Disqus - Latest Comments for alekdavis

Re: Customizing Swagger UI in ASP.NET Core

alekdavis — Wed, 11 May 2022 19:39:50 -0000

Thanks a lot for the UseStaticFiles() hint. Solved my problem.

Re: Xiaomi Mi Band 5 Review: Fixing all the quirks from the Mi Band 4, and then some

alekdavis — Sun, 25 Oct 2020 03:12:41 -0000

I like the watch, but there are a few issues I hate. First, between the built-in and 3rd party faces, I still didn't find the one I like. On Band 4, I really liked the simple B&W one. Weather info is completely useless. I don't have a clue what it attempts to show because it's nowhere close to what local weather is. And fitness apps that need GPS are useless too. They only work with the app and phone screen active, which makes no sense.

Re: Dropbox vs Google Drive vs Onedrive: Which Storage Solution Is Ahead of the Game? ...

alekdavis — Wed, 27 May 2020 14:54:22 -0000

Probably, should mention that Dropbox limits the number of active computers included in the sync to three devices (for basic users). A huge limitation, IMHO.

Re: 671222

alekdavis — Sun, 17 May 2020 16:17:20 -0000

Oh, man, finally, after 20+ years of people asking for it, Microsoft paid attention. And they still didn't do it right. Why is there hard-coded limit? Why not allow bigger images? I assume, if you have 25 pinned entries, no new entries will be added to the history, right? Well, maybe, some day. :-) Anyway, thanks for the post. Didn't know that.

Re: Pixel 3a Vs. iPhone SE Vs. Samsung Galaxy A51: Which One Is Right for You?

alekdavis — Tue, 12 May 2020 11:19:45 -0000

How about battery life? And reliability? People are complaining about a host of issues with Pixel 3A. It's probably too early to judge iPhone SE, but what about the Samsung?

Re: The lessons of Auschwitz, 75 years after its liberation

alekdavis — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 18:08:28 -0000

How come you missed "Mein Kampf" from the recommended book list?

Re: New York Times Doesn't Have Access to Data on Russia's GDP | Beat the Press | CEPR

alekdavis — Sun, 29 Dec 2019 01:09:25 -0000

I guess we can agree to disagree on this one.

Re: New York Times Doesn't Have Access to Data on Russia's GDP | Beat the Press | CEPR

alekdavis — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 14:30:04 -0000

Are you suggesting that state Governors in the US are selected by the President? And the Administration can call any court and tell them how to decide any case? And that the opposition media does not have any access to the TV? And that American human rights activists and members of the opposition are constantly harassed, jailed and killed? And that the opposition leaders cannot hold campaigns or register for elections? And people get jail time for liking a Facebook comment? Or jailed for being members of a non-state church? You are not saying this, right?

Re: New York Times Doesn't Have Access to Data on Russia's GDP | Beat the Press | CEPR

alekdavis — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 02:54:31 -0000

Are you kidding me? You can't be serious.Since Putin took power, there are no longer independent courts, no fair elections, no local governments. It's true that there are less killings on the streets, but it's because all the bandits of the 90's (at least, the ones still alive) got legalized (moved money into "legal" businesses), so there are less reason to have street shootouts. The level of corruption is incredible. And with oil price dropping (and since the occupation of the Ukraine) the economy suffered so even hard-core Putin's supporters (at least among my friends) are no longer fans. The purchasing power of ruble is a fraction of what it used to be just five years ago. I am not a fan of Yeltsin (can't deny his role in squandering the country, not to mention alcoholism), but to give Putin credit? Give me a break.

Re: New York Times Doesn't Have Access to Data on Russia's GDP | Beat the Press | CEPR

alekdavis — Mon, 23 Dec 2019 17:04:11 -0000

I am not an economics major, so I was going by memory, but I think the price in 1998 briefly dropped to around $12, not $20. Anyway, the point is that Putin mostly benefited from the oil market recovery. Crude oil prices adjusted for inflation (per https://www.macrotrends.net...
2019 $56.95
2018 $64.90
2017 $50.84
2016 $43.58
2015 $48.72
2014 $93.17
2013 $97.98
2012 $94.05
2011 $94.88
2010 $79.48
2009 $61.95
2008 $99.67
2007 $72.34
2006 $66.05
2005 $56.64
2004 $41.51
2003 $31.08
2002 $26.19
2001 $25.98
2000 $30.38
1999 $19.35
1998 $14.42
1997 $20.61
1996 $22.12
1995 $18.43
1994 $17.20
1993 $18.43
1992 $20.58
1991 $21.54

Re: New York Times Doesn't Have Access to Data on Russia's GDP | Beat the Press | CEPR

alekdavis — Mon, 23 Dec 2019 13:38:56 -0000

It may be worth noting that Russia's per capita GDP is mostly tied to the price of raw materials (oil, gas, etc), and the price of oil during Yeltsin's time went under $20 in 1998 (causing the default). And then in the few years during Putin's reign it went up to the $160 range. But it is true that most Russians tie the GDP advances with Putin's name more than with the price of oil.

Re: 26568

alekdavis — Thu, 07 Nov 2019 14:34:14 -0000

Camera performance and battery life are the two most important things for me, so, sorry, Google, you did mess this one up.

Re: 437372

alekdavis — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 14:16:13 -0000

Are you trying to confuse people? Isn't VBScript disabled in Internet Explorer (the browser, which is not the same as the OS)? VBScript can still run via Windows Script Host (WSH), doesn't it?

Re: How To: Merge assemblies into WPF application

alekdavis — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 15:11:23 -0000

Well, commented too soon. It does not seem to work with MahApps. Loses styles (e.g. the combobox and textbox controls loose border and selected item text, they seem to turn white, so they become invisible). Bummer. I was hoping it would work.

Re: How To: Merge assemblies into WPF application

alekdavis — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 19:54:32 -0000

Thanks a lot. This was easy.

Re: Subtitles and Sunsets: big improvements and a little housekeeping

alekdavis — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 03:04:44 -0000

Ah, okay, I see. Thanks for the explanation.

Re: Subtitles and Sunsets: big improvements and a little housekeeping

alekdavis — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 01:33:13 -0000

Then what's the point of backing up the Plex database file? Why have this option at all? I mean, I learned it the hard way: thought that the backed up database (I backed it up to NAS so it does not get corrupted) and Windows registry would be enough only to find out after a hard drive crash that it's totally messed up and would require rebuilding the library from scratch anyway. Of course, you can use extrnal backup solution, but my point is that you should not need to back up 30 GB of files (in my case) that can be recreated on the fly after a restore. The only things you'd need are: media files in the same folders, database file, settings (registry), and metada/posters which should be copied along with media (as a backup option). Then you can reinstall Plex, set up the add-ins (scanners, plugins, etc), map media location to the media drive, and do a restore, which would rebuilding all necessary files from the database and local metadata/posters. I'd take that option over on-demand subtitles any day. ;-)

Re: Subtitles and Sunsets: big improvements and a little housekeeping

alekdavis — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 23:30:41 -0000

I'm not sure how you do it in 10 minutes. I'm following the instructions and backing up the folder takes hours. It contains tens of thousands of files. The instructions suggest to zip them first, but standard archiving feature in Windows Explore cannot handle so many files, so I use PowerShell and it takes hours. And if your hard drive crashes, this folder is gone, right? Plex only backs up the database file, not this folder, nor the registry. Ok, the registry doesn't change much, so you can back it up in advance, but there is no option to back up the folder. So backup may work if you're moving the server from one system to another, but for disaster recovery, it's next to useless. The sad part is that backup is easy to do the right way: back up metabase, registry, and have an option to store metadata along the media files. Then on restore, get the metadata from media file locations. No need to copy tens of thousands of files.

Re: Subtitles and Sunsets: big improvements and a little housekeeping

alekdavis — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 20:05:06 -0000

Yeah, the Windows service hack has all kinds of issues (a recent upgrade broke something [reportedly a bug around May that caused PMS to crash if HW acceleration is enabled and it’s running as a service]) and not being officially supported it's a PITA to troubleshoot. The bottom line is that an app that calls itself a server should not run as a desktop application (requiring a user to log in). For backup, I mean, it does not work, right? You have an option to back up the database, which is nice, but just restoring the database (say your hard drive crashed, so you install a new one, map the server to the same NAS with media files, restore the database from backup, along with settings in the registry) will not do you any good, unless you have tens of thousands of files (I'm talking about PMS files, not actual media) restored (otherwise, you will lose posters, etc). Just try restoring your PMS instance and see what a PITA it is. It could've been done so much easier.

Re: Subtitles and Sunsets: big improvements and a little housekeeping

alekdavis — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 12:29:40 -0000

On-demand subtitles is awesome. If only we could do the same with soundtrack (can't even load existing soundtrack from an external file). And I assume, running Plex as a service, is still a no-go, right? And meaningful backup (without the need to copy gazillions of files)?

Re: If the U.S. Spent the Same on Health Care Per Person as the U.K., It Would Save $1.8 Trillion a Year | Beat the Press | Blogs | Publications | The Center for Economic and Policy Research

alekdavis — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 14:30:37 -0000

Thank you.

Re: If the U.S. Spent the Same on Health Care Per Person as the U.K., It Would Save $1.8 Trillion a Year | Beat the Press | Blogs | Publications | The Center for Economic and Policy Research

alekdavis — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 14:01:29 -0000

Question that I never seem to be able to find the answer to: the $9,900 spending amount per person in the United States covers all, including people who have no health insurance, right?

Re: Plex News Updates

alekdavis — Sat, 02 Dec 2017 17:18:47 -0000

That's what I has been wondering to. People has been asking for things like grouped movies, Windows service, simplified backup, ability to keep optimized videos, etc for years (I mean 5 or even more years), and nada. Well, we'll wait another five years if needed. We're a patient bunch.

Re: Antifa Planning Communist Revolution For America on November 4

alekdavis — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 23:48:22 -0000

So, any survivors?

Re: A New Hope (For Media Browsing)

alekdavis — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 01:58:48 -0000

Amen, brother.