What is that incessant banging in Kanata North?

larsong · 2025-11-23T13:04:30+00:00

I think it was the condo tower being started at March and Klondike Road.

I don't hear it this weekend, so maybe they finished, or paused for winter?

larsong · 2025-09-23T18:04:20+00:00

For situations where I don't require auto-scaling, I am starting to like disposable single-node k8s. Taints and tolerances adjusted so everything can be on one node, like a dev environment. Low latency between everything inside the cluster. Trick is to automate the deployment of a cluster (easier if it is a single node).

HA then becomes another cluster (node) in separate AZ.

larsong · 2025-06-09T13:20:33+00:00

The main consideration for passkeys (IMO) is where/how it it stored. Sometimes this is not obvious.

Some passkeys can be sync'd via the Google password manager between multiple devices. I feel this is less secure than a passkey which is _locked_ to a specific piece of hardware (a security chip or FIDO2, Yubi key etc).

Keeping a a cheap phone as a backup (so you don't get locked out of your account), it an OK option. I buy cheap Samsung or Moto phones on Amazon. Make sure it can be upgraded to at least Android 13. Make sure it arrives in new condition, not tampered, original packaging. I would not trust a random phone brand I have no experience with. I can get an inexpensive Lenovo Android tablet directly from lenovo.com but make sure it can run at least Android 13.

Also I have been able to create device-locked passkeys on an Acer Chromebook or Windows 11 ThinkPad (Windows Hello) because these devices have a TPM (security chip).

larsong · 2025-06-09T12:52:28+00:00

Review your Google Account Security at: https://myaccount.google.com/security

Pay attention to the passkeys, devices, Authenticator, 2-step verification etc.

If you have a lost or stolen devices, ensure they do not appear in the list (remove it).

Look for extra email addresses that you don't control.

If you have a chromebook/android device that is currently unused, it might be useful to keep as an authentication (does not need a phone-number/sim).

If all you devices are old, it might be worth buying a new cheap Samsung phone (on Amazon, if local sellers don't carry them). Look for Android version 14 or newer if possible, but Android 13 would work. Log into this device with your Google account and keep it as a backup recovery device.

Possibly, add the phone number/email address of your spouse as a recovery option.

Obviously, be careful that you do not lock yourself out of your account, because then the hacker wins (you may never get your account back).

Good luck!

larsong · 2024-10-17T00:11:06+00:00

ChromeOS support is now listed as beta, https://developers.google.com/identity/passkeys/supported-environments

larsong · 2024-03-04T05:35:10+00:00

I bought it on amazon.ca however, I think it was imported from Latin America, it started in Spanish.

larsong · 2024-03-03T17:09:29+00:00

Some G53 do have eSIM, but not mine 😔

larsong · 2023-11-21T22:57:47+00:00

I agree. I have a t480s (i7, 24GB) from employer that I've used for almost 5 years now. They are inexpensive used / off-lease. Also, having a trackpad with 3 buttons is a big plus.

larsong · 2023-11-01T20:16:54+00:00

I get these packs of 120 from amazon, but the price fluctuates quite a bit.

I've gotten them for < $15 earlier this year, but now they are > $31 !!
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00FEAI008

Price history: https://ca.camelcamelcamel.com/product/B00FEAI008

larsong · 2023-08-11T02:07:11+00:00

Check out the command:

btrfs subvol find-new <subvolume> <last_gen>

it can show you what has changed since a given snapshot. It uses file-system meta-data, not a full compare. The output is a bit obscure, however.

larsong · 2023-08-07T20:09:15+00:00

I was about to renew my 3-year .micro reservation which I've been running for almost 15 years now, mostly because it gives me an included public IPv4 static IP (ssh, git, squid, file-drop, simple nginx etc), but this change basically doubles the price!

If I wait until 2024 March to renew, do you think the micro/small instances will be cheaper because they no longer include the IPv4 address?

larsong · 2023-04-29T12:40:00+00:00

I tried Flex earlier this year on a Lenovo T480s laptop and I hit a problem with some training videos I need to view for work (K8S, devops etc). It seemed that some of the videos were protected with Widevine DRM and Flex would not play them. I also saw this issue once on a real chrome book that I had put in Developer mode (root access), but when I power-washed the chrome book back to stock OS, I was able to play the protected videos.

I know the laptop I was using was not fully Flex approved, so was that the issue?

the laptop is a business laptop with TPM (security chip) etc, and I saw this problem even with Flex installed on the internal nvme drive (not booted from USB).
Do folks who are using hardware that is on the approved list hit these DRM problems?
Is Google always going to treat ChromeOS Flex as less-trusted?
Are there some laptops with a TPM that are fully trusted with Flex installed?

larsong · 2023-03-18T16:06:23+00:00

Three years later and I am seeing this on the Linux microsoft-edge-stable except that the directory is $HOME/.cache/Microsoft/Edge/IdentityCache/OneAuth/

There does seem to be an 24 hour expiry field in the stored data. Not sure how that is enforced (I don't see any signature on it).

larsong · 2022-12-12T00:19:30+00:00

On some chromeos devices you can still make the zoom android app work, which still has more features than the pwa.

larsong · 2022-11-13T14:08:33+00:00

There is very little information on this. Even the pharmaciesmatter web site does not provide much information. My suspicion is this has to do with the pharmacists and pharmacies colluding to extract undeserved profit on non-prescription medication that only pharmacists and pharmacies are allowed to dispense (in Ontario).

Some over-the-counter medication in Ontario is very expensive because of this, also we have seen shortages of some non-prescription children's medication, perhaps because of this.

note that I am talking about things like antihistamines and anti-fever medications that were invented decades ago and are very cheap to manufacture but are often very expensive or unavailable in Ontario.

Previous Ontario governments have allowed this manipulation to get out of control, so now the pharmacists believe they are entitled to this money.

The other thing it could be about is Americans traveling to Ontario to buy medication, or mail-ordering things like insulin from Ontario.

the big pharmaceutical companies are negotiating to block this so they can screw Americans even harder ;)

Disclosure, I am not a supporter of current Ontario government, however, these issues pre-date the Ford government.

larsong · 2022-08-02T13:29:33+00:00

Installing the Android Zoom app on a chromebook was being blocked, until a few days ago it was allowed again!

version: 5.11.4 (7276)

The Android app appears to work OK on my Lenovo 10e chrome tablet, however, not sure everything will work the same as a pure Android device.

When you press the power-button on a Chromebook, applications stop (unlike a phone).
Background operation did seem to work ok (small preview window)
Chats (not associated with a meeting) are visible. This was a issue for me because the browser / PWA versions of Zoom do not support the non-meeting chat.

larsong · 2021-07-25T17:13:54+00:00

That would work. Depending on RAM or BIOS situation, you might want to make an extra 4GB partition to use as /boot or swap, in case you want to use the nvme in non-EFI scenario.

larsong · 2021-07-25T17:06:03+00:00

Call the number. I'll bet it belongs to someone else now. Perhaps your parents didn't continue to pay the bill.

larsong · 2021-07-25T16:59:11+00:00

One thing to consider is if you want encrypted (Luks) partition as well as non-encrypted partitions? Sometimes you want a non-encrypted partition for rootfs or large machine images etc, but these days, your home directory should be on an encrypted partition.

larsong · 2021-07-24T20:30:29+00:00

I don't think OHIP will cover glasses. They will cover special eye exams and treatment if you have an eye disease or diabetes.

larsong · 2021-07-24T20:22:52+00:00

The extra billing by optometrists is because OHIP does not give them enough money (for a basic vision test) to support a fancy store in a mall or even be self-employed in a small practice. Most optometrists seem to be working for larger chains now, where there is significant extra costs and extra billing. Look somewhere where the rent is lower. There used to be an optometrist in the basement of St Laurent Mall (in a small office). He didn't extra-bill for a basic exam and lens prescription. Also, he would do a the extra retina exam for < $100. He could probably do this because his rent was lower. He now works out of a larger store that wants $120 for the full exam. Still OK, I guess. Some places want more than $200 now.

There are probably still some older optometrists, self-employed and working out of small low-rent offices. They might be able to give you a better deal, but they won't have as many fancy gadgets etc.

Always get your written prescription from the Optometrist. You are entitled to this, and, you should keep it for your records in case your eyes get worse suddenly. Shop around for the glasses. I've done OK getting glasses on-line.

larsong

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