https://www.localnewsdigital.com/2025/03/30/another-strong-storm-hits-bartholomew-county/
On the way to Indianapolis near Taylorsville I saw one damaged roof and a large road sign apparently blown over.
Monday, March 31, 2025
Update on Mini Comptuer
As I previously posted, my mini PC overheated and died in early January. After arguing with the manufacturer in China, they directed me to contact the seller—also based in China—for warranty service.
Fortunately, the seller agreed to honor the warranty, provided I sent the computer to them. I paid $83 for USPS shipping, and the package took 41 days to reach China. This was unusual, as I typically receive packages from China in three weeks or less. USPS tracking showed the package arriving in Chicago, departing, and then inexplicably returning to Chicago about a month later. At that point, I suspected there was an issue with shipping it to China and thought it was being returned to me. However, a few days later, it finally showed up in China.
After another week, the seller informed me that they would repair the computer. A week later, when I asked for an update, they said the repair would take one to two months.
Surprisingly, just a week after that, they said the computer was fixed and would be shipped back to me. I suspect that they had to replace the entire motherboard.
Assuming I receive it and it works properly, I want to prevent the overheating issue I experienced before when running the CPU at 100%. I originally bought this computer for its high performance, and the manufacturer had claimed that its cooling system could handle the heat.
One option is to lower the TDP from 55 watts to 45 watts, which the BIOS allows. This would reduce performance slightly but also decrease heat output. I could take a more extreme approach and reduce it further to 35 watts.
I should point out that some people on YouTube report boosting the TDP to 65 watts for better performance. A competing manufacturer does this by default with the same processor.
Apple is good at running its processors at about half the wattage. However, the M2 chip only gets half the performance.
Fortunately, the seller agreed to honor the warranty, provided I sent the computer to them. I paid $83 for USPS shipping, and the package took 41 days to reach China. This was unusual, as I typically receive packages from China in three weeks or less. USPS tracking showed the package arriving in Chicago, departing, and then inexplicably returning to Chicago about a month later. At that point, I suspected there was an issue with shipping it to China and thought it was being returned to me. However, a few days later, it finally showed up in China.
After another week, the seller informed me that they would repair the computer. A week later, when I asked for an update, they said the repair would take one to two months.
Surprisingly, just a week after that, they said the computer was fixed and would be shipped back to me. I suspect that they had to replace the entire motherboard.
Assuming I receive it and it works properly, I want to prevent the overheating issue I experienced before when running the CPU at 100%. I originally bought this computer for its high performance, and the manufacturer had claimed that its cooling system could handle the heat.
One option is to lower the TDP from 55 watts to 45 watts, which the BIOS allows. This would reduce performance slightly but also decrease heat output. I could take a more extreme approach and reduce it further to 35 watts.
I should point out that some people on YouTube report boosting the TDP to 65 watts for better performance. A competing manufacturer does this by default with the same processor.
Apple is good at running its processors at about half the wattage. However, the M2 chip only gets half the performance.
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Storm
I was working on my computer when an alarm went off on my phone, followed by a citywide tornado siren and multiple tornado warning alerts and texts.
The last two warnings, both from this month, were for tornadoes near the edges of the county, far from my location.
I did the only reasonable thing: I stepped outside to check out the weather. I wasn't the only one. Just to the west, some ominous black storm clouds were gathering. It slowly started to rain, so I took shelter inside. The Weather Bug app indicated a fast-moving storm system overhead.
Then, the power went out. The storm sounded intense, so I temporarily hid in a large closet. It passed after a few minutes.
The power company sent a text estimating the outage would last until 2:15 AM.
I wonder whether there was actually a tornado.
Two years ago, a tornado on the far west side of the county caused a massive burst of wind in Columbus, knocking down trees all over the city, including on a property across the street. That storm sounded worse; I genuinely thought my house was about to be hit by a tornado.
--
Best wishes,
John Coffey
http://www.entertainmentjourney.com
The last two warnings, both from this month, were for tornadoes near the edges of the county, far from my location.
I did the only reasonable thing: I stepped outside to check out the weather. I wasn't the only one. Just to the west, some ominous black storm clouds were gathering. It slowly started to rain, so I took shelter inside. The Weather Bug app indicated a fast-moving storm system overhead.
Then, the power went out. The storm sounded intense, so I temporarily hid in a large closet. It passed after a few minutes.
The power company sent a text estimating the outage would last until 2:15 AM.
The power came back on after about 2 hours and 15 minutes.
I wonder whether there was actually a tornado.
Two years ago, a tornado on the far west side of the county caused a massive burst of wind in Columbus, knocking down trees all over the city, including on a property across the street. That storm sounded worse; I genuinely thought my house was about to be hit by a tornado.
--
Best wishes,
John Coffey
http://www.entertainmentjourney.com
Thursday, March 27, 2025
How smart is AI really?
For fun, I searched Google for "John Coffey USCF Rating"
Google's AI came back with this response:
John Coffey, a retired software engineer and chess expert, has an Expert standard Over-The-Board (OTB) rating and has given chess lessons for 37 years.
Here's a summary of what's known about John Coffey's chess background:
Occupation: Retired Software Engineer
Chess Expertise: Expert standard OTB rating
Chess Teaching: Has given lessons at chess clubs for 37 years
Online Presence: You can find his free lessons on http://www.entertainmentjourney.com
At first, I wondered how Google's AI knew so much about me, but then I realized that this response echoes my Profile on chess.com, which reads...
"Hello. My name is John Coffey. I am a retired Software Engineer. I have an Expert standard OTB rating and have given lessons at chess clubs for 37 years. You can find my free lessons on http://www.entertainmentjourney.com, along with other interesting stuff."
Google's AI came back with this response:
John Coffey, a retired software engineer and chess expert, has an Expert standard Over-The-Board (OTB) rating and has given chess lessons for 37 years.
Here's a summary of what's known about John Coffey's chess background:
Occupation: Retired Software Engineer
Chess Expertise: Expert standard OTB rating
Chess Teaching: Has given lessons at chess clubs for 37 years
Online Presence: You can find his free lessons on http://www.entertainmentjourney.com
At first, I wondered how Google's AI knew so much about me, but then I realized that this response echoes my Profile on chess.com, which reads...
"Hello. My name is John Coffey. I am a retired Software Engineer. I have an Expert standard OTB rating and have given lessons at chess clubs for 37 years. You can find my free lessons on http://www.entertainmentjourney.com, along with other interesting stuff."
My initial impression of ChatGPT was that it was just a Wikipedia that could talk. However, for about a month, I have been letting it touch my writing, and it does an amazing job.
Sunday, March 16, 2025
The OLDEST websites EVER
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bdmmkwoketM
@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
Was there a website in 1986? I used the text-only Internet from around 1989 to 1995. I didn't download Netscape until around 1995, and the Internet was so sparse that I didn't know what to do with it.
BTW, I was a programmer on the Space Jam video game.
0 seconds ago
Was there a website in 1986? I used the text-only Internet from around 1989 to 1995. I didn't download Netscape until around 1995, and the Internet was so sparse that I didn't know what to do with it.
BTW, I was a programmer on the Space Jam video game.
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Tornado Warning in Columbus Indiana Last Night
I was woken up in the middle of the night by a city-wide tornado siren. I was tired and didn't hear any severe weather other than distant thunder. Thinking it wasn't necessary to get out of bed, I checked my phone for alerts. There was a tornado warning for Columbus, but the tornado didn't seem to be nearby.
The siren stopped after about three minutes but started again. When it stopped for the second time, I was able to go back to sleep.
I can't find much in the news about it, but I'd like to know where the tornado was. A couple of years ago there was a tornado in the western part of the county that created a severe wind that knocked down trees all over the city.
https://www.localnewsdigital.com/2025/03/15/136944/
Today it is threatening to storm outside.
The siren stopped after about three minutes but started again. When it stopped for the second time, I was able to go back to sleep.
I can't find much in the news about it, but I'd like to know where the tornado was. A couple of years ago there was a tornado in the western part of the county that created a severe wind that knocked down trees all over the city.
https://www.localnewsdigital.com/2025/03/15/136944/
Today it is threatening to storm outside.
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
The Problem with Laptops and Heat - and the problem with Apple computers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq9O99TgFv4
@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
0:34 It is ironic that the video features the Minisforum UM790 Pro. Mine overheated and died after 14 months of heavy use. I argued with the manufacturer about the warranty, but they told me that the seller on AliExpress was responsible for warranty service. The seller agreed to inspect it if I shipped it to China. It took six weeks to arrive, and now the seller is examining the dead computer to determine whether they will provide warranty service. Mini computers use mobile components, making them similar to laptops. I now realize that a mini-computer is unlikely to have adequate cooling.
@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
0:34 It is ironic that the video features the Minisforum UM790 Pro. Mine overheated and died after 14 months of heavy use. I argued with the manufacturer about the warranty, but they told me that the seller on AliExpress was responsible for warranty service. The seller agreed to inspect it if I shipped it to China. It took six weeks to arrive, and now the seller is examining the dead computer to determine whether they will provide warranty service. Mini computers use mobile components, making them similar to laptops. I now realize that a mini-computer is unlikely to have adequate cooling.
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
The Stupidity Epidemic: Why Critical Thinking is Dying
This is well-stated and completely on point.
It appeals to my biases. 🙂
Thursday, March 6, 2025
John Coffey - IMDb
I have a page on IMDB, which I discovered by accident. If you search online for John Coffey, the results will be about The Green Mile.
This is not as complete as this list:
which itself is not complete.
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