efaardvark

Episode 100 of Black Clover is fantastic. Was very skeptical about Black Clover but it's getting quite decent.

So we're getting a dozen or so new workstations at work that will be running Oracle Linux.  Hardware is Dell quad-core Xeons (W-2125s), several with dual ultra-wide HD monitors.  The systems that these new systems are replacing are old Sun-branded sun/solaris unix systems (thus Oracle) that we are running system monitor and control software from/on.  It is getting impossible to find parts and they're coming up with unpatched/unpatchable security issues now so they gotta go.  They're also incredibly slow by today's standards, and the GPUs are so ancient we have to run the desktop in 8-bit/256 color mode to be able to bump the resolution up to something that modern monitors will even accept.  Sorry, not sorry to see them go.  (What gfx card were YOU using a decade ago?)  The taxpayers certainly got their money's worth there!   

Big hardware/software upgrades like this are always "interesting" in a 24/7 operations environment, but the end result should be so much better than what we've had to deal with up to now.  I'm optimistic that things will go smoothly.  I mean, what could go wrong?  Heh.. I'll let you know later.   First system is scheduled to go live next week to replace a relatively unused system.  After that system soaks for a while in the ops area & we take care of the inevitable issues there we'll install the rest on a more aggressive schedule.  Probably sooner than later.  The guy who ordered the systems has already received the boxes and had no place to put them except his office.   14 CPUs, ~20 widescreens, and assorted cables and accessories have basically taken over his office to the point that he's hardly able to move in there.  He wants them OUT! 

And now I log in to AF to find my reputation is "666".  Yeah, that's about how my day's been going. 
 

Got to sleep in late today, but also working until midnight on a Friday.  

Got to sleep in late today, but also working until midnight on a Friday.  

Just thought I'd poke a bit at an entry-level threadripper system.  I know, that's kind of a strange thought when all the gamers are still salivating over a i9-9900k for the single-core performance, but it turns out that a low-end 1900X CPU, 2 sticks of 16GB, 3200MHz DDR4, and a really (like, really really) nice motherboard can be had for less than $1k.  The motherboard is totally overkill for the initial RAM and CPU, but with AMD it should be upgradable for many years.  Maybe in a year or so - when the bleeding edge has moved on - you replace the 8-core 1900X with a 16-core 2950.  At some point you buy another couple sticks of RAM.  Did I mention the MB supports quad-channel?

If you already have a decent case, power supply, etc., then swapping out the guts for an 8-core system (that would have been considered a monster just a couple years ago in the old Intel era) might make sense.  With that MB you could go all the way up to a 32-core/64-thread CPU and 128GB RAM.  It also has *3* nvme m.2 slots, not to mention dual network ports (one of them 10Gb).  For games.. ok, maybe not so much.  (Yet?)  But if your workflow includes things that might benefit from a lot of cores..... maybe.  It is also quite possible I'm just a tech geek looking for new toys. 

It has been a while since I cleaned under/behind the bookcases.   

In case you're wondering, this is a "tinybopper" from a microgame called "RIVETS" that was released in the mid-late '70s.  I bought them all as they came out, and still have most of them.  Er.. somewhere. 

Its Finally done! I dont have a lot of stuff yet but now I can actually progress without having problems where to put it. (god damn it, the room is to small to be able to get the full shelf on photo  )

Also Some new additions to my collection

Trying out a new avatar pic.  I'm thinking I like the old Taurus better, but I'll keep Hachirota for a week or so.

Trying out a new avatar pic.  I'm thinking I like the old Taurus better, but I'll keep Hachirota for a week or so.

Shift over at 11pm then home to sup, sh!t, shower, and shave to get back to work by 7am for another full shift. Getting too old for this kind of thing.

Found out I "get" to work 2 extra days this week.  Joy.    

At least that means my weekends are back in sync with the rest of the world's.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02275-3

One thing they can work on......

Thank you, USPS.  

Wow..

Everybody's working on the weekend.

wait.. what?

I've been charging my car at work where they have a bunch of chargers installed in the parking garage.  They're charging (no pun intended) $0.12/kWh for the electrons so - since my car is a PHEV - I was wondering how that equates to gas prices.  IOW, at what point does it make more sense to fill up my car with gas than with electrons?

Some base numbers for my particular situation, given California gas and electricity prices and Prius Prime as my car:

Price for regular gas = $3.80/gal
My car's miles/gallon = 60
My car's miles/kilowatt-hour = 3.64

According to my math, that means:
A mile on gas costs about $0.63.
A mile on electrons costs $0.33.
At $3.80/gallon, electricity could cost up to $0.20/kWh before gas becomes the cheaper option.
At $0.12/kWh, gas would have to drop to below $2.30/gal to make gas a better deal.

FWIW...

I've been charging my car at work where they have a bunch of chargers installed in the parking garage.  They're charging (no pun intended) $0.12/kWh for the electrons so - since my car is a PHEV - I was wondering how that equates to gas prices.  IOW, at what point does it make more sense to fill up my car with gas than with electrons?

Some base numbers for my particular situation, given California gas and electricity prices and Prius Prime as my car:

Price for regular gas = $3.80/gal
My car's miles/gallon = 60
My car's miles/kilowatt-hour = 3.64

According to my math, that means:
A mile on gas costs about $0.63.
A mile on electrons costs $0.33.
At $3.80/gallon, electricity could cost up to $0.20/kWh before gas becomes the cheaper option.
At $0.12/kWh, gas would have to drop to below $2.30/gal to make gas a better deal.

FWIW...

They took out all the computers on the console that the Spirit/Opportunity project people used to use today.  Not sure what's going in there to replace them yet, but InSight is possible.  Also Mars 2020 is coming up.

They took out all the computers on the console that the Spirit/Opportunity project people used to use today.  Not sure what's going in there to replace them yet, but InSight is possible.  Also Mars 2020 is coming up.

Checked the work schedule & this month I'm only scheduled to work 28 extra hours.  I even get the holiday off.  Not as bad as I was expecting.

A building literally full of NASA engineers, yet apparently nobody can figure out how to clear and re-thread a jammed roll of paper in the restroom's paper towel dispenser.  smh

A building literally full of NASA engineers, yet apparently nobody can figure out how to clear and re-thread a jammed roll of paper in the restroom's paper towel dispenser.  smh