Duncan Dean ZS6DU

Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #1,171!

Officially licensed! 🎉🥳 ZS6DU #hamradio #amateurradio

I think I can only start blogging opinion pieces when I figure out what my world view is again. For now, just expect amateur radio stuff and fun projects with maths, physics, and whatever I find fancy. I passed my amateur radio exam and now I’m going through the gruelling wait with the regulator 🫠

Can I get out of vuln hell over here?

Travelling to Korea as someone taking anxiety meds is like a double whammy. Even though you’ve gone through the tedious process getting a permit from the MFDS, you’re still anxious because some stuff is super strictly controlled 😂 So anxiety is always through the roof. Airports + permits + customs

I just realised my whole life, 90% of GPs I’ve had appointments with are women. It always feels weird going to a male GP.

The pursuit of wealth is soul-destroying. It’s also tiered. There are milestones you reach. At some point you: * Lose your love for the little things * Lose your empathy * Lose your raison d'être * …?

Attempt with a handheld and stock antenna at ISS SSTV. Doppler and orientation roasted me.

What did Afriforum do this time?

The funniest thing ever is seeing people on that other site call grok woke because it replies to their question by refuting their batshit claims… then asking Enron Husk to fix it

www.writespoke.co.za/online-store... 💸

Riddle me this. If somebody donates £36 million to a political party and £5 million to its leader, how is the £5 million not political? Asking for a parliamentary standards commissioner.

Woohoo I passed my HF assessment! Now onto the exam next month :)

Shout out to all the booksellers and librarians who helped me fall in love with reading as a kid 💓

Where are the problems?

Orbit #Isar #Spectrum

Congratulations Isar Aerospace!

America disgracing itself yet again at the UN :)

I don’t think LLMs need to get better at writing like people because people are doing that job for LLMs by emulating their cringey writing tropes. Has anyone else noticed this (where LLMs aren’t being used of course)?

Tomorrow, Margaret Holzmann's lessons in systems thinking from three decades designing mission-critical systems at Bell Labs and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Sep 2, 9AM PT / 12PM EST / 6PM CET youtu.be/RCSh-YCQMKI

The world is talking about Airlink now, lol. Also seems they've never seen a St. Helena or Skukuza approach and landing 🙃 This was well-rehearsed, authorised, and executed as planned. There are many angles, I implore you to look at _all_ of them. Anyway, back to business as usual for ZS-YDE 🇿🇦

No, Dolly 😭

this post is load-bearing

Dumbest thing I’ve heard this weekend: “Audiobooks are cheating.” Cheating at what? Being entertained? Always said by a person who reads for clout and not entertainment or enrichment. Try them all: physical books, audiobooks, e-books. Each has its place. Stop being a pseudo snob.

Wow, the dollar is trash

Tell your grandma you love her.

Third year in a row going to Korea 😁

Attention nerds! My ham radio app, QRV, is now in beta on Android. Sign up here: getqrv.com/android Get live PSK Reporter spots, see when DXpeditions are on the air and reachable from your location, check the band plans, and more!

Sometimes I watch the ISS EVAs and it’s always interesting to see how much permanent damage the suit cameras’ CMOS sensors have taken from radiation.

Run your own CI, it's worth it. blog.tangled.org/selfhost-ci/

Any bluesky book clubs?

When is Bluesky getting passkeys or at the very least TOTP 2FA? This email 2FA sucks…

SA is a sleeping giant. Sparks of talent have emerged over the past decades, but still immeasurable potential is waiting to be unlocked in the next. Why would I move and cut myself out of that excitement?

We’re in Dullstroom for the long weekend and I really hope we get that > 10 cm of snow on Monday and Tuesday currently predicted ❄️

Today, we're launching a world-class research lab dedicated to Open Source sustainability with a team of some of the most experienced people in the world.

My dog and my little nephew are troublemakers together

Hype! blog.rust-lang.org/2026/08/04/e...

Not sure why’d you want to change the pretty translatable and neutral name of South Africa to the Greek name of Azania, but at least one positive I could see is appearing near the top of country dropdowns online 😂 Very unlikely to happen, though.

Me: (being murdered by the AI paperclip maximizer) Bluesky: Actually it can't 'murder' you. Murder implies intent.

Where do the rational LLM users congregate? Also, the ones who are fighting cognitive atrophy? What are some fun things to do without the clanker on weekends? Software? Hardware? Crafting? What games are good? I’m thinking of building my first power amplifier circuit for my own QRP radio product.

ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai

Any friends in Joburg/Pretoria who want to go rock hounding?

What’s the psychological term for seeing AI-writing tropes everywhere even when there’s evidence it was actually written by a human? Am I seeing the perfect median clichés in all writing now? Make it stop.

My chalkboard fell and broke 😭

I want your own words Originally at https://seanmonstar.com/micro/20260729-i-want-your-own-words/

People are taking refuge in the analogue.

Headache today plus someone thought it would be fun to drill the entire working day in the apartment building…

We’re at the happy part of Pretoria winters:

Ok next weekend I am building a pen plotter. Specifically: github.com/hackclub/blot

Hail Mary is pretty intense. Now I have to read the book. I noted the proper/dilated time. I was like “wtf” you can’t, and then I was like “ohhh”.

Why did no one tell me about overnight oats using orange juice?