The Official Status Thread
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@TimeBandit said in The Official Status Thread:
@dcon said in The Official Status Thread:
Went back to my wired speakers...
You lack courage
Is this meme going to replace Losing is Fun?
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@ben_lubar said in The Official Status Thread:
@TimeBandit said in The Official Status Thread:
@dcon said in The Official Status Thread:
Went back to my wired speakers...
You lack courage
Is this meme going to replace Losing is Fun?
When was that a meme?
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Status: Darn, apparently running Unreal game instances on an Azure Basic A1 instance (essentially a 1.6 Ghz single-core machine with 1.75 Gb ram) doesn't work very well.
Holy crap.
Running four instances of the requisite size will cost ~$600/mo! We better get subscribers!
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STATUS Mildly amused.
At present? So one day we going to manufacture them big enough so that they can't be used for their intended purpose and use them as doorstops instead.
I think my one liner here is going to be...
At present!? So one day we make them too big and use them to plug holes in dikes instead.
Right! I'm going back in my box.
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@DogsB said in The Official Status Thread:
I'm going back in my box.
Remember to take the tampon out first ;)
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Status: Starting six weeks of being English instead of British.
Why? Easy:
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@RaceProUK said in The Official Status Thread:
Status: Starting six weeks of being English instead of British.
Why?
Hedgehog saw its shadow?
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Status: Relieved we just beat France 19-16. We really should have played better, to be honest.
Scotland beating Ireland 27-22 though, that was a great match. Especially since one of the directors of the company I work for is Irish, meaning I can mock him :D
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And for those not into sports, think of it this way: England sportsed better than France, but only just, and should have sportsed better. And Scotland sportsed brilliantly.
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@RaceProUK said in The Official Status Thread:
England sportsed better than France
For those of us who are not English, French, Scottish or Irish, what manner of sportsing is involved?
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@HardwareGeek Rugby.
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Status: I hate working with the tiny stranded wires used in headphones.
On the plus side, my headphones are now working properly again! :D
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Status: Happy I found a download of Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing. I'm winner!
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Status: So, it turns out I have a magic YouView box.
Earlier, I had set it up to record the rugby, in case I missed it. I still watched it live, but left the recordings set up anyway. Thing is, I watched the first match, which was on BBC1, but the second was on ITV, and the signal wasn't working.
Yet the recording of both worked perfectly.
So, yeah, I have a magic YouView box
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Status: Turned on my General Dynamics Go Book XR-1 that I acquired a while ago.
This was the one that I didn't have a hard drive caddy for, so I bodged a solution by booting off a USB hard drive.
Guess what happens when I try to update Chrome?
Ok, that one's probably because I was using the corporate installer. Lets visit https://www.google.com/chrome to get the latest!
.... Hmm....
Luckily there's an Insecure way to get it...
Visit http://www.google.com/chrome and...
Wait, what?!?!
Also:
Besides that, Windows still appears to be working fine as the last time I turned it on! No nags about updates, no "Getting things ready", no.... Oh wait, I better disable GWX, huh?
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@Tsaukpaetra said in The Official Status Thread:
my General Dynamics Go Book XR-1
Oh yeah, now I remember why I storaged it, the darn fan is damaged and makes a really loud sound (though it does still work).
Fun fact: you can disable the fan in BIOS. Just be prepared to cook your lap.
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Status: Powering up one of my ancient (time of the gobook mentioned above) Gateway tablet that (apparently) has Windows 2008 installed on it.
It's sllloooowwwwww.....
Edit: Oh hey, it's the Minecraft Bukkit machine! And it has the tail screensaver I wrote! Snatch!
Edit edit: If anyone wants in on that tail action, have at it! Apparently I made this in 2013: TailScreenSaver.scr
Only configurable options are the file to open, and font size. Requires .Net 4.0 (probably), and will prompt for configuration automatically (I guess?). Oh, and it seems it spawns a tail for all monitors, which can be annoying if you haven't configured a file to watch, as the dialog pops up but underneath the first instance (which is always on top)...
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@Tsaukpaetra said in The Official Status Thread:
Fun fact: you can disable the fan in BIOS. Just be prepared to cook your lap.
I prefer it sunny sides up, no boiled eggs
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@Tsaukpaetra said in The Official Status Thread:
Just be prepared to cook your lap.
The Bad Ideas thread is .
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@loopback0
So handegg without the padding or half-time extravaganza
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Status: frontal cortex temporarily shut down for repairs. Brain is now operating in zombie mode. Please refrain from making me do things that need thinking, and remember that all legal contracts signed in this state will be declared null.
also I FEEL DIZZYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
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@anonymous234 said in The Official Status Thread:
Status: frontal cortex temporarily shut down for repairs. Brain is now operating in zombie mode. Please refrain from making me do things that need thinking, and remember that all legal contracts signed in this state will be declared null.
also I FEEL DIZZYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Query: Interrupt 13h02 0x399b182F00 0xa7bbab12aa
Response?Did I get root access?
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@Tsaukpaetra I'm trying to come up with a witty response like "sorry, my brain doesn't run x86, I'm more of a RISC person", but then I realized that if my brain were a computer architecture it would totally be x86. It's super optimized for some stuff, but is otherwise terribly designed, with lots of arcane features and design patterns that no one really understands, and has some pretty egregious bugs that you have to work around.
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Status: beginning to believe that "if you can afford to rent, you can afford to own" is nonsense in this part of the world.
So I've been living in a 1 bedroom apartment comfortably for almost a decade that costs 25% of my take-home pay. It's a pretty good deal considering many similar arrangements in the area could run 30-50%. This year, I got the crazy idea that building equity while living somewhere might be a nice idea, so I've started to look at properties.
I've ruled out condominiums due to the fees making them cost around as much as a townhouse mortgage, and too many horror stories such as, "Hey guys, we need a new roof, so each of you now owes us $10k." That plus townhouses having a wider resale market makes them the more compelling choice. Realtor agrees, so yesterday we take a look at a handful of townhouses that I deemed to be in my price range (around 30-40% of take-home). At this price point, one's choices are grubby 30+ year-old construction in rough neighborhoods around 1000-1300 square feet in space. When we visited the best-looking and highest-priced of the bunch, we found two other realtors and a couple of couples in it at the same time, suggesting there would be some bidding to drive up that price!
Realtor has been keen on getting me into some (admittedly nice) new construction that's about 15 minutes further from the city than I am now, and would cost >50% of take-home pay. Initially, I shrugged it off as some misguided shilling, but now I'm beginning to agree with her and think that's probably one of the better options.
What annoys me most about the whole scenario is that I make about 2x what the average Joe makes, and if I have to tighten my belt to buy property, what does the average person do? Are dual incomes mandatory for the average person to own a place, or does the average person commute 60-90 minutes (without traffic!) each way to find sane property values?
Realtor believes I can afford more than I think I can afford, and has directed me to one of the finance people at her company who will assuage my concerns. I'll be meeting this person next week and look forward to hearing about the alchemy that will make numbers seem smaller than they really are. I wasn't impressed with our initial conversation, as a few of my questions got, "Well, you'd need an accountant to answer that for you, I don't really feel comfortable talking about that," as an answer. Sorry, you don't get to pass the buck like that when 1) it's my ass on the line, and 2) it's your job to sell me on the issue.
Worst comes to worst, I'll just continue renting and develop "equity" by saving up money from not paying over twice what I'm paying now to live somewhere!
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Status: Saw the Ghost In The Shell trailer. Looks nice?
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@Groaner Is your realtor charging you a flat fee no matter what you buy? If not, then she's making a percentage of the selling price of whatever you buy, so she has an incentive to get you to pay a higher price. Sure, realtors will say they have a code of ethics, blah blah blah, but they're human just like the rest of us. In that light, you might ask yourself why she says she believes you can afford more than you think you can afford. After all, she'll get her commission at closing, and you can't come back at her if you think you paid too much.
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And if in doubt, consult an independent financial advisor.
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@Groaner Yep, renting is almost always cheaper than mortgage payments for an equivalent domicile. I seem to recall hearing/reading somewhere (Dave Ramsey, maybe? probably) that your housing payment (rent or mortgage) should be only about 25% of your income.
@Groaner said in The Official Status Thread:
Worst comes to worst, I'll just continue renting and develop "equity" by saving up money from not paying over twice what I'm paying now to live somewhere!
Exactly. But be sure to actually save towards buying a house. Once you have enough to plunk down full price for a house in cash, you'll be doing very well, and might be surprised at how much prices can drop if you're not getting a mortgage along with it. I'd recommend checking out Dave Ramsey's advice on budgeting, finances, and buying vs. renting.
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@Groaner I am also looking to buy a new house in a new state. I also make 2x the average Joe, and my wife is still student. My plan is to sell my current house afterwards. The problem is that housing prices have risen 30% in the last year! I am looking at houses more than 90 minutes drive from my work, I have so far made 2 offers with an escalation clause that went 20k above the asking price but both times I lost the bid! There is this hyper-inflation I can see, but apparently there is no housing bubble. I bought my last house in 2009 and now it is worth 2x so I think that was a good equity, but in this market I do not believe there will be any additional equity. Now my plan is to buy a small and cheaper house, sell my current house (convert that to to some other investment other than real estate) and wait for the eventual market crash to purchase a real house (assuming I have a job then)!!
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@Tsaukpaetra said in The Official Status Thread:
Minecraft Bukkit
Is that where a whole bunch of blockmen spurt white blocks on a blockwoman's face?
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@Lorne-Kates said in The Official Status Thread:
@Tsaukpaetra said in The Official Status Thread:
Minecraft Bukkit
Is that where a whole bunch of blockmen spurt
white blockscements on a blockwoman's face?FTFY
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@Groaner said in The Official Status Thread:
what does the average person do?
Lives at home with their Boomer parents who fucked up the economy so badly that their kids can't afford to buy a house anymore.
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@lolwhat said in The Official Status Thread:
@Groaner Is your realtor charging you a flat fee no matter what you buy? If not, then she's making a percentage of the selling price of whatever you buy, so she has an incentive to get you to pay a higher price. Sure, realtors will say they have a code of ethics, blah blah blah, but they're human just like the rest of us. In that light, you might ask yourself why she says she believes you can afford more than you think you can afford. After all, she'll get her commission at closing, and you can't come back at her if you think you paid too much.
Yep, she gets a 3% commission. This has been in my mind since day one; in fact, during one of our conversations on an unrelated topic, I said, "It's unusual for a provider of a product or service and its consumers to have their interests perfectly aligned." I don't think she saw the irony in the situation, or was intentionally ignoring it.
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@Groaner There are 2 types of realtors. Work with a buyer realtor, this is from past experience. Also ask to make sure your realtor is independent of the seller's.
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@djls45 said in The Official Status Thread:
@Groaner Yep, renting is almost always cheaper than payments for an equivalent domicile. I seem to recall hearing/reading somewhere (Dave Ramsey, maybe? probably) that your housing payment (rent or mortgage) should be only about 25% of your income.
Yes, and that is my current situation, but I think that'd be difficult to pull off based on property values around here unless I were to rent out the basement, and then I have to take on the hassles of being a landlord. I do not currently have to deal with the hassles of being a landlord.
@Groaner said in The Official Status Thread:
Worst comes to worst, I'll just continue renting and develop "equity" by saving up money from not paying over twice what I'm paying now to live somewhere!
Exactly. But be sure to actually save towards buying a house. Once you have enough to plunk down full price for a house in cash, you'll be doing very well, and might be surprised at how much prices can drop if you're not getting a mortgage along with it. I'd recommend checking out Dave Ramsey's advice on budgeting, finances, and buying vs. renting.
Amusingly, some back-of-the-envelope calculations indicate that in about 5 years, I could probably save up close to $100k were I to stay renting, and that my rent payment is roughly equal to the interest I would pay on a loan. Granted, I can deduct interest payments on my income taxes, so there are some savings, but I don't think the situation is as rosy as the finance people at the agency imagine.
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@dse said in The Official Status Thread:
@Groaner There are 2 types of realtors. Work with a buyer realtor, this is from past experience. Also ask to make sure your realtor is independent of the seller's.
She is a buyer's agent. I believe local ordinance requires there to be a buyer's and seller's agent for each transaction.
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@dse said in The Official Status Thread:
@Groaner I am also looking to buy a new house in a new state. I also make 2x the average Joe, and my wife is still student. My plan is to sell my current house afterwards. The problem is that housing prices have risen 30% in the last year! I am looking at houses more than 90 minutes drive from my work, I have so far made 2 offers with an escalation clause that went 20k above the asking price but both times I lost the bid! There is this hyper-inflation I can see, but apparently there is no housing bubble. I bought my last house in 2009 and now it is worth 2x so I think that was a good equity, but in this market I do not believe there will be any additional equity. Now my plan is to buy a small and cheaper house, sell my current house (convert that to to some other investment other than real estate) and wait for the eventual market crash to purchase a real house (assuming I have a job then)!!
There are also some mumblings that the mortgage interest income tax deduction may be on the chopping block. The finance people I've talked to imply that this deduction increases one's purchasing power by roughly 25%. Were it to go away, I'd imagine that housing prices would suddenly drop by that same amount.
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@Groaner There are also foreign investors that come with cash, they buy the properties and drive up the prices in a bidding game. I give it one year.
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Things that are infuriating to read in graduate school: "Students will work in groups of 3."
No, fuck you.
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Status: Watching the Patsies get pounded. It is a beautiful sight.
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@lolwhat
I'm not sure whether I consider it a good or bad thing that I'm not getting the commercials (other than the network spots) since I'm watching via the Internet. (And what's up with that, anyway, why wouldn't you show the commercials you're getting paid for to Internet viewers and thus justify a higher price? )
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And now for an "anti-Trump" message from Bill S. Preston, Esquire and Ted "Theodore" Logan
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@lolwhat Fuck!
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@ben_lubar said in The Official Status Thread:
@lolwhat said in The Official Status Thread:
@lolwhat Fuck!
HULK SMASH
THAT IS NOT HOW YOU SEX, BEN!!!!
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Status: Nah, there's no reason to tweet Stephanie anymore...
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@Luhmann said in The Official Status Thread:
So handegg without the padding or half-time extravaganza
Careful - they're quite sensitive about that round here.