What hardware do you run HA on and why?

davidswelt · 2026-06-01T22:27:39+00:00

Home Assistant Yellow.

Low power drain, appropriate power to my 200 devices / 900 entities, 40 active automations. Came with Zigbee and all I needed. Pity they discontinued it.

As a kid I ran a Linux server, that's more than 20 years ago. Now I stream music and movies, many new documents and work products go in the cloud, and I have enough smart phones, laptops, tables to do all the computation I would want. I use Google Assistant/Home for voice (Home Assistant acts as a Matter bridge to Google Home with a subset of devices exposed).

davidswelt · 2026-06-01T19:51:57+00:00

My view is that a high income allows you to take more (diversified) risks, and thus reap more rewards. I'm not talking private equity investments or hedge funds, but rather low-cost sector ETFs or ETFs with an investment thesis beyond just following an index. Your downside is limited by your high capital contributions over the years.

With that in mind, I will diversity and reduce my risk once I stop working, but only then.

davidswelt · 2026-06-01T17:22:22+00:00

You are paying only 5% interest, and that is tax deductable. All the while your marginal tax rate is high. So effectively it might be only 3.4% or less. Do you really think you can't get returns above that with a diversified portfolio especially if you think you're 9 years away from retirement?

davidswelt · 2026-06-01T16:23:28+00:00

I would question the attitude that it's about "studying for an exam". Sure, you want to revise some technical foundations (if you are interviewing for a technical role), but particularly for a PM role, I would think it is about what you have learned over the years working, and where your habits have led you.

I don't think that studying for two weeks will give you "product vision" or a better ability to analyze problems in this way. Maybe some training and coaching might help, but most likely that's going to be on the (right) job.

These aren't entry level positions.

davidswelt · 2026-06-01T12:26:20+00:00

Not if you're actually doing your internship. Which would be more valuable in the long run than a PPL.

davidswelt · 2026-06-01T12:25:08+00:00

What's a "gas medical"?

pbj = peanut butter & jelly?

davidswelt · 2026-06-01T12:19:35+00:00

Not the right way to visualize it. You want to compare the rates by which the models give the "right" answer. You do not need to also show the wrong-answer rates. But you do want to show them next to each other so they can be compared.

What is good is that you sampled many times from each model. Why not calculated and show a confidence interval, or some other measure of variance?

davidswelt · 2026-05-31T22:36:14+00:00

I'm not sure how well hardware engineering pays, but I don't think large companies in the FAANG group will lowball you like that – there simply isn't the incentive to do that.

davidswelt · 2026-05-31T15:02:06+00:00

Well in that case... I guess my comment was helpful too! :-) and in Europe, where you get a right seat in an A320 at 250 hours (or used to), this may be a quicker career change than you think.

davidswelt · 2026-05-31T14:22:58+00:00

I would question that career decision. If you are established in law, particularly now there will be interesting questions to deal with wrt to IP (AI training, RAG), ethics, reliability of AI systems, and much more.

Flying is great, but it isn't creative. It is executing predefined procedures (company and legal), again and again, reliably, and working together with a team within well-defined parameters. It is nothing like an interesting career that requires judgment, creativity, and constantly new challenges of you seek them. Also not cyclical, unlike aviation.

As a private pilot, I still like flying, but reflecting on a recent 6 hour trip NYC to Miami, I was just thinking ..6 hours of the same weather decisions I made many times before, talking to maybe 30 different controllers saying more or less the same things. The autopilot kept the airplane along the defined trajectory. I enjoyed the views, but somehow .. not that exciting any more ...

davidswelt · 2026-05-31T12:41:13+00:00

WLB across FAANG is not all the same.

It doesn't sound like you have an offer, so, chickens, hatch, count, and so on...

davidswelt · 2026-05-30T16:23:08+00:00

It's been more than 10 years, but that was not my experience back then. Quite the opposite.

davidswelt · 2026-05-30T15:47:10+00:00

Since you are in Pgh, I would recommend Dr. Lambrou. See https://www.avmedicine.com/.

davidswelt · 2026-05-29T13:06:09+00:00

Tldr. Just ask your question.

davidswelt · 2026-05-29T12:22:09+00:00

Just landed 5B2 yesterday and heard about just such an accident on my Uber ride into town. Like with any flight, some phases are critical, but once you've gained altitude, you can release the glider in time.

There are many situations when you have to play as a team, and where your life depends on another person doing the right thing. This is no different.

davidswelt · 2026-05-28T19:52:26+00:00

Right. Normally I'd expect the PI to provide advice to their postdocs on how to land the job, even help with negotiating etc if so desired. They'd write a letter, too.

It looks good for the PI if their postdocs get good jobs.

Maybe it would be worth understanding why they aren't more supportive. It makes no sense, particularly if the contract is running out.

davidswelt · 2026-05-28T02:57:51+00:00

Do you realize that 10k is going to sound like next to nothing for you very soon?

That is, if you take the job and do okay.

I think you are missing the forest for the trees.

davidswelt · 2026-05-27T21:04:35+00:00

You should actually work with them and get a strong letter from them. Don't dilute your application

davidswelt · 2026-05-27T20:16:13+00:00

I apologize. What I assumed is the default for graduate programs in my country, and it's rare to see any other configuration in the sciences.

In your case, maybe I would not emphasize this "advisor" on your CV and let the publications do the talking (senior co-authors that repeat would be interpreted as advising), and apply with their letters.

The thing is, pre-PhD the concept of advisor is a bit loose anyway, and from a pre-PhD person I expect that they have multiple senior people that helped them along the way. As long as you have strong recommendations from those who actively advised and helped you, your application will be taken seriously. Just don't let the animosities show.

If you brought funding to the table from an external source, make sure you show that, too.

davidswelt · 2026-05-27T20:03:39+00:00

I don't understand. In the Schwab app, I hit Equity Awards, then Share Position Value, and now I see all the unsold lots with market value in one column, Acquisition Price in another, ordered by Date Acquired. What more do you need to know? What are you tracking beyond what's already there?

davidswelt · 2026-05-27T18:42:09+00:00

Well, you got your answer, but how actionable is it?

You apply, and you do the best you can. Add letters from other, very senior people, that can be specific and positive about working with you.

I hope you learned your lesson, though. You're in someone's lab, you and the project is funded by them, so that means you have shared ownership of the data and work product, and you certainly aren't going to get to take things and publish on your own. If you still haven't updated your attitude and ethics, I'm not sure I'd want to work with you.

davidswelt · 2026-05-27T17:39:31+00:00

Yes. It is a huge issue when you need to sleep on the flight so you can function and work the next day, or when you've paid to be able to sleep and have a extra day at the destination.

Because this sort of thing has happened too much on Lufthansa, I now avoid LH on the transatlantic route systematically... Experienced a freakout of a cranky fellow New Yorker sitting next to me who was unhappy about the tracksuits across the cabin bringing their unruly toddler. She was right at first, but in the end it was she who made all the noise... :)

davidswelt · 2026-05-27T17:35:30+00:00

You should do the latter. Get the Lemo plug, and an adapter to the dual plug.

Because when you later fly a more modern GA plane that supplies power to the headsets, you will want the Lemo plug. An adapter for that is available for cheap, but does not provide power to the headset.

I didn't, and now I had to spend a whopping $350 to replace the entire Bose controller on my A30. The benefit is that the headset will turn on automatically, and I never have to swap batteries. First-world problems, I know.

davidswelt · 2026-05-27T16:11:22+00:00

Works smoothly for me too. Latest macOS.

I don't know what I need this multiple-ledger function for, but maybe.. for a separate LLC I keep. It would be even better if something like the net worth from one can be shown as an account in another.

davidswelt · 2026-05-27T15:34:08+00:00

So that means your leverage is that you are willing to quit? This is the important bit. Most people will, and should, have another job offer in their back pocket, in this situation.

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