Category: IRL

Posted in IRL

Hurricane Florence Passes

Posted on by Aywren Sojourner

It’s going to be a busy week for me with a trip coming up in two days, but I wanted to drop an update about seeing the other side of Hurricane Florence pass on through. I tell you what, that was a slow-moving storm! Even though it got down-graded in power once it made landfall, it really did wreck up some stuff because it just lingered so long.

Folks north of us got the brunt of things, so to be quite honest, I can’t really complain at all. We did lose power over Friday night for a little over 12 hours. I was completely shocked when it came back on Saturday afternoon — I didn’t even expect the power crews to be out there while the storm was still going. Granted, it had lessened to an extent that it wasn’t super dangerous by that time, but still.

Flooding is going to be the major thing from here on out as this storm dumped a whole lot of rain in the area. We’ve still to see the total effect of this where I’m at, so hoping people keep safe and don’t take any chances.

Aside from that, I’ll be on a plane on Wednesday, as long as everything at the airport is sorted. I’ll be back in town late on the 23rd, so I probably won’t be posting a whole lot here until I’m home. Just wanted to let folks know we weathered the storm and didn’t take anywhere near as much damage as I was afraid we would… at least, where I’m at.

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Posted in IRL

Hurricane Incoming

Posted on by Aywren Sojourner

I’d wanted to write a bit about The Rising event in FFXIV this week, but never quite got around to it. People in my area have been bracing for the incoming storm, and it’s really been first and foremost in people’s minds right now.

I don’t usually get concerned about hurricanes because quite often, they lurk around, make all sorts off people fret, but don’t usually hit us. This one may be different. It’s still hard to tell, but pretty stressful, especially since the forecast says that the storm will remain in our area for three days (and of course, it would be over a weekend).

This means we’ll be without power and possibly water for days, possibly longer. That’s not including the kind of damage a storm of this magnitude is going to do. And as much as I’d like to be preparing, I’m stuck at work until the last possible moment… which is also stressful.

On top of that, my vacation trip was supposed to be next week. And who knows what’s going to happen with that.

So, basically, I’m probably going to go dark for a while. I hope I’ll be updating sooner rather than later, but nothing promised. Please keep all the folks in the storm’s path in your thoughts and prayers.

 

Posted in IRL, Technology

When the Night’s on Fire

Posted on by Aywren Sojourner

Yes, that’s a photo of the inside of my PC. 🙂

Anyhow, I enthusiastically took a 3 day weekend for the launch of Sims 4 Seasons, and just to have a little time off. I’d planned on coming back to this week with lots of Sim stories to share. That’s almost what happened until yesterday.

On Sunday, I was trying to slide in a little quick Ninja leveling in FFXIV. While running a Leveling dungeon with Syn, I noticed that I was having crippling lag spikes. Anyone who plays Ninja knows that lag is that job’s worst enemy.

At first, I just thought it was the game or connection. But this wasn’t the normal kind of lag spike. It felt like when you’d left a Steam game to download in the background, or something else running that was working your PC heavily. It was this kind of stuttering lag that I felt was coming from me and not my connection.

When we finished the run, Syn asked, “What’s the temps on your PC?”

I hadn’t been monitoring anything like that lately (though I should), and it’s been super hot outside (and inside) due to the summer. So I installed HWMonitor, and saw that my CPU was running at 105 C!!

I was basically boiling my poor machine and it couldn’t run straight! I had no idea!

I shut it down and opened it up. I cleaned the insides out and tested that the fans were running. Everything looked okay, though the fan on the CPU really did need a cleaning.

At first, I thought that would fix it. But when I fired up FFXIV or Sims 4 and put it under load again, it was still running at 90-100C, even with the case open and a fan pointed inside.

Bummer.

After troubleshooting it a bit and getting no fix, Syn sent me the link to a good replacement fan on Amazon. It wasn’t too expensive, and is supposed to be better than my existing fan, so I’m waiting for that to come in tomorrow. Hoping that will fix the issue.

In the meantime, no gaming on my PC. 😦

Thankfully, I have a gaming laptop.

Though it’s nowhere near as gutsy as my PC, it can still run basic Sims and FFXIV. Just no major raids or anything too taxing. I hooked it up to my monitor, mouse and gaming keyboard, and aside from the difference in system speeds, it does more or less what I need it to in the interim.

The sad thing is that Sims is PC dependent, so the family I was building up for the previous two days are off on the main PC. All my saves, custom content and stuff are also over there. I’ve been keeping my Sims install on my laptop completely CC and mod free, so moving it all over is not much of an option.

Thankfully, the new fan has already shipped and should be here tomorrow. Hopefully that fixes the situation.

UPDATE: Replacing the fan fixed it! Woot! 

Aside: I have no idea why I decided to title this post after an old Mike Oldfield song. I was trying to think up a title, and When the Night’s on Fire popped in my head. It has nothing to do with overheating PCs (When the PC’s on Fire?), so go figure.

Posted in Blogging, Gaming, IRL, Uncategorized

Vegas Pokemon Conglomeration

Posted on by Aywren Sojourner

Apologies in advance, this is going to be a really random post. Mostly, it has reference to a number of recent posts I’ve made, and a little to do with geeking and gaming. So, I figured it was relevant enough to ramble about.

Yesterday was my birthday. Syn, who has been my best friend for many years, was cooking something devious up, and I knew it. She mentioned it the night before, but I had no clue exactly what she meant to do.

Last night, she dropped the bomb on me: She bought me VIP tickets and a Photo op with my favorite band in the whole world – The Moody Blues. In Las Vegas. This September.

I was beside myself — mostly because it wasn’t cheap (but she had it in her head to do this, so I accepted the gift as graciously as I could). And then I thought of the planning I’d need to do for the trip.

And finally, the fact I really need to get into better shape before going on another trip. I spend my work time sitting in an office all day, and the time after that on the computer at home… and have for many years. I’m embarrassed to admit that my personal endurance and level of activity are both rock bottom, and have been for a while.

I mentioned in my post yesterday that I needed to start paying more attention to diet and exercise now that I’m not as young as I used to be. (Git off my lawn! :p ) And there’s nothing like a trip that requires being out of your normal elements to show you just how out of shape you are.

We had thoughts of attending the FFXIV Fan Fest again this year (not sure if that’s a thing that’s going to happen or not), and I told myself that I needed to get more active so I could feel better when I was in Vegas. Well, now I have show tickets, and am going to meet my musical heroes face to face. I really need to start moving!

And that leads back to Pokemon Go.

Yesterday, I joked and said that catching my first shiny was a sign that I needed to get back into the game. Well, here’s another sign that I need to get back to it, for health’s sake.

The nice thing is that there’s now a Pokestop in the local mall. Summer is starting up full force already — it’s going to be 90+ degrees today — and braving the heat at the local park is just too much (and dangerous).

While the park is much better due to having 2 gyms and several stops, having one stop in the air conditioned mall gives me a reason to walk the mall. Previously, the mall didn’t have a stop, much less many Pokemon to speak of (it was odd – lots of Pokemon in the parking lot, few inside the mall itself). I hope that’s changed!

Anyhow, that’s my ramble for today. I’m taking tomorrow off in celebration of my birthday, so I’m going to have a long weekend. Hopefully I can spend some time with Death Road to Canada and have something to write at you guys next week. 🙂

Posted in Blogging, IRL

The 4th Decade

Posted on by Aywren Sojourner

Nintendo sure knows how to spruce up a birthday, doesn’t it? Growing up a Nintendo kid, I couldn’t resist using the above image as my PC wallpaper. They also sent along some cute little paper craft templates, stuff that reminds me passingly of the new Switch Labo stuff.

So, today is my 40th birthday. Time for a little rambling.

I’d like to think that to see me and talk to me, my age isn’t very apparent. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing to say about yourself.

vintage78Every time you hit a decade milestone, though, it makes you stop and reflect a bit. I remember being antsy about the idea of turning 30. I was told “30 is the new 20, don’t fret about it.”

And they were pretty much right. I did a lot in the past 10 years to set a foundation under me — pay off bills, start a real career, get a place of my own that I own, buy my first new car… all of those adulting things. I’ve managed to survive it all somehow.

This year, I’ll have both my home and car paid off by fall. I still have some student loan stuff I’m working on, but my finances are good.

I feel like I’m in a position to start saving and thinking about where to go next. There’s still lots to see, do and look forward to. I’ve chosen to do things solo so far, so I have a lot of freedom to come and go as I please. I have good friends and family, and I’m a bit of a hermit by nature, so I’m alright with it.

However, year after year I tell myself that I need to pay better attention to my diet and health. I’m still saying that this year, and I have a feeling I’m going to really need to start to act on that.

gogbirthday
Thanks Green Man Gaming… I think?

Anyhow, my sister got me a $35 Nintendo eShop card, and I picked up the new Death Road to Canada since it’s on sale for Switch right now. I haven’t put a ton of time into it, but I’ll be sure to post about it once I have!

I’m struggling to decide what to use the rest of my card on, though. So many games on my Switch wishlist – it’s a good problem to have. 🙂

Have a great day! ❤