DynamoSunshirt's recent activity
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Comment on Insurers retreat from AI cover as risk of multibillion-dollar claims mounts in ~finance
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Comment on These travel influencers don’t want freebies. They’re AI. in ~travel
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI am appalled by what I see on Instagram these days (not personally, I don't have an account -- but sometimes I ask friends if I can take a look at their feed). Literally every influencer, at even...I am appalled by what I see on Instagram these days (not personally, I don't have an account -- but sometimes I ask friends if I can take a look at their feed). Literally every influencer, at even the slightest hint of popularity, starts hawking random drop-shipped crap. They don't even attempt to hide the fact that they're sponsored, or that they don't use any of this crap. They just create tons of content about it in the hopes that some of their loyal followers buy it simply through association.
It's wild to me because in the techy communities that I participate in, sponcon has been considered cancer for many years. To a point where even the popular "influencer" types often and assertively remind users than sponsors are not given editorial privileges, or that they aren't sponsored at all, just trying something that they were interested in with their own money.
I just can't understand the mindset of someone who buys, say, a showerhead simply because they recognize the personality who is pushing it from other social media posts. I always take a critical eye to sponsored or recommendation posts from people I follow. I've unfollowed RSS feeds and Mastodon accounts simply because I didn't trust the opinions of the people running those accounts. This reminds me of celebrity tie-ins, but on a broad scale -- think Snoop Dogg wine, or celebrities in TV ads, or when Artie gets bamboozled by Armagnac in The Sopranos. Basically ponzi schemes where the entire schtick is selling crap down the line until the biggest, poorest fool gets screwed.
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Comment on Suggestions for uses of old computer hardware? in ~comp
DynamoSunshirt LinkHow big is the disk? If you don't back up your main machine, you could mirror some data to this older machine, maybe in the basement or a closet somewhere, so if something awful happens to your...How big is the disk? If you don't back up your main machine, you could mirror some data to this older machine, maybe in the basement or a closet somewhere, so if something awful happens to your main machine you don't lose everything. My home NAS/server journey started doing exactly that for my music library: I mirrored it, then realized I could just host it from a central machine with Jellyfin... and now I've got a 36TB NAS that I use for backups, music, TV, movies, a VPN, dynamic DNS, and more. Truly a gateway drug, so be cautious!
But also a nice way to check out Linux risk-free if you have the Windows 11 AI/ad blues.
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Comment on Opinions on NPU laptops? in ~comp
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentStrong second on those AMD SoCs with unified memory and integrated GPUs. Better power efficiency and likely better software support in the long term than some bolted-on NPU. But if you aren't...Strong second on those AMD SoCs with unified memory and integrated GPUs. Better power efficiency and likely better software support in the long term than some bolted-on NPU. But if you aren't already using local AI for daily tasks, I wouldn't worry about either. That cheap cloud AI gravy train is still flowing (for now) and it's much harder to rewrite client software to use a breadth of different local hardware and software anyway, so a lot of companies may never do it.
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Comment on Windows: Linux GPU gaming benchmarks on Bazzite in ~games
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentIdeally, Valve will come up with an anti-cheat Linux solution with controls in place that make it a little bit less of a rootkit, keylogger security risk. Maybe a "game mode" minimal kernel in...Ideally, Valve will come up with an anti-cheat Linux solution with controls in place that make it a little bit less of a rootkit, keylogger security risk. Maybe a "game mode" minimal kernel in steamOS with way more restrictions, which would basically just be a console?
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Comment on Looking for recommendations for a new home router in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt LinkI am about to upgrade from my ancient Apple Airport router to an OpenWRT One. Seems like a nice balance of open source software/hardware and semi-official support. And reviews seem really good...I am about to upgrade from my ancient Apple Airport router to an OpenWRT One. Seems like a nice balance of open source software/hardware and semi-official support. And reviews seem really good from the community as far as performance, buffer bloat, etc is concerned. OpenWRT isn't the easiest interface but it isn't too bad, either. Might be worth considering, and at $89 it's more affordable than any other option out there!
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Comment on ‘Wicked: For Good’ opening to $150m; records broken for Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jon M. Chu, Broadway musical feature take and more in ~movies
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentNice tip about the Into the Woods proshot -- checking that out now!Nice tip about the Into the Woods proshot -- checking that out now!
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Comment on ‘Wicked: For Good’ opening to $150m; records broken for Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jon M. Chu, Broadway musical feature take and more in ~movies
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI can definitely see the look and feel, as well as the live singing, being an issue for some people. Personally I would rather they kept the movie's appearance more basic, and stick to a singing...I can definitely see the look and feel, as well as the live singing, being an issue for some people. Personally I would rather they kept the movie's appearance more basic, and stick to a singing style more in line with what you see on stage. But I also understand that directors want to use the movie medium to its full potential -- it sometimes feels like certain people just want a multicam recording of a stage performance. In which case, Disney's Hamilton recording is the only one I'm aware of. Did people hate that, too? I wish more musicals got that treatment, which is a lot cheaper and honestly better than a full movie IMO.
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Comment on ‘Wicked: For Good’ opening to $150m; records broken for Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jon M. Chu, Broadway musical feature take and more in ~movies
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentMaybe a dumb question, but why do so many people hate the Les Mis movie so much? As I implied before, I honestly like it a lot... but I can see how Russell Crowe's not-very-Broadway singing and...Maybe a dumb question, but why do so many people hate the Les Mis movie so much? As I implied before, I honestly like it a lot... but I can see how Russell Crowe's not-very-Broadway singing and the director's insistence on imperfect, breathy, teary live performances of songs might hurt it for true musical aficionados. I can't help but feel like I'm missing something, like I'm some kind of uncultured rube since I honestly liked it.
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Comment on ‘Wicked: For Good’ opening to $150m; records broken for Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jon M. Chu, Broadway musical feature take and more in ~movies
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentThanks for the link, that's wild! I retract my unwarranted CGI bias. Unfortunately it just looked cheap to me given the very harsh lighting in those last few minutes of the movie, so I assumed it...Thanks for the link, that's wild! I retract my unwarranted CGI bias. Unfortunately it just looked cheap to me given the very harsh lighting in those last few minutes of the movie, so I assumed it was CGI. I'm glad to hear they tried practical effects, it's too bad it didn't land for me. But I'll appreciate it more now for being practical!
Good point about Yeoh's singing. Really hurt a few of the songs where she popped in for a few lyrics. Sheryl or Hannah would have been fantastic. Hannah's singing voice is so good, it's honestly hard to believe they passed her up.
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Comment on ‘Wicked: For Good’ opening to $150m; records broken for Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jon M. Chu, Broadway musical feature take and more in ~movies
DynamoSunshirt LinkI suppose I'll go against the grain here and reveal that I quite enjoyed this movie. The new original songs were a bit shallow, but generally played well with the musical and plot themes of Act 2....I suppose I'll go against the grain here and reveal that I quite enjoyed this movie. The new original songs were a bit shallow, but generally played well with the musical and plot themes of Act 2. The cinematography was pretty fun at times -- the mirror bits in "Girl in the Bubble" and the zoom out through Oz's machinations as his figurative machinations grind to a halt stood out to me as particularly inventive. The action scenes remained a bit too actiony (good god, I cringe every time they start that awful drum monkey theme), and Fiyero's scarecrowification CGI was... much worse than the scarecrow makeup in the original Wizard of Oz (it looked like Michael Scott took a George Foreman grill, or perhaps a particularly fine waffle iron, to his face).
I couldn't help but draw parallels between Oz and Trump throughout the movie, maybe a smidge more overt than the typical "Oz is a corrupt, immoral huckster" take. But that's probably just me reading too far into it. Overall I thought Goldblum did a great job (very Gene Wilder Willy Wonka at times), same for the main characters, with the exception of Madame Morrible... I just don't get the enthusiasm for Michelle's acting, I never get any emotion from her. And I was glad that they toned down the comic relief Galinda posse to true background work in this film, they really didn't work for me in Part 1.
8.5/10 musical movie IMO. I enjoy the stage musical a lot, too, so I'm admittedly biased... but I enjoyed this about as much as I liked the Les Mis movie from 2013ish. Honesty I always thought the stage musical Act 2 was a bit rushed, so I was happy to let it breathe. Could have taken even more time for Nessa and Fiyero plots, but you have to cut it somewhere.
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Comment on The DoorDash problem: How AI browsers are a huge threat to Amazon in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentSure, on a computer or phone or tablet. But you might not be able to check out the item if you're using a voice assistant! For the most obscure niches (say, an espresso machine, or a mountain...Sure, on a computer or phone or tablet. But you might not be able to check out the item if you're using a voice assistant!
For the most obscure niches (say, an espresso machine, or a mountain bike, or an ereader), it might be both difficult to articulate your preferences and hard to assess the quality of a product without deep knowledge of the space. But I suppose those are also categories where I wouldn't trust a human assistant -- the only way to make a good decision is to deeply research the space yourself so you understand the tradeoffs, which likely involves practical experience.
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Comment on New ‘Stargate’ TV series ordered at Amazon from ‘Blindspot’ creator Martin Gero in ~tv
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentHey, Universe could always come back and respect the canon. Honestly, it would probably be the best way to "soft reboot" it with no Earth bodyswapping stone connection at all. They could probably...Hey, Universe could always come back and respect the canon. Honestly, it would probably be the best way to "soft reboot" it with no Earth bodyswapping stone connection at all. They could probably build a whole season out of stasis hangover stuff, trying to figure out how much time has passed, where the Destiny wound up. It's also a really easy excuse to kill off any characters whose actors can't come back.
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Comment on A new era of intelligence with Gemini 3 in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentNow called "efficient", FYI.Now called "efficient", FYI.
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Comment on How to brew solar powered coffee in ~food
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentIf you don't include travel time, that seems likely to be the fastest boil time possible! Though, come to think of it, doesn't water have an especially low boiling point in a vacuum? You might not...If you don't include travel time, that seems likely to be the fastest boil time possible! Though, come to think of it, doesn't water have an especially low boiling point in a vacuum? You might not even have to go all the way there.
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Comment on How to brew solar powered coffee in ~food
DynamoSunshirt LinkFeels a bit overcomplicated, no? Step 1: plant tree Step 2: wait Step 3: harvest wood Step 4: fire Step 5: boil water for a pourover on your fire To save time, you can just use an existing tree....Feels a bit overcomplicated, no?
Step 1: plant tree
Step 2: wait
Step 3: harvest wood
Step 4: fire
Step 5: boil water for a pourover on your fireTo save time, you can just use an existing tree. Fortunately they're all solar powered!
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Comment on New ‘Stargate’ TV series ordered at Amazon from ‘Blindspot’ creator Martin Gero in ~tv
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentNo hate, I just never got around to it. Should I?No hate, I just never got around to it. Should I?
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Comment on New ‘Stargate’ TV series ordered at Amazon from ‘Blindspot’ creator Martin Gero in ~tv
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentAs much as I love Universe, I have to agree. Love me some grit but I think we all need something upbeat these days. And there's very little competition in the sci fi space from the last few years!As much as I love Universe, I have to agree. Love me some grit but I think we all need something upbeat these days. And there's very little competition in the sci fi space from the last few years!
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Comment on New ‘Stargate’ TV series ordered at Amazon from ‘Blindspot’ creator Martin Gero in ~tv
DynamoSunshirt LinkAs a lifelong fan of the three main series, I couldn't be more excited. SG-1 and Atlantis will always have a nostalgic sweet spot in my heart. Universe had so much potential, and helped give me an...As a lifelong fan of the three main series, I couldn't be more excited. SG-1 and Atlantis will always have a nostalgic sweet spot in my heart. Universe had so much potential, and helped give me an appreciation for grittier science fiction. The franchise has great heart.
While I think older Star Treks (TNG and DS9 in particular) do a better job of exploring moral and philosophical problems through a technological lens, modern Star Trek is such bastardized action schlock, it's created a big opportunity to create modern optimistic science fiction. Let's hope they pull it off!
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Comment on Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentStarting to feel a bit like Omelas (from the short story). Easy to pretend everything is good even when you know the very core is rotten with corruption and suffering... well, easy for some...Starting to feel a bit like Omelas (from the short story). Easy to pretend everything is good even when you know the very core is rotten with corruption and suffering... well, easy for some people, I guess. I am increasingly tempted to walk away.
Honestly, this needs to happen. 10 years ago. I guess it's at least a silver lining from all of this AI garbage: maybe companies will finally start to worry about data breaches? If we're lucky, we might even get US banks to start supporting non-SMS 2FA!