A Geek Goes Flying

June 11, 2026:  Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time . “Data released on Wednesday by the global energy thinktank Ember, along with a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (Seia) and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie, show the continued growth of solar and decline of coal in the United States despite federal policy. In May, for the first time, solar supplied more of the nation’s electricity than coal, or 12.8%, Ember said. Coal supplied 12.2%, its fourth-lowest monthly share ever.” I’d buy that for a dollar. Green energy collage Of course, other countries are ahead of us. Germany has, on occasion, supplied all of its electrical demand using renewables, at least as far back as May 17, 2016 (“If only for a brief while, the country was almost entirely powered by solar and wind–and the grid didn’t collapse”). Meanwhile, I’d still love to have something like the GoSun EV Solar Charger for truly off-grid capability. With everything I tote these days being ...

I now have two wireless guitar setups (three, if you count the NUX Mighty Air, which, I kinda don’t). Had to do a modicum of digging to get everything squared away. Here goes. Looks like Kesha was using the Neotech pouch on the Freedom tour Line 6 G75 I should get the Shure GLXD16+ , but $600 (even used, $500 or so) is a bit too spendy right now. I’ve heard excellent things about the higher end Line 6 kit, and although this is an older set, I got a great deal on it (used, obvi) and so here we are. This is a two-piece rig I’m going to use at home and when playing out. For home use, it’s kind of the same goal - not tripping over cables, not having the dogs trip over the cables, etc.  The transmitter (TB516G) has several third party strap mounts, including:   Richter transmitter pocket ($65 6/2026 conversion rate) Neotech Wireless Transmitter Guitar Strap Pouch Medium ($20) (This came up in a search but the specs don’t quite  line up; it’s 4" x 2.5" x 0.8" while the...

The NUX Mighty Air seemed like it would be a workable practice solution  back in January , but, uh, yeah. No. I don’t know if its a battery issue or saturated wireless bands or what, but it kept cutting out, and even when it was reliably connecting to the guitar (i.e., via an instrument cable), there's just only so much you can get from two 2" speakers and "8 watts" (however measured). The presets were kind of fun to play with for a minute, but against the overall limitations of the system, I never loved it, frankly. I have the FM3, and my tone chasing is best left to that device. The one (huge) downside: Dragging out the huge FRFR-112  for practice sessions is a drag. The more friction between me and practicing, the less I’ll practice ... Yeah. Anyway. So for wireless I found a used Line 6 Relay G75 system for a good price, and I can patch that into the FM3. For lower volume practice sessions (apartment living, yay...), I was looking at getting a single powered stud...

We’ll see if this setup survives the onslaught of The Puppers™ but I’m optimistic.  ESP Ltd single cut on Hercules stand Hercules GS405B SHOKSAFE stand (“features a shock-absorbing system [and] the yoke and cradle are flexible and secure to fully protect the instrument”), affixed to the perforated side of this credenza-ish thing with thin gauge aircraft cable . 🤞 ( Astrid II once tried to burrow under the cheap (also: inexpensive) Amazon Basics stand I had there before, to get to a ball that rolled under... Sigh...) The Office Guitar™ has returned... (And, I mean, I paid $150 used for this axe, so if it *does* do a faceplant I’ll survive... But given the design of the stand, and that I have it anchored, again, I think it’ll be fine 😌 ...) The anchor Honorary mention: The D&A Starfish also appears to be fairly topple-proof, but wouldn’t “catch” the guitar, and so I didn’t fully trust it would have been effective when the dogs are wrestling. Still, looks like a good ...

Terminal screenshot $ sudo -i # dnf remove -y podman buildah docker docker-client docker-client-latest docker-common docker-latest docker-latest-logrotate docker-logrotate docker-engine # dnf install -y dnf-plugins-core # dnf config-manager --add-repo https://download.docker.com/linux/rhel/docker-ce.repo # dnf install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin # systemctl enable --now docker #systemctl status docker ● docker.service - Docker Application Container Engine      Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/docker.service; enabled; preset: d>      Active: active (running) since Fri 2026-06-05 01:19:51 PDT; 15s ago TriggeredBy: ● docker.socket        Docs: https://docs.docker.com    Main PID: 839223 (dockerd)       Tasks: 10      Memory: 25.0M (peak: 26.1M)         CPU: 155ms      CGroup: /system.slice/docker.servi...

Apparently I bought this in 2017: Hyperikon PAR20 Dimmable LED Bulb, 8W (50W equivalent), 2700K (Warm White), CRI90+, Flood Light Bulb, 40° Beam Angle, Medium Base (E26), Dimmable, UL & ENERGY STAR, 4-Pack  3.6⭐️ and several reviews mention a short lifespan. I had the first two bulbs installed for ... 9 years?! They’ve been hanging off of a Lutron LED-compatible dimmer since 2022 or so. One failed the other day. I swapped it with one of the two remaining from the 4-pack. It failed within a couple of hours. I installed the last one this morning. Curious to see how long it lasts. After this, I’ll probably swap to Feit. I’ve been using these  (4.3⭐️) in the kitchen, dining room, and living room, for about 3 years now, happily. But they don’t seem to be available. These  (4.7⭐️) look like the new version, more or less (and being able to change color temp might be kind of cool, too)? Hyperikon LED PAR20s. They served well.

The sport in the living room where I’d setup the String Swing was somewhat protected from rampaging puppies, but I wanted to relocate the guitars to a more protected corner of my bedroom, which was occupied with some wire shelves holding a couple of old PowerMac machines I haven’t turned on in years, some stereo equipment from the late 1980s / early 1990s, an Ultra 5 project I haven’t even started on yet, some old media gathering dust, and some droids . Sigh. That corner needed attention. Also, I’d displaced my reading/listening nook and wanted to restore it in its new, simplified configuration  with spiffy new light . I used this  WORKPRO 5-Tier Storage Shelf, 72" H Heavy Duty Adjustable Garage Shelving Unit 2180LBS Capacity, for Basement, Kitchen, Pantry, 27.6”Wx11.8”Dx60”H, Black  unit (it’s not  72" high, sigh), with just two of the shelves installed. It wedged into the corner I had available nicely, and seems sturdy enough as I have it assembled. I will say it w...