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Showing posts from 2021

Copy a Linux ISO image to a USB nurgle on a Mac

On a Mac, a simple thing such as copying an ISO file to a USB nurgle, is not necessarily simple, due to the helpful automounter.  Get a Linux ISO image over here:  https://ubuntu.com/download/flavours     Open a terminal, then do the following See which disks are on the machine: $ diskutil list Insert the USB nurgle, to see the disk node (Likely /dev/disk2 - NEVER disk1!!! ): $ diskutil list Unmount the nurgle: $ diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN Copy the ISO file to the USB nurgle: $ sudo dd if=/path-to.iso of=/dev/diskN bs=1m Once completed: $ diskutil eject /dev/diskN Caution Please note that writing to /dev/disk1 will very likely be extremely disappointing, so rather don't.  Eh? What is a nurgle ???  It is Aussie for a widget, a thingummabob, a whatchammacallit, a whassisname, or a hoosammawhatsit - a very versatile word to add to your technojargon vocabulary. La voila! Herman

Unlock CRA PDF Forms

Unlock Canada Revenue Agency PDF Forms It appears that there is a relatively new PDF feature to prevent casual copying and saving of a file and that some programs save PDF files with these foolish features active by default.  Many forms from the Canada Revenue Agency are locked in this way, which makes it difficult to do one's taxes, since one can fill the form, but cannot save it.  One can only print the form.  It should be possible to print to a file or export it to a new PDF file, but it is far better to reset the annoying anti-taxpayer flags, since the 'printed' form cannot be edited easily any more and I always manage to make a mistake or three that need to be corrected after review. If there is a Linux (virtual) machine handy, install qpdf and use it to reset the silly flags: $ su - password # dnf update # dnf install qpdf # exit $ qpdf --decrypt lockedfile.pdf unlockedfile.pdf One doesn't need a password to unlock these flags, so the fix is instant. La voila! He

Bucket Vacuum Cleaner

Bucket Vacuum Cleaner for Shop and Yard Work I needed to clean out 50 years of cobwebs and dirt from two garages and a shed.  The cobwebs were like a Hollywood horror movie and I needed to enter the shed armed with a broom and a shotgun.  A little 1000 Watt home vacuum cleaner would be instantly full, so I disassembled an old one and mounted the parts on top of a big bucket from the Hornbach hardware store, to give the little sucker a fighting chance. All the surplus Covid filter masks also came in handy in the shed while cleaning. It Takes Two to Tango! The trick is to use two buckets, one inside another, like two paper cups, otherwise the bucket can collapse when the pipe clogs up.  Screw the outer bucket to the castor wheel plate, then you can simply remove the light weight inner bucket only, to empty the cleaner. The most difficult part of this project, is to disassemble the old cleaner.  Evil one-time snaps and hidden little screws, may require using a wrecking bar and hack saw t

Knights Of The Round Table

I did my good deed for the week and rescued an old round/oval table. These tables all suffer from the same design flaw, since the factories copy each other and they don't care about it lasting much beyond the show room door.  A table with a central leg will only last if it is made from steel. A wooden table that is light enough that normal human beings can still lift it, will eventually split, due to the enormous leverage from the table edge onto the central leg. The central leg is made from four planks glued together and then turned on a lathe - which also weakens it.  The four feet, are invisibly bolted through into the hollow. When a knight in heavy armour leans on the table, the central leg tends to split at the bottom or top. I wedged the spars open and poured in some white glue and let it run down, while spreading it with a little swizzle stick and wiping up with a damp cloth.  Then I clamped it and drilled four holes for dowel rods (the little white points above the clamp ja

The Office

The Office Do you still remember what an   Office   is? Those large multistorey buildings where we all used to fearlessly share   our cold and flu viruses like a   big happy family ? The Book   on a lectern where you sign in/out, with   The Witch   glaring at you for being   ten seconds   late, whether your nails are clean and your shirt tucked in.  The front desks that are slightly bigger, with a better quality desk lamp and which may even have a   carpet !  The CARDEX cards along the wall, the clattering Telex machine at the back...     Mid 20th Century Office It is interesting to note how the desks get gradually more messed up towards the rear of the room.  That is always where the   real work   gets done. Have fun! Herman

UAV Communications And Mission Systems

Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicles present an interesting communications challenge.  Flying an RC toy in your back yard is fun, but controlling a heavy aircraft, hundreds of kilometers away over the desert, is something else entirely.  Abu Dhabi IDEX 2021 walk through: https://youtu.be/PkNzGEeBOBo ADASI 500 kg Unmanned Helicopter ready for IDEX 2021 The below book is still a draft and it is published here as a series of PNG files - one per page.  The below should be viewable in any browser.  If you wish to get a PDF file, send a message to herman at aeronetworks dot ca and then we can agree on which FTP service to use.     Enjoy! Herman