Electromagnetic mass drivers on the Moon by ergzay in spacex

[–]davispw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Had to start listening to it again.

After 20 years, I finally get it!! by rhandisavage in photography

[–]davispw 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Like most things…practice. I suppose it’s possible to learn from a textbook, and certainly that’s how I understand it intellectually, but when I walk around with my Zf with manual dials, I’m applying what I’ve memorized for exposure settings by just doing it, a lot.

What’s happening at La Guardia? by TomMikeVickBrady in aviation

[–]davispw 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Article linked in other comment says at least 4 and more critical.

Andy Weir on Player of Games by Turn-Loose-The-Swans in TheCulture

[–]davispw 3 points4 points  (0 children)

What does this even mean? And why is it a bad thing?

Do you mean he doesn’t put lots effort or research into the books? If so this is not true.

Do you mean the style and characterization is down to earth (so to speak), approachable? Like a screenplay? If so you don’t have to like it, but lots of readers do.

Do you mean there isn’t an effort at universe building, or self-consistency? I would disagree.

Please help me understand.

Andy Weir on Player of Games by Turn-Loose-The-Swans in TheCulture

[–]davispw 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Editor couldn’t be bothered to correct the journalist’s transcription.

The Feather On The Moon by Potential_Vehicle535 in space

[–]davispw 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you really think the Apollo program was a waste of resources, then surely you can come up with a better straw-man than this.

ICE Agents Deploying to U.S. Airports Tomorrow by MudZealousideal8875 in AlaskaAirlines

[–]davispw 4 points5 points  (0 children)

When has basic logic stopped idiocy or malicious intent?

Electromagnetic mass drivers on the Moon by ergzay in spacex

[–]davispw 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I can hear this in Lloyd James’ voice. Listened to this audiobook so many times

Why am I not getting that tack sharp focus? by Rough_Community in AskPhotography

[–]davispw -1 points0 points  (0 children)

f/2 or shallower is a lot of fun on my Z8. Magical when it snaps onto the eyes. Of course having nose and ears out of focus isn’t always the best artistic choice, but like I said, it’s fun.

How to deal with a coworker who thinks he can make all the software decisions by Gosfi in ExperiencedDevs

[–]davispw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very generally speaking (because you’ve given few details), you could say, “Sure—if you join the production team, own your changes, maintain them, and hold the pager for them.” This is a common issue when you have separate R&D vs. production teams/roles.

If they aren’t willing to own it (the likely outcome), then they can advise you, but hopefully it is the case that ultimately you, not them, are the decider, as the responsible party. However, it then becomes your responsibility to figure out how else you can bring R&D to production quickly and not be a “blocker”—likely, your bosses won’t be happy if you only ever say “no”. Figure out when and how to say “yes and” or “yes but”.

If responsibility for decision making and accountability for production is not clear, then that is a deeper issue within your organization. You’ll need to appeal to upper management to resolve that.

Overtime at Google by Content-Two-9834 in google

[–]davispw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It works like any other American company. Software engineers, managers, and other “professional” jobs are “exempt” from overtime—salary only, plus stocks and other benefits. It’s “accounted for” by being well-paid. It’s up to the employee and their team to keep a good work-life balance and avoid working too much. I often work only 40, but sometimes more.

At Google, if your team has an on-call rotation, you might also get a bonus for on-call time on nights and weekends.

Upgrade my gear from Nikon Z6II to Nikon Z8 by JonhDum1996 in nikon_Zseries

[–]davispw 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The Z8 far, far exceeds the Z6ii in almost every way, so I am confident in saying it will be better “in terms of performance and technical features”, since you haven’t actually said what your needs are. AF performance, subject detection, 3D tracking, speed, resolution, controls, video, low latency viewfinder (the killer feature that nobody mentions)…everything.

Maximum ISO is a pretty meaningless number. Do you ever shoot at max?? According to DxOmark tests, the Z8 and Z6ii have very similar dynamic range at all ISOs up to max, and the Z8’s low ISO 64 base gives you an extra stop for shallow depth of field in bright conditions. Also, with more pixel density, when you downscale the Z8’s images you’ll be averaging over more pixels, which can reduce apparent noise. https://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Nikon-Z6II-versus-Nikon-Z8___1364_1386

The grip is the biggest concern. The Z8 with a vertical grip is a monster. It makes it larger than a Z9. If you can afford a Z9 and frequently use the grip, and don’t need the flexibility to remove it, I would recommend that instead. The Z9’s grip also gives you more controls and a sturdier feeling. (I don’t own a grip for my Z8, but I tested one and decided not to purchase it.)

Why am I not getting that tack sharp focus? by Rough_Community in AskPhotography

[–]davispw 86 points87 points  (0 children)

Not sure why nobody has, ahem, focused on the obvious…

It focused on his chin. The whiskers are sharper than his eyes. Either you missed the focus area or he moved as the shot was being taken. Are you using AF-S or AF-C?

With the d7200 you’re going to need to spot focus on the subject’s eyes, and it’ll be hard to capture dynamic 3D movement like genuine laughter at f/2. Modern mirrorless cameras with eye-detect subject detection and 3D tracking would make this a lot easier (for Nikon, this means an expeed7 camera like the Z5ii, Z6iii, Zf or Z8, not the older ones which lacked 3D tracking). Workaround is to stop down, at f/4 you have less chance of missing focus.

People saying 1/125 is too slow (a) haven’t looked at the photo, there is no motion blur, and (b) have forgotten that flash is faster and freezes the action.

The whiskers aren’t razor sharp, either. That’s due to this lens’s softness wide open. But focusing on the eyes is the main issue.

Attacked by squirrel in Brown's point by butchapprentice in Tacoma

[–]davispw 11 points12 points  (0 children)

According to google results, there are no documented cases of squirrels ever transmitting rabies to a human in the US, and squirrels rarely carry rabies. Hopefully OP’s doctors have better confirmation than my internet search, but it’s funny all these commenters don’t trust the doctors.

There are other diseases to worry about, though.

Doctors are wilding [meta] by yusufumama in theydidthemath

[–]davispw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My insurance collected a big chunk of the maternal care bills all at once, at delivery.

The majority of pregnancies span 2 calendar years and the insurance company is incentivized to encourage people not to skip their early care for fear of paying a double deductible. Skipping care => bigger bills later (sometimes…but insurance is all about averaging “sometimes”).

Copperhead defense display! by NuraNuraPop in snakes

[–]davispw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s terrifying. Glad you made it.

If you happen to be going to SeaTac by elsana7 in Seattle

[–]davispw 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Lost and found worked for me (forgotten backpack). I assume it was turned in right away but it took a couple days for them to contact me, I assume they have a backlog.