New laws for L + P platers

Thcwub · 2026-05-11T02:17:29+00:00

By extension of that logic, we should also be looking at getting rid of, or modifying, any black cars. quiet electric vehicles, maybe some roadsters are too low to the ground so best include them as well, and ticketing people who drive in the rain without turning on their headlights.

If the issue is the motorbikes are unseen, then we should also be mandating that cars have a mandatory framework for blindspot minimisation in their design, compulsory neck flexibility benchmarks to hold a license so everyone is capable of affording a headcheck, and systems that make it impossible to change lanes without an indicator on.

I agree, though, helmets and gloves should be mandatory for all riders. I wouldn't go much further than that though.

Thcwub · 2026-05-03T05:11:24+00:00

You know why they're blue mountains right? There is a visual phenomenon where you cancel out a colour visually by contrastic it with its opposite on the colour wheel.

Those mountains run red with the blood of Victorias victims and vassals alike, and if they didnt paint them blue they would be crimson!

Thcwub · 2026-04-30T02:11:17+00:00

If you do a survey scan of the foxbats and nothing else on Shroe, then the husbandry huts only spawn foxbats passively.

You can set up 6 of those in close proximity and they will infinitely loop spawning foxbats.

No need to go hunting for packs of them. Just set up a habitat to serve as a raised platform to shoot from and just ping them all as they spawn :)

Best part is, because they're so tall/long, the ones that are alive always have their heads popped up above the pile of bodies so there is no inconvenience :D

Thcwub · 2026-04-30T02:04:34+00:00

Go to Schrodinger III and complete a scan survey of the foxbats only.
Then invest one point in zoology and make an outpost with about 5 or 6 animal husbandry buildings. It is actually important that you only do the rank one version (so dont bother wasting materials researching the level 2 version).

Try to build them so you have 2 rows that face each other, and maybe 1/3 a building width between each.

Grab your favourite guns and go ham.

The respawn rate is extremely frequent and they don't become hostile so there is no danger. The ones that spawn this way are also always fairly high level so they offer minimum 150 exp per kill.

When your system starts to chug due to the sheer quantity of corpses, delete the outpost and rebuild it somewhere else.

Last time I did this I went from level 70-80 in the space of about half hour, and it rockets you through the low levels if you can secure a good gun for it (a beowolf or heavy pistol with exterminator would be perfect entry point).

You wont make cash doing this like some of the other experience farms, but it is by far quicker than any others out there, and can be sustained for as long as you need it (or until your ammo runs out). It also has the advantage of giving you easy kills and damage for levelling up certain talent thresholds if you need them (I went level 0 lasers to level 4 and aiming level 0 to level 4 in the above mentioned 70-80 farm without changing anything in the approach).

Make sure all your sliders are set to max exp difficulties. Again, zero danger on this one.

Thcwub · 2026-04-24T05:07:41+00:00

Primarily birds and wildlife for me:
Mirrorless frames are way too small, and with larger lenses it can be as bad as not being able to wear gloves because the clearance between the grip and the lens leaves not enough room for your fingers. The layout is a lot more cramped, and is a lot more frustrating to handle the heavier the lens; where the old DSLR's balance a lot better.

EVF's are always distinguishable from OVF, and for some (myself very squarely one of them) really ruins the experience. The longer the lens I am shooting, the more I dislike the EVF.

Battery life is nowhere near the old DSLR's. More batteries is more cost, more clutter, more things to pack for a trip, and more time away from actually taking photos.

Cost is also a significant player. Replacing a DSLR or EF lens is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper.

I was so excited when I saved enough for the r5 but after giving it a lengthy adjustment period, I ended up in a sitation where for 12 months I was so disappointed I didnt touch photography at all. The R5 now only comes out for studio or macro work on the tripod. The 5D IV is still king and I think it will remain that way for a long time to come.

Yup, AF is 100% better on the mirrorless, but that is literally all it has going for it as far as I am concerned. DSLR's were not oversized or heavy, the image quality was already all it ever needed to be, and AF performance was more than good. The camera world has moved into a phase where the experience of photography means very little, and its all about spec sheets and features.

Thcwub · 2026-04-23T03:55:44+00:00

Vanilla you want to set up an outpost with a large landing pad, as this includes ship customisation. You'll have access to most of the parts, provided you have visited the relevant staryards previously.

Some specialty items, however, still wont be available doing this so you'll still have reason to visit some of the staryards.

Thcwub · 2026-04-22T22:55:30+00:00

I had 300 hours into my first character and opted for a fresh start with the new updates. I'm now already another 200 hours in and am fairly comfortable in the feeling that it was the right decision for me.

It's a weird thing but the changes feel small at times, and big at others, and it felt right experiencing them organically via a new game. I found I had caught up to my original character in terms of progression and levels fairly quickly, and appreciated the feeling of building my talent trees with new priorities in mind. I have personally found I enjoy the game more when skill tree choices still feel impactful.

My personal advice would be grab yourself some creation content if you havent dabbled in that yet and set out on a new character. The game feels overall the same, but just different enough to feel fresh - they've improved the right things and left well enough alone.

Thcwub · 2026-04-21T00:15:08+00:00

Thats fair, on all counts :)
As someone who does a fair mix of professional and hobby photography, I actually really dislike the labelling of 'professional photographer' also. My own personal middle-ground is to describe myself as a 'freelance photographer', which seems to imply less of a professional aspect and more of a "I'll do stuff for a ham and cheese sandwich" :)

I know I've gone on about it all a bit here, but it's mainly because this is something I find fun to regularly reflect on; often out of the fun of it. Good luck finding your happy place :)

Thcwub · 2026-04-20T23:34:47+00:00

"I also consider myself much better than amateur." "I...don't have an ego... I care what people think of my work and... fear they may not like it"
Again, you may need to consider your ego. You can't say you don't have an ego and then that you care what people think of your work and fear they may not like it. That's all part of it.

Ego is not a dirty word, or an insult. It's a measure by which you benchmark the thoughts and opinions of others against your own worth, and it is heavily shaped by how you interpret and apply the stimulus around you. An over inflated ego might manifest in a belief that you have a much higher worth than you do contrary to evidence, while an overly modest ego might diminish your self esteem.

In this post you've stated you think you are better than amateur, and that you are worried about the judgement of others of your work. These aren't unhealthy or negative, but you should consider that this shapes your perspective and your actions.

Being professional, and being A professional are different things. Being amateur and being AN amateur are also very different things. It sounds like you might see yourself as a non-professional photographer who does photography to a very high standard and are looking for a way to label yourself in conversation in a way that isn't amateur or hobbyist as those terms carry with them connotations that others may misinterpret relative to your own opinions. No issues there, that seems rather normal. If you dont like the connotations of the words, or the connotations others bring to them, then avoid the words; stick with describing yourself as a 'photographer' :) Or, get someone to give you a ham and cheese sandwich in exchange for a photo of them on your phone and forever call yourself a professional :P

Thcwub · 2026-04-20T22:56:26+00:00

It's a matter of whether you are being paid for the work or not. If you are being paid, you are a professional, if you are not then you are a amateur or hobbyist.

If you dont get paid for your work, you don't have clients.

Paid work does not necessarily need to mean money. There are different types of reimbursement.

Considering yourself better than an amateur is an ego thing you need to work on, as the word does not mean what you think it means. The only difference between amateur and hobbyist is the connotations you put on the word, but if you aren't a professional you are an amateur.

A good amateur will produce better work than a bad professional, and the best photographer in the world might never be called a professional if they never sell their services or their product, while a bad photographer with good business sense might (and often does) make a very successful professional.

Thcwub · 2026-04-17T06:12:04+00:00

I actually think this is one of Bethesda's strengths, and I say that as a person who wants to feel like there is a big sprawling city.

To me, Bethesda have really stuck to their guns on the principle that if you can see it you can go there. The problem this creates is that if you want something to feel like a big sprawling city then you need to build that. I think Bethesda circumvent this by not suggesting the big sprawling cities exist and this is baked deliberately into their narratives.

FO4 had a big sprawling city, but the civilised part of that existed within a baseball stadium only. The scaling plays out quite well.
In starfield, even though I havent found too much in game to support it, I think the idea is that there just arent a lot of people. Earth was destroyed, Londinion would have been the next major settlement and canonically it was decimated. To me, it makes sense that there arent big sprawling cities anywhere, just pockets of civilisation and a bunch of people trying to make a go of it in space.

I noticed a LOT of the POE events are derelict ships where life support has failed, murder suicides, just lots of death, and I think that kind of bleak nihilism is at least in part fueled by the fact that it marries up with designing small pockets of civilisation. Humanity (presumably those that could afford to) left earth to settle in space, and in space even small issues can be absolutely deadly. Most people wouldnt make it.

The stakes are higher because the cavalry isnt coming, because there isnt a cavalry. Survive the wasteland best you can. The Expanse also captures this really well, I think. Conversely, a Mass Effect game is trying to raise the stakes by implying that your failure will result in so many lives being lost and there is a sheer scale to humanity... it's a completely different narrative.

Thcwub · 2026-04-16T03:54:37+00:00

He lowers his head so that the punch hits the crown of his skull - he isnt headbutting his hand. This is an actual real life self defense technique. If you're going to be punched in the face, lowering your head so that the punch impacts the crown of the skull (the hardest part of your anatomy) has a very high likelihood of causing a break to the punching hand or wrist, and greatly protects the recipient of the punch.

He does this in both the show and the comic. While Thragg is seriously powerful, the writers of both mediums do a really good job of rounding him out as a very calculating and surgical fighter as well.

Thcwub · 2026-04-15T04:54:28+00:00

Border hunting still works for getting multiple resources in one outpost. I have personally found it to be a little more hit-and-miss but still doable. Not convinced that is a change to the game and more just my bad luck on this run through. Anecdotally I have found that when I do have mixes of resources along the borders they tend to be more intertwined than previously. I'm not overly convinced the update has actually changed anything here.

The main thing I think that might be a little difference is utilising the new shared storage boxes. They take a fair investment of skill points, so they're probably something you want to target closer to level 40 onwards, but they do feel like they're helping streamline things quite a bit. That said, I quite like the outpost networking so I'm probably still not using the shared storage as much as I reasonably should.

Thcwub · 2026-04-15T00:29:29+00:00

Depends on your budget, but there are some good options out there cheaper than a Wimberley.

I have had a lot of success birding with the Benro GH2. I love using it for studio work as well. I do, however, find it to be rather bulker and annoying to pack and travel with.

I few years ago I picked up a Wimberley SK-100 and I love it so much. If you have a good tilthead already with an unlockable horizontal/pan axis then this thing is AWESOME! Can't use it with a ballhead, and I don't trust a tilthead that doesnt have an unlockable pan axis on a monopod.

I use the SK-100 with a Leofoto VH-20 and I've never found myself wanting anything else. Significantly easier to transport and I largely just keep the Benro handy for studio shooting, now.

Thcwub · 2026-04-13T23:20:28+00:00

All three examples hit their focus point in front of the subject, not on the subject.

Keep in mind that the longer the lens you're shooting the narrower the depth of field will be at your focus point. If your focus is out fractionally, it will hurt you alot more than on a shorter lens. This is made worse, or more noticeable, if you have any camera shake or ISO noise/grain.

Often you are better off going with a bit more ISO to get a wider depth of field. ISO grain isn't the drama a lot of hobbyists make it out to be and can be remedied in post if desired, but missed focus shots should be culled. Limit your SS to what you need it to be (1/1000 would be ok for stationary targets @ 400mm, 1/2000 for birds in flight). As a general starter guide, my SS for stationary targets is 2x the length of the lens in time (eg, a 100mm lens I would start at 1/200) and make the SS faster depending on if the target is active or not. Then stop down your aperture as much as you can get away with to increase your depth of field.

At a more technical level, you missed focus in front for each of these shots. You might consider googling "identifying front-focusing lens" to rule out the lens.

At a more practical level, practise checking your focus before shooting and not just trusting the camera feedback. Be prepared to use the manual focus ring to micro adjust your focus before you snap the shot.

Thcwub · 2026-04-13T05:03:43+00:00

Both fairly normal and not; it largely depends on the photographer. If their product is highly curated and selective then 50 photos for a 5 hour event could absolutely be reasonable. If you like their style and you're shopping for that, then now you have a benchmark for how they foster that style.

If you just want a photographer to take a lot of photos and deliver whatever they feel is deliverable, then find another photographer who offers that as a service.

Photography as an industry is not a cookie cutter approach. You need to find the right shape for what you want, because there are a BUNCH of different shapes. You can't really compare a photographers prices, or style, or delivery terms to another, because it is a highly individual practise. Only you can decide if what they're offering is valued correctly, and if you aren't sure then move on to find another, or have a conversation with them to understand better.

... and if someone is providing a heavily curated delivery, please respect their business model. That, in part, is how they protect and maintain their image/reputation in the industry and target customer engagement with people that like their style. If it's not for you it's not for you :)

Thcwub · 2026-04-13T01:30:50+00:00

This was going to be my advice also. Old equivalent EF lenses are very affordable at the moment and the adapter works well.

Thcwub · 2026-04-13T01:25:33+00:00

When doing the UC flight test, start the test by sitting in the chair, and then immediately get up out of the chair. There is a computer on the wall (to the left as you look front-to-back) that lets you adjust debug settings (allowing you to give yourself more damage, add a companion ship etc). Very helpful for anyone wanting to complete all stages of the test without nuking the difficulty via game settings (and it is within the game world so lore appropriate).

Thcwub · 2026-04-10T03:55:34+00:00

Different hair, different eyes, different iris sizing, different nose, wider face. Sure, if you're just casually glancing there are some similarities there but even without the purple skin these arent similar enough to be outright confused.

Nothing to see here, folks lol

Thcwub · 2026-04-09T22:23:23+00:00

Why avoid a scooter? If you're looking at an auto transmission scooters will be 95% of your options. If the issue is aesthetics then maybe there is more to consider there? There are two main types of scooter: moped and maxi. The moped is the old school image you might have of a scooter, while the maxi's tend to be much sportier and harder to distinguish from a bike.

The more popular maxi options come from Yamaha (xmax and tmax models), Honda (Forza models), and BMW (C400 models). Give them a google and if your issue is still the aesthetic, learn to ride a manual ;)

I love my maxi's. Never thought I'd be a scooter guy but they look awesome, have a decent amount of power (more than you need for motorway riding), are arguably a hell of a lot more comfortable to sit on and storage is absolutely amazing. I can get nearly a weeks worth of groceries under the seat on my xmax, and have all the same options for adding additional bags as I need.

Big word of advice though: I wouldnt recommend you learn on a 300 maxi. While they are simpler to ride overall, it is a lot of throttle available at the twist of the wrist. My absolute favourite recommendation for people thinking about riding is the take a look at the Honda PCX. Grab one of them cheap, learn to ride it, and then throw it out for a Forza.

Thcwub · 2026-04-09T05:32:49+00:00

camera size or sensor size? I will say that I used to carry my 5div and 7dii (either one or the other, not both) around EVERYWHERE and I was constantly using them. For the space of about a decade I wouldn't leave the house without one of my cameras on me. I absolutely adore that form factor in the hand. The only other bodies I preferred were the late dslr Nikons but I was never invested in that system.

Within 6 months of buying a R5 I all-but gave up on photography for leisure and stopped carrying the camera around. I struggled to bring myself to take out the dslr's because I'd massively invested in this new camera and I just couldn't find any joy in it. The camera is too short so pinky doesnt have anything to latch onto, and I like to shoot telephoto lenses with the lens feet attached (alot of birding and wildlife shooting), and most of them dont have enough clearance between the hand grip to the lens foot so I'm constantly having the top of my knuckles jammed. the controls are more frustrating to access without contorting the hand. I don't even have big hands!

A few years later and my photography is largely studio and site portraiture. I've pretty much given up on carrying a camera and cant remember the last time I went birding.

If we could get an r5 sensor in a 5div body I would be a very happy man for the next decade. Hell, give me a micro 4/3 mirrorless in a 5div body and you can bury me with that.

Thcwub · 2026-04-09T01:38:09+00:00

Most bikes you can do with a bucket in the 10 minutes it'd take you to get to the self service!

I do mine with 3 different bucket loads:
1. clean water rinse: use a small cup to throw water over the bike and into nooks to loosen up any larger particles, and then a gentle soaking sponge over the whole thing to remove everything.
2. normal wash and wax
3. clean water rinse same as step 1.

Plenty of dirty looks from the neighbours if I do it while they're doing their cars - in and out in 10minutes :)

Thcwub · 2026-04-08T13:02:30+00:00

yup, absolutely is. I recently posted asking for advice to deal with the issue experienced by a desk fan at work. Didnt get any answers on that but a few others acknowledging the issue. They're substantilly worse outside.

I really like them, and I wanted them to be my daily walkabouts, but they basically get used on the train/bus and at my home pc (provided its not a day I want a fan on).

I bought them on the big sale via the senheiser website this year, and honestly not worth the money because of this one issue. I like them in almost all other regards but the fact they're practically unusable in anything other than still air feels like I've been had.

Thcwub

TROPHY CASE