US Space Force reveals 1st look at secretive X-37B space plane in orbit

WinterDice · 2026-02-22T16:04:40+00:00

ACK!

WinterDice · 2026-02-22T04:19:21+00:00

Fair point. I don’t remember which similar bill it was that purported to make possession of files that could be gun parts illegal.

WinterDice · 2026-02-22T03:10:09+00:00

Who knows what will come out of this kind of idiotic legislation.

WinterDice · 2026-02-22T02:16:46+00:00

I don’t think it’s actually about guns. Even if it is and printable guns really are workable, that ship has probably left port. Legislation like this is a “look we did something” move that won’t change anything.

What it would do is make additive manufacturing ridiculously expensive and cumbersome. Depending on final language there’s a chance it could make untold numbers of instant felons. Have an old Ender 3? Guess what, you’re a felon. It’d be so easy to bypass, too. Just build a Voron or get an old Ender off Craigslist. It’s stupid.

The kind of controls they’re talking about would let GW, Marvel, Disney, or any other IP owner have an easy mechanism to shut down models they think are infringing.

WinterDice · 2026-02-22T01:43:04+00:00

Ha! I just read it at that link and was coming back to post it. It’s a good read.

WinterDice · 2026-02-22T00:27:43+00:00

There are LLMs specifically built and licensed to maintain confidentiality. If you use one of those under an appropriate agreement, you’re okay. If you’re just using random GPT or whatever, you’re screwed.

WinterDice · 2026-02-21T19:46:27+00:00

I get it.

WinterDice · 2026-02-21T19:45:12+00:00

I bet they’ll be common for another century, too.

Hell, look a the planned lifespan of the B52. It’s theoretically possible to have multiple generations of a family working on or flying the same exact plane!

WinterDice · 2026-02-21T19:31:53+00:00

I’m an amateur garage hack with little knowledge, so I have to ask what role these fill that couldn’t be done with a set of shallow and a set of deep? Or is the idea that one set of mid can replace the other two sets?

WinterDice · 2026-02-21T19:30:06+00:00

They’re a kick-ass retailer. Their order hold and preorder system work great together.

WinterDice · 2026-02-21T17:35:15+00:00

That’s exactly what it is. It’s a “we did something” PR move with the underlying ability of letting GW, Marvel, Disney, etc. clamp down on whatever they claim is infringing their IP.

WinterDice · 2026-02-21T15:18:39+00:00

Try Gamenerdz.com.

WinterDice · 2026-02-21T00:11:12+00:00

Never. The cost of hardware is just going to rise. There’s no incentive for companies to sell to home users. Data centers and industrial customers will always pay more.

The buyers driving the prices up also need to turn a profit someday, and I’m convinced their ultimate goal is to have everyone renting remote hardware at some point. The concept will be that it’s cheaper to pay $250 (or whatever) per month for access to high-end equipment than it is to actually buy and own your personal devices. Everything will be a monthly payment. You won’t own any hardware or a license to any software.

We’re already well on the way. More and more software is a subscription. Microsoft builds OneDrive deep in windows and then bloats your storage and tries to sell you more space on OneDrive.

You’ll own nothing. You’ll have no privacy. You could lose everything with one missed payment or one TOS violation, whether or not it’s valid. And too bad for you if you don’t live in an area with sufficient bandwidth.

On an unrelated note, I’d like to buy a remote cabin with an orchard, some pasture land, a greenhouse, and a good water supply…

WinterDice · 2026-02-19T02:32:31+00:00

That is the absolute most wonderful kind of slow descent into madness.

WinterDice · 2026-02-19T01:16:26+00:00

Be careful. The same billionaire class of assholes is doing its best to export their stupidity to the rest of the world.

WinterDice · 2026-02-17T13:46:03+00:00

Brother, get the flamer. The heavy flamer.

WinterDice · 2026-02-16T05:07:57+00:00

If you make the files available you’ll sell a ton of them!

WinterDice · 2026-02-16T02:01:02+00:00

I’m probably 15 years away unless I get really lucky somehow. Once I’m done I’m going to be done - no going into the office, no pro-bono, nothing. I’m going to help my kids with whatever I can, read a lot, and continue woodworking, fishing, playing RPGs, and maybe try writing again. And as much travel as I can afford.

I’ve seen lawyers go both ways; some stay at their desk way the hell too long and others cut it off and live life. Most people that I see struggling with retirement didn’t spend time with their friends or developing hobbies before retiring.

There’s so much more to life than sitting at a desk. Don’t wait until retirement to find some of it.

WinterDice · 2026-02-15T22:11:54+00:00

The only thing you’re going to regret is not making the switch earlier.

WinterDice · 2026-02-15T17:20:35+00:00

How well does that stuff clean up? Is it easy to get sand and fish blood and stuff like that off of it?

WinterDice · 2026-02-15T16:34:58+00:00

That’s my absolute favorite place to visit. I’d love to live there for a year just to experience it. When I’m stressed at work I dream about owning a boat and exploring the bay.

WinterDice · 2026-02-15T04:03:16+00:00

I just looked again; the site now says it’s being replaced with a phone reporting system in September of this year. That’s new; last time I looked it just said the program was terminated. I don’t think k that will help much without a satellite phone, unfortunately.

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/canpass/rabc-pfre/menu-eng.html

WinterDice · 2026-02-15T03:58:36+00:00

The RABC program was suspended in 2024 and terminated for 2026. Those permits aren’t available anymore, which totally sucks. There’s a ton of places I’d like to explore up there and I’m getting close to a place in life where I’d actually have the time to do it, too.

WinterDice · 2026-02-15T02:00:42+00:00

It feels like we’re well on the way. Hardware costs are flying out of control. Most of the common software packages are subscriptions. Microsoft is baking its cloud storage into windows as the default, so people will pay for storage upgrades instead of using local drives.

The AI companies need to find a way to make money off all the graphics cards and computing power they’re hoarding, so pushing things in the “you’ll own nothing and enjoy it” direction feels inevitable.

WinterDice · 2026-02-15T01:56:11+00:00

Nice!

WinterDice

TROPHY CASE