tjhowse

Travis Howse. Brisbane, Australia. Father, husband, engineer, hacker, cancer hadder, FOSS dork, he/him. Currently helping to make the electrical grid more efficient at SwitchDin. BE (Mechatronic)

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/tjhowse
Github: https://github.com/tjhowse
Homepage: https://tjhowse.com
Sailing blog: https://sailing.tjhowse.com

Public Key

npub1dujupc0r2xn082752e6mteg44jutgn4ydwwv0mps4ks6kjhdp8nsu2nvwz

NIP-05 Address

tj_at_howse.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsx7fwqu834rfhn4029vad4u526ew95f6jxh8x8asc2mgdtftksnecpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsx86jfe

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1dujupc0r2xn082752e6mteg44jutgn4ydwwv0mps4ks6kjhdp8nsu2nvwz

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Last Notes

2026-07-20 06:09:29 UTC

A housefly the size of a healthy mouse just blundered into my room and started knocking shit over holy hell.

2026-07-20 04:00:11 UTC

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Woo!
Lots of setup and fiddling in my future. Right now I'm investing in retraining my brain to be happy to wear a watch.
I think I'll leave the touchscreen disabled, I much prefer the certainty of clicky buttons.
#pebble
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/950/296/059/694/419/original/a8577b1349b806d9.png

2026-07-20 00:45:27 UTC

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Postie!
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/949/528/065/479/933/original/19528e30a840e4e0.png

2026-07-20 00:25:25 UTC

Pakige.
It's my #pebble time 2, ordered in January. Hopefully it lives up to the hype. I'm mostly interested in a smartwatch with a user-replaceable battery.
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/949/448/448/649/916/original/11c4554a7c0560d4.png

2026-07-15 09:56:50 UTC

Good fucking christ the gym pool was cold tonight. The 50m pool was full and the 25m pool isn't heated at the moment. My first few laps were pretty much teleportation.

2026-07-11 09:01:42 UTC

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Back home to Brisbane!

2026-06-16 06:16:21 UTC

Where do y'all #australians buy #masa? I got a little bag from the IGA to make fresh tortillas. Now I'm addicted to fresh corn tortillas but these little bags aren't very economical, and I don't like the plastic packaging.
Woolies sell polenta, which isn't the same, apparently.
#cooking #tortilla
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/758/310/697/985/910/original/7992f3d74ee13112.png

2026-06-10 13:17:23 UTC

An interesting #ev caveat I discovered today:
If you do short trips and charge at home, so your battery is always above 95% charged, you will wear your brakes out faster.
Our BYD Atto 2 caps regen braking at 17kW when the battery is nearly full. The rest of the kinetic energy is wasted as heat and turning brake pads to dust.
When driving around today under 90% the regen braking was peaking up around 40kW.
I'm going to tweak my automation to only charge to 90% by default.

2026-06-06 04:30:34 UTC

My #reprap now has an enclosure! All I had to buy was the handle, some magnetic latches and a door draught stopper. Should get better results from finnicky filaments like ABS.
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/701/264/564/115/973/original/2701bff6fc1fd420.jpg
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/701/271/192/411/982/original/979970fe2314d0d1.jpg

2026-05-31 23:23:55 UTC

/me squints suspiciously
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/671/761/702/409/668/original/0924f53df0e62314.png

2026-05-27 05:16:53 UTC

What should I do once I hit my arbitrary "intermediate"-level #weightlifting goal?
There's arguments in favour of continuing to progressively overload so it's easier to recover from health-based setbacks in the future, but I'm unsure. I also love #running, and turbo-thighs don't help that much.
Context: 40 y/o cis male. I've been doing 5x5 Stronglifts for 3.5 years. I like how I look. "Intermediate" as estimated by strengthlevel.com
#fitness #health

2026-05-14 23:31:49 UTC

I finally finished editing together this video about making my custom Kerbal Space Program control panel! It was a lot of fun, except for the hundreds of solder joins. That took a while.
https://youtu.be/-GDAJXU6SZ8
#ksp #kerbalspaceprogram #diy #electronics

2026-05-14 03:52:51 UTC

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It's a more specialised tool than checkout, intended specifically for switching between branches/commits, rather than the everything-bagel approach of checkout.

2026-05-14 01:27:00 UTC

Grudgingly retraining my muscle memory to use `git switch` even though `git checkout` works fine. I guess I should make some effort towards doing things "properly".
#git #software

2026-05-11 04:03:00 UTC

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Careful! NP can be very... divisive.
There is an underwater-themed semi-sequel called Subterfuge that tweaked the formula in some fun ways, however when we played it years ago with a group of work colleagues the notifications were unreliable, which made the game pretty unplayable.

2026-05-10 06:40:04 UTC

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#openscad to the rescue!
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/548/905/357/526/683/original/ffea381fef9b8ae1.png

2026-05-10 06:20:25 UTC

Gahhh I want the new sketcher text tool in #freecad 1.2, but not quite enough to switch over to nightly releases. Looks like I'll have to use the old, slightly clunkier system until 1.2 is out.

2026-05-05 05:19:50 UTC

I would like to install an AC EVSE in our carport so we can charge our EV faster than 1.5kW. There's a good spot on a 180mm square wooden post in the corner, however I'd like to avoid messy surface conduits to provide the power.
I'm now trying to work out a way of core-drilling a cable run from the top of the post through to the mounting height of the EVSE. I just need a lathe with a spindle bore of 260mm...

2026-05-03 01:36:27 UTC

Can web developers stop fucking with scroll bars please? No website is so beautiful that is justifies losing the ability to see how far the page scrolls down. I don't give two shits about your design vision.

2026-04-30 03:40:14 UTC

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I'm currently looking into whether I can have hass periodically dump it into my timeseries database. You can download a CSV of displayed data from the HASS web interface with the button in the top right, but I'd like something more automagical.

2026-04-30 03:11:38 UTC

This might actually be the coolest thing in the world. Realtime telemetry on our car's odometer and battery, plotted in HASS.
I've gotta make sure all this telemetry is getting dumped out into my influxdb instance so I can keep high-res data long term.
#homeassistant
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/491/454/493/866/370/original/071e2e9782292fcc.png

2026-04-05 03:03:13 UTC

Bought a pineapple on impulse yesterday. Incredible decision. I love pineapple. I must resist urge to eat the entire thing in one sitting.

2026-04-05 01:55:31 UTC

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No joke I have the Artemis II livestream on in the background but mastodon was in the foreground. The narration said something like "On you screen right now is the projected flight path for the closest approach to the moon..."
I looked up and saw your post and my brain bluescreened and rebooted.
I need another coffee.

2026-04-04 10:05:17 UTC

Status update on our LOTR gradual re-watch with the kids: Grandpa fixed the king.

2026-04-04 03:54:59 UTC

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haha no, it was mostly for a shitposty response to a friend who had a jar of PB that had separated. He built a jig out of Lego to rotate the jar around to emulsify it.

2026-04-03 21:50:26 UTC

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it does not

2026-04-03 12:37:41 UTC

ROTATE
THE
PEANUT
BUTTER
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/340/806/291/800/607/original/a884e1645de02158.mp4

2026-04-03 10:18:22 UTC

A de-chonked version for printing tomorrow. In the meantime my bandsaw is full of melted PLA and the big stepper is reasonably securely mounted.
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/340/254/684/734/232/original/fcf73d3a203cf5cc.png

2026-04-03 08:41:22 UTC

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It's an i3 aluminium plate variant reprap. One of Prusa's early designs. It was printed on my old printer.

2026-04-03 07:04:52 UTC

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Turns out: Too much chonk. Made it 10mm too high. Sigh.

2026-04-03 06:26:55 UTC

This chonky 8 hour print is nearly done. 50% infill for increased chonk.
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/339/345/835/458/092/original/ffdbe1eb7a5a471d.png

2026-04-03 05:56:42 UTC

This cold can choof off. There is so much snot.

2026-04-03 03:11:17 UTC

I can finally start doing the fun stuff with my #lathe. By which I mean "more lathe improvements".
https://youtu.be/v_Xlgs-Bak4
#diy #machining #mechatronics

2026-04-02 00:05:19 UTC

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The best I can think of is generic "don't be a reckless dickhead", and I assume we already have laws for this.

2026-04-02 00:04:37 UTC

@npub1zkj…jt8t I'm writing an email to Di Farmer about e-mobility. You've given this topic a lot more thought than I have; what would you recommend as reasonable upper limits to footpath-legal e-bikes and scooters?
Power limits are bad, because heavier bikes need more power to accelerate. Speed limits are bad because regular pushbikes can already go 40km/h on the flat without too much effort. Acceleration limits seem least bad, but field enforcement is nearly impossible.

2026-04-01 12:28:33 UTC

Artemis II launch window opens in 10 hours! Right at the start of an end-of-term school event for youngest! Ack!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3kR2KK8TEs

2026-04-01 12:21:47 UTC

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It's nice to learn about interesting stuff happening between the "AI will invent the torment nexus and/or drink the oceans" stories.

2026-04-01 11:47:20 UTC

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Reading the FAQ in this repo makes me pity and respect Terry Tao in equal measure. It's a master class in condensing hours of soul-wracking frustration into a document. It tries to gently guide people to the conclusion that their yes-man machine might not actually have discovered new maths.

2026-04-01 04:43:00 UTC

It fits! Huzzah!
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/327/609/902/782/381/original/79877103c57b59cd.png

2026-04-01 01:33:36 UTC

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Do... do a fart in it.

2026-04-01 00:32:15 UTC

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The framework 12 comes close!

2026-03-30 03:09:18 UTC

I'm certain my kids would love to watch Holy Grail, but I'm not sure I have the fortitude to withstand the next 40 years of them quoting it to me. I have the opportunity to break the cycle, but at what cost?
#montypython

2026-03-29 23:04:39 UTC

So there's something wrong with the belts I ordered for my electronic leadscrew project.
Turns out I got some units wrong during the belt length calculation...
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/314/949/924/318/817/original/b5a0d21158f185e0.png

2026-03-29 12:30:11 UTC

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A wilfully annoying gift gives both ways! https://wiki.tjhowse.com/projects:solid_steam_card:overview

2026-03-29 12:15:36 UTC

I have a hobby of making annoying presents. Once I stamped a gift card code on a piece of steel and welded another piece of steel over the top, then turned it down into a smooth cylinder. Or a microcontroller with an accelerometer and a screen that only showed the code when it was in free-fall.
I found this photo of me apparently making one of these gifts by setting the code in concrete. I have no memory of doing this, or who I gave the present to. The code is claimed, so it must be solved.
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/312/403/200/531/473/original/8ac04edebb0ac218.png

2026-03-29 11:27:54 UTC

One of my favourite youtube creators, KRAZAM, has started making longer-form content and it has consistently been pretty great. Lots of inside jokes for software developers to laugh/cry at. Good stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIZt9YPAPZo

2026-03-28 01:59:19 UTC

C'mon GCC. You can probably work out what you need to do when I refactor code and end up accidentally calling abs(uint64_t). Take a guess.

2026-03-27 03:04:03 UTC

What's the feel for "ceramic" paint protection coating on new cars? Scummy upsell or necessary mitigation against Queensland UV and fruit bats?

2026-03-26 22:57:58 UTC

I am very slowly learning that I can get away with quite bad #lathe crimes and still get good results. Look at that mirror finish! Lovely stuff.
Please ignore the charred milling bit. That is less lovely.
#machining
https://youtu.be/eTrFkrRKlJY

2026-03-26 05:03:03 UTC

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This machine I've just installed is my new work laptop. I am now completely free of windows on all the computers I touch on a daily basis. Feels good.
Now I've just gotta cut over my wife and kids' computers. My wife ran mint for years on her NUC until it died. Worked well.

2026-03-26 03:29:41 UTC

Oooh that's one of my favourite radio buttons of all time. Mmm. I could click it all day.
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/293/350/689/976/239/original/4b97730da5685ae5.png

2026-03-26 02:55:56 UTC

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I'm juuuuust old enough to catch the tail end of dialling into a BBS maintained by A Guy Dad Knows from Work, and playing with Teletext. In some respects we had it right back then: Small groups, administered by passionate volunteers.

2026-03-26 02:52:40 UTC

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Very cool! I really want to see a modern photo of the same perspective for comparison.

2026-03-26 02:32:04 UTC

There are men in my internet. RIP availability nines.
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/293/121/699/612/844/original/327d6fe47c84e314.jpg

2026-03-25 23:16:18 UTC

I cherish my inner 15 year old who sees a download running at 20MB/s and loses his goddamned mind. His idea of a good download speed is 4kB/s when downloading Yoda_Weird_Al_Yankovic_CD_rip_64kb.mp3 off emule.

2026-03-25 10:39:30 UTC

Damn damn damn damn. My shockz bone conduction headset has died in the left ear. Same failure mode as my last pair two years ago. I'm just over a month out of warranty. Spewing. Had to listen to podcasts at the gym with right ear only. Maddening.

2026-03-25 04:58:52 UTC

PAKIJJJJJJJJJJJJJ
This is one of the sexiest pieces of mechatronics I've ever held.
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/288/036/306/443/924/original/25e19b9cefdb29b3.png

2026-03-25 02:50:41 UTC

It's always insulting when you're singing "An ode to the cutest dog on the planet" and she wanders out of the room halfway through the second verse.

2026-03-25 01:41:16 UTC

Damnit. I ordered some HTD-3M pulleys for my lathe upgrade, and a range of belt lengths because I wasn't sure exactly what size I needed.
Unfortunately I seem to have left my brain off when placing the order, because I've ordered belts that have fewer teeth than the biggest pulley. Sigh.
Anyone got a favourite supplier of HTD-3M belts in #Australia, preferably #Brisbane? I need 15mm wide, and tooth counts between 83 (249mm) and 92 (276mm).

2026-03-24 23:41:18 UTC

PAKIJJJJ
This is the gigantic servo motor for my lathe. Excite excite excite.
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/286/788/836/661/335/original/602bf7417de9d236.png

2026-03-24 11:38:59 UTC

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Likewise! It was a huge shock, especially after reading the Martian and thinking "OK, Andy Wier has one type of story he can tell, but that's OK because it's hand-crafted just for me."

2026-03-23 00:58:06 UTC

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Hey, not bad! Depending on how much they spam you, and how good the snack bar discount is. A dangerous proposition for me.

2026-03-23 00:55:41 UTC

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Incredible work. I do bike+run+swim at the gym twice a week. I just crunched my numbers assuming a sustainable pace for each leg (about 80% of current PB) and came out to 3:16. I'm 40, and I am certain I would hit the wall long before finishing.

2026-03-23 00:41:52 UTC

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Though incredibly a pre-run advert for audible or something spoiled a massive act 1 twist for the movie immediately following. Just insane.
They'd already spoiled it in the trailers, but still. A terrible narrative decision, but presumably a good marketing decision?

2026-03-23 00:33:03 UTC

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Absolutely! Our local cinema does $10 adult tickets, so it was an easy choice.

2026-03-23 00:29:01 UTC

My wife and I saw Project Hail Mary last night. We're both huge fans of the book, and can recommend the movie. It was really good! I feel they made the right cuts to the narrative to fit within a reasonable runtime.
The editing was a bit frantic in parts. Editors these days seem to favour sequences of shots that last about 20 frames each to invoke a sense of panic or urgency. Use a different tool, please.

2026-03-21 00:36:21 UTC

I should not have eaten that extra half a pancake. Bluurrrggg.
For my future reference: 5 is the correct setting for the big induction hob with the cast iron pan.

2026-03-20 11:04:57 UTC

Bugger. I unplugged the stepper motor controller from this little waveshare esp32-c6 LCD board and it instantly died and won't boot. AUD$32 down the drain. :(
It was just logic level signalling, but there was apparently enough spicy pixies going around to make it unhappy.

2026-03-20 00:07:23 UTC

I got a cheap Aliexpress DRO and installed it onto my new lathe! It all went pretty well! I cadded up some brackets in #freecad
Drilling holes into the cast iron bits of my lathe was fairly terrifying, but being able to measure cuts down to 0.005mm without reaching for the calipers is extremely useful.
#diy #lathe #machining
https://youtu.be/lSKLbnEP5lQ

2026-03-19 06:54:59 UTC

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I've got a big bag of assorted practice padlocks. Some have cut-outs to see the pins, some have matching keys, many do not. I can loan them out if required.

2026-03-19 04:21:20 UTC

I am waiting for many pakidge:
☐ 0.6Nm servomotor and 36VDC PSU
☐ 1000 CPM rotary encoder
☐ HTD3M belts and pulleys
☐ Waveshare ESP32 LCD board
☐ Magnetic swarf wand thing
I am looking forward to this new project very much.

2026-03-18 12:17:10 UTC

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I don't know what kind of advertising revenue radio pulls, but those talent contract numbers are bonkers.

2026-03-18 06:57:54 UTC

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42...

2026-03-18 06:46:12 UTC

Playlist: *a banger*
Me: "Hell yeah" *turns up volume*
Me: *remembers about chronic hearing loss, and being 40 years old*
Me: *sadly turns volume down again*

2026-03-18 06:41:11 UTC

I haven't listened to the radio since 2004, so I'm not really sure what's going on with these Kyle and Jackie people. They seem upset, though.
Also being paid 100 million dollars to talk on the radio? Bloody hell.

2026-03-17 06:59:33 UTC

My TI-83 Plus has magically recovered itself! Hurrah! Last week it was refusing to turn on.

2026-03-17 06:56:09 UTC

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😬
Can you plug into power, then hold down the power button until something happens?

2026-03-17 05:54:04 UTC

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I wish I could remember any more details. I think it was an AMD thing?

2026-03-17 04:07:05 UTC

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Oh yes. And I start doing the mental arithmetic, weighing up my responsibility to this person, to myself and to society, to work out whether it's worth the hazards of offering advice.

2026-03-17 00:44:54 UTC

Ancient fedizens, lend me what remains of your memories:
About 20 years ago I remember playing Half-Life 1 and finding that a bunch of object and character geometry looked like it had been inflated slightly. Not scaled up, but rounded and puffy.
After some fiddling I worked out that the GPU driver had shipped a new "geometry smoothing" feature that tried to interpolate and smooth models, leading to some really wonky effects.
Does anyone else remember this? I can find no digital trace.

2026-03-16 06:23:37 UTC

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I think I can be blamed for the last three weeks' weather. It's my new solar battery.

2026-03-16 03:04:13 UTC

Had dinner with some mates at DooDee Boran in the #brisbane CBD last week, just down the hill from the pancake manor. It was really great. I had a beef massaman, superb.

2026-03-15 12:59:48 UTC

"Good jesus christ. Fucking hell."
All I had to say when I just saw this bird.
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/233/302/439/977/951/original/abf5738f2404d314.mp4

2026-03-14 13:22:17 UTC

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They're fortunately still pretty common in Aus. We do our little weekend shop there.

2026-03-14 09:40:11 UTC

My Saturday measurably improved by an IGA run.
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/226/859/693/377/797/original/d751be30a35982aa.png

2026-03-14 08:59:53 UTC

I just set a new deadlift personal best wooooo.
#weightlifting

2026-03-14 05:29:53 UTC

As a huge fan of the first game, I am really loving Slay the Spire 2. It's exactly what I wanted. So many nice little improvements and flourishes on existing themes. Good stuff.

2026-03-14 03:01:19 UTC

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perfect sleep-in weather is coming.

2026-03-14 01:25:37 UTC

Really nice weather in #brisbane today. Sunny and windy, not too hot. Right in the sweet spot.
#brisbaneweather

2026-03-13 05:00:23 UTC

I had a time making a part for my new lathe. It was educational.
#lathe #machining #diy
https://youtu.be/XdWNAAcdUzw

2026-03-12 23:11:59 UTC

The day has just begun and it's already 28°C and 76% humidity in my office. Blehg.
#brisbane #brisbaneweather

2026-03-11 12:40:33 UTC

Lathe crimes absolutely pay. This came out better than I could've reasonably hoped. Very happy.
I had to chop some of the metal away to hold tools at the correct height. I tried to use a HSS milling bit but these tool holders turned out to be hardened steel, and the HSS just got hot and angry. A carbide boring bar in the chuck made short work of it.
#lathe #diy #machining
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/210/577/581/193/682/original/22ca61b5c2be54e9.png

2026-03-11 07:01:48 UTC

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What channel are you on? Brisbane switched over to MediumFast about a year ago. I'm not sure what channel Melbourne settled on.

2026-03-11 03:59:50 UTC

Hm. I am going to have to switch to having leftovers for lunch until the freezer space crisis has passed.

2026-03-11 01:34:08 UTC

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```// The rest of this was vibe-coded with robocrab lmfao yolo```

2026-03-10 11:41:24 UTC

I am doing #lathe crimes and there's nobody here to stop me.
Turns out I don't need to buy a carbide endmill after all!
#metalworking
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/204/681/968/924/154/original/6c4d385993247aec.jpg

2026-03-10 04:27:53 UTC

I recently hit three years of #weightlifting! Woo!
It's very fun to see the numbers go up. I'm very close to getting back up to setting personal bests again, after the bone cancer valley.
I can highly recommend weightlifting for health if you are a professional seat warmer, like myself. It solved my lower back problems handily.
I should probably upgrade from 5x5 stronglifts to a more nuanced programme, but eeh; it works well enough.
#fitness
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/howsesocialmastodon/media_attachments/files/116/202/964/980/411/862/original/49b3640a93776506.png

2026-03-10 00:14:47 UTC

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!! Gonna have to try that next time. Perhaps microwave, halve, then put it under the broiler/grill/gorilla.

2026-03-10 00:11:20 UTC

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Since I discovered microwaved whole potatoes my carb intake has increased at least 2x. Stab holes in skin, 7 minutes, flip, 7 minutes. enjoy. The only downside is the lack of crispy skin.

2026-03-09 22:14:38 UTC

Uh-Oh, we're getting into "Bed is too comfy and warm to get up" weather.