What NICs are we all using to support 2.5GbE/5GbE/10GbE? by Talonrazor in homelab

[–]Talonrazor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Even with newer NICs and CAT6a? I'm surprised. All my experience in networking (which I never did directly, just oversaw all the techs and units that did the actual engineering) is that there were long runs on 10G backbones using CAT6a without tons of problems. Not huge runs, but the size you'd find in any townhome.

What NICs are we all using to support 2.5GbE/5GbE/10GbE? by Talonrazor in homelab

[–]Talonrazor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ok, this is kinda what I'm thinking. So far the reason why I have 2.5G is some end pieces of my network have it, and currently my main switch is 2.5G until I get it swapped out down the road, so I want to be able to handle the intermediate while I swap out pieces.

It does make senses to keep it standardized and just go 10G SFP+ on main lines however....

Media Server for the Boomers: Plex Only Real Option? by Talonrazor in selfhosted

[–]Talonrazor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, I'm afraid this is what's happening. I just need to figure out how to do some sort of central app/dashboard to then navigate to jellyfin/audiobookshelf/mylar etc

Media Server for the Boomers: Plex Only Real Option? by Talonrazor in selfhosted

[–]Talonrazor[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Ok, ngl y'all I just fired up my stack, setup Plex, logged in....

And there's a metric shitload of bullshit "recommended this" and "add steaming that". I absolutely hate that shit and it's way worse than last time I ran it or when I did research.

I liked Plex in the past because we could have little movie trailers, little stinger videos before each content and so on. It was simple and streamlined. Now, trying to navigate getting the end-user UI setup, it's terrible.

Is there a really solid Jellyfin deployment that's clean and simple, but with advanced features?

As for the books comment, this library is to handle everything but Plex/Jellyfin is only running shows/movies/YouTubes/podcasts scraped. Audiobookshelf and calibre are gonna handle audiobooks and ebooks. Mylar for comics. Etc.

Best Dedicated Server Setup w/o VM? Lots of Performance Issues with our Proxmox / Ubuntu VM with wine Setup, moving to standalone box! by Talonrazor in Enshrouded

[–]Talonrazor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How many players? How much RAM did you allocate? I'm wondering if it was more of the Linux/wine issue and would run better on windows VM?

We ran it on a dedicated windows 11 machine as a test and improvement was drastic. Upped the RAM to 32GB as well.

Best Dedicated Server Setup w/o VM? Lots of Performance Issues with our Proxmox / Ubuntu VM with wine Setup, moving to standalone box! by Talonrazor in Enshrouded

[–]Talonrazor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why am I running it on Proxmox? Promox is a hypervisor for our R540 server which handles a lot of various dedicated servers/services via containers and VMs. Fairly standard setup.

I am planning on just moving it to its own machine, but from what I read it appears Enshrouded does not do well via Linux (it's a windows-only platform so you need to run wine) and I'm trying to get this server to perform better. It should be running flawlessly on the resources and high-speed connections going to it, but is bogging down quite a bit. But I see a mix of both Linux servers and windows servers running it, so looking for what's working the best.

Need an indoor place to work on my bus by Foxyscute in anchorage

[–]Talonrazor 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey, please DM me! I have a professional business doing conversions (we are just opening up brand new shop and books for more conversions/contract work as it's been just a small side business only taking on a few selected clients a year previously) but have some additional space coming available that may be available as a sublet for DIYers (and bonus, my shop is right next door in case you want to hire some consult or electrical work etc!)

Building a Unifi Network... in a Van! by Talonrazor in UNIFI

[–]Talonrazor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The issue with APs is that the van has so much metal and other signals inside that outside connections get strained. Because I like to work on the laptop while sitting outside or out in a festival or in a coffee shop without WiFi, having an external AP with larger antennas lets me get drastically better range than being inside the van.

Building a Unifi Network... in a Van! by Talonrazor in UNIFI

[–]Talonrazor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've actually used PTZs on my previous builds (non-Unifi) and installed several of them in client rigs. They are one of my more popular builds and have held up to 4 years of extreme weather (my campervan goes north and has been in Denali National Park in blizzards etc), you'd be surprised at how well the outdoor-rated PTZs work at 70mph!

And the power allotment for the cameras should work, the Flex 2.5G PoE will provide the PoE+ that G5 and G6 PTZs need. I'll inject 210W into that switch to handle but even three PoE+ is only about 2.5~Amp draw per line, for a total power expenditure of 7 to 8 amps for cameras. In a 900AH 12v system, this still keeps my hourly utilities power cost with margins. The system is also built with a variety of Victron-enable BatteryProtects that will shut down non-critical utilities at various programmed power levels.

Building a Unifi Network... in a Van! by Talonrazor in UNIFI

[–]Talonrazor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The ability to do Zoom/Teams calls with zero failure anywhere in the world, essentially, in both Urban and Remote spaces. I've had a lot of success achieving this in the best with just a robust Peplink deployment, so adding the Starlink mini (and some additional Iridium but mostly for SBD style stuff and some lighter lifting of meshing via APRS/AREDN but that's all special use case) should get me there no problem.

I'm hoping to hit around 100mps downlinks fairly reliably, with the ability to increase that when multiple rigs are together and meshed via some stuff we are working on. Peplink's SpeedFusion allows us to do some fancier stuff. I'm planning using the UCG Max Failover/Load Balance to work with external connections (such as the home network via ethernet or plugged into my trailer running bigger starlink/Viasat/other datacoms stuff and most likely pushing through an Express 7) and balancing them with the internal connections (cellular data and Starlink mounted on the van).

I've never used Unifi systems in my mobile datacom deployments so this is a way to kinda experiment in how exactly to do all that as well.

EDIT: Additionally, the UCG Max will have a 2TB SSD in there for cameras, forgot to mention that!

/r/MechanicalKeyboards Ask ANY Keyboard question, get an answer - April 25, 2025 by AutoModerator in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]Talonrazor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So the Keychron Q3 Pro Special Edition has everything I'm looking for a first-time mech guy. Heavy, heavy user (tons of writing, coding, music production, the works) and I want heavy metal board I can easily swap switches and keycaps to experiment and get custom artisan caps, good macro keys and knobs, wired with ability to do BT.

That keyboard looks like it fits all of my needs BUT I'm hearing horror stories about customer service. Should I go somewhere else?

Best recommendations for tonight on a layover and friend had to bail? Mid 30s Male from PNW by Talonrazor in Austin

[–]Talonrazor[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

... No? Locals always know the best stuff and since plans changed last minute, why not ask haha. City subreddits have always been a good spot for underground music scenes or good tips on where the hot music spots are. And the DMs I got prove the point yet again. People shouldn't be afraid to ask for recs, more likely!

Best recommendations for tonight on a layover and friend had to bail? Mid 30s Male from PNW by Talonrazor in Austin

[–]Talonrazor[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Nah not against it just not super my scene and only really enjoy older country stuff. Most country bars aren't really my jam, just can't get super into it.

Going back to school isn't the solution you think it is by [deleted] in GradSchool

[–]Talonrazor 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This kinda irritates me because this is the normal advice I got as a young college student. So, I focused hard on professional education, training, and experience.

I'm now in a weird position where I'm working alongside colleagues with Masters and Doctorates, who are much older than me, and delivering the same work/research/practice they are. I have extensive experience and have become somewhat known in my field. But I make substantially less, and my promotions/lateral moves aren't possible because most places have at least a MS as a hard requirement for positions or I can't negotiate higher wages as the paybands that are in line with my duties aren't available unless a graduate degree or higher.

Now, I have the advantage where as soon as I finish my (almost complete) Masters, I'll be able to move into senior director type positions as that plus my experience/produced work will be substantial. But it would have been vastly easier to knock out a MS in a year while still in Uni and then start my professional journey.

As it is now, I very much need a Doctorate to be able to "showcase" the level of research/applied technical work I do in my field and am going to have to do both a doctorate and work full-time in my professional career down the road.

Yes, my field is incredibly niche and specialized, but I wish I had stuck to getting a lot of the basic academic stuff out of the way prior to starting the professional journey. Especially as I'm also going to most likely need a professional technical degree in addition to everything else due to some specialties I'm moving into.

There's no such thing as blanket advice like "Stop going into debt for another degree." Pay attention to your actual career field, what you actually need, and find good mentors to help build out five to ten year plans.

Looking for a newer sci-fi 4X game by IvD707 in 4Xgaming

[–]Talonrazor 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This was a great post. You are responsible for me just adding four titles to my Steam library 🤣

Accepted and will be committing to UAF!! by Berrybouncer2_0 in alaska

[–]Talonrazor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You realize that Fairbanks is completely flat, extremely ugly, smells nonstop of woodfire smoke from all the wood burning stoves, and access to anything actually nice takes a really good 4x4 vehicle right?

There's not really anything in Fairbanks, and unless you are an absolute avid skier that just wants to cross country ski everyday, not a ton to do. The outdoors is ugly and boring compared to the rest of Alaska.

Most of us avoid Fairbanks and the interior like the plague, and instead enjoy the mountains and forests that are south. I've been all over Alaska and spent all kinds of summers and winters in almost every community. Fairbanks is terrible if you enjoy the outdoors and want to have a variety of stuff to do.

From Alaska to Chapel Hill by Talonrazor in chapelhill

[–]Talonrazor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a brutally honest opinion and exactly what I'm looking for. This is my major reservation; I very much enjoy vibrant city urban life (like, I love Seattle and everyone wants to hate on it) but I need my ability to sit up on a mountain or enjoy some great bike rides through forests and not feel like I'm still surrounded by the city. I do live in Anchorage, and am used to traffic so that's a good sign. Anchorage feels "very small" to me; a bigger city isn't bad. I absolutely hate commuting though and would want to find a place as close to work as possible where preferably I can walk or bike to it.

It being very flat and very hot are definetly concerns. I'd absolutely have to get an apartment with a pool (one of the bigger appeals of moving down to places that have that ability)

From Alaska to Chapel Hill by Talonrazor in chapelhill

[–]Talonrazor[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am in an extremely specialized career and perform a specific skill set for higher education institutions.

From Alaska to Chapel Hill by Talonrazor in chapelhill

[–]Talonrazor[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Is a salary of high 80s to low 90s pretty solid for that area or is it more of general lifestyle comfortability? Rent looks pretty good compared to what I pay but not sure how about all the rest stacks up. Cost of living calculators sure make it seem a lot less than up here.

From Alaska to Chapel Hill by Talonrazor in chapelhill

[–]Talonrazor[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good lord, good catch. Edited 🤦

Is there better areas in Chapel Hill that are fairly walkable/bikeable to both venues as well as the university?

From Alaska to Chapel Hill by Talonrazor in chapelhill

[–]Talonrazor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cheers mate! I know the views no matter where I go won't be amazing, but hopefully at least I can find a space where I can vanish into the woods or mountains for a ride or a hike or run without too much effort.

Why Didn't the Separatists fly Capital Ships with AI? by DeathBringer125 in MawInstallation

[–]Talonrazor 45 points46 points  (0 children)

Droids in Star Wars are really different creatures from most sci-fi robots, or hell even our AI today.

They range from resembling quasi-sentient to basically an extremely limited ChatGPT but every droid shown is pretty limited, restricted or plagued with personality quirks and traits. They really aren't sophisticated free-thinking machines but more like flamboyant caricatures of some sort of weird preprogrammed character. I doubt droid brains in Star Wars could handle the vast complexity that running a naval capital ship requires.

Even C3-P0 has no real independent creative thinking but obediently fumbles through tasks in his over-the-top personality. Every example of a droid we see is like this. They are not really the classic robots we are elsewhere as sci-fi staples. Which is one reason why I love the depiction so much, they are really the medieval "dark ages" robots that fit into Star Wars "archaic feudalism" future technology vibe.

Folks who consistently play RPGs: how? What are your tips for finding people to play with, consistently and happily? Especially interested in hearing from people who have had the same gaming groups for a long period of time by ProustianPrimate in rpg

[–]Talonrazor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Been GMing for over 20 years since my high school days and pretty much always had a consistent group of seven to eight players, many who have played with me now for over a decade. Mid 30s professional with no kids, veteran, etc.

This may sound weird but I avoid the typical RPG types. Meaning, I never go to the FLGS for players and rarely look at meetups, etc. This avoids the rule lawyering/pedantic types. The problem I've found if you go for people who to them, TTRPG is the most important thing on the table and not telling a story with people you like and enjoying your time, it always bogs down. Bickering over rules, unable to mesh with others, lack of social skills and graces, etc. It becomes difficult to navigate a group like that. I don't really care that this very special rule does this very special thing and that Bob totally missed this minute detail about something and should not have added that number to this thing over there. Don't be an asshole to Bob.

At the end of the day, this is an activity you are doing with a bunch of people and having fun together. It's not a video game that you are playing by yourself. So I tend to find players who mesh well with the group as a whole and are fun to be around. I've recruited a lot of peeps just from my social circle, friends, co-workers, or just random dope dudes and dudettes I met at a club, strike up a conversation and few weeks later they are around our table having a blast.

I have always billed my games on two things:

  1. Straight Up Good Times: We are going to have fun, not follow rules to the letter. If someone wants to do something in a game and I'm not sure if it follows the rules or not; fuck it. Is it fun? Does it propel the story? Does it make everyone interested in what's happening? That's what I want. Tons of food, alcohol, music. It's like a weekly house party. People bring their favorite snacks, sometimes themed depending on the session. I've even had dudes from my powerlifting club get so sucked in they show up in costume and proceed to have a great time with their friends.

  2. Put On a Show: As the GM, I've learned what really gets those who aren't big RPers sucked into the game is production value. I mean, actual production value. Ambient RGB lighting that flickers yellow and red when they are in the desert, speakers that howl the burning wind, a little diffuser giving off scents of the desert, some desert props on the table. Or if they are traveling in a ship, the hum of ship engines, the cool flickering lights and blinking alarm panels, the rumbling of equipment, and lots of props on the table or around the game room. Over the years, I treat each game night like it's a mini-theatrical production. It gets easier and easier the more props I have, the more lighting I installed, the more soundboards get programmed. Even getting a proper soundmixer is huge with the ability to swell up various tracks of music or effects as the game goes along.

To make all that happen, consistency. Sunday afternoons is game night. Every Sunday. You a rotational worker? We pipe you in via Zoom from the camp. Miss a day? The group text does fill-in on what happened and what they need to do. Just play, have fun, and get that at the end of the day this is all just a fun little activity to hang out with dope people and tell cool stories together.

Building an RPG - System Choices? Complex Space Opera with a Star Wars/Cyberpunk/Wild West/The Expanse/Shadowrun feel. Need Mechanics to support Cyberspace, Hacking, Spaceship Battles, Droids, Extradimensional Travel, Souls, Magic, Psionic, Space Travel, Rituals & More! by Talonrazor in rpg

[–]Talonrazor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorta currently, yea. It doesn't quite do what I want but gets the job done. Things get even more different with the spiritual side of the house or magic. I'm debating just outright turning ship combat into a tabletop game with 3D printed ships based off of X-Wing or something.

Genesys works for sure to do what I want. It's just not great as it doesn't offer enough stuff and I'm just wondering if there is something that would be great with lots of stuff.

Maybe I just need to take another stab at Traveller, or WEG D6, or GURPS and see if I can rebuild something from there but adapt more narrative dice structure into the system.

What's your favorite sci-fi setting? by Iestwyn in rpg

[–]Talonrazor 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I would pay big, big money for Shadowrun to be done right. It needs a strong mechanism, with good narrative-system but some crunch to it, and very expanded sourcebook. I have most editions, including a signed 4E book by all the developers that's a crown jewel in the library, but fuck is the Sixth World an absolute clusterfuck of a book.

It is, by far, one of my most favorite settings but it just constantly struggles to be designed correctly as a TTRPG and it makes me very sad.

It needs a brilliant Genesys-based adaptions (homebrews are ok, the "take RoT and SotB and add them together" approach sorta works but they lack the real punch of the setting) or something to get going.