The SR-71 used an Astroinertial Navigation System that used stars to keep the navigation information accurate as the plane flew over long distances. Normally an inertial navigation system degrades in accuracy over time and distance due to small errors building up and something called gyro drift. The NAS-14V2 used a catalog of known stars and a gimballed telescope to identify specific stars (even during a cloudy day) and determine the position of the stars in relation to the aircraft. Using this information the position of the aircraft can be used to revise the inertial navigation system’s data every so often so the accuracy is much better.

This is not a great explanation of radix economy of Base e.

Slaughterhouse Five (the book) did this fairly well, though the movie isn’t much better than Madame Web.

Timeline! The movie was completely forgettable but the concept was pretty cool. I loved the book.

Exceed is still the only program that handles graphically intense Unix X11 sessions properly for Windows machines. It’s still not great though.

Some of us still have to slog through old CAD applications that have long been abandoned.

This is not true at all. You’re right that planes aren’t like cars, but airlines absolutely do their own maintenance. The maintenance program is initially provided by Boeing and modified by the airline based on statistical monitoring of issues.

There are lots of stupid people.

engineerguy (Bill Hammack) is a great channel where Bill explains all kinds of different things.

I haven’t tried Jellyfin yet mostly because I rely heavily on the native Plex apps for my TVs and phones. Outside network streaming without having to set up a proxy or VPN is another big reason.

I haven’t liked the direction Plex has been going for a while, but it’s hard to beat the convenience.

I finally overhauled my home server. I built a 12TB storage and media server using a few parts from the old server but am running it on Linux using docker rather than my old gaming PC’s windows 7 install. Should be much better for security and easier to upgrade or move.

Paid for PlexPass finally since hardware transcoding is locked behind the paywall.

Dropped Netflix after over a decade of using it regularly because the prices went up and I had been using it less.

Have used ChatGPT for help planning trips and developing goals and plans at home. I was restricted from using it or anything like it at work so I haven’t been able to properly use it to my advantage much.

Finally upgraded my router to WiFi 6 and my Internet bandwidth to gigabit from 250 mbps. It’s refreshing! Probably the best decision I made in 2023.

Dropped reddit (to include blocking the domain on my pihole). I still waste time but less of it is on social media.

Inspection intervals are based on expectation of damage over time, not to verify if the installation procedure was properly followed.

Design requirements for airplane parts that experience rotation or are part of control systems are regulated to have locking features to prevent loose bolts from happening. If the initial installation was done improperly it could be a failure in quality control at Boeing. Or if they were installed properly but weren’t designed with sufficient locking mechanisms it may be an improper design. Either way this could turn into an Airworthiness Directive which is when the FAA steps in to ensure safety.

“Do your own research” is a phrase with a lot of baggage. It means more than doing your own research.

It’s a phrase that has been used online in debates over every kind of conspiracy theory, religious idea, or political stance and carries with it the unsaid presumption that alternative sources are the key to learning the “actual truth.” It’s a loaded phrase that acts as a calling card for people who are overly confident that they have the right answer but can’t articulate how they arrived at it.

I roll my eyes whenever I read or hear someone say “do your own research” because I know the debate ends there and there’s no convincing them otherwise.

It’s more like educated guessing, which is a lot faster than brute forcing. They can use code to check the answers so there is ground truth to verify against. A few days of compute time for an answer to a previously unsolved math problem sounds a lot better than brute forcing.

Generate enough data for good guesses and bad guesses and you can train the thing to make better guesses.

These are so cool! Do you have a link to buy?

Edit: Found them! These are crimpless solder sleeves. Crimpless Solder Sleeve Heat Shrink Variety Kit - 90 Piece

Print this out for him: https://xkcd.com/627/

Everyone should learn the basics of troubleshooting!

When trying to resolve a problem it’s really important to keep as many variables under control as possible so that you can find the root cause and fix it.

I see lots of people who try a bunch of things without isolating the issue first but can’t figure out what is wrong. Then because they messed with it so much it’s almost impossible to figure out.

This is important for car maintenance, home maintenance, electronics, computers. Just about everything that can break or stop working right in your life.

Relevant username?

Keith David makes a great Vice President too: https://saintsrow.fandom.com/wiki/Keith_David

His breakdown of Wozmon was my introduction to him. He is incredibly good at explaining and breaking things down. I was riveted when I started watching.

8-Bit Guy is great. Love his deep dives on how older technology works.