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Re:I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers by WalterBright on Sunday October 25, 2020 @06:28PM (#24890614)
The power goes out for a day, sometimes days, every year in my neighborhood when the wind blows. Finally fed up, I recently had a generator installed that attaches to the natural gas line.

I know that purchase was effective, because a week after it was installed there was a big storm and power went out everywhere except my neighborhood. Just having a generator successfully wards off power failure, you never have to actually turn it on.

I submit this is objective proof that I am living in a simulation and none of you exist, you're just artifacts of the simulation.

Re:I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers by toast0 on Monday October 26, 2020 @12:59AM (#24892959)
> Just having a generator successfully wards off power failure, you never have to actually turn it on.

Beware, you need to regularly maintain it too (hopefully it does a weekly starter test, and it probably needs yearly oil changes). I didn't check mine, and found the battery charger had failed at about 1 am when my wife had a flight out that morning. That was fun.

(We don't have everything on the generator, so it's not as effective as yours, our utility wiring is actually pretty fragile, and our well pump is one of the things not on the generator, buying a portable genrator for that seems to have helped, but I did have to roll it out a week ago)

Re:I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers by WalterBright on Monday October 26, 2020 @06:46AM (#24894695)
Mine needs to be started once a month and the oil changed every year. I think I can handle that :-)

It would have cost twice as much to run everything with the generator, and that isn't really necessary, so it's a smaller one.

I worried about the battery being dead and no way to hand crank the generator, so I made sure that the generator could be started from a car battery or one of those zap-o-matic car jumpstarters. (I bought one of those last year, and had occasion to try it out on my stone dead car battery last month - it worked great!)

Re:I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers by EdPF on Sunday October 25, 2020 @07:06PM (#24890929)
You understand Murphy's law, and other laws of the universe well!
Re:I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers by WalterBright on Sunday October 25, 2020 @08:42PM (#24891625)
Not only do I control the weather, but the stock market, too. If I buy a stock, it goes down. If I sell it, it goes up.

Every time.

Fortunately, after about 6 weeks or so, the market forgets I did a transaction, and things start moving my way. I'm forced to be a long term investor.

Re:I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers by dkersten on Sunday October 25, 2020 @09:57PM (#24892111)
Now, if only you would let the rest of us know before you buy or sell stock ;-)
Re:I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers by giardini on Monday October 26, 2020 @12:03AM (#24892726)
waiterbright says>" If I buy a stock, it goes down. If I sell it, it goes up."?

Vijay, is that you?

Re:I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers by camgunz on Monday October 26, 2020 @12:17PM (#24897773)
Whenever I'm waiting on someone, say to arrive at my place before we go to some event together, I start doing something else. I'll start doing dishes, playing a game. Within 60 seconds they show up. #GameTheSystem.
Re:I am seriously considering going back to desktop computers by RonanTheGrey on Monday October 26, 2020 @02:57PM (#24899781)
> I recently had a generator installed that attaches to the natural gas line.

Hmm. Is this something I can buy at Home Depot or something?