Saturday, 22nd June, 2024
We have a period during the day on a weekend, where after lunch all the kids go play iPad/console/PC/ whatever, often my wife goes for a nap and then it’s just me sitting somewhere, ktichen, garden, garage, and I have some free time to do something. The problem is I never know what to do, or I’m a bit tired as well (but can’t nap), and so I just sit on a computer and sort of mill about online. I’m there right now. I should do something but I never know what. Maybe I should go on the radio, but I don’t want to. I want to build some new radio things but I don’t have any parts for them. I could try satellite operation again but I was meant to programme more frequencies into the radio so I can use more satellites. Although there aren’t any just now going over head that I could use. I’m also more interested in making the automated tracking system than making contacts on it.
I visited this site for the first time in ages and saw it’s been a few days since I posted, so i thought I might as well write in it. Seeing as I’m not doing anything else useful.
I had a good day off yesterday. Went up a hill, played radio, scared off some dog walkers by being on the radio. Cut the grass, dug up a bush and planted a gooseberry bush (no-one likes them but it was a gift…). I also cleared out a few things in the garage. I think every Friday off I have, I should make sure I clear at least one thing out of the house. There are lots of things in the garage which we never use, but keep for just in case. I’m torn between binning it and continuing to keep it.
Been writing some more on my radio blog. It’s fine…still not sure I like Wordpress. I was surprised the default doesn’t come with a lightbox, and then I looked at plugins and there were hundreds, and I just want something to make the image bigger when clicked on and not have to go back and change the images from Gallery to “my new lightbox app gallery”. Even though it’s so easy, I don’t know how to change things. Thinking again of the static blog. I might even use the same CSS/layout as this site, with a few adjustments, because I like it. I suppose I could be doing that now. I jsut never use images on here and so I wonder if they would work…I guess with lightbox plugin it they could…I should also investigate github.dev and image handling/shortcuts as it could be quite easy to add them.
I’m also still tempted by bearblog.dev as the hosted version of it. A friend I met through ham radio, DK1MI, has his blog on it and I like it. Saves me going down the familiar path of which static generator and then weeks messing with a new one, only to not like it or be bothered to learn it.
The CPU, i5-9500T, that I won from ebay for the new server arrived. Finding a mobo is a pain…still. The new case I bought, the Fractal Define 7, is absolutely beautiful and extermely functional. It is the nicest case I’ve ever had. It’s not small, but boy is it good. I feel like I should put a new fancy intel 12/13/14th gen CPU in it rather than my cheapo used one. But seriously, I might…I could return the 9500 but I was also thinking I could rebuild the old server into a new PC with parts from ebay - but on a slower timescale when bargains pop up - for another gaming PC for the kids. At the moment one boy uses my computer (amazing), and the other uses a laptop (okay). The laptop (T490 I think) does a decent enough job but once their minecraft world got some size to it, the laptop takes ages to load it. Of course, the kids do not need this whatsoever, and it’s just me wanting to make more computers….but you know.
New motherboards are expensive these days. It used to be you could get a bog standard one for £50, and then a fancy one was £120. Yes, there were always stupid ones for £200, but the other two were fine. Now it seems a basic one is £100, a decent one is £170, a fancy one is £200+, and then insane ones for £400. Also I’m sticking with DDR4…it’s so cheap and DDR5 is SOOOO expensive! A new kit of 32GB DDR4 is £100. 🤯 It’s funny how the prices of things change. SSDs/NVMEs are so cheap too. About two years about I paid £400 for a 4TB SSD, now they’re £200.
I knew of them before, but only relooked, about the ARDC. They link amateur radio and the internet together. They sponsor things, provide funding and also give out IPv4 addresses to hams. They have a shit load of money because back in 1981 some guy got a whole class A block of 44.0.0.0/8 IPs for amateur radios to use. Fast forward to 2019 and they sold a quarter of these to Amazon (I think) for…a billion dollars? I don’t know exactly but huge, and so they give grants and money out. I’m going through the process now to get my own 44.x.x.x/y IP to play with. Think of putting my radio blog, my allstarnode and if I ever get round to a webSDR on it. All hosted at home but routed via their network so it’s a public 44.x.x.x IP address.
Well now it’s time to take the kids to the park.
