Super-trivial. So trivial it barely merits a mention, but…rants are rants. Why does the most minor computer hardware upgrade always seem to involve way more work than they should? I know it’s confirmation bias, but…every…fucking…time (more realistically probably every other time). Something that should theoretically take twenty minutes suddenly balloons into a couple-three hours of finicky tedium as this thing is stuck, that thing won’t reach and the other thing is an exquisitely tight fit even though the stated dimensions should have been fine - oh, but those didn’t account for that OTHER obstruction. Everything is the opposite of ergonomic as you try to screw things in at an angle without losing that tiny piece in the dark recesses of the case or try to wiggle your fingers somewhere they shouldn’t go while trying not to break anything because you need to get a better grip but they still won’t fit for reasons.
I swear I just don’t get people who love building and working on PCs. They must be far more adroit (almost certainly), organized (probably) and patient (have to be). I’ve swapped out every modular part there is over the years and could probably handily build a PC if I had to. But who has the fucking time for that finicky nightmare ? It’s like working on your own car - done that as well and I’d rather chew broken glass at this point in my life. Granted modern cars are fast obsoleting home mechanics anyway. I’ll still swap my own PC parts, but I’m never going to enjoy it.
What’s not to love about the smell of thermal paste as you seat your heat sink for the &#×@ing third time?
Almost on par with holding near microscopic screws in place with fat fingers squeezed into impossibly small spaces, only to find the supposedly obsolete short SCSI cable you MUST have, is supposed to go around this and not that structure to reach, and you now need to unscrew those screws and rework it.
Building your own PC is the stuff of legend, of nostalgia, the source of many a late night tale you can pass on to your grandchildren who will never forget the tale of “The Seating of the RAM”.
I’ve been doing it professionally for over 25 years and all of your complaints are valid. They never go away. I don’t think building and working on a PC is joyful. It’s using the PC that brings the joy. Working on it is the price you pay.
I’ve only done basic PC hardware upgrades over the years - adding RAM, swapping hard drive, that sort of thing.
What really squeezes my squash about computers is software troubleshooting. The most aggravating part of it is how freaking long it takes. 90% of the time you’re sitting there simply waiting.
Need to troubleshoot? Better put on a fresh pot of coffee, grab a crossword, and block out an entire morning.
Went to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival yesterday. Beautiful day (first nice Saturday since it opened), and people were lined up to get in when I left at 2:30 (it closes at 7).
Mini-rant the first: Listening to one of the musical/comedy acts. The woman I’m sitting next to is singing along!?!? I’m assuming she is a super fan of the duo, since they are singing what I assume from their patter are original songs. When they passed the hat, she threw in some change - I’m guessing she’d already given them all her spare cash at previous performances.
Mini-rant the second: The reason I bailed relatively early is that I was hungry. Why not buy a turkey leg? Because the lines for food and drink were what looked to be 30-45 minutes long. Probably not exactly anyone’s fault, I’ve never seen it that crowded, but beyond my patience.
The LXW has persuaded her current GP, who she greatly admires, and who isn’t taking on any new patients, to take me on. There have been changes in my current practitioner’s office that left me with a charming but very young and inexperienced new MD and I’d prefer someone with much more experience that the LXW knows and trusts. The LXW is taking me to the appointment this week and will be there with me.
In addition to discussing various other issues, I’ll be asking for a vast quantity of Prozac. I’ve had it in the past and it really does work. It’s fascinating stuff. I’ve heard people describe it as “it’s a useless drug that doesn’t do anything, but people around me are suddenly commenting on how cheerful I am!”
I’ve heard people say it works but makes them feel like a zombie; rather than feeling depressed they feel numb. But like many drugs, it will vary widely from person to person. That’s why drugs have “possible side effects” rather than “guaranteed side effects”.
There have also been reports that it’s associated with suicidal ideation. I’ve taken it before and I’m very confident in how it affects me. It’s like a friend once described it – it does nothing that you notice, but that other people notice, and in a good way.
I was once taking it in some other life crisis, and during a business meeting with a major bank, the VP complimented me on my optimistic, constructive, and positive attitude. I did not say, "hey, that’s not really me, the old pessimist, that’s the fluoxetine (Prozac™) talking!
This is it for me. No lows, but also no highs, just a grindingly boring mid-level existence. It does work, and I have asked for it on ocasion to deal with severe depression, but once out of the deep trough I talk to the doc about tapering off.
Oh my favorite way to start Mondays is to write complicated emails about upsetting things!
First on the docket is the email to the boy’s IEP team as he had a series of concerning incidents Friday at school that needed to be addressed. I’m kind of at a loss for how to help him right now, but I did my best.
Second was an email to the new HR person. I had shared the ongoing issue with not getting stuff I need on time from leadership, and last week she sent a response that kind of implied this was due to some kind of process error on my part. I spent the better part of the morning disabusing her of that notion, on the record.
Followed by the joys of condo living - apparently they sent out a letter in April that we have to stain our decks by July 31st, and today we received an email that we would be fined if it wasn’t done by the end of this week.
Problem is we didn’t buy this place and move here until June 27th, so we never got that April notice and the seller never mentioned it. I have requested a grace period.
I won’t pretend to understand. It may help to think about other life stages you’ve successfully navigated, because I am confident you will find a way to navigate this one, especially with the support you have. It sounds like they’ve been logistical godsends - but have you talked about the feelings part with anyone? Have you been able to say, “Hey, this is scary” and talk it through? Because you rightly discern that is at the core of your distress.
As I continue to fret and self-medicate with rum (the potential Prozac-prescribing doctor will not be seen until Wednesday) the painters are half-finished and will be back tomorrow and probably one more day. The painted part (Benjamin Moore “White Dove”) looks fantastic compared to the previous owner’s’“Horseshit Brown” and things will brighten up even more when “White Dove” replaces “Puke Green” in the kitchen. It doesn’t look like it needs a second coat but they said it does – part of the fixed-cost quote.
The versatile painters even installed a new thermostat for me to replace the previous piece of shit with partially malfunctioning buttons. The place looks brand new. I don’t know if my lovely realtor took me seriously when I said I may not want to move after all!
How much nicer to have painted when moving in, not when moving out.
I had a similar experience when selling my previous (and almost certainly final) owned home.
The original as-bought color was OK, but already kind of old style then. By the time I sold ~10 years later it had really gotten old & wrong looking. Its only upside was that I was already used to it. Nobody else much liked it.
After we’d moved out and mostly emptied the place of furnishings the painters came through and for comparatively little money completely changed the look and seeming age of the place. They could have done the same work almost as quickly / easily if the place was fully furnished and we were stil lliving in it. How much better to have done that long ago?
@wolfpup Wow you are really moving along with the tasks at hand!
It must give you some satisfaction and a bit of motivation as well.
Well done
I’d love to get my kitchen painted but 25 years ago I hot glued all the decor to the walls. I need to find a talented and empathetic painter who will not sit in judgement of the irrational 1990s me.
Well, except a while ago I mentioned two strong-willed women behind this – the lovely ex-wife, and her friend the realtor. My main role in this is to lie in bed whimpering and begging to be left in peace. God help me, the painters are coming again in less than an hour!
All that decor can come off in about 5 minutes with a strong dude with a floor scraper. If the stuff is sturdy enough, it can even be reused. Assuming you would want to. There’s not much that 25 years-ago me would have hung on a wall that I’d re-hang today. You might or not be similar.
Getting damaged walls smooth and ready to paint again is trivial for people who do that work.
? It’s like working on your own car - done that as well and I’d rather chew broken glass at this point in my life. Granted modern cars are fast obsoleting home mechanics anyway. I’ll still swap my own PC parts, but I’m never going to enjoy it.