The Vent and Rant Thread

[Katsunami]

I'm preparing to move back to a desktop/laptop setup again.

From 2008 up to the beginning of last year, I had a desktop/laptop combination, where the laptop was able to perform all of the desktop's tasks, except for gaming. Then I got the idea: "When buying a new laptop, I could go for a really high-end system, and I can use it at the desk with a docking station; and then I'll also have a laptop if I need to."

Said and done, and I sold the older computer, formatted and re-installed the older laptop, and put that into storage as an emergency backup (as this system has 5 years of on-siite, next busniess day warranty, I don't expect to need it).

However, Microsoft fails to have Windows 10 remember half of my screen settings such as font sizes. It's always reset to the defaults when docking or undocking the computer. Also, icons on the desktop move around, programs end up having weird sizes on one or the other... in short, all of the 90's problems of docking stations are STILL there. So, it doesn't work for me.

So, I've started to look for some components to build a new desktop, and then this notebook will become the second / backup system, as before, with some needed files kept in sync through dropbox.

I'm seeing manufacturers with 50+ Z170 mainboards in business.
I'm seeing manufacturers having 80+ computer cases around.

What's the deal with that? I only want the good stuff. Choice is good, but this is ridiculous. Where is the time there were only four choices:

- crap to avoid
- budget: OK, maybe a bit limited in options
- mainstream: good stuff
- high-end: for the wealthy

I don't NEED 50 mainboard choices and 80 case choices per manufacturer. With some products, I'm actually unable to find the differences. That's useless.

[Katsunami]

Oh, and on the back of that last rant: some Youtube Let's Play makers should be shot.

I wanted to play Myst, the Masterpiece Edition from 2014. Sue me, but I never played Myst before. I was too you to play/understand it when it came out. I did buy it on GOG.com a year ago or so, so I downloaded it and installed it.

It was very dark. VERY dark. Never noticed something like that, because I've been using this laptop for desktop work for the last year. So, I went on YouTube to see how the captured video's would look.

I start a random longplay, and the guy starts blabbering about the history of Myst. I was already scrolling on the right-hand side, to find another playthrough where I could see the beginning stages without waiting 5 minutes (scrolling in a 2,5 hour long video on Youtube is hard).

Suddenly that guy says:

"I wonder if that bug is still around that the game had in the 90's."

I wasn't really listening, so I thought he was going to describe a crash in a certain situation or something, which wouldn't be relevant in a complete remake. No, he says:

"You could pick up _____, and put the code from ____ into ___, and you'll finish the game."

YOU STUPID **** IDIOT!
YOU RANDOMLY CREATED ****
**** @$%@52^@^@$52452 245$ !!!

You don't say something like that in an introduction. You gave away the entire point of the game: how to find that last piece of information. I can't unhear this. You even fracked the entire reason to watch your playthrough, you fool.

The entire point of Myst is that convoluted, Rube Goldberg-like creation of different ages, trying to find out what is happening. I don't know that yet (not entirely, at least), but the temptation to just pick up the last clue and find out immediately is tempting.

Now I can only do two things:
- Don't play the game, just read the storyline online, and move on to Riven.
- Play the game as if I don't know this.

To some extent, I have a feeling that both are not an option and I need to go on a mission to have that guy shot. Or tortured. Or something.

(BTW, it turned out that the laptop screen is quite dark overall, and has both black and white crush, despite it being a high-end IPS screen that gets good reviews. It can be partiall sovled by raising the Gamma value in the graphics cards settings, but even on optimal settings, you'll still lose black values 1 and 2, and white values 254, 253, and 251. Fortuantely, those are seldomly used in games, and I don't use this system for editing photo's.)

[Hemmi]

Why is it your glasses break late on a Saturday night? Can they not do it on a weekday when you can get them fixed the next day?

[Toxaris]

Originally Posted by Hemmi

Why is it your glasses break late on a Saturday night? Can they not do it on a weekday when you can get them fixed the next day?

Been there, had that.

[Toxaris]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Oh, and on the back of that last rant: some Youtube Let's Play makers should be shot.

I wanted to play Myst, the Masterpiece Edition from 2014. Sue me, but I never played Myst before. I was too you to play/understand it when it came out. I did buy it on GOG.com a year ago or so, so I downloaded it and installed it.

It was very dark. VERY dark. Never noticed something like that, because I've been using this laptop for desktop work for the last year. So, I went on YouTube to see how the captured video's would look.

I start a random longplay, and the guy starts blabbering about the history of Myst. I was already scrolling on the right-hand side, to find another playthrough where I could see the beginning stages without waiting 5 minutes (scrolling in a 2,5 hour long video on Youtube is hard).

Suddenly that guy says:

"I wonder if that bug is still around that the game had in the 90's."

I wasn't really listening, so I thought he was going to describe a crash in a certain situation or something, which wouldn't be relevant in a complete remake. No, he says:

"You could pick up _____, and put the code from ____ into ___, and you'll finish the game."

YOU STUPID **** IDIOT!
YOU RANDOMLY CREATED ****
**** @$%@52^@^@$52452 245$ !!!

You don't say something like that in an introduction. You gave away the entire point of the game: how to find that last piece of information. I can't unhear this. You even fracked the entire reason to watch your playthrough, you fool.

The entire point of Myst is that convoluted, Rube Goldberg-like creation of different ages, trying to find out what is happening. I don't know that yet (not entirely, at least), but the temptation to just pick up the last clue and find out immediately is tempting.

Now I can only do two things:
- Don't play the game, just read the storyline online, and move on to Riven.
- Play the game as if I don't know this.

To some extent, I have a feeling that both are not an option and I need to go on a mission to have that guy shot. Or tortured. Or something.

(BTW, it turned out that the laptop screen is quite dark overall, and has both black and white crush, despite it being a high-end IPS screen that gets good reviews. It can be partiall sovled by raising the Gamma value in the graphics cards settings, but even on optimal settings, you'll still lose black values 1 and 2, and white values 254, 253, and 251. Fortuantely, those are seldomly used in games, and I don't use this system for editing photo's.)

I remember playing Myst when it came out, it was wonderous and took me quite a while to solve it (never knew about the bug). I replayed the remake this past year and it was done reasonably well. I still recommend you playing it and just forget what you heard. The game is worth your time. Most, not all, puzzels are great to solve.
Riven on the other hand I never really gotten into.

[Rumpelteazer]

I'm wondering if there is any (mechanical) reason for why my father always lets the tank of toilets refill incredibly slow. If, for whatever reason, you want to flush twice I have to wait almost a full minute before I can flush the second time, which is frustrating. Nowhere else have I encountered such slow tank refill. It might just be one of those things that my father believes in which is totally wrong (like you can't get a virus if you install software from the server instead of downloading it, which is a totally different rant). Every time I need to double flush I get the tendency to open op the little tap a little bit more so the tank refills faster.

[Blossom]

It's too keep the refill tube from popping off. Had to do the same in TN. You don't want water spraying everywhere.

Sent from my XT1528

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Toxaris

Been there, had that.

Twice. (Wearing glasses since 4.)

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Toxaris

I remember playing Myst when it came out, it was wonderous and took me quite a while to solve it (never knew about the bug). I replayed the remake this past year and it was done reasonably well. I still recommend you playing it and just forget what you heard. The game is worth your time. Most, not all, puzzels are great to solve.
Riven on the other hand I never really gotten into.

I just gotten into high school when Myst came out. My English wasn't good enough back then, let alone the logic skills. Even I've seen some people say on forums that they solved Myst at 7-12 years old, I just can't believe it; not even when your native language is English. I've encountered some things you just *WON'T* be able to think of as a 7 (or even 12) y/o.

"Finish the game immediately" is not really a bug. If you *know* the final piece of information, it's logical you can jump to the end immediately.

I've bought Myst and Riven a year ago. I've also ordered Myst 3 and 4 from the UK (thanks to Amazon Marketplace) and I'm planning to get Uru and Myst 5 from GOG as well. Someday I'll finish the entire series.

As they run on Windows 10 (especially the GOG-versions) I don't see any problems taking 10 years to finish them.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I'm wondering if there is any (mechanical) reason for why my father always lets the tank of toilets refill incredibly slow. If, for whatever reason, you want to flush twice I have to wait almost a full minute before I can flush the second time, which is frustrating. Nowhere else have I encountered such slow tank refill. It might just be one of those things that my father believes in which is totally wrong (like you can't get a virus if you install software from the server instead of downloading it, which is a totally different rant). Every time I need to double flush I get the tendency to open op the little tap a little bit more so the tank refills faster.

How old is your father?

Some old people become crazy over time, and I think I know some of the reasons.

They only stay in touch with other old people, so they never see or do anything new. They also have the craziest idea's that something 'needs to be done like that' because it was like that in the 70's or before. If I tell my father to change X into Y or something, his answer is always: "Don't need to. *EVERYBODY* does it like this."

Yes, if 'everybody' are also 75-80 year old people who haven't changed anything in their homes since the 1970's (or even 60's.... don't start. My father's neighbor still has non-resettable fuses in her home. You know, a black box with those white screw-in thingies), then yes, they do it like that. Everybody else, including myself in my own home, don't use technology invented during the premiere of Ben Hur.

To be honest, I can't really see myself becoming like that, because I work in IT. Everything changes all the time, and it will for the next 30 years. So, there's no way for me to get 'stuck' in 2015 like current old people sometimes seem to be stuck in 1975.

(Yeah, I still play 20 year old computer games for nostalgic reasons, but I do so on a *new* computer; and I play new games as well. Even though I thought some games were beautiful to look at back then, I can clearly see that they're crap nowadays, especially on LCD-screens that don't have any other resolution than their native one.)

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I'm wondering if there is any (mechanical) reason for why my father always lets the tank of toilets refill incredibly slow. If, for whatever reason, you want to flush twice I have to wait almost a full minute before I can flush the second time, which is frustrating. Nowhere else have I encountered such slow tank refill. It might just be one of those things that my father believes in which is totally wrong (like you can't get a virus if you install software from the server instead of downloading it, which is a totally different rant). Every time I need to double flush I get the tendency to open op the little tap a little bit more so the tank refills faster.

Did he turn down the valve where the water comes in?
If it is the toilet itself, it may be the innards need replacing.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Did he turn down the valve where the water comes in?
If it is the toilet itself, it may be the innards need replacing.

It's the valve he's turned down. It's frustrating when you have to clean 3 toilets and spend most of the time waiting for the tanks to refill. I might try opening the valve on "my" toilet a bit more. He uses that toilet only a couple of times a year and won't likely notice the faster refill. Unfortunately I can't do that with the other two toilets.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

How old is your father?

Old people are bat-shit crazy. They only stay in touch with other old people, so they never see or do anything new. They also have the craziest idea's that something 'needs to be done like that' because it was like that in the 70's or before. If I tell my father to change X into Y or something, his answer is always: "Don't need to. *EVERYBODY* does it like this."

He's in his early 60s. He isn't that out of touch, except that he a few believes that are just plain wrong, and never were right.

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Yes, if 'everybody' are also 75-80 year old people who haven't changed anything in their homes since the 1970's (or even 60's.... don't start. My father's neighbor still has non-resettable fuses in her home. You know, a black box with those white screw-in thingies), then yes, they do it like that. Everybody else, including myself in my own home, don't use technology invented during the premiere of Ben Hur.

LOL, the store's got a reasonable new fusebox. But the house still has one with the screw-in fuses, though we do have the resettable versions inserted. But that's only logical, since we have an electro technical store and sell fuseboxes (like the painter whose house needs painting and the doctor that never has a check-up). My father has been planning on replacing the fusebox for years now, we usually have one on the shelf in the store downstairs. But it just hasn't happened.

[Rumpelteazer]

One of my favourite online craft stores is going to close its virtual doors. I had a sneaky suspicion when I ordered something last week. To get the free shipping I only needed to add an item worth a couple of Euros, in search of something to order I found that a lot of items were either sold out, with no date added when they would be back in stock, or had disappeared from the site completely.

It's a shame, because they often had things that my regulate craft store didn't have. According to the post of Facebook they lost their motivation to run the business. Lately several good online craft stores closed, so it looks like I will have to start ordering things from the US. This will mean I need to plan better because shipping from the US can be costly so I'll probably do a couple of big orders a year to save cost.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

He's in his early 60s. He isn't that out of touch, except that he a few believes that are just plain wrong, and never were right.

My father is in his 70's, and some things he believes are just... uh.... unrealistic. Some other things he believes were true, somewhere in the 1960's.

LOL, the store's got a reasonable new fusebox. But the house still has one with the screw-in fuses, though we do have the resettable versions inserted. But that's only logical, since we have an electro technical store and sell fuseboxes (like the painter whose house needs painting and the doctor that never has a check-up). My father has been planning on replacing the fusebox for years now, we usually have one on the shelf in the store downstairs. But it just hasn't happened.

That's the entire problem with that sort of technology. It lives for a very long time, so it looks like it never breaks.

"Don't fix it if it's not broken." At some point, there are problems, but they can still be fixed. Then replacement gets postponed for so long that *when* it finally breaks, the house burns down.

I've seen something similar with the keyboard/organ/piano guy around here. He sells digital instruments, and also does trade-ins. He has some old instruments, made 10-15 years ago, that are perfectly fine, except for the fact that they contain a disk drive instead of USB.

I've said a hundred times: for the instruments that are worth it (huge home organs, digital grand piano's) invest in a floppy emulator that takes SD-cards. It costs €100. That amount of money makes no difference with an instrument that cost €40K back then, and still kosts €8-10K now.

I even wrote him a manual on how to replace the drives, based on a replacement I did a few years ago when I still had a home organ.

No, he just leaves the disk drives in there, and the only thing he does is complain how hard (and expensive) it is to find new diskettes to give customers. "I have to order diskettes to give to customers, because I can't find them around here anymore, and without them, all the registration options of those instruments are useless."

Yeah, right. Everybody except one or two manufacturers have quit making them, and nobody stocks them anymore because nobody has a need for them. All the machinery that is still useful (machinery in a production facility) has long been moved to disk drive emulation; at least, if the owners of the plants are smart enough.