The totally off-topic thread

[JohnK]

Thick fog in Milton all night and this morning. Don't see that very often.

 

[TheRealTMA]

It took a few moments . I mustn't be the scientist that I thought I was - but now I'm not sure whether that's a good or a bad thing :shock::mrgreen:.

What I do know, though, is that a hundred or so peer-reviewed papers counts for a lot... - in a very small universe .

Hope they weren't in crystallography! As a post-doc, a number of years ago I played squash against another post-doc who had 275 in crystallography compared to my very impressive 2.5, He didn't win many points after I found out. But then again although I won the match, he did end up with a nice professorship unlike some.

 

[RAM]

I notice a trend here that I noticed in some employees over the years - oh for the days when being intelligent and being smart were one and the same thing.

Cardinal sin: NEVER confuse IQ with common sense, unfortunately quite often rare bedfellows!

In the early 80s there was a great database system called DBase (such imagination). Always a favourite with programmers and Uni students as it was so logical and easy to program.

Just one SMALL problem. It did not have a back-up function.

This would be serious for any business (and tens of thousands used it with no complaint). But proved fatal for the DBase company itself after a fire.

They lost their entire Accounting records and sent out letters to every customer (worldwide) asking them "on the honour system" to let them know how much they owed the company. It went bankrupt within a few months.


Rules of Computing have not changed since warehouse sized mainframes - They all fail, exactly when is the problem.

Every hard drive, flash drive and PC/Laptop/Tablet/Phablet/device dies sometime (I'm sorry to be so abrupt!)

Making a backup regularly is only PART of the solution.

Why only part?

Because a fire/careless relative or friend, renovation (bathroom or kitchen tile dust is so devious) can kill a backup drive just as well as the source computer.

Best solution (and excuse for regular catch-ups) is to routinely swap your "I NEED this information/photos/videos/tax/holiday" backup drives with someone else while you look after their ones.

Off-site back-up works even better for people than business as not many businesses have the first photos/videos of the children etc.

For those who believe in O'Toole's Law - "Murphy was an optimist." - alternate between where the off-site storage is.

Places never to use:

Current girl friend/boy friend
Known flood zones (don't laugh several Qld companies went bankrupt as they lost all their IT records as both their office and off-site storage sites were flooded).
Known bush fire zones.
Frequently renovated places.

 

[RAM]

Well I borrowed MrP's iphone charger at work yesterday and removed it. Well, except for the usb metal connection thinggy that got stuck in my shiny new laptop. Finally extracted it with tweezers.

I know it is annoying but PULL it out by the metal thingy not by whipping out the cord!

At least in the UK they sell all the various charger cables/cords for GBP1. I stocked up as three teenagers know better. That is until they come and ask me for one. I only charge $5 and remind them I'll enjoy the DVDs they just paid for!

Really OT in OT - why can I buy DVDs that work in Aust from Tesco UK for new movie releases within 6-8 months of going on DVD sale for as little as GBP1? Full set of Jurassic Park was GBP5 at Xmas while in Australia was $20 at the cheapest (for example).

These are brand new not ex-rental DVDS.

In the equivalent of the Reject shop in the UK you can buy ex-rental DVDs (with replacement guarantee) for all ex-rentals for GBP1. Normally the new release movies are available within 3 months of release.

The best I've found within Australia (not online I admit) is around $10 for 1yr+ new DVDs and $10 for ex-rentals after about 6 months.

Does Q have something to do with DVD sales in Australia as well?

 

[blackcat20]

Cardinal sin: NEVER confuse IQ with common sense, unfortunately quite often rare bedfellows!

In the early 80s there was a great database system called DBase (such imagination). Always a favourite with programmers and Uni students as it was so logical and easy to program.

Just one SMALL problem. It did not have a back-up function.

This would be serious for any business (and tens of thousands used it with no complaint). But proved fatal for the DBase company itself after a fire.

They lost their entire Accounting records and sent out letters to every customer (worldwide) asking them "on the honour system" to let them know how much they owed the company. It went bankrupt within a few months.


Rules of Computing have not changed since warehouse sized mainframes - They all fail, exactly when is the problem.

Every hard drive, flash drive and PC/Laptop/Tablet/Phablet/device dies sometime (I'm sorry to be so abrupt!)

Making a backup regularly is only PART of the solution.

Why only part?

Because a fire/careless relative or friend, renovation (bathroom or kitchen tile dust is so devious) can kill a backup drive just as well as the source computer.

Best solution (and excuse for regular catch-ups) is to routinely swap your "I NEED this information/photos/videos/tax/holiday" backup drives with someone else while you look after their ones.

Off-site back-up works even better for people than business as not many businesses have the first photos/videos of the children etc.

For those who believe in O'Toole's Law - "Murphy was an optimist." - alternate between where the off-site storage is.

Places never to use:

Current girl friend/boy friend
Known flood zones (don't laugh several Qld companies went bankrupt as they lost all their IT records as both their office and off-site storage sites were flooded).
Known bush fire zones.
Frequently renovated places.

I prefer just to email things to myself, then there are copies in both accounts...

 

[RAM]

I prefer just to email things to myself, then there are copies in both accounts...

It does work but can leave you open to hacking. Not so good with saving videos though.

 

[Pushka]

I know it is annoying but PULL it out by the metal thingy not by whipping out the cord! ......

But that metal part is not reachable once inserted.

 

[NM]

Gaffer tape fixes planes so does it work on thumbs Jessica?

It fixes shoes, screen doors, seats and many other things around my house. I am known as the Gaff King. When something is broken my kids run to hide my supply of gaff tape. But they don't realise I buy it by the carton so I never run out .

Had a visitor last week end with shoe with "talking soles" ... easy fix

Both my daughters have had jazz dance shoes life extended by gaff tape over the years.

 

[rogerkambah]

'A journey begins with a single step'.

Just taken the first step in adding my wine stocks to Cellar Tracker.

FWIW, starting with the whites. First bottle 2011 Leo Buring DWO21 Leopold Derwent Valley Riesling.

Only several hundred to go, but hopefully no more than a hundred or so wines/vintages.

 

[Flashback]

It fixes shoes, screen doors, seats and many other things around my house. I am known as the Gaff King. When something is broken my kids run to hide my supply of gaff tape. But they don't realise I buy it by the carton so I never run out .

Had a visitor last week end with shoe with "talking soles" ... easy fix

Both my daughters have had jazz dance shoes life extended by gaff tape over the years.

We had a goal keeper fill in at hockey last night and both of his kickers were completely covered in it :mrgreen:

 

[robd]

What's a backup?

A backup is just a snapshot of your computer at the time. Just take a photo when you leave it everyday (same, same)

 

[OATEK]

A backup is just a snapshot of your computer at the time. Just take a photo when you leave it everyday (same, same)

I wish I had a photo of my original Apricot PC with 10MB HDD. Gee it looked good!

DOS 3.2 and a copy of dBASE III. It was a joy and delight.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Monochrome>CGA>EGA>VGA>SuperVGA was the new black...

 

[medhead]

Some may recall my light at the end of the tunnel moment last week. Difficult meeting today, picking over the carcass.

 

[robd]

Monochrome>CGA>EGA>VGA>SuperVGA was the new black...

Which one was the green screen? I had to make a workcover claim for spectacles back in the 80's because of that. When we went to colour, I didn't need them anymore.

* late 80's

 

[JessicaTam]

Some may recall my light at the end of the tunnel moment last week. Difficult meeting today, picking over the carcass.

Hope it works out.

 

[blackcat20]

Picked up my replacement laptop this evening. Fingers crossed its a good one because all stores seem to be sold out.

 

[medhead]

Hope it works out.

Fine for me. Just some good work friends out of the picture. Will get to dump one "problem child" onto someone else. Also gotta push back against someone else trying to get me to do their job for free. (But you know me the only hard bit is telling them to stick it, nicely.)

 

[JessicaTam]

Picked up my replacement laptop this evening. Fingers crossed its a good one because all stores seem to be sold out.

In that case my post before yours applies to you too!

 

[anat0l]

Picked up my replacement laptop this evening. Fingers crossed its a good one because all stores seem to be sold out.

Is there anyone else here that, upon starting up a new laptop and going through the setup blah-blah, immediately goes to (installed) Programs to start uninstalling bloatware?

Oh yeah, and also Folder Properties, Show All File Extensions and uncheck Hide System Files and Folders

Yes, shut up Mac users