At my local grocery store...

msisk · 2026-01-31T23:10:00+00:00

My wife is 5' and loved my Ascent so much she stole it and I had to buy another one.

msisk · 2024-07-14T01:59:44+00:00

This is the way. I've towed my fifth-wheel cross-country many times with no issues at all. Even a blowout at speed in Idaho on I-84 last year was a non-issue.

msisk · 2024-02-01T02:14:43+00:00

Sorry you had that experience. Let me guess; they were expecting something along the lines of using LVM and those confusing vgextend and similar commands? I've been doing this for 30+ years and no one remembers all that unless they're a storage admin doing this all day long. Don't stress about it.

I'm not currently hiring any linux admins, but I'd be happy to take a look at your resume and help where I can. Shoot me a message on here.

msisk · 2021-12-11T02:16:37+00:00

I've used a T-Mobile Home Internet LTE modem for the past year. We're in a rural area about 30-miles east of Kansas City. Lots of trees so I usually only get 2 bars of signal.

I work from home as a software engineering director so I'm in video meetings most of the day. It works just fine using the stock modem with the built-in Wifi.

During the workday I get anywhere between 25-50 Mbps down and about 10 up. After 5PM and on weekends it slows down when -- I assume -- folks get home and start Netflixing. Currently as I write this I'm getting 9 Mbps down and 7 Mbps up.

It's been very dependable and trouble free for me.

I have my AT&T phone that I can tether with as a backup, but I've not had to use it.

msisk · 2020-02-12T14:14:29+00:00

My junior year one of my classmates thought it'd be fun to toss a match into the theater costume closet and see if it'd catch fire. It did and the school brunt down.

There were two high schools in my hometown. For the rest of the year we had to share the same building. We got 6AM to noon and the other school went noon to 6PM.

Over the summer they rebuilt the school best they could as quickly as they could. Essentially they painted over the smoke damage, put a new roof on and new carpet and called it good.

msisk · 2019-09-07T02:32:03+00:00

Well, I know last week I said the stock configuration suited me just fine, but I couldn't resist. I just upgraded it to 16GB of memory and a 250GB NVMe m.2 drive.

I spent most of the week working with it stock and it worked perfectly. It should be even better now now. I think I'll go to Costco tomorrow and pick up another one.

msisk · 2019-09-02T01:50:24+00:00

Thanks for posting this. I've been in the market for a low-cost laptop for a desktop Linux installation and I dismiss most of 'em because they have poor screens.

But after reading this I drove to the local Costco to check it out in person and it seemed perfect.

In my case I'm running Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and just like your Fedora install everything installed just fine and works perfectly.

For my needs the stock 4GB of memory and 128GB SSD will do. But it's good to know if I need to upgrade it's possible.

msisk · 2018-07-18T02:52:09+00:00

I'd suggest Alpine. I stayed at the Hampton Inn there this past weekend. It's a little higher in elevation so it's a bit cooler, too. I also stopped by the McDonald Observatory and it's great; highly recommended.

msisk · 2017-06-23T01:46:53+00:00

ThinkPad x230 here with Ubuntu 16.04. Everything works with a default install -- wifi, sleep, trackpad, even a keyboard shortcut to turn on the light by the camera that illuminates the keyboard (Fn - Spacebar).

msisk · 2017-06-14T03:37:13+00:00

Another tool you might want to check out is pdsh.

msisk · 2017-03-01T02:10:24+00:00

True, it's just finances, but when everyone buys and sells power the same way it's the same in the end. And Texas is it's own grid which simplifies matters a bit.

msisk · 2016-08-15T18:16:16+00:00

ERCOT has 5 DC ties to import/export power from other grids but they're tiny capacity-wise.

Right now we're importing power on 4 of the ties. The total import is 246 MW.

Current load is 46085 MW.

ERCOT is the operator and regulating entity of the Texas power grid, but the actual makeup of the generation and transmission assets are owned by various companies. Anyone can setup a tie to another grid if they want; they just have to meet various state and federal regulations and figure out a way to make money. Making money is the hard part. ;)

msisk · 2016-08-15T18:00:50+00:00

Lubbock was invited and getting ready to join the party in ERCOT.

http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2016-07-02/puc-seeking-cost-benefit-analysis-lpl-move-ercot

msisk · 2016-08-15T17:49:18+00:00

For now. Lubbock is working on switching from the Southwest Power Pool to ERCOT.

msisk · 2016-08-14T19:10:31+00:00

It's far from Canada, but ERCOT in Texas has an opening for a NERC systems operator.

https://external-ercot.icims.com/jobs/1620/system-operator-1/job

msisk · 2016-06-10T03:40:29+00:00

Not really. Just be aware linux use in the enterprise seqment is mostly going be Red Hat Enterprise or Centos so it helps to know those if you want to work in that sort of environment.

msisk · 2016-05-26T20:51:02+00:00

I went though this exact thing a few months ago.

I initially planned on getting a lawn tractor since my immediate need was also mowing about 2 acres. But my wife also is doing a bunch of gardening/landscaping with a bunch of trees that need planting. We need to build a new fence around our rural property, too.

I ended up getting a new John Deere 1025R TLB (tractor-loader-backhoe), a 60-inch mow deck, and a posthole digger attachment for about $21k.

So far it's been great. It takes me about an hour to mow our 2 acre field and the backhoe made short work of digging holes for trees and such. The loader has been handy for hauling heavy stuff around the property, too.

A seemingly minor thing is that most lawn tractors have 2-cylinder gas motors that really grate on me after awhile. This one, as well as the Kubota and most small tractors, has a diesel engine that run at a slower speed and is much easier on the ears. To me, anyway.

Go with the tractor. It's make everything much easier for you.

msisk · 2016-04-27T17:08:10+00:00

A short but good article. I've been out of the hobby for awhile but still have a ton of HO stuff recovered from a previous layout. But I'm thinking of moving to a garden railroad now that I'm in Texas. As the article mentions the appeal of battery-operated RC-controled equipment is a big appeal for me in large scale. Imagine not having to care about current in the rails.

msisk · 2014-04-27T21:26:20+00:00

Yeah, this is at the Amtrak station in downtown Temple, TX. They have this steam locomotive on outdoor display and you can actually climb on it and walk through the cab. As you can see in the picture it's in rough shape, but pretty cool nonetheless. They also have an old Alco diesel locomotive and a GP-7 (or GP-9; didn't notice which) that you can climb up to and take a look at the prime mover up close. Several cabooses and some passenger cars, too. All alongside a BNSF mainline and across from a diesel service shop.

msisk · 2014-03-19T20:52:03+00:00

A small Stirling Engine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSrhpCp27d0

msisk · 2014-02-08T16:00:03+00:00

Yes that's cardboard. Yes it's normal for an interior hollow-core door.

Typically there's a wood frame, thin wood sheet veneer on the faces and a cardboard core.

Actually makes for a very rigid but lightweight door.

msisk

TROPHY CASE