Well, despite my predictions to the contrary, I ended up cybering on Cyber Monday. I mentioned a long time ago my desire to embark on an upgrade path being derailed by parts shortages. So I'm minding my own business on Monday when I see an RTX 2060 on sale for $179. The way I generally work is to upgrade my GPU until it's clear the system is CPU bound, and then build a new machine around the new video card. But this was so cheap it struck me I should just get one as a stopgap while I waited for the GPU market to shake out further. But some research suggested that while it could open the door to ray-tracing and other advanced features, this card was arguably less powerful in some areas than the GTX 1080 it would replace. But by now I was in the mindset that maybe something could finally done about my aging system. So I raised my sights and did some searching. What I came up with was a RTX 3070 Ti. At MSRP! It is quite a comment on the market that getting a GPU at list price on Cyber Monday constitutes a bargain. But it did seem like a steal, so I ordered one.

This should arrive today, so I will know quickly enough if this will give the rest of my system a reprieve, or accelerate its retirement schedule. My CPU is a ridiculously old i5-3570K, so the retirement scenario is almost a certainty. I found an outline of this GPU's CPU requirements that actually suggested I was in the right zone, as the 3750K runs faster than 3GHz and has four cores, so it only falls (way) short in the TDP category. But I see discussions about much faster CPUs being bottlenecks, so I know where this is going. But I'm going there willingly, as the upgrade process is overdue. So I'm happy to take the first step.

Obituary: RIP Aline Kominsky-Crumb (1948-2022).

Upgrade Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Breakfast Link

• Plant-based meat is the star of this veggie chili recipe. Thanks RedEye9.
• Taylor-Johnson A New Bond Frontrunner.

Science
Thanks Max.

• Scientists Create 'Invisible Fiber' That Can Make Cakes And Pizzas Better For You.
• How to know what you really want.
• Toward Early Detection of the Pathological Social Withdrawal Syndrome Known as ‘Hikikomori.'
• Mammoth problem found with extinction timeline.

Media
Thanks Kxmode.

• Cocaine Bear - Official Trailer. Thanks The Guardian via RedEye9.
• Pink Floyd - "Delicate Sound of Thunder" New 4k Edition.
• Best World Records from November 2022.
• Bayer Aspirin Commercial (1973). Nightmarish.

Follow-up

• The days of the hydrogen car are already over. Gone the way of the zeppelin. Thanks Max.