mat's recent activity
-
Comment on Slugs - how are you coping? in ~life.home_improvement
-
Comment on Slugs - how are you coping? in ~life.home_improvement
mat Link ParentIt is true that hens will eat slugs. But in my experience they will also destroy the entire rest of your garden, including all the plants you didn't want the slugs to get, so it's bit of a...It is true that hens will eat slugs. But in my experience they will also destroy the entire rest of your garden, including all the plants you didn't want the slugs to get, so it's bit of a flamethrower kind of "solution" to the slug issue.
-
Comment on The deadliest of all dead ends in the 3D printing industry in ~tech
mat Link ParentHere's that print-wave technique I mentioned, which is being done on an FDM printer but I reckon with a bit of adapting could be used with SLA and get jewellery-quality results fairly easily....Here's that print-wave technique I mentioned, which is being done on an FDM printer but I reckon with a bit of adapting could be used with SLA and get jewellery-quality results fairly easily.
Formlabs printers are nice but they are super spendy. I have an Elegoo Mars 4 which was less than two hundred GBP with a few bottles of resin and that's good enough for me, although I don't print much jewellery stuff if I'm honest because I have a stack of already-made print forms which covers the majority of casting I do - although when (if!) I have time I would like to do more.
-
Comment on The deadliest of all dead ends in the 3D printing industry in ~tech
mat Link ParentMost professional jewellers use sla printers with castable resin rather than printing wax. Source: have a friend who works in IT for major high street jewellery firm. Also am professional...Most professional jewellers use sla printers with castable resin rather than printing wax.
Source: have a friend who works in IT for major high street jewellery firm. Also am professional jeweller.
Castable resin is expensive and the burnout process is a little fiddlier than wax but neither are unbearable.
I don't have the link to hand, will try and remember to edit later today but look up "print wave casting" for a slightly different take on the 3D model to metal pathway.
-
Comment on The deadliest of all dead ends in the 3D printing industry in ~tech
mat Link ParentI'm glad to hear this isn't just me. I've put more time into FreeCAD than anything else and I still absolutely hate every bloody second of using it. I'm still not sure if I suck at CAD or FreeCAD...It's about the only cross-platform FOSS option out there but it's pure rage fuel.
I'm glad to hear this isn't just me. I've put more time into FreeCAD than anything else and I still absolutely hate every bloody second of using it. I'm still not sure if I suck at CAD or FreeCAD is just making me feel that way.
-
Comment on ‘Dolphin skin’ propeller boosts fuel efficiency of cargo ships in ~transport
mat Link ParentYou mean like the already-banned-from-competition LZR swimsuit?You mean like the already-banned-from-competition LZR swimsuit?
-
Comment on You don’t need a pickup truck, you need a cowboy costume in ~transport
mat Link ParentSo as far as I can tell, it would be more accurate to say there's very few cars like that still being sold in the US The UK is increasingly suffering from the trend of SUVs, which are the worst...There’s very few cars like that still being made.
So as far as I can tell, it would be more accurate to say there's very few cars like that still being sold in the US
The UK is increasingly suffering from the trend of SUVs, which are the worst form factor for cars because they are big and dangerous to other road users but not particularly spacious/practical on the inside, but there are still plenty of actually practical cars still on the market.
I don't know quite what it is about the US car market which makes it so difficult to sell smaller and more useful cars but it does seem to be an issue. Every time the topic comes up there's lots of people saying "I just want something fairly small but with space to move a washing machine if I put the seats down" and honestly that's almost every car I've ever owned.
-
Comment on Ecuador river is granted the right to not be polluted in historic court case in ~enviro
mat LinkMarvellous. More rights for things please!In an unusual ruling, a court in Ecuador ruled on Sunday that pollution has violated the rights of a river that runs through the capital, Quito.
The city government appealed the ruling, which is based on an article of Ecuador’s Constitution that recognises the rights of natural features like the Machángara River.
Marvellous. More rights for things please!
-
Ecuador river is granted the right to not be polluted in historic court case
16 votes -
Comment on Thinking of getting into emacs, any advice? in ~comp
mat LinkI suggest you don't get into emacs. Get into vim instead! something something holy war somethingI suggest you don't get into emacs.
Get into vim instead!
something something holy war something
-
Comment on Does anyone have any advice for new dads? in ~life.men
mat LinkHaven't seen this mentioned: in your go bag (you have a go bag packed, right?), have a shirt with buttons. Any midwife worth the name will hand off the kid to you for skin-to-skin contact asap and...Haven't seen this mentioned: in your go bag (you have a go bag packed, right?), have a shirt with buttons. Any midwife worth the name will hand off the kid to you for skin-to-skin contact asap and it's much more comfortable to do that if you can just unbutton your shirt. Not one of the "what to take to the hospital" lists I saw mentioned this. Skin-to-skin cuddles with a newborn are the best thing in the entire world.
Other than that, don't overthink it. People say being a parent is very hard and they are right, but it's hard like digging a hole, not hard like quantum mechanics. Kids are easy, especially babies. They're just tiring. If you're smart enough to ask for advice now, you're very likely smart enough to not really need any of that advice.
-
Comment on United Kingdom's new Prisons Minister, James Timpson, thinks 'two thirds of inmates shouldn't be there' in ~news
mat LinkYup. Friend of mine just finished three years for a crime he definitely did but putting him in prison achieved nothing except cost the country money and fuck with his mental and physical health....Yup. Friend of mine just finished three years for a crime he definitely did but putting him in prison achieved nothing except cost the country money and fuck with his mental and physical health. The thirty something grand a year it cost to put him inside could have bought him a good course of therapy/rehab and a few hundred hours of community service could have helped his local area (as well as getting him outside and moving around).
I'm really glad to hear James Timpson is in this job. He's experienced with the prison system and working with ex prisoners and he's a decent person who has already helped thousands of ex offenders. This could be a significant positive shift in the justice system.
-
Comment on The most profound cosmic horror or weird lit stories you've read that are not Lovecraft or Ligotti in ~books
mat Link ParentMiéville is one of my favourite authors, and Embasseytown is definitely in my top three books of all time. I'd suggest Perdido Street Station for some more.. um.. tentacle-ish sort of horror (or...Miéville is one of my favourite authors, and Embasseytown is definitely in my top three books of all time. I'd suggest Perdido Street Station for some more.. um.. tentacle-ish sort of horror (or at least horror-adjacent) stuff, and Kraken for something a little lighter but still nice and weird.
I will third House of Leaves. I read it around age 20-21 and it left me slightly discombobulated about reality for some time. I agree that trying to read the whole thing is worth the effort, at least the first read. The encrypted parts are a bit of work but nothing too taxing.
Did you know there's a Doom level inspired by House of Leaves? It's amazing. (mild spoilers for the book, probably avoid unless you plan to never read it)
-
Comment on BBC exit poll predicts Labour landslide in UK in ~news
mat Link ParentThe thing is, this isn't something mutable and analogue like the meaning of words, where usage defines meaning and meaning shifts all the time. "Vote for Prime Minister" is a discrete, binary...The thing is, this isn't something mutable and analogue like the meaning of words, where usage defines meaning and meaning shifts all the time. "Vote for Prime Minister" is a discrete, binary option and it's currently false.
The less well informed section of the electorate's thoughts and actions do not change the fact that the prime minister is not an elected role. It's certainly a position filled by an elected official, but the role itself is not voted on. That's just how the system works and I don't see that changing any time soon, nor would I want it to.
If various Tories think removing Boris was a mistake that's fine. Maybe it was. That a proportion of the electorate have misunderstood the system and parties do some things based on that misunderstanding in order to win elections still doesn't magically make ballot papers appear in polling stations with "Office of the Prime Minister" written on them. Because that is the only thing that would mean we vote for our PM.
Do party leaders have an influence on local outcomes, where other candidates are the ones actually standing? Yes, of course that's true. It would be ridiculous to try to claim otherwise. But that's still not the British people voting for their PM.
Britain (in fits and starts) has American style primaries
Do we? I'm not sure we do but then I don't really know what the US primary system involves.
-
Comment on BBC exit poll predicts Labour landslide in UK in ~news
mat Link ParentKier Starmer is the leader of the Labour party, of course he's on the nationwide ads (although I didn't see his face that I recall, the only ads I saw were for my local Labour person) and doing...Kier Starmer is the leader of the Labour party, of course he's on the nationwide ads (although I didn't see his face that I recall, the only ads I saw were for my local Labour person) and doing the big televised debates to promote the Labour party and carrying out the duties of the leader of the governing party. But none of that means a single person in the country got to cast a vote for the office of Prime Minister. At least not yesterday. Members of the Labour party got to vote for who their leader is, which is the closest anyone gets.
The idea that we do vote for PM is neither practically nor technically true. That some people might think that's what they are doing or get angry that they didn't get to do it doesn't change what is actually happening.
If people were upset about Truss and Sunak not having "a mandate", that's not really the fault of the Tories. These people simply don't understand how the British political system works. Also why aren't these same people upset about the entire cabinet not having a mandate, every single time a minister is appointed? Because that's no different. We don't vote for who is Chancellor or Home Secretary or anything else either, and those appointments are arguably even less "democratic" than the office of PM because nobody gets to vote on those one, not even party members.
-
Comment on BBC exit poll predicts Labour landslide in UK in ~news
mat Link Parent"Kinda" is not "actual" though. It's not quite the same as in the US, who have an actual Presidential election, albeit one with a weird electoral system. Nobody stands for election as PM in the..."Kinda" is not "actual" though.
It's not quite the same as in the US, who have an actual Presidential election, albeit one with a weird electoral system. Nobody stands for election as PM in the UK, and the only actual way to vote for the PM is to join a political party (assuming it is a party who lets it's members vote for leader) and hope they have a leadership change while in government.
I didn't vote for Labour, but if I did, still I wouldn't have been voting for Kier Starmer for PM, I'd only be voting for my MP. Even if I lived in Holborn and St Pancras I still wouldn't have been voting for Starmer as PM, I'd be voting for him as my MP.
Some people seem to think they get to vote for PM but some people think all sorts of things. Doesn't change how things actually are. Is this a technicality, I mean, OK maybe. But I'm not technically wrong.
-
Comment on BBC exit poll predicts Labour landslide in UK in ~news
mat Link Parent"Ooooh, it's not really democratic, how can you trust a system that uses maths?" "AV is too confusing for British people" (which the pro-AV didn't jump on with "The No side think you're thicker..."Ooooh, it's not really democratic, how can you trust a system that uses maths?"
"AV is too confusing for British people" (which the pro-AV didn't jump on with "The No side think you're thicker than a Frenchman")
"You don't want coalition governments, do you?" (yes, yes I bloody do actually)
And so on. Also a lot PR enthusiasts - myself included - were pretty lukewarm on the issue because AV is barely better than FPTP. Utter fumble by the Lib Dems. They could (should) have made implementation of a proper PR system their sole and necessary condition for helping the Conservatives, and walked away to form a government with Labour if they didn't get it (on the same terms). Nick Clegg was a terrible, utterly spineless jelly of a politician. That Cameron subsequently almost destroyed the Lib Dems entirely over tuition fees was shitty but was wholly Clegg's fault.
-
Comment on BBC exit poll predicts Labour landslide in UK in ~news
mat Link ParentWhile a scary prospect, the Conservatives can barely keep their own party together so the idea they could merge with the extremists at Reform seems pretty unlikely. Reform - quite deliberately -...While a scary prospect, the Conservatives can barely keep their own party together so the idea they could merge with the extremists at Reform seems pretty unlikely. Reform - quite deliberately - present a moderately respectable face but they are truly vile underneath and despite the shouty, and somewhat powerful, right wing of the Tories like Rees-Mogg, Braverman and even defectors like Anderson - there is still a lot of (relatively) centre ground in the Tory party who don't want any part of Farage's racist bullshit.
A split into a centre-right party with the rest of the Tories going to Reform (or Reform to them, whatever) feels more possible but still seems unlikely to gain much traction. The only thing the Tories hate more than each other is everyone who isn't them. And the poor, obviously. They always look like they're about to fall apart, then pull together at the last minute.
If Starmer is smart, and I suspect he is, he'll play mostly safe but with a few big spectacular changes that will (ideally) have a noticable impact on people's quality of life.
-
Comment on BBC exit poll predicts Labour landslide in UK in ~news
mat Link ParentBut we've never had a directly elected PM. I didn't vote for Kier Starmer any more than I didn't vote for the lettuce lady.3 un-elected prime ministers
But we've never had a directly elected PM. I didn't vote for Kier Starmer any more than I didn't vote for the lettuce lady.
-
Comment on BBC exit poll predicts Labour landslide in UK in ~news
mat Link ParentThe most hopeful feeling which has come up in discussions with friends (several of whom are fee-paying Labour party members!) over the last few days is that things will might get worse marginally...The most hopeful feeling which has come up in discussions with friends (several of whom are fee-paying Labour party members!) over the last few days is that things will might get worse marginally less quickly than they have been doing in recent years.
While it is undeniably satisfying to see the Tories get the kind of electoral kicking they so richly deserve, Labour's offering is so uninspiring it's somewhat taking the fun out of something I've been waiting 14 years for. And Reform being predicted double figures is awful, even if those seats are being taken from Tories.
I guess the Human Rights Act and our EHCR membership is looking a little safer than it was yesterday. So that's nice.
Eastern UK here and haven't really had a problem. But we haven't grown much which is slug-friendly (purely by chance) and we deploy nematode sappers in early spring every year as a matter of course.
Lost one cucumber plant last month but everything else (mostly potatoes and strawberries, some herbs) is doing fine. For a given value of "fine" considering it's been so cold and dark for most of the summer so far.