Our accountant contacted the IRS directly to ask questions about the tax code, only to be told, “We can’t understand it. We don’t know.”
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Banking audits, etc. They have their ways.
I have this slim book of very short chapters about photography in hard copy because it’s nice to flick through occasionally but it’s also fully available on the author’s website for free. The ideas aren’t probably anything very new but nice reminders and most take less than a minute to read.
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Just now, my laptop has started making weird noises that I remember on and off randomly from the past. I didn’t find anything useful online, could anyone help me? Here are the clues:
- the noise is comparable to a busy HDD, with the R/W arm jumping around, but…
- my laptop has no HDD
- it’s independent of CPU fan activity
- it happens mostly during drive-intensive processes, like the opening of photo files, but clicking the Start button too
Now it’s a lot quieter, but I’m a bit worried what it could be… any ideas, folks? 
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Coil whine
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Coil whine strikes again! I used to go mad from my old monitor power bricks and now this … 
I used to have a Vega64 and it was a mega whiner. Every time I was gaming with it at 100% it could be heard over the headphones haha. Nowadays I kind of ignore it, the RTX3080 I have is a bit of a whiner but only under some circumstances. I do have a few enterprise HDDs and they are quite loud when working, but I sort of like it, “the sound of machinery” 
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Exactly why I like the rattling noises of my Sigma macro lens. It sounds so mechanical!
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Super-thin plastic-fantastic bags? The carrier ones from supermarkets were banned here in Wales in 2011. They were fantastic 'cept you couldn’t recycle them then so people chucked them and the wind took them & they got caught in trees & hedges. People called them witches-knickers.(Maybe not PC? No disrespect meant.) Anyway, I’ve still got a few from back then. One inside another & folded small to maybe A6 size, two x2 like that fit neat in a pocket & I’ve always got two super strong, vintage, bags ready for any time I go to the shops or needing a bag for something or other. (Last time for apples from a friend’s garden.) I’ve never bought another plastic bag yet. 
They just get reused every time & at my age might even see me out. The kids behind the shop counter sometimes say they haven’t seen carriers like that since their school days. One even said ‘‘Cool. That’s green.’’ Made me smile. But the best thing about them is they’re always in my pocket anytime, & when I don’t need them - one day - THEN they get recycled. 
I am in the process of buying some inner tubes. For some reason, Amazon feels compelled to tell me that they are unisex/adult. I wonder what I am missing by simply putting them in bike tires to hold air, are they also some kind of fashion accessory?
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Well, they are made of rubber, presumably. Draw your own conclusions… 
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My logical explanation would be that it got mixed into outdoor equipment where these categories make sense, but it’s still hilarious to imagine what it could mean 
https://youtube.com/shorts/tS14wGx_LJk?si=DRUZeBNvGTMRSG9T
What a photographer (the name is in the video). Quite a method to make money - by bankrupting others.
A new substack popped up on my recommended list with a nice article about passkeys. I did not know about the attestation flag before.
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Haven’t read the text yet but some great pics
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Has anyone noticed how plastic plants have become quite convincing looking? Or is it just me who often has to double check whether a plant is real or not?
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I have a simple tests for plants that I take care of: the real ones die, because I am terrible at taking care of plants. I forget to water them, then later when I realize this I overdo it, you can guess what happens.
So, if it survives two weeks in my vicinity, it is plastic.
I actually meant places like cafés, shopping center and whatnot, sometimes even on shelves in shops.
Same. I’d not dare to buy a real plant. Even if you get something needs very little water, the trouble happens when it’s time to water it. Like it’s easy to overdo it…
Does silk count? I had silk plants in my apartment in Omaha 36 years ago, when I let my then-fiance stay there while I was on a trip, she dutifully watered them…
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