While idle RAM usage can be an indicator of background load, RAM that’s not in use is RAM wasted. Best is for idle memory to cache files, libraries and programs for faster load times than to sit unused

The TPM is mostly used to store bitlocker keys and Microsoft account tokens. If you’re not using bitlocker nor a Microsoft account, the TPM is basically just sitting there doing nothing. The security afforded by the TPM is not needed by most users. The only users whose threat model would be improved by a TPM are users who are at risk of their locked PC being acquired by an advanced threat actor desperate enough for the information stored on it to attempt a cold boot or similar attack. Basically only executives and government officials who travel with their work laptops need TPM and the full secure boot chain. For 99.99% of Windows users it’s just additional hassle and expense for no added benefit

I just want to know why I can only click on the date on the main monitor to view the calendar. Why? It’s such a workflow killer when I’m scheduling something and trying to check what day of the week it’s happening on. Takes multiple clicks on the non-main monitor before I realize what’s happening every time

Your back of the envelope math is good, but small towns usually have very low property values due to not being super desirable places to live (and declining populations) a realistic average would be 100k average home value. Some will be smaller, older houses and only worth around 25-50k, some will be much newer houses built in this century worth closer to 200-300k but most will be older homes that people continue to live in and maintain worth around 100k

Also the city was clearly woefully underinsured with only $1m liability coverage. Most cities should have 10-100x that these days

It certainly looks like a rad MTB trail

I live in a fairly small town. Notably it was never bulldozed to build gigantic stroads or highways and grew slowly enough that there is a single stroad which the city has been slowly extending a sidewalk/bikepath along. For anyone who lives and works in town, it’s very walkable/bikable. Problem is it’s a small town of around 10-15k people so lots of stuff requires running to the nearest large city for medical appointments and shopping and whatnot

With remote work my family has been able to make it work with only one car, and I’ll bike to stuff in town so my wife can use the car when she needs to. There’s some logistical challenges at times but ultimately it’s really nice only worrying about the cost of a single shared vehicle

I had a Android Wear watch for a minute. Got it for free from a coworker. I liked it but when it died I felt like I lost nothing of value. Now I just wear an analogue watch (one of Citizen’s watches which has a solar panel on the face which charges a capacitor to power it so no batteries to worry about) and that does everything I need from a watch plus it’s small enough that it never gets in the way unlike the Android Wear watch

I’ve been doing a ton of cardio lately. Just knowing how long, fast and far I’ve biked is enough to get a good idea of progress which doesn’t require a fitness tracker. I’m considering something cheap to get an idea of heart rate and effort but at some point it’s just more data for the sake of more data

Like 5 years ago I had a pedestrian walk into my blind spot while I was checking for traffic in the opposite direction (not sure how I didn’t see them before i looked the opposite direction) so I started to move then hit the breaks as I saw them exit the blind spot immediately in front of me. I’ve been thinking about the mistake ever since and I’m extra careful to make sure there is no chance there’s a person hiding behind my A beam ever

Edit: also huge benefit to bikes is no obstructions to your view. You can see everything on and off the road

The Anno games always had really good music. Anno 1602 for example had this as the title music

Anno 1503’s title music is engrained in my memory as well

There’s an amusing scene in Iron Sky where a 1940s style Nazi meets some neo Nazis and he ends up positively disgusted and calls the neonazis an insult to their race

Basically this. As a straight(ish) cis person with exclusively queer friends (purely by happenstance of course) that do be how it is for folks who are not bi/pan/Omni is just we’re just not attracted to masculinity/femininity.

Basically think of whatever is just super not your type, and imagine that feeling but towards specifically masculinity or femininity in general and you have what it’s like

There’s two sides to this really. On one hand there’s folks like myself who spend years hemming and hawing over a $20 purchase and therefore never get the things they want in life because they’re too busy focusing on what’s financially responsible, but then there’s also so many folks who spend hundreds of dollars a month on things they don’t need but struggle to keep up with their savings, loans, etc.

Some people need to be reminded that it’s okay to buy something for yourself every once in a while, and some people need to be reminded that that doesn’t mean spending $500 every month on doordash and random crap from Temu

Just makes me thing of this gag from the IT Crowd

I’m so glad he’s in such amazing shape that he can *checks notes* climb a single flight of stairs

There might still be an operating wigwag signal at Devils Lake State Park. When I was last there about a decade ago it was still there and operational (and for revenue service no less!)

Otherwise the IRM has a really good collection of railroad signals. Many are actually in use on the mainline (so crews have to be familiar with even the biblically accurate railway signals along with all sorts of fun obscure variations. And if I remember correctly as you first enter and cross the streetcar loop and the steam shop/long barn sidings (long enough to store the entire Zephyr trainset on one track, as well as where quite a few cosmetically restored locomotives are stored including multiple articulated locomotives and a DDA40X) there’s a wig wag protecting the crossing

I’ll give you the same advise I recently took to heart and started following for my hobbies: don’t wait until you can make it perfect. Start working on the garden you can do right now…er next spring?

If you start small now, you can start enjoying it now, then you can build up your experience, skills and tools, and once you have the time and money for the epic garden you want, you’ll also have the skills to absolutely make full use of it!

I’m doing the same thing with model railroading. I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to start on my first model railroad as an adult. A few weeks ago I finally said “fuck it” and bought a door at the hardware store and some mounting hardware. I’ll have a car I can fit a 4x8 sheet of insulation foam into in a couple of weeks so then I can get rolling and start building a nice little starter layout and enjoy that right now. Then later on I can build something bigger and better (plus have more skills and experience under my belt to do it better!)

The good news is that soon there’ll be the California High Speed rail line. I’m hopeful that I can make a good long trip over there once it opens in a few years to check it out. Heck maybe I’ll move to California for a year or two? Who knows!

Those aren’t necessarily tracks but services. 3 services can share one mainline and several stops. Makes (dis)boarding easier for longer distances if passengers don’t have to change trains after they get out of the peninsula, plus 3 services hitting the same stations means 3x as much frequency along that corridor. Someone going Jacksonville to Miami can pick between the Chicago, LA or New York route and someone going from Miami to LA can just hop into the LA route and stay there until they arrive without changing trains