Not fully related, but early TV remotes used sound rather than IR. The buttons made a distinctive “click” noise, from a mechanical mechanism. The different clicks were detected in the TV and used as input.

Plus side, no batteries to deal with.

Down side, about as (un)reliable as you would expect.

I need to jump back into that story. 😁

Tbh, I would love an appropriate pair. I have issues with memory, particularly regarding faces. A set of smart glasses would be an almost perfect aid to me.

Unfortunately, I don’t trust any of the manufacturers not to abuse the hell out of all the data they generate. I’m also fully aware of the idiots abusing them, and ruining things for everyone else.

I’ve actually got one myself. I would have to get creative to get it recharged from my solar panels. The inverter is grid tied, and would need to be bypassed.

The original comment was talking about having a server up. That, and the networking kit to make it useful, would draw quite a bit. A lot more than you would get with a portable solar panel in the UK. To keep that up would require significant panels and storage capability, which implies fixed solar. Hence my comment warning them.

I know a few people who thought they would be fine in a power cut, due to having solar. I set them straight on that, before it caught them flat footed at least.

Supermarkets rely on just in time deliveries. We learnt during COVID that even a slight delay can cause problems. Enough people then panic buy to snowball it.

It would take remarkably few road closures to leave towns isolated from supply chains. A 72 hour buffer is very useful in those cases. Even if it’s just to relieve short term pressure on those supply chains when they reconnect.

FYI, most home solar setups are grid tied. This lets you sell power to the grid, as well as supplement it with grid power, when required. The downside is that it goes down with the grid, so not to back feed and electrocute linesmen.

To go independent you need a more expensive system with a fail over mode. It drops out with the mains, but then fires a switch that disconnects you from the grid. It can then fire up again in off-grid mode. The reverse process is needed to reconnect to the grid.

A lot technically are electric motorbikes (or would be under UK law, where I live).

To be an ebike, it needs to have no more than 250W peak power, have a power assist speed limit of 25kph (15mph) and require pedaling for power assist.

If it goes outside any of these, it becomes a electric motorbike, and requires a numberplate, insurance etc.

These rules seem very reasonable to me. Though I can see an argument for a slightly higher power limit for electric cargo bikes (400/500W). They are also starting to be enforced more critically now.

I’ve no issues with electric dirt bikes, but they belong with the road traffic at that point, not on the cycling infrastructure.

It’s a mix here. Those in private businesses tend to be open and easy to grab. The ones in a box on a street corner are code locked.

I suspect it makes sense. The slight delay would be fairly minimal. You are likely on the phone to emergency services already.

It’s quite effective at stopping people messing with them however. Unfortunately, it only takes a few idiots to ruin things. Both thieves and bored teenagers could take an interest in them, and render them useless. A simple code lock makes it clear it’s not to be touched without need.

I’ve not looked closely enough to see if any have a “break glass” type access system as well.

Thankfully (for me) smoking has collapsed in the UK in the last decade or so. A lot of that is down to vaping. Unfortunately, it’s almost entirely the conscientious smokers who changed over. The end result is I would rather try and move on a bunch of heroin addicts than a group of smokers. They also have an annoying habit of standing upwind, rather than downwind.

She was an incredibly skilled and capable politician. However, I would also happily piss on her grave for what she did with that skill and capability.

It depends on the type. Celiac is gut based, but there are other intolerances and allergies. Some are contact based.

You think they don’t already?

The difference is that it doesn’t have a big flashy public name. It will be an informal network of diplomats and knowledgeable command staff.

The conservatives closed and sold most of the branch lines. They also privatised the trains.

Basically, they completely fucked us, long term, for short term gains.

I don’t like little flimsy phones. However, my current phone is at the upper limits of what I consider reasonable.

It’s a ulefone 27T pro
Height: 182.8 mm
Width: 86.8 mm
Depth: 18.5 mm
Weight: 441 grams

I would say 500g is likely my hard limit, outside of special circumstances. As it stands, it doubles as a self defence weapon.

It’s also worth adding, if your child comes to you, having fucked up, don’t berate them, they already know. E.g. sent nudes to someone who is now trying to blackmail them. It’s so easy to do, under the pressure, but you must resist.

Instead thank them for coming to you, and let them know you can fix it together, they are not alone. You can discuss what they should have done, and what to do in the future once you’re both thoroughly past emotional reactions to it. Till then you’re in protection mode, not teaching mode.

Social guard rails over software.

My setup has basic protections to stop them stumbling into things they shouldn’t be looking at. It’s intended as a bumper, not a barrier. I know I won’t be able to make it impenetrable without also making it almost unusable. Even then, that doesn’t solve things, if they are around a friend’s etc.

Instead, I talk through things with them, in an age appropriate manner. If you can get a continuous conversation going then you don’t need to lock things down hard. It might get awkward and embarrassing for you, but it’s far more effective in the long run.

This might also be of interest to you. https://media.ccc.de/v/emf2026-159-1-mum-can-i-play-roblox-navigating-online-gaming-safety

That’s still survivable below 40% humidity. We can deal with a wet bulb temperature of 35°C or below. At 47°C that works out at around 40% humidity.

The wonders of an active cooling system.

Depending what you want it for, but a sports massage is possibly a good option.

I’ve had a few for work related muscle tension issues. It’s a different mentality to the massage parlours. It’s also a lot more effective at problem solving, rather than feel good relaxing.

Sometimes it’s an unpleasant balancing act. If you punish too excessively, then it causes more harm. Companies that would have cooperated, or even come forward voluntarily, will, instead, bury the info. This can slow/stop the recall process and lead to more harm.

We don’t know enough details about what happened in the background to judge too harshly. They might have bent over backwards, behind the scenes to help fix the damage (or the regulators were lazy).

Most of the cost is production and taxes. If demand falls, production resources (land etc) are diverted to more profitable crops. This makes supply fall until prices reach a new equilibrium.

Taxes then add a fixed offset to that.