RL things I love

Arkandel · May 25, 2017, 3:52 PM

@Monogram No life-quality upgrade in regards to my computer habits has ever been greater than moving from a single- to a dual-monitor setup.

I've friends who claim three monitors are almost as good because of the symmetry, but that might just be more awesomeness than I can safely contain, so I haven't taken the next step.

SG · May 25, 2017, 4:08 PM

@Arkandel Some of the snapshots on r/battlestations make me really want 3 monitors. Playing a game that's built for that sort of thing would be wicked fun.

Meg · May 25, 2017, 4:08 PM

@Arkandel

i'm up to five monitors at work. aw yeah.

Arkandel · May 25, 2017, 4:12 PM

@Meg How... how does it feel...?

Monogram · May 25, 2017, 4:14 PM

This isn't dual monitors. It's one very wide monitors where there's a program where I can split the screen of one screen into and up to four. Though I tend to keep it to two if I do.

But you're not wrong. I'd like to actually get another monitor, but being able to split this one is cool.

Meg · May 25, 2017, 4:18 PM

@Arkandel

With great power comes great responsibility. It's kind of amazing. I have one screen just for mail and IMs, two screens of code, one screen that is the product that I am changing so I can test, and the last for streaming videos about Overwatch.

... >.>

Did I say great responsibility? well.

surreality · May 25, 2017, 4:24 PM

@Meg Hey, that's 60% pure, serious business!

...that's better than most of us do.

Auspice · May 25, 2017, 4:27 PM

I yearn for a 2nd monitor.

But I am poor.

SG · May 25, 2017, 4:29 PM

@Auspice If there's a university in town, go through after finals when all the kids are moving out. free computer gear as far as the eye can see! Last time I did the tour I got a free stereo, desk, tv, and some spiffy shoes. There were a bunch of computers, too, but I didn't want even more clutter around the house.

ThatGuyThere · May 25, 2017, 6:07 PM

@SG
I miss living in the dorms for this very reason. Since my parents lived about a half hour away I would always pick the last checkout time because that gave me the change to move my junk out, then return and do a run through of grabbing cool junk others didn't want before officially checking out.

Meg · May 25, 2017, 6:18 PM

Do college kids actually do this? Just leave stuff like monitors and TV's and shit that are still worth money, not just junk?

SG · May 25, 2017, 6:22 PM

@Meg Yeah, especially if you find the dorms area, the international students aren't going to be shipping any of that junk home.

Meg · May 25, 2017, 6:24 PM

@SG

But then why wouldn't they go to like, the nearest pawn or resell shop and just get some quick cash themselves? That seems ridiculous to just leave it!

Arkandel · May 25, 2017, 6:27 PM

@Meg A story I once read went something like this:

Someone's son walks into the house and goes to his mom. 'Hey' he tells her, 'I'm sorry, I lost my contact lens out in the yard somewhere and I can't find it.

The mother goes out for an hour then she comes in and produces the missing lens.

"Wow", he goes, "how on earth did you find it?"

"Easy" she responded, "you were looking for a piece of plastic and I was looking for $100".

... That's why college kids actually do this.

ThatGuyThere · May 25, 2017, 6:50 PM

@Meg said in RL things I love:

Do college kids actually do this? Just leave stuff like monitors and TV's and shit that are still worth money, not just junk?

Yes , one year I even found someone threw out the text books. I grabbed them out of the garbage and took them to the book store and got refund money on them. Yes someone turned down just over $100 (in mid-90s money) to not carry an armload of book one block.
I also grabbed a TV that worked fine for years afterward, more cds, dvds, and books than I would care to count. though the oddest thing I got was a random issue of Alpha Flight from 1986, I collect comics so was like ooh shiney but I cannot conceive of the person who would both have a decade old(at the time) comic in a dorm room and decide throw it out rather than move it home.

Meg · May 25, 2017, 6:49 PM

@ThatGuyThere

Serious question. In the case of like, that comic that is obvs easy to pack and shit, how do you know it was purposeful? That they didn't leave it on accident? I would worry about accidentally stealing something rather than adopting something abandoned.

ThatGuyThere · May 25, 2017, 7:08 PM

@Meg said in RL things I love:

@ThatGuyThere

Serious question. In the case of like, that comic that is obvs easy to pack and shit, how do you know it was purposeful? That they didn't leave it on accident? I would worry about accidentally stealing something rather than adopting something abandoned.

In this case I asked around for the people remaining if they knew who it belonged to, it was late in the week so only about a third of the folks were left and no one knew anything (we had 36 people living on the floor assuming full occupancy). Not sure how other colleges did it, but at the one I attended each floor had a room clearly marked garbage that had a mini dumpster inside it and one next to it marked recycling which had those various bins. I never took anything that was not left in the room marked garbage.

SG · May 25, 2017, 9:11 PM

@Meg said in RL things I love:

@SG

But then why wouldn't they go to like, the nearest pawn or resell shop and just get some quick cash themselves? That seems ridiculous to just leave it!

For international students, there is a serious time crunch once they are done finals. Many don't have visas that will span the summer, so they have to gtfo asap if they're not taking classes. Once finals are over, they have so much stuff to take care of that soaking the loss on a few pieces of furniture isn't a big deal.

Even local students are coming to the end of their leases and are scrambling to move. If they live out of town, then losing the money spent on this sort of stuff is still cheaper than uhauling it across the country and putting it in storage while they look for a new place to live.

Plus it takes a lot of time to sell/give away on the second hand market. trying to get rid of a TV through Kijiji is a pain in the ass! and you won't get nearly what it's worth.

Ganymede · May 25, 2017, 9:12 PM

@SG said in RL things I love:

Even local students are coming to the end of their leases and are scrambling to move. If they live out of town, then losing the money spent on this sort of stuff is still cheaper than uhauling it across the country and putting it in storage while they look for a new place to live.

In the 7 times I moved during my college tenure, I never found this to a problem. Then again, I could fit all of my furniture and belongings into a 1995 Volkswagen Passat Wagon because I pack light, especially if I could make it back home in 3 or less hours.

SG · May 25, 2017, 9:14 PM

@Ganymede Yeah, back when I was renting, I could fit everything I owned other than my bed in a hatchback. There's something to be said for living light.