@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

thomasbeagle

@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz

Civil liberties, geekery, politics, YA/SF books, tasty vegan food, family life, #NerdCryptic. Yes I do have a beagle, his name's Calcifer, and he'd really like to sniff you while you pat him. #nztwits

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

strypey, to random
@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz avatar

in 2012, talking about screens built into glasses;

"So it will be fun to see all of the ramifications around that, especially when somebody zones out in a meeting and starts browsing Google instead of paying attention to you. Steve Mann tried to come up with a way of solving this where, if you’re looking at the web on your glasses, they would turn dark and turn into sunglasses. And then when you are focused on talking to somebody, the glass would turn clear."

https://uxmastery.com/the-future-is-wearable-an-interview-with-amber-case/

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@strypey But why would I want that as the person wearing them?

billbennett, to random
@billbennett@mastodon.nz avatar

Purchased a pack of six hot cross buns in the supermarket for less than the price of one fancy artisan HCB from Daily Bread. Yes, the Daily Bread HCB is nicer, but it would be 9 out of 10 while the supermaket one was 8 out of 10.

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@billbennett I'm always impressed by the hot cross buns at New World - consistently pretty good.

Whereas the artisanal ones are all over the show from good to crap.

thomasbeagle, to random
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

I moved the pile of receipts off the sleeping pad on my desk so that the cat would be comfortable.

The cat is now sleeping on the pile of receipts.

amoroso, to random
@amoroso@fosstodon.org avatar

If it's free you are the product. If it's paid you are the product.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/hp-wants-you-to-pay-up-to-36-month-to-rent-a-printer-that-it-monitors/

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@amoroso When I grow up I want to be a corporate income stream.

thomasbeagle, to random
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

Calcifer the Beagle is leaving home, his bag is all packed. (We freed him eventually, I promise.)

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@stojg Ummm, yes, yes we are that good. <frantically takes notes>

Actually we're just Diana Wynne Jones fans. My childhood dog was called Sirius after the dog in Dogsbody.

Rjdlandscapes, to TeslaMotors
@Rjdlandscapes@mastodon.nz avatar

Only 8 models of made double digit sales in for February

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@Rjdlandscapes Really feeling the lack of the subsidy, I guess.

thomasbeagle, to random
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

Gangs of Russian hackers holding hospitals and banks to ransom by encrypting their data is totally the cyberpunk future they promised us. Right on the nose.

j, to random
@j@moo.nz avatar

Just to counter some the negative AI propaganda on Mastodon. "AI" is god-damn amazing.

Fear and negativity is reasonable response to technology that is difficult to understand, and presents an uncertain future.

But the future was always uncertain.

I was a critic of early LLMs, but we've come so far in such a short time. RAG, needle in a haystack tests, etc. Just phenomenal.

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@j I'm amused by contrasting the people saying "AIs are useless regurgitated crap" with the people saying "Here is how I am actively using them to make things easier for me".

strypey, to Podcasts
@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz avatar

"As one famous Australian constitutional lawyer said, and it remains the case even under MMP... NZ is an Executive paradise. The sovereignty of Parliament in NZ - which means Parliament can pass any law it likes - is actually the sovereignty of the Executive, not of the Parliament. And that is why so many Opposition MPs have such a frustrating life, because they have very little influence over anything."

Sir , 2017

https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-9th-floor/story/201839427/the-reformer-geoffrey-palmer

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@strypey This is partly because our Parliament, and its MPs, voluntarily give up that power.

A few back-benchers refusing to obey the party whip on occasion would help reset things.

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@Salty @strypey Absolutely, and you can see the decisions that each MP makes as a consequence of that. They're not boat-rockers.

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@strypey @Salty I say it's a choice because their commitment to getting reelected out weighs their desire for political change.

thomasbeagle, to random
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

What a great line: "Artists may not always be the best people to operate the heavy machinery of adulthood".

From: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/16/pop-stars-spotlight-bob-geldof-robbie-williams-lisa-maffia

Rjdlandscapes, to NewZealand
@Rjdlandscapes@mastodon.nz avatar

Wow just got my house insurance renewal though from AMI

Its 35% more than last year.

Wow. might have to shop around. Any recommendations?

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@Rjdlandscapes I like AA Insurance, they've been very good to deal with and have settled claims quickly.

kaiserkiwi, to random
@kaiserkiwi@corteximplant.com avatar

No idea if this is my autism or if other people are weird here. But I find it super weird and sometimes offensive when someone at work asks for help and starts their message with »Hi Marco, how are you? {Request}«.

You aren't interested in me. You want help. So why are you asking? Especially if I answer to this specific question first and then to the request there is in 99.99% of the time only a reaction to the request.

What is the thinking behind this? Why waste anyone's time here? Perhaps someone here can shed some light on this for me.

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@kaiserkiwi Not autistic here and it annoys me too. I do enjoy a little light hearted chatting when appropriate, but if you're approaching me to tell me something or ask for something, just spit it out!

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@kaiserkiwi I like to start with "Hi, can you help me with problem x on case y for customer z..." or whatever else I'm actually talking to them for.

alexkidman, to random
@alexkidman@aus.social avatar

So there's now (no joke) a Dune expansion for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

You know, for all those times you've ever wanted to see a 747 eaten by a sand worm.

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@alexkidman TIL that I want to see a 747 eaten by a sand worm.

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

I see quite a few people in the US returning their Vision Pros. As someone in the UK, it always boggles my mind that this is allowed. We have very good consumer rights here, for the most part, but you don’t just buy a piece of hardware and get to return it if you don’t like it. You by default only get a refund if it’s unused and the retailer agrees (or you bought it online and returned within 14 days) or if it’s damaged (and even then, the retailer has one ‘right to repair’ attempt).

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@craiggrannell My naivety was showing when I went to Burning Man and talked to people who bought camping gear and bicycles from Walmart with the intention of returning them, completely trashed, for a full refund afterwards.

anathema_device, to random
@anathema_device@bne.social avatar

I want to upgrade our TV from the existing 1080 x 720p, and I have 2 questions:

  1. Does anyone want a 1080 x 720p Sony Bravia TV (No stand, currently wall mounted)? Free to collect, can drop off if you have limited transport, and might pay for a stand if you need one and are cash poor :)

  2. Can anyone advise me what brand and model (50” max prolly, limited space) we should get? Not looking to spend $1000s. Choice seems to be between LG, Samsung, and Sony. All opinions gratefully received :)

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@anathema_device I think they're all pretty good if you don't really care about nerd special features/specs.

Just find a good deal on a 50" or 55" 4K HDR TV and you're done. Oh, and check that you like the remote.

thomasbeagle,
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

@anathema_device I can't help with the OS, sorry. My impression is that they're all adequate enough once you get used to them.

(I have a Samsung and it's ... adequate when you get used to it. 😄 But I do like the Samsung remote.)

thomasbeagle, to random
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

Would buying an EV make sense? I did some numbers.

We've just completed 75000km in our 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander at 7.5l/100km costing $2.75/litre for a total energy cost of $15,500 or just over $3.1k per year.

An MG4 doing the same distance at 16kWh per 100km and 0.30kWh (home charging) would have an energy cost of $3600, plus an additional $5700 for RUCs at $76/1000km. Total cost of $9300 or $1900 per year.

thomasbeagle, to random
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

Ok, the views from Te Mata peak really are great. What fascinating geography!

thomasbeagle, to random
@thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

Driving to Castlepoint and back seems to have been surprisingly good for my back. And the sea was lovely to swim in, both the beach with waves and the lagoon.

Such a great place, you should go there!

dave, to random
@dave@social.lightbeamapps.com avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    thomasbeagle,
    @thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

    @dave Never waste a good skip!

    thomasbeagle, to random
    @thomasbeagle@mastodon.nz avatar

    Four day weekend with beautiful weather.

    My back: oh no you don't.

    Enough amateur efforts, time for expert advice.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • megavids
  • rosin
  • thenastyranch
  • GTA5RPClips
  • tester
  • InstantRegret
  • DreamBathrooms
  • ngwrru68w68
  • magazineikmin
  • everett
  • Youngstown
  • mdbf
  • slotface
  • kavyap
  • JUstTest
  • cisconetworking
  • khanakhh
  • normalnudes
  • osvaldo12
  • cubers
  • tacticalgear
  • Durango
  • ethstaker
  • modclub
  • anitta
  • provamag3
  • Leos
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •