Random General Questions

[Halo Infinity]

@Kris i tried to reply to the (many) messages you sent me last week, but you turned off the ability to message you for some reason.

I usually keep my private messages turned off, and rarely and sporadically turn them on. I actually kept them on for a little while, but I also was thinking about unplugging for a long time coming, or at the very least, reducing my posts gradually. I definitely apologize for my horrible timing, but I tried to make sure to mention that in my most recent private message that was sent to you at the time.

i have been sick for two weeks, my wife was in the hospital for 11 hours last monday, and i just didn't have the time/energy/desire to get into a big theological religious discussion with you. so i'm sorry that me not responding within an hour of you sending me three novel-length messages upset you, but please try to be a little more patient with people before jumping to big conclusions.

I didn't mean to rush you at all, nor did I mean to be impatient or inconsiderate, nor was I actually upset. However, I tried to be sure to send a message that stated that I didn't want to be a bother and that I was in the middle of thinking about unplugging and that I would become unavailable. I also tried to wrap it up with everybody else I've sent private messages to, but if I failed to remember to send you a private message of me admitting that I wanted to unplug for a bit, I sincerely apologize yet again, especially for the horrible timing and cluttered truncated messages as well. And now that I also know that, I'm terribly sorry.

It is still very interesting and fascinating for me to discuss the Christian right with those that aren't in it and of it at all, but I also thought that perhaps it was best, or simply just far better off to be discussed privately somewhere else, perhaps through Facebook, or e-mail. I'm not really on Facebook all that much as of late though, as I've also had similar thoughts and feelings regarding unplugging from social media as well, but I currently have personal e-mail addresses set up on Google, Yahoo!, Outlook and AOL. However, I've also figured that e-mail also has a much lesser character limit than private messaging on a forum, while Facebook basically runs like an instant messaging service. Perhaps some other time if that's okay, otherwise, I'll just take a break and continue lurking and liking when and if I'm actually logged on here and not posting.

[xfocalinx]

I can't figure out how to add a custom avatar. am I an idiot?

[Halo Infinity]

From what I recall, you'd have to make a donation in order to gain that feature. You have to click Settings and then go to where it says My Account. Under My Settings and My Account, click Paid Subscriptions. From there, you can subscribe under Member or Tenant, and the costs will vary for each order.

[Halo Infinity]

@allegro - I actually found this post of your by looking up "personal responsibility" and "victim blaming" on Google next to echoingthesound.org. I've also searched for "Seinfeld" next to echoingthesound.org on Google before, but didn't arrive to it by doing that.

As this also isn't really a reason to bump that thread at all, I thought that I'd ask you here. I never thought that I'd actually see a Seinfeld reference there. It also caught me attention because I've watched that show over and over so many times. So, is the reference do the show having a lot of immature and inconsiderate plots and moments, especially if they were applied/acted out in real life?

My other guess was that it was another way of saying, "Perhaps they should just get out of La La Land, and while they're at it, get a clue." I hope that's a correct guess if that's what you were also going for.

Oh, and please pardon my ignorance, as well as bringing up a quote from a bad time. It also caught me interest since I also enjoy seeing what you say in those types of threads anyway.

http://www.echoingthesound.org/commu...8110#post78110

[allegro]

Oh, and please pardon my ignorance, as well as bringing up a quote from a bad time. It also caught me interest since I also enjoy seeing what you say in those types of threads anyway.

Hon, that was from almost three years ago, and it was a very heated argument about rape, not strictly about personal responsibility or victim-blaming (as was misinterpreted in that thread); as to my comment within the entire context of the conversation: there's too much stressful stuff going on my real life right now for me to go back and revisit that entire discussion and try to remember what was in my mindset from three years ago regarding that or Seinfeld. Sorry.

[Halo Infinity]

@allegro - Not a problem, as I absolutely respect/accept your wishes/desires. I also just thought that I'd give it a shot before winding down a bit myself. As you already know, I tend to very get curious like that from time to time.

Thank you for letting me know about that though. I really appreciate it. I also certainly hope that things eventually clear up and pick up for you too. Even in conversations that have nothing to do with me, I often like how I can still indirectly learn something new from you, see things in a different light, or even highly relate to for that matter.

[GibbonBlack]

When people design stage set ups for large concerts, like Tension or Lights In The Sky, is there some flexibility in the size of stage that they design for? Or do they make the set ups so specific that they can only play venues with a stage that size?

[19ninetynine]

I have never ripped/burned a DVD or Blu-ray before so here's my question... My brother lent me his entire collection of Unsolved Mysteries on DVD which has 4 DVD's for each set. My question is if I rip let's say the 4 DVD's for 1 set can I burn those 4 DVD's onto one Blu-ray disc? Assuming there is enough space and such, was just wondering if a newbie like myself can manage such a task. Thanks!

[wizfan]

I have never ripped/burned a DVD or Blu-ray before so here's my question... My brother lent me his entire collection of Unsolved Mysteries on DVD which has 4 DVD's for each set. My question is if I rip let's say the 4 DVD's for 1 set can I burn those 4 DVD's onto one Blu-ray disc? Assuming there is enough space and such, was just wondering if a newbie like myself can manage such a task. Thanks!

You can rip the four DVDs into disk images (like .ISO), and then burn them to a Blu-ray disc, but they will not work on a Blu-ray player. DVD's and Blu-rays have totally different structure when it comes to video files, so you will probably have to get the video content out of the DVDs and re-encode it. DVDFab is good for that.

Now, my question: is it true that, if you leave a smartphone near an external hard drive, will its radiation cause damage to the drive?

[Jon]

Now, my question: is it true that, if you leave a smartphone near an external hard drive, will its radiation cause damage to the drive?

I'm assuming you're referring to magnets here.

Yes, both your hard drive and phone can be negatively affected, with your phone having a more-likely chance of being damaged. However, it is very uncommon, and you'd have to pretty much go out of your way to destroy either device in this way these days. Storing a phone next to an external hard drive (or any "magnetic source") for extended periods of time could possibly damage or completely destroy the auto-focusing capabilities of your smart device.

Here's a pretty interesting experiment, with data, where they attached magnets to either side of an internal hard drive and tried to "erase" it. Note that they specifically did not attach the magnets near the read/write head, which would have "destroyed" the hard drive, but not necessarily all of the data.

[onthewall2983]

I started unliking a lot of my Facebook pages this morning. My plan is to just have NPR for news, and I've bookmarked my local news channel's website instead of following their pages (keeping stuff for weather though). Has the onslaught of news post-election made people likewise withdraw from places like that? I want to stay informed, but I really don't want to subject myself to the toxic comments (from both the left and right) of total strangers who could be nice and honest people otherwise.

[elevenism]

What kind of E-Reader should i get?

And like, do older ones read more formats? As in, has this manufacturer or that one come out with models that only read some new format to boost exclusivity and profits?

I've seen a lot of sites that have a lot of free books through this or that loophole.

[wizfan]

What kind of E-Reader should i get?

And like, do older ones read more formats? As in, has this manufacturer or that one come out with models that only read some new format to boost exclusivity and profits?

I've seen a lot of sites that have a lot of free books through this or that loophole.

I've only used a Kindle, and it's pretty good. Don't remember the model, though. The three formats you should care about are EPUB, MOBI and, of course, PDF. So, if you find a reasonably priced Kindle in one of the newer generations, you should be good. If a book site tries to shove some other funky file format down your throat, look elsewhere.

This "exclusive format" shit never worked for music and movies, and DRM-locked/"client-exclusive" games are the bane of any gamer's existence. Still, book publishers seem to be able to get away with it, probably because of how easy it is to steal text from a file.

[theimage13]

What kind of E-Reader should i get?

And like, do older ones read more formats? As in, has this manufacturer or that one come out with models that only read some new format to boost exclusivity and profits?

I've seen a lot of sites that have a lot of free books through this or that loophole.

They all read free books with ease; adding things to most e-readers is as simple as a drag & drop when it's connected via USB.

Personally, I greatly prefer Kindle to Nook for one reason: the store. Amazon's Kindle store is just laid out so much better than BN's. I've found searching is better, finding free content is easier...it's just a better shopping trip on Amazon than on BN. Now, whether you go for a lit screen or not is another call. I've never owned something like the Paperwhite, but I love the concept. E-ink readers (vs tablets like the Fire) are soooooooooooo easy to read for hours and hours on end with no eye fatigue whatsoever. Only drawback is that on a regular e-ink display, you still need a light source - so no curling up under the covers with it unless you've got a light of some sort.

edit: the most important software, and probably the only piece you'll ever need, regardless of which e-reader you go with: https://calibre-ebook.com/

It's free. It'll convert pretty much any format to any other format, so .epubs (more common on Nooks) can be converted to .mobis (more common on Kindles), etc. It won't strip DRM though - so you can't purchase a protected book in one format and convert it to the other. But the only time that would ever really even come up is if say someone bought you a B&N gift card and you owned a Kindle. You'll just have to spend that gift card on actual books in that case.

[allegro]

What kind of E-Reader should i get?

And like, do older ones read more formats? As in, has this manufacturer or that one come out with models that only read some new format to boost exclusivity and profits?

I've seen a lot of sites that have a lot of free books through this or that loophole.

I have the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (it's my third gen Kindle) and I like it but I like my Amazon Fire Tablet a lot better.

Honestly, though, I still end up using my iPad Mini most often for ebook reading, using whatever PDF viewer is easiest to use.

[elevenism]

I have the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (it's my third gen Kindle) and I like it but I like my Amazon Fire Tablet a lot better.

Honestly, though, I still end up using my iPad Mini most often for ebook reading, using whatever PDF viewer is easiest to use.

Thanks.
And those things, the fire tablets, are down to $49.
I have an ipad mini but it is strictly for music-it's the one my friend bought a couple hundred music programs for and then gave to me.

Since FINALLY discovering post-modernism, i have realized that reading makes me way happier than anything else, and i would like to have a dedicated reader. I will probably go with the fire tablet.

[allegro]

I have an ipad mini but it is strictly for music-it's the one my friend bought a couple hundred music programs for and then gave to me.

Since FINALLY discovering post-modernism, i have realized that reading makes me way happier than anything else, and i would like to have a dedicated reader. I will probably go with the fire tablet.

You don't use the mini for reading with the Kindle app on it? Jesus, I use it for that ALL THE FRIGGIN' TIME. (interactive vs. just plain old print). I got a cool cover for it so it makes it seem like it's a book. (<-- I don't have that exact one, but you get the idea). Honestly, my mini is my life support unit.

If you go with the Fire, though, go for 8, imho, if you can afford it. I got the original but it's like reading a small paperback, it makes my mini seem GIANT (hence why the smaller Fire ended up in a drawer, not used much even though I got a cool cover for it, because I keep using my iPad and I forget about my Fire). The Kindles don't hold battery life NEARLY as long as the iPads, either (7 hours on the original Fire) so be aware the you will be charging that sucker every night if you read a lot (which I assume you will if you are anything like me which I assume you are, juggling 5 books at a time). My bedside extension cord has, like, 5 things plugged into it.

My best pal, who is even a bigger reader than ME, never buys books in print anymore because she has nowhere to PUT them, has an ebook library that rivals local libraries, LOL. The GOOD thing is that you don't have to store them all on your device, you can store them all in the Cloud and just download them when you want to read them.

[elevenism]

@allegro this little ipad has like at the very least $1000 dollars worth of music programs on it, maybe two.
I just use the insane amount of synths and whatnot, most of which i am still learning. I am almost afraid of doing other things with it because i know nothing about iOS. Also, there is like almost no room on it. I know enough about ios to perceive that.
(My life support unit is an old school regular computer in the living room, where i sit and talk to you fuckers and have endless facebook conversations)
Lately i have been ordering books from thriftbooks.com, like 3 for $12, fucking constantly.
But a friend sent me a massive library of epub books and i found out how to convert them and ereaders are fairly cheap and i am thrilled. This is the situation. I DO take care of my mother and my wife, and xmas is coming up so i may recieve a small gift for my efforts.

So fire 8 you say?

[allegro]

@allegro this little ipad has like at the very least $1000 dollars worth of music programs on it, maybe two.
I just use the insane amount of synths and whatnot, most of which i am still learning. I am almost afraid of doing other things with it because i know nothing about iOS. Also, there is like almost no room on it. I know enough about ios to perceive that.
(My life support unit is an old school regular computer in the living room, where i sit and talk to you fuckers and have endless facebook conversations)
Lately i have been ordering books from thriftbooks.com, like 3 for $12, fucking constantly.
But a friend sent me a massive library of epub books and i found out how to convert them and ereaders are fairly cheap and i am thrilled. This is the situation. I DO take care of my mother and my wife, and xmas is coming up so i may recieve a small gift for my efforts.

So fire 8 you say?

Apps don't cost THAT much but, yeah, music apps take up a butt load of room. Get the Fire HD 8. It's basically a fancy color Kindle that you can also stream TV and videos and play games on and do Facebook (via an app) if you want, but mainly use it as an e-reader. It has Alexa, too.

When I'm not on my iPad mini, I'm on one of my three computers LOL but my mini is portable enough to go with me anywhere; the boat, car trips, my Mom's, traveling, in bed, etc. You can do the same with the Fire.

Be sure to check out Project Gutenberg. There are also a shit ton of free classic lit Kindle books on Amazon (no longer copyrighted).

https://www.gutenberg.org

[Substance242]

Tablets are... tablets (surprise I know), real E-readers use monochromatic electronic ink, are easier on the eyes, have "backlight" (in reality it is actually "above light") and not reflective surface, last for months without charging, have real buttons, and don't distract you from reading with shit. And you shift to the right mood easier when that device is used just for reading. (I use PocketBook)

Random general question... is there a rational reason to have a child? OK, that would be too heavy here. So, nothing then, hello. :-)

[allegro]

Tablets are... tablets (surprise I know), real E-readers use monochromatic electronic ink, are easier on the eyes, have "backlight" (in reality it is actually "above light") and not reflective surface, last for months without charging, have real buttons, and don't distract you from reading with shit. And you shift to the right mood easier when that device is used just for reading. (I use PocketBook)

Random general question... is there a rational reason to have a child? OK, that would be too heavy here. So, nothing then, hello. :-)

You are absolutely correct. And I have three e-readers (one is a paper-white) and all are gathering dust in a drawer because I kept going back to using my tablet. You are absolutely correct that real e-readers hold a charge for a lot longer. I started using an attached light WITH an e-reader because my first two needed to be lit at night (that's when I read), then I went to the paper-white, then I found myself reading on my iPad FAR more often than any of the Kindles and this is something of a natural process since Amazon is now selling cheap tablets as e-readers. Even my Kindles started building in distractions like the Web and email and book-browsing.

Rational reason to have a child? Um, "because I want one?" (I don't have kids but that seems like a rational answer.)

[Louie_Cypher]

i l like the kindle adjustable backlit kids negitive and positive me it's state of the world, population positive do you think you would contribute to the gene pool,
-louie

[Mantra]

I too have been thinking about getting a tablet for reading, because I find that I'm having a harder time these days staying focused on a print book.

It's weird, but it's like my brain is being rewired or something. I used to read print books like crazy, but now it takes me forever. I always find myself reading articles on the internet instead of getting through the massive backlog of books sitting on my shelf. And I don't like that, because I hate the idea that my brain is being "rewired" like that, and yet it's almost like I can't help it. Plus, I hate the fact that I don't finish whole books nearly as much as I used to. I used to read 15 to 20 books a year, and now I'm lucky if I get through a few.

But I've started to wonder if maybe having tablet or an e-reader would help with that. if I really am being conditioned to respond more to an electronic screen, perhaps I would go through whole books more if I could read them that way.

[allegro]

I too have been thinking about getting a tablet for reading, because I find that I'm having a harder time these days staying focused on a print book.

It's weird, but it's like my brain is being rewired or something. I used to read print books like crazy, but now it takes me forever. I always find myself reading articles on the internet instead of getting through the massive backlog of books sitting on my shelf. And I don't like that, because I hate the idea that my brain is being "rewired" like that, and yet it's almost like I can't help it. Plus, I hate the fact that I don't finish whole books nearly as much as I used to. I used to read 15 to 20 books a year, and now I'm lucky if I get through a few.

But I've started to wonder if maybe having tablet or an e-reader would help with that. if I really am being conditioned to respond more to an electronic screen, perhaps I would go through whole books more if I could read them that way.

It's funny because I have been going in the total opposite direction: any form of electronics in my hand: Kindle, iPad, iPhone, whatever, is a distraction. An old-fashioned book forces me off the grid.

[Mantra]

It's funny because I have been going in the total opposite direction: any form of electronics in my hand: Kindle, iPad, iPhone, whatever, is a distraction. An old-fashioned book forces me off the grid.

lol, I totally love the IDEA of that, but it never seems to work out for me. I'll just sit there reading the same two lines for five minutes while my brain is somewhere else. I hate it! I want my old brain back!

[allegro]

lol, I totally love the IDEA of that, but it never seems to work out for me. I'll just sit there reading the same two lines for five minutes while my brain is somewhere else. I hate it! I want my old brain back!

It's a discipline much like Zen meditation (do only one thing). We are SO used to multi-tasking, it's become damned near impossible for most of us to focus on only one thing, it's like adult ADD. I learned this the hard way when I was getting my English Lit degree and had to FORCE myself to ONLY read and do NOTHING else (except maybe some text-highlighting). It took a little while, setting aside "reading only" time where I could do NOTHING ELSE (I had to SIT UP in an uncomfortable position so I wouldn't nod off) but in a few weeks it became habit and I got into the groove.

One last note about e-readers vs. real books: Footnotes. I got the Kindle version of "War and Peace" (this translation) because I figured that carrying around a Kindle was a lot easier than carrying around a HUGE book. NOPE, because the translations and footnotes on the e-reader drove me fucking nuts, jumping back-and-forth via just quickly glancing down. Never again.

[Louie_Cypher]

It's funny because I have been going in the total opposite direction: any form of electronics in my hand: Kindle, iPad, iPhone, whatever, is a distraction. An old-fashioned book forces me off the grid.

not to beat a dead horse but the kndle with unlimmitted 10 a year and you can check out up to four books at a time, plus the books are so much better than ipad, they have clive barker tom robins christipherr moore and great tech books like python and c++java can't find any of those on ibooks, they always have deals i got a 5g for 39.00 through prime. my .02
-louie

[allegro]

not to beat a dead horse but the kndle with unlimmitted 10 a year and you can check out up to four books at a time, plus the books are so much better than ipad, they have clive barker tom robins christipherr moore and great tech books like python and c++java can't find any of those on ibooks, they always have deals i got a 5g for 39.00 through prime. my .02
-louie

I use the Amazon Kindle app on my iPad so I have the exact same books on my iPad as I do on my Kindle, including Kindle Unlimited. FYI.

I just open the Amazon Kindle app and VOILA. I can keep books on my device, or keep them in the cloud, just like on my Kindle. And I can highlight IN FOUR DIFFERENT COLORS woot woot!

[theimage13]

I don't know what kind of crazy great eyes y'all have, but a tablet as a book substitute? Fuck, I've got a headache just thinking about it. I couldn't read my Fire for more than an hour without issues. I've spent entire weekends where I hardly put my e-ink reader down and never once felt the slightest headache. I get the appeal of a $50 tablet (especially compared to a reader for the same price), but if you're literally buying it with the primary reason of reading books, just be careful with fatigue.

[theimage13]

Random general question... is there a rational reason to have a child? OK, that would be too heavy here. So, nothing then, hello. :-)

As a child-free person who fully plans to stay that way, I'll chime in:
1) Lots of people find great joy in dedicating their lives to teaching someone how to not be a cunt. What better way than to start them off at birth and spend 18 years setting a good example?
2) Lots of people just plain like children for a variety of reasons. If they're doing it because they want to, isn't that essentially rational?
3) Some people saw the sense of fulfillment that their own parents got from their being around, and want to achieve that by becoming parents themselves.
4) Some people are just afraid of the future and what lies decades down the road, and they want a family safety net in place to help care for them when they're old. (Yeah, lots of ways in which this could end up not working out, but that's mostly if something tragic happens).

Not for me, though. My career would never allow me to be a good parent (I'm literally gone over half the year). My general temperament of not liking to explain things over and over and over again, coupled with a lack of patience when people can't understand simple instructions, would make me a terrible parent. I like quiet time too much. I need consistent sleep when I'm not on tour because god knows you don't get it then. And frankly, we're screwing over the planet so badly that I'd feel bad adding even more resource-hungry lives into the heap.