kaffo's recent activity
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Comment on Question for those in colder climates: Pellet HVAC/boilers? in ~life.home_improvement
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Comment on Question for those in colder climates: Pellet HVAC/boilers? in ~life.home_improvement
kaffo LinkFrom the UK here so possibly not the same situation as you guys over the pond. The government here also threw money at people to install them and still pays money back to you if you supply energy...From the UK here so possibly not the same situation as you guys over the pond.
The government here also threw money at people to install them and still pays money back to you if you supply energy back to the grid (up to a cap per month).My family got one installed in our family farm just before covid so I'll list the pros and cons.
Pros:
- Free money while the government scheme is running for payback to the grid
- The heat it supplies is constant and extremely even and warm. Some of the best heating across the entire house I've seen in any building.
- Once it's full up it takes a while to chew through all the pellets or chips
Cons:
- Price and supply of wood has been awful in the UK during and since covid (not sure about the US). Getting pellets or chips is a real pain in the ass and when you do they are expensive
- The thing eats wood. I said when it's full it takes a while, we extended the hopper by about 3x in our barn and it take maybe like 3 bulk bags of chips or pellets to fill up. That means we have lines and lines of bags of wood lined up to keep us warm just in case we can't get any, it takes a huge amount of space and it's an eye sore
- We did the math and once the scheme ends it's gonna be terrible cost to value ratio, we plan to get rid of it once the government stop it
If you cut your own wood and chip/pellet it anyway, I can see it being a pretty great boon. For us it's pretty annoying sourcing the wood every month or two and paying the premium.
Also pellet is way, way more dense, it'll run a lot longer on pellets but sometimes needs must and we have to run on chips because we can't get pellets or they are just priced terribly.I don't know your circumstance but I'd look into other forms of heating. Ground or air sourced heat pump, solar, etc.
That's my 2 cents. -
Comment on Best foreign films and TV shows? in ~tv
kaffo LinkEl Encargado a show from Argentina about a building manager who finds out the various owners in the apartment block are planning to get rid of him in favour of a cheaper cleaning company. So he...El Encargado a show from Argentina about a building manager who finds out the various owners in the apartment block are planning to get rid of him in favour of a cheaper cleaning company. So he schemes, plots, lies and maniplutes his way to staying in the building by any means.
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Comment on What learning do you find easy or difficult? And why? in ~talk
kaffo Link ParentThat's fascinating! I understand a lot of what you say, but just replace the topics/subjects. Interestingly I self taught myself to do some pretty complicated cos play costume design stuff when I...That's fascinating! I understand a lot of what you say, but just replace the topics/subjects.
Interestingly I self taught myself to do some pretty complicated cos play costume design stuff when I was younger and, although it clearly was not how my brain wanted to work, I eventually picked it up and learned it.
The brain is a really spooky thing. -
Comment on What learning do you find easy or difficult? And why? in ~talk
kaffo Link ParentI do understand it's a long process. It's been about a year and a half for me and I still feel far from conversational, it's pretty demotivating. But the situation I'm in doesn't particularly give...I do understand it's a long process. It's been about a year and a half for me and I still feel far from conversational, it's pretty demotivating. But the situation I'm in doesn't particularly give me much choice in giving up even if I wanted to!
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Comment on What learning do you find easy or difficult? And why? in ~talk
kaffo Link ParentFantastic post, thanks for taking the time to write that!Fantastic post, thanks for taking the time to write that!
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Comment on What learning do you find easy or difficult? And why? in ~talk
kaffo LinkI'll go into some more detail about my thoughts and feelings. Interest for me seems to be a big driving force, almost a little obsessive. If I discover something new and it interests me or I think...I'll go into some more detail about my thoughts and feelings.
Interest for me seems to be a big driving force, almost a little obsessive. If I discover something new and it interests me or I think about something and I decided I want to research it I can get really stuck in until I understand it really properly (at least enough to feel confident to explain it to someone else).
I love just googling around and reading about things, a recent example would be the discovery and production of penicillin and anti biotics.
I don't like videos, I know a lot of people do, but I really don't enjoy absorbing information not at my own speed (which isn't very fast). Instead I read a lot, diagrams or pictures work too.This all leads me to my current dilemma, language. I hated it at school and I thought as an adult I might find it easier to at least be more patient and organize myself but wow, I'm finding it tough.
I found it genuinely uncomfortable to learn vocabulary. Grammar I can at least study a bit and I get some enjoyment out of learning the rules and the history, but the actual vocabulary and dialects, totally makes my brain... Uncomfortable.
I've tried various techniques of listening, reading, watching and none of them have really given me the results I want.
I find myself frustrated that I'm not able to make or understand conversation, progress is too slow, the wins aren't big enough.
I guess it gets to me because I want to enjoy learning it but have been unable. Then I found it strange I could enjoy learning one thing but not another, but really I think there's a lot to unpack here, it's not so tit for tat! -
What learning do you find easy or difficult? And why?
Recently I have been trying to learn a new language, because I need to more so than I want to, and it's been really tough. While this isn't a shocking revelation, I had a bit of a deep dive to try...
Recently I have been trying to learn a new language, because I need to more so than I want to, and it's been really tough. While this isn't a shocking revelation, I had a bit of a deep dive to try and think about how and why I don't like learning a language. I do enjoy learning about a great deal of other things in my spare time, why not this?
So I pose the following questions to you:
- What kind of thing do you enjoy learning about?
- Do you find a specific format or type of learning helps you when it's tough?
- Do you always use the same format of learning?
- What do you not enjoy learning? Why? Try and explain what it is that makes it difficult compared to above.
Be interested to hear how different people feel.
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Comment on Game recommendations, specifically (round 2) in ~games
kaffo LinkI think I'm looking for something too specific, but here we go. I really want a game like an idle game but without spinning off into silly numbers and preferably without prestiging. The game would...I think I'm looking for something too specific, but here we go.
I really want a game like an idle game but without spinning off into silly numbers and preferably without prestiging.
The game would hopefully reward actually playing it, I guess I don't mind if it "plays itself" offline or not, I really want it as something I can open, play for a few minutes and close again on my desktop or phone, don't mind if it's the right game.
I've played a few incremental/idle games and they always rub me the wrong way. I enjoy the start then get annoyed when it both goes into the realms of insanity and has you artificially making as many different numbers as possible "get big".
I just wana do something like farm or run a shop or something and it be kinda chill.
Something like Merchant on mobile ALMOST did it, but when I was on like my 4th set of griding the same sets of gear for my guys through reskinned enemies I had had my fun.
Recettear is also close-ish but a little too intense and much too short. -
Comment on What irrational video game requirements do you have? in ~games
kaffo LinkI'll totally write off games because of their name. I'll form a totally irrational opinion based on the name of the game, even if it's totally wrong, and run with it. For example, I played an...I'll totally write off games because of their name. I'll form a totally irrational opinion based on the name of the game, even if it's totally wrong, and run with it.
For example, I played an honestly terrible game called Divinity Dragon Knight and wrote off everything called Divinity. When all my friends (and the Internet) raved about Divinity 1 and 2 I refused to play either, and still haven't, because of that bad blood with a totally different game from a totally different company.I've also just avoided real gems because of their names, making assumptions for what they are or their quality. I have no idea why I have this strong prejudice.
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Comment on Does anyone else have posting anxiety? in ~tech
kaffo Link ParentI agree with pretty much all of this and it resonates with my own experiences. Although I'd like to chime in and add my bit about the discords. I personally found discord very intimidating...I agree with pretty much all of this and it resonates with my own experiences.
Although I'd like to chime in and add my bit about the discords. I personally found discord very intimidating (especially in servers about stuff I actually cared about) because I didn't want to appear dumb or engage the wrong way.
I found it very useful to join totally random discords I really had no interest in, low population or high population it doesn't matter, and start talking in there. Maybe make a throw away account to get started. When I started making little comments and people actually enjoyed my e-company that really helped me get my post confidence up and made me feel a lot more happy about posted in the spaces I actually cared about. -
Comment on How do you date? in ~talk
kaffo LinkAn interesting question! Going to answer it all out of order and probably forget some. Firstly, I've had 4 long term relationships (I'm now 30). 2 of them were meeting face to face and 2 were...An interesting question!
Going to answer it all out of order and probably forget some.Firstly, I've had 4 long term relationships (I'm now 30). 2 of them were meeting face to face and 2 were online.
I could write for days about online dating but that's not what your question is about, my personal takeaway is online dating is a bad environment for long term relationships. Short term, yes, but long term it's very difficult to get to the stage with another random person that you can start to work that "big picture" stuff out.
The end result though for both is the same in my experience if you're patient enough.As for dating and making those calls, I found it really hard when I was younger because I would have a crush on someone and get as far as flirting, then dating. But really being younger I had no idea what I wanted or liked in a relationship and a lot of people my age didn't either.
Getting a little older now I'm able to vocalize much better what my goals are and try to judge if a person fits into that or not.
Daniel Sloss did a famous-ish bit on Netflix about a couple being like two partially completed jigsaws coming togerher and I think it's a very apt metaphor.
Being able to say "hey here's my life now and here's how I plan to fill in the gaps, do you like what you see?" and having the other person do the same is refreshing. Someone who can't shows a bit of immaturity in my eyes.
So when I was on my last dating slog over the pandemic and then some (my current partner I met on /r/r4r after I made a bet I'd not meet anyone from there, ironically) I was on the apps a lot and my mental health suffered a lot for it.
I went on a lot of first dates and struggled to be confident and charismatic, but I got better over time and when I did it became easier to get second dates and third dates, then I could start asking the important questions.I think for me by date 2 or 3 I know I'm really into someone, but I could lose it in a heart beat without the trust and friendship if something comes up.
To build that friendship and trust takes a long time, months. I was dating my current partner for maybe a year and a half before I truly, truly felt comfortable with her (long distance though, so take that with a grain of salt).
The bond helps pad out the gaps. The annoyances, the bits of the jigsaw that don't match up. But it takes work and commitment to get there and it's hard to find that in online dating.If I had advice for the next person reading this who's struggling with dating, it's try and be attractive. And not just physically. Do cool and interesting things. Get a hobby, do a sport, climb a mountain, learn the harp, knit a scarf. Having an amazing personality is a great start, but you want your date to ask you a million questions and be into you.
That was rambly, I might edit or add more tomorrow, it's late!
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Comment on Help: Dual sim mobile phone replacement in ~tech
kaffo Link ParentI wasn't aware no. Thanks for letting me know! I'll check it out. I've seen some carriers advertise e-sim. Appreciate the suggestion!I wasn't aware no. Thanks for letting me know!
I'll check it out. I've seen some carriers advertise e-sim.Appreciate the suggestion!
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Help: Dual sim mobile phone replacement
I bought a Pixel 6 Pro unlocked a couple of years ago as my long term phone. It's what I like to do, buy a phone for 5+ years of use and get a cheap sim card. It's fine. If I could choose again I...
I bought a Pixel 6 Pro unlocked a couple of years ago as my long term phone. It's what I like to do, buy a phone for 5+ years of use and get a cheap sim card. It's fine. If I could choose again I would have got the Samsung flagship instead.
I've since moved country and I'm in need of a dual sim phone (because I don't want 2 phones) for my home country and new one. But guess what, Pixel 6 pro is a single sim phone.
So that puts me in an uncomfortable position where I don't want to get a new phone yet (I'm 3 years out what I wanted to run this phone to) but I'd hate to get a second, crap phone just for a new number.If I need to replace the Pixem, I would like to get another flagship (or close to) if possible. I like the bells and whistles. I simply wanted to avoid rebuying so early and see if there were options I had not yet considered.
It was suggested to try and recycle the Pixel, I'd get maybe €200 for it if I'm lucky, and it would help taking the cost out of a replacement flagship, but would still be expensive.
Any other suggestions for how I could navigate this?
Edit: thanks to @thecakeisalime for the esim suggestion. I've contacted my home network and got transfered to an esim in genuinely 15 minutes. That's opened the sim slot for the new number. Pretty much perfect solution!
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Comment on Three Cheers for Tildes: App updates and feedback (February 2024) in ~tildes
kaffo LinkIt seems like you've got the broad strokes of the site functionality complete. Are you aiming for a 1.0 release any time soon? Still loving the app by the way! Great work!It seems like you've got the broad strokes of the site functionality complete. Are you aiming for a 1.0 release any time soon?
Still loving the app by the way! Great work! -
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
kaffo LinkI'm still playing Stationeers as I was last time. Sunk about 20 hours or something into it, but it's wonderfully easy to spend time checking off tasks like a game of Factorio. So far I've started...I'm still playing Stationeers as I was last time. Sunk about 20 hours or something into it, but it's wonderfully easy to spend time checking off tasks like a game of Factorio.
So far I've started on Mars, built a small base, automated my power, greenhouse gases and fuel. Want to get started on a big automated furnace setup in my newly built, currently not pressurised part of the base.
Long term I want to get everything stable so I can mess around with some really advanced automation without worry. I still have to nanny my plants and manually crush my water ice, but I'll get there. -
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
kaffo LinkStationeers for me. I played it for a fairly short amount of time last year and told myself I'd get into it a little more properly once I'd moved house. I'm really enjoying it but I'm the right...Stationeers for me. I played it for a fairly short amount of time last year and told myself I'd get into it a little more properly once I'd moved house. I'm really enjoying it but I'm the right audience for it. It's definitely a marmite game, and for the target audience it's the gift that keeps on giving.
So far I've started a Mars base and got a little green house going and some water from solid ice setup. Next job is to get some alloys out the furnace for some printer upgrades so I can get some new toys to improve my base.
Looking forward to it! -
Comment on Why don't we help each other? in ~talk
kaffo LinkSomething I've not seen mentioned in any of the comments yet is the difference in urban vs rural communities. Obviously it's not the same globally and this is purely anacdotal experience, so I'd...Something I've not seen mentioned in any of the comments yet is the difference in urban vs rural communities.
Obviously it's not the same globally and this is purely anacdotal experience, so I'd be interested to hear other's thoughts.I've moved from suburban to urban and then out to rural and found the community support and general social interactions to be pretty linear from rural to urban.
In the city neighbours intentionally waited for me to leave my apartment before putting a note thought the door to ask me to give them their package I had so they didn't need to talk to me. And they'd leave the communal garden in a total mess, totally disregarding the space even after polite discussions.
Suburban people like to chat, say hello to each other. You might get a friendly neighbour or two and have dinner once in a while or ask each other to water the plants or feed the cat when you go on holiday. I'm sure they have your number and they'd call you if you weren't in and something was wrong.
Rural people everyone helps out everyone, one guy has a snowplow, he clears all the roads and drive ways when it snows. One guy has a big van, you give him a call if you need something moved or he'll stop and ask if you need a hand and he's driving by.I dunno if it's the setting/situation or if it's the culture of these places and it's hard to shift them, but in my experience that's the case.
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Comment on Why don't we help each other? in ~talk
kaffo Link ParentFor what it's worth, realising that you aren't OK with it and you want to make a change is the first step to doing something about it. You've probably heard the rhetoric before, but (especially...For what it's worth, realising that you aren't OK with it and you want to make a change is the first step to doing something about it.
You've probably heard the rhetoric before, but (especially with something like socialising) it takes a lot of practice and you're gonna get it wrong a lot in the beginning. And that's OK.After the pandemic it got to me how people had become even more insular than before and just generally bad at communicating. I made it a bit of a mission to improve my own skills and I'm not amazing, but I'm very happy with my confidence now. It takes years though to build it.
I wish you the best of luck! -
Comment on G-Sync/Freesync - What's your opinion? in ~tech
kaffo LinkAround 3 years ago I bought myself a 1440p Freesync Asus monitor to pair with my 3080. I was interested to see if it made any difference after reading some positive reports. To my dismay I was...Around 3 years ago I bought myself a 1440p Freesync Asus monitor to pair with my 3080. I was interested to see if it made any difference after reading some positive reports.
To my dismay I was disappointed. I found that many games would cause more stutters and the few that didn't I didn't find any real noticeable difference in experience (input lag nor tearing)
This comes from a person who's never really been bothered by tearing mind you. I turn v-sync off every game and it's never bothered me, but perhaps I'm missing something!I've heard G-Sync is more robust, but it's very expensive and I don't see the reason why the average gamer would splash out for it.
With that in mind, I'm keen to hear other user's experience. I'm curious if I just got a trashy monitor. Maybe playing at 1440p is just a mistake when trying to use this tech. Maybe I configured it incorrectly (although I'm pretty sure I did it correctly!)
I'm not sure I can get the brand for you I'm afraid, I actually moved out the end of last year so I can just check.
As for the storage that sounds decent. Out home built hopper probably only holds about 2 or 3 tons, 5 would keep you going for a good while for sure.
We load ours ourselves, a forklift and cut the bottom out a bag. So the delivery system they are proposing over there sounds like a done deal to me if the prices are solid.
A huge, huge amount of our wood is imported from Europe and it's a fortune now. We do have forestery in the UK but it's tiny compared to the demand.