cmccabe's recent activity

  1. Comment on Elon Musk has been in regular contact with Vladimir Putin in ~society

    cmccabe
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    The implications of a secret channel of communication between Musk and Putin are enormous for western security. The Tesla tycoon is a key player in the US space programme and has a high-level security clearance. His company SpaceX launches US national security satellites, his Starlink satellite communications system is critical to the war in Ukraine, and he runs one of the world’s biggest and most influential social media platforms, X, which has provided a vehicle for Russian disinformation campaigns.

    Furthermore, if Trump is elected on 5 November, Musk could play an important part in a new US administration. He has poured his own money into the campaign and made multiple personal appearances at rallies. Trump has suggested Musk could head a government commission on efficiency if he wins.

    “This is a story about oligarch capture of the US,” said Fiona Hill, who was the senior director for European and Russian affairs in the Trump White House. She compared the situation in the US now to the heyday of oligarchs in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.

    34 votes

  3. Comment on Halfbakery - a collection of half baked ideas in ~misc

    cmccabe
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    I'm a long time halfbaker and have posted (pseudonymously) over 60 ideas since 2009, and the site has been around for a lot longer than that (I think pre-2000). It's a really special place on the...

    I'm a long time halfbaker and have posted (pseudonymously) over 60 ideas since 2009, and the site has been around for a lot longer than that (I think pre-2000). It's a really special place on the internet that feels like it retains the non-commercial, personal project flavor of the early web. The site was built and continues to be run by jutta as a hobby project. If you dive in deep, you'll start to see a lot about the history of the site, including genius comedy from several "local celebrities". It's easy to spend a long time going deeper and deeper, and it still astounds me how many incredibly clever and highly articulate ideas have been posted over the years. There used to be a Wikipedia page on the site, but apparently the site isn't notable enough and the remnants are now only visible in past snapshots. I haven't posted much in the past few years, but once in a while I'll get a case of mental cabin fever and log back in. It's definitely one of my favorite places on the internet.

    11 votes

  4. Comment on How do you keep your home smelling nice? in ~life.home_improvement

    cmccabe
    Link Parent
    Yes, this is true. One way to change that smell is often to repaint the walls and ceilings, because paint can trap and hold odors for a long time. In addition to paint, going after all surfaces in...

    Yes, this is true. One way to change that smell is often to repaint the walls and ceilings, because paint can trap and hold odors for a long time. In addition to paint, going after all surfaces in the house may also help, including floors and possibly ventilation shafts. In OP’s case, stripping and re-waxing the floor seems like it would have to be part of this unfortunately very labor intensive anti-odor effort.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on Finding a sewing machine in ~hobbies

    cmccabe
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    My daughter got an old Singer sewing machine earlier this year and I helped her get started. There are great tips in this thread and all I can add are: (1) carefully learn the mechanics of how...

    My daughter got an old Singer sewing machine earlier this year and I helped her get started. There are great tips in this thread and all I can add are: (1) carefully learn the mechanics of how your machine works so you can avoid damage, do basic preventative maintenance and repair, and know when it’s time to consult a real repair person. You’ll find there are a lot of enthusiast communities online (some good, some less than helpful) and some have great guides showing how specific models work. And (2) ask around your local sewing community for people who work on old sewing machines. If you can find “that one person” who has been working on these machines for 40+ years, their advice and maintenance support is golden. We lucked out and found someone like this and our old Singer is now a rock solid and perfectly tuned-up machine.

    For fun, if you’re interested, we got a 1960’s Singer Style-o-Matic 328. It has been fun tinkering with it and learning how it works. The goal is eventually to get a Singer Featherweight, but I’ve never seen one that is cheap enough that I’d buy it for a second machine.

    2 votes

  6. Comment on Linguaphiles of Tildes: where do you get your words? in ~humanities.languages

    cmccabe
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    Haha, I don't read him just for the words, but it is a good point. I haven't read either of the authors you mentioned so I'll put them on the list. Thanks!

    Haha, I don't read him just for the words, but it is a good point. I haven't read either of the authors you mentioned so I'll put them on the list. Thanks!

    1 vote

  7. Linguaphiles of Tildes: where do you get your words?

    ~humanities.languages Ask (survey)
    If you love language, etymology, or just plain collecting interesting words, where do you look to feed your interest? I’ve seen many RobWords (YouTube) posts here, and I really like his content. I...

    If you love language, etymology, or just plain collecting interesting words, where do you look to feed your interest? I’ve seen many RobWords (YouTube) posts here, and I really like his content. I also love the traditional word hunt through reading authors like Dickens.

    In addition to “where do you look?”, what does your hobby look like? Do you keep lists of words that you review and learn about? Do you make effort to include your newly found words in writing or conversation? I have the (probably very annoying) habit of interrupting a conversation to say, “you know, there is an interesting word for that!”. What else do you do?

    19 votes

  8. Comment on What things do you have are surprisingly good / handy? in ~life

    cmccabe
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    I generally just buy the cheap ones. Most recently I got Craftsman "heavy duty" blades (100-pack for $6) and they work really well, but I doubt they're tougher than generic blades.

    I generally just buy the cheap ones. Most recently I got Craftsman "heavy duty" blades (100-pack for $6) and they work really well, but I doubt they're tougher than generic blades.

    4 votes

  9. Comment on What things do you have are surprisingly good / handy? in ~life

    cmccabe
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    A razor blade, in the form of a Gerber Gear EAB Lite utility knife. Replacement blades are frequently on sale for less than 10c each. I use mine many times a day for a wide variety of uses. Other...

    A razor blade, in the form of a Gerber Gear EAB Lite utility knife. Replacement blades are frequently on sale for less than 10c each. I use mine many times a day for a wide variety of uses. Other than door keys and my albatross of a smartphone, I’ve never carried anything in my pocket that has been as frequently used.

    5 votes

  10. Comment on Los Angeles police department warns residents after spike in burglaries using Wi-Fi jammers that disable security cameras, smart doorbells in ~tech

    cmccabe
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    Are there devices for platforms like Home Assistant that will sound an alarm when wifi signal jamming is detected? Does wifi jamming even produce a distinct fingerprint?

    Are there devices for platforms like Home Assistant that will sound an alarm when wifi signal jamming is detected? Does wifi jamming even produce a distinct fingerprint?

    6 votes

  11. Comment on Slugs - how are you coping? in ~life.home_improvement

    cmccabe
    Link Parent
    A recipe like that definitely sounds more cost effective when doing it at scale. We used long-expired beer and we were only guarding a small area of the yard.

    A recipe like that definitely sounds more cost effective when doing it at scale. We used long-expired beer and we were only guarding a small area of the yard.

    3 votes

  12. Comment on Slugs - how are you coping? in ~life.home_improvement

    cmccabe
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    In the past we’ve placed shallow bowls of beer anywhere the slugs might pass through. The downside is you have to regularly scoop a surprisingly large number of dead slugs from the bowls. It can...

    In the past we’ve placed shallow bowls of beer anywhere the slugs might pass through. The downside is you have to regularly scoop a surprisingly large number of dead slugs from the bowls. It can be pretty gross.

    3 votes

  13. Comment on Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news in ~news

    cmccabe
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    Anderson Cooper tries mustard on a hot dog for the first time. See his reaction (This was the original front page CNN.com headline. I kid you not. I even took a screenshot because I knew I might...

    Anderson Cooper tries mustard on a hot dog for the first time. See his reaction (This was the original front page CNN.com headline. I kid you not. I even took a screenshot because I knew I might doubt my own memory.)
    https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/14/us/video/anderson-cooper-mustard-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-harry-enten-ac360-cprog-digvid

    My contribution might be considered dark humor because it is an example of how utterly useless many mainstream news websites have become. I'll go on for days about problems with ideological biases motivating many new outlets, right and left, but another big problem is the amount of hollow, trivial non-news that gets pushed through "news" websites. I guess this is just a reminder that if you're looking for news on mainstream news websites, you're looking in the wrong place.

    3 votes

  14. Comment on I am sick of "providing feedback" in ~life

    cmccabe
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    I'm not posting to disagree but to point out that there is a difference between SuperMegaMonster Corporation asking for feedback and similar requests from small businesses. For small businesses...

    I'm not posting to disagree but to point out that there is a difference between SuperMegaMonster Corporation asking for feedback and similar requests from small businesses. For small businesses like restaurants, barber shops, doctors, etc, the requests are often not just about measuring forms of customer engagement, but about encouraging positive reviews and solving problems before a bad review occurs. I know from a few friends with small businesses that positive reviews can have a very beneficial impact on their business, while negative reviews can be devastating. The owners of these businesses would rather be providing their main services than asking for your feedback, but the impact of online reviews unfortunately forces them to proactively engage you on your potential review.

    54 votes

  15. Comment on Have you ever "homebrewed" fermented beverages? in ~food

    cmccabe
    Link Parent
    Good idea. Any chance you have the recipe he used? I found several recipes online, most of them using "root beer extract", which is... root beer flavored syrup? But I did find a few others with a...

    Good idea. Any chance you have the recipe he used?

    I found several recipes online, most of them using "root beer extract", which is... root beer flavored syrup? But I did find a few others with a mix of herbs.

    I also found that root beer was originally made with sassafras, but "In 1960, lab studies on rats found that a compound in sassafras root caused cancer in rats, leading to the ban of sassafras root extract by the FDA." So I'll be looking at the less-carcinogenic recipes.

  16. Comment on Have you ever "homebrewed" fermented beverages? in ~food

    cmccabe
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    Not home brewing in the common sense, but I've made ginger ale using the simplest recipe possible: water, sugar, yeast and ground ginger in a reused (but super clean) two-liter bottle. Although I...

    Not home brewing in the common sense, but I've made ginger ale using the simplest recipe possible: water, sugar, yeast and ground ginger in a reused (but super clean) two-liter bottle. Although I think the idea of home brewing beer is pretty neat, I rarely drink alcohol these days so I wouldn't know what to do with that much beer. I also rarely drink soda, but the investment in two-liters of soda is really small. I'll probably try other brewed sodas in the future. Anyone want to suggest another flavor?

    11 votes

  17. Comment on Barkley Marathons 2024 live updates in ~sports

    cmccabe
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    An obsessive running friend of mine told me about the Barkley several years back and now it's my go-to conversation topic whenever I talk with other runners (because I don't know enough about...

    An obsessive running friend of mine told me about the Barkley several years back and now it's my go-to conversation topic whenever I talk with other runners (because I don't know enough about running to talk about normal topics). I second the Race-That-Eats-Its-Young recommendation from @time_and_tildes above. And now, I'm off to watch Where Dreams Go To Die.

    3 votes

  18. Comment on Montana man, 80, pleads guilty to creating giant mutant hybrid bighorns in ~science

    cmccabe
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    Can someone add a “cloning” tag?

    Can someone add a “cloning” tag?

    2 votes

  19. Comment on I fixed my dryer myself in ~life.home_improvement

    cmccabe
    Link Parent
    I wonder how many of those fires are due to clogged exhaust vents. That’s a good caution either way.

    I wonder how many of those fires are due to clogged exhaust vents. That’s a good caution either way.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets in ~life.pets

    cmccabe
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    No photos yet, but it looks like fate will be dropping an 11-month-old cavapoo in my lap this week. A friend of a friend is experiencing a life event and needs to find a new home for her dog. My...

    No photos yet, but it looks like fate will be dropping an 11-month-old cavapoo in my lap this week. A friend of a friend is experiencing a life event and needs to find a new home for her dog. My kids are going absolutely bonkers over the idea so I’m likely in position that would make it hard to refuse. Not that I’m complaining though. He’s a really cute and friendly dog.

    7 votes