Warming up just a tad, but in the low 80s (as in 81 degrees fahrenheit in my no A/C, just windows open office) for the latter part of June? Not too shabby. Heck, the humidity is even in the low 1,000s% range *heh* (Yeh, it is humid enough to drown fish.)
Anywho, after much debate with the voices in my head, I ended up not building a new box from separate components. What I did instead was buy a “debranded” media center comp that I could seriously upgrade. Now, that does mean it came w/o the media center OS it was originally built for, and specific drivers for some of the components are “fun” to track down (drivers for the IR reciever and remote will likely be the most fun to hunt down). It also means I need to buy some more cable to build a new run to the computer (and not incidentally, another–better–splitter; split once into two, then again; one straight to cable “modem” and three runs to other places, for now).
Just more techie fun.
Still, for dirt cheap, an AMD 64X2 5600+ base system with a gig of memory (which I’m going to hand off to someone else–already selected, so don’t put in any requests :-)–and replace with 4GB), a competent sound/vid setup… which I will upgrade, and lotsa nice lil goodies including a nice TV Tuner card, bunches of media connections front and back and enough open PCI slots (one PCIex-1 is taken up already and the PCIex-16 is just waiting on a new vidcard). Oh, the 300W power supply is also scheduled for replacement. I have a nice 450W ps I can use in it until I get the PC Power and Cooling “Rolls Royce” ps I have my eye on, so I’m not screaming bloddy murder about a wimpy ps in my box.
Of course, no OS, media center, all that jazz, means it’s currently running Ubuntu 8.04 with MythTV, but as soon as I plop VirtualBox on, I’ll also install WinXP Pro-64 and hunt around for the usual stuff to use with it. Then, drag out some old software and install Win98 in another VirtualBox, so I can use Encore with it (cos it still doesn’t run under WINE).
UPDATE: *grrr* 64-bit CPU. 64-bit OS. 64-bit version of Virtualbox. Attempt to install 64-bit WinXPP, error: “Attempting to load an x64 operating system, however this CPU is not compatible with x64 mode. Please install a 32-bit X86 operating system.” The only XPP I have available that’s not been installed elsewhere is a 64-bit version. Looks like I’ll have to uninstall VirtualBox and go with VMware, instead. Sad, cos I really like the way VirtualBox sets things up. Oh. Well.
Other fun?my Wonder Woman’s Toshiba is at the “repair depot” for an LCD issue, so… have a desktop compy set up in the living room for her use. Kinda clunky solution, but at least she can chjeck her email and watch Stargate SG-1 reruns simultaneously. *heh*
Still getting above 40mpg in my lil 11-year-old Saturn. Even with “idjits” driving in front of me on two-lane roads that’re largely solid Ozarkian no passing zones.
Example: heading outa town (to another Third World County town about 10 miles away). Traffic stacked up for nearly a mile at nearly 30mph in the 55mph zone. Yep. Some 300 pound idjit on a motor scooter that he could probably push faster than it can carry him.
Now, at 30mph on a level road, I have to keep the lil car in 4th gear. That translates to about 1,500rpm. 45mph, I can use 5th gear… also 1,500rpm. 55mph is not quite 1,800rpm on the same level roadway.
But there I am lugging along at under 30mph, almost 1,500 rpm behind some idjit, wasting fuel.
Oh. Well. Lotsa those folks “driving” around, and I still got 42mpg on my last fill up (about 1mpg more than my porevious fill up–it’ll balance out, perhaps).
Imagine what kind of fuel economy I’d get if even a few of the idjits were to park their cars and attempt to master the intellectual challenge of putting one foot in front of the other…
😉
What are you driving? An 11 year old Saturn? And you’re getting 40mpg?
I didn’t think that they got that sort of mileage when they were new. It must be nice to coast downhill everywhere you go. 🙂
You know that that intellectual challenge you speak of is going to be too much for some of them until they can get cup-holders installed on their belts and get that new-fangled cell phone surgically removed from their ears don’t you? Especially if there’s any sort of masticatory action taking place on sugar impregnated resins that come in those stick shapes covered in foil.
That’s right, walking, chewing gum, chatting and drinking a milkshake at the same time is just too much for some people.
Oh so true, Perri. *sigh*
Of course the lil S-Series didn’t get that kind of mileage new. It had crappy OEM ignition, no synthetic fluids and an idjit behind the wheel. Of the three, the last was the greatest handicap, by far.
Yes, I do coast when safely possible. Heck, I even “pulse and glide” whenever safe and unlikely to affect drivers behind me (I only do it when there are NO cars following w/in at least 1/4 mile).
Mostly, though, I pay close attention to what the lil car is telling me. I’ll probably install a Scangauge II before the year’s out, but it’ll just quantify what my sight, touch, hearing tell me now. Paying attention to the road, other drivers, my own car, etc.–that’s the way I get better gas mileage. *heh* I had a “once in a blue moon” week a couple of weeks ago when I had NO idjit drivers screwing up my routes. Never happened to me before and won’t likely do so again. Mileage? 46.65mpg (and yes, I know the 0.05mpg is outside any reasonable measurement standard by an order of magnitude :-)).