I.T., maniacal paranoia

What if you need a container to have a different time than its host? Well, LD_PRELOAD has a solution for you. While this solution generally works outside of Docker, I rarely find myself outside of a container these days. I like that it works in one without requiring special privileges.

Dockerfile:

FROM ubuntu:latest

RUN apt-get update --fix-missing
RUN DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install git build-essential -y
RUN git clone https://github.com/wolfcw/libfaketime.git
WORKDIR /libfaketime/src
RUN make install
RUN echo "/usr/local/lib/faketime/libfaketime.so.1" > /etc/ld.so.preload

ENTRYPOINT bash

Build with:

docker build -t faketime .

Run with:

docker run -ti --rm -e FAKETIME="1970-01-01 00:00:00" --name faketime faketime

Of course you can run the “date” command to confirm, but this fake time percolates to all processes in the container. I was reminded of the existence of LD_PRELOAD to hijack system calls recently, and remembered this old trick I had stashed in my notes.

And just in case it goes away, I mirrored the excellent repo this is based on here.

web games

Since I figured out how to emulate old Dos games to host Capture the Flag using JSDos, I might as well spread further other games which left an impression in their time. I don’t mean to compete with the highly curated abandonware sites out there, I just want to reduce the chances for attrition by hosting another copy, and I like having these gems at my fingertips too.

Introducing MadTV, an addictive game where one runs programming for a TV channel. The issue? You’re also trying to “get the girl”, and she only likes utterly boring documentaries which aren’t good for ratings.

Click to pop out

building, self sustainability

The angles were very hard to get right, it’s not perfect but I did pretty good.

Trashed construction clothes are practical while rigging the double pulley to hoist subflooring.

This will be a quirky tiny room with a great view, both kids claimed it as their own.

nature encounters

I guess it’s a mast year for… raccoons? They’re all around the house every night causing a ruckus. I’m trying to deter them from coming, even took out a few, only to have more come back. In past years, we’d run into them here and there, but this year the house and its surrounding seems to be their established playground every night, it is a bit baffling. I know it’s only a matter of time before they cause damage that really stings. They’ve already been trying to get in the chicken coop.

I swear to god if you make the skunk spray I will smite all of you.

agriculture, self sustainability

With plants more established, and no clear effect, I decided to relax counter measures a bit this year and see if maybe the orchard, fruit trees, and garden could do with less fencing. The sentence was immediate, we didn’t get as many berries, trees got damaged, and hard work was voided. It is now clear that while various measures aren’t 100% effective, they definitely help. With this confirmed, they’ll get implemented with more vehemence next year.

It’s a lot less work and it looks better without fences. What a shame.

all out geekery, I.T., maniacal paranoia

I finally got my hands on a Flipper Zero and boy oh boy, let me tell you, I should have done this a long time ago. I got it for my own interests because I was curious to understand some protocols better. To my surprise, both kids have been way into it. I’m of course elated to titillate their hacker spirit. I didn’t even think it possible with a 7 year old, but the cross between ease of use, and yes… a Tamagochi is really hitting home. Esther’s mind was blown when she scanned and replayed the IR signals of a toy of hers.

Robin & I are trying to sniff and replay all kinds of signals which always leads to a deeper understanding of technology for the both of us.

I too I’m in love the with the fun packaging and the geek humor. There isn’t anything revolutionary about the capabilities, but they way lowered the bar of entry. Most of all, it’s built with a spirit that strongly appeals to my original love of computers. This little wonder sparks curiosity and discovery everywhere it goes.

miscellaneous

My mind has a hard time convincing itself that a hazy sky can be explained by events 2000 miles away. Sure enough:

I believe the World Health Organization recommends a daily average no higher than 10.

building, self sustainability

I started early in the season with the usual piers, beams, leveling, subfloor combination. Now I get to frame which is immensely more satisfying. Tearing the shingles was heartbreaking, I will never do shingles again. This poor early choice is likely why our house isn’t fully sided yet. I estimate it’s about 20 times the amount of work as doing boards. And I really don’t have time to side 20 houses. They’re also impossible to remove or replace. Bleh all around.

I’ve involved Robin more in the construction, he’s eager to learn for his own house. Music to my ears. We built a small covered thingy to hold all the things that might blow up. I didn’t like having them closer to buildings. This project had him use all the tools and techniques on a small scale, but he’s helped me on the subfloors since.

building, self sustainability

The house is reaching its final footprint. I still haven’t modeled the deck which didn’t really need much forethought, but I’d like to have a complete model of the house. It’s very useful on top of being fun.

This year we’re looking at a kitchen alcove/bay window.

And a “basement” with a small quirky room on top. We could really use a space to store a bunch of stuff in the absence of an actual basement.

aesthetics, plots

Mandala/Tessellations by Hava Edelstein (as always :)).

Large plastering of UV ink, it looks awesome in person.

I’ve refined my algorithms for processing multiple colors.

I’ve got my next 2 big plots lined up, but I’ll abstain from revealing their test renders until their full size reveal, likely this Fall. Both are collaborations with artists.

plotters

When I plot stuff that goes beyond a pen’s ink capacity, it’s a pain to swap pens. It’s a constant worry and the operation has the potential for ruining a plot. So I’m experimenting with ways to have enough ink on board, or maybe refill. Of course I’m learning that pens are designed within tight tolerances of pressure & viscosity.

I think this one is going to work. I made the reservoir’s volume 5 times that of an unaltered Precise v5 pen.

I always make an ink mess with each experimentation. I’ve learned that PLA printing is not liquid tight. And so thank you Nathan for the resin printing :). One other silly lesson I’ve learned is that various paper can suck up ink at different rates.

agriculture, self sustainability

It’s not much but for us it’s huge, we finally have enough water and ways to move it that we can give the gardens a good soak. For the past 9 years we’ve been reliant on the weather, which usually does its job in Vermont. Although when it didn’t, we’d be reactive and move a lot of water by hand only to keep plants alive. Now we’re able to soak several hundred square feet of soil whenever they could use it, and it’s less manual labor. Double win!

We want to build a rain capture system to diversify strategies, but that’s dependent on other projects. We’ll get there.

nature encounters

I thought I was capturing the wonderful nature story of ants helping a peony bud open. Alas, looking it up I learned this wonderful piece of folklore is untrue. Peonies do not in fact need ants to break open. It still seems as though they have a symbiotic relationship, the peonies feed the ants with nectar, and the ants keep other insects at bay. They only drink the nectar and to not dig into the plant like other insects might. They do seem focused around the bud’s seams, but this might simply be because that’s where there’s the most nectar.

On this close up you can see the nectar droplets on the seam.

wood

Esther loves creating Fairy houses, and I love creating wood piles.

aesthetics, agriculture

Flowers started rolling in, one of Nicole’s most successful crops. After many failed attempts, we finally have an established patch of Lilies of the Valley. It’s incredible how far we can smell it from.

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