It is the same in the UK.

But because we have a smart meter, our energy price can change every 30 minutes. So if our provider predicts that tomorrow lunchtime will be expensive for electricity, it could charge us more. Or it could tell the battery to take over.

To be clear - they also work with data transfer (well, except the power bank and neck cooler).

I copy ebooks to my reader over USB, transfer photos off my camera, and print photos - all via USB-C.

All my gadgets use USB-C. Bluetooth headphones, eReader, laptop, printer, power bank, 360 camera, they all charge via USB-C.

Hell, even my neck cooler runs off it.

Has anyone here read the book? I enjoyed the film and wondered how they compared.

Yup! That’s my official photo from the ceremony - I had to swap back to the stock headstrap so it would fit under the cap.

Thanks :-)

FireStick is somewhat hackable. You can sideload Android apps onto it. For example, I got Apple Music running on it https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/06/yes-you-can-run-apple-music-natively-on-your-android-firestick/

You don’t have to subscribe to Amazon Prime to use the other TV services. You can also install Kodi if you want to play back local media.

The FireStick will use USB power - so you can use your TV’s USB ports rather than a separate plug. It also has an Ethernet adapter - I think only the more expensive Apple devices use Ethernet.

“Kill It With Fire” which is a great look at dealing with legacy computer systems.

“Lessons In Chemistry” which is a delightfully draft novel about fifties feminism.

Spent the weekend watching my wife grind through all the TOTK side quests.

Meanwhile I plowed through two ebooks.

Win for both of us!

Why do communities exist for - to pick an example - atheists? In lots of parts of the world, there is huge social pressure to conform to a specific religion. If you decide not to, or leave the religion, or have questions, it can be a terrifying and lonely experience.

It’s the same here. Lots of us feel huge pressure from family, friends, co-workers, and society to do something that we don’t want to do. So it is nice to have a community where we can discuss that and reassure each other. Because it is difficult to do what is right when everyone is telling you you’re wrong.

Just got a new solar battery installed, so I’m going to spend some time poking it and making sure it’s working. COME ON SUNSHINE!

The drive itself will work with any processor. If all you have is data on there, it will work.

Or do you mean you want to swap the drive which has the operating system on it?

That’s what the law says.

The MP might not be selected by their party to stand in the next election. But there’s no law about MPs behaving in a way contrary to the wishes of their electorate.

Indeed, how could an MP do their job properly if there was? If they’ve got a slim majority there would be almost endless recall petitions from opposition parties.

If they voted against their party, they could be fired by the party against the wishes of the voters.

What bar so you want to set for voters’ votes to be invalidated? At the moment we have criminal acts and suspension. What other thresholds would you add - and how would you stop people from abusing them?

A recall petition is only available under very limited circumstances.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn05089/

Nadine has neither been suspended nor convicted of a crime. So there’s no petition.

Even if there were, the threshold for the petition succeeding is only 10% of registered voters. And you can bet that opposition parties would easily he able to drum up that level of support.

Yes, there are magnetic USB cables which do data. Here’s my review of one https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2021/10/gadget-review-subbytech-magnetic-charge-sync-cables/

I enjoyed Portraits of Childfree Wealth - https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/03/book-review-portraits-of-childfree-wealth-jay-zigmont/

The book is free and has a fairly realistic look at the (American) childfree experience.

Six years ago today we launched https://openbenches.org/ - it is a crowdsourced map of memorial benches from around the world.

Uses OSM for displaying the maps and letting uploaders pick the exact right spot.

There’s an API and data-dump so it can be incorporated into OSM - but our data isn’t always as precise as needed. I’m still trying to work out a way to map an OSM bench ID to our ID.

If you’re out mapping and spot a memorial bench, please do submit a geotagged photo to our site :-)

Magnets. (How do they work?)

I replaced all my USB-C and Micro-USB connectors with magnetic ones. No more orientation worries, no more fumbling in the dark, no more not-inserting-it-hard-enough. Just bring the two into proximity and them magically snap together.

Bliss.

Discord is where information goes to die.

Please just stick things on a website. I’m happy to help you set one up.

Yup - I quite agree. I have a portable powerbank which will also charge gadgets using USB-PD. I fill it up from solar and use it when I’m out and about.

Even my eReader has USB-C. Makes going on holiday much more convenient.