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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 25th, 2023

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  • I started with Ubuntu and slowly tried getting used to Gnome over the course of a few months (mainly using windows, every now and then hopping into Ubuntu when not gaming). I learned of KDE, tried it in Kubuntu, and it all instantly clicked for me. I switched over in about a week and haven’t had much reason to boot Windows since.

    It turned out that front-facing experience was incredibly important to me.



  • VRR is fantastic for games, I really notice the difference and I use Wayland because of it.

    The downside to that is (from my understanding) Wayland forces some form of Vsync on everything, so if you don’t have a VRR monitor then games can become very stuttery and have noticeable input lag. There is an option to “force lowest latency” which supposedly allows screen tearing for things like games, though I didn’t test how well it worked myself.

    If people are interested in experimenting, then VRRTest is a great utility to see what VRR is doing and to test various settings.



  • Even though it was developed by a different team, they did capture the general charm IMO. The story and characters aren’t terrible, some of it I really loved. Like Inquisition and Anthem, it was primarily let down by a lot of management and studio culture issues which have been made very public.

    In my view, Dreadwolf is their opportunity to show if they’ve managed to overcome those callenges or has sucumbed to them forever. I am made hopeful by what appears to have been a well-scoped and managed project in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition.


  • The article and social media response highlights a few problems. Chiefly, that high speed E-bikes are effectively moped-class vehicles that people are riding as if they are bicycles.

    And by that, I mean they can be ridden very dangerously. Such as on a pavement or other pedestrian zones where people do not reasonably expect a fast and quiet vehicle to be present.

    I’ve been learning how to ride a bicycle lately as an adult, and I have rapidly gotten the impression that education around bicycle laws is lacking. Because it is actually illegal to ride a bicycle on pavement that is not marked for such use. People either don’t know, are uncertain, or willingly use a pavement anyway for conveniance because nobody prosecutes for it. So many cyclists use pavement that for all my life I thought it was normal and allowed.

    Cyclists who take that behaviour into an E-bike and use it the same way, especially at high speed (modified or not), present a significant risk to everyone involved. I find the following statement perfectly reasonable:

    Sergeant Gareth Davies said: "While it’s not illegal to own an e-bike with an electrical assistance or power output exceeding 25 kph and 250W respectively, you can’t ride it on the public highway as a regular bike without registering and insuring it like a moped.

    The assertion that most of them siezed in the article appear to be from food delivery drivers is interesting because it speaks to a greater issue in that industry. That the results we’re seeing here could be driven by unreasonable work expectations and poor pay, encouraging these workers to use E-bikes as a cheap and hassle-free way to do their work. You can see that in how some respond to this issue with comments like:

    One person commented: “Targeting hardworking people just trying to get by, well done.”
    Another added: “This is so hard to look at. These people are trying to earn a living and get £3 per delivery and you do this? This is vile and disgusting!”

    I can agree with that sentiment, E-biking should not be targeted unreasonably. They are a good tool for when a regular bicycle does not fit your needs for whatever reason. Just so long as, like all vehicles, they are ridden safely and responsibly.


  • I’ve been learning to ride a bicycle for the my new work commute and have been brushing up on the laws and highway code. I was kind of shocked to learn riding on pavements is indeed illegal unless a sign specifies, since you see people do it all the time with no consequences.

    I agree that E-assist bikes that don’t exceed normal cycle speeds should likely be left alone (general education on cycling needs improvement but that’s another matter) and the modified / faster ones absolutely need more scrutiny and possibly a motorcycle license or equivilent.

    EDIT: Classic didn’t read the article moment:

    Police say it is illegal to ride the bikes without a licence, insurance and vehicle tax and that they are classed as motorcycles.

    Sergeant Gareth Davies said: "While it’s not illegal to own an e-bike with an electrical assistance or power output exceeding 25 kph and 250W respectively, you can’t ride it on the public highway as a regular bike without registering and insuring it like a moped.
    "This includes both off-road and road rights, such as byways and bridleways. You can only ride unregistered and uninsured electric bikes on private land with the landowner’s permission.