h2g2bob @h2g2bob@mastodon.dbatley.com

Whoa! I had no idea that analog digital conversion and PCM (pulse code modulation) existed in 1948. And that they built their ADCs using "electronic beam deflection tubes" for turning analog values into digital code-words: https://archive.org/details/bstj27-1-44/mode/2up

I have made a (free and libre) font with the ZX81 semigraphics characters in. I needed this for another project.

https://gitlab.com/drj11/font-semi81

#ZX81

We've uploaded a new video from SF22US, with info on how to visualize and decrypt #TLS 1.3. This class was taught by Ross Bagurdes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq6yj9se9M4

Sign up for SharkFest'23 ASIA or US for more classes like this!
https://sharkfest.wireshark.org

#Wireshark

It's not all that surprising that businesses have lied about the recyclability of plastics. What was *somewhat* of a surprise to me was ... just how far back that deceit goes: 1973.

Back in 1973, Exxon knew there would not be a cost effective way to recycle plastic.

@pluralistic's latest Pluralistic traces the lies from Exxon's early recycling campaign ads through Dow's promise to turn sneakers into playground surfaces: https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/14/they-knew/#doing-it-again

My UK power grid grafana now has aggregation by power plant, powered by #wikidata. (This balancing unit to power plant linkage is a really good use for wikidata.)

https://gridstats.russss.dev/d/FB1Q3mbVz/plant-detail?orgId=1&var-Plant=Q84277667

mySociety's report on fragmented public sector data makes total sense, but it's personally heartbreaking to see nothing about the Open Data Institute, building on the work we did, the things we made, in there. How easily things are lost to history.

(For clarity, this is a failing of the ODI and its legacy, not the authors of this report)

https://research.mysociety.org/html/unlocking-fragmented-data/

How the Finnish demoscene turned Helsinki into "The mobile gaming capital of the world."

There is one crucial line in this article, "We know we have the social security network to fall back on, so you don't have to mortgage your own house to set-up a company."

In other words, a good benefits system is the basis of an innovative population. People with a safety net are likely to take more risks in their businesses.

Governments take note.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64655633

The less documented fourth stage of the Pioneer/Settler/Town Planner development model is "Survivors living in the Ruins" which we can see playing out on Twitter now

🆕 blog! “Never use a URL shortening service - even if you own it”

The Guardian launched its online adventures back in 1999. At some point, they started using the name "Guardian Unlimited". Hey, the dot com boom made us all do crazy things! As part of that branding, they proudly used the domain GU.com Over time, the branding faded and GU.…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/02/never-use-a-url-shortening-service-even-if-you-own-it/
⸻
#guardian #hyperlinks #newspapers #url #web

"But no matter how enjoyable a gas car is at its best, it’s just not compelling for daily use. Compared to the status quo a gas car is inconvenient, slow, noisy, smelly, and dangerous."
https://geoff.greer.fm/2023/02/08/gasoline-car-review/