jackcole

@jackcole@mstdn.social
255 Followers
322 Following
124 Posts

Retired scientist (cyber security research), father of 4, pilot, chemist, permanent law and languages student. #fedi22 #cybersecurity #AI #ML #flying #music #photography #languages #chemistry #electronics #law

My posts are automatically deleted after a week. If there was an older post for which you'd like information, photo, or cartoon, let me know.

jackcole3h ago
Associated Press4h ago

Trump tells Texas Republicans to redraw the state congressional map to help keep House majority
https://apnews.com/article/trump-congress-house-republicans-texas-redistricting-d18e8280a32872d9eefcbb26f66a0331?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

Posted into Politics @politics-AssociatedPress

Trump tells Texas Republicans to redistrict to help keep GOP House majority

President Donald Trump is pushing Republicans in Texas to redraw the state's congressional maps to help ensure the party keeps its majority in the U.S. House in next year's midterm elections. The president’s directive signals part of the strategy Trump is likely to take to avoid a repeat of his first term, when Democrats flipped the House just two years into his presidency. When asked about the possibility of adding GOP-friendly districts around the country, Trump responded, “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Trump’s push will “undermine free and fair elections.”

AP News
jackcole7h ago
Laffy1d ago

🤨

"House Dem leaders won't whip against the landmark crypto bills that will be on the floor later this week, despite opposition from the party’s top member on the Financial Services Committee." https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/14/congress/house-dems-crypto-bills-waters-clark-french-hill-00451763

jackcole7h ago
Bruno J. Navarro8h ago

Irish tourist jailed by Ice for months after overstaying US visit by three days: ‘Nobody is safe’

For roughly 100 days, Thomas says he faced harsh detention conditions, despite agreeing to deportation

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/15/irish-tourist-ice-detention

Irish tourist jailed by Ice for months after overstaying US visit by three days: ‘Nobody is safe’

Exclusive: For roughly 100 days, Thomas says he faced harsh detention conditions, despite agreeing to deportation

The Guardian
jackcole7h ago

"Five months into its unprecedented dismantling of foreign-aid programs, the Trump administration has given the order to incinerate food instead of sending it to people who need it"
spending $130,000 to burn food worth $800,000

GIFT link

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/07/usaid-emergency-food-incinerate-trump/683532/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK34UoPtkCxvKSW-rp40Qt1-Q

#food #USAID #doge #cruelty #fraud #waste #abuse #trump

The U.S. Will Incinerate 500 Tons of Emergency Food Aid

Federal workers warned for months that the high-energy biscuits would go to waste.

The Atlantic
jackcole8h ago
Bruno J. Navarro8h ago
Inflation rose last month to its highest level since February as Trump’s sweeping tariffs push up the cost of a range of goods, including furniture, clothing, and large appliances. https://apnews.com/article/inflation-trump-fed-powell-prices-8842d6ebca9d1870983e678e578d2091
The tariff-driven inflation that economists feared begins to emerge

Inflation rose last month to its highest level since February as President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs push up the cost of a range of goods, including furniture, clothing, and large appliances. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for Trump, who promised during last year’s presidential campaign to immediately lower costs only to engage in a whipsawed frenzy of tariffs. Trump has declared that the U.S. effectively has no more inflation as he has attempted to pressure Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell into cutting short-term interest rates.

AP News
jackcole8h ago
ProPublica8h ago

The IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE
—

ProPublica has obtained the blueprint for the Trump administration’s unprecedented plan to turn over IRS records to Homeland Security in order to speed up the agency’s mass deportation efforts.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-irs-share-tax-records-ice-dhs-deportations?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

#News #Data #Privacy #ICE #Deportation #Immigration #IRS #Tax #Trump

The IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE

ProPublica has obtained the blueprint for the Trump administration’s unprecedented plan to turn over IRS records to Homeland Security in order to speed up the agency’s mass deportation efforts.

ProPublica
jackcole8h ago
BrianKrebs22h ago

New, at KrebsOnSecurity.com: Marko Elez, a 25-year-old employee at Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been granted access to sensitive databases at the U.S. Social Security Administration, the Treasury and Justice departments, and the Department of Homeland Security. So it should fill all Americans with a deep sense of confidence to learn that Mr. Elez over the weekend inadvertently published a private key that allowed anyone to interact directly with more than four dozen large language models (LLMs) developed by Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2025/07/doge-denizen-marko-elez-leaked-api-key-for-xai/

jackcole8h ago
BrianKrebs9h ago

And from the WTAF dept, quite a bombshell from ProPublica today:

"Microsoft is using engineers in China to help maintain the Defense Department’s computer systems — with minimal supervision by U.S. personnel — leaving some of the nation’s most sensitive data vulnerable to hacking from its leading cyber adversary, a ProPublica investigation has found."

"The arrangement, which was critical to Microsoft winning the federal government’s cloud computing business a decade ago, relies on U.S. citizens with security clearances to oversee the work and serve as a barrier against espionage and sabotage."

"But these workers, known as “digital escorts,” often lack the technical expertise to police foreign engineers with far more advanced skills, ProPublica found. Some are former military personnel with little coding experience who are paid barely more than minimum wage for the work."

https://www.propublica.org/article/microsoft-digital-escorts-pentagon-defense-department-china-hackers?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=propublica-bsky&utm_content=7-15

A Little-Known Microsoft Program Could Expose the Defense Department to Chinese Hackers

The Pentagon bans foreign citizens from accessing highly sensitive data, but Microsoft bypasses this by using engineers in China and elsewhere to remotely instruct American “escorts” who may lack expertise to identify malicious code.

ProPublica
jackcole1d ago

“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters.”

Colin Powell

Yes, excellence is a habit formed by attention to small things even when not required or noticed by anyone else. You can trust the work of that person whose habit is to do even small things well.

Show threadjackcole1d ago
@donray I bought two indoor air purifiers a couple of years ago when the smoke smell outside was much more noticeable. We (between Baltimore and Philadelphia) have had only one day this year with an extremely faint smoke smell, and for days/weeks very good air quality. But we sometimes get a plume of smoke from the wildfires. And of course there is locally caused air pollution from traffic and industry.
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Jan Wildeboer 😷Jul 6

Modern solar panels degrade at a rate of maybe 0.14%/year [1], slightly more in the first few years. The typical lifespan of a solar panel is at least 30 years, many panels from the 1980s are still in use and deliver electricity at rates that make their use more than worthwhile. So don't worry, go solar. It's a sound investment for your roof and other places. Just keep em clean and avoid soiling [2].

[1] Page 4 of PDF at https://publica.fraunhofer.de/entities/publication/655d8dad-b7ff-4e62-83d1-fa610ca9c74b
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soiling_(solar_energy)

#Renewables #Solar

Show threadJan Wildeboer 😷Jul 6
You will have to replace the (micro-)inverters more often, every 10-15 years, as they degrade faster. But that is small money in comparison. Your panels will last a lifetime and can be fully recycled after they finally need to be replaced. What is not to like? You can use (and store) most of the electricity yourself, thus taking a bit of load of the grid and enjoy more or less free energy for many years. Decentralise the grid :)
Show threadJan Wildeboer 😷Jul 8
Addendum: upcycling used panels is also a wonderful way to add more solar to your life :) See https://social.wildeboer.net/@jwildeboer/114812734608274858
Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange: (@jwildeboer@social.wildeboer.net)

Last weekend there were several actions in Germany. Local groups took in used (donated) solar panels that were replaced in big solar plants. These panels are 20 years old but still deliver a lot of power (7-8A at 30V). You could get them for free, test them, clean them up, get some help to put new connectors on them, register them with the city, get 200€ grant, use that to buy a micro inverter and go home with a balcony solar power unit, effectively for free. Bam. They handed out 1000 sets. 1/2

social.wildeboer.net
Show threadLeszekJul 6

@jwildeboer It's worth adding some resources for people who want to try it out. There are options for people who don't own a house. German link, to an association, because of course Germans have a Verein for that: https://balkon.solar/

Some regions in DE offer an easy to get grant that you can spend on your equipment, and the vendors have offers that are right at the margin, or ~50EUR extra, so you can start out with little risk.

Alles über Steckersolar, Balkonkraftwerke & Solar! – Dein Balkon kann mehr. Dein Garten, deine Terasse, Wand oder Dach auch! Unabhängig.

Show threadJan Wildeboer 😷Jul 6
@makdaam In some places you can even get solar panels for free that come from decommissioned plants. So yes, go solar! Everywhere :)
Show thread🌼 Dagnabbit, Pascaline! 🌼Jul 6

@makdaam

i saw those last year and thought about them but well, I don't live there.

@jwildeboer

Show threadLuís CorreiaJul 6
@jwildeboer I wish I had a rooftop of my own to fill up with those
Show threadThe Penguin of EvilJul 8

@luisfcorreia @jwildeboer Walls groundmounts, fences.

In fact second hand solar panels in most parts of the world are cheaper over 25 years than wooden fencing even if not plugged in.

Show threadJan Wildeboer 😷Jul 8
@etchedpixels And yes, when you mount them vertically you lose around 15% generating power. But when you get cheap, used panels, let's be honest, who cares? Where you'd normally put up decorative wood or other material, you are now using a material that actually gives back. :) @luisfcorreia
Show threadLuís CorreiaJul 8
@jwildeboer @etchedpixels well, yes, but I live on an apartment building where I can't just place panels anywhere :(
Show threadLukas GrossarJul 6
@jwildeboer One of the reasons why I decided against a hybrid inverter last year was that I'll have to replace the inverter at some point and then batteries are definitely going to be cheaper than today and the money I saved for a battery was better invested in doubling the number of installed panels.
Show threadThe Penguin of EvilJul 6

@jwildeboer I'm budgeting for a 10-12 year inverter replacement because
- The battery technologies in 10 years won't be supported properly by the current one
- The inverter idle load will be much improved in a decade
- They'll be provisioning for 50-100kWh of sodium battery or something

On pricing though - your panels are going to be fine at 25 years, but it's not just inverters that wear. A lot of people are finding that 15-20 year old installs the panels are fine but the cabling is dying.

Show threadkampfschwaetzerJul 6
@jwildeboer And besides the electricity: I have the impression that since they are on our roof, the heat does no longer heat our building as much as befor. And when I think about it: there are some very good reason why I might be right.
Show threadJan Wildeboer 😷Jul 6
@ralph That's a well-known effect. You are perfectly right.
Show threadJan Wildeboer 😷Jul 6
@ralph You can do even better, by stacking thermal collectors under the solar panels. With that you collect the heat which you can use for heating water etc AND you cool the solar panels, making them run more efficient.
Show thread🌼 Dagnabbit, Pascaline! 🌼Jul 6

@jwildeboer

For years I have wanted to have solar panels. The roof is flat, there is ample space, but the board does not allow solar panels 'because the roof belongs to all of us'. It's a pain. I thought about vertical ones but those aren't good enough yet, a specialist said, so it's all a bit of a pain. I could place them on the terrace but they would not catch enough light and I would not be able to walk there; basically blocking me out of the garden. Sigh. I so want solar panels!

@ralph

Show threadFediThing 🏳️‍🌈Jul 6
@jwildeboer This data is really useful to hear, thank you! Some people are dismissive about solar claiming it needs constant replacing, but this isn't the case.
Show threadAndy FletcherJul 6

@jwildeboer

The only good reason to replace old but working solar panels is to put more efficient ones in their place when you are space constrained.

Someone will be happy to take the old ones for their system if you put them up on the likes of Freecycle. It is often easy to replace cables and connectors at almost no cost if they have degraded

Show threadHarald WagenerJul 6

@jwildeboer see also https://www.heise.de/hintergrund/Guenstige-PV-Module-per-Gebrauchtmarkt-Perfekt-fuer-Bastler-riskant-fuer-Daecher-10442808.html

The biggest roadblock to buying used panels is the 90% price drop over the last couple years. It's almost always the cheapest option to buy new panels with better efficiency and other advantages like multi bus bar architecture to help with partial shadowing.

Günstige PV-Module per Gebrauchtmarkt: Perfekt für Bastler, riskant für Dächer

Secondhand statt neu: Auch bei Solarmodulen ist das möglich. Der Kauf lohnt sich aber nur für bestimmte Projekte und ist nicht ohne Risiko.

heise online