sqew's recent activity

  1. Comment on Ohio governor signs bill allowing armed school employees in ~news

    sqew
    Link Parent
    As someone who dislikes the US's unhealthy relationship with firearms but still thinks the engineering that goes into them is pretty fascinating, I have to say that the stuff that Sig has done...

    As someone who dislikes the US's unhealthy relationship with firearms but still thinks the engineering that goes into them is pretty fascinating, I have to say that the stuff that Sig has done with the XM5 to get it to fire those heavier, body armor piercing rounds while not blowing itself apart in military use is quite interesting from a technical perspective. Ian McCollum over at Forgotten Weapons did an overview/teardown of it recently and goes into a reasonable amount of detail if anyone's interested in learning about it.

    4 votes

  2. Comment on California imposes sweeping ban on pumping river water in San Joaquin Valley, Bay Area in ~enviro

    sqew
    Link Parent
    Probably barking up the wrong tree here, since I imagine their water usage is relatively constant, but as someone who flies over said deserts relatively often, I'll never get over seeing all the...

    more than 40% in the deserts of southeast California

    Probably barking up the wrong tree here, since I imagine their water usage is relatively constant, but as someone who flies over said deserts relatively often, I'll never get over seeing all the golf courses in the Palm Springs area from above. Just seems insane to be keeping that much grass alive in so many places all relatively close to each other in the desert.

    5 votes

  3. Comment on Broadcom announces plans to buy VMware in $61 billion deal in ~tech

    sqew
    Link Parent
    Dell seems to at least have some technical care left in them, though; with Broadcom I'm not so sure. I agree, though, fingers crossed. Hoping for the best but expectations are low, I guess.

    Dell seems to at least have some technical care left in them, though; with Broadcom I'm not so sure. I agree, though, fingers crossed. Hoping for the best but expectations are low, I guess.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Broadcom announces plans to buy VMware in $61 billion deal in ~tech

    sqew
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    Well, this leaves me supremely non-confident in VMware's future. Broadcom is one of my least favorite tech companies to deal with products from.

    Well, this leaves me supremely non-confident in VMware's future. Broadcom is one of my least favorite tech companies to deal with products from.

    6 votes

  5. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    sqew
    Link Parent
    Yeah, I should probably do the same. Get something working first and then see if it's worth improving... Same I get antsy with the idea of doing homebrew electronics and then leaving them...

    I think I'm going to abandon low-power dreams for now and go for path of least resistance

    Yeah, I should probably do the same. Get something working first and then see if it's worth improving...

    My only worry is water proofing

    Same I get antsy with the idea of doing homebrew electronics and then leaving them unattended near water haha.

    4 votes

  6. Comment on DARPA moving forward with nuclear thermal engine design in ~space

    sqew
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    Really excited to see an NTR moving towards maybe getting to fly sometime soonish! Hopefully we can see some awesome cislunar space tugs and people movers in all of our lifetimes, along with all...

    Really excited to see an NTR moving towards maybe getting to fly sometime soonish! Hopefully we can see some awesome cislunar space tugs and people movers in all of our lifetimes, along with all of the other awesome missions a working design might enable.

    4 votes

  8. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    sqew
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    Not something I've been working on for real yet, but I kinda want to make an automated watering system to keep some little plants I have alive when I'm gone. I figure it can probably be done with...

    Not something I've been working on for real yet, but I kinda want to make an automated watering system to keep some little plants I have alive when I'm gone. I figure it can probably be done with a moisture sensor, some servos, a microcontroller of some sort, and a battery, but one thing I thought of was safety with using a lithium battery for it since I haven't really done that before.

    I'm sure this is simpler than I think and a solved problem, but anyone have any experience/resources for sourcing/integrating batteries in DIY/maker stuff like that?

    7 votes

  9. Comment on Astra reveals details of next, larger rocket in ~space

    sqew
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    I'll be interested to see if those really are Firefly's Reaver engines on it, since they were apparently cagey about it. Still don't know if they'll be able to pull off selling 300kg up at ~$4m...

    I'll be interested to see if those really are Firefly's Reaver engines on it, since they were apparently cagey about it.

    Still don't know if they'll be able to pull off selling 300kg up at ~$4m long term, especially since they talk about constellation operators. Seems like the pricing for that would lean towards "buy a launch on a 10x used Falcon 9 and launch 20 at once".

    2 votes

  11. Comment on Recycled Russian warheads fuel US power plants (2013) in ~humanities

    sqew
    Link Parent
    Not sure how accurate this article actually is, but assuming the weapons-grade stuff was brought back down to the U235 concentrations normal for reactor fuel, I bet at least some of that 500 tons...

    Not sure how accurate this article actually is, but assuming the weapons-grade stuff was brought back down to the U235 concentrations normal for reactor fuel, I bet at least some of that 500 tons is still in reactors.

    4 votes

  12. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    sqew
    Link Parent
    Saw Linus Tech Tips' video on the device a week or two ago. Very cool tech, and you're doing even cooler stuff with it. Amazing work!

    Saw Linus Tech Tips' video on the device a week or two ago. Very cool tech, and you're doing even cooler stuff with it. Amazing work!

  13. Comment on The five most over-hyped tech devices in ~tech

    sqew
    Link Parent
    As I see it, Apple's thing has always been to let everyone else figure out how not to do something before showing up and dropping their beautiful, sleek, desirable solution. I'd guess that they'll...

    As I see it, Apple's thing has always been to let everyone else figure out how not to do something before showing up and dropping their beautiful, sleek, desirable solution. I'd guess that they'll eventually get into the glasses market, but not before Google, Snap, and some other companies have taken a few more shots at it.

    5 votes

  14. Comment on Got any new electronics? Tell me about them! in ~tech

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    I've picked up more tech than I'd like to admit in the last year, but the two that have been most interesting to me have been Apple's AirPods and a Vortex Pok3r mechanical keyboard. I was like a...

    I've picked up more tech than I'd like to admit in the last year, but the two that have been most interesting to me have been Apple's AirPods and a Vortex Pok3r mechanical keyboard.

    I was like a lot of people when AirPods first came out, making fun of them for being expensive and rather silly, but over time a number of my good friends grew to love theirs. I could never justify the price for myself, but a family member was kind enough to get a pair for me as a gift a few months ago. I was amazed by how quickly they replaced pretty much every other pair of headphones or earbuds I own, with the exception of my headset I use when gaming. Apple has done an amazing job of creating a seamless experience and packing it into a convenient little package.

    Unlike the AirPods, the keyboard was a spur of the moment purchase a few weeks ago. It's only my second mechanical keyboard, and my first keyboard ever that isn't full size (except my laptop, but that's slightly different in my opinion). So far, I'm really liking the small size, and the heft it's aluminum case gives it feels very nice. Still trying to get used to having function layers for keys that I used to be able to just reach for, but I think I'll come around eventually. At some point I really want to try using an ergodox or some other ergonomic keyboard to see how I like it, as I've been having more and more issues with wrist pain now that I'm working from home and sitting at my keyboard even more of the time than I did before.

    4 votes

  15. Comment on Got any new electronics? Tell me about them! in ~tech

    sqew
    Link Parent
    I can't speak for the parent commenter, but I think a lot of people are just interested in this type of hardware from a curiosity and maybe professional development standpoint. There's a whole lot...

    I can't speak for the parent commenter, but I think a lot of people are just interested in this type of hardware from a curiosity and maybe professional development standpoint. There's a whole lot of people on r/homelab on reddit with similar or significantly more advanced setups who are just doing it for fun.

    When I finally settle down into a longer term living arrangement, I'm planning to set up something similar to play with and maybe host any projects that I've got going on.

    6 votes

  16. Comment on Canadian scuba diver in Mexico accidentally discovers vast, prehistoric industrial complex in ~humanities

    sqew
    Link Parent
    The way I understood it was that the human activity was dated to ~12,000 years. If sea level rise after the last ice age was what flooded the caves, then that time range makes sense to me.

    The way I understood it was that the human activity was dated to ~12,000 years. If sea level rise after the last ice age was what flooded the caves, then that time range makes sense to me.

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Canadian scuba diver in Mexico accidentally discovers vast, prehistoric industrial complex in ~humanities

    sqew
    Link Parent
    I remember reading about that a few months ago and then seeing the recent articles about it being found. Amazing that it was real and was finally found.

    I remember reading about that a few months ago and then seeing the recent articles about it being found. Amazing that it was real and was finally found.

    1 vote

  18. Comment on Fires linked to fireworks erupt across SF, Bay Area in ~news

    sqew
    Link Parent
    Same here. Live in an urban area, and local cities have banned fireworks for as long as I can remember. There's usually some every July 4th, but it's been nonstop booms all day this year.

    Same here. Live in an urban area, and local cities have banned fireworks for as long as I can remember. There's usually some every July 4th, but it's been nonstop booms all day this year.

    1 vote

  19. Comment on How Vim became so popular in ~comp

    sqew
    Link Parent
    I appreciate the advice! Been away from Linux for a while and currently heading back, so reminders of things I've forgotten or not used much before are awesome.

    I appreciate the advice! Been away from Linux for a while and currently heading back, so reminders of things I've forgotten or not used much before are awesome.

  20. Comment on "An issue was experienced today during Rocket Lab's launch that caused the loss of the vehicle. The issue occurred late in the flight during the 2nd stage burn." in ~space

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    Really too bad for Rocket Lab and their customers on this launch. They've had an impressive string of successes for a newcomer to the launch industry. Hopefully they can figure things out quickly...

    Really too bad for Rocket Lab and their customers on this launch. They've had an impressive string of successes for a newcomer to the launch industry. Hopefully they can figure things out quickly and get back to flying. Space is hard!

    1 vote