Mastodawn

Vik Apr 14, 2025

New cables installed.

There’s a slight friction on the retraction with no weight loaded on the cam. I’m a little worried this might be to the detriment of the sleeve as time goes on but will see when I test leg extension with this in a couple days time.

Vik Apr 14, 2025

PSA - Inspect your cable systems!

https://lemmy.world/post/28212998

PSA - Inspect your cable systems! - Lemmy.World

Just a heads up for those of you with cable systems in areas which arent very well insulated (like a detached garage). Please be aware that cycles of heat and cold/damp weather can really wear them out. Heat can contribute to the (usually PVC) sleeve cracking. Damp weather can cause the core to rust and fail over time, even when operating at a weight within spec of the system. My Mirafit M100 half rack system cable has failed three times over the course of five years - each time within load capacity. I’m exceptionally fortunate that I’ve not been injured from these failures; once was facing the system during cable RDL, twice facing away during seated leg extension: [https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/7e18085a-37d1-44fd-b4cf-5a9db0beca5d.jpeg] [https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/2889d7a2-20aa-4b63-a21e-b2f9dfd0dde0.jpeg] [https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/584a45d3-f402-4236-a41c-a2a1659d9987.jpeg] Mirafit had been kind enough to ship me several free replacements, though they ultimately did not last. My final replacement cable has already frayed. I’ve decided to order custom gym wire from a local supplier [https://www.gsproducts.co.uk/]. Ordered a pair of galvanised steel cables made to exact length, this time featuring a transparent nylon sleeve to allow me to keep an eye on the core. [https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/edd5642b-8558-47fc-9e24-ea4bd685a23b.jpeg] My hope is the nylon will be more resilient to the seasons (ultimately I should do a better job of insulating the garage.) It’s not a bad idea to regularly lubricate the rails on such systems. I’ve been using WD40 for the time being, though several machinist friends have also advised using Silicon spray lubricant.

Vik Nov 28, 2024

Blizzard may have violated the UK GDPR following my 2019 Data Erasure Request

https://lemmy.world/post/22558947

Blizzard may have violated the UK GDPR following my 2019 Data Erasure Request - Lemmy.World

My sincerest apologies in advance to the moderators of /c/games if the below is not suitable for the community. This is extremely loosely related to gaming but concerns a significant player in the industry. On the morning of Monday, 2024 11 25, I received a text message from my bank notifying me of a potentially fraudulent charge of $0.00. This resembled some kind of a service test charge. I was amused to see this was sufficient to trigger such a response from my bank. My account had been paused and my card transactions were halted as a result, though I’m grateful for their diligence. Looking at the message, it appears to have been from Blizzard Entertainment: [https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/f392155f-5cfb-4b6b-8b17-ac73c012237f.png] The first time I dealt with them as a customer was around 2016 or 2017. Overwatch was on sale and my friends urged me to pick it up. It wasn’t my sort of thing and I quickly put it back down. I was stupid enough to buy Destiny 2 later on in 2017. The long-timers (or most likely, former players) amongst you may recall that D2 was only available through BattleNet on PC. I think they moved away to Steam a couple years later after parting ways with Activision, and I linked my Steam account to complete the transfer around this time. Fast-forward to October 2019 and the “Blitzchung controversy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitzchung_controversy]”. I don’t wish to expand on the topic here. I didn’t agree with Blizzard’s actions around that event, nor did I have any particular reason to retain my online account with them, so I decided to delete it in some extremely minor form of protest. It seems that a significant number of account holders thought of doing the same thing, as Blizzard started to demand some form of government photo ID to proceed [https://www.reddit.com/r/Blizzard/comments/dh10m0/blizzard_just_denied_my_request_to_delete_an/]. I can only presume they employed this tactic as some sort of deterrent, though I was fairly sure it couldn’t legally be enforced; what business did they have to ask this of me? They’ve never needed my drivers license or passport photo before? After a lengthy back and forth with their support agents, I decided to send them a GDPR data erasure request instead. They immediately honoured my request and notified me that my account and all associated PII would be removed from their systems. Just over five years later, and I’m randomly greeted with this fraud alert. Mondays are particularly busy for me, as I’m sure they are for many of you. I cursed as I glanced at phone that morning. I don’t need more stuff to deal with. I immediately called my bank and rectified the situation, though I wanted to understand how this happened to begin with. Whilst I was still on the phone to them, I confirmed that: - My last payment to Blizzard Entertainment was in 2017 (2 years prior to my GDPR data erasure request) - The attempted transaction on Monday originated from Irvine, US (location of their HQ - it wasn’t someone using my card details) I decided to write to Blizzard’s customer support. They appear to have a section dedicated to unauthorised payments. My endeavours were unsuccessful. After explaining all of the above, I pressed them on several key points: - What is the purpose of this charge and why did this happen? - What data are you retaining on me? - Has another user attempted to use my payment information (at this point, I’ve no reason to suspect my payment info has been compromised) - What will you do to prevent this happening again? [https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/12ca573c-4dad-4c50-b86b-1076fed16c96.png] I wasn’t satisfied with the first response, so I tried again later on. [https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/73de8d57-efa0-4fe8-b41b-bd0e9e23bcc7.png] >Check if you have an active World of Warcraft subscription Couldn’t you folks have done that? >Check your recent purchases in your Transaction History (I had already explained that I had done this as part of my initial query to them) >Make sure that you are logged in to the correct Blizzard account “An extensive research” to be sure All of these questions were completely sidestepped. I began to suspect that these were bot generated or generic, canned responses. If you are indeed real people, and you somehow stumble upon this post, please know that I’m sorry to call you out, and I know you’re dealing with my case using the resources you have available. ### So why am I mentioning any of this here? I would love to know if any of you took the same action as I did back in 2019: - Did you attempt to close your account following the HK tournament controversy? - Did you face the same level of resistance as I did? - Did you follow up with a data erasure request? - Do you have any reason to suspect that Blizzard are still retaining data on you in 2024? An associate of mine has pointed out that they may have a legal obligation to retain some records despite my request for data erasure. The question is, why was this service test charge placed? Thank you for reading through my ramblings. Have a cosy one.

Vik Sep 23, 2024

Minor quirk with post image lightbox

https://lemmy.world/post/20102886

Minor quirk with post image lightbox - Lemmy.World

Hey there, This is and extremely minor quirk with how the image lightbox (apologies if I’m using web specific terms) behaves when a post image is selected from the feed and put into full screen mode. On devices with on-screen nav and expanded status bar areas (camera hole design concession), the lightbox will show end to end with the UI controls overlayed. If you tap once on the image to hide the UI elements, the status bar area is filled, whereas the nav area still shows as expected. Wondering if this was intentional? Video link here: https://imgur.com/a/NG74wiO [https://imgur.com/a/NG74wiO]

Vik Sep 2, 2024

Swipe to navigate back gesture input bug

https://lemmy.world/post/19342891

Swipe to navigate back gesture input bug - Lemmy.World

Hey there, I was wondering if anybody else was experiencing this behavior where the swipe to navigate back gesture would register twice within the app, taking you back two steps instead of just one. I’m not sure exactly when this behaviour was introduced, though it persists with today’s .72 alpha release. I was to say it came about in the .6X timeframe. I’ve not found this reported on the github, though I just wanted to check that this isn’t a system specific issue before submitting. #1399 may be relevant as it refers to swipe input sensitivity but I think that’s more of a gesture threshold matter than input registering twice in the app. My app settings are attached in a photo and I’m attempting to upload a clip, though it doesn’t seem to be coming through despite being just 1.7 MiB: https://streamable.com/kr5s5z [https://streamable.com/kr5s5z] Steps to reproduce: - Using the provided gesture settings in Jerboa - From the home feed, tap into a community name - From the community view, tap into a community post - Swipe left to navigate back to the community view - Observe two steps back in response to a single input

Vik May 23, 2024

Little guy hitch-hiked on my shirt when I went for a jog

https://lemmy.world/post/15702429

Little guy hitch-hiked on my shirt when I went for a jog - Lemmy.World

Got back home, took my top off and was surprised to see this little guy clinging onto the back. Took em out into the backyard and let them slowly crawl onto one of my plants. Not sure what kind of caterpillar this is but I think they were okay with their new spot. https://streamable.com/5i7nr8 [https://streamable.com/5i7nr8] [https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/a5712965-5009-4868-aea8-a04b9ac8ee7f.jpeg]

Vik Jan 24, 2024

Those of you who deadlift semi supinated, do you ever alternate your grip,

https://lemmy.world/post/11145130

Those of you who deadlift semi supinated, do you ever alternate your grip? - Lemmy.World

You might semi supinate your deadlift grip (one hand over, one under) for comfort & endurance at heavier weights. I believe some competitions even mandate this for safety reasons. Those of you who semi grip, do you ever alternate? If so, have you identified any benefits in doing so? A friend brought this up with me a couple months ago. It was a reasonable ask, and yet I’ve never thought to switch hands. I try to only use a semi grip when necessary (heavier sets, fewer reps). I’ve recently started experimenting with switching it around for a few higher volume sets. Is there any benefit from switching long term, or session to session?

Vik Jan 10, 2024

Modjo - Lady (Hear Me Tonight) (2000)

https://lemmy.world/post/10543504

Modjo - Lady (Hear Me Tonight) (2000) - Lemmy.World

Apologies if this has already been posted; sometimes my client apps have trouble fetching older submissions. Piped link if you prefer: https://piped.kavin.rocks/watch?v=mMfxI3r_LyA [https://piped.kavin.rocks/watch?v=mMfxI3r_LyA]

Vik Sep 1, 2023

Basically live in here

https://lemmy.world/post/4273811

Basically live in here - Lemmy.world

(Apologies for the lack of embedded images, lemmy.world might be having a bad day) Welcome to my shitty, dusty garage gym. Practically all of my kit is from Mirafit and Fitness Superstore (UK). Primarily focused on weightlifting & bodybuilding. Power rack: Mirafit M100 Half Power Rack with Cable System. It’s served me well over the last three years but I’m honestly surprised it hasn’t fallen apart. It’s no longer up for sale through Mirafit or third party retailers, and I’m not surprised. Mirafit, like many companies, use OEM designs and stick their name on it. If you see a half power rack like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/23035056622 [https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/23035056622], maybe stay away from it. The M100 half rack has a lower weight capacity (200KG) than the full M100 (250KG) due to its design. You’ll observe a concerning sway with three or more plates a side. It has miraculously survived 180 KG back squats and rack pulls though it’s definitely not something I could wholeheartedly endorse a power rack alone. I went for a half rack at the time due to spatial constraints i.e. not having to delicately manoeuvrer a barbell in the confined garage space I have available. It did come with some bells and whistles, notably the plate-loaded cable / pulley system (with a couple attachments) and incline bench. Power racks with integrated cable systems can be exceptionally versatile provided you have the gear to supplement them: - Cable pull-down if you have a crossbar to keep you in place - Seated leg extension with a chain, ankle straps and squat box - Lying ham curl with a chain, ankle straps and an incline bench Made some minor alterations to the rack: - Cut away some metal on the lower pulley housing preventing the lower cable from moving freely - Cut the wide bar cable attachment to actually fit within the confines of the rack (it was actually too wide before?!) - Plate storage system (though it’s in-line with the barbell and really bad design) - Picked up some J cups to supplement the included barbell holders I’ve gotten a tremendous amount of utility of this package as a whole, though it’s let down by the overall flimsiness of the rack. If anyone could recommend a newer, sturdier half rack + cable system, I’d love to hear about it. Mirafit’s newer half-rack designs (or whichever OEM they use) are much better, but tend to lack the pulley system option. Incline Bench: Mirafit M150 Decent enough incline bench with a small footprint. Has a total weight total capacity of 260KG and is fairly affordable on its own. The design of this bench makes it somewhat unsuitable for barbell hip thrust from the side, as it has only three ‘feet’, but generally feels stable for most other exercises. Barbell: Mirafit M3 7ft 20kg Olympic Barbell (28mm diameter, fine knurl, sprung steel) Lovely bar, no complaints. Generally chalk up for deadlift but it’s a pleasure to use either way. Bodypower 7ft 20kg Olympic Barbell (30mm diameter, coarse knurl) Was a decent bar with a very coarse knurl. Would shred you up but it did its job. I’ve since handed this over to my cousin. 350KG in plates, bunch of quick release collars Flooring: ARK Solid Black Rubber Mat CK (With Hidden Handles) X 4 (12mm thick) This was an afterthought and I deeply regret not having them to begin with. Please ensure you have appropriate flooring for your weights area. Other stuff: - Olympic dubmmell handles - Mirafit Squat box - Spinlock and fixed dumbell pairs - fuck knows how much in standard (1" diam) plates - Dumbbell & barbell storage / stands - Additional cable attachments (handles, bars, ropes) - Chain belt for dips and chin ups - Some old speakers in the corner I feel like I’m mostly covered but have made some substitutions. I do more working sets of squat in lieu of a plate-loaded leg press and a few exercises to cover the lack of a hack squat machine, but I haven’t been back to a commercial gym since.

Vik Sep 1, 2023

Welcome to Home Gym

https://lemmy.world/post/4273378

Welcome to Home Gym - Lemmy.world

Hey there, I wanted to recreate something like Reddit’s /r/homegym community over here on Lemmy. It became one of my favourite spots during the lockdown. Despite the gouging and supply issues, it was amazing to see people’s creativity when it came to fitness at home: - We learned effective bodyweight exercises to keep us strong after the gyms shut down (Like piston squat, nordic ham curl) - We built power racks out of whatever we had, capable of holding a good couple hundred KGs on a barbell (Some excellent woodwork in general) - We improvised equipment and exercises with every day objects (a bunch of jerry cans and rebar for extra tricky front squat) - We got to understand how much you could get done in a modest space with just the essentials A decent home gym can be surprisingly attainable today, particularly with people shifting their own kit now that commercial gyms have reopened. Let’s see what you’re working with. # Moderators wanted I’m not sure if I’ll have enough availability to moderate a community. If anyone would like to take it off my hands, you’re more than welcome to.