Blog Index

Use your iPhone or Android as webcam input to OBS on Linux, macOS, or Windows

(Tue Jul 26 2022 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) It's good to create online video alongside your blog posts. OBS Studio is an excellent tool for recording video at your computer, and it's possible to use your smart phone (iPhone or Android) camera as a video input.

Services, like OpenAI's GPT-3, could mean the death of blogging/journalism or else a massive wave of fake news

(Sat Jan 15 2022 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) Automation is coming to a task we thought was unautomatable - writing. The AI researchers at OpenAI have developed a trained "AI Model" from zillions of text documents with which new written works can be easily generated. The demo shows news articles being automatically generated from sports commentary transcripts. What writing task will they go after tomorrow?

Watching the Matrix Resurrections official trailer is one huge YES YES YES YES

(Thu Sep 09 2021 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Remakes of popular movies often leave fans wanting. With Star Wars, for example, it was disappointment after disappointment. With The Matrix, they could have screwed it up a zillion ways. The story seemed finished, with Neo rebooting the Matrix. What more was there to tell of that story? But the first trailer, premiered today, is one huge YES, and it appears they came up with something new to say.

Ominous blue flashes in sky during Sept 2021 Acapulco earthquake

(Wed Sep 08 2021 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) On September 7, 2021, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Acapulco Mexico. The earthquake lasted for a minute, caused buildings to sway, roads to undulate, and sent people running to the streets for safety. There they saw strange blue lights flashing in the sky, and of course many recorded the lights with their smart phones with multiple postings on Twitter and elsewhere. Some of the videos looked straight out of a bad science fiction horror movie, but they were real life.

Is US Patent 11107588 a vaccine-injected big brother tracking system?

(Wed Sep 08 2021 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) According to a posting from the Gab social media network, Noah was a conspiracy theorist until it started to rain, COVID-19 is a bioweapon, etc, and oh by the way we all must look at US Patent Number 1110758 because the COVID-19 vaccine has tracking technology. The post didn't say which vaccine has this technology. But that doesn't matter since, while the patent in question discusses tracking people to aid in distributing vaccinations, it has nothing about tracking technology which can be injected via a vaccine.

Does a COVID-19 Vaccine have 'Mark of the Beast' written all over it?

(Tue Sep 08 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) We've all seen folks afraid of the COVID-19 vaccine because it has been engineered as a tool of mass enslavement, while warning us about The Mark of the Beast. The only technology that could possibly do this is to somehow hide RFID, or Radio Frequency ID chips, in a fake vaccine. Then somehow, probably through universal surveillance, we would all be under the thumb of Big Brother. But, it is flatly impossible to hide implantation of RFID chips in what would look like a vaccination.

YouTube shuts down channel for Repair Video creator Jordan Pier

(Tue Jul 07 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Is YouTube moving against Right to Repair activists who post "repair videos"? In the last couple days, YouTube shut down the Jordan Pier channel because of supposed repeated violations of terms of service and copyright. Going by reports, this channel had been in operation since 2006 and contained videos about repairing vintage electronics. The fellow running the channel owns a shop in San Diego specializing in vintage electronics repair. Which makes one go WTF HOW COULD THAT INVOLVE ANY COPYRIGHT VIOLATION?

Using ultraviolet (UV-C) light to disinfect public spaces from COVID-19 and other pathogens

(Fri May 22 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) As of this writing the world in the grips of a Pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-COV-2 virus that is killing people around the world. This disease easily spreads, especially in areas where there is a high density of people in close quarters. This makes public spaces in large cities a potential danger zone. The mass transit systems we need to decrease traffic congestion are potential vectors for spreading not just the COVID-19 virus, but any other pathogen. An infected person could easily get on a bus, cough a lot, wipe some mucous on a seat-back, etc, leaving behind infectious pathogens that will be picked up by the next person to sit in that seat. What if there were an easy and inexpensive way to disinfect public spaces to reduce this risk?

Amazon slashing affiliate commissions in midst of Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis

(Wed Apr 15 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Amazon pioneered the whole field of affiliate marketing and to a large extent the success of Amazon is due to the company's affiliate partners sending traffic to Amazon. Yesterday, Amazon sent an e-mail notice to affiliate program members about changes to the operating agreement, the effect of which is to drastically slash affiliate commissions in certain product categories. It is probably time for affiliate program members to shift their affiliate links elsewhere.

Apple likely to stumble badly with new iPad Pro and MacBook Air, but it's not Apple's fault

(Wed Mar 18 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) Today Apple introduced an updated MacBook Air, and a new iPad, amidst a historic economic downturn thanks to a double whammy of a global pandemic, and a global price war in the oil market between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Any company when releasing new products hope their customers will rush to the store and buy buy buy. Apple has relied on a pattern of goading its customers into upgrading every year, and the company has been so successful at this it is one of the largest market-capitalization companies on the planet. But, Apple is probably running headlong into a perfect storm that could do great damage to Apple.

Scammy pricing for 'upgraded' old Apple Airport Time Capsule

(Mon Feb 24 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) While hunting for Airport Time Capsule's to buy, I came across this listing that's an outright scam - if you know what's involved. The listing is for a first generation Time Capsule device, that has been professionally upgraded to have an 8 TB hard disk. The price? A shocking $453 (US). Oh, my.

Buying 2nd hand Time Capsules and finding other peoples data

(Sat Feb 22 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) I am saving a lot of money on Time Capsule devices by buying old Time Capsule's 2nd hand. But every single one I've bought so far came along with the data from the original owner. This warning of course not only applies to Time Capsule devices, but any device with data storage, including computers, tablet computers, cell phones and even digital cameras. So... HEY PEOPLE!!! ERASE YOUR DATA BEFORE SELLING OR DONATING YOUR OLD DEVICES!!!!

How to run Windows on an iPad Pro

(Thu Feb 20 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) Ever want to run Windows on an iPad? Me neither, but apparently someone wanted to do so, and developed a solution. UTM is an iPadOS app that is a virtual machine emulator that supports not only Windows but a variety of other operating systems. File this in the "why did someone think of this" category.

Remotely access your home network using free dynamic DNS service from DuckDNS

(Sun Dec 01 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) Do you have files stashed on a computer at home but you're halfway around the world? In theory the Internet is equally usable by all of us, but in practice it's a little different. We're told we can only store our data on servers owned by other people, and cannot do so on our own server. In actual practice it is fairly easy to access computers on your home network, and the first step is associating a domain name with your home network.

Switching back to normal YouTube home page layout after being shoved into horrid YT 'experiment'

(Thu Oct 03 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Did your YouTube home page recently switch to a horrible mode with large thumbnails that look like they're designed for old people with weak eyes? You probably didn't accidentally change a setting. Instead, YouTube (like any large web property) is always experimenting with user interface tweaks, and you probably got selected to be a test subject. In fact, you actually have been selected for an experiment, and you cannot "opt out" of that experiment according to a YouTube engineer. If you're like me, you hate this new design and are looking for an escape.

How does Apple's fuel gauge chip block battery replacement - RIGHT TO REPAIR

(Sat Aug 24 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) An earlier post summarized a discovery by a fellow in China (Justin Ashford) that Apple was purposely displaying a scary warning message if someone replaced the battery in an iPhone XR, or XS. In this post we summarize some deeper information he presents to iFixit.

Record terminal sessions using GIFY Capture or Asciinema

(Sun Aug 11 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Those of us who write software tutorials explaining how to use this or that software tool, we need to demonstrate using the software. I tend to create a static bit of text showing what I did and maybe the output. But there's something different about an animated display showing the commands as they were typed by a human. In this post we'll go over two ways to generate animated GIF's showing commands typed in a terminal window.

Apple purposely shows 'Service' warning after iPhone battery replacement - RIGHT TO REPAIR

(Thu Aug 08 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) On an iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, after replacing the battery a warning is shown warning the battery might be no good and should be serviced. Maybe Apple is being a good vendor and warning us of a possibly bad battery? Instead it seems Apple is trying to lock out independent repair shops from replacing batteries.

Facebook (Twitter, etc) is a crime scene to election fraud amid destruction of democracy

(Wed Aug 07 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) In both the Brexit campaign, the 2016 USA Presidential election, and other elections since, misinformation channeled through Facebook had a huge effect that we cannot measure because of the nature of Facebook. The news stream we're shown is custom generated for us, and nobody has a record of what was shown because the news stream disappears as soon as it's displayed. How can anyone validate claims whether Facebook was an accessory to election fraud?

Apple possibly preparing to eliminate hackintoshing via T2 Security Chip

(Mon Aug 05 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Apple cannot be happy about the Hackintosh community. These people are using Mac OS X, that Apple provides for free, but on hardware that Apple does not manufacture. Obviously Apple's Mac OS X is "free" as a way to incentivize sales of Apple computers. So far Apple's attempts to kill off Hackintoshing have failed, because the Hackintoshers have ingenious worked around everything Apple has done to stop them. But the T2 Security Chip may mean the end of the road.

Can a MacBook or other Apple computer with broken T2 security chip be repaired?

(Sun Aug 04 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Apple claims the T2 security chip does all kinds of wonderful things for personal security. It ensures that only a secure authorized operating system can boot the computer, preventing errant KEXT's from creating gaping security holes, for example. And, the T2 chip shuts off the internal microphone to prevent eavesdropping. But if the T2 chip dies the computer is completely unrepairable.

Employees are disposable assets and can be canned at any time

(Mon Jul 15 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) The attached video should hit home for anyone who's worked a corporate job for a significant time. It sure hit home for me, having been laid off several times and my passion crushed into nothingness by the corporate needs. What is the sound of one man standing up to take his power into his hands?

How to upgrade MacBook Air/Pro SSD to NVMe using this one weird SSD adapter

(Sat Jul 13 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Out of the box Apple has used proprietary SSD's in its MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models for several years. As a proprietary SSD it meant any upgrade meant paying Apple's price for SSD's rather than the market price. This probably served Apple's bottom line, and who cares if the customers are screwed. This one adapter gives owners of such machines access to normal M.2 form factor SSD's.

iFixit rates 2019 MacBook Pro with 2 out of 10 repairability score

(Fri Jul 12 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Apple recently released updates to the MacBook Pro, and as expected repairability took a back seat. The team at iFixit did a teardown and found a bunch of repairability problems, awarding the machine with a 2 out of 10 repairability score. Yes it's possible to take the machine apart, but most of the parts are soldered on and basically non-replaceable except by uber-experts.

make free energy with spark plug using light bulb real free electricity generator

(Fri Jul 12 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Can you make free electricity out of thin wire just by wrapping a couple spark plugs with wire, then passing a magnet nearby? Probably not. I can't for the life of me see why this would do anything. But it would be simple enough to replicate this effect if it is real.

DIY Hack using Home Depot parts digitally scan film negatives using a regular camera

(Thu Jul 11 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Scanning film negatives using a DSLR does not require using a tripod. It's possible to repurpose some items from Home Depot to build a stand along with a macro lens on a regular DSLR. The process also does not require special software, just a preset in Lightroom.

How YouTube radicalizes folks to Alt-Right views with the algorithm

(Wed Jul 10 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) YouTube's algorithm to select content you're likely to watch is amazing, and very useful. It's easy to just head to the YouTube home page, and voila there's a bunch of recommended content some of which is surely of interest. Google is investing a lot of money in AI algorithms to drive content recommendation on YouTube, and YouTube's popularity is largely driven by those recommendations. But it's possible to rabbit-hole into specific content areas, and then suddenly the entire body of information you see is within that topic bubble, and it tends to affect ones thinking.

A simple method to digitally scan film negatives using a regular camera and Negative Lab Pro

(Wed Jul 10 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Some of us still shoot with film, and lots of us have old film lying around that we want to scan to digital. There are labs who will scan film to digital files, and there are bulky scanners that do the same. But neither work well in the field. This method requires a regular tripod, a film holder, and some software.

Google taking larger chunk of search traffic, squeezing organic clicks to sites

(Mon Jul 08 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) It seems that Google is hijacking organic search results, and instead preferencing its own properties. While we can wail and moan and wave our hands about how the design of the Google search result page is preferencing Google's properties, there's nothing like real data. Like some graphs collected by Sparktoro showing clearly a slow trend to squeeze out organic search results in preference to Google's properties.

Apple ditching butterfly keyboard, validating rumor of multiple MacBook's on the way

(Thu Jul 04 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Apple has a long history of laptop design mistakes, for example the display cable that breaks necessitating an expensive repair job. The Butterfly keyboard was one of those mistakes, that Apple fans have long complained about. News is that Apple is introducing a new keyboard design, and clues point to a wildly different sort of keyboard involving flexible glass. Think Different!

Avoid using Alexa, it remembers everything you tell it

(Wed Jul 03 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Alexa is a nice service from Amazon, being a box where you can ask questions and request that Amazon (or partners) perform services. That's a nice application of voice recognition and artificial intelligence. We get a voice activatable information robot that can perform our bidding. You might not remember asking Alexa to start the charging station on your car, but it turns out that Alexa records every query or command it services.

Tweets are interstate communication, making us liable for federal crimes

(Wed Jul 03 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Feeling angry about something and letting off steam on Twitter? According to US Federal Prosecutors, twitter posts and presumably facebook et al are interstate communications. If that posting can be interpreted as a threat or other illegal communication, you have therefore used interstate communications to transmit a threat - which is a federal felony.

Do not buy a MacBook Pro until watching this video

(Tue Jul 02 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Since 2015 it seems that Apple has careened from one major hardware flaw to another major hardware flaw in the MacBook Pro line. Either it's a horrible keyboard design, or a ribbon cable that breaks rendering the display useless and requiring an expensive repair, or various other hardware flaws. The attached video is from a prominent expert at repairing broken Apple hardware, and gives more details than you want to know about Apple's failure at designing reliable laptop computers. I think he goes overboard in this video, but the information is spot on with technically deep explanation of why one should avoid the newer MacBook machines.

Building a touch screen fake MacBook Pro laptop

(Tue Jul 02 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) The Dell XPS 15 9570 laptop makes a good Hackintosh, according to the attached video. It even supports touch screen on Mac OS X - a feature I've wanted since the mid 2000's. We do know that Dell computers tend to be big and heavy, and this is a 15" Dell, so it's probably the opposite of the thin sleekness we covet from Apple. But hey the video makes it look like a good choice.

Google is bad at social network services, on purpose

(Tue Jul 02 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Google has a history of failure in social networking. Google+ was killed recently, and before that Google killed Orkut and Buzz. Instead Google is very good at developing tools and utilities. Should Google refocus on social networks? Or should Google continue down its path?

Cleared Google notification of mobile responsiveness issues, traffic did not rebound

(Mon Jul 01 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) In April I noticed a sudden drop-off in traffic to one of my sites which was coupled with a Google notification that the site in question had mobile responsiveness issues. After a couple months of work the mobile responsiveness issues have been fixed to Google's satisfaction, but traffic to the site has not rebounded. The site is full of very important content that I believe could make a positive difference in the world, and my goal is getting the traffic to return.

Google and Facebook control 70% of web traffic, and are favoring major websites

(Mon Jul 01 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) The web has long been a place where anyone can launch a website, and thereby have their own soapbox from which to speak the message singing from their heart. But it has become harder and harder over the years for the small scale website to continue reaching an audience. The major gatekeepers on spreading our message have become Facebook, Google, and similar sites, and those gatekeepers are increasingly favoring major outlets owned by the major media conglomerates.

ARM based MacBook Pro, iMac, or Mac Pro, does not look promising to software developers

(Sat Jun 29 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Reportedly Apple is planning to switch Mac's to ARM processors sooner or later. More power to Apple, it is their platform and they can surely make whatever decision they like. With the announcement of iPadOS 13 it looks like Apple wants to blur the iPad experience with capabilities currently relegated to desktops and laptops. It looks very cool so far, but as a software developer I need a command line and a bunch of other stuff. And, I have several serious issues to raise that will make the job of writing software harder on a non-x86 CPU laptop.

A Ukrainian YouTuber summarizes memories from other Ukrainians about Chernobyl accident

(Sat Jun 29 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) There are lots of eyewitness accounts about the Chernobyl accident available online, but they're written in Ukrainian or Russian. Unless you know the key phrases in Russian for the Chernobyl accident, Google won't show you these accounts. This Ukrainian YouTuber who is also fluent in Russian and knows English found these accounts, and summarizes them for us. The video is also full of authentic pictures from the Chernobyl reactor both before, during and after the Chernobyl accident.

Does the seven new MacBook models mean the ARM MacBook is on the way?

(Sat Jun 29 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) According to tech journalists that track this sort of thing, Apple registered seven new laptop product models in the Eurasian Economic Commission database. Of course there is no official news about what this means, but there are some guesses. Those include the long-rumored conversion to ARM-based Mac desktop computers. So lets talk about ARM based Mac desktops.

Building a fake MacBook Pro while complaining about cliquey Apple fans

(Fri Jun 28 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Are Apple products only for high end customers who can pay premium prices? Apple is surely chasing after such people, with high prices and pristinely designed software and hardware. To folks that can't afford those prices, it can feel like being pushed out of a special clique by the snobs who are inside the clique. There are two approaches to avoiding the premium price while being able to use Apple hardware and software. There's the approach I take, and the approach shown in the attached video.

A Russian tells us about Russian Media response to HBO's Chernobyl mini-series

(Mon Jun 17 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Recently HBO aired a mini-series about the Chernobyl disaster, and Russian news media has reacted badly to this. The video names a bunch of problems named in Russian news media about the Chernobyl mini-series. It is suggested the news media is reacting badly because first that most of it is controlled by the Russian Government, and secondly because the mini-series undermines decades of work by Russia to give themselves a good image. The HBO Chernobyl series showed the ugly side of the USSR regime.

The allure of digital serfdom is a fiction created by big business owners

(Mon Jun 17 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Every few months I come across a new YouTube video complaining about how hard it is today to earn a living through making YouTube videos. I feel for those making the complaint, but I also remember my struggles in what I call Digital Serfdom. YouTube is just one of many web sites over the years offering us the chance to post content to the site, and the site owner will direct a stream of revenue our way. The complaints made by these modern YouTubers are nothing new.

Is everyone really leaving YouTube? Or is it just a few whiners who are leaving?

(Mon Jun 17 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) For months a chorus of YouTube creators have complained about the adpocalypse and how demonetization is drying up YouTube revenue for many. A new video claims "everyone" is leaving YouTube, and to prove the point glues together snippets from a dozen or two YouTube creators complaining about the changing climate on YouTube. Many are complaining about a lack of control, and how YouTube is supposedly applying one standard to individual YouTube creators and a completely different standard to big name media channels. While there are clear indications that YouTube is shifting focus towards big media players, the individual YouTube creators should never have put themselves in the position of depending 100% on Google's largesse.

How to Make a powerful DIY wind generator from an old e-bike motor

(Sun Jun 16 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) This video shows a DIY project to build a wind generator using an old electric bicycle hub motor. While the design has a couple flaws - such as how to avoid twisting the power cord around the mast - the result was able to provide power to run this guys entire house.

Deep dive into symbology of The Matrix

(Sat Jun 15 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) If, like me, you watched Matrix a few dozen times at least, you're interested in all the symbolism. This video goes way into the details of the first movie of the three. There is lots of details, some of which were new to me.

Using iPadOS v13 as a desktop offers mind-bending experience

(Thu Jun 13 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) The latest exploration of iPadOS 13 capabilities is how well it works as a proper desktop user experience. That is, what if we connect it to an external display, external mouse, and external keyboard, along with a couple portable disk drives? Bottom line is it all works, beckoning the possibility that iPad's can be used for more of what we currently do on regular laptop computers.

A YouTuber spends two days in the Chernobyl exclusion zone

(Wed Jun 12 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) While the area around the Chernobyl disaster site is an exclusion zone, it is possible to book a trip into that area. Besides the broken reactors, there is a large area which used to be occupied by humans. There are old houses and old apartment buildings and old schools and everything else that went with humans living in a town somewhere. The sense this video-maker takes away is what would a post-apocalyptic world look like?

Naysayers of 2019 Mac Pro are wrong

(Tue Jun 11 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Apple finally released a proper modular Mac Pro computer, again. The new Mac Pro has a design reminiscent of both the 2009-2012 Mac Pro and the old G4 Mac Cube. It is extremely customizable, easy to open up and fiddle with the interior, and the maximum specs are way beyond belief. But, the price is putting people off in a big way, especially the price for the corresponding monitor. The chorus of naysayers are, however, wrong, and are clearly not the intended market for the new Mac Pro.

BBC's coverage of Chernobyl disaster immediately afterwards

(Tue Jun 11 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) The USSR did not publicly disclose the Chernobyl accident until Sweden detected a large increase in radioactivity. The BBC put together this excellent news program within a couple days of the USSR admitting to the accident. This report shows the alarm people had at the time. As one of the interviewees pointed out, for radiation to be detectable 700+ miles away in Sweden, there must have been a considerable release at the Chernobyl site. But it's also clear the people speaking in the report were making best guesses because there was no solid concrete information available at the time this report was made. The last thing said in this report is especially telling -- the speaker guesses that the reactor which exploded is a boiling water reactor, a design that's popular around the world. He goes on to say that even for a reactor with a containment building -- the Chernobyl reactor had no containment building -- the economic consequences of a major meltdown accident would be enormous. The Fukushima nuclear disaster of a few years ago proves that point, as the Japanese Government is spending major megabucks cleaning up the site, and they have a 40 year project ahead of them completing that cleanup. There are whole new technologies that must be develop to do the cleanup. And in the meantime there is an exclusion zone of a hundred of square miles or more in Japan.

The human cost of cleaning up the Chernobyl disaster, told by one of the workers

(Tue Jun 11 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) The cleanup operation at Chernobyl attempted to use "robots" to cleanup highly radioactive debris, to spare humans from the task. Humans with experience working around radioactive debris were valuable, and had to be preserved for as long as possible. But in the area of the worst radioactive debris, where extremely radioactive graphite had fallen from the core of the reactor, the robots failed to work. Humans had to go in themselves, wearing the most primitive of protective suits, and working for shifts lasting all of two minutes. It took 3828 men to accomplish the task.

Interview with Deputy Chief Engineer of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

(Tue Jun 11 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) This interview, in Russian with English subtitles, allows one of the key people responsible at Chernobyl to explain what happened before, during, and after the Chernobyl explosion and subsequent disaster.

Why did the Chernobyl reactor explode? Detailed physics

(Tue Jun 11 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) With the recent HBO TV program, Chernobyl, we're interested in why the Chernobyl reactor exploded. The TV program did a fairly good job but this video goes deep into the weeds of how nuclear physics works.

Russia Today gives us possible propaganda about why Chernobyl blew up

(Tue Jun 11 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) RT News, a so-called news arm of the Russian Government, published this video describing the Chernobyl reactor explosion and the response. They showed original film and interviews with the original people. Therefore the program looks to be a truthful story about the Chernobyl disaster. However we are talking about RT News and it is possible this is propaganda.

Pripyat and the abandoned zone around Chernobyl is a patchwork of radiation and amazing wildlife

(Tue Jun 11 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) After the Chernobyl disaster, the Russian government ordered a large zone of land to be abandoned. Even today several thousand square kilometers have been abandoned. While folks generally do not live in the area, it is possible to travel through the area. This video is a British guy taking a tour of Pripyat, the closest city to the Chernobyl power plant. As might be expected after a city is abandoned, the remaining buildings are not in good condition, and wildlife has taken over.

iPadOS v13 a harbinger of iPads as Laptop Replacement

(Wed Jun 05 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) With Apple's iPadOS announcement there were many advances demonstrated.

How to build a solar-powered workshop

(Wed Jun 05 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) This project shows building a backyard shed that is also a sizeable workshop where all the tools and lighting is off-grid solar powered. One big time-saver is buying a shed from Tuff-Shed, because they send out a team who will install the shed in a few hours. Beyond that solar panels were installed on the roof, the inside was painted and a custom workbench installed and a nice shelving system installed.

How to Make the Ultimate 18650 Power Bank with Infinitely Expandable Capacity

(Sun Jun 02 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) Why should commercially made power banks be so expensive and so small? This DIY powerbank can be built by anyone at a fraction of the price of commercially made power banks. This unit can power not just USB devices, but 120 volt AC devices, it charges over USB or USB-C, and contains voltage displays. This plan reuses a lot of commercially made components. What makes it work is some highly customized 3D-printed parts from which the case is built.

Living the Apple ecosystem without giving money to Apple

(Sun Jun 02 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) For years I've only owned Apple equipment. This started around 2000, I knew the Mac OS X Public Beta was around the corner so I bought a Powerbook and lived with OS 9 for a few months until the OS X Public Beta came out. Apple promised Unix with a Pretty Face, that also supported Java, and that hit enough buttons for me that I wanted in. Since then I've owned Powerbooks, Mac Mini's, and MacBook Pro's, plus a couple iPads and iPods, and I'm on my third iPhone. But it's been five years or more since I bought anything direct from Apple, and I doubt I ever will buy anything again direct from Apple. I buy good quality equipment originally made by Apple, I use Apple's operating systems and software, all at a fraction of what Apple charges because I am not paying the Apple Premium.

Checking and reapplying thermal paste can save your laptop from untimely death

(Tue May 28 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) For a couple years my laptop had its fans running at high speed. I didn't think much about it, until I started looking at the health of the SSD. According to the SSD status app, the SSD was suffering from heat. After finding an app to report CPU temperature, I was alarmed to see it routinely above 80 degrees C. That's really bad. Cleaning the output vents helped, as did decreasing some background tasks. But checking the heatsink grease, a.k.a. thermal paste, and applying new grease, has made a huge difference.