iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 03/10/2026

I picked up Gungeon again recently and wow the mid to late game is just Zelda and Metal Gear references huh?

Reposted by Matthew Connatser

Silicon Insights @siliconinsights.org · 02/10/2026

Finished up a piece about Bazzite's Deck 44 update from last month. My experience has been pretty great, to the point where my list of things I'd like to see fixed or implemented in Bazzite has gotten pretty short. www.siliconinsights.org/bazzite-deck...

siliconinsights.org

Bazzite Deck 44 is a great update for a SteamOS-like distro

I've finally tried out Bazzite Deck 44, and while its headline features aren't a big deal for me, it's the little details that make Deck 44 great.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 30/09/2026

Well now CachyOS says I have no touchpad, so RIP I guess.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 29/09/2026

And now it's whittled down to 25%. Iowa is just a point or two away from leaning Democrat, as is Kansas for being a tossup. Still got a whole month left before Election Day.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 29/09/2026

This touchpad is 100% cooked which is infuriating because I don't know if I trust MSI to do a repair without botching it or otherwise screwing me over. I also don't want to be completely out of a PC either.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 29/09/2026

Dios mio. 29% to 26 in just a single day. Also, Iowa is 2 or 3 points away from being recategorized as lean Democrat. And Kansas and South Carolina are nearly tossups. And this isn't even all of today's polls!

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 29/09/2026

Guys what do you do if your touchpad is suddenly possessed by a very ornery demon? Because that's the only explanation I can come up with for this thing being the absolute worst in both Linux and Windows. Used to be a very well behaved trackpad too...

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 27/09/2026

Republicans fall to the 20s for the first time in the @fiftyplusone.news Senate forecast. I don't know if they'll get below the teens before Election Day but they've never had a winning streak so far. It's incredible.

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Reposted by Matthew Connatser

Silicon Insights @siliconinsights.org · 25/09/2026

This one is a little late coming out, but anyways here's a video version of the 8GB GPU performance testing I did a little while ago. Also, I did a very extremely minimalist style of editing for this one. Let me know if it worked out or not. www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Wf...

youtube.com

Is 8GB actually enough for a midrange GPU after all?

YouTube video by Silicon Insights

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Reposted by Matthew Connatser

Silicon Insights @siliconinsights.org · 24/09/2026

Wow I just discovered it's really easy to edit videos if you're lazy and just have one long clip to cut up and trim. Literally got done in like an hour.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 23/09/2026

Texas is now Lean Democrat according to @fiftyplusone.news, for the first time this cycle. There is now only one tossup state: Iowa, which has Democrat Turek at a 55% chance to win. At 60% or more, Iowa goes Lean Democrat. Overall odds in the Senate are still 68% chance for Dems to win.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 22/09/2026

Model update from @fiftyplusone.news: Democrats have a 68% chance to take the Senate, up from 64% to 65% in recent days. It is now most likely that Democrats flip 2/4 of the battleground states, and flipping all four is likelier than flipping one or none. House at 98% for Dems.

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Reposted by Matthew Connatser

Silicon Insights @siliconinsights.org · 22/09/2026

Wrote a little thing about trying out my first OLED TV that I got a few months ago and why I'm not 100% happy with the technology. Kinda wishing I went with Mini LED instead. www.siliconinsights.org/im-not-impre...

siliconinsights.org

I'm not impressed by my first OLED TV

The actuality of OLED just didn't measure up to the hype for me, mostly for one specific reason.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 21/09/2026

Aaaaand they're broken again. Even when I try to give Windows kudos, it spits in my face. Shame.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 20/09/2026

Drove around the Smokies this weekend, accidentally went on the Dragon for the return trip to East TN. Honestly still better than having to drive through Gatlinburg.

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Reposted by Matthew Connatser

Silicon Insights @siliconinsights.org · 18/09/2026

This week's massive article is about replacing your laptop with a desktop and everything you need to know before doing it. Or, if you've already done it, you can still take the advice I guess. www.siliconinsights.org/the-ultimate...

siliconinsights.org

The ultimate guide to using your laptop as a desktop

I used to be a desktop user with a laptop, now I'm a laptop user that uses his laptop as a desktop. Here's everything you need to know about the laptop-as-a-desktop experience.

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Reposted by Matthew Connatser

Stellbound: Stellraiser II @antlervel.vet · 18/09/2026

Share if you agree

Fat little chihuahua puppy (maybe?) looking extremely round and smiling lying on a tan fleece blanket

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 17/09/2026

Hot damn gas at BJ's in Sevierville is now $3.77, it was in the $3.30s just last week, maybe week before last. I wish I could fill up my car with all the surety I had that Trump 2.0 was going to be a disaster for America.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 16/09/2026

For the first time, FiftyPlusOne shows the Alaska Senate race as lean Democrat. Texas is probably not far behind. Democrats are up to a 65% chance to take the Senate.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 16/09/2026

So this would be like a three year generation? It's never been this bad.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 15/09/2026

Huh, my speakers finally have adjustable volume in Windows 11. I'm glad it got fixed somehow but I really would have just preferred it work from the getgo instead of taking a random update to resolve.

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Reposted by Matthew Connatser

Silicon Insights @siliconinsights.org · 15/09/2026

In less than four days, my CachyOS review has hit a thousand views! Really happy to see SI pick up right where it left off.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 15/09/2026

64% in the Senate. Is it too early to call it?

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 11/09/2026

96% is quite the number. Oh, and in the Senate Alaska and Texas are drifting closer to lean Democrat territory. Iowa is also split 50/50 now. Everything that could be going wrong for Republicans, is.

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Reposted by Matthew Connatser

Silicon Insights @siliconinsights.org · 11/09/2026

Well, my month with CachyOS is finally over. The verdict? I'm gonna keep my CachyOS installation, and I'll only be touching Windows 11 if I actually have to. The Windows experience got especially bad after reinstalling it on a new SSD. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqI5...

youtube.com

CachyOS one month review: Linux at its best

YouTube video by Silicon Insights

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 11/09/2026

I am so done with Windows 11 right now. It updated and now the monitors connected to my dock are no longer recognized by my laptop. This is just a miserable experience at this point.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 11/09/2026

From 59% to 62% in the span of a few hours. Absolutely insane.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 10/09/2026

Alaska and Texas are about to join Ohio in the lean Democrat category on the FPO Senate model. Turek, the Democratic candidate in Iowa's Senate race, is also slowly approaching the tipping point. fiftyplusone.news/forecast/sen...

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 10/09/2026

This is such an interesting case study in how people are naturally resistant to forced alteration to language, especially for very bad reasons. If there's one thing people can agree on, it's language.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 10/09/2026

Somehow a dedicated YouTube app popped up on my Bazzite PC and wow it's good. Nice to see more features console gamers enjoy.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 09/09/2026

As of a couple of hours ago, the overall odds are 59% for Democrats, the highest yet on the @fiftyplusone.news model. What's crazy is that according to the model, it is more likely that Democrats flip eight seats (which would probably include South Carolina and Kansas) than none at all.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 09/09/2026

I remember telling my wife we'd probably have to wait until next decade to get another 3D Kirby, very happy to be completely wrong on this.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 08/09/2026

Man this isn't really it. Ocarina of Time's gameplay already hasn't aged particularly well, I don't think reskinning it with these graphics helps much. Probably gonna pass on this one.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 05/09/2026

For the first time this cycle, @fiftyplusone.news moves Ohio from tossup to lean Democrat in its Senate forecast. Overall odds of Democratic Senate is 58%, up from 55% when the model launched last month. I've been refreshing the forecast every single day hoping this would happen.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 04/09/2026

Lord you can see the moment in his brain where he realizes he's a massive hypocrite and then tries to deny it! It would be understandable if he said "yea I'm a hypocrite, I got mine and nobody else should get some, what about it?" but he's just straight up delusional.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 03/09/2026

If Intel put even three different generations on LGA 1954 (not including refreshes) I'd be very happy. That's essentially what AM4 offered and AM5 will probably offer the same.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 02/09/2026

Installed Windows on a new SSD in my laptop, come to find out that the audio drivers are completely borked and the speakers have one volume: loud. Another reason to switch to Linux.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 01/09/2026

So I just discovered that 2TB 2230 SSD I thought I killed a couple of years ago actually still works. Guess I'm upgrading my laptop's storage soon.

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Reposted by Matthew Connatser

Silicon Insights @siliconinsights.org · 01/09/2026

Wrote up a quick thing about DLSS 5. While I do see potential in the technology, I'm also seeing significant problems that make me suspect this new version of DLSS 5 will not be very popular. Read more: www.siliconinsights.org/who-is-dlss-...

siliconinsights.org

Who is DLSS 5 even for?

DLSS 5 has more baggage than just visuals.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 01/09/2026

I bought GoPro stock kind of as a joke, it tanked almost immediately and became my worst performing pick, and yesterday it became my top performing stock because Markiplier invested in it. What a world. Thanks Mark.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 30/08/2026

I cannot contemplate a world where Coyote vs. Acme is canned for good. 30 years from now the government is gonna recognize it as culturally significant.

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Reposted by Matthew Connatser

Silicon Insights @siliconinsights.org · 29/08/2026

New article today! I tested out the 9060 XT 8GB the way I game on it to see if I ran into memory capacity issues. Is 8GB enough or not? You might be surprised. Read here: www.siliconinsights.org/is-8gb-actua...

siliconinsights.org

Is 8GB actually enough for a midrange GPU after all?

We’ve all heard that you shouldn’t be buying a modern 8GB GPU because 8GB isn’t nearly enough memory for today’s powerful graphics chips, and running out of memory causes tons of performance issues. I...

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 28/08/2026

These images make me think more on the lines of bad HDR than Snapchat filter. You'd think that DLSS 5 would massively alter how Skyrim looks if it was truly a yassification machine but nope, it's just different coloration.

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Reposted by Matthew Connatser

Silicon Insights @siliconinsights.org · 27/08/2026

I swear there's a good explanation for why I'm doing this.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 26/08/2026

Crazy how expensive repeat balls have gotten if this is a deal.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 25/08/2026

They're having a vigil for Dolly in Sevierville, just completely unplanned and spontaneous. It's hard to comprehend how much of an American icon and especially an East Tennessean icon she was.

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Matthew Connatser @matthewconnatser.net · 25/08/2026

My wife works for the company that owns Dolly Parton's Stampede. Texted her if she was okay since I just heard Dolly passed away. "no" God this sucks.

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