Sulphur on 14/7/2017 at 22:44

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Anecdotal evidence, but I've been using ASUS mobos for the past 14 years, and they've kept on working after literal lightning strikes. It's always the ethernet cable that carries the charge, and it's always stopped short of a burnt-out port while the mobo kept happily puttering on. I don't regret the choice any.

demagogue on 15/7/2017 at 00:29

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Well I said tech woes were like a personal insult, but VA's story puts things in perspective.
At least I don't have to deal with relationship drama (knock on wood). That truly is the absolute worse, and I count my lucky stars for as bad as I have it, it's really not that bad in the grand scheme of things. You have all my sympathies.

Asus, well those tiny shell notebooks they have are kind of dodgy but you can get one for next to nothing.
The ROG line is supposed to be top-line, so that's why it's a bit surprising.

Now my theory is that it was turning on with the lid closed when I thought it was in sleep mode. It has a light on the back and the fans that'd turn off which you think would be signal enough. I'd just leave it on my bed, and I think it was turning back on and overheating that way. Sometimes when I'd come back I'd see the lights and fan back on churning. But even that was only a handful of times. Anyway there was a smell of electric burn one day, so something got fried somehow.

montag on 15/7/2017 at 05:07

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Proof that I am the best care-giver ever! The Friday before 4th of July weekend, I noticed that my mom was showing signs of a UTI (urinary tract infection) so I called her doctors office. They were closing up for the day and wouldn't be open again till the next Wednesday, but the medi-group they are in has a branch that is open over the weekend. Early Sat. morning I took her over there to get a urine sample. Since we had no appointment, we had to wait 1 1/2 hours to see a doctor. He agreed with my diagnosis of an UTI, so a couple of nurses took her to the restroom to collect a sample. After two hours passed and none of us could cajole her into taking a piss ( I had filled her full of water, coffee, and tea that morning without letting her use the toilet), I was told that they don't do catheters at that facility, and we would have to go to the Emergency Room of our local hospital. So, off we went. After a short wait, we were taken back to a room in ER. After another bit of wait, an ER doctor came in and asked me what the problem was. I explained my suspicions to him, and added that in addition to her other symptoms, she had some swelling in her feet and ankles, which was unusual. He also agreed that given her history of UTI's, that was most likely the problem but he wanted to take some blood samples as well just to be sure. He mentioned that her swollen feet might be caused by a skin infection, thus the blood samples. After a few hours, the test results were in. All of her symptoms (even more confusion than her Alzheimers would cause, along with weakness and shaking) were caused by basically Athletes Foot. Turns out that any kind of bacteriological infection can cause the same symptoms as an UTI, news to me. So long story short, her Alzhiemers has trumped her OCD, which normally would force her to be very fastidious in her personal hygiene. Now however, her OCD has taken over, and I spend all day trying to convince her that she does not need to have her shoes on, which does not work for her, she is used to wearing shoes all day and not wearing them (to let the swelling go down) conflicts with her normal routine. So it all boils down to this, I completely blew it by not noticing that she was not caring for her feet, so my penitence is washing and applying a topical cream to her feet 3 times a day. All this for a parent that I moved out of the house to escape her craziness when I was 16 years old. Anyone remember how "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"ends?

Briareos H on 15/7/2017 at 08:22

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Tentatively looking for a fresh start in a place that:

* is less populated than Paris but remains a capital and cultural city;
* has the sea/ocean, a significant amount of nature and better facilities for going swimming/running, etc.;
* hardly ever goes over 25°C in summer;
* will get me to learn a new culture/language while getting me far away from French politics;
* still allows me to get an interesting job in my field;
* (and a much higher salary)

Work is starting on Monday, until then I'm an ingenuous newcomer wandering the center of the city.

Harvester on 15/7/2017 at 21:55

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My sympathies, VA. Losing an unsalvageable relationship is tough enough, but your children being used as leverage against you and not even knowing if you can keep seeing them, that's rough. I hope things will work out well.

Thanks for all the condolences and well-wishes, everyone!