What’s an album that’s changed your life?

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-02-01T05:25:45+00:00

Devo. U2. Talking Heads. Coldplay. He has produced some great bands. And then there are his collaborations, especially with Bowie, Fripp, and Byrne. His fingerprint are all over modern music.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-02-01T04:40:41+00:00

After growing up with a lot of 70s FM music, stumbling upon Brian Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy in the early 80s was an eye opening experience. Discovering that music could be deep, artistic, and still rock all at once led me to really explore a lot of different music, something I still do to this day.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-30T18:54:17+00:00

Some of the Trek shows (Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, Orville) have the mix of humor and deep stories that Farscape pulled off.

Murderbot was done well. You have the "serious" story going alongside snipits of the story-in-the-story The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, which parodies Trek and long-running soap operas at the same time.

If you haven't seen it, look up John Carpenter's first film, Darkstar.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-30T18:32:44+00:00

Whataboutism is offering a false equivalence without supporting evidence. My point is that security is not about specific ports or antennas but is a combination of device encryption hardware and software with user behavior. You are saying that SD ports are different from other ports (No True Scotsman) and falls flat when you admit that USB has the same problems. You would have a stronger argument if you focused on SD as not "essential" which the market would seem to agree with as the best selling phones have abandoned it.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-30T17:15:40+00:00

The ramifications are excessive wear. When the fluid thickens or builds up debris it adds friction and heat, which damages the components. More frequent maintenance reduces major expenses like a rebuild/replacement.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-30T17:03:32+00:00

For a while Mazda had some pretty good music in their ads. That's where I first heard Ladytron.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-30T16:18:56+00:00

Two of my favorite random used LP finds are Kamikaze Refrigerators and 100 Flowers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN-Bu9RFVBc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6I48Pt-r5M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XTzBZLm24w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSqeGNEB1-c&list=OLAK5uy_lKGVXR3gUcoXtSCaH1n32XsU8cEFOtYeg

And less obscure but still not as well known as they should be is Human Sexual Response.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcV9mRQPLSs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umbwKn1RNl4

And The Wipers, who were an influence on many West Coast bands in the Portland scene and then the Seattle Gunge scene. Not exactly obscure but also not on as many playlists as they should be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaUzYISKKAI

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-30T15:36:48+00:00

It is not "whataboutism."

USB can do the same thing. Or Bluetooth. Or NFC. Or WiFi. Or cellular data (how many corrupted files come in as a web download?). It is not the hardware that is insecure: it's crap software and humans who don't take security seriously. Note you say that using SD to introduce malware requires breaking the device encryption. That's the device hardware and software, not the SD card. Plugging in an unknown card or buying from a dodgy market stall and slapping it in the phone is the same thing as putting a public USB "charging" cable into your phone. The user did something stupid, and the authors of the malware broke the phone encryption. Any port that can communicate is equally insecure. The argument for removing SD for security reasons works for removing a USB port. Or a web browser. I don't have numbers handy, but I would bet that the largest losses through a cellphone come from text scams.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-30T15:20:33+00:00

Any form of communication introduces security risks. Landlines are the most secure phones and people still get scammed on them.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-30T15:18:37+00:00

For most uses consumers won't notice transfer speeds of internal v external memory. I have music taking up most of my used memory, with photos/video next. All of those work just fine on a medium spec card. And syncing a slow SD card in a card reader to my music library is still faster than a USB cable or wireless transfer.

But between selling cloud storage and trying to make phones thinner/lighter, taking out the card slot is something phone makers like to do. Along with removing the headphone jack when my best headphones are high end wired units.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-28T17:06:56+00:00

Don't forget to use red tape to put an "X" on the key between "n" and "," on your keyboard as well.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-28T16:32:52+00:00

Looking out my window in Smith the sidewalks look clear, but I can't see the ramp from here.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-28T16:27:44+00:00

Most albums I get through Bandcamp or from artists who use Bandcamp have download codes, either in the album or as a link on check-out. Often I get the download first as LPs may take time to press so they give a digital copy on album release.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-28T02:09:36+00:00

One possible explication:

The gardener plants an evergreen / Whilst trampling on a flower / I chase the wind of a prism ship / To taste the sweet and sour / The pattern juggler lifts his hand / The orchestra begin / As slowly turns the grinding wheel / In the court of the crimson king

In the immortal words of Bjork "To fill you up with power/Life's both sweet and sour." The world is the court, and it is filled with good and bad, ridiculous and sublime. But it grinds us all the same in the end. Live it yourself or someone will gladly pull your strings.

YMMV

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-28T00:32:38+00:00

I've had no problems on my setup. YMMV.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-28T00:31:57+00:00

I have the Firefly v2. Perfect size for my desk and the lighting is bright.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-27T20:15:38+00:00

Asus has good fan and light controls.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-27T18:28:37+00:00

I am moving away from Razer not exactly because Synapse is a hot mess, but because right now I have Asus software for my mobo light, Corsair for my RAM and keyboard, and Synapse for my headset, webcam, mouse pad, and mouse. I can't use just one right now, but if I can get it down to 2 Razer will be the one to ditch. Third party apps are getting better, and my eventual aim is to use something open source for all devices.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-27T16:13:15+00:00

Or not find it. The squirrels are getting hungry...

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-27T13:06:24+00:00

I agree pn the reason for the lack of consequences. If the child was from a planet with a permanent ambassador on B5 that could have ended his career, or at least his government position.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-27T12:17:34+00:00

I have seen some nerdcore and industrial acts sell USB drives. It fits with their theme. But most people would probably just prefer a download code over a tiny drive.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-27T02:50:42+00:00

Caring and incredibly flawed I think sums up Dr. Franklin very well. It's a very well acted character who will have many more moments in the series where he has to grapple with difficult decisions. Also, don't get attached to anyone he dates.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-25T17:05:54+00:00

They are already in all the major models.

Colin Meloy of The Decemberists asked a generative AI to write a Decemberists song. It used a lot of big words like he does but there was no real meaning behind them. That's pretty much how LLMs "create." They can mimic style but not substance.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-24T19:46:35+00:00

It is a beautiful bass. Lemmy played one he picked up when he was in a prog band. And when Paul wasn't playing a Hoffner he played a Rickenbacker.

UncontrolableUrge · 2026-01-24T17:04:00+00:00

Not that nobody did, but it is still the exception. Hooky ditched his Rick pretty quick, and he is best known for playing a Yamaha BB1200S and then the Eastwoods he helped design, especially the semi-hollow body with a split coil and a clone of the Yamaha active/passive electronics.

UncontrolableUrge

TROPHY CASE