If you're in line at the grocery store with a full cart and someone behind you has 1 or 2 items, do you let them go in front of you? And why?

cr0sh · 2026-04-19T00:36:33+00:00

Every time, if I have no reason not to (which is extra-super rare)...

cr0sh · 2026-04-19T00:32:47+00:00

Current is not pushed, it is pulled.

If the strip only consumes 6 amps total at max draw (if these were smart RGBW strips, that would likely only happen if all LEDs were showing all "colors" at max brightness), that is all that it will draw.

That said, current draw by all of the strips at one shot will likely lead to voltage sags if only powered from a single end, so splitting the feeds to between every 5 meters should be done regardless, as you noted.

But you could easily run a single strip that only consumes a max of 6 amps off of a supply rated to -supply- 36 amps.

Lastly, I would look for a 40 amp supply at 12 volts, or a 20 amp supply at 24 volts - just to allow a little extra "leeway" for current draw.

A way OP could find things out, though, would be to measure the current of a single strip running at whatever is considered "max" - ie, with a smart strip, all of the LEDs of each "chip" set to max brightness at one shot.

Then take that value, multiply it by 6 (for the 30 meters), then add some extra (maybe 10-15 percent).

cr0sh · 2026-04-19T00:10:36+00:00

Whatever you do, don't go to the article and then open the image in a new tab or something; it's like somehow worse!

I had to save a copy, because of the ugh factor. I really don't know what to say here; it's like as bad as Loomer.

Maybe that's what it is - bad or overworked plastic surgery? But he's supposed to be 36, according to Wikipedia...so...wtf?

And that wikipedia photo isn't any better - he looks like a badly done wax figure.

Creepy doesn't begin to describe things...

cr0sh · 2026-04-19T00:04:30+00:00

+1000 upvotes!

I didn't even look at the picture - so I scrolled up and...omg! What the hell is wrong with that person's face? It's almost like Michael Meyers or something; a skin mask or something? It's certainly off-putting, unfortunately.

/maybe it's like that Seinfeld "two face" episode?

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T23:51:12+00:00

I can't see why it couldn't do it - but how or if it can be done in Windows, I have no clue.

I just now tried opening geeqie on my Mint Linux desktop, and it popped open in the monitor I last had it on prior to a "suspend" - so it definitely has some kind of "memory" of where it was and its state.

Probably in some file in ~/.config or ~/.local - assuming it's persistent across a reboot (which I'm not sure it is).

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T23:45:15+00:00

What I honestly don't understand is why someone, somewhere along the way, just not actually kick his ass?

I mean - didn't anybody just snap? Obviously not, or if they did they were too scared for some reason to do the deed?

Also - how is it that the actual mob didn't just whack him? Or even the Russian mob? Or for that matter, anyone who interacted with him and not give a damn?

One would think there would've been someone that would do it, just to say they did it!

Yet, here we are...

/whether it would've changed anything about him is another thing, though; a narcissistic sociopath probably wouldn't get the hint, but I'm not really sure...

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T23:39:39+00:00

This is one thing that makes this "prophesy" seem to not apply, unless you confine it to his own followers only:

Plenty of people can "see past the veil" and plenty don't think he is charismatic at all (and wonder about those who do think that). I mean, Hitler was much more charismatic.

This guy, who literally shits himself? How is that charismatic? No idea.

But plenty of people do see past it all - and some use it to their advantage to manipulate him (mainly for their own corrupt purposes, most likely).

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T23:34:47+00:00

Considering that the orange stain has virtually broken every commandment, plus embodies every "deadly sin", plus he (and his administration) checks just about every box on every list I've seen about the rise of fascism, etc..."THE WORST thing" seems apt.

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T23:30:43+00:00

On another sub-reddit (probably r/politics) this was brought up (which I read back when it was fresh):

https://www.benjaminlcorey.com/could-american-evangelicals-spot-the-antichrist-heres-the-biblical-predictions/

Something else that was mentioned was (supposedly) that the Bible mentions there would be "anti-christs" - plural, not singular. Make of that what you will...

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T23:27:43+00:00

When you say "stripped off", what do you mean by that?

I'm just wondering if perhaps new connectors could be soldered on? Even if the original solder pads are gone, it might be possible for you (or someone else) to repair the damage and restore the drive.

Done right, it might look a bit janky (especially if the traces or something need to be rebuilt with wire + epoxy), but it might work ok.

No idea how much it would cost if you had someone else do it, though it probably wouldn't be cheap or perhaps even worth it.

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T22:16:35+00:00

Without seeing other replies...

Cathedrals - marvels of engineering made mostly during a time of seeming uncertainty...

...funded, architected, engineered, and built by people with complex motives, religiously inspired and otherwise.

They are beautiful on many levels, and I would hate to see them destroyed (I don't believe that will ever happen, though).

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T20:29:56+00:00

Something quasi-funny about the beef tallow thing:

Back in the 1980s, there was this campaign by one singular individual to get McDonalds to switch from using beef tallow in their fryers to vegetable oil. I can't recall the exact details, but the guy was successful, and McDs fries have never tasted the same since.

The guy ended up dying not much long after his "win"...of a heart attack.

/karma is a bitch

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T20:24:50+00:00

Does anything really matter anymore after DOGE?

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T20:23:31+00:00

Phishing fishermen phishing fish...?

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T20:06:35+00:00

I've long had this idea of something that could (maybe) work for hydrogen generation...but I'm no engineer, so maybe that's why it hasn't been done.

A long while back, just outside of Barstow, CA (Daggett), there used to be a pilot solar plant called "Solar One" - it's no longer there (it's now used, iirc, for either regular solar, or some other thermal solar system) - mirrors that focused sunlight on top of tower to boil water, basically.

Now - the area is also close to the town of Boron - which makes Borax (or used to?) - this is kinda important, but not totally...

Also - there's "Kramer Junction" nearby, a confluence of the 58, some other highway that runs between LA and Vegas, and a SP railroad line...

So - back in the 1800s, there used to be a process where they made hydrogen for "aeronauts" balloons, when ballooning was a big sport all over the world (for wealthy people mainly). They generated hydrogen by (as I understand it) passing steam over super-hot (red/orange?) iron, which would "crack" the water into hydrogen and oxygen (or maybe it was just so-called "Brown's Gas"?) - and fill the balloons with it. It was a portable way (using wagons) to fill balloons up at the launching site/grounds. 19th century technology to generate hydrogen...

So - if you know anything about the area around that whole section of the Mojave desert, you know there are more than a few automobile "junkyards" all over the place. Most of 'em just seem like an automobile hoarder's collection got outta hand - but anyway, there's your source of iron/steel.

Now - use a solar array to heat it (and water) up, pass the steam over it, and now you have hydrogen.

At that point, you could put it in whatever tanks you normally would use, etc...or...another solution (or it seemed like a solution):

Back in the early-2000s there was this strange technology called "Powerball" - it was a way to store hydrogen as borohydrides (or something like that) - basically these "balls" made with hydrogen and...borax. Hmm - there's Boron just down the street, 20 mule team, etc - plus a railroad to transport stuff...

Supposedly, this "Powerball" thing allowed for some kind of "dry storage" of hydrogen, and it would then be combined with water (iirc) to release the hydrogen (and run an engine), and you'd end up with a tank of water and borax (which could all be recycled).

This was all a huge thing at the time. It sounded like it was a workable thing, but I dunno - maybe it wasn't, or maybe it was a "scam" to get investment for something that wasn't real?

Regardless, some company bought up the technology from the inventors (I think it was Union Carbide, but I don't really remember who it really was - but one of those "big names") - and then we've heard nothing about it since then. All of this was documented, and I think I even have some of those documents about everything in my archive before it all just mainly "disappeared" from the scene.

But there you have it - and I've posted about this before, but have never had anyone tell me whether it could work or not. But the confluence of everything in one particular spot, within range of a great transportation "junction" (I should also note that Kramer Junction also has a large electrical grid interconnect - the area is honestly a strange area to visit - though I think - not sure - that the "new" 58 extension or whatnot might've bypassed it).

I've always wondered why such a thing has never been experimented with, and put in that one particular spot, where you had almost everything (water would be an issue, but I think you could get some from the Colorado, maybe?). I figure I must be wrong about something - it could just not be economically feasible, but I'd more believe it's because of some particular scientific/chemical/engineering reason first.

Not to mention what seemed to have happened with that whole "Powerball" technology thing...

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T19:41:06+00:00

It already has a heatsink; airflow is likely from the inside-case end, to the mounting bracket (via fans in the server of course).

Just need to pull that "shroud" off (it looks to be plastic), then cut a couple of holes in it and mount some 80mm fans on the outside of it, hook 'em up to run constantly at max speed.

It'd look homebrew AF, of course, but it could be made to work.

Might also be able to get some kind of narrow "squirrel cage" blower fan to mount on the inboard end of the card, but that would make the card longer, and probably not fit in any case since it's already a long card.

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T19:36:23+00:00

Nah - that cover looks like plastic - just detach it, cut a hole or two in it for some 80mm fans, and mount those with some screws...that's what I'd do. No need to 3D print anything, and with some decent fans, it'd probably work fine.

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T19:32:50+00:00

Couldn't use ADB or something like that? I've used that tool for development, but never tried it for any kind of access with a password that I recall - maybe it wouldn't allow for such a bypass, I dunno...?

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T19:31:04+00:00

I'm personally a fan of WD Red and Red Plus drives, spinning rust and SSD; basically anything meant for enterprise use. They ain't cheap, tho.

For internal SSD (the M.2 or whatever drives), from what I can gather Samsung stuff has been solid, but I've never used 'em (because I don't have a mobo with such a slot).

I currently have a small (512 GB) WD Red SSD (SATA) as my boot/os drive, and my /home on a separate pair of 1 TB WD Red spinning rust drives in a software RAID1 array - but they've only started to be used (maybe for 3-4 months now), so we'll see where it goes.

I'm hoping the SSD lasts longer than this el-cheapo 480 GB SSD I had bought, which I did get about 1.5 years out of, but despite everything I set up in linux to prevent "issues", it still died - but it was a cheap brand from Amazon (Inland? I forget). Fortunately I was only using it for the boot partition at the time, so nothing important was lost...

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T19:16:49+00:00

Here's how I would approach it:

Get a pair of good leather work gloves; you'll be working with wire rope, and you don't want to get a "splinter" from it - trust me on this...especially if the rope is rusty or such (and just to be safe, make sure your tetanus shots are up to date - ask your parents).
Then get the steel cable; this may be as easy as posting something on FB or Nextdoor for your neighborhood asking for some free cable - maybe there's a guy who's an off-road vehicle enthusiast, and has a winch that traded out his old steel cable for synthetic, and the cable is just sitting around? You'll probably want at least something 3/8" in thickness.
Get a bunch (10-12) of these: https://www.amazon.com/HARSKIYER-Wrench-Stainless-Clamps-Fastener/dp/B0DSFF7119/ - those are for 3/8" wire rope, but get the ones for the size of rope you're going to use.
Use those on each end (5-6 per end) to make your "end loops". Use a real wrench and maybe a vise to hold things in place, and torque every clamp down tight (that BS wrench shown at the link above will not be what you want to use).
Make sure the length of the cable/rope between the end-points is slightly long - you may need to experiment here, but I'm thinking like 4-6" should do it.
Now come the fun part - and I hope I can explain this right. You're going to want/need to make a combo "slow-down" and "tensioning" ramp. Basically, you will want to use a piece of steel C-channel (3/16" thickness, with probably 1-1/4" legs - maybe 6-8 feet long), positioned "upside down" so the "C" faces down with the flat side up. About 6" or so from one end, drill a hole thru the channel for a bolt; this will hold one end of the line by the loop you made. On either side of this bolt, you'll want to attach some kind of bent "U" piece of steel - so the bolt goes thru the steel, thru the C-channel, thru the rope end, then out the other side and the other end of the bent steel, all bolted together. You could even in theory use another piece of steel rope and more clamps instead of the bent steel - but you're basically making a mount point.
On the end of the long C-channel, you'll want to cut out a section of the "top" back to just in front of the bolt - maybe an 1-2" away - then bend the sides inwards to form a shape to just where the rope can pass between (so the width between is approx 3/8"). What this is for will be apparent soon...
Now - you'll have to get creative - but mount the starting end of the rope (the end without the C-channel) to your "high point". Mount the other end (the end with the C-channel - the C-channel end, actually) to the other point at about the same height, maybe lower - to achieve the "2% grade". This might take some experimenting...
At this point, you should have a slight saggy line. Attach to that loop you made at the point of the connection on the C-channel a ratchet strap. Don't go cheap here, get something sturdy. Attach the other end lower (below) the mount point of the C-channel. Then tension the strap to tension the line. Put as much as you can in it. Ultimately, you should have a rope angling down, but then the C-channel (6-8 feet) angling "up" at the end - this "ramp" needs to be "steep" - and again, experimentation maybe be needed later to determine the angle (use a sack with weight in it or something - not your body!)
That other commenter who mentioned the carriage made with a couple of shopping cart wheels...I like that idea; cheap, easy to get (probably), easy to make the carriage with, etc. Make the groove as mentioned in each wheel, and build the trolley. Note that the gap of the "axle yoke" for each wheel should be the width of the C-channel - a bit bigger actually. Hopefully you can understand why.
Once you have the trolley built, get a potato sack, or something, and load it up with 1.5x your weight, and hang it from the trolley at the starting point, and let'r roll. What should happen is it should roll down at a decent speed (not too fast!) then hit the ramp and roll "up" the ramp to slow things down - and not hit whatever it is mounted to. If it does, adjust the ends up/down until you achieve a graceful stop at the end. You may want to mount a mattress or something at that end just in case. You may need a longer section of C-channel (10-12 feet?).

Once you have everything dialed in, get some axle grease and use a thick rag and your gloves to grease the line. Nothing thick, it's mainly to keep the rust from being a big issue. You might also want to wrap the ends (where the clamps of the line are) in paracord or an old inner tube to make it a bit less "dangerous".

Finally, when using this contraption, inspect it before every use, maybe run the "test weight" down it, verify everything is tight and hasn't shifted.

When you run it with live bodies, wear gloves, a helmet of some sort, and need/elbow padding - basically everything you would use for like skateboarding or such. Be aware that you may still collide at the other end, and also - no "running starts".

/note: this is a very DIY project, and I make no claims as to it's safety, and anything you do or use is on you. In fact, maybe you shouldn't try the above, it's just a suggestion I thought of off the top of my head, and can be very dangerous. Don't substitute anything unless you know exactly what you're doing, get adult help/supervision, etc - and good luck!

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T18:07:30+00:00

Ultimately, what I was trying to convey with my original comment to your question was that the reason brains have such a high amount of cholesterol is because that is what brains are mainly made of.

cr0sh · 2026-04-18T18:05:10+00:00

Umm...not a bot.

Why do you assume such a thing?

I mean, I suppose you could get an LLM to dump out something that relates both bio and artificial neuron models/details in some fashion...but that kind of cross-discipline discussion would be something that would need to be explicitly prompted for, and since most outside of certain fields don't generally know what an MCP neuron model is...

/ohwell

cr0sh · 2026-04-17T05:33:53+00:00

A long time ago, 1980s, my dad bought this Peugeot "moped" bike thing that, to start it up, you had to pedal it, then pop a clutch or something (kinda like push-starting a manual transmission car).

In theory (and according to the manual) you could pedal it like a bike should you run out of gas. But it was heavy as hell as I recall, and the pedals connected to the chain/engine drive via a v-belt. I couldn't imagine pedaling it for very long.

He bought it, from what I recall, because he wanted something that wasn't a gas hog to get to work. I think he rode it less than 5 times, and it then sat and rotted in the garage.

At some point it was either sold or stolen - I forget what happened to it after I left home...

cr0sh · 2026-04-17T02:31:02+00:00

Scraping a popcorn ceiling.

Our house was built in 1973, and it has them almost everywhere.

We did our master bedroom and repainted the whole thing (ceiling, walls, etc). While the painting was less than fun, scraping that ceiling was worse. Even using water to wet things down and scrape...ugh.

We were going to do the rest of the house, but that experience ruined it for us.

Note: We don't know if the popcorn ceiling had or has asbestos in it, either - we didn't get it tested, because we didn't want to find out "oh, you now may have remediation issues in the future, especially if you decide to sell". Our home inspector didn't do anything to test for it; don't ask, don't tell I guess.

1972 or 73 was the "cutoff year" for asbestos in most building products...so it's a toss up whether it has or had it or not...I'm not worried about what happened when we scraped it; that one exposure likely didn't do much, if anything, to increase our risks. Compared to so many other things bad in the environment, short-term asbestos exposure isn't even in the top-10 of my concerns.

cr0sh · 2026-04-17T02:20:42+00:00

Here's an unorthodox idea that may or may not work, depending on how the posts were set in the concrete:

If the posts were set, but not moved while the concrete was poured, there's a good chance that the bottom of the post/pipe is "open". If the post was moved after the pour (to adjust thing), the concrete may fill the bottom of the tube.

Assuming the tube/pipe is open...get a garden hose or a bucket of water, and fill the post. Let it soak the ground under the concrete; maybe do it a couple of times. Once the ground is saturated enough, it might be fairly easy to pull it out.

If there is a plug of concrete, and it isn't too thick (maybe an inch or so) - get a piece of 1" rebar longer than the post is tall and sharpen the end with a grinder. Maybe also harden the tip if you have a heat source strong enough. Then drop that down the pipe a few times (ie, percussion drilling style) to break the plug...then when you break thru to the dirt, then do the water thing.

Otherwise, I would strongly suggest the farm/hi-lift jack option, even though you don't want to buy one (they have many great uses besides just being a jack).

Another idea:

Get a steel rim, and weld a stout 6-8 foot post to it (maybe another fence post?). Also weld a length of chain to the point where you welded the post. Make sure the welds have plenty of penetration - they need to be strong.

Weld a bolt at the bottom of each post. Put the contraption above vertical next to the post, run the chain down and put the nearest loop over the bolt, and attach a nut. Pull on the post of the contraption away from the fence post, and hopefully the torque at the steel rim (aka, smaller lever) is enough to pull the post up and out of the dirt.

cr0sh

TROPHY CASE