Frater Mus

u/fratermus@lemmy.sdf.org
102 posts · 474 comments

Recent posts

Recent comments

How about giving them an informed choice? I.e. put next to it something like: “(centralised in Cloudflare’s walled garden)”

As a user I detest cloudflare, fedi politics, and purity tests. As a mod I strive to be neutral and not put my thumb on the scales.

I bought this Solar Radio Node, ready made, on Etsy. Not the cheapest solution, but it was still pretty reasonable and it works beautifully.

I bought peakmesh's smaller solar node (micromag?) and it's great. At the time I was using it on my campervan but now it's stuck to the side of the two-story apartment where I live.

on vanlife hiatus for 2026 · c/houseless · 2 pts · 255d

Agreed. As someone said (can't remember, pre-coffee) "there are no solutions, only tradeoffs". Years in the campervan taught me to leverage resources when I find them, and the apartment is certainly full of resources.

on Monitoring battery drain · c/vanlife · 1 pts · 255d

something is going on

Parasitic drains can be frustratingly hard to find, so don't be discouraged if you don't find it right away. I had a '72 beetle with a slow drain. Took me weeks to find it -- it was the original AM radio, which I never listened to. The volume knob was turned just far enough to power the radio on but not far enough to make any sound. Argggh!

We dont have shore power connection as such because everything is 12v.

Shore power can be used as-is (120v, 240v, whatever the local standard is) especially on larger RVs. On vans it usually feeds a converter/charger that run 12v loads and charge 12v banks.

on Monitoring battery drain · c/vanlife · 2 pts · 257d

despte an isolation switch being used when we are parked up

Is the isolator a manual switch or does it work automagically ("split charger", relay, diode isolator, dc-dc, etc)?

If the leisure and starter batteries really are isolated then it's a chassis problem. The classical approach is to measure current leaving the starter batteries and pull chassis fuses until the current stops -- that circuit is the problem.

occasional drain of the motor batteries

How long does it take for this to happen? A day? A month? If you have solar on the rig you could leverage it to keep the starter battery[s] charged. This would also work if you are on shore power while parked up.

Nobody cares about your AI slop.

IMO this is what happens when mods can't restrict their community to subscribers only. Trolls cruise All to stir up shit in fora they don't care about or even knew existed.

Just don’t play the song,

I couldn't load/play it anyhow.

So say "thank you for your service" Don't you mind if they look nervous

I always cringe internally at TYFYS but try not to show it or to appear ungrateful. I also avoid Free Food days like the plague.

Your Facebook post proves you care

In the early 90s when I support the troops bumperstickers were omnipresent I was known for ranting that "saying you support the troops is not the same as supporting the troops".

Mid-coffee ravings: IMO the best way to support the troops is

  • keep them out of harm's way unless the country is under attack, or as part of an UN force if some other country is attacked.
  • actually declare war in the former case (we haven't done this since WW2)
  • stop the blatant sexism of male-only selective service, or abolish it altogether in favor of mandatory national service for all young people 18-20.

Seems to me if the rich and powerful had skin in the game they might be a little less cavalier with the lives of others.

on What to do for a roaming dog? · c/dogs · 2 pts · 270d

I tried bringing out food and water, but it won’t let me anywhere near. Is there anything I can put out to help this dog through another frozen night, assuming it comes anywhere near my house again?

Warming pad set out by the food?

If Texas was a compass, El Paso would be practically right on the W in West, calling it North Texas is weird

True, but the article references East Plano (north of Dallas), not El Paso. I'm in El Paso right now and can see Mexico out the window. New Mexico is slightly blocked from view but if I lean to the left a little... :-)

Not-fun fact: East Plano abuts Allen, Tx where the Trump-inspired El Paso shooter came from to kill the kind and welcoming people of this town.

on *Permanently Deleted* · c/linux · 8 pts · 290d

No.

People who say "I'm switching to linux" are like people who threaten to leave the country if [fill in the blank] is elected. I pay attention more to people who say "I switched to linux" or "I left the country". Or those who revert the decision later.