Always tooting for th'antihero @Momentrabbit@awoo.space

If anybody has a handy cheatsheet of useful VxWorks commands they could point a tired technician to, I should surely appreciate hearing of it...

This is Momentrabbit's monthly reminder that the new shop has at *least* one stickwelder and the CNC CO2 lasertable *easily* cuts 16 gauge sheet mild hot-rolled steel: your boss is easygoing about consumables and will make you a deal if you arrange before you cut.

Dream *bigger*, bunny.

Cheers,
Past You.

For the last week or so, for no particular reason I know of, my right tympanic membrane has been pulsing at about 2-3Hz.

The urge to still the erratic but incessant beating with a #2 pencil is becoming *unbearable*.

Seriously, I don't know how The Master is presumed to have gotten anything done, unless they're going to tell me he went though most of his regenerations in ear-penetrating "accidents" involving knitting needles, screwdrivers, chopsticks, drillbits and in one memorable incident, the miniaturized body of Castellan Spandrell.

I looked up the specs on a replacement pack for the lead-acid batteries to swap in for the dead cells in the Flatline's UPS. Trying to find 12V12Ah units has been a wash locally - higher or lower, sure, but the form factor hasn't matched. I can match the size with a lower ampere-hour rating, but that will affect runtime.

If, that is, APC is telling me the truth...

I grew suspicious of the posted specs, and peeled the APC OEM labels off the batteries that came with the units.

Well, wouldja look at that. Huh. 7.2Ah.

Think I'll buy another two 9Ah units of the same physical dimensions to add to the first two I picked up for testing and call it an 'upgrade'. >.<

The further down the repair chain you have to go in any system rebuild, the more meaningful the end rebuild tends to be.

My current server reimaging project is currently on hold because I'm out of *solder*.

... it's a long story.

Mmh.

Server-grade UPS is bricked. Probably because it's been unplugged for a couple of years and will not start without a minimum charge in the four 12V 12AH lead-acid gelcells that form its internal power reservoir. Replacement packs are $250 (yeah, riiiiight).

... no reason I shouldn't try tricklecharging each battery at 14V for a couple of hours each and see if it'll boot and finish a deep charge cycle from the wall once reassembled, is there?

Addendum: oh my ghods people want HOW MUCH for the dear things? Somebody's actually *parting one out* on eBay, separate listings for the upper shell, lower shell, button and ball ring. O.O

(No ball. I presume the trade in computer mouse balls is heavily restricted under local Digital Aphrodisiac laws...)

Anybody know where a bun could procure an Apple ][ serial mouse, mechoptical innards, one-button, DB-9 connector for cheap to Toronto, ON? Non-functional preferred.

Feel free to boost.

(TheMate) "(...)-and there'll be a visitor tomorrow night from the Victorian Order of Nurses, better known as the VON-"

(Moment) "*VONNNNN!!!**"

(TheMate) "-... yes. Quite."

"I'm in debugging mode."

1. Explanation of seeming nonsequitur response to console inquiry as stack is cleared, ie:

"How's the pizza today?"
"...it could be the beam bender if the gas *is* pure, so I should check for condensation on the mirror before I do further disassembly."
"... that good, huh."
"Mmm? Oh. Sorry, I'm in debug mode. Uhm. Pizza's good!"

2. Statement of mood, ie:

"How do you feel?"
"I'm in debug mode."
"...that good, huh."

https://twitter.com/DSilvermint/status/1093721980329574409?s=20

Did... did anyone survive? XD

Remember when we'd bounce ideas off each other and follow where they went, world-building and character-designing and history-editing and skill-forging, bad puns and worse innuendo and obscure media references and little bursts of things one of us was excited to share with the other because now those facts could live in two heads instead of just the one...

I miss that. I still miss that, and I still miss you.

I know. It's okay. Time's past.

I enjoyed those times with you. Thank you for them.