IsildursBane's recent activity
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft: What do you want to see in the next season? in ~games
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Comment on UPS is ‘disposing of' US-bound packages over customs paperwork problems in ~finance
IsildursBane Link ParentYeah, I did realize that they try to contact the sender, but honestly with the anecdotes of people saying their package is disposed, then it has moved to a different warehouse, then another...Yeah, I did realize that they try to contact the sender, but honestly with the anecdotes of people saying their package is disposed, then it has moved to a different warehouse, then another notification saying it is disposed makes me think that there may not be proper follow up. It seems like their warehouses are a mess due to constantly changing customs, and they are a bit eager to dispose of packages.
Not sure how I feel about UPS charging for returning to sender when it fails to clear customs. On one hand, it gives shippers reason to make sure their packages clear customs, or pay to ship it back. However, UPS has already been paid to deliver the shipping to the recipient, so there may not be much of a cost difference between delivering it to the customer the rest of the way or returning it. It kind of feels like UPS is being a bit greedy that they charging for a failed delivery and for the package to be returned.
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Comment on UPS is ‘disposing of' US-bound packages over customs paperwork problems in ~finance
IsildursBane LinkI am baffled that the solution for packages not clearing customs or having difficulties clearing customs is to destroy the package, rather than return to sender.I am baffled that the solution for packages not clearing customs or having difficulties clearing customs is to destroy the package, rather than return to sender.
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Comment on Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US? in ~transport
IsildursBane Link ParentThe problem from a pedestrian standpoint is that sometimes people don't even check for pedestrians, and so they go at speed through the crosswalk section since the stop line for yielding to cars...The problem from a pedestrian standpoint is that sometimes people don't even check for pedestrians, and so they go at speed through the crosswalk section since the stop line for yielding to cars is still 10ft or so ahead
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Comment on Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US? in ~transport
IsildursBane LinkInteresting that in the graphic comparing different countries, two other countries have an uptick starting at 2021. However, due to that graphic's design, it is nearly impossible to tell which...Interesting that in the graphic comparing different countries, two other countries have an uptick starting at 2021. However, due to that graphic's design, it is nearly impossible to tell which country.
The 30-39 and 60-79 age brackets have seen the largest increase in victims. Pedestrian deaths of children and teenagers are down over this period.
I wonder if this is more due to the fact that kids are less seen around on the streets unaccompanied as often as they used to be. Are kids being hit less because they are outside less?
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Comment on Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US? in ~transport
IsildursBane Link ParentSame with Canadalots of the USA allows right turn on red
Same with Canada
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Comment on Help choosing a new linux computer? in ~tech
IsildursBane Link ParentIt has gotten better in recent years, so if you really want to get a nvidia card, it will work. To my knowledge, AMD will open source their drivers, so it gets included in the linux kernel....It has gotten better in recent years, so if you really want to get a nvidia card, it will work. To my knowledge, AMD will open source their drivers, so it gets included in the linux kernel. Whereas nvidia is reluctant to open source their drivers. They have started releasing linux drivers (before I believe it was just reverse engineered drivers by the community), but not open sourced so they need to be installed manually, not included in the kernel (except for a few distros that are gaming focused that will include the drivers in their distro). Due to not open sourcing drivers, the general consensus of Linux users is against nvidia since it goes against the standard of open source in Linux.
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Comment on Help choosing a new linux computer? in ~tech
IsildursBane LinkNot the biggest gamebreaker, but going with an AMD graphics card over nvidia will lead to a smoother experience. Depending on the distro you choose, nvidia may work right out of the box, while...Not the biggest gamebreaker, but going with an AMD graphics card over nvidia will lead to a smoother experience. Depending on the distro you choose, nvidia may work right out of the box, while other distros you will have to manually install drivers. AMD graphics cards will have their drivers included regardless of the distro.
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Comment on Travel essentials: eight items to pack for your next trip – and what to leave at home in ~travel
IsildursBane LinkRelatively niche, but I tend to pack all my small electronics in a microphone pouch.1 So I throw in my PSP, maybe a spare second game, charger for my PSP, earbuds, and phone charger. Then I just...Relatively niche, but I tend to pack all my small electronics in a microphone pouch.1 So I throw in my PSP, maybe a spare second game, charger for my PSP, earbuds, and phone charger. Then I just have this pouch that I can reach for to grab my electronics while travelling. The mic pouch I use also has a thin amount of foam padding on the inside, which is uncommon for mic pouches but is a nice added feature. You could use any small pouch, but I have found that having a small zippered pouch for tech just helps keep things contained.
1 For those who are unfamiliar, a mic pouch is a pouch that you normally get when buying a new mic, that normally measures roughly 10"x5", with a single zipper on the long edge. They are normally just two flat pieces of fabric sewn together, so you lose length and width as you put in more objects. They are normally a pleather material, but I have occasionally seen other materials.
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Comment on Timasomo 2025: Week 1 Updates in ~creative.timasomo
IsildursBane LinkWorking on getting my audio player truly portable. Most of this week has been spent trying to get the settings screen to display properly. I am starting to figure out a good process for running...Working on getting my audio player truly portable. Most of this week has been spent trying to get the settings screen to display properly. I am starting to figure out a good process for running the code that is still in development, but I could refine it more. It might be worthwhile to create a dev environment that uses a keyboard to emulate the clickwheel, so that I can run a second Pi purely for dev. I am starting to understand a bit more how the GUI is programmed on the tkinter app, but I have hit a wall so I should probably just read some documentation on tkinter frames, as trying to just copy and modify existing frames has not been working. Once I get the frontend working, I will then need to tackle the backend, which has some fun issues I need to sort of having the python program run sudo commands in Linux (Raspian Lite).
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Comment on Indecision: Get a camera despite having a phone in ~tech
IsildursBane Link ParentI am using a similar list of devices as well. I plan on in the near future doing a longer write up here on Tildes about this approach, but still working on the music player before I do that.I am using a similar list of devices as well. I plan on in the near future doing a longer write up here on Tildes about this approach, but still working on the music player before I do that.
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Comment on Indecision: Get a camera despite having a phone in ~tech
IsildursBane Link ParentAnother thing I remembered that I forgot to add in, is that the more you use a dedicated camera the smoother the experience is. I never read the manual for my camera, so I slowly discovered...Another thing I remembered that I forgot to add in, is that the more you use a dedicated camera the smoother the experience is. I never read the manual for my camera, so I slowly discovered features as I used it more. Changing settings is really quick for me, because I know which buttons I need to press without looking. I did not realize for the longest time that at the bottom of my viewfinder there is a display with settings and an exposure meter. These are things you learn through using your camera over time, but make using the camera a smoother experience over time. Whereas with smartphones, while there are settings, there are not physical button combinations to memorize to make a smoother experience.
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Comment on Indecision: Get a camera despite having a phone in ~tech
IsildursBane LinkSo I have a dedicated camera (hobbyist level) and so have a few thoughts. As others have mentioned, the form factor of a camera over a phone lends itself to a much better experience. For certain...So I have a dedicated camera (hobbyist level) and so have a few thoughts.
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As others have mentioned, the form factor of a camera over a phone lends itself to a much better experience.
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For certain activities, I really enjoy the process of leaving my phone behind and only taking my camera. There are times when I carry my camera around and hardly use it. That is just part of the experience, and you have to get used to that. However, I also have some beautiful photos that I want to eventually frame some of my photos to display on my wall above my desk. I very rarely got photos like that with my phone (and one photo in particular that I quite like taken on my phone, is too low of a quality to frame).
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I do not always carry my phone on me, nor do I always carry my camera on me, sometimes I have neither. I have never been in a situation where I want my phone but do not have it, but I have been in situations where I want my camera but do not have it.
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For me, phone pictures are never artistic and purely functional (I need to take a picture of a screen, when doing IT work kind of thing).
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Carrying around a camera prompts me to look for pictures more. Since I use a DSLR, I can just pop off my lens cap (if I even have it on) and look through the viewfinder and see if it frames nicely before even deciding if I am going to turn my camera on. I have found that a phone never really prompts me to think "would that make a nice picture?" but my camera prompts me to investigate if something would make a good picture or not.
In general, I push back against the concept of the smartphone as the do it all device, and have moved towards a mentality of using dedicated devices. When you engage with a dedicated device, it is always a nicer experience, but you have to make peace with either carrying around more things or occasionally regretting that you do not have that dedicated device with you when you need it (or probably a mixture of both). A dedicated camera falls into this, where you may enjoy using the camera over your phone, but there are trade offs and that is something you have to think if you are willing to do.
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Comment on Indecision: Get a camera despite having a phone in ~tech
IsildursBane Link ParentA better option than to not shoot RAW, is shoot both RAW and JPG. For most pictures, you can use the JPGs, but for the really nice shots, you can edit the RAW and make it much better.A better option than to not shoot RAW, is shoot both RAW and JPG. For most pictures, you can use the JPGs, but for the really nice shots, you can edit the RAW and make it much better.
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Comment on 2025 NFL Season 🏈 Weekly Discussion Thread – Week 5 in ~sports.american_football
IsildursBane Link Parentended up just catching the final quarter right as the Broncos started their comeback. What an absolute mess the Eagles were on both offence and defence, considering they couldn't stop the Broncos...I wasn’t expecting the Broncos to beat the Eagles, and I don’t think really anyone else was. A crazy 4th quarter in that game.
ended up just catching the final quarter right as the Broncos started their comeback. What an absolute mess the Eagles were on both offence and defence, considering they couldn't stop the Broncos or move the ball any. I remember a stat popping up at some point near the end, and rushing yards for the quarter was something like 150 yards for Broncos, 15 for the Eagles.
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Comment on Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish? in ~tech
IsildursBane LinkReally well written article about the enpoopening1 of Amazon. I think these are really solid solutions, and it would be nice if there were laws passed to enforce them. However, it also prevents...Really well written article about the enpoopening1 of Amazon.
Take Amazon: to fix Amazon, we need policy solutions. We need to ban predatory pricing – selling goods below cost to keep competitors out of the market (and then jacking them up again). We need to impose structural separation on the company so it can either be a platform, or compete with the sellers that rely on it as a platform.
I think these are really solid solutions, and it would be nice if there were laws passed to enforce them. However, it also prevents meaningful disrupters who run at a deficit temporarily to gain a customer base. However, is it a good idea for companies to run at a loss to begin, as that leads to stage two and three where the customers are squeezed to make back the money that was lost initially?
Martin Luther King Jr once said, “It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important, also.”
I just quite like this quote that was used in this article, so want to highlight it.
1 The term "enpoopening" I picked up from the dankpods YouTube channel, and I prefer it over enshitification since it is more fun
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Comment on I need headphone/mic recommendations for gaming before I rip my hair out in ~tech
IsildursBane Link ParentI did not realize that games were commonly doing processing to create a surround sound like effect, unless you are meaning just using good stereo imaging. My comment was more meant to stress that...I did not realize that games were commonly doing processing to create a surround sound like effect, unless you are meaning just using good stereo imaging. My comment was more meant to stress that some of the positional feeling that Trobador experiences is not due to the virtual surround of their headphones, but instead just stereo imaging which all headphones have.
One area that stereo imaging fails is as I alluded to, but did not fully flesh out is that this stereo effect really only has 180 degree coverage. You can tell when a sound comes from the side or in front of you, and with volume can figure out how far away it is. However, there is no solution to differentiate sound from right in front and right behind you. Also, this 180 degree coverage does not cover height, and it can not differentiate if someone is 20ft in front of you and at the same height, or 20ft in front of you and 20ft below. Headphones just do not have the physical space to add speakers to emulate a 5 point (or higher) surround system, but any pair of headphones can get pretty far on positional data with just stereo imaging.
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Comment on Taylor Swift – Eldest Daughter (2025) in ~music
IsildursBane Link ParentFair, I just really love the vocal blending of Swift and Vernon in Exile, and was not thinking of the best representation of Folklore. Cardigan is probably in the top songs of Folklore when you...Fair, I just really love the vocal blending of Swift and Vernon in Exile, and was not thinking of the best representation of Folklore. Cardigan is probably in the top songs of Folklore when you consider only doing songs without guest artists, although I quite like the drum machine and electric guitar in peace that makes it a fun vibe and worth recommending (although it is not a strong representative sample).
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Comment on I need headphone/mic recommendations for gaming before I rip my hair out in ~tech
IsildursBane Link ParentYeah, definitely it has earned its reputation, and it is a beautiful sounding mic. However, part of my gripe against it is there was a podcast I enjoyed where they were using them, but I could...Yeah, definitely it has earned its reputation, and it is a beautiful sounding mic. However, part of my gripe against it is there was a podcast I enjoyed where they were using them, but I could tell that they were moving around in their seats lots since the volume was all over the place. It is a fantastic mic when placement is good, but for people who vary their mic distance a lot, going with a condenser will probably be better.
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Comment on I need headphone/mic recommendations for gaming before I rip my hair out in ~tech
IsildursBane Link ParentWell with headphones, you can get stereo imaging, so you can discern if something is on your left/right or in the middle pretty easily, but all headphones do that. Some surround system headphones...Well with headphones, you can get stereo imaging, so you can discern if something is on your left/right or in the middle pretty easily, but all headphones do that. Some surround system headphones try to recreate being able to tell if something is behind you, but there is a limitation of physical space between your ear and the speaker to create that convincingly, whereas with a surround speaker system there is the physical space where that works.
As much as I want the server to be back up and running, I agree mainly for my own personal reasons:
I have been playing some hardcore recently inspired by the short stint of the hardcore server we had (that I only played less than an hour on). My current run has been relatively successful so I want to dedicate my time to that
I am still trying to find fulltime consistent employment, and I procrastinated on that too much by playing on the server last season. Not having the server up yet will give me more time to try and find consistent work.