Richard Gaywood
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penllawen.favrd.social
Richard Gaywood
@penllawen.favrd.social
Just some guy, I think.

Snark, tech, cooking, greyhounds, TTRPGs. Usually some politics too. I’m a privacy engineer at a big tech firm but I’m not here for work so these hot takes are nothing to do with my employer and are all my own. He/him.
I just looked up the areas of the solar panels and radiators on, erm, Wikipedia I think. Ignoring the biological activity of the crew, any satellite is more or less a closed thermodynamic system, so I’m reasoning that the 3:1 ratio of solar panel to radiator area on ISS is approx applicable
December 11, 2025 at 6:12 PM
A friend turned his carpentry hobby into a career change; mostly building bespoke fitted furniture. There’s a lot of appeal in that. Loads of cool nerdy tools with niche cases, a bottomless rathole of power tool research, and constant puzzles to solve when the house isn’t square but your cabinet is.
December 11, 2025 at 1:27 PM
+1, and also, that strongly attracted the kind of players who wanted that experience, and made do with Vampire because none of us knew any better back then.
December 11, 2025 at 12:23 PM
I worked this out a few weeks ago and it’s a bit less than I assumed. Using the ISS as an example, for every m^2 of solar panel taking energy in, it needs about 1/3rd m^2 of radiator to put it back out.
December 11, 2025 at 12:17 PM
🎶 I get up when I want except on Wednesdays when I get rudely awakened by the neighbours being incinerated by a coronal mass ejection (xenolife!) 🎶
December 11, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Pretty sure finishing my PhD has left scars that will never heal. In the end, I was driven by pure spite - a senior figure in my team told me I couldn't do it. (Later he pretended this was to motivate me.) I still don't know how I ever managed it. The last year is a total blur.
December 9, 2025 at 10:32 AM
well this hit me like a ton of bricks
December 9, 2025 at 10:28 AM
but don't worry, i'm sure this won't have any downsides
December 5, 2025 at 9:55 PM
BLOOD LEAGUE FOR THE BLOOD GOD
December 3, 2025 at 10:21 PM