Showing posts with label information. Show all posts
Showing posts with label information. Show all posts

2024-10-08

Letter Archival

One of the things that's out of hand in my papers is letters and such from others.  I don't get as many as I used to, nor do I write as many, but I would like to have a way to organize the material.

There are a couple sites that turned up regarding saving documents.  One is from Gaylord Archival, which sells archival products: Preserving Handwritten Letters.  The other is from the Smithsonian: Preserving Your Letters and Documents.

2020-01-04

Oxalic Dribble

I attempted an oxalic dribble in the fall on three hives.  Due to the light weight of the crystals, I had to use a gunpowder scale to get the right accuracy.

Scientific Beekeeping mentioned using a water-only base for the oxalic.  Another article suggests treating package bees initially.  This makes sense in that they’ll be carrying phoretic mites and the number can be drastically reduced if treated prior to the development of brood.

One paper describes using oxalic and thymol together.  I was more interested in the dosages mentioned.

2018-10-02

Freestanding Decks

This article was useful regarding bracing, which they call “Y bracing”.  I didn’t end up using the “V bracing” for my shed foundation because the plywood subfloor should function similarly—different from usual decking.

2018-02-11

Nvidia GPUs & Linux

A couple more non-link-dump link dumps:
  1. Ubuntu Nvidia binary driver howto, which has some troubleshooting info
  2. Using integrated graphics for display, albeit with a laptop; I ran into the login loop, and found elsewhere driver installation via PPA
This is tricky stuff.  Lots of compatibility problems, disinformation, and apathy, and money hangs in the balance.  Mining definitely isn't for everyone.  I'm not sure I'd do it again if I could go back--but I'm kind of committed now, at least until I recoup the hardware costs.

Mining Disinformation

One page on how to build a mining rig claims that WhatToMine shows stock numbers.  No...for GeForce GTX 1060s they list 22.5 MH/s on Ethereum, which is an average overclock.  I have some cards that start out at 15 stock, and only make it to 20 OC'ed.  Some go up to 23.5.  It seems to be the hardware lottery.  I've read that Hynix memory is the stuff that sucks, but I can't run the hardware check because they're all for Windows.

Speaking of, the aforementioned page links to another site that has activation keys for cheap.  I'm thinking it must be pirated somehow, but at $43.49 for Windows 10 Professional and Office 2016, it's tempting....

2018-01-04

Crypto Wikis


Side-note: Ripple apparently is being called a cryptocurrency because transactions are signed, but from a cursory view it appears that the consensus algorithm of the ledger requires trusting nodes to not collude:
During consensus, each node evaluates proposals from a specific set of peers, called chosen validators. Chosen validators represent a subset of the network which, when taken collectively, is "trusted" not to collude in an attempt to defraud the node evaluating the proposals. This definition of "trust" does not require that each individual chosen validator is trusted. Rather, validators are chosen based on the expectation they will not collude in a coordinated effort to falsify data relayed to the network.
The lack of this trust requirement is one of BTC's desirable attributes, at least to liberty people.  However, it's easy to see why Ripple is supported by banks: they have a place in the XRP ecosystem.

More Ether

So my phone's browser is filling up with tabs and I need to dump them ASAP!

About using 1060 3GB cards to mine ETH: Well, they're actually still obtainable, since everyone else is buying RX 580s and GTX 1080s.  But also salient is that the power consumption is much lower, as posted previously.  (Actually, without overclocking, 19.8 MH/s is achievable at 70W.)

Even mining with 1060s has taken off: articles from 6 mo ago show prices for the 6GB cards as being sub-$200, and now they're closer to $300.  Even 3GB cards, which may be getting close to outmoded for the increased DAG file size at more recent epochs, are selling for ~$230.

OC'ing Nvidia cards on Linux is a hot mess.  Everyone appears to be using Windows, but I'm too cheap to pay MS, and I don't really want to pirate it.  Going from ~20 to ~23 hashrate would be nice, though.  Some hacking of the xorg.conf file is necessary to enable memory OC; the problem is under Ubuntu, gpu-manager runs and rewrites xorg.conf upon reboot.  When I effectively disabled that using "sudo chattr +i /etc/X11/xorg.conf", the system wouldn't boot into X.  Then I had to figure out how to get into the Grub startup page (old docs say hold down shift, but I found that Esc is necessary these days) and get into single-user mode to restore the attribute.  At least power target can be adjusted down without coolbits.

On my laptop I had another guide open that I realized I hadn't fully tried.  Need to give it a shot.

It was amusing to read about how mining pools calculate "shares": by having the miner submit work and verifying that it meets a standard of difficulty below the network standard for the sole purpose of computing the miner contributions.  Of course, a given share may be the block solution, but the miner doesn't have enough information to know.  Furthermore, at least if we were talking Bitcoin, the coinbase / generation transaction's address would be the mining pool's.  Of course, a malicious miner could return bogus data and cause blocks to be missed....

Don't forget the PPLNS pool algorithm used by nanopool (explanation).  Pay Per Last N Shares introduces randomness in the algorithm; if I understand correctly, the pool pays based on some recent subset of shares submitted by each miner when a block is found, as opposed to all the shares, as in PPS.

CoinWarz's mining profit calculator is more detailed than CryptoCompare's calculator.  The former is more optimistic than the latter, though: 2.928 vs. 2.78 based on the same hashrate, and is still optimistic on the USD profit, even though the former also subtracts out the pool fees.

Regarding hashrate of 1050s, it appears they're 12 MH/s stock, as opposed to 19-20 with 1060s.  The 2GB model is ~$125, the 4GB ~$190.  Of course the 4GB is in greater demand.  2GB is definitely too small for ETH; perhaps it'd be usable for other alts like ZEC?  With one of those miner boards that allows for hooking up >10 cards, that'd potentially be more cost-effective, if not power-effective.

As far as the Ethereum switch to PoS, the FAQ on GitHub describes what that would look like.  Apparently there are two types under consideration: chain-based and BFT-style.  BFT is "Byzantine fault tolerance" that handles consensus-seeking in the presence of malicious actors.  Amusingly enough, the Wikipedia page notes under examples of such failures that this pertains to swarming bees:
A similar problem faces honeybee swarms. They have to find a new home, and the many scouts and wider participants have to reach consensus about which of perhaps several candidate homes to fly to. And then they all have to fly there, with their queen. The bees' approach works reliably, but when researchers offer two hives, equally attractive by all the criteria bees apply, catastrophe ensues, the swarm breaks up, and all the bees die.
My hobbies are commingling! (?!)

As far as using Radeon RX 580s, most of those seem to be sold out at under a $400 price point.  Amusingly, Newegg has an Asus 4GB card for $280 in stock: "limit 1 per customer" (lol).  I'm less enthused about using those because OC'ing them involves tweaking their BIOS.

I'm not sure why I get like this every once in a while, going full-bore into something different.  Hopefully in this case it'll be profitable rather than just another money sink.

2017-12-08

Bitcoin Protocol

Stream of browsing, an article on doing a raw Bitcoin transaction came up.  Neat.

The Bitcoin wiki has some useful information about messages on the network.  It might be neat to make a client that just sits and monitors traffic.

2017-05-25

Honey Bee Forage Species

Someone on Facebook (I think it was RJS) had kindly posted this list, from NASA no less, on honey bee forage species.  Minnesota has four main sources, apparently: alfalfa, sweet clover, dutch clover, and basswood.  Apparently some folks at NASA have the beek habit as well.

2017-02-20

Walther PP

Info on the Walther forums: date codes, serial number ranges, etc.

SurplusRifle.com

I recall reading this SurplusRifle.com guide back before I filed for my C&R FFL.  There's a PDF of the guide, accessible via The Wayback Machine.

2016-01-23

Formula

Another couple tabs that were in my browser from at least a year ago....

About organic formulas
Making baby formula

2015-01-04

Targeted Display Mode

Newer iMacs have the capability to display video on the display from an external source.  I picked up a Mini DisplayPort cable and was able to get my MBP to display on the larger monitor.  To switch to external input, press Command-F2 on the iMac.  This requires that the iMac boots normally, however.

2013-12-05

More Bitcoin Info

The Genesis Block's dashboard shows the difficulty level increase.

btcinvest.net has a profitability calculator that takes into account USD/BTC appreciation.  Of course this is immaterial, since in the case where appreciation matters, buy and hold would be a superior investment method.

The Bitcoin wiki has a list of mining pools.  Eligius looks like the one to pick since it doesn't have any fees.

2013-07-03

MLPs

I was looking at picking up SDT to put in an IRA account, but when I went to the trade page, my brokerage displayed a warning that SDT is an MLP (Master Limited Partnership), which may have tax consequences for my account:
Investments in publicly traded MLPs involve risks and considerations that may differ from investments in common stock.

Tax complexity risk: Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) are generally considered passthrough entities for tax purposes and have special tax considerations. Pass-through entities may generate unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) that may have undesirable tax consequences for retirement accounts and other tax-exempt investors. If you hold MLP units, you are generally treated as a partner for tax purposes and will be issued a Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) rather than a Form 1099 form for use in filling out your tax return. A K-1 lists the partner's share of income, deductions, credits, and other tax items. If the MLP has operations in multiple states, you may need to file a separate tax return in each state.

An MLP that is treated as a corporation in the United States rather than a pass-through entity for federal income tax purposes would be obligated to pay federal income tax on its income at the corporate tax rate. In this case, the amount of cash available for distribution by the MLP would be reduced and part or all of the distributions made could be taxed entirely as dividend income. In this case a Form 1099 would be furnished rather than a Schedule K-1. Please see the MLP’s website, SEC filings, or most recent shareholder report for further details about tax treatment of your investments.
A search turned up a page on the National Association of Publicly Traded Partnership's site regarding MLPs and retirement accounts which has some useful information about UBIT (Unrelated Business Income Tax).  BusinessWire also has information on SDT, including a link to their tax information page.

2013-06-12

Adult ADHD

Perhaps this explains why I procrastinate.
At its core, ADHD is a disorder of impulse control. Adults with ADHD were very impulsive as kids, and they continue to be that way in what they say, do and feel. They don’t think about future consequences.

Adults with ADHD also have great difficulties with time management and organization. They end up wasting a lot of time and procrastinating.

This is why they’re ill-prepared for deadlines. Adults with ADHD are chronically late for work, appointments and dates.


They’re often inflexible. An ability to reprioritize on the fly and shift to whatever is important at the moment is difficult. Whenever they get involved in an enjoyable activity they find it very difficult to get away from it. They often quit if there is no immediate payoff for what they’re about to do.

Adults with ADHD often can’t keep a job or sustain a relationship for more than three months.
No particular issues with jobs or relationships (any more than the usual, anyway), but the lateness is a struggle.

2013-05-14

Economics

In case one were wondering about the money supply....  There are claims that the money supply is under-reported.  Apparently there are several measures of the money supply, such as M1, M2, and M3.  Well, it turns out that the Federal Reserve stopped reporting M3 in 2006.  Indeed, the FRB website doesn't have such data available.  M3 includes the repurchase agreements that are what the government expands for "quantitative easing", and thus would be the number to look at to figure out the number of dollars, electronic or otherwise, that are available.  Supposedly, M3 is extraneous and can be calculated from other public data; but finding such information doesn't appear to be so easy.  One report projects that from 2007-2009 the money supply was in double-digit growth.

2013-04-09

Cast Iron

I've read many different ways to season cast iron pans, but this method using flaxseed oil sounds the most promising.

Turns out that highly acidic ingredients like vinegar or tomato sauce will strip the seasoning off pans.  The author of the article above also mentions that boiling water is a no-no, but then recommends boiling water to loosen baked-on gunk.

2012-12-31

Primer Cup Measurements

A page I came across has a table with various manufacturers' primers and their measurements.  In particular, the thickness of the cup is interesting.  Federal small rifle primers have the thinnest cup in the lineup, which goes with the empirical observation from a local authority that Federal has softer primers.

2012-10-16

Primer/Powder Storage

There are guidelines for primer/powder storage in publication 495 by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).  The residential limits are 10k primers and 20 lbs (smokeless) powder, although if the latter is in wooden magazines with 1" thick walls, the limit is 50 lbs.  Apparently many municipalities have adopted NFPA 495 as the law.

SAAMI published three PDFs with the relevant excerpts from NFPA 495: primers, powder, and loaded ammunition.  The text is on the last or 2nd to last page of each document.

I also found an interesting paper produced in the UK circa 1998 regarding detonation risks associated with storing powder in buildings.  Strangely enough, the study noted found that smokeless powder is less volatile than black powder (called simply 'gunpowder' in the paper).