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Inceltown
Aug 6, 2019

hooah posted:

I just received a few spam texts that had a large number of diacritic marks for no reason. What's the purpose of these with respect to whatever scam the person's trying to pull? E.g. "hi, is thìs Mikè iñ Bättle Creek? It is Jen." and "Ugh guess he gave mé the iñcòrrect numbre..what a dick! Anyways, what r yå doin?"

They're trying to get around spam filters.

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AreWeDrunkYet
Jul 8, 2006

hooah posted:

I just received a few spam texts that had a large number of diacritic marks for no reason. What's the purpose of these with respect to whatever scam the person's trying to pull? E.g. "hi, is thìs Mikè iñ Bättle Creek? It is Jen." and "Ugh guess he gave mé the iñcòrrect numbre..what a dick! Anyways, what r yå doin?"

They're trying to circumvent spam text filters.

hooah
Feb 6, 2006
WTF?
Huh, I didn't know there are spam text filters. What a time to be alive.

Mak0rz
Aug 2, 2008

😎🐗🚬

hooah posted:

I just received a few spam texts that had a large number of diacritic marks for no reason. What's the purpose of these with respect to whatever scam the person's trying to pull? E.g. "hi, is thìs Mikè iñ Bättle Creek? It is Jen." and "Ugh guess he gave mé the iñcòrrect numbre..what a dick! Anyways, what r yå doin?"

Seems like there's a fault in the subtitles. Those responsible should be sacked.

Bioshuffle
Feb 10, 2011

No good deed goes unpunished

I've heard of surge protectors that come with protection insurance in case of equipment loss due to power surge. Do they typically cover damage from lightning? Or is there some clause that invalidates the coverage if it's from a storm?

Manager Hoyden
Mar 5, 2020

Bioshuffle posted:

I've heard of surge protectors that come with protection insurance in case of equipment loss due to power surge. Do they typically cover damage from lightning? Or is there some clause that invalidates the coverage if it's from a storm?

They absolutely do not cover lightning strikes. That makes sense because nothing consumers like us are likely to buy could protect from an actual lightning strike.

Luckily most home and renter insurance policies cover that sort of thing.

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

Manager Hoyden posted:

They absolutely do not cover lightning strikes. That makes sense because nothing consumers like us are likely to buy could protect from an actual lightning strike.

Luckily most home and renter insurance policies cover that sort of thing.

There are surge protectors that specifically call out being protected against lightning strikes. APC's line of surge protectors explicitly mention protection from lightning strikes and their equipment protection policy does not exclude them from the policy. They're not that expensive either, they start at $35

https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/cate...ffice/N-138bjqb
https://www.apc.com/us/en/support/equipment-protection-policy/

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe
Aren't lightning strikes why you ground the entire structure? How likely is a valuable electric device to be exposed to lightning assuming lightning hits the structure and the structure is properly grounded?

Flash Gordon Ramsay
Sep 28, 2004

Grimey Drawer

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

Aren't lightning strikes why you ground the entire structure? How likely is a valuable electric device to be exposed to lightning assuming lightning hits the structure and the structure is properly grounded?

I lost several things when a lightning strike came in through the cable coax. I know it was that because my cable boxes, cable modem, and what was attached to the cable modem all let out their magic smoke. Turned out the guy who installed the cable hadn't properly grounded his line (the next guy they sent out to check it told us that) and the cable company paid to make it right.

Alan Smithee
Jan 4, 2005


A man becomes preeminent, he's expected to have enthusiasms.

Enthusiasms, enthusiasms...
When you look up recent activity for IP logins on your gmail it only seems to go back a day, is there a way to get older history?

butt dickus
Jul 7, 2007

top ten juiced up coaches
and the top ten juiced up players

Alan Smithee posted:

When you look up recent activity for IP logins on your gmail it only seems to go back a day, is there a way to get older history?
are you Mo Brooks?

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


What's the deal with these ads for mobile games that show video footage of someone pretending to play the game on paper or a whiteboard?

Mak0rz
Aug 2, 2008

😎🐗🚬

Tiggum posted:

What's the deal with these ads for mobile games that show video footage of someone pretending to play the game on paper or a whiteboard?



It's a nonogram, which can be played on paper. It's like an ad for a sudoku game depicting someone filling the squares on paper. I don't think it's all that odd.

Mobile game ads in general are pretty strange though. I can't count how many I've gotten that were for a completely different game than the one advertised. I'm sure there's some sort of "views vs clicks vs downloads" min/maxing going on behind the scenes but hell if I can figure it out.

Mak0rz fucked around with this message at 16:40 on Jun 8, 2021

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


Mak0rz posted:

It's a nonogram, which can be played on paper. It's like an ad for a sudoku game depicting someone filling the squares on paper. I don't think it's all that odd.
I'm not asking about that specific game. It's a whole genre of advertisement. There's one where a woman is answering a personality quiz on a whiteboard. There's one where a woman is filling in numbers on a printed grid. Why are they showing a person playing the game with a pen and paper or whiteboard to advertise an app? I've never clicked one of those, so maybe it is one of those bait-and-switch things where it's a totally different game, but why the live-action video? If it's genuine, why not show screenshots or video of the actual game? If it's fake, why not just steal screenshots or video of someone else's game? In either case, why go to the extra effort?

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

Tiggum posted:

I'm not asking about that specific game. It's a whole genre of advertisement. There's one where a woman is answering a personality quiz on a whiteboard. There's one where a woman is filling in numbers on a printed grid. Why are they showing a person playing the game with a pen and paper or whiteboard to advertise an app? I've never clicked one of those, so maybe it is one of those bait-and-switch things where it's a totally different game, but why the live-action video? If it's genuine, why not show screenshots or video of the actual game? If it's fake, why not just steal screenshots or video of someone else's game? In either case, why go to the extra effort?

It more closely resembles native content and gets more clicks. If you're scrolling through Instagram and there's a short video ad of a game interface your brain instantly knows it's an ad because it stands out amongst the rest of the content. If instead it's a live action video then it fits in with the other content and makes your brain take a pause to try and sort if it's an ad or not. You're more engaged with the ad and more likely to click.

Mobile ads especially are using whatever tactics you can to get people to download your app. Ads that are misleading or tricky are secondary, the goal is to inflate download numbers which will cause your app to rise up the store rankings and then organic discovery can take over from there.

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


FCKGW posted:

If you're scrolling through Instagram and there's a short video ad of a game interface your brain instantly knows it's an ad because it stands out amongst the rest of the content. If instead it's a live action video then it fits in with the other content and makes your brain take a pause to try and sort if it's an ad or not.

The ones I've been seeing are in the Scrabble app. Maybe they're just using the same ads all over the place because it hits more than it misses, but they definitely stand out as obvious ads there - in fact, to me, they stand out as obvious scams because they don't look like they're actually portraying the thing they're advertising. I get the ones that are tailored to a specific social media platform to look like they're just more content, but these don't appear to work that way.

StrixNebulosa
Feb 14, 2012

You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

I've got a lot of loose change. How do I turn this into cash/deposit it with my bank?

Hard mode: I do my banking online and don't have any local branches that I can go to without at least an hour's drive.

Inceltown
Aug 6, 2019

StrixNebulosa posted:

I've got a lot of loose change. How do I turn this into cash/deposit it with my bank?

Hard mode: I do my banking online and don't have any local branches that I can go to without at least an hour's drive.

Assuming that the documentary "the Vidiot from UHF" still has accurate information then
1. Find a strange homeless man who keeps bugging people for change.
2. Give him the change and he will give you the bills that match up to the amount you gave him
3. Cry because you actually gave away a really rare penny and he now has a rolex and stock in a tv station while your evil plan is foiled

BonHair
Apr 28, 2007

StrixNebulosa posted:

I've got a lot of loose change. How do I turn this into cash/deposit it with my bank?

Hard mode: I do my banking online and don't have any local branches that I can go to without at least an hour's drive.

How big of an rear end in a top hat are you? If very big, buy some big item thing with your pennies and return it for bills.

Otherwise, last I was in a physical bank years ago they had a machine for this exact situation.

You might also find a grocery store with a coin counting machine, they're common in Denmark at least (and few people use cash and especially coins these days)

alnilam
Nov 10, 2009

Some banks used to have coin counting machines, but it's become rare. I tried going through the trouble of rolling all mine once but it turned out most places will make you open the roll and count them out, so what was the point of rolling them! Coinstar machines have been the least bad option for a while, which sucks because they charge a percentage.

Lawnie
Sep 6, 2006

That is my helmet
Give it back
you are a lion
It doesn't even fit
Grimey Drawer
Get a credit union account, they’re much more likely to offer coin-counting services. They’re also just significantly better to bank with for a lot of reasons, especially customer service. Last year the two credit unions I am a member of in two different states wired several thousand dollars multiple times in a few days for the purposes of buying a house and a car, and it didn’t cost me anything but some time at a branch.

StrixNebulosa
Feb 14, 2012

You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Lawnie posted:

Get a credit union account, they’re much more likely to offer coin-counting services. They’re also just significantly better to bank with for a lot of reasons, especially customer service. Last year the two credit unions I am a member of in two different states wired several thousand dollars multiple times in a few days for the purposes of buying a house and a car, and it didn’t cost me anything but some time at a branch.

I've got one! Problem is, they don't have any branches near me, and it's like an hour's drive to the next one. :negative:

Manager Hoyden
Mar 5, 2020

StrixNebulosa posted:

I've got a lot of loose change. How do I turn this into cash/deposit it with my bank?

Hard mode: I do my banking online and don't have any local branches that I can go to without at least an hour's drive.

There are always Coinstar machines. I think their website has a machine finder. They do take a cut though, unless you take your payout on an Amazon gift card.

You could also count and wrap the coins yourself to save for the next time you are around your bank. It's pretty relaxing.

greazeball
Feb 4, 2003



Tiggum posted:

I'm not asking about that specific game. It's a whole genre of advertisement. There's one where a woman is answering a personality quiz on a whiteboard. There's one where a woman is filling in numbers on a printed grid. Why are they showing a person playing the game with a pen and paper or whiteboard to advertise an app? I've never clicked one of those, so maybe it is one of those bait-and-switch things where it's a totally different game, but why the live-action video? If it's genuine, why not show screenshots or video of the actual game? If it's fake, why not just steal screenshots or video of someone else's game? In either case, why go to the extra effort?

It feels like the intentional misspellings and obvious tells in spam messages to me--they don't want people who really like nonograms or quiz games, they want idiot marks who will click "Allow all" on their permissions so they can hoover up as much info as possible and sell it to data brokers.

Trapick
Apr 17, 2006

StrixNebulosa posted:

I've got one! Problem is, they don't have any branches near me, and it's like an hour's drive to the next one. :negative:
In some places credit unions will offer reciprocal services - so if you're a member of Springfield CU, you can use Shelbyville CU for various in-branch services like coin counting. Worth calling your CU and checking. (This is true of some credit unions in Canada, I don't know if it's globally true, but I wouldn't be surprised).

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe
I usually do the Coinstar thing, and then take payment in the form of a gift card at a place I shop at regularly anyway. That's approximately equivalent to real money.

regulargonzalez
Aug 18, 2006
UNGH LET ME LICK THOSE BOOTS DADDY HULU ;-* ;-* ;-* YES YES GIVE ME ALL THE CORPORATE CUMMIES :shepspends: :shepspends: :shepspends: ADBLOCK USERS DESERVE THE DEATH PENALTY, DON'T THEY DADDY?
WHEN THE RICH GET RICHER I GET HORNIER :a2m::a2m::a2m::a2m:

Take a bucket of change when you go to the grocery store, do your shopping, and pay with the change in the self checkout line. No Coinstar fees. Sure it'll take a few minutes but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Alan Smithee
Jan 4, 2005


A man becomes preeminent, he's expected to have enthusiasms.

Enthusiasms, enthusiasms...
anyone seeing cans of baja blast

StrixNebulosa
Feb 14, 2012

You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

What I am hearing is that there are ways to turn this change into cash but it's all tedious and annoying or will cost money. :sigh:

Well, time to find out how determined I am to obtain several dozen dollars. Thanks for the advice, goons.

CzarChasm
Mar 14, 2009

I don't like it when you're watching me eat.

Alan Smithee posted:

anyone seeing cans of baja blast

Yes, in my peripheral vision. It is a serious medical condition and I don't care for people making light of it.

Mercrom
Jul 17, 2009
I bought a cheap fan and while assembling it I noticed this on the blade part. The blade is perfectly symmetrical aside from this attached... weight? I need someone knowledgeable about fans to explain this strange object.

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

Mercrom posted:

I bought a cheap fan and while assembling it I noticed this on the blade part. The blade is perfectly symmetrical aside from this attached... weight? I need someone knowledgeable about fans to explain this strange object.

Yes, it's a balancing weight.

Ham Equity
Apr 16, 2013

i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar
Grimey Drawer

StrixNebulosa posted:

What I am hearing is that there are ways to turn this change into cash but it's all tedious and annoying or will cost money. :sigh:

Well, time to find out how determined I am to obtain several dozen dollars. Thanks for the advice, goons.

Any grocery store with a coinstar machine is likely to be an option for turning your coins into gift cards (i.e. if it's a Safeway with a coinstar, you can probably get a Safeway gift card) with no fee.

Carillon
May 9, 2014






I was camping last night and saw a fast moving light in the sky. How can I figure out if it was the ISS or just another satellite?

Platystemon
Feb 13, 2012

as a person who never leaves my house i've done pretty well for myself.

Carillon posted:

I was camping last night and saw a fast moving light in the sky. How can I figure out if it was the ISS or just another satellite?

Go to Heavens-Above.com, enter the location you were at, go to the ISS prediction page, and click back to se the table for the previous ten days and check if a pass matches your recollection.

Organza Quiz
Nov 7, 2009


Ok Apple has finally hosed up their podcast app that I want to jump ship to something else - what's the most lightweight stable podcast app that just lets me download episodes and play them in chronological order?

regulargonzalez
Aug 18, 2006
UNGH LET ME LICK THOSE BOOTS DADDY HULU ;-* ;-* ;-* YES YES GIVE ME ALL THE CORPORATE CUMMIES :shepspends: :shepspends: :shepspends: ADBLOCK USERS DESERVE THE DEATH PENALTY, DON'T THEY DADDY?
WHEN THE RICH GET RICHER I GET HORNIER :a2m::a2m::a2m::a2m:

Podcast Addict. You can configure it as much as you want but the base behavior should suit your use case.

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

I've been using pocket casts because at the time I was picking something (years ago) it was the best of the bunch that would sync between devices (if that's something that matters to you).

CrazySalamander
Nov 5, 2009

Organza Quiz posted:

Ok Apple has finally hosed up their podcast app that I want to jump ship to something else - what's the most lightweight stable podcast app that just lets me download episodes and play them in chronological order?

Kind of funny- I was considering switching until their latest update which took care of most of the problems I had. If I'm good with that is there any reason I should consider switching?

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A Real Happy Camper
Dec 11, 2007

These children have taught me how to believe.
I have a device at work (Oculus Quest 2) that cannot connect to a hidden SSID or one with a captive portal for the initial setup. My two wifi networks at work are a hidden SSID and a captive portal. Is there an app (pc/mac or mobile, ios or android, i can get access to any of them) I can use to basically make a custom wifi network to use with it? I'd like to avoid tethering it to my mobile data, so something that could do a wifi passthrough or something

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