Stephen Brooks 🦆

Once there was an elephant,
Who tried to use the telephant—
No! No! I mean an elephone
Who tried to use the telephone—

Public Key

npub1uza23672am24xv9g0fqxstrg6y7r4y28wk6pvpc7mhh9na6tjckq6pux8m

NIP-05 Address

sjb_at_mstdn.io@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqswpw4ga09wa42nxz585srg935dz0p6j9rhtdqkqu0dmmje7a9evtqpzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzv9hxg3e7znu

Publishing to

relay.nostr.band

Author Public Key

npub1uza23672am24xv9g0fqxstrg6y7r4y28wk6pvpc7mhh9na6tjckq6pux8m

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Last Notes

2024-11-02 05:54:24

"Replies from other servers may be missing."
But WHY. I thought this was supposed to be federated.

2024-10-01 13:23:39

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@npub10cq…6nm3 Funny thing is, when it's THEIR OWN MONEY. Not the government's money.
You could make a better argument that the government shouldn't go into space because it could spend the money on other priorities.
Sad to say, I think some people think everything should be controlled centrally and hate it when the private sector does something significant.
I.e. Fedi is full of commies, in a surprise to no-one.

2024-09-07 22:33:20

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@npub1wj3…dqxh I have that plugin. Should I enable "automatic cleaning"?

2024-08-31 02:10:32

Badgers to be vaccinated
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9qg52r7jzxo

2024-08-08 00:06:41

Legend of Zelda's rivers might not be hydrologically realistic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcS1HIci4hQ

2024-08-02 03:35:11

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@npub13lv…tk9x There are so many ducks because the ducks keep making smaller ducks that then themselves become large.

2024-08-02 02:05:36

The sound software Aphex Twin used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wIOBBodoic

2024-08-02 01:32:47

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@npub1c9m…9xjd This is a bit like an imaginary version of the Gaussian that is its own Fourier transform.

2024-07-27 03:05:10

#Fractal deep zoom videos.
https://www.hpdz.net/

2024-07-16 00:59:23

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@npub1c9m…9xjd It doesn't help that "White" "Grey" and "Black" are represented by the colours White, Yellow and Blue.

2024-06-24 23:51:00

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@npub1nqp…w9sy There was some thing about turning "ambient mode" off. All it does is slightly shade the background of the window in a way *calculated from the video* which wastes loads of CPU.

2024-05-28 21:46:11

The window has arrived for the ion trap vacuum chamber. #physics
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/112/520/905/779/356/907/original/21f71f665a910071.jpeg

2024-05-11 19:36:26

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@npub1z9m…p50f Was it a tow launch or winch launch?

2024-04-06 20:06:17

This was the wood that was holding up my mailbox, replacing it now...
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/112/226/072/612/571/295/original/17f4646d789c3674.jpg

2024-03-24 20:53:23

It's aware of its failings but it terrible at #maths even when explaining them!
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/112/152/648/248/241/171/original/badd78e2c6dd2dc9.png

2024-03-17 23:31:22

The next step up from a 3D printer might be a "factory in a box", containing a 3D printer, drill/milling machine and pick-and-place/circuit board soldering machine, with a robot arm manipulator between them.

2024-03-13 21:11:16

Asked the machinist to drill some more holes because my first attempt at mounting the experimental platform was wobbly as my cheap Amazon office chair.

2024-03-01 02:49:58

Improvements in #solar cells:
#energy
RT https://twitter.com/JessePeltan/status/1763282554059186679

2024-02-29 02:05:13

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@npub1fls…sgsw
"Currently, businesses must provide a lunch break every three to five hours"
That feels like an odd way of defining lunch. If I work a long day I'm entitled to two lunch breaks?

2024-02-25 19:36:45

I put Linux (Debian 12) on a laptop recently, it works quite well.
Think I'll only use Windows 11+ for compatibility/porting reasons.
Re: Elon discovers Windows 11
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1761835728000954654

2024-02-18 21:11:19

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@npub1z9m…p50f I use Kate on KDE. I think it's Kate anyway. The default one that comes with KDE, and you can put a terminal panel on the bottom and so on.

2024-02-09 00:56:01

Things are so much easier to remember when you organise them spatially (have an area for a given task, or put things to go out next near the door).
Computers and the internet kind of ruined this by making everything available everywhere. It actually helps to have FEWER choices but relevant ones.

2024-02-01 04:50:29

That time when an AI made up "the Great White Swan, which can be up to 5-10 feet tall."
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/111/854/417/767/244/310/original/d321ead4f41a9759.png

2024-01-31 04:10:49

How about... putting the price on your website rather than me asking for a quote, getting e-mailed by one person the next day who assures me I will be e-mailed by another person in several more days who will tell me the price?

2024-01-31 00:41:17

The brain interface is in the news again. Time to remind everyone that there is no super-fast stream of thought that could be released if only we had a brain interface. You have to stop to think while typing a tweet. The interface is not the bottleneck.

2024-01-20 01:49:22

UK Ministry of Defence tests laser weapon.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68031257

2023-12-11 23:05:19

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@npub1z9m…p50f Currently using a stack of:
Windows/MinGW/C/OpenXR+GL
Looks hopeful. SteamVR is still involved, though. It seems to freak out whenever I don't supply enough frame rate.

2023-12-03 17:00:58

These throat drops say "contains real honey". Although if I saw one that said "contains imaginary honey" I might buy it.

2023-10-20 23:16:58

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@npub1nqp…w9sy YOU ARE NOT A LARGE CAT

2023-10-20 23:06:41

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@npub16dw…kdp2 I never use the feed I just go to channels I like. It's also good at recommending similar videos.

2023-10-20 23:03:12

"In Tamworth, there was a 23.9% swing to Labour from the Tories - the second-biggest swing from the Conservatives to Labour at a by-election since 1945."
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-67167297

2023-10-19 23:48:06

Found the #tree that was dropping green balls in my garden is probably a Black Walnut:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juglans_nigra

2023-10-19 21:08:12

54.6dB cat purr
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-cambridgeshire-67158078

2023-10-03 09:41:37

Neutron image of a coffee maker operating
https://twitter.com/N_Tomassetti/status/1666808224417464321/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1666808224417464321&currentTweetUser=N_Tomassetti

2023-10-01 16:32:02

https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/111/160/716/156/200/240/original/db6cf962415728b3.jpg

2023-10-01 16:25:31

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And it had pigs living in it 🐖
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/111/160/690/482/128/637/original/533a01561efb4c0b.jpg

2023-10-01 16:24:56

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Upper end of the tree
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/111/160/688/232/903/267/original/d4f1bcb3fc5d23a4.jpg

2023-10-01 16:24:29

A tall tree had fallen
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/111/160/686/352/265/043/original/68a5fd49587724eb.jpg
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/111/160/686/345/259/320/original/e9b5ecb3fa341536.jpg

2023-09-27 16:18:38

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@npub1unu…zsng Windows Snipping Tool

2023-09-27 13:28:20

London gets a new viewing platform in its 2nd-highest building, but the platform is higher than the one in the Shard
https://londonist.com/london/things-to-do/horizon-22-bishopsgate-free-viewing-gallery-book-tickets

2023-09-27 10:57:03

It's the Harvest #Moon today
#space #astronomy
https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2023/09/harvest-moon-friday-provides-extra.html

2023-09-26 17:00:15

David @npub1qqu…5u7v is now on here
#physics #accelerators

2023-09-23 22:52:33

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@npub1fls…sgsw Check your brain at the door, this is AMERICAN politics

2023-09-23 20:33:13

Going out for a walk in the rain and wind (it's actually quite rare to get rain and wind here)

2023-09-23 19:37:47

Because incremental improvements appear to have the greatest value on short time scales, I get worried people are exhaustively searching dead ends technology-wise

2023-09-21 15:57:52

Being hassled about a load of trivialities at work

2023-09-19 11:44:59

Cats' eyes (road reflectors) as used in Pompeii:
[photo]
RT https://twitter.com/ill_Scholar/status/1702942428687212600
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fIZZ4c02lo

2023-09-18 16:40:11

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@npub14x7…wdx5 @npub1ajw…aj8d @npub175d…wrtj I would download the .sh file, skim read it and use the local copy

2023-09-13 02:19:12

In Quebec, KFC has to be PFK because it must be more French
RT https://twitter.com/PPapakonNucl/status/1701764564445274610

2023-09-12 02:01:39

Webb Discovers Methane, Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere of K2-18 b
https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/2023/webb-discovers-methane-carbon-dioxide-in-atmosphere-of-k2-18b
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hycean_planet
#space #astronomy #exoplanet

2023-09-12 02:01:16

2023-09-11 01:17:29

Choco toucan!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choco_toucan

2023-09-10 21:50:46

Nice view from this room!
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/111/043/061/013/464/529/original/a597259777ce7f32.jpg

2023-09-09 01:20:05

Yesterday it sounded like no lab space could be found without an expensive space allocation charge, today they're talking as if they've found half a building empty

2023-09-08 00:54:10

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@npub10cq…6nm3 The US does still have municipal libraries - things haven't got THAT bad over here ;)
The whole "book banning" argument seems to be posturing, with basically each side accusing the other of the same thing they are doing, but to different books.

2023-09-06 23:08:12

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@npub10w3…tmd0 Is this a Radiohead song?

2023-09-04 20:14:29

Micro nuclear generator the size of a small car, for Moon base use, designed in Wales
#space
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-66687056

2023-09-04 20:14:06

Micro nuclear generator the size of a small car, for Moon base used, designed in Wales
#space
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-66687056

2023-09-03 20:48:27

HPWR (600W) through the motherboard instead:
#GPU #computing
https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-details-its-cable-free-gc-hpwr-connector-for-600w-gaming-gpus

2023-09-03 20:13:30

Mowed the lawn again, pretty hot out there 🚜

2023-09-03 19:10:48

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@npub19zq…u4m5 @npub15s5…xszk I like the USB sticks that have been used on multiple OSes and have all of these

2023-09-03 19:09:30

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@npub1unu…zsng Yes I feel like it's trying to remove ear wax

2023-09-03 18:38:43

Sunset from Kanto region
RT https://twitter.com/MasashiJSHIRAKA/status/1698278386328899603

2023-09-03 18:34:52

Fit 8 #SSD drives inside one dual-slot PCIe card
#PC #computing #storage
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/dual-nvme-card-with-eight-e1s-ssds-achieves-55-gbs-performance

2023-09-03 02:27:39

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@npub1q0g…dvjh I use Skype on Linux regularly for phoning my parents.
The old PC with Linux became my video-conferencing machine during covid, so I think I even had BlueJeans, MS Teams and Zoom running on it at one point.

2023-09-03 01:44:23

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@npub1fls…sgsw That's because the less code you write to solve a problem, the better programmer you are

2023-09-02 23:16:51

Electric razors suffer from a Zeno's paradox kind of situation where each pass only cuts half the hairs

2023-09-02 03:37:41

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@npub1rkj…ufed You can change the theme to light (at least, on my server I can - I don't see why anyone would remove that option)

2023-09-02 02:19:39

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@npub1unu…zsng I saw this post
https://pl.starnix.network/objects/879a7260-ac01-491f-b052-6b5ca5bea216
and thought of this
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/110/993/157/470/573/902/original/b14ea68b727c3914.png

2023-09-02 00:44:40

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@npub1q0g…dvjh Apparently there's Wayland somewhere under KDE Plasma, OpenGL and SDL2, but I didn't even notice

2023-09-01 01:04:41

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@npub1unu…zsng Yeah (and there are others - a colleague recommended SumatraPDF)

2023-09-01 01:02:26

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@npub1unu…zsng I like to use PDF with no Adobe.

2023-08-31 22:17:33

A red-tailed hawk flew out of a tree as I was walking and I got a good look at it, including the red tail.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_hawk
There was also a groundhog that hid under a board between three traffic cones.

2023-08-31 05:04:24

📢 The sound on my Linux netbook works, both speakers and headphones. That is all.

2023-08-31 04:48:48

I'm going to have to test my new laptop's battery life (the Windows one - Linux went on the old netbook) and possibly limit the CPU clock speed, because when it boosts it gets hot, fan comes on, and loses battery fast

2023-08-31 00:09:23

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@npub1fls…sgsw hoenk? hounk?

2023-08-31 00:08:01

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@npub1fls…sgsw Mastodon's rendering keeps getting funnier
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/110/981/315/294/235/023/original/ba123e635a01ab6e.png

2023-08-31 00:03:19

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@npub1unu…zsng How?

2023-08-30 23:47:16

Fun with #bollards
[video]
RT https://twitter.com/WorldBollard/status/1696962749543203149

2023-08-30 23:29:23

The muon collider is back (?)
#physics #accelerators https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/particle-physicists-dream-of-a-muon-collider/

2023-08-30 23:15:24

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@npub1q0g…dvjh Not until I've confirmed sound is working

2023-08-30 23:15:02

The #Pluto New Horizons probe can do important science simply because the sky is darker (less zodiacal light) than in the inner solar system
#space #NASA #astronomy
https://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/Science-Perspectives.php?page=20230808

2023-08-30 02:46:50

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Already compiled an OpenGL demo on it, so I'd say it's working
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/110/976/276/772/517/191/original/c29326a1cf3d20af.jpeg

2023-08-30 02:42:55

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https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/110/976/262/049/915/396/original/d342235519848029.jpeg

2023-08-30 02:08:02

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90° Anticlockwise, and set the scaling to 100% from 125% so the menu dialogs actually fit on my 1280x800 screen

2023-08-30 02:06:39

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Oh for fuck's sake now it's upside down

2023-08-30 02:03:15

Linux moment
https://media.mstdn.io/mstdn-media/media_attachments/files/110/976/105/155/287/587/original/a6372b88296fecee.jpeg

2023-08-25 23:27:49

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@npub14x7…wdx5 SSV moment

2023-08-25 23:18:52

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@npub10cq…6nm3 I remember at work someone saying "you don't pay for the sensor, you pay for the calibration".
Or in this case, you have to calibrate yourself.

2023-08-25 22:33:59

AMD's new mid/high end Radeon cards with 30TFLOPS of floating point for $499
#GPU #computing
https://www.anandtech.com/show/20031/amd-announces-radeon-rx-7800-xt-radeon-rx-7700-xt-enthusiastclass-rdna3-for-1440p-gaming

2023-08-25 22:32:46

Sizes of things vs. the size of factories for things
RT https://twitter.com/jimkxa/status/1694779869874323574

2023-08-22 22:45:59

Big divergence between new and existing mortgage rates in the US:
#economics
RT https://twitter.com/BobOnMarkets/status/1693954025077535217

2023-08-22 01:48:03

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@npub14uc…3waz VR

2023-08-22 00:21:58

Damn it stop writing so much shit in my timeline
Oh those are my posts

2023-08-22 00:12:37

We must find the OTHER SUN
https://bigthink.com/hard-science/binary-sun/#Echobox=1692615095

2023-08-22 00:07:08

Boost this post if you don't like people asking you to boost posts

2023-08-22 00:05:23

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@npub1f8a…2j5j My parents told me horror stories of how some kid got their hand trapped in a VCR until their fingers turned blue

2023-08-21 23:47:12

Need to buy a double-edged sword, that thing sounds cool

2023-08-21 23:39:13

Made the mistake of saving a CSV file from Excel and it overwrote all the numbers with ones rounded to 3 significant figures

2023-08-21 23:37:52

Made my "search for a string in all my C files" utility also search my change notes, returns some pretty useful information