Computer problems - Hijacked to Disgusting Foods

[cdukino]

Hi, Just to let you all know, should you be intrested why I am likely to make very few appearances here for X-time to come. My computerscreen or graphic card or something connected desided to go nuts. Meaning 80% of the time I don't even see half of the stuff on my screen (digital noise or whatever... screws up the image)...So I need to get that fixed somehow but I have no clue what is causing it (we reinstalled and cleaned the grafic card but that didn't help long). So I'm writing this at work.

[Illustrange]

(sorry this is in dutch people.)

heb je een ouderwets stijl scherm of een flatscreen (lcd of tft) scherm ?
ben je de kabeltjes nagegaan - geprobeert met andere kabeltjes ?

ben geen computer expert trouwens, maar ik had ooit een zelfde soort probleem en dat had te maken met het kabeltje. ook kan het scherm doorgebrand zijn (geloof ik, maar dan zou je 100% van de tijd niks zien volgens mij.) dan moet die vervangen worden.

anyway good luck with it cindy!

[gi6ers]

(sorry this is in dutch people.)

Allow me to translate:

Cindy,

Have you tried:

a)Hitting it.

b)Switching it off then on again.

[cdukino]

I tried:

* on and off for the screen
* restarting the computer (multiple times)
* replugging all wires/plugs to see if they were fastened well enough
* taking out the grafical card and cleaning the whole stuff surround it and the card itself (blowing off dust)
* I don't know for sure if my boyfriend tried reinstalling the grafical card


It is a flatsceen (no clue what kind... it isn't mine (neither is the computer) and as long as it works I couldn't care less ;) )

(and so no... due to that I didn't try the hitting possibility ;) )

The distortion isn't always there and doesn't always look the same though it's mostly on the same spot in the same places (like a couple of coloms (6 in total) running over the whole hight of the screen (vertically) with about a colom in between with good vision. It flickers, makes brighly coloured lines and dots and sometimes disapears when I open a new window (wel for a few seconds that is), sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the flaw it there at the moment I restart the computer already, sometimes it gently shows itself within a few minutes (startign with a few distortions and then getting worse and then jumping into half screen filled with distortion in the coloms again).

I plan to try connecting another screen to it. If the flaw does repeat itself it's likely the grafical card or the cables. If the problem is solved by doing that... it was the screen itself.

[Wristaction]

I would say it is the monitor thats giving you the problem, as you said test it with another monitor to be sure.

[Duende]

If it's not the monitor you could try a System Restore. It's under Start --> All Programs ---> Accessories --> System Tools --> System Restore (using Windows XP)

I've used it on an older computer I used to have when it would glitch up. And Restores are reversible. (keep in mind, I'm no computer expert)

But I'd recommend checking the monitor first. Good luck!

[cdukino]

In case someone wonders... this is how the screen looks like at it's worst:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v502/cdukino/messed-up-computerscreen.jpg

[Hinton]

Holy crap!

I'm not a computer expert (as far as anyone knows), but I'd say it's definitely your monitor. Out of curiosity, what kind of monitor is it (CRT, flat panel, etc.)?

[cdukino]

Flatscreen. But the strange thing is that the distortion leaves at times and isn't always the same. It often goes away when I put a window on the beam below and then pop it up again. like it cleans itself. Also moving a screen over the distortion occasionally seems to whipe some of the distortion away, like going over it with a cloth. That's why I am thinking the chance of it being my graphical card and not the screen itself is a very plausable option as well. If the screen itself was the thing that's broken. Wouldn't the distortion be steady and on the same place every time and constant?

Peter will connect the screen to his laptop tonight if he can find the time to see if the screen is the problem... and will take the grafical card out of an old computer we have and replace the one in my current computer with it. That should give an answer i think.

[Brimshack]

Are you sure you didn't sculpt some gremlin or something recently and leave it too close to your computer?

[callumrice]

Its defo your monitor, its on the blink. I had the same problem a couple of months ago, got one of my friends to have a look (he is an IT Technician) and said instantly "new monitor needed".

Does it happen randomly, but becoming more frequent? If so it was the same as mine, it would be ok sometimes for hours on end, then sometimes you couldnt bloody use it at all. At first I thought it was an overheating problem but once I binned the monitor for a cheap alternative hey presto, works great.

If its not your monitor Ill eat my paint brush. :-)

[callumrice]

and my screen looked a LOT worse by the time I bought a new one, your photo is mild to what it will eventually look like given a couple of weeks more use!

[Akenmaat]

It's the monitor. I've had pretty much the same issue happen to me both at work and at home. Replacing the monitor fixed it. I described the problem to my husband (IT professional for 15 years now) and he immediately said it's the monitor. Try just switching out the flatscreen for a different monitor for a few days before you try messing around with the graphics card or a system restore.

[cdukino]

Does it happen randomly, but becoming more frequent? If so it was the same as mine, it would be ok sometimes for hours on end, then sometimes you couldnt bloody use it at all.

If its not your monitor Ill eat my paint brush. :-)

Yep, exactly that. I think you guys might be right (but unfortunatly i will need to seomehow get a replacement screen then. I only have a very huge heavy damages crappy one... and new flatscreen ain't cheap.

But I will get you some ketchup just in case... they say that goes wel with medium rare brushes ;)

[callumrice]

Ill have some brown sauce please!

[minimaker]

Cindy, the HCC computer days are in the weekend of the 28th of this month. Is Peter going by any chance? I may be there (I'm a HCC member) and if you want I can have a look at what's available.

Bye, Ming-Hua

P.s. Callumrice: carefull when asking for "brown sauce" over on this side of the canal. Here it just means a sauce with a brown colour. Still, you're in luck as there is a British food specialties store in Eindhoven. :)

[cdukino]

No. I don't think either of us will be going. And I think peter, being a computer man himself wants to pick it out himself (if he hasn't thought about it already. But knowing Peter he will probably go look for one after this one died and doesn't let itself be reanimated even after kicking it ;) . But knock on wood... the last 3 days the screen has been behaving with the very rare glitch.

[callumrice]

P.s. Callumrice: carefull when asking for "brown sauce" over on this side of the canal. Here it just means a sauce with a brown colour. Still, you're in luck as there is a British food specialties store in Eindhoven. :)

WHAT????? No brown sauce??! What kind of ramshackle backward country are you living in??!! Next youll be telling me you dont put mayo on your chips! Pah!:ahhhhh:

[Hinton]

WHAT????? No brown sauce??! What kind of ramshackle backward country are you living in??!! Next youll be telling me you dont put mayo on your chips! Pah!:ahhhhh:

I like mayo on my fries (chips), but everyone here (US) thinks I'm out of my mind.

[Duende]

I like mayo on my fries (chips), but everyone here (US) thinks I'm out of my mind.

Oh yeah? You should see the looks I get whan I mix mayo and ketchup together and dip my fries in THAT. And I'm an all-American-mutt.

Yum! :eating:

(geez, now I'm getting hungry) :irked:

[minimaker]

Next youll be telling me you dont put mayo on your chips! Pah!:ahhhhh:Mayo on chips? Well, we say we do, but we're actaully way past that. What we have is "frietsaus" which is like mayonaise but less fat and optmised for fries. Foreign friends sometimes ask me to bring a bottle when I visit them.

Other things we put on chips: smikkelsaus (mayonaise based, sweet-sour), piccalyli (sour veggie mix), satésaus (peanutbuttersauce), stoofvlees (meat stew), curry (spicy ketchup mix) and oorlog (peanutsauce + mayonaise + onions, mayonaise + ketchup + curry + peanutsauce + onoins or mayonaise + pindasaus + currysaus + onoins depending on where you ask for it). Things we don't put on fries: brown sauce. ;)

By the way, the french also have a nice combi. You take a baguette (long french bread), cut it in two, layer if with warm meat, cover that with fries and top it up with a sauce. Good gaming evening food. :)

Bye, Ming-Hua

[Wren]

Peanut butter sauce on fries, I could go for some of that. I've had it on sweet potato fries, and it was amazing. Though sweet potato fries on their own are pretty tasty. Fries + bread sounds a bit over the top on the carbs to me, though.

America is sadly behind the times in fry enjoyment technology, I find. Not that English Canadians are really innovators, but inspired by the French Canadian poutine (fries, gravy and curds of fresh cheese is the basic kind, but I've been places where the basic idea of putting things on fries morphed into dozens of variations), some progress had been made in English Canada by the time I moved to the US. Now I'm lucky to find cheese or cheese sauce on fries. How I miss the tasty treats of New York Fries (misnamed Canadian company), or Lick's creamy fries with sour cream, cheese and chives, and a few other tasty ingredients. Sigh.

[Duende]

You just have to learn to work with what you have. I've dipped my french fries in my milkskake and the combintion of hot fry/cold shake and sweet/salty really created a unique taste. You just have to experiment with stuff :)

[pae]

You guys are freaks. :-p

It's either salsa or mustard for my fries. :)

[Ritual]

Aioli! 'Nuff said! :proud:

[Nathan Caroland]

Yuck .. yuck .. and yuck.

[Duende]

Hey! "Don't knock it until you try it" is my rule of thumb.

Wimps!

[callumrice]

Ever dunked your "fries" (They are blooming CHIPS!!) into marmite? Or bovril? theres a good one for you americans!

[lauth81]

That´s what I call a proper thread hijack!

From computer problems to icky things you can dip fries into!

(Milkshake? - are you serious? Marmite? - ugh)

[minimaker]

That´s what I call a proper thread hijack!Just keeping the crowd amused while Cindy is busy testing the monitor. ;)

[Hinton]

You guys are freaks. :-p

It's either salsa or mustard for my fries. :)

And we're the freaks? :)


That´s what I call a proper thread hijack!

No kidding.

Marmite? What is that? Is it anything like Vegamite?

And the milkshake thing is going too far. I mean, really...that would be just....
Okay! Okay! I admit that I tried it. And yeah, it's pretty good.

Still prefer mayo on my "chips", though.

Speaking of mayo: has anyone ever put mayo in their chili? My whole family does it so I grew up eating it that way. Anyone else?

[Duende]

And the milkshake thing is going too far. I mean, really...that would be just....
Okay! Okay! I admit that I tried it. And yeah, it's pretty good.


YEAH!!!!

See! It doesn't turn you into a ghoul or cause a nuclear fission reaction! Yay Hinton! You the MAN!

:cheer2:

[matty1001]

Fries? The skinny little pathetic things you buy in McDonalds? CHIPS for f**k sake! And salad cream is the way to go!
(O and before you Yanks start crying about chips being a different food, that food is called CRISPS!!!! tut tut, get it right lol)

[Nathan Caroland]

I was hungry ... 'was' ....

[Duende]

@ FF - :eviltongu :aetsch: :reddy: :bitchslap

[minimaker]

So Cindy, any news on the screen meanwhile? :)

[lauth81]

Marmite? What is that? Is it anything like Vegamite?



see here:

Marmite is a British savoury spread made from yeast extract, a by-product of beer brewing. It is a sticky, dark brown paste with a distinctive, powerful taste that polarises consumer opinion and prompts its advertising slogan that you either "love it or hate it". It is similar to Australia's Vegemite and Switzerland's Cenovis, and is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

(copied from wikipedia)

I´ll go with the proper end product of beer brewing: beer
(that leaves you out, US breweries, you only sell slightly coloured water)

[Ritual]

I´ll go with the proper end product of beer brewing: beer
(that leaves you out, US breweries, you only sell slightly coloured water)
No fair!! It's only the big breweries that make coloured water. If you ever get hold of Gonzo Imperial Porter from Flying Dog Breweries in Denver (or any of the hundreds upon hundreds of beers from micro-breweries all over the States) you will understand! :D

[callumrice]

Aye, speaking of eating my CHIPS, how is the screen coming on? Being that its me that has to eat his paintbrush with brown sauce/mayo/marmite/beer/milkshake/mud/spew, whatever if im wrong!

[Alaric the Mad]

Marmite is the most disgusting substance created by humans in a long line of disgusting substances.

I think Marmite is secretly an industrial lubricant marketted to us unwitting fools.

Oh---and vegamite is worse. GUH

[Nathan Caroland]

See, someone agree's with me on all this funk ya'll have been talking about.

[Duende]

Hey, they're talking about marmite, which basically sounds like somebody's idea to sell the stuff they scrape off the brewing vats. blagh!

I may have to open a poll about it after all this fry/chip controversy.... hmmmmm...

[callumrice]

Need to try that crazy concoction you made duende, tom sauce and mayo? Sounds rank! (not nice)

[Duende]

Callumrice - Yep, generally I use Heinz tomato ketchup and mayonaisse. Definately tastes better than it looks.

And for those those of you who think this sound gross *looking pointedly at FF* don't think you never had it before... if you ever had a regular Whopper at a Burger King, the toppings on it are mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, and onion. So you've had them together before and survived!

:aetsch:

[minimaker]

Oh, I forgot one thing Dutch also take with fries (or any kind of patato-dish) which is apple sauce (read this as cold mashed apples, not the thin brown variety).

And Duende, the combo is quite common here. It's often used on a certain sausage called "frikandel". We also have another combo that is similar which is "Joppiesaus". This is a fine mix of mayonaise, currysauce (a spicy type of ketchup) and onions, all ground together.

[gi6ers]

Need to try that crazy concoction you made duende, tom sauce and mayo? Sounds rank! (not nice)

Google for Marie Rose sauce which is mostly Mayo and Ketchup with a little cayenne and lemon juice, it's very good with Tempura prawns.

mmmm Marmite - yummy!

[Duende]

Ha-Hah! :ditto:

See, someone agree's with me on all this funk ya'll have been talking about.

I'm going to have to try to get to Europe one of these years, if only for the cuisine. At least people won't look at me funny is I have fries[chips] with mayo and ketchup, or put applesause on my mashed potatoes (I've done that before too!)

:D

[minimaker]

Duende, do you have Dutch ancestors? :)

[supervike]

Funny conversation here....

I love mayonaisse on my French Fries, been eating that for years but it has to be the right kind of fries....thick, crispy ones....Normally I prefer Ketchup mixed with mustard on my fries. I do like the malt vinegar sauce on them too. And my daughter both dip fries in milkshakes...

I admit I haven't mixed ketchup and mayo together though...at least not purposefully.

I love going to those fast food resturants that have the self service 'sauces'. I usually have more dipping sauces than I do food items...Horseradish, mayo, mustard, barbeque sauce, tabasco....yummy!

[Ritual]

As I mentioned before, I like aioli (garlic mayonaisse) with chips but malt vinegar is not bad either. Otherwise I prefer chips as they are with just salt or maybe some barbecue seasoning on it. But, I don't eat chips that much because it's not good for you! :D :proud:

[Duende]

Duende, do you have Dutch ancestors? :)

Almost! ;) Heritage wise, I have Pennsylvania Dutch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_dutch) from both sides of my family, although "Dutch" is a misnomer since they were actually German. I also have English, Swiss, and a bit of Native mixed in there, ...I'm an American mutt! No wonder I like mixed-up foods!

:laugh:

[supervike]

But, I don't eat chips that much because it's not good for you! :D :proud:

Which is probably why you look the way you do (tall and thin) and I look the way I do (short and plump)

[Ritual]

I just found out how much I like this smug looking smilie... :proud: :laugh:

Seriously, I do eat unhealthy food, but I also try to eat healthy food as often as I can so that I don't have to feel bad about eating the unhealthy food now and then. And, you can make really delicious food that is also healthy.

[cdukino]

@ callumrice: I fully expect a review on the taste of brushes. It turns out it is NOT my monitor afterall. I tested it and very soon it became painfully obvious that wasn't it as the image on screen became as worse as ever.

So I now suspect my graphical card. Guess I can only know when buying a new one and putting that in. I need Peter's help for that. But atleast it's cheaper then a new monitor for sure.

[minimaker]

Was afraid so. The same happened to me a year ago and I replaced mine with a spare one I had around. Still need to get a new one. But then again, I should actually replace the whole computer.

@ Callumrice: Do you need any sauce recipes? ;)

[DrEvilmonki]

Which is probably why you look the way you do (tall and thin) and I look the way I do (short and plump)

Fatty foods make you short? Not heard that one before.:laugh:

[callumrice]

Come on then guys, what should I dump my brushes into? Give me some sauces! Yum yum, tom sauce and drybrush. Sounds delightful!

[Ritual]

Oyster sauce? :o:

[callumrice]

emmm ......... NOPE!

[minimaker]

In that case, vegetarian Oyster sauce (mushroom based if I'm notmistaken)?

What kind of brushes are they? Different types of hair may call for different sauces. :)

[Duende]

I think Cindy should be the one to pick what concoction goes on callumrice's brushes. :eating:

And if fatty foods makes you short that would explain a few things for me..... :thinking:

[cdukino]

And it's fixed :dancing2:

(new graphic card installed)

[Ritual]

And it's fixed :dancing2:

(new graphic card installed)
I thought this thread was about food?? You should stay on topic! :spank:




Seriously, glad the problem's fixed. I hate it when the computer doesn't work properly. Sad, really, how dependent we are of them these days, isn't it? :hmmmm:

[Hinton]

Glad to hear it, Cindy. At least you didn't have to buy a new monitor.

[callumrice]

It may have been cheaper for you if it was just the monitor!

So are you going to let me off with the brushes? The other night I had a drink of tea after dipping my brushes in it, does that count?!

[cdukino]

Yeah grafhic cards are pretty expensive... expecially the good ones that allow for playing new games (not that I do often but still).

And no... that's paint drinking... not brush eating. That's a totally differnt culinair experience. I suggest starting at the brushtip as appetiser and then work your way through the rest ;) I'll let you pick the saus... because I'm nice like that. ;)

[minimaker]

On the other hand, perhaps we should start a poll and vote on what sauce he should use. :)

[callumrice]

Aye go for it, Im up for the challenge!

[Duende]

I vote Vegamite! That stuff sounds disgusting enough to fall under "cruel and unusual punishments" and it sounds like it's only slightly better than blending medium.

Besides, if brush-licking makes you a better painter [see Ritual's sig] then eating your brushes should make you a painting prodigy! Have at!

:D