h3x's recent activity
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Comment on REO Runabout, gas truck starting at $21,500 in ~transport
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Comment on British cities are a game design nightmare in ~transport
h3x Link ParentThis gave me a good chortle, thanks!Highly recommend watching till the end (13:00) for a cameo appearance from a very topical small youtuber with 51k subs.
This gave me a good chortle, thanks!
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Comment on Despite important changes to Norway's consent law last year, there is a severe lack of understanding of the issue across society, experts say, from children to teenagers to prosecutors in ~society
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Comment on Keir Starmer announces resignation as leader of Labour Party in the UK in ~society
h3x (edited )Link ParentIn short: A lot of braying from the opposition parties about an unelected Prime Minister, and calls for a general election, which the new PM & Co will bat off by saying they're "getting on with...In short: A lot of braying from the opposition parties about an unelected Prime Minister, and calls for a general election, which the new PM & Co will bat off by saying they're "getting on with the job," while very little meaningfully changes for the population.
In long: There probably will be a leadership contest, but it'll not be drawn out, I don't think. The writing has been on the wall for ages: Andy Burnham is widely tipped to become the next leader of the Labour party, and this whole drama has a strong whiff of kingmaking to it. Wes Streeting is the other possibility for leader, but he's not nearly as popular as Burnham (and thank goodness, as Streeting has been forcing through transphobic policies in his role as health secretary).
Whoever it is that succeeds Starmer, I expect continuity rather than much change. There is little appetite for radicalism among the mainstream parties, despite the public clearly wanting more sweeping changes. NHS waiting lists are falling but still enormous. Small boat crossings are down, but still coming. Wages are up but it's still hard to make ends meet. Starmer's project lacked a coherent philosophy and suffered from terrible messaging. But the real killer was the lack of a great big headline policy. It was all just seen as tinkering around the edges. And while the intent was to portray Starmer as the adult in the room following the mess that the Conservative party made of the previous term, scandals such as the Mandelson/Epstein saga gave him a pretty grubby look.
Starmer publicly complained about the amount of drag on his ability to make any changes at any kind of rate of knots, and that's not a problem with Keir Starmer, or the Labour party. It's a massive, systemic issue with the way that the UK's government operates, and it is not going to be fixed by someone coming in as a continuity candidate. Burnham (or whoever) will come in, and be met with the same lack of agency that Starmer pushed up against, and will instead be forced to tinker around the edges making micro-adjustments that will hopefully lead to large outcomes in ten years' time.
The problem being that the public are impatient for change, and Nigel Farage is waiting in the wings to start banging on about how Burnham was not elected by the country at large, and that a general election should be called. The government will obviously ignore all of this. Farage knows his audience though, and they are a group increasingly angry at a political class that doesn't seem to care about the plight of ordinary people, and are more focused on internal party squabbling than actually governing. Farage has built himself a cosy position as an agitator, and political outsider (despite having been a career politician for most of his life), and has a very healthy following on social media. It's an easy line of attack on an already unpopular government, and it will most likely work, as much of the media are salivating at the prospect of a Reform government.
It's difficult to predict much further into the future, but I think this honestly ends with Nigel Farage in government, either at the next general election, or the following one. There's a chance that Burnham manages to pull things together and give the Labour party a promising direction, but I don't think that's what will happen. They'll get a little bump in polling, and then it'll tail off again. Labour will ride out the rest of their term in office as far as they can, and one of two things will happen at the next GE:
- Reform UK utterly demolish Labour, forming a massive majority government and putting Nigel Farage in Number 10.
- All non-Reform parties enter into a "keep Reform out at all costs" arrangement, and form a coalition (possibly minority) government that is weak and can't agree on anything. Chaos ensues, and Farage wins the following GE.
I am not filled with optimism for the future of my country.
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Comment on Ruins of the web: Hello Internet in ~tech
h3x Link ParentAnother Tim, checking in! It is one of my great Internet sorrows that this podcast stopped. A more recent sorrow is that Grey appears to have just vacated the Internet altogether. His channel was...Another Tim, checking in! It is one of my great Internet sorrows that this podcast stopped. A more recent sorrow is that Grey appears to have just vacated the Internet altogether. His channel was one of the first that I really got into, and it’s just… stopped.
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Comment on Jumping spiders shouldn’t be this smart in ~science
h3x Link ParentSame, it is utterly superb. I think I’ve gifted six copies of it so far, and given dozens of recommendations too!Same, it is utterly superb. I think I’ve gifted six copies of it so far, and given dozens of recommendations too!
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Comment on Doctor Who Christmas Special cancelled, show put out to competitive tender in ~tv
h3x Link ParentI've soaked up a bunch of the Big Finish adventures in a very similar fashion :DI've soaked up a bunch of the Big Finish adventures in a very similar fashion :D
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Comment on Doctor Who Christmas Special cancelled, show put out to competitive tender in ~tv
h3x Link ParentI’ve been saying it for a good while; definitely due a hiatus and a reboot in a good few years. Looking forward to its inevitable return!I’ve been saying it for a good while; definitely due a hiatus and a reboot in a good few years. Looking forward to its inevitable return!
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Comment on Apple unveils their new operating systems for 2027: iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, and more in ~tech
h3x LinkI don't use a huge amount of Apple Intelligence, so this year's updates seem potentially a little on the underwhelming side. I like the sound of describing a shortcut, as well as using on-screen...I don't use a huge amount of Apple Intelligence, so this year's updates seem potentially a little on the underwhelming side. I like the sound of describing a shortcut, as well as using on-screen context. I have apps that don't hook into shortcuts, and it would be really cool to automate them with Siri AI. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what's going to be available to us though.
Otherwise, the big standout for me is the overhaul of the screentime/parental controls. My wife and I have both lamented how poor and overly complex Apple's implementation of this stuff is when it comes to our kids, and this redesign looks like a really promising step in the right direction.
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Comment on Apple unveils their new operating systems for 2027: iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, and more in ~tech
h3x Link ParentYeah, I was excited by that announcement too. I don't need an intensively customisable EQ, and three bands should be absolutely fine for my needs. Looking forward to having a play with it.Yeah, I was excited by that announcement too. I don't need an intensively customisable EQ, and three bands should be absolutely fine for my needs. Looking forward to having a play with it.
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Comment on From neat lawns to wild havens: how No Mow May is transforming England’s gardens in ~enviro
h3x LinkAha, I now have a perfect response to any questions about the quantity of dandelions in my little garden!Aha, I now have a perfect response to any questions about the quantity of dandelions in my little garden!
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Comment on Linux privilege escalation (CVE-2026-31431) in ~comp
h3x Link ParentAhh, good point! At my workplace we don't really mess with rolling release distros. Debian, Ubuntu, Proxmox, RHEL, CentOS, Rocky, and Suse are the main ones for us. So I actually just completely...Ahh, good point! At my workplace we don't really mess with rolling release distros. Debian, Ubuntu, Proxmox, RHEL, CentOS, Rocky, and Suse are the main ones for us. So I actually just completely forgot about Arch et al. :P
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Comment on Linux privilege escalation (CVE-2026-31431) in ~comp
h3x Link ParentAs far as I'm aware the only major distribution with a fix out in the wild is Proxmox. It'll likely be a minor revision number that you have, rather than a major version update, in terms of a...As far as I'm aware the only major distribution with a fix out in the wild is Proxmox. It'll likely be a minor revision number that you have, rather than a major version update, in terms of a kernel fix. You can check if your system is vulnerable like this:
lsmod | grep algif_aead # no output means your kernel is safe grep API_AEAD=m /boot/config-$(uname -r) # output here means that you can apply the workaround below echo -e 'blacklist algif_aead\ninstall algif_aead /bin/false' > /etc/modprobe.d/copy-fail.conf update-initramfs -u rebootThis has caught the world by surprise, so everyone's in a bit of a hurry to apply the relevant patch, but they'll be out soon enough. It sounds like you've just got a handful of single-user machines, so your risk is much lower than say a multi-user server. Remember that access to a given machine is required to make this exploit work.
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Comment on Linux privilege escalation (CVE-2026-31431) in ~comp
h3x LinkWe're scrabbling at work to try and get this mitigated, what a mess.We're scrabbling at work to try and get this mitigated, what a mess.
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Comment on The Dealer's Tarot - Modern games to play with a tarot deck in ~games.tabletop
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Comment on The Dealer's Tarot - Modern games to play with a tarot deck in ~games.tabletop
h3x Link ParentColour me very intrigued! I’ve also been enjoying games that use standardised components, so I’ll be keen to check this list out. I’m also trying to get to grips with Regicide at the moment, after...My dream is to one day develop a card-based TTRPG system, and I hadn't thought of using Tarot before but may have to consider it.
Colour me very intrigued!
I’ve also been enjoying games that use standardised components, so I’ll be keen to check this list out. I’m also trying to get to grips with Regicide at the moment, after enjoying Scoundrel quite a lot. Not quite TTRPG levels, but worth a look, perhaps?
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Comment on X Japan - Art Of Life (1993) in ~music
h3x Link ParentOnce upon a time I used to be able to play most of this song on the guitar. Some of the solos and arpeggios are fiendishly difficult, but it’s such a cool song that my teenage self couldn’t help...Once upon a time I used to be able to play most of this song on the guitar. Some of the solos and arpeggios are fiendishly difficult, but it’s such a cool song that my teenage self couldn’t help but try. Thanks for letting me relive those days!
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Comment on Very Important People: Boris Tarshkokan in ~tv
h3x Link ParentAlso highly recommend Game Changer, which is a bit more varied, but still excellent!Also highly recommend Game Changer, which is a bit more varied, but still excellent!
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Comment on Godzilla Minus Zero | First look teaser in ~movies
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Comment on Looking for more pop / rock songs with sick sax solos! Got any ideas? in ~music
h3x LinkMiasma by Ghost! It’s an instrumental track, but great fun. The way they perform it live is superb.It’s an instrumental track, but great fun. The way they perform it live is superb.
Brit ignorant of US car culture here; is the advertised 25mpg considered good fuel economy?