@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

shuttersparks

@shuttersparks@qoto.org

So. Cal. engineer (hardware/software, retired, he/him), born at 313 ppm, musician, chef, now living in West Virginia. KW2P ham radio (the original social network), father of three, grandfather, astronomy, solar dynamics, photography, writing, birding, birdwatching, eBird, fountain pens, cats and dog, reader of banned books, Chairman of the Charcuterie Board, Whisk Manager, Compuserve refugee, founder of The Church of The Unwarranted Assumption. Crypto is short for cryptography. Blog: shuttersparks.net

#HamRadio
#Morse
#MorseCode
#Birding
#BirdWatching
#eBird
#wv
#WestVirginia
#food
#cooking
#astronomy
#physics
#engineering
#photography
#FountainPens

"To hold a pen is to be at war." --Voltaire

"I never understood wind. You know, I know windmills very much. Gases are spewing into the atmosphere. You know we have a world, right? So the world is tiny compared to the universe. So tremendous amount of fumes and everything." --Donald Trump

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atomicpoet, to random
@atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org avatar

You know what I miss about VHS?

Not needing to use subtitles to understand what people are saying. I’m watching a VHS movie right now, and one of the characters whispered and I could hear him clearly.

I miss good audio mixes in movies.

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@atomicpoet Another "secret" I figured out around 1970 (now obsolete info I suppose) back in the days of analog TV (FM audio), the audio quality in headphones was superb. You can hear every detail. But most people listened to the cheap built-in speaker, not realizing how great the audio was.

karlauerbach, to random
@karlauerbach@sfba.social avatar

I just (re)watched the old movie Spartacus.

I remember when it was filmed. We often had to drive from Studio City (where my grandparents lived) to Hollywood - past the Universal back lot. I remember the big Spartacus sign on the hillside and the Roman temple at the top of the hill. When I watched tonight I noticed that that temple is present in many scenes in the movie.

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@karlauerbach From back when they knew how to make movies ;-)

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@karlauerbach Haha, yup, same background here. I grew up thinking it was normal to recognize the streets and settings in most TV shows and movies.

I know what you're talking about very well, plus my family was a Hollywood family. Finding a movie star in the living room chatting with my father was not unusual and I thought nothing of it -- Susan Hayward, John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, etc. I thought nothing of it. I went to school with their kids and child stars like Bill Mumy. Growing up in Hollywood is inconceivable to people in the rest of the country.

My high school was the scene for a movie, too. I don't remember the name of it. Something about a mad bomber. My house was the set for Charles Durning's film "Stand Alone". My kids got a big kick out of it. It was the first time they saw how movies are made. An episode of I Dream of Jeannie was also shot there. Our house I grew up in overlooked the 20th Century lot, dominated by the set for My Fair Lady. My friends and I used to dumpster dive behind Desilu and retrieve discarded film from the cutting room floor from the original Trek series. Haha. We had boxes full of it and I wonder what it would be worth today.

It's fun to grow up like that but it's weird as an adult to realize that everyone else has a completely different idea of movies and what they see on TV. It's impossible to relate.

randahl, to random
@randahl@mastodon.social avatar

After last night's drone visit, the Pervyy Zavod oil refinery in Kaluga Oblast, southwest of Moscow, is questioning whether invading Ukraine was such a good idea after all.

video/mp4

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@randahl Very good. Oil refineries are expensive to build. More of this, please.

HopelessDemigod, to random
@HopelessDemigod@mstdn.social avatar

Supposed to be a nearly perfect weekend and as such I intend to rebuild my 40 meter dipole.

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@HopelessDemigod And, as usual, I'm working 12 hours shifts. Haha.

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@HopelessDemigod I can't complain too loudly. Thu, Fri, Sat are 12 hour days. Sunday is off but I'm an exhausted zombie. Then Mon, Tue, Wed are good days. Also, we've had thunderstorms and rain for much of the past two weeks. I keep the ant disconnected when lightning is near.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Via Pagliery:

So, actual brain worms.

NYT reports RFK Jr. had previously undisclosed health issues, including a parasite in his brain. “I have cognitive problems, clearly,” . said in the 2012 deposition. “I have short-term memory loss, and I have longer-term memory loss that affects me.” https://nytimes.com/2024/05/08/us/rfk-jr-brain-health-memory-loss.html

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@GottaLaff Yes, I have long and short-term memory loss and cognitive problems so I should run for president. Makes sense, right?

Dodges, to Dog
@Dodges@furries.club avatar

#dog

video/mp4

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@Dodges Learned this trick from Billy Joel.

shuttersparks, to random
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

I read Google's new Terms of Service today and was amused. It says that you can't machine read Google's stuff to train your AI.

HopelessDemigod, to news
@HopelessDemigod@mstdn.social avatar

#Radio #WWVB #Damage #Notice #News

Notice:

From approximately 0000 UTC on April 7, 2024 WWVB's south antenna has been disabled as a result of damage from wind gusts in excess of 90 MPH. WWVB continues to operate at reduced overall power using its north antenna only.

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@HopelessDemigod Did not know that. Thanks. I have three atomic clocks and they've been having trouble getting a "fix". It never occurred to me there might be an extended problem at the transmitter.

The question is why isn't it fixed? I'd imagine they'd fix it real quick. WWVB is not an experimental service.

ChrisMayLA6, to Energy
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

To actually accomplish a green transition we (the world) needs to spend around $9 trillion a year.... well that's just not affordable, say climate sceptics.

You might say that, but lets have a look at the money we were prepared to pony up to deal with the pandemic.

While a more focused threat & certainly causing some fiscal issues, when required the money can be found.

(Don't get me started on fossil fuels subsidies!)

So its not the money stopping the green transition!

#green #energy

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@jeff61813 @ChrisMayLA6 Depends on where you are. The grid in my city dates from the 1950s. Rusty transformers and cracked insulators still work...until they don't. No maintenance is done here until something blows, and then it's fixed with a band-aid.

br00t4c, to australia
@br00t4c@mastodon.social avatar

Students suspended at Yarra Valley grammar school over 'disgraceful' spreadsheet rating female classmates

#australia #students

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/06/yarra-valley-grammar-students-suspended-spreadsheet-rating-female-classmates

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@br00t4c Sigh. This is how "The Facebook" got started, you know. Zuck created it at his college so he could pick through the girls and avoid the "ugly" ones.

LouisIngenthron, to random
@LouisIngenthron@qoto.org avatar

"You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."

Who the fuck is trying to catch flies?

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@LouisIngenthron To further muddy the waters I'll point out that when I have an infestation of fruit flies or gnats, I put out a couple of ramikens with apple cider vinegar with a tiny speck of Dawn detergent mixed in. Red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar also work sometimes, but not always. Not sure why.

alysonsee, to random

The bird seed thief is checking to see if anyone would notice if he helped himself to a wee snack.

#today

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@alysonsee The battle here is against European starlings.

Next experiment is black oilseeds. American songbirds have stout beaks and can crack them open. Starlings with their soft and longer bills cannot.

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@alysonsee Well, I'd expect them to come. European starlings are smarter than most birds and physically aggressive.

fatsam, to random
@fatsam@mstdn.social avatar

Always fascinating to me to run across European lefties who want to explain that the Democratic party isn't leftist. The English speakers come from, almost always, overwhelmingly white countries without birthright citizenship and bad records for handling immigrants.

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@fatsam @TruthSandwich There are more crazy people around than I'm comfortable with.

serra, to random

I was completely out of the loop about what happened to Naomi Wu.

She is being silenced by the Chinese government and it seems like I am not the only one who missed this.

https://www.hackingbutlegal.com/p/naomi-wu-and-the-silence-that-speaks-volumes

https://skepchick.org/2023/08/maker-naomi-wu-is-silenced-by-chinese-authorities-and-why-i-blame-elon-musk/

#naomiwu #sexycyborg

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@serra Yup. Followed her for years. Then "click", gone.

This is our future too if we're not diligent about keeping fascists in check

tusk81, to random
@tusk81@mastodon.social avatar

Stephen Miller planning the Great Purge: Recruit ‘red state’ deportation army of law enforcement and National Guard to round up immigrants, rip them from their homes and community, and forcibly deport them.

https://americasvoice.org/blog/stephen-miller-planning-the-great-purge-recruit-red-state-deportation-army-to-round-up-immigrants-rip-them-from-their-homes-and-community-and-forcibly-deport-them/

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@tusk81 As far as Miller is concerned, all I'll say is self-hatred often manifests like this.

HopelessDemigod, to random
@HopelessDemigod@mstdn.social avatar

Speaking of thunderstorms and leaving your radio(s) we are having a thunderstorm as we speak.

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@HopelessDemigod My antennas are always physically disconnected unless I'm using the radio. BNC connectors are great for this. Coax(s) get disconnected where the feed enters the building and the loose cable tossed across the room for plenty of air-gap.

therightarticle, to random
@therightarticle@mas.to avatar

“Taxing big fossil fuel firms ‘could raise $900bn in climate finance by 2030’” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/29/taxing-big-fossil-fuel-firms-raise-billions-climate-finance

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@Naich @therightarticle Won't happen. They own the legislators that write the checks, so to speak. Big oil also has treaties with most countries preventing them from doing anything that interferes with their business lest they encounter penalties greater than the net worth of their country. They've had these treaties for a hundred years.

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@schuga @Naich @therightarticle Good to hear. This must be challenging. I'm sure the oil cartels will fight.

shuttersparks, to random
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

Life's too short to wear cheap (low-quality) socks.

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@HopelessDemigod Good question. I've tried various brands and narrowed it down to two that I'm okay with: Gold Toe and Dickies. Gold Toe seems a bit more comfortable but wear out quicker. Dickies last longer in my experience. I switch back and forth between the two.

carnage4life, to random
@carnage4life@mas.to avatar

Google has laid off their Python Foundation team and asked them to train their replacements who will be in the Munich office.

This is similar to layoffs in their finance department a few weeks ago where some positions were moved outside the country where they’re cheaper. 😬

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40171125

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@Nigel_Purchase @Npars01 @carnage4life I did that five years ago and have been happy ever since.

shuttersparks,
@shuttersparks@qoto.org avatar

@Nigel_Purchase @Npars01 @carnage4life Me, I switched to DuckDuck in 2018 and am very happy with it. Linux. Firefox browser with tracker blockers. Proton for email. Signal for texting. Zoho for online spreadsheets and such. (I've used Zoho since before there was a Google Docs.) For cloud storage for my family and me, I use a leased server in Germany where I also host blogs and web sites.

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