qupada

I worked on Avatar 2 & 3. Babysat moviemaking in an otherwise-empty building during covid lockdowns. Long days and working weekends. Friendships strained, the odd one ruined.

I’ve held the Oscar which Avatar 2 won, and my name is in the credits of both.

What I have not done is watch either film in its entirety. Bits and pieces during the creation process sure, but neither from start to finish.

After close to 9 years of every work day somehow tracing back to one or the other film, the overwhelming feeling at the completion of Avatar 3 was relief, above all else.

And to be clear it’s not that I remotely think they’re bad films, quite the contrary. Technology was created which will define an era of visual effects, and irrespective of what anyone says about nuance of the story, they are undeniably experiences (a point on which perhaps I agree with the writer of that article, around in-theatre viewing).

Over-exposure to anything will really change your worldview.

Interestingly, I was just reading an article about that on the bus ride to work this morning:

https://slate.com/culture/2026/01/avatar-3-fire-and-ash-movie-box-office.html

“Anyone who says they hate farts is choosing to have less joy in their life, but the same amount of farts”

Mine won’t sit like this, but will stand up with his paws on my knees and try to headbutt me in the nose.

So that’s fun, I guess.

Also Lenovo, who were the first ones to give than nonsense a whirl (X1 Carbon Gen 2, 2014).

Lenovo’s was present for just that single generation. Apple kept it for 6 generations over 7 years. Dell 4 generations, 3 years.

Can’t say I’ll miss any of them.

Really the most you can hope for these days is to encounter two broken TVs of the same model, with different faults.

Luck holding, this lets you wind up with a single working unit.

Any introduced species becomes classified as a pest here in NZ if it either directly harms, or competes with for food any native animal.

On the subject of magpies specifically, some regional councils take a more aggressive stance than others.

The shit-list contains a few that are frequently a surprise to non-NZers, like hedgehogs.

A British quart is larger than a litre (≈1.14l), US quart is smaller (≈0.95l).

From The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:

The fabulously beautiful planet Bethselamin is now so worried about the cumulative erosion by ten billion visiting tourists a year that any net imbalance between the amount you eat and the amount you excrete while on the planet is surgically removed from your body weight when you leave: so every time you go to the lavatory there it is vitally important to get a receipt.

Published in 1979, so nearly a half century old idea 😉

I was given an S50 for Christmas.

Where we were staying was fortunately right on the edge of suburbia and it was a clear night, plopped it down on the deck and apparently we’re twins? Because the first picture I took was also Orion.

(this was only a couple of minutes, so doesn’t look amazing)

Also far too many clock stoppages.

Rugby: an 80-minute game that completes in around 100 minutes, inclusive of the 15 minute break between halves.

Gridiron: a 60-minute game that inexplicably takes 3.5 hours.

Very little fucking about in rugby, they just get on with it.

U3219Q reporting in. The new U4025QW is looking pretty tasty though, 5120x2160, 120Hz, Thunderbolt hub, more ports than you can shake a stick at.

All of the U and S series Dells I’ve used have been great, and they’re by and large remarkably reasonably priced too.

Double-bagged, with any luck.

And if those specific ones aren’t available where you live, there’s a very similar range from a brand called “Pale Blue”.

Theirs are available in AAA, AA, C, D, 9V, and CR123.

First game I ever bought.

Mailed a freaking cheque internationally, and got a box of 3.5" floppy disks back about 6 weeks later.

Wild times.

Knee and elbow pads.

https://archive.ph/skO4b

At work we use the NexDock for that purpose (for anything that doesn’t have proper Ethernet remote management, at least). It’s relatively convenient that it’s self-powered and self-contained, basically a laptop minus the computer part.

(Conveniently, I see this is also a new model that replaces the awkward mini-HDMI port with a proper full-size one)

If you need VGA, you will have to buy an active VGA-to-HDMI dongle. They’re cheap (down to about $10-15 these days) and seem to work just fine.

Should the preference be to use a laptop you already own, you’ve got a few options. Either an IP KVM like the JetKVM, GL.iNet Comet, NanoKVM, etc, or a USB one such as the Openterface.

(Note that a couple of those links are pre-orders or otherwise not immediately available, make sure you do your research)

All of these things are fairly comprehensively reviewed by tech-focused Youtube channels, just gotta pick your favourite form factor.

Well at least they’re honest about it…

bunk
/bʌŋk/
noun
nonsense.
“anyone with a brain cell would never believe such bunk”

For what it’s worth, you can have your very own 4U rack-mount chassis with a dozen of these in it for around a grand.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186249007611 https://www.ebay.com/itm/357827557706

Less than a hundred bucks each, and no need to rig up janky power and cooling.

Not that I think you necessarily should, but the option is always there.