Illusion of Terra

Content count 999 

Weird.. today I've had several people ask me if my car is ok, or if I'm worried about it. 

Ok, rewind a bit for some recent local history.  Over the past couple days my area has had some very dry, warm, high-velocity winds come through.  In the past these sorts of conditions have caused power lines to get knocked down into dry brush and the winds whip up the resulting fire(s) into extremely dangerous wildfires.  Fires, evacuations, and/or electricity outages have been a hot topic of conversation around here for the past couple days.  The power companies' web sites have hundreds of thousand of customers in the area on notice for potentially having their power cut off, either by the power company itself, ostensibly for preventing downed power lines from starting said fires, or by the fires and wind taking out the power distribution lines.

So back to the strange question.  At first I was like, "huh?".  Did I not get a memo or something?  Did I park somewhere I shouldn't have?  Did they see my car on the news get run over or pushed off the road by a fire department bulldozer?  (Sometimes this happens when the fire department needs to get access to a fire and their trucks or other firefighting gear is blocked by cars parked on narrow streets.)

In a word, no.  Apparently people are concerned that people like me with electric vehicles might have trouble evacuating if they have to because of the power outages that tend to accompany the fires.

Again, "huh??", but with a different tone of voice this time.  Thanks for the concern, but of all the stupid things to worry about that's .... not a problem.

First of all, I don't even have an EV.  I have a pluggable hybrid.  I do have an electric motor (or three) and batteries, and a charging socket on one side of the car.  I also have the usual slot for gas (petrol for you crazy furriners) on the other side, connected to a gas tank and a somewhat normal internal combustion engine.  Not worried at all here.  I'm covered either way.

Second, if the power is out then gas cars would have exactly the same problem as pure EVs because gas station pumps run on electricity.  No electricity, no charging (duh), but also no gas.  I've actually had this problem before with my old (gas) car.  In fact, standard operating procedure around here is if you hear that high winds or dry/dangerous fire conditions are in the forecast then stop at the gas station on your way home from work and top off the tank, just in case.

Third, that typically doesn't matter because gas or electrons, there's always going to be something left in the "tank".  (Unless you're one of those people who is always running on "Empty", but that's a whole other discussion.)  When the police/fire department comes pounding on your door and tells you to evacuate then you just get in your car and leave with what you have.  Gas or electric doesn't enter into it any more than the color of your socks.

(That said, even if you're one of those "I'm not out of gas the car is still moving" people, chances are better your electric car will be at least somewhat charged.  More than when you parked it anyway.  Unlike a gas car, you can "refuel" an EV at home by plugging it in, and most take only a few hours at most to fully recharge.  Assuming you're not so extremely lazy that you can't even be bothered to plug in your car when you park it in your garage, chances are that by the time the power goes out and/or you have to evacuate you'll have at least a partial charge on your EV.  A gas car's gas gauge of course would still be on "E", and the nearby gas station that's out of power is not going to be able to help.)

There is one actual problem with gas cars however.  It has even been reported on the local news, and warned about at press conferences with the fire department spokespeople.  Sometimes when people wait a bit too long to evacuate there's so much smoke in the air that it can clog the air filter and cause a car to stall.  Cars have to breathe too you know.  At least gas cars that rely on oxygen in the air for combustion do.  EV cars obviously don't have this problem.  (And again, don't worry about me.. my hybrid has an EV-only mode that's only a button-push away.)
 

Bought a spinning thingy also reading Sam and Max comic. You should also. 

What the fu---

THIS IS MASTERPIECE

Prove me right

I had fun thoo >.>

Just saw Elon Musk's SpaceX anniversary talk.  The guy is crazy... in a good way maybe, but still crazy.  Hard to believe it was only a year ago when he announced his "BFR", and now he's already got an engineering prototype that's supposed to start test flights in a matter of months, and "to reach orbit in 6 months".  True, those are "Elon months", but still.  It'll be interesting to see if he actually gets 2 of these rockets done in time for an unmanned Mars test flight/mission at the next transfer window in 2022.  He's also previously said that he might land one on the moon during testing.. because "It may literally be easier to just land Starship on the moon than try to convince NASA that we can."   

https://arstechnica.com/features/2019/09/after-starship-unveiling-mars-seems-a-little-closer/

well shiz

didn't reach a passing score on the exam

oh well, i had a gut feeling i was not gonna pass it anyway

march it is

to bad too, i wanted to announce shiz <_>

it can wait i guess, besides, itll cost me allota cash to do said projects

this way, i can earn my allowance >.>

though..it feels bad that i wont announce anything even though i afk'ed hard...

soo; might aswell announce SOMETHING 

theres only two things really that can happen

1,) im gonna

"breaths in"

C R O S S D R E S S

R
O
S
S
D
R
E
S
S

yes

you

read it right

crossdress

BITE ME <_>

not mentioning who, couse idk either 

2.) ...is im gonna confirm first, i mean, sempapi might not wanna go along with it, knowing im a peasant who couldn't even pass board exam in one-take 

better to know early than not, expectations are pretty low for me

though; i did gain some weight during my studies ...

i need to exercise, mainly jog again

maybe, ill start tomorrow, shock from exam is pretty big, but hey

nothing like hiding your pain with a smile wont stop anything

after all, "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger"

obligatory songggggggggg

hAhAAA!

im back >:3

but well, waiting for exam results, hoping i made it to top 75% passing rate ( which isnt a top, but i just want to pass and not do this sh*t again man, dont make me go through with it again, not again :<)

im also announcing something, IF i pass the boards, theres no point if i DONT pass it >.>

There's some weird .. food(?) that shows up in the break room's "donations accepted" snack stack at work.  Anyone seen this one?  Is it safe to eat? 　あやしい　 

So "USB4" is different than "USB 4".   Really now.  Has murketing really come to this?    

Sorry for the inactivity lately but my power has been out for like a week. 

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! 

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! 

Thought about recently visiting the doctor for mental health. Not sure though. I have been off medication for about a year or so. 

I used to wonder why my dad abandoned me and my mom without ever coming back. I understand now. I just wish he took me with him.

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.  

I've been "working" on my computer today, just cleaning up and doing some file maintenance.  Found some *OLD* text files from an online game called Dragon's Gate.  DGate was a text-only multiplayer game hosted by GE's "GEnie" online service back in the early 90s.  Pre-internet.  Pre-MMORPG.  Dialup-only.  It may have even predated Compuserve and AOL.  One of the files shows a 2400 baud connection at the beginning.    I think this may have been the first multiplayer online game I ever played. 

Not for long though.  Long distance phone calls cost around $0.25/minute so playing for an hour was like $15.  This back when gas was like $1/gallon so that'd be around $50/hr at today's prices.  I knew a trick to call through a chain of "local" BBSs to pay about 1/4th that, but it was still expensive.  Especially for a lowly student whose only regular income was a monthly allowance!

Blast from the past...

                           Welcome to...
 
            ...........|\...................../|.............
             ........./  \..|\__..__/|......./  \...........
            ........./ /  \.\ _ \/ _ /....../    \.............
      _  .........../ / /  \.(I)\/(I)....../  / \ \...........    
     (_)  ..........| | | / \\/(oo)\/...../  // |\ \ .............
          ..........| | | |  \|V,,V|\... /  / | || \|...........
        ............| | | | / |A^^A| \../  / || || ||...........
           ......../ / /  | |  TTTT__ \/  /| || || ||/\  /\
            /\..../ / /  / /  |______/   /| \ \ || ||  \/  \    /\        /\
 /\      /\/  \../ / /  / /  /\_____/  |/ /__\ \ \ \ \ /    \  /  \  /\  /  \
   \/\  / /    \.| | | / /  /\______/    \   \__| \ \ \      \/    \/  \/
    \ \/        \| | | | | |\______ __    \_    \__|_| \     /      \  /
     \/          | | ____ /\______ ____     \_       \  |   /         /
      \          | |/    /\_____  /    \      \__     \ |
       \         |/ |   |\______ |      |        \___  \|    D R A G O N ' S
                    |   |\______ |      |            \_         
            _   ___/|   |\______ |      |          /\  \   ___    G A T E
           / \_/     \   \________\_    _\____/   /  \__\_|   \
       ___/ __     __/   /       __/   /__    \__/      __     \__
     _/    /  \   /  ___/       /  ___/   \            /  \       |__
    |     /      |/|/          |/|/        \__     \       \         |


Usage charges started

In case anyone’s missing my presence around the forums, I apologize, I may be inactive for a few days or longer if we lose power during the hurricane - not scheduled to reach us til Thursday, but I have to do some prepping before then. 

Thought about recently visiting the doctor for mental health. Not sure though. I have been off medication for about a year or so. 

Thought you guys might like this.

Their i follow you to earthi sound like a alien over as a ghost on that one

09/1/19

Just 20 (19) days left before my death sentence day

Looking back ive improved allot, but i still cant get a 75 line of score

Well, whats important is im doing my bestest, im an average at everything i do, just getting a 60 (and hoping a 50 is = 75% calculation) is how they compoote shiet

Otherwisefekimsoded

But ya, few days of studying and staying up till 3am to go

Like, 2 weeks left? Couse i need my bioclock to return back to normal before 21 >_>

Also, #meandtheboisonMTday

I cosplayed on that day, and for some reason, got thrown to become a spokesperson

It was a f*cked up day >__>

(Im the one who has gloves on xD)

Also if i pass this boards, im forcing my sempapi to pat my head >:o

(Its messed up, but thinking ill get a headpat by best girl gives me motivation xD)

Welcome back