AugustusFerdinand's recent activity

  1. Comment on The rectangular cows of Art UK in ~arts

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    This is clearly just trying to create a toxic environment and shame the cows (and that poor sheep) with unrealistic body standards. All cows are beautiful! click label click joke Interesting...

    This is clearly just trying to create a toxic environment and shame the cows (and that poor sheep) with unrealistic body standards.
    All cows are beautiful!

    click label

    click joke

    Interesting article on the interesting quirk of the art of the period.

    1 vote

  2. Comment on Qualifying tipped to return to the WRC for 2025 in ~sports.motorsports

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    Not a fan. I see first-on-the-road as simply the price of success. Adding a qualifying round to let the fastest team to also get to choose a faster outing position just doubles down on the often...

    Not a fan.
    I see first-on-the-road as simply the price of success. Adding a qualifying round to let the fastest team to also get to choose a faster outing position just doubles down on the often uncompetitive nature of the big money teams vs the (based on team/driver comments) lamented part-timers.

    If anything parity should be increased by handicapping winners. I have yet to see a better system than JGTC/Super GT's Success Ballast/Restrictor ruleset and have a long held belief that it would benefit pretty much every single motorsport series.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on A conspiracy theory about "bullet ballots" - How it's hard to evaluate stuff you see online in ~society

  4. Comment on With Core One, Prusa's open source hardware dream quietly dies in ~tech

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    Ahh yes, the inevitable open source community it's-not-perfect-and-therefore-should-be-lambasted-if-not-outright-vilified post as they continue to consume themselves from within. Remember diehard...

    Ahh yes, the inevitable open source community it's-not-perfect-and-therefore-should-be-lambasted-if-not-outright-vilified post as they continue to consume themselves from within. Remember diehard open-sourcers with whom this resonates, be sure to post the source code of the knife you use to cut off your nose to spite your face lest you be a hypocrite.

    23 votes

  8. Comment on Ten free ebooks for getting free (Haymarket Books giveaway until Nov 25th, I think) in ~books

  9. Comment on Ten free ebooks for getting free (Haymarket Books giveaway until Nov 25th, I think) in ~books

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    Editing titles and links is a permission given by Deimos, but we've got a helpful crew here that'll handle it.

    Editing titles and links is a permission given by Deimos, but we've got a helpful crew here that'll handle it.

    2 votes

  10. Comment on Ten free ebooks for getting free (Haymarket Books giveaway until Nov 25th, I think) in ~books

  11. Comment on ‘Monstrous’ North Korean artillery spotted in Russia, likely for use in Ukraine in ~news

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    Some info from people that follow this sort of thing. Short version is that it's believed to be replacing Russia's greatly diminished artillery supply and it has a max range that's 50% longer than...

    Some info from people that follow this sort of thing.

    Short version is that it's believed to be replacing Russia's greatly diminished artillery supply and it has a max range that's 50% longer than the Russian artillery it is replacing.

    4 votes

  12. Comment on Follow up on the username thread: What Tildes users do you recognize when browsing and, without being rude or inflammatory, what is your impression of them? in ~tildes

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    Not at all, I only accept payment from friends in the form of food and/or whiskey. Have you taken the CRV to the second mechanic yet for an opinion?

    Not at all, I only accept payment from friends in the form of food and/or whiskey.
    Have you taken the CRV to the second mechanic yet for an opinion?

    4 votes

  13. Comment on Follow up on the username thread: What Tildes users do you recognize when browsing and, without being rude or inflammatory, what is your impression of them? in ~tildes

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    teh fuk u say 'bout me /joke I just like fixing stuff and have always just been able to figure out how things work with a glance. Gotta have something to balance out my utter inability to "art"....

    teh fuk u say 'bout me
    /joke

    I just like fixing stuff and have always just been able to figure out how things work with a glance. Gotta have something to balance out my utter inability to "art". Like if I was closer (and they'd let me) I'd happily be over at @DefinitelyNotAFae's place to fix their CRV.
    Plus, I have a favor to repay over the course of a lifetime and helping others with mechanical stuff is in my wheelhouse (pun intended).

    If we're name dropping though (and not to repeat anyone previously mentioned)...
    @kfwyre creates more community here than I knew was possible in an online space.

    13 votes

  14. Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    The Falconeer is worth a shot. I don't have VR, but just watched a couple of clips of it and I'm kinda disappointed it's not in first person in VR. I get it as part of the UI is actually needing...

    The Falconeer is worth a shot. I don't have VR, but just watched a couple of clips of it and I'm kinda disappointed it's not in first person in VR. I get it as part of the UI is actually needing to see the energy canisters that are on the back of the falcon (think Dead Space backpack) and part of the gameplay is tracking targets by turning the camera view while flying a different direction, so it will probably still work great, but not give a 100% feeling as if you're the falconeer.
    Always loved flying and flying games, hadn't thought about those with VR, so might have to borrow a friend's headset to try it out.

    4 votes

  15. Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    le card Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 7/25 ✅ Deus Ex - Mankind Divided Has both combat and puzzles Has a campaign longer than 5 hours ✅ Subnautica Considered a disappointment Part of a trilogy ✅...
    le card
    Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 7/25
    Is beatable without killing any enemies
    ✅ Deus Ex - Mankind Divided    		 Has both combat and puzzles Has a campaign longer than 5 hours Has survival mechanics
    ✅ Subnautica    		 Considered a disappointment
    Part of a trilogy Has more than 3 words in its title
    ✅ Cult of the Lamb    		 Has a skill tree Set in a post-apocalyptic world Is open-source
    Focuses on relationships A modded game ★ Wildcard You have to tinker to get it running
    ✅ Anomaly Warzone Earth    		 From now-defunct dev studio
    You can create your own character Has dinosaurs You wanted it when you were younger Features a mystery Has a time limit
    Has a lives system
    ✅ Warpips    		 Is mostly text-based
    ✅ Moonring    		 It’s already installed
    ✅ The Falconeer    		 Is one of the oldest games you own Has cards
    le games

    Subnautica: Extremely well acclaimed game loved by hundreds of thousands of people. I knew of the game and was expecting some minor crafting and major exploration, it appears to be a major component in both categories and I greatly dislike crafting games. It's pretty and aside from trying to build a base while floating in three dimensional space being more troublesome than I like, it's not a bad game at all for the hour or so I played it. Just not a game for me. I also dislike "remember to eat/drink" survival games, but I played on the second mode where I don't have to play the game like it's a high resolution Tamagotchi.

    Warpips: Basic tug-of-war RTS game, not bad, semi-good variety of troops, played on the hardest mode, still found it a bit too easy once you're past the first island as playing smart as it becomes relatively quick to build up a good cache of troops to use. I've played a lot of this style of game, typically on mobile and this one could easily be there too with its voxel graphics. Not a bad time waster, but not worth keeping on my computer, would keep it on my phone if there was an Android version. Seems to be PC and console only though.

    The Falconeer: Only game from this week that is still installed. Beautiful game, interesting story, well narrated and fully voiced, am through the first chapter now, will come back to it after the backlog burner is over. Hope there is more variety of weapons/falcons/gear after the first chapter, but am will not be disappointed if not as I've only tried a couple of strategies so far.

    le note...

    I'm not actually trying for a Bingo; if it happens, it happens (like real bingo). In fact, I'm not even choosing the games I'm playing. I'm letting a friend pick random numbers of the backlogged games I have installed already and just going from there.

    5 votes

  16. Comment on Heat pumps used to struggle in the cold. Not anymore. in ~enviro

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    Am in Colorado, gas is $1.01/therm, lowest electricity rate (off peak hours) is $0.12/kWh... Gas heat at 80% for 100M BTU: $1,262.50 Heat pump at 250% for 100M BTU: $1,406.80 ...and that's with...

    Am in Colorado, gas is $1.01/therm, lowest electricity rate (off peak hours) is $0.12/kWh...

    Gas heat at 80% for 100M BTU: $1,262.50
    Heat pump at 250% for 100M BTU: $1,406.80

    ...and that's with only using the lowest possible electricity rate.

    I'm also waiting for this "solar/wind will make electricity cheaper" to happen. Electric providers aren't stupid, they know not to build more than they can sell for a profit and none of them are eager to make electricity prices go down. Looking at the 10 year price history for electricity in Colorado the base rate in January of 2014 was $0.04604/kWh in January of 2024 it was $0.07136/kWh; adjusting for inflation the 2014 rate was $0.06. In the same amount of time Colorado went from producing 7,975GWh to 21,318.5GWh of renewables annually.

    7 votes

  17. Comment on Car maintenance/replacement advice in ~transport

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    Simply put, piston rings are springs that are held by the piston in grooves and push outward toward the walls of the cylinder to perform various tasks like sealing the combustion chamber,...

    Simply put, piston rings are springs that are held by the piston in grooves and push outward toward the walls of the cylinder to perform various tasks like sealing the combustion chamber, regulating oil use, etc. For lack of a better term "gunk" can get in the grooves of the piston, making the piston ring stick and not seal properly.
    Very strong products like BG EPR - https://www.bgprod.com/catalog/engine/bg-epr-engine-performance-restoration/ - can loosen this "gunk" and unstick the piston rings. It's not a guarantee, but at about $20 for a can of it, it could be worth a shot.

    The warning is this: It takes no prisoners. It will loosen any gunk it comes across, sometimes gunk/sludge is the only thing keeping a seal or gasket from leaking, so it can open up more leaks. Instructions need to be followed to the letter. This is usually stuff used by people that do their own maintenance, I take it from your replies here that you do not. So in your case you'd drive to your mechanic or oil change place of choice, let the car cool down, put it in the oil, warm the car back up, run it for 10 minutes at 1,200rpm, then immediately change the oil and filter. I would also only drive for another 500 miles and then change the oil again. If there is significant gunk/sludge in your engine then there is the chance that it will dislodge too much, won't be fully removed with the oil changes, and clog the oil pickup or somewhere else in the engine and cause more issues.

    2 votes

  18. Comment on Car maintenance/replacement advice in ~transport

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    Worth noting that the Fiat 500e is an utter piece of shit car and easily the least reliable vehicle in that list.

    Worth noting that the Fiat 500e is an utter piece of shit car and easily the least reliable vehicle in that list.

    8 votes

  19. Comment on Car maintenance/replacement advice in ~transport

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    I do not agree with their opinion on this as I see it as nothing more than dodging warranty claims, but 1qt per 1k miles is, by most manufacturer's claims, an "acceptable" amount of oil loss. So...

    I do not agree with their opinion on this as I see it as nothing more than dodging warranty claims, but 1qt per 1k miles is, by most manufacturer's claims, an "acceptable" amount of oil loss. So if you don't mind throwing in a $5 quart of oil every few fill ups, then it'll probably keep on ticking for awhile that way.

    That said, as one of the automotive/mechanically minded folks here, that amount of oil burning is unacceptable to me; with a caveat.
    The caveat is that everyone's financial situation is different and $5 a month for the foreseeable future vs $4-6k engine rebuild right now is two very different things to different people.

    In my opinion you have a stuck piston ring that is allowing too much blow-by and burning oil. There are some very powerful products that could unstick the piston ring, but they aren't guaranteed to work, they require some careful considerations to their use during and after, and have the possibility of making other issues appear. I can expand on this if you're interested.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Car maintenance/replacement advice in ~transport

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    How long has this been going on (the it being low when you go to get an oil change)?

    How long has this been going on (the it being low when you go to get an oil change)?