Promonk's recent activity
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Comment on US battery industry cuts losses, shifts to new ventures amid electric vehicle bust in ~transport
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Comment on US battery industry cuts losses, shifts to new ventures amid electric vehicle bust in ~transport
Promonk Link ParentIt's been a point of occupational frustration for me for some time that I can't seem to climb that scale you've described. I'm stuck at multimeter–and barely that, truth be told–and it's been...In that scope of work you can do a lot with a little (hand tools, multimeter, soldering iron, [cheap]microscope in that order), and the repair scenarios that would call for the use of more expensive / sophisticated / niche tools often align with the same situations in which COR is higher than RWN (Cost Of Repair / Replace With New).
It's been a point of occupational frustration for me for some time that I can't seem to climb that scale you've described. I'm stuck at multimeter–and barely that, truth be told–and it's been almost entirely because the economics of repair and refurbishment have been constructed in such a way to discourage taking repair further than that. The incentives have been so perverted on so many levels that it's mind-blowing–and more than that, they've been set in what feels like exactly the right way to offend my own personal ethos, as though it's directed at me. I know that's not true, but when frustration mounts, the ego finds its way in.
A thought has been bouncing around my head lately, inspired in part on discussions regarding software engineering and the advent of coding agents. One of the great concerns AI critics raise is this idea of skill development, and how it's necessary to have junior positions available for people to grow into senior engineers. If AI gets good enough at the sorts of tasks people employ junior engineers to handle, there's no reason to employ them and the career track that ends in a healthy pool of senior engineers simply disappears.
It occurs to me that this exact phenomenon has been happening to technician career paths for decades, only instead of sophisticated machine learning algorithms displacing junior engineers, it's the manufacturing process developments, logistics agreements, regulatory capture, globalism and economies of scale that have disrupted the development of technicians. Unless the devices in question are huge, highly specialized and extremely expensive infrastructure investments–of the sort you describe–there's just no incentive to foster the development of technicians.
I've been working as a PC hardware repair and refurbishment technician for about a decade now, and I can count on one hand the number of techs I've met who were proficient with a soldering iron and logic analyzer–and I'd still have enough fingers left over to make a couple of rude gestures. The number of boards I've scrapped that only required simple, straightforward fixes that nobody had the capacity to perform sickens me–and this in an industry that loves to plump itself as sustainable and environmentally friendly. The cherry on top is that despite my dedication to the craft (and I do consider myself a craftsman to some extent), the only time I've ever made a living wage in this field was when I was a field technician for big OEMs–exactly the sort that IT folks love to deride as incompetent, bumbling boobs–and I ended up getting laid off after two years for my troubles.
What truly pisses me off though is that this isn't the first time I've found an occupational field I love, only to have it yanked away by market forces completely outside my control. In college I studied specifically to be a newspaper editor, only to leave school in '07, just as that industry was embarking on its torturous drain-circling in earnest. I spent years afterward blindly groping around for purpose and meaningful work, and finally found repair after the smartphone revolution kicked off. It seemed like it was the Next Big Thing™, so I worked to get in on fixing the bastards for a living at the ground floor. Soon it became clear that no one was interested in fixing up old shit–least of all the consumers–so I moved on to PC hardware. That's infra, right? People are going to want to fix stuff that requires considerable investment, right? Apparently, manufacturers took notes on how the smartphone market went and learned all the right lessons to make oodles in the short term, and damn the long term straight to hell.
Apologies for the rant, but you seem like exactly the sort of person who completely understands the struggle, and that's oddly rare nowadays.
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Comment on US battery industry cuts losses, shifts to new ventures amid electric vehicle bust in ~transport
Promonk Link ParentThanks! I'll look through your stock and see if anything grabs me. I'm in the trenches doing basic consumer electronics repair, so it looks like most of the stuff you process is a bit out of scope...Thanks! I'll look through your stock and see if anything grabs me.
I'm in the trenches doing basic consumer electronics repair, so it looks like most of the stuff you process is a bit out of scope for me. I've had a hard time getting my employers to even buy soldering consumables, if that tells you anything.
It's been a continuous point of frustration for me how resistant the repair and recycling industry is to, you know, actual repair. So much of the stuff that has come across my benches has needed just a little more time and effort to fix up than anyone (but me) is willing to give it.
It's immensely frustrating, but I've ranted about that elsewhere. I probably don't need to preach to the choir on this.
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Comment on US battery industry cuts losses, shifts to new ventures amid electric vehicle bust in ~transport
Promonk Link ParentWhere do you sell? I'm an electronics refurbisher myself and could probably use some stuff you sell. I'd really like a decent bench power supply, for example, and I'd prefer a refurb to a...Where do you sell? I'm an electronics refurbisher myself and could probably use some stuff you sell. I'd really like a decent bench power supply, for example, and I'd prefer a refurb to a brand-new one on principle.
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Comment on Has anyone else seen a LOT of dead birds on the side of the road this year? in ~enviro
Promonk Link ParentI greatly appreciated your Bhutan comment purely on stylistic grounds. It's been a while since I've seen a good periodic sentence, much less an entire periodic forum comment. That setup and button...I greatly appreciated your Bhutan comment purely on stylistic grounds. It's been a while since I've seen a good periodic sentence, much less an entire periodic forum comment. That setup and button were choice.
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Comment on Website is unhappy in ~tildes
Promonk Link ParentI read "think of the chicken," and was immediately onboard.I read "think of the chicken," and was immediately onboard.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentHuh. Guess it must've been Davey I was thinking of. Perhaps the connection just didn't set in my mind because Wanderstop is much more earnest in tone than Beginners' Guide or Stanley Parable. It...Huh. Guess it must've been Davey I was thinking of. Perhaps the connection just didn't set in my mind because Wanderstop is much more earnest in tone than Beginners' Guide or Stanley Parable. It would be like learning that Bennett Foddy was lead designer for Spiritfarer or something.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentIs Wanderstop a collab between Davey and someone else? I swear I played it during a demo fest at some point, and I remember thinking it was a project of someone I pay attention to, but Davey isn't...Is Wanderstop a collab between Davey and someone else? I swear I played it during a demo fest at some point, and I remember thinking it was a project of someone I pay attention to, but Davey isn't really someone I follow (outside of when he drops into his brother's streams).
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Comment on TSA announces TSA Gold+ in ~transport
Promonk Link ParentPlease feel free to mark as "noise," but I couldn't help but sob-chuckle when I read this.... they hire a private company employing people screened by TSA and trained to TSA standards.
Please feel free to mark as "noise," but I couldn't help but sob-chuckle when I read this.
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Comment on A random sci-fi question for you in ~talk
Promonk LinkMore info needed. Is there a functioning society on New Mongolia, or am I to be dumped unceremoniously into a solo survival game scenario? If the latter, that's certainly a death sentence with a...More info needed.
Is there a functioning society on New Mongolia, or am I to be dumped unceremoniously into a solo survival game scenario? If the latter, that's certainly a death sentence with a nicer name, since "no man is an island" etc., and I can't just punch trees for building materials. At least, I don't think I can.
Of course, at our present level of technology, so would a stint in the Mars gulag. Unless I'm misremembering, Mars doesn't have a notable magnetosphere, so anyone stuck there is gonna pick up a hellacious dose of radiation unless the colony is pretty deep under the surface. That raises further logistics questions.
Also, what does Earth look like in this thought experiment? Are we talking present levels of political dipshittery, or are we cyberpunking even harder? I'm gonna guess more the latter, since visiting the tamest vaguely lefty space that exists online is grounds for transportation in this scenario. I figure you just kinda threw that out as a hand wave for the reason, but I gotta work with what I'm given.
A suggestion: maybe change the banishment planet's name to New Botany Bay. It's more thematic.
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Comment on Smartphone recommendations? in ~tech
Promonk Link ParentMe and the five Moto G Powers I've set up with SD storage expansions in the last five years politely disagree. They don't have external slots, though, if that's what you meant. You do need a SIM...Would definitely check out Motorola as well since they're usually pretty solid but they don't have SD card slots.
Me and the five Moto G Powers I've set up with SD storage expansions in the last five years politely disagree.
They don't have external slots, though, if that's what you meant. You do need a SIM puller or paperclip and a restart to swap cards.
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Comment on Most US doctors are quietly using the OpenEvidence AI tool. Few patients know about it. in ~health
Promonk LinkReminds me of a flavor voice log in Subnautica, in which the Aurora's ship's doctor complains about being stuck in a survival situation where he has to practice medicine. "What do I know about...Reminds me of a flavor voice log in Subnautica, in which the Aurora's ship's doctor complains about being stuck in a survival situation where he has to practice medicine. "What do I know about medicine‽ I'm a doctor! We have technology for that!"
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Comment on Dutch YouTube creators behind Alberta (Canada) separatist videos getting millions of views in ~society
Promonk Link ParentIs that the case, though? Even theoretically? Canada isn't as gung-ho about "freedom of speech" as the US, but you still have strong provisions to protect political speech. If it were a Canadian...I would prefer that actually. There is some higher level of accountability/shame/repercussions, at least theoretically.
Is that the case, though? Even theoretically? Canada isn't as gung-ho about "freedom of speech" as the US, but you still have strong provisions to protect political speech. If it were a Canadian outfit pushing this agenda, they would presumably have some protections under law for voicing their political agenda (the accuracy of factual claims being another matter).
From what I can tell, most liberal countries have freedom of expression carve-outs to protect from foreign influence campaigns, whether state-sponsored or otherwise. I would bet it would be hypothetically less tricky to take action against foreign influence wrt civil liberties than it would be against domestic actors.
Of course, the actual feasibility of doing so is a matter of political will and the inertia of bureaucracy, but we were already kinda talking hypothetically.
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Comment on Dutch YouTube creators behind Alberta (Canada) separatist videos getting millions of views in ~society
Promonk Link ParentIn this case, it's not "countries" steamrolling over you, it's grifters trying to earn an easy living by riling up people who live far away from them, presumably to avoid personal consequences....In this case, it's not "countries" steamrolling over you, it's grifters trying to earn an easy living by riling up people who live far away from them, presumably to avoid personal consequences.
Would you prefer it if it were Canadians running these slop political channels? I would guess not.
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Comment on "The reason I'm not an atheist is that I think the philosophical arguments against it are unanswerable" in ~humanities
Promonk Link ParentFrom my understanding, one of the major contributing factors to the rise in the popularity of Christianity in the Roman world was its appeal and accessibility to the lower classes. Many of the...From my understanding, one of the major contributing factors to the rise in the popularity of Christianity in the Roman world was its appeal and accessibility to the lower classes.
Many of the mystery cults that flourished in the first and second centuries CE required some amount of wealth to participate, as animal sacrifice was often a component of their central rites. If you were a devotee of Mithras, for example, you would likely have to contribute toward the purchase of a sacrificial bull. This was in line with the orthodox religious observances of the time, in which the wealthy held a privileged position by dint of their ability to give high-value offerings.
The central rite of Christianity on the other hand has always only ever required some bread and watered wine, two things which even the poorest plebeian could scrape together. Together with Jesus' teachings to eschew worldly possessions, his disdain for commerce in the temple, and his insistence that the meek shall inherit the earth, Christianity offered a compelling deal to the impoverished and otherwise disenfranchised of the early Empire.
That's certainly not the whole story, but I contend it's an important factor.
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Comment on Apple set to become third-biggest laptop maker this year in ~tech
Promonk Link ParentRAM isn't fragile, exactly, but there isn't a day that goes by in my shop where we don't have at least one bad module or integrated memory IC on a system board cross a bench. It's fitting that the...RAM isn't fragile, exactly, but there isn't a day that goes by in my shop where we don't have at least one bad module or integrated memory IC on a system board cross a bench.
It's fitting that the reliability of RAM is under discussion, because a few years ago a big part of my job was to test DIMMs and SO-DIMMs in isolation. I remember getting thousands of modules of registered and ECC memory and testing them one by one in a specialized device with an automated test sequence. I've tested literally thousands of memory modules, and yes, the vast majority of them were still good, even after thousands of hours of continuous operation. I've also had modules die because one person handed it to another. Electronics be weird like that.
The point I made before about SBCs and integrated systems (by which I mean systems with primary components all soldered together on a single PCB, slightly distinct from the technical definition of "SBC") is salient: these boards are almost never actually repaired. When a system using them is fixed, it's almost without exception done as a component-level repair with the faulty board slagged. This is regardless of whether all the other components on the integrated board are good or not, which makes every potential point of failure a reason for perfectly good electronics to be destroyed. It's a monumentally wasteful paradigm, and it's more than in an abstract moral sense of "it's bad to be wasteful." Individual ICs aren't lifted from boards because the economic incentive simply isn't there. It would be cheaper energetically to salvage components, but it's more labor-intensive and requires some specialized knowledge and experience, and the OEMs have constructed their supply chains specifically to discourage the practice. Apple has been a major force in that shift.
Mind you, it doesn't have to be that way, it's just the way that the economic system has been constructed. The manufacturers like it because it simplifies their RMA processes and grants them almost complete control over access to parts, which in turn allows them to control lifecycles. You will throw away your system–because that's essentially what recycling is–and buy a new one, simply because that's the way they prefer it. The true cost of that paradigm is hidden under actuarial calculations, logistics partnerships, regulatory capture, subsidies, and a host of other not-entirely-aboveboard machinations.
So yes, you do get performance gains by packing everything together on a single board, but the cost of that performance gain is far greater than is immediately apparent. We also simply don't know if there are other ways to boost performance and keep Moore's Law chugging along for another decade, because the incentives simply aren't there for the manufacturers to find them. They're actually disincentivized from doing so.
I'll leave it at that for now. I've been trying to write this reply on my breaks, so apologies if it's a bit disjointed. I could probably have done a better job if I'd just sat down to put my thoughts down in one go, but such is not my lot at the moment.
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Comment on Apple set to become third-biggest laptop maker this year in ~tech
Promonk Link ParentFunny, I think exactly the opposite! I don't think the throughput gains of integrating memory are worth the loss of modularity. I suspect I have a very different perspective on this subject...Funny, I think exactly the opposite! I don't think the throughput gains of integrating memory are worth the loss of modularity.
I suspect I have a very different perspective on this subject though, as I've spent the last decade or so as a computer hardware repair technician. "Indestructible" RAM sounds like a great thing, and I hope I get to see it before I die. I've certainly never seen it yet.
It should be noted that completely integrated SBCs sound like a great idea, until you consider the sustainability of making entire computers indivisible disposable goods. Having worked in both the repair and recycling sides of the industry, I can assure you that whatever you think about refurbishment and recycling is almost certainly incorrect. Almost no one does board-level repairs anymore–to the point where you have to pay a premium in time and money just to find someone capable of doing it– and it's certainly not done for consumer-grade integrated systems like the ones you're talking about. What happens is that SBCs are slagged for their precious metals, which then go into building more SBCs. That's a horrendously energy inefficient process, which is why "recycle" is the last term in the mantra "reduce, reuse, recycle." It's the thing you do when all else fails, not the first resort when a whole unit goes belly-up.
This is a particular bugbear of mine born of years of frustration with my chosen career, so I won't afflict you too much with my pronouncements on the subject. Suffice to say, the paradigm for which you're advocating es no bueno, and for more reasons than just some amorphous conception of "ownership."
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Comment on USA to mandate surveillance tech for new cars also determing fitness to drive by 2027 in ~transport
Promonk Link ParentI didn't show you the door, I suggested you take a break. If you're getting confrontational vibes from your interactions here and that bothers you, you don't need to keep subjecting yourself to...I didn't show you the door, I suggested you take a break. If you're getting confrontational vibes from your interactions here and that bothers you, you don't need to keep subjecting yourself to it. That does no one any good.
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Comment on USA to mandate surveillance tech for new cars also determing fitness to drive by 2027 in ~transport
Promonk Link ParentIf this is the impression you get of Tildes, perhaps you should take a break from it. This isn't Reddit.But at this point I imagine Tildes folks will come out of the woodwork and tell me why I am wrong and bad and personally offensive.
If this is the impression you get of Tildes, perhaps you should take a break from it. This isn't Reddit.
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Comment on What are your go-to meals that you cook? in ~food
Promonk Link ParentEven allowing that maybe you get farmer's market produce, or organic heirloom variety produce, or whathaveyou, 3 whole carrots seems an absurd amount of carrot for the rest of the amounts you...Even allowing that maybe you get farmer's market produce, or organic heirloom variety produce, or whathaveyou, 3 whole carrots seems an absurd amount of carrot for the rest of the amounts you give. If I made this thing with the carrots available to me it would turn out as lightly sauced carrot on carrot with a side of carrot.
I like the concept and do something similar myself, but I'd have to turn the root veg down by a factor of like six for it to sit well with my crew.
I don't know. I think mostly I'm just venting, and it's nice to be able to externalize these thoughts to someone who can understand who isn't also my reflection in the mirror.
I'm not sure I was aiming to "accomplish" much aside from commiseration, honestly, but if you have something particular in mind and don't want to broadcast it, you can shoot me a DM.