[-] notnotmike@programming.dev 4 points 1 day ago

Everyone has about the same answers here, and I agree with many, but I've got a weird one:

Super Size Me

Something about it just compels me. And it always makes me want McDonald's afterwards... I truly struggle to explain why.

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For me, it may be that the toilet paper roll needs to have the open end away from the wall. I don't want to reach under the roll to take a piece! That's ludicrous!

That or my recent addiction to correcting people when they use "less" when they should use "fewer"

[-] notnotmike@programming.dev 165 points 1 month ago

I mean, I'm not much of a tinfoil hat, but this article feels extremely conveniently timed for Intel, who is currently going through a massive ordeal with their chips. Especially considering that the vulnerability is so extremely difficult to exploit that there's borderline no story here for 99% of people but the headline will still drive clicks and drama.

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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by notnotmike@programming.dev to c/askbeehaw@beehaw.org

I love the idea of supporting small business and quality, handcrafted items. But Etsy seems to be more focused on drop shipping and it becomes a hassle to investigate every item I purchase to determine whether it ships from China or not.

Does anyone know of any alternatives with a good reputation?

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I've recently started digitizing my mother-in-law's collection of home movies. What I would love is some recommendations or tweaks I can do to improve the quality and remove any combing or minimize static. I am not particularly concerned with audio quality, but I'll list it below as well.

And so far I'm enjoying the processes. It's really fun to see old videos and to learn a bit about video formats and encoding. I'm an amateur when it comes to these kinds of things so I'm learning as I go along. Each tape I make the picture clearer and the file size smaller!

Recording

  • Sony Handycam (DCR-TRV27)
  • Various DV 60/90 cassette tapes
  • Seemingly ran in standard recording mode (tapes are 60 minutes)

VCR

* I have ordered a A/V to RCA cable which is the manufacturer's recommended connection, but unsure about the effects on quality

Software

  • OBS for recording the VCR feed
    • Downscale Filter: Bicubic (Sharpened scaling, 16 samples)
    • Deinterlace - Linear 2x
    • 720x540 @ 29.97 FPS (NTSC) (upscaled from 720x480)
    • "Indistinguishable Quality, Large File Size"
      • .mkv format with H.264 encoder
    • Audio Encoder AAC
    • Audio 48khz steroe
  • Handbrake for re-encoding
    • 720x480 @ 29.97 FPS
    • H.264 (x264) MKV format
    • No additional deinterlacing
    • "Constant Quality" set to 20
    • Audio Encoder AAC
[-] notnotmike@programming.dev 45 points 2 months ago

Vagina man shirt

I'm not sure how other people feel about it, but this is my"Vagina Man" shirt I had printed after a night of Jackbox

[-] notnotmike@programming.dev 50 points 2 months ago

It's a cold war term - basically, first world is the US and capitalist countries, second world is the Soviet and communist countries, and third world are the unaffiliated.

It's slightly more nuanced than that, but that's the basic summary.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World

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I got an Elgato capture card and a VCR off of EBay and have already digitized three tapes I've found at garage sales.

Any advice for cleaning up the image and audio? I recall there were VCR cleaners but never was confident of their efficacy.

[-] notnotmike@programming.dev 83 points 3 months ago

I was looking for resources for a custom LLM and noticed they had a ton of copyrighted books and wondered to myself how the heck that was legal

I guess this answers that

[-] notnotmike@programming.dev 65 points 3 months ago

I used to be really into doing Google Maps and uploading reviews, images, and updating stuff. I got a real sense of community out of it for almost no effort.

But now I'm trying to cut back on Google so much, trying to use Organic Maps more often.

I was also always self-conscious about taking pictures of stuff in a restaurant and eventually couldn't stomach it anymore.

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I want to become a more knowledgeable gardener, and besides research and studying, I think a fun way to enhance my knowledge would be a fun gardening game. Are there any that are particularly accurate or relaxing?

Garden Life looks pretty chill but maybe not challenging or accurate to reality.

And to clarify, by accurate I mean you need to plant in correct lighting, water an appropriate amount, and fertilize to optimize for stems, flowers, fruits, etc.. Bonus points for having the option to pick your planting zone!

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submitted 3 months ago by notnotmike@programming.dev to c/cat@lemmy.world
[-] notnotmike@programming.dev 46 points 3 months ago

What do you mean by clean? Firefox UI is highly customizable, you can even add spacing where you want it, or select a more compact view

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Hey all, I've created a catio (cat patio) for my two cats in a window well next to my desk. They absolutely love it, but I would like to make it even better for them by using real grass. Currently, I have a pretty good artificial grass in there that they love to lay in and stays green year 'round, which is fine enough. But I would really love to give them some real grass (or moss) to lay on and maybe even munch on.

So, with that backstory, I would love to find a grass that has the following traits.

  1. Comfortable and safe for cats (both internally and externally)
  2. Stays relatively short since I can't exactly get a lawn mower
  3. Doesn't require a lot of sun

It would also be a bonus if it were okay with more arid climates, because I would prefer to minimize watering as much as possible.

My mind goes to something like Spanish Moss since it stays relatively short and is pretty comfy, but I'm not sure if that's the best option, so I wanted to ask people more experience than me.

Picture of the window well in its current state and one of its occupants for reference below.

And for anyone concerned, the well is closed in with a grate and some chicken wire so they can't slip out. They are not outdoor cats, but we do take them out on harnesses for walks. They are treated for pests like tics and mites as a precaution.

Thanks anyone who answers!

[-] notnotmike@programming.dev 128 points 4 months ago

I'm really torn on news like this.

I'll get it out of the way that I am jealous. I wish I had been able to do what she did. I also think that if more people cared about education on this level, we could really get a significantly smarter population and start to solve some of the problems in the world.

Having said that, I have concerns over what her life is like. I would need a lot more details to feel comfortable that this kind of lifestyle is healthy for someone. She missed out on most of her childhood at this point, a time most adults look back on fondly as a time when they had no responsibilities. I have so many follow-up questions that the article doesn't address.

  • Is she truly self-motivated or does she have someone like her parents urging her to do this?
  • Given a choice, would she do it again?
  • What was her workload like? Was she constantly studying or is she lucky enough to not need to?

Also, more for my curiosity than anyone else's well-being:

  • How do you even sign a 10 year old up for college?
  • Do professors give leniency to an 11 year old in class or are they getting the same experience an 18 year old would get?
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Oh and banned for rule 1 if you disagree

[-] notnotmike@programming.dev 45 points 4 months ago

"Do you think fighting can be part of a healthy relationship?"

My wife and I rarely fight, we've maybe had two or three in our entire relationship, and they weren't yelling matches We just got upset and patched things up relatively quickly. I don't think I could be with someone who thinks raising their voice at another person is okay, and surely not if they think it can be healthy. And hard "hell no" to any violence.

So, this is a weedout question

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submitted 4 months ago by notnotmike@programming.dev to c/cat@lemmy.world

I would recommend everyone try this. Just sit down, bend your knees, throw a blanket over, and show them the entrance. Just be warned they will not leave unless you make them

[-] notnotmike@programming.dev 74 points 7 months ago

Well the latter have more "meat" on them, whereas bugs are mostly just "shells" once they die. You aren't eating the shells of crustaceans, you're eating the innards

[-] notnotmike@programming.dev 48 points 7 months ago

I do my best to avoid art from controversal figures, but more importantly I avoid financially supporting them. Sometimes that's difficult, because they have been involved in so many things and that involvement isn't always obvious, but I try.

One of the recent, easier examples is J.K. Rowling, whose stance as a self-proclaimed "TERF" has caused me to avoid her Harry Potter franchise except for the books and movies I already own (although I have still not had interest in those lately as a consequence of her stance). This is an easy case to avoid because it's (usually) obvious what she benefits from and what she doesn't, there is no guesswork or Googling. If it says "Harry Potter" in the title it is probably financially benefitting her

[-] notnotmike@programming.dev 238 points 7 months ago

I wanted to chime in, since I'm in the unique situation of not being a "Swiftie" but still having an above-average knowledge of Taylor Swift due to being married to a Swiftie.

For starters, her songs are very relatable for women. Especially in women around her age, she was routinely writing songs that spoke to the emotions during each periods of their lives. My wife, for example, was in middle/high school when Taylor was releasing her romantic country songs, and met me right around when Taylor released Lover. This is all because Taylor is extremely autobiographical with her lyrics and was writing about what she was experiencing at the time. She wrote lovesongs in Speak Now because she was in high school and early college when she produced the album. She wrote Lover because she had met a man who, at the time, she perceived to be a man she could spend the rest of her life with. Since Red, very few of her songs are about hypothetical situations. Almost all of them are about her real experiences as a person and as a woman, with the exception of folklore and Evermore, and that speaks to women in a very strong way. Her lyrics and reasons behinds songs are deep, much deeper than most give her credit for.

Additionally, she is extremely good at marketing. Many of her songs and albums have Easter eggs in them that only true fans will be able to find. She also drops a lot of cryptic hints, which her fans love to dissect and interpret to try and predict major releases or announcements. It's just good fun for them, and it increases the hype significantly. Also, her concerts are not just live music, they're a whole show. The Eras concert is 3 hours long, and she is singing and running the entire time. She rarely lip-syncs - I say rarely because I've heard claims that she does but I have never seen it - and gives it her all every single concert. Her band and many of her dancers and support staff have been with her for a decade or more now, and they have continued to routinely put on shows to the best of their abilities without fail.

Finally, she is, most Swifties believe, a genuinely good person. The worst thing I've ever heard of her doing is loaning her private jet out to her friends and families which caused her to break the news because her jet was causing a lot of emissions. Beyond that, she seems to be a grounded woman who genuinely loves her fans and the people around her.

If you take nothing else away from this post, this is the most important fact: She is relatable to women. She sings about her lived experiences, many of which are relatable to her fans.

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notnotmike

joined 1 year ago