Note My Life
I'm still on mandatory overtime, and with Monday night spent at Best Buy bringing home Triela I'm running behind. I was on the clock for 11 hours tonight, which leaves me with 5.5 hours of OT to do by 10pm Friday.
I've got a new gaming computer, and I haven't had a chance to actually DO anything with it yet! I'm d/l'g Fallout 4 to the SSD, but that's a 25GB game... it's taking a while.
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Coming off of five days of high ibuprofen intake to deal with a wonky shoulder. (Shoulder's still wonky, but it's down to a periodic twinge instead of full-on "I can't do my job.")
We're smack in the middle of a heat wave, so no computer-y things for me at home except for a half hour in the morning before I leave for work. Sigh.
The girlfriend and I are working our way through the 2012 Yamato series; I never watched Star Blazers, but it was her jam (mine was Robotech... I've noticed that people are either one or the other, rarely both) so this has been entertaining on both sides.
Posted by: GreyDuck at July 26, 2018 07:34 AM (rKFiU)
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Vacation starts tomorrow! Got tentative plans to head down to Corpus and check out the Lexington.
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at July 27, 2018 12:13 PM (v29Tn)
Step 3: See Step 1
The moment I expected, yet feared came Saturday. In the afternoon I started my old computer, browsed around for a couple of hours, then watched Quals for the German Grand Prix, shutting it down as I did. I then took a nap.
Saturday night, I hit the power button on my computer and... nothing. The hard drive just gave a rhythmic, constant, flashing light with no sign of life otherwise. She had finally given up the ghost after doing her best for me. Press F to pay respects.
So I spent the rest of Saturday night tearing down my computer setup, figuring out how to store the old computer until I can get around to beating the hard drive into a very small smear, the better to keep my info safe y'know? Also accomplished was removing the old 19" 1440 x 900 monitor... over 12 years old would you believe... and putting the new 24" 1080p monitor in position. And then I slept, ready to get the new computer in position and move up in the world.
This was duly accomplished around 4pm on Sunday. Everything plugged in, everything ready, I hit the power button, and...
...nothing. I tried another power cable.
...nothing. My brand new computer was DOA out of the box.
A quick run to Best Buy got me an exchange for another, this time with free setup. It only took an hour to accomplish this, an hour, two managers, two different salespeople, one customer service rep, and a sugar glider named Hugo.
I may be exaggerating part of that.
Monday rolls around, and after work I head back over to the BigBlueBox, getting there exactly on time for my appointment, and... I had to wait for a half-hour while two biddies who looked old enough to remember a time when the most complex computing device you could find was an abacus tried to understand what the tech was telling them... "power button is here on the side."
A quick demo of the new computer (it works! it works!) led to me loading it into the Duckmobile and driving home to Pond Central. At which point, I was faced with some difficulty. How do you get a 30 pound computer up a flight of stairs when you use a cane? The answer is "slowly, step by step." Carry the computer to the stairs, put it as many steps up as you can, go back to the car to get the cane, go up a couple of steps, lift the computer up another couple of steps, climb some more, repeat as many times as needed (five, in case you were wondering).
Just as an aside, at the time I returned to Pond Central, somewhere around 845pm or so, it was still in the mid-80s outside, with ridiculously high humidity, and no breeze whatsoever. As a result, Your Hero was drenched in sweat when he got the computer inside. Also exhausted: it had been a long day at work, and the whole "carrying things up stairs" gig was awkward. And painful: a poorly placed foot as I was trying to maneuver the tower through the door to Pond Central resulted in rather a lot of ankle pain. I'm hoping I didn't sprain it; we'll find that out tomorrow morning.
After taking a while to regenerate some action points, I found myself back where I had been Sunday evening: everything hooked up and just needing to hit the power button. Filled with trepidation, this I did.
Posted by: Mauser at July 24, 2018 09:28 PM (Ix1l6)
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Were you able to save all your stuff from the old drive before death and get it on the new machine?
Posted by: Mauser at July 24, 2018 09:29 PM (Ix1l6)
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Everything important, yep. Really, I've simply been procrastinating regarding this... I've had everything I've wanted moved to my external drive for some time. It's just that it was going to be so much work, y'know? And I am, at heart, a lazy duck.
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 24, 2018 11:07 PM (7eIzj)
I love Amazon Prime. After realizing that I was going to need a new monitor for my new computer, I immediately went to the Retail Giant and ordered one. It arrived today. Now, I have a great relationship with the not-receptionist at work. I tell her I've got packages coming, and she usually brings them to me once they show up.
Not today. Today, Amazon shipped the monitor in a HUGE box lined with, I dunno, sheets of lead disguised to look like crumpled paper. The thing weighed a whole bunch... not as much as the computer, true, but still a whole bunch. Too much, considering the monitor itself is allegedly only nine pounds.
I'm terrified it's too big for the available space. I know I've got the room... my measurements confirmed it... but it still feels too large.
Unfortunately, I don't know when I'm going to get to set up and go! I've got 9.5 hours of OT to do in the next four days. That means late nights at work and dear god the Windows setup process is... well, you know.
But it's here! And who knows, maybe I'll get the flu or something.
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Windows itself is really quick and easy these days. But then you have to install all your usual software, which can definitely be a bit of a grind.
Oh, Freesync monitor, nice! I don't game enough these days to worry about that - I was running my second monitor at 30Hz for the past 10 months - but with that and your new PC things should be buttery smooth.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 17, 2018 03:24 AM (PiXy!)
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Totally off topic, but when I saw the Charlemagne the Great rubber ducky, I immediately thought of you (been lurking a long time).
Saw it at Alma Boykin's blog.
Posted by: Frank at July 17, 2018 04:08 AM (m+Emq)
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A rubber duck that almost has my name on it? SWEET!
Posted by: GreyDuck at July 17, 2018 07:08 AM (rKFiU)
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Mitch, I'm sorry, I had to delete your comment. I don't allow raw URLs here at The Pond. Please use the link button in the comment toolbar! Raw URLs make Wonderduck cry, 'k?
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 17, 2018 08:06 AM (POEh5)
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Freesync? Nice. Check the manuals, though: the monitor has HDMI and DP, but you may find FS only works with the DP connector. Of course, with that system it may not really matter--the 580 is a really powerful card.
Posted by: Rick C at July 17, 2018 08:46 AM (Q/JG2)
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The (200-pound solid bamboo plywood) TV stand I ordered from Amazon on the 11th was supposed to arrive in the first two weeks of August. They called yesterday morning to ask if today was good, and when it showed up at 9:15 AM, the guys asked "do you want this inside?". "Yes, please, or I'll have to watch TV on the front porch".
(and I don't want to say how much I spent as soon as I had it unpacked and decided to pull the trigger on replacing the TV, receiver, and speakers, but I saved $300 because Prime Day!)
-j
Posted by: J Greely at July 17, 2018 01:08 PM (tgyIO)
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My whole computer including 27" monitor weighs 19 lbs. Though the Logitech speakers I added weigh another 19 lbs. The subwoofer weighs 16 lbs by itself.
I saw the speakers I wanted were on sale at a local store and walked over there to pick them up. Big mistake...
Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2018 01:16 AM (PiXy!)
I'll admit the name "Inspiron 5676" does nothing to make the heart beat a little faster but that's okay, I take medicines to prevent that from happening anyway. It's what's inside that counts, and the new 2nd Generation Ryzen 7 2700X is AMD's top-of-the-line processor. It has a 1TB hard-drive, but it also has a 256GB SSD, which I'm told is important these days. That's all matched up with a Radeon RX580 graphics card, which is ATI AMD's best card that isn't in "ludicrous" territory.
So what I'm saying is that this girl should be quite the performer! I'd have it hooked up already except for one little thing. That is, it only has a HDMI port to hook up a monitor and my current monitor, which is 10 years old, only has DVI. I knew this ahead of time though, and ordered a ViewSonic 24" monitor beforehand... it'll be delivered on Monday, and THEN I can get it all set up.
Posted by: Mrs. Will (Kathryn) at July 15, 2018 08:47 PM (JPRju)
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Now that Mrs. Will mentions it, an RX 580 should have both HDMI and DP outputs. The picture on Best Buy's website shows a computer without a discrete video card.
Of course, they also say it's got 4 USB, but the pictures show 8, so good job, Best Buy web monkeys!
Posted by: Rick C at July 15, 2018 11:06 PM (ITnFO)
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Wooohoo, new shiny! May it always boot cleanly and quickly.
Posted by: GreyDuck at July 16, 2018 07:30 AM (rKFiU)
Let Me Explain...
I'm tired. I've been on a month of mandatory 50-hour weeks and it's been wearing on me. Okay, I guess I didn't work 50 hours last week, but since I DID have to work on a national holiday, that makes up for it. So I'm getting home from work late, I've been sleeping poorly, and quite honestly the atmosphere at work is... dark.
Of course, I've also got computer problems of late, but the thought of going to BigBlueBox to buy a new one is... exhausting. It's always very loud there and it makes me sad to see what's happened to this company that I used to work for.
And to be blunt, I'm not enjoying Formula 1 very much. Oh, this race at Silverstone was actually pretty decent, but even that felt more like a chore than an experience.
You guys have any requests? I'm willing if its something that'll kick-start my brain. Gimme an idea!
Cartoon ducks: among them all, and there are many, only Launchpad wears pants. Weird coincidence OR subliminal message about necessary adjuncts to crash landings?
Times when weather swayed the outcome of a battle.
Alternate history: the Spanish Armada is *not* defeated in 1588. What happens?
Posted by: Mrs. Will (Kathryn) at July 10, 2018 09:17 AM (2taOw)
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To begin with, no need to explain to us. You write at your leisure, and we read you at ours. You owe us nothing. All good.
An idea for something...pretty much any little side story about the Battle of Midway that you may have considered writing about but never got around to. I've learned more from your writing on that subject than just about anywhere, and it's always fun.
Posted by: Thomas at July 10, 2018 10:08 AM (mSIXR)
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Rick, because "it'll take several days to arrive." Besides, I've been informed that it's a pretty good system and one of my contacts says that he couldn't build it himself for less. And it's not like I need liquid cooling and SLI'd Titan X's.
Though that'd be pretty sweet.
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 10, 2018 08:50 PM (POEh5)
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So I visited the House on the Rock last weekend (OMG, WTF, etc...) but I couldn't help thinking about ol' Wonderduck while perusing the massive collection of ship models.
My favorite ship models went thusly:
Display 1) Large model of USS Wisconsin, labeled as such, random memorabilia. Wisconsin is missing aft turret (wth? Where'd it go?)
Display 2) Large model of the Yamato, unlabeled, in display case. (? I think, seemed right but my ID skills are weak). OK, passes muster, etc.
Display 3) Large model of Fictional Nazi Megabattleship, also unlabeled, with no less than SIX (!) TRIPLE (!) TURRETS. (Found it! Found the missing turret!)
I laughed...
Computer Issues
Well, my computer, purchased in 2013, is showing signs that it'll be passing away soon. Last night it refused to boot, in a manner that I've seen it do before, that indicates the hard drive is failing. While I've managed to get on now, I may not be able to later. So if there's no sign of me for a day or two, that's why. F1Update! may be unavoidably delayed.
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A 5yo computer, you might well feel like it's time to replace, if you can afford. There's both Micro Center and Fry's in Chicago, where you can get cheap SSDs.
Micro Center's got a 120GB drive 2.5" SSD for $25 (their house brand, Inland) and a 240GB version for $43.
If you're the adventurous type and don't mind building your own new one, the new Ryzen 2200G is a great low-medium end chip: 4 cores, integrated graphics significantly better than Intel's, and somewhat overclockable. Better, it's $100, and sometimes you can find it on sale at MC for $20 less.
Posted by: Rick C at July 08, 2018 01:21 PM (ITnFO)
Micro Center is great, as well as a walk into a time machine if you ever visit their retail stores. It is a like stepping into what big box computer stores were like in the '90s.
You can still order components (Or entire prebuilt rigs.) from their website. Some of the best deals will only be available in-store, but most everything else can be shipped to you.
I had to use Microcenter repeatedly over the last year or so and had essentially replaced my entire desktop - which was fine, except for me not finding my Office 2010 discs so I can reinstall it. I also repeatedly had the same failure to boot issue on different systems, and ended up replacing multiple components or whole rigs, due to different causes.
Posted by: cxt217 at July 08, 2018 04:51 PM (BcQU4)
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Alas, neither of these places are in Duckford; a trip to BigBlueBox is ahead of me. I'm looking very closely indeed at this system... the new generation Ryzen 7 2700X with a SSD and a hunky graphics card will make Wonderduck a happy duckling...
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 08, 2018 07:45 PM (POEh5)
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Excellent choice. I wish the I7 system with the GTX 1060 was available in your area, as it's currently just a bit faster for maybe $20 less, but they really are on par for the same money, really.
Posted by: Rick C at July 09, 2018 06:23 PM (ITnFO)
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I have last year's Dell all-in-one, with a Ryzen 1700 and the RX 580. It's pretty zippy, and the one you're looking at will be about 20% faster again. Should be great.
One minor point - 16GB is likely to be plenty, but that model (and mine as well) only has two memory slots, so if you want to upgrade you have to take out the old modules.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 09, 2018 07:56 PM (PiXy!)
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Oh, and just in case - that particular model doesn't have a DVD drive, or a 5" drive bay. But USB drives are dirt cheap these days if you need one.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 09, 2018 08:08 PM (PiXy!)
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Yeah, I noticed that and priced out USB DVD drives... $20. I spend more than that on gatorade when it's hot out.
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 09, 2018 09:47 PM (POEh5)
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I haven't played any recent version of Farming Simulator, there are a few big things I noticed: John Deere and CaseIH licensing, with actual models. John Deere used to sell it's own farming simulator, but that was years ago. Maybe they've already had this, but Farming Simulator usually features a European model of tractor in the advertising. (Not that John Deere and CaseIH aren't global...they just aren't nearly as dominant in Europe and Russia as they are in the U.S.)
Also: COTTON. That was cotton, and I've NEVER seen cotton included in any of the modern farming simulators. It's always corn, wheat, soybeans.
That was a lot of very big equipment farming very small bits of land, but that's normal for farming simulators. The economics are all out of whack.
I have no idea where that guy farms, but that was an eclectic mix of scenery.
They keep showing the farmer steering. You don't really have to do that very much, anymore.
There Are Times...
Holiday! I was really looking forward to having the day off tomorrow, relaxing a bit, setting up my photo studio, taking a few pictures of figures, eating hot dogs, watching baseball, and just generally being American on the 4th of July. A good time!
So there I am today, hard at work, pushin' data through dem tubes, secure in the knowledge that while I had to put in 10 hours, it was going to be an easy 10 hours. I'd already put in two with no hiccups, no worries, and a tasty ham samitch to boot. Because a good ham samitch makes everything better, don'tchaknow? All in all, a good plan for the day. Better still, the last three or four hours would almost certainly be spent alone in the room I'm currently residing in. It's the smallest of the three workspaces, I was moved there back at the end of May because a new training class was taking over the old office... 25 people, would you believe? Anyway, I'd be alone in my office, and perhaps the entire building come to that... people want to leave early when there's a holiday involved, go figure. Anyway, why does that matter to me? Because it lets me sing!
I forgot just how dark "Shattered Dreams" was, really. Although if you were a wrestling fan during the WWF's "Attitude" era, shattered dreams brings something else altogether to mind. Anyway, yes, singing is fun to do at work when there's nobody around.
I don't sing that one though. A little out of my vocal range, really. I first heard this song as the backing music for a gameplay video and liked it a lot more than the game. Yes, it's another entry in the "electropop + random female singer" genre, but it's better than most. At least I like it.
Heavy rotation on the mp3 player. Don't sing this one either... it tends to generate a lump in my throat and tears to form in my eyes. I'm a soft-hearted sap of a duck, what can I say? Also, hey look fireworks! It's a July 4th reference! *ahem*
So yeah, singing at work. I was looking forward to that, maybe break out Straight Outta Hidamari. Good times, good times. And then the data... stopped. The part that serves me claims fell over. No biggie, that happens. Except it stayed down. A few minutes turned into 15, then 30, then a hour... and the boss sent out the e-mail: we don't know when it's coming back, clock out, you have to make up any time missed by the end of the week or you lose your holiday pay AND get two absence points.
I sat there feeling like I had been hit in the face with a lobster. Make up the unfinished time? Five hours for the incomplete regular day, plus two to cover part of the eight hours of OT we have to do... SEVEN HOURS??? All of a sudden, my midweek holiday had gone from a day of relaxation to... well, a normal work day. Oh crepe. By no fault of my own. After waiting for another hour (off the clock) hoping the program would start working again, I went home... but not before stopping at the boss's office. "I'm taking off... is anybody going to text us if the system is still down in the morning?" Don't know, this is all happening fast. "Great. Well, if I don't see you here tomorrow, have a great 4th of July holiday off." And I walked out.
For all my fellow Americans, enjoy your 4th of July holiday with grilled meat and explosives! For everybody else, have a good Wednesday!
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ohfortheloveof...
A duck can't catch a break lately, can one?
Posted by: GreyDuck at July 03, 2018 10:22 PM (rKFiU)
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Sheesh, do they wanna get Unions? Because that's how you get Unions.
Posted by: Mauser at July 04, 2018 01:27 PM (Ix1l6)
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Actually, one of the teams we have in-house is union. I'm not sure of the exact details, but I gather the company they do claims for is a union shop, and requires their outsourced people to be the same.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, their team is very very small.
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 04, 2018 10:21 PM (POEh5)
