via VT100.

    Here’s a sample:

    http://artscene.textfiles.com/vt100/

    xmas-03 looks like the right description forthe tree and train.

    ai6yr, to cycling
    @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

    Applying info I learned from today!

    HoffmanLabs,

    @ai6yr I’ve used Scotchlite reflective tape for marking patient stretchers and other emergency gear that’ll occasionally be sitting in the roadway.

    Same stuff is used on emergency vehicles.

    It has dealt well with adverse weather, and with cleaning chemicals.

    Big rolls in various widths are available for little cash.

    The red-and-wide conspicuity reflective stickers used on trucks are widely available, too.

    And yes, sheet stickers work, too.

    I would like the locals to get reflective blankets for the posteriors of their horses, though. Big brown backsides blend in.

    HoffmanLabs, to random

    Random Fire Department Trivia:

    As an emergency responder leaving a suburban or rural fire station headed to the incident location after the first fire trucks have responded, it is usually easy to follow the path to the incident.

    This because most suburban and rural fire trucks have water tanks (probably most urban fire trucks too, but they have more of those water-filled street bolts available), and those water tanks will overflow some water at stops and turns, whenever the trucks are being driven expeditiously.

    There’ll be distinctive water marks on the pavement, right where you’d expect tank sloshing.

    Or there’ll be icy patches, in the winter.

    If you’re out driving and notice water or ice patches at turns and stops along your current route, you might be approaching an incident with active fire apparatus, too.

    HoffmanLabs,

    @jfmezei The local trucks now have engines sized for their rated weight.

    In years past, the engines were smaller and less powerful, and trucks were smaller. And responses were slower.

    But arriving with insufficient water and having to wait for crews to establish a draft or a tanker shuttle doesn’t help things.

    Locally, first due has ~1000 gallons / ~4000 liters, and a deck gun monitor that can empty that tank in four minutes from arrival. Which I’ve done.

    Smaller fire trucks around here will carry ~500 gallon / ~2000 liters, sometimes called booster tanks.

    A heavy rescue of my acquaintance had ~500 gallon booster tank (unusual for a rescue) and attack lines and was plumbed as a big red water thief. It was used as the attack truck, had a pair of Mattydales (pre-connected cross-laid attack lines, a hose layout now commonplace), dropped a large-diameter supply line at the end of the driveway for the second-due truck to feed, and deployed the Mattydales. When the second-due truck arrived, the rescue pump operator would switch the water thief (basically, a big water manifold) from tank feed to feeding the attack lines from the supply line, and then open a valve to ‘steal” some of the supplied water to replenish the rescue’s tank should the supply fail.

    jerry, to random

    But what is web 4.0?

    HoffmanLabs,

    @jerry Web 4.0 only runs on Itanium.

    jerry, to random

    I am on a quest to get below 100 meetings per week starting in the new year. Wish me luck.

    HoffmanLabs,

    @jerry So that’s where all my meetings went.

    hacks4pancakes, to random

    If you ever get sick or injured, the place to do it is at a single 40-50 something American hacker’s house, because if you think moms are stocked for disasters just wait for the guerrilla medicine we are ready to do on ourselves when there’s nobody to help or drive us, and also nobody to tell us to not hold our beer and watch the homemade stitches, or use the three year old stockpiled medication.

    HoffmanLabs,

    @hacks4pancakes Quoting a Canadian sage: “You know you’ve reached middle age when the overriding consideration in any activity is comfort” — Red Green

    HoffmanLabs,

    @hacks4pancakes I’d expect not.

    Apropos of nothing:

    https://www.wemjournal.org/article/S1080-6032(12)00266-9/pdf

    EMS providers have had various discussions with the docs about that over the years, too.

    I’d expect yet more discussions occurring among backcountry EMS providers.

    My preference for this (for most cases) was flushing and Tegaderm, as I could see what was going on with the wound without disturbing it, and transport times that were usually short enough. That stayed inside protocols, too.

    Some docs are willing to work with folks that are in special circumstances such as backcountry or some international travel, too.

    I trained several times with military medical folks. Folks that were both spectacularly good, and, um, a little bit crazy. The PJs had a contest to see who could get the lowest SpO₂ meter reading. Didn’t know the meters could read that low.

    HoffmanLabs, to ascii

    There are myriad different ASCII charts available on the ‘net, this one was from DEC.

    #digitalequipmentcorporation #VT220 #ASCII #history #History

    HoffmanLabs, to retrocomputing

    ~Forty year old write-up on VAX/VMS virtual and physical addressing from IEEE Computing, for those interested in (old) virtual memory system designs:

    https://home.cs.colorado.edu/~rhan/CSCI_5573_Fall_2011/Papers/vaxvms.pdf

    Old? While each architecture can have its own unique vietual addressing features and its own wrinkles, even forty years on this stuff all still works basically the same way.

    And there’s usually a great big must-be-zero hole in the middle of virtual and physical address spaces until right around the same time that vendors’ work on new processor architecture designs and new architecture extensions begins in earnest.

    Right now, nobody really wants to buy 52-bits (ARMv8.2-LPA) or 57-bits (Intel x86-64 5-level) of physical memory, either.

    There have been a few systems with a virtual address space smaller than their physical address space, but that has been rare. (e.g. VAX XPA extended physical addressing offered 34-bit physical, with 32-bit virtual.)

    And for completeness, here is DEC Standard 32, the VAX Architecture definition:

    http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/vax/archSpec/EL-00032-00-decStd32_Jan90.pdf

    This copy of DEC Standsrd 32 is ~eight years newer than the article above, too. This refers to XPA and the never-completed VVAX Virtual VAX designs for instance, where the article does not.

    #retrocomputers #retrocomputing #VAX #VVAX #digitalequipmentcorporation #RetroComputing #IT #computing #ComputerArchitecture #IEEE

    hacks4pancakes, to random

    deleted_by_author

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    HoffmanLabs,

    @hacks4pancakes That anchor isn’t necessary initially, but once you complete the introductory rowing missions, you’ll unlock access to groups of more advanced missions including the extreme-rowing missions, and eventually unlocking the intensive vertically-oriented rowing missions; to the so-called “waterfall” rowing missions. The “waterfall” missions and the “inverted” missions absolutely require that anchor. 🚣‍♂️😜

    ai6yr, to diy
    @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

    House is now almost 100% wired for CAT6, ready for drywall. Almost every room with a drop. Will do the termination once everything is painted. Lemonade out of lemons... #diy #Ethernet

    HoffmanLabs,

    @ai6yr One of these?

    https://store.ui.com/us/en/pro/category/accessories-rack-mount/products/toolless-mini-rack

    Racks are common offerings in company bankruptcy sales too, if you’re looking for raw materials and have access to a reciprocating saw or ilk. Picked up a couple of racks via CL a while back.

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