l_one's recent activity

  1. Comment on Which Linux distro do you use, and why? in ~tech

    l_one
    Link Parent
    Another Mint user here, Cinnamon desktop. I can do all the things I need and want to do on it. Video editing with Blender, image editing with Gimp, I can play MTG Arena (used to use Lutris to do...

    Another Mint user here, Cinnamon desktop. I can do all the things I need and want to do on it.

    Video editing with Blender, image editing with Gimp, I can play MTG Arena (used to use Lutris to do this but have since switched to using Steam since it means I no longer have to manually fix what an update breaks).

    No problems connecting to my thermal label printer or with using an arbitrarily large number of monitors. It just does what I want.

    Edit: Oh, and I just remembered that my computer would sometimes crash back when I used Windows. Hahahahahahahahahhahahahahahhahah. Yeah, Mint doesn't do that to me.

    2 votes
  2. Comment on The space race (back) to the Moon: Artemis, moon bases a competition beyond orbit in ~space

    l_one
    Link
    Sorry, no proper links in the description, too much on my to-do list. Description from Perun below, view page on YouTube to be able to click on the source links. ... After years or relative...

    Sorry, no proper links in the description, too much on my to-do list. Description from Perun below, view page on YouTube to be able to click on the source links.

    ...

    After years or relative hiatus, the 2020s and 2030s are now set to see a wave of missions to the moon with Artemis II recently splashing down.

    As we'll discuss this episode, there are some things that set these new efforts apart from those of the Cold War.

    This time they don't just want to land on it, they want to mine it.

    Patreon:
    / perunau

    Reading and Sourcing (partial):

    NASA Office of the Inspector General Reports featured in this epsiode
    https://oig.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploa...

    https://oig.nasa.gov/office-of-inspec...

    NASA - Human Landing Systems
    https://www.nasa.gov/reference/human-...

    NASA - Building the Moon Base
    https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploa...

    NASA - US National Space Policy
    https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nas...

    NASA - Artemis Plan 2020
    https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploa...

    2020 reporting on the 2024 timeline
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-2...

    CRS - NASA Appropriations & Authorisations At a Glance (2026)
    https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/...

    Bogota Declaration
    https://www.jaxa.jp/library/space_law...

    ESA - European Service Module
    https://www.esa.int/Science_Explorati...

    Atlantic Council - A U.S. Space Strategy for 2050
    https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-co...

    Reports on Space Force plans for Cislunar ops
    https://www.airandspaceforces.com/spa...

    Project Horizon Study - Volume 1 https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSA...

    U.S. Army Weapons Command - The Meanderings of a Weapon Oriented Mind When Applied In A Vacuum Such as the Moon (1965)
    https://embed.documentcloud.org/docum...

    Helium leak issues on Orion
    Reporting on potential NASA budget cuts
    https://san.com/cc/congress-to-debate...
    artemis-prepares-for-splashdown/

    Orion skips course correction burns
    https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-artemis...

    Blue Moon Landers
    https://www.blueorigin.com/blue-moon

    U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act 2015
    https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-c...

    Reporting on Moon base plans
    https://www.reuters.com/science/nasa-...

    Reporting on Chinese lunar base plans, lander and Mengzhou
    https://www.space.com/china-moon-base...

    https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/...

    https://www.reuters.com/science/nasas...

    https://www.reuters.com/science/china...

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6...

    https://www.reuters.com/science/nasas...

    Reporting on Indian Lunar Ambitions
    https://www.space.com/india-land-astr...

    Source for Data on Annual Number of Objects Launched into Space
    https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/ye...

    https://spacestatsonline.com/launches...

    Luna-25
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe...

    Caveats & Comments:

    All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other similar decisions.

    Any content relating to the conduct, views, activities or any aspect of any person or character in this video is included for entertainment purposes and does not represent an assertion of fact on those matters or any matters in relation to that person or character.

    Care has been taken in compiling data, quotes, and other inputs from various sources but errors can occur. Quotes and included data should be considered illustrative, not definitive and their veracity should not be relied on.

    Timestamps:
    00:00:00 — Opening Words
    00:01:07 — What Am I Talking About?
    00:02:03 — Space Competition
    00:08:03 — Milestones
    00:12:45 — Artemis
    00:29:24 — Resources in Space
    00:38:07 — Competing Programs
    00:43:17 — Militarisation
    00:50:15 — Channel Update

  3. Comment on US begins blockade in Strait of Hormuz in ~society

    l_one
    (edited )
    Link
    Gee, this is great! Now, in addition to de-sanctioning Iranian oil to give them money after starting a war with them, we are taking over blocking the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz to...

    Gee, this is great!

    Now, in addition to de-sanctioning Iranian oil to give them money after starting a war with them, we are taking over blocking the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz to make ABSOLUTELY SURE everyone blames the USA for the economic damage, instead of having any of that blame or political fallout land on Iran.

    Whew. For a hot minute there I thought we might not find a way to make everything worse while also taking all the blame for it!

    There is this bit:

    "The U.S. blockade applies to “any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said.

    The U.S. Central Command later added the caveat that American forces “will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.”"

    Who wants to start betting on how likely it is trump will try to copy the Iranian model and ask for $2M donations to his library or something in exchange for any ship transit?

    4 votes
  4. Comment on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán concedes defeat in Hungary election in ~society

    l_one
    Link Parent
    Thank you, I appreciate the brief.

    Thank you, I appreciate the brief.

    7 votes
  5. Comment on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán concedes defeat in Hungary election in ~society

    l_one
    Link
    Well holy crap. Ok then, some good news? I phrase that as a question because I have next to no knowledge of who has been elected, but I definitely view Orban leaving power as a net positive.

    Well holy crap. Ok then, some good news?

    I phrase that as a question because I have next to no knowledge of who has been elected, but I definitely view Orban leaving power as a net positive.

    17 votes
  6. Comment on Russia's next offensive and Ukraine's energy war - impacts of the Iran War and the coming campaign in ~society

    l_one
    Link
    Sorry, no proper links in the description, too much on my to-do list. Description from Perun below, view page on YouTube to be able to click on the source links. ... Regional conflicts can have...

    Sorry, no proper links in the description, too much on my to-do list. Description from Perun below, view page on YouTube to be able to click on the source links.

    ...

    Regional conflicts can have global consequences, and the war in the Middle East is no exception.
    The jump in energy prices appears to have pushed Ukraine to ramp up strikes on Russian energy export infrastructure to limit Moscow's ability to cash in on higher energy prices.

    Meanwhile, at the front, its expected Russian offensive activity will accelerate as we enter the traditional campaign season.

    So in this episode I cover how the war in the Middle East has changed the balance in Ukraine, what we might expect from a Spring Offensive, and what some of the advantages and disadvantages these forces might have be as the fighting once again accelerates.

    Patreon:
    / perunau

    Reading and Sourcing (To be completed 06/04/2026 due to late release):

    Example of a report saying Russia's Spring Offensive has already begun
    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...

    Example of a recent report saying the Russian offensive is still being prepared
    https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/04/...

    Report doubting a major Russian offensive will eventuate
    https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/0...

    RUSI - Tactical Developments in the Third Year of the Russo Ukrainian War (2025)
    https://static.rusi.org/tactical-deve...

    Reporting and images on Energy Strikes:
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...

    https://militarnyi.com/en/news/tanker...

    https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-strik...

    https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-econ...

    Reporting on potential impact on U.S. shipments to Ukraine
    https://militarnyi.com/en/news/trump-...

    Featured reporting examples on motorised assaults
    https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/20...

    https://militarnyi.com/en/news/ukrain...

    Source of CSIS chart on projected future U.S. arms deliveries to Ukraine
    https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaw...

    Source for ISW territorial control change chart
    https://understandingwar.org/research...

    Caveats & Comments:

    All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other similar decisions.

    Any content relating to the conduct, views, activities or any aspect of any person or character in this video is included for entertainment purposes and does not represent an assertion of fact on those matters or any matters in relation to that person or character.

    Care has been taken in compiling data, quotes, and other inputs from various sources but errors can occur. Quotes and included data should be considered illustrative, not definitive and their veracity should not be relied on.

    Timestamps:
    00:00:00 — Opening Words
    00:00:51 — What Am I Talking About?
    00:03:02 — a "Spring" Offensive?
    00:08:48 — Context
    00:14:16 — Ukrainian Long Range Strike
    00:29:11 — Ukraine's Economic Challenge
    00:32:52 — Russian Strikes and Movements So Far
    00:37:06 — Russian Advantages & Weaknesses
    00:51:29 — Ukrainian Advantages & Weaknesses
    01:00:23 — What Next?
    01:02:04 — Channel Update

    1 vote
  7. Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music

    l_one
    Link
    I recently found out about The High Kings, an Irish band, and two of their recent songs have been pretty awesome: Irish Roar and Son of Ireland

    I recently found out about The High Kings, an Irish band, and two of their recent songs have been pretty awesome:

    Irish Roar

    and

    Son of Ireland

    1 vote
  8. Comment on I love you all in ~talk

    l_one
    Link
    I'm sorry things are so crap right now. There may not be much I can do for your practical needs, but on the mental and emotional side, sending hugs. All things are temporary. All things change. It...

    I'm sorry things are so crap right now.

    There may not be much I can do for your practical needs, but on the mental and emotional side, sending hugs.

    All things are temporary. All things change. It won't be like this forever.

    For whatever it may be worth, I wish you well.

    9 votes
  9. Comment on 'Dungeon Crawler Carl' TV series lands at Peacock in ~tv

    l_one
    Link
    After the audiobook, and then the audio immersion tunnel version, I am excited to see what is made of this. Also worried it will get butchered of course.

    After the audiobook, and then the audio immersion tunnel version, I am excited to see what is made of this. Also worried it will get butchered of course.

    3 votes
  10. Comment on How will the Iran War reshape arms exports? - Missile consumption, emergency sales and the supply gap in ~society

    l_one
    Link Parent
    Ukraine is now the leading edge in military drone tech and personnel with drone combat experience - and everything we are seeing says that drones are the future of warfare. This new reality of...

    Ukraine is now the leading edge in military drone tech and personnel with drone combat experience - and everything we are seeing says that drones are the future of warfare.

    This new reality of drone warfare is pretty scary in terms of cost vs capability and what a threat actor can do with minimal resources.

    7 votes
  11. Comment on How will the Iran War reshape arms exports? - Missile consumption, emergency sales and the supply gap in ~society

    l_one
    Link
    Sorry, no proper links in the description, too much on my to-do list. Description from Perun below, view page on YouTube to be able to click on the source links. ... When countries can fire off...

    Sorry, no proper links in the description, too much on my to-do list. Description from Perun below, view page on YouTube to be able to click on the source links.

    ...

    When countries can fire off years of missile production in a matter of weeks, who fills the gap?

    With the war in the Middle East seeing munitions expended by the thousands, that's a question that's likely to shape parts of the arms market for years to come.

    And so today I look at some estimates of how the first few weeks of the war have burned through munition stocks, how nations have already started searching for replacements, and what that might mean for an air-defence market that was already struggling to keep pace with demands driven by the war in Ukraine and European rearmament.

    Patreon:
    / perunau

    Reading and Sourcing (Partial due to late release)

    Unless otherwise noted, arms transfer data per SIPRI
    https://www.sipri.org/databases

    RUSI - Macdonald Amoah, Morgan D. Bazilian and Lieutenant Colonel Jahara Matisek - Over 11,000 munitions in 16 Days of the Iran War: ‘Command of the Reload’ Governs Endurance
    https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-rese...

    Reference for higher Tomahawk consumption estimate
    https://www.twz.com/news-features/u-s...

    U.S. State Department - arms transfers and defence trade statistics FY2025
    https://www.state.gov/releases/bureau...

    EU SAFE plan
    https://defence-industry-space.ec.eur...

    US Advances 23 billion in arms for mideast countries - WSJ ( Perun note, I can only find specific announcements for a fraction of that amount)
    https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/iran...

    UAE FMS - THAAD
    https://www.state.gov/united-arab-emi...

    UAE FMS - FS-LIDS
    https://www.state.gov/releases/bureau...

    Kuwait FMS - LTAMDS
    https://www.state.gov/releases/bureau...

    NATO arms imports doubled in past five years with 60% sourced from the US
    https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20...

    UAE use of Korean Cheongung-II
    https://militarnyi.com/en/news/cheong...

    Reporting on IRIS-T production
    https://www.reuters.com/business/aero...

    India orders S-400 missiles
    https://militarnyi.com/en/news/india-...

    RTX on production ramp targets
    https://www.rtx.com/news/news-center/...

    Caveats & Comments:

    All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other similar decisions.

    Any content relating to the conduct, views, activities or any aspect of any person or character in this video is included for entertainment purposes and does not represent an assertion of fact on those matters or any matters in relation to that person or character.

    Care has been taken in compiling data, quotes, and other inputs from various sources but errors can occur. Quotes and included data should be considered illustrative, not definitive and their veracity should not be relied on.

    Timestamps:
    00:00:00 — Opening Words
    00:01:11 — What Am I Talking About?
    00:01:57 — the "Squeezes"
    00:06:47 — the Impact of Iran
    00:26:16 — the Push to Localise
    00:31:02 — Where Does This Matter?
    00:32:17 — Air Defence Deficits
    00:48:13 — Where Are We Going?
    00:50:20 — Channel Update

    2 votes
  12. Comment on Interesting material types for fantasy resources/macguffins other than crystals or metals? in ~creative

    l_one
    Link Parent
    Sanderson has been pretty creative about magic systems. In Warbreaker the essence of magic was the personal ownership and vibrancy of colors.

    Sanderson has been pretty creative about magic systems. In Warbreaker the essence of magic was the personal ownership and vibrancy of colors.

    3 votes
  13. Comment on OpenAI shuts down Sora AI video, Disney drops planned $1B investment in ~tech

    l_one
    Link
    I'm not particularly surprised by this. For the enshittification path it is expected to see free things become paid for / cheap, then cheap things become expensive, etc.. In this specific case and...

    I'm not particularly surprised by this. For the enshittification path it is expected to see free things become paid for / cheap, then cheap things become expensive, etc..

    In this specific case and for AI in general I always thought all the free and to a lesser extent, the cheap AI stuff available online was to serve as a technology testbed, gather further training data, and get people to want / get used to those services - and to only be temporary until enough of those goals were met.

    I'd guess they feel they have sufficient training data as at least part of the explanation. Another part is likely that companies see that the path of greatest profit is military applications as they can just say 'we have to get there first' and 'existential threat for someone else to get further than us' etc... while getting the defense department to turn on the money firehose.

    4 votes
  14. Comment on Seth MacFarlane teases new life for ‘The Orville’: “Season 4 is written” in ~tv

    l_one
    Link Parent
    I did read that, and yes, we do agree on a great deal there. I miss TNG/DS9 era Trek.

    I did read that, and yes, we do agree on a great deal there.

    I miss TNG/DS9 era Trek.

    3 votes
  15. Comment on Seth MacFarlane teases new life for ‘The Orville’: “Season 4 is written” in ~tv

    l_one
    Link
    The Orville is, in my view, a true spiritual successor to Star Trek. The optimism for the future, the character development and having so many well-developed characters with no one really being...

    The Orville is, in my view, a true spiritual successor to Star Trek. The optimism for the future, the character development and having so many well-developed characters with no one really being the 'main' character. The use of the story to explore current-day difficult cultural issues.

    The only thing I didn't pick up on as much (but it's been a while since I watched it, please correct me if I'm wrong) is the integration of real STEM material wherever possible - Star Trek: The Next Generation was a huge influence on me, steering me towards Physics and Electronics - I literally have the life and self-employment I do right now in large part because of that influence on me, and for all my difficulties I love where my life is right now. Probably the only other show that had anywhere close to that level of influence on young-me would be MacGyver (not OG MacGyver, because there was only ever ONE MacGyver show, there was no remake it does not exist lalalaLALA!!!!!) and that was a distant second compared to Star Trek.

    I've been disappointed by a great deal of recent Trek. So much has felt like a betrayal of the original spirit of a better, hopeful future. And it isn't like 'edgy' cannot be done in Star Trek! Deep Space 9 showed us that, and it had some of the best writing ever seen, and some of the best monologues.

    The confession of Gul Darheel.
    In the Pale Moonlight.
    Dukat in Sacrifice of Angels.

    5 votes
  16. Comment on Job hunting absolutely sucks right now in ~life

    l_one
    Link Parent
    This is what I did for years before meds! Though for me it was intermittent use of sugar-free energy drinks while keeping my coffee intake consistent. I found I had to keep it intermittent to...

    They just use coffee to self medicate and it seems to work okay I guess?

    This is what I did for years before meds! Though for me it was intermittent use of sugar-free energy drinks while keeping my coffee intake consistent. I found I had to keep it intermittent to prevent caffeine tolerance increase, but it did work in terms of high-caffeine days leading me to be productive and effective. It did tend to consistently mess up my sleep schedule though.

    I absolutely understand not wanting to put yourselves in a position where you are functionally dependent on medication that has unreliable availability.

    2 votes
  17. Comment on Job hunting absolutely sucks right now in ~life

    l_one
    Link Parent
    Wow, I identify with so much of that. I live with and take care of my girlfriend in a similar situation, though she does have a job, she just hates it while also having health problems that makes...

    Wow, I identify with so much of that. I live with and take care of my girlfriend in a similar situation, though she does have a job, she just hates it while also having health problems that makes it difficult for her. The issue of having difficulty finishing a project is very much a common experience for me.

    I have Autism and ADHD. She's also on the spectrum, though she has a crap ton more emotional intelligence than I do. We both have issues with executive function - for her it impedes her ability to do most normal life stuff, which I help her out with, while for me it makes it difficult for me to do my electronics / eBay work consistently.

    Things have gotten a bit better. I started on meds around... half a year ago ish? - Welbutrin and Vyvanse to help with depression and the ADHD / executive function issues respectively. They have made a difference, though things are still hard a lot of the time.

    3 votes