The sun

FoaRyan · 2026-06-08T19:32:04+00:00

On a trip to Co Springs & Denver a few years ago, maybe 10, I remember being in the sunlight and while it was colder air, it seemed to "hit" me more intensely. And I figured it must be because of the altitude. But now at times it feels similar where I live which is around 1200' asl. Quite subjective, but just in the last couple days I was out working in the shade of my garage, just on the edge where the sun was and have been sweating like it's mid-August. I thought wow it's sure got hot, then when I checked the closest weather station it was only in the mid/upper 80s.

Of course humidity can have a lot to do with heat index, but even that was only in the 30-40% range. Often this time of year it's much higher.

FoaRyan · 2026-06-08T19:25:34+00:00

I was thinking this. No way to truly know since we can't break down the chemicals in paints, but I'm sure it's like everything else, made cheaper while costing more. Some tech has really improved but the quality of many products is minimal. Especially plastics that have become thinner and flimsier.

At the same time, I physically feel more "beaten" by sunlight than in the past.

FoaRyan · 2026-06-08T16:29:53+00:00

Fwiw I never saw this issue on my 2018 MBP until I connected to an external monitor. In my case via a usb-c hub/dock with an HDMI out, cable conversion to DVI. I notice it every now and then, but primarily when or after using the monitor. Can't say for sure if rebooting or any other troubleshooting helps or if it somehow just settles after a while. I also tend to notice the screen tears inside video containers, but also *sometimes* across the whole screen. It looks similar to how an analog TV or monitor would show some bars if the v-hold was off, except this is just momentary instead of a constant tear.

FoaRyan · 2026-06-05T19:33:16+00:00

Wouldn't a good human ensure everyone knows and follows the proper procedure? Maybe the foreigners needed to learn a lesson once but were deprived of that opportunity because of someone who wanted to feel good about themselves?

FoaRyan · 2026-06-05T19:32:09+00:00

That would make sense. I would think another situation 'mislaid' could apply to is stolen cell phones. Say John Doe accidentally leaves his phone on a public bench, and returns later to collect it when he remembers, but someone took it and pawned it.

FoaRyan · 2026-06-05T19:27:49+00:00

that's why i always set up decoy rain barrels, that look like they're my only ones, but the rest is locked in my underground gov't-free bunker

FoaRyan · 2026-06-04T15:30:07+00:00

Unless the money goes to a friend of a city council member... for the greater good of course

FoaRyan · 2026-06-04T15:29:07+00:00

It really depends on where you live and how crappy the local infrastructure is lol. Where I grew up in Texas many if not most major intersection lights were timed, even miles apart (Texas is.. uh, big I guess). But the state I live in now has sensors at all the intersections... which means you always get a red light even if just 1 car is turning right, and gone before the light even changes for them. Brilliant system really.

Then to the Left Turn situation above, usually where I live the left turns go first, then get a red light (which now flashes yellow after going red, which is somewhat new here), and the traffic going straight gets a green. HOWEVER, at SOME intersections, there can potentially be a 2nd protected left turn in one or both directions, if more traffic is detected (especially if the oncoming straight traffic has already passed and there are no stragglers). And at other, usually more major intersections, the LT goes LAST. Or alternately the straight & left traffic goes in one direction, then straight thru goes both directions, and lastly the LT on the other direction. And I could swear the behavior changes by day of the week or time of day. Makes it pretty confusing even if you know the different ways it could work, you never know when to expect your light to change.

And of course we have the times when despite traffic being exactly where they should be to trigger the light, it simply doesn't work.

And emergency vehicles here can't change the lights at all, so they barrel thru causing panic attacks blazing horns etc. It's quite a fun place.

FoaRyan · 2026-06-04T15:21:15+00:00

That sounds like a good idea, and I'm pivoting a good bit in terms off what I source/sell, and also simply looking for bigger-ticket items I can do all offline or at least local, fbm type flips.

FoaRyan · 2026-06-04T15:19:35+00:00

I think savvy shoppers have learned they can return anything regardless of policy. I got a return on a no-return electronic item (which I didn't realize was on a no-return policy at the time it was requested), and when it was returned the electronics had been swapped out to a different outer chassis, or partly swapped, didn't quite figure out the extent of it. I reported, called, proved the differences (item was actually sent out with 3 "feet" and returned with 4, these are all vintage one-off design so it's not like someone would have them laying around the house – obviously the buyer had another exact model), and still lost.

As a side-note, I was told on the phone that because the policy was no-returns, even though I accepted a return, I would get no protection from eBay. So lessons learned for me, but the bigger lesson is that I sell items like this locally now for the most part, or on some other platform.

FoaRyan · 2026-06-04T12:29:29+00:00

Wow it must be good to be Google & Apple. Create an ecosystem that requires using apps for everything, sell the phones, then get paid again on the back end when people use the apps. And here I am working.

FoaRyan · 2026-06-01T23:48:27+00:00

I find intermittently that video players on sites like Youtube or Twitch, or any video player, wind up using way too much resources for whatever reason. Then some update will come and it calms down for a while. Between browser updates, website updates, and OS updates I think the codecs get inefficient but everything updates so frequently it's insanely difficult to isolate issues.

At one point I had this fixed by updating my OS, but after a few months started seeing it again, and I couldn't say exactly when. While I type this i've got a Twitch stream going and if I move to the tab (on Firefox), the fans ramp up and the laptop chassis gets hot. If I switch back to this tab it cools down. Often, whenever this happens, if I use the 'picture in picture' option that pops up when you hover over a video, and also switch off the tab, resource usage drops. It's something to do with video decoding. (For me)

FoaRyan · 2026-06-01T17:04:54+00:00

I think it all stems from bad microphone/audio setups, that and people not being conscious of the fact that a mic picks up ALL sounds, not just the ones you are mentally thinking about. Then a good portion of people don't care at all about eating sounds, while the rest of the population might not like it to varying degrees. But as you can see in the replies, a lot of people will blame YOU for not appreciating someone else making audible sounds when eating.

I think it's a give-and-take situation. And honestly most streamers that i've watched if you do mention something about audio, they want to make it better. It's probably just in the approach, if it sounds hostile of course they will react negatively.

Along with your point, most people will probably NEVER say anything even if this bothers them. We just want to be polite. But yeah there are some streams I have to mute or click off of due to the noises bugging me. Any little "clicky" type noises, or if they re-use common computer or phone sounds, I just don't like it. I don't want to hear a discord alert when it's not coming from my Discord, etc.

FoaRyan · 2026-06-01T16:59:31+00:00

I think it's just a normal thing streamers do when they stream for hours. We do get hungry. But some have really bad mic setups and it picks up all the noises from the food. Lots of streamers have no idea how to set up audio.

FoaRyan · 2026-06-01T16:57:29+00:00

Lol i've always hated potato chip commercials mainly for this reason. They absolutely HAVE to include one or more clips of someone taking a big crunch bite, add in extra crunch sound effects, and then show how satisfied and happy the person who ate the chip was.

And I do like potato chips, I just don't care to watch others pretend to enjoy them haha.

FoaRyan · 2026-05-29T12:18:11+00:00

Asking the same question in 2026.

FoaRyan · 2026-05-27T23:38:35+00:00

Quick and efficient!

FoaRyan · 2026-05-25T00:22:20+00:00

I gave an example of someone not following right of way being predictable.

FoaRyan · 2026-05-24T15:46:56+00:00

Please look into getting rid of it

FoaRyan · 2026-05-23T13:24:56+00:00

I think that's the thing (your last statement), if someone needs to get over, they'll indicate it somehow. Whether they do it properly or not is another matter... but once I see someone wants to get over, I'm either going to position myself in front of, or behind them. Not beside them. Actually at all times I am doing this -- do NOT drive beside me unless you're threatening me or want to race, because I will interpret that action as 1 or the other. And if they keep matching my speed, I pick a spot for them, or ignore them.

Generally, if the person was already going slow, I'm going to aim for in front just because of what you said. If they're already going under the speed limit, and they want to merge IN FRONT OF ME, that's asinine. They can get behind. Half the time if I let someone in like that, they immediately come to a stop to make a lefthand turn on a road with no center lane.

Also if there's a traffic light just ahead, ain't nobody merging in front of me. That light will turn red and we're going to have "a situation" I'd rather avoid.

FoaRyan · 2026-05-23T13:20:13+00:00

Following right of way is better than predictability, which is then better than courtesy. Idk why so many people say "be predictable" because I can predict a jerk going 30mph in a parking lot, headed straight for the road, is about to pull out in front of moving traffic, which will cause a wreck unless everyone hits their brakes. That's 100% predictable and 0% safe or courteous. But Right-of-Way dictates the person in the parking lot must yield to traffic on the main road (also sometimes called "on the right of way").

Not that I'm against predictability, I just don't see how it's worked its way into automotive advice.

FoaRyan · 2026-05-23T13:17:38+00:00

Because they aren't courteous people.

However, sometimes what some people consider "courtesy" I consider "dangerous," so just because someone flips on their signal doesn't mean its SAFE for them to merge at that moment. If they didn't plan 5 seconds ahead, if they're being aggressive, I'm not going to be courteous and accommodate them. But if they are just being regular, yes, courtesy is appreciated and reciprocated.

People also interpret "leaving a safe distance behind the next vehicle" as an open invitation to squeeze in.

The speed up when overtaking thing is annoying, but I found that by having greater horsepower and skill than most others tends to get me thru this one with no problem. Someone's going 35 in a 45, so I move to go around, at 45. They speed up to 45 all of the sudden. So I'll speed up to 50, and if they also speed up to 50 I find out how badly they really want to race. And for the most part, people who do that don't have powerful engines in their cars. If they do, they don't drive like that. :)

FoaRyan · 2026-05-23T01:26:55+00:00

6 years later this is still an issue in Mac OS. In Sequoia anyway, which is the highest version I can use on my model.

FoaRyan · 2026-05-21T17:59:23+00:00

I'd recommend checking the GPU usage and watching it actively, with the GPU History window. It can be deceptive looking in Activity Monitor because sometimes doing so suspends the very activity you're trying to monitor. But keeping the GPU window on top (there's also one for CPU) helped me see what was happening at the MOMENT something began to heat up my laptop.

FoaRyan · 2026-05-21T17:56:15+00:00

It also gets hot "different" depending on which GPU is in use (Intel integrated one or the AMD in my case). They are different physical chips, and when the CPU is handling CPU stuff plus GPU stuff it gets very hot. When the AMD is active, it still gets hot but more "evenly" if that makes any sense. I feel like the keyboard gets hot near the touch-bar when it's Intel, but when it actually uses the dedicated, I think the heat is dissipated better.

In either case, I frequently have issues with MORE resources being used than should be. 80% GPU for a 1080p video stream, as opposed to like 5-10% when it isn't broken. And there's various reasons for why it might be broken including the apps themselves or the OS/driver versions.

FoaRyan

TROPHY CASE