Random thoughts thread

[ichitaka05]

Call me geek or Ghibli fan, but can't wait to play Ni no Kuni... which is coming out tomorrow!!

[Want.FR-S]

Originally Posted by Dimman

CFD site suggests VirtualBox, which is open source.

So a separate Linux computer is your recommendation?

What would you recommend for a Linux box? Umbuntu is the version mentioned on the CFD site.

Let me chime in a bit w.r.t. Linux build:

It is not that difficult to setup Dual-boot system. If you have a desktop, simply by adding or using another HDD to your system, making it bootable based on the choices in BIOS, and install Linux to that partition. That is, if you do not want to setup the dual-boot record on your HDD.

The Linux distribution typically can also setup the dual-boot record for you. If you are running a laptop with sufficient disk space (>500 GB), you can partition it so that both windows and linux can share that disk, and you also need some 4 to 6 GB for the virtual drive on Linux. This virtual drive should also be on a separate partition.

The problem with dual boot system is that you can only run one OS at the time, compared with VM when you can do two OS' at the same time.

On the other hand, unless your CPU is really quick, and I am talking about server-grade fast, running VM's to run CAD software, especially this mesh-driven simulation software, could put you back into the DOS days where you would type a command and wait for the program to respond .... in ... more .. than ... 10 ... seconds ... later ... Maybe there is improvement with the latest VM software. I need to try this to see how this goes.

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by Want.FR-S

Let me chime in a bit w.r.t. Linux build:

It is not that difficult to setup Dual-boot system. If you have a desktop, simply by adding or using another HDD to your system, making it bootable based on the choices in BIOS, and install Linux to that partition. That is, if you do not want to setup the dual-boot record on your HDD.

The Linux distribution typically can also setup the dual-boot record for you. If you are running a laptop with sufficient disk space (>500 GB), you can partition it so that both windows and linux can share that disk, and you also need some 4 to 6 GB for the virtual drive on Linux. This virtual drive should also be on a separate partition.

The problem with dual boot system is that you can only run one OS at the time, compared with VM when you can do two OS' at the same time.

On the other hand, unless your CPU is really quick, and I am talking about server-grade fast, running VM's to run CAD software, especially this mesh-driven simulation software, could put you back into the DOS days where you would type a command and wait for the program to respond .... in ... more .. than ... 10 ... seconds ... later ... Maybe there is improvement with the latest VM software. I need to try this to see how this goes.

What is server-grade fast? And what kind of $?

I am just starting to look into requirements for CAD, and there seems to be compatibility issues with graphics cards (ie fast gaming cards aren't the best choice).

Browsing newegg.ca I was looking at the 6 core i7, and a GTX670 graphics card, but that's almost $1k right there. Not counting everything else...

[Spd229]

Originally Posted by Dimman

What is server-grade fast? And what kind of $?

I am just starting to look into requirements for CAD, and there seems to be compatibility issues with graphics cards (ie fast gaming cards aren't the best choice).

Browsing newegg.ca I was looking at the 6 core i7, and a GTX670 graphics card, but that's almost $1k right there. Not counting everything else...

Yeah, forgot about the graphics solutions required. Workstation Graphics cards are generally what the category is called.

I haven't worked with servers in a while, so I don't even remember what I used to put in those (it's been 6 years anyway, so it's changed a few times.)

You'll definitely want something along the lines of the i7. I imagine those applications should utilize all of those available cores, though you may want to check; perhaps they only utilize 4 cores at most...or something odd. No need to spend more than necessary if it won't be using it.

I know my brother froze his hp blackbird while working on some art renders, then again he had tons of layers going on; and that machine has a pretty decent processor and 32gb of ram if I remember. He never really told me what the fault was, processor or actually consuming that amount of memory.

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by Spd229

Yeah, forgot about the graphics solutions required. Workstation Graphics cards are generally what the category is called.

I haven't worked with servers in a while, so I don't even remember what I used to put in those (it's been 6 years anyway, so it's changed a few times.)

You'll definitely want something along the lines of the i7. I imagine those applications should utilize all of those available cores, though you may want to check; perhaps they only utilize 4 cores at most...or something odd. No need to spend more than necessary if it won't be using it.

I know my brother froze his hp blackbird while working on some art renders, then again he had tons of layers going on; and that machine has a pretty decent processor and 32gb of ram if I remember. He never really told me what the fault was, processor or actually consuming that amount of memory.

It mentions parallel computing on the site, and I briefly skimmed a few articles on Beowulf clusters. Interesting stuff.

But I need to learn to crawl before I can run. I don't even know how the cores' resources are allocated. I would just expect that more would be better, given that a virtual machine is basically turning one computer into two less efficient ones.

I've got some catching up to do...

[Asterisked Accolade]

A little something i just came up with,

"He lowered the volume of his television as his focus was stolen by a faint grumbling from outside. He stood up from his recliner, tied the waist of his robe shut and walked to his window. He pulled a couple blinds down with his fingers and looked outside. The sound grew much louder and a small, quick aircraft rocketed across the sky overhead. He recognized the type-- an unmanned drone. He'd seen them plenty of times in magazines and documents from his friends in the force. As his heart started to race, the ground began to gently tremble. He backed away from the window and looked at his coffee mug sitting on the cork coaster on the coffee table-- the liquid was fluctuating. He frantically ran to his front door and looked through the peep-hole. He heard the sound of heavy machinery moving closer to him. He kept looking through the hole until he saw movement. A few men came into view-- clad in digital camouflage and armed with assault rifles. The mechanical sound was much louder and rattled the front door and framed photos on his walls. It was then that it came into view-- a tank. His eyes widened and he exercised futility by locking the deadbolt. He ran to his recliner and grabbed his cell phone. He texted a message, 'It's happening! U were right!'''

"He ran over to his hutch which held old china from his childhood. He slid a wooden panel on its side up and revealed a number pad. He entered a 5-digit combination and a hidden metal door opened, revealing two assault rifles, loaded magazines and a belt of grenades. He grabbed everything, and ran up his stairs as his robe fluttered behind him. As he made his way upstairs, the lights went out. It was midday, and there was plenty of sunshine. He could see his television from the stairs-- it was off. He continued to his bedroom which overlooked the front of his house and into the street. He pulled down a couple blinds with his finger and saw a dozen men accompanying the tank. Then he noticed the most frightening thing of all-- the flag on the side of the tank-- it was American. He'd always prepared himself for some kind of military invasion, everyone he knew was in the force and they'd always thought it was possible. Probable, even. But this was different, this wasn't an invasion; these were our troops, marching through our streets. A man's voice sounded from a megaphone, 'Civilians of the cul-de-sac, come from your homes with your hands up for relocation. Do not resist. Do not run.' His voice was calm and without remorse. A new sound took his attention, another engine. He looked down his street and two large trucks with tents over their cargo areas slowly made their way to the cul-de-sac.''

"He set down his rifles and pulled a framed photo off the wall. Behind it was a handle attached to a circular cut-out in the wall. He grabbed and turned it, and with a click, the circular chunk of wood came loose from the wall-- leaving a two-foot opening to the outdoors. He ripped off his robe and opened his closet door. Hurriedly pushing aside hangers full of clothes, he revealed a flak jacket, military boots and a SWAT-style helmet. He grabbed them and dressed himself quickly. From one of his boots, he pulled a small receiver before putting it on. He grabbed a rifle and pulled off the magazine to see if it was loaded. After confirming, he clicked the magazine back into the bottom of the rifle and grabbed the receiver. He lifted the red cover with his thumb and pressed the red button. Muffled explosions erupted under the street outside and rattled everything in his house-- even knocking him off balance for a moment. He ran to the round opening and watched as the men outside were engulfed in smoke and fire. He could see the tank sinking into the fire as the road caved into the sewer system. The doors of the two cargo trucks opened and a couple more armed troops quickly stepped out. He aimed his rifle through the round cut-out and fired at them, instantly hitting two before the other three hid on the far side of the trucks.''

"From the billowing smoke and flames, something grabbed his attention. The barrel of the sunken tank's cannon rose up and aimed at his window. His heart stopped. He grabbed his belt of grenades and quickly ran out of his room to the stairs. As he did, the tank fired, destroying his room and blasting wood, metal, and fire through the upstairs hallway and down the stairs. He reached the bottom of the stairs and pulled a grenade from the belt and braced himself against the hutch from which he earlier grabbed his rifles. He waited for the remaining soldiers to kick his front door. He heard their footsteps as they came closer, so he held down the safety lever and pulled the pin. Soon thereafter, he heard a soldier kick his front door. Then a few blasts of a rifle to his door knob. He threw the grenade into his small foyer and braced himself. The door was kicked once again and the door flung open. Not a second later the grenade exploded, knocking the two soldiers back in multiple pieces. He left the protection of the hutch, aiming down the iron sight of his rifle into the smoke in his doorway. The silhouette of a man running toward him from the driveway prompted his trigger finger. A few loud bursts and recoil and the silhouette fell. He grabbed the belt of grenades and slowly walked to his front doorstep which still burned from the grenade, 'What the hell do I do now?'''

"The sound of an engine again took his attention, but this time it was revving loudly and coming quickly toward him. He knelt down next to one of his bushes and aimed down the sight of his gun. It was a white pickup truck, one he recognized. He lowered the rifle and grabbed a walkie from one of the dead soldiers along with another rifle and a pistol. The pick up truck stopped alongside the two cargo trucks and he made a run for it. He ran to the passenger door of the bullet-riddled truck, opened it and threw the soldier's weapons onto the floorboard, 'Goddamn am i glad to see you--'

His friend quickly shifted into reverse and spun the truck around, 'Same here.' As they sped down tank-torn asphalt, his friend shook his head and declared, 'I FUCKING told you, didn't I?'''

[Want.FR-S]

Originally Posted by Dimman

What is server-grade fast? And what kind of $?

I am just starting to look into requirements for CAD, and there seems to be compatibility issues with graphics cards (ie fast gaming cards aren't the best choice).

Browsing newegg.ca I was looking at the 6 core i7, and a GTX670 graphics card, but that's almost $1k right there. Not counting everything else...

I am thinking something that is Xeon related. That kind of box is running in thousands, I think.

Check this link about the video requirement for SolidWorks:

http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support...rdtesting.html

I would assume that if the card is good for Solidworks (3D mechanical tool), it should be good for this OpenFOAM tool.

PS: forgot to mention: if you intend to run Linux, check the vendor for video card to see if they also provide the drivers on Linux. That is very important as Linux does not come with the driver. You may need to search and find to see if all the hardware is Linux compatible.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Workstation graphics cards cost money and you can't even repurpose them for gaming >_< haha. I'd try the VM first to see how it goes. A small form factor Linux box shouldn't run you much and I'm not really certain you need a workstation (QuadroFX anybody?) card quite yet. Fastest processor you can afford with the most (quantity) of low latency RAM you can afford are generally what you want when building something. These days that's a Core i7 of some kind; just make sure that the CFD programs you're using are multi-threaded (meaning they can take advantage of multiple CPU cores).

[Guff]

After 78.5 hours of being lost, my friend Mehdi was found barely conscious in downtown Dallas. He was presumably assaulted and was left to die. He is now in Parkland hospital in Dallas at the ER.


When my brother called me and told me they found him, I was relieved to the point of tears. I'm still hugely overcome by this feeling, but I know that he is still struggling, so it's not over yet.

As soon as I get more info, I'm gonna try to book a flight to Dallas to go see him...




God, this has been a roller-coaster of a weekend...

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by Guff

After 78.5 hours of being lost, my friend Mehdi was found barely conscious in downtown Dallas. He was presumably assaulted and was left to die. He is now in Parkland hospital in Dallas at the ER.


When my brother called me and told me they found him, I was relieved to the point of tears. I'm still hugely overcome by this feeling, but I know that he is still struggling, so it's not over yet.

As soon as I get more info, I'm gonna try to book a flight to Dallas to go see him...




God, this has been a roller-coaster of a weekend...

Glad that they found your friend.

[Calum]

I think most of my subordinates took their stupid piles today. I felt like slapping all but one of them. To the one that showed some initiative and common sense, THANK YOU. You made today bearable.

[NickD]

Last week: found out my thyroid hormones are out of whack

This morning: pass out while standing up, hit my head/hip/ribs, brought to emergency room

This afternoon: cat scan shows arachnoid cyst on my brain





At least I still have my fr-s, lol

[IntotheOcean]

Aw man @NickD *hugs* I'm so sorry! *more hugs*
hang in there man, stay positive, I don't know how serious this is..I mean it sounds...like it is. -shit, Please keep us updated!-
Ill keep you in my thoughts!

[IntotheOcean]

I went to the dealership today and I saw that the frs had leather interior and different spoiler(not the trd one) I also felt like it was dropped but wasn't 100% sure. I should had asked
anywho I had no clue they did this since its not on their website
I didnt sit in it or take it for a spin-I knew that if I did I would have left with the biggest broken heart ever.....only a few more months to go