Bench notes

Short technical field notes on systems weirdness

21 Jan 2026

Deskthority is no more

Deskthority has begun to be gutted. - The wiki no longer loads - The forum is intermittently failing The site was...
20 Jan 2026

Replacing Bulbs Is Not Diagnosis

> Replacing parts without understanding failure modes is not a repair --- it's a > ritual. Cleaned out my tool bag tod...
19 Jan 2026

ChatGPT has gross fonts

I don't know exactly what fonts ChatGPT uses, but it's definitely not my browser default. Behold the grossness. {{< f...
15 Jan 2026

RouterOS made DNS over HTTPS painful again

This is a field note from debugging RouterOS DoH breakage, written on a three hours of sleep + annoyed. Probably mista...
12 Jan 2026

Most vehicles are operated under "adverse conditions"

Just a reminder that most cars are operated under the _adverse conditions_ maintenance schedule. In this example, the ...
08 Jan 2026

Swollen lug nuts (and the cost of decorative hardware)

Working on an old '99 Dodge Ram 1500. The wheels have absurdly old, impractical, massive mudtires, so I'm ferrying the...
06 Jan 2026

No AI (Organic) Seal

Over a testy but light-hearted debate with my favorite IRC ~~curmudgeons~~ pals, we joked about a label for products th...
06 Jan 2026

I formerly weighed 100 pounds heavier

I find myself often explaining that I used to be a porky dude. Eight years ago, you'd find me a jolly Santa. Knees we...
30 Dec 2025

Dull knives have their uses

There's a dull knife in my kitchen kit. I use it for peeling because it's safer than using a sharp knife. If I slip i...
30 Dec 2025

Mash keys in MPV to learn them

Check out `mpv --input-test --force-window --idle`. This opens an idle MPV window to eats all keyboard inputs and repo...