Subj : Various Things (1) To : Daryl Stout From : Barry Martin Date : Mon Feb 27 2023 08:44:00 Hi Daryl! BM> Sometimes one just has to learn for oneself, though the latter example BM> I'd try to have avoided at all costs! DS> Too many people in life "have to learn the hard way". That DS> includes ME, in that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I tried DS> to upgrade the BBS software, and when it didn't work, I deleted DS> the exec (main program file directory), thinking I had a backup DS> directory available. DS> To my horror, I discovered I did not...and the 2 external USB DS> drives were no good...one failed, and the other wouldn't let me DS> get the data. Another issue was that several doors quit DS> working...apparently the DORINFO1.DEF file works better than the DS> DOOR.SYS file. Years ago I (sort of!) learned to just use a whole new computer for major upgrades. Yes, sounds slightly expensive but when doing a major upgrade I am usually upgrading the hardware as well. Plus I usually build/create my own system, so can re-use some components. (And some- times with the satellite computers around the house the upgrade is a swap: take away the old, plug in the new, which has been tested up here in the Computer Room.) Also have a few Raspberry Pi's: clone the SD Card for backup -- being able to pull the card I just screwd up for the back up has saved my rump numerous times! BM> If everyone played nice things would be a heck of a lot better. One BM> side wants to make as much money as possible while the opposite side BM> wants to have the money or other luxury. (That phrasing isn't quite BM> right.) A happier medium is someone reports a problem (or potential BM> problem) and it's check out, and as necessary fixed. Seems like that BM> would save alot of crises expenses later. DS> So many want to always have the latest and greatest stuff. I'm DS> content to use whatever still works, even if it's legacy. Years DS> ago, items were made with QUALITY...now, they just mix a bunch of DS> crap together, and call it a working product. Oftentimes yes. As I said above I tend to re-use hardware, some of which would be able to attend elementary school if it were human. As for purchasing new, I try to stay with those manufacturers who have proven themselves: spend a little more now for quality saves re-buying later. As for latest-and-greatest, I don't need either. I don't do gaming, so a super-fast video card is not needed. HD quality is more than sufficient, though if I were to buy a new video card I might consider the next step up depending on which computer it will go in. Also would look at the number of outputs: for my fiddlings here at the Computer Desk I have two monitors connected to this computer. BM> "Poop occurs." A fire on a train or truck on the ground is less BM> catastrophic than one in an airplane. OTOH some of the ground BM> accidents have come close. DS> On your quote, it better...digestive tract poisoning is no fun. :P "I'm Chiquita banana / and I'm here to say...." DS> A conflagration is deadly, unless used to keep warm or for DS> cooking. I don't want to be on a plane...as it plunges to the DS> ground, it's the sudden stop at the end that does you in. :P As DS> one cartoon years ago noted "If man were meant to fly, he DS> would've been born with airline tickets". Or like the product DS> warning noting "Cape does not permit the user to fly". I've flown numerous times and so far so good! BM> I'm thinking I'd rather put up with the relatively brief inconvenience BM> of a long train than recovering from an explosion. DS> I would, too. But, only in America (and likely in other DS> areas)...we race to: DS> 1) Beat the traffic lights to an intersection. DS> 2) Beat the trains to a railroad crossing. DS> 3) Beat the boats to a drawbridge. I'll admit to trying to avoid the wait, though 'traffic light' is about the only one I risk. Some yellows are a little short. Trying to beat a train - uh-ugh! - though the good news is in my normal travels I rarely encounter a train crossing. As for the drawbridge, none locally, though two turnstyle bridges. Hasn't occurred to me but the one to Arsenal Island (U.S. Army builds all sorts of stuff there) has had pedestrians and the occasional car stuck on it while rotating open to allow river traffic through. BM> Locally the freezing rain, etc., were about 50 miles north. I got rain BM> pretty much all day. The TV forecast for the 'northern counties' was BM> for a possibility of up to an inch of ice, along with the possibilty of BM> downed tree limbs (ice build up plus was windy) and power outages. BM> Nothing like that here; LIS rained all day plus wind guts around 30 BM> MPH. ...My little radar display was quite colourful! DS> Radarscope can look like Christmas Tree...especially the red DS> and green colors on the velocity display (red with winds in the DS> storm moving away from the radar, and green with winds in the DS> storm moving toward the radar). When you see the red and green DS> together in a couplet, a tornado may be forming, or occurring. Right now (early-ish morning of Februat 27) we're finishing up a rain- storm -- probably the same system that gave the snow to Los Angeles. Had a super-loud thunderclap after 1 (a.m.) and then it poured like a bucket for a short while. ...Hopefully washed the house of the winter grime! DS> Today (Feb. 26) starts Arkansas' 2023 Severe Weather Awareness DS> Week, and I'll have posts in the weather echoes through Saturday, DS> March 4. It looks like the arctic oscillation will go negative in DS> early March, which means colder air diving south. With the DS> relatively mild winter, many trees, flowers, plants, etc., have DS> stared blooming/budding out. It is becoming increasingly likely DS> that there'll be a late winter/early spring frost and or freeze DS> (it happens every year). Several years ago, it was Mother's Day DS> weekend, where northwest Arkansas got 7 inches of heavy wet snow, DS> and the cold killed many gardens...needless to say, many folks DS> weren't happy. My cousin in Erie, Pennsylvania, does no garden DS> work until AFTER Mother's Day. We were sitting outside yesterday afternoon and it did look like some of the trees were starting to bud. A little early as likely to get another few snows in March; April isn't out of the question either. And yes, we follow the "don't plant until after Mother's Day rule" too. Sometimes very tempting with warm if not hot temperatures but always cools down. BM> Yes: really can't get anything done as partially distracted on BM> listening for a delivery truck -- cars don't make too much noise BM> (usually!). Have to stop whatever one is doing on a split-second of BM> the ringing of the doorbell. DS> If the doorbell camera is working (mine runs on an internal DS> battery, but the wi-fi has to be up), I can work on the computer DS> and watch the camera. But, if the wi-fi/internet is out/offline DS> (especially due to storms), or if the unit is being recharged off DS> the UPS with the USB cable...I have to sit by the front door, and DS> watch for the delivery vehicle. I'm always afraid nature will DS> call at the most inopportune time (it usually does), and when I'm DS> in-disposed, they'll show up. Waiting for the delivery is as DS> exciting as watching paint dry. But the anticipation!! Here have cameras looking out over the front yard and driveway, connected via my WiFi. All internal: not going out into the world and back. My system has to be up (LAN) but I don't use the WAN. Doorbell cameras would be nice but won't fit: framing too narrow after various remodelling. DS> One doesn't get older...one gets better. And, I'm approaching DS> magnificent. BM> You keep believing that!! DS> If I don't inject humor into my day, I'd be crying constantly. Hope you properly dispose of those sharps! DS> As Roger Rabbit noted "If you don't have a sense of humor, you're DS> better off dead!!". Plus, the T-Shirt I saw that noted "If you DS> can't laugh at yourself, I'll be happy to laugh at you". There are times to be serious -- and the funeral of Mr. Peanut from the Mary Tyler Moore show just popped in! BM> True. ...So was the map showing expansion or contraction?! DS> Expansion...but several areas I'd like to see service, didn't DS> have it. The Moline/Quad Cities areas were on the map. I can DS> email you the file if you want, or you could probably do a search DS> for something like "Amtrak Map 2035". A little over ten years away -- they better get moving! BM> Just about everything can potentially cause or catch fire! ...Even BM> people! ...Maybe that's the reasoning behind the old Chinese one child BM> rule: less people to spontaneously combust. DS> And, we thought having a hot temper was bad enough. Or "you set my heart aflame: you give me heartburn"! ¯ BarryMartin3@ ® ¯ @MyMetronet.NET ® .... I miss people I've lost over time; maybe tour guide wasn't a good job. --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .