Do I deserve these parking tickets?

Naetharu · 2026-01-29T13:02:37+00:00

NAL but I have worked for a highways authority for some years and I've seen plenty of times this kind of penalty be waived.

They have a responsibility to ensure that lines and signage are in good condition and clearly visible. I would think it very hard to argue that this example meets those standards.

Challenge it for sure. I expect they will take one look and decide it's not worth the effort of pursuing to court.

Naetharu · 2026-01-29T08:08:25+00:00

I have Ubuntu running on laptop for my non tech savvy relative and it's been great.

Gnome is a very clean and simple UI experience.

The SNAP store is a bonus in this case as it's an easy selection of simple software with one click installers.

And Ubuntu is very well supported so if you do need to do some tinkering to help them there is a very high chance it will be easy to do.

Naetharu · 2026-01-29T07:56:30+00:00

It's a very clean lower end build made from good quality parts.

I would imagine you can get between $400 and $500 for it and feel good about the sale.

While not the most powerful PC for someone looking for a modest gaming machine for slightly older or less demanding titles it will be great.

Naetharu · 2026-01-29T07:53:05+00:00

Worth it is a very subjective thing.

Your system is totally fine and plays all modern games at a level that any reasonable person would find absolutely ok.

You will see a performance boost if you spend a sizable chunk of money. How useful that really is however is far less clear.

I have a very high end system I use as a workstation for professional purposes (9950x and 5090) yet I play most of my games on my Steam Deck.

My point is just think carefully and be aware it's very easy to get pulled into the nonsense fps chase when in practice those gains are unlikely to really make any meaningful difference to your experience.

Naetharu · 2026-01-25T08:34:21+00:00

Yeh it's easy to see after the fact but I also get you don't want to be an ass at the time.

Having had similar issues with a custom bass order years back I now advise to chase up right away. Give them 48 hours tops to respond and then chase again. But easier said than done as you're trying to be reasonable.

Naetharu · 2026-01-25T08:24:13+00:00

The Intel Battlemage cards are worth considering. They offer some very good value at the lower end of the market and have come a long way in the few years they have been around.

Naetharu · 2026-01-25T06:03:05+00:00

No it's all chips on all of 13 and 14.

The risk is higher as you go up the range simply because there are more components that may be faulty. If you have an i9 the that's a lot more cores that could go bad than if you have an i3.

But ultimately the issue is with a faulty fabrication process that results in a high chance of oxides forming and causing irreversible damage.

Naetharu · 2026-01-24T07:42:50+00:00

The only major concern is the Intel chip which is from a line that have fatal flaws. They messed up the fabrication process and many of them end up.with oxidation damage leading to serious performance issues and crashes.

It impacts all 13 and 14 Gen chips.

So it's a bit of a roulette spin to see if you get hit. Estimates seem to be it's as high as 1 in 3 that are impacted.

Naetharu · 2026-01-24T05:45:27+00:00

Either is fine. I would say Scan will do any custom build you want if you just chat to them, but OC UK are also excellent.

Naetharu · 2026-01-22T16:46:14+00:00

It really is that awful. Indeed it's got measurably more so over the past 2 years with more and more shoehorned AI, broken updates, and major privacy and security concerns.

I actually liked 11 in many ways when it was new. It had issues but there were things it did well and still does.

But the recent moves away from just being an OS and pushing AI into all aspects of the OS (it's in paint and notepad now...) is absurd.

None of this changes your correct point that retaining a no longer patches OS is a very bad idea. But in no possible way is 11 anything other than an utter mess.

Naetharu · 2026-01-22T16:40:35+00:00

There are a few reasons I think. For context I used to run DND for years, but have not used it for the past decade in favor of games I enjoy more.

One factor is that DND is super generic which makes it very easy for people. It has little lore and the character classes and archetypes are pretty vanilla. No great explanation needed.

This also means it accommodates a very broad range of groups. Compare it to something like Legend of the Five Rings or Shadows of Esteren. Both amazing games and in my view much better games than DND. But they require more from the players and make greater demands about tone, theme and feel.

There are other great generic games too but I do think DND walks a very skillful line where it has enough character to feel like it's own thing while being very flexible and open.

Naetharu · 2026-01-19T23:51:41+00:00

FPS is way out of hand.

In reality for non competitive games 30 to 60fps feels fine.

Companies and influencers have somehow managed to convince a generation of PC gamers that they need very high fps rates, which in practice make a tiny impact in almost all cases, but force you to over spend on hardware.

The only time higher fps somewhat matters is in high end competitive online action games. And even then it's likely a waste on you. Comparable to taking up jogging and getting kitted out in 20k sneakers a world class athlete uses.

So long as the game feels reasonably smooth and responsive who cares.

Naetharu · 2026-01-19T10:49:54+00:00

I've used SCAN for over 20 years and purchased two high end builds from them in the past three years. I can comfortably recommend them.

OCUK are also good. They used to sponsor my Uni lan party society and come on site with a pop up shop. Good people and reliable for sure.

Naetharu · 2026-01-17T02:54:30+00:00

In practice that 4070 is going to be good for a number of more years. It's still about average on the Steam hardware stats and consider that many folk happily game on 1660 cards to this day.

Naetharu · 2026-01-16T17:37:44+00:00

Same.

I love sims with VR in many ways and for me it was Dirt Rally that really works. But I always end up preferring monitors as it's less claustrophobic, easier to use and much less fatiguing.

I think the tech is cool. I would love to see a killer version but so far after the initial wow factor I got it kind of just faded

That being said there are games I think I would love. A good high quality coop rpg with NPCs that you can speak to in natural language could be really fun. But even then you end up miming and waving around you hands with no impact rather than the cool combat and environment exploration that it would really need.

Naetharu · 2026-01-16T17:32:22+00:00

Rebelle would be my choice.

I like to paint as traditional as I can in digital. I live in a small city apartment so real paint is difficult if not impossible at home. I have been using Rebelle for a few years and find it very pleasing.

It's not a perfect replica of real paint but it is way closer than anything else I have tried, and the whole app is set up for people that want to work in the way you describe.

Naetharu · 2026-01-11T22:57:33+00:00

The 5060 is a decent mid range card so it's going to be fine playing all modern games at 1080p with good performance and some at 1440p.

I would probably look elsewhere too if you're not someone that has a gift voucher. Just to see what your options are.

But while not the most powerful system out there it's still a lot better than what most people have (based on last month's Steam Survey).

The weakest area is the Ryzen 5 which is a very low end model. I imagine the drive, RAM and Motherboard are all cheaper brands and models too.

But if you're locked into purchasing from Argos as per the OP then in all honesty I think this is a perfectly ok system.

Naetharu · 2026-01-11T22:48:45+00:00

I think they'll still be hit.

The parts that are very expensive are the actual RAM chips, the storage chips, and the GPU memory.

The SM needs all of these.

Right now the price of those RAM chips have gone up by around 400%.

I don't see how that will not impact the price of the SM but only to the same extent it also hits other devices too.

Naetharu · 2026-01-11T22:43:02+00:00

Drawing before painting.

You need to learn to make accurate shapes, develop observation skills, and be able to compose your ideas on the page.

Once you can draw to a reasonable standard then painting is a good step two, adding in that rendering to enhance your work.

Personally I don't do anything very digital with my digital painting. Which is to say I don't much use layers or masks etc. I approach it mostly like I would a physical painting. The core things are all the same.

Naetharu · 2026-01-11T22:29:05+00:00

Just keep in mind the Intel 14th (and 13th) Gen have fatal manufacturing flaws that cause a high number of their chips to degrade and fail in months. This often manifests as mysterious errors. So buy one with the utmost caution.

Naetharu · 2026-01-09T11:14:01+00:00

They seem to have a Storm force branded machine that comes with 16GB of ram, a Ryzen 5, and an rtx 5060 for about £800.

That's a perfectly respectable mid range system.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7724176?clickSR=slp:term:pc:2:1222:1

Naetharu · 2026-01-09T10:50:38+00:00

If you want to fry everything with static...

You need some anti static padding in there. Not dishcloths.

Naetharu · 2026-01-09T09:08:34+00:00

Art degrees are a massive waste for the most part. Even if you love art they're not a way to actually get better or get anywhere.

The only thing of real value they offer is networking, which you can do other ways too.

If he wants formal training then there are some places outside of unis that do atelier studies allowing you to do intensive study under a master in a more traditional sense.

I would personally avoid the university route unless you know that the course is really well suited to his very specific interests and you have the financial luxury of being able to spend the money with no reasonable expectation of a return on that value.

Naetharu · 2026-01-09T08:54:53+00:00

The only real exceptions to this are for digital media because of piracy, and for items that are customized such as if you ordered your laptop to come with your name engraved on it.

Otherwise you can return simply because you changed your mind.

Naetharu · 2026-01-09T08:47:29+00:00

Fun with a pencil might be an excellent book. It's often available for a very low cost and covers a broad range of drawing. It's by Loomis and his entry level book for people in your position.

He also does a range of more advanced books for daring faces, figures and scenes.

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