@targetdrone@mastodon.social avatar

targetdrone

@targetdrone@mastodon.social

Hacking computers since 1973, and so happy that there's always more than ever to learn! Long time developer turned to #cryptography and #InfoSec by day; #SDR, #3Dprinting, #homeassistant and #homeautomation, and any ridiculously shiny subject that crosses my feeds by night.

As for other people, all are welcome on my lawn. Except nazis. I hate those guys.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. For a complete list of posts, browse on the original instance.

pluralistic , to random
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EVs won't save the planet. Ultimately, the material bill for billions of individual vehicles and the unavoidable geometry of more cars-more traffic-more roads-greater distances-more cars dictate that the future of our cities and planet requires public transit - lots of it.

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/26/unplanned-obsolescence/#better-micetraps

1/

targetdrone ,
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@peterbrown @pluralistic Almost all passenger vehicles become "very greedy" over 60, regardless of fuel type. EVs just put the power number conveniently on the dashboard so you can see it for yourself.

pluralistic , to random
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"We do not guarantee steaks cooked medium well or above"

targetdrone ,
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@pluralistic A friend was a director at a very fancy hotel in downtown Minneapolis, and would treat his new employees to a giant porterhouse in the restaurant. One new guy sat down and asked for someone to pass the ketchup. He gave him an icy stare and told him "if you put one drop of ketchup on that steak you will only ever be served hotdogs after this meal."

He wisely learned something new that day.

pluralistic , to random
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Solar is a market for (financial) lemons; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/27/here-comes-the-sun-king/

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targetdrone ,
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@pluralistic A few years ago I asked for a quote from the local big-name company who came in with a $43k bid on a 20 year financing plan. The panels, hardware, and inverters worked out to $17k market price. $43k was also exactly how much electricity it was projected to generate over 20 years at current rates. I think their bidding process was to subtract the hardware cost from the estimate and write down the balance as "installation and project management costs."

We didn't buy it.

laurahelmuth , to random
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A recent AI survey "emphasizes baseless speculation about human extinction ... Such vague, hyped-up notions are dangerous because they draw attention away from mundane but much more urgent issues that are happening right now” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ai-survey-exaggerates-apocalyptic-risks/ by @stokel

targetdrone ,
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@feliz @laurahelmuth @stokel @pluralistic And don't forget polluting the worldwide pool of information with machine generated hallucinations that are indistinguishable from factual data provided by subject matter experts.

pluralistic , to random
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

We're living in the , in which the forces of enshittification are turning everything from our cars to our streaming services to our dishwashers into thoroughly enshittifified piles of shit. Call it the Great Enshittening:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/09/lead-me-not-into-temptation/#chamberlain

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/13/solidarity-forever/#tech-unions

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A pair of early 20th century women strikers in formal dresses with sashes reading 'PICKET STRIKERS.' The left striker's head has been replaced with a 'hacker-in-a-hoodie' cliche. The left one's jacket has been turned Deliveroo blue. She's wearing a matching bike helmet and carrying a Deliveroo food-delivery insulated backpack. They are posed on a background of a giant union conference at Madison Square Gardens, under a banner reading 'ON WITH THE STRIKE! ON TO VICTORY!'
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    • targetdrone ,
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    @pluralistic Being one of Chamberlain's many enshittification victims, I bought a "ratgdo" (Rage Against The Garage Door Opener), a small $30 circuit that hooks to a Chamberlain-brand garage door opener and lets me control it locally with . I then disconnected my opener from the official MyQ site and deleted their app.

    It's a small victory, but I savored it.

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