Nostr notes by Waldo Jaquith

Huh, I'd never seen this before. This was for a c7i.2xlarge, ...

2026-03-23T17:09:06+01:00

Huh, I'd never seen this before. This was for a c7i.2xlarge, which I appreciate isn’t as ubiquitous as a t3.micro or something, but I'm still surprised.

Don't miss this explanation of how backbone providers ...

2026-02-11T23:01:37+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…wqcu
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Don't miss this explanation of how backbone providers coordinated on this telnetd exploit in advance of the CVE release, and simply blocked port 23 traffic. https://www.labs.greynoise.io/grimoire/2026-02-10-telnet-falls-silent/

I'm just reading this GNU telnetd CVE from last month. I did ...

2026-02-11T23:00:02+01:00

I'm just reading this GNU telnetd CVE from last month. I did not realize that telnet was still a thing, but it turns out anybody could provide a username of "-f root" and, boom, they had root. The vulnerability existed for 11 years. *Wow*. https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-24061

As I swap snow stories with folks across the eastern half of the ...

2026-01-27T22:30:50+01:00

As I swap snow stories with folks across the eastern half of the U.S., I’m appreciative of why snowy cultures tend to have so many different words to describe different kinds of snow.

Gandi disabled my U2F keys without warning. This sort of ...

2025-12-09T16:11:47+01:00

Gandi disabled my U2F keys without warning. This sort of incompetence is why I moved all my domains away from them earlier this year (to Namecheap; Porkbun was runner-up).

Bold claim from this local restaurant. ...

2025-11-29T20:58:00+01:00

Bold claim from this local restaurant.

It is very funny that so many people try to create an entry for ...

2025-11-14T21:40:06+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…mgr6
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It is very funny that so many people try to create an entry for somebody who is not notable that it becomes necessary to prohibit creating a page for that person. It feels like the existence of that process is evidence that (some of) those people are, in fact, notable!

Ah-ha, here are the photos. This is from IRS HQ in DC. They were ...

2025-11-11T01:44:15+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…ke69
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Ah-ha, here are the photos. This is from IRS HQ in DC. They were mounted on the wall toward one corner of the building, on the interior.

I’ve only seen the inverse of this, in federal buildings: the ...

2025-11-10T23:25:31+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…jvy9
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I’ve only seen the inverse of this, in federal buildings: the watchman carried the key, and there were locks around the building. Each lock recorded on paper when it had been turned.

Sycamore leaf. ...

2025-11-06T14:51:27+01:00

Sycamore leaf.

I took a lot of photos of downtown Charlottesville in ...

2025-10-12T05:47:28+02:00

I took a lot of photos of downtown Charlottesville in ~1995–2000. Enough time has passed that a lot of them are nice little time capsules. Over the years I've shared them on Flickr and Facebook, but I've wanted a permanent home. Over the past few nights I've made such a home.

It'll take a while to add titles, descriptions, and geodata for all the images, but it feels worth the work for something I own and control. https://waldo.jaquith.org/gallery/

Agencies sometimes tell me that they employ some software ...

2025-10-10T17:49:59+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…643w
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Agencies sometimes tell me that they employ some software developers and that they intend to assign those developers to supplement the labor of the vendor team that they have hired for an Agile software development project.

This is a terrible idea. Please don’t do this.

Blog entry: Why government agencies should not try to have agency ...

2025-10-10T17:49:19+02:00

Blog entry: Why government agencies should not try to have agency developers "help" a vendor team's developers. https://waldo.jaquith.org/blog/2025/10/agency-developers/

Every decade I have to relearn this; today I bestow it on you: on ...

2025-10-10T00:34:08+02:00

Every decade I have to relearn this; today I bestow it on you: on Unix systems, `cd -` will take you to the directory that you were in previously.

Then it would stand to reason that the Fig Newton had invented ...

2025-08-10T15:05:01+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…g4t3
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Then it would stand to reason that the Fig Newton had invented Isaac Newton

While the Apple Newton is named for Isaac Newton, the Fig Newton ...

2025-08-09T23:32:07+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…a4jz
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While the Apple Newton is named for Isaac Newton, the Fig Newton is named for Newton, Massachusetts (which just a contraction of “new town”). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newtons_(cookie)#History

In 1997, posing with my Apple Newton, the computer that convinced ...

2025-08-09T06:04:05+02:00

In 1997, posing with my Apple Newton, the computer that convinced me to move from DOS/Windows to the Mac.

Well here’s an interesting new scam. ...

2025-07-12T22:05:56+02:00

Well here’s an interesting new scam.

It's weird having a bot that sometimes proselytizes ...

2025-07-08T22:17:29+02:00

It's weird having a bot that sometimes proselytizes
https://mastodon.social/@thisemailfindsyou/114819288385287263

My wife and I paid off the school lunch debt at our kid's ...

2025-07-01T04:43:22+02:00

My wife and I paid off the school lunch debt at our kid's elementary school a few years ago, and later learned that the county never pursues those debts and just wipes the slate clean at the end of the school year, so we haven't done it since. YMMV!
https://mastodon.social/@kottke/114773875880018174

I'm looking for security consultant recommendations! I ...

2025-06-06T21:25:42+02:00

I'm looking for security consultant recommendations! I support a non-profit that’s building PII-storing open source software that integrates with government data storage systems, and they would like a third-party security assessment. This is *not* about compliance, this is straight-up wanting somebody to review their code and practices, try to break in, etc. If you've worked a small or single-person (read as: not really expensive) consultant you'd recommend for this, I'd love to hear about them.

Oh, that is very nice! Yes, I would prefer that, because that ...

2025-06-04T19:58:34+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…svkf
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Oh, that is very nice! Yes, I *would* prefer that, because that would make it easier to have my notes in a much larger typeface. Thanks!

That would have been perfect.

2025-05-31T02:41:19+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…62x2
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That would have been perfect.

I wound up downloading as PowerPoint, opening in Keynote on my ...

2025-05-30T23:05:49+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…8xjy
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I wound up downloading as PowerPoint, opening in Keynote on my Mac, and printing there. Keynote handles this nicely. But I shouldn't have to do all that!

Generating printed speakers' notes from Google Sheets is just ...

2025-05-30T22:40:49+02:00

Generating printed speakers' notes from Google Sheets is just not possible. You'd think the company making presentation software that requires an internet connection would be really sensitive to the need for backup options when there's no connection, but they are not.

Somebody posted the source code to the IRS’s Direct File to ...

2025-05-30T03:37:04+02:00

Somebody posted the source code to the IRS’s Direct File to GitHub. https://github.com/IRS-Public/direct-file

Maybe I just feel haggard. I’m sick, had a terrible night of ...

2025-05-15T01:09:14+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…cuh6
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Maybe I just *feel* haggard. I’m sick, had a terrible night of coughing and aches, and woke up to deal with this mess. I saw that footage and thought “yeah, that is for sure how I feel.”

It me, I regret. ...

2025-05-15T01:02:09+02:00

It me, I regret.

macOS annoyance: At some point in the past couple of major ...

2025-05-08T16:44:16+02:00

macOS annoyance: At some point in the past couple of major releases, desktop icons started obeying a slightly different grid on my laptop screen than on my external display. Whenever I switch between the two, any new or moved icons snap to an offset grid, until I move all of them to their new, invisible designated spots.

I thought "maybe post a sign," but the notion that ...

2025-05-07T01:02:47+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…knmg
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I thought "maybe post a sign," but the notion that you'd have to post a sign saying "if you block my driveway then I will tow your car" is absurd.

I have never lived in a place where this is plausible, but it ...

2025-05-07T00:54:50+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…hk40
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I have never lived in a place where this is plausible, but it blows my mind that people would think that this is OK.

This is the finest desire path I’ve ever seen. A+, would walk ...

2025-04-18T18:47:56+02:00

This is the finest desire path I’ve ever seen. A+, would walk on again.

TIL SSDs will lose data and performance from sitting around ...

2025-04-17T01:12:34+02:00

TIL SSDs will lose data and performance from sitting around unplugged. https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/storage/unpowered-ssd-endurance-investigation-finds-severe-data-loss-and-performance-issues-reminds-us-of-the-importance-of-refreshing-backups

Ah, the world’s major cultures. ...

2025-04-13T14:09:08+02:00

Ah, the world’s major cultures.

trumpcard.gov https://mastodon.social/@botgov/114223739229794922

2025-03-25T16:26:51+01:00

trumpcard.gov
https://mastodon.social/@botgov/114223739229794922

I could spend a lifetime handling hot containers and at no point ...

2025-03-25T14:13:10+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…wmsq
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I could spend a lifetime handling hot containers and at no point would I have come close to inventing the handle. I’m at peace with that.

People spent tens of thousands of years making really thick ...

2025-03-25T14:12:18+01:00

People spent tens of thousands of years making really thick containers to hold hot stuff, and then one day somebody blew everybody's minds by inventing the *handle*.

Are there any archives of the file listings of major FTP sites of ...

2025-03-17T21:07:21+01:00

Are there any archives of the file listings of major FTP sites of the 1990s? I recall the WUArchive, Drexel, and…some university in Taiwan all having great software repositories. I'd be fascinated to see what the login messages were for those, and what their file listings were. Does anybody know if that exists?

The last non-evil printer company has turned evil. Brother has ...

2025-03-05T19:58:22+01:00

The last non-evil printer company has turned evil. Brother has rolled out firmware update that prevent third-party toner cartridges from working. https://www.tomshardware.com/peripherals/printers/brother-accused-of-locking-down-third-party-printer-ink-cartridges-via-firmware-updates-removing-older-firmware-versions-from-support-portals

Nostr event nevent1qqsy9ny2pqmjcvj7ktnpzdf60egk899nzxkzh3lh0ywq3r3ex70n7uszyqayfn4hff08kqx80w48q2lwahygrm6my9ttwcns5cfzu0y3c29xvs8jqa9

2025-02-04T17:38:56+01:00

https://mastodon.social/@kottke/113946549380480053

Since my time with the U.S. Treasury came to an end on January ...

2025-01-28T21:32:14+01:00

Since my time with the U.S. Treasury came to an end on January 20, I'm now available 10 hours/week for consulting. My expertise is the budgeting, procurement, and oversight of major custom software projects. If that is relevant to your interests, let me know!

I got a letter from a company I’ve never heard of informing me ...

2025-01-25T17:45:41+01:00

I got a letter from a company I’ve never heard of informing me of a “privacy event,” a new and stupid euphemism for “we collected your data and allowed it to be stolen.” The letter never says that the company is, in fact, United Healthcare.

The GAO audited IRS Direct File and reported last month that its ...

2025-01-24T18:06:24+01:00

The GAO audited IRS Direct File and reported last month that its only shortcoming is that it's not available to 100% of Americans, which is the GAO equivalent of “he's a great guy, but his one flaw is that he doesn't have a twin.” https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-106933

On my long to-do list is to put together a website with a ...

2025-01-22T18:01:49+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…al7y
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On my long to-do list is to put together a website with a collection of government tech projects of all different sizes, that were done right, with a price tag and a short case study of each. I think people need to see what $10,000 or $100,000 or $1,000,000 can get you.

Blog entry: The biggest reason that custom software for ...

2025-01-22T17:48:26+01:00

Blog entry: The biggest reason that custom software for government costs hundreds of millions of dollars is because government simply doesn’t know better https://waldo.jaquith.org/blog/2025/01/government-software-millions/

I made this sweet new theme for my website. The dream of ...

2025-01-20T00:49:21+01:00

I made this sweet new theme for my website. The dream of mid-nineties WWW simplicity is alive and well, if you want it. https://waldo.jaquith.org/

Automattic: WP Engine is bad because they don't contribute to ...

2025-01-10T20:40:10+01:00

Automattic: WP Engine is bad because they don't contribute to WordPress!

Also Automattic: We will stop contributing to WordPress. https://automattic.com/2025/01/09/aligning-automattics-sponsored-contributions-to-wordpress/

This is pretty good, but the plasma cheese freaks me out. ...

2025-01-06T15:44:56+01:00

This is pretty good, but the plasma cheese freaks me out.

There’s a box you have to check to apply a $20 coupon.

2025-01-06T15:43:12+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…yuqt
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There’s a box you have to check to apply a $20 coupon.

The Aranet4 CO2 meter is on sale for $120 on Amazon right now. ...

2025-01-06T15:29:34+01:00

The Aranet4 CO2 meter is on sale for $120 on Amazon right now. Great price, recommended. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YY7BH2W

FedEx's website lets you set a password of unlimited length ...

2024-12-30T18:23:58+01:00

FedEx's website lets you set a password of unlimited length (I've tested it up to 100), but when logging in, the password field has a maxlength of 25 characters. If you override the maxlength in the HTML and enter the full password, then the form complains that the password field is empty.

🙄

A successful Christmas Eve mistletoe hunt. ...

2024-12-24T23:35:49+01:00

A successful Christmas Eve mistletoe hunt.

My usual rule is to buy a cheap tool and use it until I outgrown ...

2024-12-23T22:27:48+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…gh2j
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My usual rule is to buy a cheap tool and use it until I outgrown it and it breaks, at which point I buy a nice, own-it-for-life version. But I’m not counting this, because it broke in such a pathetic way.

I knew buying the cheapest possible drill press meant cheap ...

2024-12-23T22:25:39+01:00

I knew buying the cheapest possible drill press meant cheap plastic parts, but it didn’t occur to me that operating it in 20°F temperatures would snap that cold-weakened plastic. So that’s one Christmas gift that won’t be happening.

The standard criteria for “ultra-processed foods” leads to ...

2024-12-21T15:09:43+01:00

The standard criteria for “ultra-processed foods” leads to some absurd inclusions (tofu, tempeh, bouillon). I imagine it’s difficult or impossible to create a simple standard that wouldn’t have this problem. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/391795/ultra-processed-foods-science-vegan-meat-rfk-maha

I'm starting to think we were onto something with website hit ...

2024-12-17T22:42:32+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…sa82
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I'm starting to think we were onto something with website hit counters.

I can actually feel my brain rattle around in my skull when my ...

2024-12-17T18:36:12+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…tmtd
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I can actually feel my brain rattle around in my skull when my dog does this.

When you Title-Case a Phrase for Emphasis, that's "Pooh ...

2024-12-15T21:24:16+01:00

When you Title-Case a Phrase for Emphasis, that's "Pooh casing.”

These things are absolute class and nothing will convince me ...

2024-12-14T23:02:51+01:00

These things are absolute class and nothing will convince me otherwise

Nostr event nevent1qqsy8adlcx3uuxk4qkhy9fwf60g9hvkp4llftuu9jj4lp0n4s6h2p6czyqayfn4hff08kqx80w48q2lwahygrm6my9ttwcns5cfzu0y3c29xvp7ad6d

2024-12-12T22:49:35+01:00

.shtml was pronounced "shitmail.”

Do people even remember that MSNBC started out as a Microsoft/NBC ...

2024-12-06T05:12:25+01:00

Do people even remember that MSNBC started out as a Microsoft/NBC joint venture?

The woman sitting next to me on a flight this afternoon seemed ...

2024-12-05T03:22:11+01:00

The woman sitting next to me on a flight this afternoon seemed troubled when I produced a geiger counter that was clicking away. I wasn't sure how to explain "I just want to see the radiation levels increase as we ascend higher into the atmosphere" without it becoming a Whole Thing so I just shrugged as if perhaps I'd found it in the seat back pocket, and put it away.

So you’re telling me there’s a chance? ...

2024-12-03T01:07:08+01:00

So you’re telling me there’s a chance?

Dominion Power claims that Virginians’ power usage keeps ...

2024-11-27T01:38:48+01:00

Dominion Power claims that Virginians’ power usage keeps climbing, so they need to build new power plants that we’ll all pay for with rate hikes. Forced to release internal records, it turns out that the only increase is coming from building data centers.

Why should Virginians subsidize Amazon, whose budget is 7x Virginia’s? https://virginiamercury.com/2024/11/26/under-pressure-from-the-scc-dominion-reveals-the-true-cost-of-data-centers/

OMG

2024-11-22T22:39:10+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…twml
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OMG

PowerPoint has built-in functionality that makes it trivial to ...

2024-11-22T22:38:50+01:00

PowerPoint has built-in functionality that makes it trivial to find Creative Commons-licensed photos and embed them into presentations…crediting the photos to "Unknown Author." (This explains the presentation I saw two weeks ago that had slide after slide with photos credit to “Unknown Author" under a "CC-BY" license, ironically.) This is *profoundly* shitty on Microsoft's part.
https://ruby.social/@pushcx/113527607863576300

OK, so this is weird. I saw a presentation two weeks ago *by a ...

2024-11-22T22:21:08+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…5dt3
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OK, so this is weird. I saw a presentation two weeks ago *by a lawyer* that used probably a dozen CC photos, every single one with its CC license status, every single one credit to “Unknown Author.” Capital U, capital A. Not “photographer, but "Author." The same as in your example.

I wonder if this the fault of some tool (e.g., Figma) that makes it easy to find and add CC-licensed images, but doesn't credit them?

TIL that, in England, it used to be common for people to answer ...

2024-11-15T04:32:45+01:00

TIL that, in England, it used to be common for people to answer the phone not by saying “hello," but by rattling off the last four digits of their phone number. Some older folks retain the habit. https://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=37467.0

I choose to believe that this is a tiny little theater attached ...

2024-11-14T15:51:19+01:00

I choose to believe that this is a tiny little theater attached to the side of this downtown Albany parking garage and I will not be entertaining evidence to the contrary.

Love to blend into the foliage when I'm wearing no pants ...

2024-10-26T22:49:26+02:00

Love to blend into the foliage when I'm wearing no pants

One area where post-consumer plastic recycling is actually ...

2024-10-26T20:18:02+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…cp5c
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One area where post-consumer plastic recycling is actually happening is black plastic, such as for kitchen utensils and takeout containers. They're made from recycled electronics products, flame-retardants and all. A supermajority of tested spatulas and sushi trays children's toys contained cancer-causing levels of flame retardants that are banned in the U.S.

Plastic recycling: On the rare occasion where it’s not a myth, it is bad! https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/01/health/flame-retardant-black-plastic-wellness/index.html

A few weeks ago, at the NOLA airport, TSA staff were furiously ...

2024-10-20T15:20:21+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…ty9p
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A few weeks ago, at the NOLA airport, TSA staff were furiously demanding that everybody in the TSA Pre line remove everything from our pockets and remove all watches, belts, etc., entirely counter to the signage around us. They were angry that everybody needed to be told this, and yelled at me for the sin of failing to remove a handkerchief from my back pocket.

That’s amazing and terrible! In my many encounters with the UVA ...

2024-10-16T13:50:24+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…383v
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That’s amazing and terrible! In my many encounters with the UVA hospital this year, I luckily haven’t encountered that yet. But it tracks with the accusations made by health system staff recently.

The hospital billed $10,438.32 for this ER visit, including ...

2024-10-16T03:56:51+02:00

The hospital billed $10,438.32 for this ER visit, including $6,008 for a CT scan

Hell of a system.
https://mastodon.social/@waldoj/113253126192491252

I’m watching ads now and wow, yes, they’re appalling!

2024-10-01T03:47:49+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…uxjy
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I’m watching ads now and wow, yes, they’re appalling!

I turned on this hotel-room TV and one of the TV channels is ...

2024-10-01T03:06:07+02:00

I turned on this hotel-room TV and one of the TV channels is “Amazon Prime Video,” and I think we’ve lost the thread on the concept of “TV channel.”

Kudos to ProPublica who exposed the nonsense of this Potemkin ...

2024-09-30T21:22:58+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…35c3
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Kudos to ProPublica who exposed the nonsense of this Potemkin plastic recycling process back in June. It’s green-washing by ExxonMobil, which says they turn plastic back into oil, which can be used to make plastic again. But the process actually works terribly, with a 2–5% yield. Worse, the industry uses mathematical tricky known as “lying” to label that e.g. 30% recycled, or even 100%.

Plastic recycling: it’s as good as clean coal! https://www.propublica.org/article/delusion-advanced-chemical-plastic-recycling-pyrolysis

The Biden administration is cracking down on the petroleum ...

2024-09-30T21:15:46+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…qzzw
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The Biden administration is cracking down on the petroleum industry’s bullshit claims of plastic recycling. The EPA now requires that “made from X% recycled plastic” claims be calculated based on mass, instead of vibes. Expect those percentages to drop precipitously, to something closer to 0%. https://www.propublica.org/article/epa-rejects-mass-balance-plastics-recycling-safer-choice

I don't know how they did it, but the Washington Post got the ...

2024-09-29T03:35:15+02:00

I don't know how they did it, but the Washington Post got the audio from a meeting of Arizona's governor, secretary of state, and attorney general—all Democrats—as they debated how to handle the problem of ~100k Arizonans who have long been registered to vote, but haven't proven their citizenship.

This call is whatever the opposite of "damning" is. Here we see three leaders bending over backwards to be fair and non-partisan in dealing with a serious electoral problem. https://wapo.st/3N1NqOT

You’re describing the Chevy Bolt, which started at $23k (so 7k ...

2024-09-28T18:52:25+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…xesk
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You’re describing the Chevy Bolt, which started at $23k (so 7k less with tax credit), GM’s best selling EV last year! Naturally they discontinued it!

Tonight I'm reading "NASA at a Crossroads: Maintaining ...

2024-09-28T03:12:46+02:00

Tonight I'm reading "NASA at a Crossroads: Maintaining Workforce, Infrastructure, and Technology Preeminence in the Coming Decades,” the consensus report recently issued about how NASA can get its act together "to avoid a hollow future NASA.”

Boy, some of NASA's problems developing spacecraft sound a lot like the problems the rest of government has procuring the custom software that powers agency missions! I'm starting to think it's all the same problem! https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/27519/chapter/1

FPS's testing of the new FAFSA system identified 16 defects, ...

2024-09-27T04:30:07+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…tmah
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FPS's testing of the new FAFSA system identified 16 defects, but they fixed the nine most urgent ones between December 23–30. So, hey, good to go! But then they launched it and found 55 defects, some *extremely* serious, e.g. calculating some students' aid eligibility incorrectly.

Software is going to have bugs! That's why you shouldn't do a big-bang release like this! Nobody made them switch from the old system to the new system in a single day. They did that to themselves.

The Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) needed to release their ...

2024-09-27T04:26:48+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…d7we
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The Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) needed to release their updated financial aid software by October, to meet college deadlines. But they didn’t. (Or, rather, their vendor—GDIT—didn’t. But the end result is the same.)

FSA finished testing for the initial launch on December 23, 2023. You know, the time of year when IT teams do their best work. And they launched it a scant week later on December 30. Again, just a top-notch time for a really huge system update. No notes.

I'm reading the GAO's report on the Department of ...

2024-09-27T04:22:47+02:00

I'm reading the GAO's report on the Department of Education's FAFSA software debacle. It's basically the Greatest Hits of Waterfall Software Development.

(Disclaimer: I played a small role in oversight of this on the Biden-Harris Transition Team, for which my contribution was a single memo, and had some involvement in helping to deal with the problems that resulted from this failure, back in the spring.) https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-24-107783.pdf

A climate scientist wanted to test if wood, buried in the right ...

2024-09-27T02:46:28+02:00

A climate scientist wanted to test if wood, buried in the right soil, could avoid decomposition, thus sequestering the carbon. They found the right soil, dug the hole to dump the wood in, and found a chunk of an eastern red cedar 6½ feet underground. Carbon dating found it to be 3,775 years old, with 95% of its original carbon content. So...yes,, you *can* bury wood to sequester carbon. https://wapo.st/3zpkWLL

"Most corrupt New York City mayor ever" is a hell of a ...

2024-09-26T03:07:36+02:00

"Most corrupt New York City mayor ever" is a hell of a bar, but congratulations to Eric Adams for clearing it, I guess.

My kid is in middle school, and he's preparing a report for a ...

2024-09-26T01:29:25+02:00

My kid is in middle school, and he's preparing a report for a class in which the teacher prohibits the use of Wikipedia because "anybody can edit it" so it's not accurate.

It is *2024* and teachers are still saying this nonsense.

Israel did it! They cured terrorism! After this surely nobody in ...

2024-09-25T21:14:12+02:00

Israel did it! They cured terrorism! After this surely nobody in the West Bank will ever want to attack Israel again. Cutting off people’s power, water, sewage, and roads and using tanks to block ambulances from responding to emergency calls are all proven ways to deescalate conflict and certainly will not create a new generation of desperate, angry Palestinians. This will go great for Israel! https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/25/world/middleeast/west-bank-raids.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NU4.XPL8.mzO0HZ8dibH6&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

Nothing but respect for this joystick ...

2024-09-24T21:05:45+02:00

Nothing but respect for this joystick

It has, I regret. The storefronts are mostly vacant. The whole ...

2024-09-24T16:41:20+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…nhan
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It has, I regret. The storefronts are mostly vacant. The whole top level is a ghost town. There’s only food is fast food. It’s an embarrassment for DC, which is angry with the real estate firm operating the building.

As somebody who has spent many, many dozens of lunch and dinner ...

2024-09-24T16:05:47+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…7a7w
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As somebody who has spent many, many dozens of lunch and dinner times trying to get a meal at Union Station: I wish I could be as satisfied with the choices there!

New Amtrak route just dropped! ...

2024-09-24T15:05:24+02:00

New Amtrak route just dropped! https://media.amtrak.com/2024/09/amtrak-launching-the-floridian-with-daily-service-between-chicago-and-miami/

"The most useful feature of a phone is not receiving phone ...

2024-09-23T22:23:09+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…suwm
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"The most useful feature of a phone is not receiving phone calls" is a great observation!

I never know what to make of the bursts of calls. Are they all ...

2024-09-23T21:29:50+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…6sqn
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I never know what to make of the bursts of calls. Are they all from the same spammer? Are they really more successful when they deluge people with calls? I have to imagine this is all based on lots of metrics, but, idk, maybe this all comes from the same 4 companies that are trying out stuff based on feelings.

I’ve observed that phone spammers’ auto-dialers are ...

2024-09-23T21:05:14+02:00

I’ve observed that phone spammers’ auto-dialers are increasingly likely to call, let it ring once, hang up, and immediately call back. I assume this is to capitalize on phone settings that silence calls unless the same number calls twice within a few minutes.

Phone spam has destroyed telephony as a first-class communications mechanism.

Bruce Sterling makes a compelling case that Charles Babbage’s ...

2024-09-22T18:36:34+02:00

Bruce Sterling makes a compelling case that Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine and Analytical Engine were not, as history tells us, unbuilt in Babbage’s lifetime. They were just classified. https://bruces.medium.com/the-mysterious-visit-of-mr-babbage-by-bruce-sterling-2017-7c941028c4d8

If you don't own any of these little spatulas, I recommend ...

2024-09-20T01:15:10+02:00

If you don't own any of these little spatulas, I recommend them. They're great for getting the last of something out of a jar, though they have so many other uses that my household routinely dirties four of them in a day.

I have been absolutely stuffed more than a few times in my life ...

2024-09-18T20:56:51+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…dpfj
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I have been absolutely stuffed more than a few times in my life at Wayside. Thanks for making this!

When the training module begins with video of people planning to ...

2024-09-12T16:39:28+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…msmc
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When the training module begins with video of people planning to create the training module that *you're watching right now*

The mandatory Insider Threat Awareness training comes earlier and ...

2024-09-12T16:36:16+02:00

The mandatory Insider Threat Awareness training comes earlier and earlier every year! I remember when the season only lasted a week or so, which made it all the more special. At this point, it just blurs into the Cybersecurity and Privacy trainings. And Walmart already has their Ethics training decorations out!