Douglas

@MaryAustinBooks@mstdn.social @iakobsdesamos@xarxa.cloud @dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org it's been a few years since I've updated my blog but I still host the whole thing back to the early days of personal websites. And you can too! Whenever you write can become part of training data sets and you can have some fun with that.

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @LabSpokane@mas.to @mlanger@mastodon.world I would assume any material has its challenges in a marine environment. The Western Flyer is a good example of what it takes to restore a derelict wooden vessel. https://www.classicboat.co.uk/articles/western-flyer-restoration-the-john-steinbeck-fishing-seiner/

@intrepidhero@mastodon.social @mlanger@mastodon.world @bhhaskin@social.bitsofsimplicity.com @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @LabSpokane@mas.to from what I've read and my friends who work on cruise ships down there, it's the passage that sucks. Once you're actually around Antarctica it's not too bad as long as you don't hit something. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21935099

@LabSpokane@mas.to @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @mlanger@mastodon.world all because it is very historic and folkloric! And it's pretty much the last of its kind that's still sailing. The boat is absolutely gorgeous though. A number of our friends work with the foundation and everyone absolutely loves it. The crew that took it to the sea of Cortez a year or two ago found it to be fantastic.

@LabSpokane@mas.to @mlanger@mastodon.world just get some bungs and a mallet, and everything will work out 😅

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange @SpaceLifeForm@infosec.exchange And we can also sell compute time on human brains.

Over on Instagram, the AI porn slop is increasing at an exponential rate. It's infecting the reels especially. The realism is definitely getting better but there are still many telltale signs such as it getting past the automated censors. I just want to see trains and trucks and forests and mountains (beyond stuff that people I care about only post there and no they won't be convinced to move and no I'm not going to abandon them) but instead every third thing is ai porn now. The weirdest has been a few explicitly disabled an porn accounts. And extreme body modification. It doesn't seem to matter if I block individual accounts, scroll as fast as possible by, or any other things I'm doing or not doing. It certainly is making me cut down on how much I'm using the site. But I still go to see what some friends are posting and what my 👰🏼‍♀️ sends me on there. I'm so tired 🫩

@intrepidhero@mastodon.social @mlanger@mastodon.world @bhhaskin@social.bitsofsimplicity.com @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @LabSpokane@mas.to and the Northwest Passage. Although at this point it's only serious conversation with my wife. But in recent months she's changed her tune about never ever living on a boat again (she used to work on fishing boats and later dive boats that would be at sea for days or weeks at a time).

@mlanger@mastodon.world @bhhaskin@social.bitsofsimplicity.com @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @LabSpokane@mas.to with what I want to do, I'm going to need an impact resistant hull. And one that I can scrape against ice and rocks 😅😅😅

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org I wonder... But being a Tesla, I automatically doubt his story.

It's been 25 years and a day or two since I was bitten by a dog while working for the power company on a line crew outside Sheridan, Oregon. And then a week later I quit and went to college rather than stay in the union.

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org hmm well you could come take some of the flowers off of our cactuses if you want to try making soup. These cactuses just keep blooming. I think they're San Pedro cactuses though and I'm not sure if the psychoactive substance is in the flowers or not. Could be a fun experiment lol

Hmmm #ATTFiber raised the bill $5/mo to $85/mo for symmetric gigabit. But they're giving it to new customers for $50. Anyone have the script for how I get my bill reduced?

Meanwhile on the opposite end of the country, someone is protesting #flock cameras by holding a sign in front of one to block its view. Of course with the signals sniffing these devices are likely doing, the camera becomes less important. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbOHgAnSqnq/ From the comments, it appears he's not been arrested yet and might still be there.

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org the vibe is right

When I was getting gas, the guy at the pump next to me had a diesel pickup. He saw I was driving a manual transmission pickup and got to talking to me. He used to have a manual transmission gas pickup and got the diesel pickup because of needing to tow and haul but these days he's really regretting it with $8.25/gal diesel and getting 16 mpg. We saw him down in Big Sur towing a trailer later so he probably drove about 100 miles today which would have cost him about $50. Federal vehicle mileage reimbursement rates are going to need to change 😬

@mlanger@mastodon.world yes all on Instagram.

And now someone ran three #flock cameras over in Monterey county. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbWz9wXTJ36/ I guess we're in for an interesting few months with how this is suddenly progressing.

@chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.ca @MatWright@mastodon.social we won't really know the condition for a day or two until damage assessment teams can get in and then it could be some time before the true extent of damage is known. In the Eaton Fire a year or two back, the deep space network control facility at the jet propulsion lab had to be evacuated and they had to fall back to the backup control facility out at the Goldstone site. This network is certainly going through a full exercise of its emergency and contingency plans as of late.

Here are two videos of the fire fighting helicopters passing over Nepenthe and dipping water out of a pond in #BigSur on the #TimberFire https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcVDjfTS2JvPRHdQDwokTaV31w5btP7dkhyovY0/ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcVEE1gSWotw7_sXaGxponjB6sI0wjm5fvlev00/ Sorry on the insta links but I don't have a fedi longer video option setup so this is how I'm posting quick videos.

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org Guidance for Confirming Law Enforcement Identity Federal agencies operating in Oregon have confirmed that officers conducting official operations must clearly identify themselves as law enforcement. They also reiterated that anyone who falsely represents themselves as a federal immigration officer will face criminal prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. Impersonating law enforcement jeopardizes public safety, creates unnecessary fear and confusion, and undermines trust in legitimate agencies. If you are unsure whether a traffic stop or law enforcement contact is legitimate, consider the following safety tips: If the vehicle stopping you is not a marked unit, the emergency lights should be built in and are usually not a temporary light placed on the vehicle. Try to stop in a well-lit area or a location where there are a lot of people present. Turn on your emergency flashers, but don’t turn off your car. Lock your door. Look for a uniform or other official department clothing. If you are unsure, ask the officer to display their department identification and badge. Ask where they work and if you can contact their dispatch center to confirm their identity. You may also ask for a marked patrol unit to respond. In Oregon, local, state, and federal law enforcement officers may not wear face coverings except in specific circumstances and must clearly display identification showing the agency they represent.

$5.39/gal at the Costco gas station in Sand City/Seaside/Monterey, California.

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange @LPerry2@mastodon.social Is that why I hoard books and old cables and power adapters? 🤔 Also local artwork. And tools. So many tools. And data. Terabytes of data. My poor progeny are going to have to go through a heck of a lot of data.

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org so it's a lagging cycle 😬😬😬 And how do we restart the Gulf Stream? 😬😬😬

Well that's definitely a bad situation https://www.flashalert.net/id/OSPOre/189995 ======= OSP Investigating Report Of Individuals Impersonating Law Enforcement (Photo) - 07/24/26 CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. (24 July 2026) – The Oregon State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating a report of individuals impersonating law enforcement officers in Clackamas County and is asking for the public's assistance. On Friday, July 17, 2026, between approximately 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., the victim was driving on Highway 211 near milepost 5, east of Woodburn, when they observed a vehicle displaying red and blue emergency-style lights behind them. Believing they were being stopped by law enforcement, the victim pulled over onto a gravel turnout. Two men exited the suspect vehicle, one of whom was armed with a rifle. The suspects identified themselves as "ICE" and told the victim they were being detained. The victim was forcibly removed from their vehicle, searched, and placed into the back seat of the suspects' vehicle. A third individual, who remained in the vehicle and was described as acting as a "guard," assaulted the victim while they were detained. After approximately 15 to 20 minutes, the suspects released the victim and told them they were free to leave. The suspects were described as wearing boots, baseball caps, face coverings, and green long-sleeve shirts. They wore tactical vests displaying “POLICE” in white lettering and carried badges marked “Police.” The suspect vehicle was described as a newer model smaller SUV, blue or gray in color, with no visible license plates. The victim later sought medical treatment for injuries sustained during the incident. While at an area hospital, the victim began receiving text messages from a phone number claiming to represent a law firm offering legal representation related to the incident. The messages originated from phone number 971-502-5548. OSP investigators have contacted federal law enforcement agencies, who confirmed the individuals involved were not federal officers.

The flash flood at Phantom Ranch and Bright Angel Creek could end up with a pretty hefty body count 😬😬 And they've had to shut down river travel because bridges got washed out and into the river. The Grand Canyon isn't messing around this weekend.

Well that's a new way to commit arson. https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/kitsap-arson-torches-house-golf-cart Yes there's a video in that link. ---- PORT ORCHARD, Wash. - A Kitsap County, Washington man is accused of torching a house from his golf cart, all while his dog watched from the passenger seat. Surveillance video shows a 47-year-old Kitsap County man driving up to a house in a golf cart with his dog, using a torch and spray canister to set the garage on fire while the homeowner was inside. A witness saw the whole thing, and was approached by the 47-year-old suspect, who allegedly claimed he was with the fire department, before waving his torch at him and trying to run him over with his golf cart. Washington State troopers quickly tracked the suspect down and took him into custody. The fire caused an estimated $150,000–$175,000 in damage to the house, and destroyed a $25,000 car. The homeowner was not injured in the arson, and told police they have no idea who the suspect is or why their house was targeted.

So what would happen if net carbon emissions went to zero today? Would we be stuck at 429ppm for a very long time or would the CO2 slowly get absorbed via geologic and biological processes? Is this a situation where we need to start planting a ton of trees and then burying them to permanently sequester carbon back in the ground as fast as possible (unlike all of the crazy schemes to somehow sequester carbon via mechanical means)? What do the realistic paths back to 275 ppm look like? Are there any?

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org the post has additional info from the Oregon State Police on what to do if you aren't sure they're real cops but I'm pretty sure that's what's causing people to get shot so 🤷🏼‍♀️

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange @LPerry2@mastodon.social "why did grandpa take 759 photos of the same network closet?" "well I found 18 different versions of the same manual for a popcorn maker." "that's nothing! I just found a terabyte of time lapse videos of fog drifting over Monterey. There's gotta be two years of fog movies here. But you can only see the fog and a few treetops so it's not really that interesting."

Wow Mount Hood Meadows ski resort got evacuated because of the approaching Grasshopper Fire. The live cams are still up and running at Meadows so perhaps we'll all get to watch the place burn today if the east winds don't stop 😬 https://www.skihood.com/mountain-report/mountain-cams The Grasshopper Fire already burned an iconic fire lookout a few days ago and has consumed most of the Badger Creek Wilderness. It looks like they're getting worried it'll spill out to the south into the historic Barlow Trail area. That area already had a fire a few years ago so perhaps it won't be as bad this time if this fire gets there.

I'm a little surprised the flash flooding outside #Boise #Idaho hasn't gotten more attention. It took out a bunch of vehicles at the Grand Jean Trailhead and Campground. https://idahonews.com/news/local/flash-flood-near-grand-jean-trailhead-traps-destroys-vehicles-and-campers I don't think anyone got killed but it's pretty amazing they didn't. This is downhill from a significant burn scar of course.

I've been trying to diagnose intermittent dropped packets, high latency, and WAN disconnects on a DSL connection at a remote site for months. The ISP has had many techs come out and try to fix it on their end. Today I ran some tests with disabling different equipment at the site to try and narrow down if something is inducing these issues upstream of the router. It seems like perhaps the #proxmox server or VMs or LXCs, the KVM dongle for remote access, the TrippLite PDU, or the five port switch all of that is plugged into might be to blame. However, this has been an intermittent problem so I'm not entirely convinced that I've isolated the problem. It could just be that when I was testing it was acting up in a specific way. I'm not physically at the site and my local support can't physically get to where the switch is (on top of a high cabinet) so I can't easily disconnect individual devices and the switch, while it has a management interface, is not the easiest to figure out what is plugged into what port. I think what I can do is move Pulse and Uptime Kuma LXCs to operate locally at the site rather than remotely. That'll take off some network traffic (the site is bridged to another site). I could also upgrade the switches at the site with something more user friendly. This is the site where I've blown up a half dozen switches and never could really figure out why until I kicked most things off the wired network and onto Wi-Fi. It could have been a ground loop between different buildings, a faulty device somewhere, or a bad cable. But also I don't want to throw parts at something that might not need parts. I've done packet inspection and nothing looks amiss. Nothing is trying to talk to the Internet in a weird way. No security issues that I've seen. Nothing rogue on the network. I'm not really sure what to do at this point. This is so perplexing. #networkAdmin

And here are some photos of Deetjen's in case you need a reason to go to #BigSur for breakfast. It's our favorite breakfast place in Big Sur and everyone is wonderful there. They definitely could use some business these next few weeks while tourists are staying away.

I wonder how nervous all these hyperscale data center projects are getting watching the Wildberries warehouses burn. The Amazon facility that got hit in the Gulf is an interesting case study in what could happen. The most vulnerable bit would be the substation or electric yard. Then after that it would be the cooling systems which are more spread out. That would knock a facility offline immediately although it could be repaired and back online in weeks to months. Actually burning down an entire facility and taking all of the servers with it would be a bit more tough (require more energetic materials). The recent spate of warehouse fires in the USA is also instructive. It seems that at least in a few cases the fire suppression systems did not work. I wonder if that's also what's happening to those Wildberries warehouses... Maybe their fire suppression systems aren't working. Can data centers and logistics warehouses buy or lease air defense systems? Hmmm perhaps air defense systems for warehouses and data centers will be a growth industry soon. And followed shortly thereafter by underground data centers. There are plenty of abandoned mines that could start hosting servers.

@paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @LPerry2@mastodon.social Nor will we bring up my growing collection of model trains nor the propensity of people to give me model trains.

@LPerry2@mastodon.social @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org My grandmother is like this. We're going through her house now as she is in assisted living and won't be able to be on her own anymore. There is enough paper products (tissues, towels, paper plates, napkins, etc.) from the Carter administration to last until the end of the second Barron Trump administration.

@mattblaze@federate.social @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org sometimes you want something typed but not on a digital format. Ya know ... Like writing a manifesto.

We went down again to #BigSur today to have a late breakfast at Deetjen's. They didn't have much business but it was their first day open again. Nepenthe looked pretty empty when we drove by there, too. When we were finishing our meal at Deetjen's, Matt came over and told us the road block was being removed and the road was reopening right then. Instead of heading back north, we went south to McWay Falls which we basically had to ourselves and on and over Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, through Fort Hunter Liggett, and back up the 101. There was a C130 operating with a lead plane over the southern end of the fire. The smoke from the #TimberFire burning into the Ventana wilderness was thick heading east and made the Salinas Valley an interesting sepia color. It looks like the fire is going to keep charging into the wilderness. I wouldn't be surprised if it reached Tassajara in the next few weeks.

@ikluft@avgeek.social sounds like everyone is about to get assigned more simulator time 😅😬

@ikluft@avgeek.social it feels like having the stick do two very different things when it's in two different operating modes maybe isn't the best human factors design decision.

@dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org There isn't a "big mood" style of expression big enough to express the size of the mood I'm currently experiencing from your toot. This was all a mistake. We should go back to disconnected BBSes. Or maybe ditch all the digital stuff and return to encyclopedias.

@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org so what did he do to piss off those dudes enough to cause that. Or is this insurance fraud.

@paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange @LPerry2@mastodon.social @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org she was prepared to make a whole bunch of tin foil hats.

Pro tip: don't discharge a Taser next to a gas pump. There's a first person video in this article from the guy who got tased https://www.jalopnik.com/2226689/man-tased-and-caught-fire-by-cop/ And here's a third person video https://www.instagram.com/reel/DblAvrBgUdE/

@mlanger@mastodon.world it's crazy how expensive diesel is these days. There must be some significant refining capacity missing somewhere. Or this is so about a month before the fall election, prices can come way down.