JeffDClark

Erroneous 503s. I would get a 503 on every call. Uploading a single file with a single call would immediately 503. I never once got a successful upload. I simply switched the endpoint URL and credentials over to AWS S3 and it worked first time so it was not my code (though I suppose it could have been an issue in the library AWS's node S3 client). My theory was the request was somehow malformed based on what DO was expecting and it was returning a 503 rather than a 400. But the request did work with S3.

I tried, and tried to use Spaces for image hosting related to a site that I am building but it never worked for me. DigitalOcean support was responsive but useless. I got the same basic response over and over again for days on end. I did finally get a response acking my problem and that it would be assigned to an Engineer. The ticket was then closed the next day with no further comment. I re-opened it and asked about the status of the engineer looking at the issue and received back the same response I had already heard nearly a dozen times. I then re-closed the ticket, deleted my Space, and went back to AWS. :(

I had heard good things about DigitalOcean, but I would not use them or recommend them to anyone after that experience. The one primary issue I had was a showstopper but there was a lot of other bugginess.

A piece of fiction that has never failed to make me think every time I read it, is: The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy by Stanislaw Lem.

One of the tenets of getting your mind bent is reading things that are antithetical to your own world view. For this reason I read and had my mind bent by Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind - Graham Hancock.

Finally, I offer The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food by Dan Barber. I have read a lot about food, nature, etc. but Barber nails the heart of the problem with our current (really recent past, in light of the pandemic) food culture. From farms and restaurants to the consumers (we are not just eaters) he shows how there could be another way that is more sustainable, as well as being more delicious.

I canceled mine after dragging my feet for years and paying way too much all that time. I have been dreading the call required to cancel but it went pretty smoothly. The lady asked why I was canceling and I said, "I only pay for this for Hockey (and sometimes Baseball) and I am no longer getting either". She seemed not surprised in the slightest and there was zero push back or painful trips to the "retention department". I too look forward to way better streaming options in the next couple of years.

I just setup Windows on a machine for the first time in a decade, it was a very gross experience indeed. I do recall it asking a series of questions about sending data to MSFT that were all by default, opt-in. One of those options sounded a lot like a key logger. The entire install process was so full of dark patterns it was really quite unbelievable to me.

I have been using NewsBlur for years (ever since Google killed Reader). I quite like it.

Having grown up in Bradenton, which is even warmer than Tampa, I understand the heat. However, your statement about 100% humidity and 100 degrees is not possible. If it were everyone would be dead after being outside for even a short amount of time. Further 100 degree days are rare in that part of Florida, in fact I believe that TPA has never measured 100 or above. The key to happiness is that area of the country, IMO, is to enjoy the water and the wildlife.

I was driving back from South Carolina to Northern Virginia the day after the eclipse. The first hours were uneventful, by the time I hit I-81 things got crazy. I had all 3 nav apps running (Waze, Google, Apple), Waze kept routing me off of the interstate and onto side roads, which in SW Virginia involve quite hilly terrain so are anything but direct. Apple and Google never deviated from the interstate even though the predicted arrival time kept climbing. In the end I took some of Waze's advice but I am not sure that it saved any time. I finally went with my own navigation system, I know that this road (US Rt 29) will eventually get me to where I want to be AND it is not at a standstill. I am sure it took longer, but the drive was way more pleasant. Bottom-line, a drive that normally would take a little more than 8 hours, took 12 hours and no nav app saved the day.

As did I, then I saw the sub-headline of "For one thing, you won’t like IPAs." and I got sad for myself.

Its good the be aware that one component of higher efficiency in an AC/Heat Pump is thinner tubing. Thinner tubing is more prone to develop leaks and costly coil replacements and refrigerant refills.

This seems to be primarily an issue with copper coils. I was bitten by this with a brand new system that I had installed about 9 or 10 years ago. It was pretty tough to eat the labor costs of having a new coil installed (that was covered under warranty) as well as a complete refrigerant fill (at the time ~$900 for the full R410A fill) on a system that was less than one year old. Its been good since then though!