SpikedCola

My way requires a separate receiver but at least not a separate remote... TV speakers just weren't enough for me.

I have a 6+ year old dumb panel that has S/PDIF and RCA "audio out" connectors.

I run HDMI from a Pi to my TV, then S/PDIF to a receiver for full surround sound. Volume control is either done through the TV remote or Kodi, the receiver stays on 24/7. With CEC, the TV remote can also control Kodi.

> in my opinion the best iPhone design was the iPhone4, this one was a real masterpiece

Glad to hear someone else shares this opinion! Still rocking an iPhone4 here.

Appears to be using google's geocoder [0]

My location resolved a province over, so I suspect it is at least somewhat IP-based (or IP + some other magic)

[0] https://github.com/ksho/whenisgoldenhour.com/blob/3c0d7f0acf...

I would consider "SLC" microSD cards to be "high-reliability" compared to MLC/TLC. However you pay for it - the cheapest 1GB SLC card on Digikey is $43 CAN[0].

Here is a helpful-looking image for selecting between different memory types [1]

[0] https://www.digikey.ca/product-detail/en/swissbit/SFSD1024N1... [1] https://www.cactus-tech.com/assets/images/a/Selector%20Guide...

I think it's a Silicon Valley[0] reference

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uMEE7eaaUA

At least in Canada, the new Amber-Alert-over-LTE system is mandatory, and cannot be opted out of:

"People cannot opt out of this," said CRTC spokesperson Patricia Valladao. "There is a high importance that people — want it or not — receive these alerts."[0]

[0] http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/emergency-alerts-system-ph...

Why does it sound dangerous? (Genuinely curious, it looks like it could be a very useful tool in certain situations)

I've never used it, but it appears to operate in read-only mode by default[0]:

> -w

> Specifies that the file system should be opened in read-write mode. Without this option, the file system is opened in read-only mode.

[0] https://linux.die.net/man/8/debugfs

I believe this is because wind turbines are brought online and taken offline according to demand. Nukes/gas stations can't have capacity adjusted very quickly, and take hours to get up to full production. Wind can be started/stopped quickly as demand rises and falls throughout the day

"Demand response may also be used to increase demand during periods of high supply and/or low demand. Some types of generating plant must be run at close to full capacity (such as nuclear), while other types may produce at negligible marginal cost (such as wind and solar)."[0]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demand_response

I'm using a K-World ATSC Tuner[1] on an Orange Pi Zero[2] (not Banana Pi as previously mentioned). Armbian[3] nightly installs with no modifications, and then Mythbackend[4] is installed using apt-get.

I bound to the machine's IP instead of localhost, and then was able to enter that into Kodi, where a list of TV stations Myth found appeared. It was surprisingly easy! I haven't had any issues with stuttering or skipping when streaming to a single Kodi instance - haven't tried any more than that.

[1] https://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/KWorld_ATSC_340U

[2] http://www.orangepi.org/orangepizero/

[3] https://www.armbian.com/orange-pi-zero/

[4] https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Mythbackend

I'm sorry, it's an "Orange Pi Zero"[1] that I'm using, not a "Banana Pi Zero". I've gone through so many of these dev boards that it's hard to keep them all straight!

[1] http://www.orangepi.org/orangepizero/

I've used Raspberry Pis for this, but they tended to be bulky and overkill - the "Banana Pi Zero" is what I've been using lately. Combined with a PoE splitter (some have micro-usb, you can plug directly into the board), this works great - no more coax losses!

I use one for SDR playing, and one for receiving OTA ATSC and streaming to Kodi. I suppose I could have also installed a USB hub and run them both (or more) from one board.

"... parthenogenetic offspring may have anywhere between all and half of the mother's alleles. The offspring having all of the mother's genetic material are called full clones and those having only half are called half clones. Full clones are usually formed without meiosis. If meiosis occurs, the offspring will get only a fraction of the mother's alleles."[1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenogenesis

Can you explain how this works?

I live in Canada, shipping is $8 flat rate, and all the taxes and shipping are totalled on the "preview" screen.

I've never paid customs fees in all the years of ordering, so for my situation I know the full price upfront before ordering

Love your use of wire duct to keep things organized, and small attention to detail like ferrules on each wire going into the terminal blocks.

To my eyes this shows really you care about what you build.

Nice job!

Thanks for all your advice! I really appreciate it.

I'm going to follow up with a notice of payment due, and lawyer up. sigh

"In the Interests of Safety: The absurd rules that blight our lives and how we can change them" - Tracey Brown & Michael Hanlon

http://www.amazon.com/In-Interests-Safety-absurd-blight/dp/0...

Found a useful script on SuperUser that removes KBs as well as hides them in the future. Just need to change the list slightly

    FOR %%X IN (3075249 3080149 3068708 2976978 3021917 3035583 2952664) DO ...

http://superuser.com/questions/922068/how-to-disable-the-get...

Have you ever used their product(s)? Given the way they used to slow PCs down to a halt, I didn't/wouldn't trust them to do a halfway-decent job.

Here in Ontario, a lot of stations I've seen offer "up to 10% ethanol" in regular (87 octane) gasoline, "up to 5% ethanol" in mid-grade, and "0% ethanol" in premium.

I grew up in Southern Ontario (born in 1990) so I can only speak to my experience in that province.

In my experience, the problem is sheer distance between subscribers. You're too far away for DSL, and there are no cable lines.

This leaves only a few options:

  - dial-up
  - satellite (stick with dial-up - trust me)
  - wireless
  - pay to have fiber/cable trenched/run (I wish!)

Wireless has become big in the last 3-5 years as providers have begun to offer their service at a reasonable price. There is still the problem of uneven terrain (sometimes you need a 100' tower to get over all the trees) but it's getting better.

I'd like to know where exactly they focused their attention regarding municipal broadband - I suspect it was in the prairie provinces. Back around 2000-ish, I recall hearing that some level of government was going to put money into "broadband for all" but it never truly came for us. Believe me, we "wanted it" and let people know

It appears to have been renamed to "Why didn't you back me up?"

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9163309

Wikipedia calls this a "vacancy chain"

> In a vacancy chain, a new resource unit that arrives into a population is taken by the first individual in line, who then leaves his/her old unit behind, this old unit is taken by a second individual, leaving his/her old unit behind, and so forth

Neat!

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

While there are lots of apps to find nearby gas stations, I wish there was more information available on which stations have diesel.

I literally have to street-view every gas station, or make lots of phone calls, in order to find a diesel pump, especially when travelling through small towns. Granted, larger (highway) stops are pretty good for having diesel on account of the trucks they service.

You only need to undergo FCC testing if the module you use is not already certified. You can buy "FCC-approved" modules that are "ready to sell".

I ran into something similar with BT4.0 modules - had to convince the client that a $3 module, while cheap up front, couldn't be sold without spending $$$ on certification. Eventually they went with a $7 one.

Reminds me of the Read-Modify-Write procedure on a lot of PIC devices. Our teacher taught us to randomly place NOP instructions until it worked; we all thought he was crazy until we realized what he was working around.

(The actual solution was to write to the LATx registers instead of PORTx)

Yes - for me, I find it also applies to physical tasks. I find it helps get into things that require a lot of exertion, like a long bicycle ride or moving hundreds of heavy objects from one place to another. Instead of feeling "dead" exhausted afterward, and needing time to rest, I feel great and ready for more.

I haven't really found an activity it makes worse, but in all honesty I'm probably not looking all that hard.

All the time. I find it helps me get started on problems I might otherwise have found too overwhelming or complex, and also helps me find solutions when I get stuck.

Especially things like reverse engineering - sometimes I get lost in all the random variable/function names - a little THC and I have it figured out in no time. It's amazing really.

In terms of being used for authentication, CRA and other online services usually require SIN + DOB + Postal Code, and then they mail you a 4-digit PIN to the address they have on file.

Hilariously enough, if you call them, you can change the address on file if you have SIN + DOB, making the "PIN" pointless (and irritating, since you have to wait several weeks)

I have friends that work at the UPS distribution center in Toronto, and this happens more often than you'd think. Usually with consumer electronics but also with new video games, etc. Shipments are often accidentally "damaged", and the goods inside tossed over the fence for people to collect after work.

In my personal experience, I have never had this problem happen with FedEx (ive had it happen with both UPS and DHL), but I know there have been horror stories of FedEx drivers damaging mail as well.