Coconut Monkey Cornerclub

[Frag Maniac]

@Colif, Warmth isn't necessarily a bad thing, could just mean it's healing and there's better blood circulation now. As long as you keep the swelling down, I wouldn't worry. When it starts itching then you'll know the healing process is mostly over the hump.

 

[BeardyHat]

For as much as I don't use my desktop for gaming, I'm kind of dying without it. I really rely on it heavily as my file server and AI thingy-majigger. My Laptop can do the AI stuff, but the GPU has half the RAM and is significantly slower, so stuff takes longer and I really gotta make sure I exit out of LM Studio before I run a game.

But really it's the file server stuff. I was adding some files to a handheld today and realized I would have to redownload them or find them on my laptop, because I just didn't have access to my file server. Ditto with a show that I want to watch. I'm also eating up my bandwidth limit with my ISP because I don't have my desktop there to act as my Steam local disk and transfer games over my network.

I'm thinking about just grabbing my newer surge protector I have on my 3d printer and using that to get my desktop going again. I mean, it might crash if the power goes out since I don't have the battery backup, but at least it would be mostly safe? Or at least, I don't necessarily care about the data on the OS disk (aside from many of the games that exist there, which I'd have to redownload) and it's unlikely anything would take out the spinning disk in there. But I am worried about something killing the motherboard, since I can't necessarily afford a new one of those right now.

Anyway, I'm installing Stable Diffusion on my laptop and redownloading my models to see if it works ok on there and I can at least goof off with image generation, even if it takes twice as long.

 

[neogunhero]

Also it's funny about that leaving the house thing; I need to go out and do stuff most days, but sometimes think wistfully about the early days of 2020 where I couldn't. But back then, I definitely went stir crazy.

Been seeing a lot of people being nostalgic for the COVID lockdowns. I kind of am too, it was quite nice staying home doing absolutely nothing but playing video games for a while. Then after about a week or so it got too much to handle. My work allowed us to come back to work fairly early under restrictions, so my lockdown only lasted about three weeks, but still after that first week I was ready to reintegrate with society.

 

[BeardyHat]

Been seeing a lot of people being nostalgic for the COVID lockdowns. I kind of am too, it was quite nice staying home doing absolutely nothing but playing video games for a while. Then after about a week or so it got too much to handle. My work allowed us to come back to work fairly early under restrictions, so my lockdown only lasted about three weeks, but still after that first week I was ready to reintegrate with society.

I absolutely wouldn't want to do it again, at this point in my life. It was easier at the time, because my oldest was only 3 and my youngest having only been born. So I didn't have to do the remote school like I saw my Nephew and Sister in Law doing (they lived with us at the time) and it felt easier to entertain the 3-year old, because we have a big backyard; which we still do, it's just my kids are now more likely to come over and tell me they're bored.

I guess they're at least old enough that they mostly play with each other now, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but I dunno.

I still ended-up not going out much until probably early 2021.

 

[BeardyHat]

(Should I say it? They were confused last time. That's ok, I'm going to say it anyway)

So, I'm getting a wild hair up my butt again.

No idea how I landed on the research topic, but I'm thinking about "upgrading" my laptop screen. When I bought the thing, I got it for cheaper because it has some weird bright spots on it. A couple in the lower right and one that almost looks like a thumb print in the upper left. They honestly don't bother me in the slightest; I can only see them on a dark screen, but even when I do, they just kind of fade into the background for me and I'm not at all bothered.

Anyway, I discovered the next generation version of my laptop (Thinkpad P1 Gen 4 is mine) has the option to get a 166hz display. The only problem is that it would be going from the following:

3840x2400
600nits
1500:1
100%
Adobe®
RGB
60hz

to

2560x1600
500nits
1200:1
100%
sRGB
165Hz

So, less resolution, less brightness and contrast, but much higher hz. It would technically give me a small performance boost as well, given I'd be running at a lower native res. Buuuut, do I really want to go with lower resolution, lower brightness and contrast? Plus, I'd have to spend something like $130 to get the new screen.

I'll probably put it off for the time being, but it's tempting.

 

[Pifanjr]

Been seeing a lot of people being nostalgic for the COVID lockdowns. I kind of am too, it was quite nice staying home doing absolutely nothing but playing video games for a while. Then after about a week or so it got too much to handle. My work allowed us to come back to work fairly early under restrictions, so my lockdown only lasted about three weeks, but still after that first week I was ready to reintegrate with society.

I never went back to working at the office and I don't miss it. I'm supposed to go in once a week, but I probably average about twice a month nowadays and only until 2 PM. I'm happy our kid can just go to school though, not just for my sake but also for hers and my wife's. Our apartment isn't big enough to be cooped up inside with three people all day. Two is already pushing it sometimes.

 

[Zloth]

We all got sent home in March 2020. I've only been back to get hardware updates.

My blood pressure went down at about the same time and, even when I had those nasty back issues a couple months ago, blood pressure remained normal. Coincidence? I think not!

 

[Colif]

@Colif, Warmth isn't necessarily a bad thing, could just mean it's healing and there's better blood circulation now. As long as you keep the swelling down, I wouldn't worry. When it starts itching then you'll know the healing process is mostly over the hump.

ankle was itchy today but its hardly the part being healed, its just wrapper up and along for ride. I can itch most of my foot since the sides of the boot are foam. Glad I don't need a cast on it as scratching that would be harder. Downside is no one can really sign my boot... I wonder if they want it back when I am healed...

So, less resolution, less brightness and contrast, but much higher hz. It would technically give me a small performance boost as well, given I'd be running at a lower native res. Buuuut, do I really want to go with lower resolution, lower brightness and contrast? Plus, I'd have to spend something like $130 to get the new screen.

do you use it for windows? As well, it already downsizes a 4k image to 2k (aka 1440p) for the desktop so would you really notice lower resolution? refresh rate is a nice boost.
16:10 is an odd resolution... WQXGA - Wide Quad eXtended Graphics Array - I see they stretched for that acronym. Mostly used for productivity

https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/glossary/wqxga/

The last few days I thought I could hear the fans in my PC. Tonight I worked out its actually Cicadas in trees in the neighbourhood. Less obvious at night time.

 

[BeardyHat]

So I got Stable Diffusion up on my laptop yesterday, but also swapped some of my surge protectors around and put my Desktop behind one that's only about a year old (apparently, they "go bad" after about 5 years or so) so I could grab some files off of it and mess around with SD on it as well. I also configured my desktop to force itself to shut down at midnight, since it's no longer on the stable battery backup and I'd like to limit it's exposure to potential damage until I have another UPS.

So I was generating on both my desktop and laptop at the same time; I remoted into the desktop on my laptop and then would copy my prompt over and just try to click both of them within a few seconds of each other and they're roughly the same speed, the laptop finishing a few seconds quicker because I clicked it first. But I guess it shows the disparity between NVIDIA and AMD when it comes to this stuff, given the desktop is working off the 6700XT 12Gb and my laptop is an RTX A3000 6Gb.

Anyway, I still suck at prompting, but it's also fun to play around with. I do wish Stable Diffusion was a bit better at generating text, which usually ends-up garbled. But maybe I should see if FLUX might run on my systems, as I think that might be a little better?

 

[BeardyHat]

do you use it for windows? As well, it already downsizes a 4k image to 2k (aka 1440p) for the desktop so would you really notice lower resolution? refresh rate is a nice boost.
16:10 is an odd resolution... WQXGA - Wide Quad eXtended Graphics Array - I see they stretched for that acronym. Mostly used for productivity

https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/glossary/wqxga/

The last few days I thought I could hear the fans in my PC. Tonight I worked out its actually Cicadas in trees in the neighbourhood. Less obvious at night time.

I very much doubt I'd notice the difference in resolution and PPI. I have a 27" 1080p screen for my desktop and I can't really tell the difference between that and the 3840x2400 on my laptop at 16", I'm just not that discerning. If I look closely, I can see some blurriness compared to my second 1080p 24" secondary screen, but I really need to be pixel peeping to notice.

And yeah, Thinkpads are most often 16:10. But the question is, do I want to spend the money for the increase in hz? Honestly, that's another thing I don't really notice all that much. That 27" screen of mine is also 165hz and it looks good on the desktop and it's definitely smoother than 60hz, but I don't really notice it ever. If I'm honest, switching between it, my 60hz secondary and the 60hz of the laptop doesn't phase me, I just don't even notice. Seems like the hive mind though is probably convinced 60hz is unusable.

So I'm probably better off not spending the money unless the bright blotches start annoying me more (unlikely).

Over the summer here, we had the cicadas out. I had our screen door open when suddenly I hear the panicked clicking from a cicada by the screen and after a few seconds, it went totally silent. I went over to check it out only to find my cat munching down on a fresh snack.

She's not much of a cuddly cat, but she is an excellent huntress.

 

[Colif]

is the desktop on the laptop set to run at 165? It doesn't default to it unless you change it in advanced display settings. Otherwise it runs at 60hz
I had to look it up as although I have set monitor to run at 144, I wasn't sure if the desktop ran that speed or if it just used that setting in applications. Variable refresh rate monitors would allow them the option. Games can run them slower so why not windows.

 

[BeardyHat]

is the desktop on the laptop set to run at 165? It doesn't default to it unless you change it in advanced display settings. Otherwise it runs at 60hz
I had to look it up as although I have set monitor to run at 144, I wasn't sure if the desktop ran that speed or if it just used that setting in applications. Variable refresh rate monitors would allow them the option. Games can run them slower so why not windows.

It's definitely set to run at 165hz and you can tell it's smoother that way, but again it just doesn't seem to make a huge difference to me.

I was actually just messing around with a tablet that I think is a 120hz screen, versus my Surface right next to it which is 60hz and I can see the difference. 60hz feels way more choppy just on the desktop, so the 120hz feels nicer, but jumping over to my main laptop which I'm thinking about replacing the screen on feels just fine. I can tell it's slower and "choppier", but it doesn't necessarily really bother me.

I'm a little more concerned about a loss in definition going to a smaller resolution with less PPI for a 16" screen, but I do doubt it would be that obvious to me, given I'm relatively unobservant in these things.

 

[BeardyHat]

Using my laptop, I noticed my fans were cranking pretty hard just posting here and there wasn't really anything running in the background that would cause this. Took a look at the bottom and the fan intakes were just choked with dust; it's only been a couple of months since I cleaned it out, but I do use it pretty frequently, so I guess that's not surprising.

Took it apart and cleaned it out and for the first time in my life, I used a stiff plastic brush to scrub the fans after blowing them out and I was kind of shocked how much additional dust came out, which had been attached to the fan blades.

 

[Colif]

It feels wrong to have to ask someone else to grab a coke each time I am thirsty, so last time I thought I get it myself, and as I was getting up and about to get on scooter, mum says "where do you think you are going?" and I started laughing as here I was thinking I was doing the right thing and she is acting like... a parent talking to a 5 year old.
So I said... I am running away and she says... I want to see you get down the stairs on the scooter...

I am trapped... starts writing Help signs to stick on windows.

One month since I went anywhere apart from a medical facility. Get a little crazy but there really isn't anywhere I can go easily. World mostly designed for people with working feet

foot starting to dislike the arch inside the shoe. Could be swelling is coming down more. I know I hadn't felt it as much until the last day or so. Kept me awake last night for a few hours.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I have 3 box fans in my place. I rely on them daily for everything from drying my mattress pad, my workout clothes (in between workouts and after laundering), keeping cool while using my spin bike, and of course airing out the place on hot days. The one in the bedroom is a consumer grade Lasko. I prefer a lower speed, quieter one in there for summer sleeping.

The two in the living room are commercial grade Air Kings. They spin faster and move more air, great for those spin bike sessions and drying the mattress pad (on low speed, high is for 90+ weather). It's half cotton, half synth, so manufacturer says no heat. So I run it for an hour in the dryer with no heat, then in well under an hour on the couch with the fans on, it's dry.

Lately I've been draping my cycling jacket over the bedroom fan 4 days a week after my 2 mi walk/run route 4 days a week. I drape it upside down with it zipped just a few in, and it covers a little more than half the front of the fan. This billows the jacket and arms so it dries quickly on med speed. One day when I turned the fan off, it sounded like the motor needed lube.

I've had this fan several years, longer than the Air Kings, so I decided to clean and lube it. I've had cheap box fans before that can be cleaned and lubed without taking apart, but they aren't worth having. So I found this great video on YouTube by a guy
that does guide videos on cleaning and lubing fans. It's simple, yet informative, especially aligning the spindle and bearings.

I didn't go the extra mile and clean the switch, but that part is working fine (I also lack the contact cleaner spray). I use a product called Liberty Oil, which I've used before for lubing my PC fans. It's 100% synth and it can keep fans running WELL beyond their rated lifespan. I had to reorder some, as I couldn't remember where I put it after moving to the new place, or it could have been accidentally put in the give away/throw away pile for all I know. At first I thought the Lasko was like a Lakewood I had once with spindle visible from the back, but was kind of glad it is more robust. This job was easier and quicker than I thought it would be.

https://www.amazon.com/Synthetic-Lubricating-Controlled-Vehicles-Evaporate/dp/B00CVWXJCG

 

[Colif]

foot starting to dislike the arch inside the shoe. Could be swelling is coming down more. I know I hadn't felt it as much until the last day or so. Kept me awake last night for a few hours.

The shoe doesn't have an inner arch... its actually just a a piece of material that wraps around my foot extending from the right hand side of shoe and being attached via velcro to another piece of material that also comes from right but only covers foot.. I have been trying to work it out all day, I have tried loosening it but then the shoe feels too loose on my foot.
Boot feels too big for me, that is part of problem. Foot moving around in shoe too much.
I have some extra pieces of foam I can put into the boot to cushion my foot, so now one of them is running alongside foot on the left and another is straddling my ankle as I think my foot has shrunk and it isn't taking as much space in shoe.
That and sock might be too big. May replace it this weekend and see if I am right. A nurse did suggest it was too big a few weeks ago... its been fine until recently.

Its not perfect, only some angles work for my foot now... will be fun going to sleep soon...

Its meant to be summer here... so why am I sitting here with an Ugg boot on one foot? Actually thinking of sleeping in it, just to keep other foot warm all night. My big toe being delicate today, so I will likely sleep with both feet sticking out bottom of my doona

Obligatory explanation - What is a Doona

Wet days so cold starts. Its weird being cold in December... next Friday meant to be 37c which is more like normal... temperatures all over the place this month... won't have cold feet then. I really should enjoy this time.

Later: Ugg boot didn't last long, pity I don't own the longer boots, would have been less likely to fall off.

 

[BeardyHat]

I've had this fan several years, longer than the Air Kings, so I decided to clean and lube it. I've had cheap box fans before that can be cleaned and lubed without taking apart, but they aren't worth having. So I found this great video on YouTube by a guy
that does guide videos on cleaning and lubing fans. It's simple, yet informative, especially aligning the spindle and bearings.

I didn't go the extra mile and clean the switch, but that part is working fine (I also lack the contact cleaner spray). I use a product called Liberty Oil, which I've used before for lubing my PC fans. It's 100% synth and it can keep fans running WELL beyond their rated lifespan. I had to reorder some, as I couldn't remember where I put it after moving to the new place, or it could have been accidentally put in the give away/throw away pile for all I know. At first I thought the Lasko was like a Lakewood I had once with spindle visible from the back, but was kind of glad it is more robust. This job was easier and quicker than I thought it would be.

https://www.amazon.com/Synthetic-Lubricating-Controlled-Vehicles-Evaporate/dp/B00CVWXJCG

So satisfying to take care of stuff. We have about 4-5 plug in heaters through the house; as long as we don't run them constantly, it ends-up being cheaper to run them versus our natural gas heat, because we have solar. But a few weeks ago my wife mentioned that one of them was broken and me being me, I decided to take it apart.

The blower was absolutely choked with dust, so I cleaned it out with my blower and it works great again. So I took a look at one of our other heaters that recently started making some noise when it oscillates, which has been driving me crazy (it's in our bedroom); I discovered it was also pretty well choked with dust, but clearly the manufacturer does not want you to clean it because it has about 16+ screws in the back of it, in addition to two of those screws being an odd triangle shape. No trouble for me, as I have multiple kits with different drivers, so I got it off and cleaned out all the dust.

While I was in there, I took some white lithium grease and put a bunch of it all over the oscillating mechanism and after putting it back together, it again blows hard and makes no noise from oscillation.

But similarly, I've used some oil for RC car shocks to relube PC fans and the like and it's worked fabulously. One fan I had in my laptop cooling pad refused to spin anymore, but after putting a few drops in the bearing, it blows nice and hard again.

 

[Colif]

foot saga continues.

I have some extra pieces of foam I can put into the boot to cushion my foot, so now one of them is running alongside foot on the left and another is straddling my ankle as I think my foot has shrunk and it isn't taking as much space in shoe.

In hind sight, putting extra pieces of foam inside the shoe only makes the strapping around foot tighter. It took a few hours last night trying to sleep (again) to work that out. Now the foam is on the outside of the shoe as support,

1. one at front under arch so that the tension there is less noticeable... foot not relying on strap under it for support
2. another piece of foam wedged between my foot and the plastic frame of boot - not sure its actually helping but its not hurting either.

It may look odd but I am hardly going out in public

loosened the velcro strap over my toes as well which relaxes strap under foot as well. Strap there for support but it was acting like a binding.

its been good all day but then after last night I haven't wanted to disturb it too much. Starting to feel it more now so must be due for pain killers

 

[dxchase]

So, im lost at the topics here and havent been keeping up. Wth happened to you @Colif ? Or point me to the post where you explain? I couldnt find it lol.

I had to wear a boot for about 6 months when i was in middle school, not for a broken ankle or shin or anything like that, no my pediatrician at the time had me wearing one because, when i stood straight, my feet werent flat on the floor, they thought wearing this boot would correct my foot.

I remember my brother making me mad one time i kicked a wall and put a nice little hole in it because i used my boot foot lol ofc i got yelled at and my bro got to laugh, such was my luck as a kid.

 

[Colif]

So, im lost at the topics here and havent been keeping up. Wth happened to you @Colif ? Or point me to the post where you explain? I couldnt find it lol.

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I fell over on way to bathroom on the 19th of November, it would be easy enough to miss since I couldn't find it myself.

I won't be kicking any walls with this one.

i took stronger pain killers last night and its only in the last few hours (16 hours later) that my toes started to complain enough to warrant taking more. I leave strong ones for when I sleep as it means I can't feel anything in my foot at all. Nice to sleep longer than 4 hours at a time.

one less mystery... for comfort, the shoe came with 4 pieces of foam to be inserted if needed.
one piece is really thin and the other three are fat

I knew where two pieces of foam are, inserted in side of the shoe... but I wasn't sure where one piece had gone. I only have one fat piece as a spare now.. I mistakenly thought one of the side ones was the thin piece.

Anyway, I found the thin piece... it was still inside shoe. I thought I had taken them all out. Its is sitting on my toes to cushion them further from the Velcro strap that goes over my toes to keep the shoe on - its noticeable when its not there... toes don't like its removal.

photo showing thickness difference, closer one is the one back in the boot now. Other is a spare fat one...

I shouldn't have taken it out as now foot complaining again. foam was bent up a little... fixed now. take a while for foam to bend into right shape around toes I guess. might be in wrong place... sigh. stops complaining lol.

Just took boot off and swapped my sock out, it was too big for my foot. See if that helps. I already know the new sock is tighter. Foot isn't as red as it was 2 weeks ago. Still bruised but toes look better. Foot now needs to get comfortable again, always risk when I disturb it.


I see it happened again, Charagma left quietly in the time since I fell over. I been distracted and didn't notice another person left. At least Zed came back.... sort of.

 

[neogunhero]

The internet in 2025 sucks tremendously. Today’s gripe is searching stuff online.

You search a question into Google or any other search engine and every single link is just clickbait, SEO profiting garbage. Most of them probably written by AI. They always have the dumbest domain names. For example…

“Can my dog eat broccoli if it’s steamed?”
The results come from sites like:

TheFriendlyDogAndCat .com
DailyPetsCare .com
DailyPetCaring .com
DailyDogMD .com

A lot of times the sites are structured the same, typically with the most SEO-friendly questions as bold bullet points with the answer below.

Only if you’re lucky you may find a result from a reputable source, such as a dog food brand.

I wish governments could set up portals for this sort of thing. Actual, peer reviewed advice from experts in a huge variety of topics. Certified vets, licensed doctors and practitioners, etc., all providing factual information in an easy to find place.

But of course, this cuts into corporation SEO money, so it will never happen.

 

[Pifanjr]

The internet in 2025 sucks tremendously. Today’s gripe is searching stuff online.

You search a question into Google or any other search engine and every single link is just clickbait, SEO profiting garbage. Most of them probably written by AI. They always have the dumbest domain names. For example…

“Can my dog eat broccoli if it’s steamed?”
The results come from sites like:

TheFriendlyDogAndCat .com
DailyPetsCare .com
DailyPetCaring .com
DailyDogMD .com

A lot of times the sites are structured the same, typically with the most SEO-friendly questions as bold bullet points with the answer below.

Only if you’re lucky you may find a result from a reputable source, such as a dog food brand.

I wish governments could set up portals for this sort of thing. Actual, peer reviewed advice from experts in a huge variety of topics. Certified vets, licensed doctors and practitioners, etc., all providing factual information in an easy to find place.

But of course, this cuts into corporation SEO money, so it will never happen.

I don't use search engines very often except for games, work or recipes, where this isn't much of a problem (yet). But I did notice the same thing recently when I tried to look up if something was bad for my dog.

 

[Colif]

“Can my dog eat broccoli if it’s steamed?”
The results come from sites like:

TheFriendlyDogAndCat .com
DailyPetsCare .com
DailyPetCaring .com
DailyDogMD .com

first result (under the AI one) is from a site I would trust to be real

https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-broccoli

and it seems they can even eat raw

Perhaps the sites offered are regional as I don't get those

https://petzyo.com.au/blogs/health-wellbeing/can-dogs-eat-broccoli

years of looking for answers for other people trains you to recognise which sites to believe and which ones to avoid.

AI only makes it harder now, doesn't help Google breaking their search engine in favour of AI. When will they remove the ability to look for answers yourself without just accepting their answer?

I wish governments could set up portals for this sort of thing. Actual, peer reviewed advice from experts in a huge variety of topics. Certified vets, licensed doctors and practitioners, etc., all providing factual information in an easy to find place.

Because wikipedia replaced encyclopaedia Brittanica and they would have been the source of this info. Now "anyone" can edit a page on wikipedia, you can't trust any of it... yay. We don't know anything now

that or the info is all in databases you have to pay money to access. As free info means no one profits, and thats not good for publishers.

Summer showing up... heatwave here next 3 days

https://www.bom.gov.au/warning/heatwave-warning/IDN21014

 

[dxchase]

Speaking of using google. Does anyone here use googles nest thing to automate anything in your house? I have mine set up to turn on and control the following devices:

Living Room Light
Living Room TV
Basement TV
Bedroom TV
Stove
AC

Recently, google has switched its google assistant to gemini and i thought maybe it would make this automation work more smoothly and nope, not at all, it just has a prettier voice.

I love using the automation, believe me, but it has so many pain points i just wish there was a better automation system out there that worked more smoothly.

Anyone here have frustrating stories using this lol

 

[neogunhero]

first result (under the AI one) is from a site I would trust to be real

https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-broccoli

and it seems they can even eat raw

Perhaps the sites offered are regional as I don't get those

https://petzyo.com.au/blogs/health-wellbeing/can-dogs-eat-broccoli

That first one is trustworthy to me because it's ran by Chewy, a pet supply company I've ordered from multiple times. The one below it could offer good information, but just how the site is laid out, it looks very similar to a lot of the SEO bait sites I was griping about.

Speaking of using google. Does anyone here use googles nest thing to automate anything in your house?

I've always wanted to get into home automation stuff, just never have. I have a few bulbs that would work, but my thermostat will not, it's too old. I could always get some outlets and plug my lamps into them.