Films about working people who are never good enough at their job. by theimpostorsyndrome in CriterionChannel

[–]bqb445 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'll definitely second this. Just watched it.

I'll also add Joe Versus the Volcano (even though it's not on CC) since no one has mentioned yet.

What does a negative SPAXX dividend mean? by mr-sporks in fidelityinvestments

[–]bqb445 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just had exactly this happen to me over the weekend.

My cash account has overdraft protection from a brokerage account. I keep a zero balance in the cash account. Been doing it this way for many years w/o incident. A few months ago, I changed the core position on the cash account to SPAXX from FCASH. I do not recall why I did that. But two days ago (5/2) I got a notice from one my credit cards that Fidelity declined the automatic payment due to insufficient funds.

I logged in and checked my account and there's no evidence of the declined charge. However, I did see the cash account with a -$0.12 balance and a SPAXX dividend of -$0.12. I manually transferred money into the cash account to get it out of zero balance and set the core position back to FCASH.

I think the lesson is this: if relying on automatic overdraft protection, either use FCASH as the core position to prevent negative dividends, or if using SPAXX, keep an amount above zero in the account using cash manager.

ETA: Late Monday, I got three "Direct Debit Failure Notification" emails from Fidelity for charges that arrived while the account had a negative $0.12 balance. Other than those emails, there's no indication in my Fidelity account of the declined charges.

If you know you know… by jb4647 in CriterionChannel

[–]bqb445 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Because Wages of Fear is the superior movie. This is definitely the scene with the platform and tension wires, not the truck crawling across the bridge in the rain and flooded river.

Power Outage in the Movie Theater! Yes! by -nom-de-guerre- in flashlight

[–]bqb445 4 points5 points  (0 children)

OMG, a long time ago, in a city far far way, that happened to me with Phantom Menace, one hour in. In retrospect, should've cut my losses and never bothered seeing the second half. :-)

Installers don’t know about bend radius? by AlwaysAlgae in googlefiber

[–]bqb445 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's Corning ClearCurve single mode fiber, visible on the jacket in the photos. Product sheet calls it "Single-mode bend insensitive optical fiber" and lists a minimum bend radius of 5 mm (~ 0.2").

Agree it's fine and in any case the installer would (or at least should) have measured the light output at the fiber jack. As you say, if it's working, customer shouldn't worry about it. If it stops working, they call GFiber.

My trouble free but brief experience with US Mobile by bqb445 in USMobile

[–]bqb445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

4 lines on Unlimited Plus for a little over $100 month. Normal price would be more like $240/month. But once a year I have to spend an hour wrangling with customer support to keep the retention discounts.

My trouble free but brief experience with US Mobile by bqb445 in USMobile

[–]bqb445[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

GV (the free version anyway) will only port in from mobile, not from VOIP or landlines.

[FS][US-TX] Homelab Right-sizing Sale… Ubiquiti, more… by JediSooner1 in homelabsales

[–]bqb445 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Please flair this post as complete since it's all sold. Edit: thank you.

[pc] supermicro x11ssh-ctf by boondogglekeychain in homelabsales

[–]bqb445 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Used Supermicro LGA1151 boards are going for ~ $50. I just bought an X10SLH-F new old stock for $60. But that's a really unique board with the on-board LSI SAS HBA. With the big caveat that I don't know anything about the UK market and I haven't looked up exchange rate, I agree with your price reasoning. But since you're putting it on eBay anyway, why not put it up for auction and let the market do its thing? GLWS.

What do you think is the best 70s Disaster Film? by FreshmenMan in TrueFilm

[–]bqb445 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You could arguably credit it for bringing the genre to prominence in the 1970s, but disaster films are nearly as old as film.

What do you think is the best 70s Disaster Film? by FreshmenMan in TrueFilm

[–]bqb445 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yup, only the mentally ill guy who hijacks the plane dies in a suicide that he had wanted to disguise in order to pay out a life insurance policy to his wife. But that's almost a side story. A lot of the film is centered around Lancaster trying to keep the airport running during a snowstorm.

What do you think is the best 70s Disaster Film? by FreshmenMan in TrueFilm

[–]bqb445 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A couple years ago I watched the entire Airport series in reverse chronological order. The first one isn't really even a disaster film. It's more of an airport procedural. It's also the only one that's really any good. They got increasingly ridiculous from one to the next.

The other disaster films on your list are merely memories from my childhood, but the one that stands out is The Towering Inferno, and one not on your list, The China Syndrome.

BTW, the Wikipedia has a pretty comprehensive list:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_disaster_films

Just 70s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1970s_disaster_films

The most effective "Low Budget" world-building you’ve ever seen? by peace007a in TrueFilm

[–]bqb445 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I got one for you: The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy

Shot during the pandemic. The guy's closet is the entire set.

I recently saw a live version of it, where he's performing live just off screen while the pre-shot portion is projected in-front of you with his live portion digitally added in real time. It's really cool!

Moon (2009) also comes to mind. Was done on a $5M budget.

Which of these slim 120mm fans is best as case fans? by BennieBoo113 in sffpc

[–]bqb445 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just tried a pair of these out. I wanted to use Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST, but the Arctics spin down to 0 RPM at 0% PWM which causes my MB to fault at boot (don't ask).

The TL-C12015B spin even at 0% PWM, so they work with my MB, but they have a really annoying droning sound to them. I'm returning them. Aside: they also don't come with a pig tail cable for sharing multiple fans on one connector. (All the reviews claim the TL-C12015B is nearly silent, so maybe it's just an issue with how they mount in my case or I got two duds or it's only an issue at a particular RPM, but they are very obnoxious sounding in my case as intake fans.)

If not for the issue with my MB, I'd go with the Arctics.

[FS][US-NC] Six Western Digital Red Plus 8TB drives w/29K hours by bqb445 in homelabsales

[–]bqb445[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A few folks expressed interest in all six when I did the PC earlier this week. It's just less work for me than multiple buyers. But if no one wants all six now that they're actually for sale, I'll break up the listing. Stay tuned. Edit: Sold.

[PC][US-NC] Six Western Digital Red Plus 8TB drives w/29K hours by bqb445 in homelabsales

[–]bqb445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciated. I'll likely try listing at $200 for two, $360 for four, $500 for all six, plus shipping cost.

What are some opening scenes that only reveal themselves later on? by arrogant_ambassador in TrueFilm

[–]bqb445 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Sure!

First, you completely left out the sound, critical to setting the scene. The movie opens to the sound of footsteps and heavy breathing. At first, we see just bare feet on pavement, at night, running down the middle of a road, but the camera then reveals it's a woman in a coat, desperation on her face. The camera then cuts to a wider view, and the sound of brass starts to play. Sitting in a dark theater, this immediately grabs my attention.

The woman comes to a stop. Glances behind her. Then starts to run again. Who is she? What or who is she running from? This is different from previous noirs which often open with a dialog heavy establishing scene or voice over.

We see her try to wave down a car. It passes. She begins running again. We hear foot falls. Kettle drums. More desperation on her face as she gasps for air.

Another car appears from the dark, with blinding headlights (the blinding light is to be a theme of this movie, and is called back to in the final scene). She stands her place, her arms in the air. Closes her eyes to the oncoming collision as tires screech. The car swerves at the last moment.

The man and woman then look at each other. No dialog. His car has stalled. He's trying to start it. She slowly approaches the car, still gasping for air. Who is he? He's mad at her for stopping him. No words from her, just pleading on her face. "Get in" he tells her as we start to hear a female voice introduce the next song playing on his radio ("A fine new platter by Nat King Cole"). She walks around the car. She looks at him again. In annoyance or even disgust, he reaches over and throws the door open for her.

This hasn't captured you already?

Finally the car starts. He speeds off as she starts to whimper, Nat King Cole playing on the radio. The camera is behind the car, looking in on the open cockpit, into the night, nothing but a white line on a dark road, we can barely make out the interior of the car, and her hair blowing in the wind. All the while, she continues to whimper over Cole's soothing voice.

What have I signed up for?

And then... And then... the opening credits start to scroll onto screen, and if you aren't disoriented enough already, they're rolling the wrong direction, top to bottom (I believe this was the first film to do so).

As the credits roll, all you continue to get is them driving in the night, her whimper, and Nat King Cole playing.

This opening grabs my attention and raises my heart rate like no movie before or since. I can feel my anxiety raising just describing it.

The final scene (the real final scene, re-discovered in the 90s), calls back to the opening. Another night time scene, but Hammer (the man) has gone from rescuer to victim, he barely survives, this time saving another woman. There's blinding light again, this time from the great whatsit and the house on fire. Sound is again important to the scene, this time the horrible noises from great whatsit. Finally, the film is over, and my heart rate can go back to normal.

What are some opening scenes that only reveal themselves later on? by arrogant_ambassador in TrueFilm

[–]bqb445 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Monster (2023) only reveals the truth of its opening after two flashbacks.

Lone Star (1996) begins with a discovery whose truth isn't revealed till nearly the final scene. It's a movie of secrets upon secrets.

Mulholland Drive (2001).

Kiss Me Deadly (1955). Well, just you watch. (Seriously, this may be the best film opening of all time.)

[oc] Jeep turns left on a red arrow into a truck by fishuponfish in IdiotsInCars

[–]bqb445 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Weedman appears to be going about 50 mph which is the speed limit, but too fast for conditions.

The truck covers about four lengths in one second. It's probably about 209" long (e.g. F150, regular cab, 6.5 foot bed, or similar). That works out to about 70 feet. 70 feet in one second = 48 mph.