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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: July 12th, 2023

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  • If they’re considering optical media, typical BD-R, while viable, may not be be the best choice. BD-R M-Discs would probably be a better choice for backups. Especially if they’re planning on needing access to the data over a period of decades, which would be potentially useful for familiy photos/videos and critical documents.

    They are more expensive, as is the drive needed for them, but not by enough to be out of reach or even unreasonable given the additional durability of the discs.





  • One rule of thumb for cybersecurity is that if an attacker has physical control over your device for any period of time you should treat that device as if it is already compromised, because that is how generally easy it is to compromise something you have physical access to.

    However, do you actually have reason to suspect your roommate of being an attacker? Just because they have a degree, a job, and maybe some level of skill doesn’t mean they have the motivation, lack of integrity, and criminal intent to actually carry out such an attack.

    If you’re concerned about something like that, there are things you can do to mitigate risk, like setting start up passwords, using disk encryption, powering off devices you’re not actively using, and physically securing unattended devices. However, basically nothing you can reasonably do will stop a determined attacker if they live with you and thus have or can easily gain physical access to your devices.


  • I’ve tried submitting recategorization requests through the links provided by my workplace on the block pages. The requests have been denied.

    If I’m remembering right, it’s a Symantec web filtering solution that we use and they’ve decided that my domain is in the “personal blog” category. Which is a blocked category. Jeff Geerling’s website actually falls under the same category, which also kind of sucks, because I like reading some of the stuff he puts out.


  • pretty much the only reason I still use Plex is because I like to be able to watch stuff during downtime at work and plex.tv isn’t blocked on the work network while my private domain is.

    And no, using a hotspot off my phone on a personal computer isn’t an option, both because the security requirements of my job site prevent us from using personal devices in the main area where I work and because the building itself is a massive concrete structure that blocks most cell signals.





  • At least as I understand it (and there’s a good chance I’m wrong) there’s nothing in US law preventing a state from seceding. It was determined that the way the southern states decided to do it in the runup to the civil war was unconstitutional (and possibly treasonous? seditious? Something like that), but there’s no law saying a state can’t secede. It’s just that there’s no defined process for it and the only way it has been tried was determined to be wrong.

    From what I’ve read on the topic, there is technically a way it could be done. The country would basically have to follow the same process as passing a constitutional amendment, just with an additional step.

    • The state in question would have to pass a ballot measure to secede
    • The state house and Senate would have to ratify that measure with a 2/3rds super majority.
    • It would have to be passed as a ballot measure by the majority of the country.
    • The US house and senate would have to ratify that measure with a 2/3rds super majority.

    So, not technically impossible just so difficult that it is effectively impossible.





  • Yep, where I live, growing up I’d go trick-or-treating in waist deep snow (I was much smaller at the time, so more like knee deep on an adult). Now, first snow isn’t until mid November and we don’t get massive accumulation until mid-december.

    Both high temperatures in the summer and low temps in winter have also increased by like 10F. What used to be a major heat wave 15 years ago is now normal. Sub-zero temps used to be normal for weekly lows in late January into mid-late February. We have multiple false breakups each winter where temperatures get above freezing for days at a time and all of the snow starts melting.

    Shit’s very noticeable if you’re paying attention over time.


  • Depending on your setting and desired outcome for the poisoner, uraninite (aka pitchblende) might be an option. It has historical uses in glass making and pottery glazing, which could provide justification for why someone would have it.

    It contains Uranium, which is radioactive, but I don’t believe will bioaccumulate, but can build up on surfaces, tools, and clothing providing a source of long-term radiation exposure. In addition, it contains lead, which does bioaccumulate, providing a source of gradual long term poisoning as well as radium which also bioaccumulates and is radioactive, providing an additional source of longterm radiation exposure.


  • Calibre cant natively strip DRM from ebooks, but there are third-party plugins for it that can and integrate pretty seamlessly into the process of adding the book to your library.

    I used it to strip the DRM from all of my Amazon bought ebooks back before they removed the download option.