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720 karma · joined June 18, 2018

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83··on California closed the Montana license plate loophole
We used to do this in Wisconsin for hunting. Large permit tag you had to clip on your back, looked just like a license plate. They got rid of it about a decade ago when everything was going digital.
83··on Cops Can Bypass iPhone's Automatic Reboot to Get into Locked Phones
that doesn't seem unreasonable. You only have one first time. Maybe two if you upgrade your computer more often than your phone.
83··on What California is learning from solar panels built over irrigation canals
Does the labor actually cost more? It's not that much extra work to use a torque driver and some anti-ox paste. If anything I'd expect buying aluminum rated terminations and outlets would be the biggest additional cost. Might be a little harder to pull aluminum with the larger diameter I suppose.
83··on The founder of Craigslist has given away half a billion dollars
ND?
83··on What Is a Direct Attach Copper (DAC) Cable
This should be higher up for anyone considering DACs for homelab use. I had a lot of issues due to this when mixing Aruba switches with Intel nics in my rack. Ended up going to fiber and SFPs.
83··on Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center
I'll bite. What's the downside of a flat tax for a category like datacenters? If Meta want's to negotiate a lower tax rate for datacenters that's great, just allow every datacenter to apply for that same rate then.
83··on Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center
I find it bothersome because the system incentivizes giant megacorp monopolies. If you are small you'll have to pay taxes like everyone else, but once you hit some threshold of huge enough, we'll let taxes slide so you can get another leg up. A datacenter this size isn't going to provide more economic benefit than 50 datacenters 1/50 the size, but only one of them gets special treatment.

Combine that with the fact that large corporations constantly find ways to avoid paying taxes and its hard to be positive about this kind of thing.

83··on I hate soldering
If you get a quality tig welder aluminum isn't too bad. It's definitely more difficult than steel but I taught myself to weld AL without too much trouble. Practice on some scrap for sure before your bike - it'll be easy to blow a hole in thin bike tube.

The biggest challenge I've had in welding aluminum as a hobbyist is that I rarely know what aluminum alloy I'm working with. Most things don't say what type so we're left guessing what filler is appropriate. If you use the wrong filler it could be prone to cracking again in the future.

Also for thicker aluminum preheating is very important. The aluminum transfers heat away very quickly so you get cold lumpy welds if you don't have both parts pretty hot at the start.

83··on Chevrolet Performance eCrate package (400v/200hp)
I don't know Bolt touchscreen specifics, but a lot of electronics in newer cars are paired to the id in the cars BCM or security module and installing replacement parts requires activation/re-registering using proprietary dealership tools.
83··on Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI
Is there an industry newsletter or source where one can read up on this? All I can find is a single article from Reuters.
83··on Chevrolet Performance eCrate package (400v/200hp)
>> You ever wonder why Indiana has such a huge number of drag racing cars in the Prostock and Superstock classes?

I can honestly say I've never wondered that. It's so oddly specific lol.

83··on I aggregated 28 US Government auction sites into one search
You're probably kidding but I wouldn't put it past someone. Unscrupulous people bring antifreeze in gatorade bottles to the car auction and dump it under cars they want. Be careful out there.
83··on I aggregated 28 US Government auction sites into one search
That is quite the highlight, now you have access to a lathe :) I also bought a large lathe from a government surplus site, it's by far my favorite tool.
83··on I aggregated 28 US Government auction sites into one search
Your site is awesome. I too am tired of checking five different government auction websites every day, each with a terrible interface from 2005.
83··on I aggregated 28 US Government auction sites into one search
Or when you've been wanting to one up your neighbor's boat by buying a drug running speedboat with bullet holes.
83··on An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests
Modern farming is much closer to science and engineering than most realize. Rowcropping in particular is heavily reliant on gps, soil chemistry, and genetics to put the right seed, in the right soil, with the right nutrients to maximize output.
83··on Better to Skip a Year for Hardware Upgrades?
That could easily be part of their prompt. I just did a quick test telling Copilot to "add a few spelling and grammar mistakes to look like a human wrote it" and it does a reasonably convincing job.
83··on Tractor
You might want to look up the max thickness and other common issues hobbyist level laser welders have before purchasing, or at a minimum wait for the laser welders to mature a bit more. You'll spend less than half and be far better served with a cheap tig welder at this point in time.
83··on New York’s budget bill would require “blocking technology” on all 3D printers
There are some Youtube videos about homemade weapons in African countries and it seems you'd have to remove peoples hands in addition to their tools. Some of the functional guns out there are mostly hand whittled wood with a piece of pipe and some bailing wire.
83··on New York’s budget bill would require “blocking technology” on all 3D printers
I don't think its unreasonable to ask politicians to be familiar with how the machinery they are regulating functions and is used.

To use your heroin example, this is akin to banning spoons or needles because they heard those are tools of the heroin addict. It shows a lack of understanding on the part of the regulator and has a far reaching effect on people legally using the items.

83··on Antirender: remove the glossy shine on architectural renderings
The rust stains in realistic locations on the bridge is very well done.
83··on The chess bot on Delta Air Lines will destroy you (2024) [video]
My legs are long enough there isn't room for them to press against the back of the seat. I'm either manspreading into the crevases between seats or in foetal position with my knees halfway up the seat in front of me. A person reclining is excruciating in the former, but in the latter position at least the person in front can't recline as there's no physical space for my body to become more compact. Flying is hell.
83··on Basalt Woven Textile
Each material has its own issues. Kevlar is very difficult to work with (need special scissors to cut and you can't sand the finished product), Dyneema is sensitive to UV degradation. Carbon is $$$. Basalt sounds like the sweet spot for some of my applications but afaict it can't be purchased by the yard like most materials so is essentially unobtainium to a hobbyist who can't afford a $1k or so roll of material.
83··on Basalt Woven Textile
Exactly this. I make kayaks and basalt would be the perfect middle ground between FG and carbon where the boat will get dinged up in rivers. Unfortunately its nearly impossible to obtain in small quantities for a hobbyist.
83··on Kmart's use of facial recognition to tackle refund fraud unlawful
It's a false equivalence to equate humans (even "super-recognizers") with a computer when it comes to matching large quantities of faces with names/PII.

At some point the numbers get big enough that you wouldn't be able to get the pictures of faces in front of the people who would recognize them fast enough.

83··on US Coast Guard Report on Titan Submersible
Well designed carbon rims are surprisingly durable: https://youtu.be/VfjjiHGuHoc
83··on Air Force unit suspends use of Sig Sauer pistol after shooting death of airman
>> I have no idea why people buy pistols that aren’t Glocks.

Eh, that glock grip never felt right to me. The moment I picked up a PPQ it felt like someone had designed a grip specifically for my hand.

83··on Air Force unit suspends use of Sig Sauer pistol after shooting death of airman
Fwiw, I love my PPQ Q5 Match.
83··on AI overviews cause massive drop in search clicks
Paprika (an app for storing recipes) can parse out the ingredient list and directions from a webpage. It's surprisingly good at it.
83··on TrackWeight: Turn your MacBook's trackpad into a digital weighing scale
Could probably make a small stand with nubbins from touch screen pens as the feet.
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