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So after weeks of working the issues, a half dozen different clean installs of Linux, and hours of troubleshooting, I have come to the conclusion that while the RTL8812AU and RTL8812BU might “work” with Kismet, they in fact don’t. This is after buying 114 or so, from multiple vendors. Here are the problems that I …

I’m writing this as much a reminder to myself as a help for others. DKMS is a great tool. It really makes getting drivers in and out of Linux a much easier process than it previously was. I guarantee if you mess with WiFi hacking, you will be dealing with drivers at some point in …

Wireless AC has turned out to be a real pain. First off, in doing my research, the only adapter that does AC and natively loads in Linux are devices with the MT7612UN MediaTek chipset. These do not seem to be terribly common, and the only seller I found was not particularly honest. This leaves the …

The last couple of years at DefCon, I have been following D4rkM4tter’s build of a WiFi Cactus, and then the WiFi Kraken. These are amazingly capable devices that are able to view ALL the standard WiFi channels and capture the packets for analysis. I have been working on my own version for the last couple …

Around 1983, my dad brought home what was then a modern miracle. A “portable” computer that was IBM compatible. For years this was the machine that ran the family business. Well… at least ran a lot of the numbers. Jump forward to today, and I managed to end up with this leviathan of a luggable …

In 2013 I took my wife and kids, brother and his kids, and my parents on an adventure launching a hydrogen filled balloon. The balloon started at about six feet in diameter, and once it reached its burst height, it was over thirty-five feet in diameter. We were able to get it to over 108,000 …

In 1995 I started a small website on Earthlink.net that was Wonko’s Web Pages. I played with image maps, and tables. I cut my teeth on HTML using notepad, and made a real mess of it. As time progressed, I decided getting my own domain would be of value. I piddled around a bit too …

In this follow-up article, I delve deeper into my experiences with the Amazon Vine program. As a seasoned reviewer, I share my evolving opinions on the program, other Vine users, reviews, and sellers. From the thrill of receiving products to the challenges of managing an influx of items, I explore the highs and lows of being a part of Vine. This article provides a candid look at the reality of the Vine experience, shedding light on the dedication and effort required to participate effectively.

In today’s media landscape, discerning truth is a complex task. Between far-fetched conspiracy theories and unquestioning acceptance of mainstream narratives lies the truth. The rise of AI and deepfake technologies further blurs these lines. In this age of misinformation, it’s crucial to be proactive in our quest for knowledge. Whether uninformed, misinformed, or striving to be quasi-informed, our choices shape our understanding of the world. Let’s aim for a future where we’re equipped to discern truth from fiction, no matter the challenge.

I’ve had the chance to experiment with various AI models, and I’ve conducted some “testing”. I thought I would share my thoughts about the differences and different use cases for each of the listed AIs. These opinions are as of the end of March, 2023. Even a few weeks from now this will probably be …

So after weeks of working the issues, a half dozen different clean installs of Linux, and hours of troubleshooting, I have come to the conclusion that while the RTL8812AU and RTL8812BU might “work” with Kismet, they in fact don’t. This is after buying 114 or so, from multiple vendors. Here are the problems that I …

I’ve had the chance to experiment with various AI models, and I’ve conducted some “testing”. I thought I would share my thoughts about the differences and different use cases for each of the listed AIs. These opinions are as of the end of March, 2023. Even a few weeks from now this will probably be …

This article is an attempt to organize my thoughts on the open letter issued by well over a thousand high profile IT pioneers and AI luminaries including Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, Yoshua Bengio(Founder and Scientific Director at Mila and a Turing Prize winner), Stuart Russell (Berkeley, Professor of Computer Science, director of the Center for …

I found I need to upload text over multiple entries to get it all into ChatGPT. Guessing how many chunks to break it into based on the number of tokens is not an easy thing to do. I have created this to help simplify the process. Just drop in your text, select the chunk size …

In today’s media landscape, discerning truth is a complex task. Between far-fetched conspiracy theories and unquestioning acceptance of mainstream narratives lies the truth. The rise of AI and deepfake technologies further blurs these lines. In this age of misinformation, it’s crucial to be proactive in our quest for knowledge. Whether uninformed, misinformed, or striving to be quasi-informed, our choices shape our understanding of the world. Let’s aim for a future where we’re equipped to discern truth from fiction, no matter the challenge.

• Filling The Balloon with Hydrogen
• Attaching the payload
• Getting the buoyancy right
• Preparing to launch
• In Flight
• In Flight
• DCIM\100GOPRO
• DCIM\100GOPRO
• DCIM\100GOPRO
• DCIM\100GOPRO
• DCIM\100GOPRO
• Recovered

In 2013 I took my wife and kids, brother and his kids, and my parents on an adventure launching a hydrogen filled balloon.

The balloon started at about six feet in diameter, and once it reached its burst height, it was over thirty-five feet in diameter.

We were able to get it to over 108,000 feet over Cheyenne, Wyoming. The pictures taken by my GoPro are amazing, and the video is dizzying. Watch the video here:

Vdeo of our balloon going to 108,000 feet over Cheyanne, WY

The flight took about two hours. I was able to track it using APRS, a method of transmitting GPS information over Ham Radio.

It took about a year and a half to design and build the balloon from initial concept to launch.