vuzzar's recent activity
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Comment on A contentious book argues that endless oil revenue and a sovereign wealth fund are making Norway increasingly bloated, unproductive and unhealthy in ~finance
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Comment on Norway wants to be Europe's carbon dump – aiming to capture carbon dioxide from factories and bury it beneath the North Sea in ~enviro
vuzzar Link ParentHey, you enlightened at least one person on the topic - I was told that oil was made from dinosaurs stuck in the ground when I was young, and never thought to fact check it when I got older. Thank...Hey, you enlightened at least one person on the topic - I was told that oil was made from dinosaurs stuck in the ground when I was young, and never thought to fact check it when I got older. Thank you!
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Comment on SOMA | Nintendo Switch trailer – releases 24th July 2025 in ~games
vuzzar Link ParentAbsolutely. PlayStation 3 released in 2006, but PlayStation 2 still got official game releases as late as 2013 (Similar story with PS3/4, PS4 released in 2013, but PS3 still received new games as...Absolutely. PlayStation 3 released in 2006, but PlayStation 2 still got official game releases as late as 2013 (Similar story with PS3/4, PS4 released in 2013, but PS3 still received new games as late as 2020).
Edit: correction, one game released for PlayStation 2 in 2020 called Hermes, but that is the only published release I can find between 2013 and then.
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Comment on Are gas stations beginning to shut down yet, as part of the broader shift to EVs? in ~transport
vuzzar Link ParentRecently one of the stations in Oslo replaced not just a few, but all of their fuel pumps with electrical chargers. Chargers at gas stations are so common now that I'm surprised it even made the...Recently one of the stations in Oslo replaced not just a few, but all of their fuel pumps with electrical chargers. Chargers at gas stations are so common now that I'm surprised it even made the headlines, but I guess they were the first ones to go all in on replacing fossil fuel with electric or something
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Comment on What lesser-known alternative would you recommend as a substitute for something more popular? in ~talk
vuzzar Link ParentComfortable yes, but after a few weeks/months of use mine seem to absorb water like there is no tomorrow. Happened with the previous Skechers pair I owned as well where it looks like there is...Comfortable yes, but after a few weeks/months of use mine seem to absorb water like there is no tomorrow. Happened with the previous Skechers pair I owned as well where it looks like there is plenty of sole left, but the shoes feel soaked if the ground look even slightly humid.
It started happening after using them for about a month or two, and a year on they're still fine and comfortable shoes (if you ignore the whole feeling wet part)
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Comment on In email, Microsoft suggests Windows 10 users trade in or recycle their PC in ~tech
vuzzar Link ParentWas there a patch for 2008? According to Microsoft, ESU for 2008/2008R2 servers ended January 2024 (jan 2023 for non-Azure machines)Was there a patch for 2008? According to Microsoft, ESU for 2008/2008R2 servers ended January 2024 (jan 2023 for non-Azure machines)
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Comment on Norway will allow cities to introduce zero-emissions zones, as the number of electric cars on the road in the biggest urban centers passes 40% in ~transport
vuzzar Link ParentAbsolutely. When the Norwegian public roads administration check cars on the road, they always place license plate scanners a few meters ahead of the control point. That way they can scan all...Absolutely. When the Norwegian public roads administration check cars on the road, they always place license plate scanners a few meters ahead of the control point. That way they can scan all passing license plates to check for valid insurance, registration, vehicle inspection (every 2 years), the current registered owner of the vehicle, and other relevant data points.
EVs do have separate license plates from other vehicle types to make them easy to discern for humans, but there is no technical limitation that stops them from doing otherwise. The same database as mentioned above contains all the necessary information about vehicles like VIN, engine type, size, allowed tyre size, # of seats etc. They could without a doubt use that to issue fines or have a lockout system where only EVs are allowed.
Fun fact: The vehicle information system is accessible to anyone, so if you want to look up a random Norwegian license plate you can. EVs start with EL, EK, and EA-EF (the current series is EF, and they will continue with EG when that is spent). Hydrogen cars start with HY.
https://www.vegvesen.no/en/vehicles/buy-and-sell/vehicle-information/sjekk-kjoretoyopplysninger/
With a valid BankID login (digital authentication for Norwegian citizens), you can even figure out the full ownership history of a vehicle, including who the current owner is.
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Comment on Single most useful program you daily use? in ~tech
vuzzar Link ParentI pay for premium, if only to not have do deal with ads on mobile/Chromecast etcI pay for premium, if only to not have do deal with ads on mobile/Chromecast etc
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Comment on What are your favourite time-loop based books, movies and video games? in ~talk
vuzzar LinkDeathloop is a fairly enjoyable game, where you repeat the same day over and over. At each time of day (morning/midday/evening/night) you have to choose one of several areas to travel to, and...Deathloop is a fairly enjoyable game, where you repeat the same day over and over.
At each time of day (morning/midday/evening/night) you have to choose one of several areas to travel to, and traveling to one moves the day forward. Each area have different events and locations unlocked based on the time of day, and based on what you have done earlier in the day.
The goal of the game is to cobble together the correct sequence of events in order to break out and free yourself from the loop. Very much a story driven game, and unless you are going for optional content it outlines what you need to do next fairly clearly (I believe you get a prompt asking if you want hints enabled or not).
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Comment on Is anyone planning to play Path of Exile 2? in ~games
vuzzar LinkAbsolutely. Friends keep pestering me to play PoE1, but what held me back was no WASD controls. I'd try it for a while every time, but get so frustrated at the game that I just had to quit. Now...Absolutely. Friends keep pestering me to play PoE1, but what held me back was no WASD controls. I'd try it for a while every time, but get so frustrated at the game that I just had to quit.
Now that they've added that in I'm stoked to try it out properly.
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Comment on Norway is to enforce a strict minimum age limit on social media of fifteen as the government ramped up its campaign against tech companies it says are “pitted against small children's brains” in ~tech
vuzzar (edited )Link ParentThey're talking about enforcing the requirement through use of the national ID system called BankID (used for digital authentication to all services that require identification - banks, government...They're talking about enforcing the requirement through use of the national ID system called BankID (used for digital authentication to all services that require identification - banks, government services, health services etc).
I am personally not a fan, as I want a certain level of privacy online. Requiring BankID would give the social media service a guaranteed verification that the account is connected to me (they probably know already, but eh), and will absolutely lead to me abandoning most, if not all of my social media accounts.
Of course, tech literate people will just VPN to another country or whatever to avoid the ban, but a geo block is enough for 95% of people to comply/not deal with the hassle of avoiding it
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Comment on What is a scam that more people should be aware of? in ~life
vuzzar (edited )Link ParentA lot of places don't support +-signs in email addresses, so what I've resorted to is to purchase my own domain. I have a catch-all rule at my domain provider (they also provide a rudimentary...A lot of places don't support +-signs in email addresses, so what I've resorted to is to purchase my own domain.
I have a catch-all rule at my domain provider (they also provide a rudimentary email service) that forwards any email received to my real email account, and outgoing mail is sent via that same email service.
That way I can give someone randomaddress@mydomain.com and still receive the email, reply using that very same address as an alias, and figure out who leaked my address/easily filter it to spam (without them having any idea what my real address is).Also in my opinion it looks more professional when you use a custom domain name instead of a generic Gmail/Hotmail address, but that's besides the point.
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Comment on Norway is to allow mining waste to be dumped in its fjords after the government won a court case against environmental organisations trying to block the plan in ~enviro
vuzzar Link ParentCorrect. And if they at any point during their period lose that majority support in parliament, they will have to step down and a new government has to be voted in (not a public election - just...Correct.
And if they at any point during their period lose that majority support in parliament, they will have to step down and a new government has to be voted in (not a public election - just internal strife between parliament parties/politicians).
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Comment on Norway is to allow mining waste to be dumped in its fjords after the government won a court case against environmental organisations trying to block the plan in ~enviro
vuzzar Link ParentGood question. It happens because it's not always possible to create majority governments, due to conflicts of interest or that the parties that would have to cooperate is too many/too far...Good question. It happens because it's not always possible to create majority governments, due to conflicts of interest or that the parties that would have to cooperate is too many/too far apart/certain parties who straight up refuse to cooperate with certain other parties.
As an example of the last one: the progressive party has stated that with no uncertain terms, they will never enter into a government with the green party.
If no majority government can be formed, then the only possible outcome is a minority government. At that point the parties discuss among themselves and with the parties they would like to create a government with, come up with a suggestion, and vote for the alternative they want during the next parliament meeting. The alternative that receives more than 50% of the votes in parliament is then effectively the new government (exactly the same process as for a majority government, except that the answer isn't given beforehand and takes a bit more work).
Why would a party approve of a government that they are not a part of? Even if a party (say the socialist left) wants to be in the government, they would much rather have their side (the political left, which both the worker and central party are a part of) hold a minority government with them as a supporting party, than see the political right in government. The ministry posts that government representatives are put into have value after all.
Minority government is about as common as majority governments in Norway - the conservatives were actually in a minority government most of the time between 2013-2021.
After the 2013 election, conservatives and the progressive party formed a minority government, supported by the liberal party and christian party.
The 2017 election didn't change much.
In 2019 (in between the 2017 and 2021 election) the liberal party and christian party was invited to join them, making it a majority government.
In 2020 the progressive party left the government due to a disagreement, once again making it a minority government. -
Comment on Norway is to allow mining waste to be dumped in its fjords after the government won a court case against environmental organisations trying to block the plan in ~enviro
vuzzar Link ParentThe company applied for this waste dump in 2008, and it got approved all the way back in 2015 (formally approved in 2016 because they received complaints), when the right wing parties were in...- Exemplary
The company applied for this waste dump in 2008, and it got approved all the way back in 2015 (formally approved in 2016 because they received complaints), when the right wing parties were in government.
The reason why this was brought up again today is that the environment organizations who sued the government for environment crimes lost their case today (and they don't have enough funding to bring it to a higher court. Unless someone with big pockets step in to help, the case will be lost).
I am not too surprised by the outcome given the political climate these days (it is still sad to be a Norwegian these days 🥲).
The two parties currently in government are:- The Workers party (48 mandates)
- The Centre party (28 mandates, previously called the farmers party)
neither of which have shown that they care much about environment cases if they don't provide more jobs or helps Norwegian farmers/the more rural parts of Norway directly.
The parties in government when the dump was approved was:
- Conservatives (36 mandates, 2nd most right wing party, less taxes for the rich and less money for the poor)
- The Progressive party (21 mandates, the most right wing party, the people who dislike immigrants/helping foreign countries, less taxes on tobacco/alcohol, cheaper cars etc)
- The Liberal party (8 mandates, still somewhat right wing, but they do vote for environmental causes)
- The Christian party (3 mandates).
Looking at the votes it wouldn't have mattered which parties were in government or not - this dump would still have been approved. Both the workers party and the conservatives voted for the thing, and they have close to a majority vote on their own. Given that all of the parties listed above voted for, and the total number of mandates in parliament is 169, it would have passed regardless if one of them changed sides (keep in mind that I use mandate numbers from the 2021 election. The right wing government had majority votes in 2015, but the parties relative sizes were more or less the same).
Unfortunately the parties that actually want to do things that are positive for the environment are too small to have a real impact in anything but the rare edge case where their vote actually tips the scale one way or the other.
The parties that actually front cases, vote for and want to do positive stuff for the environment (according to what I see on parliaments suggestions and voting lists) are:
- The Red party (8 mandates, all the way on the left. A group that separated from the communist party, and wanted to bring them more towards socialism)
- The Socialist left party (13 mandates, somewhere in between the red party and workers party).
- The Green party (3 mandates. Their full Norwegian name roughly translates to "environment party the green" - a relatively unknown party before 2005, got their first parliament mandate in 2013 - their name very much gives away how they vote and what cases they front).
These are the big, established parties. There are of course many smaller parties, but bar one party (the patient party, based on the hospital uproar and ambulance plane crisis in northern Norway), none of them received parliament mandates in the 2021 election.
A lot of people have environment fatigue these days as well. People don't want change, and when there are road bumps implementing new, environment friendly stuff (like the electric bus issues in Oslo this winter - it is the first really harsh winter with electric buses, and they have to charge more often and for longer to keep up, which means there are big headlines about the delays and cancellations), people understandably get upset and blame everything on the environment parties, saying how everything was better before with the good ol' [insert previous technology].
Fun fact: I have heard several people refer to the current workers party as conservatives lite, and the central party is referred to as farmers progressive party. Both of which seem just about right in my mind.
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Comment on Norway is likely to become the first country in the world to move forward with the controversial practice of commercial-scale deep-sea mining in ~enviro
vuzzar LinkThis is a sad day to be a Norwegian - it got approved in parliament earlier today (none of the parties I have ever voted for said yes, but that doesn't help when the farmers and capitalist parties...This is a sad day to be a Norwegian - it got approved in parliament earlier today (none of the parties I have ever voted for said yes, but that doesn't help when the farmers and capitalist parties sees unexploited resources that they can profit off of).
Parliament claims that the approval will lay the groundworks for "profitable, sustainable and responsible mining operations at sea". Good fucking luck doing anything other than ruin our seas and seafloor
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Comment on What password management solution do you use and why? in ~tech
vuzzar Link ParentUsing Bitwarden both personally and at work. The password sharing features work great if you've set up a organization - the only hassle is adding new users, which up until I left the company...Using Bitwarden both personally and at work. The password sharing features work great if you've set up a organization - the only hassle is adding new users, which up until I left the company needed to be done manually.
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Comment on Steam's oldest user accounts turn 20, Valve celebrates with special digital badges in ~games
vuzzar Link ParentThe flagging was definitely automated - in the same e-mail notifying me of the sale they included the following text: But my account didn't get suspended until 12 hours later - during early office...The flagging was definitely automated - in the same e-mail notifying me of the sale they included the following text:
The purchase price for this item is unusual. Funds received from this sale will be held temporarily.
Funds from this sale will be held by Steam for up to five days. In the meantime, the funds will be included in your pending wallet balance. In some situations, Steam Support may reverse the transaction and return the item to your Steam Inventory.
But my account didn't get suspended until 12 hours later - during early office hours in USA - leading me to believe that the suspension itself was manually reviewed. I looked it up online and it seems others have received the same message (and threat of account closure) for even smaller amounts. Depending on the marketplace history of the item, people have had it trigger on things sold for a few cents above the average value. It seems that it startet happening mid spring this year (march/april), so it is likely a very new system with quirks that need to get worked out.
But yes, I totally agree with your second paragraph - instead of creating a system that flags and/or ban accounts that sell items at a suspiciously high price, why not deny the transaction from going through in the first place? Put a price cap on items (200% of the average value) or something.
Fun fact: They only reversed the money part of the transaction. I never got my item back despite their own text stating otherwise.
Regardless I'll shy miles away from marketplace trades going forward. No way am I going to risk my account for a tiny amount of money (relative to the account value).Now that I am on my PC I also have access to the ticket log. Here is the word for word reply I received from support:
You arranged the sale of one or more items at inflated prices on the Steam Community Market. All of the funds you received from these sales were obtained through fraud.
We have removed items and games added to the account since these transactions as well as any remaining fraudulent wallet funds. These items, games, and funds will not be restored.
Avoid all offers of Steam Wallet funds through the Steam Market or you may inadvertently become involved in payment fraud.
For more information, please review our Market Scam FAQ.
I have unlocked your account at this time. Please note that this will be the only warning you will receive. Similar behavior on this or any related account in the future will result in a permanent lock without further notice.
So If I had bought anything on the Steam store - even with my own credit card - in the 12 hours between me receiving the funds and when they locked my account I would have lost that money forever. Thanks Steam.
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Comment on Steam's oldest user accounts turn 20, Valve celebrates with special digital badges in ~games
vuzzar Link ParentThe biggest issue with Steam now is their customer support. I put up all my CSGO items on the marketplace for above market average during the price boom (around the CSGO2 announcement this...The biggest issue with Steam now is their customer support.
I put up all my CSGO items on the marketplace for above market average during the price boom (around the CSGO2 announcement this spring). 3 months later one of them unexpectedly got sold (average price was $4. I put it up for $50).
The following night my account got locked, with a message telling me to contact customer service. I sent in a ticket as soon as I got up and saw the message. It took them several days to get back to me - and when they did they hard accused me of market manipulation and accepting money from fraud/stolen accounts. Got off with a warning, but I was told that my account will stay locked if it ever happens again.
I just put up an item on the marketplace? Of course, the value was way inflated, but the prices had gone way up on several other items so I was hoping I'd get lucky. I have no say in who buys my items or how their money was acquired - that is all controlled by Valve/Steam.
I then replied to the ticket, giving a bullet point list of questions like how to follow the recommendations they gave me (for example not accepting steam funds on the marketplace, even though there is no option for that when posting an item for sale), and how I'd never risk my account for such a petty amount - my account is almost 20 years old and worth close to $8'000 USD. I was very stressed out by the previous CS response - almost on the verge of crying - and wanted some reassurance from them and clarification on how I could avoid another ban.
Do you want to know what they did? They gave me probably the coldest and shortest non-response I've ever received from any customer support. They permanently closed my ticket telling me that they've solved the initial problem, and if I had any question regarding something /not/ related to the account closure issue I'd have to submit another request.
Before this happened I didn't have any qualms about buying stuff on Steam, but it's been a month now and I'm still not sure if I ever want to put another dollar into my account. The way customer support threatened me made me really unwell, and I can feel my stomach and chest tightening just writing this comment.
I had a few interactions with customer support in 2008-ish, and back then it felt personal and human. Nowadays I guess they're on the grind and pressured by numbers, and as a result it feels like they have zero compassion with the end user.
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Comment on Google gets its way, bakes a user-tracking ad platform directly into Chrome in ~tech
vuzzar Link ParentThe User-Agent Switcher addon solves most of those sites for me. It's not that they don't work, the website owner just don't want them to work (or some barely noticeable feature is missing/not...The User-Agent Switcher addon solves most of those sites for me. It's not that they don't work, the website owner just don't want them to work (or some barely noticeable feature is missing/not working, so they're forcing everyone onto their preferred alternative).
I wonder what projects they're looking at. The new subway line in Oslo (Fornebubanen) fits timing wise and budget wise, but sure won't accommodate any trains (only subway traffic).
Current budget is at 27,6 billion NOK, and with a buffer they're estimating closer to 31 billion NOK/$3.06 billion USD on the 8 km subway line, or $383 million USD per kilometer. The whole line is constructed as a underground tunnel.
What this way of calculating cost doesn't account for however, is that projects often are used to get related things done. Included in the price listed above is: