Mewbits?

It was caused by laser rot, or Laser Diode degradation. The early players had lasers in them running as hard and hot as they could make them at the time, and over time the power output would decrease and the players would start skipping, or only work on their side, and it would get worse over time.

I had 3 of the Sony D-5 original "Discman" players and they all did the same thing, they lasted with daily use for about a year or so then started to exhibit the problems. This was only a problem for the first few years of CDs, by the time re-writable CD's came out, the the lasers were capable of much higher power and would last much longer at the lower power (playback mode) settings.

Some "QRP" or low power experimenters as you state play with very low power (under 5W), but most of the 900 MHz activity is simple analog or digital repeaters, like APCO/P25. If they are using standard LMR (2 way radio, like public safety) repeaters, they are using power levels from 35 to 300W TX Power typically. The antenna gains used give them 1x to 10x gain (from unity to ~10dB), so that gives typical total ERP values of 35 to 3000W.

Most amateurs using this band do not use full legal power there, unless they are playing with EME (Earth-Moon-Earth) stations or other specialized point to point applications.

Also, 900 MHz ham operations are not that common, in my state they are almost exclusively only in large metro city areas, and for example there are 500 repeaters total on all the various ham bands, and of them there are only maybe 25 total 900 MHz systems, state wide. Most systems are on the 2 meter or 70 cm (440 MHz) bands, with 220 MHz as the next most popular band.

Note that there are protected "weak signal" areas of the band reserved for those "QRP" or ultra low-power operators and for things like satellite signal earth station works. There are distinct "preserves" or areas of the band that are designated for that low power use only and repeaters or any other signals exceeding 1 or 5 W max are very much prohibited in these parts of the band.

They are burning tires or other garbage in a cooling tower, from what I have gathered. They are pretty far from the main containment facility, especially the reactors, which I believe are in shutdown now. If so, the cooling towers aren't being used if the plant is in a standby state.

There's not much inside a cooling tower to damage or catch fire. If you've ever seen pictures inside one, or seen the movie Brazil, it's just a network of radial steam pipes that make up a "floor", with holes in them to let the steam out. The platform of pipes is raised about 20-30 feet from the actual ground below. Nothing particularly flammable about it.

Other than maybe a few small valves, pumps or other actuator type control equipment, there is not much that's either electronic or particularly sensitive inside them. The walls are reinforced concrete, AFAIK, and they also are not flammable.

Although Putin might be embarrassed, he won't deliberately risk an accident there. It would cause too much blowback and they would be risking nuking themselves, essentially. But, there is always the possibility of an accidental shooting or explosion that can happen, and neither side wants that.

Building a tire fire inside a cooling tower is either because the troops there are bored, or it might be their way of trying to act threatening - but anyone with a little knowledge of how the plants work will not be easily fooled.

Hmm. Time for a re-read on this one.

I thought of that 12 milliseconds after hitting enter.

Still, I'll wield a +5 Enchanted FP any day!

They are probably harder to detect than a USB type of device, but the physical turntables can't simulate periodic clicking. Not sure if the software is simply looking for cursor movement or actual clicks being generated, but it might not be fooled unless you click on something once in a while, perhaps.

They found my drinking bird!

By using the "contents:[searchstring]" keyword, you can tell windows you want to search inside documents as well as just the usual filename searching.

Hmm. This is like the old military joke, "Everyone wanting to volunteer for this mission, take a step forward...", and everyone but one poor schmuck takes a step backward.

This sort of seems to cancel most of the good intentions of NN. Or at least it leaves a loophole wide enough to drive at truck through.

Ring doorbells, and probably others as well have a GREAT solution for sneaky Ninja stealth package deliverers - their motion detection features are excellent for detecting clandestine drop-offs and alerting you of the fact.

This is especially useful if you're in a high traffic or crime area, you'll know the moment it was dropped off. And the moment it was stolen, if you didn't get to it in time! :) Plus, if you're lucky, a video of the thief's face.

Otherwise, there are security drop-off lockers like olde tyme Milk Boxes, you can have them deliver the items into them and the lid locks closed. Presumably, it's bolted to the porch or too big and heavy to carry off, I don't know for sure as I don't own one.

Actually there is. When you sign up with an ISP, you enter a contract for internet service. AFAIK you have to be 18+ in order to legally be able to agree to a contract.

IANAL, but I believe this is true in all states in the USA.

This was a great series full of era-appropriate computer and IT in-jokes and adult humor, definitely not a kids show.

Absolutely groundbreaking ray-tracing/rendering graphics used at the time, state of the art for it's day.

And who could forget Tony Jay as Megabyte?

Not all of it is.

Basic PC client/server programs will let you set up a local LAN server for free. They start charging when it comes to some popular clients, like ones for Android, iPhone and Roku cost $$. There is also a DVR service that gets guide data if you have an OTA tuner for local TV channels like I do, and that is not free either.

They do have a one-time "Plex Pass" (used to be $99.00 when I got mine) which gives you all access to all of the Plex services for a one-time flat fee. What I don't understand is how that is sustainable - it looks like sort of a pyramid or ponzi scheme, but not quite - somehow depending on new signups to pay for things, which is great as long as there is momentum of gaining new users.

I believe Emby is doing something similar now, also charging a one-time flat fee for access to all features for life. They are doing the same thing and requiring it for DVR service and some high-end smartphone and TV clients like Plex is doing.

LOL that was the operational model for Cable TV. You pay ONCE, a monthly fee for NO FUCKING ADS. Period. Well, we all know how that shitshow turned out!

It turned out the fucks were SO greedy they insisted on their monthly fee, THEN they turned around and started cramming ads down our throats TOO. Because we had no choice at that point, and they were relying on the fact that you can't or won't stop them if you wanted your entertainment fix, they ran roughshod over us and we have the situation we have today with them double-dipping at the punchbowl.

I have no compunction about turning off and evading advertising to the best of my technical ability. At age 61, those assholes have collectively broken their promises and social contracts repeatedly and collectively they have wasted at least 2-3 years of my life without any shame. I would have GLADLY paid probably thousands of dollars to avoid all of that - IF they kept their promises.

FUCK THEM, THEY AIN'T TAKING ANY MORE! I have paid MORE than my dues over the 40+ years I have been a "consumer" (sucker) of their entertainment "product" (shit). I don't feel they "owe" me anything, but I also don't feel as though I need to keep financing their greed. I have paid "up front", but with my time instead of my money, like their model intended.