pseudolobster's recent activity
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Comment on Auto-mute mode in ALSA might be the reason you can't use your speakers with headphones plugged in in ~comp
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Comment on Space-based solar power to be beamed to Iceland by 2030 in ~space
pseudolobster Link ParentSo for this to be a normal sized receiver site we're talking about death ray technology, yes?So for this to be a normal sized receiver site we're talking about death ray technology, yes?
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Comment on Space-based solar power to be beamed to Iceland by 2030 in ~space
pseudolobster LinkI'm pressing X to doubt really hard right now. The article seems to lean really hard into trying to refute the headline. In fact, the only actual news here is in the first sentence: The rest of...I'm pressing X to doubt really hard right now. The article seems to lean really hard into trying to refute the headline. In fact, the only actual news here is in the first sentence:
UK startup Space Solar has signed an agreement with Reykjavik Energy that could see Iceland become the first country to receive power beamed from a space-based solar power plant. The 30-MW demonstrator is scheduled to go online by 2030.
The rest of the article seems to be saying how impossible this all is, conceding that:
Such challenges have not prevented the likes of Caltech from experimenting with beaming power from orbit and Space Solar seems to be confident enough to try for a demonstration plant as part of a commercial venture with Icelandic private climate initiative Transition Labs.
So, what about all those challenges mentioned? How about the unmentioned challenge that, if successful, you have a THIRTY MEGAWATT beam of microwave energy just fuckin chilling there, nuking anything that flies into its path!?!? How can you not mention that?!?
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Comment on Hello to Reddit folks from /r/selfhosted in ~talk
pseudolobster Link ParentThank you talklittle! It's been a minute since I've seen anyone tackle this. I'm really encouraged that people are picking up the torch. The site being non-profit and open source allows this, but...Thank you talklittle! It's been a minute since I've seen anyone tackle this. I'm really encouraged that people are picking up the torch. The site being non-profit and open source allows this, but I've never seen anyone attempt to make it more portable in all these years.
(for anyone just tuning in, @talklittle created the redditisfun app and is currently developing the app threecheers for tildes)
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Comment on 2024 United States election megathread in ~society
pseudolobster Link ParentI enjoyed The Onion's deep zoom into voter intentions video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qI0LTmSr38I enjoyed The Onion's deep zoom into voter intentions video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qI0LTmSr38 -
Comment on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Season 3 NYCC exclusive clip in ~tv
pseudolobster Link ParentMy take on this is I feel like I like Strange New Worlds so much because I've been deprived of a good Star Trek show for so long that a nu-trek / TOS mashup seems like it's great just because it...My take on this is I feel like I like Strange New Worlds so much because I've been deprived of a good Star Trek show for so long that a nu-trek / TOS mashup seems like it's great just because it returns to being mostly episodic with an ensemble cast instead of a main-character story arc spanning the entire season.
In the absence of good Star Trek shows I really feel like Seth Macfarlane created The Orville to show Paramount how it's done, then dipped out as soon as Paramount started creating Trek shows that returned to form and started seeming like Roddenberry would be able to rotate in his grave at less than 1000 RPM.
Discovery, Picard, the whole nu-trek universe misses the entire point of Star Trek, in my humble-but-not-uncommon-opinion. Out of all the new Star Trek shows that have come out, the only ones that are 1: mostly episodic, and B: espouse lofty goals for an optimistic future, (which to me really defines Trek in general) are Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds.
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Comment on Freeze drying ramen noodle add ins in ~food
pseudolobster LinkSliced mushrooms freeze dry great, and add a lot of umami to broths. Works a lot better than regular drying since it doesn't collapse the cell structures. Preserves the texture far better. There...Sliced mushrooms freeze dry great, and add a lot of umami to broths. Works a lot better than regular drying since it doesn't collapse the cell structures. Preserves the texture far better. There are a lot of fancy mushrooms you can add to ramen to dramatically increase its natural msg.
I wonder if you fry an egg (maybe just the white), lightly freeze it, cut it into strips, and freeze-dry those, how well they'd reconstitute. Could work, I think.
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Comment on Winamp releases source code, asks for help modernizing the player in ~comp
pseudolobster Link ParentI loved Electric Sheep. Artistically it was such a cool concept. However, I was pretty bummed to realize that the animations were more or less hand-made and just farmed out to people running the...I loved Electric Sheep. Artistically it was such a cool concept. However, I was pretty bummed to realize that the animations were more or less hand-made and just farmed out to people running the screensaver to render it into MPEGs that the screensaver would stitch together.
I wonder how much of that could be done on-the-fly today with modern GPUs and some sort of AI model to generate keyframes to animate between.
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Comment on [SOLVED] Need help troubleshooting computer in ~tech
pseudolobster Link ParentAny computer shop that builds PCs should have a bunch of those speakers laying around and would probably give you one free.Any computer shop that builds PCs should have a bunch of those speakers laying around and would probably give you one free.
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Comment on [SOLVED] Need help troubleshooting computer in ~tech
pseudolobster LinkDoes your motherboard have a PC speaker plugged into the mobo? Does it beep when it powers on? What happens if you take out the ram and try to boot without it? It should beep continuously. If it...Does your motherboard have a PC speaker plugged into the mobo? Does it beep when it powers on?
What happens if you take out the ram and try to boot without it? It should beep continuously.
If it does have a speaker and it doesn't beep without RAM I'd lean towards it being the motherboard. Possibly power supply or CPU, but CPU is pretty unlikely.
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Comment on Remembering DanBC in ~talk
pseudolobster LinkI'm not great at speeches so I'll keep this short. I have fond memories of interacting with @DanBC here on Tildes over the years. I'm sad to hear he's succumb to his illness and is no longer with...I'm not great at speeches so I'll keep this short. I have fond memories of interacting with @DanBC here on Tildes over the years. I'm sad to hear he's succumb to his illness and is no longer with us. Fuck cancer.
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Remembering DanBC
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Comment on The new Flappy Bird game has a hidden secret; crypto in ~games
pseudolobster Link ParentTechnically it's still there. If you're logged into an account that ever installed it in the past, here's the link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dotgears.flappybird I...It would have been nice to have it back on the Play Store
Technically it's still there. If you're logged into an account that ever installed it in the past, here's the link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dotgears.flappybird
I installed it as recently as a year or two ago, but for my current device it says it's incompatible. Dunno if it's my android version or what, but I'm a little bummed to discover I can't install it anymore.
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Comment on GPU couture – Living the Nvidia loca [someone designed a purse made out of a GPU] in ~life.style
pseudolobster LinkI saw this last week on hackernews and assumed it was a one-off joke, a la /r/DIWhy shitposting. I'm surprised in this article to learn people are buying these things. For $1024. Only a few dozen?...I saw this last week on hackernews and assumed it was a one-off joke, a la /r/DIWhy shitposting. I'm surprised in this article to learn people are buying these things. For $1024.
She’s only made a few dozen in the last year, as each bag takes a few days to complete
Only a few dozen? A few days? Seriously, she's taking the piss here, right?
I'm not going to judge the aesthetic, but the build quality looks atrocious. It's a $50 GPU from ten years ago that's literally glued to the outside of an acrylic box. All those pokey-outey bits are going to catch on things, scratch things, etc. The fan on the other side protrudes a lot, isn't plugged into anything, and the wire is just flapping around in the breeze. Upon closer inspection the GPU isn't even glued on straight! It's crooked!
I guess what I'm saying is I'm mad I didn't think of it first.
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Comment on Tildes Video Thread in ~misc
pseudolobster LinkI just watched The greatest legal casino heist in history, which is apparently the first video made by the channel Run the Numbers. It's about beating the game of baccarat by exploiting flaws in...I just watched The greatest legal casino heist in history, which is apparently the first video made by the channel Run the Numbers. It's about beating the game of baccarat by exploiting flaws in the pattern on the back of cards. I'm really impressed; it was far more interesting than I expected. It's a long watch at an hour fifteen, but worth it. Nevertheless I can't help but think of this as "We have bobbybroccoli at home"
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Comment on How Star Trek: Picard ruins Star Trek in ~tv
pseudolobster Link ParentI don't have any recollection of that either so I looked up the fandom wiki page on the Planetary Union and found no reference to profit or dues or anything related to finances. It really just...I don't have any recollection of that either so I looked up the fandom wiki page on the Planetary Union and found no reference to profit or dues or anything related to finances. It really just appears to be a copy and paste of Star Trek's United Federation of Planets.
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Comment on What toothpaste do you use? in ~life.style
pseudolobster Link ParentI use Sensodyne Repair & Protect, which is the version that contains novamin (calcium phosphosilicate). It's a remineraizing agent that deposits calcium onto your teeth and can plug up porous...I use Sensodyne Repair & Protect, which is the version that contains novamin (calcium phosphosilicate). It's a remineraizing agent that deposits calcium onto your teeth and can plug up porous enamel. Apparently it can even heal small cavities, but probably not in the amount contained in toothpaste.
I've found it's got a really wonky supply chain and for months on end it's unavailable here in western Canada. I wonder if it's a temporary thing. All the other versions are widely available but the supply of the novamin stuff dries up pretty often.
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Comment on What toothpaste do you use? in ~life.style
pseudolobster Link ParentSodium laurel sulfate - a surfactant used in soaps and stuff. Lowers surface tension.Sodium laurel sulfate - a surfactant used in soaps and stuff. Lowers surface tension.
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Comment on Taylor Swift cancels Eras Tour concerts in Vienna after terrorist plot thwarted and arrests made in ~music
pseudolobster Link ParentI'm pretty sure it forms an azeotrope with water, which boils at a different temperature than either by themselves, therefore they mostly boil off together. It's also really unstable and when...I'm pretty sure it forms an azeotrope with water, which boils at a different temperature than either by themselves, therefore they mostly boil off together. It's also really unstable and when exposed to heat it'll split into water and oxygen. At the very least you need vacuum distillation but even then I don't think you can get much farther than say 40%, whereas it only starts to get interesting around 70%.
Note: I have no background in chemistry I am talking squarely out of my ass. Here's a youtube video of a crazy Australian concentrating it to the extreme. I recall it was quite the process getting it to be a useful oxidizer.
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Comment on Loblaw says financial impact of May boycott 'minor', as sales grow and profit slips in ~finance
pseudolobster Link ParentFrom what I understand out east they're far less competitive. You've got competition from Metro, Sobeys, Giant Tiger, etc, which are all pretty big chains with lots of locations, vertically...From what I understand out east they're far less competitive. You've got competition from Metro, Sobeys, Giant Tiger, etc, which are all pretty big chains with lots of locations, vertically integrated supply chains, huge purchasing power, etc. In western Canada (on the island anyway) we have Save On, Thrifty's, and tiny regional grocers like Red Barn, 49th, Fairways. Save-on being the only one with more than a couple dozen stores.
Not who you were asking but I recently ran into dependency hell where I was trying to install xfce on top of Pop!_OS's gnome. The details are fuzzy but as I recall gnome-desktop requires pipewire, xfce-desktop requires pulseaudio. There are lots of shims and wrappers involved. It's all supposed to work seamlessly but in the end I spent several days trying everything before saying screw it and installed debian with xfce from scratch. It was weird stuff like firefox and vlc wouldn't play audio but mpv would. pavuctrl would say no pulseaudio devices found but alsamixer would say it found a pulseaudio device.
In any case, it's normal, there's no benefit to adding extra layers, but yes, pipewire is the future, pulseaudio is deprecated. In an ideal world applications that expect pulseaudio will happily work through the shim, like programs that expect ALSA currently work seamlessly through pulseaudio.