OCTADE or OCTAD is a retro word that means either an octal digit of three bits, or an octal octet or an eight-bit byte. Thus an octade, depending on its historical use, is either 3 bits or 8 bits.

OCTADE was used to specify eight bits, as opposed to BYTE which is not necessarily eight bits as the word BYTE could signify any of several numbers of bits.

This yields the retro 1337 numbers of 38 and 83. The number 38 is one more than 37 so a bit more elite a bit cooler. Thus it owns cardinally shorter byterz.

83 mod 38 equals 7, the highest octal digit. 838 mod 383 equals 72 or 9 times 8 which is 8 squared plus 8.

8338 mod 3883 equals 572 which is 72 times 8 minus 4 or 71.5 times 8.

8383 mod 3838 equals 707 which is 88 times 8 plus 3.

I prefer the old word OCTADE to the word BYTE. OCTADE sports a Euro-peon dignity and gravitas like an Internet serf ready to surf the worknet like pwnd peons. This is very true when pronouncing OCTADE with a thick Pennsyltucky Dutch or Yinzer accent. The Bostonian pronunciation sounds like bad beginner German or muffled mumbling of 'lactate.'

OCTADE or OCTAD was also used to describe a poem of eight stanzas.

OCTADE was also used to describe a period of eight years, or two leap years.

OCTADECANAL is a pheromone found in butterflies. It is butterfly perfume. I would not wear butterfly cologne. But I would sell it. Who would buy and wear my snobby smell? With wordplay we can call it OCTADE CHANNEL No. 8 . All rights reserved, ye French odor snooties.

Historical references for use of 'octade' or 'octad':

Burroughs B5500 Information Processing Systems REFERENCE MANUAL
https://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/burroughs/LargeSystems/B5000_5500_5700/1021326_B5500_RefMan_196705.pdf

Philips Data Systems Product Range - April 1971
https://www.vintage-calculators.nl/Philips%20productoverzicht%201971.pdf

Is there another name for octet that means 8 bits?
https://www.quora.com/Is-there-another-name-for-octet-that-means-8-bits

#octade #octad #binary #byte #jargon #etymology #bytemology #wordplay #wordgames #wordcrimes #history #retro #retronym #retronymous #yinzer #pennsyltucky #humor

@wordplay@lemmy.ml @Vocabulary@lemmy.ml

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OCTADE | news://alt.flashback | https://soc.octade.net

#Coffee #CowboyCoffee #MorningMudd

Name: Byrl Raze Buckbriar (call me Raze).

Likes: Interested in WORK PRODUCT, inspiration, faith, truth, beauty, nature, self-improvement, encouragement, edification, praiseworthy things, how-tos, beautiful things, artwork, fluid poems, and general human kindness and achievement. See my profile hashtags for technical subjects of interest.

Disclaimer: If I follow your account it does not imply agreement with your views.

Site: Cryptography project site. (https://octade.net)
Publications: https://octade.net/publications.html
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5144-3278
Netnews: Find me on #Usenet in #Newsgroup alt.rhubarb.
Git: https://codeberg.org/OCTADE
Keyoxide1: https://keyoxide.org/0CF7084CF97B85F2ABF97010C6663A42C56F5F0E
Keyoxide2: https://keyoxide.org/B9B2A8EC2C4B20D2011CFEAA07E4A7FFF6585E8F
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/octade.bsky.social
HackerNews: https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=OCTADE
Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/@buckbriar

@screwlisp I won’t be listening to #lispyGopherClimate today.

I went to a protest against ICE in Boston and now I’m going to a square dance.

This is such a bleak fucking planet

Age verification is spreading like cancer.

First they came for adults site and social media; now they are already discussing about putting VPNs and app stores behind #AgeVerfication 🇬🇧🇦🇺

What’s sold as “online safety” means #surveillance via IDs checks or face scans.

Privacy & anonymity protect journalists, whistleblowers & activists.

We must fight against age verification - or the free web dies!

👉 More: https://tuta.com/blog/age-verification-kills-anonymity

Alt...

First they came for Adult sites And I did not speak out Because I was not interested in Adult sites Then they came for Social Media And I did not speak out Because I was not interested in Social Media Then they came for the VPNs And I did not speak out Because I was not interested in VPNs Then they came for chat apps And I did not speak out Because I was not  interested in chat apps Then they locked the whole web behind ID verification And there was no one left To speak up against this

TSA wants more biometric data from pre-check travelers. Forget it. I will wait in line.
#tsa
#tsaprecheck
#privacy
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2026/01/23/tsa-biometric-data-policy-updates/88325455007/

The Quest For The Perfect Notebook

#notes #fountainpens #notebooks

https://mtwb.blog/posts/2026/pens/the-quest-for-the-perfect-notebook/

Gladys West, mathematician whose work paved the way for #GPS, dies at 95.

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/23/nx-s1-5685027/gladys-west-gps-mathematician

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A photograph captures Gladys in her later years, smiling warmly at the camera. She stands before an empty auditorium, her brown skin beautifully contrasted by her white clothing and hat.

When I heard the news I started looking around for a new kerosene heater. If the electricity goes out, electric heat and diesel electric heat are useless. They require electricity, obviously.

I have a wood stove but that is my last resort since it requires a lot of attention throughout the day. If the electric goes out, a kerosene heater will burn on low all night.

I can get K1 kerosene at the pump for 1/3 the price of the jugs sold in stores. It is a good hedge against power failure. Wood is cheaper if I cut and split if myself, but tending a woodstove is more time consuming.

The propane heater keeps things warm enough but propane heat is really expensive. Propane can cost $600+ to heat a small house for a month, or about $20 per day.

When I build my new house I plan to build a south-facing tromb wall with water pipes and a 5x8x8 insulated water tank set in a concrete pedestal housing. This way when the sun shines the heat will be transferred into a couple thousand gallons of water which can be piped to an interior radiator. The wood stove can be perched atop the concrete water tank housing with an insulated baffle that can be removed when the stove is burning, so the heat cast under the stove heats the metal water tank.

My dream home setup will also use deep geothermal ducting for cooling in the summer. About 300 feet of ducting running from a 30-foot deep well, buried six feet deep next to the shaded area of the yard will allow air to be drawn through and cooled by the cooler ground well, which is 15-20 degrees cooler in the well and about ten degrees cooler at six feet down.

This would allow a small fan to draw in cool air from underground during the summer, and push the higher warmer air up a vent, using far less electricity than a HVAC unit.

I like cooking on the wood stove. I can set a big iron dutch oven upon on a rack and let it slow cook all day. Chili and cowboy beans are almost effortless. I have also cooked pots of chili on the old kerosene heater, however one must be very careful to have a tight lid to prevent the kero odor from getting into the stew.

Right now I am getting ready to make a batch of baked beans with bacon, bratwurst, and ham. This fat mess will stick to my ribs and keep my blood warm.

#Heating #WinterStorm #IceStorm #Woodstove #Kerosene #Homesteading

At least they listen to you.

I see some people still using ancient PGP keys. GnuPG offers Linux repositories for updating to the latest versions of GnuPG with new expert features for key generation. Recent versions support both Kyber1024 and Goldilocks448 keys (and more).

Once installed run: :~$ gpg --full-generate-key --expert

New GnuPG Repositories for Debian, Ubuntu, and Devuan: Stable and Development Branches Available

https://www.gnupg.org/blog/20250827-new-repository.html

#PGP #GPG #PQC #GnuPG #Encryption #Cryptography #Privacy #Signatures #Kyber #Goldilocks #ED448 #Keys #PublicKey

https://www.youtube.com/@oysterbandvaults

#FolkMusic #FolkBand #FolkSinger #NowPlaying

@ajroach42

The future of television is in the pasture.

Yep, cows.

#cows #television #BackToThe Future

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my Internet. Prepare to die()!"

https://mastodon.social/@Nicolas_Maduro

#Maduro #Venezuela

Next time a telemarketer calls, give the phone to your 4-year-old and say, “It’s Santa.”

@tapirgirl

Ten tapirs leaping.

Well, that’s embarrassing.

On the plus side, I guess it works.

#cryptography #fail #iacr

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62vl05rz0ko

"Despite advancements in secure messaging, PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption—developed in the 1990s—remains a gold standard for privacy. Unlike modern apps reliant on centralized servers or phone numbers, PGP ensures end-to-end encryption without third-party dependencies. This article explores PGP’s enduring relevance, key management best practices, and how it compares to contemporary solutions like Signal."

#PGP #GPG #Encryption #Messaging #Cryptography

Running an ActivityPub server on your phone might sound complicated, but it doesn't have to be. You can just let it run with automatic maintenance, or dive into all the settings if that's your thing. Monitor storage, schedule backups, see what activities are taking up space, whatever level of control you want. Some might never open these screens, others check them daily. And that's totally fine. We made it automatic for everyone, but added all the tools for power users. That's your server #Holos

Alt...

Data & Backup: Everything about your server's storage in one place. See what's using space, create backups when you want, set up automatic ones if you prefer. You can even sync to the cloud. Keep your data safe locally or let it sync automatically to your cloud storage. Your data is important, so we give you options.

Alt...

Cleanup Settings: Choose what to keep and what to delete automatically. Maybe you want your home timeline forever but only need public posts for 3 days. Or just leave it on default and forget about it. The cleanup runs in the background and you decide the rules.

Alt...

Server Stats: All the numbers about your server. How much storage you're using, how many posts and followers you have, what type of activities are happening. Weekly graphs, pie charts, the works. Perfect for understanding what to clean up or just for the curious.

When Jacob wrestled with a man in Genesis 32, he says, "I have seen the face of God and lived!"

On the one hand, no he didn't.

But on the other hand, Jacob thinks he did, and this isn't theologically problematic. The narrator doesn't rush in to correct Jacob. Jacob seems to move through life as though he did meet God face to face and is in awe, and we just wonder, "who was that man? How did he rename Jacob to Israel?"

I'm wrestling w/ this text from a Jewish lens, and from a Christian lens.

Did everyone have a good new Year?

Little Johnny had just failed his law exam, but instead of sulking, he marched straight to his professor’s office with a plan.
Johnny: “Sir, is it true you know everything about law?”
Professor: “Naturally. I’ve been teaching it for over 30 years.”
Johnny: “Perfect. Let’s make a deal. If you can answer my question, I’ll accept my failing grade. But if you can’t… you give me an ‘A.’”
The professor, amused and slightly arrogant, agreed.
Professor: “Go ahead. Ask.”
Johnny leaned forward with a grin.
Johnny: “What is legal but not logical, logical but not legal, and neither legal nor logical?”
The professor froze. He thought. He scribbled notes. He paced the room. Hours ticked by, but he couldn’t crack it. Finally, red-faced and defeated, he gave Johnny an “A.”
The next day, still fuming and desperate for answers, the professor posed the riddle to his class.
Professor: “Who can tell me—what is legal but not logical, logical but not legal, and neither legal nor logical?”
To his surprise, nearly every hand shot up.

He called on one student.
Student: “Sir, you’re 65 years old and married to a 28-year-old woman. That’s legal but not logical. Your wife is having an affair with a 23-year-old man. That’s logical but not legal. And finally… you just gave your wife’s boyfriend an ‘A’ after he failed his exam. That’s neither legal nor logical!”
The professor didn’t say a word.

He just fainted.

#NewYear #BahHumbug

Many languages include a reference to Mary in the name: Catalan marieta, Latvian mārīte. Also as part of a compound word, German Marienkäfer or Icelandic maríubjalla, “Mary’s beetle”, Danish, for example, uses mariehøne, literally “Mary’s chicken.” Finally, in English the name does not directly include Mary, but “ladybird” (or “ladybug”) comes from “Our Lady’s bird,” once again referring to the Virgin Mary.
https://mapologies.com/bugs/

Alt...

etymology map of ladybird

It doesn't matter who wins the AI race, whether it’s OpenAI, Google, Microsoft or world governments. We will be the collateral damage in this. Energy bills, water bills, and hardware prices are going to become major talking points in 2026 and beyond. These are just a few things I’ve noticed as 2025 comes to a close.

2026 is just up ahead. How are we feeling about it, fam?

#NewYear #TMNT #RetroGaming

I’ve just finished building what I call a “Game of Life simulator on steroids.” Check it out! It basically serves as a simulator for my latest ontology article.

https://conway.altky.sk

#ontology #philosophy #GameOfLife #physics

Appalachian horseradish is venerable. The rest are simulacra.

Why is "AI" being shoved into everything?

because it forces historically offline interactions into being cloud-based; that's why.

I just tried Marmite for the first time, and I ask as a friend: what's wrong with you people? Is peanut butter illegal where you live or something? Was a famine involved? Dire times and zombies, perhaps?

I hardly ever try to use search engines now. I rely 99% on word of mouth or public forum questions.

The web is crap because the search monopoly has digested it.

"many souls go to hell because they have no one to pray and make sacrifices for them" - Our Lady of Fatima