what happens when you scratch the surface

holy fuck you scratch the surface and it's TIME TO GO MINING

So this VR rig I got used a little while ago, to use it I've had to plug all the parts into a couple of different power strips every time because I've never finished setting it up right. That kind of sucks and is a barrier to use and all that so last night I decided to be all LET'S FIX THIS!

And while I'm setting it up with foot switches and stuff that's when I find that the UPS for my gaming rig is actually only backing up one (1) external soundbox, and the rest of the kit is just on power filters.

(The UPS is also really for another machine that uses that external soundbox - both the external soundbox and that CPU were supposed to be on it.)

And I then find out that while it's beefy enough for the other machine, it is NOT beefy enough for my gaming rig so I'm like "whelp I've got kind of a spare - one I can use anyway" and swap that in
and that involves digging a lot of stuff out of closets but that's okay.

So I plug the replacement UPS into the (heavy duty, 13A, three-prong) extension cord and the replacement UPS starts making new noises, ones I've never heard before and I'm like "uh, this is bad" and I'm thinking maybe it's just charging capacitors since it's been out of service for a while and that's... okay enough...

But then I see that it's not getting power despite being plugged in. It's running on battery except occasionally (I determine) it's not? And sometimes it's getting 120V and sometimes it's getting 0V and sometimes it's getting small random numbers of volts under 25?

So I'm like "I plugged this in and then put the connection back behind these boxes in the closet, did it come partially unplugged somehow?" and I retrieve the cord (which is for the record completely unstressed and was completely unstressed before, this is not a bendy cord issue)

...and it's making noises.

extension cords should

never

make noises

So I grab the end of it and see that depending upon how I put stress on the connection it makes different noises (and yes, it was completely plugged in) so I'm OKAY TURNING OFF THE UPS NOW and unplug it and I think, okay, this is probably the socket end of the extension cord gone bad but I can't rule out the plug end, let's go make sure nothing's wrong with that (which is easy, it's a short cord, it's just behind shit) and I move all the stuff in the way and I get to it and it's plugged in fine and stable

but

the outlet-mount power filter/line splitter it's plugged into is wobbly? And that's new? (And it has also been under no meaningful stress?)

So I unscrew the filter from the outlet and take off the outlet plate and discover yep it's the outlet and oh shit it was never screwed down properly by the electrician which is insane because it had been perfectly stable when I set all this up which is when I realise that's only because of the sprayed-on wall texture that's been holding it down.

So anyway I fix all of that

(that's like three levels removed from the original task at this point)

and put the plate back on and put the adaptor/splitter/filter/surge protector back on and plug the UPS into that and it behaves normally and if I put the extension cord back in series it's definitely the extension cord socket gone bad. It's really clear when you aren't bent over under shelves in a closet.

Anyway, that's what happens when you try to plug a VR helmet interface box's power plug into a footswitch.

in the unlikely event

In the unlikely event anyone is still reading me on Livejournal, I finally fixed crossposting and back-propogated posts through... May. Ouch. Yes, it had been that long.

This also belongs very specifically to the Senate GOP. They now have a special responsibility.

[Original thread on Twitter] [Embedded tweet] [Linked story on Axios]

Transcript follows:

---

Hey. @SenateGOP.

You could've stopped this in January. He was on trial for extorting an ally under attack from Russia, holding up military aid, demanding a fake investigation against Biden in exchange for release. Remember? I do.

[Embedded tweet text]

Jonathan Swan - @jonathanvswan
I’ve been covering Donald Trump for a while. I can’t recall hearing more intense concern from senior officials who are actually Trump people. The Sidney Powell / Michael Flynn ideas are finding an enthusiastic audience at the top.
12:24 PM · Dec 19, 2020

Now _we're_ getting it from Russia, albeit so far only as a devastating hacking spree that his administration enabled...

...and he's talking about a coup to throw out election results and keep power.

How about it, @SenateGOP?

You're in it, now. You're up to your _asses_ in it, @SenateGOP.

Some of you are part of it. I'm not talking to you.

I'm talking to the rest of you - Mitt Romney excepted - who so far are merely complicit. The ones who haven't pulled that metaphorical trigger on treason.

Those of you in the @SenateGOP who are merely complicit at this point can still step back. You can back out of this.

Maybe.

But you gotta shut this shit down right the fuck now.

That means stop trying to screw the country out of spite. The Fed changes you're demanding, to hamstring its ability to dig out of this recession so you can blame Biden for a poor economy?

Now is not the _fucking_ time, @SenateGOP.

That's part one.

Part two is that @SenateGOP has to shut this coup shit down. Accept the vote of the people.

And if that isn't enough to shut Donald up, you need to tell @SpeakerPelosi you'll pass the quickest removal anyone's ever seen if she can whip charges through the House again.

You have a special responsibility here, @SenateGOP, because this is on you whether you like it or not.

You could've stopped this criminal in January. You didn't. And now, over 300,000 dead and Russia stealing every secret we have later, we're here.

This needs to stop. Now.

Or just go ahead and go full treason, @SenateGOP. A bunch of you already have. Just do it already.

It's one or the other, because at this point, doing nothing is the same as going full treason. You may as well take off the mask.

It's go time. Pick your _fucking_ target.

BoxVR

So on recommendation from housemate Paul, I got BoxVR, which is a 'fitness' game based on boxing and rhythm. First impressions are kind of like, "they took Guitar Hero and made it violent. I'm in" because I am really enjoying this thing. Housemate Paul says he's discovered new muscles he didn't know he had, but I haven't had that - I'm a weightlifter, after all, so. But I do like some of the ways it's loosening up my back, and how it's teaching me better boxing/punching form without saying that it's doing anything like that. I've caught the training mechanisms a few places in particular, so that's neat.

I livestreamed a pair of short routines on twitch if you're curious about how it plays. I know I need to bring down the game volume a bit more, but I'm audible if you care to hear me natter.