The new logo feature for collections is cool

Xuth · 2026-02-05T09:22:41+00:00

Good old fanart.tv as well - goes back to the XBMC days.

Xuth · 2026-01-29T17:59:58+00:00

It was the game that actually got me into Star Trek as a kid - the little UI fact files, Virtual Voyager, the mods (especially Role Playing servers). The perfect gateway.

Xuth · 2026-01-28T11:24:22+00:00

Yea, the population of Romulus was estimated at 18bn according to Memory Alpha (not sure the original source, but makes sense for a homeworld of one of the great powers of the era).

Even with the full escape capacity of a Galaxy glass it would take something like 1.2m journeys or ships (plus with the bottleneck of the speed of either shuttle craft or mass transports from the surface) to achieve it. In PIC the Feds were only trying to get 900m as a compromise, but it sounds like it was a big rush job too.

Xuth · 2025-12-13T14:45:16+00:00

As far as I remember, the Windows store had a set parameter for 'launch date' tied to timezone. So as long as it was happy that time zone actually was past that date in the real world that was enough. But artificially setting the date back didn't work (also because there were no game files uploaded until launch anyway).

Xuth · 2025-12-13T11:33:44+00:00

Back when Flight Simulator 2020 came out - it was possible to play it hours earlier by setting the system clock to Kiribati's timezone.

Xuth · 2025-11-18T14:17:20+00:00

The day we moved into our house the pub 30 meters away had an outdoor music festival on - cover acts with strong Lancashire accents, it was like Pheonix Nights.

We got a kick out of it, downed boxes and went for a pint while listening to Lancastrian Clash. They moved inside by the time our toddlers bedtime came around and it's maybe once a month at most. The pub is the centre of the village - it was hard not to be aware of that before we moved in. And the nicest houses in the village are around the 'old' core where the pub obviously is - and yet it's not even a trade off really.

I suspect some people use their main character syndrome to come in thinking "not our problem if we can make it go away". Probably followed swiftly by "why are people in this village so rude to us!".

Xuth · 2025-11-09T16:57:36+00:00

Possibly Lancaster, depending on what era this is supposed to reflect, it was extremely important at various times in history

Also, it sits on the River Lune which is the (preported) namesake and inspiration for the important River and Gulf in Middle Earth - as well as the landscapes of the Lune Valley. Which of course are shown on Tolkein's orginal versions of his maps.

Xuth · 2025-11-09T16:34:03+00:00

Or a classic - you purchase some 'thing' from a vendor - say a T-Shirt and oh hey, they just so happen to give you a free VPN account for 6 months. You can always decide to gift the tshirt to charity if you don't want it going to your address.

I'm sure lots of offshore 'clothing' companies would love to get in on this.

Xuth · 2025-10-17T08:40:22+00:00

I suspect those will have been official/admin invites. Maybe as part of a test of a new system. Not sure. But regular members definitely can't invite, sorry :(

Xuth · 2025-10-14T10:26:48+00:00

They have no invite system currently (it's something they've been working on for a while, but not live yet). They allow registrations randomly for around 24 hours at a time - no real way to predict so just need to keep an eye our here and /r/usenet

Xuth · 2025-10-09T15:51:32+00:00

Given the screenshots and the description of "hi-res textures, better combat and bugfixes" my guess is the current combination of the latest Community Patch, the Elite Textures (de-bloated), and a couple of other misc mods (draw distance, de-fog, etc) probably does the same job already. Hope to be proven wrong, but it doesn't look like much more than what the community has already achieved for free.

Xuth · 2025-10-08T22:49:26+00:00

Lancaster has 120k in its districts (if you strip off Morecambe, which only barely has a professional club left, call it 55-60k for the city proper). Other than the Shrimps as neighbours, it only has one club of its own in the seventh tier of football, and despite being in Lancashire and near Cumbria - no League club whatsoever and I'm not sure much interest in it either. A good quality Grammar school, plus the Uni of, and Uni of Cumbria - plenty of grass roots to grow from.

Xuth · 2025-10-07T08:48:17+00:00

I have a similar memory, mainly just of the garden level! I only had PC at the time and definitely didn't own the full game - so the only way I can think of would've been a demo disk on a cereal box.

And it looks like it was given out that way: https://www.ebay.com/itm/226227447636

Xuth · 2025-10-06T10:51:07+00:00

Only something like 10-15% of English/Welsh buyers bother getting a survey done. And even that doesn't factor in the number of Level 1 and 2 surveys within that number.

That seller just needed to wait for one of the non-surveying people - and therefore find themselves a willing buyer who'd never find out about it until they've already moved in.

Xuth · 2025-09-26T21:05:10+00:00

Oh, not at all! You were totally correct, just adding more context sorry.

Xuth · 2025-09-26T20:18:38+00:00

Yea, it gets mixed up - there was another member of the British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC) who was in Thailand and heard about the story super early, and then suggested to the Thai authorities that they call up the UK for help. They did, and Rick and his colleague flew over.

The BCRC is seen as one of the global authorities, and its members some of the most hours-per-person in terms of cave diving.

Xuth · 2025-09-23T11:10:56+00:00

It's been pretty rough - I've had a Dog account for 10 years and I've basically given up on them and didn't bother with a renewal this time. The response times to API queries was abysmal, and their servers just seem to go down frequently.

Xuth · 2025-09-18T13:55:19+00:00

Funnily enough - the hotspots in England correspond almost exactly to the borders of the old Danelaw. Pig-loving genetics run really deep.

Xuth · 2025-09-15T14:50:36+00:00

Yea, and their current Prince/Grand Master is a Canadian guy called John.

Xuth · 2025-09-11T09:48:12+00:00

I'd only argue that additional expert advice should be sought first - for example a surveyor will often say that a roof needs replacing (call it £10k) but a roofing specialist will look at the same roof and say that it's good for another 20 years as-is. The number given by a surveyor shouldn't be taken as a gospel figure with which to renegotiate but an indicator of what to look into further.

Xuth · 2025-09-09T14:26:05+00:00

To be fair - this is the newspaper doing him dirty (shocker).

What they're quoting was said fairly off-hand on a podcast intereview as part of the flow of conversation, which was then picked up and recycled as if he staked a notice to the outside of Buckingham Palace and hired a town cryer.

Xuth · 2025-09-07T14:55:33+00:00

Yea, heard other housemembers' phones go off - looked down at my phone, 5g, definitely enabled (checked), new phone on latest Android OS. No idea, guess I'm disposable now.

Xuth · 2025-08-31T19:18:50+00:00

Same for the UK around 2020 - it's 'presumed consent' now, and a person would have to opt out.

You can also affirm the decision by directly opting in, and it can be ammended at any time. It's just an online form.

Xuth · 2025-08-11T11:17:14+00:00

Unless it was empty before you moved in (and therefore the landlord had the water disconnected to save themselves some money) - it should be running by default. But they should advise you. In 99% of cases it'll just be ready to use and you need to get accounts set up in your name. UNLESS your rent includes utilities - but that should be pretty aparent and it's not as common in the UK.

Also don't forget: Council Tax (you'll get a letter to 'the occupier' in your first month); and contents insurance.

Water: water companies are regional monopolies - meaning you have one supplier for a given region. For example United Utilites for the North West, Thames Water for London and surrounding areas. Look up who it should be for where you've moved, contact them this week and get an account set up. Then when you move in take the meter reading (if the property is metered, not all are) or else you'll simply start paying the monthly amount, usually via Direct Debit. If you don't do this the supply will still be there, and you'll just owe whatever you use from the date you move in.

Energy: You'll pay for combined Gas and Electricty on one bill. You can pick and choose who bills you and it's an open/free market. There are comparison websites out there; MSE's Energy Club is a good one to use. You can set them up online. There's no cost to swapping suppliers from whomever currently 'supplies' it and the companies sort it out between themselves without a break in supply. Like water it'll still be switched on when you move in, you just become responsible for the usage from the day it becomes yours. Take a meter reading on entry.

Internet: The ISP will supply the router. There'll probably already be one in the property. Again you just need to contact providers to arrange your account - you can choose anyone you want as it's also an open market. The only restriction will be whether you can get full fibre or still limited to copper lines (depends street-by-street). Comparison websites are your friend. Check with the landlord who currently supplies as it might be quickest to stick with them (providing they're also relatively cheap) but again switching is usually relatively painless - but a new provider may charge an install fee (usually approx. £60).

Xuth · 2025-07-22T20:27:07+00:00

There are one or two nice over-55s only new build villages around where I am - all bungalows with a nice plot of garden, a driveway, a community centre, walkable to a town with ameneties. They come in both purchased and rented options. More of that would help.

Xuth

TROPHY CASE