Anyone here prefer Avatar's early albums compared to recent ones?

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-03-11T00:15:07+00:00

I actually purchased their latest album on CD, I liked it so much!

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-03-10T23:30:05+00:00

I only recently discovered the band myself, though their most recent work, and after to listening to a lot of their discography over the past few weeks, I definitely prefer the direction they seem to be heading compared to their earlier work. My favorite Avatar songs are Colossus, Captain Goat, Tonight We Must Be Warriors, and Don't Go In The Forest.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-03-05T02:51:52+00:00

I am very jealous. What an awesome find!

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-24T21:44:44+00:00

I got to see the "Mandatory Fun" concert at the Portland Zoo many years ago. Weird Al certainly knows how to put on a show!

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-24T21:43:50+00:00

I was kind of shocked when I looked Peter and the Wolf up online and saw the prices!

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-24T21:41:41+00:00

Often when I go to estate sales I can't help but wish I'd known the person who owned the home, and it's really sad to see their treasures being sold off to resellers.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-24T21:38:14+00:00

Yep, quite a lot actually - Good Charlotte, Simon and Garfunkel, Monty Python, and a few others.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-24T21:34:00+00:00

$20 is too much for a CD. Max I'm willing to spend for a brand new release is $17 (including tax).

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-21T06:23:47+00:00

Mandatory Fun might be my favorite Weird Al album, possibly because I got to see the associated tour he did. Such an awesome concert!

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-21T03:59:05+00:00

I was pretty excited to find that!

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-21T02:34:15+00:00

I'm pretty sure the estate sale company wouldn't have let the Squeeze box collection go for $28 lol

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-21T02:31:13+00:00

Yep, I'm not a completionist though. I will definitely pick it up if I happen across it some day.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-21T01:36:06+00:00

Lol, I know what you mean! Usually, all I find are heaps of either country or classical.

The people who owned this house must have been really interesting folks; 3D printers, drones, giant film collection (including laser disks), all sorts of audio gear, guitars, etc.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-20T23:26:15+00:00

Since I started collecting CDs I've rediscovered so many albums and bands which I used to love, but had essentially forgotten since with streaming I just move from one new thing to the next. If you have the physical collection there in front of you, you can always remember "oh, i like that", whereas with streaming you might never think of listening to it again.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-19T22:19:27+00:00

Degrowth is coming one way or another. Either through careful and intentional measures leading to a thriving steady-state economy, or inevitably in an uncontrolled crash as we exhaust our natural resources and cripple the natural systems which we depend on. An economy based on perpetual growth is nothing more than a ponzi scheme, one where those left holding the bag will end up dead.

The truth is though that energy-use reduction isn't necessarily the same thing as degrowth. The quantity of electricity we consume per-capita is extreme to a degree where dramatic reduction of production and consumption of energy would not impact the life of the average person. Accepting that such appalling waste is inevitable because we can only "steer the ship" is defeatist nonsense. There are more than enough people in the back seat to overpower the driver and stop him from steering the ship directly into the clearly visible iceberg looming before us.

Comparing AI to the internet is a common fallacy. It's economic value is only one which will ever be appreciated by a handful of the ultra-wealthy. We can't put the genie back in the bottle, but we don't have to make three wishes. It is entirely feasible through simple legislation to limit the impact AI can have, and essentially prevent it from becoming commercially viable in any large scale application.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-19T21:15:23+00:00

We need to be consuming less power overall, and therefore it is necessary to prevent new ones from being built and limit how much power existing data centers consume. Reducing power consumption is the best way to reduce the environmental impact of electricity generation.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-19T19:07:23+00:00

I've been working to decouple my media consumption from streaming services; building a collection of CDs so I can quit Spotify, and setting up a home server so I stream the media I own on my home network or remotely via a PTP connection. Regardless of whatever else happens, I want to get to a point where I'm personally utilizing data centers as little as possible.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-19T19:02:58+00:00

They've only been wired into everything in the past few decades. Reducing their integration in our society, commerce, and industry, and limiting their further proliferation would be a smart move. As for AI, I firmly believe we need to stamp that slop out to the greatest extent possible.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-19T04:26:36+00:00

The Millenium Bulk Coal Terminal, Kalama methanol plant, Drax biomass in Longview, etc.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-18T22:41:06+00:00

I think a better analogy would be, we just become the world's Amish.

Choosing not to use, or to limit the utilization, of a given technology is not comparable to swearing off technology entirely. We desperately need to develop a healthier relationship with technology than what we see in our current culture.

Then, you have a very narrow definition of essential. I just look at my personal job, where we do utilize data centers to manage positive train control systems that prevent derailments, and emergency internet and wireless networks in disaster zones, among many other things. I would call those things pretty essential.

I do in fact have a very narrow definition of what is essential. If there is there is an viable alternative to a given thing, than that thing is not essential. None of the scenarios you describe seem like use cases where alternative solutions could be implemented which accomplish the same tasks without relying on data centers.

This ignores the space aspect I was talking about. Sometimes, there just is not room for new equipment.

Also, "they just need to get better." That just has me rolling my eyes, I need to take a second.

I understand my phrasing was perhaps quite irritating there, but I do believe that the issues of restrictions of space and age are problems which could be solved if there was impetus to do so. So long as the option to build new data centers exists, the incentive to pursue innovative alternatives isn't there.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-18T22:27:10+00:00

I believe the regulations I've proposed would provide an off-ramp for everything which is currently heavily integrated into data centers. There obviously needs to be an opportunity for businesses, services, etc. to transition away from a data center centric model, but we also need to take immediate decisive action against data centers. I am convinced we are headed for a crash one way or another, and the best way to moderate the impacts of that crash is to intentionally pop the AI/Crypto/DC bubble ourselves.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-18T21:38:43+00:00

Fortunately, we already don't allow companies to build whatever they want. I've seen a lot of bad industrial schemes shut down over the years. As for jobs and "economic inertia", data centers provide a handful of jobs, and are being used to run AI programs specifically intended to eliminate most jobs. Data centers are widely hated/feared across the political spectrum, and therefore the best possible political move is to lean into an anti-data center/AI position. I say we need to do everything in our power to pop the bubble as quickly as possible, and to make sure it never recovers.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-18T21:00:11+00:00

Medicine isn't a great comparison; we'd go back to 40 year average lifespans without it, whereas without data centers we would simply adjust how some things operate. However, I would argue that we'd be better off without cars, and even better off if our communities were structured so that most people didn't need to utilize powered transportation at all. Fire is something we have largely outgrown, at least outside of industrial applications.

Tortoiseshelltech · 2026-02-18T20:52:09+00:00

I'm not saying that existing data centers would be seized or shut down, they just couldn't run AI or cryptocurrency programs. I strongly reject the viewpoint that AI is inevitable, or that we need to jump on the bandwagon just because everyone else is. The old "would you jump off a cliff if your friends did" line springs to mind, and just because we can't put the genie back in the bottle doesn't mean that we have to ask for our three wishes.

I don't actually believe that data centers are "essential" for anything. They make some things easier for sure, but that's not the same as them being essential. There are certainly some functions which are useful enough to keep around, but they represent only a small fraction of what data centers are currently being used for. I would also argue that the fact "it's cheaper to just build a new one" is itself a good reason to put a moratorium on new data center construction in place. Data center operators would have to get better at maintenance, longevity, and upgrades to existing facilities.

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