W6KME

Ham Radio and emcomms, musician, tinkerer. CVARC, VCARC, VCARS, Instructor, ARRL & GLAARG VE and ARES/ACS. Ventura County BORED Net, µExpo and µField Day Administrator. CVARC Field Day coordinator (25A in 2026).

ARRL Santa Barbara Section Manager. This is NOT an official ARRL account however-all views are mine only.

Mostly ham radio stuff. Some social and political, based on sanity, not partisanship.

PeerTube:
https://peertube.tv/c/w6kme_channel/videos
http://theborednet.net

The BORED Net: http://www.theborednet.net/
CVARC: http://www.cvarc.org/
VCARC: https://k6mep.org/
VCARS: http://www.vcars.org/

Public Key

npub15aw9l03hjl8s35u28ft2hyghj25wmnusjec7q7xu9guqjg9v8husjdyhz3

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs2whzlhcme0ncg6w9r544tjyte928de7gfvu0q0rwz5wqfyzkrm7gpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dst3k383

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub15aw9l03hjl8s35u28ft2hyghj25wmnusjec7q7xu9guqjg9v8husjdyhz3

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Last Notes

2026-05-27 22:39:06 UTC

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Well, this is an interesting day. I was taught by professional naturalists when I was an NPS volunteer that they were largely native to the Northeast, and followed Europeans as they expanded into the North American West. Yet I can find nothing online now to back that up, so this could well be one of those long-held beliefs that are simply wrong.

2026-05-26 20:09:24 UTC

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Absolutely correct. And at least I learned that day that several coworkers were useless in an emergency. That was good to know-this was just a couple of months before the Northridge quake when we had several large facilities full of collapsed equipment and walls, all surrounded by hazmat.

2026-05-26 20:00:10 UTC

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It should be easy, right? But some people simply can't understand working together.

2026-05-26 19:53:11 UTC

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My one day was a disaster also...group of four trainees. When I was getting my turns with the dummy under the slabs, the other three were supposed to be managing the lifting and cribbing, and they weren't. So I was yelling orders at them while trying to pass the class while also trying to avoid being crushed by these morons as they repeatedly dropped the slab.
Teamwork is a lot of fun, really.

2026-05-18 21:47:50 UTC

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Of course won't be a complete orbit; the thing is orders of magnitude away from actually ever being capable of that. The entire project has been a boondoggle.
This is just theater for the gullible dopes that still think Elon is cool. Amazing.

2026-05-17 16:04:54 UTC

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And why stop at one?

2026-05-17 04:41:02 UTC

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This is a typical industrial machine table. The motor is built into the table, not the machine, and is the size of a small watermelon. The machine in question is the one on the left; the Consew is my daily driver. By itself, the Singer weighs 80 lbs. #sewingMachine
https://mastodon.radio/system/media_attachments/files/116/588/073/035/637/727/original/3961a235232af6cc.jpg

2026-05-17 04:33:07 UTC

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I'm all the way south in Ventura County but my kid is in Santa Cruz and I will accept any excuse to visit, so this machine could conceivably deliver itself, with table and motor. Just sayin'. Killer 1950s Singer made in Germany. It's HUGE.

2026-05-17 04:16:33 UTC

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For really heavy canvas, a walking-foot industrial machine is really the thing. And if you decide to take on such a project, I know where you can get a long-term loan of one...

2026-05-15 17:29:38 UTC

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Full of people who never realize they have all of those paved highways to their ranches, paid for by social programs largely funded by people on the coast. And hospitals. And all the rest of it.
The disconnect grows as you get further from the coast, not just the political leaning.

2026-05-13 05:02:40 UTC

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Woodside was an awesome place up until the point where it got so rich normal people couldn't visit any more. My rich old man lived there in his later life, may he roast in piss. I went through high school in Saratoga, which has experienced the same thing.

2026-05-05 04:38:46 UTC

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What an honor to have witnessed that flight! I was gutted that I wasn't able.

2026-05-02 20:39:34 UTC

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Gotta agree...the issue was size of the lithium battery, which is a published limit that they certainly knew about.
No matter what the actual goal was, the whole stunt was pretty dickish.

2026-04-20 23:14:31 UTC

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Pray they don't discover that people taste good.

2026-04-13 03:12:27 UTC

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It's hard to believe that it's getting almost unusual to see a 747. Mind, I could watch 777s all day and be happy.

2026-04-05 16:43:38 UTC

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https://mastodon.radio/system/media_attachments/files/116/353/092/334/747/598/original/970332a792b102e8.jpg

2026-04-01 15:59:20 UTC

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And over the right shoulder also, which is not something we have spent our lives doing. And yeah, that's a lot of merging.

2026-03-26 20:34:05 UTC

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I'm going to this one Friday, my wife even wants to go with me (no doubt to keep me from buying anything)

2026-03-26 20:00:24 UTC

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Which WE know was all fake, since they're really using the helicopters to drop coyotes on our dogs and cats.

2026-03-26 19:54:35 UTC

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Fines are stupid, but we all know that.

2026-03-26 19:42:42 UTC

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It's almost as though people with a global worldview tend one direction politically, and people who focus only on getting their own tend another.

2026-03-26 19:38:46 UTC

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Our place has been close to wild for a long time, and oddly, people are now coming around to liking it. There is some hope for some folks, at least.

2026-03-26 19:36:09 UTC

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Not exactly sure where this house is, but in my tract nearby, back in 1962 they removed the topsoil and built on a layer of hard clay. I have spent over 3 decades mulching, and it's *starting* to work.
When I moved in, shovels and picks created sparks on the ground. If I wanted to build in adobe, this is the clay I would use.

2026-03-26 19:33:56 UTC

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Ugh. The most annoying to me are peoplw who use the first letter only of a word, expecting that everyone knows what they mean.
Te me, that tells me that the speaker knows they are utterly unoriginal, since everyone will know what they mean, and I can therefore ignore them.
My wife just got a Get Well card from her work after her back surgery. One person just wrote "TPs". Took a while to decode that one.

2026-03-25 04:19:14 UTC

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The LAST thing christofascists care about is actual scripture.

2026-03-23 05:01:33 UTC

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Quoting collive.com, "Port Authority officers in the vehicle sustained serious injuries, with reports indicating four are dead on arrival and others in critical condition."

2026-03-23 04:59:38 UTC

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Quoting avbrief.com "Early reports suggest an airliner and a fire truck collided on Runway 4 at La Guardia Airport in New York late Sunday. In the accompanying animation, a controller repeatedly tells the crew of the Jazz CRJ 900 aircraft and the fire truck to “Stop, Stop, Stop.” Fatalities are being reported as reports start coming out. As many as five firefighters were hurt along with multiple people on the airplane. Some of the injuries are critical."

2026-03-23 04:57:58 UTC

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https://avbrief.com/plane-fire-truck-collide-on-taxiway-at-la-guardia/
Mentions in link of fatalities and major injuries.
https://mastodon.radio/system/media_attachments/files/116/276/712/932/184/891/original/4388d94c93e0ff56.jpg

2026-03-22 23:47:56 UTC

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Through my life I have been more liberal on some issues, more conservative on others, and my opinions have even changed. But one belief I have always had is that energy needs to be socialized. Completely. All of it. It's never been more obvious than it is now.

2026-02-21 01:32:55 UTC

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Poverty is the sauce that makes possum good.

2026-02-21 01:17:52 UTC

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Nothin' like swamp cuisine.
"Oh for a slice of possum and yam." -Oliver Hardy

2026-02-19 00:12:39 UTC

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My favorite feature of the Hoover Dam was the dam toilets.

2026-02-18 02:56:01 UTC

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Gold bullion or beef bullion?

2026-02-11 03:08:38 UTC

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And while everyone knows that the Early Bird Gets the Worm, they overlook that the worm was early too.

2026-01-30 04:40:03 UTC

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I'm just an avgeek and planespotter, and i don't know a lot about ordnance. But what the hell is on the right wingtip where a Sidewinder should be?

2026-01-29 17:11:47 UTC

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Last year I was sitting on a bench in the Presidio in SF, watching a startlingly high volume of Waymos driving around. And noticed that every time they would round one corner, with a clear double yellow line in the middle of the road, they would cross over the line by several feet.
Lines on roads are what stands between normal driving and chaos and death. Most human drivers actually understand this. But if the robots don't care, um, yikes.

2026-01-27 17:48:13 UTC

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Any points available for knowing what the CL-400 was?

2026-01-21 04:54:18 UTC

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We avgeeks would be loving it, but I can see it disturbing a lot of people.

2026-01-20 04:47:04 UTC

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Electric kettles are the most efficient way to transfer energy into water. Fun fact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yMMTVVJI4c

2026-01-17 06:54:38 UTC

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My daughter drove the entire distance Thursday northbound. She spent about an hour total in traffic control areas where only one lane is open, alternating northbound and southbound traffic.
It was her first opportunity to see Big Sur from 1, and in spite of the traffic she was amazed.

2026-01-04 22:12:15 UTC

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"That's when we learned the importance of correcting these AI-generated reports."
That is outrageous. Absolutely outrageous. That should have been the plan from the very start, right? Rather than reacting when their AI turns out to be as stupid as EVERYONE has been saying all along? It's not a secret after all.
How many people has this department damaged with bogus AI reports?

2025-11-29 05:18:47 UTC

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And the final key is wool. Period. Nothing modern, nothing synthetic, if you're going to get wet, wool is most likely to let you live.

2025-11-29 05:16:19 UTC

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Did a fair bit of snow camping with my stepbrothers in our teens, digging snow caves, etc. Oddly, one of the keys is low enough temps. If it's 25-30 degrees F, you're gonna get wet. If it's under 20F, you can stay dry a lot more easily.
Warm is easy. Dry is what keeps you safe and alive.

2025-11-20 04:47:26 UTC

#NWS has cancelled #SKYWARN Appreciation Day for 2025. This was where they acknowledge SKYWARN Volunteers, many of whom are #hamradio operators. These volunteers are the Eyes In The Real World during weather events, and usually are giving the most timely and meaningful updates on things like tornadoes.
This is horseshit.
Traditionally, on this day every year, volunteers try and contact as many other volunteers as they can, using any and all methods available. Not now.

2025-11-09 01:16:25 UTC

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Anything you want, literally anything, can be special ordered by Ace Hardware stores, and in the store in a couple of days. Their catalog is hundreds of times larger than HD or Lowes. Waiting for an Amazon delivery doesn't bother people-why don't we special order from brick and mortar stores more often?
Tools? Consider other stores like Harbor Freight if you have one in your town. They've been selling high-end stuff for years now, not just cheap stuff.
Lots of options.

2025-11-05 13:26:27 UTC

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It was so big because if the engine stalled, it would take two legs and the power of Hercules to actually stop the car.

2025-11-04 23:56:34 UTC

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Really looks in the video that the wheels never left the ground by much if at all. But as we know, video can be misleading.
Video link if you have not seen it here https://mastodon.radio/@npub1xrs…xdps/115493931838531196

2025-11-04 23:44:54 UTC

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a low-res video going around shows flames coming over the wing at the #1 engine, (but not from under it). The plane has rotated but doesn't appear to leave the ground.
So possibly an engine failure after V1, if all of that is correct.

2025-11-04 20:32:37 UTC

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Yikes, even my Caddy got 6mpg. Of course, the engine was a tick under 8 liters, it's a wonder it got that much.
Edit: The Rochester 4 barrel carb was the same size as a Smart Car.

2025-11-04 20:17:58 UTC

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Those old giant GMs had only two good features, giant brakes and giant air conditioners. Well, automatic gearboxes too, same ones they were selling to Rolls Royce. Not much else to redeem them though.

2025-11-04 20:08:15 UTC

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I remember the boats of old...I had a '71 Sedan de Ville. It was about forty feet long.

2025-11-04 20:04:54 UTC

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They have half a dozen at the local Jeep store, going on two years old now. Original sticker 115k, they've been in local adds for 90k and still not moving. Even Jeep fans don't seem to want them.
Curious factoid about it...longer wheelbase than a Suburban. I parked next to one in my little Crosstrek and the wheelbase difference was comical.

2025-10-30 04:40:18 UTC

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Peertube, baby. It's time.

2025-10-27 17:13:08 UTC

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I've gone 135mph on a motorcycle, and the wind is a force. Maybe I should say a FORCE. Being able to do that takes aerodynamic aids starting with the front wheel, fairing, windscreen, 100 or more horsepower, etc. Trying to stand on the ground in such a wind is beyond imagination. Lying down? Mr. Bernoulli will simply rip you off the ground.
This is going to be a historic day.

2025-10-14 21:57:26 UTC

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I've never had that sort of money-beaver felt is for people with immaculate $800 Stesons and shiny perfect pickup trucks. Most affordable felt hats are just wool. But wool has one other famous feature-it'll keep you warm when wet.

2025-10-14 21:52:29 UTC

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I've always used a felt fedora or western hat. Stay dry in the most insane rain.

2025-10-02 23:40:09 UTC

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Gaslight, Obstruct, Project.

2025-10-01 22:49:38 UTC

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Not just relying on the Space Nazi, but using a product of his fake company that never at any point intended to bore any tunnels at all? This is beyond stupid.

2025-09-27 03:41:41 UTC

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I picked the wrong week to spend flat on my back with covid. I've seen plenty of interesting stuff overhead, but I'd be much happier camped near the base with a camera.

2025-09-26 21:17:30 UTC

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Let's just get this out there...owning or having owned a Cap'n Crunch whistle does not constitute approval of the guy who used it as an alias.

2025-09-26 17:34:57 UTC

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Was talking about that recently...getting a page and driving around looking for a working payphone. And we thought THAT was "connected".

2025-09-24 03:42:57 UTC

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Or at least pretending to be struggling not to be blown away

2025-09-19 18:21:02 UTC

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I've been watching these fly around the neighborhood all week...didn't realize you were shooting them!

2025-09-18 23:21:36 UTC

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The entire Jefferson idea is one of the most ludicrously stupid things I have ever heard. People can live in rural areas because we subsidize every aspect of their lives. Do they really think they can live without farm subsidies, Medical, CalFire, Caltrans? That their dream of low taxes will cover ANY of those services?
Of course not-the entire idea is a wet dream on the part of mouth-breathing boneheads who can't think anything more sophisticated than "I got mine, fuck y'all."
@npub1d26…72uz

2025-09-08 23:22:29 UTC

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Everything that modern digital machines can do can also be done on a straight-stitch machine. The downside is that you need to get the hang of various attachments, but the upside is that a straight-stitch machine is a lot more rigid and sturdy. There's just a lot less mechanism for tolerances to add up on.
I really only tend to sew or repair heavy stuff, so this sort of machine kicks the tushies of all the fancy-pants stuff.

2025-09-08 23:17:50 UTC

The treadle drive belt came today...a few adjustments later, the 1911 Singer Model 66-1 #AntiqueSewingMachine is working wonderfully. Tried out the marvelous buttonhole foot and it worked a treat. It's mezmerizing to watch.
I've already done some tests with about 4-5mm of leather, just turning the handwheel with one finger. Can't wait to start pushing the limits now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiA_0fuKB04

2025-09-01 22:33:09 UTC

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Last one, lower left, is (deep breath) a Low Shank Edge Stitcher Presser Foot. For sewing very very close to the edge of the fabric.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ball_BDCEas
#SewingMachine
#AntiqueSewingMachine

2025-09-01 21:51:16 UTC

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Top left is an Adjustable Hemmer, and this one is going to Change My Life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwohkD47vEE
#SewingMachine
#AntiqueSewingMachine

2025-09-01 21:47:13 UTC

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Bottom is a Hemmer Foot, for making a 3mm tiny little hem. Again, this could be very handy-I always make a dog's breakfast out of small hems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxCwwFqzElM
#SewingMachine
#AntiqueSewingMachine

2025-09-01 21:43:01 UTC

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Below the Ruffler, center right, is a Slotted Binder Foot with guide pins. I can't find a video,k but it, well, sews binding to the edges of fabric. Like it says on the tin.
EVERY time I have ever done this freehand I've ended up with wrinkles. Can't wait to try this.
#SewingMachine
#AntiqueSewingMachine

2025-09-01 21:07:44 UTC

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All of these, plus the wonderful Buttonholer in the other post, were for machines that simply went up and down, before all of the highly complex machines that came in the 70s and 80s. You know, the ones that break down, unlike an old model 66. The foot does all of the clever work.
The foot in the upper right is a Ruffler...who knew antique machines could do all of this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp2Dim2wJK4
#SewingMachine
#AntiqueSewingMachine

2025-09-01 20:22:10 UTC

Wondering how many of these mystery presser feet my grandmother left behind will fit. I've never had a need for any of them-hell, I don't know what most of them are.
Edit: D'oh, of course they will...she had a Model 66 also, from the 50s with a fairly wimpy electric motor. The machine itself is identical to the treadle models. It's in my attic.
#SewingMachine #AntiqueSewingMachine
https://mastodon.radio/system/media_attachments/files/115/130/894/562/859/698/original/1f5417d5664a0c27.jpg

2025-09-01 17:27:10 UTC

So this just came to live here...in very nice running condition, belt is good, it's been kept clean and in use for four generations in one family. The fifth didn't want it, so it's starting over at our house.
Singer Model 66, probably the longest running machine in production ever, over 50 years. This one is from 1911. The furniture is in awesome shape, there really isn't anything to do before putting it to work.
Ten bucks.
#SewingMachine #Singer #AntiqueSewingMachine
https://mastodon.radio/system/media_attachments/files/115/130/198/550/026/845/original/b1e35d3fa740e682.jpg

2025-08-28 15:01:32 UTC

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Scientists, like many journalists, are somehow capable of turning their brains off when it comes to social media. Too many stuck to xitter for FAR too long, and now choosing Bluesky? These are not signs of critical thinking.
Mastodon is literally perfect for people like that, for all the reasons we all know.

2025-08-27 21:14:02 UTC

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Wether your bucks, folks. ESPECIALLY if they are meant to be a pet.

2025-08-26 17:31:50 UTC

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As a longtime bagpiper, I can't say how relieved I am to see someone willing to shine some light on this aspect of piping. It's real, folks.

2025-08-13 23:59:21 UTC

"Commander Vimes didn't like the phrase 'The innocent have nothing to fear', believing the innocent had everything to fear, mostly from the guilty but in the longer term even more from those who say things like 'The innocent have nothing to fear'.”
-Terry Pratchett
#GNUSTP

2025-08-13 23:44:54 UTC

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Autocorrect is a false dog.

2025-08-04 16:20:49 UTC

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Their Board had an opportunity to distance themselves from evil, and they chose evil.
Fuck Tesla, and anyone who buys their "cars" from this point on.

2025-07-28 15:53:06 UTC

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A pincushion is simply a thing you must have. Tradition says it must look like a tomato.

2025-07-21 22:27:28 UTC

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There will obviously be many other considerations, but be aware that they're lousy brakes.

2025-07-21 22:24:00 UTC

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You do know that your current bike tinkering trajectory will eventually leading to building a new wheel with a modern hub that has real parts available, right?
I've got a stand and tools when you are ready.

2025-07-21 01:04:55 UTC

Monday, July 21, is the deadline for public comments on the FCCs proposal to hand most of the amateur radio 440 band over to a startup space company. If you are in the US, PLEEAAASE make a comment. This is insanity.
https://hamradioprep.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f37cdd1d3c7111cfd6088ed0&id=bdbd91c274&e=f68c7a1e67
#hamradio #FCC

2025-07-12 20:21:22 UTC

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Oh, it was a lot worse than that. If you posted a pic of your bike and the pedals weren't at an exact certain angle you'd get 40 replies blasting your for it. I was in one usenet group where the mods would delete any photo if it didn't comply with The Rules.
Worse than airliners.net 😜

2025-07-12 20:10:42 UTC

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The Rules were one of the saddest and lamest things ever created. There may have been some element of fun in the beginning, but there were always hyper-conformist twerps with massive insecurity issues who ended up turning every usenet cycling group (and later Reddit) into a cesspit. Conform or be eaten alive.
There are good reasons and applications for every bit of gear, but gear is like tools...use what does the job for you. Social pressure should never be part of the equation.

2025-07-12 16:01:16 UTC

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Plenty of companies copied Singer's designs, but all is fair etc. Singer was famously unshy about stealing other people's patented designs, including the one that got him into the sewing machine business. Cost him quite a bit of money eventually.

2025-07-05 03:11:36 UTC

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That's the surprise about vacuum tube AM radio receivers...they sound amazing. We're used to hearing AM radio on crappy radios.
Granted, being able to enjoy vintage radios and all the hi-fi goodness they offer does mean being a geek. We deal with it.

2025-06-26 15:47:37 UTC

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Nobody wants to do the easy thing...quit using single-use plastic.

2025-06-25 14:28:48 UTC

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Funny how EVERY news outlet called this one a shoo-in for Cuomo, even PBS.
Thank the gods people are learning that those news outlets aren't their friends.

2025-06-14 02:26:04 UTC

Google just keep doubling down on their uselessness. I'm picking someone up at Burbank airport tonight. According to the AI twaddle, there is a cell phone lot to wait in for arriving passenger. They even give an address. The first several links Google gives are sites that are nothing more than bot-generated crap from the AI answer.
There is no such lot at Burbank. It's damned near impossible to find that info online now.
#AIisStupid #GoogleISDead #TheEndIsNigh

2025-05-03 04:29:08 UTC

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Hey, Folger's instant has it's place...instant coffee is a different beverage from coffee, but there is a time and place for it.

2025-05-03 04:23:55 UTC

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On my morning net we recently had a discussion on proper coffee brewing...the answer is, if you like it, it's proper.

2025-05-03 03:47:23 UTC

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Funny thing about roasting coffee...you're cooking off all the stuff that DOESN'T smell like wonderful freshly-roasted coffee. Not always nice. I bet a lot of people have tried this in their house...once...

2025-04-30 16:35:16 UTC

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Ben and I live under one of the Mugu approaches; it's gotten to the point that when I hear a Hunter I don't always run outside to watch. And I ALWAYS run outside to watch airplanes. We get a LOT of Hunter traffic here.

2025-04-30 16:24:44 UTC

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Looks like a solar collector, mirrors reflect the sun onto it where sodium is heated and liquefied to run turbines. I think this is the one in the Mohave.

2025-02-28 21:36:22 UTC

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I'm not aware that the country receiving the benefit must be in a state of war. The plain formal meaning of the word says that someone attempting to overthrow or weaken our government is performing an act of treason. It's about harming us, not helping them.

2025-02-28 20:51:55 UTC

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How is this not treason?

2025-02-21 16:58:13 UTC

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Name and Shame those sponsors.

2025-02-20 02:05:01 UTC

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I'm gutten that I wasn't able to see any of the last flight.

2025-02-20 02:03:39 UTC

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I remember that facade from 1964 or 65 when my sister spend a couple of weeks there. Not sure I've thought about it since.