A Review of the Lenovo D32-45 PC Monitor

I bought the Lenovo D32-45 PC Monitor 10 days ago (it's not available on Amazon). It cost £169.00 which I believe is about the cheapest you can buy a 32-inch monitor. My assessment thus far is that I'm happy with it. Nice and big, and the text is clear. And it goes to 75Hz, although it had 60Hz in Windows as a default. Checked on a "UFO test" site, and it's now giving me 75Hz (although not sure if this is giving me much real world difference, I should try some games).  Reflections are fine i.e I can still see the pic in bright sunshine.

Anyway, I have no complaints. Very similar to my old monitor except bigger. This new panel is VA and old panel in old monitor is ips, but just seem more or less the same to me.  People were saying in a monitor forum that with a 32-inch monitor I would need a higher resolution i.e 2k or 4k.  But HD (1900 by 1080) seems to me to be absolutely fine.

I'm relieved I have now found a 32-inch monitor that is satisfactory. I'd bought two previous 32-inch monitors, but they were both unsatisfactory and I sent both back.  The ViewSonic VX3211-MH 32 Inch, but the screen was too reflective.  And the BenQ EW3270U 32-inch Monitor. I say why I sent that monitor back here. 

18/4/23 Edited to add: I tried to submit this review on Curry's site. I eventually found out I had to email another company called "reevoo" with proof of purchase attached.  They sent me a link to a questionnaire. Mostly irrelevant questions, but did allow me to paste in this review. However, they emailed me back saying they can't accept my review since:

"References to an exact price can be confusing for other people, as prices can change over time and between different companies".

I replied back saying: "Yes, I'm well aware that prices continually cycle up and down in price. I'm specifically saying it's good value at £170. How can anyone be confused by that? I'm conveying vital information that prospective purchasers need to be aware of in order to make an informed decision".

But I'm getting nowhere, so...

Time Slips

Someone here on youtube being interviewed about time slips.

A fascinating and baffling phenomenon where people appear to briefly travel back in time for a few minutes.

So someone, or a couple of people walking together, might be walking down a street, and noticing that people seem to be dressed in an old-fashioned way. Likewise, these people in old-fashioned clothes might be giving them curious looks in turn. Then they turn a corner or whatever, and it looks like the modern world again.

Not only that, but people sometimes interact with these people in the past. There's even been reports of them entering a building that no longer exists and bringing out physical objects from there back to the future (if I'm understanding what she said correctly).

I doubt this personally, and I doubt these people can really be travelling back in time, but I don't know what to make of it. Not likely to be a hallucination as often they're with someone else who also sees the same old-fashioned street.

But, if it really does happen, then presumably people in the present should sometimes see people from the future! (but the video doesn't mention that, although it does mention time slips of present day people seeing the future briefly).

During these experiences the light and sounds seem to dim, make of that what you will.

Far Cry 1 vs Far Cry 3

 Someone compares all the Far Cry games.  

Regarding Far Cry 1, he says: "Unless you are already a fan, do not bother with Far Cry 1". Regarding Far Cry 3 he says: "Ah, finally. We have arrived at what most fans consider to be the crown jewel of the franchise".

This couldn't be more different to my experience of these two games. I entirely disagree about Far Cry 1. It's one of the best games I've ever played.  I've never played any other Far Cry game to completion, but I did complete maybe about a quarter (third? half?) or so of Far Cry 3.  However, I just found it boring.  In the first Far Cry the game play is exhilarating with plenty of heart-pumping action.  And you just pick up weapons and ammo and health as you go along.


In stark contrast, with Far Cry 3 you have to find money, then go to shops or whatever to buy weapons and ammo.  And go around searching for plants for crying out loud!  Then crafting them to get health.  And killing animals for their skins to make bags to carry more stuff, which I found a bit distasteful. Then there's the confusing skills screens or whatever it is.  I just find it dull, and eventually I just didn't have the enthusiasm to play it any more.  In fact, to label it a first-person shooter kind of seems to be a bit of a misnomer to me.  This is all in stark contrast to the first Far Cry, which I've now played about 5 times.

I also tried Far Cry 2, Far Cry 4, Far Cry 5, but never really played much of any of these games before getting bored.

Regardless of whether we're talking about games, films, novels and even music, for some reason I always like the first of the series, but mostly never the sequels. Perhaps because the first of a series tends to be a product of a labour of love.  But when it proves to be successful, their creators like to cash in and produce sequels, which mostly I do not like.  Just consider something like the matrix compared to the sequels.  Or the very first (1996) Tomb Raider compared to all the countless sequels etc.  But that leaves it wholly mystifying why, for example, most people much prefer Far Cry 3 to Far Cry 1.  What are they getting out of it that I'm not? 

The most minuscule of actions can change everything

Our most casual interactions with others, and indeed our very existence, can lead to something akin to the butterfly effect. For often very small causes can lead to cascading larger and larger effects, sometimes without end. This leads to the whole world being changed and maybe everyone's life is different due to that one very small initial act.

So, for example, smiling at a stranger can make that stranger feel ever so slightly better. She or he in turn might thereby feel more disposed to smile at others.  And they in turn might smile at others. Just a small brief smile can cascade into large and larger effects and change countless lives.

Indeed, due to the butterfly effect, if one had never existed the world would be very different.  Maybe better, maybe worse, more probably just different.

DMT Users

I read the following article.

Three DMT Users Share — and Sketch Out — Their DMT Experience

Blaine, 26, Colorado says:

That first trip made me rethink my stance that there were no spirits, ghosts or aliens, but it didn’t convince me, and I’m still not entirely sure what to think about the entities. It did catalyze my first spiritual experience with meditation a few months later though, which convinced me for sure that there’s more to life than what we can see. Now I’m a more whole, resilient person without a trace of anxiety or depression.

Yes, I agree that there is much more to reality than we might naively assume on the surface. I think reality is beyond our ken, quite frankly. That it is ultimately mysterious, that we're all living in a kinda "dream" where our understanding, our perception, is attempting to penetrate an impenetrable fog. I think we simply cannot understand anything. And no, I've never taken DMT nor any other psychedelics, nor have I had an NDE or any mystical experience.

Jacob, Mid-30s, Southwestern U.S says:

During the peak of the experience, I had no awareness of my body, no idea if I was still breathing or if my heart was still beating. I had thoughts of a parent who recently passed away. But the astonishment and shock I was experiencing left little room for processing emotional and spiritual lessons.

As a cognitive scientist, I can comfortably assert that no living person has the faintest clue what’s going on with consciousness, so the facile idea that psychedelic experiences — especially DMT — are something akin to distortions of reality or simply outright hallucinations doesn’t have much purchase. Consciousness, in fact, is a total mystery, scientifically and philosophically speaking, and the DMT experience is something like the capstone of that mystery.

 Makes a change for a cognitive scientist to talk some sense!

 

Dark Side of the Moon is 50 today!

After Half a Century, ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ Still Reverberates

Dark side of the moon is my favourite album ever.  I especially like the "2nd side" after the track "Money" (Money is by far the worst track on the album).  Just had a bash at singing the last 2 tracks.  

 

 

Photo took a few days ago.

 Me in 2000, compared to a few days ago. 22.5 years difference.

Sandy

 Just had a bash at singing Sandy, but a bit of a challenge singing in an American accent.

 

My predictions for 30 years in the future (2053).

1. Nowhere near enough action will have been taken to ameliorate climate change. So by 2053, the planet will be in considerably worse shape than it is now. Some areas of the planet that are currently inhabited in 2023, will no longer be habitable by 2053.
2. We still won't have level 5 autonomous cars, that is autonomous cars that can travel along any road anywhere. But we will have level 4 autonomous vehicles in the form of taxis and public transport that are restricted to specific geographic boundaries by geofencing technology. They will have been widespread since 2030 or so. 
3. No one will have landed on Mars yet. I predict that won't happen until Saturday the 20th of July 2069 and the first person to step on Mars will be a woman.
4. No alien life will have been discovered, least of all any sign of alien civilisations.
5. Sentient computers still won't exist even though many people think that the output of chatbots are indistinguishable from a human's, and hence must be sentient. However, they are being fooled.
   
6. Quantum computers with all their problems ironed out will exist and will be in mass use by governments and companies. However, they won't have filtered down to everyday use in the home as of yet.
7. The rollout of Cultured meat will be much slower than most people anticipated due to the challenges in making it economically viable. However, by 2053 it will have gained an appreciable foothold and have started to sell in ever-increasing quantities. By around 2070 it will have completely replaced real meat.
8. Virtual reality will be huge by 2053. Some people will spend virtually all their spare time in virtual reality playing games.
9. Professional scientists and philosophers will still be mostly materialists construed in a weak sense, but it will have become increasingly respectable to hold dualist and idealist positions. Indeed, the notion that the brain doesn't create consciousness will no longer be considered outlandish.
10. The PlayStation 9 will come out.
    

 

It is weird, this life.

I find it weird that I am existing right now, having thoughts.  It seems almost surreal, as if I'm in some strange dream.  If this is the only life there is, why do I find myself inexplicable in existence?  Or if I existed before this life, where was I and doing what?