Something Random

Newtun

Storage is nice, especially if it doesn't rotate
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When I went away to college, I went with a then-impossibily-large 1768GB SCSI2 hard drive that I thought would be absolutely unfillable (a brand new desktop might've had a 350MB IDE drive at the time). I filled that sucker in four months off a 9600bps serial connection to the pre-web internet. This is an amusing parallel for me.
Wow, they had that much pron way back then? ;)
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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Wow, they had that much pron way back then? ;)

Probably half porn and half pirated games. The full version of Doom was, like, 30MB.That's a lot of naughty JPGs.

The machine I had in 93 - 95 was a dual (yes, really) 486DX/50 and the other thing I can remember about it was that the first time I encountered an MP3, which was probably the spring of 1995, it couldn't play the audio back without occasionally dropping here and there. 486s just weren't fast enough. Tannin can look on with approval because that was my OS/2 / Yggsdrasil Linux (.93 kernel!) system.
 

jtr1962

Storage? I am Storage!
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Also, it's finally happened, I'm using more than half of my 2TB drive. If you told me even three years ago that I'd somehow find a way to use even 1TB I'd laugh. At the time I couldn't even fill a 250GB drive halfway. And that was basically my only storage medium at the time, too.
I bought a 2TB drive back in 2010. I still have over 800GB free and there's some duplication of stuff on that drive. I'd say overall I doubt I have much over 300GB of unique data, perhaps 400GB at the most. Then again, I haven't played much with video. That could potentially eat up a lot of space. Incidentally, my brother says I "save everything". I doubt he's using over 10% of his 500GB HDD, and most of that is programs or the O/S. The fact is modern drives have a ridiculously huge amount of space which is very hard to fill unless you're heavily into pictures, video, or "dirty" stuff. All the pictures I've ever taken are less than 20GB, for example.

My relative lack of space usage is one reason the 2TB drive will in all likelihood have been the last HDD I'll ever buy, especially after purchasing 3 960GB SSDs from Newegg recently. If/when I ever start to get tight on space with those, perhaps by 2020 or thereabouts, multiterabyte SSDs will probably be available for under $100. I find it interesting that I can probably fit a few dozen HD movies on one of those 960GB SSDs. Like I said, modern HDDs, or even SSDs, have a ridiculous amount of space. Something like a 250GB or 500GB SSD is more than adequate for probably 95% of computer users.
 

sedrosken

Florida Man
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I would say most of my storage actually goes to my games library. As in, the games I set up but never play.

I think I could count how many games I actually play on one hand. Maybe two.

As for actual data, my transcoded DVDs take up most of that, measured at 235ish GB? The setup files I hoard take up ~213GB. Then in last place is my other media, totalling around 12GB.

I wonder why I still bother with hoarding setup files? Some of it is stuff that I'd never be able to find again, but that's only about 2GB of the over 200. Maybe I'm still operating as though I'm on DSL-class speed and everything takes years to download.
 
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jtr1962

Storage? I am Storage!
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I wonder why I still bother with hoarding setup files? Some of it is stuff that I'd never be able to find again, but that's only about 2GB of the nearly 200. Maybe I'm still operating as though I'm on DSL-class speed and everything takes years to download.
I tend to save stuff which is potentially useful to me with the thought I might not be able to easily find it in the future. I have tons of saved research papers, for example. Some of them are hard to find now, even impossible.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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I wonder why I still bother with hoarding setup files? Some of it is stuff that I'd never be able to find again, but that's only about 2GB of the over 200. Maybe I'm still operating as though I'm on DSL-class speed and everything takes years to download.

There are about a dozen applications in my library where I have some Windows tool or other where the author yanked the a freeware version or added bundleware to later installers, such that I'm glad I kept old installers. Other times, there are things where I keep an installer because getting it again would be a hassle. Program installers take up relatively small amounts of space and at times they'll save you a lot of work, especially for the one-off jobs you only need once or twice a year, such as the "Push the Media files and playlists off an iOS device and back in to iTunes after a desktop iTunes database takes a crap"-tool that I use.

And keeping game installers can be useful for odd cases like a game completely disappearing from an online service, something that has happened, though it is admittedly unlikely.
 

sedrosken

Florida Man
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I can't decide if I'm sick or if my allergies are just giving me a harder-than-usual time. And because I'm currently uninsured (Medicaid is giving me the usual run-around that I have no time to deal with at the moment) I can't go to the doctor to figure it out/get excuse notes for those classes that actually take attendance.

Also, been using PeaZip rather than 7Zip lately because with plugins PeaZip can read formats 7Zip won't touch, and it's also free.
 

mubs

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I'm some sort of champ on allergies. I think I'm goddamn allergic to life. I've been tested once for ~ 20 odd things, but need to go tested for dozens more.
 

Clocker

Storage? I am Storage!
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I'm allergic to dust, mold, pet dander and seasonal stuff (ragweed etc etc). My reactions are frequently asthma related. I got allergy shots from 8-18 years old. I then stopped just because it was inconvenient to go. Over the past 5-6 years, it seemed my allergies were getting worse and worse yeah year. Last year, I finally decided to start up on allergy shots again and I could not be happier that I did. The shots have made a big Big improvement for me. No issues anymore at all. I highly recommend you look into it!! It was a pain but I ramped up my dosage quick by going twice a week. Now I'm down to going every other week and hope to get down to 1x per month eventually.
 
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LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
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What's up with the new 13 zodiacs? Someone mentioned that ofuckulus will destroy my birthday.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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Today. It was not fun.

The thirteenth sign is only used for 10 days at the beginning of December. I tell people I'm that sign just to stop them from talking about astrology. Them I have to explain what it is and why, but at least it's a more interesting conversation.
 

ddrueding

Fixture
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Today. It was not fun.

The thirteenth sign is only used for 10 days at the beginning of December. I tell people I'm that sign just to stop them from talking about astrology. Them I have to explain what it is and why, but at least it's a more interesting conversation.

That conversation is useful because it is an excellent way to convey to them how stupid the entire thing is.
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
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Today. It was not fun.

The thirteenth sign is only used for 10 days at the beginning of December. I tell people I'm that sign just to stop them from talking about astrology. Them I have to explain what it is and why, but at least it's a more interesting conversation.

Oh, no! Do you need surgery immediately? :(
 

mubs

Storage? I am Storage!
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Allergy shots might help you.

Thanks. Not sure they give them here. I've been meaning to go to an allergist, but somehow haven't been able to.

I finally decided to start up on allergy shots again and I could not be happier that I did. The shots have made a big Big improvement for me. No issues anymore at all. I highly recommend you look into it!! It was a pain but I ramped up my dosage quick by going twice a week. Now I'm down to going every other week and hope to get down to 1x per month eventually.

This is what puts me off the idea - the fact that one has to keep getting them.
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
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Thanks. Not sure they give them here. I've been meaning to go to an allergist, but somehow haven't been able to.

This is what puts me off the idea - the fact that one has to keep getting them.

I had pricks in my back and the shots in the 60s and 70s until the physician died.
I'm far less sensitive to many things, though there are a few remaining to a degree.
It's not enough that I'd bother to do that again.
 

sedrosken

Florida Man
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So I was looking up how to clean my trackpoint cap as it was getting rather grungy, and the option that seemed to show up the most was toothbrush+toothpaste. Worked like a charm, though it's still discolored -- I don't think I can fix that, though. I've also heard you're supposed to change trackpoint caps every so often, as well?
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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Was that the stone talking to you during one of the pain hallucinations?

By all means, go look up what's involved in a stent through the urethra. Or just cross your legs and contemplate good fortune.

The stone did pass last night. It was easier than the first one, probably because I knew what was happening and not because it hurt any less. All my cats, who normally don't get along all that well, were in there watching me, so I had a whole audience for it. Two minutes after it passed, my houseguest knocked on the bathroom door, telling me she had to pee really bad. To my credit I only considered murdering her for about 30 seconds.
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
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By all means, go look up what's involved in a stent through the urethra. Or just cross your legs and contemplate good fortune.

The stone did pass last night. It was easier than the first one, probably because I knew what was happening and not because it hurt any less. All my cats, who normally don't get along all that well, were in there watching me, so I had a whole audience for it. Two minutes after it passed, my houseguest knocked on the bathroom door, telling me she had to pee really bad. To my credit I only considered murdering her for about 30 seconds.

:( I hope there are not any more. Are there any meds you can take to reduce recurrence of the stones?
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
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So I was looking up how to clean my trackpoint cap as it was getting rather grungy, and the option that seemed to show up the most was toothbrush+toothpaste. Worked like a charm, though it's still discolored -- I don't think I can fix that, though. I've also heard you're supposed to change trackpoint caps every so often, as well?

I change the laptop by then. :D You should be able to find some replacements online like these.
 

mubs

Storage? I am Storage!
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Chocolate can, in very high amounts, but I don't think chocolate is a major part of Merc's diet. Wikipedia says "High dietary intake of animal protein, sodium, refined sugars, fructose and high fructose corn syrup, oxalate, grapefruit juice, and apple juice may increase the risk of kidney stone formation." I knew about the oxalate bit; it's the one usually blamed. Soft drinks containing phosphoric acid (typically colas) should be avoided.

Aggressive hydration is the easiest way to avoid more stones forming.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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Best guesses are fondness for diet coke and peanuts. I like peanuts because they seem harmless given the parameters of my dietary needs and I've used diet coke as a harmless treat that incentivizes walking someplace to get it and to satisfy cravings for something sweet and acidic. Sugar is something I avoid studiously, but losing sugar AND animal protein and salt pretty much takes away everything that is enjoyable about food.

I also lost nearly 10kg from Friday to this morning from all the retained water in my body finally being expelled.
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
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Careful to watch for hyponatremia and then subsequent ODS. Is sodium OK now?
 
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