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You are viewing the most recent 25 entries.
7th November 2009
markgritter @ 8:19pm: Half-Dead Power Supply?
 My gaming computer bricked: no lights, no fans. Naturally that led me to be suspicious of the power supply. The little Shuttle boxes are packed quite tightly so it was not entirely straightforward to get the power supply extricated. But when I did, I noticed that it made a little sparking/clicking noise when the power was applied. Also, all the +12V outputs seemed to be between +6V and +8V. So, diagnosis confirmed. Fortunately I was able to just look up the power supply serial number on Google and find many people willing to sell me a replacement. I was also able to confirm that falling voltage is a common symptom of failing power supplies. But, I'm not clear from an electronics perspective why that should be. I've put together a switching power supply or two from components, but just DC-to-DC. My gut feel is that the order the components would fail in is: (1) fan, (2) "switch", (3) rectifier, (4) capacitor, (5) inductor. But I don't quite see how a switch failure would still provide DC current, just not enough. Maybe it's the capacitors that tend to go first, and thus they don't hold enough charge to reach the desired voltage. I wonder if anybody has done a study... maybe I should ask Patrick, our platform guru.
mgs @ 7:32pm:
 The extended wet weather and early snow had made me worry that we would wind up going through the winter with holes in the roof. But the roofers have now completed work and the dumpster is gone. When we originally talked with the guy he said they would be 2 days of work and they wound up taking 6. It's odd to have people walk by your windows when you're on the third floor. ------ I've been reading and watching stuff from edge.org/archive.html lots of interesting things. While reading an article on the death of newspapers I was led to wonder what the oldest newspaper still publishing was. www.wan-press.org/article2823.html has that among other info. A Swedish Newspaper Post- och Inrikes Tidningar has been publishing since 1645.
They also have a list of the top 100 newspapers by circulation. I was surprised that 7 of the top 10 were Japanese. 75 of 100 are Asian. South Korea has a paper with larger circulation than USA today, the top US paper. Thailand and Taiwan each have 5 papers on the list, more than any western country other than US and UK. I wonder why they are doing so well.
allochthon, posting in
wiscon @ 7:38pm: Programming: the bodyswap rape debate
 Is this an OK thing to do here? Some parts of fandom have been discussing a Stargate Universe plot thread, using The Ancient communication stones and concerning body swapping and the temporary occupant of the body then having sex with someone. Well, the first instance was this week - two males swapped bodies, and then one of them had sex. I doubt there are many in this community who wouldn't call that rape, but maybe I'm wrong. My point here is that I think this would be a great thing to discuss at Wiscon 34, but I have no idea how to propose it as a panel (I mean, I know how to technically, on the WisCon 34 Program Submissions page, but how to phrase it with respect and intelligence (as I'm likely to get a bit worked up.)) I'm not necessarily trying to start a discussion of the topic here (although I would love to see one) but would anyone who is familiar with the topic care to try to create a program description that would hopefully result in a wonderful Wiscon discussion, rather than a flamewar (which is what I would end up starting)? Some of the discussions: "Jen" posts on Joseph Mallozzi's Aug 11th blog about a casting call and the plot line that goes with it</a> (search on "Do you have any idea how offensive this is?" as the nicks can't be searched on.) Aug 12th post on Joseph Mallozzi's blog with some responses to the earlier post.(starts with "Re the “Sabatage” debate:") ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) sheafrotherdon has a number of posts on it under the tag gatefail. John Scalzi (Go John!) is a creative consultant on SG-U, and has a comment thread regarding this here and the "permenant SG-U thread" has bits more. A number of times this community has opened my eyes and showed me new ways to approach things. I'm asking a favor: that the community do this again, because I think this topic is worth discussing, but I'm fully aware that I am unable to do it in a constructive, civilized fashion.
sunah @ 7:00pm: Daily Tweets
 Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter
shweta_narayan @ 4:55pm: ICFA scholarship update: concerns signal boost + rambling
 So! I posted about this and therefore am also boosting signal about concerns about this scholarship on a couple grounds. I'm not being ambivalent about this, I'm being confused. Basically, I haven't the spoons to figure out quite what's going on, just that something is, and I think a number of people are partially right about it, and I have friends on both sides and no brain to either be neutral or to analyze anything clearly. So I figure I'll link & let other people figure it out. --- ( But this got me thinking out loud. This bit's really for serious not intended as authoritative in any sense, just as maybe a conversation starter. )
Current Mood:  on the daunted side
serenejournal @ 2:49pm: I've done easy and I've done hard, and easy is better
 Accidentally posted this to the other blog. Oops. A friend posted that someone famous was going to be at an important family event later on, and I mentioned it to someotherguy, to which he replied: "Yeah, I stopped being surprised a long time ago when our friends end up in the news some way or another. Especially when it's people on our periphery -- you know, like Wombabes and alt.polyites and sockbiters. Half the time they end up being the person who, like, invented antimatter or something." And the thing my brain was doing was saying "He said *sockbiter*!" That is to say, he likes my friends enough and cares enough about them/me that he knows what to call them in the aggregate. My former spouse... well... um... mistrusted internet people, and with a few exceptions (waves at ![[info - personal]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) firecat and piglet) *hated* all my friends. This is much better. And now back to turning my pit of an apartment into something habitable. It's gotten so bad that I was humiliated inviting my friends in today (not that they are the type to judge me poorly because of it) and posted "before" pics to alt.recovery.clutter, just so you have an idea of how bad it's gotten. See you next time I take a cleaning break. Wish me luck.
Current Mood: industrious
Current Music: Dirty World, Traveling Wilburys
coffeeem @ 2:32pm: D'oh! Self-Promotion!
 Boy, am I lame at it! The month of July was, well, Interesting, so I think I forgot to announce a totally terrific thing. Thanks to Tor Books, Bone Dance is back in print! (Oh, and in Canada, too!) I think that must be Theo on the cover, even though he's not wearing glasses; Sparrow looks very Hispanic/Native North American, as Frances points out at a rather tense moment in the book.  I love Bone Dance, not least because it challenged so many things I hadn't realized I believed about genre. And I still want to run away to live with the Hoodoo Engineers. In other news, I miraculously Leave The House for two, count 'em, two conventions this month! First, my home con, TusCon, November 13 - 15 at the InnSuites hotel in Tucson. Then, on November 27 - 29, Will and I are Guests of Honor at the Darkover Grand Council in Timonium, MD (near Baltimore). Marion Zimmer Bradley bought my first published short story, so I feel pretty swell about that. *g*
Current Mood:  frazzled
elisem @ 3:45pm: ArtLog: sorting dinosaur bone beads
 I just posted about it in BotMo, and there are photographs. Check it out.
lcohen @ 3:01pm: random question time
 what is the advantage of a messenger bag over just getting a backpack?
truepenny @ 12:41pm: Storytellers Unplugged for November
 Another Q&A session.One of the questions is a spoiler for the end of Corambis, so I'm going to stick it behind a cut-tag. ( here )
pandapajamas, posting in
sfbayarea @ 11:16am: US Congress May Create "de facto Ban on Abortion" via Health Care Reform!
 Edited to add: Congress is in fact OPEN today (Saturday) and people CAN call their Reps NOW! I just called Speaker Pelosi's office in DC and they had people answering the phones. People on the west coast should have a bit more time to phone their local offices, as well, SO PICK UP THE PHONE AND MAKE IT HAPPEN, FOLKS!!! This is SERIOUS!
The Capitol Switchboard is RINGING BUSY, so go here to find the contact info for your reps: http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/mcapdir.html
Don't know who your rep is??? Go here to locate them by zip code (top left corner): http://www.house.gov/Hello Friends, Please forward widely! This morning around 1am, Members of the US Congress House of Representatives agreed to allow an Up or Down Vote TODAY to create what would essentially become a "de facto ban" on abortion services for private as well as potential public insurers. This is outrageous and NEEDS TO BE STOPPED! Where do your reps stand? Check here: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/11/7/801738/-HCR-House-Debate:-The-Stupak-AmendmentMake sure to contact your Representative in the House and Senate via email and follow up on Monday morning with a phone call!!! Go here: http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/issues/abortion/access-to-abortion/health-care-reform.htmlNews from The NY Times: http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/07/abortion-fight-erupts-in-health-care-debate/From The Hill (DC): http://thehill.com/homenews/house/66789-stupak-to-get-up-or-down-vote-on-amendment-to-block-abortion-fundingIn Pro-Choice Solidarity!
Current Mood: anxious
pandapajamas, posting in
eastbay @ 11:16am: US Congress May Create "de facto Ban on Abortion" via Health Care Reform!
Edited to add: Congress is in fact OPEN today (Saturday) and people CAN call their Reps NOW! I just called Speaker Pelosi's office in DC and they had people answering the phones. People on the west coast should have a bit more time to phone their local offices, as well, SO PICK UP THE PHONE AND MAKE IT HAPPEN, FOLKS!!! This is SERIOUS!
The Capitol Switchboard is RINGING BUSY, so go here to find the contact info for your reps: http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/mcapdir.html
Don't know who your rep is??? Go here to locate them by zip code (top left corner): http://www.house.gov/Hello Friends, Please forward widely! This morning around 1am, Members of the US Congress House of Representatives agreed to allow an Up or Down Vote TODAY to create what would essentially become a "de facto ban" on abortion services for private as well as potential public insurers. This is outrageous and NEEDS TO BE STOPPED! Where do your reps stand? Check here: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/11/7/801738/-HCR-House-Debate:-The-Stupak-AmendmentMake sure to contact your Representative in the House and Senate via email and follow up on Monday morning with a phone call!!! Go here: http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/issues/abortion/access-to-abortion/health-care-reform.htmlNews from The NY Times: http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/07/abortion-fight-erupts-in-health-care-debate/From The Hill (DC): http://thehill.com/homenews/house/66789-stupak-to-get-up-or-down-vote-on-amendment-to-block-abortion-fundingIn Pro-Choice Solidarity!
fredcritter @ 12:48pm: Sharing the Good Stuff
 sraun just blogged a thought that reminded me of a wonderful web site someone pointed out to me that I know you'd all enjoy: It's called Cheese or Font? and it allows you to test your knowledge of both cuisine and compositing in one fell swoop.
Current Mood:  silly
sdn @ 12:11pm: book question.
 does anyone have a copy of margaret drabble's the garrick year that i can borrow? it appears to be OP, it's not lendable at the library, and used copies are going for, as one says, stupid money. thank you in advance.
Current Mood: hopeful
Current Music: imaginary music
elisem @ 10:44am: a word to the wise on which Beads of the Month packages are selling out fast
I've posted here about which are selling fastest, in case you are pondering but would hate to miss a particular month entirely. We've been taking orders for thirty-three hours now, and three packages are sold out entirely, with a couple more on the two-thirds gone and the half-gone lists. This is the wildest BotMo frenzy ever.
lcohen @ 10:09am: the enemy within
i've been allergic to something in my kitchen all week. couldn't figure out what. this morning i was going through a bunch of stuff that i brought home from last week's singing to recycle. there, at the bottom of a bag of newspaper, was a bottle of hand sanitizer. it's out back, now--i'll take it into work for someone to use. but my god that stuff is deadly.
lsanderson @ 6:52am: Off to count
 Ballots soon.
supergee @ 6:41am:
 Shakesville discusses Bernard-Henri Levy's latest defense of Roman Polanski. Everyone says Levy is the intellectual heir of Jean-Paul Sartre. I guess you start with excusing rapists and work your way up to excusing gulags.
6th November 2009
elisem @ 9:57pm: ArtLog: Beads of the Month gobsmackery
Uh, we're sold out of April MOAMs and November MOAMs. Still got other sizes left for those months, though. But wow: we sold out of two months of MOAMs in twenty-two hours. Edited to add: We are now also sold out of October MOAMs.
Current Mood: gobsmacked, for sure
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