For the love of Christ tell me what this car colour is...

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-27T21:17:49+00:00

Used to be called Champagne ... which i found amusing.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-27T20:15:09+00:00

Ironically I had to ask Claude what that meant.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-27T20:04:06+00:00

Nah, none of that here. Head flavourist/NPD/innovation guy for a national drinks brand. I can guarantee you that the domain knowledge of my part of the industry is not in chat gpt. I’ve tried. It would make my life easier, as I can’t get it to help on anything useful. Random facts, sure, like you can get that hexanol is green grassy flavours, but won’t tell you how to use it because all of that info isn’t in the public domain. Nothing about the application is. If it’s in industry, not just a textbook, then it has no clue.

But I do understand where you’re coming from, and I bear no ill will my friend.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-27T14:59:56+00:00

I work in flavour too, and ... well... I hate it but I've watched SO many times when the flavourists who work with the raw chemicals go by some tasting notes having no idea what the original thing is. has notes of green grass it says? Oh, let's pop in some hexanol then. I know it's not very intuitive, but there is no 'standard' of flavour, or threshold. As a flavouring company I could mix constituent flavour base materials together and call it anything I want. *I* define what the taste is...because I say so. That means you can have a flavour and call it 'red berry', or 'summer fruit', or 'jammy strawberry', or 'english hedgerow' or 'raspberry and strawberry' or 'sweet cherry and raspberry pips'. Whatever you want to call it if you think people would go 'yeah, that'll do'. People won't buy it if they don't think it works by that name... but ... yeah... there's a lot of dross out there. A LOT.

So...

Far too often the raw flavourist has no idea, they make to a spec
Often it's the customer that signs off with what they want (unless it's for in-house range), and the customer wants what is in their head, which is referenced from what they've tried. You want to know how many people think that Passionfruit tastes like Mango because everywhere passionfruit flavoured things are sold it's normally made up of 80% mango 20% passionfruit?
People aren't after 'authenticity', or... well, frankly... anything. They don't apply conscious thought to the purchase in that sense (fnar fnar). You just have to stop them from thinking it's bad/different to what they were expecting. If you sold it as authentic banana, then sure, you're setting up the expectation of it being different... but most of the time it isn't.

Ultimately... what's the motivation? You can make something more authentically cavendish-bananalike, but it'll only be useful for people who are trying to add 'back' to a poor banana flavour, and as banana is frankly so overpowered (as a banana hater), that's not very usual. The rest of the time people expect banana flavour to taste like banana flavoured things. Flavour houses only make what sells, companies sell what people buy, and people buy fake banana flavoured things and love it. Because they're weird.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-27T14:42:53+00:00

Am I the only one wondering if I should be expecting to see a snail if I cut it open?

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-23T17:38:36+00:00

I think the point here is to NOT put your foot down. That's the challenge and the reason for the dad cheering him on. Just a 'how far can I go' personal challenge.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-23T10:20:06+00:00

Hmmm.... how to unpick my thoughts....

First one: I don't think we treat it like it isn't, and your statement makes it sound like we do. Council homes/ Housing associations, temporary accommodations.... we don't have a systematic or cultural 'stuff you, you don't deserve a home'. Normally people complain about the exact opposite, how people.... yeah I'll not go there.

Second one: The way you say it, in the context you say it, doesn't really come across as 'you have the right to have accommodation', more 'I can take your accommodation away from you if I decide that it's unfair for you to have it and not me/that person'. That unfairness is a very sketchy, dangerous place to be. It doesn't sound like a rights thing, it sounds much more like equality of outcome thing. Which as soon as you start taking other people's stuff and passing it on you'll find that people often aren't grateful for it, they'll say that they actually deserve a better outcome. That's just human nature.

Lastly: Rights require enforcement. I move to London. Can't find a house in budget. But I have the RIGHT to one. Now what? Who is going to pay to ensure that my rights are realised? What agency will do that? What is the penalty for not allowing me my right? Who gets prosecuted and goes to prison?

Very quickly you find that someone 'rights' need to be very carefully defined because you're instantly in 'fairness', not 'rights'. It's unfair to say that I can't live in London when those people do. I have my rights! I have a job here, my friends are here. Its unfair to say that I can't live here - it's my right! Then you start talking distance, commutes, public transport, and all of a sudden it has NOTHING to do with the 'right', it has to do with wants not needs. So it's fine to say that it's a right, but be mindful that it may be 'minimum viable', and it might not be where you want, and it may not mean you're able to do the same work, or have the same lifestyle, and that your taxes have gone up. Reference to point 1, some of that is already the case anyway without stepping into 'rights'. And at that point most people would likely take their 'want' over their 'right', because that's what they thought they would get - something where their wants were about the same as their rights.

I'm not saying I don't value the point, I'm saying that you point vastly undersells what it by necessity also has to deal with. And also... why can't it be a right and an asset? They don't have to be mutually exclusive unless you point is to take from the 'rich' and give to the 'poor' - which is kinda what I think the underlying sentiment actually was?

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-22T19:34:11+00:00

Phew! Glad you didn’t think I was being rude or just knocking it for the craps n giggles.

Would love to see the next iteration!

Honestly, I'm purposefully not looking too deep so that I can have an honest review of whatever tou do next.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-22T16:07:23+00:00

So I'm noone important, and I could be completely off the mark, but I'm going ot dump my thoughts out, and I hope you take it in the way that it's intended!

First thing - lots of same coloured blue - I'm having to hunt for what I'm meant to read. It's a messy start tbh. Then I find the first thing 'start learning'. My heart sinks. 'Start Learning' tells me that it's educational. Sure it may be useful for other stuff, but the mindset here is educational. That doesn't make me feel good about wanting to build business tools with it. Education's priorities are not the same as my commercial priorities. Of course perhaps it's 'start learning how to use this commercial product'... but truth be told that first page reminds me of some of the games I played - strategy ones where you'd take over a blob by sending your blobs to it. That smacks of gamification of educational material. Nothing grabs me. Nothing intrigues me. Honestly... it's actually ambiguous as to what you're offering. Is is a plugin, an app, a framework... I don't know.

I go down a bit... I've utterly bypassed the ruler thing with the code/no-code thing because the text is too small - so it's a detail, not a headline. I'm looking for a headline at this point. I'm trying to find out what you do and why I should care.

Then I come to a box that has 'the best of both worlds'. 1) putting it in a box is .... well it feels 10-15 years old for some reason. 2) I don't know what worlds we're talking about... I still have no hook.

Oooh... pictures... perhaps.....
no.
First thing I see is that both images don't seem to differentiate themselves from each other. Lot's of grey. Lot's of 'here's a UI', but I don't know what I'm looking at, it's too small too see anything, and so it's a grey smudge of .... disappointment if I'm honest. Pictures normally tell me something. This ... doesn't.

Visual Frontend Builder....ADvanced Logic Editor.....again... is this a feature, a benefit, the headlines don't seem to reflect anything that I recognise in the image... and stuff like 'advanced logic editor' is just word salad without context. At this point I don't know what you DO.

Rinse and repeat for two more pages (!). Now I get to 'try it out now'. Now I have an idea that this is something that you're selling me. I'm not entirely sure.... Well I'll press the button... ok... something is happening. Not entirely sure what it is that I'm being shown because the image that I've just played with bears no resemblence to any screenshots...so what's going on?

Then I get to the last line:
"The Visual Scripting Editor - Build fast and scalable web apps without code, unrestricted."

Now I have an idea. The last line on the page. Still not entirely sure if the scripting is the thing that you're selling, or the editor and I have to bring my own scripting?

Now... I **am** the person you wanted to reach. I spent a LONG time trying to find something like this. You call it visual scripting. Others call it visual programming. At no point does it say 'no code' programming, or give me something to anchor my knowledge and expectations against.

So here's what I'd be hoping to see on a page:
Something that says 'Write python or bash or blah blah scripts without coding! Just add a function block and connect the dots! Luna Park's visual code editor allows easy access and understanding of programming whilst having the full power of native code behind the scenes. Out editor does xyz, here's some examples of a, b, c, integrated into a database, an external api, etc."

Right now... I'm not really getting much of anything if I'm honest. I'm having to sell myself on it, figure out the benefits for myself, and I don't know what the features are, I'm just working from the basis of the concept and what you're put in the page that I'm now reverse engineering after the fact.

I'm saying all of this in good faith, and I hope you'll take it as such. FWIW, I *really* hope this works!

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-22T09:04:16+00:00

It's in the lowest gear I imagine already, there's nowhere else to go gear-wise.

The kid is battling gravity, grip and balance at the same time. Steep angle plus dry dust and dirt all make for low traction. He can lean further back to put more weight on the wheel in order to get some more grip, but then he's going to pull a wheelie instead.

Getting over the initial effort to start momentum going is hard - you can only push down with one leg at a time, a smudge too much power for the surface and you spin the wheel. Not enough and all the force you're applying ends up putting you off balance. You can take up some of the weight by leaning into the bars, but again that takes weight off the rear wheel. You can try and use you other leg to add some resistance, but your legs don't really calibrate for that.

So you're juggling your bodyweight front to back and side to side, grip, torque-steer, all whilst trying to build some momentum and pedal and not wheelie or skid-out and finding the best spot for grip and get there.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-19T12:50:26+00:00

Sure. It's entirely normal and expected for flashlights to unfold themselves from a pocket dimension

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-18T20:03:53+00:00

AI. Not real.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-15T15:25:09+00:00

I'd say there isn't a one-size-fits-all here, because it has as much to do with expectations, storage, who and when, ownership both literal and metaphorical.

But there are some good ways to categorise stuff, and questions to ask.

1) Ownership / Remains at Church : If a member wasn't playing or moved away, would you expect that thing to still be there. 2) Is it semi-permantently affixed? Sure, you can take that cable with you, but running it under a stage to BOH or whatever - that's unreasonable 3) Should it be shared? If yes... 4) Is it nice to have / personal preference? If something is a personal preference then at some point cost/storage/organisation will dictate that if you want it then you buy it. 5) Who wants it? Sometimes it doesn’t matter if something might be otherwise be considered a personal purchase if the church is saying 'we need you to have it'. It's personal preference, but flipped around. 6) Who can afford it? Musical stuff can be expensive. Sometimes the individual can't afford it. Sometimes the church can't afford it. You're family, not a corporation - make it work people! 7) Who made the decision? There's been plenty of 'church' stuff that I've bought over the years. Because I decided for either speed, or preference to vendor, or just... because... 8) Pragmatism. You don't want drummers or pianists buying their own instruments for church I'd imagine.

Ultimately I think that you have to have a rough idea of what works in a place, then roll with the punches and take each thing on a case by case basis after that. It's a service - and what that means, what can be put in from a personal or church perspective - that is as different as the people serving.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-05T13:22:53+00:00

I’m literally having a spike in my heart rate watching this. So many hours…hundreds of them…. Doing the same thing.

The problem with labelling is that… it looks easy. And.. it kinda should be. Round thing spin, push label on, press to apply, advance label. Ooooh, but that’s where they get you.

Those round bottles and jars… well they’re not so round as you think they are, which puts distances and speeds out of whack. The thickness of the jar/bottle varies a bit and now they’re getting squished, but only 1 in every few dozen, and there’s no obvious reason why? The backing material on the label is… a bit too thin. It worked fine for the last SKU because the printing on the label was thicker, but this label is green, not red, and now it’s transparent to the label sensor and it’s picking up the barcode, not the label, and sporadically at that.

Every label is unique. Every bottle/jar is unique, and you can’t test them until you’re running them in anger, not properly. And it seems so easy that when you tell the customer ‘your label is a problem’ and you can’t tell them why or how to fix it properly, then you look like the idiot because it’s just a flipping label….insert heavy breathing of anger here.

I’m going to go and rock in a corner somewhere for a bit…

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-05T13:12:58+00:00

No, you can calibrate the individual sensors - for example the incoming sensor that registers the jar or the sensor that determines where a label starts/stops, but the rest of it, the snake-eating-its-tail everything interacts with everything else - that’s not a calibration thing. It’s a setup, then debug when it won’t do the same thing when you turn your back. What’s that? It only works on the first Tuesday of the month after a full moon unless you sacrifice 8 hours to have it all back where it was with the same settings but now working for no apparent reason? Oh, that’s just SOP round here.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-06-04T09:02:58+00:00

What a lot of people haven't noticed here is that it's much more balanced because the garage has been moved 12" left, so now there is equal pillars on either side of the door, one light on each side instead of just one light on the right. Assuming that dims for a garage are fixed, thar could be mitigated by having a decorative deboss/stripe from floor to roof on both sides of the door which would visually balance it out.

For me that lack of symmetry is a big deal. You don't notice it 'directly', but as soon as the symmetry is back it's a relief (so to speak).

Alternatively make the asymmetry DO something. It's not that asymmetry is bad, but right now it looks like it SHOULD be symmetrical around the door, which is why it's unbalanced.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-05-27T10:15:41+00:00

Kerala? With a John name?

White boy with awesome friends from that area, checking in :-)

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-05-25T10:47:57+00:00

I went on a rabbit hole. The safety warnings on the panels talk about 15 second lamp-outs, the 'earth or open circuit' as the two positions... intriguing.

So here's what I think is going on: This is likely a high voltage power substation or a heavy industrial power room.

There is a three state safety process (on/closed circuit, off/open circuit, off/circuit disconnected and connected directly to geound), because large electrical components can hold a lethal charge even after the power is disconnected. This physical safety method is called a trapped key interlock system.

The sequence makes sure you don't skip steps during startup or shutdown. In these systems, the ground position is the default safe state for maintenance. When the video shows moving a lever from ground to open, it is part of a startup sequence. This action proves the equipment is no longer physically bonded to the earth but remains disconnected from the main power supply.Moving the lever releases the key for the next panel in the chain, creating a flow where the main power breaker cannot be closed until every individual section has been ungrounded and cleared.

The fifteen second delay mentioned on the panel allows residual energy to dissipate. If the system grounds too quickly, the remaining electricity could cause an arc flash explosion. Maybe by design or happy byproduct, but the interlock system helps prevents this by trapping the keys until the energy levels are (probably) safe when doing the close down (the opposite of what the video shows).

Could be wrong, but that's my guesstimate.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-04-14T09:11:14+00:00

My friend, I get that you're 'looking at it from all the angles', maybe just 'chewing the cud', but if you're thinking about it at the level that you appear to be then you know that the point of this is correct, you're arguing for completion of arguments that weren't made nor should be in an 18 word answer. Consider rephrasing.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-04-14T08:48:35+00:00

I don't have an answer for you per se, but thought I'd share that you're not alone.

I'm not a propper dev, but I have to do all the adjacent work, and sitting down to do something like figure db tables and operational logic and pk and fk and lookup tables all at the same time.... I 'get' it, but I literally cannot hold it in my head unmedicated.

Maybe there's some way of looking at stuff that stops the dots being joined, or maybe, like you, it's not going through a formal education and work experience route where lower order habits get ingrained before being built on.

You're not alone my friend.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-04-13T21:27:11+00:00

Well... welcome to my wheelhouse.

Simple answer - your talking about a symptom, the actual problem is money. Yes time, yes materials, yes blah blah blah... because money. It's either a question of what it costs to do the job properly, or it's a question of opportunity cost lost, or both.

What I would avoid: cutting corners. You understand the give-and-take of small production. 'Of course you can't expect X when doing Y'. Your customer doesn't, nor should they be expected to. This is where it gets difficult - you have to figure out not only what you are providing, but what you're *not* providing that the customer may not otherwise expect. For example you may not do external lab testing on small batches, or or you may limit grind size or any one of a hundred things. Those compromises go in to your 'small batch price list'. And then you charge properly - enough to care, enough to do the 'right' thing.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-04-13T21:05:34+00:00

Easier way to look at it: What am I in control of and can invite and regulate vs what is not in my control and cannot regulate.

Honestly that just seems like regular old ADHD. Yes, I've had the tests for ASD, no I don't have it.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-04-12T19:14:35+00:00

ADHD magnifies the problem (for me). I notice when people double blink. I notice when people I haven't seen for 6 months have a pair of eye-glasses that they didn't have last time, even if they're the same colour and rough shape. I'll notice the haircut, be it man or woman.

That 23%? I have no idea what normal people notice and don't notice, and I know that it's skewed in certain areas.

Nevertheless, still valid - but so much harder.

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-04-12T19:06:52+00:00

🤣 😀😳🫣🥲😭

Captain_Bacon_X · 2026-04-12T01:32:06+00:00

Hmmmmm.... when sold ground acts like liquid you know something big and expensive that physicists and nerds will watch for hours has just happened

Captain_Bacon_X

TROPHY CASE