Alex Ziskind on YT tests a number of on-site AI devices: https://youtu.be/QbtScohcdwI

Given how much AWS is pushing vibe-coding, we’re now in the Leopard-Face-Eating territory.

Paper books with nightlights, or ebooks on low light level.

Reduced sensory input works like a charm.

Retirement is an artificial artifact. Big fan of those continuing to create and help others.

Got a couple of 50ft, high-speed Ethernet cables delivered today. Spent the whole afternoon moving boxes and furniture so I could hide them from view.

A long time ago, I turned a PC in my basement into a web server. No DNS. Just a static IP address. Within 15 minutes, the logs showed it was getting scanned.

SSL encrypts traffic in-transit. You need to set up auth/access control. Even better, stick it behind a Web Application Firewall.

Or set up a tunnel. Cloudflare offers a free one: https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/

Didn’t sound like the communication module to D-Bus interface was encrypted. Proves yet again that once you have access to the physical device, all bets are off.

Really wish somebody had asked what data was going from the comms module to the cloud (and back)? That’s where most of the home privacy and remote tampering issues kick in.

OK, just tried it with one of those old forms. Added a text field overlay and a signature. Even flattens before saving. Works great. Awesome, thanks!

Went to look up what XFA forms were (https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-manager-learn/forms/document-services/pdf-forms-and-documents).

Most of the non-fillable forms I encounter are what that document lists as “Traditional” PDF forms, likely generated using older tools from print streams. For example, a school athletics release form, or a membership application for a small organization. None of them have any fillable PDF fields. The original expectation might have been to download and print out the PDF, hand-fill it, then fax the result back.

I’ll dig up a form like that I had to fill a few weeks ago and give it a try.

This looks great!

Can you use it to overlay text fields and fill them?

Most of my uses are basic. Like filling out a PDF form that doesn’t have proper form entry fields. These are usually older government or bureaucratic/healthcare/school forms.

I end up adding text boxes and entering values, or adding an X on top of a checkbox, adding a signature PNG file and scaling it to fit the size. Sometimes I have to add a highlight overlay. Then I save it all as a single flattened PDF file.

Amazingly, this is hard to do in Acrobat and a lot of apps. I end up using a janky, 10-yo desktop app that is no longer supported.

• Ubuntu desktop - the whole shebang including office apps
• PiHole ad-blocker
• Jellyfin video server
• Minecraft server
• Local LLMs
• On-site VPN service
• Home Assistant smarthome controller

So many things, and much more…

Viagra

Pretty well done. Have been a print subscriber since the relaunch.

Just saw a new outdoor Wyze camera with a motorized head, small solar panel, SD-card, and wifi for around $80. If you figure out the server side, it might be a good hardware foundation.

Other option is a Pi-based camera.The server side would be easier to set up, but you would have to figure out power, enclosure, and weatherproofing.

Edit: this might allow access to the video stream: https://github.com/mrlt8/docker-wyze-bridge

On a previous thread, someone pointed to https://sonoff.tech/en-us/products/sonoff-dongle-max-zigbee-thread-poe-dongle-dongle-m

Looks like it might support both.

Blowing other people’s runny noses, with your mind.

We used to read both versions in high school French class. There was much more slang in French. Many of these were replaced by silly puns in English.

Even the names: Getafix the druid was originally Panoramix. Dogmatix the dog was Idéfix (this is actually a pretty good translation, keeping the core idea of single-mindedness, plus it has Dog in it).

The chief and bard names are the worse. Abraracourcix is a reference to someone prone to violence in French, which is why he keeps getting angry and red-faced. There’s a whole plotline about him having to go to a spa so he can lose weight and relax. Not sure why they renamed him to Vitalstatistix in English.

And the noisy bard goes from Assurancetourix (comprehensive insurance joke) to an unsubtle Cacofonix. But to answer your question, most of the bad puns were added in the English translation.

FWIW, they did a reverse butcher job with Harry Potter books. The French versions literally translated the British expressions word-for-word to the point they made no sense.

Nursing.