I have a few older Macs lying around that I've been looking for good uses for. My college laptop was a 2012 and it was pretty decent for its time (doesn't receive software updates anymore, stuck on Catalina. Opencore works for more recent versions, but I prefer having older OS versions on older hardware anyway).

I also have a 2017 that was a work laptop at one point, and it's a dual core model much like the 2012 (although with a much higher clock speed and a newer architecture, so it performs noticeably better). I don't have any PCs laying around anymore and missed having an Ubuntu computer, so rather than going up to a pawn shop to buy a cheap laptop, I figured I'd throw Ubuntu on this thing instead.

Despite this thing being a Mac, Ubuntu has actually worked quite well on it. I had to install a few custom kernel modules to fix bluetooth and speaker drivers, and had to fix a couple of issues with it crashing on suspend and using too much power for the CPU (tlp fixed this, Mac has a bad battery so unexpected shutdowns can occur if the processor tries to draw too much).

Aside for a few things that required manual fixes, it's been working more smoothly than I expected. I like Ubuntu/Gnome 3 better than Mac OS (it's very Mac-like but much less cluttered), and it's been snappier than Mac OS has been on a dual core processor.

Anyone else ever installed Linux onto Mac hardware? How well did it run?

So with the news of the Chinese spy balloon being shot down an idea occurred to me. 
The tech bay was about the size of a 747... why didn't we just grab it?

So given this is Makestation, a place for new ideas, making things, and being creative I'm going to propose a competition for a hypothetical scenario.

You have 1 mission, intercept and capture the payload or entirety of a balloon based aircraft with the following dimensions without damaging or destroying it.

Balloon, 200 feet long, made of a Kevlar weave and filled with hydrogen, resembles a zeppelin.

payload is a box 150x30x30 feet. LxWxH

Velocity 75mph.

has four control propellers roughly 11feet in diameter off to the sides on arms adding an additional 15 feet on the sides to watch out for.

Rules:

You cannot blow it up.
You cannot simply deflate it and bring it to the ground, it must be captured in the air for complete recovery.
You can work by yourself or in a group.
You can jam the signals coming from it.
It will attempt to evade capture but does not have any active defenses.

you have until march 1st when the ideas will be put to a vote.
Winner gets a custom banner made by yours truly as well as a custom title on the site.

Best proposal wins, if you're in a group please state who's in the group with you.

Remember, submit your proposal by 03/01/2023 by posting it here and I will link to it on this post for easy viewing.

Good luck!

What are some things you've wanted pockets in and other things that left you questioning why they had pockets?

For me I can never have enough storage so I want pockets in everything but when I came across boxers with pockets I had to ask myself why.

The US is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental United States, defense officials said on Thursday, a discovery that risks adding further strain to tense US-China relations.

Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the US government has been tracking the balloon for several days as it made its way over the northern United States, adding it was “traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”

Speaking on background, a senior US defense official said senior military officials had advised President Joe Biden not to shoot it down due to fear the debris could pose a safety threat to people on the ground.

“We are confident that this high-altitude surveillance balloon belongs to the [People’s Republic of China],” the senior defense official said. “Instances of this activity have been observed over the past several years, including prior to this administration.”

While the balloon’s current flight path carries it over “a number of sensitive sites,” the official said it does not present a significant intelligence gathering risk. The balloon is assessed to have “limited additive value” from an intelligence collection perspective, the official added.

The US, the official said, is “taking steps nevertheless to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information. We are also tracking what abilities it could have in gaining insights, and continue to monitor the balloon as it was over the continental United States.”

Here

I know that Bandoliers exist but they aren't designed for what I needed.  I know utility belts exist but they sit upon the waist.  So why not combine both?  Thus one of my projects that I'm always working on is a storage solution that's easy to wear, handy to have, and easy to tinker with.  The Band-O-Gear, a bandolier of pockets and storage!

Here's the original design I came up with based on using a belt as a bandolier and modifying it.


It was based on this idea from a cross country Bicycling bag that used to be a thing in the early 2000's.


I took that and ran with it making my own since I couldn't find what I wanted anywhere.
 

And as a first version of it so far I have no complains other than it tends to not stay where I want it and shift around as I move.

but I'm working on a Rev 2.

Some notes I have are A: find a way to make it more stable for long duration use. B: Better pocket design (recently learned to work with leather so I'm going to try it out as a material.) and C: more pocket variety... also a larger rear bag and maybe something like a camel back. Gods know I get thirsty tinkering on something for hours and having it right there would be nice.

Also thinking of making Rev 2 a Cross bandolier instead of a single one to add additional pocket attachment points.


Like this but with various pouches/pockets for holding stuff.

US President Joe Biden has spoken out against delivering F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. When asked by journalists if he was in favor of delivering the fighter jets to Ukraine, Biden replied "no" in Washington on Monday. The Caribbean leadership is currently urging its western allies to deliver fighter jets.


Good decision, more guns and sanctions haven't ended a war yet 

Eminem said he doubted he'd release any more music past 50 as he celebrates milestone birthday today

Eminem has hit the big 50 today (17 October) but as he celebrates his milestone birthday, his career as a musician could be over.

Well, at least according to previous comments made by the rapper, the now 50-year-old hinted that he may stop putting out music after hitting the big 5-0.

From Here

Top secret documents reportedly found in Biden cache

Classified files recovered from US President Joe Biden's former private office reportedly include some material marked top secret.

Papers with the highest classification level were among about 10 files at a think tank bearing his name, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Fewer than 10 classified documents were found at one of his Delaware homes, but none were top secret, says CBS.

A leak of top secret information could cause "exceptionally grave damage".

Quelle

So for all of us who grew up watching Yugioh back in the day has anyone tried Yugioh Master duel?  It's a free to play Online TCG version of the classic card game.

@darth Apple ??? Is MENTIONME no longer installed? Or a bug?

lg Tc4me