knocklessmonster's recent activity
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Comment on Paying for AI: Have you found it to be worth it? in ~tech
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Comment on What dashcam do you use? in ~tech
knocklessmonster LinkI use a Viofo A129. The whole setup costs $200, but it has good quality, easy setup and runs when I need it. The only crash I've had was my own into a pole, but that camera (same model) was gifted...I use a Viofo A129. The whole setup costs $200, but it has good quality, easy setup and runs when I need it. The only crash I've had was my own into a pole, but that camera (same model) was gifted to my brother after I misplaced it and bought a replacement. I like this one a lot because you run a power cable around the moulding, and a link cable to the back and you're done.
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Comment on Stop Killing Games petitions hit the target for both UK and EU in ~games
knocklessmonster LinkHell yeah! Ross was trying to light a fire under it's butt. I saw a suggestion that it should hit 1.2mil as a safety target for the EU petition, to ensure any disqualified votes don't sink it, but...Hell yeah! Ross was trying to light a fire under it's butt. I saw a suggestion that it should hit 1.2mil as a safety target for the EU petition, to ensure any disqualified votes don't sink it, but this is great.
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Comment on That dropped call with customer service? It was on purpose. (gifted link) in ~life
knocklessmonster (edited )LinkKeeping it, but redacted. Apparently there's actually a service improvement here, or at least mitigation of other issues. I have been in cars bounced out of line for ordering 12 cheeseburgers, but...The overarching issue I've seen is that there's this emphasis on metrics that affects a large amount of society. McDonalds sort of suffers from the "sludge" issue, but it's more of a "fudge," you place a mundane order, Big Mac combo with fries and a coke, and they bounce you out of the line so some poor schmuck can schlep it to your car from the front door. This diminishes the customer experience (backing up what should be an auxillary zone for longer orders), diminishes the worker's experience (having to go out to a car, compared to the drive-thru window), but checks that one little box that the folks upstairs want: that interaction at the window was less than 90 seconds.Keeping it, but redacted. Apparently there's actually a service improvement here, or at least mitigation of other issues.
I have been in cars bounced out of line for ordering 12 cheeseburgers, but that takes a long time, so is not the issue.
All of this comes from a perversion of what companies exist to do: Facilitate transactions for goods and service. I feel like "Make money" should be the second, asterisked point that is important, but can only happen, and frankly happens better, when people actually like engaging with your services. You need to spend a little more on credits due to fuckups? Great! The customer will make up for it in the future. Cataclysmic event happened and you need to refund every flight? Do the right thing so they'll remember that and re-book with you later.
It's this weird Jack Welch, optimize the crap out of everything mindset that's leading to a collapse of customer service when the shit hits the fan. Part of it is a response to people taking advantage of customer-benefiting policies, but most of it is this weird game of optimization where profits are all that matter, not actually doing a good job at your job at the company-wide level.
This wasn't intended as a rant, but some stuff that pissed me off when I went to school for business administration. We talk about "core competencies," and for a lot of companies, making money should not be the primary focus. Profitability often just comes with doing good work and having repeat business. I feel like we just live in an era of losing dollars while we chase cents, or at least inflicting misery that will lead to the loss of many more cents down the road.
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Comment on I need advice, which laptop would you buy now? in ~tech
knocklessmonster (edited )Link ParentIt's great for a "install for grandma" situation but also very good if you just don't want to worry about updating your OS between releases. It updates automatically, but you can roll back the...It's great for a "install for grandma" situation but also very good if you just don't want to worry about updating your OS between releases. It updates automatically, but you can roll back the image if needed fairly trivially, then roll back forward once you're ready as well. I had to do this when Linux had a bug for my graphics driver. I tracked Fedora then my image to verify the fix landed then rolled back to daily updates.
For package management you can layer with rpm-ostree, or more convently for updates use bluebuild, Universal Blue's image creation system, to make a GitHub repo to customize your image, then rebase to it and keep updates. I've been running my customized Aurora image for about fifteen of the last seventeen months.
The Universal Blue team designs for the following flow which I find works well:
Flatpak for GUI apps > brew for CLI apps, Distrobox ifnit's not available for the last two > system image customization if it needs to be a system packages. I actually use all these options for various things and it's quite simple.
It comes with Flatpaks for a bunch of apps including Firefox, and I frankly like it that way. Most apps I use are Flatpaks except for my music environment (Renoise, SuperCollider, Bitwig in an Arch distrobox), Mega (can get their packages in my image), and random sandboxes Increase for various reasons.
Thebupstream Fedora Atomic images expect you to directly layer with rpm-ostree by default, which is also still a pretty good experience.
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Comment on I need advice, which laptop would you buy now? in ~tech
knocklessmonster LinkI would buy the latest greatest Framework 13 for what you want, something that isn't gaming, but beefy. It comes with a Ryzen 7040, unless you want the absolute latest AI 300 series. The barebones...I would buy the latest greatest Framework 13 for what you want, something that isn't gaming, but beefy. It comes with a Ryzen 7040, unless you want the absolute latest AI 300 series. The barebones kit is $899, and you would just need that plus RAM and storage. You can get it with them, or source the same exact parts elsewhere for roughly half the price Framework charges (but, the overhead supports Framework!). Get a linux distro of your choice or Windows 11 (I'm partial to Aurora, who provide images that work fully on Frameworks) and that's a fully-fledged computer.
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Comment on What's a new skill that you've picked up recently? in ~life
knocklessmonster LinkClawhammer double-thumbing and three finger banjo! I've played guitar for twenty years, mandolin for 10, and got a banjo two years ago. I started on clawhammer, never really progressed, then...Clawhammer double-thumbing and three finger banjo!
I've played guitar for twenty years, mandolin for 10, and got a banjo two years ago. I started on clawhammer, never really progressed, then watched a video by Wayne Erbsen playing a song from his book to demonstrate the technique (which I'd seen a few times) and it clicked on my fretless banjo, probably because it has wider string gaps, and it's been much easier to do after locking it in the first time.
I was playing with three finger (Scruggs style? but my banjos have nylon strings and I use the pads of my right hand), and the rolls started to make sense, so I started playing with melodies I know with both techniques and working around them.
It's been great fun.
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Comment on Explain Linux controversies to me in ~tech
knocklessmonster (edited )LinkDisclosure: i'm a fan of Flatpaks, and less enthusiastic about, but like Snaps. I even use brew for some things. The skinny on Snaps: Snaps are system-level package containers.the biggest...Disclosure: i'm a fan of Flatpaks, and less enthusiastic about, but like Snaps. I even use brew for some things.
The skinny on Snaps:
Snaps are system-level package containers.the biggest complaint I've seen is there can be performance issues with them, but across laptops in the limited time I've used them I haven't seen any issues. I don't like Canonical switching debs for things out for snaps, but it is a viable solution to some packaging, like when Mozilla pushed for Ubuntu to use a Firefox snap (then went back on it and built their own repos).
"snaps are a property distribution format" gets quoted a lot. I believe I read Martin Wimpress, Ubuntu MATE head, former Canonical dev, address that Snaps only need an https server and a few basic files to distribute packages. Snapcraft.io is maintained by Canonical the way it is to provide an enterprise-friendly hub for packages. I can understand not wanting to use snaps on this basis, and only wish to clear the air.
Package Managers vs Snaps and Flatpaks
System packages are and will always be king. They are how you build your system.
I think the best thing to do is the following for packages: System > Snap/Flatpak/ > third party distro repo.
Snaps and Flatpaks are generally distributed from Snapcraft and Flathub but can be published by devs directly as well. They can also provide updated software your distro has a snowflake's chance in hell of getting, like Debian getting the latest Firefox in its repo. These formats are useful as supplements to distro packages, and even potentially useful as your entire package set overlaid on a relatively minimal system (see: Fedora Atomic, EndlessOS).
As an aside, I mostly use Flatpaks except for VSCode, my music suite (Renoise, Bitwig, Supercollider, and VSTs in an Arch distrobox) and think they're phenomenal. Most aren't from the developers themselves, but Ubuntu users have an advantage where they can pick and choose easily between official snaps and Flatpaks, and get as much maintained by upstream as possible.
Nvidia drivers: were open, then closed. Nvidia didn't cooperate with the Linux project and tried to do their own graphics handling for Wayland and eventually capitulated on all fronts, releasing driver sources a few years ago (2018?). Easy story.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
knocklessmonster LinkI got Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon, caving after watching a streamer play it off and on and fortunately not having any story beats spoiled. I saw it compared to Elder Scrolls favorably, and I'm...I got Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon, caving after watching a streamer play it off and on and fortunately not having any story beats spoiled. I saw it compared to Elder Scrolls favorably, and I'm always looking for something that plays like them. Avowed worked, and I need to finish it, but this game is very similar. Aesthetically it's got this weird HR Giger meets Dark Souls vibe with Arthurian legend as the premise and the aesthetic works really well. It's hard in a way that feels fair but isn't Dark Souls-difficult on the middle/default setting. I'm sensitive to janky difficulty curves, but I feel like I'm really paying for my mistakes, but not too much, like I can turn an encounter unless I just do too badly. I can't grok parrying yet, even with the +.1s perk for it, so I"m going to pump that and see how it goes, but it's a good story, killer cutscenes, and a striking world.
I almost ragequit it last night but cleared the dungeon and am quite happy with it.
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Comment on Are they 'stars'? Or just rather ordinary people who need to work? in ~talk
knocklessmonster LinkMy brother, at a previous job, had an encounter with Vince Vaughn who was just chatting up this random theme park employee for no reason other than being in proximity to him. I worked in...My brother, at a previous job, had an encounter with Vince Vaughn who was just chatting up this random theme park employee for no reason other than being in proximity to him. I worked in foodservice at the same park and had a few encounters and at the end of the day, these high profile people are just normal people, usually. The extremely successful actors are more or less normal people with a lot more money. There is a weirdness that can come from being an actor, but I think that's more from people who want to be actors being a little more weird than everybody else, and the ones to go way out there would likely have done something similar in any position in life.
It's the same for anybody, high-profile musicians as well. I've been in proximity to a few smaller but well-known acts (not actually had meaningful interactions due to social anxiety), one of which had a nationally run cable comedy show, and they're just people.
It's not so much about the glamor, its about getting a chance to network and try to find a new gig with the producers and directors and financiers in attendance.
Like any career, networking is important. That's a lot of what happens in Hollywood. If we rule out people who came up through some form of nepotism, a lot of the biggest people were simply in the right place at the right time with at least the minimum amount of required drive and skill at their craft.
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Comment on Are they 'stars'? Or just rather ordinary people who need to work? in ~talk
knocklessmonster Link ParentHe put out a new hour-long standup piece this year, which was pretty good.He put out a new hour-long standup piece this year, which was pretty good.
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Comment on Steam finally goes native on Apple Silicon in ~games
knocklessmonster Link ParentYou actually could, theoretically. It's the same technology. I could see some sort of Rosetta integration if that's somehow possible (I know next to nothing about Rosetta, though, aside from it...You actually could, theoretically. It's the same technology. I could see some sort of Rosetta integration if that's somehow possible (I know next to nothing about Rosetta, though, aside from it being a cross-architecture layer). With Steam pledging native ARM support for Windows, however, it could simplify things with ARM architecture games.
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Comment on Necessities are expensive, luxuries are cheap in ~finance
knocklessmonster LinkOh we're posting shorts now? I'm kidding. I was helping my mom get a new TV and had been eyeballing them myself as I prepare to move out next year and was surprised that you can get a 50in for a...Oh we're posting shorts now?
I'm kidding. I was helping my mom get a new TV and had been eyeballing them myself as I prepare to move out next year and was surprised that you can get a 50in for a decent price for $220 (Visio, not top of the line in the US, but still, our last Visio lasted like 12 years).
I think it's more about the fact we're being squeezed for the necessities than the luxuries. Those are technologies that got cheaper, and are even bundled. CD Player, cellphone? Put your music on your iPhone.
But definitely, the squeeze is precisely on these necessities. My area's cheap rent is like $1700 a month, my complex has two apartments around $1850. I'm amazed people can afford it making less than I do.
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Comment on Unveiling the endBOX in ~tech
knocklessmonster Link ParentYou got me thinking about TCI-80's bartemetal releases.You got me thinking about TCI-80's bartemetal releases.
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Comment on GOG One Click Mods now available in ~games
knocklessmonster Link ParentYou use an installer to configure the mod into a separate directory and launch it there. For Fallout London, for example, you install FO4 however you want it, tell the FOLON installer where it is,...You use an installer to configure the mod into a separate directory and launch it there.
For Fallout London, for example, you install FO4 however you want it, tell the FOLON installer where it is, and it should make the mod work for you IIRC. It's more for use with large-scale mods that GOG agrees to manage.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
knocklessmonster Link ParentTiny update for a cool game: HardAF I saw an ad for it on Reddit and it looked like some weird cross of Super Meatboy and Celeste. You don't run and jump as far as Meatboy, but you have a dash,...Tiny update for a cool game: HardAF
I saw an ad for it on Reddit and it looked like some weird cross of Super Meatboy and Celeste. You don't run and jump as far as Meatboy, but you have a dash, and really well-balanced jump/dash mechanics with intricate puzzles. The premise is simple: Black map, you die a bunch, and expose the level in your blood. It's a cheeky little game that doesn't take itself too seriously, but tickles the same parts of my brain games like Action Henk, Super MeatBoy and Celeste do.
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Comment on Layman's escapades with Linux for personal use in ~comp
knocklessmonster (edited )LinkTry Bluefin, or Aurora (what I use), it's KDE cousin. Based on Fedora, preconfigured with Nvidia drivers, updates automatically daily/weekly depending on version, and should work OOTB. It's a...Try Bluefin, or Aurora (what I use), it's KDE cousin. Based on Fedora, preconfigured with Nvidia drivers, updates automatically daily/weekly depending on version, and should work OOTB. It's a Fedora Atomic image, so you'll need to use brew (included), flatpak, or distrobox, but it's what I switched to April 2024 and I'm not looking back.
It's a different way of doing things but if you don't have to deal with the core OS you're more free to focus on everything else.
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Comment on SUPERHOT VR's story was removed. What? in ~games
knocklessmonster LinkThe author has a major axe to grind and is guilty of every charge they lever at Piotr. I get being mad about a change, but considering the content and the expression of the content, and the...The author has a major axe to grind and is guilty of every charge they lever at Piotr. I get being mad about a change, but considering the content and the expression of the content, and the author's own expressed severe discomfort at experiencing said content (shifting the headset to lessen the impact of the experience), there seems to be an ironic lack of empathy for the person who created the moment.
I played SuperHot and a good chunk of MCD, but haven't experienced the VR game. The part where you kill yourself in the first was a huge, incredibly dark moment. I can see where Piotr was coming from with the similar scene in VR, and also don't think it unreasonable for him to not want that as part of his legacy.
I agree that perhaps preserving it should be done somehow, but even in Piotr's responses don't see a mentally ill person or a person in crisis, but a remorseful developer who made a decision people disagree with about controversial game content. He is not conflicted about his decision, he wishes to remove content potentially normalizing suicide from the game he made because he's no longer okay with it.
Side note: I think the first game's scene is sufficiently abstracted as to tell a similar story more "safely," at least without the miming of pointing a gun at one's own head in the real world.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
knocklessmonster LinkOblivion Remaster: I'm cheesing my way to full chameleon Glass with sigil stones! I'll have a backup set, too, but just had to do it for no reason. The Exit 8: I watched Game Grumps play this last...Oblivion Remaster: I'm cheesing my way to full chameleon Glass with sigil stones! I'll have a backup set, too, but just had to do it for no reason.
The Exit 8: I watched Game Grumps play this last night after going back to see where they are these days. It looked like a fascinating game for $4, and it's definitely been worth that. After beating it it teases you to look for the rest of the anomalies with a banner that says how many you have left, and it's pretty fun. The setting stresses me out something bad, but that makes it sorta fun in an edgy, creepy way. I watched GG play the follow-up, Platform 8, and bought that as well, but haven't started it yet. It's more... obvious, and problem solvy from what I saw.
Aotenjo: Inifinite Hands is making sense now! You start with a base amount of combos for your starting selection, unlock more, they synergize with your gadgets and totems and numbers go up. It's pretty simple once learned, and just sorta clicked eventually. At $10, I'd recommend it.
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Comment on What are some good vegan substitutes for cheese? in ~food
knocklessmonster LinkDaiya makes pretty good cheese substitutes if you're in the US. They don't melt and flow/stretch right but they're perfectly edible and work. There's a pizza place near me that is completely vegan...Daiya makes pretty good cheese substitutes if you're in the US. They don't melt and flow/stretch right but they're perfectly edible and work. There's a pizza place near me that is completely vegan and I didn't feel like I was not eating pizza when I was there.
I like nutritional yeast for things that are mushy/mashy and want something of a Parmesan flavor because you can sprinkle it in/on and mix it thoroughly. It gives the same nutty cheesy funk to stuff and I've had success with grits and popcorn with it. Do not confuse it with brewers yeast, that's a different thing. Nutritional yeast is also used as a cheese flavor industrially, even for things that aren't explicitly trying to be vegan/healthy.
I use Microsoft Copilot from a M365 Enterprise subscription at work and think it's phenomenal. It's trickled into my daily life with my M365+Copilot subscription (they raised the cost, folded it in, and let me opt out, I kept it, figuring I can drop it later). I don't use it all the time outside of work but I like Copilot for two things:
Simple scripts, like writing a
sox-based script to re-encode samples, or write a function with a variable containing a large pool of data that'll be formatted.Conversational search. LLMs are excellent at reading a bit between the lines and providing results I would've been a bit hard-pressed to find on my own. Since I started using Copilot, I've been able to solve issues faster with direct links to forum posts. I still use it for basic scripts if I don't remember a specific Powershell verb at work, but 80% of the time it's "Can you find me a link to <corporate documentation> about <thing>?"
Rubber ducky type stuff. If I'm in a creative funk I can bounce song ideas off of it. The yes-manning is a bit annoying, but I can bounce a concept off of it, or ask it for an idea and build from its description. I can throw code I've given up on at it for a fix, if it's sufficiently simple.
I don't trust LLMs for everything, and try not to use them for the answer (though, Perplexity is pretty awesome), but they're excellent as search engines on steroids when allowed to peruse the internet.