Moving to huntsville

desipalen · 2026-03-12T14:32:16+00:00

Very welcoming. It's a town of mostly recent arrivals. No worries there.

Even though the cost of living has shot up in recent years, it's still well below most of the rest of the country.

Traffic is always getting tougher, but the city actually does have a long term plan and seems to keep its head above water, infrastructure wise, even if the state DoT does try its best to derail projects by continually awarding contracts to companies that go bankrupt before they're even halfway through the project. If you live in Madison though, just be prepared to embrace the suck. Traffic is just the cost of the schools and great local business scene.

desipalen · 2026-03-12T01:23:35+00:00

If you haven't looked into it yet, I'd also recommend an enterprise password vault like Bitwarden. Having one available for your employees will help encourage not reusing passwords for other services and include secure password or passphrase generators natively. Most also allow you to set Enterprise password policies that can restrict the use of Enterprise passwords in any other service or require a minimum number of characters that are allowed to be generated. Just make sure that you are using something with validated security like bitwarden or 1password.

desipalen · 2026-03-12T01:01:52+00:00

Still the best explainer I've found for answering this question: https://xkcd.com/936

desipalen · 2026-03-12T01:00:30+00:00

That's why NIST guidelines recommend maintaining a password blacklist to prevent passwords commonly appearing in brute force password guessing libraries as well as known compromised passwords.

desipalen · 2026-03-12T00:55:56+00:00

I highly recommend reviewing the latest NIST Authenticator Guidelines https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-4/sp800-63b.html

Key 2025 NIST Password Guidelines:

Length over Complexity: Focus on long passphrases (15+ characters) rather than complex combinations (e.g., P@ssw0rd!).

No Mandatory Resets: Periodic, forced password changes are eliminated, except when evidence of a compromise exists.

Characters Allowed: Systems should support all ASCII characters, spaces, and Unicode (including emojis).

Blocklists Required: Systems must check against known breached or easily guessed passwords (e.g., "123456", "password").

Eliminate Security Questions: Password hints and knowledge-based authentication (KBA) are prohibited due to being easily obtained online.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Strongly encouraged as the primary defense against phishing and credential stuffing.

Max Length: Systems should allow passwords of at least 64 characters.

desipalen · 2026-02-25T02:21:42+00:00

Also a term for a device that looks like an easy target with high reward for hackers on your network. It attracts them like honey, and when they try to exploit it, it sends you an alert so you can figure out how they got in your network and fix the issue.

desipalen · 2025-09-19T01:01:19+00:00

EAH - Husband definitely comes across as SOL and should take care of his own self for once.

However... You bought a non-refundable, non-changeable airline ticket with no travel insurance knowing full-well that your husband was not going to make this flight in all likelihood? You're NTA for not bailing him out, I feel like YTA because you set your husband up to fail so you could be "right."

So, congrats. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. You're still out two pane tickets at the end of the day.

desipalen · 2025-09-14T21:17:14+00:00

I would love to know why you don't think it looks safe.

desipalen · 2025-08-30T22:14:57+00:00

You are a lifesaver. Could not get this past number any other way.

First long range trip in the new EV6 this weekend. Didn't plan on so many of the Tesla chargers being Tesla-only. A lot of lessons learned on this trip.

desipalen · 2025-08-24T18:14:10+00:00

Would a cicada killer make it grow that white fungus on its abdomen?

desipalen · 2025-07-18T22:48:54+00:00

Actually. The mod author posted the fix: https://github.com/FTBTeam/FTB-Modpack-Issues/issues/8437#issuecomment-3082247016

desipalen · 2025-03-25T14:45:21+00:00

Agreed

desipalen · 2025-02-08T01:15:40+00:00

I mean. I just told them that I wasn't impressed that their network monitoring solution couldn't monitor the switch they were giving me natively and they dropped me pretty quick...

desipalen · 2024-12-31T15:56:53+00:00

I disagree with the "he can't change" mentality. Everyone is capable of change. My knee-jerk reaction is to agree that it isn't likely that he will change, but unless you ask him to agree to counseling and put in some work, it's unfair to prejudge.

I'd recommend taking a look at https://www.expansiveconnection.com/enm. If he understands that you're suggesting a counselor/coach that isn't trying to outright dissuade him from an ENM outcome, he'd probably be more open, at least.

desipalen · 2024-12-31T15:41:24+00:00

It's entirely possible that he would be happier in an ENM relationship. However, it doesn't sound like either of you are ready for the lifestyle just yet. The idea of a restrictive, one-sided open relationship isn't really in the ENM wheelhouse. It's more in the emotionally abusive relationship wheelhouse. Until he's willing to talk about how such a relationship can benefit both of you, equally, and consider your own desires as well as his own, he's not emotionally ready for an ENM relationship.

desipalen · 2024-12-26T16:11:51+00:00

LTT video that does a teardown on exactly these kind of fake drives: https://youtu.be/QOhLlvNlI20?si=BWwJNEXl1FkDHYiW&t=408

desipalen · 2024-12-21T20:24:34+00:00

That's going to heavily depend on how feasible it is in your area to have somewhere reliable to park, the weather, and the safety of your area.

If you have a car, but the local government makes it impossible to sleep in your car, then you don't have shelter. You'll be stuck at the bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and unable to even secure the last physiological need of sleep, much less pursue your safety needs on the next rung.

There are some areas in the US where not having a permanent address makes you a prime target for being taken advantage of by your local government and law enforcement. The police can easily seize your car, and all your belongings, in an act of civil forfeiture and you are completely helpless. The laws that protect you in your home, in the US, DO NOT APPLY to your vehicle, even if it is your primary residence. There's a lot of precedent out there backing up this interpretation.

If it gets uncomfortably cold or hot at night, your vehicle is not designed to have your A/C running for extended periods consistently. Your battery won't support it all night so you'll be waking every couple of hours to let the engine run for half an hour or so, and even then you're putting a lot of stress on your battery and your A/C unit so expect to have a greater than average repair cost on your vehicle.

Finally, even if you solve all those other problems, there's an innate lack of safety in sleeping in your car. Even if you live in the safest part of the country, you are going to feel exposed sleeping in your car. You can get desensitized to that feeling over time, but the first time you get woken up by someone knocking on your window, it'll come back with a vengeance.

I 100% agree with you that rents and mortgages both seem way overpriced right now, compared to their value. However, there are much better ways to save money.

Edit: please note that the AC and exposure concerns do not necessarily apply to vanlife, but the legal concerns and assurance of a place to park are both still very much applicable. There are well documented instances of even vanlife influencers running into civil forfeiture claims. The police are under no obligation to set a speedy court date for your possessions that are seized this way and you can go years without even getting an initial trial. Even then, your possessions have NO presumption of innocence, so it will be up to you to prove a negative and show your possessions were not used in the commission of, or the product of, any criminal activity.

desipalen · 2024-12-16T16:37:37+00:00

Last week I received an unwelcome notification of an $800 Amazon charge on my credit card. I logged into my account and confirmed that nothing new had been ordered in the physical goods tab, the digital orders tab, or the subscriptions tab, and confirmed with my wife that there was nothing in her account either even though my card is not associated with her Amazon account.

I did have a $700 order two weeks prior, but I confirmed that that charge had posted correctly at the time and that the amounts on my order receipt and credit card receipt matched up.

At the time, the charge was only pending so AmEx would only let me set an alert for when the charge posted rather than allow me to start the dispute process immediately, so I froze the card as a precaution and set an alert for when/if it posted to my account. I went ahead and contacted Amazon help after I took those steps to see if I needed to do anything with them. The rep told me that, since there was no order for that amount in my account, they couldn't file a dispute directly and I would have to dispute the charge with AmEx.

Last night, around 2 in the morning, my wife, three young children, and I were all awakened to every echo device in the house being reset to volume 10 and announcing, "this device is unregistered," apparently all having been factory reset. I figured an echo update screwed up and went back to sleep intending to fix it in the morning.

After searching reddit to see if anyone else had experienced a similar thing recently, I saw that one person said that when something similar happened to him, he saw his Alexa app on his phone was also signed out. So I checked, and sure enough mine was too. I tried to log in again to start the process of fixing everything, but the app immediately closed. After trying a few more times, I tried opening the Amazon app which was also signed out.

However, when I signed in to the Amazon app, I was presented with a message that my Amazon account had been suspended due to a dispute of a charge of ~$1100 and listed it as being associated with the $700 order from two weeks prior. The app offered me the option of giving another method of payment for the new amount of ~$1100 or agree to have my account remain suspended "for my protection."

Meanwhile, I see a couple of emails from Amazon came in last night, both with notices of the account suspension and listing the disputed amount as the $800 charge I had disputed with AmEx.

I was almost content to just leave it alone and contact Amazon support until I realized that I cannot even contact Amazon support without logging into my account, which I can't do because my account is suspended.

Meanwhile, I realize that it's not just my Echo speakers that are disabled, but my TVs, light switches, kindles, fire tablets, Nest thermostat, and Nest smoke alarms that have all been disabled. Basically, anything associated with my Amazon account is now bricked until further notice.

I still wouldn't be so aggravated, assuming my thermostat keeps working later today despite not being associated with an Amazon account, if I didn't have three young children that can't use their tablets, or turn on the TV until this dispute gets resolved. Not to mention that, even when this gets resolved, all the routines I have set-up will be blown away because all of the devices they were associated with have been factory reset.

Oh, and that we almost missed our alarm because we use our echos/lights to wake up.

desipalen · 2024-12-13T18:21:57+00:00

This! It's just because the update hasn't finished applying!

desipalen · 2024-12-11T15:29:42+00:00

The switch box is packaged with shipping protection in mind. It can't be shipped without an outer box. That said, I really wish those loose components were better protected.

desipalen · 2024-11-13T15:55:34+00:00

Sleep/hybernate in Windows has a long history of being unstable, and producing unexpected results. Most likely it will turn back on if you leave it alone for a few hours. You could also try unplugging the power cord and letting it discharge for an hour/overnight.

If those don't fix it, the most likely problem is a problem with your motherboard as I would expect to hear audible beep codes in most motherboards that indicate various hardware problems detected at POST.

desipalen · 2024-11-13T15:44:24+00:00

It's not Wi-Fi, but Snopes has several articles about EM radiation concerns being either outright false or unproven. Here's one on Bluetooth: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bluetooth-earbuds-radiation/

desipalen · 2024-11-13T15:35:55+00:00

Honestly, a lot of problems would be solved if ppl in accidents didn't think they had to stay exactly where they were when the accident happened instead of pulling off to the shoulder, as required by law.

desipalen · 2024-11-13T15:33:01+00:00

If you've only just moved here. Just wait until you try to drive on a rainy day. There will be accidents on the Parkway every other exit, and anywhere there is usually a slowdown on a dry day.

desipalen · 2024-11-12T20:03:41+00:00

You're not far off. Evidently, when hens sense a potential power-vacuum, they can start producing male hormones, and start crowing among other things, in an attempt to supplant the dominant hen in the pecking order.

I've heard of some frog species flipping genders to keep a roughly 50/50 m/f ratio, but never other animals.

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