DanBC's recent activity
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
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Comment on Matt Berry on comedy, career and "What We Do In the Shadows" [2021] in ~tv
DanBC Link ParentNot a panel show, but Stath Lets Flats is a fun sitcom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC35QUqM9qwNot a panel show, but Stath Lets Flats is a fun sitcom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC35QUqM9qw
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Comment on Dune Rats - Melted Into Two (2022) in ~music
DanBC LinkI love everything about this. The song is a belter - play loud and dance like no-one's watching. And the video? Just lovely. Heart-warming.I love everything about this.
The song is a belter - play loud and dance like no-one's watching.
And the video? Just lovely. Heart-warming.
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Dune Rats - Melted Into Two (2022)
4 votes -
Comment on Yorkshire crafts: Drystone wallers in ~humanities.history
DanBC LinkI love videos like this. A person who knows what they're talking about, and who has spent a lot of time thinking about the hows and whys of what they do, is given time and space to just talk.I love videos like this. A person who knows what they're talking about, and who has spent a lot of time thinking about the hows and whys of what they do, is given time and space to just talk.
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Comment on It’s time to bury the defective detective in ~tv
DanBC Link ParentMonk is an example of the trope being done reasonably well. It's a good show. Monk started in I think 2002? The UK had Shoestring which featured a computer expert who had a "mental breakdown" and...It's kind of weird that Monk goes without mention in that his show was if not the first,
Monk is an example of the trope being done reasonably well. It's a good show.
Monk started in I think 2002? The UK had Shoestring which featured a computer expert who had a "mental breakdown" and then became a private detective. This aired in 1979. It's a really long standing trope in UK crime drama.
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Comment on If you had up to US$250 to get one person into a hobby you're interested in, what would you do to get them started? in ~hobbies
DanBC LinkElectronics (but twenty years ago): Buy a breadboard, some vero board, a soldering iron, solder (with a note to try not to breath too many of the fumes), some single strand wire, some 7/02 wire,...Electronics (but twenty years ago):
Buy a breadboard, some vero board, a soldering iron, solder (with a note to try not to breath too many of the fumes), some single strand wire, some 7/02 wire, and then a 555 ic (and the discrete components to support it, including an LED to blink), a μA741 op amp (and discrete components to make a tiny not great amp or function generator), and some handtools (needle nose pliers, snips, solder wick or solder sucker if we're being fancy). And a book by Forrest M Mims
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Comment on It’s time to bury the defective detective in ~tv
DanBC LinkSubmitting this because while it's a bit thin, it makes a reasonable point: the defective detective trope is over-used, especially in the UK. Very many UK tv detectives have some kind of...Submitting this because while it's a bit thin, it makes a reasonable point: the defective detective trope is over-used, especially in the UK.
Very many UK tv detectives have some kind of dysfunction. Sometimes these are written well, but often they're just shoe-horned in to add "depth". I find it a bit frustrating to see things like alcohol use disorders handled so clumsily.
The other problem is that it re-enforces the brilliant arsehole trope -- someone who is a terrible person but it's okay because they solve the crime (or in "House" they cure the patient).
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It’s time to bury the defective detective
18 votes -
Comment on The little Linux distro that could - Tom's Root Boot (2001) in ~comp
DanBC LinkSubmitting this because I used to use TomsRtBt and it was remarkable at the time how much linux he'd crammed onto a floppy disc and I thought people might be interested. I had a quick look on...Submitting this because I used to use TomsRtBt and it was remarkable at the time how much linux he'd crammed onto a floppy disc and I thought people might be interested.
I had a quick look on YouTube to see if anyone had made a video about it, but it seems to have gone completely under the radar of the "let's use an obscure OS" channels which is a shame.
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The little Linux distro that could - Tom's Root Boot (2001)
12 votes -
Comment on Some observations about some of the conversations here in ~tildes
DanBC Link ParentI don't know if you understand just how hostile this position is to users, especially new users.I find contrarian arguments interesting
I don't know if you understand just how hostile this position is to users, especially new users.
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Comment on In streaming milestone, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery team on bundle featuring Disney+, Hulu and Max in ~tv
DanBC Link ParentThere's some great tv. The problem for me is that it's scattered over so many services. Apple TV+ has lots of great original content, and they buy some good shows too. Amazon tv has some good...There's some great tv. The problem for me is that it's scattered over so many services. Apple TV+ has lots of great original content, and they buy some good shows too. Amazon tv has some good content. I'm not so fussed about Netflix, but Love Death and Robots is particularly good (especially seasons 2 and 3). Peacock has had some good content. HBO or Max has great content.
I'm not subscribing to all of these, so I pirate the things i want to watch.
They need to work out an a la carte pricing model that isn't ridiculous.
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Comment on In streaming milestone, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery team on bundle featuring Disney+, Hulu and Max in ~tv
DanBC LinkI used to understand the offer: Disney = kid friendly, family friendly, mix of high quality film, and then some decent enough to watch sequels, and some tv shows that were hot garbage. HBO = home...I used to understand the offer:
Disney = kid friendly, family friendly, mix of high quality film, and then some decent enough to watch sequels, and some tv shows that were hot garbage.
HBO = home of great tv for adults
Hulu = I've never understood Hulu.
Now Disney is family friendly, mixed with adult only, and it's got to the point where they're paying money on adverts to teach people how to set age restrictions. And that, to me, is the point where they should have said "what on Earth are we doing to our carefully cultivated brand?" Having a place that's safe for children is important to many adults. Sure, you should monitor what they're watching, and off-loading the monitoring to Disney (with their particular culture and values) is problematic. But still, it's weird.
The entire Max thing is also baffling to me. Maybe it makes sense in tv land.
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Comment on ‘Hopeless and broken’: why the world’s top climate scientists are in despair in ~enviro
DanBC Link ParentThis is surprisingly difficult. I've posted this example before, so apologies if you've seen it already. Which is better? Disposable nappies ("diapers"), or reusable cloth nappies? The UK...Trying to figure out what I can do to mitigate as much damage as I can
This is surprisingly difficult. I've posted this example before, so apologies if you've seen it already.
Which is better? Disposable nappies ("diapers"), or reusable cloth nappies?
The UK government did some research. Life Cycle Assessment of
Disposable and Reusable Nappies
in the UK It is 400 pages long and the conclusion is almost "eh, we dunno"."For the three nappy systems studied, there was no significant difference between
any of the environmental impacts – that is, overall no system clearly had a better or
worse environmental performance, although the life cycle stages that are the main
source for these impacts are different for each system."UK government was unhappy with that result, so they re-ran the study and tightened some things up and they got this: An updated lifecycle assessment study
for disposable and reusable nappies. It's much shorter and much more readable.The report highlights that the manufacture of disposable nappies has greater
environmental impact in the UK than their waste management by landfill.For reusable nappies, the baseline scenario based on average washer and drier use
produced a global warming impact of approximately 570kg of carbon dioxide
equivalents. However, the study showed that the impacts for reusable nappies are
highly dependent on the way they are laundered.Washing the nappies in fuller loads or line-drying them outdoors all the time (ignoring
UK climatic conditions for the purposes of illustration) was found to reduce this figure
by 16 per cent. Combining three of the beneficial scenarios (washing nappies in a
fuller load, outdoor line drying all of the time, and reusing nappies on a second child)
would lower the global warming impact by 40 per cent from the baseline scenario, or
some 200kg of carbon dioxide equivalents over the two and a half years, equal to
driving a car approximately 1,000 km.In contrast, the study indicated that if a consumer tumble-dried all their reusable
nappies, it would produce a global warming impact 43 per cent higher than the baseline
scenario. Similarly, washing nappies at 90°C instead of at 60°C would increase global
warming impact by 31 per cent over the baseline. Combining these two energy
intensive scenarios would increase the global warming impact by 75 per cent over the
baseline scenario, or some 420kg of carbon dioxide equivalent over the two and a half
years.It's not the sort of analysis we can expect individuals to do. Especially because this is one single product. There's clothing, bedding, feeding, etc etc. We need governments to do it, and then put out an small infographic about what's best.
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Comment on Behold, the $400 red pineapple in ~food
DanBC LinkDoes creating and selling a $400 pineapple help with the science of creating crops that are useful for most of the world who live on not much money? From 2018 there's this piece that says 48% of...Does creating and selling a $400 pineapple help with the science of creating crops that are useful for most of the world who live on not much money? From 2018 there's this piece that says 48% of the world population live on less than $5.50 per day.
Is there any science fiction about people in those countries either ignoring the IP, or doing their own engineering?
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Comment on Expanding upon other peoples' thoughts in discussions in ~talk
DanBC LinkI think repeating what someone has just said can be helpful to avoid misunderstanding. I feel concepts like Appreciative Inquiry could help the discussion - something like "so what are the...I think repeating what someone has just said can be helpful to avoid misunderstanding.
I feel concepts like Appreciative Inquiry could help the discussion - something like "so what are the strongest benefits of this approach?", "which method are you most comfortable with, and could you say why that is? These are highly context dependent and may not be at all suitable for your meetings. Sometimes people do just need the details and then get out of the meeting. I feel for breakout groups this can reassure people - "this person isn't calling me an idiot, they're not telling me I'm wrong, they're engaged with what I'm saying, they see me as an expert and they're asking me for more information".
Don't forget that sometimes some people need the uncomfortable silence. If you just let it sit someone will fill it. I feel that your approach is inclusive, and is supporting people join the discussion, and that's a powerful positive. I've been to a few meetings where the quiet people just don't get to join in and that's sub-optimal.
For breakout groups especially some people don't do well "off the cuff", and if they haven't had time to prepare it'd be nice to have some kind of method for them to submit ideas later.
(And if anyone wants to make a small amount of money here the English NHS, and local authorities in England, would want something like JamBoard but self-hosted where the information stays local to the organisation.)
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
DanBC LinkI have been playing Six Sided Streets by Chris Klimowski on Itch.Io It's a fun puzzle game. You "place trios of hexes to grow your town outward from the TOWN CENTER". You score points by...I have been playing Six Sided Streets by Chris Klimowski on Itch.Io
It's a fun puzzle game. You "place trios of hexes to grow your town outward from the TOWN CENTER".
You score points by connecting street hexes together, and more points if they connect to a port. You score points by joining parks together. Wind turbines like to be on a hill, but also like to be alone, so don't join wind turbines to other wind turbines.
I'd be really interested in other similar low key puzzle games with tile placement. Nothing too hard, simple to pick up, easy to play. (Any console, too, especially if it's PS1 or older).
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How do I fix my (stupid) use of excessive punctuation?
In online forums I use far too many punctuation marks. I especially use dashes - to separate clauses that don't need a dash (and sometimes I'll add brackets like this because, well, I dunno). And...
In online forums I use far too many punctuation marks. I especially use dashes - to separate clauses that don't need a dash (and sometimes I'll add brackets like this because, well, I dunno). And sometimes I'll start a sentence with "and" when it doesn't need to be there. My comma use is wild and uncontrolled, but I feel it's a bit more controlled than these other marks.
Importantly: I do not care how other people use punctuation.
But I would like to try to fix, or perhaps just improve, my punctuation use. Like the way I just start a new paragraph at random.
I feel like my posts are the same as those flyers that use 7 different fonts, with bolds and underlines and italics (and combinations of them), and with some words in red and some in green and some in black and there's no rhyme or reason to it.
I do like a casual tone but I feel that I go far too far in the informal direction. English is my first, and my only, language. (I love Europe, but I am a bad European. "Please look after our star" we said, and most of us said it in English because most of us who said it don't know other European languages)
Do you have any advice? I'd be interested to hear about books, or videos, or courses, or podcasts, or anything at all that can help. I'd even pay for this. But not Eats Shoots and Leaves please
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Comment on I'm at a loss on what to do about my backyard grass situation in ~life.home_improvement
DanBC Link ParentSo, yes, but in the UK I haven't been able to keep up with mild maintenance and now the garden is full of blackberry (we keep a few strands to feed pollinators and birds), dock, and buddleia. It's...tremendously easy solution to the problem: do nothing. The easiest native plants to grow are the ones people consider weeds.
So, yes, but in the UK I haven't been able to keep up with mild maintenance and now the garden is full of blackberry (we keep a few strands to feed pollinators and birds), dock, and buddleia. It's used to be full of other stuff that people would sometimes consider to be weeds, but the other things are good for insects and pollinators and birds, but these are now being crowded out by less useful plants.
We kept it a bit relaxed, but now it's super relaxed.
I've been playing a small 4x game called Civ-Hero, by WhaleBunny, on Itch.io. The intro level is simple and fun, and does a good job of introducing the resources. I feel like the tech tree could be more gradually introduced for new players, but if you know anything about 4x strategy games this is fun and easy to play.
EDIT: itch.io appears to be having connectivity problems!