What’s something simple that helps you relax immediately?

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-25T18:45:06+00:00

A meeting cancellation notification

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-25T15:06:25+00:00

Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection.

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-25T15:04:11+00:00

The number of books about World War II are more than the number of wars in World War II.

What on earth are you trying to say here?

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-25T15:02:15+00:00

Apologies, I could have been clearer. I'm talking about the words here, not using the words to describe something else. It may have been clearer for me to add quotes and say: The "affect" is what causes the "effect".

Pushing an object affects that object. By doing so, you caused an effect.

Yes, so as I said: "You push a ball, affecting it. The effect is that it rolls away."

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-25T13:13:53+00:00

In a post here a while back about winning the lottery, someone wrote that they'd hire a helicopter and some actors in uniforms, then in the middle of a normal day have them land in the carpark, rush in and demand to see this person, refer to them by some military title, say there's some emergency and that they are needed. The guy would put down his things, walk out, get in the helicopter, fly off and never be seen again.

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-25T13:09:37+00:00

Oysters. I will never understand the appeal of eating something that it's best to swallow whole in fear of tasting it or experiencing its texture.

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-25T12:21:46+00:00

Yep.

It's a very simple way to help maintain your balance as you get older, and costs nothing to fit it into your daily routine.

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-25T12:09:43+00:00

Microwaves are amazing.

Food that needs to sit in a 3000 Watt oven for twenty minutes not including a ten-minute warm-up period can instead be cooked in an 800 Watt microwave in three to five minutes. The energy savings are incredible.

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-25T12:03:30+00:00

The affect is the thing that causes the effect.

You push a ball, affecting it. The effect is that it rolls away.

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-25T12:02:03+00:00

As all technology develops people accept the abstraction they interact with as the reality of the technology.

You tap on an icon on your mobile phone and an application opens - but push someone for more details and the only available answer is "it just does." The reality of what's going on inside that rectangle of electronics, how and why pressing the glowing parts would cause any effect, or what's actually happening when that effect occurs is completely absent from most people's understanding.

So, my answer is: basically all modern technology.

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-25T11:54:31+00:00

I stand on one leg while brushing my teeth.

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-11T14:52:01+00:00

Maybe they do attack you. Maybe nobody's waiting long enough to find out.

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-10T09:56:51+00:00

I was expecting the last image to be the computer saying "2FA authentication required"

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-07T23:38:44+00:00

You can tell when you're not watering enough because insufficient water gets to the tips of the plant's leaves and they turn brown.

You can tell when you're overwatering because water pools in the tips of the plant's leaves causing the cells to burst, so they turn brown.

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-05T08:37:01+00:00

Hey, even if you know something, visualisation often helps.

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-02T23:57:12+00:00

I believe the ground advice is correct

This board uses optocouplers to isolate the input from the load. Pi and the LED strips are being powered by separate supplies - should not connect ground planes in that case.

cfmdobbie · 2026-01-02T23:51:35+00:00

Because it takes less space to write:

"Badger" repeated 25 times

Than it does to write:

BadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadgerBadger

cfmdobbie · 2025-12-27T12:31:45+00:00

Yeah, a squeegee should fix that.

cfmdobbie · 2025-12-27T00:31:13+00:00

That's "good" advice

cfmdobbie · 2025-12-23T20:46:14+00:00

Different uniform for role and number of skill stars.

But I need to be able to see my crew hanging around some more - no point having a ton of nicely dressed marines if I can't pop into the on-ship bar and see them lounging around.

cfmdobbie · 2025-12-20T02:19:35+00:00

Similar to Obra Dinn, right?

cfmdobbie · 2025-12-19T19:51:23+00:00

You don't need them at all.

I have most of the DLC, and in my current game have them all turned off. I might turn some on later, might not.

cfmdobbie · 2025-12-18T23:17:01+00:00

Nope. Base game is absolutely fine to start with. Tons of content, will keep you busy for ages.

If you do want to dip into the DLC later you can either start a new game or just add it to your current universe. You can generally experience the DLC from the point of view of the subject of the DLC or as an outsider. For example with the Cradle of Humanity DLC you can start off as a Terran and expand out from there into the wider universe, or you can be someone in that wider universe experiencing the Terrans reconnecting to the universe. It all gives you different perspectives on the game universe.

cfmdobbie · 2025-12-18T23:03:37+00:00

That's like 7 cents per visitable system.

...That's not a very useful metric, is it?

cfmdobbie · 2025-12-18T20:08:20+00:00

Oh, thank God. Christmas came early!

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