A Geek Goes Flying

I have a somewhat involved office setup, that looks something like this: My 2021 MacBook Pro 14" is connected to a: →   Cable Matters USB C Hub DisplayPort 100W, 4K@240Hz (USB C DisplayPort 1.4 Hub), 480Mbps Ethernet, 2X USB , which in turn is connected via a:    →   IVANKY 3ft/1m DisplayPort Cable, DP to DP 3.3ft, 4K@60Hz, 2K@165Hz, 2K@144Hz  DisplayPort cable to a:      →  Unitek DP KVM Switch 1 Monitor 2 Computers USB 3.0 8K@60Hz KVM unit, which uses another:        →  IVANKY 3ft/1m DisplayPort Cable, DP to DP 3.3ft, 4K@60Hz, 2K@165Hz, 2K@144Hz  DisplayPort cable to a:            → Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor   The 2012 Mac Mini (OCLP patched and running Sequoia) is connected via a Cable Matters 4K Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort Cable , to the KVM, and through the KVM to the Dell. It works perfectly. The MacBook Pro keeps blanking the screen, for ~...

Picked up the NuPhy Air 60 v2 , tweaked with shine-through keycaps (though oddly the set doesn’t include the right “shift” key, so I’m stuck using the old, colorway-mismatched, non-shinethrough cap for just that one key). I opted for the Moss switches , and so far I like them well enough. Anyway, I picked this up as my older Air 75 wasn’t physically compatible with my current laptops (daily drivers are a 2021 MacBook Pro 14" and an M2 Air 13.6"), and since I’ve gotten so used to HHKB layouts normally (several Tokyo 60s and a KeyChron Q60 Max, mostly), I wanted VIA remapping capability so at least I could, e.g., swap '|\' and 'backspace' (muscle memory is a bitch).  Air60 v2 on a 2021 14" MacBook Pro I got it. I finally got it figured out by actually, you know, reading the instructions . First you have to download a JSON file from Nuphy (is it NuPhy? IDK...), then toggle the Design Tab in settings under usevia.app, then upload the JSON in the Design Tab,...

Following up on a previous post , I can now confirm that, in addition to the reliable Qualcomm QCC5125 and CSR8675 chipsets (and unlike the QCC3034 , apparently), the “Flagship QCC518x”[ 1 ] chipset in the ifi Zen Blue v3 also connects via AAC to Mac  computers. Huzzah. I have one patched into an original Schiit Jotunheim (with the AK4490 Balanced DAC card installed ) via a 4.4 mm to dual XLR cable , and it sounds incredible . iFi Zen Blue v3 circuit board ifi Zen Blue v3 Bluetooth transmitter/receiver/DAC

I picked up a cheap Kindle; after reviewing this matrix , I opted for a 16GB  Kindle Paperwhite 5 (11th generation, from 2021: 6.8" E Ink Carta 1200 display, USB-C, IPX8 water resistance, etc.). I got it on eBay, on the assumption that such a unit would be less likely to have been updated to a later firmware for which a jailbreak wasn’t (yet?) available; I also added a $7 origami-style cover (which some don’t recommend, since the cover is weaker along the fold lines, but for my use case it was a good compromise). Used a jailbreak  and installed KOReader to use it to natively read ePubs (etc), that can just be dragged-and-dropped into the 'books' directory when mounting it as a mass storage device over USB. So far, I like it, and I can leave my slightly bulkier, more expensive Kobo Libra 2 and huge Kobo Elipsa 2E at home. Spent a little more than the $79 I had originally planned to spend on a refurbished Kobo Nia (or $89 for a refurb’d Clara HD ), but both were sold ou...

Over at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport , they have free municipal EV charging. It’s not particularly fast (I think it’s reported as being something like 4.2 kW, shared, but in practice I see 3.77 kW when charging alone, or 1.86 kW when split - which is basically L1 charging), but it’s free, and the system is kinda kick ass. Solterra connected to a Santa Monica supplied EV ARC solar charger It’s up to 4 hours free per day, with a $1.00/minute “overstay charge” if you go beyond that. It’s administered by ChargePoint. And the EV ARC (Autonomous Renewable Charger) hardware is courtesy Envision Solar , who claims to be using a “patented sun tracker” (presumably this patent ?). A large sign reads: EV ARC™  A truly zero emissions solution  The EV ARC™ is the world’s only transportable, solar powered electric vehicle charging product. The system is completely grid independent. The patented EnvisionTrak™ sun tracking technology enables the EV ARC™ to make up to 25% more electricit...

Decision:  https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.450934/gov.uscourts.cand.450934.64.0_1.pdf? At this early stage of the proceedings, the Court must determine whether the President followed the congressionally mandated procedure for his actions. He did not. His actions were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith [...] federal overreach risks instigating the very behavior that the federal government fears. To put a finer point on it, the federal government cannot be permitted to exceed its bounds and in doing so create the very emergency conditions that it then relies on to justify federal intervention. [...] President Trump’s June 7 Memo marks the first time that a President has invoked § 12406, lawfully or not, against the wishes of a state governor. Regard...

I’ve had good luck with Anker and UGREEN (the later surprised me, frankly, usually names like that are sus), but rarely pick Baseus (looks like, so far, I’ve only bought USB C charging cables with LED displays from the brand; no complaints with those so far, after almost a year of use). But I needed an adapter with a fair amount of power on at least two USB C ports to MagSafe charge an iPhone, etc., both at my reading/listening nook and in my tech tote . Amazon was running a sale on the Baseus CCXFK100CS 100W charger (a/k/a the Baseus EnerFill FE11 Fast Charger 2C+U), which, for $40 or so, is a steal. Single port, each of the USB C ports will push 100W (20V⎓5A), or 22.5W out of the USB A port. Using both USB C ports, 70W out of C1 and 30W out of C2; if using a USB C and the USB A, either USB C will push 70W and 22.5W out of the A port. More than enough to charge an iPhone and MacBook Air or even smaller Pro at the same time. Using all three ports, it’s still pushing respectable numb...