Promonk's recent activity
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Comment on What are your "how on earth did I not learn this sooner" tech moments? in ~tech
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Comment on Screenless Day discussion topic: September 2026 in ~life
Promonk LinkI remember that lovely reply you gave regarding organizing events on Tildes. It seemed odd to me at the time that you gave all this advice about having patience, and suggesting the prospective...I remember that lovely reply you gave regarding organizing events on Tildes. It seemed odd to me at the time that you gave all this advice about having patience, and suggesting the prospective organizer pick topics that speak to them, that they're passionate about. And then you said, "I did these 'Screenless Days' things, and nobody seemed interested so I dropped it." It just seemed to fly against everything else you said.
I contemplated chiming in to say, "what does it matter if nobody else participates if you want to do it?" I'm glad you picked up my brainwaves and decided to give it another shot. I'm not occupationally capable of joining in this time I think, but I'll keep tabs on it.
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Comment on What made that wedding that you attended particularly memorable? in ~life
Promonk (edited )Link ParentSome Christian sects believe that after Christ comes back again, everyone will be resurrected bodily to stand judgment, and only then will the goats be permanently separated from the sheep. Others...Some Christian sects believe that after Christ comes back again, everyone will be resurrected bodily to stand judgment, and only then will the goats be permanently separated from the sheep. Others dispense with the Dispensationalism and take a more spiritual reading of Judgment Day. The latter are the ones who believe that people are judged for their sins immediately upon death–for whatever value of "immediately" pertains in Eternity.
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Comment on What made that wedding that you attended particularly memorable? in ~life
Promonk LinkThe ceremony itself was like five minutes, did not include a pitch for the officiant's religion, and the vows were not full of trite, bad poetry. Weddings should be for celebration, not solemnity,...The ceremony itself was like five minutes, did not include a pitch for the officiant's religion, and the vows were not full of trite, bad poetry.
Weddings should be for celebration, not solemnity, IMO. Give me BBQ and dancing, not an hour-long ritual you may or may not have invented just for this occasion.
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Comment on Norway's King Harald dies aged 89 in ~news
Promonk LinkIt always boggles my mind when I'm reminded that some European countries that otherwise seem to have a better-than-average grasp on reality still have royalty. Maybe it's just my cultural milieu,...It always boggles my mind when I'm reminded that some European countries that otherwise seem to have a better-than-average grasp on reality still have royalty. Maybe it's just my cultural milieu, but that seems weirdly atavistic for a Nordic country in this day and age.
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Comment on Stop Killing The Internet: No digital ID and no age verification in ~tech
Promonk Link ParentNot yet. Having seen a great many pretty uncontroversial topics become politicized over the course of my life, I have no doubt that any proposal for regulation can be twisted into a culture war...Its not a left right culture war issue, or some line in the sand for conservative or progressive politics.
Not yet. Having seen a great many pretty uncontroversial topics become politicized over the course of my life, I have no doubt that any proposal for regulation can be twisted into a culture war issue in a heartbeat, if the right money gets into the right hands.
That's no reason not to push for it or discuss it, mind. I've also seen many good reforms be truly impossible right up until they aren't.
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Comment on The weirdest computer that has ever lived (ASUS V500MV Mini Tower) in ~comp
Promonk Link ParentHey, @cqns, the instructions you want are on page 30 of the Service Manual. ASUS has a parts shop that makes it easy to check fitment for stuff like this tool-less ODD bracket for mounting the...Hey, @cqns, the instructions you want are on page 30 of the Service Manual.
ASUS has a parts shop that makes it easy to check fitment for stuff like this tool-less ODD bracket for mounting the drive in your case, although it's appears to be out of stock at the moment. They also sell the slimline ODD power cable.
The best way to find parts there is to just enter your serial number into the search box. That narrows the parts list down to confirmed compatible PNs. The prices are reasonable for the parts, and they do respond relatively quickly to requests. I buy displays and stuff through them at work all the time.
If you can't wait a couple of weeks for a part, you can try searching the SKU from ASUS's site on https://www.a-accessories.com/, though in my experience they rarely have parts that the ASUS Part Shop doesn't, and their pricing is kinda bad. Amazon will often have listings with the part numbers from the manufacturer's shop too.
Hope that helps!
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Comment on The weirdest computer that has ever lived (ASUS V500MV Mini Tower) in ~comp
Promonk Link Parent4-pin Molex? Are you referring to the header marked "VGA POW"? I guess technically that's a 4-pin Molex, but usually people use that term to refer to 12V IDE power connectors like this. You'll...4-pin Molex? Are you referring to the header marked "VGA POW"? I guess technically that's a 4-pin Molex, but usually people use that term to refer to 12V IDE power connectors like this. You'll have more luck finding adapters for that header by searching for "4-pin ATX."
That header is intended to be used as the power header for the video card (that's what "VGA POW" is trying to convey; "video graphics adapter power"). If you want a video card that can handle more than a slideshow, you'll probably want to keep that guy free for that purpose.
I can't make out much about the other headers and power outputs from your pictures, so I'll have to check the manual for a diagram to advise on an internal slimline ODD. That'll have to wait until I get home.
If you want my honest advice though, I'd skip the hassle of getting the ODD installed internally and just buy a USB 3 ODD. It'll take up some desk space, but it'll likely be much easier to get an external drive.
I'm kinda surprised I haven't seen this form factor from ASUS before. I get a lot of ASUS's models across my bench, but somehow we've missed out on these. Sounds like I should count myself lucky.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk (edited )LinkI've been waiting for this scheduled topic to drop. On Wednesday, Steam finally deigned to inform me that Restory: Chill Electronics Repairs had released back on Aug 6. I've been waiting for this...I've been waiting for this scheduled topic to drop.
On Wednesday, Steam finally deigned to inform me that Restory: Chill Electronics Repairs had released back on Aug 6. I've been waiting for this one since the last Next Fest, when I played the "new and improved" demo at the advice of a friend. Why didn't Steam tell me when it launched? I have no idea.
If you're unfamiliar, Restory is a cozy electronics repair simulator, a la PC Building Simulator etc., set in the "early 2000s" in a fictionalized Akihabara District in Tokyo. The main gameplay loop consists of tearing down various vintage electronic devices, cleaning dirty components, replacing fried components, and reassembling them for your customers.
As you progress through the story, different devices based on consumer electronics from about the mid-1980s through the late 2000s cross your bench. The story encourages you to purchase repair certifications from the parts distributor that allow you to work on new devices–which is how the game gates progression–though you can just purchase certifications yourself without prompting from the main narrative, provided you've saved enough yen from odd jobs and reselling refurbished units you've bought from the eBay analogue. The main loop is insanely addicting. As I said, I only heard about the release on Wednesday, and I've already racked up nearly 20 hours on it.
This game more than any other I've played recently reminds me of "The Enigma of Amigara Fault"; I can't help but feel it was made specifically for me. I've been working in electronics refurbishment for a little over a decade now–in real life, that is–and I have actually really worked on a number of the same devices those in the game are modeled after. In pretty much every game device whose model I've worked on in real life, the screw map is pretty much identical to the real thing. The Xi-Box (original Xbox) has that one screw that's annoying to reach holding the ODD down in the corner. The Nony Playmachine (Sony PlayStation 1/PSX) has the distinctive 5-screw pattern at the I/O that trips people up because it's oddly asymmetrical. The original iPod analogue is pretty much spot-on to the original, though without the headache of actually prying the rear case off the bastard. Even devices I've never worked on, such as the "Nony PMP" (the Sony PSP, of course), have exactly the sort of internal designs I would expect, and going by the stuff I am familiar with, I bet they're fairly accurate as well.
The biggest difference between the game devices and the real-world analogues they're patterned off of is that the most annoying parts of working on electronics are almost, ALMOST completely removed. There's no fumbling with zero insertion force cables, no accidentally breaking headers and rendering a motherboard defunct, no mixing up screws and screwing in a fastener that's 0.5mms too long into an RF shield and severing a board trace (I'm eyeing you, Apple, with your iPhone 5s!). The game manages to capture some of the fun of tearing a device to bits and rebuilding it part-by-part, while mostly leaving behind the annoyances. It is gaming heroin straight to my obsessive gray matter.
What the game doesn't capture are some of the most complex and oddly rewarding aspects of repair. You never receive a defective part from the parts store for which you have to figure out the customs declaration designation in order to return it to China. There are no intermittent faults requiring long, drawn-out diagnostics sessions. You can tell at a glance whether a component is busted or dirty rather than performing diagnostics. In fact, the best policy when fixing stuff in the game is to tear it COMPLETELY down, just so you can handle the last part to see if your repair Spidey-sense deems it worthy or not. Very rarely do you tear a device completely down in real repair. Usually you know specifically which components you need to remove to have free access to the trouble part; there's no point to that here, and you're likely to miss a dirty component by leaving any portion of the device intact. It doesn't break verisimilitude for me, but it is a notable difference between the simulation and reality.
I completed the entirety of the story elements in the game a couple hours back, which is only a little quicker than I'd expect most players to finish. I didn't spend an awful lot of time grinding away for money or getting sucked into the primary loop, but I can't imagine my experience doing the real thing sped up my playthrough much, if at all, so expect around 15-20 hours for a first playthrough.
The devs are claiming a post-launch roadmap for new characters and devices, with the first content update slated for mid-September. There are tons upon tons of era-appropriate devices they could introduce with minimal work, so it's very possible that this game could have some legs. I got it on sale and with a bundle discount (there are some 18 or so separate bundles it's included in, so check if you already have a bundle mate, especially if this is your kind of game), but I'd happily pay the $20 USD regular price.
This is my game of the year so far, hands down. Nothing else this year has passed the "always seems like I'm about to wet my pants when I'm playing it because I'm so engrossed that I'm ignoring my bodily functions" test, nor the "daydreaming about it at work even though I actually do this stuff for a living" test quite like this one. Full recommend, if cozy simulators are at all up your alley.
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Comment on Artists built a site to escape AI. Scrapers are coming for it anyway. in ~tech
Promonk Link ParentI didn't mean to give the impression I was skeptical of Cara or the artist Jingna Zhang (or is it Zhang Jingna? "Zhang" strikes me as a surname for some reason). My sympathies are entirely with...I didn't mean to give the impression I was skeptical of Cara or the artist Jingna Zhang (or is it Zhang Jingna? "Zhang" strikes me as a surname for some reason). My sympathies are entirely with anyone making a stand against the tsunami of slop, doomed or not.
I assure you, my wry amusement is entirely at Forbes's unparalleled facility at picking out the best and brightest young investment banking VPs in charge of coffee order pickups and future multi-million-dollar fraudsters. No one picks 'em like Forbes.
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Comment on Artists built a site to escape AI. Scrapers are coming for it anyway. in ~tech
Promonk (edited )LinkFollowed immediately by, Uh, hey Forbes? You know your whole "30 Under 30" thing has a bit of a reputation, right? Was this constructed specifically as a warning? Like, "hey, if you want to donate...She concludes with a plea for community support to raise funds for a legal defense via a GoFundMe.
Followed immediately by,
Zhang, a fashion and fine art photographer who was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2018...
Uh, hey Forbes? You know your whole "30 Under 30" thing has a bit of a reputation, right? Was this constructed specifically as a warning? Like, "hey, if you want to donate to this cause, there's a GoFundMe, but be careful: this person made the 30 Under 30 and you know how that goes."
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Comment on Chinese humanoid robots smash human records in 100m sprint and high jump at Beijing robot games in ~tech
Promonk LinkAlso, you should probably give some thought to inventing a practical fucking reason for humanoid robots before you launch. When it comes to running 100m footraces, I'm well-satisfied with the...Still, experts say humanoid robots are still mostly used for demonstrations, performances and research — at least for now — and it will still take time to achieve mass real-world deployment.
Also, you should probably give some thought to inventing a practical fucking reason for humanoid robots before you launch. When it comes to running 100m footraces, I'm well-satisfied with the service of my current provider. Thanks.
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Comment on Fixing a Framework laptop bricked by a BIOS update in ~tech
Promonk Link ParentI know of no laptop mainboards that have two BIOS EEPROMs. The fallback BIOS on most modern systems is just a separate image on the same EEPROM, from what I can tell. That's somewhat beyond the...I know of no laptop mainboards that have two BIOS EEPROMs. The fallback BIOS on most modern systems is just a separate image on the same EEPROM, from what I can tell.
That's somewhat beyond the scope of my work though, so take that with a grain or two.
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Comment on Ukraine planned to swarm Moscow airports with AI-guided drones (gifted link) in ~society
Promonk Link ParentOn the other hand, it would suck terribly to be a struggling writer who keeps getting turned down for gigs because you have the same name as some unrelated famous person who might've just picked...On the other hand, it would suck terribly to be a struggling writer who keeps getting turned down for gigs because you have the same name as some unrelated famous person who might've just picked the name out of a proverbial hat.
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Comment on Have you ever been outed? in ~lgbt
Promonk Link Parent"You're grounded until you're not gay anymore" is absolutely wild to me. It would have been wild 30 years ago when I was of an age where that might have happened to friends of mine, and it's even..."You're grounded until you're not gay anymore" is absolutely wild to me. It would have been wild 30 years ago when I was of an age where that might have happened to friends of mine, and it's even wilder having happened 15 or so years ago.
Thank God I was raised agnostic.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentFrom my recollection, the series started its downward trend after 3, when Bungie left and started on Destiny.From my recollection, the series started its downward trend after 3, when Bungie left and started on Destiny.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentI've never played them either (I traded my launch-purchased OG Xbox in after a couple days for a PS2–the Duke was just too chonky for my taste). My impression has always been that the more epic...I've never played them either (I traded my launch-purchased OG Xbox in after a couple days for a PS2–the Duke was just too chonky for my taste).
My impression has always been that the more epic parts of the series are in the later installments and some of the tie-in media, but I wouldn't bet my reputation on it.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentIt's worth remembering that Halo was released some 25-ish years ago, and has been super influential ever since. Its truly ground-breaking elements have been homaged into the ground in the...It's worth remembering that Halo was released some 25-ish years ago, and has been super influential ever since. Its truly ground-breaking elements have been homaged into the ground in the intervening decades, such that it can't help but feel a little stale. Few games that blaze trails manage to fully realize their potentials on the first outing, so inevitably landmark titles will be lacking the mechanical polish and QoL improvements that their imitators refined.
A remake should address some of that, but it's a tightrope walk: refine too much and it'll lose a bit of the nostalgia that is the basis for consumer interest. Refine too little and people will argue that there's no reason for the remake. Oftentimes walking that line will mean some of the rougher edges remain, even, and perhaps even especially those elements that were sanded down by titles that took inspiration from the OG.
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Comment on Order of the Sinking Star | Release date announcement in ~games
Promonk Link ParentYes, and that's my point. I've yet to come up against a subject that couldn't be discussed provided I took the time and effort to develop cogent, well-reasoned things to say about it. My suspicion...Everything doesn't have to be a confrontation.
Yes, and that's my point. I've yet to come up against a subject that couldn't be discussed provided I took the time and effort to develop cogent, well-reasoned things to say about it. My suspicion is that people who complain about this stuff like it's ubiquitous just can't be assed to put in that effort. It's not surprising to me that Twitter seems to be the epicenter of this, since the whole platform encourages knee-jerk emotional responses and nothing else.
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Comment on Order of the Sinking Star | Release date announcement in ~games
Promonk Link ParentWhere does this "scared to speak my mind" horseshit come from? The only time I ever feel intimidated to speak my mind is when someone higher than me in the corporate totem pole gets enamored of an...- Exemplary
Where does this "scared to speak my mind" horseshit come from? The only time I ever feel intimidated to speak my mind is when someone higher than me in the corporate totem pole gets enamored of an obviously dumb idea, and then the "fear" only drives me to rephrase my impulsive ridicule into something more politic (to mixed success).
If I get the feeling that what I think is not going to be received well, my first instinct is to ask myself, "is my thinking on this subject sound? Am I failing to see this from another perspective? Am I just full of shit?" It doesn't intimidate me, it drives me to examine my conceptions to see if I'm taking cognitive shortcuts. Those who piss and moan about cancellation just strike me as cognitively lazy assholes bitching that society expects them to put in mental effort before they fart out the first half-baked, malformed thought that flits through their minds. My reserves of tolerance for that bullshit are exhausted.
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Except for some damned reason many web developers never got the memo on this one. In every job I've ever had that both involved data entry and web portals to do this data entry on, tab sequencing is always broken and you're forced to use the mouse to navigate between entry fields.
This fact is high up in the outline of my future manifesto.