What You've Done Today - Keep Dreaming...

[Raithe]

Juggling some slow work related matters with a bit of cosplay crafting in the background.

Small filler use while listening to meetings can be surprisingly relaxing.

Hm, although one of my friends who was moving to Arizona is just having a minor meltdown because the rental house just fell through for some reason a couple of weeks before they planned to be leaving the Atlanta area.

[LadyCrimson]

In the last couple months, with no hardware, O/S, driver or software changes except maybe some small game installs:

--occasional Firefox tab crashes
--occasional PC spontaneous reboot, so far when idle for long periods, eg overnight and wake up to rebooted PC (I have WinUpdates totally disabled, it's not that)
--7 Days to Die sometimes CTD, sometimes BSOD, random times, not always, same game version as Jan-2022 where I had no issues
--Win10 critical error re: bugcheck
--a certain .dll mentioned in 7 Days to Die crash dump seemingly related re: EAC but I never even ran/nstalled/use the EAC since I play SP/offline
--when I turn on 7 Days the PC makes a slight whining noise in the start menu, can't tell where it's coming from, the few other games I tried do not do this
---all temps (disk, cpu, gpu) and ram use are fine while game is running

So far I have: removed all fps/system monitoring software except Precision, forums mentioned such a few times re: bugcheck, removed Discord, reinstalled the game, blah blah. If none of that seems to help I'm going to have to start troubleshooting hardware. Like, maybe ram or PSU or something else is going faulty. I suppose a total reinstall of Win10 would be after that, but I don't wanna. Pfft.

I hate trouble-shooting and sometimes this is why I end up building a new PC.  

[Bartimaeus]

Did you check the Windows system event log after any of these things happening? There can sometimes be useful information in there, even for spontaneous reboots. With my current setup for example, I would rarely get spontaneous reboots both while sitting on desktop and while actually doing something as a result of limiting the power curve of my CPU a little too much, and event log would capture which core had failed, and I'd go give it slightly more power, problem solved. After looking through there and seeing if there's anything useful, the thing I'd do next is check the SMART status (basic/essential health information) of my storage drives via the program GSmartControl. If everything there looks okay (no red highlighted sections on any of the drives that suggests a drive failing), probably memtest86 the RAM next since that's pretty easy and straightforward...but it is very rare that RAM spontaneously goes bad after years of good service so that's really more of a "I'd like to eliminate the simplest to deal with possibilities first" measure. If everything to this point checked out, my next suspicion would be GPU...and then the PSU. PSU is usually the last thing I want to test on a system that "mostly" functions because, well...it's never fun to troubleshoot a PSU, even if it's totally dead and it's just a matter of plugging it into a PSU tester and going "yep, it's dead", and that's not the case here.

1 hour ago, LadyCrimson said:

--when I turn on 7 Days the PC makes a slight whining noise in the start menu, can't tell where it's coming from, the few other games I tried do not do this

This reminds me of how there are certain tools in Photoshop that when I use them, the moment I hold down left-click a whine instantly starts to emit, but the moment I stop holding it down it stops just as quickly.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Bartimaeus

[ShadySands]

On 1/23/2023 at 7:55 PM, Fionavar said:

What were the storage options?

We never got anything concrete before deciding against it. We basically decided to wait and see if we'll think we want/need it in a year or so. 

[LadyCrimson]

18 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Did you check the Windows system event log

Yeah, that's where I got the bugcheck critical error from. But it doesn't give much info, just that's the name/reason for the crash. Google says it could be caused by any of a host of things, software drivers/dlls, hardware, etc. Not terribly helpful.   >.>

I don't even know if the game and the firefox tab crashes and the reboots are related or just coincidence. 7 Days is pretty hard on hardware specs voxel, alpha, unoptimized - so maybe it just triggers an issue that's cropped up rather than being a cause of the issue. And whatever it is it doesn't happen every day.

Currently testing Precison's/GPU "power target" setting. I don't know what that does technically, seems to do with max wattage target, all I know is lowering it reduces gpu-load temps but doesn't seem to alter FPS/general performance in any way noticeable to me. I had it at 90percent - so gpu temps were 68-72 at a middling/quiet fan rpm. I lowered it to 80, so gpu temps run more like 60-64.

Edited January 25, 2023 by LadyCrimson

[Hurlshort]

I just signed my wife and I up for a marathon, so that's something. We are doing the California International Marathon in Sacramento. It isn't until December, so lots of time to work on the mileage and regret my life choices.

I'm not worried about the distance, but I do want to hit a certain time, and that is going to put some pressure on. This will be the first for both of us. 

[Raithe]

Had a group "away day" at work. Eh.

On other matters, only 70 days till Star Wars celebrations, and the godawful cold weather and rain has delayed my painting timeline still.

So I focused on dealing with some other things, and picked up some Chelsea-style safety boots for my Mando, and then started sewing some half-chaps for it.

A few things that didn't quite work, but good enough for now I think.  Might add a long strip of wide velcro on the front to help support shin-plates...

Now I'll just have to do the other one and set it aside for weathering later.

[Gfted1]

You made the red/black boot covering by hand? Im very impressed!

[Lexx]

Few weeks ago I was thinking of getting myself back into model train stuff. Long story short ...

Bought a starter set for the rails and other hardware on the cheaper end, since this is merely some toying around. However, I spared no costs with the actual train.

Spoiler

https://imgur.com/pEjykYM

I'm honestly amazed at how detailed this stuff is. Especially at this size. Even the steps to get into the train have little holes in them. The handrails are barely 1mm in size. The lights and sounds are awesome. Also the train actually feels heavy. Even if you fully crank up the dial, it takes a while to get up to speed, and the engine sounds react accordingly. It made me understand why the prices are so high for this stuff.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Lexx

[Gfted1]

I have this locomotive (BR41) and tender, with 3 (or is it 2?) passenger cars, and a caboose:

[Azdeus]

I'm getting flashbacks to my childhood friend that had trains and trainsets worth more than I make in a year now. With 30 years of inflation ontop of that. And now I feel bloody old, god dammit.

[Gorth]

When I was in my early 20's I had a Marklin Miniclub model train and a landscape I had built for it. Loved those tiny Z scale models

 

Edit: That flashback just reminded me, that this was a staggering 30+ years ago

[Azdeus]

[Lexx]

Heh, yesterday I was sitting on the couch, watching the train go its circle, and it did make me feel kinda sad(? /edit: maybe nostalgic is a better word). Gave me flashbacks to my very early childhood. We had a TT-size train with some wagons back then. It was cool. Haven't seen that in probably 25 years now. We still have the train and wagons packed up somewhere in storage.

But yeah, the prices of those models are wild.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Lexx

[Gorth]

2 hours ago, Lexx said:

Heh, yesterday I was sitting on the couch, watching the train go its circle, and it did make me feel kinda sad(? /edit: maybe nostalgic is a better word). Gave me flashbacks to my very early childhood. We had a TT-size train with some wagons back then. It was cool. Haven't seen that in probably 25 years now. We still have the train and wagons packed up somewhere in storage.

But yeah, the prices of those models are wild.

Ah... prices. I had a friend from the local Games Workshop store visiting me (to play some Kill Team). He took a few looks at my miniature collection, some of which dates back to the late 80's. I could see the drool building up

Lets just say I have a rather comprehensive collection of things you can't even buy on ebay for thousands of dollars. Things that were common in the early 90's are suddenly worth $100+ per miniature (when I had it shipped over from Europe, I had my collection insured for $100k+). Sometimes it's fun to hang on to things for decades after everyone else got rid of their stuff.

 

@Azdeus Mate, 40 is still young and green.... wait until you become a frail old (and grumpy) man like me

[Azdeus]

20 minutes ago, Gorth said:

Ah... prices. I had a friend from the local Games Workshop store visiting me (to play some Kill Team). He took a few look at my miniature collection, some of which dates back to the late 80's. I could see the drool building up

Lets just say I have a rather comprehensive collection of things you can't even buy on ebay for thousands of dollars. Things that were common in the early 90's are suddenly worth $100+ per miniature (when I had it shipped over from Europe, I had my collection insured for $100k+). Sometimes it's fun to hang on to things for decades after everyone else got rid of their stuff.

@Azdeus Mate, 40 is still young and green.... wait until you become a frail old (and grumpy) man like me

Heh, I might only be close to forty, but g'dammit, my medical journal is a book at this point, I'm fairly certain you're way, way healthier than me, and I'm definetly more bitter than the coffee I guzzle

Edited January 27, 2023 by Azdeus

[Malcador]

14 minutes ago, Azdeus said:

I'm fairly certain you're way, way healthier than me

I dunno...he's a talking skull.

[Azdeus]

10 minutes ago, Malcador said:

I dunno...he's a talking skull.

Exactly, lho-sticks, recaf, corpserations and heavy physical labour wouldn't effect him

Edited January 27, 2023 by Azdeus

[Gromnir]

comedy o' stoopid. the guy we paid to clean our gutters is coming out to re-do the job today. we only got three properties in the area so for the last couple years we cleaned the gutters our self... 'cause am a right cheap bastard. the thing is, we had a bit o' an accident 'bout a month ago and we couldn't/cannot manage a ladder climb at the moment. so, we dug deep and paid a few hundred bucks for gutter cleaning; bad timing for the gutter clean as it were done a bit before the atmospheric river events we saw recent, so no doubt is new detritus in our gutters... again. whatever.

anywho, yesterday am talking with one o' our renters and he just kinda drops into the conversation that the the joker who cleaned the gutters a month ago did a terrible job and one particular section o' gutter had a considerable amount o' dirt and mud accumulation. our renter watched the gutter cleaner eat his lunch in his truck and kinda fake clean the gutters. our renter then climbed up a ladder and saw that there were indeed crud in the gutters. our renter then didn't bother to tell us anything 'bout the shoddy gutter cleaning until a month elapsed and we called him regarding an unrelated matter.

because o' the atmospheric river nonsense, am guessing all our gutters is fubar, but the only property am able to say with certainty were half-arsed by the contractor is the one heavy with dirt as 'posed to tree matter.

...

honest though, the thing which bothers us most ain't the contractor who tried to pull a fast one on us, 'cause that is sadly the new normal in these parts. nope, what annoys us is the tenant who knew there were a problem near a month past and never bothered to say nothing. one o' the few responsibilities a tenant has other than paying rent is to inform the property owner o' problems and yet in our experience, most tenants don't unless is something which direct impacts them personal. if the heat or ac went out, we would hear from the tenant immediate, but if is slow bathroom sink leak causing damage to the cabinet and flooring which may end up costing us many thousands o' dollars, chances are we don't find out unless we personal see the issue.

oh well. 

regardless, today we gotta stand and stare at a guy cleaning our gutters as if by doing so we will make him do a better job than he managed with his previous effort.

HA! Good Fun!

Edited January 27, 2023 by Gromnir

[Hurlshort]

There must be something going around, because my dad has also recently gotten back into building a model train layout. We had one in the garage when I was a kid. I think it was supposed to be something we did together, but he did most of the work.

My daughter has a train and track around her room that she set up with my help. It isn't a large setup, just a few decorations on slightly unstable shelves, but it looks cool. 

As a renter, I've always cleaned out my own gutters. I guess I'm either a good tenant or a chump. My current house has these cheap plastic gutters that don't really work anyways, but when I get up there to put on Xmas lights, I might as well clean he crud out of them.

[Azdeus]

14 minutes ago, Gromnir said:

comedy o' stoopid. the guy we paid to clean our gutters is coming out to re-do the job today. we only got three properties in the area so for the last couple years we cleaned the gutters our self... 'cause am a right cheap bastard. the thing is, we had a bit o' an accident 'bout a month ago and we couldn't/cannot manage a ladder climb at the moment. so, we dug deep and paid a few hundred bucks for gutter cleaning; bad timing for the gutter clean as it were done a bit before the atmospheric river events we saw recent, so no doubt is new detritus in our gutters... again. whatever.

anywho, yesterday am talking with one o' our renters and he just kinda drops into the conversation that the the joker who cleaned the gutters a month ago did a terrible job and one particular section o' gutter had a considerable amount o' dirt and mud accumulation. our renter watched the gutter cleaner eat his lunch in his truck and kinda fake clean the gutters. our renter then climbed up a ladder and saw that there were indeed crud in the gutters. our renter then didn't bother to tell us anything 'bout the shoddy gutter cleaning until a month elapsed and we called him regarding an unrelated matter.

because o' the atmospheric river nonsense, am guessing all our gutters is fubar, but the only property am able to say with certainty were half-arsed by the contractor is the one heavy with dirt as 'posed to tree matter.

...

honest though, the thing which bothers us most ain't the contractor who tried to pull a fast one on us, 'cause that is sadly the new normal in these parts. nope, what annoys us is the tenant who knew there were a problem near a month passed and never bothered to say nothing. one o' the few responsibilities a tenant has other than paying rent is to inform the property owner o' problems and yet in our experience, most tenants don't unless is something which direct impacts them personal. if the heat or ac went out, we would hear from the tenant immediate, but if is slow bathroom sink leak causing damage to the cabinet and flooring which may end up costing us many thousands o' dollars, chances are we don't find out unless we personal see the issue.

oh well. 

regardless, today we gotta stand and stare at a guy cleaning our gutters as if by doing so we will make him do a better job than he managed with his previous effort.

HA! Good Fun!

I had a sort of similar experience when I got back to work, one of my colleagues that likes to complain alot about things but never actually reports faults with the tractors was complaining that the technician was useless and that he hadn't fixed the brakes in 8 attempts and such. Last friday that coworker wasn't in place, so I decided to try the tractor he normally drives, and sure the breaks were weak as hell, so I tried just pushing the brakepedal to the floor at which point a torrent of air started gushing out from underneath the floor instead of at the (air)brakes... It returned to normal duty after redlining the engine and compressor for about 5 minutes to fill up enough airpressure to overcome the leak and return to the base position. So it turned out that there was a leaking membrane in the brakevalve, but noone thought to test something like that and report it to the tech. It was fixed yesterday and the brakes are as new now. And at the same time I got him to fix a bunch of other things that noone reported to him that it needed fixing.

3 pairs of wing mirrors with new defrosters

2 New 1 inch round rail to mount wing mirrors (Imagine bending those truck moose killer bumpers... And not "noticing it")

1 leaking front window

2 new sets of washerfluid containers (Bad idea to put these behind the seats, in an unprotected area were people like to put things like crowbars and clawhammers, plastic containers + heavy metal moving about = bad)

1 new heated seat

1 new steering wheel

1 new controller joystick

1 new climate control unit and fan package for the heater

30 something side indicator lights

3 new sets of rear lights

1 entire new VBG tow hitch and ofcourse, a replacement for the ducttaped camera that's off to the side...

1 replacement cabling set for the entire back half of one of the tractors... that's got a bit of a wait list.

New wipers and arms for all the tractors.

 

And that's about what I can remember ontop of my head. And one of the tractors are completely bent in the frame after someone T-boned a parked 45foot trailer at 30kmh. Someone needs to get their fricking nose out of their phone.

Me and the very nice Danish ( ) service technician had a nice chat. He was extremely happy to see me so that he could get clear word on what was broken and what was not since he's not allowed to search for faults by our contract..

[LadyCrimson]

Physical ailments/issues make one feel so much older, not just physically but mentally. I should do more than 30 min. elliptical and arm exercises and occasional walks, but eh, it's hard enough to get my arse to keep even that up. These days, I see a chair, I (and my creaky joints) like to sits.

The one thing I keep wanting to do is work on leg muscle mass again tho. After losing much muscle re: hospital, I have near chicken legs (well, for me, vs. what I had) and the elliptical, while toning/strengthening, has so far not done much of anything re: mass. Which means I should ... wait, what was that?

"CHAIR!"

[Fionavar]

Jet plane stuff including sitting on the tarmac for two-extra-hours for giggles :?

 

[Gorth]

1 hour ago, Fionavar said:

Jet plane stuff including sitting on the tarmac for two-extra-hours for giggles :?

 

Something you're not telling us?...

 

 

[Azdeus]

Went to sleep at around 2am and woke up at 2pm. Not as planned.

Atleast I woke up before 16 so that I can meet up with a friend of mine for some sauna..