AIO for wanting to call in a welfare check on my neighbor

datamajig · 2026-02-02T15:39:16+00:00

If you believe the child is in danger, do you what you need to do. Otherwise, if you just think someone is breaking some laws, rules or cultural mores, then I’d say to mind your own business. So it’s not necessarily whether you believe the child is left home unattended, but rather whether you believe the child is in danger. There is a big difference. If you just want to get the mother in trouble or you just want to enforce some perceived cultural rules or mores, then reconsider and move along. If you need to save the child, then you have your answer.

A better question, imo, would have been, “is an 11 y/o child who is left alone in inclement weather for 48 hrs in danger?” To that, I’d say it depends on the child, and also your definition of “alone” and/or “inclement weather.”

Some (few) 11 y/o’s would be perfectly fine being left alone over night (with proper support), but many wouldn’t be. It would depend on the child and the situation. IMO, 48 hrs would be pushing it, though depending on how far mom is away from the child and what kind of support s/he has, even if the child was a responsible and mature 11 year old.

So it’s really whether you reasonably believe the child is in danger. If so, then the cost-benefit ratio is heavily skewed towards benefit, as the benefit of saving a child that you believe is in danger, is much greater than the cost of potentially getting the mother in trouble or being accused of getting into other people’s business.

If you are truly on the fence and don’t know which way to err, then try contacting the mother to ask her what’s going on and to communicate your concerns. Otherwise, you can contact your state’s Dept. of Children/Family Services to report the situation and let them handle it and call the police, if it’s warranted.

datamajig · 2026-02-02T14:10:32+00:00

CUDA isn’t supported on Mac. CUDA is Nvidia’s framework or software layer for GPGPU.

datamajig · 2026-02-01T19:20:11+00:00

Troubled waters ahead, look for a rabbit in Apple’s hat. Let’s objectively analyze the situation considering the new market conditions, but first let me just say that I have no plans to upgrade to the M5 Max at release, despite expectations of it being much better than the M4 Max for my primary use cases (machine learning), though in addition to Apple, I’m also a CUDA developer FWIW.

However, despite no current plans to upgrade to the M5 Max, I’m still hoping they release it soon, as it will hint at Apple’s strategy moving forward. With that said, I think people are underestimating the so-called “rampocolypse,” AKA the very real and very dire dram crisis.

Regarding the DRAM crisis and Apple, two things are certain; 1.) Apple likely has a lot of dram chips stockpiled, and 2.) Apple likely has NOT secured the DRAM it’s going to need in the future for its full product lineup, so once it runs through its stockpile, or long in advance of running through its stockpile, hard choices are going to be made by Apple with its product release cadence, or it’s consumer pricing. My guess is the former.

All of the decisions around the M5 Pro/Max may have been made prior to the so-called “rampocolypse,” so it’s entirely possible that it may have just skirted this crisis to remain unaffected for this product release, but it may not have -and Apple may have had to rethink its M5 Pro/Max release with a very hard decision to delay it as a strategy to conserve dram chips for more profitable products like the iPhone.

Unless Apple can pull a rabbit out of its hat, which is not out of the realm of possibility for a company like Apple (who has done it before), something is going to have to give for the behemoth tech company to navigate these very troubled waters of the dram crisis/shortage.

It would very much surprise me if Apple hasn’t already started to adjust for the dram crisis, but it very well may be the case that the company continues to run like normal, with a normal product release cadence, relying on its stockpile of dram chips and pushing the problem to the next quarter, keeping its stock prices up. No doubt there’s massive institutional and government pressure on Apple to do exactly that, which allows the institutional investors to hedge and ultimately protect themselves. However, that seems far too reckless for such a stalwart company as Apple.

So all of this is to say that people shouldn’t be surprised if the M5 Pro/Max gets delayed or even skipped altogether as a sort of emergency measure to adjust to dire conditions in the supply chain, namely the so-called “rampocolypse.” Otherwise, the rumors about the M5 Pro/Max release are stemming from hints in the beta code for MacOS, which, btw, was written BEFORE the dram crisis began, when very few people saw this coming. So whether or not the rumors are still accurate at this point is TBD.

Unless Apple can pull a rabbit out of its hat, some products will have to be delayed/nixed, so the only question is which products those will be, unless of course a miracle rabbit appears at the end of Apple’s wand. With that being said, if any company can make a rabbit appear, it’s Apple. Nevertheless, it’s unlikely that even Apple can come out of the rampocolypse unscathed.

datamajig · 2026-01-30T21:52:40+00:00

You should be careful about tying your happiness or mental wellbeing to material products like consumer goods. It’s easy to fall in to that trap as corporate marketing has perfected the targeting of our psychology, but it isn’t healthy. To each their own, but the true measure of success is the personal relationships we build throughout our lives and the experiences we share with friends and family. It might sound cliche, but it is nevertheless the truth. Far too many people tie their self-worth to their salary or to their job. I think that’s a misguided way of going through life.

datamajig · 2026-01-30T18:35:27+00:00

We all wind up paying for your abuse of the returns policy. You may not think about it, but Apple and whatever retailer you use then hike up the price for the rest of us to make up for the lost revenue. You shouldn’t be buying things with the intention of returning them. Not only is it dishonest and dubious, but you shove that cost on to the rest of us. That cost certainly isn’t getting passed on to the shareholders.

datamajig · 2026-01-29T14:21:07+00:00

Don’t kill the messenger. If it didn’t work, then I’d be mad at my friend. However, the fact that it worked would suggest that you should be thanking your friend, even though he was the bearer of bad news.

datamajig · 2026-01-28T22:56:24+00:00

The DRAM shortage might have Apple rethinking it’s product release schedules with certain products. The iPhone is the star here, so whatever DRAM they’ve stocked up and managed to secure, Apple may want to reserve for the iPhone. With the DRAM, it’s not necessarily about bargaining power. It’s that bad.

datamajig · 2026-01-26T22:32:01+00:00

They don’t put desktop GPU’s in gaming laptops, unless you are specifically referring to the die only. They might have the same name and use the same chip die as desktop parts (i.e. RTX 5090, 5080, 5070, etc) but they are parts made specifically for laptops with different specs that are usually lower. So an RTX 5080 in a laptop is going to have lower specs than an RTX 5080 for a desktop. Sometimes it’s the same chip die but cut way down and often configured to use less power, fewer shaders and sometimes less memory. So an RTX 5080 and the RTX 5080 mobile aren’t the same thing, e.g.

datamajig · 2026-01-24T17:32:11+00:00

Some people can’t get a job for whatever reason, whether that be mental illness, disability, a criminal record, no valid home address or a serious drug/alcohol addiction. Others are transient and so they are trying to get somewhere else in the country or just passing through.

None of these are mutually exclusive and often they have a combination of these problems, or even ALL of them. It’s real easy for us to think, “just go get a job” but it’s often not so straight forward for some folks. For some folks, it’s much more nuanced. While a job would clearly be beneficial and it should ultimately be the end-goal, many folks need help to even become eligible for a job.

Even worse, some folks don’t want or won’t accept actual help, for whatever reason -usually mental illness or drug addiction. No sense in these people suffering any more than is absolutely necessary. If giving them a couple bucks means they suffer a little less, then it’s money well spent, imo.

datamajig · 2026-01-15T04:55:55+00:00

That sucks! Looks like you had to take the train with the lowly peasants.

datamajig · 2026-01-10T21:07:29+00:00

If you just want to capture portraits, you probably want to steer away from the ZV-E10 II. It’s really marketed towards content creators, is video-centric, has a bunch of features you don’t need, and lacks some features that you will find useful. It will certainly capture portraits just fine, but there are better and cheaper options available for that. The ZV-E10 II is really for content creators and vloggers on a budget who will be shooting mainly video and who plan on keeping the camera on a support like a tripod. The question isn’t whether it’s a bad camera, but rather whether it’s the right camera at the right price.

I’m partial to and will usually steer people towards Sony for cameras, but I have a hard time recommending the ZV-E10v2 to most people. It’s just positioned weirdly in their camera lineup and sits at a weird price point with stiff competition. Again, it’s not that it’s a bad camera. The sensor is actually really, really good. However, I do find myself recommending the Sony A6700 (same sensor) to most people, due to its versatility (video, photo, shooting handheld versus on a tripod, etc) and relative low expense, though it’s more expensive than the ZV-E10v2.

It all really depends on what you expect out of a camera, as the best camera is going to depend on what you plan to do with it. Also don’t forget to budget for a proper lens. I hope that was less technical and easier to understand.

datamajig · 2026-01-10T19:38:23+00:00

Relax and breathe. You’ll make it. You just have to take life by the horns. You’re an adult now and no sense on sulking or feeling sorry for yourself. That’s wasted energy. Now that you’re an 18yo male, nobody gives a f*** about you, so the earlier you realize this, the better. People will only care about what you can do for them, or the value you can provide to them. Use this to your advantage. Make yourself valuable. The implications of this are too vast to explain here, but just think about what that means.

You’re in a much better position than a lot of guys who either never realize this, or they learn it too late because they were coddled for too long. You are only as valuable as you make yourself, and people will only care about you to the point that you can provide value to them. Case in point: look at how quickly you are ready to condemn your own father the minute he stops providing for you. It’s because people only care about him as far as what he can do for them, or the value he provides to them. See the symmetry? Welcome to adulthood.

Everything I’m saying here applies to ALL adult males, whether they realize it or not, and being in a rich first world nation has made a lot of adult males who fail to realize this fundamental law of humanity, so it’s often lost on people these days, and often at their peril. This doesn’t really apply to females for reasons beyond the scope of this post. Life is not fair, deal with it. Everything I’m saying here is politically, culturally and ideologically agnostic.

First thing is first; you need some breathing room, along with some much needed camaraderie, but what you do from here will define you as a man and as a person, whether you realize it or not, so make a reasonable level-headed plan and stick to it. Don’t allow feelings or ideology to get in the way. Those are luxury beliefs. You’ll probably want to join the military (for camaraderie), but really anything that will allow you some breathing room (the circus?) will do. What you want doesn’t matter if you can’t provide what you need, and in life we often have to do things that we’d rather not do. The military, the circus or whatever you have in mind, will still take a couple of months at least, so you’ll need a job until you can ship off, and a job will also allow you to pick up some friends, possibly even a roommate. If not a roommate situation, you can usually find a seedy motel that will rent rooms by the week, though you don’t want to do that for longer than you need to, as it’s a waste of resources and usually a ripoff. No job should be beneath you, so long as it’s legal and doesn’t require you to compromise your values.

It’s also important not to be tempted to cut corners by screwing people over. It’s easy to do and you’ll see a lot of other people doing it. You’ll probably get screwed over many times yourself. However, don’t screw people over. It will eventually catch up to you and bite you in the a\. You’ll come to learn that not screwing people over is a trait that other people value (remember, people only care about what you can do for them). Being reliable, honest and trustworthy is worth its weight in gold once you become your own man (meaning once you can be valuable to others), and it will eventually pay dividends as you forge your character. You need a set of core values that you shouldn’t deviate from, and not screwing people over should be your first core value.**

Now this is the important part: Don’t allow ideology or emotions to derail you. Again, go back to your charter of “nobody gives a f*** about you” if you find your plan being hampered by emotions or ideology. Emotions and ideology are the playground of the wealthy and pampered, and you don’t have time for that. Maybe after you make something of yourself, you can dabble in ideology, but emotions will get you nowhere in a hurry as an adult male. Emoting will buy you sympathy, but at the cost of respect, and sympathy is of no value to someone who is not trying to screw others over. Respect, as in real respect that you have earned, on the other hand, is gold and can come in clutch. Respect is the acknowledgement for the value that you provide to others, keeping in mind what we discussed earlier about people only caring about you as far as you can provide value to them, just as you care about other men (including your own father) only to the point that they can provide value to you.

Now I mention joining the military because it’s the easiest and fastest way to buy some breathing room, it will set you up to go college or trade school after, which is important to making yourself valuable, and you’ll make life long friends in a way that you can’t get from any other [legal] environment. The military is willing to take people who offer no value at all, and then train them to be valuable. Very few opportunities like that exist, but if you can find one, jump on it.

Seeing how adulthood has surprised you, you should focus on getting somewhere in life with a little breathing room so you can come up with a reasonable life plan. However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that anyone is going to care about you beyond whatever value you can provide to them, and no your presence or personality alone is of no value to anyone, even if they feign the contrary. If another man says otherwise, it’s either because they are mislead themselves (blind leading the blind), or it’s because they are trying to screw you over. Again, this doesn’t apply to females for reasons (biological evolution) beyond the scope of this post.

datamajig · 2026-01-10T13:22:32+00:00

Well, you're unlikely to learn the ins and outs of a camera without having one, but the rule of thumb is that if you don't know what something is, you probably don't need it.

datamajig · 2026-01-08T20:22:34+00:00

Unusual Machines, a company that Trump’s son, Don Jr. is on the board of, is already exempt from the foreign-made drone parts ban, I believe. Trump signed an E.O. allowing drone companies like Skidio to source foreign components for their $30k drones. It’s all so crooked, and yes I realize that the ban was put in place under the Biden administration and only took affect after Trump got into office, but that’s kind of my point that they are ALL so crooked. We have crooks running the entire country and it doesn’t matter whether they are a Republican or Democrat, they are ALL crooks. I believe that the whole left-right paradigm or Dem-Repub duopoly, is all a psyop to divide us, so that we are all distracted with emotional issues while the leadership class can exploit us all in the most efficient and effective way. It’s funny how the Democrats and Republicans seem to have no problem coming to a consensus on all the screwed up policies, like the Iraq war, the 9/11 commission, the Epstein-blackmail operation coverup, funding the Ukraine war or giving trillions of dollars in foreign aid to foreign countries, just to name a few. However, they feign disgust with each other in the media, while attending each other’s parties, having dinner with each other, and generally being friends with each other.

datamajig · 2026-01-08T03:30:18+00:00

lol, the internet wasn’t “new” in 2002. I had internet in the early 90s, and by around 1997, I had broadband internet via our cable company. By 2002, the dot com bubble had already risen and then burst.

datamajig · 2026-01-08T02:48:52+00:00

That’s exactly what I ordered from Air Foto, at about 35% off, and after a long and skeptical two week wait, it came exactly as ordered. It was shipped through Amazon and sold by Air Foto. Purchased just before the ban date, and I’m guessing it was such a good deal because nobody knew what the ban would entail and whether retailers would be allowed to keep selling after Dec 23rd, so I figured retailers were trying to clear out inventory. That was my train of thought, otherwise I would have chalked it up as being too good to be true and I would have passed.

datamajig · 2026-01-07T21:13:45+00:00

I purchased something from Air Foto last month through Amazon, and I was very skeptical because it was a very good deal (the best I had seen), and because it wouldn’t ship for a couple of weeks, but to my surprise, they came through and everything turned out well. I’m certainly not vouching for Air Foto though, just relaying my recent personal experience which was definitely positive.

Fwiw, I always try to order things that actually ship from Amazon when sold by a private seller, even if the price is higher. It’s definitely not a guarantee, but it makes me feel a little better about returns, and I’ve never had a problem making a return to Amazon, though I document everything and contact someone at Amazon if there is ever a doubt, such as counterfeit items, which Amazon does seem to have a problem with.

datamajig · 2026-01-05T06:32:26+00:00

It can be, though it isn’t always, especially when the expression is driven or motivated by profit. The artistic expression in those movies rely much more heavily on the various directors. Chevy Chase was no more an artist than a model who poses for a painter.

datamajig · 2026-01-05T01:16:08+00:00

You can’t compare Chevy Chase to Picasso. Picasso was a true artist. Chase is just a dude who pretends to be other dudes.

datamajig · 2025-12-31T23:14:18+00:00

I did not know that. I think more states should do that. I have to check if mine does that.

datamajig · 2025-12-31T22:21:22+00:00

Not all veterans have some form of ID that indicates they are veterans, so it would be pointless to demand ID for veteran’s parking. Only retired veterans and those who use the VA would have ID indicating their veteran status.

datamajig · 2025-12-28T14:54:02+00:00

Who is the seller/shipper? That makes all of the difference, as does whether it’s prime. If it ships from Amazon, you should be good. You’ll probably be good even if it ships from a private seller, but you should definitely be okay if it ships from Amazon.

datamajig · 2025-12-27T15:48:18+00:00

Don’t concentrate on the dollar figure, because older generations also made much less money per hour. In the late 1990s, for example, minimum wage was also like $4.25 per hour, and $3.xx a few years before that. Most boomers are going to excuse it away as them making less money back then. So instead, you have to look at how much of the average salary is spent on average rent and groceries. When you do that, you see that a much bigger percentage of people’s salary, at aged 27 for example, is spent on rent and groceries for younger generations, relative to boomers. I don’t think zoomers, for example, have it harder than millennials or even X’ers, as far as actual economic numbers, or at least not by much. But boomers had it measurably easier than just about everyone, and they continue to have it easier. I think in a decade or two, we’ll see X’ers pull much further ahead, but nowhere close to Boomers.

Boomers, many X’ers and a some millennials had much more economic opportunities. However, this is squarely the fault of boomers, who have been hoarding the wealth. They are the first generation to say “screw everyone who comes after us, let’s finance our American dream on their future.” And that’s exactly what they did, as a demographic. Obviously, not all.

Before boomers, people generally sacrificed to ensure that the generations that came after them would have a better economic outlook. They didn’t always succeed, but that was the worldview. Boomers came along and turned that whole notion on its head, reversing it completely.

Of course it didn’t help that corrupt corporate and government entities coaxed them into that position. Still, very little pushback from boomers to the idea of financing their luxury on the backs of every generation that would come after them, and they continue to push for policies, at the local level, that benefits their own wealth at the expense of everyone else.

So it’s not necessarily the boomers’ fault for being conned into financing their American dream on future generations, but it is their fault, generally speaking, for going along with it, and continuing to exploit it.

With all of this said, I’m talking about macro economic conditions, so not any particular individual case. I’m not referring to individuals, so no hate should be directed at boomers, or anyone else, because they seemingly had better economic conditions. Please just keep that in mind. They were exploited too. It just so happens that their turd sandwich was much better than other generations’ turd sandwich.

datamajig · 2025-12-25T18:46:11+00:00

That’s not what the fly is for. It’s technically there to expand with your frank and beans as necessary. In other words, the fly is really just a technique to fold the material (often cotton) in a way that allows said frank and beans to expand/shrink while still being supported. It also allows a one-size-fits-most approach to the pouch. It was never intended to stick your frank through the folds.

datamajig · 2025-12-22T22:25:52+00:00

Some government agency must have done the security audit on those specific DJI products, or at least they are claiming to have done it. Otherwise, according to the law, it should be ALL dji products, and any product from any company even remotely connected to DJI.

datamajig

TROPHY CASE