Retired tech-nerd. Unicyclist, kiteboarder, juggler, hiker, plays tennis and pickleball, advocates for pedestrian/cyclist safety. Windows ETW expert. LGBTQ supporter. Vancouver, BC he/him https://randomascii.wordpress.com/https://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mm5sii2utk2xPaid software and arcane licensing systems that lead to "Activate Windows" messages on museum displays might actually have been a mistake18 May 2026 21:19 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm5sii2utk2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mm5sf2xm522xYou know, maybe I'm weird, but I would rather work with a company that makes me actually be secure, rather than one that is focused on making me "feel" secure.18 May 2026 21:17 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm5sf2xm522xhttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mllnsvzzts2oIf your goal is to get as many people as possible to turn off amber alerts on their phones then sending an alert at 1 am is a great strategy. I was awoken by the siren and in my groggy state (jet lag!) I could not remember where I was and I certainly didn't read the message and look for the car.11 May 2026 16:07 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllnsvzzts2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mlhlw5ikic2tHotels sometimes have bookshelves that are more for looks rather than functions, which is a shame. A bookshelf in the lobby could be good for wasting some time. But this one is just... weird10 May 2026 01:22 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlhlw5ikic2thttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mlaulqo74k2tDoes anybody understand this? Windows Update has three driver updates that it has chosen not to install. Does anybody know why it doesn't install these? And why does it say that "automatic updates will keep your drivers up to date" while simultaneously showing that this is not true?07 May 2026 09:09 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlaulqo74k2thttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mlaquvuvis2rI've found more information about why my Intel graphics drivers keep getting reverted to an almost-two-year-old version on my six-month-old laptop. Here's the explanation: https://community.intel.com/t5/Graphics/Intel-keeps-installing-outdated-graphics-drivers-on-its-own/m-p/169949207 May 2026 08:03 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlaquvuvis2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mla7xcqcok23It is honestly almost impressive that HP.ContextAware.exe has 5,687 process handles open (my computer has about 280 processes running) and only 49 zombies (handles to dead processes). The count is going up steadily - it went up to 5,861 while I was writing this message. They're number one!07 May 2026 03:00 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mla7xcqcok23https://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3ml4gvr5jzk27This series of text messages summarizes what a busy year I've had. It doesn't even capture all of it because my cell plan doesn't cover and therefore didn't welcome me to Bhutan and Laos. Hong Kong was just an airport stop. China was supposed to be that but, well, I guess I'm spending 3 days there!05 May 2026 14:53 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml4gvr5jzk27https://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mkw4a2mvyc2fI've been seeing a lot more of these Cloudflare "security verification" interstitials lately. I hate them because they slow down my browsing and they smell like bullshit. What's the deal? Are these anti-AI/anti-scraping measures? Do they work? Do websites have to opt-in? Tell me more!03 May 2026 02:26 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkw4a2mvyc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mksdl5hnb22tNo wonder I get so many driver-update notifications from Intel - they have two separate programs checking for updates and sending notifications! Awesome!01 May 2026 14:27 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mksdl5hnb22thttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mkmscdk7ks2iHuh, look at this cool arrangement of seashells. I have no idea why I felt inspired to post this today, but I think maybe we all should.29 Apr 2026 09:35 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkmscdk7ks2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mkmbmbirj22w5+ weeks of traveling in Asia and this is one of my favourite pictures. It doesn't capture the amazing people and places that I have seen but I just like it. Thanks Skyler for guiding the pose29 Apr 2026 04:36 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkmbmbirj22whttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mkkjxiw4mk2vI was hoping that this website would help me clarify whether I wanted to eat at this restaurant but I'm not getting a lot of certainty about the menu from this... It says something about lorem ipsum later on the page so maybe it's Italian food?28 Apr 2026 12:00 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkkjxiw4mk2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mkifkxyjrk2hI'm in Hanoi at the moment and I saw a bar stuffed full of people wearing orange clothing. Apparently it's Kings Day in the Neterlands. Okay, so how did all the Dutch people in Hanoi know to go to this one bar?27 Apr 2026 15:36 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkifkxyjrk2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mjtrjwpogc2mTraveling around Asia with sporadic internet access makes me realize how terrible some Android apps are at handling offline scenarios. Some examples I've noticed:19 Apr 2026 10:45 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjtrjwpogc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mjhmwyqogc2dOh Intel, never change. Intel kept telling me that a new ARC GPU driver was available, but that's not true. What actually happened is that the install kept failing. That's actually different, and I was not told this until I searched the update history.14 Apr 2026 14:50 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjhmwyqogc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/randomascii.bsky.social/post/3mjco5fnpn22hI encountered a weird glitch when trying to add a credit card to the LOCA app (basically Uber in Laos). I used the Google Payments autofill, like usual, but none of my cards were accepted. It took me a while to realize that the expiry date always filled in as 02/02!12 Apr 2026 15:29 +0000at://did:plc:z32gbpw5tkdhis53bkosqfeg/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjco5fnpn22h