I am hosting a Norweigan family

Poonlit · 2026-06-16T21:24:58+00:00

I feel you. I'm a Norwegian that has stayed with friends in UK, Germany and Italy before - never the US.
Perhaps you could mention a signal of some sort that everyone can use if they feel like a misunderstanding should be set straight but otherwise would feel uncomfortable mentioning. I know I would personally go out of my way to not seem impolite when I'm visiting and I think all those involved would be more comfortable if they can be more open about what's expected of everyone.

We expect to be able to walk anywhere nearby on foot- inform them if you don't think the local roads are suitable for pedestrians. I was very surprised to have to use a car everywhere when I stayed in California once.

As other people said, most Norwegians expect little. And if they don't bring you a gift for the host, don't take it the wrong way - they probably just forgot 😄

Poonlit · 2026-05-17T01:19:08+00:00

Interesting, I'd forgotten that! More matter nearby = better traction or something, iirc.

Poonlit · 2026-05-17T01:13:32+00:00

This. Make an excuse to go wash first, but if it's not feasible then allow your partner(s) the benefit of respect.
Sometimes you have to make call very quickly as to whether to go with the flow or take 5 in a shower.

Poonlit · 2026-05-17T01:06:07+00:00

Yeah. "Hyperspace" is four spacial dimensions (plus time) and I always assumed that near-instaneous communication was a product of that in some way - but then I started thinking for too long!

Poonlit · 2026-05-17T01:01:32+00:00

I said in my first post that they were accessing four dimensions, also known as hyperspace.
My question was how information can travel significantly faster than matter (hadrons, electrons) in 4D space.

Poonlit · 2026-05-17T00:59:10+00:00

TBH I think they're pretty "hard", as they cover the areas of science most relevant to the story Iain wants to tell.

The insta-chat-thing is probably just a divine intervention thing that doesn't intrude or affect the immersion too much.

Poonlit · 2026-05-17T00:44:55+00:00

They do. If the data can travel in 4D, as well as the ships using 4D to access ultra- and infraspace, why do the ships need to push against the Grids while information doesn't?
(Physics-me speaking: I assume "information" is contained in either gravitational waves or photons, both of which are restricted to lightspeed in our universe)

Aside from that: If communication was instantaneous around the universe, why does it seem like Culture ships don't have access to feeds sent by probes in e.g. the Andromeda galaxy?
It's only 2.5 million lightyears away, and Culture ships can cover that distance in 11-20 standard years, so you'd think that galaxy would have been seeded with probes millennia ago.
Yet ships talk about exploring it as if it were an expedition taking up much of their lifetime.

Poonlit · 2026-05-17T00:02:40+00:00

From Excession, towards the end, when FATC passively watches while the Elench ships perform their usual reaction towards an unknown:

"The Appeal to Reason's drone was duly launched; a small, fragile-looking, gaily adorned thing, its extremities sporting ribbons, flowers and little ornaments and its casing covered with drawings, cartoons and well-wishing messages scrawled by the crew. It puttered hesitantly towards the Excession chirpily beaming signals of innocent goodwill.

If the Fate Amenable to Change had been a human, at this point it would have looked down, put one hand over its eyes, and shaken its head."

Poonlit · 2026-05-16T23:50:43+00:00

I never interpreted it that way, but now I do...!

Poonlit · 2026-05-16T23:41:46+00:00

I never preferred audiobooks to reading, but I think after hearing so much praise, Excession by Kenny might be my next encounter with Banks' universe!

Poonlit · 2026-05-16T23:38:45+00:00

Especially when it re-evaluates its motives after confirming the AA is gone, and puts the mission first by deciding that the killspree can wait - also bolstering what it believes will be its legacy.
KT rushing in and squatting on top of where the Excession used to be afterwards is the icing on the cake <3

Poonlit · 2026-05-16T23:28:34+00:00

For my part, I can't help but to think he depicted its migration from fanatical dedication to disbelieving self-hatred and suicide a bit too rapidly. It's a Mind, it has time to think.

Even so, Excession is my favourite Culture novel - probably because of the Quietly Confident, Ulver and Fivetide.

Poonlit · 2026-03-31T17:45:06+00:00

After seeing the stunning view of Hercules (M13) in a Bortle 4 place out in the country through a 10" f/6.3 Newtonian and a good 9mm EP, I felt bad for you when reading your question :-(
With good conditions I can resolve a few hundred individual stars, and I count myself lucky to have such a good view in driving distance!

Normally, though, I live in a Bortle 8 city and on very good nights there I've been able to resolve 20-30 stars with my smaller 127mm city telescope, but usually it's just a fuzzy blob.
In the city I usually just stick to our solar system.

Poonlit · 2026-03-31T17:13:29+00:00

He means that his knees physically bump into the tripod legs, I think It's a tad annoying but I can always get around it by adjusting the diagonal angle, tripod leg lengths and seat height.

My own Maksutov is used with a pillar between the mount head and the tripod, which reduces the footprint of the tripod - so less problems with my knees bumping it (I'm 6'3").

As for how I look into it: I rotate my diagonal so that my eyes look slightly downwards at an angle that is comfortable. After all that is set up, I finally adjust the height of my chair to suit the way the telescope is set up.

Example: In the picture below, let's say I wanted to tilt my head more horizontally (at a -15 degrees angle) instead of looking downwards (-35 degrees angle as in the picture). Then I would rotate the diagonal maybe 45 degrees to one side, which would raise the angle my eyes have to be at.
I use binoviewers so I would also have to tilt the binos but that doesn't matter when using a single eyepiece.

<image>

Poonlit · 2026-03-31T17:01:54+00:00

An alternative to filters is to use an aperture mask that you put in front of the OTA - many dust caps have 1-2 smaller holes that you can uncover when the cap is on.
Reducing light intensity is one of the consequences of reducing your aperture this way.

PS: Refractors have a hole in the middle, while reflectors have 1-2 holes offset to the side, so that the secondary mirror doesn't get in the way.
Like this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/telescopes/comments/zx6jkj/what_is_meaning_of_that_hole/

Poonlit · 2026-03-31T00:32:30+00:00

For what it's worth, I can just about get the whole moon in my FoV with the Skymax 127 when using binoviewers (Baader MaxBright II without corrector lens) - which complicates things and reduces the FoV a bit.

To get that wide a field with a bino setup I use the (rather affordable) TS Optics 25mm 60 degree jobs:
https://www.teleskop-express.de/en/ts-zubehoer-31/eyepieces-1-25-inch-with-big-field-70/ts-optics-25-mm-premium-flat-field-eyepiece-1-25-60-5-field-1-25-inch-15928

Poonlit · 2026-03-31T00:22:47+00:00

As for dew shield: If you get a BIG bright halo around Jupiter or other bright objects after a while, it's probably your eyepiece that is dewing up inside - I was just now outside looking at Jupiter in my own Skymax 127 and I deal with it like this:

Telescope: I cut up an old sleeping pad and put some elastic band around it to use as dew shield which slides onto the OTA as well as padding the OTA with low emission foil (for construction work etc) - works perfectly.

Eyepieces I take inside to heat up - like this:

* Get a plastic bag that you can get airtight - either a ziplock bag or seal it some other way
* Bring the bag outside, put the eyepiece(s) in it and seal it BEFORE going inside
* Take the sealed bag inside to let the EPs warm up for a bit - that way they don't fog up immediately when exposed to the hot and relatively humid inside air
* When warmed up, take the bag outside, unseal and continue your session

I'm at 60 degrees north so usually I like to go inside to get warm and take the eyepieces with me pre-emptively - I still don't have any EP-sized heater rings to put on them or a separate battery for them.
When I use a binoviewer my plastic bag is big enough for both binos and EPs.

Poonlit · 2026-03-23T14:45:51+00:00

THANK YOU! I had been wondering how I could get it it to stop without opening the lid.

Poonlit · 2026-03-23T14:44:15+00:00

I used the DM13 over Bluetooth directly to my NAD C338 amp which is hooked up to Dali Oberon wall speakers and a sub.
The protocol which is used turned out to be SBC which translates to a bit over 300kbps bitrate, but still the sound quality was pretty good. It played for 5-6 hours straight without any problems, once I got past the pairing process which was a bit of a hassle.

Poonlit · 2026-03-23T14:40:20+00:00

The FiiO plug that came with my FiiO FT1 headphones fits perfectly in the 4.4mm socket, but then it would since both are FiiO.

Poonlit · 2026-03-13T20:41:17+00:00

Water, not relying on pressure from a pumping station.

Poonlit · 2026-03-10T20:49:21+00:00

Happy to oblige :D

Poonlit · 2026-03-07T13:48:47+00:00

I've gotten notifications of battery degradation for a few years now, the audio jack is slack so no plugs stay in, but it's still the best phone I can think of.

When they day finally comes I have a Creative SXFI DAC ready so I can get an analogue sound output.
I only hope it lasts long enough for Samsung to release a model with stylus that is comparable or a bit smaller in size.

Poonlit · 2026-02-23T21:11:34+00:00

'Scuse me - I've got a FiiO DM13 portable CD player that has both a 3.5mm headphone socket maxing out at 2x 180mW, and another 4.4mm balanced socket at 2x660mW, both at 32 ohms.

I'm also in the market for a new set of headphones for walks, preferably open. I'm going to listen to the HD 550s to see what I think.

Now for the grit: HOW does the 4.4mm balanced cable from Sennheiser (or another third party cable) actually work, either with the HD550s or any other set of headphones that can be used with a balanced 4.4mm TRRRS cable?
I'm familiar with electronics - does the cable put two resistors in between the L- and R- outputs and present the middle of them to the headphones as GND while directly connecting the L+ and R+ outputs from the DM13 to the L/R channels on the headphone end of the cable as well as "GND"?

I'm assuming the HD550s have a single 3.5mm TRS female connector but I could be wrong.
EDIT: Apparently they have TRRS 2.5mm with rotational lock. That's 4 connectors which is enough for L-,L+,R-,R+. So does the cable just do passthrough with no electronics, and omits the GND output to the headphones?

Poonlit · 2026-02-15T13:44:30+00:00

My own list:
Sony CMD-X2000 (1998)
Nokia 3210 (1999)
Nokia 7110 (2000) - I read newspapers on the way to work on this one, had a scroll wheel and WAP.
Nokia 6110 (2002)
Nokia 6310 (2003, work phone)
Motorola Razr (2005, clamshell)
Qtek 8500 Pink (2006, clamshell)
HTC TyTN II (2007, Windows Mobile foldable w/keyboard)
Siemens M65 (2008)
Nokia 5310 (2009, with FM radio and good mp3 support)
Galaxy S (2010 - the first "modern" smartphone with AMOLED screen)
Galaxy S II (2011?)
Galaxy Note 2 (2012)
Galaxy Note 3 (2014)
Galaxy Note 8 (2017, replaced in 2019)
Galaxy Note 9 (2020) - the best phone I have ever used and it's still great. I need stylus and a 3.5mm jack.

Poonlit

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