Notes | Brutkey

The eighth letter of the English alphabet: H

What do you, personally, call it?

Your reminder that when christians speak of the 'true meaning of christmas' what they mean is colonialism: the decimation of people, culture, and religion different to their own, and appropriation of the bits they like for their own purposes.

Lisa
@TicklishHoneyBee@twoot.site

#Pferdiverse ist mein neuer Favorit Hashtag, Der wortspiel, ich liebe es.

Lisa
@TicklishHoneyBee@twoot.site

Actually got to use my ICAO spelling alphabet skills today; woman attempting to read my atrocious handwriting asked "is that M for mike, K for kilo?" to which I responded, "No, it's Mike India Lima" (because IL looks like a K if your scribbles are bad enough). We shared a moment of satisfaction as we both realised the other knew the alphabet.

Lisa
@TicklishHoneyBee@twoot.site

How old are you?

Lisa
@TicklishHoneyBee@twoot.site

Boss boss boss* pulled me aside earlier to let me know I’m apparently the fastest packer in the company (worldwide) by a considerable margin.

Alas this doesn’t get me anything but bragging rights, but it was nice to be thanked at least.

*highest ranked person in this warehouse

Lisa
@TicklishHoneyBee@twoot.site

A thought:
Would setting a LLM data centre on fire, disabling all fire suppression, and letting it burn out cause less environmental damage than leaving it to run as intended?

I'd like to say no, but I'm not actually sure.

Also, would filling an LLM data centre with old car tyres, setting it on fire, disabling all fire suppression, and letting it burn out cause less environmental damage than leaving it to run as intended?

Still not actually sure.

Lisa
@TicklishHoneyBee@twoot.site

Considering yesterday was 38°C and 85% humidity, and it's been like that most of the week, and today is meant to be more of the same, and there's active heatwave warnings, I'm thinking that today I might just not go to work because urgh.

Lisa
@TicklishHoneyBee@twoot.site

Have you ever wondered how a pause gets pregnant?

Lisa
@TicklishHoneyBee@twoot.site

Last night at work I packed a box to a school at Blair Athol and my first thought was "Oh hey, good coal there."

So here's an overview of some common steam coals from Australia's east coast; and while less burning of fossil fuels is a good thing, this is also quickly becoming 'forgotten knowledge' even among those still running coal-fired steam engines, so I figured I'd share to keep it alive because at the very least there are going to historians and authors out there who need some understanding of 'good coal' and 'bad coal' as well as 'good household coal but awful steam coal':

Blair Athol: Good steam coal, ignites easy, good controllable heat, burns thoroughly, but can be ashy without enough primary air.

Maitland: The absolute best steam coal according to the people of Maitland, ignites easily, burns thoroughly, but is really picky about primary and secondary air if you want to get good heat out of it; it's generally considered that a firebox is either designed for Maitland coal or everything else.

Rosewood (or Old Rosewood): this is basically just tar and clinker pretending it's coal, avoid if possible. Plenty of secondary air and liberal use of the poker to check for clinker forming if you have to use it.

Ebenezer: Essentially the 'good end' of the Rosewood vein, needs plenty of secondary air to burn completely, but has good heat and low ash otherwise.

Bacchus Marsh: Produces a lot of heat, but needs a lot of heat to get going. Burns thoroughly, low ash, will melt your grate if you let the bed get too thick.

Side Note:
Bacchus Marsh Char (Bacchus Marsh coal crushed and pressed into briquettes): burns too hot to control, but good if you have an awful firebox design, burns 'clean' if you don't count the sandy grit that gets everywhere, expect a lot of cleaning, sore eyes, and a lot of bushings to wear out fast. Mix with Ebenezer or Maitland for more manageable fuel.