Something Random

ddrueding

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All the staircases in all the buildings I used to work for were (at the very least) behind the security desk, if not set to the fire alarm full-time. Finding an available staircase is harder than it would seem.
 

jtr1962

Storage? I am Storage!
Joined
Jan 25, 2002
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Flushing, New York
I can also think of three other buildings high enough and to which I have access, but I don't know their names. You can't find one in New York????
I can find plenty of buildings but the steps at Lexington Avenue are the only ones I've used regularly. Next time I visit a apairofpcs I'll time myself going up all 21 flights in his building.
 

timwhit

Hairy Aussie
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Jan 23, 2002
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Chicago, IL
I used to run the stairs at lunch in the NBC Tower when I worked in that building. I would generally do 100 flights in sets of 10.

I'm in Two Prudential Plaza now and the doors lock once you go into the stairwell. Plus, I don't think they want people in there from what I hear.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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I can sustain 6.6 flights of stairs per minute for an hour without resting according to the horrible machine I use every day, but I doubt I could double that pace for any serious length of time.
 

timwhit

Hairy Aussie
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Jan 23, 2002
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Chicago, IL
I just tried to smash an old HDD with a hammer, it was amazing resilient. The platters were definitely bent out of shape, but my neighbors were starting to wonder if I had a screw loose so I stopped.
 

CougTek

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Jan 21, 2002
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Québec, Québec
I just tried to smash an old HDD with a hammer, it was amazing resilient.
Well, guess what : it's mostly made of metal.

I usually put the hard drive on several layers of shock-absorbing materials when I smash one. It still makes a lot of noise, but at least the people on the other side of the floor don't think I'm trying to enter their office without using the stairs or elevator.
 

CougTek

Hairy Aussie
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Jan 21, 2002
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If you want to do it in a more civilized way, just open the drive, disassemble the platters and use sandpaper on the platters. It will take you more time, but it will be equally effective.

Personnally, I'm more the barbaric type.
 

Stereodude

Not really a
Joined
Jan 22, 2002
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Michigan
I'm probably the only person on this forum without a smartphone.
Maybe... I don't have one willingly. My personal cell phone is 5+ years old and is definitely "dumb". I have a Blackberry because my employer gave it to me. I don't carry it around with me outside of work hours, or use it like a typical smart phone user. I check on my work e-mail once or twice outside of work hours, and that's it.
 

P5-133XL

Xmas '97
Joined
Jan 15, 2002
Messages
3,173
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Salem, Or
I don't identify as one or the other. I'm probably the only person on this forum without a smartphone.

I don't own a smart phone. The only cell phone I own is one that I keep in my car for emergencies. It is a cheap Nokia that I bought at Wallmart for $20. It only has 20 minutes per month and the plan only costs $7.5 per month from T-mobile. I doubt I've used 20 minutes in the last year...
 

jtr1962

Storage? I am Storage!
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Jan 25, 2002
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Flushing, New York
I'm probably the only person on this forum without a smartphone.
I don't have one, either. In fact, I don't have a cell phone at all. I like gadgets, but not ones you have to pay x dollars per month to use. Now if someone came out with a very basic cell phone with no monthly fee I would think about it.
 

Handruin

Administrator
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Jan 13, 2002
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USA
I don't have one, either. In fact, I don't have a cell phone at all. I like gadgets, but not ones you have to pay x dollars per month to use. Now if someone came out with a very basic cell phone with no monthly fee I would think about it.

Do you use a home phone? I do not have a home phone so my mobile phone is my "home" phone with a few extra bells and whistles including internet service.
 

ddrueding

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Horsens, Denmark
Nope, I'm bringing them here. I have no desire to go to Moscow again, and they don't seem to mind California. My mother-in-law is coming in September before my wife returns to work, and my father-in-law will be out about 8 months later.
 

jtr1962

Storage? I am Storage!
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Flushing, New York
Do you use a home phone? I do not have a home phone so my mobile phone is my "home" phone with a few extra bells and whistles including internet service.
Yep-we still have a landline. It's part of our combined internet/phone/TV package. So far I haven't had compelling need for a cell phone. I just never do anything where I've needed to make a phone call from anywhere other than home.
 

ddrueding

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I feel much better doing my long bike rides with a cellphone. I do ride with a toolkit and a couple bucks, but being able to call the wife and be picked up when things go bad just makes for a more pleasant day.
 

Bozo

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Feb 12, 2002
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Twilight Zone
I don't have one, either. In fact, I don't have a cell phone at all. I like gadgets, but not ones you have to pay x dollars per month to use. Now if someone came out with a very basic cell phone with no monthly fee I would think about it.

I have a Trak Phone. Pay as you go. No monthly fees.
 

Handruin

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I feel much better doing my long bike rides with a cellphone. I do ride with a toolkit and a couple bucks, but being able to call the wife and be picked up when things go bad just makes for a more pleasant day.

I do the same as you though I don't ride nearly as far away as you do. I also like using MapMyRide app to track where I go and how I do. I also keep some money on my and my ID in case I get injured.
 

ddrueding

Fixture
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Horsens, Denmark
I do the same as you though I don't ride nearly as far away as you do. I also like using MapMyRide app to track where I go and how I do. I also keep some money on my and my ID in case I get injured.

Insurance card and a RoadID bracelet (I can offer a discount to anyone interested). I use Strava to track my rides, and Glympse to keep my wife posted on my location.
 

mubs

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Nov 22, 2002
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Somewhere in time.
At least some things go well in life!

In my previous location, my internet plan cost $20 a month for 4 Mbit speed and 15GB download (speed drops to 256 kbit if I download more than 15 GB in that month. Speed goes back to normal when the 30 days are up).

In my new location, I pay $23 for 8 Mbit download (upload is still 0.75 Mbit), 60 GB download (speed drop to 512 Kbit if I exceed 60 GB).

I never got more than 2.5 Mbit speed in my old location. Here, I almost touch 10 Mbit. Best part is, I set up my wireless network today, and I get 9.9 Mbit through my wireless! For me, this is more than awesome!
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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I swear to crap I downloaded more than 60GB of stuff at home yesterday. I know it's a function of bandwidth and availability but I can't imagine that I'd be a happy camper if I had a 9.something Mbit connection that I could only use full-out for something like 15 hours a month.
 

CougTek

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Heard at the office this morning : one of my co-workers told a client that he should keep the old hard drive from an aging system because it's one of the parts that is less likely to fail inside a computer. It was hard to choke my laugh.
 

mubs

Storage? I am Storage!
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Somewhere in time.
Merc, I rarely exceeded the old 15GB quota; only when downloading from Technet when I had my membership for a year, and sometimes when downloading from Youtube of a particular genre of stuff. It was pretty irritating when it slowed down, though. I think I'll be a happy camper now. We rarely have "all-you-can-eat" plans for anything.
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
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Feb 1, 2003
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USA
I swear to crap I downloaded more than 60GB of stuff at home yesterday. I know it's a function of bandwidth and availability but I can't imagine that I'd be a happy camper if I had a 9.something Mbit connection that I could only use full-out for something like 15 hours a month.

60GB is more than I have downloaded in my whole life.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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From midnight to 11:59PM on Friday I downloaded 119GB of stuff and sent another 31GB out. That's way above average even for me but it does kind of suggest that bandwidth caps on fast connections are pretty stupid. Why have a 50Mbit downstream path if you can't use it?
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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Jan 17, 2002
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I am omnipresent
If I had a good enough reason to need to download 16TB in a month, I'd goddammed better be able to do it since that's what I'm paying for and what my contract says they'll deliver to me.
Yes Comcast probably hates me.
 

CougTek

Hairy Aussie
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Jan 21, 2002
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Québec, Québec
If I had a good enough reason to need to download 16TB in a month,...

You could do what I'm trying to do now at work (among other things) and install an openstack-based cloud targeted at online video streaming. With a few thousands followers, you'll easily reach (and maybe bust) your 16TB per month allowance. That's the kind of bandwidth you need for a 24x7 TV channel, for instance.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
Joined
Jan 17, 2002
Messages
22,275
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I am omnipresent
I can support five simultaneous 3Mbps streams from Plex off my cable modem now. I can't even imagine what it would take to do 24x7 streaming to thousands of clients.
 
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