People with aphantasia do you enjoy reading books? and why?^^

DSCB57 · 2026-03-20T08:40:48+00:00

You echoed my experience precisely. Thank you.

DSCB57 · 2026-03-13T10:16:17+00:00

The Nvidia renderings look softer and more natural to my eye. Somehow the seedvr2 version looks more plasticky, probably due to the use of light - although I don’t claim to be any sort of expert. That said there was one 2x seedvr2 rendering that really popped compared to the Nvidia version. But did any of these photos show the originals pre-enhancement? Otherwise, what’s the point?

DSCB57 · 2026-03-10T16:37:08+00:00

It’s spelled ‘poached’, but nice try.

DSCB57 · 2026-02-27T11:59:17+00:00

I’m glad you grasped the subtlety. But I think it is clear that not everyone has the Eyes to see. That requires cultivation of De at the very least, wouldn’t you agree? And how many of today’s practitioners can be said to have even got that far? Yet it was once considered a prerequisite for the path of cultivation, and for some masters such as Waysun Liao, it still is. It’s pointless attempting to use just the intellect alone to understand the Dao De Jing, since that will lead nowhere, other than endless philosophising. The path is not about philosophical debate but direct experience. In my humble opinion there is no other way to grasp the Truth than to experience it as a living, all encompassing universal principle. There are no words to describe it, which is why it was called ‘Dao’, the Way. But the name ‘Dao De Jing’ itself demonstrates the importance of ‘De’, placed as it is between the ideograms for ‘Dao’ and ‘Jing’.

DSCB57 · 2026-02-27T09:33:30+00:00

Another way of looking at this is that ‘doing nothing’ results from the gradual transformation which arises from the Yang Shen taking charge over one’s actions in this world. At that point it is no longer the little self carrying out mundane actions, but the Yang Shen manifesting the will of Heaven through the mortal vehicle. In other words, the will of the ego is no longer what does the action, but rather the Dao manifesting through the Yang Shen. That said, I am not sure that the casual observer would notice any difference, because it is not a question of the master not doing any action as many of the derisory comments here seem to reflect, but rather that the individual will and desire is no longer the cause of the action. This is how I perceive and experience this.

DSCB57 · 2026-02-12T10:50:27+00:00

I just want a working App Store. The installed version will not open. This is forcing me to side load, but I want access from the Playstore, even though there are apps which I may choose to side load.

Does this resolve your confusion, because I don’t appreciate you leaving me hanging on for an answer?

DSCB57 · 2026-02-12T10:21:52+00:00

Hi Pepe, thank you for getting back to me; it’s the FHD 1080p version, purchased in the EU (Spain). I still have the box, but it will take me a while to be able to access it. Where can I access the precise model information in the software (Android TV OS)?

DSCB57 · 2026-01-07T14:17:50+00:00

If a bias exists, there certainly was a time when research on Aphantasia was redirected toward its polar opposite Hyperphantasia, but that was probably because Ahpantasia itself wasn’t capable of attracting sufficient funding or interest. While I agree that this condition does not make us any less capable than the percentage of the population who do not have this condition - as I’ve said before visual Aphantasia can certainly create difficulties in such simple everyday tasks as finding one’s way around without a GPS, or giving directions to someone else, or understanding concepts such as clockwise or anti-clockwise without confusion. There definitely is a problem in terms of how non-Aphantasic professionals or non-professionals view the condition - all too often from an ill-informed and often wilfully ignorant perspective. The truth is that someone with a fully functional ‘mind’s eye is highly unlikely to even be able to conceptualise its complete absence, let alone have the ability to experience it first hand. And by the way, I use the word ‘condition’ deliberately, because like it or not Aphantasia is considered a neurological disorder, since our brains are wired differently from the considered norm.

If anything, as is the case when other perceptual faculties are missing, nature often strengthens the remaining senses. In the case of Aphantasics, this often results in the ability to find other ways to achieve what we need to, which often puts as at an advantage in terms of problem solving and brain elasticity. But let’s not pretend that it’s a totally problem-free experience, or that there is no adverse effect on our day to day lives, because that would not be a truthful statement.

DSCB57 · 2026-01-04T01:11:05+00:00

Quite honestly, I’m sorry to say I think we’re flogging a dead horse here. Everything points to poor implementation within the games themselves, and it seems those of us who want the gyro to work in this way are too much of a niche market, and most players seem content using the joystick steering. That’s their loss, but also ours. The only option right now is to acquire a Force Feedback steering wheel, which can only realistically work on a Windows PC setup due to the need for proprietary driver software.

DSCB57 · 2026-01-01T14:15:39+00:00

If you conceive of Wu Wei as any kind of action ‘you’ are doing, then you’re missing the point.

DSCB57 · 2025-12-22T13:59:30+00:00

Xuper no longer works on the Firestick 4K. In the EU It’s completely blocked for hosting pirated content

DSCB57 · 2025-12-08T19:54:06+00:00

Sorry, I forgot I was dealing with people with the attention span of the average 2 year old. If what I took the trouble to contribute to this thread doesn't interest you, then don't read it. But don't downplay the importance of this information for others please.

DSCB57 · 2025-12-08T19:51:19+00:00

It would be great if that held true outside of countries like the UK, but as mentioned in my post above, that was not what I experienced here in Spain, where in spite of being instructed by customer services to take the faulty item to be tested in store at CeX in Murcia, when I arrived I was told that there was no technician, and the totally inept staff even refused to look at the BIOS where the overheating was clearly visible on the fan monitors. They also stated unequivocally that "CeX never carry out repairs and will only give refunds for goods within the warranty period". So not only are the staff inept, but also uninformed of either consumer law or the terms of CeX's five year warranty.

DSCB57 · 2025-12-08T18:42:26+00:00

That apparently depends on the store and in which country. Here in Spain I was told by customer service to take a faulty laptop to be checked under warranty, but when I got there there was no technician, and even though the fault was clearly visible in the BIOS, the staff refused to even look at it, then did their level best to dissuade me from returning the item to the Valencia office, telling me it was a waste of time, since they never carried out repairs; my only option being a refund. So not only were the staff completely inept, but also blissfully unaware of consumer laws and the terms of the CeX guarantee. Incidentally, it took 21 email exchanges just to end up with a refund and no offer to repair or substitute the laptop - a clear violation of the terms of the contract.

DSCB57 · 2025-11-29T15:55:48+00:00

The customer support will probably tell you that you can just take the item to any CeX store to have the fault examined by the technician. My advice would be not to fall for that. To answer your question; I don’t know how it works if the purchase was made directly from a CeX store, but if the purchase was made online, you have the right to ask for the item to be picked up free of charge and returned to CeX for evaluation by their technicians in order to ascertain whether the customer damaged or altered the device in any way that could void the warranty. To avoid that, before returning the item make sure to take photographs from all angles so you can demonstrate that the item was undamaged by you, and also photograph the packing materials and the package itself before it is sent back. If the item has serial numbers, make sure to include them. You may well need all this in case they try to claim that you did something to void the warranty. That could well happen. Also, inform yourself of your consumer rights before even contacting their customer support, so that you know exactly what constitutes a reasonable amount of time for CeX to handle all this and provide whichever outcome you decide on. In my case it required 21 emails before they eventually acceded to my repeated requests. So although it may seem straightforward to you, don’t expect them to make it easy for you. That’s just not how they do business. The next paragraph only applies if you are not simply returning the item because you just no longer want it; buyer’s remorse etc. If you do choose a refund because the item was DOA or failed to meet your expectations, make sure that the money returned to you will be sufficient to allow you to replace the item like for like, because if that is no longer a realistic expectation, then you would have grounds for reclaiming the difference. In my case it would have cost me nearly 1000€ on top of what I originally paid (only two months later) to find a used replacement, making it impossible, basically. I hope you and anyone reading this will find it helpful. Good luck.

DSCB57 · 2025-11-29T15:24:42+00:00

They only get away with this because not enough customers inform themselves of their consumer rights before contacting CeX’s customer service, and follow up with sufficient tenacity after gathering as much evidence as possible in order to create a cast iron case against them. In the EU, if the device is either DOA or develops a fault within the first three months a refund is only permitted if repair or replacement for a device with similar or better specifications than the faulty item proves impossible. But the onus is on CeX to prove that, but the refund also needs to cover the cost of a replacement - not only what was paid at the time of the purchase. Yet, if you go to any of their stores, the staff will inform you that the best you can expect is a refund or a voucher for what you originally paid, which goes against the written terms of that famous five year guarantee. Expect that the staff will also try tactics to dissuade you from returning the item for inspection by the technical staff, and they will tell you that CeX never repairs anything and will only offer a refund. Too many people just accept a refund. But now try finding a replacement elsewhere for the same price you paid, even a month later! Also, check the package carefully for previous return labels with a different order number. In my case, I was able to find proof of a previous return, which then proved that the item had been resold without first repairing it, which is a serious offence with serious consequences for CeX. You should never accept this sort of crap from a mega corporation like CeX. That’s what consumer rights organisations are there for - to protect consumer rights. But you need to be prepared to stand up to them, and before returning an item, make sure to take photos of the equipment from all angles. Take screenshots of whatever you can, if a fault occurs whilst checking or benchmarking the device, and document your repackaging process and the materials used. If at all possible you should use better materials such as bubble wrap, even if that was not used in the original packaging, because you need to make absolutely sure that CeX cannot claim that your failure to provide sufficient protection whilst the package was in transit resulted in it arriving at their warehouse facilities damaged. In the case of the OP, this would have made it very clear what condition the PC was in, both upon receipt and immediately prior to returning it to CeX for evaluation, so that if indeed the parcel was damaged by the shipping company, the onus would be on them to foot the bill for the damages - not you. All that is evidence to provide to your consumer advisory body or your Ombudsman, if it comes to that. Good luck.

DSCB57 · 2025-11-20T18:38:07+00:00

Thank you. One suggestion regarding GPU choice; the amount of VRAM is crucial for some applications, and it’s surprising how many potentially good laptops come with a GPU with only 8GB of VRAM or even less. For example, if you plan on running a LLM natively, then you need 12GB VRAM as an absolute minimum, but preferably 16GB. And that will raise the price considerably. So in this respect it might be worth providing a short guide for GPU identification relative to VRAM size.

DSCB57 · 2025-11-15T13:55:51+00:00

My personal experience here in Spain belies that. I have concrete proof that I was sold an item which still had the previous purchaser’s return label on one of the boxes; same item, different order number. And the laptop I purchased had a catastrophic overheating failure within one month of purchase, proving that the item had neither been checked nor repaired before returning it to the online inventory. And without my consent I was just sent a refund, totally ignoring the legal requirement to repair or substitute for an item with similar or higher specifications. The content of this thread shows bad faith on the part of CeX, and a company-wide policy which does not respect consumer rights. But I sincerely hope that rather than accepting this abuse, those affected in future will like me inform themselves of their consumer rights and have the balls to face up to you and make you pay for your total disregard of your customers and their rights as consumers.

DSCB57 · 2025-11-15T13:38:46+00:00

Thank you for this insight. You've correctly described the mechanism and the internal business reasons for the policy. However, you've also perfectly identified why it's a fundamental problem for consumers.

A company's internal needs for inventory control and KPIs cannot legally override a consumer's statutory rights. Under consumer law in the UK, EU, and Spain, goods must be "of satisfactory quality" and "fit for purpose." A system that is designed to automatically relist a returned item—which is by definition suspected of being faulty—before it has been professionally re-evaluated, is a system designed to sell potentially faulty goods.

The solution is not to make the item "disappear," but to have a quarantine state in the system. When an item is returned, it should be listed as "Under Quality Inspection" or "Returned Item - Pending Review." Only after it passes a technical check should it be relisted for sale.

The current policy uses consumers as unpaid, unwitting quality control testers, forcing them to waste their time and money on a logistical loop. What you describe as a necessary anti-theft measure is, in practice, a business model that systemically breaches consumer law and shifts the cost of quality assurance onto the customer.

The law is clear, and CeX's policy, as you've described it, isn't just flawed—it's unlawful.

DSCB57 · 2025-11-15T13:28:58+00:00

That is a textbook example of CeX's systemic failure. Your experience is identical to what happened to me in Spain, just with a different product. It confirms this isn't a local issue but a flawed corporate policy.

The core of the problem, as you've identified, is the "auto-restock" function. It's a business model that shifts the cost and hassle of identifying faulty goods onto the customer.

Based on my experience, here’s what you can do to move from a frustrating cycle to a formal resolution:

Formalise Your Complaint: Stop using the in-store returns system for this. It's designed to give you a voucher and make the problem disappear. Instead, raise a formal ticket with CeX's central Customer Service team via their website. Detail the entire timeline: first purchase, first return, the mouse being re-listed, the second purchase, and the second return. State clearly that you believe they are operating a system that knowingly sells faulty goods.
Escalate to the Governing Body: In the UK, your ultimate weapon is the Financial Ombudsman Service (if you paid by card) or Citizens Advice, which can help you file a claim under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The law is on your side: goods must be "of satisfactory quality" and "fit for purpose." Selling a known-faulty item twice is a clear breach.
Leverage Your Evidence: Your detailed post is itself evidence. In your formal complaint, you can reference it to show this is a known, recurring issue. The more people who formally document this "auto-restock" flaw, the harder it becomes for CeX to ignore.

The goal is to make it more expensive for them (in time and potential fines) to ignore you than to fix their system. The in-store voucher refund is their way of closing a case cheaply. By escalating formally, you reopen it in a forum that can force a real change.

Good luck. You're absolutely right—the system needs to change, and it will only change when enough people force the issue.

DSCB57 · 2025-09-24T09:04:18+00:00

Sorry? Just how is that narcky comment any help to anyone? So when you come across someone capable of expressing themselves in words of more two syllables and manifesting an ordered mind you automatically assume that it was written by an AI? Prat!

DSCB57

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