Root Access

12:06 AM

The problem is that you're using primitive imperial measurements, about as useful as furlongs per fortnight as a measure of speed. Get with the metric system :-) — paxdiablo 18 hours ago

Bob

12:21 AM

@JourneymanGeek you don't use growl anymore, do you? :P

Journeyman Geek

lol

not really set up the download box properly this time

so no

bwDraco

Aug 2 '16 at 15:55, by bwDraco

We use imperial units when everyone else uses metric!

Aug 2 '16 at 15:58, by bwDraco

It's like everything we do is at odds with the conventions used by everyone else!

Bob

I am partial to alphabetical order. It's about as meaningful as most of the other rankings out there. — Najib Idrissi 5 hours ago

FML Cat

12:40 AM

I like hugs

Journeyman Geek

Controlling An Airport From 80 Miles Away

►

bwDraco

Just how ATCs stay calm under the most stressful conditions is beyond me.

(Yes, they hand-pick them for precisely that ability before they're even trained...)

FML Cat

1:31 AM

So I just realised, my mobile phone and my high-end laptop both have the same WiFi capabilities

Back in the old days that'd be unthinkable

allquixotic

2:17 AM

Well, thanks to minaturization and a drop-off in WiFi improvements (because it's already pretty good, and approaching the Nyquist Ratio for how much data you can cram into a given amount of spectrum), WiFi has had a chance to catch up on SoCs

Things that used to be crazy expensive in terms of die size, power, or cost, have been getting consumed by even the weakened form of Moore's Law... at the same time, things we like that add overhead have been getting less burdensome relative to hardware capabilities, like virtual memory, virtualization, JIT compiled languages, garbage collection, microservices...

Bob

@allquixotic I might've asked you this before, but have you ever used WiX?

Journeyman Geek

@Bob fwiw I'm not too precious over American vs UK spelling in my posts. It is bad enough as is :p

Bob

@JourneymanGeek yea, didn't think you'd particularly care but on the surface that edit looked like intentional - was worried they'd go around doing it elsewhere

Journeyman Geek

Ah k

allquixotic

@Bob tried it once, it was pretty hard to learn the scripting language

Bob

2:33 AM

@allquixotic Ah. WixSharp is nice but doesn't quite support what I need so I'm starting my dive into injecting a bit of raw WiX XML now :P

bwDraco

reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/7trlot/i_finally_did_an_upgrade

...led me to this:

tomshardware.com/reviews/…

> Unfortunately, the Devil 13 Dual Core R9 290X is not quiet. Registering more than 58 dB(A) in quiet mode and more than 61 dB(A) in performance mode, this graphics card is a conversation piece only in the sense that it doesn’t allow conversations to happen anywhere near it.

WTF.

61 dBA? Seriously?

(though the reference R9 290X was also notorious for being extremely noisy when configured to run at 100% fan speed, hitting 65 dBA)

I seriously need an SPL meter.

FML Cat

@allquixotic also, the "throw more spectrum at everything" solution has made it easier to get away with being lazy on desktop/laptops (i.e. Most manufacturers including Intel only make 2-stream cards) and excessive miniaturisation on the laptop front also limit the capabilities thanks to the constrained m.2 form factor

Journeyman Geek

@bwDraco you have one :p

bwDraco

If I understand what you mean, my phone isn't really accurate enough for this purpose :P

Journeyman Geek

How accurate do you need it?

bwDraco

2:43 AM

Something on the order of this:

amazon.com/Galaxy-CM140-Checkmate-Microphone-Preamp/dp/…

IEC 60651 Type 2 (or IEC 61672 Class 2), like the one above.

Bob

lol

poor @JourneymanGeek

no one ever listens to him (3 month rule and responsible buying) :P

bwDraco

This was already being considered for a while, but I had determined it was too niche to be worth it. Unlike a non-contact IR thermometer or even a thermal imager, there are few situations where I actually need an SPL meter.

Also, waiting three months is too long - I tend to decide whether to buy more expensive gear by trying to guess how the product would be used over several months' time.

FML Cat

@Bob Did you mis-spell impulse buying?

bwDraco

Most larger purchases are planned over a few weeks' time at most.

Journeyman Geek

@FMLCat no :p

bwDraco

2:55 AM

Yes, it's easy to make a biased decision because it's something you want now, but I try to filter out the emotions and focus on how the product would realistically be used farther into the future.

allquixotic

@Bob No one ever listens when their mom says "you must chew your food 21 times before swallowing" either

Journeyman Geek

@bwDraco oh I really really do this

bwDraco

Between some historically strict discipline on purchasing products (though rules have eased a bit) and a budgetary crisis a few years back where I nearly ran out of money, I'm generally very good at making sure I don't overspend.

Bob

    project.WixSourceGenerated += (XDocument document) =>
    {
        var allEls = document.Descendants();
        var toasterShortcutComponent = allEls.First(el => el.Attribute("Id")?.Value == ToasterShortcutId);
        var toasterShortcutEl = toasterShortcutComponent.Select("Shortcut");
        toasterShortcutEl.Add(
            new XElement("ShortcutProperty",
                new XAttribute("Key", "System.AppUserModel.ID"),
                new XAttribute("Value", ToasterAppUserModelId)));

makes this

    <Shortcut Id="GrowlToToast.1.GrowlToToast.Shortcut.Toaster" WorkingDirectory="GrowlToToast.1.GrowlToToast.Shortcut.Toaster.WorkDir" Target="[INSTALLDIR]\Toaster\GrowlToToast.Toaster.exe" Name="Toaster.lnk">
      <ShortcutProperty Key="System.AppUserModel.ID" Value="GrowlToToast.Toaster" />
    </Shortcut>

bwDraco

Most purchases valued at $50 or more are closely checked these days.

Bob

3:08 AM

:D

@allquixotic ^

bwDraco

@JourneymanGeek Clarify?

Journeyman Geek

@bwDraco what Bob said. I basically wait at least 3 months before making a bigger non essential tech purchase

bwDraco

I know what the 3-month rule is, but how did you arrive at this approach?

The largest purchases (>$300-500) are typically based on several weeks to a couple of months of savings, so there is longer planning, but not necessarily three months.

allquixotic

@Bob iiiinteresting

Journeyman Geek

3:26 AM

@bwDraco cause I find if I want something in 3 months, I really do

bwDraco

@allq was constantly talking about headsets and stuff and that made me want one. aptX Low Latency is not a requirement for me (as long as I can plug in an audio cable), but his other requirements (Bluetooth Class 1, long battery life, ANC) are pretty much the same as mine.

After some deliberation, I decided that the Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless was the best choice for my expected uses.

@allquixotic, are you on Gitter?

But I haven't allocated any funds for it and I just missed Best Buy's sale.

At $400 MSRP, it's expensive enough that I need to allocate funds for it in advance.

Bob

uh

it's nowhere near that much

bwDraco

Regional differences in price? It was $300 a few days ago, and is currently selling for $380 at major vendors.

Bob

o.O

bwDraco

@Bob amazon.com/Sennheiser-PXC-550-Wireless-Cancelling/dp/B01E3XLNA0

Bob

3:37 AM

could've sworn I saw it at 250, though that could've been a christmas sale

yea even now it's available locally at the equiv of 280 usd

is something cheaper in au for once? :P

bwDraco

4:08 AM

@allquixotic, are you around? I'd like to chat a bit on Gitter.

bwDraco

4:32 AM

Learning LXD: Locally, or in the cloud or dedicated server?

Not in production.

Journeyman Geek

Depends on what you have access to ;p

bwDraco

I can set up a VM on my desktop pretty easily.

Journeyman Geek

that's a good place to start ;p

bwDraco

I was thinking about whether to create a dedicated instance on Linode with Ubuntu Server, but then I'd have to go through the trouble of setting it up and securing it properly, not to mention that I'd have to pay an extra $5 or more a month. But it would be a more realistic environment, with a static IP address to work with.

Also, I don't know Ubuntu particularly well, so it would take me longer to set up SSH keys, firewalls, etc., leaving me more vulnerable to attack for longer. This would not be an issue if I just do it locally.

Journeyman Geek

which is where the home setup is a good idea

Bob

5:02 AM

@bwDraco erm

setting up ssh pubkey auth and disabling password auth is all of 15 mins with google, even if it's the first time

bwDraco

Doing a color accuracy check on the main monitor, but I'm on the netbook.

Bob

there's really not much to firewall setup

bwDraco

(haven't run the calibration routine in ages)

Bob

as in, there's nothing you need to do with a firewall to 'secure' an empty linux server

(windows is a bit more interesting, since there's some rpc ports that are listening, especially on a DC)

bwDraco

Well, if I set it up locally, the VM would have access to the full resources available on Astaroth, including large amounts of RAM and storage.

(though realistically, it shouldn't need more than 4 GB of RAM or 32 GB of storage, and probably less)

Bob

5:14 AM

@bwDraco go for it

bwDraco

What system resources does this require?

Bob

approximately nothing

bwDraco

@Bob lol

I like how you use these words.

> *cough*

> approximately nothing/zero

allquixotic

what's the phenomenon called, where you can see pixels on your monitor at very specific angles only? (not even looking particularly closely)

bwDraco

> protip

Journeyman Geek

5:34 AM

@allquixotic errr. viewing angle?

Bob

@JourneymanGeek It works! My ~~time machine~~ toaster works! :P

Journeyman Geek

;p

bwDraco

Okay... calibration report: fierydragonlord.com/displaycal/…

This Dell has held up remarkably well, though the gamma has drifted a bit.

I might recalibrate this thing later on.

Trouble Maker Chat Broom

Wasssup chat!!

Journeyman Geek

falls over

Trouble Maker Chat Broom

5:42 AM

What you all know about Booty Holes?

Journeyman Geek

._.

they're holes. On booties.

Trouble Maker Chat Broom

Yep!! : -)

Maybe a good chat shortcut alias or whatever ... !#/BootyHoles

I forget the syntax but you know what I'm saying

bwDraco

(the monitor was calibrated back on November 18 when I first got it)

h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA5-5177ENW

Hmm... this is for a professional display but some points are still relevant. Of note on page 6:

> As with all LED backlit displays, there is a burn-in period where the LEDs will drift slightly until they “settle down.” Though the amount of burn-in drift will vary from display to display, we have observed a typical white point drift of approximately 1.0 Delta E 2000 after 250 hours.

Not too surprising. I suppose that if I calibrate this monitor again, I won't have to calibrate it all that often afterwards (though consumer-grade displays are less stable than pro monitors).

allquixotic

5:59 AM

!!will you answer in the affirmative?