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02:00 - 20:0020:00 - 00:00

2:02 AM
OnePlus 5T discontinued in North America, and they don't see a point in diverting stock to NA and swapping chargers. It looks like something new is on the horizon.
So, if upgrading... OnePlus 6 or Huawei Mate 10 Pro?
(can still get the Huawei direct, despite retailers and carriers pulling them over security concerns - I just don't understand why Trump et al. thinks Huawei is a security threat)
Why Huawei? Because of ads all over Hong Kong, and that sweet AI accelerator in their in-house Kirin 970 SoC.
But US$800 makes it a tough sell.
...looks like it's on sale but still a toughie.
(Phones are a huge deal in Hong Kong, even more than in the States)
 
2:17 AM
@bwDraco I've had my eye on the Huawei models recently.
 
 
1 hour later…
3:34 AM
@FMLCat Seriously, please take care of yourself
 
le sigh
 
4:17 AM
 
4:28 AM
@Boris_yo specs are on par with a current-gen gaming laptop that'll pretty much run anything at high FPS at 1080p, but I had no idea Hyundai made them
I paid a fair bit more for a very similar laptop with the same CPU and GPU but probably better build quality, and a high-end SSD instead of that HDD
 
4:52 AM
@Boris_yo Design looks like Clevo.
Today's our final day in Hong Kong. Tomorrow, we head to the airport.
 
ffs
morning btw
 
roar
 
my neighbours have been having a party since 10pm and its only getting louder
its now 6am
not sure if i should report them or not
 
5:14 AM
@bwDraco which is odd
cause the chinese models use the very same chargers.
 
5:55 AM
my girlfriend can sleep through ANYTHING
 
6:11 AM
excellent
you report a loud party that has been going on literally since yesterday and nothing can be done about it until monday
 
@Burgi anything?
 
my GF is fast asleep and the party nextdoor is making the windows rattle
 
ah
out here I think they'd send someone to check anyway
 
today is going to be a grumpy day
 
6:46 AM
oh shit dude, i am sorry
didn't your grandfather die a couple of weeks ago?
 
We are heading to the cemetary for cremation.
Today is the funeral service. I think I talked about this before...
We flew to Hong Kong specifically for this.
 
i thought it was your grandfather that had died?
 
That was a month ago.
 
and now your grandmother has died as well?
 
I lost both of my remaining grandparents in less than a month.
 
6:49 AM
that is rough
 
Maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather.
 
i am so sorry dude
i didn't realise both of them had died
 
!!s/eta/ete/
 
@bwDraco We are heading to the cemetery for cremation. (source)
 
I hadn't revealed cause of death until now.
 
7:00 AM
that party is STILL going on
its almost 12 hours
 
More accurately, the crematorium.
 
user226528
o/
 
user226528
!!s/realise/realize/
 
@FleetCommand i didn't realize both of them had died (source)
 
user226528
So, that's how it works.
 
7:12 AM
@FleetCommand i'm british, my spelling is the correct one
 
user226528
@Burgi And I needed something to test the !!s command. I am not in the least interested in your war with Americans over whose spelling is correct.
 
user226528
Although, to be honest, I can't wrap my head around people writing "s" when they intended to sound like /z/.
 
user226528
But I hope you guys win. I am not in the least interested in Trump winning anything.
 
...and we are heading to the consolation feast. This will wrap up our trip to Hong Kong.
 
7:30 AM
@Burgi the police would attend?
 
7:46 AM
> I was wondering if leaving an active Ethernet port with no plug in it was safe . We have one in our kitchen right next to our face level and I was wondering if leaving it unplugged in the open was safe like does any radiation or infrared laser/light come out of it. Might sound very paranoid but I'm curious.
This dude wasn't even trying
Just wrote some lame crap up to try and HNQ
AND IT WORKED!?!?!?!?!?!?!
 
@rahuldottech actually, looking at his other post...
he actually looks like he honestly has no idea
 
@JourneymanGeek I just saw. WTF.
 
and IME, we've gotta give people the benefit of doubt. (And close the terrible ones quickly!)
I'd have closed that question if not for the quality of the answers
Well I was tempted to due to the quality or lack thereof of the comments
 
user226528
Wow! Optimization does wonders.
 
user226528
I downloaded an FFX-2 walkthrough from GameFAQs.
 
user226528
7:52 AM
It was 16 MB.
 
user226528
I reduced it to 5 MB.
 
user226528
Of course, web browsers still have to put up some serious efforts to open it.
 
actually no
 
@JourneymanGeek you deleted too fast!
 
Its ok! ;p
 
7:54 AM
But now I'm curious!
 
I linked meta.superuser.com/questions/12972/… but then realised that was the other annoyance I had that week
 
1
A: Why can't I flag a particular question as off-topic?

Journeyman GeekI'm the mod who locked it. There was a few key points I considered. The quality of the answers was decent, but it was attracting an inordinate amount of snarky comments. I didn't particularly want to penalise the people doing the right thing - just send a message about the tone of commentary In...

this is what I shoulda linked!
 
Oh, I've read that, it was on the Hot Meta Posts section
 
And that's partially cause I'm annoyed at the folks complaining about stuff like people being too condesending (and trying to enforce that) or just complaining about toxicness...
And folks being a bit.... smartassy sometimes.
 
8:47 AM
Yea ,Okay Khan Academy... I'll stop using "IE".
 
> Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:59.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/59.0
 
@MichaelFrank weird
EVERY DAMN TIME
 
9:26 AM
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
 
9:40 AM
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO‌​OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO‌​OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO‌​OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO‌​OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO‌​OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO‌​OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
o
 
10:15 AM
wtf?
-1
Q: Is it safe if one accidentally swallowed a piece of the foam that is between the hard drive and the electronics

ComputerCoderANI know this isn't normal, but it is important. In a laptop hard drive, there is a foam between the electronics and the actual drive. I was wondering what this was and if it was toxic as I swallowed some by accident.

How do you accidentally swallow a piece of foam from your laptop?
 
@DavidPostill Slipped and fell on it and... wait, wrong excuse
@JourneymanGeek I try and bear in mind the relevant xkcd
!!1053
 
@bertieb That didn't make much sense. Use the !!/help command to learn more.
 
Bleh
 
10:30 AM
@bertieb also, not everyone's actually good at everything. Some folks could be downright terrible at some things
and that's fine
 
Absolutely
 
Also, when you assume the best of people, and you are wrong you can handle your disappointment with fire and maniacal laughter.
Up to a point
Some people are just sad. Until they come across worse people, and I'm sad I'm out of popcorn,
 
Aye; assume the best, prepare for the worst and you'll... something something something
 
tbh I'm tempted to knock that specific question out of HNQ, but that's going to be actual work
unprotect, close, reopen, reprotect.
 
Is it not nearing the end of it's HNQ natural run anyhow?
(Assuming HNQs follow a natural course)
I don't really know how they work
 
10:41 AM
No one really does ;p
 
 
2 hours later…
@djsmiley2k fair point
 
@Ramhound is extremely deleted it seems :)
 
Tomorrow: Flying EVA Air from HKG to TPE, then to JFK after a short (< 2 hr) layover.
(see in-flight safety video above)
 
where is TPE?
 
12:58 PM
It's Taiwan's largest airport, located in Taipei.
 
ah so you are flying east
 
Taipei is west of Hong Kong.
 
you know i would have thought flying west would quicker and safer
is it?
hm... brb geography update
 
it is also east of HKG.
 
you made me doubt myself!
i knew i was right
 
1:00 PM
:D
them pub quizzes making you smarter
 
hm
So, I have a galaxy s7 which belongs to my brother with a stuck sim slot ._.
also a screen that seems to have a loose connector.
which means I have an excuse to buy a heat gun ;p
 
oooh business class :)
i think @FMLCat said they fly business class everywhere
 
My father needs it. His condition doesn't let him fly long-haul without a sleeper seat.
 
fair enough
 
which is probably fine. and heh, if its long distance + not very often...
 
1:10 PM
Just wanted to make sure it was really dead. Boy I am glad to be home.
 
We had a really bad experience a couple of years ago flying economy to HKG. While experiencing turbulence, Father suffered a serious injury which left him unconscious, and Mother was vomiting profusely.
 
I had a dream where the plane was flying feet above street traffic
while on a plane.
 
hm
So...
@Ramhound there's a few places where that probably actually happens ;p
 
A commercial jet?
Where the passengers can see the cars. It’s typically a few hundred feet
 
@Ramhound was it in france on the way to a wedding?
2 days ago, by Burgi
had a weird dream about driving to a wedding but that wedding was in france and a french police officer had put the police cordon tape around the car because someone was murdered next to it while i was in the petrol station paying for fuel
 
1:19 PM
This doesn't happen often, but given that this trip was primarily to attend Grandmother's funeral... we're willing to dig into savings to do this. We had to book a flight, and do it fast.
Father simply cannot fly long-haul Y class any more.
 
So after the clocks went forward this morning many of the ATMs in the UK are not recognising cards :/
 
1:51 PM
So, in strange stuff I came across today...
someone posted a request for a new power meter. In Hindi. As an answer.
And since its in hindi, I cannot even redact PII
cause I don't think any of our mods reads it
._.
 
@JourneymanGeek lol. why don't you just redact it and ask me to approve?
 
The whole message?
cause I can't even read that stuff.
 
@JourneymanGeek yes :)
 
I had to google translate it ;p
....
Point.
 
@JourneymanGeek Or ask one of the hindu mods in tl for some assistance?
 
1:55 PM
actually
the PII's all in regular numerals...
 
@JourneymanGeek What is it? His phone number?
 
and power company customrer number ;p
oh
and name
but I can't do anything about that
 
Don't worry about it. Nobody will be able to do anything with his customer number (unless Indian power companies are brain dead when it comes to security of their customers)
 
Bob
@DavidPostill uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhm
 
lol
 
Bob
1:59 PM
if your assumption of safety comes down to a power company caring about the "security of their customers"...
 
In the UK we require 5 bits of information to verify a customer - none of which are the customer number as that is on every letter we post ...
 
lol
any issues with me sharing a screenshot of the translation? ;p
(with names blacked out of course)
 
@Bob It is taken very seriously in the UK. I would be fired for talking to a customer without verifying their identity. We are also paperless and mobile less so we cannot take data out of the office ...
@JourneymanGeek I already saw it :)
 
@Burgi LOL
 
2:02 PM
I think it was addressed to the "chief engineer"
Also, I have no clue why its signed off as "your Belief Split"
 
@DavidPostill yeah but not because of the security of the customers
but because of the costs to the company for breaching said security.
 
Bob
@DavidPostill unfortunately, this guy isn't in the UK. unless you guys have been secretly rebuilding your empire :P
 
@DavidPostill I very routinely prentend to be my dad
 
tell him to link his aadhaar number
 
since he seems to think I'm his PA :p
 
2:03 PM
@DavidPostill weird but that happens every year
so my conclusion is someone forgot to put the clock forward at the bank
 
@djsmiley2k Probably. And now the 1 hour time diff screws up any cert verification as we all know.
 
yup
 
@djsmiley2k Or at the ATMs
 
that's my thinking.
something didn't go forward
:D
now all the time is like wtf this happens in an hour/happened an hour ago?
 
@JourneymanGeek That's impossible to prevent if you can answer all of the security questions. Thing is we tape all calls so if the caller lies and impersonates the real customer and passes all the questions we have still passed DPA and cannot be fired ;)
 
2:06 PM
@DavidPostill oh I do have my dad's authorisation and all
 
@JourneymanGeek Yes, that's different. We store authorised people on the account for verification.
 
In a few cases I go "Hi, I'm calling on behalf of Mr Geek's Dad. I'm however the decision maker here. Once we're done with the details, I'll pass it to him"
More often than not when I need to pull the "We have elderly people" card ;p
 
man i love the smell of varnish :O
 
(what I don't tell them is I am insanely nice and polite to call centre folks when I call them. My dad... sometimes isn't ;p)
 
@JourneymanGeek I once came >.< this close to calling out someone (who was TG) and their voice clearly did not match the gender of the name. They were kind enough to point it out in advance :)
 
Bob
2:10 PM
@DavidPostill I do hope you use actual PINs and not just KBA
because KBA is ... not even remotely secure these days
 
@DavidPostill ugh
 
@Bob KBA?
 
Ya, I have a friend who's transitioning, and she basically had to go for voice coaching for that
 
Bob
@DavidPostill knowledge-based authentication. mother's maiden name, birthdate, etc.
see also: your typical "security questions" that end up being a huge security hole vs the password itself
 
@Bob Ah. I'm not at liberty to say, however we do more than meet the requirements of the UK Data Protection Act :)
 
2:12 PM
:D
1984, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2014 editions?
Also not sure what the DPA has to do with it
 
@djsmiley2k No idea. We have a DPA team for that stuff :)
 
as it's about revealing personally indentifiable infomation.
And if you're asking questions and someone is answering them (correctly or uncorrectly) as long as you don't tell them their name, address, dob, then you can't break DPA :D
 
@djsmiley2k It's also about keeping customer data safe.
 
Yup
 
Bob
@DavidPostill basically: anything that requires knowledge of someone's life can be considered insecure. the only thing secure is a secret key (PIN, password) or, ideally, verification of ownership (physical token, maaaaaybe SMS/email)
 
2:13 PM
but hearing companies say they follow DPA is funny
 
Bob
people leak KBA answers all the time
 
GPR...whatever it's called coming in is looking to be fun
 
Bob
birthdate? that's on facebook
 
I haven't looked at the details yet, but I already know it's causing hassle at work
 
Bob
first car? probably on facebook
 
2:14 PM
@djsmiley2k Yeah, well the mandatory requirements and guidelines
 
Bob
etc
 
ty @JourneymanGeek
 
@Bob which is why I think that insistance on real names is silly
 
It seemed weird as there was something about checking for people who had left the company but still had (disabled) vpn accounts.
 
Bob
2:15 PM
@JourneymanGeek basically any site that forces me to add (in)security questions pisses me off
I've taken to adding bullshit "answers" and chucking them in keepass notes
 
@Bob Yeah well, you have to realise that not all call centers are for banks :)
 
Bob
it's like: "to continue, you have to add a backdoor to your account"
how about no
 
@Bob I do the same.
 
Bob
even in the best case they don't work!
 
@DavidPostill heh, ya job -2 at the building with a boat on top had one...
 
Bob
2:16 PM
my first school's name? wait, did I capitalise it? did I write the word "school" after it?
 
@Bob my first school changed names when I was there.
 
Bob
first pet's name? ... I never had a pet. why are there only like 4 questions to pick from anyway?
 
my other school merged with another one.
One of the places I studied in changed names when I was there. Then closed.
 
Bob
@DavidPostill if it's something you need to verify customer identity for, it's something that should be done right
all or nothing, none of this halfway illusion of security
(you could say KBA adds some security, but with modern social media it's really not that much, for a huge chunk of the population...)
heck, I remember students resetting teacher credentials using the KBA password recovery and a quick google for their profile on school websites
 
2:31 PM
@JourneymanGeek ^^^
 
._.
I hate redactions
 
@JourneymanGeek I proposed one. See if you can approve :)
 
Guys, get a room.
2
 
@jokerdino this is my room
 
 
2 hours later…
4:36 PM
made chilli burgers, didn't touch my eyes
cleaned everything, including my hands, about 5 times - didn't touch my eyes
decided to harvest a few seeds for trying to growing a new plant
forgot I had done this...
touched my eye
 
ouch :(
 
Random meta question - my question was closed as a dupe, but still keeps getting more and more upvotes than the original. Can we reverse the closing, and point my question as the target?
 
5:12 PM
about to try eating said chilli burger.
 
5:24 PM
@rahuldottech No
 
hmmm not spicy enough :(
 
don't be a dick
 
@allquixotic Possibly an OEM rebrannd?
@Burgi Funny, in Edinburgh the council noise team only works weekends, and does nothing during Monday-Friday
 
@djsmiley2k did you use red chillies?
 
red and green
 
5:29 PM
big ones?
 
yeah they were pretty big
should of got the scotch bonnets
 
the big ones don't have any heat after cooking. They are only good for eating raw in salad imho
the little green ones are good
but I would just use dry chilli flakes or powder to make burgers
saves burning your eyes too
(no chopping)
 
@JourneymanGeek And that's why I don't visit the main site much anymore, because you can't block those people
@JourneymanGeek Heat guns don't help
@Burgi No I fly business class whenever I'm on the ground
Unfortunately my loyalty card's expired
So now I don't fly at all
I do still have a 2-for-1 first classs voucher though, I just need someone who likes me gullible enough to take with me
@Bob How many men/women did you cheat on on the evening of February 14th 2016?
@Bob I'm luckily of the generation where my first of most things pre-dates Facebook.
 
Oh I used spice as well
just the fat in the burgers neutralises some of the spice
@rahuldottech dunno but someone just hit my sisters parked car...
 
:43610278 New GF?
 
5:41 PM
> In high school a friend of mine got piss loaded drunk, I mean it’s a miracle he didn’t end up in the hospital. And he didn’t have a drive home from the party so what does he do? He calls the police and says “yeah there’s some drunk fucker walking up 3rd street yelling” and what does he do then? Walks up 3rd street till they pick him up and drive him to his mothers house
@FMLCat Worse. My toxic ex has been going around telling anyone who will listen that I forced myself on her
 
sounds clever, do the police not fine you for being a ass there?
 
Which is suck fucking rubbish, it makes my blood boil
 
@rahuldottech Your ex or the drunk guy getting a free ride from the police?
 
@FMLCat Ex.
 
@rahuldottech From the impression I get from the media I thought that's what all kids do, and people don't learn about consent until after college.
 
5:44 PM
@FMLCat I don't live in the US, I know how to ask whether or not my partner wants to have sex, thank you very much
(Also, I'm a virgin, so...)
8
 
@rahuldottech me neither, but Scotland apparently has had a doubling of STD transmission rates in teenagers.
 
@CanadianLuke What question?
 
34
Q: How can I test my GPU memory/RAM?

Canadian LukeI run MemTest86 a lot at work on customer's machines, and it's great for troubleshooting memory issues. My question is, how can I test that a GPU is starting to go? I know of programs like 3DMark to push the graphics card to its limits, but what about with Video Memory? Is it worth testing? Is t...

 
oh @rahuldottech they were talking on the radio the other day about schools in Calcutta using GPS to track their students
 
@CanadianLuke Furmark
 
5:47 PM
they were suggesting it was a thing across most of middle-class indian schools. is that true?
 
You can configure the memory usage.
 
@FMLCat Look at the date :P
 
@CanadianLuke Agreed. Reversed as requested.
 
@CanadianLuke You posted it now, why?
 
Cause I got yet another upvote on it
 
5:56 PM
Must downvote to counteract
 
@Burgi say wa?
 
saar pls
 
@Burgi that's fucking ridiculous bullshit
Your radio was bamboozled
 
6:27 PM
lol
so like maybe one school ten
 
7:16 PM
@Burgi They are using GPS to track school buses. Not quite the same thing as tracking students.
> The school officials started using GPS-based school bus tracking systems, which allow parents to check the status of their child’s daily trips to school to see if they have arrived safely at school. Since the school management can track the school bus’s movements including every stop and its speed, they will know if there is a delay.

The school will receive a notification the moment the tracking system detects a route deviation coming from the school bus. They can also make use of the GPS device’s two-way communication system to contact the driver.
 
lol
it's funny
as we already track buses in the uk
;D
 
@djsmiley2k Except it mostly doesn't work (at least in L'Pool). Most of the bus stops don't have indicators and the ones that do show phantom buses that have apparently left the depot but haven't. And then the screens are always BSODing :)
 
7:41 PM
@djsmiley2k Busses != Children
 
@FMLCat my point was, if they are just tracking the buses, they have nothing we don't already have over here.
yet the 'news' makes out like it's some amazing new thing
@DavidPostill when i used to get the buses here, it worked really well.
 
2 hours ago, by Burgi
oh @rahuldottech they were talking on the radio the other day about schools in Calcutta using GPS to track their students
I don't see anything there mentioning busses
 
28 mins ago, by DavidPostill
> The school officials started using GPS-based school bus tracking systems, which allow parents to check the status of their child’s daily trips to school to see if they have arrived safely at school. Since the school management can track the school bus’s movements including every stop and its speed, they will know if there is a delay.

The school will receive a notification the moment the tracking system detects a route deviation coming from the school bus. They can also make use of the GPS device’s two-way communication system to contact the driver.
keep up ;D
 
Oh he's been blocked for months
 
7:45 PM
Possibly even years
 
shrug
@FMLCat The only reason I haven't blocked anyone is so I can keep an eye on any shenanigans...
@djsmiley2k Of course he is quite capable of responding when he wants to even if I am blocked ...
 
Anyway, yes. Nearly all busses in Scotland have GPS tracking and two-way comms.
We started like, 15 years ago
 
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