Some days....

Why oh why?

waldo@waldomp ~ $ sntp time.windows.com
+2.074701 +/- 0.024010 time.windows.com 13.86.101.172

If I manually set the time correctly, then re-run this command the time is accurate. The moment I enable NTP time sync with any NTP server macOS adjusts the time to have a +2.07 second offset. This does not happen on my M1 MacBook Air, only the Mac Pro. Why?

I am using a HomeKit scene to turn on my Hair Light as well as my ATEM Mini Pro and Camera with one click, as enabling my video in my new setup is quite an involved process. Unfortunately I also have to manually turn on the Elgato Key LED lights using the Elgato Control Center status menu. This is a pain. So I thought to myself that I can simplify things by adding a HomeKit automation that whenever the Hair Light turns on / off, to have the Elgato lights follow it. Turns out this was more tricky than I thought...

First I tried to use Apple Script to interact with the Elgato Control Center status icon. This did not work - I could not get it to drop down and simulate button clicks. Next step was to try and see if I could reverse engineer the protocol between the app and the Elgato lights, and talk to them directly. First step was to get their IP addresses. It did not show in my Unifi portal and I could not locate it in pfSense, so I decided to run this on my firewall:

tcpdump -i ix0.8 -vv -nnvvXSs 1514 port 5353 | grep -i Elgato

So the US pipeline that was crippled due to ransomware attacks had the effect that Americans now have to pay more money for gas - so much that they are frantically looking for cheaper prices. A quote:

On average, Americans are paying $3.008 for a gallon of gas, up from $2.985 on Tuesday and $2.927 one week ago, AAA said earlier this week.

So... That translates to CAD 0.964 per litre. Here in Vancouver, BC we have been paying CAD 1.52 or higher for the longest time. Funny how relative things are?

As part of the audio system I am building for my little one, I needed to make a stand so that the equipment do not take up all her valuable desk space. I decided to use walnut for this custom designed stand.

Everything was dimensioned from rough cut stock, planed by hand, ripped on the bandsaw but everything else was cross cut and joined and dimensioned using non electric tools only. The stand is comprised of four stackable parts, allowing for adjustment in the order of the shelves. I finished it with shellac.