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danbr

1,019 karma · joined May 25, 2018

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danbr··on macOS menu bar app that shows how full the ISS urine tank is in real time
Found this X account which posts in real-time some of the same info, hahaha: https://x.com/isstoiletelem
danbr··on Greatest “Classic” Mac Laptop: Powerbook G3 Pismo (2021)
Apple should bring back the translucent-brown key caps. They’re awesome.
danbr··on Three arrested for stealing thousands by hacking into ATMs with a Raspberry Pi
I would like to learn more about the “hack”. Although I doubt a CVE will be issued.

I can only assume it’s a simple serial console port left open, and a service technician toolset was leaked with the commands to open the cash dispenser.

danbr··on The Blue Flash: A careless slip led to a fatal accident in the Manhattan Project
In this case, Louis Slotin was the safety mechanism. Different times…

I’m currently reading Command and Control which dives into nuclear safety and more interestingly, accidents. I recommend it: https://books.google.com/books/about/Command_and_Control.htm...

danbr··on Why don't we get our drinking water by taking salt out seawater? (2008)
Practical Engineering just did a great video on Desalination.

Why Is Desalination So Difficult? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxqOPdEUNTs

danbr··on Early morning university classes linked to poor sleep and academic performance
I had a professor in undergrad who scheduled his classes as early as possible, around 7:30am, because he was an early riser.

Notoriously known for difficult assignments and exams, he would allow extra time for tests, if we showed up an extra half hour early. Who wants to take an exam at 7am?! There was a massive curve to everyone’s grades.

danbr··on Electrify America “fries” EVs at charging stations
EA. Other EV owners (Bolt) have run into the same issue at EA chargers as mentioned in the article.
danbr··on Electrify America “fries” EVs at charging stations
I’m somewhat surprised there aren’t more EV (DC) charging companies around.

There are dozens of various oil companies who have their own gas stations (subsidized by the oil industry?). Why don’t we see more electric companies building their own charging networks as well?

danbr··on The cost of cheap TVs
For those who are able, a pihole is a must when connecting a smart TV (or any other “smart” device for that matter) to the internet.

It’s shockingly disturbing the amount of traffic my Samsung TV produces, even when watching OTA stations. It easily queries Samsung cloud domains more than any other device on my network. Thankfully I am able to sinkhole all those requests without totally breaking tv functionality, but after paying hundreds of dollars for a television, I don’t need to give them any more of my data for financial gain.

danbr··on Operation Charlie: Hacking the MBTA CharlieCard from 2008 to Present
Based on the outcome of the 2008 hack, some of vulnerabilities (value stored on card, not remote server) still remain today.

AFC 2.0 has been delayed for many years, this new MIFARE attack vector will remain for a while longer as well.

danbr··on Extracting Zooming Shots from 600 Hrs of Police Helicopter Surveillance Footage
Enhance!
danbr··on I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content
I run a pihole on my network for exactly this reason. The amount of network traffic the TV attempts, even when on standby or watching over-the-air broadcast is astonishing.
danbr··on How did NASA get these Apollo films
The LOX tank cameras are amazing. The quality isn't great but recording video from inside a cryogenic pressure vessel through fiber optics and strobes (shutterless) to the film frame rate using 1960s tech blows me away.
danbr··on Shazam turns 20
Does it strike anyone else as being odd that Apple is noting this in their “Newsroom” press release? Don’t get me wrong, great for Shazam and all … but why is Apple - the company that bought them just 4 years ago - is making a todo about it?
danbr··on Serving on a SAGE Combat Crew [pdf]
> As a controller I would be in charge of the whole show, moving the aircraft around like a giant ballet in the sky as I turned the target on its target run and controlled the interceptors to use various tactics on their attacks. And doing this with a SAGE radar scope was really a high-tech operation for the time. My display was computer generated and the interceptor pilots would slave their aircraft autopilots to follow whatever instructions I put into my computer display. My inputs into the scope would go to the computer and the computer would broadcast those inputs to the autopilots of the interceptors, and the interceptors would then follow those commands. In essence I would be flying the airplanes using my radar scope while the pilots focused on looking at their onboard radar systems to find their targets and simulate shooting them down.
danbr··on $45k Chevy Blazer EV
Can you rotate around a “3D” view on the Chevy site. It’s a 5 seater.

What I find more bothersome is the lack of any technical info on their website.

danbr··on Open Circuits – The Inner Beauty of Electronic Components
I first learned of Eric when he made a surprise appearance on CuriousMarcs YouTube channel. He’s a smart guy and I stared following him on Twitter(TubeTimeUS), for his deep dives of retro computing. No doubt this book will be awesome!
danbr··on Adafruit requires 2FA to prevent bots buying out Raspberry Pi
Confused how 2FA prevents bots from ordering.

What’s stopping someone from setting up a verified account and automating a 2FA order process? Unless there is an additional purchase limit?

danbr··on First Raspberry Pi Powered Ultra-Small Form Factor Rugged for Defense, Aerospace
https://aitechsystems.com/
danbr··on First Raspberry Pi Powered Ultra-Small Form Factor Rugged for Defense, Aerospace
Having worked with CW products before, I imagine this will be in the $500-$1k+ price range and won’t satisfy many aerospace needs/constrains.

There’s plenty of “oh we’re not using a raspberry pi, that’s a kids toy” in the industry, so I’m finding it difficult to find the niche this product satisfies, when there are plenty of more powerful/established options.

danbr··on New cars make me want to Saab (2020)
I suppose this is one of the many reasons why I’m on my third Saab (only have bought used Saabs). It’s easy for me since I’m able to repair pretty much anything myself, but I realize it won’t last forever.

I’m worried when the time comes for the next car, I’m not sure what it’ll be…

danbr··on Lon Lat Lon Lat
I’ve ended up in the middle of the ocean more times than I’d like to admit. Mixing up lat/long really reminds you how much of the world is water.
danbr··on Koenigsegg's Tiny Electric Motor Makes 335 HP and 443 LB-FT of Torque
Koenigsegg is a company I admire a lot. They really do seem to be on the bleeding edge of tech whether it’s ICE, electric, powertrains, aerodynamics, etc… Their engineering innovations are to push the current subset of automotive tech to the next level (Freevalve, composites). Something we (understandably) don’t see in the Ford’s and GM’s.

They’re a true engineering centric automotive company, not an consumer, or “celebrity” automotive company. It’s nice.

danbr··on Autofocus on a Pi – ArduCam's new 16MP camera
Always wondered why you upload yt videos in the morning (in US). From my limited experience it appears the “algorithm” seems to favor videos released in the (early) evenings.

There are probably some stats out there on release time/viewership, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is an optimal release time (“its 5’oclock somewhere…”)

danbr··on Mico: A PDM to USB Microphone Based on the Raspberry Pi RP2040
Neat!

I’m curious if one could design a usb type A plug/port that is reversible such that the PDM is always facing up. I know there are some flexible/thin pcb that allow for this, although not sure how robust that design is (otherwise I’d assume we’d never have to worry about rotating the USB cable three times before getting it right side up. Maybe I just described usb type C :))

danbr··on Hacking Ham Radio for Texting
> IMO that's a great way to set up a sandbox: it has built in crowd control and a mechanism to keep out flagrant abuse.

Sadly nothing is really stopping anyone from buying radios online and transmitting garbage. Sure the FCC will come knocking if someone flagrantly transmits without regard for others.

danbr··on Time Card and PTP on a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4
> what's your use-case?

Camera triggering/time stamping of frames that requires sub-millisecond accuracy, between multiple devices.

danbr··on Casu Martzu
I first learned about this cheese from a essay prompt while studying for the GREs. Grossed me out.
danbr··on The blast that shook the ionosphere
This is an interesting use of DGPS signals.

Given the number of base stations around the globe, I wonder if this type of data could be used to research other human-made or cosmic effects - ala interferometry.

danbr··on Receiving SpaceX Falcon 9 Telemetry with a HackRF and 1.2m Satellite Dish
This is something I’ve always thought about doing, but lack the in-depth RF/demodulation knowledge to undertake. Glad to see the SDR community is already on top of it!
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