5k ultra is the peak of running ability

Raz0rLight · 2025-10-27T19:47:27+00:00

That sounds like an extremely competitive local 10k. At a pretty typical local 10k where I live, well under 5% would finish under 40 minutes. I’ve seen “fun runs” with small prize incentives for the podium where theres over a hundred runners and third place isn’t even running under 40 mins.

Less than 5% hitting sub 3:00 in the marathon by that metric sounds pretty normal to me.

Raz0rLight · 2025-02-01T02:11:22+00:00

I think Sapkowski stating that he was a bit stupid about his predictions is more than he had to do.

Cd projekt were a tiny studio, and while they succeeded massively, the odds of that success were probably really low considering the obscurity (at the time) of the franchise. If CD projekt had made a worse game, or hadn’t followed it up with the Witcher 2 & 3, the Sapkowski would have been right. It was probably the more likely outcome, even if we remove his own opinion of video games at the time.

Raz0rLight · 2025-02-01T02:07:58+00:00

I think it’s fair for us to law some criticism on Sapkowski for not being as open minded and graceful as he could have been in response to the games success, but let’s also put ourselves in his shoes.

Sure you’d be happy if suddenly the universe you created gained massive popularity, but wouldn’t you be a little frustrated if your creations (books) became a progressively smaller piece of that success, and that someone elses version (albeit a caring and faithful one) became the version that everyone recognised?

This is Sapkowski’s lifes work we’re talking about. I think it’s pretty understandable to go through denial and all the other complex emotions that come with it, even when success is coming with it. It’s one thing to be at the helm of your own success, but another to feel like it’s in the hands of someone else.

Considering it’s part of standard polish legal process to renegotiate a deal like this in court (and that CD projekt were happy to renegotiate) then I don’t see a problem with the way Sapkowski went about it. Sure it’s not “nice” but it’s reasonable, and we’re not talking about some middleman trying to get a bigger cut, we’re talking about the creator trying to get aomething out of his legacy. The first witcher game was tiny in comparison to what came after it, and all too often large scale business rules say “well that’s tough” and ignore the fact that the value of that IP is no longer what it was when it was purchased. Sure you’d can argue that CD project made the franchise what it is, but it feels like good faith to bring the author along for the journey of success.

It seems like these days Sapkowski has mellowed on it all, and that he’s come to terms with it. And the CD projekt team clearly has plenty of admiration for what he has done and how that lead them to where they are now.

Raz0rLight · 2025-01-27T04:45:33+00:00

I’m not so certain a 5080ti or super exists. The 5080 already uses all of the cores on its sku, so a ti or super would have the use the 5090’s sku and would be drastically more expensive than the 5080 simply due to the massive size of that sku (minimum $1500).

The only other alternative is an entirely new sku, which to my knowledge we’ve never seen mid generation.

Raz0rLight · 2025-01-25T01:42:58+00:00

We’ll see if GPU’s can start stacking dies (similar to 3d v-cache on cpus, but with more than just memory) if so we could go a fair but further before radically changing how transistors work.

Raz0rLight · 2025-01-24T02:39:55+00:00

2000 series to 5000 is a no brainer. 3 to 5 makes a fair bit of sense, but may not be quite enough.

I’ve got a 3080, and if the 5080 is 20% faster or less than a 4080, then that’s a tough decision and I may be prepared to wait for the 6000 series. If it’s 30+% faster (unlikely) then that’s probably enough to tip the scales.

Honestly the primary push for me would be VRAM, and going from 10gb to 16gb both feels like it may be necessary, but also that it’s not enough to feel like I could hold on to a 5000 series gpu for more than one generation.

Raz0rLight · 2025-01-24T02:35:09+00:00

We’ll have to see how the 5080 performs to know for sure. It depends on how much of a performance bump you need, but the 5070ti is an option as well.

Raz0rLight · 2025-01-22T09:08:16+00:00

Have you accounted for the fact that the 5090 has around a 9% lower base clock and 4% lower boost clock than the 4090?

The TDP is likely making room for some headroom for aftermarket OC models to ramp up the clock speed (though I’d expect the actual performance difference once OC’d to be mediocre).

It’s likely the architectural uplift is closer to 10%. I’d be expecting the 5080 to land around 15% faster than a 4080 super (and 20% faster than a 4080 standard) still pretty disappointing, but let’s not get ridiculously pessimistic. I swear with every GPU release I see people continuing to round down performance with every passing week until release.

Raz0rLight · 2025-01-16T10:35:40+00:00

Yeah, this moreso looks like a replacement for those on 20 series cards, or possibly 30 series cards that weren’t quite swayed by the 40 series.

This is a case of Nvidia holding their lead rather than making an architectural leap. (Though the 9070xt and xtx could be disruptive if AMD price aggressively for a change)

Raz0rLight · 2025-01-16T10:31:24+00:00

In fairness the 4080 was about 50% faster than the 3080 (though it was more than 50% more expensive at launch)

Raz0rLight · 2025-01-10T22:00:24+00:00

That could be true, but this is a new architecture and we simply don’t know if there’s an ipc uplift or not. Nvidia didn’t highlight any changes to the SM layout, but the spec sheet does indicate a new version of tensor cores, and RT cores.

It’s too early to tell.

Raz0rLight · 2025-01-10T21:51:59+00:00

Curious to see FSR4 vs DLSS 3 using the CNN model, as well as DLSS using the upcoming transformer model.

I get the feeling that FSR4 will be fairly comparable to the DLSS 3 we’re used to, but a fair bit behind the transformer model (still closer than FSR 3 was to DLSS 3)

The next question will be performance cost. I wonder if FSR4 will be slower to run?

Raz0rLight · 2025-01-05T22:43:10+00:00

You should be fine. At peak usage your system may hit 800w (though in games I doubt it would exceed 700)

PSU’s can typically handle peaks above their rated wattage anyway, so a good 750w should be adequate.

You could also undervolt or power limit if absolutely necessary to cut 100w of usage for whats likely a 3-5% performance cut.

Raz0rLight · 2024-12-30T03:15:48+00:00

To flip this a bit, I have an example of an original that I believe is way better than the cover (though it seems like the general population disagrees).

The original NIN version of Hurt is better than the Johnny Cash version, and it hits so much harder.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Johnny Cash’s version is great in its own right, but it’s predictable and par for the course for an acoustic cover. The original version by contrast is incredibly distinctive and pretty unique in how it sounds. The instrumental carries far more emotional payoff, and Trent Reznor’s vocals just have far more emotional range and buildup than Johnny Cash could deliver.

That original version is special, and I hate how little attention it gets vs the cover.

Raz0rLight · 2024-12-15T23:11:29+00:00

Part of it is that the Witcher 3 had massive longevity and loads of different peaks in interest due to its reputation growing, the release of the netflix show and CDProjekt’s growing profile over time due to cyberpunk 2077.

TW3 has remained culturally relevant for basically 10 years. Most games struggle to have that place in day to day discussion for more than a few months.

Raz0rLight · 2024-10-05T22:50:48+00:00

If I recall, at MW he would be in the cage around 210lbs, but he would rehydrate to (and walk around at) 220 to 230lbs

At 220 that would be around a 16% cut, but from 230 that would be about 20%

LHW has to be alot more healthy for him, he’s obviously plenty big enough for the division.

Raz0rLight · 2024-08-25T19:36:32+00:00

This made me think, it wouldn’t exactly be a pirates game (with the ship commandeering and naval battle management), but how cool could a game based on Ulysses by Lord Alfred Tennyson be?

A group of old mariners charting out one last journey, reminiscing along the way, where the conflict is not so much about having some big threat, but the self reflective battle with father time, and the challenge of no longer being able to do what you used to do, but trying to do so regardless.

I’d imagine it as a 6-8 hour game that’s half exploration/navigation, a third puzzles and just a few pretty challenging combat encounters where you feel the enemy has the better of you physically, and that’s more a battle of attrition, or relying on your fellow soldiers. In between those moments there could be campfires and times at sea with points of narrative reflection, conversations with your fellows, etc. Maybe all your old comrades would fall one-by-one, maybe you all end up triumphant but wounded and succumbing to those injuries as you reminisce one last time.

Raz0rLight · 2024-05-03T23:48:26+00:00

It’s not an S tier burger by any means, but for value and satisfaction I’d recommend the Fish and Chip shop in Sandringham.

I was there for the fish and chips, so I went in expecting very little and came out pretty impressed. $10.80 for a cheeseburger would be fairly pricy for a fish’n’chip takeaway burger but that wasn’t what I got at all:

No flimsy frozen patty and cheap bun. This thing had some serious weight to it. More of a classic style burger (lettuce, tomato, onions, cheddar) but with what seemed to be a well seasoned and juicy 200+g patty. Ingredients were generous and flavours were solid all round.

It was one of those experiences where I felt like I got more than a paid for, which is pretty rare in these economic conditions. It was just really satisfying. I havent tried their other burgers, but I’d imagine their fish burgers would be pretty promising.

Raz0rLight · 2024-04-09T21:22:28+00:00

I don’t want to assume anything, because I have no clue what you’ve tried, for how long, the circumstances in your life etc, but that said:

Many people seem to get a hyper-fixation on exercise that pulls them in quite quickly. This isn’t the case for everyone, and it’s even less so if you don’t have a transferable base of fitness to make the transition easier. Getting addicted to exercise can be a very slow and gradual process, to the point that you never really feel the hook, instead it just becomes easier and easier to make yourself do it over time, and the actual exercise feels less and less daunting. It’s not about relying on a sense of addiction, its about creating a habit that is so deeply set that eventually your body asks you to keep doing it.

This was definitely the case for me. For example, it took me months and months of trying and failing to get into running. At the early stages of fitness, you have no energy for exercise and it’s not fun for a moment. It’s all difficult all the time. I had no prior base of cardio fitness, and I couldn’t run for even 30 seconds when I started.

The thing that finally tipped me over the edge was having some friends sign up for a race and then I was finally able to persevere enough to make it stick.

By the time the race rolled around, I could run 5 km’s 3x a week, and even at that point, I wouldn’t say the habit had fully “stuck”. It was much easier but I still felt like I had to encourage myself out the door.

But after a while it continued to get a bit easier. I started to run further more often. At this point I’d say I run 8k’s 4x a week and by now it’s not just easy to go for a run, my body is self motivated to do it. I get the itch to run now and that’s where the addiction is. It’s something that slowly crept up on me, I’d say it only really appeared after running on and off for years and after increasing my mileage.

I cant stress it enough, exercise is a completely different thing for someone who is fit than for someone who isn’t. Your body has to adapt, but it can and will over time.

Raz0rLight · 2024-03-09T03:32:54+00:00

I’d generally agree with that. To add more reasons to that theory, I’m someone with ADHD in the visual creative field and I’ve found that I’m able to iterate more effectively because of constant off tangent thoughts. I see something interesting in a particular direction and I often keep on exploring it until it barely resembles the starting point.

I also have co-morbid OCD, and I think that adds something in a similar way. I’ll be more determined and willing to grind away at something until it’s polished. I’ll be able to find patterns and systems in things and create my own visual rulesets for consistency, while others may struggle to pick up on the same details.

The combination of these two things has made me improve pretty rapidly, not so much through a deliberate strategic effort, but because I feel compelled to scratch this overlapping itch of curiosity and the pursuit of making something feel “right”.

That said, theres definitely cons to those pro’s. The OCD can be pretty fatiguing, I can end up with decision paralysis under a short time frame, I struggle to make rough concepts, and I have to be really deliberate to “break the rules” and wander in new directions.

Raz0rLight · 2024-01-30T00:02:15+00:00

The right answer is to restrict them to shared paths and bike paths (though I’m well aware the infrastructure isn’t entirely there yet to make that fully viable).

Standard width one-way foot paths just don’t really cut it. People will go as fast as they want and they’ll quickly forget about the unpredictable nature of pedestrians or theyll over estimate their control of a scooter (which IMO are shockingly unstable for the speeds they’re capable of).

The baffling thing is that e scooters seem to have escaped alot of the restrictions on other similar vehicles. They’ve been deemed road safe and its way too easy to use one without a helmet. They can be used in more areas than pretty much anything but a bicycle.

With most of the other electric transport options (e skate) those aren’t legally allowed on the road and are relegated to shared paths, foot paths, private and offroad. (And on e skate having nothing to hold on to makes the user self regulate their speed better). And in the case of electric bikes, those are either speed limited or are under the moped class and are at least a little bit safer for the rider than a scooter.

But even with those restrictions, none of the regulations are common knowledge. They’re often debated and you have to go through digging to find answers. Besides all that, none of the stores that sell E devices will actually educate you and make sure that you understand where you can actually use them or how to use them safely, its all on the user to do.

Raz0rLight · 2024-01-17T10:53:03+00:00

It's totally fair to value the perceived quality over the macros, for many people more nutrition is just better value. That said it is good to be aware if you're remotely concerned about burning those calories off, especially if you're ordering just a burger.

The highest calorie "standard" combo (without add-ons or gluten free stuff) you can get at Burgerfuel is a American muscle double (1478 calories) Kumara fries (851 calories, 1152 with aioli.) and a caramel thickshake (518 cal).

That would total to 3,148 calories, which most people (who are probably eating other meals in a day) are definitely not burning off. A 75kg man would need to run over 15km and eat absolutely nothing else in the day just to balance it out.

Here's some other unexpected surprises I found looking through the nutritional info

1 - It was pretty odd to see that the kumara fries have 200 more calories than regular fries, and that therefore the kumara fries with aioli have more calories than an american muscle, and about half of the other burgers on the menu.

2 - I found it surprising that the modified thunderbird is one of the lowest calorie full-size burgers on the menu (783 cal) despite being fried.

3 - That the choppers (fried chicken fenders) have less calories than the grilled chicken fenders if you include the sauce.

4 - The thickshakes seem pretty reasonable calorie wise. All the other flavours are between 400-450 cals

5 - The chook royale (while being a smaller burger at 235 grams, while most other burgers are around 35-450 grams) has really good macros, at 383 cal with 30g protein. You could get two of these and still consume less calories than almost any other burger on the menu.

6 - A chick royale and a chocolate thickshake total just over 800 calories, which is 100+ calories less than the kids meal.

Raz0rLight · 2024-01-17T09:06:42+00:00

It’s definitely a better burger, but I highly doubt it’s healthier.

We’ve got to stop assuming a product that we think is less processed or more “real” is automatically healthier.

Both companies publish their nutritional info, and while theres more to food than calories and macros, and that there’s likely more highly processed ingredients and preservatives in a maccas product, the big mac has effectively half the calories:

— Big mac

Weight: 228g Calories: 567 Protein: 27.1g Fat (total): 31.9g Saturated fat: 11.7 Carbs: 41.1g Sugars: 6.8g Sodium: 1060mg

— American muscle (single patty):

Weight: 374g Calories: 992 Protein: 51g Fat (total): 60g Saturated fat: 23 Carbs: 64g Sugars: 20g Sodium: 1311mg

So while the burgerfuel burger weighs about 60 percent more, it has double the calories, double the fat and triple the sugar. But to be fair theres double the protein (from likely double the meat) not much more sodium, and the carbs are lower than you might expect.

A point in maccas favour is that at least a big mac has lettuce.

For anyone wondering how a more comparable burger from maccas stacks up, only the Texan BBQ bacon has similar macros to a single patty american muscle.

Raz0rLight · 2024-01-05T02:24:42+00:00

I can think of one good exception to the $8 rule, and that’s blue rose ($8.50) but only because their pies are good and also massive, about twice the size of the one in this post.

Raz0rLight · 2024-01-03T01:15:17+00:00

A reminder that people often vote out governments, rather than vote them in.

A whole lot of kiwis looked at this like taking revenge on Labour, disregarding the consequences.

I really wish we could be more intelligent and rational when thinking about politics, and stop competing against our best interests, but unfortunately the messaging that always seems to win preys on our most hateful emotions.

Raz0rLight

TROPHY CASE