Something Random

[ddrueding]

An accounting software package. That was considerably cheaper than our estimating/dispatch/time cards software package (~$225k) or our concrete batching/invoicing/inventory system (~$185k). Note that these are software/install/training and don't include hardware or annual maintenance costs. They don't even include the cost of the ESXi, MS Server or MS SQL licenses that I'll also need to run them.

We do $50M/yr give or take, so this is actually pretty reasonable.

 

[Mercutio]

Actually, you may even want to feel lucky that they only want MSSQL. I got to see the bills for an Oracle based job management system at a company that might've been 30% of your size and the numbers on that make Microsoft software and CALs look downright affordable.

 

[ddrueding]

Yup. The Batch plant software required a full Oracle and Citrix Metaframe implementation; we were in for a quarter-mil before the software even arrived.

 

[LunarMist]

I can't find the old post for a reply, but Brian cancer has returned.

 

[Mercutio]

I am so sorry. Is there anything we can do?

 

[timwhit]

Sounds pretty bad, do you have a support system in place?

 

[Handruin]

Sorry to hear that Lunar, is there anything we can do to help? My mom had lung cancer that spread to the brain so I know a bit about what she went through given how her situation was. I realize no two are the same.

 

[mubs]

Sorry to hear this, Lunar. Since you say it's returned, it presumably went away once. May be it will again, with treatment or because of spontaneous remission?

 

[Mercutio]

Man, that Brian Cancer is a dick.

Did everyone see that the estimated ratio of actual female users to males on AshleyMadison.com was approximately 1:2800?
I'd love to see the figures for other personals sites. Given the lack of human interaction I've seen on Match.com and OKCupid, I'd be curious to know what percentage of users on those sites are bots or otherwise faked.

 

[Howell]

I'm sorry to hear that Lunar.

The ratio could be worse. Who knows how many accounts were created by females investigating their significant other.

 

[Stereodude]

I presume you're talking about yourself LM? If so, that really sucks... Is there anything the doctors can do?

 

[LunarMist]

I presume you're talking about yourself LM? If so, that really sucks... Is there anything the doctors can do?

Oh no. Sorry to be unclear, but it's not me.

 

[sedrosken]

That really sucks, for you or for anyone who has it.

 

[LunarMist]

Man, that Brian Cancer is a dick.

Did everyone see that the estimated ratio of actual female users to males on AshleyMadison.com was approximately 1:2800?
I'd love to see the figures for other personals sites. Given the lack of human interaction I've seen on Match.com and OKCupid, I'd be curious to know what percentage of users on those sites are bots or otherwise faked.

I really don't understand who she is and why people are concerned about a hacking. Do the people normally meet in the real world?

 

[LunarMist]

Sorry to hear this, Lunar. Since you say it's returned, it presumably went away once. May be it will again, with treatment or because of spontaneous remission?

The SR search function is not working for me. IIRC a glicoblastoma is mostly fatal even when the tumor is removed and chemotherapy is used.
It seems like everyone I know is dying lately.

 

[ddrueding]

Sorry to hear that Lunar.

That is kind of a thing. A while ago all my friends were getting married, then they were having kids. Eventually they will be dying.

 

[Chewy509]

Sorry to hear Lunar, hope things go the best as they possibly may happen.

 

[Chewy509]

I really don't understand who she is and why people are concerned about a hacking. Do the people normally meet in the real world?

You do understand "Ashley Madison" is just a name used by a dating service that specialises in hooking people up to have an affair (outside of their marriage)? (Sorry if I missed are sarcasm).

Having used dating websites in the past, (and even met my beautiful and gorgeous wife on one), I too would be interested in the active user ratios. (See if it matched my experience based on the responses I received whilst active on those sites).

 

[LunarMist]

You do understand "Ashley Madison" is just a name used by a dating service that specialises in hooking people up to have an affair (outside of their marriage)? (Sorry if I missed are sarcasm).

Having used dating websites in the past, (and even met my beautiful and gorgeous wife on one), I too would be interested in the active user ratios. (See if it matched my experience based on the responses I received whilst active on those sites).

Well I suppose it may be embarrassing to some people, but who uses a real name and real info? Are these people stupid? Is adultery really a big deal anymore?

 

[sdbardwick]

Well I suppose it may be embarrassing to some people,

1. You underestimate the number of hypocritical people, especially the allegedly devout.

but who uses a real name and real info?

2. Not terribly bright people; see 3, infra.

Are these people stupid?

3. Remember, 1/2 the population is below average in intelligence; see 2, supra.

Is adultery really a big deal anymore?

4. See 1 and 3, supra.

 

[Stereodude]

You do understand "Ashley Madison" is just a name used by a dating service that specialises in hooking people up to have an affair (outside of their marriage)? (Sorry if I missed are sarcasm).

Having used dating websites in the past, (and even met my beautiful and gorgeous wife on one), I too would be interested in the active user ratios. (See if it matched my experience based on the responses I received whilst active on those sites).

Someone put together some analysis that showed only about 12,000 of the supposed 5.5 million women were real active users. link

 

[LunarMist]

1. You underestimate the number of hypocritical people, especially the allegedly devout.2. Not terribly bright people; see 3, infra. 3. Remember, 1/2 the population is below average in intelligence; see 2, supra.4. See 1 and 3, supra.

I don't understand all the legalese, but human behavior doesn't really change.

 

[LunarMist]

Someone put together some analysis that showed only about 12,000 of the supposed 5.5 million women were real active users. link

What percentage of the male user roles are active? Most website shave far more registrants than active users.

 

[jtr1962]

The SR search function is not working for me. IIRC a glicoblastoma is mostly fatal even when the tumor is removed and chemotherapy is used.
It seems like everyone I know is dying lately.

Sorry to hear about this. Cancer sucks. I really hope we find a vaccine for it in my lifetime.

 

[ddrueding]

I'll be on a boat for the next 8 days. Internet will be crazy expensive; we'll see if I can stay off here for a while...

 

[LunarMist]

I'll be on a boat for the next 8 days. Internet will be crazy expensive; we'll see if I can stay off here for a while...

Is that the cruise you were mentioning last year? Usually they have a few packages and it is metered by time.

 

[sedrosken]

Today my aunt picked up a computer at a yard sale for me for about ten dollars. It refused to POST.

All it needed was different RAM.

I now have a Phenom II x4 945 in place of my Athlon II x4 630. My Athlon II x4 630 has in turn been given to my Dad, who has desperately needed a more reliable system for some time now.

 

[snowhiker]

I'll be on a boat for the next 8 days. Internet will be crazy expensive; we'll see if I can stay off here for a while...

When has "crazy expensive" ever stopped you? You're my hero.

 

[Chewy509]

Had some fun last Thursday night... coming home from work on the motorbike, it promptly decided to break down on the freeway in the middle of peak-hour traffic, on a bridge, in the pouring rain. (I broke down on Capt Cook Bridge just outside of Brisbane, for those that know Brisbane). As I couldn't get it restarted, I ended up pushing it 400m to the nearest emergency stopping bay to ensure that I wouldn't hold up traffic, nor be the cause and/or involved in an vehicle accident... That quick push, made me realise how unfit I am...

Anyway I ended up getting the bike towed to my mechanic on Thursday night, and got home at 8pm after my wife picked me up from the mechanic... Get a call from the mechanic on Friday afternoon, and informed the conrod bearings for the second cyclinder went and estimate cost of a top-end rebuild is roughly $2.5K+... Since the bike not even worth $1.5K to trade, I took his sell offer to buy it "as is" for parts/scrap.

My wife and I went shopping for a new bike yesterday, and will be picking up my new bike tomorrow afternoon... I'll be getting one of these: http://www.yamaha-motor.com.au/products/motorcycle/road/cruiser/15-virago in Viper Blue!

The other two I did consider were the Kawasaki Vulcan S (unfortunately out of budget) and the Kawasaki Z300ABS (very, very, very fun to ride, excellent power to weight ratio, not really a comfortable long distance commuters bike).

 

[mubs]

Cool. Do any of these come with ABS? Some bikes here are now being offered with ABS as an option.

 

[Chewy509]

Cool. Do any of these come with ABS? Some bikes here are now being offered with ABS as an option.

A lot of nakeds, sports and tourers come with ABS as standard, a lot of cruisers still only have ABS as an option for the low-end and midrange models, however most top end cruisers having it as standard...

(The Z300 I looked at had ABS as standard, and it's an entry level sports... ).

 

[Howell]

Bummer about the bike, good it didn't take you down when it locked up. Do you have to deal with inclement weather much? For some reason į thought you were on the west coast.

 

[CougTek]

Bummer about the bike, good it didn't take you down when it locked up. Do you have to deal with inclement weather much? For some reason į thought you were on the west coast.

From where you live, he's kind of on the West coast...plus a very, very long swim. Brisbane is on the Gold Coast of Australia (about in the middle lalitude of the East side of Australia). It seems like a nice place to live if you can tolerate very high summer temperature and if you don't fear deadly venomous snakes and spider. That and killer great white sharks in the sea. I don't think crocodiles are too much of a problem in Brisbane though.

To my knowledge, the only notable Australian city on their West coast is Perth.

 

[Chewy509]

Bummer about the bike, good it didn't take you down when it locked up. Do you have to deal with inclement weather much? For some reason į thought you were on the west coast.

Thanks. I was lucky I was only doing 40kph (due to peak hour traffic), and fortunately it wasn't a hard seize.

Weather wise, were have very mild weather (except for the temps), We're averaging mid 20Cs currently, on what is the last day of Winter for us. (Summer averages low-30Cs). As for rain, we have typical sub-tropical rain-fall patterns (we receive most rain in Summer months). The following link will give you the exact details: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_040214.shtml

But I actually enjoy riding in the rain...

 

[Chewy509]

It seems like a nice place to live if you can tolerate very high summer temperature and if you don't fear deadly venomous snakes and spider. That and killer great white sharks in the sea. I don't think crocodiles are too much of a problem in Brisbane though.

We don't really worry about the snakes (we have king brown's and coastal taipans in our immediate area) as do all the right things to avoid them... As for spiders, since my son has a nice collection of arachnids (3 Tarantula's, 1 Eastern Trapdoor, 3 Scorpions, and a Whip Spider), it's all about understanding them... They are great pets.

We don't really have to worry about the Great Whites, as the local water ways are typically filled with Bull Sharks (The Gold Coast estuaries and surrounds are used by the Bull Sharks as a breeding ground). But we know they are there, and avoid them... (mostly). As for Crocs, it's only when you get up to around Rockhampton (and north) that you start to see them... (Rockhampton is 600km north).

Overall, it's a nice safe, and friendly place to live. (Brisbane was ranked 20th most livable in the world, yes, yes, I know Melbourne got most livable again... and Sydney (7th), Adelaide (5th) and Perth (9th) beat us again...)

 

[LunarMist]

When has "crazy expensive" ever stopped you? You're my hero.

Maybe it did.

 

[timwhit]

I'll be on a boat for the next 8 days. Internet will be crazy expensive; we'll see if I can stay off here for a while...

I was on a 10 night cruise in the Mediterranean in July. You could buy unlimited WiFi for $400.

 

[LunarMist]

I was on a 10 night cruise in the Mediterranean in July. You could buy unlimited WiFi for $400.

I paid about $150 a few years ago for more hours than I needed, so that seems right.
I can also see not wanting internet due to concerns that people from work may be inclined to contact him.
That's one reason why I prefer the less accessible locations with limited internet.
The drawback is that you need to have $500,000-$1,000,000 insurance for medical evacuation and treatment, since a chartered flight might be needed to reach a full hospital.

 

[LunarMist]

Is it not ok to identify a clueless, incompetent person as an idiot?

 

[Handruin]

Is it not ok to identify a clueless, incompetent person as an idiot?

It depends...are you proposing to identify said person and let them know, or are you keeping this to yourself?