DigitalDilemma

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  • 47 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: July 22nd, 2023

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  • Just built a new pc, the first for a few years but probably the 20th or so I’ve made in total. This one’s a home server, replacing an HP ML110 Gen 9. It’s running proxmox with a dozen linux vms and is performing very well so far.

    • Ryzen 5700X
    • ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-PLUS, AMD B550 (Full linux compatibility)
    • 48gb of ddr4 (32 new, 16 re-used)
    • 2tb nvram (I have a nas for bigger storage)

    Cheap PSU, half a case nailed to a wall (seriously. I keep it in a cupboard). A fanless gpu just to get it booting. Stock cpu fan and that’s about it. Idles at around 50 watts, which is less than half of the ML, and is almost silent.


  • Not sick, no. But if I know it’s AI, it does have less value to me. It can still be an amusing distraction if it was cleverly prompted, but there’s no thought gone into the generation.

    Real art reflects not only the technical skill of the artist, but the effort they put in, their life experiences that made them look at something in a particular way, and their soul. No matter how good AI gets technically, it’ll never have that. But maybe it will be able to fake something that’s almost indistiguishable, like how lab grown diamonds can only be told from natural diamonds by someone with many years of experience.

    Why do you view it with such horror? Do you see it as the start of AI taking over everything and the end of humanity?


  • I do it with my wife. For us, it’s a way of:

    • Learning about the other’s day and what they do - whether that’s work or pleasure. I think that’s a big part of being in a relationship.
    • If something’s happened that has made one of us happy/sad, sharing that helps us support the other. It also lets them know when there’s something going on that might affect our relationship. Even if they can’t help, it’s good to know there’s a problem so they don’t think it’s about them when I’m unduly quiet or down.
    • As someone who sometimes doesn’t understand things obvious to others, it can be handy for a second opinion, or ask what they thought was meant. It also helps me post-process the day’s events and square them away.

    If I didn’t have an SO, I’d probably do the same with my dog; although it might be a bit more one sided.


  • 1970s, uk, aged around 4 or 5, walking down the stairs carrying a glass when I tripped, Cut my right hand up pretty bad. My mum wrapped my hand in a towel and rushed me to a nearby army base where the medic did an effective but clumsy job of stitching me up - I still have a big scar but no movement damage.

    I have no memory of it, but my father certainly does. When he came home from work to find the house with its doors wide open, blood everywhere, and nobody around, he kind of freaked out.


  • I drilled a 100mm diameter hole through to the outside of the house and have a 120mm pc fan blowing air directly out from the cupboard through that. Possibly not an option for everyone, but as a householder with power tools, it seemed like a good idea.

    The PC itself is just a motherboard screwed to a flat shelf, with a bracket to hold the graphics card steady.

    Works well most of the time, although in recent 30’c ambient temperature, it got up to around 37c in there when I was playing a modern game. My CPU is only 65w but I’ve got a new graphics card and that creates a lot more heat when it’s working hard.





  • Cloudflare are the cheapest domain registrar since they take zero profit from the sale. You will not find anywhere cheaper. (If you do, then look very carefully for hidden charges since that registrar will be subsidising your domains)

    They’ve got some pretty useful free tools to help you manage it, and use it effectively too.

    (For the Cynical, CF’s MD was very open about why they don’t charge for domains - it’s to get your goodwill. The only restriction is you can’t use third party nameservers for domains you host with them for free, you have to use CF’s. I’ve never found that a problem in many years of both private and commercial domain hosting there)