thatKamGuy
@thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works
- Comment on 2 days ago:
Around 7.66 x10^-3^ nanograms
- Comment on 5 days ago:
I don’t want to contribute to the mountains of AI slip on the internet, so instead I’ll just prompt the reader’s brain to imagine a picture of Bugs Bunny in Arabian robes, eating a carrot nonchalantly, with the caption “eh, wahabi ‘doc?”
- Comment on Honestly Bizarre 1 week ago:
Therefore, chicken and beef is vegetables.
Checkmate, vegans!
- Comment on 1 week ago:
Wait until they’re 2+ and randomly adding things to the cart in the hopes you won’t notice!
If you still enjoy using the self-checkouts for bigger shops then - you might just be a masochist! 🤣
- Comment on 1 week ago:
With a toddler in tow, ain’t no way in hell I want to scan and bag a week’s worth of groceries all by myself.
For small shops of a couple items? I’ll absolutely going to go through the self-scans as they’re fast and convenient. But when spending the equivalent of ~$150USD across dozens of items - nah, fuck that noise. Especially when having to deal with any interventions because the machine vision gets confused by what’s happening on camera, or the weight sensor doesn’t correctly detect an item added.
Give me a cashier to scan and pack any day of the week.
- Comment on Built to last 1 week ago:
TIL rechargeable CR2032s exist, and also that their output voltage is higher than standard ones and apparently may run the risk of damaging circuits?
- Comment on AMD and Sony’s PS6 chipset aims to rethink the current graphics pipeline 2 weeks ago:
We don’t even need to imagine, necessarily! The quality of games released towards the tail-end of its life cycle speaks volumes: Uncharted 2&3, The Last of Us, God of War 3, Metal Gear Solid 4 etc.
I don’t think there was anything actually wrong with the architecture per se, but rather just the lack of proper documentation and tools set potential developers back significantly.
It was definitely hubris on Sony’s part, thinking that they could do whatever they wanted given the prior success of both the PlayStation and PS2 consoles prior.
Those PS3 launch stumbles definitely were a wake-up call, however I do believe that because it was largely the US/Western arm of SCEI that lead the ‘rescue’ - they ended up wrestling control away from the JP arm, ultimately causing the PS4/5 to end up so risk adverse and largely unremarkable as a result.
- Comment on AMD and Sony’s PS6 chipset aims to rethink the current graphics pipeline 2 weeks ago:
Literal dictionary definition of a BIOS:
Note the part regarding enabling a computer to start the OS. But regardless, this point is largely moot as we are just arguing semantics.
No the PS4 doesn’t run a PC-style AMI/Phoenix BIOS, but instead a secure chain of Boot ROM to bootloaders - however, so do Macs, which are PCs.
Dumps of these console boot ROMs and loaders - at least in emulation circles - tend to be colloquially referred to as a BIOS, as it constitutes a System that handles Basic Input and Output.
It even putting this one point aside, it runs an AMD-designed x86-64 APU, that was available to purchase for PCs (AM1 socket) albeit with a reduced power GPU.
It runs GDDR5 unified memory like a modern iMac, or Steam Deck.
It natively runs a UNIX-derived OS, again like an iMac, or Linux on the Steam Deck.
Let’s just face facts, the PS4 & 5 are just iMacs in drag 😉
- Comment on AMD and Sony’s PS6 chipset aims to rethink the current graphics pipeline 2 weeks ago:
Every modern bootable device has a BIOS, as they are required for hardware initialisation before handover to an OS - which for the PS4 is called Orbis OS, and is based off FreeBSD 9. Which is a UNIX OS for desktop PCs.
While the PS4 does have a unified memory interface, which is very rare for common desktop PCs - they do exist, such as every single Apple Silicon Mac.
The PS4 and PS5 are just a very heavily locked down PCs, featuring AMD APUs not too dissimilar to what can be found in Ryzen notebooks, Steam Deck or ROG Ally, running proprietary operating systems with heavy encryption to try and prevent 1:1 emulation (think Hackintosh).
- Comment on AMD and Sony’s PS6 chipset aims to rethink the current graphics pipeline 2 weeks ago:
I think the primary reason for the GPU stagnation has been the AI / GPU compute bubble over the past 5 years.
So much on-die space has been diverted away from raw rasterisation power towards CUDA, that it has artificially held back GPU progress.
When we do see the current AI bubble burst (and it does feel like we’re fast approaching that point, due to all the recent incestuous business dealings), hopefully we can see some innovation return to the sector.
- Comment on AMD and Sony’s PS6 chipset aims to rethink the current graphics pipeline 2 weeks ago:
The PS3 was the last ‘great’ console from Sony before their wholesale switch to PC architecture with a custom software layer.
I choose to die on this hill. 😅
- Comment on Texas National Guard arriving in Chicago 2 weeks ago:
Food deserts are such a weird concept to me; Australia has about the same land-size as the continental US and only ~8% of the population. Yet even for all their perceived faults, our two biggest supermarket chains are able to deliver fresh produce to pretty much all but the most remote communities.
Meanwhile, sections of major US cities are somehow lacking access to fresh produce?! 🤯
- Comment on Texas National Guard arriving in Chicago 2 weeks ago:
Legitimately could be underestimating it, honestly… after all, everything is bigger in Texas!
- Comment on Once again, looking for PS2 game suggestions! 3 weeks ago:
According to protondb.com the entire Final Fantasy catalogue is pretty much flagged as either Gold or Platinum so you shouldn’t have issues.
For what it’s worth, the console versions also run great through EmuDeck and RetroDeck on my Steam Deck too!
I need to get around to playing Clair Obscur - I’ve seen and heard great things about it, but with a 2yo running around the house - I just don’t have the bandwidth currently to invest in new games… 😅
- Comment on Meh, I'm more of an Aragorn fan... 3 weeks ago:
Perspective; the 2x2 is closer to you than the 2x4.
- Comment on Once again, looking for PS2 game suggestions! 3 weeks ago:
To each their own, I suppose!
FF7 was my entry into the franchise, and I went back to play 4-6 after 8 left me disappointed. I ended up (regretfully) skipping 9 until revisiting it much later. I’m saying this specifically to point out that I am not biased because FFX was my first.
I skipped XI as MMORPGs didn’t hold any interest to me at the time - but WoW would change that, and cause me to skip XII altogether!
I didn’t like the combat of XIII, it was too much of a departure of what came before (variants of ATB and general turn-based combat) - and I did not find the plot engaging enough to persevere much beyond I think the ~10hr mark?
I haven’t bothered to revisit the newer entries since, even though I have added XII, XIII, XIII-2 & Lightning Returns to my retro collection. Perhaps one day?
- Comment on Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, a great looking game but with pacing issues 3 weeks ago:
Which JRPGs have you tried so far? The community might be able to help guide you towards a better entry point, if they can figure out what titles you bounced off from.
- Comment on I finally decided to go full piracy against big companies 3 weeks ago:
I stopped (console) gaming right around the PS4 era - partially because side I was heavily invested in WoW and PC gaming in general - but also because I was livid over how Sony handled the Anniversary edition launch, where scalpers scooped up ~98% of available stock.
I feel like I lucked out opting to become a retro gamer around that time - there are just so many great games from the PS3 generation and earlier that I could dedicate (my diminishingly little) spare time towards and never run out of absolutely incredible content.
Hell, my PS2 version of Vice City runs just as it did when it was new - complete with Billie Jean being the first track on the radio; something that can’t be said for any current/PC versions I believe.
- Comment on 'No one can find him': Trump drops from public view again after 'slurring' military speech 3 weeks ago:
The fault with this train of thought is that it assumes that the MAGA nutters will see the correction. They won’t, and they’ll go on parroting the initial incorrect statement and that will just become yet another ‘alternative fact’ that they abide by.
- Comment on Why do companies always need to grow? 3 weeks ago:
It’s literally sad that the only hope for EA to become less scummy as a privately held company, than it was as a publicly traded company, is for the Saudi Arabian regime to proactively use them to win over gamers through the digital equivalent of ‘sports-washing’.
It’s depressing to think that we are at a point where EA could be considered the lesser evil in comparison.
- Comment on Once again, looking for PS2 game suggestions! 3 weeks ago:
Beyond Good & Evil
Devil May Cry trilogy If you liked God of War (and its PS2 sequels), another franchise well worth checking out!
Final Fantasy X Hands down the best entry of the franchise (fight me), and one of the best introductions to the series.
Ico + Shadow of the Colossus Literal works of art.
Killer7
Manhunt + Manhunt 2 If you like Bully & PS2-era GTA entries, this series is well worth exploring. Very dark and gory.
Need for Speed Underground + Underground 2 Some of the best racing OSTs ever, and the offline PS2-editions don’t lose tracks when licenses expire.
Prince of Persia - Sands of Time
Silent Hill 2
Viewtiful Joe + Viewtiful Joe 2 An incredible 2d beat-em up with a great vibe.
The Warriors Rockstar’s love letter to a cult classic 70s film.
Zone of the Enders + Zone of the Enders 2nd Runner Hideo Kojima just doing more of his thing outside of the MGS franchise.
- Comment on Everybody is fine with celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg making up fake names for themselves, but when someone chooses a name for themselves to suit their gender identity it's suddenly a problem 3 weeks ago:
Does it ever make you think that when her parents were having sex that one fateful night, they would later be able to look back upon it and say that they were making Whoopi?
- Comment on Cast your spell on me 3 weeks ago:
The maximum I’ve ever consumed was ~1,200mg (1.2g) of caffeine over a ~16 hour timeframe.
I did not feel OK afterwards; reading your comment just started giving me heart palpitations… 😅
- Comment on Shortly After Xbox Game Pass Prices Spiked, the Page to Cancel Game Pass Subscriptions Was Overwhelmed 3 weeks ago:
I haven’t used a killawatt on it to check, but according to the specs it uses ~30W while in operation (plus whatever additional draw for the four drives). It’s pretty negligible, overall as far as I can tell.
- Comment on WoW dies with the Lich King 3 weeks ago:
Hard disagree; Cata was definitely a stumble, but Mists of Pandaria did a lot right, as did Legion. BfA also had its moments, even though it was severely hampered by needlessly obtuse systems.
Shadowlands is where it truly died.
- Comment on Albanese invites Arab 'hypermarket' to compete with Coles and Woolworths 3 weeks ago:
Except, that they do? Go back to the Big W link you posted earlier - they’re back up to the MSRP:
It’s something that every company does, because if a product is permanently ’on sale’, then they run the risk of being fined (maybe by the ACCC? I’m not quite sure which body is in charge) for false advertising. There are strict guidelines that dictate what a product must be at the “was price” for a certain length of time, within a certain timeframe.
It’s not just Coles and Woolworths that do this; every other retailer is equally culpable: JB HiFi, Bunnings, Myer, Kmart, Chemist Warehouse etc.
- Comment on Albanese invites Arab 'hypermarket' to compete with Coles and Woolworths 3 weeks ago:
Revenue is just cash in, it goes hand-in-hand with inflation. Shit is getting more expensive, no one is arguing that.
The cause of price increases are coming from higher up the chain; the big multinational corporations that supply into the supermarkets dictate prices. Those increased costs are passed onto the consumer.
But Net Profit % is the metric you need to look at in order to determine whether a company is price gouging or not. After covering supplier costs, logistics and storage costs, staffing costs, utilities and other overheads, as well as paying taxes, if a company is only pocketing 5-6 cents for every dollar in, that’s not them being greedy and pocketing ever increasing wads and wads of cash.
Honestly, I think a supermajority of shoppers wouldn’t even notice a ~5% reduction in the individual prices on a shelf label - not because they’re rich enough to notice care, but because it’s so insignificant when compared to the bigger costs they currently face (rent/mortgage, utilities, motor expenses etc.).
That is why I’m saying that adding another supermarket into the mix here in Australia is not going to have a noticeable impact on customer wallets. It’s just a distraction from the issue of land hoarding and rent-seeking causing the coming generations to be noticeably worse off than the ones that came before.
The sooner we stop following whatever distraction corporate media throws our way, and demand change that actually matters - the sooner we’ll be able to wrestle our futures out of the hands of the 1% of the 1%.
- Comment on Shortly After Xbox Game Pass Prices Spiked, the Page to Cancel Game Pass Subscriptions Was Overwhelmed 3 weeks ago:
Even better! What are you running on your server?
Ours is just an old QNAP I dug out of storage with 4x8TB drives in RAID5 - but am eager to try out HexOS on a proper system once I have some spare time.
- Comment on Shortly After Xbox Game Pass Prices Spiked, the Page to Cancel Game Pass Subscriptions Was Overwhelmed 3 weeks ago:
The missus and I sat down about a year ago and tabulated up how much all of the various streaming subscriptions were costing us per year (it was close to $1,000 when including YouTube Premium).
We cancelled every single one, and put that money towards building a home NAS and filling that up with downloaded media. No more ads, stupidly low bitrates, or TV shows & movies disappearing because a license expired.
The server has more than paid for itself at this point, and every additional spare dollar is being put aside for our kids’ tuition.
- Comment on Albanese invites Arab 'hypermarket' to compete with Coles and Woolworths 3 weeks ago:
Coles and Woolworths have pretty consistently posted Net Profits of ~5-6% for over the past decade (probably longer, I CBF checking).
Meanwhile Coca Cola most recently posted a Net Profit of ~22.6%; PepsiCo, Mondelez & Kraft-Heinz all post Net Profits of ~10-12%, while all avoiding paying Australian taxes - but nah, the Supermarkets are the ones being greedy.
I return to my original point; the reason why people are feeling the pinch at the checkout lane is predominantly because their discretionary spending funds have been annihilated directly (and indirectly) by skyrocketing property prices.
Everything else, including this baseless discussion on how just adding one more supermarket chain to the Australian market will somehow miraculously solve the current affordability crisis, is just theatre to distract from the actual underlying issue.
