Notices by Bob Jonkman (bobjonkman@mastodon.sdf.org)

@johnefrancis

That's not right. I'm following @onpoli too.

@evan

@ghostdancer

I remember seeing Johnny Null on Gab when it first appeared as a StatusNet instance.

That was before I realized Gab was not someplace I wanted to be.

@morph @kat

@neil

I see the 'G' in #Veganuary is pronounced like the 'G' in .gif ...

@hypolite

Watching commercials on TV (actually an online paid subscription service; why are there still commercials?) there seem to be only ads for scented fabric softener, scented deodorant, scented bath foam, scented dish soap, and an air freshener that actually boasts *two* alternating scents.

Oh, and online gambling ads. I'll bet the dice are scented.

I've heard that English is the most difficult language to learn. Fortunately, there are online translation tools.

#DeepL

@rasterweb

I'm not inclined to watch ST anime, but I'd watch a live-action Lower Decks!

(yup, that was a great episode!)

#StarTrek #LowerDecks #STLD #StrangeNewWorlds #STSNW

@dm

@morph

And that should be a #tzaf from me, but I'll be up for hours yet.

#PastMyBedtime

@theru @tpheine @Paul

@mloxton

Made my living as a #SysAdmin of Novell products for many years. There was one stab at bringing Univel (Unixware?) into our shop, but I don't think it lasted three months.

When Novell bought SUSE Linux a few years later I recall assertively telling our Novell rep (and a bunch of high muckymucks from Novell Canada): "Don't screw it up like you did with Univel!" There may have been elevated levels of volume involved.

@ascentale

I can't mount bearings. My back wheel was wobbling so I took apart the hub to clean, re-lube, and tighten the bearings. But the balls weren't in cages, and I couldn't get them back in. Off to the LBS (who didn't laugh at me, at least not while I was there) and they showed me brinelling on the bearing race, the cause of the wobbling. So it needed to be replaced anyway. But I'm not opening my bottom bracket for fear of losing more bearing balls.

#BikeNite A4

@rowmyboat @bikenite

@foone

> if you love something, take it apart until you understand it, then share it with the world

...so you can find someone who knows how to put it back together.

@mattl

I'm another two-monitors-maximized guy.

In pinch, I'll have the two apps maximized in adjacent workspaces, and CTRL+ALT+LEFT and CTRL+ALT+RIGHT between them.

#BikeNite A4: I had a bunch of spare bikes, discards from relatives that weren't in rideable condition that I wanted to frankenbike for years. When my son needed a new bike I realized I'd never get around to fixing them, so we brought them to #RecycleCycles and bought new bikes on the way home.

But somehow, I've accumulated a bunch more bike parts over the years since then.

@ascentale
@pete @bikenite

@MichaelPorter

> sending a message in an attachment to an email instead of just putting the message in the text of the email.

My pet peeve. There's an org that regularly sent me e-mail with a PDF attached that consisted of scanned images of something printed from a word processor.

@SuperMoosie @NanoRaptor

@ColinTheMathmo

I answered that zero is neither even nor odd, because that's what I was taught in grade 7 or 8, and I have always accepted that I don't have the math chops to understand why.

But the number and variety of answers (proofs) showing that zero is even (including the Wikipedia article) are very convincing, to the point that maybe I think I do have the math chops to understand why...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parity_of_zero

@ai6yr

> 700cc bikes i have all go much faster

Yes, motorcycles generally do... 🤣

(I had a chance to buy a Yamaha 700cc motorcycle when I was 25 or so. Still regret not doing that...)

@ascentale
#BikeNite A2a
@bikenite

@Shanmonster

Any idea what part of your laptop is dead?

A few years ago at a @kwlug swap meet someone brought in a "dead" laptop. The only thing wrong was a dead battery that was trying to charge, but pulling so much power the laptop wouldn't boot. I removed the battery and it ran just fine, and it was my daily computer for years.

It's possible #ComputerRecycling at #TheWorkingCentre has parts to fix it; if not, they have cheap (used) computers and laptops.

cc: Charles McColm @chaslinux

#BikeNite A1b: Oh, look! Pictures of a biking politician!

@CycleWR
@ascentale @bikenite

#BikeNite A1: Posting from #WaterlooRegion.

It's not that I trust a politician because they're cyclists, but the politicians I trust tend to be cyclists simply from having aligned interests.

@CycleWR has a "Ride With A Candidate" event at municipal elections to show them what's needed in the way of bike infrastructure. I'll sign up for next year's election.

And then there's this: https://bobjonkman.ca/2019/10/16/biking-with-bob-jonkman-saturday-19-october-2019/

@ascentale
@bikenite

@meadow

> ask the LLM to cite its sources.

A friend has been marking student papers recently (I don't know on what topic, but the friend is a microbiologist). He says that some papers are definitely made up by LLMs, complete with made up citations. But where the citation links actually lead to source documents, it turns out those source documents are made up by LLMs too.

It's nonsense machines, all the way down.

@noodlemaz @MxVerda @Gustodon @b_rain

#BikeNite A6 from 6 June 2025: There are several upright bike counter displays in #WaterlooRegion. No idea if they're available online.

And there are MANY bike sensor loops on the various trails. No displays for these, so they must be available remotely somewhere.

@ascentale
@xtaran @bikenite