Stuart Longland (VK4MSL)

https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/@stuartl

Software developer, electronics enthusiast, Amateur radio operator, lover of classic rock.

Location: Brisbane, QLD, Australia (QG62ln)

Blog: https://vk4msl.com
Github: https://github.com/sjlongland
Codeberg: https://codeberg.org/sjlongland
Matrix: @vk4msl:matrix.vk4msl.com (experimental)

Public Key

npub12n5weher8thl0qlj398tvw2rmwpr33z8j443lpg28xyuzkef9dksnd9dex

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs9f68vmu3n4mlhs0egjn4k89pahq3cc3re26cls59rnzwptv5jkmgpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsdu6jue

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub12n5weher8thl0qlj398tvw2rmwpr33z8j443lpg28xyuzkef9dksnd9dex

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Last Notes

2026-04-29 10:20:27 CEST

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Re-ran the build… and `portage` in its wisdom decided to re-install all the packages from pre-built binaries, *including* `bison` before retrying `iproute2`.
Of course in doing that, it overwrote my fixed `bison` for a broken one in the binary packages… and `iproute2`'s build blew up again with a segfault.
Well, pretty sure it's `bison` … small chance it's `make` but `make` seems to work fine for other packages, so I'm going with `bison` being the culprit.
So re-build `bison`, *manually* build `iproute2` before it has a chance to break `bison` again… then re-try the build, and we should finally see the finish this week-end.

2026-04-27 01:36:09 CEST

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My father used to work for Telecom Australia, and he'd bring home a "laptop".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshiba_T3100
Can't recall exactly what model they had… but it was one of the 286 variants, apparently had an 80287 math co-processor as well.

2026-04-26 07:49:39 CEST

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Give it a few weeks… if nothing is done, then draw a penis on it and it'll be fixed overnight.

2026-04-24 06:28:49 CEST

I pumped up the tyres on the bike and jumped on it today… mission: a small grocery shop to pick up some milk and other essentials.
Walked up one of the small hills (I'm quite out of shape!), rode the rest of the way… get there, go park under the Aldi. Crap, where's the chain, in the top box? No. In the pannier bag? No. Bugger.
Jump back on the bike and rode home. Said chain is beside my bed, exactly where I left it last. I'm now catching my breath before I grab a rain cape and go catch the bus up there.
#CarFree #ForgetfulMe

2026-04-23 11:57:34 CEST

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, @npub18nh…5h6l is a big Coldplay fan. :-P

2026-04-21 11:20:24 CEST

This week I'm car free… my father's over touring south-NZ while I hold the fort here.
One thing I'm learning… while I have my inbound trip more-or-less down pat, the outbound trip needs work. Today I left home about 06:30… wandered up to the stop in Kaloma Road and caught the 382… that dropped me off near Lang Park, and I walked from there to Park Road, Milton where my work is.
Easy.
This evening, I tried to do the reverse… got to the stop: it was going to be 20~30 minutes until the 382 coming home. I hate standing around waiting for public transport. So plenty of time to walk up to the next stop surely…? I'll bet it stops a bit further up the road.
Narrator: it doesn't stop anywhere else on Given Terrace. The point just near Caxton street is the only place.
Suffice to say, ended up walking to the base of the hill at Bardon… waited for the 61 and got that to Ashgrove. Then I wandered to the rendezvous point for the 380. By this time it was nearly 18:00.
There was *supposed* to be a 380 at 18:03… that time came and went with no sign of it. It was 18:19 before I was on that 380.
Bloody exhausted… but a little wiser I think.
#PublicTransport #CarFree

2026-04-20 12:37:46 CEST

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Had a second hiccup, it couldn't find `armv5tejl-softfloat-linux-musleabi-ar`… I'm thinking, hang on, didn't the last rebuild fix that?
I run `gcc -dumpmachine`, and sure enough, it reports the old CHOST, `arm-unknown-linux-musleabi`. I had inadvertently started the build with the same `seed` tarball that I had done the previous build with.
I just symlinked everything before realising… probably explains a lot. So we'll clean up and try again. `emerge --sync` then make a new snapshot, to be absolutely sure we've got the latest stuff.

2026-04-20 08:30:20 CEST

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The end result… I'll try it out tomorrow.
I gave it a test connecting to the laptop via Bluetooth, and via pipewire, redirected the sound from the bluetooth microphone back to the headset, and apart from a delay, it sounded fine. A lot better than a microphone would sound *external* to the mask anyway.
The ST2 doesn't seem to care about having the Bluetooth headset in parallel. I guess they're both supplying bias current to the electret in the mask. The earmuffs themselves have microphones for picking up ambient noises, so not a danger for crossing the street.
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/116/435/623/575/206/753/original/a2cbc8d6d2a9a287.jpg
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/116/435/623/577/171/936/original/684d0bef898bcb67.jpg

2026-04-20 08:10:38 CEST

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I did that bit of surgery… adding a 3.5mm socket to the amplifier/speaker end, and a 3.5mm plug to the mask end.
I also added a 3.5mm TRRS plug, which connects to a pair of Bluetooth earmuffs… allowing me to use the microphone that's in the mask with the Bluetooth headset. In doing that, I discovered the amplifier has developed an intermittent fault with the cable, so I've had to open it up and for now, I've just "shortened" the cable by pulling the partially damaged section into the case. Hopefully there it'll avoid flexing and will work reliably.
Otherwise I've got to splice a new cable in… in which case I'm thinking 3.5mm jack on the top of the speaker unit, then run a standard 3.5mm stereo extension lead to where the mask is.

2026-04-19 08:24:06 CEST

Bloody payment gateways… this afternoon I wanted to order some bits for work for Tuesday.
Some of this included some 2.54mm KK-style connectors for a test rig I'm building. I note I used 9-way connectors on the board but such beasts aren't common, and ordering these through RS/Element14 et all is a pain because they sell the contacts and housings separate. Given the time-sensitive nature, I figured I'd get Jaycar to deliver.
No problem, go on their site, pick out what I need… wound up with a collection of bits that would do what I was after. Checkout, entered my work's address (fun and games because it's on the second level of a building). Get to payment.
The usual fields are there, I dig the card out and start punching them in. Check they're right… hit Continue. "Payment declined".
Oi?! I didn't decline it! I wasn't even asked!
I try again… "payment declined" again.
What's going on… log in to the Internet banking site, there's just shy of $3k there. More than enough for the order concerned. No there have not been any payments on the card today, although Jaycar's attempt is shown (as paid then immediately refunded).
Try dropping a few less-critical items off and trying again… no dice. It still fails.
Right, is the card blocked? Let's try a donation. Punch in the card details and a $20 one-off amount … success. So it's not the card.
I think I'll just go there and do it in person. It'll be less trouble.

2026-04-17 07:52:53 CEST

RE: https://mastodon.social/@a2_4am/116410563154525427
Milo showing us how it's done…
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/116/418/489/347/213/338/original/a7932e850ccc5e42.jpg
#note1avv…wr0v

2026-04-17 06:30:09 CEST

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I think I'll add this little file to my config:
```
aarch64-gentoo-dev /var/tmp/catalyst/config/releng # cat releases/portage/stages/package.use/releng/elfutils
dev-libs/elfutils -debuginfod
```

2026-04-17 06:24:16 CEST

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You see a debug feature… I see an egregious security hole.

2026-04-17 06:10:21 CEST

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```
ln -fs libdebuginfod.so.1 libdebuginfod.so
g++ -std=c++11 -std=c++11 -Wall -Wshadow -Wtrampolines -Wlogical-op -Wduplicated-cond -Wnull-dereference -Wimplicit-fallthrough=5 -Wunused -Wextra -Wstack-usage=262144 -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -O2 -pipe -march=armv5te -Wl,-rpath-link,../libelf:../libdw:. -Wl,-O1 -Wl,--as-needed -o debuginfod debuginfod.o ../libdw/libdw.so ../libelf/libelf.so ../lib/libeu.a ./libdebuginfod.so -largp -lfts -lmicrohttpd -lsqlite3 -larchive -ljson-c -lcurl -llzma -lpthread -ldl -lbz2
/usr/arm-unknown-linux-musleabi/binutils-bin/2.46.0/ld: /usr/lib/libgnutls.so.30: undefined reference to `compressBound@ZLIB_1.2.0'
collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status
make[2]: *** [Makefile:654: debuginfod] Error 1
make[1]: *** [Makefile:625: all-recursive] Error 1
make: *** [Makefile:540: all] Error 2
* ERROR: dev-libs/elfutils-0.194-r3::gentoo failed (compile phase)
```
… bugger.
(Why the hell do we need a HTTP server in binutils anyway?)

2026-04-17 06:05:15 CEST

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No forced direct usage… but a lot of the tools we use (looking at you Atlassian) are desperately trying to ram AI down our collective throats.
I've had enough.

2026-04-17 04:10:33 CEST

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Of course I'm in the habit of just slapping the wallet up against the reader when boarding the bus (with only the public transport card and a RFID key card, that's safe to do)… but to do that the wallet must be *NOT* RFID-blocking.
Yes I can search for one that *has* this feature, but for me this is an anti-feature, I want the exact opposite.

2026-04-17 03:39:27 CEST

Received in the work email from #Atlassian (tracking query-parameters removed for privacy). Not sure "trust" is the word I'd use, but they refuse to acknowledge my true feelings about this.
I guess I have a date for my resignation letter.
—
You trust Atlassian with some of your most business‑critical work, and we take that responsibility seriously, especially when it comes to keeping your data safe.
AI is already multiplying what teams can accomplish, from agents that simplify complex workflows to enterprise search and chat that quickly surface the right context when it matters.
With richer, more diverse customer data and usage patterns, we can deliver enhanced AI capabilities that unlock the full value of AI across your organization more effectively. As a result, we're updating how we use metadata and in‑app data so we can improve our apps and AI experiences for all customers. This change and the updated legal terms apply to all Atlassian cloud customers effective August 17, 2026.
>> https://support.atlassian.com/security-and-access-policies/docs/what-types-of-data-does-my-organization-contribute/
Only data in Jira, Confluence, and Jira Service Management is currently in‑scope. Because our records indicate you do not currently have an active plan for Jira, Jira Service Management, or Confluence, there is no impact to your Atlassian organization and/or domain at this time.
What do you need to know?
Before we use metadata or in‑app data from any app, we’ll introduce in-app settings that allow you to manage data contribution across all of your Atlassian cloud apps. Initially, these settings will apply to data in Jira, Confluence, and Jira Service Management.
#Jira #Confluence #AI

2026-04-17 03:36:16 CEST

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This is the size-difference for those wondering. Not much, but enough to cause problems.
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/116/417/480/314/193/860/original/1a97cb3c0e2ae9d5.jpg

2026-04-17 03:33:07 CEST

I guess I'm wallet shopping today.
Yesterday I had a rather embarrassing moment… topping up the public transport card as I'll be car-free next week, I was putting the aforementioned card back in my wallet when my wallet decided it was no longer for this world, and dumped my cash all over the platform at Milton.
A strong breeze was blowing, and yeah, blew notes ($50s no less… I had my monthly bank visit last week) all over the bloody place. Another chap helped me pick them up (and didn't pocket any himself) and I was soon on my way, but it was a mad dash for a moment.
Probably serves me right for not stashing a portion of them in a safer place.
Today I pull out a spare card wallet that I wasn't using: two things I note…
1. they don't fit notes very well (I operate cardless, cash-only this way)
2. the Queensland Proof-of-age cards (at least the one I'm issued) are *taller* than a standard credit card.
(1) can sort of work if you fold them up around a couple of divisions if there aren't too many (max maybe about 4) … but (2) is a deal-breaker… the added height fouls with the closing mechanism and it won't shut properly.
Can't complain though, the one I'm using I was given back in 2002. The coin compartment has been shot for years, and it was only a matter of time. I found a vintage cassette box for now… that'll be my makeshift replacement until I go shopping.

2026-04-16 11:34:31 CEST

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Well, my little #Gentoo #ARMv5 odyssey is moving along. I now have a stage 3 tarball.
```
16 Apr 2026 13:05:29 AEST: NOTICE : --- Running action sequence: capture
NOTICE:catalyst:--- Running action sequence: capture
16 Apr 2026 13:05:29 AEST: NOTICE : Capture target in a tarball
NOTICE:catalyst:Capture target in a tarball
16 Apr 2026 13:05:29 AEST: NOTICE : Creating stage tarball... mode: pixz
NOTICE:catalyst:Creating stage tarball... mode: pixz
16 Apr 2026 13:21:21 AEST: NOTICE : --- Running action sequence: remove_autoresume
NOTICE:catalyst:--- Running action sequence: remove_autoresume
16 Apr 2026 13:21:21 AEST: NOTICE : Removing AutoResume ...
NOTICE:catalyst:Removing AutoResume ...
16 Apr 2026 13:21:21 AEST: NOTICE : Emptying directory: /var/tmp/catalyst/tmp/seed/.autoresume-stage3-armv5tejl-20260318
NOTICE:catalyst:Emptying directory: /var/tmp/catalyst/tmp/seed/.autoresume-stage3-armv5tejl-20260318
```
This is a first pass, so I'll take a new snapshot and run this through again, hopefully this time I should need to do less fiddling in the background and it should run autonomously. *Then* I should have ready to use stages for ARMv5.

2026-04-13 23:00:36 CEST

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To be fair, I'm not sure any alternatives were tried so it's unknown if they would have fared better.
I hold the position that Outlook has been unusable as an email client for 30 years running but that doesn't mean the others would have worked in that particular scenario. … unless of course one of the astronauts was using something different and the press ignored it.

2026-03-24 23:38:47 CET

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Lord Fartquar I thought had a reputation for doing that on a regular basis, not just during protests.

2026-03-14 05:04:50 CET

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Using something like an ATMega32U4 is an option, but RP2040 boards are AU$6 and BAT43s/resistors are cheap.
The trickier bit will be ripping out the 240V PSU for a 12V DC one.

2026-03-10 12:06:09 CET

Normal-ish Breakfast and Lunch tomorrow… then I'm on clear-fluids only, with a light serving of Macrogol for dinner.
Ugh I hate colonoscopies! Be glad when it's all over with Thursday evening.

2026-03-09 03:16:25 CET

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Google tried to poach my brains years ago back in 2012.
I'm glad I ultimately turned them down.

2026-03-05 03:10:39 CET

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Servers normally use ECC memory (Error Correction Code) which detects such bit flips… but Intel decided that consumers don't need that.

2026-01-16 01:17:47 CET

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Northern Rivers NSW floods a lot too.

2026-01-02 08:09:25 CET

```
>>> Running pre-merge checks for dev-qt/qtwebengine-6.10.1
* Checking for at least 32 GiB RAM ... [ ok ]
* Checking for at least 11 GiB disk space at "/var/tmp/portage/dev-qt/qtwebengine-6.10.1/temp" ... [ ok ]
* Checking for at least 400 MiB disk space at "/usr" ... [ ok ]
```
Compiling this package will get very expensive in the coming months.

2025-12-27 09:13:06 CET

F'ing brilliant… and now #SpicksAndSpecs is infected with #AISlop. Seems the #ABC has decided to lower their standards.
Someone pop that bubble, stat!

2025-12-22 04:57:22 CET

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I have a special place in hell for the inventor of the reverse-polarity SMA connector.
"Yeah, let's just move the pin from the plug to the socket… but keep everything else the same so dimwits think they can plug a RP-SMA antenna onto a SMA socket and have it work!"
If you're going to do something like that, at least have the decency to make the RP version reverse thread so you can't accidentally try to connect the two!

2025-12-22 01:36:47 CET

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They want 24V or 48V don't they?
I'm running mine on 12V with 12V to 48V passive PoE injectors.
https://www.telcoantennas.com.au/12vdc-to-48vdc-poe-gigabit-passive-power-over-ethe
Mine's not the gigabit version, but it works… you could probably buy a 12V USB-C trigger cable to power that and get close to what you're after.

2025-12-19 22:56:21 CET

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…because a song never makes it into the charts years after release…
(*sigh*)

2025-11-11 03:00:53 CET

Something went spinny spinny… politicians visiting a wind farm maybe?
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/115/528/594/347/643/809/original/fac27f2f0f314506.png

2025-10-19 04:35:13 CEST

A bit saddening reading about #BlueSky going down a dark path regarding platforming of the right-wing US government and in particular, their hateful rhetoric.
I haven't at this stage instigated any sort of block yet. The server here still federates with `bsky.brid.gy`, and for now I'm managing them according to my "large instance" policy, much like how I'm dealing with `threads.net`.
It's worth noting that at present, there are about 14 users following accounts here from BlueSky. (Threads is even smaller; dashboard is reporting just one user.) So far, none of them troublemakers, and hopefully it stays that way.

2025-10-08 13:35:36 CEST

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Errm… Firefox already has them.
Run `firefox -ProfileManager` and a dialogue box will pop up asking you to choose a profile, or create a new one.
It's been there since Netscape 4.0.

2025-10-05 10:24:31 CEST

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It'd require some very careful design.
But even if I say a parameter takes a `list`, and it barfs if I hand it a `dict`, would be a step up. We're talking a `instanceof` check there, not super-expensive. (Iterating over the list contents could be.)
If the `list` object itself knew its values should be `str`s, then *it* should be barfing if I hand it an `int` for example, saving something downstream the trouble. The tricky bit being list literals, but even then, maybe through type annotations, a reasonable approach could be developed that isn't hugely expensive.

2025-09-24 22:34:07 CEST

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Fun fact: Pyrex was originally intended for windscreens.
Can't imagine why they didn't use it. ;-)

2025-09-12 10:17:45 CEST

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With vernacular like that, I'm guessing this cartoon must've taken place around southern Australia?

2025-08-30 20:46:06 CEST

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> More cores don't make computers faster: Amdahl's Law proved that in 1967.
"You don't get a baby in a month by getting nine women pregnant." is an expression I've pointed out several times as a software developer.

2025-07-05 11:12:26 CEST

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Sounds like you're all revved up with no place to go.

2025-07-05 11:09:38 CEST

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You took the words right out of my mouth.

2025-06-17 21:55:26 CEST

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Trouble is, I can't just dump the latest and greatest on there and hope that all will be well.
I'm running Ceph 14 (Nautillus). The latest is Ceph 19 (Squid). It's not possible to jump from 14 to 19 straight up. I have to go via release 16 (Pacific) first.
Even then, I can't just dump the v16 .debs on there and walk away, there's a migration procedure: One which starts with me taking a dump of each block device in case of disaster.
https://docs.ceph.com/en/latest/releases/pacific/#upgrading-non-cephadm-clusters
Once I make the jump to v16, I can use the official Ceph repos, but the earliest they build for is Debian 11, hence I have to move from Debian 10 first.
So whilst the Debian repo binaries for Ceph 14 aren't "the latest", it'll be good enough to get me over this hump.

2025-06-17 12:58:49 CEST

20:56:10 up 514 days, 6:15, 1 user, load average: 0.94, 0.85, 0.64
Just updating a couple of my #Ceph nodes… it's been a long time on Debian 10, but I need to move on. Ansible no longer works with it.
Procedure so far is remove the old Ceph repositories (as they don't support anything beyond Debian 10) and lean on the fact that Debian 11 ships Ceph 14.
It's a slightly older release of Ceph 14, but it'll be enough… I can get the OS updated on all the nodes by doing them one-by-one… then when I get them all up to Debian 11… I should be able to jump to the next stable release of Ceph… then do another round of OS updates to move to Debian 12.
Ohhh boy.
#HomeServer

2025-04-17 07:31:59 CEST

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Some somewhat clearer photos from the phone. Base is set up but reception is terrible. Discussions are being had as to how to solve this.
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/351/661/672/262/713/original/eb2312eb8d3f9278.jpg
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/351/661/859/241/944/original/aafb7116bbcccad6.jpg
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/351/662/360/473/894/original/889d0834468d75df.jpg

2025-04-17 07:03:28 CEST

We have arrived at #Imbil for another #EmergencyCommsExercise. This time we are supporting Far-a-way Horse Endurance Riders in running their Easter Carnival.
We are based in the Imbil Showgrounds.
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/351/546/395/649/187/original/fa45ac5e09af5455.jpg

2025-04-17 05:40:53 CEST

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The ACMA should have a piece of them for that.

2025-04-17 04:46:14 CEST

Hmm, so I have my phone forwarding GPS data to gpsd on the tablet.
Viking and gpsmon can see my location.
Firefox and Chromium refuse to look at gpsd, so Google Maps just reports "locarion cannot be determined" because they think my WiFi hotspot can be geolocated from the IP address of Telstra's CGNAT.
#geolocation #fail

2025-04-17 01:02:27 CEST

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What's gone wrong with the microwave link? The packet loss is just f'ing nuts!!!

2025-04-17 00:45:41 CEST

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It cost nothing to fix? Or the supplier paid?

2025-04-16 23:09:46 CEST

https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/349/682/171/354/636/original/140a9f2c8d38306a.jpg

2025-04-16 22:27:36 CEST

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By "we" he really means "I".

2025-04-16 09:32:32 CEST

Done most of my packing now for Imbil… as I type this, there are two Yaesu FT5-DR charging cradles busy charging spare batteries off the caravan battery… and one of the hand-helds is charging a battery off 240V.
I can't seem to locate the other 240V charger… but never mind. By the time we leave, we should have three fully charged batteries ready to go, one installed in a radio. I can just swap the other radio's battery with one of the charged ones and charge it on the way up to Imbil.
I have a Kenwood TH-D72A charging as well as a cheapo Baofeng. Already packed in a box is a Yaesu FTM-350AR which is my cross-band rig.
The 12V adaptor for the Toughpad FZ-G1 turned up. Interestingly, the socket "fits" the CF-53 I am typing this on, but supposedly, it isn't compatible. I've marked it so we can identify it. It works though. I've been using Xournal++, getting used to its quirks. In addition to pen & paper, I'll probably use this.
Should be set to depart tomorrow some time in the morning.

2025-04-16 04:53:04 CEST

Just did some PTT button surgery on my U94 radio interface adaptors.
A complaint I got at Kilkivan was that I was "scratchy" … this was not because my signal was low, it was because the microphone connection was bad. Yaesu in their wisdom, wire the PTT in series with the microphone element, so any scratchiness in the PTT switch causes audio scratchiness.
Alinco copied this mistake when they decided to copy the Yaesu VX-6/VX-7 interface on their DJ-G7T.
Kenwood's set-up is largely immune to this, since the PTT is a separate pin to the microphone.
These PTT adaptors (sourced from Amazon a few years back) use a cheap tactile PCB-mount switch… easiest bet was to just replace this with a good quality pushbutton. Here, I used Jaycar part number SP0657, which is a IP-67 rated dome pushbutton.
I've been using this sort of pushbutton on the bicycle to drive the FT-857D there for years. Very reliable.
It's a bit of a squeeze to get it all shut again, but I think this will work a lot better.
We've got an #EmergencyCommsExercise event at Imbil this long week-end, so we'll put it to good use.
#AmateurRadio #U94 #PTT #RadioInterface
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/345/371/912/198/559/original/f0a3f9d779a9b9d1.jpg

2025-04-15 21:18:00 CEST

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Just found links to two of the four independents…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidates_of_the_2025_Australian_federal_election#Queensland
Danny Donohue however, seems to just have a Facebook page, not a website. "Danny Donohue Queensland senate" lists it, but I'm unable to verify its content as I have Facebook blocked for privacy reasons.

2025-04-15 20:57:38 CEST

Queensland Senate ballot groupings have dropped. #AusPol
https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/federal/2025/guide/senate-qld

2025-04-15 12:37:12 CEST

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One thing I'm conscious of is the SSD on this Toughpad.
It's a 128GB mSATA device made by Toshiba (THNSNF12). It's probably seen a few drive writes by now.
Now, back in the day OCZ were early pioneers of SSDs… and I had a work colleague that swore by them at first. He had one in a fire-engine red Dell laptop and loved the speed the thing gave him … until the day it failed (within the warranty period).
Pulled the SSD out, put the HDD back in, RMAed the SSD. A replacement came, he put it in, ran with that for a number of months, then it too, failed. After the third RMAed drive, "sworn by" became "sworn at".
Toshiba bought OCZ in 2016, so I'm a bit leery about this SSD.
That said, mSATA is not a common form factor now, so I guess I'll have to take what I can get. The contenders seem to be Kingston, Advantech, Transcend, ADATA, or some brand I've never heard of.
Kingston RAM runs some of my servers, and I've used their SD cards before. That said, I recall an experiment from 2011 that tested a number of 60GB SSDs to destruction (SSD Endurance Test) and I seem to recall Kingston being one of the early failures … but search engines being what they are today, I can't seem to dig that old site up.
We'll see how this one goes… as I say beggars can't be choosers, and this is a rare form-factor now.
https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/hard-drives/2711628
#SSD #mSATA

2025-04-15 08:06:40 CEST

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Yes, but only for your heap and stack… if you wanted RAM for your application code, you had to look elsewhere. 🙂

2025-04-15 07:24:45 CEST

Managed to pack up Sam and transport him over to Strathpine to be looked after for a few weeks.
This time around, he was a lot better… didn't poop himself until he got to Bells Pocket Road. So nearly got there without incident, just some meowing from the back seat.
He'll be keeping my mother company for the next few weeks, to save us shuttling him between The Gap and Strathpine.
Now to pack up my gear for an event up at Imbil.

2025-04-15 01:40:04 CEST

"Teals to the left of me, Conservatives to the right… Here I am, stuck in minority with you"
Apologies to Gerry Rafferty's estate.
If someone doesn't do an #AusPol cartoon on this theme, I can see me having a crack myself.

2025-04-14 13:14:52 CEST

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Possibly… they were all the same manufacturer.
What I bought was two of these:
https://www.jaycar.com.au/single-keystone-surface-box/p/YN8022
What I had in a junk box was a bag of these:
https://www.jaycar.com.au/idc-rj45-cat5e-wall-plate-socket/p/YN8036
I think I'll get a couple of these:
https://www.jaycar.com.au/punch-down-rj45-cat5e-wall-plate-socket/p/YN8030
That should do it.

2025-04-14 13:08:20 CEST

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Hmmm, just had a look at the RJ-45 housings and the keystone jacks I have.
Do they fit? Of course not… the sockets I have are for a wall plate that has rounded square holes… and the enclosure I have, takes a socket that fits a wall plate with sharp rectangular holes.
Oookay, I'll be making another trip to Enoggera tomorrow.

2025-04-14 13:02:33 CEST

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> …it's also important to note that admins must restart the network adapter after every reboot because this known issue triggers whenever the domain controller is restarted.
>
> To work around this, Microsoft advised creating a scheduled task to automatically restart the network adapter whenever the DC server is rebooted.
🤦‍♂️

2025-04-14 12:58:24 CEST

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Well, a "revolutionary" start might be to look at how much big corporations and the upper 1% are paying in taxes versus the common working person.
This will seem like a revolution to the billionaire class: getting taxed like the common person will hurt!
He makes a valid point though… Norway is doing similar, they have a very high resource tax they apply to mining operations… the revenue raised goes into a sovereign wealth fund that funds things like healthcare and education: things that are useful to, and accessible to, the common person.
The fact that we've got governments that decided to throw all that away is not the fault of China. China became big because every man and his dog started manufacturing there exclusively … if they balanced that just a little bit, the story would be very different.

2025-04-14 11:43:55 CEST

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Ohh lovely, and now some of us of a certain age, will have that earworm from a certain palindromic Sweedish group stuck in our heads all night. ;-)

2025-04-14 11:31:23 CEST

Learned a little trick with `onboard` and using the Autoscrolling feature of Firefox.
Firefox, for those who don't know, supports a feature called autoscrolling… if you middle-click (click the scroll wheel down), a little circular icon appears in the spot where you clicked. Moving the mouse cursor up or down will scroll in that direction, with the speed determined by the distance from that icon.
Clicking again stops the scrolling.
On a graphics tablet with three buttons, this works great. At work I have a cheap Wacom, and I find this more comfortable than scrolling with an ordinary wheel mouse. Just click the middle mouse button, then swing the stylus up or down.
Turns out, you can do it on a touchscreen using Onboard. There are buttons on the virtual keyboard that affect the mouse: tapping one of these will make the next mouse click use the specified button (middle or right). So you can tap the middle mouse button on Onboard, tap somewhere on the webpage, and the autoscroll icon appears, then hold your finger or stylus on that icon: slide up to scroll up or down to go down. Very simple.
#Linux #Touchscreen #Onboard #Firefox
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/335/614/753/378/088/original/cc67b276bd27006c.png

2025-04-14 11:04:41 CEST

Today, managed to make the trip over to Jaycar for some bits and bobs… I have two surface-mount RJ-45 enclosures for the keystone inserts I have, three waterproof dome pushbuttons and three sealed toggle switches.
The pushbuttons and toggle switches will be replacing the cheapo Chinesium tactile pushbuttons in the U94 PTT leads for the Yaesu and Alinco handhelds, since I was apparently scratch scratchy at the horse endurance ride at Kilkivan.
Yaesu in their wisdom wire the PTT in series with the microphone, so if the pushbutton doesn't make good contact, you get crackly audio. Kenwood's set-up is far superior IMO.
I'll be wiring the toggle switches in parallel, sometimes it's helpful to lock PTT on when you're giving a longer over.
I should have gotten 4 actually, the Kenwood PTT could do with a refurb… but sod it… it worked okay last time so it can wait.
I think the 4G router will be first cab off the rank tomorrow… Get those RJ-45 jacks installed and some Anderson powerpoles to run 12V up to it (thus reducing PoE losses)… then I'll take apart those PTT adaptors and replace the buttons.

2025-04-11 12:32:49 CEST

A bit more fiddling with the Toughpad today, I notice it has a WWAN module.
During boot-up, an Ericsson F5521gw quickly shows itself and enumerates a network device and some serial ports (CDC ACM).
But then, 5 seconds later, it deregisters itself. Quite why, I have no idea.
Now this is a 3G era card, so in Australia, is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine for Internet access… HOWEVER, it does provide a GPS module.
Now that *would* be handy.
https://sven-seeberg.de/wp/?p=614 and https://www.tjansson.dk/2009/01/using-the-builtin-gps-in-a-thinkpad-x200-under-linux/ suggest it can be done…
The problem is figuring out what makes it suddenly disappear. That second article points out a SIM card being needed, so I grab the old 3G era SIM from my old ZTE T83 phone, power the tablet off, stuff it in the SIM card slot, and power it back up.
No dice. It again says peek-a-boo, enumerating then disappearing.
I didn't keep the Windows 8.1 install, so I can't boot that to have another look.
For now, I've just turned it off in the UEFI BIOS. At least it's not drawing unnecessary power … but if anyone has any ideas as to what I can shoot that might be telling the 3G module to disappear… I'm all ears.
#ToughPad #EricssonF5521gw #gpsd #cdc_ncm #Linux

2025-04-05 04:58:33 CEST

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Just having a look now.
I've managed to compile NNCP on OpenBSD 7.5 (amd64), bit leery about it defining an unprotected call to `sendmail` though… seems if I deploy this on a server with a mail server configured, this is a recipe for relaying mail from unauthorised users to the public Internet.
So I think the concept is good, but we need to move carefully rather than rushing implementation.

2025-03-17 21:55:33 CET

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Contacted the mob in Canada… "ohh no, we don't ship there because it's too expensive".
They're happy for their customers in the USA to pay a 25% tariff *on top* of shipping… but don't like the idea of someone in this part of the world spending 50% of the total bill on shipping.
Well… I tried to #BuyCanadian -- they didn't want to sell in the end.

2025-03-16 21:20:51 CET

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So, panels fly off at random in cold climates due to the adhesive letting go.
I wonder what they do in hot climates… does the glue melt and the cars shed their panels in the sun?
Tesla Australia is thinking of introducing the CyberTruck to this country … I think the states' various road safety authorities would be mad to rubber stamp this particular vehicle.
A panel flies off on a busy street and some innocent pedestrian gets cut to ribbons by it. No thanks.

2025-03-16 03:16:44 CET

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Not sure who got popped, but I had $991.64 taken off my debit card a fortnight ago. (BoQ VISA)
An AfterPay payment, a ZipPay payment, and a stack of what I presume were fines, from Linkt Melbourne… one for $500.
I'm now cardless for the next fortnight.

2025-03-16 02:40:20 CET

I see the insects of The Gap decided to put the ANT into ANTenna… talk about upping the ante… time for some AM I guess… ant modulation.
#CycloneAlfred #AmateurRadio
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/169/548/822/132/283/original/ca89a48a1e17c32b.mp4

2025-03-16 01:22:49 CET

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Not every instance allows that much text in a post either.
Unless patched on journa.host, the limit would be 500 characters, a third of the limit for ALT text. Thus the post would have to be split over several posts…
Time-consuming, and sometimes you've just got to push something up and maybe come back to it later.
I can touch type on a proper keyboard with reasonable speed, but I'm a slow seek-and-peck two-finger typist on a touchscreen. Sometimes the circumstance doesn't let me stand there slowly pecking out an ALT-text … I will post without and come back later to fill it in when I have time.
In this case, someone else stepped up to put the alt text in. A most welcome gesture on @npub1797…5qu8's part.
Not idealin that there's a delay between the content and its description, but let's not let perfect get in the way of good.

2025-03-14 09:14:49 CET

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Not quite, just not fully inflated … so a little on the floppy side.

2025-03-14 08:32:14 CET

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Mine's a somewhat deflated bouncy castle…

2025-03-14 06:38:18 CET

One pet peeve of mine, is when you want a particular product which is unobtainium in your local area.
I've been doing a lot of bushwalking lately, and a couple of years ago I bought some high-vis shirts that are hooded. They're just like the hi-vis polo shirts you buy at Bunnings, but have a hood instead of a collar.
Brilliant for our hot weather. I thought, "I'll buy some more".
I bought the first lot through #Amazon … but I really want to avoid them just now.
EBay has some, but the shipping is $$expensive$$.
I thought… hang on, why not Canada? I see ForceField have just the product.
Ha ha ha, no. We don't ship overseas.
Might be crossing that picket line anyway.
#Rant

2025-03-13 23:59:53 CET

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Children of the Revolution…
Pity Mr. TRex got wrapped around a tree back in 1977.

2025-03-13 22:53:56 CET

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Now there's an idea… ≥50% tariffs on Telsas.

2025-03-13 22:08:42 CET

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I can see the poo tin rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect.

2025-03-13 22:01:52 CET

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Then what next, an invasion staged out of Pine Gap? #AusPol

2025-03-13 21:52:48 CET

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Atlassian are an Australian company and run Bitbucket… but I think that's hosted on Amazon AWS in the US.

2025-03-13 20:53:39 CET

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Allow me to translate:
"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"

2025-03-10 10:20:57 CET

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Oooh, no… it's back…
```
2025-03-08T13:46:01Z>2025-03-10T09:14:01Z PADI=48 PADR=0 STATUS="no carrier">"active"
```
Just in time too! Hooray… let the messages flood in!

2025-03-07 11:31:19 CET

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Here at Strathpine, it is raining heavily and quite blowy. I won't bother with video because it is dark and the last one didn't get mirrored (forcing everyone to play via my 5Mbps uplink). I have one upset cat wondering why the cat flap to the outside cage is blocked off.
As for me, I'm going to attempt some shut-eye.
#CycloneAlfred

2025-03-07 11:07:20 CET

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#CycloneAlfred is giving North Stradbroke a nudge.
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/120/588/254/460/609/original/026b62fbd307b8a5.png

2025-03-07 10:13:31 CET

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I spy, with my little eye, the eye of #CycloneAlfred on the 128km Mt. Stapylton Radar image.
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/120/369/124/089/371/original/93ccd5dd64b529c3.png

2025-03-07 10:08:10 CET

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Update 37 for #CycloneAlfred … looks to have finally found the accelerator. Clearly this is the spirit of a dithering old man.
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/120/357/295/609/627/original/c780da3176b56aa2.png

2025-03-07 09:18:32 CET

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Update 36? for #CycloneAlfred
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/120/161/825/645/932/original/3d4bff0ed8be43d2.png

2025-03-07 07:43:53 CET

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Update 35 for #CycloneAlfred
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/119/790/669/522/674/original/5051e8ee092ab461.png

2025-03-07 06:46:49 CET

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Second blip.

2025-03-07 05:59:30 CET

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Update 34 I think. #CycloneAlfred
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/119/378/413/714/692/original/7e69fc64c035a872.png

2025-03-07 05:43:08 CET

Are there any #Kobo users here? Trying to troubleshoot why "Kobo Books" 10.2.2.39820 on Android 11 (Lenovo TB-7306F).
It can display a list of books on the account but tapping one shows a blank page. I've tried swiping in every direction I can imagine, all I can do is go back to the book list. Selecting a book, I see WiFi activity for a brief moment, then nothing. We've tried "Repair your account" to no avail.
Has anyone seen this and have some ideas what to try next before I engage their AI chatbot?
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/119/276/479/809/988/original/2e5fdd6252e8d75e.jpg
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/119/280/814/614/526/original/feadb7a8c9940fcc.jpg

2025-03-07 05:28:17 CET

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Update 33 #CycloneAlfred
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/119/257/252/387/274/original/4f0118f5f1950873.png

2025-03-07 04:55:35 CET

Just had our first power hiccup at Strathpine. 30 seconds, long enough for appliances to forget time and state. #CycloneAlfred

2025-03-07 04:07:24 CET

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Update 32 for #CycloneAlfred
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/118/939/197/863/442/original/cef5dd97084b838e.png

2025-03-07 03:55:57 CET

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Update 31 for #CycloneAlfred
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/118/894/793/581/045/original/57559562103d8aa7.png

2025-03-07 03:53:55 CET

One thought hit me this afternoon… and that is one of contrast on how federal and state governments deal with a natural disaster.
More so when they are on opposite sides of the conservative/progressive divide.
A few months ago, we were watching the state of #California fight winter bush fires. California have a progressive (Democrat) state government, the USA has a conservative (Republican) government. Federal government wanted to question and debate every bit of aid.
Here, we're getting close to being directly hit by the first cyclone in over 30 years. This system is roughly 200km in diameter. To put that into perspective, Tasmania is ~330km from north to south. South Carolina is about the same.
Queensland voted for a conservative (Liberal/National Coalition Party) government, but the current Australian government is a progressive one (Australian Labor Party).
Financial aid? It's flowing.
Military back-up to assist? They're already deployed.
We were leading up to a federal election where both LNP and ALP would be sparring with each-other (and they were as #CycloneAlfred wobbled its way down the coast as a category 4!) but now that the community needs them, partisan politics has been put on a shelf.
Shopping centre owners have even turned off and disabled their boom gates so people can park their cars for free in a high out-of-flood-risk place. Capitalisation be damned.
…as it should be in this situation.
#USPol #AusPol

2025-03-07 03:13:07 CET

T-12:00 or so, and Sam could not care less. #CatsOfMastodon #CycloneAlfred
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/118/721/196/880/968/original/8b7533ccfae57aa7.jpg

2025-03-07 02:24:29 CET

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Updates coming through thick and fast, I think this is number 30. #CycloneAlfred
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/118/532/962/449/353/original/a6f51aa79a7a9f69.png

2025-03-07 01:45:11 CET

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The bureau seems to have forgotten what number they're up to, but I think by my count, this is Advice 29. #CycloneAlfred
https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/system/media_attachments/files/114/118/380/206/815/383/original/8bf6918c5dc0a7b7.png