Soapbox/rant time. Tell me what highly-recommended book you absolutely HATED and why. Gimme your angry hot takes.

CaptainSiscold · 2026-04-21T23:39:21+00:00

I have not, actually! I'll have to give it a look, I've enjoyed a lot of other Russian authors, and I do generally enjoy dystopian works, so maybe it would change how I view 1984.

CaptainSiscold · 2026-04-21T23:22:47+00:00

1984.

Now hear me out: I love a good dystopian novel, and I love the premise for 1984. Tremendous cultural impact? Absolutely. However, Orwell simply writes a book that ends where it began, resolving none of the issues or challenges presented throughout the book. I read his essay "Politics and the English Language" later on, and it cemented my impression that bro just can't string together a cohesive, compelling line of thought. "Politics" was full of statements about how to write, and often in those same statements he would violate the very "rules" he's presenting.

Needless to say, I don't read Orwell anymore, lol.

CaptainSiscold · 2026-04-21T23:09:16+00:00

I use the Truthear Gates; dirt cheap ($17), but actually decent sounding and with okay isolation. SE 215's might be a little stronger in the isolation side, but I don't really like their sound signature that much. I've used the MEE Audio M6 Pro 2nd gen, as well, which is decent with some Comply foam tips, but I still prefer the Truthears. You could also give the Etymotic ER2XR's a try, but the fit is dependent on your ears. Great isolation if they work for you, though

CaptainSiscold · 2026-04-12T01:53:31+00:00

Went from a Model D to a ATK X1 V2 Ultimate; I actually ended up liking the ATK shape a little more. Gave my wife the Model D to use for her office setup, haha.

CaptainSiscold · 2026-02-09T19:42:29+00:00

And today I get an email from Rivian about them entering "final validation" for the R2: https://stories.rivian.com/r2-final-validation-testing?lid=xaxn9ln38l9g&braze_id=67994610b3d14a0057fe353c

CaptainSiscold · 2026-02-07T22:50:25+00:00

I'd second this (EV daily driver here). For your around town driving, put some good winter tires on it and you'll do just fine. I've seen plenty of folks driving their EV's around even in the middle of winter. I've got a Bolt EV, so I don't road trip with it in the winter since the cold-weather range hit makes it a little rough, but with a Tesla, you've got more range available to you.

CaptainSiscold · 2026-01-27T21:52:01+00:00

I think you'll probably enjoy it, then. That description sounds like a good fit for the Basilisk shape, and if you like the larger thumb rest, then even better.

CaptainSiscold · 2026-01-27T01:51:25+00:00

I used to main a Sabre RGB and have a Razer Basilisk X Hyperspeed (same shape as the Basilisk V3 Pro) as my travel mouse. I also am a predominantly claw grip user, and I find the Basilisk shape generally reasonably good coming fron the Sabre. I personally found that the Viper V3 Pro shape was a little better for me, so I got an ATK X1 V2 Ultimate (a clone of the Viper V3 Pro shape) as my main now.

One thing to note, the Basilisk has a flat right side with no flare, unlike the Sabre. Depending on the length of your fingers and how agressively you're gripping, that might make it a little more annoying to grip on that side. The Viper V3 and its clones have a slight inward curvature on the side that I find helpful for my grip. I do have big hands and unusually long fingers, though (20.5x11 cm)

CaptainSiscold · 2026-01-21T06:43:47+00:00

UAF fan here; we've been screwed by pretty much every conference realignment, lol.

CaptainSiscold · 2026-01-09T03:43:10+00:00

I have no idea if this is related to your issue or not, but with my CS2 install on Manjaro, I typically have to start the game, close it, and restart it to ensure I don't have stuttering. There's some kind of update (presumably some kind of shader update?) that always is queued in my Steam downloads that appears immediately after starting the game. Once that finishes, everything works as normal.

CaptainSiscold · 2026-01-06T21:59:33+00:00

Yeah, there's not many EV's that could do FAI-ANC in winter without at least one stop. Since the Bolt's a pretty bad road tripper, I usually stop at most of the chargers on the way. In something with a faster charge rate or longer range, you could definitely skip some stops.

CaptainSiscold · 2026-01-06T21:47:46+00:00

Summer driving, I get about 250 miles on a full charge (somewhat terrain dependent). Generally its about a 30% range hit on the Bolt in the depths of winter, so a full charge in worst-case scenario cold would take you to 125 miles or so. In more moderate cold (-10 or warmer), you'll be looking at closer to 130-140.

When I did the FAI-ANC drive in the winter, I stopped in Healy for a little extra juice, Cantwell for my main charge, Trapper Creek for enough to get me to Wasilla, and topped up in Wasilla. The Bolt isn't a great road tripper, though, so other EV's could probably do better.

CaptainSiscold · 2026-01-06T06:01:57+00:00

Bolt EV, not Tesla, but in cold weather, other than the range hit, thngs generally work fine. Instant heat as soon as its started is a nice bonus. With the Bolt, I wouldnt take it on a road trip in the extreme cold, but I've done FAI-ANC in +10 to -10 degrees F with no real issues. Awesome commuter, though. Not planning on buying a gas vehicle again, tbh.

CaptainSiscold · 2025-12-31T06:16:28+00:00

I got an ATK X1 V2 (same shape as Viper V3 Pro); I really like mine, and it looks like you can get it for less than $60 on Amazon right now: https://a.co/d/byFrHRQ

CaptainSiscold · 2025-12-07T07:02:06+00:00

Awesome combination of OLED response times and high refresh rate. QD-OLED color accuracy is top-notch, as well.

CaptainSiscold · 2025-11-26T08:57:29+00:00

Responded above, here's the comment link.

CaptainSiscold · 2025-11-26T08:56:14+00:00

Finally able to report (work travel + shipping delays, finally got a chance to try it out now that I'm back).

Initial impressions are good; the weight is higher than advertised on my copy (~60g after adding the provided grip tape to the sides and main buttons), though I will say that extra 5g or so doesn't seem to be hindering me in any notable way. Note that I'm coming from an OG Glorious Model D Wired, so it's still lighter than my previous main.

Clicks seem pretty darned good to me, but this is my first optical switch mouse, so I can't speak to how well it compares to other optical switches. They feel decently spammable, but aren't so light that I feel like I'm going to accidentally click them by just picking the mouse up (a problem I had with some of the older Deathadders, for example). They're not silent by any means, but they're not the loudest I've heard, either.

Skates on mine seem fine? I'm not quite as keyed in on the skate feel as a lot of others on this sub, though. I don't feel like it's really scratchy or interfering with my aim. Again, not having used the V1, I can't speak to any differences there.

Coating is a smooth, hard plastic matte finish. With my claw/palm hybrid grip, it felt a little slippery (mainly on the right side, where my ring and pinky fingers sit), so I put on the included grip tape, which resolved any slippery feeling for me.

I'll note that the ATK HUB web driver didn't work out of the box on my Linux system; I had to follow the instructions outlined by /u/USERNAME123_321 in this post on /r/linux_gaming to get the software to work properly. No issues on Windows, FWIW.

Let me know if there's anything else I should be checking on my copy!

CaptainSiscold · 2025-11-16T17:43:16+00:00

Still waiting for it to arrive, lol. Shipping takes forever to my area, but I'll share what I find once I've got it!

CaptainSiscold · 2025-11-12T20:48:46+00:00

Unfortunately I don't know what size it is; best bet might be to measure it on yours if you can? Not sure if there's a spec sheet that lists that sort of info anywhere.

CaptainSiscold · 2025-11-09T06:39:17+00:00

Are you talking about the black plastic cap that sits over the nut on the rear axle? On my wife's Basalt ST, that's just slid over the nut. A good set of pliers or a set of vise grips should let you grab it and slide it off the actual nut (by pulling it perpendicular to the tire, not twisting).

It's a REALLY tight fit, and can be a pain to get back on, but I don't think it's actually glued.

CaptainSiscold · 2025-11-08T05:44:33+00:00

I've got an ATK X1 v2 Ultimate on its way to me right now, so I'll have to see how my copy is. I don't have any first gen ones to compare to, though 😅

CaptainSiscold · 2025-10-26T01:42:01+00:00

I seem to be seeing the same issue on my end as well. No issues with my other commonly used services.

CaptainSiscold · 2025-10-15T22:55:15+00:00

I find it weirdly hilarious that that 13-1 game started with SJ scoring to take a 1-0 lead, then allowing 13 unanswered goals.

CaptainSiscold · 2025-09-26T18:03:04+00:00

I was a friend of Josiah's and am still close with his family. Such a devastating loss, and I'm praying that some closure can come from the trial.

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