SunSpotter's recent activity
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Comment on What's something new you started doing this year? in ~talk
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Comment on Deciding which version of Minecraft Java to play. (AKA, what's your favourite update?) in ~games
SunSpotter Link ParentI loved Beta 1.7 just for the huge availability of mods it had. There are a few really neat mods from that era that don’t (or didn’t for a long time) have modern equivalents and haven’t been...I loved Beta 1.7 just for the huge availability of mods it had. There are a few really neat mods from that era that don’t (or didn’t for a long time) have modern equivalents and haven’t been updated in a while. At the very least, there were a lot of big mods from 1.7 that were never all up to date at the same time after that. I think it’s gotten better now, and it seems like a lot of old classic mods have been remade, but I still have nostalgia for 1.7 because so many mods died out after that for whatever reason.
It also felt like realism was much less of a concern back then, it was more about just making something fun and seeing what you could do with it. Which is a philosophy with its own pros and cons, but mostly it’s just a different vibe which is itself kinda fun.
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Comment on Sionic Energy unveils 100% silicon anode battery with high energy density in ~enviro
SunSpotter Link ParentIt’s honestly a hard statement to evaluate at face value because there are so many different EV battery packs out there. But yeah, if we assume market average battery size, 800ish volts and...It’s honestly a hard statement to evaluate at face value because there are so many different EV battery packs out there. But yeah, if we assume market average battery size, 800ish volts and standard battery materials then 15ish minutes is about right for the current cutting edge.
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Comment on Chrysler only sells a minivan. The iconic brand’s days could be numbered. in ~transport
SunSpotter Link ParentAnecdotal, but a former boss of mine really wanted a car like the Pacifica, but refused to buy a Chrysler. Sales of the car overall seem kinda bad per the article, so my takeaway is that...Anecdotal, but a former boss of mine really wanted a car like the Pacifica, but refused to buy a Chrysler. Sales of the car overall seem kinda bad per the article, so my takeaway is that perception of the brand combined with high prices has made it unappealing to most buyers. Price is a somewhat fixable issue of course, but public perception is a hard thing to change. They need something that gets people’s attention, or at least can convince them to trust the brand.
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Comment on How do you shave your nose and ears? in ~life.men
SunSpotter LinkPossible TMI but if it makes you feel any better I started getting long thick black nose hairs in my teens, which is weird because that’s not even my hair color Anyways, to manage I have a pair of...Possible TMI but if it makes you feel any better
I started getting long thick black nose hairs in my teens, which is weird because that’s not even my hair colorAnyways, to manage I have a pair of small trimming scissors that get the job done easily. I’ve always been kinda nervous of the idea of an actual nose hair trimmer, and a nice tiny pair of scissors I can use with two fingers just works for me.
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Comment on iPhone music players with good CarPlay experience? in ~tech
SunSpotter LinkPerhaps I’m not understanding something here, is Apple Music not an option? Seems the most sensible solution if you already have the music you want in iTunes. If you had music you that was added...Perhaps I’m not understanding something here, is Apple Music not an option? Seems the most sensible solution if you already have the music you want in iTunes. If you had music you that was added manually to iTunes, I’m not sure if that would show up in Apple Music or not, but otherwise everything you’ve purchased on iTunes or regularly listen to on iTunes should be available. I use Apple Music all the time via CarPlay, and I’ve never had any issues with it (just CarPlay itself being weird on occasion). It does require a subscription, but it seems you can try it for free. I’m personally sharing it as part of a family plan so it costs me almost nothing.
Alternatively, I’ve never had any issues with Spotify, though I use it less since I don’t have premium and hate ads. But Spotify does seem to do a better job of recommending music I like, and has a greater availability of playlists. Spotify also allows you to add music locally if that’s the primary concern. Again, I don’t have the experience to know if that will show up correctly in CarPlay though.
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Comment on Why battery powered cargo ships are compelling in ~transport
SunSpotter Link ParentHey sorry for taking a while to get back to you. I’m going to sidestep part of your question for a moment to say that this is exactly how US states handle the enforcement of new clean air...- Exemplary
Hey sorry for taking a while to get back to you.
mandate that when a replacement is necessary, it must conform to greener standards
I’m going to sidestep part of your question for a moment to say that this is exactly how US states handle the enforcement of new clean air technologies. Rather than forcing companies to get rid of old equipment, whenever they need to replace old equipment, buy new equipment or whenever significant retrofitting would be required for old equipment, we force them to buy the cleanest reasonably affordable technology. This is known as RACT/BACT, meaning Reasonably/Best Achievable Control Technology.
Well, mostly. It can get complicated, especially when it comes to power plants and other major pollution sources which fall under EPA (Federal, AKA National) review. But that’s the gist of it.
should we be encouraging companies to keep their old stuff
I really don’t think so. There are boilers operating in Los Angeles which were built in the 1950s and are still permitted and operating within the law today. They get away with this by doing lots of tiny incremental repairs, and being lucky. So long as the unit never breaks down entirely or requires major repairs, it’s completely fine. But those ancient boilers are bad news. I won’t get into the science of it, but they’re pretty dirty and not doing the local area any favors.
My point being, companies don’t need encouragement to hold onto old technology. They already have a financial incentive (not spending money) to do so. And holding onto outdated technology for 70 years does the environment far more damage than replacing said technology.
It seems to me that unless the old thing is absolutely terrible, keeping it running should cause less pollution.
Continuing off of my prior statement, it’s very much a case by case situation, and you have to assess the annual emissions of the old device, the projected lifespan of the old device, the environmental impact of a replacement, and the lifespan of the replacement. From what I’ve seen though, in most cases when you do that you realize it makes more sense to replace the old device.
A great example of this is natural gas powered turbines for electric generation, which can easily be modified to accept hydrogen as their primary fuel. So switching over a power plant from gas to hydrogen turbines doesn’t actually produce much waste, and produces immediate environmental benefits. EVs are a more complicated topic of course, but studies have shown that if you keep the EV for at least 10 years before replacing it, then there’s a net benefit to getting rid of your ICE vehicle.
rather than subsidizing purchases of EVs
As an EV owner myself, I can tell you that most people who aren’t nerds for EV technology, or passionate about the environment don’t want to be early adopters. Repairs are messy even for professionals, which means longer waiting times for consumers, charging infrastructure is infrequent and unreliable, and the technology itself is unfamiliar, with unfamiliar pros and cons. However early adopters are also necessary for the technology to mature and for companies to be convinced to build more charging stations.
Hydrogen is a great example of how this can go awry. For various reasons, hydrogen powered cars like the Mirai never took off the way EVs did. They reached their peak several years ago and ever since then sales have been dropping, and now the hydrogen refueling network is collapsing as companies pull out and close down what few stations exist in the first place.
I think to some extent incentives are necessary if we agree that EVs are better for the environment, at least until adoption of the technology reaches critical mass.
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Comment on Why battery powered cargo ships are compelling in ~transport
SunSpotter Link ParentI’m by no means an expert in the field, or even particularly knowledgeable in terms of marine pollution control. But I do work in the environmental industry, and something I’ve noticed recently is...Surprised there wasn't a substantial discussion of diesel-electric powertrains.
I’m by no means an expert in the field, or even particularly knowledgeable in terms of marine pollution control. But I do work in the environmental industry, and something I’ve noticed recently is that there’s an increasing amount of talk about just ripping the bandaid off and moving towards zero emissions technologies now. Or, in some cases where that’s not possible, coming up with designs that can be retrofitted at a later date to attain zero emission status.
The idea is that rather than committing millions of dollars in R&D on something that emits less, just for it to be obsolete when stricter emissions standards roll around at some future date, they’d rather just get it over with now.
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Comment on What's on your Christmas wish list? in ~life
SunSpotter Link ParentHey, twins! Well, sort of. It’s not much better here in sunny California. I keep looking at places to rent or buy in my area, and thinking to myself “this is what an engineering salary affords...Hey, twins! Well, sort of.
It’s not much better here in sunny California. I keep looking at places to rent or buy in my area, and thinking to myself “this is what an engineering salary affords these days?”. I feel like every time I reach a new milestone in my life, housing prices shoot through the roof again. Like I’m a pig chasing a carrot on a stick.
Thankfully, I recently got promoted and I feel like I’m finally able to afford…something? So this holiday season, I’m also hoping for a humble apartment.
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Comment on Volkswagen plans major cutbacks in Germany: 'We cannot continue as before' in ~transport
SunSpotter Link ParentNotcoffeetable had a similar takeaway, and both your opinions match what I know has been said about their EV lineup. Just kind of uninspired designs that aren’t really good at any particular...Notcoffeetable had a similar takeaway, and both your opinions match what I know has been said about their EV lineup. Just kind of uninspired designs that aren’t really good at any particular thing. As an example, there’s cheaper EVs that charge just as fast, and there’s EVs that charge way faster for the same price. So if charge time is something you care about, Volkswagen just doesn’t make sense.
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Comment on Volkswagen plans major cutbacks in Germany: 'We cannot continue as before' in ~transport
SunSpotter LinkVolkswagen has certainly made some poor decisions in recent memory, but I had no idea their situation is so dire. Not sure if the article is just playing things up a bit, but cancelling union...Volkswagen has certainly made some poor decisions in recent memory, but I had no idea their situation is so dire. Not sure if the article is just playing things up a bit, but cancelling union contracts and closing down plants for the first time in decades sounds really bad.
I know their EV sales have been poor, and I’ve seen a lot of speculation as to why, but I had no idea their ICE sales were falling behind. Anyone know why? Or have a newish Volkswagen and have opinions on it?
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Comment on Is there an alternative to Nexus Mods? in ~games
SunSpotter Link ParentOn one hand, I get it. Nexus has operating costs and that money has to come from somewhere. But 90/yr is just…not something I have any interest in paying for when their Linux support is so poor....On one hand, I get it. Nexus has operating costs and that money has to come from somewhere. But 90/yr is just…not something I have any interest in paying for when their Linux support is so poor. Plus, in general I just don’t feel like I use Nexus often enough to justify any kind of subscription anyways.
So complaining about dark patterns and their relatively high subscription price seems justified unless you’re using them constantly. Reddit readying the pitchforks just seems like typical Reddit and I wouldn’t think anything of it lol. Taking a peak at Reddit every now and then after not looking at it for a year, makes me realize just how much content on there is obvious rage bait. I have to imagine that’s directly related to how hostile the user base can be.
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Comment on Iceland's valley of geysers mysteriously reawakens – some long dormant geysers are spouting up to two meters, with experts unsure as to the cause in ~enviro
SunSpotter LinkArchive link -
Comment on Goodbye, floppies - San Francisco pays Hitachi $212 million to remove 5.25-inch disks from its light rail service in ~tech
SunSpotter Link ParentIf it was designed in the mid 80s and just took a while to be realized, that would make sense. The most common type of floppy, the 1.44 mb 3.5” was first released in 1986 (a year before the first...If it was designed in the mid 80s and just took a while to be realized, that would make sense.
The most common type of floppy, the 1.44 mb 3.5” was first released in 1986 (a year before the first CD-ROM, coincidentally) and was accepted to have completely surpassed the 5.25” standard by the late 80s. So it may also be possible they saw it as a cost saving measure since the drives (presumably) became cheaper after 3.5” became the new hotness.
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Comment on Goodbye, floppies - San Francisco pays Hitachi $212 million to remove 5.25-inch disks from its light rail service in ~tech
SunSpotter LinkCan anyone else verify they were using 5.25” disks? I’d heard they were using floppies, but I always assumed they were 3.5” disks. It’s actually kind of hilarious if made an investment this big...Can anyone else verify they were using 5.25” disks? I’d heard they were using floppies, but I always assumed they were 3.5” disks. It’s actually kind of hilarious if made an investment this big into 5.25” disks in 1998. It was already seen as a legacy technology at that point, and from what I can tell the drives were no longer being mass produced by 1995. So I’m reeeeally curious what could have led them to make a 25 year investment in an already dead/dying format.
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Comment on We spoke with the last person standing in the floppy disk business in ~tech
SunSpotter Link ParentCan confirm, as someone with ADHD who writes as a hobby in their spare time, this interview lives in my brain rent free lol. I think a lot about how a no distractions environment with a nice...Can confirm, as someone with ADHD who writes as a hobby in their spare time, this interview lives in my brain rent free lol.
I think a lot about how a no distractions environment with a nice keyboard and simple but effective UI could greatly enhance my ability to write for longer sessions. So I can completely understand the appeal. Saving actual work on floppy disks though (or vintage media in general)? Bit too risky for my taste.
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Comment on Reflections on Palantir in ~tech
SunSpotter Link ParentIt bothers me that a grey area implies the existence of a morally wrong area, but somehow there’s only 3 types? You can’t define where the line is without defining what lies beyond it....There's three types of projects - Morally neutral, like the Facebook News Feed, that's type 1; Unambiguously good like OpenPhilanthropy, that's type 2 - and grey areas like ICE and spy agencies, that's type 3
It bothers me that a grey area implies the existence of a morally wrong area, but somehow there’s only 3 types? You can’t define where the line is without defining what lies beyond it.
Categorizing companies like this feels like an attempt, either by the author or whoever taught them the idea, to dodge any sort of discourse on what entities you shouldn’t or wouldn’t do business with. Because realistically, I suspect Palantir would do business with just about anyone willing to pay for their services. The only definitive stance the author takes on ‘bad’ entities to work with are foreign adversaries like Russia or the CCP.
I’m no fan of Russia nor the CCP myself. But stating a US company which does work for the US government, and multiple tightly controlled US industries, shouldn’t work with adversarial foreign superpowers is such a non-statement. To such an extent that it just feels dishonest or lazy.
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Comment on Moving wikis away from Fandom in ~tech
SunSpotter LinkThere’s another reason to move away from fandom wiki that I was surprised to see wasn’t mentioned here: load time. At home on a modern day internet connection, I might not notice the difference in...There’s another reason to move away from fandom wiki that I was surprised to see wasn’t mentioned here: load time.
At home on a modern day internet connection, I might not notice the difference in time it takes to load a Fandom webpage vs webpages on other wikis (having ad-block enabled probably helps too). But playing my steam deck away from home, looking things up on my phone? Absolutely. Fandom isn’t just loading plain text and a couple images. It’s loading like 20 different ads and a video at the same time as it loads whatever content you actually want. If you don’t have a good signal, it’s almost unusable. What’s worse is that I have an older phone with a small-ish screen and all those ads take up most if not all of my screen, meaning I have to try to dismiss some of the more obtrusive ads without clicking on them before I can see anything after the page finally loads.
I’m extremely glad to see more pushback against Fandom finally happening. For years it felt like every wiki was just bowing down and migrating to Fandom and it was depressing.
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Comment on Paradox must refocus to rebuild trust and survive, bosses say, after Life By You cancellation in ~games
SunSpotter Link ParentWhen I was a kid playing The Sims, it always irked me that I couldn’t follow my sims everywhere. That sometimes they just went into a building and did things I couldn’t see. Reading this, I feel...The poor office lady opening her laptop at work and immediately crying was relatable, but no way would I want to pay to experience what I can get for free by actually going to work.
When I was a kid playing The Sims, it always irked me that I couldn’t follow my sims everywhere. That sometimes they just went into a building and did things I couldn’t see. Reading this, I feel like it’s finally clicked for me that sometimes this is better lol.
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Comment on Libgen must pay publishers $30M [following a US court ruling], but no one knows who runs it in ~tech
SunSpotter Link ParentOff topic, but are the business professors the ones who were doing that? I never experienced it personally but always heard about the dreaded $300 textbook required by the guy who wrote it.Off topic, but are the business professors the ones who were doing that? I never experienced it personally but always heard about the dreaded $300 textbook required by the guy who wrote it.
My SO has been stuck in a similar position. Engineering degree, but got stuck in the mud after burning out at a really shitty company. It’s also been about 2 years and since then they’ve kind of just had a hard time getting a new job.
Do you have any tips or advice for working past all that?