CerebralHawks

@ cerebralhawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com

Posts

15
Comments

2175
Joined

6 mo. ago

33m ago

Warning: Facebook Ads for Free Windows 11 Upgrade Will Infect PCs With Malware
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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 33m ago
My Mac and I would like to see it try. Malware? It's a Mac. (Mac malware exists, but this is probably/likely made for Windows.) Actual Windows? Not in this ~~Christian server~~ M2 Pro.

51m ago

Do you consider floating islands to be an aspect of steampunk?

Not my first thought. I would think that would be solarpunk maybe? Or maybe no -punk would have such direct access to the sky.

Airships yeah, but floating islands are too idyllic for steampunk IMO. But I’m not gonna be a gatekeeper over it. Nor am I any kind of authority on steampunk. If the rest of the world fits, they can have a place.

6h ago

Trump announces 'major combat operations' in Iran

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 6h ago

Ever wonder why they do this when everyone in the US is asleep? I mean, except those who work night shift.

It’s not because “it’s daytime in Iran.” Missiles can see in the dark. It would be strategically viable to attack at night.

So ask yourself who got kept in the dark?

For contrast, I think George W Bush invaded Iraq during their night. I remember the scenes of bombs exploding in Baghdad being at night. Meaning it was daytime in the US, or at least not the middle of the night.

I mean, if it were me, a dictator planning an invasion, I’d get a good night’s sleep, get done really good espresso, then make war wide awake while the country on the other side of the planet is asleep. That would make more strategic sense. I’m in my 40s — Trump is in his 80s. So what’s he doing up that late (assuming he even was)?

7h ago

Trump administration warns tariff refund process ‘will take time’

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 7h ago

Cool. Pay it back with interest, out of pocket (not the taxpayers) or get fucked.

7h ago

WGA Condemns Paramount-WBD Merger, Says “Outcome Is The Same” As Netflix Deal

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 7h ago

No, for the writer’s guild, it’s about the same. They care less about who owns WB and more about studios consolidating which gives them more control over deals. They can say they’re going to pay writers a lower rate and if you don’t accept it, that’s two studios you can’t write for. Less competition is worse for them regardless of which two merge.

Unless you were going to say Netflix promised them fair rates, in which case I’d gesture wildly to all their price increases over the years.

Ultimately they’re just going to have AI write a lot of stuff anyway.

7h ago

💉 Can we get an anti-anesthetic plz? I want to feel the pain of bedbugs stabbing me.

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 7h ago

I don’t know of any by name or have proof they exist, but I feel like there are recreational drugs that enhance sensations. I don’t think they’d beat anesthesia though.

I do feel like there is some kind of drug like that that would be used in “interrogation” though. So the way Ibuprofen, that you named, works is, it reduces inflammation that can cause pain. Then you have acetaminophen (Tylenol) which reduces the signals pain receptors send to the brain. You still feel the pain, but your brain ignores some of it. It logically follows that the opposite effect is also possible, but I am not aware of a drug that actually does that that you can buy (I am also unaware of any you can’t buy, to be clear).

20h ago

Facebook recipe organizer

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 20h ago

Wife and I use Paprika. It's a recipe manager on virtually every platform (Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS/iPadOS). I have it on my iPhone and both Macs. My wife has it on her iPad and Android phone. It's not free, and it's really not cheap, but there was a sale and I looked at the cost to get it on our hardware and I thought it made for a good value.

It also has a shopping list that also syncs, but we use OurGroceries for that. Paprika's might be a little better, but we prefer OG. I've put all our recipes in it, and it can import recipes from various websites. Never tried Facebook though (as I do not use it).

20h ago

T-Mobile US responds to Verizon lawsuit

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 20h ago

They're both ripping you off.

If you like T-Mobile's service, use one of their MVNOs, Mint or Metro. Metro is owned by T-Mobile IIRC, not sure about Mint but they use T-Mo towers.

If you like Verizon, Verizon operates Visible. Visible is $30 a month. Metro and Mint are priced similarly.

"But I got a free phone with T-Mo/VZW!" Okay, look that phone up on Amazon or whatever. (Better yet, the official site. Samsung or Apple or Google.) Take the price, divide it by 24. Add that to the $30 I pay Visible. Is it more, or less than what you pay your carrier a month? If it's more, you're getting ripped off. If it's less, you're one of the few who's beating the system — and everyone else is subsidising you. Congrats.

"But deprioritisation!" Most MVNOs give you a generous helping of priority data. Past that, it's low priority, but that really only matters in major metropolitan areas. With Visible you get like 50GB of priority. Manage your data (I use 5GB/mo tops) and you'll never hit the threshold. If you think it's a problem, ask if it's really worth it to pay for a major carrier.

20h ago

Should this be the year we finally try voting for other candidates?

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 20h ago

No, because the Republicans are all voting for Trump. And they're trying to split the Democrat vote so Trump wins. Nobody's splitting the Republican vote. But Republicans are spending a small fortune to astroturf on social media to try to split the Democrat vote. I'm not saying everyone saying as you are is Republican funded — a lot of people are buying into the idea and reposting it for free.

The problem is twofold: One, they think they're smarter than you and they think you're their tool. Two, you totally are. (Unless you're one of the ones at the top pushing it, in which case it's a similar twofold problem: One, you think you're smarter than us and you think we're your tools. Two, a lot of people are falling for it.) I don't know which one you fit in and I'm not going to assume. I'm just leaving this to help others make up their minds whether or not they wanna get used by the Republicans.

1d ago

Car dependency ≠ Freedom

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 1d ago

The argument to this is going to be "but I own my own car," followed by either "I can come and go as I like" or "public transportation isn't very good in my area (or nonexistent).

So then you would say that your car is yours until it breaks down, then you're at the mercy of a shop. Some people can do the work on their own, but gearheads are kind of a dying breed, and also newer cars are designed to fail sooner. The idea of a car that will go for a million miles is decades past, and even those were exceptions, not the rule. Cars cost more to own than ever. Car prices/payments are going up, quality is going down, repair prices are going up, and quantity/availability of parts are going down. The solution to all of this is socialised public transportation. Maybe you pay a little bit to ride, maybe you have to wait a couple minutes at a bus stop, but you aren't responsible when the thing breaks down, the city/community has a fleet and a deal to get parts and repair them and keep most of them operational. So it really reduces a lot of the friction in getting one back on the road. It also creates jobs — drivers, and fleet maintenance.

Of course, Uber and Lyft exist, but they are prohibitively expensive for all but the Uber rich to use regularly. And they come with their own set of problems.

1d ago

720p x264 vs 1080p x265

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 1d ago

It's nice if it is for some things, but there's a generation, it may be 8th (what you have) where hardware transcoding got a lot better, and that generation or later is considered ideal (at least, among Intel processors) for Plex for hardware transcoding.

My last server was on a 4th gen Xeon. It was good for 1080p, but tended to choke on 4K transcoding. I was always getting "server not powerful enough" errors. (Current server is a Mac mini, M2 Pro. I think it's roughly equivalent to a 12th or 13th gen i5? Apple M-series tend to beat Intel on power per watt (being ARM64 rather than x86-64) but I'm not sure how they play out in a benchmark. Both are more than enough for Plex though. And of course, don't bet against Apple for multimedia stuff (not gaming). Professionals in media/animation tend to prefer Apple machines for a reason. So it follows that they would at least be capable for Plex.

2d ago

I need help... (I feel like I'm transphobic.)

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 2d ago

Ah. I'm just saying, people will, despite your best efforts and intentions.

I couldn't figure out where exactly you would become transphobic, so I think you just need to get outta your head and into the world a bit more. I think you're alright.

I also think you're confusing the root meaning of phobia (being afraid of) and the more socially used meaning (being bigoted toward). Like, you're afraid you might be trans and that's fine, a lot of people are figuring shit out. It's fine to be a little afraid of a self discovery that will change you. It's not the same as being bigoted toward others, which is the more common/social use of -phobic. Like homophobia really just means people who hate the gays, they're not really afraid of the gays. The joke is that they're afraid they're really gay, but the behaviour being called out is the bigotry. People who are in the closet or are questioning aren't homophobic (or transphobic), they're just in the process of discovering themselves. Perfectly fine.

2d ago

New York sues video game developer Valve, says its 'loot boxes' are gambling

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 2d ago

Gacha trash. Let me know when they're making Portal 3 or Half-Life 3. And really, it doesn't even have to be those franchises, but I mean, a single-player game that you pay for once and that's it, and it has puzzles that make you think. What they were known for before they started making money off other people's work and stopped creating wonderful things.

I mean, I know they still work on their gacha games.

Might seem like I'm moving goalposts and maybe I did, but I'm just nostalgic for when they made unforgettable games like Portal and Half-Life 2.

3d ago

I need help... (I feel like I'm transphobic.)

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 3d ago

Lifelong LGBTQ+ ally here. But not on that spectrum. I’m on another spectrum though. It starts with A and ends with utism. Aren’t I funny? Anyway. Some people like to argue. You say the wrong thing and they will want to cancel you despite your best intentions. It happens. (This is why I mentioned being autistic. We’re sometimes misunderstood.) The thing to remember is, stay true to your ethos and your virtues and don’t let a rude person ruin your day or influence how you behave. Because most LGBTQ+ want to be seen and seen as equals and treated with respect everyone is due. Like anyone else.

I’ve never thought I might be anything-phobic but I’ve been accused of being it many times. I don’t let it change me. I do check myself, it’s always possible I’m wrong, but if I’m not, I don’t let it break my stride.

3d ago

720p x264 vs 1080p x265

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 3d ago

Yeah. My bad. I think I did mean to eat half the size but meant to say the numbers (codecs) the other way around.

3d ago

New York sues video game developer Valve, says its 'loot boxes' are gambling

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 3d ago

The store isn’t also making games.

Like how Apple gets to take 30% of Spotify subscriptions and they operate a competing music service. That’s where it becomes wrong.

Of course, Valve doesn’t make games either now, so maybe it’s a moot point.

3d ago

720p x264 vs 1080p x265

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 3d ago

Bitrate and resolution being equal, 264 is gonna be about half the size of 265. It’s an older codec, so it decodes easier on older hardware (like 10 or more years old). If you have anything recent-ish, 265 will save you space… all other things being equal.

Because 264 saved less space, people used lower bitrates. With 265, they’re using higher bitrates because storage devices have gotten bigger. Blu-ray rips that were 4-5GB in 264 are like 2-3GB in 265 and look better.

With 720p you’re reducing the resolution so that takes down the size too.

It’s really hard to say if you have no control over the encodes. Learn handbrake (honestly it’s not hard, handbrake intermediate users know like 90-95% what handbrake experts know, it’s a very easy and straightforward tool to use) and take control of your encodes. Tweak the settings as you like 5-10 seconds at a time until you find a setting that meets your size and performance needs, then save it as a preset and encode more stuff with those settings.

3d ago

Large-scale online deanonymization with LLMs

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 3d ago

It is absolutely possible to identify users who post a lot on a public forum with a real name (e.g. Facebook or the like) as well as Reddit. So say you have some politician who claims to have X, Y, Z values and a Reddit user who has A, B, and C values that are antonymous to X, Y, and Z. By comparing common phrases, as well as by charting when the two seemingly separate users are online, you could say with reasonable certainty that the two people are one and the same, especially if you prompt them carefully to say the kinds of things they would say about neutral topics on both accounts. It would be hard to get 100% certainty, but you'd be close enough to imply it's them.

AIs (LLMs) just make it faster.

Don't post about controversial politics if you also post under your real name. It's not a matter of "mask yourself better." There will always be tells.

3d ago

Medication Tracking Apps for iOS

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 3d ago

The community probably didn't have any apps, solid or otherwise, to vouch for because medication tracking is built into iOS.

If you trust the privacy policy third-party paid apps offer, you should trust the one from Apple at least as much. Information is stored securely on the phone and never leaves it (except when it's shared with the Apple Watch, or with providers you choose — note that only like a dozen or so providers actually support this, so I'm not sure what the criteria is since you'd figure most doctors would love to have that data).

3d ago

Finding the perfect breakfast sandwich

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CerebralHawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 3d ago

"My parents were poor and our cheese was cheese-flavoured plastic so I continue to buy it" works as nostalgia, but it's a bit weird. I was raised on cheap food brands and that's what I started with when I started cooking, until I realised there were better brands out there. I don't buy the absolute best, price is still a factor since I'm not rich, but I do have a good job and work hard, so I don't buy the cheapest/generic stuff unless it's just as good as more expensive stuff (honestly for a lot of things, it is).