whaack[asciilifeform]: does anyone else see join/part spam from billymg?
asciilifeform: whaack: not visible on my end
shinohai[asciilifeform]: Nah I finally turned on weechat smart filtering.
PeterL[asciilifeform]: I turned my knob for part way up, so I don't really see join/part messages for anybody
whaack[asciilifeform]: also, in planned obsolescence stories, i took a 2012 macbook pro to an apple reseller here to replace a dead battery, after paying $100 for a diagnostic i learned that Apple does not replace batteries for "vintage" computers
PeterL[asciilifeform]: that's 10 years old, only a terrorist would use such an ancient machine!
dulapbot: (asciilifeform) 2022-06-24 asciilifeform: http://logs.nosuchlabs.com/log/asciilifeform/2022-06-23#1108781 << fwiw the 'teardown' folx apparently found that nope, still hotglued as in the old one and comes out after syringing with 99% etoh.
asciilifeform: takes maybe an hour, tops
whaack[asciilifeform]: asciilifeform: will do
whaack[asciilifeform]: it looks like the replay is done for me, but i randomly get some messages from the past.
asciilifeform thought 'replay done' wk ago, but yest. kilometre of replay
billymg[asciilifeform]: whaack: i see join/part spam from various users from time to time
billymg[asciilifeform]: btw whaack, i saw in the logs you had a bad experience with pcgamingcr.com, was wondering if you ever went back and tried them again
whaack[asciilifeform]: billymg: nope, never went back to them
billymg[asciilifeform]: whaack: yeah, kind of figured lol
billymg[asciilifeform]: i might try ordering a cheap part from them as a test, will post here if i have better luck
whaack[asciilifeform]: billymg: for sure, go for it, you just need to deal with it in the standard way here
whaack[asciilifeform]: when i ordered my computer parts from them i had less experience living here, i've come to learn that their method of 'oh i thought this would help' 'we actually found a better part for you then you ordered so we just swapped it' etc. is SOP here, so anything i complained about in the logs you will probably see from most c
whaack[asciilifeform]: and fwiw my comp is still running strong 2 years later (should probably reapply thermal paste soon/now)
billymg[asciilifeform]: whaack: yeah, i also remember some of the issue was with you trying to find some "vintage" (AM3+) parts. they probably though "why doesn't he want ryzen?" "nfi, just give him something from the used bin then"
billymg[asciilifeform]: thought*
billymg[asciilifeform]: i recently dealt with a customs seizure at the airport (carryon full of 2k+ of parts), not fun at all
billymg[asciilifeform]: and a complete scam, not only required to pay tax but also pay a broker and the warehouse -- both separate, private entities
billymg[asciilifeform]: "pay tax to gov directly" not even an option
whaack[asciilifeform]: billymg: did you at least get your shit back?
whaack[asciilifeform]: dunno if i told you this story, but i went on a mission to get some rare wood from Guatemala (rosa de madera, it's bark that is infected with a fungus that slowly contorts itself over 50 years) we had about 5-6 bags of it between 4 of us, they took it all and burnt it because we didn't have the right papers saying it was t
whaack[asciilifeform]: billymg: also did this happen in Liberia or SJ? I am going to take a guess that it happened in SJ, the customs agents seem to be a little more uptight there
billymg[asciilifeform]: http://logs.bitdash.io/pest/2022-06-27#1008049 << some of your messages are getting cut off (in my console and in logs)
bitbot[asciilifeform]: Logged on 2022-06-27 15:49:59 whaack[asciilifeform|signpost|billymg]: dunno if i told you this story, but i went on a mission to get some rare wood from Guatemala (rosa de madera, it's bark that is infected with a fungus that slowly contorts itself over 50 years) we had about 5-6 bags of it between 4 of us, they took it al
billymg[asciilifeform]: whaack: this happened in liberia actually. and yes, usually they're more lax, which is why i wasn't more prepared
billymg[asciilifeform]: you're supposed to have a printed invoice showing that the items add up to less than $500
billymg[asciilifeform]: never been bothered before so got lazy, didn't bother having a fortified invoice ready
billymg[asciilifeform]: whaack: bummer what happened to your contraband
billymg[asciilifeform]: also, for whaack and awt: if you find yourself in the same situation, where they're hassling you about items you brought, best option is convince them they add up to less than $500, second best option is to claim you don't remember how much any of it costs
whaack[asciilifeform]: billymg: $500??? isn't it supposed to be $10k?
billymg[asciilifeform]: whaack: this is for "products/things" not cash
whaack[asciilifeform]: if you wear a nice suit to you have to strip?
whaack[asciilifeform]: $500 of weird looking hacker things only, sir
billymg[asciilifeform]: whaack: or clothes, or books, or anything
billymg[asciilifeform]: with clothes and books easier to say "these are mine -- not new"
billymg[asciilifeform]: but yes, $500 technically the limit
billymg[asciilifeform]: but anyway, if the items do get seized (worst case), then the customs broker you find will assess the value of the items in your favor, but if you give them any kind of actual dollar amount > $500 at the airport, that amount is the floor
whaack[asciilifeform]: gotcha, good to know,was thinking about bringing a couple of laptops here
billymg[asciilifeform]: the assessment / clearing happens, btw, between the broker and the government clerk. in my case the warehouse (again, separate entity), wasn't informed until the items were already cleared by the gov clerk
billymg[asciilifeform]: so at no point did the gov clerk call up or visit the warehouse to see if the items listed in the broker's assessment matched up with what was seized
billymg[asciilifeform]: whaack: two laptops, with no signs of retail anything, probably fine
billymg[asciilifeform]: "my personal and work laptops"
billymg[asciilifeform]: maybe even a 3rd is fine, "i work in tech"
asciilifeform traditionally would comment, but suspects that at this pt billymg & whaack have moar experience with bananistan smuggling lol
asciilifeform suspects that his old observations still apply tho (e.g. 'take pains to make the goodies not look retail-saleable' etc)
asciilifeform: ... i.e. avoid original vendor packagings of any kind, shrinkwraps, etc.
billymg[asciilifeform]: asciilifeform: that was definitely what i think tripped the alarm this time