mat's recent activity
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Comment on New "old school" gadgets? in ~tech
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Comment on Battery costs just plunged 70% — this changes everything in ~enviro
mat Link Parent32kWh is a LOT. I have a 5kWh battery and that'll do my house for around 12 hours (and in summer the solar picks up the rest of the time). My neighbour has 15kWh of storage and he's basically a...32kWh is a LOT. I have a 5kWh battery and that'll do my house for around 12 hours (and in summer the solar picks up the rest of the time). My neighbour has 15kWh of storage and he's basically a one-man local grid buffer system.
Unless you're doing all your heating and cooling and cooking electrically, and charging your car, 32kWh is probably a bit much. Mind you, your link suggests you're in Norway so you probably are doing all those things.
You don't need solar to benefit from a battery though. All you need is cheap off-peak power. I can get 4p/kWh in the middle of the night, charge my battery (in winter I do this, not in summer) and then not buy power during the day at 40p/kWh, which is a significant saving. This also helps shift grid-load around, which is good for wider sustainable generation goals.
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Comment on From neat lawns to wild havens: how No Mow May is transforming England’s gardens in ~enviro
mat LinkI am very enthusiastic about this, to the point that I have not just implemented no mow May, but also no mow June, July, August, October, November, December, January, February, March and April. I...I am very enthusiastic about this, to the point that I have not just implemented no mow May, but also no mow June, July, August, October, November, December, January, February, March and April. I mow a path to/from my workshop and my wife's office and mow the whole lot once at the end of the summer and that's pretty much it. My garden is so much nicer for it, with wildflowers and native non-grass species growing all over the place. During periods of drought, the mown areas rapidly turn to dust but the "overgrown" parts remain green and teeming with life.
Just wait until you hear about how much you don't need to remove fallen leaves either..
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Comment on The Ploopy Bean - an external four-button trackpoint in ~tech
mat Link ParentThat stuff is all pretty easy. It's basically just fancy Lego :) My point really was that I'm surprised Ploopy consider fdm printed parts as high enough quality to sell. Fdm printing is great for...That stuff is all pretty easy. It's basically just fancy Lego :)
My point really was that I'm surprised Ploopy consider fdm printed parts as high enough quality to sell. Fdm printing is great for prototyping and making your own bits and pieces for home use, but it's nowhere near good enough for retail in my opinion. I occasionally include 3D printed parts in my work but I have an SLA printer and even then I hand finish them because they're still not good enough right off the printer. I'd never ship fdm parts to paying customers.
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Comment on The Ploopy Bean - an external four-button trackpoint in ~tech
mat Link ParentAll their stuff looks like it was just pulled off a moderately capable FDM printer, without even any real cleanup. I barely consider SLA prints good enough quality to offer for sale, it blows my...All their stuff looks like it was just pulled off a moderately capable FDM printer, without even any real cleanup.
I barely consider SLA prints good enough quality to offer for sale, it blows my mind anyone would consider selling FDM-made products except perhaps at a one-person stall at a craft fair (and to be fair, I've bought some very nicely designed trinkets from people with a 3D printer and a stall at a craft fair).
On the other hand if they offer their 3D files I could print my own decent quality enclosure for their hardware. Although at that point I would maybe question why I'm bothering to involve them at all.
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Comment on The Ploopy Bean - an external four-button trackpoint in ~tech
mat LinkI encountered my first (then IBM) ThinkPad in around 1994 and right away the IT team member I was with explained the iconic Centrally Located Indicating Tool. I'm very glad to see this tradition...I encountered my first (then IBM) ThinkPad in around 1994 and right away the IT team member I was with explained the iconic Centrally Located Indicating Tool. I'm very glad to see this tradition continues here.
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Comment on Happy Birthday David Attenborough, 'the voice for nature,' turns 100 in ~enviro
mat Link ParentWoah woah woah, easy there. Let's not get carried away.Woah woah woah, easy there. Let's not get carried away.
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Comment on Happy Birthday David Attenborough, 'the voice for nature,' turns 100 in ~enviro
mat LinkI feel like "Voice of Nature" does Attenborough something of a disservice. Not that his contribution to Natural History isn't gigantic. But it leaves out so much more he did. The guy pretty much...I feel like "Voice of Nature" does Attenborough something of a disservice. Not that his contribution to Natural History isn't gigantic. But it leaves out so much more he did. The guy pretty much single handedly created arts and science television, when he was in charge of the then-brand-new BBC2. He commissioned a little comedy show called Monty Python's Flying Circus. He largely created the "authored documentary" format. His contributions to film-making are also important, the technical developments made during the creation of the Life, Earth and similar series have been breaking new ground in how to capture nature on film for almost fifty years.
Also here is a list of things named after him. It is long.
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Comment on Happy Birthday David Attenborough, 'the voice for nature,' turns 100 in ~enviro
mat Link ParentEvery single time. Especially as it's not his birthday until friday. If, when that time finally comes, Attenborough doesn't get a state funeral I will fucking riot. In a very dignified way. Maybe...Gave me a jump scare when I saw Sir David's name on a headline
Every single time. Especially as it's not his birthday until friday.
If, when that time finally comes, Attenborough doesn't get a state funeral I will fucking riot. In a very dignified way. Maybe push over a display in Waitrose or something. Tut loudly over a nice cup of tea.
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Comment on What was the best job you ever had? in ~life
mat LinkI've had some pretty good jobs over the years but the best, by some distance, was working for a circus. We did workshops, teaching people to juggle/diablo/tightrope/etc, which was great fun. But...I've had some pretty good jobs over the years but the best, by some distance, was working for a circus. We did workshops, teaching people to juggle/diablo/tightrope/etc, which was great fun. But my favourite bit was doing walk-round clowning/magic, where either on my own or with someone else, we'd wander around a festival/street/event/whatever just.. being entertaining. Doing a little juggling routine, breathing fire (rather carefully because public liability insurance only goes so far), engaging people with magic tricks and so on. We got to mess about all day doing fun stuff and then get paid for it!
The hours could be pretty brutal, it wasn't uncommon to be up at 4am to drive a few hours and put up the Little Big Top, which was HARD work, then have to be Fun all day before taking the tent down, packing it up and driving home again. 16-18 hour days on occasion, but my boss was pretty good about scheduling so we weren't doing them back to back. Lots of fresh air, sunshine, free food and drink and it was a surprisingly good way to meet girls too. Could a nineteen year old ask for a better job?
Oh, and I had an office job which I ran away from to join the circus. I didn't tell them I was leaving, I just didn't turn up one day. I did unicycle past the office on my last day, heading circuswards, but I have no idea if anyone saw me. I like to think someone did.
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Comment on Tips for "refinishing" a D pad? in ~games
mat Link ParentWoop! Glad to hear you got it sorted, and pleased I could help.Woop! Glad to hear you got it sorted, and pleased I could help.
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Comment on Tips for "refinishing" a D pad? in ~games
mat Link ParentIf you have the spare cash to buy some, plastic polish is much, much better than toothpaste. Toothpaste is possibly too abrasive for plastic and might turn a nice shiny surface into a matt finish...If you have the spare cash to buy some, plastic polish is much, much better than toothpaste. Toothpaste is possibly too abrasive for plastic and might turn a nice shiny surface into a matt finish one.. On that note, whatever you try, try it very gently to start with. More gently than you expect - you can always polish harder later but if you trash the finish it's way more work to go back.
It helps if you can find out what the pad is made from. For example if it's ABS, which is quite possible for a d-pad surface, you can "polish" it with acetone (actually melting the surface a little then letting it re-solidify), but other plastics might not like that. Acetone is easiest to acquire as nail polish remover.
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Comment on Lords a-leaving: Britain is ejecting hereditary nobles from Parliament after 700 years in ~society
mat (edited )Link ParentOK so to clarify, people who have chosen to get rich and then chosen to use that money to gain and wield political power are worse for society than people who were born into having far less power....OK so to clarify, people who have chosen to get rich and then chosen to use that money to gain and wield political power are worse for society than people who were born into having far less power. Business-created oligarchs (cf hereditary ones) explicitly choose to gain and use their power, it's intentional action on their part. Showing up to the House of Lords is intentional as well, to an extent, but perhaps less so, and possibly for better reasons although obviously that depends on the peer in question. There's no sense of noblesse oblige in business - although of course that shouldn't be the basis of a system of government either.
To put it another way, a sleepy Lord on the benches of the upper house or sitting on some obscure committee is far less dangerous to the fabric of the country and it's democracy than a billionaire leaning over the PM's shoulder or worse, as we can literally see happening right now, funding a far right political movement.
It is possible btw that there actually wasn't any law endowing peers with positions in the Lords. It's not called an unwritten constitution for nothing. All sorts of parts of the British political apparatus are nothing more than traditions and unspoken agreements. Surprisingly, it does seem to mostly work.
edit: it's worth adding that many hereditary peers are not rich people. They might own lots of assets in the form of country houses and land, but they are often not rich in usable 'money' (I know the difference between cash and assets in the context of say, Elon Musk). But a business oligarch can sell shares or leverage them for loans but a country house is less useful for that kind of thing. You can't sell a wing. You often can't even sell land that you own on paper but in reality is tied up in family trusts and so on. One of my friends at university was the scion of a hereditary peer and they just lived in a normal house and had normal jobs. They often got bumped on flights and restaurants and so on because of the title attached to their name, but that was as far as it went. I know a current Baronness (created, not inherited) who is very similar.
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Comment on Lords a-leaving: Britain is ejecting hereditary nobles from Parliament after 700 years in ~society
mat Link ParentOligarchs are far worse. They're deliberate. Peers are just accidents of birth. The thing about the House of Lords is that they're not really rulers as such, they're more sort of advisors with...Oligarchs are far worse. They're deliberate. Peers are just accidents of birth.
The thing about the House of Lords is that they're not really rulers as such, they're more sort of advisors with some limited powers. The hereditary section of the House, comprising 91 members of which only 15 are non-elected (out of 842 seats total), are close to being a non-issue in the UK government machine.
That said, I don't think we should keep them and this change is a good one, but they're not really a thing many people have been particularly worried about for a while. We could do to get rid of the Lords Spiritual as well (aka religious leaders) but again, they only get 26 seats and they commonly don't even vote on principle.
As far as British governmental reforms go the only one that matters - and probably least likely to happen - is changing our electoral system to proportional representation. A lot of other changes, including this one, is basically just rearranging deckchairs.
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Comment on When video games were brown in ~games
mat LinkAh, you beat me to it to post this. I really enjoyed this video, and it's nice to get some actual numbers backing up the claims of gen 7 brownness. If people haven't explored Ahoy's other content,...Ah, you beat me to it to post this. I really enjoyed this video, and it's nice to get some actual numbers backing up the claims of gen 7 brownness.
If people haven't explored Ahoy's other content, they have a lot of other similar videos on all sorts of gaming related stuff which is well worth some of your time. Their "Iconic Arms" series is particularly good, especially the Chainsaw episode. Also their investigation into the legendary game, Polybius is the definitive text on the topic as far as I'm concerned.
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Comment on California’s new bill requires Department of Justice-approved 3D printers that report on themselves in ~hobbies
mat Link ParentJust to give you a bit of non-US perspective - if I want to buy a gun, parts for a gun, ammunition or gunpowder in the UK I need a firearms license. To get one of those I have to explain why I...Just to give you a bit of non-US perspective - if I want to buy a gun, parts for a gun, ammunition or gunpowder in the UK I need a firearms license. To get one of those I have to explain why I need one to the satisfaction of the police, prove my mental health is in suitable shape, I need to prove I know how to handle things physically, have safe storage for all the stuff, have several character referees vouch for me and some other bits and pieces. I need to renew that licence every five years. I still can't own some types of gun or buy some kinds of ammo even if I have a license (full or semi-autos, all handguns, some of the nastier bullet types, some other niche things too like rocket launchers and so on).
I believe most of the world's countries have similar requirements, although I think the UK leans a little on the side of being more restrictive compared to many places. Personally I would prefer even stronger regulation here than we already have.
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Comment on Group chat solutions for small groups? in ~comp
mat LinkSeveral people have mentioned Telegram. It's worth noting that Telegram has almost certainly been compromised by the FSB. They're happy to dish out user data to other governments as well....Several people have mentioned Telegram. It's worth noting that Telegram has almost certainly been compromised by the FSB. They're happy to dish out user data to other governments as well. Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, claims otherwise but there's a whole big lot of circumstantial evidence to suggest he's lying. He's also happy taking Elon's filthy cash which may be the wrong side of an ethical red line for you.
Personally I wouldn't touch Telegram with a very long bargepole and I mostly don't give a crap about privacy.
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Comment on In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud in ~tech
mat Link ParentEntirely agree, and that is why I caveated my comment with "almost nobody" and "decent bitrate". If you're hearing compressors and so on then yes, you're absolutely listening at the "almost...Entirely agree, and that is why I caveated my comment with "almost nobody" and "decent bitrate". If you're hearing compressors and so on then yes, you're absolutely listening at the "almost nobody" level and you probably can hear the differences.
I can just about spot the difference between Google Music's standard and "high quality" streams on well mastered albums I know well on headphones I know well (particularly Morcheeba's Big Calm on my ancient but still wonderful HD600s). But then I can't tell the difference between the lossless or CD versions and the high quality streams at all.
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Comment on In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud in ~tech
mat Link ParentThere's absolutely an element of that. Nobody's brain wants to admit their 99.999% pure silver hand braided oxygen-free cables don't make things sound better because otherwise they'd also have to...There's absolutely an element of that. Nobody's brain wants to admit their 99.999% pure silver hand braided oxygen-free cables don't make things sound better because otherwise they'd also have to admit they were a complete idiot for spending the kind of money which could otherwise pay for a really pretty nice holiday (check out the price on the 10m ones) on some bits of useless wire.
I did once encounter one guy (they're almost always men) who spent tens of thousands of pounds building a specially designed room to keep his hifi in, then far more on the gear itself to go in there, only to then complain that most of the recordings he listened to sounded bad because the studio they were recorded in "obviously wasn't using quality equipment"
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Comment on In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud in ~tech
mat Link ParentSomeone once suggested I start selling "haunted" jewellery, which commands a terrifying price markup, but my worry would be someone would buy something hoping it would cure their illness or help...Someone once suggested I start selling "haunted" jewellery, which commands a terrifying price markup, but my worry would be someone would buy something hoping it would cure their illness or help their addiction or something and I couldn't live with myself thinking that had happened. But audiophiles are the only group of people I would feel completely happy ripping off with some made-up bullshit woo-based product. Because at least you know they're only spending money they can afford to waste. Nobody is choosing between speaker cable holders (yes, they exist and they are FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY FUCKING POUNDS FOR THREE) and paying for grandma's care home bills or whatever.
A friend of my dad's made a "mains cleaner" which was pretty much just a 19" box with a capacitor, a switch and an LED. You flicked the switch and the LED came on. He then, to his own surprise as much as anyone else's, won a What Hi-Fi gold award for it and sold a load of them at £750 each (and this was in the late 90s!). The parts cost less than £15 and almost all of that was the case itself.
fwiw What-Hifi's headphone reviews are pretty decent. They have a rolling "best wireless/best earbud/etc" pages which is constantly up to date. I check there every time I need some new cans - although I usually just buy whatever Sony or Sennheisers fit my budget because I know they make things my ears like. Good audio gear is worth spending a little money on. "Audiophile" gear is not.
I believe Fujifilm's X100 series cameras fall into this category. They're extremely capable modern cameras but you can do everything you need to do with physical controls. Dials. Buttons. Muscle memory not menu options. They're fixed lens with optical viewfinders. They're small and light and absolutely packed with joy. I have not had so much fun with a camera since The Olde Days of Filme (with the bonus of not having to mess about with film)