Our Dumb Mistakes

Puppy related raves and general interest that doesn't fit anywhere else
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p310don
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Location: Brisbane, Australia

#76 Post by p310don »

Oh man, this is a dumb one.

I have been fiddling with a PC to try to get Mupen64plus to run so my wife can play mario64. Anyway, I found a pet and got it to work, but no sound. I have installed and uninstalled all versions of SDL I could find (apparently related to sound) and fiddled with setting, volume sliders everything.
After about an hour of stuffing around, I gave up, checked my facebook and discovered that a video I played on there didn't have sound. Dammit I've ruined sound.
Then it came to me. I turned off the speakers earlier because my wife and daughter have gone to sleep. Turned them on, and suddenly sound is working again... :oops:

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drunkjedi
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#77 Post by drunkjedi »

Nah that happens,
I have converted few friends to puppy.
They don't come to forum, but ask me for any problem. (I am not even slightly fit for that job though)

One friend called me and said he has deleted drivers for his sound card.
I was surprised, I asked him how did he do it.
He told me, may be his kid did it or some virus, as he has no sound.
That was his experience from when he was using Windows.
Luckily I remembered my brother's advice from when he was in a computer company and troubleshooted on phone, he said always start from power plug.

That actually saved an hour of my phone time.

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Flash
Official Dog Handler
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Location: Arizona USA

#78 Post by Flash »

I've mentioned this before but it's worth telling again: I once spent days doing everything I could think of to get the sound to work, including reinstalling Windows and different drivers. Eventually I thought to check and discovered that I'd plugged the speakers into the microphone jack. In my defense, the two jacks were similar in color and on the backside of the computer where it's awkward to see them clearly.

Still, it's worth writing out a checklist before you start troubleshooting. Maybe then you'll think to prioritize things like double-checking the power switches and plugs before reinstalling Windows, or if there's gas in the tank before you tear apart an engine that won't start. I've never done that, but I've heard of people who did.

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drunkjedi
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#79 Post by drunkjedi »

Yeh a friend of mine did that thing.

He bought a car, drove it few days, then called it's service station one night, blasted them off for giving him 'faulty' product that has stopped working after only few days. It wouldn't start no matter what he did.

The service centre guys couldn't assess the situation on phone, they arranged a tow truck and took car back.
Only to discover he just ran it dry.
He used up the full tank they gave, never refuelled.

Now even after some 6-7 years we friends constantly remind him to fill up, just to tease him.

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Burn_IT
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#80 Post by Burn_IT »

I disconnected the battery on my car when I knew I was going into hospital for an operation that was going to take some time.
When I came out I need to go to the chemist for a prescription and couldn't start the car and called the RAC
I was quite embarassed when they told me the battery was disconnected.

If you ask why - things like the clock drain the battery quite quickly.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

p310don
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Location: Brisbane, Australia

#81 Post by p310don »

I feel I have contributed too much to this thread, but I have another one...


I had a PC that worked great as a media player. It had a USB TV tuner in it, which ran through SMPlayer to watch broadcast tv.

That PC died in a storm, so I upgraded to a new machine.

Everything worked better, except the TV tuner wasn't working. I fiddled with many settings, figuring out the channels.conf file (which is a PITA to get) etc.

Turns out, the USB ports on the new PC are really close together, so the tuner was plugged in, and the lights were on, but the data connections weren't working. The mouse dongle pushed the TV dongle on an angle, which meant it wasn't properly connecting. I unplugged the mouse dongle and it worked first try.

Took me 2 months to plug in the USB properly.


grrrrr

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greengeek
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#82 Post by greengeek »

p310don wrote:The mouse dongle pushed the TV dongle on an angle, which meant it wasn't properly connecting. I unplugged the mouse dongle and it worked first try.
Took me 2 months to plug in the USB properly.
Haha - reminds me of the time i spent several weeks trying to work out why my usb printer wasn't connecting.

Which clackerhead designed the USB type "A" connector just the right size to fit snugly into an RJ45 network port ?#$%$???

Lesson learnt

musher0
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#83 Post by musher0 »

I call it "learning". :lol:
musher0
~~~~~~~~~~
"You want it darker? We kill the flame." (L. Cohen)

WIckedWitch
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Location: West Wales bandit country

#84 Post by WIckedWitch »

This definitely seems to be the right thread for me ....

... I suffer quite badly from Seasonal Affective Disorder and am really below par in UK winters. I take a raft of supplements, including low-dose lithium, to control my mood but nothing so far stops the decline in my ability to concentrate during the dark winter months. As a result of this, during my last few years before (semi) retirement, I have refrained from scheduling myself on any safety-critical work during my bad months.

Right .... intro done .... so here are a few imbecilities from the winter just past:

1. Typing into a DOS command prompt window as if it were bash.
2. Typing into a bash shell as if it were an DOS command prompt window.
3. Moving the mouse attached to my Lubuntu system and looking at the screen of my Win 7 system.
4. Trying to compile Tcl using the Python3 compiler
5. Trying to compile C using the Tcl shell.
6. Putting an Iomega Clik drive into a PCMCIA slot and wondering why my PCMCIA wireless card had suddenly stopped working.
7. Trying to charge the battery on my ThinkPad R40e by plugging the power cord into my R50e.
8. Wondering why a USB wifi stick wasn't working when I'd actually plugged in a pen drive.
9. wondering why my headset wasn't working when I hadn't plugged it in.

I could go on but it would get tiresome. The thing is that on each occasion I've lost between 10 and 20 minutes over mindless blunders. Over a winter it all mounts up.

I should really live about 1000 miles farther south but that's out of the question while my aging father heads into his nineties. At this rate it's a toss-up which of us will go gaga first :-(
Sometimes I post mindfully, sometimes not mindfully, and sometimes both mindfully and not mindfully. It all depends on whether and when my mind goes walkies while I'm posting :?

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Burn_IT
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#85 Post by Burn_IT »

Try using "daylight bulbs".
They actually do help. I used to be a sad person, but spent a bit extra on getting "bulbs" that give off light biased more towards the blue end of the visible spectrum and it helps a lot.
Also you can change the "white" on your computer screen so that it is not quite as yellow.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

musher0
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#86 Post by musher0 »

@WIckedWItch:

I wouldn't worry about it! Some great inventors and some great artists
were / are just as clumsy, distraught, dropsy, forgetful, etc., as you are.

Don't blame yourself. It's probably just a case of reality trying to catch up
with what your quick and bright mind wants it to do! :) Maybe it's reality
who should be taking the lithium pills and turning on the "daylight
bulbs"!!! ;)

Just to be clear: I'm trying to be humouristic about a serious matter, but
no disrespect at all is intended. I sometimes do blunders like yours, and
I'm not a great anything. It's just that sometimes we expect too much of
ourselves. (It's a feature of perfectionist people.)

BFN.
musher0
~~~~~~~~~~
"You want it darker? We kill the flame." (L. Cohen)

WIckedWitch
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#87 Post by WIckedWitch »

Burn_IT wrote:Try using "daylight bulbs".
They actually do help. I used to be a sad person, but spent a bit extra on getting "bulbs" that give off light biased more towards the blue end of the visible spectrum and it helps a lot.
Also you can change the "white" on your computer screen so that it is not quite as yellow.
I do, but I am also prone to migraines and there are times when using daylight-balanced lighting will spark one off :-(((
Sometimes I post mindfully, sometimes not mindfully, and sometimes both mindfully and not mindfully. It all depends on whether and when my mind goes walkies while I'm posting :?

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Burn_IT
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#88 Post by Burn_IT »

I suffered from terrible migraines for years.
I found that if I sucked on a glucose tablet as soon as the disturbed vision started, and sat in a dark room for abut 20 minutes, I could avoid them or at least lessen the severity.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

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spiritwild
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#89 Post by spiritwild »

I was thinking about things the other day from a before and after perspective.
Learned wisdom. When my company bought a waterjet, I was the person who had to learn the maintenance and rebuild. At first glance there where more tiny intricate parts that I wanted to deal with. When they were all laid out, it was quite intimidating. I'd never seen anything like it and it was really alien to me.

The other day I was rebuilding the pump and thought "This is really kind of primitive stuff" once you have messed with it.

It reminded me of the first time I started messing with puppy Linux. Since I'm the creative type person, I've definitely had to screw some stuff up royally before I learned my lesson. Then do it again. I recall doing something to break the desktop. all the icons were just boxes with red X inside. Man, I thought that was the end of days at the time.

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mikeslr
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#90 Post by mikeslr »

The juxtaposition of Burn_it's and spiritwild's tales reminded me of:

Jake was suffering from terrible headaches. Finally, Sadie, his wife, convinced him to see a doctor. After a battery of tests the doctor advised him that only castration would provide him relief. So he talked it over with Sadie.

"Vell." she said, "Ve've had a long and gud marriage. Ve have children and grandchildren. It von't be so bad. Ve'll do vhat ve have ta do."

After the operation Jake was very depressed for a long time. Finally, Sadie told him, "You know, Jake, vhen I'm depressed vhat I do is I buy myself a new outfit. Vhy don't you go down to the lower East Side and get yourself a new suit."

Taking Sadie's advice, Jake was walking by Herbie's Haberdashery and Hats when he was accosted by its owner.

"You look like a man who needs a new suit", said Herbie.
"Yes," Said Jake, "But how do you know dis?"
"I'm the haberdasher. It's my job to know dees tings." Said Herbie. "Come in, Come in. Nu, a blue suit, Yes.?" not quite asking continued Herbie.
"Yes." Responded Jake. "But how do you know dis?"
"it's my job to know dees tings." Said Herbie. "Size 42-Short, sleeve length 34, pants legs 30, in-seam 24 " he continued.
"Yes." Responded Jake. "But how do you know dis?"
"It's my job to know dees tings." Said Herbie, continuing with "And you'll need two white button-down shirts, medium, sleeve length 34."
"Yes." Responded Jake. "But how do you know dis?"
"It's my job to know dees tings." Said Herbie, continuing with "And you'll need a half-dozen jockey-shorts, size large."
"Ah, I've got you dhere." Said Jake. "I vear medium."
"No!" said Herbie, adamantly. "If you vear medium jockey shorts they vill squeeze your balls and you'll get dees terrible head-aches."

mikesLr

p.s. Sorry, burn_it, my intention wasn't to make light of your problem. I have days like that myself. But, now being diabetic, I can't follow your course of treatment. And I'm not yet ready to follow Jake's. Suggest you google "Migraine 5HTP". Really. But 5HTP is not a drug like aspirin, taken when you have symptoms. Rather, it's something your body produces naturally, but after about 50, not enough.

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drunkjedi
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#91 Post by drunkjedi »

Hi Mike,

That joke was told to me by my boss when I joined as an apprentice Tool and Die Maker.
Explaining doing Why-Why analysis of problems to get root cause of problem and finding solutions.
The expert doctors stopped at first why, and got a working but costly and depressing solution.

The joke is still funny.

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mikeslr
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#92 Post by mikeslr »

drunkjedi wrote:Hi Mike,

The joke is still funny.
Not if you happen to be Jake. :(

So the joke has serious implications :idea: and a prevalence beyond my ethnic group (hence, my attempted use of dialect). I had assumed it was just a cautionary tale reminding me that even if my uncle was a physician to get a second opinion. Or, stated more generally --and as an attorney occasionally brought in on malpractice cases know from experience-- an expert, regardless of his/her field and credentials, can be just as much as screw-up as anyone else.

I was, however, serious about recommending 5HTP. "Big Pharma" can't make money from it, as it's a naturally occuring substance. Consequently, physicians generally don't learn about it and include it in their "tool kit". I don't know the exact chemistry, but it's an intermediary stage in the production of serotonin, a chemical required by synapses in the brain in the transmission of electrical impulses. Lack of sufficient serotonin manifests itself as head-aches and, in severe cases, clinical depression. I've been taking 50 mg per day --100 mg once a month, or on 'really bad days'-- for 20 years, apparently, without adverse effects. [But then, how would I know?].

mikesLr

p310don
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#93 Post by p310don »

I don't know why I constantly find the need to resurrect this thread. But then again, I don't know why I constantly do things worth of this thread.

I've recently switched to using Fatdog instead of Xenial for my media PC, after a hard reset killed Xenial. As a part of that process, I discovered that Fatdog actually works with the shutdown & reboot commands, which never worked on Xenial (hence the hard reset).

This PC is connected to a projector. I did a reboot, just because I can, and decided to go to the bathroom. I turned off the projector. After tending to nature, I got distracted (2 kids under 3 will do that). After an hour or so, kids put to bed, I turned on the projector to watch some TV. Nothing. No signal. Checked the lights on the PC, it's on, projector isn't getting signal. There was only one obvious reason, I've killed it.

Because of the two kids, I make a habit of turning off the wireless keyboard when I'm not using it. That adds to the issue. I pressed the any key to get it to work, nothing. I ctrl alt bkspaced, nothing. Luckily I had been playing with the built in VNC settings in Fatdog, and remembered I had set up x11vnc to be always on.

I went to my work PC across the room, also running Fatdog. Logged into the modem to find the media PC's IP address, typed it into TigerVNC. Black screen. What the hell? Was just going to get up to check the HDMI connection, and bumped the mouse so it moved across the TigerVNC window, and the Fatdog wallpaper showed up. Then blink, blink blink, the project (which I left on) flickered, and up came the Fatdog wallpaper, in all it's 8 foot glory.

Yep. There was no signal, because it was on blank screen screensaver.

p310don
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#94 Post by p310don »

My project for today, copy some VHS tapes to the PC. It is a tedious process. I simply connected the VCR to the PC via a USB adaptor, played it in VLC and pressed the record button. That saves it in the source format, which happens to be an uncompressed AVI file.

I recorded two 180minute VHS tapes, both come in at around 150 gig each file.!!!

I did this on my laptop. I figured I wanted to save some space, so would convert to m4v using Handbrake. It converts at around 18 frames per second, so the videos, which are 3 hours and 25 frames per second would take 4 - 5 hours to convert.

So I got smart, let my laptop do one, and share the folder to my desktop and let it do the other. Excellent idea, saves time.

5 hours later, I check on my work, I've converted the same file on two different computers, and now have to do the second one anyway.

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