Jim P.

Parent, spouse, geek, serial hobbyist, pfSense Developer and Documentation Writer, Author.

#Memes #Movies #TV #Television #Books #SciFi #TableTopGames #BoardGames #Flashlights #Anduril #Lego #Puzzles #3DPrinting #OctoPrint #Sewing #VinylCutting #Woodworking #Photography #FreeBSD #OpenSource #FOSS #Networking #Firewalls #pfSense #TechWriting #Documentation #Sphinx #RestructuredText #Plex #ProxmoxVE #Proxmox #STEM #STEAM #Gaming #Nintendo #NintendoSwitch #SteamDeck #SteamPowered

Website / Blog: https://www.pingle.org/
Github :github:: https://github.com/jim-p
Keyoxide: https://keyoxide.org/hkp/EC92C373916131373253A6906483248195BB2ABD
Keybase: https://keybase.io/jimp

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npub1hmur9dkqez4et4vv2vf73e7qamc2k535hm7hwvh5jmvwvxzdnupsuhk6rx

NIP-05 Address

jimp_at_masto.ai@momostr.pink

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nprofile1qqsta7pjkmqv32u46kx9xylgulqwau9t2g6talthxt6fdk8xrpxe7qc050h25

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npub1hmur9dkqez4et4vv2vf73e7qamc2k535hm7hwvh5jmvwvxzdnupsuhk6rx

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Published at

2024-08-08T15:46:46Z

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Last Notes

2024-09-25 12:04:01

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I haven't tried that one yet, I'll check it out, thanks!.
There are several apps on the Play store that say they should work, but so far only one has. They changed something about the way such cameras need to be accessed in Android 10+, which makes it harder to find one that can work.

2024-09-10 21:05:12

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Interesting. I have a 3776 UEF and I tried pressing hard and it was still OK (though it left a dent on the page below), no ink bled through. A UEF would be the last thing I'd expect to bleed through on any paper, though. Mine doesn't even bleed though any random bad paper I've tried.
I also tried a couple pens with flex nibs that lay down a lot of ink and even though one line took several minutes to dry in places, it still didn't bleed.
Wonder what might be different.

2024-08-29 23:25:11

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That's a fine way to work around it!
What sort of pens are they?
I have a lot of pens I cycle through and keep them all inked so I have to worry more about that stuff since they tend to sit a while between uses.
If you write a lot and use the ink up faster than it dries it's not a major concern at all.

2024-08-29 22:05:11

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Evaporation is usually the cause in my experience. It can lead to some interesting shades of the original ink, but usually it's a bad sign.
If that is happening, your pen isn't sealing very well so you might want to look at that, too, if possible. Maybe the cap isn't tightened all the way, or maybe the cap is left off the pen for prolonged times.
If it happens a lot then all of the water in the ink chamber could evaporate leaving you with a concentrated mess to clean.

2024-08-29 03:16:12

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The ones I bought all had a cartridge loose inside, not pushed in and punctured, though. The ink color depends on the pen. It should roughly match the body color. The light blue ones have Blue Black, though.
Some sites like JetPens should list exactly which ink comes with each pen.
If yours came with the ink already in the feed then somewhere along the line someone had to have installed it manually.
I have a growing collection of cartridges since I only use converters.

2024-08-18 22:03:50

Finished The Dark Falcon (75839) late last night. Took about 10 hours total since I had to take a break every few bags.
I really like this one, lots of fun stuff, especially the minifigures. Beach Luke bears quite a resemblance to The Dude, and Darth Jar Jar is just as great as I hoped.
#Lego #LegoStarWars #StarWars #AFOL
https://s3.masto.ai/media_attachments/files/112/985/169/742/674/611/original/b0cdcdf9baf0bf6f.jpg
https://s3.masto.ai/media_attachments/files/112/985/170/066/534/534/original/587adc6844b45593.jpg

2024-08-15 17:16:43

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That's basically what I tried yesterday -- rinsed the nib in a cup of water and wiped it down with a paper towel, let the pen sit nib down for a while to see if it would flow again, but it just kept hard starting on every single letter or not writing at all.
I usually keep the brass sheets just for nib tuning but in this case it was perfect to do quick physical cleaning without moving anything too much.

2024-08-15 16:59:51

Good news and bad news. Bad news is I had my first shimmer ink clog (even in a TWSBI 580). Good news is a brass sheet saved the day. Quick swipe down the nib slit and another between the nib and feed and it's flowing freely again.
Yesterday I had tried a few other basic things with no success, but this fixed it instantly without having to empty the pen and give it a thorough cleaning.
#FountainPen #FountainPens
https://s3.masto.ai/media_attachments/files/112/967/047/048/551/344/original/d4c2952fe2520e77.jpg

2024-08-10 21:28:03

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I have a couple shimmer inks but I keep them in TWSBI Diamond 580 ALRs which seal extremely well. So far I haven't had any issues with clogging on those.
I've had that Candy Sea ink dry up in two pens now. It's not a shimmer ink, but a heavy sheening ink. It's reflective when the light hits it, even when dry. This Hongdian clogged badly, but the other one I got it cleaned in time before it gummed up. I have the same ink in a flex pen and it's been OK there, though.

2024-08-03 18:29:00

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Interesting design, hopefully the mechanism works better than the Fisher cap-o-matic ballpoints that are similar: https://www.spacepen.com/m4raw-antimicrobial-raw-brass-cap-o-matic
I have one of those and it's OK but the mechanism ends up being awkward in various ways.
The Nahvalur looks different (in a good way), hopefully those little gaps don't become dirt magnets or pinch points.
Either way as long as it doesn't dry out I might give one a try. My Majohn A1/A2 pens dry out way too fast. A week or two at most.

2024-08-03 14:44:18

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In addition to the (limited) protection there is nothing stopping someone who wants to print for sale from asking the creator if it's OK.
I've heard of people doing this several times and working it out. Someone making prints for a charity or being helpful is much different than someone mass producing them and flooding a market.
Just because the creator published it publicly that way doesn't mean they can't also grant specific helpful people permission.

2024-08-03 02:49:40

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I can't help but wonder how many of us cut our teeth by hacking on X-Com/UFO. Before there were specialized programs for editing the game data I experimented a lot with a hex editor on the save data and some of the game data files. I remember making pistols so powerful they could shoot out walls of the ships. Problem is a lot of the values overflowed if you guessed wrong, especially accuracy with its modifiers. I thought I was making a weapon that would hit 100% but ... no.

2024-08-02 00:14:39

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Good to know. I've had luck so far and zero failures on my TWSBI pens, but I know others are not so lucky.
The EFs I have in the 698 are decent so far, the gold plated one is a bit wider than I'd like but I think it's the ink I put in there more than the nib.
I may have to grab another one or two if I can track down a good italic nib for them. I've heard some Pilot nibs will fit, but I want something a tad wider than their CM.

2024-08-01 21:59:02

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Good to know the 3013 holds up, too. I'm not a fan of vac fillers, though. I disliked the 3008 at first but it's hard to outright hate a pen that holds up that well against drying out.
Meanwhile I've set aside several Hongdians Black Forest variants that I loved at first but dried up after a month or two.

2024-08-01 20:33:52

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Got the 698s and cleaned/inked them today, they are indeed an upgrade over the 3008. Much closer to TWSBI 580 or Eco quality, but still not quite there. Miles ahead of the 3008 though. The material feels thicker, the piston action doesn't feel flimsy, the cap posts better and doesn't interfere with the piston mechanism lock, the section unscrews/comes off like the TWSBI 580, higher quality accents, etc. The 3008 had more internal color accents for demonstrators though.
#FountainPens

2024-08-01 16:09:40

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IMO, CON-70 isn't terrible to clean, it's just not as easy as some others. For me, the extra capacity is worth it so I don't have to attempt syringe filling. I know myself and I would 100% make a huge mess every time.
The Wing Sung 659 converter is a good alternative for Kakuno as well, you can find them on Aliexpress and similar sites for fairly cheap.
There are more alternates out there, too: https://penfount.ink/alternatives-con-40/

2024-08-01 14:32:59

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Revisiting this to confirm that Linux Mint 22 does in fact still support and boot from ZFS, it just can't create a new installation using ZFS.
I have a Mint VM using ZFS and it upgraded fine from Mint 21.3 to Mint 22. Still boots, ZFS utilities are still present, etc.
Holding back on upgrading my main workstation yet as I'm in the middle of a few things I don't want to disrupt.
#LinuxMint #LinuxMint22 #ZFS

2024-07-31 17:45:00

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"ERROR: Please drink a verification can to continue using mouse."

2024-07-31 17:43:29

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Nice, I haven't kept up with Apple's gear and you'd think they'd call those something other than Airpods, but it is Apple after all.
I'm surprised Google hasn't made one either, but they are still learning apparently. They did add some wings to the new Pixel Buds Pro model coming out in a couple months after people were complaining about not having those for years. I'm not sure I want to spend that kind of money on something that may only be marginally better, though.

2024-07-31 17:38:36

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There is also a lot to be said for choky earphones not falling out of ears, too.
I love the way my Pixel Buds Pro operate, and the ANC is great for me, but they always feel like they are sliding out of my ears no matter what tips I use. Probably more the shape of my ears than anything, but still irks me that it's the only way to get their specific functionality. I'd love the same tech in a pair of over the head or behind the neck earphones instead.

2024-07-31 12:23:30

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The M2 is a great little pen! It also has one of my favorite SEF nibs. Nice and bouncy.
The cat on the final is still the best part, though.

2024-07-31 02:24:52

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Hopefully this doesn't also lead to 💩 like "Microsoft Mouse365".
Hopefully other manufacturers step up their trackball game. I like the Logitech MX Ergo but if they keep this up I'll be ditching their products entirely.

2024-07-25 17:27:19

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Would need the kernel module and related utilities and so on but they may still include those. They only mentioned removing it from the installer, not removing support entirely. That said, I have not tried installing the new version anywhere yet to see for sure either way.
On my main work system I'm using Mint 21.3 with a 6.5.0-44 kernel and using ZFS exclusively on there (boot from ZFS, root on ZFS, etc.). Works perfectly for me.

2024-07-25 14:31:54

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Hopefully it still continues to work on hosts that are already installed. I could always use an older installer and upgrade if I want to use ZFS, unless they remove support for it entirely for some reason.

2024-07-25 14:31:54

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2024-07-25 14:23:15

Linux Mint 22 released, but unfortunately they have removed ZFS from the installer. They aren't the first to remove it, but they say it had few users and it was a lot of work to maintain. It's a disappointing trend in some distros to remove it from the installer, given how well it works and how useful its features are. Plus it's been nice having the same filesystem supported on Linux and FreeBSD natively without fuse.
https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=4731
#LinuxMint #ZFS

2024-07-25 14:12:48

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In the case I mentioned there were no extra fees, but I had to fill out extra customs paperwork through FedEx about the nature of the chemical makeup of the ink and so on.

2024-07-25 13:45:14

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The one I had issues with was coming from India (Endless Alchemy) to the US, so maybe it's different from China, but still makes me wary. Even so, I'd be willing to pay a little more from a vendor shipping domestically if anyone starts carrying them, if only to reduce the chance of it breaking in transit.
At least with Endless Alchemy inks some retailers in the US have started to carry some of their inks if I want to buy them now.

2024-07-25 12:35:00

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Lanhai looks really nice, though I'm wary of shipping inks internationally. Not just because of the potential for breakage, but last time I did it, I had to fill out a bunch of customs paperwork importing just two little bottles into the US.

2024-07-20 16:37:57

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QA: "I can't get this to work."
Dev: "It works on my machine."
[Monkey paw curls]

2024-07-20 15:31:20

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I started looking to move away from EverNote when they started into the LLM/"AI" nonsense but not long after they also raised the price ludicrously high and I ditched them entirely. I'm using Joplin now and haven't looked back.

2024-07-19 20:10:35

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Joplin is what I use and enjoy. Logseq is also promising if you prefer a mind-map style approach.
Both are open source, markdown under the hood, and easy to work with. Both are on just about every platform.
I use syncthing to copy notes around for both but primarily use Joplin on a daily basis.

2024-07-19 00:43:54

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I don't have many from small makers, but of the few I do have, my favorite is probably the Vazir Meteor Shower.
https://masto.ai/@jimp/112700918271304610

2024-07-18 23:30:00

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Might be, though every search turned up some I think it's AE tossing in similar items and mixing them all up.

2024-07-18 23:16:28

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The more expensive listings appear to all be vac filler variants and not piston fillers (which is what I wanted) so that sort of explains it. I figured it was gold plated, so I grabbed a steel EF and a "gold" EF and will see how they do.

2024-07-18 22:24:49

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That's what I've heard but it is also much, much more expensive and I can rarely find listings for EF nibs. The 3008 was $15 USD for 4, so $3.75 each. Some listings for the 698 I've seen as high as $50-90 USD.
Though I see one now on aliexpress for $23 (Steel EF) and another $5 for an EF "gold" replacement nib. I have my doubts about the nib material, but it's still tempting.

2024-07-18 19:17:51

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Yeah I could see QC being a dice roll given what I've seen on them so far. I've been lucky. No leaks, smooth writing, consistent output, and a nice thin EF line that's of consistent size between the four.

2024-07-18 18:11:52

These cheap Yongsheng/WingSung 3008 fountain pens keep making me question my initial impressions. I couldn't stand them at first.
I'm still not thrilled about the quality of the plastic and how posting the cap disengages the piston lock but I left four of them sitting in a drawer for months without touching them and they all wrote perfectly the first time I picked them back up. No sign of drying out and no skips/hard starts. Can't even say that about some Pilots I have.
#FountainPens #Pens

2024-07-18 02:26:18

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Hopefully you find it, maybe someone will turn it in somewhere.
Maybe it took a cue from Weezer and that's where it wanted to be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL_WvOly7mY

2024-07-18 02:22:17

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Discs are round like the C. Disks are rectangles and a K fits on the corner.
Like USB thumb drives are wide and stubby but USB memsticks are long and thin.

2024-07-17 12:17:43

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I drop to Desktop mode and (temporarily) enable SSH and then use scp/SFTP (e.g. via FileZilla) when I have to copy things to my Steam Deck. But that can be kind of annoying unless I have a bluetooth keyboard handy since typing shell commands on the touch screen keyboard is awkward for me.

2024-07-17 12:13:05

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That is one of the reasons I concentrated such things on the Steam Deck where Emudeck takes care of the heavy lifting and I only occasionally need to tweak things. And before that, Lakka. Now they can sit proudly unplayed in my library like most of my other games while I play yet another round of Peglin.

2024-07-16 02:04:10

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I usually just bring a Hongdian M2 or M1 depending on the mood. Both are compact pocket pens and both seal well and travel well in a pants pocket (5th/watch pocket especially), plus a Fisher bullet pen for times I need a ball point, like for carbon/pressure style forms.

2024-07-15 12:01:23

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I keep a shaker of the stuff on hand next to the salt and pepper. One of the most popular brands is called "Accent" here in the US.

2024-07-14 23:10:24

I should probably not be left unsupervised. I really didn't need another pseudo-hobby.
#FlipperZero
https://s3.masto.ai/media_attachments/files/112/787/347/852/836/233/original/f18e552c798af3e1.jpg

2024-07-14 18:45:16

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It's a challenge. I have figured out good ways to stay clean for most of my pens and inks but still fall regularly.
Between rubbing alcohol wipes and magic eraser pads it comes off easy enough, though.

2024-07-13 13:56:50

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The superior p9fs (Purring 9-lived Feline Snoozer).

2024-07-13 13:53:07

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Yikes! I don't think I've ever seen one leak randomly on its own like that.
I've transitioned almost entirely over to NiMH rechargeable (finally) but the few things I have left on regular AA/AAAs have been Energizer as I work my way through the remainder of what I have left.

2024-07-10 15:28:53

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"Will it fit a Kallax?" or "How many Blahaj can it fit and still be drivable?"

2024-07-10 12:31:00

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That's quite an unfortunate difference! I've had this one for coming up on four years now so I figured maybe it was superseded by a newer model or something but that's quite a price hike.

2024-07-10 12:25:04

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Yes, it's a smaller work area on there but it's big enough for my needs and kept the cost of the machine reasonable. Only a single thread color at a time but it handles the cutting and prompting to swap as needed.
And yes it takes files on a USB drive. I'm not sure if it could be driven entirely from a computer directly, I don't think it could, but that wasn't a strict requirement for me.

2024-07-10 12:15:10

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I have a Brother SE600 and it works great as a primary sewing machine as well as for computerized embroidery.
I haven't used it as much as I'd like lately but one thing I did was use smallish designs to cover holes in a couple shirts. I seem to have a habit of snagging fairly new shirts on things.
I have a shirt with the logo from the TV show Psych on it, so adding this fit.
https://s3.masto.ai/media_attachments/files/112/762/117/475/246/556/original/d8ea6d5763e95d62.jpg

2024-07-10 01:31:20

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I really like that color and the two-tone nib, but I can't bring myself to buy a TWSBI Vac. I'm not a big fan of vac fillers to start with but those seem to crack even at a high rate for TWSBI pens.
Hopefully they do a good special color for the 580ALR soon. The last one was AL only, no ALR.

2024-07-08 15:05:23

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Two hours of some person mashing the F1 key on their keyboard trying to get help?

2024-07-08 14:03:19

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I was about to ask why that looked like an MS Flight Simulator expansion pack

2024-07-07 00:08:38

While at the craft store I happened upon Lego set 31140 "Magical Unicorn" on the shelf for $10 and recalled seeing a link to someone's alternate build/MOC earlier this week. Naturally, I could not pass up the opportunity to make a Rainbow Falcon. Lego spaceships are my jam, but most of them have a distinct lack of color and/or whimsy.
Instructions link: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-145153/Luke_Bricks82/rainbow-falcon/
#Lego #StarWars #LegoStarWars #MillenniumFalcon
https://s3.masto.ai/media_attachments/files/112/742/246/433/073/168/original/a78d49129a87eacd.jpg

2024-07-06 23:38:07

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That may also explain a thing or two about Cuccos when they swarm Link.

2024-07-06 22:08:28

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This one was actually clever, though, and fitting to have in a craft store. I didn't check the label because I was going to be disappointed if it wasn't named a Toeing Machine.
#Sewing #Halloween #Skeleton #JOANN #Spooky #2Spoopy4Me
https://s3.masto.ai/media_attachments/files/112/741/800/166/647/018/original/aee7cc9cab9099d6.jpg

2024-07-06 22:02:02

Wow, it's already "cursed skeletonized animals that have bones in places they shouldn't" season at the craft store. This rooster seems to be the worst offender of the bunch.
I didn't buy one ... yet.
#Halloween #Chicken #Rooster #Skeleton #Cursed #JOANN #Spooky #2Spoopy4Me
https://s3.masto.ai/media_attachments/files/112/741/748/329/496/241/original/6d87db3820da44e6.jpg

2024-06-21 23:00:50

A rotating puzzle table is a lot more useful than I figured it would be. Also doing puzzles gets me away from laptop/phone screens for a bit, which is nice.
Not pictured: Sorting trays off to the side with most of the remaining pieces.
Might use the rotating table for Lego builds, too.
#Puzzle #StarWars #Grogu #Mandalorian
https://s3.masto.ai/media_attachments/files/112/657/056/900/287/195/original/632b003a8c57d1eb.jpg

2024-06-21 17:28:56

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Did you upgrade the ZFS pool? It's possible you didn't also update the loader/ESP, older versions won't boot from newer ZFS versions and IIRC it isn't part of freebsd-update for whatever reason. We've been having to account for that in pfSense recently as well.

2024-06-21 03:32:55

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Pretty much anything while I had it. Mostly too many flight sims to remember them all. The usual classics like MS Flight Simulator, X-Wing, Tie Fighter, Wing Commander, Strike Commander, Pacific Strike... I went back and forth between that and another Gravis setup with a separate flight stick and throttle

2024-06-21 01:36:10

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I had one of those and loved it. It may still be in my attic somewhere.

2024-06-19 13:12:48

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YA2C does have the potential benefit of maybe being pronounced close to "Watusi" so "Doing the YA2C" properly sounds like dancing around.

2024-06-18 21:04:31

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It was a tad hard to follow and the dialog is frequently drowned out by other audio, but I still enjoyed the ride. Try not to overthink it and it'll be fine. It's not Nolan's strongest workbut I liked it overall.
If you have a home theater kinda setup (3.1, 5.1, 7.1, etc.) it'll give your subwoofer a workout.

2024-06-17 21:15:10

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Add a last name maybe? Zoe Carzan? (Zoe Kazan), Zoe Carvitz? (Zoe Kravitz), Zoe Saldanault...

2024-06-17 16:29:03

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I know the feeling. When those feelings get to me, I do more "low tech" stuff like Lego, puzzles, crafts such as sewing.
Hard to enshittify those but I don't doubt that people are trying. Lego had some sets that depend on an app of some sort. Some machine sewing is computerized but not a lot, though Embroidery software is a nightmare. I imagine crappy puzzles with AI art are already out there and I just haven't seen them yet.
But at least for now they are a nice break.

2024-06-16 14:34:13

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I was reading one yesterday about editing a file that was in XML format but it was clear the person had no idea what XML was or how to use it and probably no HTML either. They had useful info like where the files are and values to use and so on but then couldn't figure out why something they edited didn't work when in one place they copy/pasted a self-closing tag before/after a block and in another case they opened a block with a self-closing tag and ended with an opening tag.

2024-06-14 01:14:50

This game has some of the best patch notes ever written.
I won't say which one, though, since it seems more fun that way.
#Gaming #Steam #SteamDeck #VideoGames
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2024-06-14 00:27:55

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Bit of both. For most writing I like fairly typical blues/blurples. Diamine Sapphire Blue, Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki, Monteverde Permanent Blue, Private Reserve Tropical Blue. Throw in some color for denoting good/bad/caution like Diamine Apple Glory, PI Momiji, PI Fuyu-Gaki.
But for headers and more fun stuff I deviate a bit, shimmer/sheen inks (Golden Sands, Cobalt Jazz, Candy Sea), or less standard things like Ancient Copper, Yama-Budo, or Writer's Blood.

2024-06-12 22:23:50

After all that research into measuring tools related to my Leatherman replacement I also picked up a couple larger adhesive rulers for some work surfaces. In particular, the edge of my keyboard tray was getting a bit rough so I figured a good fix would be to turn it into a measuring surface, too. Why not.
Looks much nicer than the worn down edge and is useful!
#Tools #HomeOffice
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2024-06-12 21:50:29

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I can sympathize. At some point it's just a pain to deal with when you have other options.

2024-06-12 19:44:39

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Their warranty is pretty good, they'd probably replace that just for the cost of postage. At least in the US, not sure about other areas.
I know some people seem to have lots of problems with them cracking but so far none of mine have cracked (3 580s, 1 eco).

2024-06-12 11:59:35

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I find two cups on a string the best method of threaded communication, but that's me.
/ducks

2024-06-11 12:30:08

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Lots of interesting DNS-based stuff you could do other than being an authoritative server, too. Unbound has loads of features that could fill a book, (especially its python module), DNS filtering/Pi Hole type stuff, dynamic DNS in various ways (self-hosted or from dozens of providers), DNS-based challenges for ACME/Let's Encrypt. Other interesting uses of TXT and SRV records and the like.

2024-06-11 00:39:31

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Forced to choose only one I'd have to go with Platinum. They have plenty of styles to choose from, they all write well, are reliable, and seal exceptionally well so I don't have to worry about them drying out.

2024-06-10 20:37:21

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Between the topology of the legs and the screw holes it is going to be harder than I thought to get a sticker to work without cutting it down so much it's not very useful. That's where laser etching would be superior.
If I had room for my own laser etcher this would be a perfect excuse to get one, but I don't have a proper workspace for one.

2024-06-10 20:34:52

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Most of the time what I was measuring was less than the length of one leg, but not always. I could get by with just one I think.
For now I'm not going to put the stickers on and use the card I got (see my later posts) and supplement with a phone app.
I can guesstimate length by the legs themselves -- each one is about 4" which may also help at least get in the ballpark.

2024-06-10 20:31:43

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I know, right? Not just by default it's not even an option! They have dozens of paid laser etched add-on option designs but none of them are a ruler, and if you upload your own custom design there is no guarantee it would be to scale. It was the only real thing that made me hesitate. I still like it without the ruler, but I would be near perfect with one.
Honestly I didn't use the ruler all that much (a few times per year) but it was really handy when I had it.

2024-06-10 17:27:57

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Sadly, no, not at the moment. I had an inexpensive one but rarely used it and it was a problem to store so I ended up giving it away.

2024-06-10 16:49:45

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My main barrier with sewing has always been finding projects.
I've made more dice bags than I'll ever need, bowl holders for soup bowls which have been super useful, masks when supplies were low, a couple infinity scarves, lots of clothing repairs... But I haven't done anything in a while since I just haven't come up with anything interesting to do.

2024-06-10 16:44:00

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I did, still looks great!
Maybe the camo is hiding some things but for an initial attempt and learning experience that looks like a winning result to me.

2024-06-10 16:41:47

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Looks great!

2024-06-10 12:39:05

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When I was younger and FPS games were new/novel they were fun, but I haven't really enjoyed many of them since Skyrim and the Metroid Prime games. The original Wolfenstein 3D was a blast but I was also 14 when it came out which was probably a factor.
These days I find my favorite genre seems to be "let me play as a lost and/or mischievous li'l critter and either help people, antagonize people, or both" (Untitled Goose Game, Stray, Little Kitty Big City, etc.)

2024-06-09 21:30:47

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It's a promotional site they run like a blog with stuff they collect in a given month and occasional discounts for things.
I don't scan random qr codes with my phone but I decoded it from a screenshot on a PC and it was just a link to their web site and seemed innocuous so I left it in.

2024-06-09 16:40:09

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Depends on what you like about X11. Personally, I like running remote X apps over ssh, and waypipe is promising but not fully equivalent yet.

2024-06-09 01:26:57

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$64KiB (Kibibucks)

2024-06-08 23:23:39

So far this one appears to be the winner.
It's light, it's thin (0.5mm!), it's metal, and packs a lot of great stuff into a small area. There were several variations of it for physics/chemistry/archeology and so on but the "engineer" seemed the most balanced and useful to me on a regular basis.
Now to see how often I use it in practice.
#Tools #EDC
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2024-06-08 21:18:43

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Boo!
Usually they are big on hidden details like that.

2024-06-08 20:59:41

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Are there any toe beans hidden underneath?

2024-06-08 18:01:18

These nifty things arrived as well, but they won't be traveling with me unless I have a reason.
Though they are really cool, I don't deal with enough component-level electronics stuff "on the go" that I'd need to carry them. They are twice as thick as a credit card (~1.5mm vs 0.76mm) and a fair bit heavier.
One will definitely be living in my desk drawer, might toss the other in my laptop bag.
#Tools #EDC
https://s3.masto.ai/media_attachments/files/112/582/261/820/846/405/original/5084619b29921a82.jpg

2024-06-08 17:48:03

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pfSense, but I am more than a bit biased in that regard.

2024-06-08 16:30:33

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Pretty sure I still have one or two in a drawer here somewhere. I had one in an ALIX for years.

2024-06-08 14:41:29

I was considering applying these ruler stickers to the ARC but I'm not sure they'll be a good fit.
I have a few options:
- Don't use them. Hold out for better.
- Inch on one leg/cm on the other (same side), short but convenient, looks nice.
- Inch on one side/cm on other, aligned to one leg edge, large gap on other leg, middle cut out. More useful but looks ... _wrong_.
- Same as above but centered so gaps at ends of both legs, looks OK but less useful.
#Tools #Multitool #EDC #Leatherman
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2024-06-07 23:53:19

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Because I like finding any excuse possible to get out the magnetic field viewing film, here is a peek at where the magnets are that hold the Leatherman ARC closed. There is one on each side in the same place. Given how well it holds it together I'm surprised by how small they are, but also not too surprised because it's not a PITA to pry apart either. Pretty well balanced there. And I still haven't managed to shake it apart, only deliberately open it.
#Tools #Multitool #EDC #Leatherman
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https://s3.masto.ai/media_attachments/files/112/577/983/756/935/219/original/14ce506cb6a29e66.jpg

2024-06-07 22:20:02

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There have been a couple attempts to reverse engineer it and make an open source interface but last I knew they all fizzled out.
As long as you can deal with their software it's not too bad, until their servers have an outage right when you want to do something.

2024-06-07 21:49:50

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Not the "maker" but I have and use an Explore Air 2. The hardware itself is OK but very locked into their software which is ... not good. It's basically online only, forces you to login to use it, and subject to whatever the company decides you can do with it.
You can do some of your own workflow by working in Inkscape and uploading SVGs.
If mine breaks I'm probably going to go with a Silhouette but they don't have anything equivalent to the Maker which has tempted me before.

2024-06-07 21:11:24

New Leatherman ARC finally arrived and so far I really like it!
It does seem possible to work everything with one hand if needed. The construction feels a bit heavier/more solid even than my old Wave. The way it uses magnets to hold everything in place is interesting as well, so far it's resisted a lot of heavy shaking trying to see if anything comes loose.
Some people are sensitive about knives so I played it safe and marked the photo sensitive.
#Tools #Multitool #EDC #Leatherman
https://s3.masto.ai/media_attachments/files/112/577/336/739/349/111/original/84c7789ecfb0816d.jpg

2024-06-06 21:36:09

@mwl Did you ever find a satisfactory FreeBSD-friendly and mail-friendly hosting provider?

2024-06-06 18:29:59

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Nice, that's even better! Hope it helps!