qjkxbmwvz

joined 9 months ago
[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 14 points 1 month ago

And your VPN connection to work knows your endpoint...

Interestingly, there's another way of finding out if your coworker is in the office


just walk over to their desk.

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The one I've heard replaces "brains" with "money."

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 12 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Calmer than you are.

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It would be hilarious if not for the loss of all that helium. Major oof.

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

"Boston Elites"? I can't believe Tom Scholz and Brad Delp would do this :(

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Isn't this extremely genre dependent? And regardless, this has been going on for a long time.

The Supremes? Good looking gals (and great music IMHO).

Grateful Dead? Sure, rough around the edges.

The Doors? Um...ever seen a picture of Jim Morrison? Dude would make Derek Zoolander blush.

Out of curiosity, I asked Spotify for modern metal music, and I got The Black Dahlia Murder


frontman looks like a regular dude who I'd grab a beer with.

Yeah, modern pop places a ton of emphasis on looks, sure. But I think this has been pretty prominent in music for a very long time, be it the airbrushed R&B of the sixties, the androgynous glam of the eighties, or the metro sexual (guy)/model-esque looks of modern pop.

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It can be daunting to get into the hobby, there are a ton of niches.

To start: where are you? I'm in the USA, so that's where my experience is.

License: required to transmit on the ham bands; you can listen without a license.

Range: are you looking to talk to people in your city/region? If so, a cheap "walkie-talkie" style (called "HT" in the biz


best avoid "walkie-talkie") is a good place to start. These VHF/UHF (very/ultra high frequency) radios are affordable


something from Baofeng(~$30) or similar will work just fine, though they are often looked down on (I have one


for the price, it's great). You will have the most luck if there is an active ham scene in your area, in large part because they may have a repeater, which can greatly extend your range. Many regions will have scheduled "nets" where you just go around and chat.

If you're looking for the ability to chat with folks on the other side of the world, you'll want to look into HF (high frequency). This is much lower frequency, thus longer wavelength, than the handheld VHF/UHF HTs. So...the antennas take up a lot of space. Mine is 52 feet long, in the attic. And the radios are much more expensive (more like $1k new). ICOM 7300, Yaesu FT710 are popular entry level units (but you also need power supply, cables, and antenna).

That said: if you just want to listen to HF, the antenna doesn't matter as much at all, and you can use an SDR (RTL-SDR probably works?) for listening. You can probably also find a used shortwave radio that covers some of the HF ham bands.

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 27 points 1 month ago (2 children)

As a long-time Debian user, I'd have to throw my vote behind Slackware for the title of most UNIX-y, which is I guess a bit different from most Linux-y.

Debian got me through grad school, but Slack got me through undergrad on a hopelessly underpowered old ThinkPad


Volkerding is a legend, and Slack will always be dear to my heart.

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 2 points 1 month ago

Nah, no hard feelings towards the retail folks, they're doing what they're supposed to. It's just that I wish the corporate incentives were different so it felt more like the staff were trying to help.

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

My only complaint with microcenter is that the commission in incentives come off as extreme. Like I will be walking around with something in my hand and a rando will come up to me, say "hey there boss, lemme just slap this on that for you," and proceed to put a sticker on it with their ID. Not a big deal, but palpable, and makes it harder to just browse.

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

AI generated, so influenced from all of the above (with a sprinkling of Chrysler LeBaron perhaps?).

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 9 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Many new cars have "run-flats," which can be used even if they get a puncture/go flat.

However, they are more expensive, they don't function under certain kinds of flats (e.g., sidewall damage), they have limited range, and limited speed.

The tiny "donut" spares on some cars are also not intended for high speeds, but I'd much prefer that to a punctured run-flat. (You should probably place the donut on the rear of your car is front wheel drive, though.)

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