Brian Kelsay wrote:
Richard A. Franklin wrote:
This quiz is actually a better use of your time than trying to make Jim feel like a dumb adolescent for leaving his laptops in a car (I am sure he already feels like $&%@, knows "what went wrong", or is completely over it ... so go beat up on yourself if you have nothing better to do). BTW, I am surprised that Google only revealed 417 results for "pedantic nitpicking". After all, pedantic nitpicking is what people do, and they either get over it or they don't.
Sorry, not trying to make Jim feel bad, it just sounded that way. It was merely an environmental unfriendliness warning for other laptop users and Jim if he gets his replacement. One place I worked lost 8 laptops in the same pre-Christmas week. 6 from cars parked in front of the bosses house while at his Christmas party. Jim's a big boy and I'm sure he'll deal with it okay. It's the data loss that can really hurt. And Richard, pedantic nitpicking is a sport we geeks form teams for. I've heard that it is a long ways down the list of future sports to be voted on by the IOC for Olympic status. I can wait.
Yep, I did not begin to think you were trying to make Jim feel bad. And pedantic nitpicking can be fun among friends. I was just a bit surprised by the silly tonality of a previous post in response to Jim's misfortune, which most of us had the good taste and common sense to simply ignore ... but it was just such a tempting lead-in to the serial killer / programmer link Too many grey days in a row bring out my shadow humor (if that is not too redundant). And BTW, as a pilot of 18 wheels, I have to remember to not let my laptop sit for 48 hours in Minot, ND during the months of January and February ... and I don't, but it is a good reminder. More to the point, how well did you score on the quiz? ---------------------------------------------- Somewhere there is a village missing an idiot. _______________________________________________ Kclug mailing list Kclug@kclug.org http://kclug.org/mailman/listinfo/kclug
On Saturday 08 January 2005 02:41 pm, Richard A. Franklin wrote:
And BTW, as a pilot of 18 wheels, I have to remember to not let my laptop sit for 48 hours in Minot, ND during the months of January and February ... and I don't, but it is a good reminder.
Actually, you can probably get the laptop as cold as you want, provided you don't bring it into a warm room, plug it in and turn it on right away. As long as you let it warm up before hitting it with power, and take some precaution against condensation on it, it won't suffer any harm from the cold. I was bemused the other day to see specifications for operating altitude - up to 50,000 ft. if I recall - on the specs for a motherboard the other day. What, are the sealed capacitors gonna blow if the pressure's too low? I doubt it, that's probably just the highest they tested it. Get the atmosphere too thin around some high-voltage components too thin and they will start spontaneously arcing, but I doubt there's much danger for a standard motherboard at 70k. Anyway, speaking of specs, you should find both the acceptable operating temperature range for your laptop, as well as the storage range which should go quite a bit lower, and possibly the amount of time to allow the laptop to reach room temperature before operating it, right in the good old owner's manual or user's guide. You threw it out, didn't you?
-----Original Message----- From: kclug-bounces@kclug.org [mailto:kclug-bounces@kclug.org] On Behalf Of Jonathan Hutchins Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2005 3:27 PM To: kclug@kclug.org Subject: Re: programmer or serial killer?
On Saturday 08 January 2005 02:41 pm, Richard A. Franklin wrote:
And BTW, as a pilot of 18 wheels, I have to remember to not let my laptop sit for 48 hours in Minot, ND during the months of January and February ... and I don't, but it is a good reminder.
Actually, you can probably get the laptop as cold as you want, provided you don't bring it into a warm room, plug it in and turn it on right away. As long as you let it warm up before hitting it with power, and take some precaution against condensation on it, it won't suffer any harm from the cold.
You've never seen one with a permanent screen-saver yet, have you? <grin> Dustin
-----Original Message----- From: kclug-bounces@kclug.org [mailto:kclug-bounces@kclug.org] On Behalf Of Dustin Decker Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2005 9:31 PM To: kclug@kclug.org Subject: RE: programmer or serial killer?
You've never seen one with a permanent screen-saver yet, have you? <grin>
Replying to my own posts... (/me mutters something about talking to yourself...) Just thought it was obnoxious that I used "never" and "yet" in the same sentence. Forgive me? D.
Jonathan Hutchins wrote:
I was bemused the other day to see specifications for operating altitude - up to 50,000 ft. if I recall - on the specs for a motherboard the other day. What, are the sealed capacitors gonna blow if the pressure's too low?
Well, actually, some of the capacitors use a "moist" electrolyte paste that could possibly have water vapor boil off in extremely low pressure environments. These are more typically found in power supplies but they do exist so the question is not as far fetched as first proposed. They are usually vented but if the vent were clogged, it is possible the 'can' could split or pop.
I doubt it, that's probably just the highest they tested it. Get the atmosphere too thin around some high-voltage components too thin and they will start spontaneously arcing, but I doubt there's much danger for a standard motherboard at 70k.
Actually, I believe that vacuum is a better insulator than the gaseous stew we use for atmosphere.
Anyway, speaking of specs, you should find both the acceptable operating temperature range for your laptop, as well as the storage range which should go quite a bit lower, and possibly the amount of time to allow the laptop to reach room temperature before operating it, right in the good old owner's manual or user's guide.
This is good advice. When I worked at the plant that made airplane radios, we tested to ridiculously extreme pressures and temperatures, but still published minimum and maximum operating ranges for a reason, and that range was where the unit operated properly.
At 12:25 PM 1/9/2005 -0600, you wrote: Many years ago I had a family that bought a little electronic toy that had stopped working. They bought it on vacation and took it on the plane with them when they came home. Commercial airplanes fly 30,000-35,000 feet. The cabin is pressurized at 8,000 feet. When I opened the game I found one of the electrolytic capacitors had popped the can completely off.
Jonathan Hutchins wrote:
I was bemused the other day to see specifications for operating altitude - up to 50,000 ft. if I recall - on the specs for a motherboard the other day. What, are the sealed capacitors gonna blow if the pressure's too low?
On Sun, 9 Jan 2005, James R. Sissel wrote:
At 12:25 PM 1/9/2005 -0600, you wrote: Many years ago I had a family that bought a little electronic toy that had stopped working. They bought it on vacation and took it on the plane with them when they came home. Commercial airplanes fly 30,000-35,000 feet. The cabin is pressurized at 8,000 feet. When I opened the game I found one of the electrolytic capacitors had popped the can completely off.
I always thought it was cosmic and x-rays they were concerned about at high altitudes. Something about the charges activating the tiny static memory cells. But my laptop makes it through the xray scanner ok, so I don't know... -=Duane http://dattaway.org
Jonathan Hutchins wrote:
Actually, I believe that vacuum is a better insulator than the gaseous stew we use for atmosphere.
Two words: "Vacuum Tube".
Which requires a heater to remove the electrons from the cathode and even then there isn't a spark. If current flowed through the vacuum even in the absence of a heater, then no vacuum tubes would work. Also remember the 'L' in LCD stands for liquid. Get it too cold and it freezes. If the liquid contains water, it expands upon freezing. I'd imagine that would destroy a notebook screen rather nicely. -- Hal Duston
Richard A. Franklin wrote:
More to the point, how well did you score on the quiz?
I got a 6, but it's been a while since I took the test. Oddly enough, the Son Of Sam guy looked familiar. I watch a lot of crime drama. reenactments and documentaries about serial killers. I see them as great puzzles. ---------------------------------------------- Somewhere there is a village missing an idiot.
participants (8)
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Brian Kelsay -
Duane Attaway -
Dustin Decker -
Hal Duston -
James R. Sissel -
Jonathan Hutchins -
Richard A. Franklin -
Zscoundrel