iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

I cooked "Snow Eggs" from the recent episode of Tasting History. Bloody fiddly but they turned out perfect. Absolutely delicious.

A blue bowl with custard and two white meringues floating in it.

Five yellow lumps floating in yellowish goo in a saucepan on the stove.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

One day I will remember to squirt out a small amount of shampoo for my post-haircut shower. Not today, though.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

I regret relenting to allowing my kids to install Roblox. It's so shit.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2026

My job doesn't require physical exertion, so I have to deliberately do exercise to keep my body healthy. If our jobs stop needing mental exertion are we going to need to do artificial brain exercise to keep our minds healthy? Tuesday: 2 x medium sudoku, 2 x 4-digit long division, 1 x Argue […]

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

Another MRI done! Time for a week of anxiety while waiting for the results. Don't get cancer, if you can avoid it.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

I currently have a broadlink RM mini 3 doing IR control of an aircon via #homeassiatant. I would like to replace it with something that doesn't need to be on a network with an internet route. What's everyone's favourite IR proxy device? Preferably something I can flash with esphome and forget […]

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

Sigh. No #newscientist deliveries for two weeks, then the backlog arrives.

Two copies of new scientist magazine in plastic wrap on a tabletop.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026

Good news! I have just finally shut down the "noleechforyou" wifi network I have been running continuously since 2004. It had a 10-digit PSK because that's the most that the WEP on the Nintendo DS phat could handle. I'm free!

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026

It has been two weeks since I got an issue of #newscientist magazine in the mail. Either my subscription lapsed or I'm about to get a three-issue backlog.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026

#homeassistant saves the day again by my pool-pump-using-no-power alert firing. The alert on my phone prompted an investigation. I discovered that some child malarkey had led to the pump inlet feed being blocked. All better now. #homeautomation #diy

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

This video is a nice way to spend 15 minutes. Highly recommended. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz2Tpx5pkAg

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

This is usually about the time I realise there's a fitting or seal on the wrong side of the join and I have to go into my shouting room for a while.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

Fixy fixy! This cable spends a lot of time underwater. I 3d printed a little mould jig so I could cast resin around the join. I wish I'd made it longer so there was more resin in contact with the sheath, but it shouldn't be under any tension. She'll be right. #fix #repair #diy #righttorepair

A photo of two ends of a blue cable poking into a rectangular black plastic box. The white and black cores inside the cable have been tinned with solder and are overlapping slightly.

The same as the previous photo, except the ends have been soldered together.

A photo of the black plastic box with the cables sitting on a workbench. The little black box has been filled with a transparent epoxy resin.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

Weekend job: Fixing the dodgy join in the pool robot cable. Currently printing a mould to cast the join in resin for waterproofiness. A new cable is AUD$172. I'll try to save this one first.

A photo of a workbench showing parts of a disassembled pool cleaning robot. In the centre is a blue cable with white and black cores inside. The cable has been chopped open to expose the cores.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

I love getting my phone out to find it's been having a fun pocket adventure. Wifi hotspot and torch are on. Brightness on max. Language set to Croatian.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

@simon They definitely don't use real numbers. I use it mostly for the $2 time slot anyway and the "estimated savings" email they sent assumed I was paying $15 per delivery.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

@simon Yeah I don't know what maths they use to calculate that. I got a similar one a while ago. Dodgy. When mine comes up for renewal I'm not going for it, it was only worthwhile for us at the 50% off rate.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

Mr. 8 y'old, just home from school: "Dad, I got a birthday invite for jungle gym" "I didn't know you knew jungle Jim. Where's his birthday?" "No dad it's AT the jungle gym" "Well Jim would have to be there, yeah." "DAAAAAAAD"

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

I swear to fucking god I'm tired of dismissing "Hey we've added another 'AI' feature to this software" prompts. Two or three a day at minimum. I just had to dismiss THREE IN A ROW before I could see a confluence page. Just fuck off and let me use your shitty software, jesus. #fuckai

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

I have discovered a second good Bobby McFerrin song: "Freedom is a voice". Give it a listen! I've found a lot of his other music to be a bit too... free-form.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

This feels like the first good rain we've had in ages. #brisbaneweather

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

@raven I too am annoyed by change-for-the-sake-of-change. The new look is no more functional. Fear the enthusiastic UX developer. They will fix something regardless of its need to be fixed.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

Has anyone got any first-hand experience with rechargeable 1.5v AA form-factor liion batteries? Are they any good? Are they better than traditional rechargeable AA batteries?

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

Awww yeah I just realised it's a long weekend. Woooooo.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

5.5 weeks of (nearly) daily practice and I'm half-way through learning to copy Morse code at 20 WPM character speed. I am really enjoying it! Learning is fun! I have an M32 Pocket for practising sending. It's got some fun games on it that require you to […] [Original post on howse.social]

A daily activity square plot showing five and a half columns of green squares of various greenness throughout september and a bit of august.

A plot of accuracy vs lesson, and a table of the same data below. Accuracy is bumping around 60-100%, with a red moving average mostly above 90%.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

@simon The only objections the kids raised was at my pouring mine into a cup without weighing. I claimed parental fiat.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

Y'honour this is why I have a set of scales that go down to 10mg: Avoiding arguments about who got more nerds.

A photo of two plastic bowls containing some pink and purple nerds lollies. One of the bowls is sitting on a small scale with 10.27g on the display.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

Jacaranda season is upon #brisbane, heralding exam season and my birthday!

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2026

@Unixbigot Backpain solidarity ✊ I have been chewing through my 8-per-day of ibuprofen and paracetamol for a while. Plus wheat packs. They taste the worst.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2026

Update: Boris was killed by a shaman. Revenge was had. There is a new Boris. Long live Boris.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2026

I am stuck working while my kids are home on school holidays playing valheim. They've tamed a boar and named it Boris. The kids are alright.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026

Ugh I'm half-interested in watching the AFL grand final but I'm sure I'd have to fuck about with TV apps or something, and endure ads. Not worth the hassle.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026

`docker-compose up -d valheim-server` Let's get this rolling.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

@raven Seems that way. Very disappointing.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

We got our first invoice with our new energy retailer, Covau. It was $29 in the black, so I emailed them asking about the process to cash out the credit, as we've done in the past with Amber and Localvolts. Their response: > Upon reviewing your account, we can confirm that the credit balance […]

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

Do you wanna improve the world a little bit using your thumbs? Get the FOSS StreetComplete app and start adding details about your part of the world. The app prompts you for details on footpaths, bike lanes, crossings, public toilets, handrails on stairs, etc, etc. The data feeds into Open […]

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

When setting up CI/CD always assume the next person to work on the project will be an idiot in a hurry. Especially for personal projects.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

It has been a month since I've been able to do any decent #weightlifting due to back pain. Heat packs, extra stretches, NSAIDS, the works. It sucks very much. I've been making up for it with extra #running, which I also love, so it's not too bad. Swings and roundabouts. #fitness

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

@root @duk3luk3 I'm considering gluing it into the socket to avoid future pain.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

I am waiting on delivery of a cursed object: A AA-sized (14500) li-ion battery. It will be installed under a screw cover, never to re-emerge.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026

Had almost all our immediate family over for dinner tonight. Cheese, fruit, BBQ, beers and fresh sticky date pud for dessert. Had a spectacular time. Slightly too much food. Good times.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/09/2026

@TerribleMaps Hey we got Mexico! sweet. Tacos and tequila for all. Let's focus on the positives here. #brisbane

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/09/2026

Has anyone seen that 3.5mm to 6.35mm audio adaptor I've had sitting in a random box from 2005?

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026

Quick macos question: If screenshot directory, why screenshot go to desktop by default? Unserious.

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tjhowse @tj.howse.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/09/2026

@raven I saw Dick Tracey in our drive-in. Got a yellow plastic hat to take home.

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