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June SAT scores are in today....

Nine and a half. .. oh.
- svi
- Post #10
- Jun 27, 2006
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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The *Official* What Keyboard Are You Using? Thread

2nd rev Model M here.
- svi
- Post #48
- Jun 18, 2006
- Forum: Computer Building
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OMIGOD don't ever do this!

25mg pills, right? That's 100/125mg or so... well, if that much hits you that hard, be really, really happy you didn't take any more. At higher doses, diphenhydramine can induce paranoia, mild psychosis of a sort, open-eye hallucinations. It's a good idea to follow the FDA's maximum dosage...
- svi
- Post #4
- May 9, 2006
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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I can't swallow pills

Try swallowing with soda. The sugar and carbonation desensitize your throat to the pill for a little while, plus it seems to float better. I had that problem, myself... learned how to start taking pills with soda, made it relatively easy to move on to water.
- svi
- Post #36
- May 8, 2006
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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Yeah... Even after 2 different antibiotics, I still cough.

Sorry if you already answered this, but do you have a productive (wet) or a non-productive (dry) cough? That is, are you coughing anything (mucus) out of your throat, or is it just general dry coughing? I'm guessing it's a non-productive cough, but it can't hurt to ask.
- svi
- Post #38
- May 3, 2006
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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Wireless Keyboard good for gaming?

I guess a wireless keyboard would be nice if your desk was actually joined with a wall in back of it or something? Or maybe if you like to use your keyboard on your bed. I've never had any use for them myself, but I'm sure some people have reasons beyond thinking wireless > wired in general...
- svi
- Post #12
- Jan 13, 2006
- Forum: Computer Building
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surround sound headphones

To repeat what others have said: surround sound headphones are gimmicks. When the drivers are directly on your ears, so long as the headphones are constructed correctly, you only need two drivers to simulate full surround. The full explanation for this requires an intermediate-level knowledge of...
- svi
- Post #11
- Dec 16, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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Military thoughts

Tough call. I'd say Navy for air and sea, Marines for ground, Army for ground that I deal with personally (no offense to the any ex- or current USMC on this forum, 90% of Marines just give me this "I'm going to eat your face" vibe). Chair Force... nah, I prefer FedEx.
- svi
- Post #28
- Dec 16, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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Why are these diamonds so cheap?

Gemesis and Apollo Diamond stuff == sort of gem quality. I've read that you can't tell the difference with pure visual inspection (I mean visual, not just unaided eye) if they're formed properly. Obviously, there are still chemical differences, and there are other ways to tell the real thing...
- svi
- Post #40
- Dec 15, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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Poll: Advil, Tylenol or Asprin for headaches?

First I drink about a liter of water, that solves it about half, two thirds of the time. The other times, I'm genuinely sick, and what I take depends on how sick I am. I usually take aspirin, simply because generic aspirin is extremely cheap and seems to be very effective in my case. If I'm...
- svi
- Post #54
- Dec 14, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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Recommend me a mild odor neutralizer?

You are right about that ionizers are more than an order of magnitude better than "acceptable", but regarding thunderstorms, the government's regulations on what constitutes acceptable deal with 24/7 ozone inhalation. Twice the 24/7 limit for a few minutes is considered perfectly acceptable...
- svi
- Post #16
- Dec 11, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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Recommend me a mild odor neutralizer?

According to Sharper Image, the Ionic Breeze is not an ozone generator. They are close enough to correct. I'm talking about items that are actually meant to generate ozone, sometimes sold / referred to as ionizers (in the same sense that voltage depression is called the memory effect; wrong, but...
- svi
- Post #13
- Dec 11, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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Recommend me a mild odor neutralizer?

It's higher than that in air, actually, especially at relatively low concentrations (equilibrium point and all, and there's a little that will produce small amounts of ozone in the average computer room). And anyway, that seems like a lot of trouble to do something that can be done cheaper, less...
- svi
- Post #11
- Dec 11, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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Recommend me a mild odor neutralizer?

Ozone does break down (/damage/alter/destroy, whatever you want to call it) most organic molecules, yes. Unfortunately, you and your lungs are made of organic molecules, which is why ozone is classified as poisonous. Also, ozone smells like ozone. All in all: bad idea. How about a box of...
- svi
- Post #6
- Dec 11, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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Went to Panera Bread today

I _love_ Panera. I can't actually recall buying anything there-- no one's ever given me a gift certificate there, and if I'm going to have a fancypants fruit drink there will be triple sec involved-- but I have rummaged through their trash on several occasions, and their excess (ostensibly...
- svi
- Post #38
- Dec 11, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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KOSS headphones

Depends on the headphones. Impedance (measured in ohms, here) can generally be ignored if you don't care that much. Higher-impedance headphones usually (there are exceptions) require a higher level on the source (your sound card, your mp3 player, whatever) to reach the same volume level as...
- svi
- Post #5
- Dec 8, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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Gamers who use LCDs....Why?

I agree with everything that you said EXCEPT for the color reproduction statement. A properly calibrated CRT will always beat a properly calibrated LCD in the same bracket (e.g. budget, midrange, high-end) assuming both are good choices in their bracket, and there are no LCDs that can actually...
- svi
- Post #152
- Dec 8, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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Logitech X-530 Speakers--subwoofer too loud

You could try toning down the lower frequencies in software, with an equalizer. The sub on that set probably handles about 150Hz down, and the stuff from 40-80Hz is what you should worry about most wrt disturbing your neighbors.
- svi
- Post #2
- Nov 19, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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UPDATED: Surround Sound Headset recs please!

QFT. Which stereo headphones have you tried, and which algorithms have you used? I ask because I've used a lot of both, and I've found stereo headphones costing half as much as the Zalmans to do better. I know, "YMMV," I'm just curious if maybe our opinions are different because our...
- svi
- Post #6
- Nov 16, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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How fast does NIMH batteries discharge?

They're probably dropping that fast because NiMH batteries are, as said above, rated for 1.2V. They drop to that level very quickly after just a tiny bit of self-discharge. Run them in your camera until the camera shuts off, then check their voltage. I'd think something like the A70 would be...
- svi
- Post #5
- Nov 16, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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Ok old headphones are blown, need new

Good headphones are easy to get. Good closed headphones, not so much, but still possible in your price range. The AKG K271S, Audio-Technica ATH-A900, and Beyerdynamic DT250 are all good closed headphones for less than $200 (leaving you some money to buy an amp to go with them). The A900 is...
- svi
- Post #7
- Nov 8, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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What's Your Weight!

160, male. OP, if you're in a hurry, start making up weights loosely based on the pattern you've seen already. Don't forget to throw in a ridiculous outlier or two, that's the best way of convincing teachers (or professors, as the case may be) that you're giving them real numbers. Also to...
- svi
- Post #32
- Nov 2, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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My 12V rail is monitored as 10.75V...is this bad?

10.75V is so far out of spec that I have trouble believing your system could even handle that. As interchange said, try a multimeter.
- svi
- Post #3
- Nov 1, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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Is this the ultimate silent computer?

Hmm... dump the 40mm, replace the Noisetaker with a Seasonic, maybe replace the CNPS7000B with an XP120 with a 120mm Yate Loon on top (although the Zalman's a fine enough 'sink), replace the Coolermasters with 120mm Yate Loons (maybe only get one), maybe go P180 for the case (although the...
- svi
- Post #2
- Oct 31, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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It's OK to be FAT (?)

They are not at all "the same". I pointed out why earlier, in a post you managed not to read. Driving under the influence is illegal, being fat isn't; driving under the influence endangers others, being fat doesn't. I'm not saying you don't have a right to be annoyed about it. I'm just saying...
- svi
- Post #107
- Oct 31, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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It's OK to be FAT (?)

Yeah, I have. Have you sat next to a heavy smoker on a plane? How about someone who won't stop talking to you during the flight? How about someone with a terrible gas problem? How about an Indian guy that doesn't speak English and, when he wakes up and gestures at his in-flight dinner as if to...
- svi
- Post #97
- Oct 31, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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It's OK to be FAT (?)

No, it's not "just excuses." It's usually an excuse, sure, but some people are genetically (or environmentally-for-reasons-beyond-their-control, but let's not get into that) inclined to gain more weight than others. Metabolism (by which I mean the metabolic processes that deal with magically...
- svi
- Post #92
- Oct 31, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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It's OK to be FAT (?)

Well, hey, I wouldn't practice most of it myself. That doesn't mean I look down on people who smoke, drink, rely on NyQuil to get to sleep, get too much Omega-6, use antibiotic hand wash, have sex before marriage, use computers three hours a day, or any of the other things I said. Do you...
- svi
- Post #90
- Oct 31, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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It's OK to be FAT (?)

Yeah, agreed. In other words... It would be nice if people didn't smoke, drink, take illegal drugs, or in most cases (exclusions being those with Bipolar I and whatnot, obviously) take legal drugs (including OTC stuff, yes). It would also be nice if people balanced their diets as carefully as...
- svi
- Post #58
- Oct 31, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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It's OK to be FAT (?)

Egonomics? Did you mean ergo or eco? So wait, let's make sure of something here. Do you also believe that smoking is completely unacceptable in any time or place, that abstinence until marriage is essential, and that alcohol should be illegal? Let's spell it out here. - Even if a smoker...
- svi
- Post #43
- Oct 31, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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It's OK to be FAT (?)

I tend to agree that very few people fall under the genetic case. There are a couple more border cases where people screw their metabolisms up at a young age, but that's about it. But then, who cares? What's with this whole "is it OK" thing? I'm pretty sure most of us aren't directly...
- svi
- Post #36
- Oct 31, 2005
- Forum: OT Discussion Club
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Whatever happened to RDRAM?

Awful latency. Also, high price. The price wasn't entirely RAMBUS's fault, as there was some nasty stuff going on behind the stage there, but it's a good reason for RDRAM's failure. That's.. about it, I guess.
- svi
- Post #2
- Oct 30, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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Heatsinks

This is a myth, actually. While it is true that aluminum radiates heat better than copper, the vast majority of heat transfer between a CPU heatsink and air occurs through convection. Heat convection is a direct function of the heatsink's thermal conductivity and the air's thermal conductivity...
- svi
- Post #8
- Oct 28, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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Power Consumption of 6800 Ultra up to 300 Watts?

Note also that those power ratings are at the wall. I don't know if they actually specify this on that page, but I asked a little while back and one of them (I think Derek) said all power consumption measurements were done at the wall. In other words, the power the system actually draws at...
- svi
- Post #6
- Oct 24, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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Eye Strain: LCD vs. CRT

I don't get eye strain with either kind of monitor, provided that they are properly configured. CRTs at <75Hz or with contrast+brightness maxed give me a headache, LCDs with brightness and/or contrast at max give me a headache. I mean no offense to anyone when I say this, and I'm sure most of...
- svi
- Post #13
- Oct 24, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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Will Grey Goose Vodka remove stock thermal paste

Well, it certainly is good, at least. All the more reason to mark it for internal use only. As quackerww said, it's a bad idea to use tissues. They leave bits of themselves behind too much, sometimes in a form you can't see (they tend to leave very small bits of lint). Use a coffee filter or...
- svi
- Post #7
- Oct 23, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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Will Grey Goose Vodka remove stock thermal paste

It will probably work. It will not work well. Leaving the fancy chemistry out of things, isopropanol and ethanol (grain alcohol) are pretty similar in terms of how they work as solvents for substances like thermal grease. Isopropanol is a little better, though, and there's more water (worst...
- svi
- Post #4
- Oct 23, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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Best headphones for my MP3 player ( Zen Micro 6GB)

Koss Spark Plugs are worse than KSC-75s, but KSC-75s do not isolate. If you like them, just keep 'em, and don't worry about what's the best.
- svi
- Post #50
- Oct 21, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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need some new headphones

Yeah, it usually goes down for about twenty minutes some time between 3AM and 5AM eastern. Routine maintenance takes place daily, and that's around when there are the least users that it will inconvenience. When it goes back up, I'd recommend going there too. In the mean time, a few questions...
- svi
- Post #4
- Oct 21, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building
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Need a new PSU

So since you use CoolerMaster brand fans, your ears must be better than my SPL meter? I'm afraid I don't follow you, here. You're right, I misread that. My apologies. While I don't have one in my personal system, I _have_ put the 510 in several customers' systems by request, and have begun...
- svi
- Post #23
- Oct 21, 2005
- Forum: Computer Building

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